The Studio Daily web site has an article that compares the best trailers of today to those of yesteryear - and demonstrates why Psycho and Citizen Kane may well still reign as the best movie coming attractions of all time. Click here to view

 

The Hollywood Reporter says that California has lost huge sums of revenue, jobs and salaries in recent years due to failure to provide financial incentives for major film productions to shoot in the state. Consequently, other states and nations that provided these incentives have seen major films shot in their locales. The result has been a major exodus of entertainment-related jobs from California, laying the ground work for Hollywood to possibly lose its luster as the center of film industry. Click here for more

 

M. Night Shyamalan has a fair-sized hit with his latest film The Last Airbender, but it has come at a cost. Critics say that the once-innovative director has traded his innovative ideas for large paychecks and has ground out highly unimaginative films in recent years. In other words, a directorial version of Nicholas Cage. Airbender got the kind of fiercely negative reviews that would make Ed Wood seem like Orson Welles. At a Mexican press conference for the film, he responds to a critic who accuses him of selling out by saying, "I think if I thought like you I'd kill myself. Everything you said is the opposite of my instinct as an artist. The way you just thought, I literally would kill myself." Shyamalan's flak tries to cover for the tasteless answer by fruitlessly trying to engage the audience in a round of applause. Click here to watch 

Daniel Craig says that when he was filming The Adventures of Tintin, director Steven Spielberg had him outfitted in a skin-tight lycra body suit, a necessity in order to get the special effects required for certain scenes. However, Craig told Spielberg he learned that Clint Eastwood was to visit the set and was too mortified to meet him while clad in this bizarre outfit. For more click here

Director George Miller is planning to shoot two new Mad Max films back-to-back, thus reviving his successful franchise from the 1980s. Mel Gibson was rumored to be interested in making a cameo, but that was before his latest temper tantrum resulted in the kind of horrendous press that could cause him to go into another extended hibernation. For more click here

 

Let's say this for Will Smith- he can certainly bring an original twist to old stories. The superstar is planning on starring as the Biblical bad boy Cain (as in Cain and Abel). The offbeat angle is that Smith is cashing in on the recent craze for vampire films by mixing those legendary monsters in the tale. For more click here

Legendary film critic Roger Ebert denounced video games in a recent blogpost and was inundated with thousands of complaints. Ebert's opinion that video games can never be considered art caused a back-lash among gamers who got him to apologize (well, sort of.) Ebert admitted he should not have commented on video games since he is largely unfamiliar with them. He also conceded that, to fans of the format, something approaching art can be achieved. However, he says he will never be among them. Ironically, Ebert and his former At the Movies co-host Gene Siskel, would occasionally play video games on their show. For more and to view a vintage clip of Siskel and Ebert playing a video game,  click here

The Huffington Post presents a bizarre slide show of various examples of fan art - and each piece is disturbing in its own unique way. From Michael Jackson meeting with Jesus to Batman pregnant with Superman's child, the choice is yours as to which one generates the biggest "EEEwwww....!" factor. Click here to view

 

Trinity Square Car Park in Gateshead, England is scheduled for demolition - and legions of retro movies fans are grieving. That's because the parking garage is where a key sequence from Michael Caine's 1971 crime classic Get Carter was filmed. Click here for details

By Lee Pfeiffer

Here's a tidbit to give conservatives who always complain that the left wing controls all content of Hollywood films: one of the industry's leading liberals, producer/director Aaron Sorkin is bringing the sex scandal relating to fellow liberal John Edwards to the big screen. The project is a rat's nest of "he-said, he-said" that's based on a book by Edwards' former aide Andrew Young. Both men are admitted liars, but that only makes their sordid tale even more compelling. Edwards was the former senator and candidate for Vice President and President who ran on a squeaky clean image, espousing family values. That is, until it was revealed that he was having an affair with a documentary film maker, while his wife Elizabeth was coping with battling terminal cancer. Edwards litany of lies kept building until he recently admitted his lover gave birth to their child. Young was embroiled early in the scandal by willingly pretending he had fathered the child - and had his wife's consent to do so! Adding to the rogue's gallery atmosphere is Elizabeth Edwards, the sympathetic victim who has since split from her husband. Elizabeth so desired to be the First Lady that she attempted to cover up John's infidelities - even though she realized that if he had been elected president, the scandal could have brought down the Democratic party and the presidency itself. It's rare for a person committed to a political ideology like Sorkin is to shed the spotlight on the sordid aspects of someone he once considered a viable candidate - but then there is no aspect of this scenario that isn't perplexing. Here's a suggestion for the title: Liar, Liar - oh, drat- we just remembered Jim Carrey already used that one. Click here for more

