Shadows of Russia: Communism on TCM

Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas in Ninotchka (top); Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford in The Way We Were (bottom)

From the Romanovs’ last stand to Warren Beatty’s first solo directorial effort: On every Wednesday in January 2010, Turner Classic Movies will present the 20-film festival "Shadows of Russia," a showcase of Hollywood movies portraying Russia (and/or the Soviet Union) and the sociopolitical reverberations of Communism throughout the 20th century.
Among the scheduled films are classics such as Ninotchka, The Manchurian Candidate, and Reds, in addition to lesser-known fare like Counter-Attack, I Was a Communist for the FBI, and The Strawberry Statement. Get ready for some laughs and a few tears — mostly laughs. And mostly of the unintended kind.
I must red-facedly [...]

Outfest 2009: Panels & Special Screenings

Before Stonewall (top); Sigourney Weaver, Ryan Kelley in Prayers for Bobby (middle); Zach Gilford in Dare (bottom)

Special Events and Panels at Outfest 2009 include q&a’s with the talent and creative teams of HBO’s drama Big Love (July 19 at 5:00pm at DGA 1) and Fox’s musical series Glee. Actors Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer, and Jane Lynch, co-creator and writer Ian Brennan, and executive producer Dante Di Loreto will be present for the Glee q&a on Saturday, July 18 at 1:30pm at DGA 1.
Additionally, "Words, Pictures and Music," a panel discussion about musicals on the big screen, will feature Bill Condon (Chicago), [...]

Barbra Streisand, Michel Legrand, Quincy Jones at the Alan and Marilyn Bergman Tribute

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented "A Tribute to Alan and Marilyn Bergman," on Friday, May 29, 2009.
Pictured above at the reception preceding the event, from left to right: (seated) Alan Bergman, Quincy Jones, Michel Legrand, (standing) James Newton Howard, Patti Austin, Marilyn Bergman, Sid Ganis and Dave Grusin.
Photos: Greg Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S. (Legrand/Grusin/Bergman, Streisand), Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S. (group photo, the Bergmans)
Click on the images to enlarge them.

Marilyn and Alan Bergman

Michel Legrand, Dave Grusin, Alan Bergman

Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand, Patti Austin, Melissa Manchester Photos

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented "A Tribute to Alan and Marilyn Bergman," on Friday, May 29, 2009.
Photos: Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Click on the images to enlarge them.

James Newton Howard, Melissa Manchester

Michel Legrand, Quincy Jones

Marilyn Bergman, Jennifer Grey

Patti Austin, Melissa Manchester

Marilyn Bergman, Alan Bergman, Barbra Streisand

Alan & Marilyn Bergman Tribute

Songwriters Alan and Marilyn Bergman, among whose compositions are "The Way We Were" and the song score for Yentl, will be the recipients of an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tribute on Friday, May 29, at 8 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The evening will be hosted by music producer and composer Quincy Jones, and will feature film clips, personal remembrances from the Bergmans’ colleagues and friends, and live performances of several Oscar-nominated songs. In addition to the honorees, special guests include Dave Grusin, James Newton Howard and Michel Legrand.

The former Marilyn Keith (born in New York City in Nov. 1929) met Alan Bergman (born [...]

MEET THE FOCKERS – Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro

Meet the Fockers (2004)
Direction: Jay Roach
Screenplay: John Hamburg and James Herzfeld; from an original story by Herzfeld and Marc Hyman
Cast: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Owen Wilson
 

 

THE DISPLEASURE OF THEIR COMPANY
Four of the six principals in the Meet the Fockers cast — Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, and Blythe Danner — have among themselves five Academy Awards and an additional ten Oscar nominations for acting, one Tony win and six additional nominations, and numerous other acting awards and nominations from around the world.
What to do with all that honor and prestige? Throw them into the fetid garbage dumpster of a Ben Stiller flick about chopped-off foreskin, babies that say [...]