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At 79, Steve Martin is still at the top of his game and one of the most beloved actors in Hollywood. Known for his roles in comedy films and iconic classics like Father of the Bride, he recently shocked fans and critics with his role in the hit Hulu series, Only Murders in the Building.

While his comedic genius and acting talent have entertained millions for decades, behind the spotlight is a personal story that is equally captivating. At the age of 69 years old, Martin experienced one of his life’s most transformative moments: he became a father for the first time. And his wife, Anne Stringfield, played a pivotal role in this remarkable chapter of his life.

Steve Martin in Only Murders In The Building | Credit: Hulu

A former The New Yorker employee, she is not as widely recognized as her celebrity husband. But her presence has been a great joy for Martin,...

Steve Martin is a man of many talents — he’s an actor, a comedian, a writer and the best the banjo player in the world the only banjo player we’re currently aware of. He’s also an expert on fine art, so much so that he once gave a Q&a on the subject at the 92nd Street Y, to the confusion and anger of comedy fans who were apparently expecting something less “boring.”

Now the famed art collector has himself inspired a new art show, themed around one of Martin’s ‘90s comedies. No, not Sgt. Bilko.

There’s currently an exhibit at Hauser & Wirth’s West Hollywood location simply called “L.A. Story,” based on the 1991 comedy of the same name. L.A. Story, which Martin also wrote, tells the story of an Angeleno TV weatherman named Harris K. Telemacher who falls in love with an English journalist,...

Frank Griffin, who nosed out another makeup artist to work with Steve Martin on Roxanne, just one of the 20 movies they did together, has died. He was 95.

Griffin died Wednesday of cancer at his home in Studio City, his daughter Roxane Griffin, a veteran Hollywood hairstylist (Avatar, Transparent, 80 for Brady), told The Hollywood Reporter.

Frank Griffin started out in Hollywood as an actor and studio laborer before turning to makeup in the mid-1960s, and he went on to work on Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Scarecrow (1973), Westworld (1973), Cinderella Liberty (1973), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Urban Cowboy (1980), Midnight Run (1988), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Vacation (1983), Revenge of the Nerds (1984) and Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985).

Survivors also include his sister Debra Paget, who starred in such films as Broken Arrow (1950), Love Me Tender (1956) — Elvis Presley’s first movie — and The Ten Commandments (1956).

His other two sisters were actresses as well: Lisa Gaye,...

For a profession that works to make its own labor invisible, stunt performers have taken the spotlight in 2024. First came Ryan Gosling’s “The Fall Guy,” a popcorn movie built around a body double; now comes Season 4 of “Only Murders in the Building,” where the latest mystery’s victim is Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch), the longtime stand-in for ex-procedural star Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin). Sazz’s disappearance after being shot in the Season 3 finale sets up a season that’s just as daffy as its predecessors, but more thematically focused on the idea of doppelgangers and what they tell us about ourselves.

A new investigation is standard for “Only Murders,” the hit Hulu comedy that centers on a trio of neighbors turned true crime podcasters as they fight both mayhem and urban alienation. What Season 4 adds to the mix is a hefty dose of Hollywood satire. Unbeknownst to Charles, theater...

In his recent book Number One Is Walking, Steve Martin wraps up a section of anecdotes from his film career by alluding to the difficulty of making movies. He’s not describing the physical or logistical challenges, but the part that’s supposed to make it all worthwhile: the result.

To celebrate the August 14 birthday of Steve Martin, we’ve got a special photo gallery featuring his 15 greatest films. The actor, comedian, writer, producer, playwright, author and musician is an American icon who has been celebrated at the Kennedy Center Honors and American Film Institute. He also received an honorary Oscar for his movie career in 2013.

Nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, six Grammy Awards (with five wins), as well as two Tony Awards, Martin is one of the great talents of the past few decades. There wasn’t a stand-up comedian alive in the mid-1970s who was on a hotter streak, and his first hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live” led to many more appearances. He also now has 2018 Emmy Awards nominations for producing and writing his Netflix comedy special with Martin Short.

He then jumped into movies and never looked back, with such popular flicks as “The Jerk,...

There’s a side of the U.K. that rarely gets screen time in cinema. We see the unreal, prettified version in films like Notting Hill and The Holiday, and we see the grittified version in classics like Lynne Ramsay’s “Ratcatcher” or Ken Loach’s “Kes.” Falling between two stools are the market towns and busy contemporary cathedral cities like York, where ancient architecture houses skincare brands like Kiehl’s. York is the setting for much of “Between the Lights,” a spiritually tinged romance which also dips into the nearby Lake District, including Keswick. The film duly opened the Keswick Film Festival this year, as well as playing Dances With Films in L.A., at which it won the jury prize.

The plot concerns a romance between Alice and Jay. Alice and Jay have good chemistry and are largely compatible, save for one big difference between them: Jay is sensitive to paranormal energies,...

Explore Steve Martin’s Life and Career The Road to Stardom: How Steve Martin Became Famous 10. The Jerk (1979) – 83% Score 9. All of Me (1984) – 85% Score 8. Roxanne (1987) – 88% Score 7. The Spanish Prisoner (1997) – 89% Score 6. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) – 89% Score 5. Little Shop of Horrors (1986) – 90% Score 4. L.A. Story (1991) – 91% Score 3. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) – 92% Score 2. Parenthood (1989) – 92% Score 1. Only Murders in the Building (2021-Current) – 99% Score

Steve Martin has donned many hats in the entertainment industry throughout his prolific career.

As a writer, comedian, musician, actor, and so much more, this extremely talented creator has always made us smile. At 78 years old, Steve Martin hasn’t let his age hold him back and has continued to flex his comedic acting muscles without slowing down.

As this beloved actor’s birthday passes and we continue to laugh at his outrageous performances, we thought it’d be a joy to look back at this masterful amuser’s career so far.

With such a...

Chicago – The sound of laughter echos on streaming service Tubi, as veteran stand up comic Fritz Coleman presents “Unassisted Living,” his wacky journey with the vagrancies of getting older. The special is currently streaming, and Tubi is a free service to download as an app or to visit at Unassisted Living.

