COLUMBIA STUDIOS @ 100

Today marks the centennial of Columbia Studios who went from a scrappy indie to one of the major players in Hollywood. The studio began as a small production and distribution company run by brothers, Harry and Jack Cohn and their friend, Joe Brandt in 1918. They first called their studio CBC Film Sales Corporation but seven year later changed the name to Columbia Pictures.

They never had their own lot until a year later, purchasing two sound stages near the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Gower. The studio couldn't really afford contract players, usually borrowing actors from other studios, but they did sign on a few and creating stars in the process. This included Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Ann Sothern, Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth. And in order to save more money, Columbia did not operate their own theater chain, unlike most of the other studios at the time. However, this would later prove to be an even greater financial benefit for Columbia after the government cracked down on monopolies and forced the studios to sell off their theaters.

Brandt soon grew tired of dealing with the mercurial Cohn brothers and sold his shares of the company to them in 1932. Columbia Pictures would remain a minor player in Hollywood for a while until Frank Capra entered as a director. Arriving in 1927, he came in and pushed the Cohns to spend more money on scripts and budgets. This would eventually pay off in 1934 when Capra's romantic comedy, "It Happened One Night" became a box-office smash and swept the Oscars, winning all of the top five major awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay) for the first time. Other hits by Capra for the studio included "Lost Horizon", "You Can't Take It with You", "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". Columbia would produce or distribute other popular movies like "His Girl Friday", "From Here to Eternity", "On the Waterfront", "Born Yesterday", "The Bridge on the River Kwai", "A Man for All Seasons", "Funny Girl" and "Oliver!".

Jack Cohn died in 1956 and his brother, Harry passed away two years later. Without clear leadership, Columbia Studios struggled with their movies throughout the 1960's with the studio going through a severe creative and financial downturn. They were able to hold on barely with the assistance of their successful Screen Gems divisions of television and music. But by the 1970's, Columbia was nearly bankrupt, forced to sell some of their studio property and formed a partnership with Warner Bros. to utilize that studio's lot in Burbank.

After a series of owners and numerous studio heads, Columbia Pictures was acquired by electronics giant, Sony in 1989. This was a merger that would prove to be very successful and make Columbia a lucrative movie studio for the new owners. Some of the noteworthy films released through the studio include "Philadelphia", "Men in Black", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Boyz n the Hood", "The Fifth Element" "The Social Network" and "Spider-Man".

Turner Classic Movies will honor the legacy of Columbia Pictures on the channel by screening twenty-six of the studio's most popular and influential films throughout the month of January. The 1933 pre-code rom-com, "Man's Castle" with Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young; "The Awful Truth", a Cary Grant and Irene Dunne comedy classic; the movie that made Rita Hayworth a star, "Gilda"; the Best Picture Oscar winner by David Lean, "Lawrence of Arabia" which introduced to the world, Peter O'Toole; Martin Scorsese's controversial thriller, "Taxi Driver"; One of Steven Spielberg's early hits, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"; two bio-pics that are Best Picture winners, "Gandhi" from 1982 and "The Last Emperor" from 1987; Sofia Coppola's second feature as a director, "Marie Antoinette" and Nancy Meyers' romantic-comedy for adults, "Something's Gotta Give" with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton are just some of the films that will be featured on TCM.

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS @ 100

Warner Bros. is not the only movie studio celebrating a centennial. This year Walt Disney Studios came into existence on this day one hundred years ago. Far removed from the global media conglomerate that it has now become, Disney began as a scrappy, yet innovative animation company started by two midwestern brothers, Walt, who was the creative driver and Roy who handled the production side of the studio.

Arriving in Los Angeles from Kansas City, MO in 1923, the brothers got their start producing a series of silent shorts that merged live-action and animation about a young girl named Alice and Julius, her cartoon cat. Another creation by Disney was "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" with the animated shorts were done for Universal Studios. But after a contract dispute over money and not owning the rights to Oswald, Disney began secretly working on a new character with a mouse named "Mickey".

The first Mickey Mouse short appeared in 1928 was silent and with sound on the horizon, the next film, "Steamboat Willie" was released later that year and became the first with synchronized sound. It became a major success and Disney began work on a second cartoon series, "Silly Symphonies" the following year. All of the initial animated films were in black & white and after the studio made a deal with Technicolor and their three-strip color film process in 1932, Disney made the first color "Silly Symphonies" short, "Flowers and Trees".

Walt Disney began considering a feature length animated film in 1934, deciding to base the story on the Brothers Grimm's German fairy tale. This expensive project, at over a million dollars and taking three years to complete, was extremely risky and if it failed could bankrupt the company. But "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" became a critical and commercial success, earning more than eight million globally during its initial release.

