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Sean Connery's James Bond films have a significant place in movie history, kicking off the long-running franchise in the early 1960s that has spanned decades with a total of 26 (1 being unofficial) Bond movies to date. Connery is arguably the most important actor in the franchise, being the first of six actors so far to take up the mantle of the iconic 007. His first appearance as the character was in Dr. No in 1962, which was also the first adaptation of the landmark novels by Ian Fleming.

Following his first film as James Bond, Connery starred in four more 007 films in the '60s, retiring briefly from the character, only to return in 1971. He finally came back once more in 1983 for Never Say Never Again, which officially marked the end of his career as 007. Not only was Sean Connery one of the most important James Bond actors, but he was also one of the best,...

Earl Holliman, an actor whose scores of credits spanning a half-century ranged from 1950s films Forbidden Planet and Giant to Police Woman and others popular ’70s and ’80s TV dramas and starred in the first episode of The Twilight Zone, died Monday in Los Angeles after a short illness. He was 96.

His niece, Theresa Mullins Harris, announced the news on social media, writing in part: “His dream at 5 years old of becoming a movie star came true, more than he ever could have imagined.”

Holliman got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame won a Supporting Actor Golden Globe for 1957’s The Rainmaker and was nominated for the short-lived early-’90s ABC sitcom Delta, starring Delta Burke. He was a series regular on the latter, playing the understanding owner of a bar where aspiring country singer Delta Bishop (Burke) worked while trying to make it.

Born on September 11, 1928, Holliman...

Introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation's 24th century era, the Maquis were more complex than many Star Trek villains. Like many science fiction sagas, Star Trek often drew clear lines between good guys and bad guys. Captains like James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) had strong morals even outside of the rules and regulations of Starfleet. However, as the television landscape changed and storytelling styles shifted, morally gray characters and antiheroes became more commonplace.

With the premiere of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1993 and Star Trek: Voyager in 1995, the world of Star Trek: The Next Generation expanded and became more interconnected. The Maquis were introduced on DS9, for example, but the resistance group played a major role in storylines on both Tng and Voyager. Members of the Maquis came from all over the Alpha Quadrant, united by their common goal to oppose the Cardassian Union.

Members of the armed services can and will argue amongst themselves, but in the minds of people and pop culture, Navy SEALs loom large as the picture of the United States' most elite military men. We can probably thank the fiction of Tom Clancy, and the fact that a Seal team that killed 9-11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, but Hollywood has been enamored with the special operations force for at least the last three decades. When a character in any movie is declared to be either a current or former Navy Seal, it's a given that they won't go down easily. When we discuss the most ruthless thing a U.S. president can do short of a nuclear strike, more often than not it's, "Send in Seal Team 6!"

While movies often take artistic license, it's fair to say that some of the movies featuring Navy SEALs are significantly more accurate than others,...

While fast-paced action can be incredibly enjoyable, theres a lot to be said for a slow-burn sci-fi movie that takes its time to reveal its true nature. By allowing the space for atmosphere and complexity to grow and breathe, sci-fi stories can become all the more thought-provoking and philosophically rich when they dont underestimate the audience and allow for events to occur naturally without the need for endless explosions, chases, or blockbuster movie spectacles. A slower-paced sci-fi film allows for tension to build and the characters' motivations to reveal themselves.

Some of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made ran at a slower pace and rewarded viewers' patience with meaningful revelations. By focusing on characters over pure, mindless entertainment or giving room for striking visuals and a sense of discovery within the movies world, sci-fi stories can go from being merely good to truly great. Some of the most epic sci-fi...

If you are a horror fan then there is a big chance that you might have heard about the horror streaming service Shudder, and if you have its subscription you might be wondering what’s in store for you in August 2024. Don’t worry there is a host of new and old horror movies coming to the service in the upcoming month and we have listed the 7 best movies coming to Shudder in August 2024.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (August 1)

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a supernatural horror slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven. The 1984 film sees a maniacal serial killer, Freddy Krueger killing teenagers in their dreams and it follows the story of Nancy and her friends as they try to solve the mystery behind Freddy Krueger before he kills them too. A Nightmare on Elm Street stars Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Johnny Depp, John Saxon,...

It’s the summer of “Blaxploitation, Baby!,” the latest festival hosted by Film Forum.