Fritz Coleman was born in Philadelphia, and fell into radio deejaying after a stint in the Navy in 1972. After success in that field, he decided to try his hand at stand up comedy in the big time environs of Los Angeles. After a chance audience member saw him at a L.A. comedy club (described in the Podtalk below), he was hired as a weatherman for Knbc-tv in Los Angeles in the days of personalities and communicators in that position. He only recently retired just short of 40 iconic years on the air.

Fritz Coleman in ‘Unassisted Living’

Photo credit:...

Sarah Jessica Parker is getting real on aging in Hollywood.

While appearing on SiriusXM’s “The Howard Stern Show” on Wednesday, the “And Just Like That” star recalled how her looks contributed to getting cast in a major role as one of Steve Martin’s onscreen love interests way back at the beginning of her career.

Read More: Sarah Jessica Parker Stars In Ultimate ‘Sex And The City’ ‘Vogue’ Tribute Cover To Mark 25 Years Of The Show

“When I was cast in ‘L.A. Story’, it was as if Steve Martin was saying, ‘I think you’re attractive, you can play these kinds of parts,” she explained, noting that she landed the part of the young model after doing a screen test with Martin, who not only starred as the TV weatherman who pursued romance with her character, but also wrote the screenplay.

While commenting on her looks, Parker joked that she’s “presentable,...

The 2009 horror comedy “Jennifer’s Body” is set to get a reboot…on-stage with a live table read courtesy of Film Independent and Mubi.

Director Karyn Kusama, who initially helmed the film, is set to direct this interpretation which will take place at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts’ Bram Goldsmith Theater on April 11th.

No other casting information is known, though considering the caliber of past Film Independent live reads — such as their presentation of Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness” back in February — it should include several A-list performers.

The feature told the story of Anita “Needy” Lesnicki (Amanda Seyfried) who discovers her more popular best friend Jennifer (Megan Fox) is a succubus feeding on the young boys of their high school. The film wasn’t a box office success at the time but has undergone a cultural reevaluation over the last decade with many praising Kusama...

“Triangle of Sadness” is moving from the screen to the stage with a live table read set to take place next week.

Fred Armisen, Nicholas Braun, Alison Brie, Tia Carrere, Ayo Edebiri, Jordan Firstman, Brett Goldstein and Kumail Nanjiani will lead the cast, with additional members to be announced for the Monday performance. Ruben Östlund will helm the reimagined reading of his film in collaboration with Neon and Film Independent.

“What a joy to do a table read with this group of fine actors!” said Östlund. “Together we are planning for some surprises. I don’t want to scare anyone off, but there will be some risk involved in attending this event.”

Also Read:

Is It Quiet on the Western Front? Oscars, AMPAS and the Rise of a European Bloc

Rachel Bleemer, Director of Programming and Events at Film Independent said: “We’re excited to bring absolute chaos to the...

Click here to read the full article.

Steve Martin has been many things — a comic, an actor, a filmmaker, an author, a musician — and he’ll soon be one more. He’s going to be the subject of a documentary.

Martin is participating in a two-part feature from A24 which is set to be released by Apple TV+. Morgan Neville, who helmed Oscar-winning doc 20 Feet From Stardom as well as Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and dozens of other film and TV projects, is directing and producing. There’s no title or anticipated release date as of yet, but production has been ongoing.

“It’s somebody else’s take,” Martin tells THR of the process. “They found a lot of archival stuff. “They found a photo of my father in 1944 in Germany, touring Our Town with the Uso.”

For as well known as he is, Martin hasn’t...

Exclusive: George Lopez, comedian Josh Blue and actress Marilu Heller are among the first guests for podcast Brain & Life, which will explore the intersection of brain health and neurologic disease.

Set up by the American Academy of Neurology, the podcast will engage with neurology experts, celebrity advocates, and people whose lives are affected by neurologic conditions, including the aforementioned actors.

American comedian and actor Lopez, who suffered from a chronic kidney condition which led to a diagnosis of uremic neuropathy, is best known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom.

Veteran actress Henner, who has total recall memory (meaning she can remember specific details of virtually every day of her life since she was a child) is well known for roles in movie LA Story and series Taxi. Comedian Blue, who has cerebral palsy, was voted Last Comic Standing on the fourth season of NBC’s reality show Last Comic Standing.

The Make-Up & Hairstylists Guild has its 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award winners: Oscar– and multiple Emmy-winning makeup artist Michèle Burke and Emmy-winning hairstylist Joy Zapata.

Both will be honored at the ninth annual The Make-Up & Hairstylists Guild Awards on February 19 at the Beverly Hilton. Watch video interviews with both honorees below.

2021-22 Awards Season Calendar – Dates For The Emmys, Grammys, Oscars & More

A double Oscar winner for makeup for Quest for Fire — becoming the first woman to will in the category — and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Burke has more than 100 films and television makeup credits. She also earned Oscar noms for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The Cell, Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), and The Clan of the Cave Bear. She won her Emmy for 1989’s Alien Nation and scored a nom for Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman in 1993.

Zapata has won four Emmys for hairstyling — including two in 2017 for Westworld and Harispray Live!

“I could never be a woman, ’cause I’d just stay home and play with my breasts all day.”

Steve Martin’s warm, witty love letter to Los Angeles comes to Blu-ray for the first time in the U.S. Featuring new art and bonus features, L.A. Story arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital) November 9 from Lionsgate.

Steve Martin’s warm, witty love letter to Los Angeles comes to Blu-ray for the first time in the U.S. Featuring new art and bonus features, L.A. Story arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital) November 9 from Lionsgate. Golden Globe® nominee Steve Martin stars as TV weatherman Harris Telemacher, who decides to follow his heart — and digital messages on freeway signs — on a quest for true love in the City of Angels. With an all-star cast that includes Golden Globe® nominee Victoria Tennant, Academy Award® nominee Richard E. Grant, Golden Globe® nominee Marliu Henner,...