Disney would continue to achieve great success with other popular animated features ("Cinderella", "Bambi", "Dumbo", "Peter Pan", "Alice in Wonderland") and live action films ("Treasure Island", "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", "Mary Poppins", "The Shaggy Dog", "The Parent Trap"). The company expanded to build a brand amusement park in Anaheim, Ca named "Disneyland" in 1950 and moved into television, offering such shows as "Walt Disney's Disneyland" and "The Mickey Mouse Club". Disney was in the process of developing a second theme park in Orlando, Fl and near completion of production on their nineteenth animated feature, "The Jungle Book", when Walt Disney, a heavy smoker, passed away from lung cancer in 1966.

The studio continued on, opening "Disney World" in 1971 and finding some success in live-action films and television yet struggled for a number of years in the animation division. But it was in the late 1980's with the release of "The Little Mermaid" that helped return Disney back into a reliable studio that created critically acclaimed and globally popular animated movies.



Disney’s 1937 animation classic, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" will be coming to Disney+ in a new 4K restoration that will premiere on Oct. 16th to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary.

WARNER BROTHERS @ 100

The fabled movie studio, Warner Bros. will be celebrating one hundred years of creating motion pictures this year. Still located in Burbank, CA, this dream factory has been behind some of the greatest works of cinema since the birth of the commercial motion picture industry. The studio would later expand into music and television with even further success.

Founded in New Castle, PA by brothers Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack L. Warner as Warner Features Company, their first motion picture release was "the Peril of the Plains" in 1912. They soon headed west by 1915 and the brothers had their first major box office hit with "My Four Years in Germany" three years later.

On April 4, 1923, Warner Bros. Pictures was officially established as a motion picture studio. Their very first movie star was a dog: a trained German shepherd named Rin Tin Tin who went on to appear in a series of popular movies, twenty-seven in all, becoming an international sensation. But the studio would find their greatest success by taking a chance on a new innovation: sound. With "The Jazz Singer" in 1927, Al Jolson was "heard" actually singing in sync in the musical-drama which this box-office smash effectively helped bring an end to silent movies and "the talkies" went on to revolutionize the industry. Sadly, Sam Warner passed away suddenly the day before this film's premiere on October 5th from pneumonia caused by sinusitis.

The surviving brothers would carry on, leading Warner Bros. to become one of the most successful and highly influential of the movie studios. Since their early days, the studio produced a broad range of movie styles ranging from backstage musicals, gangster flicks, swashbucklers, and women's pictures. Some of these now classic films include "The Public Enemy", "Casablanca", "The Maltese Falcon", "Dark Victory", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "My Fair Lady", "Bonnie and Clyde", "Blazing Saddles", "A Clockwork Orange", "The Exorcist", "Unforgiven", "The Matrix" and the "Looney Tunes" series of cartoon shorts.

But Jack would have serious conflicts with his brothers and by 1956 he had secretly purchased their shares in the business after convincing them to participate in a joint sale of stocks, gaining full control of the studio. He would continue to run the studio with an iron fist before retiring from the studio in 1969. The studio would soon be sold to investment companies a few times and merged with others over the following years, currently part of AT&T and now known as Warner Bros. Discovery.

And during the month of April, Turner Classic Movies will be honoring this legendary movie studio by screening some of the movies made throughout their storied history with programming highlights that will include pre-code classics, gangster films, Busby Berkeley musicals and their star-contract players. TCM will also showcase ten newly restored films in partnership with Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation that will feature "The Strawberry Blonde"(1941), "East of Eden"(1955), "Rio Grande"(1959) and "Rachel, Rachel"(1969).

OSCAR MADNESS

The Oscars are just a few days away, with Jimmy Kimmel returning to host the ninety-fifth ceremony. So here is a bit of cinema ranking and some lively bits of Oscar information to go over before showtime this Sunday:

There was much chatter about the recent polling by the British film magazine, Sight and Sound with their survey, taken every ten years, ranking the top-ten greatest movies of all-time. Beginning in 1952, with Vittorio De Sica's "Bicycle Thieves" topping the list, each decade saw a shifting in order of films but it was "Citizen Kane" that ruled the number one position starting in 1962. Orson Welles' 1941 masterpiece remained at the top of this poll until 2012 when the stylish psychological thriller, "Vertigo" by Alfred Hitchcock took over the top spot. At this time, the list was expanded to include one hundred movies and increased the number of international film professionals and critics to participate in the selections. And last year with the latest poll, "Vertigo" was replaced by a new film that had previously ranked thirty-seven on the list. The New York Times explores the history of the Sight and Sound poll, examining how opinions and tastes have changed over the decades.