The indie theater announced the upcoming festival which will take place August 16 through August 22. The program celebrates the early ‘70s genre of Black cinema, and features films wth iconic movie stars Pam Grier, Richard Roundtree, Ron O’Neal, Tamara Dobson, Jim Brown, Vonetta McGee, Fred Williamson, Isaac Hayes, and more.

“Blaxploitation, Baby!” is dedicated to author and pioneering film historian Donald Bogle, who collaborated on Film Forum’s first Blaxploitation festival in 1995. Bogle credited Melvin Van Peebles’ filmography for helping to establish the genre. “Blaxploitation, Baby!” additionally ranges from works from directors such as Ossie Davis, Gordon Parks, and Gordon Parks Jr.

As well as the screenings, the festival will include the sales of critic and historian Odie Henderson’s “Black Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras: A History of Blaxploitation” and Donald Bogle’s acclaimed TCM book “Hollywood Black” at concessions.

Barbara O. Jones, the admired actress who emerged from the L.A. Rebellion movement of Black filmmakers at UCLA in the 1970s to star in Haile Gerima’s Bush Mama and Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust, has died. She was 82.

Jones died Tuesday at her home in Dayton, Ohio, her brother, Raymond Minor, told The Hollywood Reporter.

“Rest In Peace & Power,” Dash wrote on Instagram.

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A post shared by Julie Dash (@dash_julie)

For Gerima, Jones portrayed an imprisoned woman fighting for social justice in the 36-minute short film Child of Resistance (1973) — the character was inspired by activist Angela Davis — and a welfare recipient in Watts who undergoes an ideological transformation in the filmmaker’s feature debut, Bush Mama (1979). Both films were made at UCLA.

Jones starred as a Ugandan nun questioning her faith in Dash’s 13-minute student film Diary of an...

If you’ve been keeping up with The Test of Time, you have probably learned what the rules are in terms of what we tackle. Those rules, of course, are that there are no rules whatsoever and we cover whatever sounds good or we think would be an interesting topic. In the Mouth of Madness (watch it Here) came out in Italy in late 1994 and that means, gulp, that movie is now 30 years old. It came during an interesting time in the master of horrors career when he was running flop after flop and being disappointed by studios interference and stars that weren’t willing to be true collaborators. It’s the ending of a loose trilogy and in some people’s estimation his last great film. Is In the Mouth of Madness a tale that stands the Test of Time, or should it be put in the bargain bin...

What would Hollywood be without a good ole Blaxploitation film? And now that “They Cloned Tyrone” has hit Netflix screens, conversations about the Blaxploitation movies that crawled so that “They Cloned Tyrone” could pimp walk have come to the forefront.

Juel Taylor’s film welcomes watchers to The Glen, a normal, everyday neighborhood where its predominately Black residents live out their lives shopping, going to church and enjoying the fruits of their labor. However, beneath the surface, but right in front of their eyes, the government is executing a plot to keep the community in an endless cycle of unhealthy behavior that ultimately blocks them from mental and financial wellness.

Like many Blaxploitation films, “They Cloned Tyrone” creatively calls out and highlights the systemic issues Black community faces while also celebrating Black culture and Black people’s perseverance.

When “They Cloned Tyrone” hit Netflix, people online began discussing the films that influenced it,...

Hello, everyone! I hope you all had a great holiday weekend (or regular weekend for those of you outside of the States). We’re back today with a brand new round-up of horror and sci-fi home media releases that are headed home today, and it includes quite the array of titles. One of my favorite movies of the year - Everything Everywhere All At Once from The Daniels - is being released to 4K as well as Blu-ray and DVD and if you’re looking to indulge in even more 4K entertainment, Edge of Tomorrow is also getting the 4K treatment, too.

Kino Lorber is keeping busy this week with an array of classic titles headed to Blu, including Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo, Ants! (aka It Happened at Lakewood Manor) and Terror Out of the Sky (aka Revenge of the Savage Bees), and IFC is also releasing Ruth Paxton’s...

Seth MacFarlane is reviving the age old rivalry between jocks and nerds. The comedic actor is developing a reboot of the seminal ’80s comedy “Revenge of the Nerds” at 20th Century Studios.

