Jerry Maren, the last of the living munchkins from the Wizard of Oz (1939), has died at age 98. Maren, who was 18-years-old at the time of the film, was a member of the "Lollipop Guild." After the Wizard of Oz, he appeared in The Twilight Zone, Where the Buffalo Roam, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Seinfeld, and many other films and TV shows.
"I've done so many things in show business, but people say, ‘You were in The Wizard of Oz?’ It takes people’s breath away," Maren said in a 2011 interview. "But then I realized, 'Geez, it must have been a hell of a picture, because everyone remembers it everywhere I go."
(Rolling Stone)
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At first I was disappointed that the Mystery Machine and Knight 2000 weren't invited but then I realized they were probably on a separate TV star car field trip.
All of these iconic autos and many more are available for rental from Movie Cars Central in France.
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Director Ron Howard and the stars of Solo: A Star Wars Story tease us with more context and scenes from the forthcoming film out on May 25.
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The muppet creations of Frank Oz, Jim Henson, and their collaborators are fused into my earliest memories as a kid growing up in the ‘Sesame Street’ generation. The long-running ‘Muppet Show’ followed, as did films, and a new generation of kids is growing up with the characters online and in mobile games.
On March 16, Muppet Guys Talking will be released online, and it’s the first documentary to reveal the unusual creative culture behind Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and all the gang, as told by the living performers behind it all. Read the rest
In this new article for SyFy Fangrrls, writer Clare McBride makes a compelling argument that Daisy Ridley’s Rey isn’t a parallel for Luke in the original Star Wars trilogy, she’s a parallel for Anakin in the prequels. Read the rest
"I've seen this raw strength only once before. It didn't scare me enough then. It does now."
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Jared Leto will star as Hugh Hefner in a new biopic about the Playboy publisher. The film will be directed by Brett Ratner who produced The Revenant, directed X-Men: The Last Stand, and has helmed many other big movies. More interesting to me though is that, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Ratner "also plans to reboot the Hefner-hosted, late-1960s talk show Playboy After Dark." Check out a few classic musical performances from that excellent program below including a clip of the visit from the Grateful Dead during which they famously dosed the on-set coffee pot.
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The Fire TV Stick is the only streaming media player we use. We should recycle our TiVo and Apple TV. The best thing about Fire TV Stick is the voice control. I press a button on the remote and tell it what I want to watch (lately it's been HBO's The Night Of) and I'm taken straight to the show. Amazon has the Fire TV Stick on sale today for $35. Read the rest
Colin Trevorrow will no longer be the director of Star Wars: Episode IX. From the Hollywood Reporter:
"Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on Star Wars: Episode IX. Colin has been a wonderful collaborator throughout the development process, but we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ. We wish Colin the best and will be sharing more information about the film soon," read a Lucasfilm statement...
Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on Star Wars: Episode IX. Colin has been a wonderful collaborator throughout the development process, but we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ. We wish Colin the best and will be sharing more information about the film soon.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that script issues have continued to be a sore spot throughout Episode IX’s development, with Trevorrow having repeated stabs at multiple drafts. In August, Jack Thorne, the British scribe who wrote the upcoming Julia Roberts-Jacob Tremblay movie Wonder, was tapped to work on the script.
Sources say that the working relationship between Trevorrow and Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy became unmanageable. Kennedy, who had already been through one director firing/replacement on the Han Solo spinoff movie, was not eager for a sequel and tried to avoid this decision.
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Singer Bonnie Tyler will perform her 1983 hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart" on Royal Caribbean's Total Eclipse Cruise, a cruise ship that will be in the path of the total solar eclipse come Monday. Tyler will take time off her world tour to belt out the power ballad -- just as the moon crosses the sun -- on the ship, Oasis of the Seas.
Tyler told TIME, ""The eclipse of the sun lasts 2 minutes and 40 minutes, I’m told. Unlike my song. It had to be chopped about, because it was so long."
Bonnie Tyler Will Sing ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ During the Actual Eclipse [TIME] Read the rest
In honor of the great director Jonathan Demme who died yesterday, please enjoy this bloopers reel from his classic film Silence of the Lambs.
More horror film blooper reels at TVOvermind.
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"Quid pro quo – I tell you things, you tell me things."
Edited by Jon Tomlinson; Narration: Andy Geller; Executive Producer: Dustin McLean (CineFix)
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Disney is contemplating opening a luxury Star Wars themed resort next to the Hollywood Studios park at Disney World, which could feature multi-day live-action role-playing games that run overnight, with guests staying all night in the park to interact with costumed characters and automated elements (droids, etc) to game out scenarios. Read the rest
”Enjoy one of the most beautiful Star Wars films to date—that feels like the world’s biggest budget fan film.” Read the rest
In this video for Mic, comedian and actor Mamoudou N’Diaye auditions for the 11 roles black men are so often asked to play in Hollywood. Read the rest
With the death of author William Peter Blatty on January 13 at 88, I could not help but be reminded that, exactly 43 years ago on that date, at age 15 I first saw The Exorcist, for which he had written the screenplay based on his earlier book. He also exerted strong control over the production.
It was a time when I was able to see many films due to a decent allowance from a generous father. The previous year, my mother had taken me to see The Godfather at the Loew’s Orpheum theater on 86th street just off Third Ave in Manhattan.
It was a big deal because at age 14, and at that time in 1972, there was a lot in The Godfather most kids my age had never seen (we still had only seven TV channels; no cable, no internet). To top it off, a friend of mine was an usher at what I hazily remember as a Trans-Lux Cinema on Third Avenue just off 57th street, and he offered to sneak me into a showing of Last Tango in Paris. I was a big Brando fan, and I definitely saw a lot in that film I had not seen before. (On the other hand, you’ve probably never seen an usher in a movie theater.)
I’d also watched about 10 zillion horror movies on WPIX’s Chiller Theater during the preceding decade, and was extremely curious about why people were so freaked out about The Exorcist. Instead of going on opening day, my usual habit, I decided to wait until the lines abated. Read the rest