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What Makes a Movie the Greatest of All-Time?

Many were taken aback when the British performer, Andrea Riseborough was announced this year as one of the nominees for Best Actress in a little-seen, off-the-radar, indie drama, "To Leslie". After just watching her searing performance in the film as an alcoholic, single mother who squanders all the prize money after winning the lottery and abandoning her son, it is quite clear to me that not only does Riseborough earn her spot in the category but is actually a true contender to receive the award. But this is hardly the first time that the actress has impressed audiences, critics and her fellow actors with her captivating, committed work. Vulture has selected eleven of Riseborough's previous film and television appearances to highlight, giving a better understanding on why she is in the conversation.

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Eleven Andrea Riseborough Performances That Will Turn You Into a Convert

Roger Deakins is one of the most honored cinematographers by the Academy with the British director of photography earning his sixteenth Oscar nomination this year for his breathtaking work in Sam Mendes' "Empire of Light". Cláudio Alves, for the blog, The Film Expereince, has ranked this visionary master's sixteen nominations, breaking them down from great although not thrilling to absolute transcendence.

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Ranking Roger Deakins' Oscar Nominations

Vulture has also gone on to rank all fifty-four films nominated this year for an Oscar (including the short films). This is an impressive endeavor and I have to say I'm a little shocked at what was ranked at the bottom of this list. Check it out for yourself:

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All 54 Oscar-Nominated Movies Ranked

And to close this Oscar Madness out, here is a clip of the first, almost thirty minutes of the 1974 Academy Awards which includes a dazzling opening musical number by Liza Minnelli that pays tribute to the award, an introduction by then-Academy President Walter Mirisch (who just recently passed away in February at the age of 101) and opening comedy monologue by host Burt Reynolds:

NATIONAL CINEMA DAY

This Saturday, September 3rd will be National Cinema Day, a day when you go to participating theaters across the country and see a movie for $3.00. That's right: Every movie, every showtime and every format for just three bucks.

The non-profit organization, The Cinema Foundation, a group dedicated to promoting the cinema exhibition industry and growing movie-going communities, was inspired to thank audiences who had returned to the movies to help make a record-breaking summer box-office and serve as a major push to help lure those who still have not been back to theaters. The studios will use this day as an opportunity to let viewers in on the upcoming movie slate for this fall and winter with sneak-peek trailers.

GREAT PERFORMERS: THE BEST ACTORS OF 2021

For this year's Great Performances in the New York Times magazine, the chief film critic, A.O. Scott made the selections all on his own. And his choices are inspired and inspiring, singling out actors who gave us remarkable performances that were truly uncanny and complex. There were the performers who have been receiving plenty of critical praise and award buzz; an almost unrecognizable Will Smith in "King Richard"; the very British, Benedict Cumberbatch as an unpleasant Montana cowboy in "The Power of the Dog"; Kristen Stewart delivers an unexpectedly transformative performance with the American actor playing the late British Royal, Princess Diana; Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga play off of each other brilliantly in the period drama, "Passing"; another acting team, Joaquin Phoenix and Gaby Hoffmann are siblings trying to sort out their complicated past through her son in "C'mon C'mon" and Denzel Washington shaking up his Hollywood routine by playing the Scottish lord who would become King in the latest Shakespeare re-telling, "The Tragedy of Macbeth".

But there were some pleasantly surprising choices that Scott made looking outside of conventional American cinema; Hidetoshi Nishijima has made a major impression in the three-hour long, Japanese drama, "Drive My Car" based on a short story by Haruki Murakami; Katia Pascariu and her dazzlingly turn in the Romanian comedy with the great English translated title, "Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn"; the sisters, Joséphine and Gabrielle Sanz playing a daughter and her mother who meet as children in Céline Sciamma's lovely dramatic-fantasy, "Petite Maman"; The comedian/musician, Bo Burnham with his inventive Netflix special, "Inside" that he made completely by himself in his home during quarantine and Honor Swinton Byrne in the rare art-house sequel, "The Souvenir Part II".

Last year, largely due to the movie business essentially put on hold, the selections for Great Performers issue included performers that we were watching for the first time outside of cinema. This list is made up almost entirely of cinematic performances as we were able to finally return to the theaters this year. But not everyone was ready to come back, making the movie business remain on shaky ground. Yet there were still many movies that reached cinemas; some new Hollywood fare and 2020 holdbacks that were seen by a wide audience and made some big money. But smaller, indie films struggled, unable to reach their full potential as their audience decided to wait until they could stream. With a new COVID variant beginning to surface, effecting the vaccinated and non-vaccinated at a worrying rate, it is unclear what the new year will have in store. Yet I am hopeful that we will continue to adjust and be able to move forward carefully.