Keith and Kenny Lucas, identical twin brothers best known for their scene-stealing roles in “22 Jump Street,” are set to write and star in the film. They are co-writing the script with Alex Rubens. MacFarlane will produce the reboot through his production company Fuzzy Door, along with Erica Huggins, who brought the project to the Lucas brothers and is spearheading development.

The upcoming version won’t be a remake of the 1984 comedy, which hasn’t aged all that well and has been criticized in recent years for depictions of rape. Instead, the contemporary reimagining will pontificate about today’s nerd culture and what even constitutes a geek in the 21st century.

Jeff Kanew directed the original “Revenge of the Nerds,...

Martin Scorsese has made 25 narrative feature films, and only eight of them have been about people who live a criminal lifestyle. Yet when we think about his work, we think about the gangsters. Not Alice (who doesn’t live here anymore), not Christ (and his last temptation), but wise guys in slick suits who break the law, look good doing it, and always end up dead, miserable or both.

That’s probably because Scorsese, who grew up in New York City and knows the culture intimately, brings specificity to his crime movies that matches his well-known virtuosity behind a camera. He may have made more films about other subjects than he has about criminals, but he helped define the way we look at criminality on screen. And he keeps coming back to the subject, again and again, to refine his techniques and to approach similar topics from all-new angles.

Let...

Bill & Ted Face the Music is Out Now! Excellent! (Loud screeching guitar solo). And really, the dim time-traveling duo have returned just when we need them the most. Since first making their debut in the 1989 sleeper hit Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, these characters — portrayed with glee by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves — have become that unique thing: A sci-fi/comedy franchise that somehow is both a cult sensation and a mainstream success. Following the unexpected success of the first film, the sequel Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey was released in the summer of 1991. Fans expecting more of the same were instead treated to a rumination on life and death that featured everything from aliens to evil robot doppelgangers of our leads. But the inventiveness of Bill and Ted creators Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon worked against him, and the film went underappreciated during its original run.

In the nearly...

Stars: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, Terry Camilleri, Dan Shor, Tony Steedman, Rod Loomis, Al Leong, Jane Wiedlin, Robert V. Barron, Hal Landon Jr., Bernie Casey | Written by Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon | Directed by Stephen Herek

If you’ve spent time on social media or reading movie-news websites or following the career of Keanu Reeves, then you might be aware that right now, as we speak, there is a third Bill and Ted movie on the way, a movie that brings back Alex Winter and Reeves himself as the air-guitar-shredding, continuously-partying, time-traveling, death-cheating, history-weaving titular legends of the late 80s and early 90s, Bill S. Preston Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan… Wild Stallions. Yup, Bill and Ted are coming back, and there are a lot of us fans who are excited about what that means. It could be an absolute blast.

What this new film also means is that...

Sonjia Warren Brandon, who founded and ran the Commercials Unlimited talent agency and handled advertising bookings for hundreds of film and TV stars for decades, has died.

Her death on May 8 in La was from natural causes. The information was confirmed by Brandon’s daughter, Treva Brandon Scharf, who said her mother declined to reveal her age.

Brandon was born the youngest of six sisters in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and raised in Scotland.

After arriving in the U.S., she caught on at CBS Television City, working for Rod Serling, John Frankenheimer and Playhouse 90. During a writers strike, she met and married talent agent Paul Brandon, who helped her open Commercials Unlimited in 1970.

Operating in a male-dominated field, Brandon built up a client list of hundreds of actors. Her roster included Robert Duvall, Dennis Miller, Rita Wilson, Dennis Quaid, Loni Anderson, Bo Derek, Burt Reynolds, Charlie Sheen and Bernie Casey.

With filming on the third Bill & Ted film now wrapped, along with new 12″ figures from Blitzway And new 6″ action figures from Incendium on the way, we though we’d take a look back at the modern classic that is Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure!

Stars: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, Terry Camilleri, Dan Shor, Tony Steedman, Rod Loomis, Al Leong, Jane Wiedlin, Robert V. Barron, Hal Landon Jr., Bernie Casey | Written by Chris Matheson, Ed Solomon | Directed by Stephen Herek

If you’ve spent time on social media or reading movie-news websites or following the career of Keanu Reeves, then you might be aware that right now, as we speak, there is a third Bill and Ted movie in production, a movie that brings back Alex Winter and Reeves himself as the air-guitar-shredding, continuously-partying, time-traveling, death-cheating, history-weaving titular legends of the late 80s and early 90s, Bill S. Preston Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan…...

Great news for fans of classic Blaxploitation! Tamara Dobson in Cleopatra Jones is now available on Blu-ray from Warner Archives! Ordering information can be found Here

A Turkish poppy field is torched -and a U.S. drug trafficker known as “Mommy” (Shelley Winters) is feeling pretty burned. She phones the local cops she owns and orders a retaliatory strike on an inner-city antidrug headquarters. Mommy’s next call should be to 911. Because now she’ll have to mess with Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson).

Mommy is relentless in her vendetta – but Cleo responds with catlike karate stealth. Doodlebug, Pickle, Snake and more of Mommy’s offbeat stooges add glide to the story’s stride. Their antics, Mommy’s chortling sleaziness and Cleo’s class shape the power and pizzazz of Cleopatra Jones.

Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson) is a special agent in the international war against dope, but she has her own...

Cleopatra Jones

Blu ray

Warner Archive

1973 / 2:35:1 / 89 Min. / Street Date – March 19, 2019

Starring Tamara Dobson, Bernie Casey

Written by Max Julien, Sheldon Keller

Cinematography by David M. Walsh

Directed by Jack Starrett

A good-natured if rickety assemblage of action movie cliches, Cleopatra Jones is dominated by two bigger than life actresses, Tamara Dobson and Shelley Winters. The movie’s trailer promoted Dobson as the “soul sister’s answer” to James Bond but you can count Bruce Lee, Emma Peel, Shaft and The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. among Cleo’s many relevant role models.

Winters plays “Mommy”, a foulmouthed mob boss who depends on the thriving Poppy fields of Turkey for her cash flow and Dobson is Cleopatra, an Amazonian fashion plate whose special agent skills range from karate to high speed car chases – her plan to wipe out Mommy’s syndicate leads to a high octane race through ‘70’s era L.

The Emmys paid their final respects tonight to dozens of industry notables who died over the past year, including 10-time Emmy-winning writer-producer Steven Bochco, who employed half the town on such shows as Hill Street Blues, La Law and NYPD Blue; five-time Emmy-winner Anthony Bourdain, whose suicide shocked his friends and fans; and three-time winning actress and humanitarian Nanette Fabray. Sen. John McCain also was honored, as was Neil Simon and Aretha Franklin, whose moving rendition of “Amazing Grace” was played throughout.

Presented by Tina Fey, the In Memoriam portion of the show also paid tribute to dozens of actors including Burt Reynolds, Rose Marie, Jim Nabors, Della Reese, Jerry Van Dyke, Charlotte Rae, Bill Daily and David Cassidy. Emmy-winning actors Robert Guillaume, Reg E. Cathey and Olivia Cole also were honored.

David Ogden Stiers, who was nominated for three Emmys – twice for his role as Major Charles Emerson Winchester...

Listen I have nothing against ants – rubber tree plants, veracity, etc – but put enough of them together and I get nervous. Radiate them? You get the big ass ones in Them! (1954). Delve into cosmic circumstance and you have the smarty pants overlords of Phase IV (1974). Throw a bunch on the television, make them poisonous and you end up with The Love Boat meets The Towering Inferno goofiness of Robert Scheerer’s It Happened at Lakewood Manor (1977), a pretty silly and damn entertaining TV flick.

Aka Ants! upon rebroadcasting and future home video release, It Happ – screw it; let’s just call it Ants! okay? It’s a more fun and less pretentious title (which this thing is anything but), and to the point. Okay, Ants! originally aired December 2nd as part of The ABC Friday Night Movie, and it’s competition was The Incredible Hulk on CBS, while NBC trotted...

The estate of Bernie Casey -- a former NFL-star-turned actor -- is being sued by a woman claiming to be his widow, who alleges the 78-year-old violently tackled her to the ground just 1 week before his death.  The woman behind the suit is Cheryl Castillo -- who claims she and Bernie lived together in L.A. as husband and wife ... but things went south during an altercation on Sept. 10.  According to her lawsuit, Castillo claims...

The upcoming 90th Academy Awards will mark the 25th consecutive year that the Oscars will feature an “In Memoriam” segment. While it had been done on occasion before, the annual tribute to Academy members and other film legends started a regular tradition at the 1994 ceremony hosted by Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg.

SEE2018 Oscars: Best Song performers include Mary J. Blige, Common, Andra Day, Keala Settle, Sufjan Stevens

We’ve assembled a list below of people who have died in the past 12 months who might be featured during the “In Memoriam” for the ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on March 4. Producers have not yet revealed who might be performing during the tribute. Sure to have prominent placements are previous Oscar champ Martin Landau (“Ed Wood,” 1994), honorary Oscar recipient Jerry Lewis and respected actor Bill Paxton (“Titanic,” “Apollo 13”). Paxton actually died on the weekend of last year’s ceremony and was mentioned on the broadcast,...

Pity the poor gargoyle, second tier (at the very least) in horror iconography, resigned to being stone portents in many a film, but never getting their creepy due. This brings us to CBS’ Gargoyles (1972), a TV movie that aimed to rectify that situation and give these mostly forgotten creatures a chance to shine through the filter of a demented Saturday morning vibe.

Originally broadcast as part of The New CBS Tuesday Night Movies, Gargoyles had to contend with the ABC Movie of the Week/Marcus Welby M.D. and NBC’s The Bold Ones: The New Doctors/NBC Reports. (Please, if anyone has seen The Bold Ones, hit me up. I need to know these things.) And Gargoyles did make an impact, earning a Primetime Emmy for Makeup from some new up-and-comer named Stan Winston. (We’ll get to him in a bit.)

Let’s grab our TV Guide off...

Sunday’s telecast of the Screen Actors Guild will feature a special In Memoriam segment devoted to many of the actors and actresses who have died since last year’s ceremony in late January. Sure to be among those saluted include Oscar winner Martin Landau, comedy legend Jerry Lewis, and beloved film and TV star Bill Paxton. Visit our own Gold Derby memoriam galleries for this past year of 2017 and the newly-started gallery for 2018.

Over 100 people in SAG/AFTRA have passed away in the past 12 months. Which of the following 60 names will also be featured in the televised tribute?

SEE2018 SAG Awards TV predictions: Complete racetrack odds in all 9 categories

Richard Anderson (actor)

Chuck Barris (host/executive)

Shelley Berman (actor)

Chuck Berry (singer/actor)

Joseph Bologna (actor)

Powers Boothe (actor)

Brent Briscoe (actor)

Glen Campbell (singer/actor)

Bernie Casey (actor)

David Cassidy (actor/singer)

Mike Connors (actor)

Danielle Darrieux (actor...

The reaper just keeps on going, kids. We’ve lost yet another incredible character actor (who no doubt will be snubbed by the Emmys and Oscars next year) in the always wonderful Bernie Casey. Casey died Tuesday, September 19th, in Los… Continue Reading →

The post Rest in Peace: Bernie Casey appeared first on Dread Central.

Liliane Bettencourt, the billionaire heiress of the cosmetics company L’Oreal, has died at the age of 94. Bettencourt, whose family founded L’Oreal and now owns a 33 percent stake in the company, died “peacefully” in her home on Wednesday night, according to a statement from her daughter Françoise Bettencourt Meyers sent to The Guardian on Thursday. “In this painful moment for us, I would like to reiterate, on behalf of our family, our entire commitment and loyalty to L’Oreal and to renew my confidence in its President Jean-Paul Agon and his teams worldwide,” Meyers said. Also Read: Bernie Casey,...

From the football field to the film lots, Bernie Casey left an indelible impression with a presence that couldn't be ignored, and we're sad to share the news that the actor has passed away at the age of 78.

According to multiple outlets, including THR, Casey passed away after a "brief illness" at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Before he entered the world of movies, Casey was a star in his own right as a track and field standout at Bowling Green State University. After making it to the finals of the 1960 United States Olympic Trials, Casey was a first round draft pick for the San Francisco 49ers and would go on to play eight years in the NFL as a wide receiver, raking in 40 touchdowns and over 5,000 receiving yards.

With his life as a professional athlete behind him in the late 1960s, Casey turned his attention to acting,...

Bernie Casey, a modern-day renaissance man whose résumé included acting, professional sports, and poetry, has died. According to Variety, Casey—who appeared in films like Revenge Of The Nerds, Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and I’m Gonna Git You Sucka—was 78.

Read more...

Bernie Casey, noted for his memorable roles in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and Revenge of the Nerds, has died, The Hollywood Reporter reports. He was 78. A rep told THR that the athlete-turned-actor died following a brief illness on Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Casey launched his acting career in 1969 with his debut role in Guns of the Magnificent Seven, the sequel to The Magnificent Seven. Over the past four decades he starred in roles both on television and film, including acting in several Seventies blaxploitation films...

Bernie Casey, who starred in iconic films such as Revenge of the Nerds and I’m Gonna Git You Sucka has died at age 78, Deadline has confirmed. Casey, who also had a career in the NFL as a wide receiver, died on Tuesday in Los Angeles after being hospitalized for a yet-to-be-announced illness. Casey was born in Wyco, W.Va on June 8, 1939. He was a track and field star at Bowling Green and in 1961 was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. He played with the 49ers for six…...

Bernie Casey, best known for his scene-stealing role in Revenge of the Nerds and as the star of I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, has died at the age of 78.

The actor’s rep confirmed to People that he died peacefully in a Los Angeles hospital Tuesday, surrounded by loved ones. He had suffered a recent illness and spent the past few days in a hospital.

In his youth, Casey was a record-breaking track and field athlete at Bowling Green University, earning All-American honors and a trip to the finals at the 1960 U.S. Olympic Trials. He was later drafted...

Lambda Lambda Lambda has lost its leader. Bernie Casey, who played national Tri Lams fraternity head U.N. Jefferson in the 1984 comedy “Revenge of the Nerds” and its sequels, died Tuesday, his representative told TheWrap. Casey was 78. Casey died peacefully surrounded by loved ones following a brief illness, his representative said. Born in Wyco, West Virginia, in 1939, Casey was an athlete before entering the acting world, first in track and field for Bowling Green State University and later as a professional football player for the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams. Also Read: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2017 (Photos) A.

This is just so sad! Well loved character actor Bernie Casey has died at the age of 78. We've got details on the 'Revenge of the Nerds' star's tragic passing.

Bernie Casey, the beloved and iconic co-star in "Revenge of the Nerds" and "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka," died in an L.A. hospital ... TMZ has learned. Bernie's rep tells us he died peacefully Wednesday, surrounded by loved ones. We're told he suddenly fell ill recently, and had spent the last few days hospitalized. He broke into Hollywood with roles in blaxploitation films, and went on to co-star in nearly 80 different projects -- most notably...

The St. Louis Central Library downtown (1301 Olive Blvd) is teaming up with Cinema St. Louis and the St. Louis International Film Festival to present Directors Cut: The Films Of Charles Burnett.

Charles Burnett is a writer-director whose work has received extensive honors. Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, his family soon moved to the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Burnett studied creative writing at UCLA before entering the University’s graduate film program. His thesis project, Killer of Sheep (1977), won accolades at film festivals and a critical devotion; in 1990, it was among the first titles named to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. European financing allowed Burnett to shoot his second feature, My Brother’s Wedding (1983), but a rushed debut prevented the filmmaker from completing his final cut until 2007. In 1988, Burnett was awarded the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur (“genius grant”) Fellowship. His first widely released film, To Sleep with Anger...

"If I were you, I'd be secretive..." Studiocanal UK has debuted a brand new trailer for the upcoming 40th anniversary re-release of Nicolas Roeg's sci-fi film The Man Who Fell to Earth, starring the late David Bowie as an alien who lands on Earth in hopes of getting water for his dying planet. He starts a technology company to get the billions of dollars he needs to build a return spacecraft, but does not count on the greed and ruthlessness of business here on Earth. The film also stars Candy Clark as Mary-Lou, plus Rip Torn, Buck Henry and Bernie Casey. This is one of this quirky yet totally unique kind of sci-fi cult classics that if you haven't seen yet, now's the perfect time to catch up with it. The mesmerizing score by John Phillips & Stomu Yamashta is also getting released in full (on vinyl, too!) for those interested in grabbing it.

Actor Bernie Casey, who appeared in such films as Boxcar Bertha, Never Say Never Again and Revenge of the Nerds after a career as a standout NFL wide receiver, has died. He was 78. 