 

Edward Norton, the most recent actor to play The Incredible Hulk onscreen, won't be portraying the not-so-jolly green giant in the film adaptation of Marvel Comics' The Avengers about an all-star team of superheroes. Although Norton fancies himself a purist when it comes to his love and respect for the Hulk character, Marvel obviously feels the temperamental actor was just too much of a problem on the last film. The company took pains to issue a statement that doesn't leave much doubt as to why they intend to cast another actor in the role, citing their desire to have a  more "collaborative" person as part of the production. Ouch! For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Those of us who are life-long veterans of riding the New York City subway system know that it takes a virtual nuclear war to inspire passengers to look up from their cell phones and newspapers. (Remember the scene in Bananas in which Woody Allen tries to pretend he's concentrating on reading while the old lady sitting next to him is mugged by Sylvester Stallone?) However, when a cast of amateur actors invaded a subway car in full Star Wars regalia to perform a key scene from the first first film, even New Yorker's mouths were agape as they witnessed Darth Vader kidnapping Princess Leia! Click here to watch the brilliant short film.

 

Click here to view a slide show of the world's tackiest Star Trek tattoos (not that we can imagine any that would look classy!) Before you make the usual assumption that they have been engraved on fat, middle-aged guys who live in their mom's basements, please note that a number of members of the fairer sex are also sporting the bizarre artwork. So for all of you guys who have fantasies about having sex with a woman who is adorned with the likeness of Deforest Kelly, there is hope your dreams may become reality!

By Lee Pfeiffer

We generally don't dwell on average celebrity scandals but even by sordid Hollywood standards, the Mel Gibson affair continues to shock and appall. Radar On Line has released new information that alleges Gibson not only beat up his lover Oksana Grigorieva in front of her terrified 12 year-old son, but also drew a pistol and threatened to kill them both along with himself. Gibson laced his threats with a string of shocking profanities and at one point prior to the confrontation, so terrified a nanny that the woman took Gibson's infant daughter and hid in a bedroom. Gibson is now under police investigation. His few defenders have alleged that Grigorieva is exaggerating the situation in order to wring maximum dollars from the Oscar-winner, but as the drip-drip-drip of incriminating evidence and audio tapes becomes public, Gibson finds himself increasingly isolated. One thing is certain: this is shaping up as one of the most notorious film industry scandals in history and, unless some major evidence emerges that negates the allegations against him, industry pundits are predicting that Gibson's career has been irreparably damaged.  For more click here

Actress Bette White may be the only person with gray hair still getting acting assignments in Hollywood. At age 88, the last remaining star of The Golden Girls is arguably at the peak of her career, riding a new wave of popularity that has endeared her to young audiences. Now producer Jerry Weintraub is trying to interest Warner Brothers in having her play the title role in a remake of the 1977 George Burns hit Oh, God! For more click here

We've got plenty of readers Down Under and they might be interested in visiting the All About Movies web site, which offers a plethora of movie collectibles and research information. Here's a description provided by the site's founder, Ben Wadley:

 

All About Movies started as a concept that led to a business offering Movie Posters and Films from one website. Over the years it has expanded with the advent of DVD & Blu-Ray. Our site is unique as it is the only website in Australia that lists every title ever released onto Video or DVD here in Australia – 72,000 titles and growing. It is kind of like the Australian Version of IMDB except it relates to what the public have been able to own and can do so now – films on Video or DVD. For those films that are no longer on Video or DVD, we offer a search service where we try to track copies down for the public. Of course the memorabilia side of things is growing with over 2000 items up for sale and many more to be listed. The products include One Sheet Posters / Daybills and lobby cards. We also offer reprints for those on a budget.

Click here to visit the site

Traditional movie-goers disdain noise and distractions during screenings of films. If your cell phone goes off during the screening of a classic film at a New York art house theater, you run the risk of being tarred and feathered on the premises. However, movie studios are actively encouraging younger audiences to view theaters as a place where anything goes. Studios are promoting regional screenings of older films through audience sing-a-longs. The idea of audience participation has intrigued studios since The Rocky Horror Picture Show bombed during general release in 1975 only to go on to gross a fortune through midnight, audience participation screenings. The Sound of Music, Grease and The Poseidon Adventure have also found enthusiastic audiences who are encouraged to scream out their favorite lines of dialogue, as well as dress like their favorite characters. Critics of this policy say it makes a generation of movie-goers who are already immune to the joys of quiet theaters even more brazen about being boisterous - even when they go to movies that don't involve group participation. Nevertheless, studios are concerned about the dwindling number of tickets sold at the box-office - a problem they traditionally have gotten around by raising admission prices. However, with a movie ticket now the cost of plane fare to some countries, the studios are now looking toward audience participation as a partial cure for industry woes. Click here to read more

IFC.Com offers an interesting look at the history of theme park rides based on major motion pictures. The trend goes back further than you might think...are you aware that the popular Matterhorn ride at Disneyland is based on the 1959 adventure film Third Man on the Mountain? Click here to read

 

Click here to view a clever short film that utilizes great animation along with Alfred Hitchcock's voice as he humorously describes the definition of the legendary "McGuffin".

 

John McTiernan, who directed such hits as The Hunt for Red October, Die Hard and the remake of the Thomas Crown Affair, is facing up to one year in jail after pleading guilty earlier this week to charges in a racketeering case that has been mesmerizing the Hollywood community for years. McTiernan was involved in hiring a private detective to illegally wiretap a fellow producer. Click here for more 

 

The web site MovieFone reports that actor/stuntman David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the first Star Wars trilogy has been banned by LucasFilm from attending the major celebration of the franchise due to be held in Orlando. Prowse, whose voice as Vader was dubbed by James Earl Jones, has been a mainstay on the autograph show circuit for decades. However, his public comments expressing skepticism about the accounting methods used by LucasFilm appear to have touched a nerve with his former employers. We all know Hollywood accounting is quite creative and according to Prowse, he has never received royalties from Return of the Jedi because it still hasn't shown a profit despite being one of the top grossing films of all time. Click here for more

They don't make stars like Maureen O'Hara any more: classy, beautiful and possessing a bawdy sense of humor. June Beck, a long-time scholar of Ms. O'Hara's career, runs the only web site endorsed by the legendary screen icon. Click here to visit and relish the abundance of great photos and insights into an amazing career. There's also a special section dedicated to Ms. O'Hara's friendship with John Wayne.

Times are catching up with Wonder Woman. DC Comics has authorized artist Jim Lee to create a new look for the action icon for her 600th issue. The Huffington Post reports that writer J. Michael Straczynski explained, "She's been locked into pretty much the exact same outfit since her debut in 1941. If you're going to make a statement about bringing Wonder Woman into the 21st century, you need to be bold and you need to make it visual. I wanted to toughen her up, and give her a modern sensibility."  She may look more modern, but count on us male chauvinists to begrudge the lack of Wonder Gams now that her legs have been criminally covered up!  In fact, there isn't much wonder about this woman...the new ensemble is far more drab than what we see on attendees at Lady Gaga concerts.  For more click here

The UK Film Council, which traditionally has provided essential funding for worthy films that would otherwise not find financing, is the latest victim of England's drastic budget crisis. The new conservative government is taking action by making massive cuts in many areas in order to avoid the kind of financial meltdown experienced by Greece...and the Film Council will be among the hardest hit. The result will be much less funding available for aspiring filmmakers. For more click here

 