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NYT: The Great Performers Issue 2021

ARCLIGHT CINEMAS: AN APPRECIATION

It's been days since the announcement that Pacific Theaters which include Arclight Cinemas will not be reopening, an another victim of the deadly pandemic due to the over year-long closure. I'm still reeling from the shock that these glorious cinemas are no longer with us.

Arclight Hollywood, with the historic Cinerama Dome, was a very important part of my cinematic life as this was the theater I would attend regularly, going on average at least two times a week (sometimes more, sometimes less, largely depending upon my available time and what was out in theaters). And over the years, I had so many wonderful and memorable experiences at this complex and after leaving the theater, no matter if I loved or strongly disliked a film I had just watched, I was always in a great mood.

When I first heard about Arclight Cinemas back in 2002, I didn't know what to make of it. No overpriced stale popcorn or sticky floors with food trash scattered all over the seats that you had to remove yourself. This was a clean space, upscale and grand, that took the work of filmmakers seriously and presented their movies in the best possible conditions. I felt I had found my sanctuary. Arclight Cinemas was undeniably a true cinema lover's paradise.

I loved the staff, identified by the distinctive blue shirts they all wore, who were friendly, informative and would stand at the the front of the audience to introduce the film before each screening. There were roomy, comfortable seats and you could reserve them in advance, never having to worry about finding a place to sit. And there was their famous caramel popcorn, so delicious but I had to be careful and have it only occasionally. But what I really loved the most was that you could watch art house features and Hollywood blockbusters in the same location. The concept seemed like such a simple idea yet it was revolutionary, with many other cinema chains following what Arclight brought to the movie-going experience. And I was very proud to have been a founding member of the Arclight Membership program.

I'm really going to miss this theater but still feeling fairly confident that Arclight Cinemas will raise from the ashes at some point, hopefully in the same form. There are far too many great lovers of film from across the globe that loved this destination and that somebody will come along to rescue this important Los Angeles landmark.

2021 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS

The Golden Globe Awards are usually a glamorously star-filled, raucous affair that kicks off award season. But with social distancing still largely in effect and the recent LA Times report on the ethics, questionable practices and lack of diversity of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association who hold this annual event, it would seem this show might be muted. This investigation did not reveal anything that most people in the business were not already well aware of this secretive, small group of international journalists but the world has changed considerably since last year's award show. The fact is that the Globes have had a long history of scandals in their seventy-eight years and this current negative attention did not really change anything with Hollywood turning out, ready to dress up and accept prizes. 

Now the HFPA did not ignore this situation and publicly addressed the issue of having no Black members during the program, with three people from the organization committing to diversifying their ranks to be more inclusive. Time will reveal what this group will do but since we don't have any real idea who most of the eighty-seven members of the HFPA are and how do you even get to join, it might be hard to tell what has actually happened amongst their ranks.

As for the show itself, it was a very mixed bag. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler returned to host the Globes but not actually together this time. With Fey at the Rainbow Room in New York and Poehler in the Globes usual residence of the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA, the show was done before a mask-wearing, socially-distanced audience of essential health-care workers. The crowd was enthusiastic and our co-hosts did the best they could under these circumstances to bring some levity to the show. But many of the jokes fell flat and it appears that being miles apart seemed to throw Fey and Poehler off, failing to get a good connection between each other and with the audience.

The presenters appeared in person to announce the winners but as for the nominees, they were all at home like the rest of us, watching and participating with the show through Zoom. As no surprise to anyone who has ever used this video communication service, there were some technical glitches. The problems started early with the first award of the evening with the winner for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, Daniel Kaluuya initially not being heard accepting his prize. Luckily, the problem was resolved quickly but various noises and people not muting only added to the difficulty in hearing what the winners had to say. And with home cameras placed in poor locations and some attendees dressed far too casually, this contributed to an overall feeling of a less-than-special event.

Despite the controversy, the Golden Globe nominations were actually quite diverse and the winners reflected that. This included Kaluuya, singer Andra Day, in her film debut as Billie Holiday, winning Best Actress in a Drama and the late Chadwick Boseman receiving Best Actor in a Drama for his work in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", with his widow sorrowfully accepting on his behalf. And most impressive, for the first time ever, there were three female nominees for Best Director; actress, Regina King with her feature film debut, "One Night in Miami", Emerald Fennell for "Promising Young Woman" and the winner, Chloé Zhao who received the prize for her film, "Nomadland" which also won Best Motion Picture (Drama). This makes Zhao the second female winner in this category for the entire history of the Globes (one more than the Oscars).

