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Irvin Kershner, who directed the Star Wars sequel “The Empire Strikes Back” and the James Bond film “Never Say Never Again,” has died at age 87. Kershner died Saturday at his Los Angeles home following a 3½-year battle with lung cancer, said longtime friend and Hollywood publicist Dick Guttman. Read more.
Oscar-nominated director and screenwriter Mario Monicelli, considered one of the fathers of the Italian comedy of the 1940s-1960s, died Monday after jumping from a fifth-story hospital window, the hospital said. He was 95. Monicelli was being treated at Rome’s San Giovanni hospital for pancreatic problems and leaped to his death Monday night, said Anna Scoltore, who heads the hospital’s media office. She said he had been admitted a few days ago and that it appeared […]
Actor Leslie Nielsen died Sunday of complications from pneumonia, his family said as reported on CNN. Nielsen, 84, died in a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, surrounded by his wife and friends.
Helena Bonham Carter will receive the coveted Richard Harris Award and Liam Neeson The Variety Award at the 13th Moët British Independent Film Awards. The Richard Harris Award was introduced in 2003 in honour of Richard Harris and recognises outstanding contribution to British film by an actor. Previous winners have included John Hurt, David Thewlis, Bob Hoskins, Jim Broadbent and most recently Daniel Day-Lewis in 2009. For over a decade Helena Bonham Carter has been […]
Director, Luis Garcia Berlanga of Spain, passed away on Saturday at his home in Madrid, Spain’s film academy announced via the BBC. He was 89 years. Berlanga was best known for the 1952 satirical comedy Bienvenido, Mr Marshall! (Welcome, Mr Marshall!). He was nominated three times for the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or award; and his film, Placido, was nominated in 1961 for the Academy Award for best foreign language film.
Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis died on Wednesday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 91. Mr. De Laurentiis produced more than 500 films over six decades covering a wide range of styles and genres. His long filmography includes several major titles of the early Italian New Wave, including the “Bitter Rice” (1949); two important films by Fellini (“La Strada,” 1954, and “Nights of Cabiria,” 1957); and David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet,” (1986). The […]
Two-time Academy Award nominated actress Jill Clayburgh, has died of leukemia, aged 66. Clayburgh’s husband, the playwright David Rabe, told the New York Times she died at her home in Lakeville, Connecticut. She was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress for the film and also for the 1979 film “Starting Over,” with Burt Reynolds and Candice Bergen.
George Hickenlooper, director of Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, Dogtown, Mayor of Sunset Strip and Factory Girl, died suddenly in Denver on Saturday at the age of 47. Hickenlooper was in Denver to promote his latest film, Casino Jack, at the Starz Denver Film Festival. The 33rd Starz Denver Film Festival will be devoted to director George Hickenlooper, the Denver Film Society announced Saturday night. source: Deadbolt
Screenwriter Will Rokos, who earned an Academy Award nomination for “Monster’s Ball” was in critical but stable condition after he was clipped in the head by a train while leaning over a subway platform in New York City. The NY Post reports, that cops said Rokos was waiting for a train Saturday afternoon when he leaned over to peer down the tunnel. The train barreled into the station striking Rokos in the head. The impact […]
Kim Basinger will narrate a Smithsonian Channel documentary on the rare blue Hope Diamond, thought to be the world’s most valuable gem. The special marks the 50th anniversary of the diamond’s donation to the National Museum of Natural History by Harry Winston, its last private owner. “Mystery of the Hope Diamond” will premiere Nov. 21. Read more
Kanye finally premiered his short film “Runaway”. The 35 minute film, written by Hype Williams and directed by Kanye, showcases nine songs from Kanye’s upcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
Matt Damon has been confirmed as being involved in a Lance Armstrong documentary due for release next year, with the American actor set to narrate the Alex Gibney-made film. The project, which is mainly based around Armstrong’s 2009 comeback to the Tour de France, will presumably be launched before the 2011 Tour in order to capitalise on media attention. Read more: http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/6078/Matt-Damon-confirmed-for-Lance-Armstrong-documentary-release-date-in-2011.aspx#ixzz13PKb7ClP