Hulu has handed Chris Estrada comedy This Fool, formerly known as Punk Ass Bitch, a series order.

Earlier this year, the streamer piloted the project, which is written and exec produced by Estrada and Corporate creators Jake Weisman, Matt Ingebretson and Pat Bishop with Fred Arminsen and Black-ish EP Jonathan Groff also exec producing.

The series stars rising Latino comedian Estrada as Julio Lopez, a self-described “punk ass bitch” who still lives at home and goes out of his way to help everyone but himself. The half-hour series sees Lopez work at a gang-rehabilitation non-profit and his quest to overcome his codependency issues with his family as he navigates working class life in South Central Los Angeles. It is produced by ABC Signature. Frankie Quinones and Michelle Ortiz are set as series regulars.

Jordan Helman, who was recently appointed as head of scripted content at Hulu, told Deadline that This Fool,...

The star, Alexandra Daddario, the writer, Alan Trezza, and the director, Marc Meyers, of the terrific new film We Summon The Darkness walk us through some of their favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

We Summon The Darkness (2020)

Burying The Ex (2015)

The Little Mermaid (1989)

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

American Beauty (1999)

Strictly Ballroom (1992)

Ghostbusters (1984)

The Sound of Music (1965)

L.A. Story (1991)

Ghost Dad (1990)

Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003)

Roxanne (1987)

The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather Part II (1974)

The Godfather Part III (1990)

Fargo (1996)

The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (2018)

Psycho (1960)

Psycho (1998)

Defending Your Life (1991)

Modern Romance (1981)

The Jerk (1979)

Jaws (1975)

Notting Hill (1999)

Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)

When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

Love Actually (2003)

Marley & Me (2008)

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

World’s Greatest Dad (2009)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Raging Bull (1980)

Mandy (2018)

Heathers (1988)

Ed Wood (1994)

Hellzapoppin’ (1941)

Fletch (1985)

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Batman Returns (1992)

Warlock (1989)

Beetlejuice (1988)

Star Wars (1977)

Sixteen Candles (1984)

The Swimmer (1968)

Sherman’s March (1985)

Amadeus (1984)

Amarcord (1974)

Hugo Pool (1997)

Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills...

by Nathaniel R

Richard E Grant's timing was impeccable during my own journey into cinephilia. I was in the process of falling madly deeply in love with movies when he made his debut in the cult classic With Nail and I (1987) and as I became more invested in not just movie stars but the crucial contributions of character actors to rich movies, he was everyone in so many movies I loved: Henry & June (1990), L.A. Story (1991), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), The Age of Innocence (1993). I bought his first book "With Nails: The Film Diaries of Richard E Grant" in hardcover right when it was published and later bought it again in paperback. I bring up this chronological personal fandom so that'll you'll understand that I was surely as visibly thrilled to sit down with Richard E Grant as he has appeared to be for the entirety of this awards season. We're...

The actor: Sarah Jessica Parker has had a tremendous career, starting out on Broadway in the title role of Annie, then working her way up in movies like Footloose, L.A. Story, and Honeymoon In Vegas before landing her iconic role as Carrie Bradshaw in the landmark HBO comedy Sex And The City. Now Parker is a mogul in…...

To celebrate the August 14 birthday of Steve Martin, we’ve got a special photo gallery featuring his 15 greatest films. The actor, comedian, writer, producer, playwright, author and musician is an American icon who has been celebrated at the Kennedy Center Honors and American Film Institute. He also received an honorary Oscar for his movie career in 2013.

Nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, six Grammy Awards (with five wins), as well as two Tony Awards, Martin is one of the great talents of the past few decades. There wasn’t a stand-up comedian alive in the mid-1970s who was on a hotter streak, and his first hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live” led to many more appearances. He also now has 2018 Emmy Awards nominations for producing and writing his Netflix comedy special with Martin Short.

He then jumped into movies and never looked back, with such popular flicks as “The Jerk,...

New York City – Although many people will never think of Sarah Jessica Parker in any other role than Carrie Bradshaw of “Sex and the City,” the actor makes a major breakout with her new film, “Blue Night,” which premiered (naturally for her) at the 17th Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 19th, 2018.

Sarah Jessica Parker of ‘Blue Night’ on the Red Carpet at 2018 Tribeca

Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

“Blue Night” is set in New York City, and can be reasonable described as “Carrie Bradshaw through the looking glass.” Parker portrays Vivienne, a jazz singer whose career has always taken precedent over her life. She receives some devastating news, and because she is estranged from her mother, daughter and ex-husband, she has few resources to turn towards. The film follows her character through 24 hours as she processes her news, which includes a guest vocal at an NYC jazz club.

In the age of peak TV, there’s a lot of bad television out there. But rather than take the time to highlight what everyone should already be forgetting, IndieWire is examining the heartbreaking misses of 2017; the shows that felt like they had something special — either in concept, talent, or early episodes — but failed to fulfill that promise.

For the shows that weren’t cancelled, hope rings eternal. TV is a medium that allows for development, improvement, and the virtual erasure of bad first impressions. The shows below might be a long way from getting good, but their break bad hurt enough that even for the most disappointing, we still hope for the best.

And if you like any shows on the list, then good luck and godspeed. You found something there that we only wish we could have seen. Maybe next year.

Read More:The 25 Best TV Episodes of 2017, Ranked...

On Feb. 8, 1991, Tri-Star unveiled the zany L.A. Story in theaters nationwide, featuring Steve Martin as an existential local weatherman. The Hollywood Reporter's original review is below: 

While the ancient prophets consulted burning bushes or sojourned to shrines for spiritual advice, modern-day wise men, such as Steve Martin, consult the oracles of their natural environment. In L.A. Story, L.A. modern-man Martin seeks spiritual and personal counsel from an electronic Freeway Condition sign, which points him in the right direction in romance and life. If that same roadside oracle gave box-office advice, it would blink out "All Clear to Hitsville"...

Author: Stefan Pape

Mick Jackson, the director behind films such as The Bodyguard and L.A. Story, is returning to the silver screen for the first time in 14 years, with courtroom drama Denial.