But for me, the highlight of this entire evening was Jane Fonda, this year's recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. The radiant actress gave an impassioned speech, less about her spectacular career and more about the importance of diversity in storytelling and what we can gain from hearing these different voices in entertainment. This brief, in-person moment came across more heartfelt and assured than anything that the HFPA has previously said or done regarding this issue.

Here is the list of winners of the 2021 Golden Globes (Motion Picture):

Best Motion Picture (Drama): "Nomadland"
Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"
Best Director (Motion Picture): Chloé Zhao, "Nomadland"
Best Screenplay (Motion Picture): Aaron Sorkin, "The Trial of the Chicago 7"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama): Andra Day, "The United States vs. Billie Holiday"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): Rosamund Pike, "I Care a Lot"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama): Chadwick Boseman, "Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): Sacha Baron Cohen, "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Jodie Foster, "The Mauritanian"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Daniel Kaluuya, "Judas and the Black Messiah"
Best Motion Picture (Foreign Language): "Minari" (USA)
Best Motion Picture (Animated): "Soul"
Best Original Score (Motion Picture): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste, "Soul"
Best Original Song (Motion Picture): "Io Sì (Seen)" from "The Life Ahead", Music by Diane Warren; Lyrics by Diane Warren, Laura Pausini, Niccolò Agliardi

THE BEST JODIE FOSTER MOVIES RANKED

It's hard to believe that Jodie Foster has been working since she was three years old. First as as model before moving on to performing on television and eventually the movies. The two-time Oscar winner has revealed that acting was never something she had really wanted to do; it was actually something thrusted upon her. But she was capable and naturally gifted. On screen, she usually displayed a tough exterior, able to face whatever difficult challenges that came her way with fierce determination and sharp intellect. Yet there was also a tender vulnerability that has made Foster endure as one of the most fascinating of screen actors.

Will Leitch and Tim Grierson for Vulture has looked back on Foster's acting career and have ranked her film performances from least impressive to her most outstanding work which includes her latest role in the recently released "The Mauritanian". In this, Foster plays (for the first time) a character based on a real person, defense attorney Nancy Hollander who works at trying to free Mohamedou Ould Salahi (played by Tahar Rahim) who has been held by the U.S. government for years in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp without charge or trial.

And to be clear, this list is not complete as they do not rank most of Foster's film work that was done when she was a child, including her first starring role at the age of ten in the 1972 Walt Disney feature, "Napoleon and Samantha" or the now-cult classic "The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane" from 1976.

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The Best Jodie Foster Movies Ranked

GREAT PERFORMANCES: THE BEST ACTORS OF 2020

There's no need to remind anyone of the challenges that was placed on entertainment this year, especially with the movies. The annual "Great Performers" issue in the New York Times magazine has usually focused on film work yet due to a significant shortage of theatrical movies released throughout the year, the critics, A.O. Scott and Wesley Morris had to get creative and expand beyond cinema. There were certainly some great performances in feature films to highlight like Julia Garner in "The Assistant" that was released earlier in the year before the shutdown; Luca Marinelli in the Italian feature, "Martin Eden"; Viola Davis's electrifying turn in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"; Andy Samberg and Cristin Millioti in the sci-fi, romantic-comedy, "Palm Springs"; the precocious, Fathia Youssouf in the controversial French drama, "Cuties" and the legendary Sophia Loren's glorious return before the cameras (thanks to her son, director Edoardo Ponti) in "The Life Ahead".

But now we have some great television performances from Zoë Kravitz in "High Fidelity"; the very intense Ethan Hawke in "The Good Lord Bird"; Jason Sudeikis starring in the sitcom, "Ted Lasso" about an American football coach trying to lead an English football club; Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in "Never Have I Ever"; Jack Dylan Grazer and Jordan Kristine Seamon in Luca Guadagnino's soapy, limited-series drama, "We Are Who We Are" and the beautifully understated work by Zoe Kazan in the stirring mini-series, "The Plot Against America". 

We have female storytellers using their lives as inspiration with writer/director/star, Radha Blank and her feature film debut, "The 40 Year Old Version"; Hannah Gadsby in her offbeat, stand-up comedy special, "Douglas"; Maya Erskine and Anna Konklein with the second season of their cringe-comedy series, "Pen15"; and Michaela Coel and her harrowing yet hilarious limited series, "I May Destroy You".

The importance of social media is acknowledged here with comedians, Sarah Cooper, Jeff Wright, Kylie Brakeman and Blaire Erskine who all found fame and success on TikTok and Twitter. And there was even room to honor an extraordinary performance from the past with Cher's Oscar-winning turn in the beloved 1987 romantic-comedy, "Moonstruck".