Casey, who also starred in Cleopatra Jones and several other blaxploitation movies of the 1970s, died Tuesday after a brief illness at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his representative told The Hollywood Reporter.

In the Warner Bros. drama Brothers (1977), Casey distinguished himself by portraying a thinly veiled version of George Jackson, a member of the Black Panther Party who was killed in what officials described as...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Travis Keune, and Tom Stockman

Burt Reynolds, one of We Are Movie Geeks favorite actors, turns 80 today. Happy Birthday Burt!

On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants and clubs while pulling the odd TV job or theater role. Burt was spotted in a New York City stage production of Mister Roberts and signed to a TV contract and eventually had recurring roles in such shows as Gunsmoke (1955), Riverboat (1959) and his own series, Hawk...

“The Fear Of The Year Is Here”... or so said the movie's poster tagline. Well, if not the fear, for sure, the laugh riot of the year. Bernie Casey stars in the 1976 blaxploitation horror nowhere-near-a-classic "Dr. Black & Mr. Hyde," which, as you can surmise, was an all black version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1896 classic horror novella about a doctor who, through drug experimentation on himself, develops the split personally of Mr. Hyde, a psychotic murderer who terrorizes London. The film, as you can guess, is set in “da hood,” with a climax that takes place at the Watt Towers in Los Angeles; and being an “urban” take on the story, it means that the film is...

I've got an amazing piece of fan-made poster art to share with you today created by Peter Stults and posted on his Twitter feed. It's a 1980s style movie poster for Guardians of the Galaxy, and it awesomely features Michael Jackson as Star-Lord! Hell yeah, I would have seen this movie in the 80s! It would have been a classic. The rest of the "what if" cast is pretty great too, they include Arnold Schwarzenegger as Drax the Destroyer, Vanity as Gamora, Christopher Lambert as Ronan the Accuser, Grace Jones as Nebual, Bernie Casey as Yondu, Carl Weathers as Rocket and Andy Warhol as The Collector. 

Via: /Film...

“Who calls me from out of the Pit?!”

Holy Melting Travoltas! A pair of schlock classics from the early ‘70s both involving horned demons in the desert plotting world domination?!? It must be Krampus Movie Night!

The Krampus Research Association of St. Louis will be throwing their first movie night Monday October 13th at The Heavy Anchor (5226 Gravois, St. Louis 63116) with a double feature of Gargoyles and The Devil’S Rain. This is a Fundraiser for Saint Louis Krampusnacht 2014. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Show starts at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $5 for admission.

Gargoyles is one of the seminal TV horror films of my youth. I saw this gem the first time it aired as a Tuesday Movie-of-the-Week in 1972 when I was 9 years old and it’s all the kids talked about at school for a solid week. For 1972, this was one helluva TV movie. The effects, though...

You know, if even the great Fred “The Hammer” Williamson is getting into this whole Kickstarter thing, then maybe I’m going to have to admit that there’s something to it.But that right folks. Wlliamson has just started a Kickstater campaign to raise $1.2 million in 60 days to make a sequel to his 1996 film Original Gangtas..Coming back for the film are the original stars of the first one: Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier,and Richard Roundtree, and also Bernie Casey, Gloria Hendry, Antonio Fargas and Robert Forster.My God, it’s like I’ve gone back in time to a Saturday matinee in 1973.And if Spike could raise the money for his next project using Kickstarter, why not...

“The Fear Of The Year Is Here”... or so says the movie poster tag line for the film.Well, if not the fear, for sure, the laugh riot of the year.No, that’s not Michael Ealy in the photo (Sorry I couldn’t resist that. It just came to me), but Bernie Casey in the 1976 blaxploitation horror nowhere-near-a-classic Dr. Black & Mr Hyde, which, as you can surmise was an all black version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1896 classic horror novella about a doctor who, through drug experimentation on himself, develops the split personally of Mr, Hyde, a psychotic murderer who terrorizes London.The film, as you can guess, is set in “da hood,” with a climax that takes place at the Watt...

After all the debates, controversies, and stereotype accusations have cleared, looking back on Blaxploitation cinema today it’s easy to see healthy portions of the crime and action genres. Using these genres and the struggles of the black community, these films were created for those that wanted to see African American characters on the big screen not taking shit from the man, “getting over”, and–above all else—being the heroes in movies. In the documentary Baad Asssss Cinema, Samuel L. Jackson gives his take on the heroes of Blaxploitation: “We were tired of seeing the righteous black man. And all of a sudden we had guys who were…us. Or guys who did the things we wanted those guys to do.”

The unsung supporting players in these films that backed Fred Williamson and Pam Grier and many other stars were people acting and making a living off of it.

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Travis Keune, and Tom Stockman

We like to celebrate the movie tough guys of the ’70s here at We Are Movie Geeks and at Super-8 Movie Madness. We’ve posted Top Ten lists to tie into Super-8 shows featuring Charles Bronson (Here), Clint Eastwood (Here), and Lee Marvin (Here). This month we’re going to honor the #1 top money-making star for five consecutive years – 1978 – 1982 – Burt Reynolds. On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants...

Remakes, sequels, reboots: these are common parlance in the film industry today and have been since its birth, really. There is no film property immune to this, especially a successful one. And though the blaxploitation genre, which reached its height of popularity in the 1970s, still enjoys a rabid cult following, few of the attempts to re-energize this vital branch of American film have been very successful.

Until now.

Black Dynamite, the 2009 film starring Michael Jai White, is now also an animated series now airing Sundays on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. And while the character and his world may still effectively be a cult happening, it is clear that Black Dynamite is the most successful blaxploitation property to hit the streets since platform shoes went out of fashion. Loaded with sex, violence, and sex and violence, Black Dynamite is the true sequel to Shaft that fans have been waiting for.

June 25, 1982, was a good day for genre fans. Hell, that summer saw a spate of genre classics released, including "The Road Warrior," "Poltergeist," and "E.T." But June 25th in particular saw not only the release, as we discussed earlier today, of "Blade Runner," but also another legendary sci-fi picture, which like Ridley Scott's film, wasn't well-received at the time, and flopped at the box office, but went on to be enshrined in the geek hall of fame. No, it's not Barry Bostwyck vehicle "MegaForce," but John Carpenter's terrifying "The Thing," which despite the efforts of last year's poor retread/prequel, remains one of the greatest sci-fi/horrors ever made.

Technically a remake of Howard Hawks' well-loved 1951 "The Thing From Another World," which Carpenter pays tribute to in the opening moments, the new film took a very different approach, ramping up both the paranoia and the eye-popping physical effects,...

By Lee Pfeiffer

Released in an obvious attempt to capitalize on Norman Jewison's racially-charged 1967 Oscar winner In the Heat of the Night, MGM's 1969 suspense drama tick...tick...tick... attempts to emulate the smoldering tensions in a small southern town that permeated the earlier film. The MGM release is not on the caliber of the Jewison production but it is a consistently engrossing, well-acted drama that calls to mind just how relatively recently the civil rights battle had to be fought in the American South. By 1969, integration may have been the law of the land, but in fact, there were many places where attempting to implement the law would have been a death sentence. The story takes place in small Southern town where the only thing hotter than the broiling summer temperatures is the barely-concealed rage of the local population. Seems that while the apathy of white voters resulted...

June 3: Game-show host Chuck Barris ("The Gong Show") is 83. Singer Ian Hunter is 73. Singer Eddie Holman is 66. Bassist Too Slim of Riders in the Sky is 64. Singer Suzi Quatro is 62. Singer Deniece Williams is 61. Singer Dan Hill is 58. Actor Scott Valentine ("Family Ties") is 54. Guitarist Kerry King of Slayer is 48. Singer Mike Gordon of Phish is 47. Newsman Anderson Cooper is 45. Country singer Jamie O'Neal is 44. Singers Ariel and Gabriel Hernandez of No Mercy are 41. Actor Vik Sahay ("Chuck") is 41. Actress Lalaine Dupree ("Lizzie McGuire") is 25.

June 4: Actor Bruce Dern is 76. Singer-actress Michelle Phillips (The Mamas and The Papas) is 68. Bassist Danny Brown of The Fixx is 61. Actor Parker Stevenson is 60. Singer El DeBarge is 51. Singer Al B. Sure! is 44. Actor Scott Wolf ("Party of Five") is 44. Ron Huebel ("What to Expect When You're Expecting") is 43. Comedian Horatio Sanz ("Saturday Night Live") is 43. Actor Noah Wyle ("ER") is 41. Bassist...