Telling the true story of Deborah Lipstadt – played here by Rachel Weisz, who is sued by British historian, and notorious Holocaust denier David Irving (Timothy Spall), Denial is a riveting, pertinent tale, and we asked Jackson what it was about this story that lured him back.

He discusses the relevance of the title, and how these days it’s become dangerously accepted for opinion to masquerade as fact, he also tells us about his first visit to Auschwitz, as well as the importance in not giving people like Irving a platform.

Synopsis

When university professor Deborah E. Lipstadt includes World War II historian David Irving in a book about Holocaust deniers, Irving accuses her of libel and sparks...

Simon Brew Jan 27, 2017

Director Mick Jackson on Denial, Donald Trump, directing films, and how he followed The Bodyguard...

Mick Jackson has lived through several chapters of his directorial career. His background was television, in particular the stunning Threads, and his classy adaptation of Chris Mullins’ A Very British Coup. Then he went to Hollywood, directing the likes of L.A. Story, The Bodyguard and Volcano.

He’s been away from cinema for a while, courtesy of some intriguing television projects. But he returns to the big screen this weekend with Denial, a classy courtroom drama that brings the story of Holocaust denier David Irving’s infamous libel action to the cinema. We snagged a chat with him ahead of its release, with the promise of further conversation about his 90s output at a later date too.

Can you talk us through this particular film, and why you wanted to bring it to the big screen?...

MaryAnn’s quick take… A marvel. Funny and exuberant and bittersweet and cliché-busting and unexpected as hell. We are going to need more movies like this one. I’m “biast” (pro): loved Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, love Gosling and Stone

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

Hopeful yet pragmatic. Fantastical yet down-to-earth. Revolutionary yet traditional. Old-fashioned in the best way and totally modern at the same time. Pure escapist cinematic joy that you don’t need to turn your brain off to get thoroughly lost in. La La Land is a movie to make you fall in love with movies all over again, just when, I suspect, we’re going to be leaning on movies a lot merely to maintain our sanity. This is an instant comfort movie, one that wraps you in its warm embrace and never lets you go.

by Eric Blume

It’s kind of surprising how good Denial isn’t. The new film is about a Holocaust historian (Rachel Weisz) who has libel charges thrown against her by a racist Holocaust denier (Timothy Spall). The basic story is absorbing and filled with potentially interesting ideas but it's executed in the most perfunctory manner. It’s as if the actors, director, and crew showed up every morning and said, “okay we know the scene we need to shoot today -- maybe let’s try cameras here and turn on some of these lights we have sitting around. Let’s do this!”.

Director Mick Jackson has previously won an Emmy for the lovely Temple Grandin for HBO, and previously made L.A. Story and Live from Baghdad; he's not without talent. But Denial proves shapeless, not only in the shot construction, but all of the beats, and even in our feelings towards the main character.

For decades, the TV business operated under the mistaken belief that audiences wouldn't watch shows about unlikable characters. What the last 20-odd years of television has proved, however, is that viewers are just fine with unlikable characters — provided the shows understand that they're unlikable. Many of the best comedies of this period — from Seinfeld to Veep, Curb Your Enthusiasm to It's Always in Philadelphia, Arrested Development to BoJack Horseman — understand from the jump that they're about fundamentally terrible individuals. Even if the audience doesn't catch on at first, the people making the shows understand and embrace the nastiness and stupidity of it all, and that only makes the comedy more effective. On the flip side, some of the lamest and most insufferable comedies of recent vintage — say, Mixology or Happyish — don't seem to recognize how irritating their main characters are, which only doubles down on other creative problems. It's bad...

Earning the strongest per theater average of any film out this weekend, Bleecker Street drama “Denial” easily topped the specialty box office. The film, starring Rachel Weisz as renowned historian Deborah E. Lipstadt — who was forced to prove in court that the Holocaust actually happened — opened to an average $20,420 per theater from five theaters for a total of $102,101. The true life story was directed by Mick Jackson (“L.A. Story,” “The Bodyguard”) and also stars Tom Wilkinson and Timothy Spall. It has a 72 percent Rotten Tomatoes score. Also Read: Specialty Box Office: Docs 'Ballot Bandits,' 'Generation Startup' Rise...

Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.

This Past Weekend:

While the new movies reigned at the box office this past weekend, both Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven (Sony) and the animated Storks (Warner Bros.) didn’t fare nearly as well as our projections, both falling short by about $10 million. The Magnificent Seven, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, fared decently with $34.7million, which is about the average for Washington’s films, but the fourth highest opening for a Western after last year’s The Revenant, the animated Rango, and Cowboys and Aliens. Storks’ $21.3 million opening wasn’t great compared to other animated September releases with Sony still holding the September opening record with Hotel Transylvania 2, but it should continue to do well with no other animated movies opening for another month.

Earlier this year, the concentration camp Auschwitz was wiped off the face of the Earth. A superpowered Holocaust survivor who goes by the name of “Magneto” went to the hallowed massacre site, and — blind with rage after suffering a tremendous personal loss — used his mutant abilities to dismantle the single most important landmark of his people’s suffering. It was a striking moment, in part because it seemed wildly out of place in a movie about a group of teens who dress in purple spandex and fight each other with magic, and in part because Magneto’s rash show of rage wasn’t played as a revenge fantasy so much as an act of historical rejection.

There’s a good reason why, in real life, Auschwitz is a museum and not a landfill: It protects against those who say the Holocaust could never happen again, and — increasingly — to serve as...

Jesus is flying over Rome, a statue hoisted by a helicopter, in the opening shot of Fellini's "La Dolce Vita." In the opening shot of Steve Martin's "L.A. Story," which debuted 25 years ago this week (on February 8, 1991), instead of Jesus, it's a giant prefab frankfurter.

And that may be all you need to know about how the movie industry portrays its hometown on screen. In the movies, at least, Los Angeles is a city of jarring contrasts -- artifice and practicality, glittering dreams and prosaic reality, sunshine and drought. Though it's a comic fantasy, "L.A. Story" paints as effective a portrait of Los Angeles as any movie, but as the list here makes clear, there are lots of L.A.s, each with its own screen story.

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Looking for good books about the movies to read? We've got a bumper selection of recommendations right here...

A confession. I actually started writing this article in 2013, and the reason you've only reading it now is that I've made sure I've read every book on this list, save for one or two where I've marked otherwise. As such, what you're getting is a very personal list of recommendations. Each of these books has at least something to it that I think is of interest to someone wanting to learn more about film - or just enjoy stories of movie making.

I've tended to avoid picture books, with one exception, as these ones I've chosen are all intended to be chock-full of words, to relax with at the end of a long day. Which is what I did. There are one or two notable omissions, as I'm still...

Heroes Reborn, Season 1, Episode 1, “Brave New World”

Season 1, Episode 2, “Odessa”

Written by Tim Kring

Directed by Matt Shakman (“Brave New World”), Greg Beeman (“Odessa”)

Airs on Thursdays at 8 pm (Et) on NBC

Every new show has to work to sell the viewer on why it deserves to exist instead of, say, a new season of Hannibal. We are busy people with lives and limited time to commit to a series that is either going to bore us or break our hearts. In this era of Peak TV, Fomo is real and it is crippling. So networks have figured out that is easier to greenlight a nostalgia series (Twin Peaks, The X-Files, Fuller House) than a new series. It has a built in audience! It’ll automatically generate headlines! Though NBC appears to be making a similar decision with Heroes Reborn, deciding to bring back a series that many soured on...

Glamour, palm trees, and surgically perfected bodies define Los Angeles in the eyes of the world, but beneath that artificial sunshine there are people and places that never find themselves portrayed on screen. People on the bus, on the not-so-pretty streets, in the neighborhoods that no one’s ever hear of, in those places that have stories that are never told. Even Hollywood, as plastic as it’s often depicted, has areas that have not yet been gentrified and in which people outside the norm are also allowed to be beautiful in their own way. It’s here that director Sean Baker found the stars of his riotous and perfectly acted latest film “Tangerine,” and where he shot it.

At the center of it are Alexandra (Mya Taylor) and Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez), two transgender sex workers on Santa Monica Boulevard who struggle to get by while dealing with heartbreak, revenge, and their dreams. Their story, which takes place on a sunny California Christmas eve, exists in the real world without embellishments and its driven by their hilarious banter that's always based on uncompromising sincerity. It's in this sort of uncontrollable environment that Sean Baker found beautiful accidents as his camera, or better said his iPhone, recorded the characters interacting with the city.

We had a chance to talk to Sean Baker about the making of one the year’s best film and a standout at the most recent Sundance Film Festival.

Aguilar: "Tangerine" shows us a side of Los Angeles we rarely see in film, far from all the glamour and artificial beauty. I know the streets where Alexandra and Sin-Dee exist. I've taken those buses, those trains, and been to those places. It feels very real and vibrant in an unpretentious way. Why did you want to tell this singular L.A. story?

Sean Baker: I'm originally from New York and I spent most of my life there, so when I came out to L.A. I was surprised to find that most of L.A. hasn't been shot out. I thought that the studios would have covered L.A. for the last 100 years, but then I realized there is a whole city south of Pico where there are these subcultures or communities that haven't been focused on whatsoever, and also wonderful locations. For example, I told everybody, "I don't want to make this film unless we can lock down Donut Time," because it's such a landmark. Thank god my great producers Darren Dean and Shih-Ching Tsou were able to lock Donut Time. I've fallen on love with Los Angeles and I love to explore it myself. If I'm telling an L.A. story I want to tell a fresh L.A. story and show places that haven't been shown before.

Aguilar: How rough was it to shoot out there in the wilderness of the city? You only have control of your equipment and your actors, everything else is alive and moving without you having power over it.

Sean Baker: I'm kind of used to that because I did it with "Prince of Broadway" and I did it with "Take Out." With those two films I kind of had to accept the fact that there was going to be obstacles, but that those obstacles would lead to happy accidents. If I have a bystander who is stepping into the frame sometimes that would work, as long as we get their permission and get releases everything is fine. I'm open to that. I like the lack of control sometimes. I think that leads to a lot of interesting things, plus I edit my own films, so I almost like to edit from a documentary point of view. It keeps me awake and keeps me surprised in the edit when every take is different and there are new things to be seen on every scene.

Aguilar: You have to two incredible leads in Mya and Kiki, but also two leads who have big personalities. Was it a challenge at first to work with actresses that didn't have much experience or none at all?

Sean Baker: They were as professional as professional could be from day one. I was so incredibly lucky to have found Mya and Kiki. They started impressing me one or two days in. I realized how great they were. I didn't even know they were going to be that great. With a film like this, even though it's scripted and you know where you are going, you kind of still have to find it while you shoot, and then you find it again in the edit. I was going into the shoot knowing that if they weren't good enough I was going to focus on the characters around them or I was going to give them less dialogue. That's how I was going to do it, but then when they started impressing me after the first day I was like, "Why not? They are stealing the show every time, let's roll with it."

Aguilar: Even though the film is a sense dialogue-heavy it feels very vibrant throughout. The only quiet moment is when Kiki sits by the Vermont station to consider her next move. Did you feel like you needed that calm beat before the madness was unleashed?

Sean Baker: In that scene, I didn’t know I was going to be marrying the Beethoven track to it at that moment. I just said, “This is a moment in which I’m going to slow thing down.” It was the quiet before the storm. We already had a shot of adrenaline in the beginning and this was going to be the second shot of adrenaline right after this quiet scene. I basically said, “Look, let’s just take a moment and allow the audience to breathe a little bit.” I told Kiki, “Sorry, you are gonna have to smoke like 10 cigarettes,” because we needed to get every angle possible. I should have gotten even more coverage. I wish I had more coverage.

Aguilar: You weaved in hilarious comedy within this story about two marginalized characters. Was finding that tonal balance difficult? The humor is just so clever. There are lots of quotable material in the film like “You didn’t have to Chris-Brown the bitch”or the whole part about "real fish."