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NYT Great Performers 2020

THE 25 GREATEST ACTORS OF THE 21ST CENTURY (SO FAR)

The crazy idea to name just twenty-five of the greatest actors of the twenty-first century is certainly a lofty and incredibly daunting proposition. But the chief film critics of the New York Times, A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis have bravely taken on this challenge and selected the performers whose work over the last twenty years they have considered to be absolutely transformative experiences. Most of the actors on this list have been working long before the year 2000 but the focus was on their extraordinary work they have created specifically during this century.

I am certain there will be many who will be equally outraged by the selections and the omissions of actors on this highly subjective list. They are certain names on here I would not have put on my list and I might have rearranged the order. But regardless of all that, it is a thoughtful and intriguing selection that features a diverse and international group of actors that I'm sure many will agree have delivered several of the most outstanding and memorable performances of all time.

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25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century

10 FRENCH FILMS TO TRANSPORT YOU TO PARIS

I am craving to get on a plane and go somewhere --- anywhere at this point. I love the idea of escaping from the challenges and difficulties we have faced throughout this year especially after months of having to shelter in place. However the reality of actually getting on an airplane right now is not in my comfort zone nor is traveling for leisure really practical at this moment in time. 

Jason Farago of the New York Times feels the same way with the desire to go to Paris. And what any cinephile knows is that the movies are the next best way to transport you anywhere you may want to go. Farago has selected ten French films that he feels will take you right in to the heart of this enchanting city, telling many different stories throughout various eras. And these films represent the work of some of the greats like Jean Renoir, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Éric Rohmer, Claire Denis and Céline Sciamma.

The first country I ever visited was France and it was truly a magical moment for me. It's been many years since I've been to Paris and these films remind me that I'm long overdue for another visit. And while these movies may not completely satisfy my wanderlust, they do offer a pleasant escape to times that were (at least it seems) far less complicated.

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10 French Films To Transport You to Paris

WOMEN MAKE FILM

"Women Make Film" is a fourteen-hour documentary film from filmmaker and critic, Mark Cousins. This timely project is a celebration, placing a much needed spotlight on female filmmakers from around the world and throughout history, some that certainly have not received the recognition that they and their influential work deserve. With narration from a cast of international performers, Adjoa Andoh, Jane Fonda, Kerry Fox, Thandie Newton, Tilda Swinton, Sharmila Tagore and Debra Winger, this "road movie through cinema" is divided into forty chapters and features the work of one hundred and eighty-three directors. The director Cousins has not made a conventional doc, offering an introspective, almost academic, exploration on how their films are shaped and how they inventively depict love, life and death through the cinematic lens.

"Women Make Film" originally made it's premiere at the 2018 Venice Film Festival and is now being shown on Turner Classic Movies as one-hour episodes on Tuesdays beginning this month through December. TCM hosts, Alicia Malone and Jacqueline Stewart, will do the introduction before each showing and then will screen some of the films discussed in that installment on the channel. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about some of the unsung talent of cinema and discover their extraordinary movies.

39 FALL MOVIES IN 2020 WE ARE EXCITED TO SEE IN THEATERS (HOPEFULLY)

With the summer movie season a complete loss, we have now reached September and theaters in the US are still struggling to be allowed to open in much of the country. I fully understand that we continue to be very much in a middle of a deadly pandemic and there are far more important things to worry about. Yet as I see the rest of the world cautiously reopening businesses, I am incredibly frustrated that there is no clear leadership in this country to help guide us safely in that direction (I will refrain from diving deeply in to my political views on this subject but will simply state that I hope in November there will be a much needed change at the top). 

I have previously expressed how I don't understand at all how some state officials believe that gyms, museums and casinos are somehow safer for people to enter than movie theaters. And my opinion on that has not changed. There has always been risk in life and if theaters will invest in taking thorough safety measures in order to reopen, we should be allowed to make our own informed decision whether to reenter their establishments.

At this time, I would normally be sharing some of the upcoming movies coming out over the next four months that I can't wait to see. But with so much up in the air, I'm not really in the mood to invest the time. Luckily, Vulture has continued the tradition and rounded up a collection of thirty-nine feature films that plan to be released in movie theaters, streaming services or possibly both this fall. I'm hopeful that most of these films will actually be able to keep their planned release but all dates are most certainly subject to change.

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2020 Fall Movies We're Excited To See

JOEL SCHUMACHER (1939 - 2020)

Joel Schumacher, the filmmaker behind the '80's cult classics, "St. Elmo's Fire" and "The Lost Boys" and the final two installments of the first Batman film franchise; "Batman Forever" and the notorious, "Batman and Robin", has passed away on June 22nd at the age of eighty. He had been battling cancer over the last year.

