The jaw-dropping story of con man extraordinaire Frank Abagnale, Jr. proved irresistible to Steven Spielberg. The Oscar-winning director’s 2002 movie Catch Me if You Can, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as the precocious con artist, seemed to close the book on Abagnale’s
A new report by the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) says Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning film, Django Unchained, has applied for an estimated $8.4 million in tax credits, pending audit and review by the state of Louisiana. News of the taxpayer-funded subsidies comes
Conservatives are often surprised by the intensity of leftist personality cults, particularly the one surrounding Barack Obama. Voting for a politician you admire or agree with is one thing, but we marvel that any self-respecting person could sit quietly while
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is taking a break from acting to help save the environment. DiCaprio told members of the entertainment media that after doing so many movies in a row he’s tired and needs a break from acting. And what
Money proved no object for Leonardo DiCaprio when given a chance for some quality time with former President Bill Clinton. The “Django Unchained” star ponied up $200,000 to spend a day with Clinton during a Haiti fundraiser thrown by Sean
The story of how Abraham Lincoln ended slavery earned 12 Oscar nominations Thursday, while Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow and Leonardo DiCaprio were left out of the running.
Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” is not only a great film but the greatest display of liberalism in movie theaters this past year. To those whose blood is boiling or eyes are rolling, I don’t use that word to refer to
Leonardo DiCaprio is the greenest of green celebrities. The actor was a driving force behind “The 11th Hour,” a 2007 documentary sounding the alarm about global warming, deforestation and other environmental causes. He drives a hybrid car, warns us about
In 1915, director D.W. Griffith released “Birth of a Nation” to wide acclaim, creating many of the techniques still used by filmmakers today. His lush, three-hour epic is still considered a great film despite its unquestionable racism, most specifically in
Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained is a complete masterpiece. The actors, screenplay, cinematography and direction are near perfection. Is the film violent? Yes. Is it controversial? Yes. Is it one of the year’s best? Yes. Django is two hours and 35 minutes
(AP) NBR Awards name ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ best filmBy JAKE COYLEAP Entertainment WriterNEW YORKKathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” continued to gather awards momentum as the National Board of Review named the Osama bin Laden hunt docudrama the best film of
It’s wonderful that a crush of celebrities gathered over the weekend to both celebrate Leonardo DiCaprio’s 38th birthday and raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Did they have to partake in so many one percenter flourishes while nearby
Some of the biggest celebrities in Tinsel Town want you … to vote next month. Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Selena Gomez, Sarah Silverman, Ellen DeGeneres, Jonah Hill and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are among the actors appearing in the allegedly nonpartisan clip.
The best way to enjoy “Titanic” all over again is to put the film’s pop culture baggage in steerage. Yes, watching James Cameron gloat that he was the “king of the world” on Oscar night was nauseating, as is the
This year’s Oscar race may start – and stop – on Friday. Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” hits theaters this weekend, bringing with it an all-star cast, feverishly positive festival reviews and the kind of award season luster that
(AP) Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively wed in SCBy BRUCE SMITHAssociated PressCHARLESTON, S.C.One of the sexiest men alive is off the market. Again. Ryan Reynolds wed Blake Lively in Mount Pleasant, S.C., on Sunday night at Boone Hall Plantation, according
In the wake of China’s record-breaking box-office opening of TITANIC 3D, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (FOX) and SONY have announced an exclusive, large-scale bundling partnership for the film’s Blu-ray 3D release this fall. Marking the industry’s biggest bundling and
In this day and age, with the sorry state of film making, there is nothing like the promise of a new Tarantino flick, and this sounds fantastic. There might be spoilers. I wouldn’t know, I only read the first paragrah.