Sean Baker: [Laughs] That was really just because when I was in my research process and I’d be hanging out with them, it was like going to a stand up comedy routine. They were so funny, and they would always finish each other's sentences. They would set up jokes and then deliver a punch line. I realize there is so much humor in that world because the women use that humor to cope. They use it to get by. We all use humor in our lives to get through, but they do so especially because they are sex workers because they have to be. They’ve been so marginalized they don’t have other opportunities. They are faced with discrimination, with danger, and with violence on a regular basis. They have to use humor just to cope and I witnessed this. I thought that if I didn’t inject that humor in the story it would be dishonest.

Aguilar: How did the Armenian driver who lives a very traditional lifestyle at home and finds solace in these transgender girls come about? It certainly adds another layer of complexity to the story.

Sean Baker: The actor, Karren Karagulian, this is my fifth time working with him. I love him. He is great, but he is underrated. This industry hasn’t noticed him yet. He doesn’t even have an agent and yet he’s been the lead of three films now. This is due to the racism of the industry, but I’m hoping that this is the film that finally breaks him in because he is so good. I approached him and said, “Look I’m making a film about two transgender sex workers in Los Angeles, how can we incorporate you? Or how can we find a character for you?” He said, “Look there is a huge Armenian community in L.A, I’ll be a cab driver who is into one of them.” I said, “There we go.” [Laughs]. He is New York-based, so he came out and through his connections I was able to get the stars of Armenia. Alla Tumanian, who plays the mother in law, is a classic actress from Armenia. Arsen Grigoryan, who plays the other cab driver that rats on him, he hosts The Voice over in Armenia. He is our biggest celebrity in the movie. It was really interesting to work with some of the stars of Armenia, such seasoned talent.

Aguilar: Will it ever play in Armenia since you have names that are recognized there? Or is it too non-traditional in terms of its themes to play there?

Sean Baker: Yeah, that’s the thing. We are hoping that it plays at the Golden Apricot, which is their film festival, but we are still not sure.

Aguilar: Out of Sundance most of the talk about the film was related to how it had been shot on an iPhone. Have you gotten to a point where you want to talk about the actual film and not mechanics of how it was made?

Sean Baker: Yeah, I’m sort of sick of it at this point. What started out as a budgetary thing has become sort of a gimmick and it’s not, but it is a selling point at the same time so we can’t dismiss it. Some critics have gone as far as to say that subtextually the fact that we are shooting on this accessible device works with the subject matter about these women who might not have the means to shoot any other way. I’m just happy that it’s accepted and that we were able to find our aesthetic. We were sort of forced into it but I’m happy with the look of the end product. I come from the school of thought that feels that if you can shoot film, you should shoot film. I’m still in that Christopher Nolan, Tarantino thing.

Aguilar: Save film!

Sean Baker: Yeah! If I had the budget I would have shot it on film but then I probably wouldn’t have made the same movie.

Aguilar: Did you ever image that "Tangerine" would go as far as it has or did it catch you by surprise? Despite all the iPhone talk, reviews have been stellar and people seem to really connect with the film and its humor.

Sean Baker: No, I thought that it might have the same acceptance as my last film "Starlet," the critics liked it and it won the Altman Award, but it’s still under the radar and people are still finding it on Netflix. I thought it would be the same, but this one seems to have a bigger impact. I thought it was going to divide critics more and so far it hasn’t really done that. People really seem to accept it, which is a great thing. My hope is that with the trans movement being such a big part of the zeitgeist that Mya and Kiki can really parlay this. That’s the hope.

Aguilar: Do you think it’ll be difficult for them to find more acting jobs after this?

Sean Baker: That’s my fear, but at the same time I’m hoping that with the industry realizing that diversity it so important they may be offered more roles. They are talented enough to play anybody. It doesn’t just have to be a trans role. I’d love to see both of them take on anything. That would be the ultimate success for this film.

Aguilar: They are both amazing, colorful, and brimming with authenticity. How did you find them? I'm sure raw talent like this didn't come from traditional casting.

Sean Baker: You have to put in the time. With “Prince of Broadway,” which is the film I made before ”Starlet,” we spent a year in that district and everybody kept on telling us to find Prince Adu. “Find Prince Adu, he’ll like you. He’ll work with you,” and when we did, it all worked out. He was enthusiastic and he wanted to make the movie with us and everything worked out. In this case I tried to keep that in mind, “If I can just find that one person who is enthusiastic enough.” Then, only two weeks in, we went over to the Lgbt center and there was a courtyard, Mya was about 40 feet away and I saw her and thought, “She has a look. There is something about her. She is the one who stands out in the crowd." We went up to her and introduced ourselves. Next thing you know she was doing what Prince did, she had that enthusiasm. She was like, “I want to make this film with you!” We exchanged information and we started going from there. That’s how it happened and then she brought Kiki to the table. This is also something I haven’t said enough, Mark and Jay Duplass were very supportive. They found us the money to make it. When nobody else was stepping forward they were the only ones that said, “We’ll help you make this film.”

Aguilar: They are like the indie film godfathers.

Sean Baker: Exactly!

Aguilar: I have my own theories about this, but why did you decide to title the film “Tangerine”? Is it the sweet and sour nature of the two leads?

Sean Baker: Yes, you got it [Laughs]. Is that and it's also the color. The sense and the fruit you get from the color of it. I didn’t want to go with a literal title. I’m sick of those. Film is the only art form where we feel we have to title our stuff literally. Musicians don’t have to title their songs literally. It can be more about what’s conjured up when you think of a word. In this case for some reason tangerine just kept sticking and we kept on going back to that.

"Tangerine" is now playing in Los Angeles at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood and in NYC at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema...

Iconic Hollywood director Mel Brooks will present Steve Martin with the American Film Institute's 43rd Life Achievement Award — America's highest honor for a career in film. Martin will be recognized as one of the most acclaimed artists of his generation. The private black tie gala will be held at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on June 4 and will premiere Saturday, June 13, at 10 p.m. (Est/Pst) on TBS, with an encore at 11:30 p.m. (Est/Pst). Sister network TCM will present an encore of the special on Thursday, July 30, at 8 p.m. (Est/Pst) during a night of movies starring Martin.

As the 41st AFI Life Achievement Award recipient in 2013, Brooks is also in an elite group as an "Egot" — an artist who has received all four major entertainment prizes: the Emmy®, Grammy®, Oscar® and Tony® awards. Most recently Brooks was awarded the British Film Institute Fellowship — the British Film Institute's highest possible honor. Brooks has written, directed, produced and starred in many classic comedies, including "The Producers" (1967), "Blazing Saddles" (1974), "Young Frankenstein" (1974), "Silent Movie" (1976), "High Anxiety" (1977), "History of the World Part 1" (1981), "To Be or Not to Be" (1983), "Spaceballe" (1987), "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (1993) and "Dracula: Dead and Loving it" (1995). His visionary film company, Brooksfilms Limited, also produced critically acclaimed films such as "My Favorite Year" (1982), "The Fly" (1986), "84 Charing Cross Road" (1987) and the Academy Award®-nominated "The Elephant Man" (1980).

Steve Martin is an actor, comedian, author, playwright, screenwriter, producer and musician. Recipient of an Emmy®, four Grammy Awards®, a Kennedy Center Honor and an Honorary Oscar®, Martin first rose to prominence as a stand-up comedian and quickly established himself as a leading man with a body of work defined by his unique creative voice. In his break-out role in "The Jerk"(1979), which he also co-wrote, Martin's distinct comedic sensibilities launched him into the zeitgeist.

He went on to become a bankable big-screen star, with distinct roles in films such as "Pennies from Heaven" (1981), "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" (1982), "The Man with Two Brains" (1983), "Three Amigos!' (1986), "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986) and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (1988), "All of Me" (1984), "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" (1987), "Roxanne" (1987) and "Father of the Bride" parts I and II (1991, 1995), "Parenthood" (1989), "Grand Canyon" (1991), "L.A. Story" (1991) and "Shopgirl" (2005) — a film which he wrote based on his novella of the same name.

In addition to his beloved film credits and his successful writing career, Martin is also an accomplished musician. Martin recently premiered his new musical "Bright Star," at the Old Globe Theater featuring original music by Martin and songwriter Edie Brickell, inspired by their Grammy Award®-winning collaboration "Love Has Come For You."

"Steve Martin is an American original," said Sir Howard Stringer, Chair of the AFI Board of Trustees. "From a wild and crazy stand-up comic to one who stands tall among the great figures in this American art form, he is a multi-layered creative force bound by neither convention nor caution. His work is defined by him alone, for he is the author — and a national treasure whose work has stuck with us like an arrow in the head. AFI is proud to present him with its 43rd Life Achievement Award." Proceeds from the AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute event directly support the Institute's national education programs.

Mel Brooks will present Steve Martin with the American Film Institute’s 43rd Life Achievement Award, the institute announced Thursday. Brooks received the AFI’s 41st Life Achievement Award in 2013. Martin first rose to prominence as a stand-up comedian and quickly established himself as a leading man. His major breakout role came in 1979 as Navin Johnson in “The Jerk,” which Martin co-wrote. He followed up with roles in films including “Three Amigos,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” and “L.A. Story.” See photos: Party Report at AFI Fest: Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Ari Emanuel, Jessica Chastain, and a Mob The legendary actor,...

What’s the Matter with Havana?: Cronenberg’s L.A. Story a Hot Mess of Tangled Ideas

Couched within its episodic instances of harpooning Hollywood stereotypes, there is a rather interesting tale in Maps to the Stars contending as a wobbly family saga of vacuous types tainted by their desperate attempts to maintain a certain visibility within celebrity culture. But it’s an idea lost in its own maddening attempt at actually engaging in the mythos pointedly laid out in its own subtext as pertains to provocative motifs like incest, nepotism, and (literally) ghosts from the past. The result is a maudlin brew of wacky circumstances and over-the-top flourishes that sometimes work, but, more often than not, fall flat the longer running the time wears on. While it very much feels like a Cronenbergian endeavor, its pointed critique of a particular empty headed culture ends up feeling like a series of wink-wink potshots,...

Sir Howard Stringer, Chair of the American Film Institute’s Board of Trustees, announced today the Board’s decision to honor Steve Martin with the 43rd AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film. The award will be presented to Martin at a gala tribute in Los Angeles, CA on June 4, 2015.

The 43rd AFI Life Achievement Award tribute special will return for its third year on TNT when it airs in June 2015, followed by encore presentations on sister network Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

“Steve Martin is an American original,” said Stringer. “From a wild and crazy stand-up comic to one who stands tall among the great figures in this American art form, he is a multi-layered creative force bound by neither convention nor caution. His work is defined by him alone, for he is the author – and a national treasure whose work has stuck with us...

Everyone loves Steve Martin. Everyone used to like him when he was pumping out comedies in the '80s, but now everyone loves him. He has the awards to prove it. American Film Institute announced today that Steve Martin will receive the organization's 43rd AFI Life Achievement Award, the "highest honor for a career in film," according to a press release. The award will be presented to Martin at a gala tribute in Los Angeles, CA on June 4, 2015. "Steve Martin is an American original," said Sir Howard Stringer, Chair of the American Film Institute's Board of Trustees. "From a wild and crazy stand-up comic to one who stands tall among the great figures in this American art form, he is a multi-layered creative force bound by neither convention nor caution. His work is defined by him alone, for he is the author – and a national treasure whose work has stuck...

Steve Martin sure seems to be collecting a lot of lifetime achievement awards for a guy who has only lived one lifetime. Last year, he collected an honorary Oscar for his groundbreaking career in motion pictures. A decade ago, he collected trophies from the Kennedy Center Honors and the American Cinematheque. And today, the American Film Institute selected him as the 43rd recipient of their Life Achievement Award for screen work. Maybe his many honors are due to the fact that he has mastered so many different talents: stand-up, comedic acting, dramatic acting, writing screenplays, writing stage plays, writing novels,...