Born in New York City, Schumacher began his professional career in the fashion industry after attending Parsons and the Fashion Institute of Technology in the city. It wasn't long before he realized his passion was actually in cinema. He headed West and got in to the movie business first as a costume designer, working on a couple of early Woody Allen films, "Sleeper" and "Interiors". Schumacher's first major break was getting the original screenplay he co-wrote with Howard Rosenman produced in 1976. "Sparkle" was set in the '60's about three sisters in Harlem who become a singing group and the difficulties they encounter during their climb to success. The film was not big success but would go on to achieve cult status and was remade by Whitney Houston in 2012 which she had stated was one of her favorite films.

Schumacher went on to write the scripts for the comedy, "Car Wash" and the film adaption of the musical, "The Wiz" before he got the opportunity to direct with "The Incredible Shrinking Woman" in 1981 which starred Lily Tomlin. While the film was not a critical nor box-office success, Schumacher went on to have an extensive film career. In addition to a couple of Brat Pack films (a term he disliked and found unfair to the actors), he directed two adaptions of John Grisham's novels; "The Client" and "A Time To Kill" (which helped make a star of Matthew McConaughey), "Flatliners", "8MM", "Falling Down", "The Number 23" and the big screen version of the long-running Broadway musical, "The Phantom of the Opera". The last feature Schumacher directed was "Trespass" in 2011, a crime-thriller that starred Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman which was sadly met with some of the worse reviews of his career.

Another of Schumacher's great gifts was identifying potential new talent and gave early star-making roles to McConaughey, Kiefer Sutherland ("Flatliners", "The Lost Boys"), Julia Roberts ("Flatliners", "Dying Young"), Demi Moore ("St. Elmo's Fire") and Colin Farrell ("Tigerland", "Phone Booth").

I don't think the wildly diverse work of Joel Schumacher has been fully appreciated. It's clear he liked to challenge himself as he made a variety of different films in all genres of cinema. And while the outcome may not have always been entirely successful, his films still managed to be entertaining and worth watching. Joel Schumacher was an amazing talent who will be certainly be missed.

TEN LGBTQ MOVIES THAT AREN'T ABOUT COMING OUT

June is LGBTQ month and usually a time for massive celebration. But with parades and parties cancelled over health concerns, watching cinema can be a nice back-up plan. There have been plenty of films over the years which told moving stories on the difficulties and struggles in coming-out to the world. However there is much more to the gay experience which sometimes can be complicated, messy and dangerous.

Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair has assembled ten movies that focuses on other moments that people in the LGBTQ communities may encounter in their lives. There is also included a listing of all of the sites that are currently streaming each of these titles.

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10 LGBT Steaming Movies That Aren't About Coming Out

LYNN SHELTON (1965 - 2020)

The passing of writer, director, producer and actress, Lynn Shelton on May 16th at the age of fifty-four is still quite shocking and hard to believe. The still-in-her prime, indie filmmaker died from a previously undiagnosed blood disorder in Los Angeles.

While she began her career working as an actress with an interest in photography which she studied in college, Shelton soon decided she wanted to work behind the camera. But since she was in her mid-thirties by the time she made this decision, Shelton initially thought it was too late for her to pursue being a director. However after catching the then-forty year old French filmmaker, Clare Denis speak at a forum, Shelton realized it was never too late.

Shelton wrote and directed her first feature, "We Go Way Back" in 2006 and tells the story of a young actress getting her first major film role but is confronted by her disappointed thirteen year old self. The film made it's premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature.

Shelton's major breakthrough was her third film, "Humpday" from 2009. Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard star as two straight buddies who make a crazy dare to make a full-on gay porno to enter in the HUMP! film festival. The comedy-drama made it's premiere at Sundance and won a Special Jury Prize at the fest, received major distribution and was even remade by French director, Yvan Attal in 2012 as "Do Not Disturb" which starred Attal and François Cluzet. Other thoughtful, small-scale features from Shelton include "Touchy Feely", "Your Sister's Sister" (with Duplass, Rosemarie DeWitt and Emily Blunt), "Laggies" (with Keira Knightley) and "Sword of Trust", a comedy which co-starred Marc Maron (who Shelton was romantically involved with over the last year) was released last summer. Hollywood had approached Shelton to work on studio films recently (including an offer to direct the Marvel super-hero feature, "Black Widow") but declined as she enjoyed the freedom to make films her way without much interference.