Juggernaut hit film “The Hunger Games” was the top earning movie for a third weekend in a row, scoring $33.5 million in theaters across North America, industry estimates showed Sunday. The movie blockbuster, which opened with a record $152.5 million
(AP) Unsinkable James Cameron refloats ‘Titanic’ in 3-DBy DAVID GERMAINAP Movie WriterLOS ANGELESThere was a time when James Cameron’s career looked as though it might join Titanic, down in the lower depths. Before he became king of the modern blockbuster
Once again, due to scheduling conflicts, the HomeVideodrome podcast is once again cancelled for the week, but next week we should be back in top gear. Go visit The Film Thugs for updates, and be sure to subscribe on iTunes. It’s rare
The most memorable part of my “J. Edgar” viewing experience came from the special features after I had finished watching the film. There are a couple documentaries that come with the package, and one of them includes interviews with the
“Tree of Life” grossed a pretty pathetic $13 million, “Happy Feet Two” grossed an abysmal $60 million, and “Moneyball” grossed only an okay $75 million. But in this market, where the concept of the movie star is all but dead,
These kinds of articles are a little silly. Every single one of these Limousine Leftists will be in line by 2012, even if Obama does tank the economy, destroy health care, funnel millions of taxpayer dollars to his cronies in
Director Clint Eastwood’s “J. Edgar” was supposed to be a key Oscar contender this awards season. Instead, withering reviews and audience indifference have all but killed its chances at significant honors. That hasn’t stopped critics from soft-pedaling their critiques to
It’s been almost two years since I posted at Big Hollywood regarding the Top 10 Most Overrated Directors of All Time. I’ve had a chance to reflect and think about the crimes I committed in that post. And, to paraphrase
On this week’s episode of the HomeVideodrome podcast, we discuss Ozzy and Dio in Black Sabbath, wonder why Julia Roberts ever became America’s sweetheart and dedicate “Hell Awaits” by Slayer to Joe Paterno and Jerry Sandusky. So go listen, and
Had Oliver Stone directed the life and times of J. Edgar Hoover, there’s no telling how many conspiracies would have marched across the screen. Clint Eastwood is a different brand of director. He’s more nuanced, more reasonable, and he won’t
Vera Farmiga has lit up the screen in supporting roles for the past few years, first drawing viewers’ and critics’ attention by playing a police psychologist caught between Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio in 2006’s “The Departed” before landing an
If Hollywood supporters of President Spread-The-Wealth — specifically Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire — allegedly participated in alleged high-stakes poker games and allegedly won alleged money, did any of them report their alleged winnings to the
Radar Online: Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire is among more than a dozen high-profile Hollywood celebrities being sued in connection with a mega-millions illegal gambling ring that ran high-stakes underground poker games, Star magazine is reporting exclusively. Maguire, 35, won more
So an entertaining film comes out about a woman who bucks up against societal norms in the early seventies, puts career over family, and still comes out a winner — sounds like someone’s flirting with Oscar! Strangely, it doesn’t earn
There was a time when Hollywood portrayed marriage as a happy institution that was key to a healthy society. Sure, a lot of those films and TV shows were propaganda along the lines of “Father Knows Best,” going over the
***UPDATE: Ed. Note: After two years my worst nightmare came true and a post accidentally went up under my name (I have to load them in the system) in error for a long period of time. My apologies to the
I am constantly amazed by the double standards that characterize the environmental/liberal movement. Billionaires are bad…unless they are called Oprah, Spielberg, or Soros. Flying is bad too because of the emissions it produces is bad for the environment, or so
I have to admit I never cared for the action films back in the eighties. They seemed silly and mindless. The two biggest stars of the genre, Schwarzenegger and Stallone were barely capable of English; and the plots were as
According to Variety, the amount of political money from the entertainment industry is split about 73-27, with the majority going to the Democrats. That is a startling statistic. 27% of showbiz dollars go to REPUBLICANS? Are there really that many
Pop quiz: what do the following movies have in common? Gone with the Wind (1939), Star Wars (1977), The Sound of Music (1965), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Ten Commandments (1956), Titanic (1997), Jaws (1975), Doctor Zhivago (1965), The Exorcist
For a storyteller to fully satisfy an audience after promising to bring to life a particular concept, they must include every detail about that concept the audience is already familiar with, remind them of a few things they forgot, and
One of the big stories in filmdom today is about all the concerns surrounding the marketing of Christopher Nolan’s new film “Inception,” which cost a reported $160 million to produce and hits theatres next Friday, July 16th. According to Reuters,