Steve Martin has been named recipient of the highly prestigious AFI Life Achievement Award to be presented June 4th and aired on TNT and later on sister network TCM. After generally reserving this coveted prize to actors and directors who made their mark in dramatic films this is second time in the past three years that the American Film Institute has decided to lighten things up by giving their award to a person who made their mark in comedy. And it has paid off. Mel Brooks got the honor in 2013 and it resulted not only in a hilarious and memorable evening, it got higher ratings and brought the AFI special its first Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special in August. But Martin is the first recipient who actually started and made their reputation as a stand up comic. And his films beginning with The Jerk and continuing with such modern comedy...

Feature Ryan Lambie 11 Mar 2014 - 05:39

In the late 80s, Carolco was one of the biggest studios in Hollywood, but by 1995, it was gone. Ryan charts its dramatic rise and fall...

Paul Verhoeven is not a happy man. It's 1994, and the Dutch director of (among other things) RoboCop and Total Recall is in a pivotal meeting with executives at Carolco Pictures. They're in the boardroom to discuss Crusade: a lavish, $100m historical drama described as Spartacus meets Conan.

With a script by Walon Green (The Wild Bunch, WarGames), and a cast headed up by Arnold Schwarzenegger, it sounds like the kind of star-filled, opulent film Carolco Pictures is famous for making. The supporting cast includes Jennifer Connelly and Robert Duvall. The script is vibrant and brash. There are massive sets being built in rural Spain. But privately, Carolco's bosses are anxious; they have another hugely expensive project in the works...

One of the most influential composers in 20th-century music, Philip Glass reteams with director Godfrey Reggio for the fourth time for the new movie Visitors, now playing in L.A. Story: How 'Nebraska's' Composer Wrote Americana Music Without 'Banjo Plucking' Their first collaboration, the landmark Koyaanisqatsi, became a favorite of the midnight stoner set when it came out in 1983, but has lived on to become a landmark in abstract filmmaking with its high-speed visions of city life and the chaos of a mechanized world. Sequels Powaqqatis and Naqoyqatsi employed similar visual techniques, but the pair’s latest collaboration,

read more...

Remember Steve Martin in "L.A. Story"? He played a TV weatherman who takes a week's vacation in the summer, where the local daily forecasts are interchangeable. So he pretapes his broadcasts ahead of his vacation. That's what trying to come up with changes and trends for 2013 movie box office is like -- at first glance you could recap 2012 with few variations for 2013. But a careful look at the year's successes and failures yields some intriguing developments. (See the Top 20 2013 Box Office Chart below.) What was the same? Total domestic revenues at $10,920,000 --up $83 million, or 0.8%-- are a wash. Of the top ten grossers, for both years eight were either sequels or franchise starters, one a Disney animated feature, and only one a stand-alone original ("Ted" and "Gravity" respectively). Eight of the ten films each year reported budgets over $100 million, and only two came in under $50 million. International totals for both...

Although his credits stretch back to modern classics like L.A. Story and The Bodguard , it was about his latest, Lee Daniels' The Butler , that cinematographer Andrew Dunn speaks about with ComingSoon.net in the below interview this year's Camerimage Festival in Bydgoszcz, Poland. If you missed them, be sure to check out our previous Camerimage interviews here . Cs: "Lee Daniel's The Butler" wasn't your first time working with Daniels. How did the two of you come to collaborate? Andrew Dunn: It came about over a long period of time. I had worked with Lee Daniels on "Precious." That had been my previous experience working with him, shooting "Precious" in New York. That was just a great experience. I found my way through into him and he...

The first big show of the Awards Season happened Saturday night as Hollywood’s A-listers turned out to celebrate 2013 Governors Award honorees Angelina Jolie, Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin, and Piero Tosi. The Governors Awards, along with the Academy Awards, bookends the entire award season annually.

The Academy blogged the event Live for fans during the arrivals and ceremony. You can read it here: http://www.oscars.org/awards/governors/index.html.

Produced by Paula Wagner, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and three Honorary Awards were presented to Angelina Jolie, Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin and Piero Tosi at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center. Italian costume designer Piero Tosi was also honored, but did not attend the ceremony.

On hand were Mark Wahlberg, Tom Hanks, Idris Elba, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Rash & Nate Faxon, Jonah Hill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lee Daniels & Ruth E. Carter, Matthew McConaughey, Pharrell Williams, Lupita Nyong’o,...

Hocus Pocus has been on the telly a lot lately. I guess that means it's October? I started to watch but Bette Midler forced me away with her insane voicework. I swear every other word in every line of her dialogue she treats like it's the climax of the sentence And the movie. It's just impossible to listen to. Good grief that movie is noisy.

And so much mugging! I'm surprised I still had a wallet by the time the credits rolled.

Remember when Sarah Jessica Parker was a silver screen sex symbol? That girl has had so many acts in her career. The comic but non-ironic sex symbol years were inbetween the memorable TV personas from the early Square Pegs geekery and the Sex and the City Mega-Icon status. Let's call it the "SanDeE*" years. What a strong stretch that was for her. So many enjoyable performances in mostly good films: L.A. Story,...

Odd List Simon Brew Ryan Lambie 26 Sep 2013 - 07:09

The year 1991 is the focus for our latest underappreciated films list, which includes dramas, thrillers, and a smattering of horror...

Ah, 1991. The year Robert Patrick ran after cars in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and Kevin Costner grew a spectacular mullet for Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. But outside the top ten blockbuster list, there lies an entire world of other, less celebrated films to discover.

Some of the movies on this list have been included because they were overlooked in theatres, while others have been added because they were unfairly dismissed by critics. One or two others were modest successes, but (whisper it) we decided to include them anyway because we really, really like them.

So here, for your delectation, is our pick of 25 underappreciated films from 1991.

25. Deceived

You think Goldie Hawn, you tend to think comedy, or her Oscar-nominated turn in Private Benjamin.