By Lee Pfeiffer

There's probably one thing that people on the political left and right can agree on: dictators are bad. Unfortunately, director Oliver Stone is not among them. Stone's latest controversial film, South of the Border, has him in the midst of a firestorm because the movie is yet another of the Oscar-winner's wet kisses to Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, who is painted at a courageous humanitarian struggling to allow his people to rise above U.S. oppression. The film is being criticized for presenting an absurd portrait of a man who has used corruption, violence and the suspension of civil liberties to retain rule. Stone has been criticized by both liberals and conservatives over the years for acting as a "useful idiot", Lenin's term for naive do-gooders in the West who could be used for propaganda purposes. Actor/producer Tom Gregory takes on Stone in a column in which he suggests that he view Chaplin's classic The Great Dictator, made at a time when most of the world chose to ignore the dealings of another charismatic strongman named Adolf Hitler. For more click here

As many observers expected, Swiss legal authorities have ruled they will not honor an extradition treaty with America to deport Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski to the United States, the adopted nation he fled in the 1970s in the midst of a sex scandal involving an underage girl. The case has dragged on for over 30 years. Polanski had been living in France, which does not extradite people for the charges Polanski had plead guilty to. However, when he visited Switzerland last year, he was placed under house arrest while Swiss courts weighed whether to honor requests from California prosecutors to extradite him. Polanski's supporters argue that he was double-crossed by a judge during the original court hearings. His critics say that he should have stayed to argue his case instead of fleeing. It is unclear whether prosecutors will continue to try to extradite Polanski if he travels outside of Switzerland or France. For more click here

 

The self-imposed career meltdown of Mel Gibson continues. Not only did his talent agency drop him in the wake of his well-publicized tirade against his former lover, but the scuttlebutt in Hollywood is that Gibson is now too toxic to work with. Even in a town that tends to gloss over scandals, Gibson's anti-Semitic statements from his 2006 drunk driving arrest, coupled with the latest bad publicity, is apparently too much. Gibson had laid low for a few years before re-emerging a few months ago with Edge of Darkness, the kind of thriller that once would have been a major hit. The movie barely broke even at the box-office. Now distributors of his next two films seem to be in no hurry to announce premiere dates. Additionally, Gibson doesn't seem to have any supporters in the industry. A few years ago, he was hailed as a role model by many religious groups for bringing  The Passion of the Christ to the screen - but those folks have been conspicuously silent since Gibson was caught on tape wishing horrible things for his former girlfriend. For more click here

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from the British Film Institute:

The BFI is launching two national projects as part of its LONG LIVE FILM campaign to celebrate the BFI Archive’s 75^th birthday.  

LONG LIVE FILM will give members of the public a unique opportunity to adopt a Hitchcock film with a fund-raising appeal to restore his early films: RESCUE THE HITCHCOCK 9. 

And there’s a national hunt for the BFI’s 75 MOST WANTED FILMS, a search for important but elusive films, including the only missing Hitchcock film, The Mountain Eagle. 

RESCUE THE HITCHCOCK 9

Alfred Hitchcock’s early silent films need urgent attention to restore them to their former glory. The BFI needs YOUR help to bring these cinematic masterpieces back to life and secure them for future generations as the BFI celebrates 75 years of the BFI National Archive.  

A dedicated cinema trailer, voiced by Kenneth Branagh, and a new website are part of the campaign. www.bfi.org.uk/saveafilm

Every penny counts and even small amounts can add up to help us reach our target of £1 million. From July onwards, members of the public who would like to save an important and historic film can contribute by visiting www.bfi.org/saveafilm. Donors with upwards of £5,000 ADOPT a specific film from the shortlist and receive an on-screen credit, whilst a donation of £100,000 will secure the full restoration of an individual film with their name in the credits. All donations are welcome but £25 and upwards will help RESCUE one of the films, from 50cm of film to restoring a whole scene, and make the contributor a BFI Supporter, receiving regular updates about the status of the restoration while having the satisfaction of knowing that they have helped to save a crucial part of British cultural history. With enough support, we also hope to be able to commission a new score for each film from a major composer of international standing. 

Hitchcock is internationally recognised as one of Britain's greatest ever film-makers. 30 years since his death he remains one of the world's most influential and important directors. Funds permitting, we hope to start restoration work on The Farmer's Wife (1928), a delightfully unexpected comedy of a farmer in search of rural matrimony.  

Hitchcock's early films are among the finest achievements of British silent cinema. On its first release The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1926) was acclaimed as a masterpiece and his subsequent films refined his techniques of stunning visual composition, richly cinematic storytelling linked to dramatic invention, which are uniquely Hitchcock.  

New digital techniques mean that we are now in a position to transform scratched and damaged negatives into beautiful viewing copies. The original nitrate materials for all these films are in a very poor state as decades of wear and tear have taken their toll.

THE HITCHCOCK 9:

THE PLEASURE GARDEN (1925)

THE LODGER (1926)

DOWNHILL (1927)

EASY VIRTUE (1927)

THE RING (1927)

THE FARMER'S WIFE (1927)

CHAMPAGNE (1928)

THE MANXMAN (1929)

BLACKMAIL (1929)

The trailer has been released for the forthcoming action flick The Green Hornet, which improbably stars Seth Rogen as the titular character. Jay Chou plays Kato, the role that made Bruce Lee a star in the 1960s TV series. The good news is that Rogen has apparently gone on a strict diet that has reduced his roly poly physique to something akin to an average build, but the movie appears to be a weird hybrid of reverence for the source material combined with the kind of belly laughs one might expect from a Rogen flick. The usual elements of contemporary action films are present: lightning fast cuts and ear-splitting, awful music. We'll try to be objective, but for the moment we'd rather they brought back Van Williams to star! Click here to view trailer

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Sony:

CULVER CITY, CA  – JUNE 29, 2010 – On his 90th birthday, Sony Pictures Digital Productions is excited to announce the renaming of its 119-seat screening theater after visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen.  The honor comes just days after the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) paid  tribute to the creative legend in London with a special award feting his  contributions to film.

The Ray Harryhausen Theater will be formally dedicated on Monday, July 12, 2010, with the unveiling of a sign displaying the theater’s new name, a reception, and the screening of one of  Harryhausen’s seminal hit films, JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS. The 1963 classic, originally produced and released by Columbia Pictures (now  part of Sony Pictures Entertainment), has been lovingly restored to its original splendor by Sony Pictures. The film makes its debut on Blu-ray Disc on JULY 6 – the fifth Harryhausen Blu-ray title from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, the most of any filmmaker from the label.  The disc features new commentaries by Harryhausen himself, as well as Oscar®-winning director Peter Jackson, along with film historian Tony Dalton and visual effects expert Randall William Cook, and a new interview with  Harryhausen with filmmaker John Landis.

“It’s an incredible honor to have this theater named at the studio I called home,” says Harryhausen. “It means as much to me as my Academy Award® and the BAFTA honor I just received, especially knowing that it is a working theater where visual effects artists and animators work every day.”

The theater, located on the Culver City, Ca. campus of Sony Pictures Digital Productions, is the screening theater of Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Imageworks Interactive.  Used on a daily basis in the creation of modern visual effects and animated features, the theater represents the living legacy of Harryhausen’s lifelong career, as Sony’s artists continue to develop and practice new animation techniques for bringing fantasy to life, much as the facility’s namesake did throughout his career.

 

The Los Angeles Times provides a slide show of enticing photos from Universal Studios' new King Kong 360 3-D ride, based on Peter Jackson's 2005 remake of the classic film. Click here to view

 

ADI News reports that Sylvester Stallone is philosophical about the fact that he may be nearing the end of his career as an action star. Although Stallone has the high-profile action pic The Expendables about to be released, he feels his future lies with directing. “I’m on borrowed time,” he recently said. “At this age I hear the ticking clock and it’s as loud as the gong on Big Ben.” He looks to another screen icon for inspiration regarding the next stage of his career: “The ultimate ambition is to follow in Clint Eastwood’s footsteps and move on to directing films without me having to be in them,” he said at the Los Angeles Film Festival where he received a special award for his film career. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer says that both he and Tom Cruise had been trying for years to launch a sequel to their 1986 smash hit but the project never came together. They are now putting back on the burner to explore ways to bring the film to fruition. The original film was made so long ago that co-star Kelly McGillis was still into men! However, the idea of a sequel so many years after the release of the original is not unheard of. Martin Scorsese's 1986 film The Color of Money, for example, was an acclaimed sequel to the 1961 movie The Hustler.  Click here for more

