Roger Ebert: Celebs Rumors

NOTE: Spoilers for “Knock at the Cabin” follow below.In 2004, director M. Night Shyamalan released his sixth feature film, “The Village.” The movie had a lot riding on it, especially considering Shyamalan was in the midst of a hot streak since his 1999 feature “The Sixth Sense” secured six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor I spent the first 37 years of my life on the East Coast, and even there, I knew who Sam Rubin was. The beloved KTLA Los Angeles entertainment reporter, who died May 10 at age 64, was a Hollywood fixture for over 30 years, beloved, trusted and respected.

CGI movie technology, it is getting harder and harder to deliver that true spine-chilling internal fear that makes horror films so great.Gen Z and Gen Alpha kids may arrogantly scoff at retro scary movies, but it hasn’t always been this way.There was once a time when picture-goers were so viscerally terrified by what they were seeing on the big screen that it would trigger powerful physical reactions right there in the theater.During Jaws (1975) people fainted and vomited in the cinema during some of the gruesome scenes, while others stopped going swimming in the ocean altogether out of pure fear.Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film Psycho (1960) sparked mania during the infamous shower stabbing scene, with reports of people hyperventilating and passing out in their cinema chairs.However, one of the most horrifying movies to ever hit the big screen, causing widespread panic, fear and repulsion, is William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973).Based on William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel, the film follows the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s attempt to rescue her through an exorcism by two Catholic priests.With some wildly disturbing scenes, including some bizarre 360 degree head spinning, eerie spider-walking on the stairs and some disgusting projective lime-green vomit, it shocked those 1970s audiences to their core.One particular vulgar scene involving a crucifix — that is too crude to describe here — shocked and upset many, especially considering the percentage of people who were religious back then.The flick was so scary that even renowned Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert was at a loss for words about how it made him feel.“I am not sure exactly what reasons people will have for seeing this movie; surely

David Lynch‘s “Blue Velvet” continues to cause a stir nearly four decades after its release, with the film having just as many detractors as it does champions. And in a recent interview with IndieWire, actress Isabella Rossellini had a chance to respond to one of the film’s harshest critics: the late Roger Ebert.   READ MORE: ‘La Chimera’ Trailer: Alice Rohrwacher’s Latest Drama Stars Josh O’Connor, Isabella Rossellini & More Ebert infamously trounced the film upon release in 1986, particularly how Lynch treated Rossellini in her performance, deeming it exploitative.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director One of the most infamous reviews for David Lynch‘s “Blue Velvet” to publish when the film opened in 1986 came courtesy of Roger Ebert, who gave the movie one star. Among Ebert’s several criticisms was how Lynch could cast Isabella Rossellini in a role where she gets “humiliated” and then proceed to put it in such an unimportant movie.

attended a “Showgirls” screening at the Academy Museum’s David Geffen Theater in LA, where a crowd of 1,200 gave her a standing ovation at the sold-out event. Addressing the audience, she said that after she got cast in the 1995 movie, she asked her agent if there was a chance she might be nominated for an Oscar for the part. “Every girl in Hollywood had fought for this role,” she said.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor M. Emmet Walsh, a veteran character actor who appeared in more than 150 films including “Blade Runner,” “Blood Simple” and “Knives Out” and played Dermot Mulroney’s dad in “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” has died.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Variety has been given exclusive access to a first-look clip (below) from Simon Ennis’ documentary “The Hobby,” which world premieres at SXSW on Friday. International sales are being handled by Vortex Media. “The Hobby” is an affectionate, character-driven portrait of the subculture of board games, covering the World Series of Board Games in Las Vegas and reaching back to Ancient Mesopotamia.

to The Hollywood Reporter. Born in Toronto in 1926, Jewison got his start in the business directing television musical spots. In 1958, he directed “Your Hit Parade” for CBS, then directed “The Andy Williams Show,” two Harry Belafonte specials, and and award-winning Judy Garland specials.After moving into the movie industry, he became a seven-time Oscar nominee.

Michaela Zee Tom Shales, a Pulitzer-winning television critic at the Washington Post who spent nearly 40 years at the publication, has died. He was 79. Shales died Saturday at a hospital in Fairfax County, Va., from complications due to COVID-19 and renal failure, his caretaker, Victor Herfurth, told the Washington Post.

Tom Shales, a Pulitzer Prize-winning television critic for The Washington Post, died Jan. 13 at a hospital in Fairfax County, Va. He was 79.

Burt Young’s memorable role as Paulie in the “Rocky” films stuck with fans. However, the role was seemingly meant for the actor. Young knocked it out of the park and even got nominated for an Oscar for the role.

Carmel Dagan Staff Writer Burt Young, who played Paulie in six of the “Rocky” films starring Sylvester Stallone, drawing an Oscar nomination for supporting actor for his performance in the 1976 original, has died, his daughter Anne Morea Steingieser confirmed to the New York Times. He was 83.

Carmel Dagan Staff Writer Piper Laurie, who blossomed as an actress only after extricating herself from the studio system and went on to rack up three Oscar nominations, has died. She was 91.

called the debacle an “artless bore,” adding that “the power of Christ compels me to give ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ one star.”But it’s not the first horror follow-up to be brutally killed by both critics and audiences. Not even the first one in the “Exorcist” franchise.

“Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever,” (G.P. Putnam’s Sons).

Spike Lee has called out the critical response to Do The Right Thing upon its release in 1989, criticising the perception that the film would “incite Black people to riot”.Lee spoke of the press reaction to his third film while attending the Toronto Film Festival on Sunday (September 10), where he received the Ebert Director Award. The award recognises filmmakers who have “exemplified greatness in their careers”, and is named after the late film critic Roger Ebert, whom Lee said “was very crucial to my career” during his acceptance speech.“[Ebert] got behind me when those motherfuckers in the press were saying that Do the Right Thing was going to incite black people to riot,” Lee said as he accepted the award from the reviewer’s wife, Chaz Ebert.

Over the weekend, iconic director Spike Lee was at the Toronto International Film Festival to accept the Ebert Director Award, which is given out at TIFF’s Tribute Awards. And as you might expect from someone like Lee, who is not prone to biting his tongue, the opportunity to accept an award named after Roger Ebert allowed for the filmmaker to recall a pivotal moment in his career that was greatly affected by the legendary film critic.

Spike Lee blasted critics who suggested that “Do The Right Thing” would spark riots when it opened in 1989, while honoring one of the reviewers who came to the film’s defense. The remarks came as Lee received the Ebert Director Award, named for the late film critic Roger Ebert, at the Toronto International Film Festival Tribute Awards on Sunday. “Your husband got behind me when those mother f–kers in the press were saying that ‘Do the Right Thing’ was going to incite Black people to riot,” Lee said, as he accepted his prize from Chaz Ebert, the late critic’s wife.

A screenwriter who worked with Tom Cruise in the erotic drama Eyes Wide Shut has labeled the Hollywood star an “egocentric control freak” among other things.Frederic Raphael, 91, made the claims about the actor in his new book, Last Post, in which he targeted the Mission: Impossible star’s career, links to Scientology, and his failed marriage to Aussie actress Nicole Kidman.Raphael fell out with the film’s director Stanley Kubrick in 1999, when he released his first memoir, Eyes Wide Open, where he was very critical of Kubrick’s directing style, which led to him being uninvited to the film’s premiere.Now in his new book, Raphael again slammed Kubrick and accused the Hollywood heavyweight’s wife Christiane Harlan and her brother Jan Harlan of spearheading the unflattering portrayal of him on Wikipedia.The author also roped Cruise into the drama by claiming the actor knew of the Wikipedia entry.“The Harlans and Master Cruise have managed to insert some derogatory stuff in my Wikipedia entry,” he writes, as obtained by the Daily Mail.Raphael’s claims appear to stem from the Wikipedia entry citing film critic Roger Ebert’s interview with Cruise in 1999, where he sided with Kubrick in the feud.“[Raphael] wouldn’t have written it if Stanley had been alive,” Cruise is quoted saying in the interview.“Opportunistic. Self-serving.

Jessica Kiang There are certain moviegoers who can face onscreen murders, maimings and the grisliest of mutilations and scarcely bat an eyelid, but who feel every cell in their body die a little whenever a character is rude in a restaurant. If you happen to suffer from this condition, consider yourself warned about Swedish director Ernst De Geer’s feature debut “The Hypnosis” — a witty, incisive satire on the modern obsession with self-actualization, which is also, to those of us with heightened sensitivity to social awkwardness, 98 masochistic minutes of second-hand squirm. Many’s the film offered up as evidence for Roger Ebert’s often quoted assertion that cinema is “a machine for creating empathy”; fewer are the titles, like this one, that make one question if that’s necessarily a good thing. 

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Julian Sands, the British actor who pivoted from the romantic lead in “A Room With a View” to playing sinister characters in films like “Warlock,” was confirmed dead Tuesday after being reported missing near Mt. Baldy in Southern California on Jan. 13. He was 65. On Saturday morning, hikers found human remains in the Mt. Baldy wilderness and contacted the Fontana Sheriff’s Station. “The identification process for the body located on Mt. Baldy on June 24, 2023, has been completed and was positively identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood. The manner of death is still under investigation, pending further test results. We would like to extend our gratitude to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly to locate Mr. Sands,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department wrote in a statement.

The late Roger Ebert swore by the “Stanton-Walsh rule.” He claimed no film featuring character actors Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmett Walsh could ever be entirely bad.

Good news for families at Cannes who couldn’t score tickets to “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” or “Elemental”: Producer Thomas Negovan is bringing “Caligula” to Paris! “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut” will make its debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The entirely new edit, created from scratch using over 90 hours of original camera negatives and audio recorded on-location, will feature copious never-before-seen footage featuring Helen Mirren, Malcolm McDowell and Peter O’Toole.