Shelton's years of doing impressive work creating adult-oriented, independent films made her quite desirable for television and soon became one of the most in-demand directors working on the small screen. Some of her credits include episodes of "Master of None", "The Mindy Project", "The Morning Show" and "GLOW". It is very sad and tragic that the accomplished life and talent of Lynn Shelton has been silenced so prematurely but she has left behind a remarkable body of work that we'll be able to continue to enjoy.

60 MOVIES YOU WILL SEE IN THEATERS THIS SUMMER (MAYBE)

It would normally be around this time that we would be gearing up for the usually robust summer movie season but as the world remains largely locked down and the attempt to reopen is happening very slowly and cautiously, the question now is there even going to be any movies opening at all this summer? At this point with the date to allow movie theaters to reopen keeps getting pushed back, it's not looking great. But I remain optimistic that we will be back inside air-conditioned theaters with a barrel of popcorn and staring once again at a giant movie screen very soon. But that also means there will be some safety measures in place that may make trying to see a movie far more complicated than before.

Vulture has gone over the plans for the summer movie release schedule currently in place and have broken it down from movies that have been forced to skip theaters and will be available to stream (which are largely flicks from Netflix and Amazon), movies you will be able to stream but may still turn up in theaters at a later date this summer and movies with (tentative) dates to be released at your local cinema over the summer.

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60 Movies We're Excited To See This Summer

FILM RECOMMENDATIONS FROM FILMMAKERS AND SITES FOR THE INDIE-CURIOUS

As we move in to a second month of Coronavirus-induced quarantine, I'm sure some people might be ready to explore avenues of cinema they might have ordinarily not been interested in going down. If you are feeling adventurous, Vulture has went to various filmmakers from across the globe and asked them what they are watching while at home and what they would recommend people to see. As to be expected, these acclaimed artists (which include Ava Duvernay, Luca Guadagnino, Claire Denis, Guillermo del Toro, Edgar Wright and Paul Schrader) have largely sophisticated taste, preferring to dig back in to cinematic history or explore interesting yet challenging work. And not surprisingly, no one suggested Netflix's "Tiger King".

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The Best Movies to Help Escape According to Famous Directors

And for true fans of independent films, international cinema or those who might be indie-curious, Richard Brody, film critic of the New Yorker, has put a spotlight on three lesser known streaming sites that might be of interest: OVID.tv, Crackle, and the recently launched, IFC Films Unlimited. He has made a list of some of the more intriguing feature films that each site has to offer that you may want to check out.

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The New Yorker What to Stream: Forty-Six Films

CINEMA '62: THE GREATEST YEAR AT THE MOVIES

1939 has, for quite a while, been referred to as the greatest year in cinema. And for good reason as there were an incredible number of high-quality films released that year which have continued to endure as true classics in movie history; just a few to mention include "Dark Victory", "Goodbye, Mr. Chips", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "Ninotchka", "Stagecoach", "Wuthering Heights", "Gone With The Wind" and of course, "The Wizard of Oz".

But a new book by film critic, Stephen Farber and exhibition executive, Michael McClellan wants you to consider another year which also featured an exceptional number of amazing feature films that proven to have become just as important in cinematic history. "Cinema ’62: The Greatest Year At The Movies" examines many of the outstanding domestic and international films that came out in 1962. Now I may be biased since I was born in this year but after looking at the list of some of these movies, there is no denying that there was an impressive array of influential works of cinema released.

There was the film adaptions of Harper Lee's enduring novel, "To Kill A Mockingbird" and Nabokov's controversial book, "Lolita" from director, Stanley Kubrick. We had several award-winning Broadway stage-to-screen transfers: the musicals, "The Music Man" and "Gypsy" and dramas, "The Miracle Worker", "Sweet Bird Of Youth" and "Long Day's Journey into Night". Some high-powered dramas arrived like "The Manchurian Candidate", "The Longest Day", "Birdman Of Alcatraz", "Cape Fear" and "Days Of Wine And Roses". The first James Bond action-thriller, "Dr. No" appeared and campy B-movies featuring beloved yet faded Hollywood actresses, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?" and Barbara Stanwyck in "Walk On The Wild Side". The provocative foreign-language films that reached our shores came from filmmakers who would become celebrated, "Jules And Jim" (François Truffaut), "Through a Glass Darkly" (Ingmar Bergman),"L'Eclisse" (Michelangelo Antonioni) and "The Exterminating Angel" (Luis Buñuel). And "Lawrence Of Arabia", David Lean's highly acclaimed, epic historical drama which would win the Best Picture Oscar of this year.

If you're not familiar with these titles, I would highly recommend that you investigate and seek out some of these films from 1962. Here is a small sampling with a few trailers to preview: