By Lee Pfeiffer

You can count acclaimed director Barry Levinson among those who believe the Academy's new rules changes is leading to the dumbing-down of Oscar. The new rules expand the number of best picture nominees to ten (even though only five directors will still be nominated) and the exclusion of the honorary Oscars on the TV broadcast - always an emotional high for classic movie lovers. Levinson takes aim at the changes through a fictitious interview with a Gen X Academy voter...it's meant to be funny, but the point it makes is very serious and addresses the concerns of those of us who still distinguish between the Oscars and the MTV Awards. To read click here

Thanks for the story about all time boxoffice champs.  As a former theatre manager, I've always said that you don't rank movies from different eras by their boxoffice gross, you rank them by the number of paid admissions.  Inflation may inflate the gross, but an admission is still an admission - and that levels the playing field. The $2.00 admission price of 1968 can't compete with the $10 admission price of 2009.  Considering today's ticket prices, what current movie wouldn't out-gross a picture from 40 years ago?  They could do it with just 20% to 25% of the admissions of the earlier movies.
One could argue that older movies like Gone With The Wind had several re-issues to bolster their all time gross and that's true.  But by the same token, older movies did not have alternative markets like home video or pay per view for the first several decades of their existence. - Bob Collins

 Retro responds: You're right, Bob...adjusting for inflation greatly alters our perception of what films are the most popular. As you point out, perhaps the best way to judge is to compare the number of tickets sold. For example, while Casino Royale is the highest grossing James Bond film with well over $500 million worldwide gross, in fact the 1965 release Thunderball is still by far the king of the series in terms of the numbers of tickets sold. Comparable statistics can be run on any classic film and the results would certainly surprise today's movie-goers. - Lee Pfeiffer

If you think James Cameron's Titanic still reigns as the top box-office hit of all time, think again. The 1997 blockbuster would come in a distant sixth if box-office grosses were adjusted for inflation. The 1939 Oscar winner  Gone With the Wind still beats all comers with an adjusted gross of $1.45 billion. Star Wars, The Sound of Music, E.T., and The Ten Commandments all rank higher than Titanic. There are some other surprises on the list including the presence of The Graduate and Doctor Zhivago in the top 25 rankings, which indicates just how popular those films were with audiences. Good old Jaws is still biting, ranking #7 on the adjusted list. For the entire chart click here. 

The first Cinema Retro Movie Classics special edition issue tribute to Where Eagles Dare continues to spark enthusiasm across the UK and Europe where it is now shipping. The British magazine Home Cinema Choice gives this issue a rave review. Critic Chris Jenkins says, in part: 

"The Cinema Retro Special goes into tremendous detail on the movie in 80 full-colour pages, including features on the cast and crew, stunts, vehicles, shooting history, effects production and marketing campaign. The amount of detail, the quality of the pictures and the production values of the magazine are tremendous, and it's light on ads. Just one of the little gems of information in it is that the Junkers aircraft seen in the opening sequence is the same one recently used in Tom Cruise's wartime assassination thriller Valkyrie."

For the entire review click here

The Where Eagles Dare special edition will be arriving in the North American market in a matter of weeks. If you have already reserved a copy or pre-paid, no need to worry - your issue is reserved. For full information about ordering/reserving this issue, click here.

The name Mollie Sugden may not be familiar to many readers, but for anyone who watched the BBC during the years 1973-1985, she was a household name. Sugden played the role of Mrs. Slocombe, the pushy underwear saleswoman in a department store on the long-running British TV classic Are You Being Served? Sugden has died at age 86, leaving legions of her fans with fond memories. For more on her life and career click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

The New York Times looks at a perplexing question movie fans have asked in recent years: why is Eddie Murphy still commanding huge salaries when most of his films have limited appeal? The candid piece points out that Murphy can still deliver occasionally when he finds the right role, so studios keep extending another lifeline to him hoping to beat the odds and score another hit. However, what comes across is that Murphy seems to act as an arrogant ingrate to his benefactors. For his latest flop film, Imagine That, Murphy was two hours late for the film's press junket and 45 minutes late for a premiere - standard behavior for the one-time comic genius. Oh, and he's employed a mouthpiece who claims his new film isn't a flop even though Paramount is writing off the entire production cost as a total loss. With a few more "hits" like that, the entire studio will be out of business. The mouthpiece also says that Murphy doesn't do interviews for the print press. Here's a suggestion for all of the press: next time His Highness has a press conference or premiere, they should not show up. For the article click here

The Times of London takes a look at the director Sam Peckinpah's off-beat action film Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia starring Warren Oates.  The article examine's the film's merits and why it was dismissed by critics and the public when first released in the 1970s. To read click here

To order the DVD from Amazon click here

Here's a fun new tribute to Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World: an original trailer created by a fan. It's not really a trailer, of course, as it runs over 8 minutes, but it does a good job of incorporating all the highlights and setting them against Ernest Gold's great score. Click here to view

Kevin Spacey, who is the artistic director of London's fabled Old Vic Theatre, will go on the boards himself to star in a revival of the acclaimed play Inherit the Wind. Spacey will play the role of Henry Drummond, based on the real life lawyer Clarence Darrow in the story inspired by the famed Scopes Monkey Trial in the 1920s. That trial saw a school teacher, John Scopes, fighting his arrest for teaching the theory of evolution, a practice which violated the school system's insistence that only Biblical theories about the founding of the earth could be taught. Spencer Tracy and Frederic March starred in Stanley Kramer's classic 1960 version of the play. Spacey's co-star has not been announced, but chances are it will be a high-power name. For more click here

Empire Magazine features a very entertaining history of each of Alfred Hitchcock's famous cameos in his own movies. Now you can finally find those elusive appearances, as every cameo is illustrated with a frame from the film.  Click here to view 

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. That seems to be the mantra of Universal Studios Theme Park in California when it comes to competition from a haunted house based on the popular, if gruesome, Saw horror films. Last year, an official haunted house attraction built by Lionsgate studios drew so many customers that it put a crimp in Universal's popular annual Halloween Horror Nights events. Thus, Universal has made a deal to construct the Saw house within the theme park and make it a centerpiece of the event. For more click here

Cinema Retro issue #10 is now totally sold out. The few remaining copies we had located were quickly depleted. As with issue #8, which is also sold out, we will not be able to acquire more copies. Every issue of Cinema Retro is a limited edition collectible and will not be reprinted. As of right now, there are also very few copies of issue #11 and #12 left in stock. We hate to disappoint those of you who intend to collect all issues of the magazine, but as we've said many times there is a simple way to ensure you never miss an issue: subscribe. You will not only get the magazine prior to it appearing in stores, but it will be mailed to you in a protective envelope - plus postage is free in the US, Canada and the UK.

As a side issue, unfortunately, we can't provide sources for these rare back issues. We are aware that issue #8 is now selling for close to $100 among collectors and issue #10 will undoubtedly also skyrocket in price now that we have sold out.  Two major stores that do carry a good selection of Cinema Retro back issues are Larry Edmunds Book Store in Hollywood and The Cinema Store in London, though both report they have sold out of issues #8 and #10.

Thanks again to all of our readers and subscribers for your continued support of Cinema Retro.

Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall

Publishers

The American Archive of Television has a fascinating recent interview with Robert Culp in which he recalls the filming of the classic I Spy series. Click here to view

In yet another desperate attempt to control free speech and the media, the Chinese government is warning that people who regularly view pornography on the web can suffer memory loss. The very notion is ridiculous, of course...er, what was I talking about? I seem to have forgotten...

(There is a far more ominous aspect to this story. Totalitarian governments have launched a full-scale attack on their populations to gain control over internet and mobile phone use. The effects are chilling. For the story click here)

After years of false starts involving the likes of Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, Warner Brothers has finally put the remake of the 1964 kids flick The Incredible Mr. Limpet on the fast track. Enchanted director Kevin Lima will helm the production which, like the original, will combine animation and live action. Don Knotts starred in the first version, playing a nerdy milquetoast who is rejected by the Navy when he tries to enlist at the outbreak of WWII. Through a strange confluence of events, he ultimately turns into a fish and becomes a hero by sabotaging German war ships. It isn't known whether the film will retain its setting in WWII or who will play the Limpet part. (The character's name was always deemed a sly reference to his sexual inadequacies, so look for the first kid's movie to have a merchandising tie-in with Viagara.) For more click here

Scotland on Sunday caught up with David McCallum on a recent trip to London and got him to reflect candidly on his early days in Scotland, socializing with fellow future super spy Sean Connery , Man From U.N.C.L.E. mania and filming The Great Escape with Steve McQueen. McCallum also dwells on how astonishing it is that, at age 75, he is back on the top of the TV pack through his hit series NCIS.

To read, click here.

For more recent coverage of McCallum, click here. For McCallum's exclusive series of interviews with Cinema Retro, see issues #8-12.

Actor Harve Presnell, a star of major Broadway hits like The Unsinkable Molly Brown, has died at age 75. Presnell also sang the famous song They Call the Wind Maria in the film version of Paint Your Wagon. His films include Fargo, The Glory Guys and Flags of Our Fathers. For more click here

The famed Cinema Store in London reports record magazines sales for Cinema Retro's just-released Movie Classics Special Edition tribute to the Richard Burton/Clint Eastwood WWII classic Where Eagles Dare. The new issue is the fastest-selling magazine title the store has ever stocked, which says a lot about the British public's respect and taste for great movies of the past. If you haven't ordered your copy yet, it's shipping in the UK and Europe and will be shipping to all other areas in mid-to-late July.For info on The Cinema Store click here

For full info about the magazine click here

Veteran actor Karl Malden, who won the Supporting Actor Oscar for A Streetcar Named Desire, has passed away at age 97. One of the industry's most beloved and revered actors, Malden boasted a resume of prestigious films not equalled by many others. Among his acclaimed films: Patton, Nevada Smith, One Eyed Jacks, The Cincinatti Kid and On the Waterfront. He also starred in the long-running hit TV series The Streets of San Fracisco. He also served as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Cinema Retro mourns the passing of this great talent. For more click here

Remy Julienne, the legendary stunt driver and coordinator on many of the James Bond films as well as the classic 1969 version of The Italian Job has been held liable for the accidental death of a cameraman on a blockbuster French action movie shot in 1999. The stunt involved a car that overshot its target and hit the cameraman, who later died. Julienne was given a six month suspended jail sentence and was ordered to pay monetary damages to the victim's family. For more click here