Instagram.“It’s hard to put into words how brilliant my uncle Michael was, and how influential he was to me,” Sam Lerner wrote.“His stories always inspired me and made me fall in love with acting. He was the coolest, most confident, talented guy, and the fact that he was my blood will always make me feel special.

Paul Plunkett The oversized contribution Chicago has made and continues to make to the American entertainment landscape comes in no small part from its vibrant and varied theater scene. With well over 200 theaters, from small stages featuring intimate fare to larger houses sending major productions to Broadway and beyond, it’s difficult to find any American film or television series that doesn’t have roots that trace back to Windy City stages. The Steppenwolf Theater Company is one where heavy-hitters John Malkovich, Laurie Metcalf and Gary Sinise forged their craft early in their storied careers. Playwright and actor Tracy Letts premiered his Pulitzer Prize-winning “August: Osage County” at Steppenwolf in 2007.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Seth Rogen got brutally honest about film critics during a discussion about mental health and self-doubt on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast. The comedian told host Steven Bartlett that negative reviews from critics “hurt everyone very much.” “I think if most critics knew how much it hurts the people that made the things that they are writing about, they would second guess the way they write these things,” Rogen said. “It’s devastating. I know people who have never recovered from it honestly – a year, decades of being hurt by [film reviews]. It’s very personal…It is devastating when you are being institutionally told that your personal expression was bad, and that’s something that people carry with them, literally, their entire lives and I get why. It fucking sucks.”

Roger Ebert once wrote, “just because something is not done anymore doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing,” when describing Norman Jewison’s irrepressible romantic comedy “Only You.” This same sentiment can be applied to Angus MacLachlan’s latest family dramedy, “A Little Prayer,” a welcome throwback to adult-oriented movie fare of yore like “On Golden Pond,” “Fried Green Tomatoes,” or “Passion Fish.

Neil Jimenez, who won three Indie Spirit Awards for writing River’s Edge and writing and co-directing The Waterdance, has died. He was 62. His sister, Kathleen Serio, said Jimenez died December 11 of heart failure in Arroyo Grande, CA.

A very patriotic heist. The premise of National Treasure — stealing the Declaration of Independence — has become a meme since the film’s 2004 release, but the movie is still beloved for its blend of action and adventure.

Chaz Ebert has become one of the foremost agents of change in the entertainment industry, working to make sure traditionally overlooked communities get the chance to develop their talents in the business.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Francesca “Kitten” Natividad, the go-go dancer who became a cult pop culture figure when she was cast by sexploitation film director Russ Meyer in “Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens,” died Saturday of kidney failure after suffering from cancer at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, according to her friend Siouxzan Perry. She was 74. “She adored her friends, cats, family and fans,” her sister Eva wrote in a statement on Facebook posted by Perry. Born in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Natividad moved to Texas as a child, where she became class president of her high school in El Paso. After moving to California, she became a cook and maid for actress Stella Stevens before becoming a go-go dancer and adopting the name “Kitten.” She met “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” director Meyer through a dancer friend, and he hired her to narrate his 1976 sex comedy “Up.” She had already had breast implant surgery in Tijuana when Meyer paid for a second surgery, giving her the outsized proportions that would become her calling card.

Carmel Dagan Staff Writer Louise Fletcher, who won the best actress Oscar for her indelible performance as Nurse Ratched in Milos Forman’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” died Friday at her home in France, according to a rep. She was 88. The classic film, based on Ken Kesey’s novel and exploring the repressive tendency of authority through the story of the patients and staff of a psych ward, won five Oscars in 1976, including best picture and best actor for Jack Nicholson. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was the first film in more than four decades to sweep the major categories of best picture, director, actor, actress and screenplay. It was nominated for an additional four Oscars and was also a substantial box office hit.

If the opening of “Clerks III” this week has you feeling nostalgic about the earlier films of writer/director Kevin Smith, you’ll hit a dead-end when searching for one of his greatest accomplishments – 1999’s religious satire “Dogma.”“Dogma,” which stars Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Alan Rickman and Chris Rock, is currently not available to stream anywhere or buy digitally, and the out-of-print Blu-ray frequently sells for around $100 on the secondary market. While religious groups were bent out of shape by the movie, it was warmly received by critics (Roger Ebert gave it three-and-a-half out of four stars) and made $44 million at the box office (it only cost $10 million).

“G.I. Jane” was the punchline of a throwaway joke that instigated the slap heard ’round the world. Before that, the movie, which came out 25 years ago this week, was also a forgettable joke, at least to critics.

Carmel Dagan Staff WriterWolfgang Petersen, who rode his acclaimed German-language film “Das Boot” into a career directing Hollywood blockbusters such as “In the Line of Fire,” “Air Force One,” “The Perfect Storm” and “Troy,” has died. He was 81.The news was confirmed by his production company.“Das Boot” (1981) was the harrowing story of life aboard a German U-boat during World War II; the genius of the film was that Petersen accomplished the unlikely feat of making audiences feel for the ordinary men serving on the submarine, who were all at least nominally in service to the Nazi cause — even the captain, played by Jurgen Prochnow, who himself parlayed the role in the film into a career as a character actor in Hollywood.