Pete Postlethwaite

TCM Remembers the Actors, Directors, and Other Artists We Lost in 2011

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 14th, 2011 at 12:27 pm

Turner Classic Movies is not only a great TV station, but is also serves as an archivist.  Their moving year-end “Remembers” montages highlight not just the famous faces we lost, but the character actors, cinematographers, writers, and other cinematic artists who didn’t get publication-spanning obituaries at the time of their passing.  TCM has footage of all of almost all of the artists we lost in 2011 and they’ve once again woven a touching tribute.

In 2011, we lost some good ones including Pete Postlethwaite, Peter Falk, Cliff Robertson, Jane Russell, Elizabeth Taylor, Laura Ziskin, and Sidney Lumet.  As far as editing goes, I think the “TCM Remembers 2010″ video is better, but they’re both worth your time so I’ve included both after the jump.

R.I.P. Pete Postlethwaite Dead at 64

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 3rd, 2011 at 7:19 am

Oscar-nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite has reportedly died at the age of 64.  His spokesman told Reuters that Postlethwaite had been unwell off and on for the past two years due to cancer and its side effects.  Steven Spielberg, who directed Postlethwaite in Jurassic Park: The Lost World and Amistad, said “he probably the best actor in the world today.”  Postlethwaite was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 1994 for his performance in In the Name of the Father.  Some of his other memorable performances include the committed band conductor Danny in Brassed Off, the mysterious Kobayashi in The Usual Suspects, and  sinister mobster/florist Fergie last year in The Town (pictured above).

He was a welcome presence in movies and he will be missed.  Our condolences go out to his friends and family.

THE TOWN Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 17th, 2010 at 6:15 am

I’ve made it a point not to understand people who don’t like Ben Affleck.  The guy is charming and has never been hesitant to poke fun at himself (“Word, bitch!  Phantoms like a motherfucker!” he proudly proclaims in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back).  But he did a good job of silencing the haters with 2007 directorial debut Gone Baby Gone.  Of course, then came the chorus, “He should just stay behind the camera!”  Now with his new film The Town, he’s directing and starring and he does a great job at both.  While his new effort isn’t quite the emotional powerhouse he delivered with Gone Baby Gone, The Town is a thrilling ride that’s worth taking.

TIFF 2010 Video Blog: Ben Affleck’s THE TOWN

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 9th, 2010 at 9:11 pm

Earlier today I watched director Ben Affleck’s The Town at the Toronto International Film Festival.  As a huge fan of his debut movie, Gone Baby Gone, I had high hopes for his second feature about a group of bank robbers in Charlestown (a suburb of Boston) and the Federal agents after them.  Thankfully, not only did Affleck deliver a great movie, he cemented his status as a real director that deserves your attention.

One of the many things that impressed me about his second feature is the way he built on what worked in his debut.  I think we can all agree the performances in Gone Baby Gone were great, and now in The Town, he not only got the entire cast (Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite and Chris Cooper) to deliver realistic and believable performances while also directing himself on screen, he shot a few hefty action sequences which will impress you by their size and scope.  While I’m not always the biggest fan of Affleck in front of the camera, I think he’s a great director and someone that I hope makes a lot more movies.

Anyway, for more on what I thought, hit the jump for a video blog I recorded with Peter from Slashfilm a few minutes after we got out of the theater.

Warner Bros. 2010 Fall Preview Includes New Images from HARRY POTTER, THE TOWN, LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS, DUE DATE, and YOGI BEAR

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: August 19th, 2010 at 9:44 pm

Warner Bros. has released their Fall/Holiday 2010 Preview and included are some new and previously released images from The Town, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, Yogi Bear, Due Date, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.  Hit the jump for high resolution versions along with updated cast lists and synopses:

CLASH OF THE TITANS Set Visit – Collider Goes to London to Visit the Set of Louis Leterrier’s Remake

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 17th, 2010 at 10:19 pm

Last August, before anyone had seen the kick-ass teaser trailer, before most people knew who Sam Worthington was, and when everyone online debated how much money Fox was going to lose on Avatar, I got to visit the London set of director Louis Leterrier’s Clash of the Titans.  Going in, I thought the movie was going to be pretty big.  But when I got to the set and saw the size and scope firsthand, I realized this was a movie I couldn’t wait to see put together, and I left London excited and impressed by what Warner Bros. showed us.

If you’ve read my previous set reports for Watchmen or Observe and Report, you know I try and avoid writing about spoilers and other things that might ruin watching the movie.  But if you want to know what visiting a movie set is really like and what I observed while there, continue reading after the jump:

New Clips from JENNIFER’S BODY, 2012, NINJA ASSASSIN, and CLASH OF THE TITANS

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 5:53 pm

MTV aired a program tonight called “Behind the Screen” and they showed off new clips from “Jennifer’s Body”, “Ninja Assassin”, “2012″ and some behind the scenes footage from “Clash of the Titans”. Thanks to the magic of embedding, you can see the clips after the jump. Take a look:

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