The International Movie Database has become a "must-read" for movie lovers around the globe, as it offers a treasure trove of information about virtually every movie ever made as well as credits and biographical details of the people who made them. However, there are some people who are not enamored of the service, which offers much of its data free to readers and charges a fee for a more comprehensive plan aimed at hardcore movie lovers and journalists. Seems there are plenty of actors and actresses who oppose IMDB's policy of listing the actual birth dates of thespians. (Notably, industry professionals, such as technicians and directors, have voiced no such complaints.) The Writers Guild of America, which provides much of the information used on IMBD, is siding with the actors and has formally asked IMDB to remove the birth data, even though it is invaluable to researchers. Thus far, IMDB has admirably stuck to its guns and noted that it only removes information if it is found to be inaccurate. For more click here

The situation is not without irony: the 18 year old daughter of two Hollywood icons would seemingly be delighted to have inherited her looks from parents who are international sex symbols. However, Warren Beatty and Annette Benning's daughter Kathlyn is now living as a man under the name of Stephen and is proceeding with plans to get a sex-change operation. Beatty, a long-time outspoken liberal who has supported gay rights, is said to be heartbroken over his daughter's decision, even as his wife tries to be supportive of Kathlyn. For more click here

On Friday 25th June, The Media Lunch Club in London hosted a special preview of 'Talking To Jeremy' at Eon Production's plush screening room in Piccadilly. (In fact the film was run three times to cope with demand).

 

John Lithgow has signed for a key role in Fox's new Planet of the Apes flick titled Rise of the Apes. Lithgow will play actor James Franco's father, a character whose treatment for Alzheimer's disease inadvertently leads to the all-out war between apes and humans. For more click here

It's seems hard to believe, but there has never been a big screen biography of Hugh Hefner. That's about to change, according to Hef. Long-stalled plans for such a pic have picked up steam and the movie - appropriately titled Playboy- will be produced by Brian Grazer, though filming dates are still unconfirmed. It appears as though Robert Downey Jr. will play the legendary publisher, who famously launched Playboy Magazine with a small loan from his own mother.

For more click here

(For Raymond Benson's exclusive interview with Hugh Hefner, in which he discusses films produced by Playboy, see Cinema Retro issue #5) 

 

Legendary film critic devotes an extensive article on his blog to an unusual topic: his attendance at his recent Class of 1960 High School reunion. He uses the opportunity to write movingly about the ups and downs experienced by his generation and how some things among the classmates remain the same, even over decades of turbulent change. Click here to read

Director Tim Burton may be close to committing to adapting a stop-motion big screen version of the classic TV series The Addams Family for the big screen. The 1960s sitcom was far ahead of its time but is back in vogue. In the 1990s, there were two hit movies based on the show and there is currently a Broadway musical. For more click here

The estate of Elvis Presley has announced the discovery of three rare photos taken in 1957 showing The King signing autographs for fans at the gates of Graceland. For full details click here

By Lee Pfeiffer
Celebrities will do some shameless things to promote their books but the talent-free Tori Spelling takes the cake even by Hollywood standards. Spelling has pulled out all the stops and even raided the grave in order to drum up publicity for her latest book, which will undoubtedly be used primarily to balance out the short legs on kitchen tables. Seems she claims she has been contacted by the ghost of Farrah Fawcett. 'Lest you think she's a bit daft, Tori "verifies" her claim by saying the late actress was summoned with the help of John Edward, the so-called psychic who can mysteriously summon up spirits of the dead to coincide with some naive sucker opening up his checkbook at a seance. According to Tori, Farrah asked her to pass on some puzzling messages to her son Redmond and ex-beau Ryan O'Neal. Given the hell these two made her life, one can only imagine the nature of the message. Not incidentally, if Ms. Fawcett has the power to return from the grave, couldn't she have delivered the message herself? Apparently the deceased are stuck with a form of communication similar to the old party lines we had to share on our telephones. Rumor has it that Tori will be promoting her next TV series in conjunction with Jacob Marley's ghost. For more click here

Perhaps inspired by Helen Mirren's Oscar-winning turn as Queen Elizabeth, producers of a big screen biopic of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher are wooing Meryl Streep to take on the role. Ordinarily, the idea of an American actress playing an icon of British politics would seem to be absurd, but there is no doubt that Streep could do justice to the role. Lady Thatcher, who served as PM from 1979-1990, has been in declining health for years, however, so there might be some sensitivity about bringing the film to fruition, particularly if it is a "hit piece" on Britain's Iron Lady. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

One would think that after years of trying to rehabilitate his image after spewing anti-Semitic rants during a drunken driving arrest, Mel Gibson would learn to keep the ugly side of his personality to himself. However, Gibson is proving to be just another Hollywood airhead who thinks it's a brilliant move to make sure his worst behavior is preserved for the ages through  the wonder of tape recording. Gibson has been battling his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva over custody issues relating to their infant daughter. Things must not be going Mad Mel's way, given the tirade he was allegedly spewed, which was recorded by Grigorieva. Among the bon mots reported by Radar-On-Line, which has heard the recordings, are threats to burn her house down, insults about her looks and a  wish to have her gang-banged. We won't dignify the actual quotes here, but if you want to read the transcripts click here. Suffice it to say, Gibson leaves few stones unturned in utilizing the kinds of language that would make a longshoreman blush. Speaking personally, I'm generally able to overlook the actions and words of certain stars relating to their behavior or politics, if I admire their skills as actors. Jane Fonda was too left-wing for me and John Wayne was too right-wing, but I always enjoyed their films. However, if these allegations prove to be accurate, Gibson's latest tirade indicates his initial scandal was no fluke. A man who can wish violence on a woman who bore his child, and make racial slurs in the process, may be fairly deft at playing heroes on screen, but he isn't much of a man in real life. I've always enjoyed Gibson's performances and many of his films. However, unless this scandal proves to be erroneous, I've spent my last hard-earned dollars patronizing his movies. While I never wish ill of anyone else, I do hope that Gibson will become obscure enough for people to someday ask, "Whatever happened to that guy whatsisname from the Lethal Weapon series?"  (Note: As of this writing, Gibson has not commented on these specific allegations, but he has not denied them, either) For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

The general consensus seems to be that Julia Roberts is a pretty woman. However, she's made the unforgivable sin of reaching middle age, so her new ad touting Lancombe cosmetics appears to have been horrendously retouched in the attempt to "improve" her looks. If the ad has not been retouched, then the only other explanation is that Roberts sat for several hours with her face under an industrial sander. Does it strike anyone at the cosmetics group that if they are promoting makeup that is supposed to be very flattering, won't the average woman wonder why their ads need to doctor up one of the most glamorous ladies in show business?

To celebrate Ray Harryhausen's 90th Birthday, a special party was hosted at The London Film Museum, which also launched an exhibition of props and artifacts to celebrate the great film legend's career. Friends from within the industry, all famous in their own right, turned up to pay their respects to the great man, including Peter Jackson, John Landis, Terry Gilliam, and SFX make-up supremo, Rick Baker. Cinema Retro was invited to cover the event and our on-the-spot photographer Mark Mawston captured the action. A full report to follow.

Disney's Toy Story 3 continued to reign supreme at the North American box-office, reaching $200 million in only 9 days in release. Adam Sandler's annual sophomoric comedy- this one titled Grown Ups- had a very good opening, proving that the comedian still has boxoffice appeal among the younger set. The teaming of Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in Knight and Day was less than stellar for audiences. The expensive action pic opened soft, thanks in no small part to the devastating reviews. The A-Team also continues to be one of the season's major under-performers, proving that there are still some people out there who need more than exploding cars to justify the cost of going to a movie. For more click here

The 1981 comedy hit Arthur is being remade with Helen Mirren and Russell Brand already signed on. Jennifer Garner and Nick Nolte are in discussions to join the cast. For more click here

The Idaho Statesman newspaper recalls when Clint Eastwood came to to Boise to film his gentle modern cowboy fable Bronco Billy. Hard to believe, but it was 30 years ago that the future Oscar winner directed and starred in this movie, which was considered a box-office disappointment at the time but went on to generate critical acclaim retrospectively. Click here to read