On May 31, 2024, “The Great Lillian Hall” premiered on HBO to predominantly positive reviews from critics. In the film, Oscar, Emmy and Tony winner Jessica Lange plays the titular character, a Broadway star battling dementia as she prepares for a big role on the Great White Way. The movie reunites Lange with her “American Horror Story” co-stars Kathy Bates and Lily Rabe, who play Lillian’s assistant and daughter, respectively. Pierce Brosnan and Jesse Williams also star.
The HBO movie is loosely inspired by actress Marian Seldes, who was the aunt of the film’s screenwriter, Elisabeth Seldes Annacone. Michael Cristofer directed the movie for HBO Films. Read our full review round-up below.
See Jessica Lange (‘Mother Play’) explores ‘what it means to be lonely’ within 12 minutes of haunting silence
Caryn James of The Hollywood Reporter writes, “Jessica Lange is perfection as the fictional actress Lillian Hall, known for decades as...
The HBO movie is loosely inspired by actress Marian Seldes, who was the aunt of the film’s screenwriter, Elisabeth Seldes Annacone. Michael Cristofer directed the movie for HBO Films. Read our full review round-up below.
See Jessica Lange (‘Mother Play’) explores ‘what it means to be lonely’ within 12 minutes of haunting silence
Caryn James of The Hollywood Reporter writes, “Jessica Lange is perfection as the fictional actress Lillian Hall, known for decades as...
- 6/4/2024
- by Vincent Mandile
- Gold Derby
In “The Great Lillian Hall,” Jessica Lange plays a veteran theater actress — a legend of the Broadway stage — who is always putting on airs, reciting bits from her favorite roles, and carrying on in the tradition of fabled actresses who get known for playing characters like Blanche DuBois because they’ve actually got a lot of Blanche in them. (They believe their own illusions.) Yet just because Lillian Hall is a flamboyant grand dame doesn’t mean that she’s not showing you who she is. Lange, a beauty at 75, has a face that has only grown more expressive with the years. In “The Great Lillian Hall,” that face is a map of emotion we read. Even when Lillian is being deceptive (even when she’s deceiving herself), the majesty of her feelings shines through.
There’s a moving scene in which she’s seated on a porch with her adult daughter,...
There’s a moving scene in which she’s seated on a porch with her adult daughter,...
- 6/1/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Depending on how Russian your sense of humor is, Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” could be classified as either the darkest of comedies or a tragedy that sometimes manages to be mildly humorous. The play follows a past-their-prime family of Russian aristocrats who are forced to sell their eponymous orchard, which they spent most of their lives ignoring and neglecting. But once it’s time to actually part ways, they become overwhelmed by morose nostalgia as they struggle to let go of something that they assumed would always be there. It’s both a brilliant satire of wealth-induced decadence and a somber exploration of how humans struggle to say goodbye at the ends of their eras.
So it’s fitting that, whether she knows it or not, Lillian Hall’s (Jessica Lange) upcoming turn as Madame Lyubov Andreievna Ranevskaya in “The Cherry Orchard” will be her final performance. Michael Cristofer...
So it’s fitting that, whether she knows it or not, Lillian Hall’s (Jessica Lange) upcoming turn as Madame Lyubov Andreievna Ranevskaya in “The Cherry Orchard” will be her final performance. Michael Cristofer...
- 5/31/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Welcome to Emmy Experts Typing, a weekly column in which Gold Derby editors and Experts Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen discuss the Emmy race — via Slack, of course. This week, as the eligibility period closes Friday, we discuss two last-minute limited/TV movie hopefuls.
Christopher Rosen: Hello, Joyce! We’re at the end of 2024 Emmys eligibility, and not without some last-minute entries. This week, Netflix added “Eric” to its stable of limited series contenders — joining fellow May release “A Man in Full,” as well as “Ripley,” “Griselda,” “Painkiller” and presumed frontrunner “Baby Reindeer.” Meanwhile, over at HBO, “The Great Lillian Hall” is here, a TV movie that puts Jessica Lange in contention for Best Limited/TV Movie Actress. It’s funny: Neither of these projects feels like they connected with critics and the late drops are always dicey when there are too many shows to watch in the first place.
Christopher Rosen: Hello, Joyce! We’re at the end of 2024 Emmys eligibility, and not without some last-minute entries. This week, Netflix added “Eric” to its stable of limited series contenders — joining fellow May release “A Man in Full,” as well as “Ripley,” “Griselda,” “Painkiller” and presumed frontrunner “Baby Reindeer.” Meanwhile, over at HBO, “The Great Lillian Hall” is here, a TV movie that puts Jessica Lange in contention for Best Limited/TV Movie Actress. It’s funny: Neither of these projects feels like they connected with critics and the late drops are always dicey when there are too many shows to watch in the first place.
- 5/31/2024
- by Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
I am a sucker for movies about Broadway and those who spend their lives in the theatre. Of course the crown jewel of the genre is the Oscar-winning All About Eve, but there are so many others including 1933’s Morning Glory which won a young Katherine Hepburn her first Academy Award, as well as its rarely seen remake, 1958’s underrated Stage Struck. Ginger Rogers did a good one, too: Forever Female. The list goes on and on and now includes a stellar new entry, The Great Lillian Hall which gives the great Jessica Lange a challenging role worth her talents.
Premiering on HBO May 31, just barely under the wire for Emmy consideration, Lange’s performance as a stage legend facing dementia should send chills down the spine of any other contenders for Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie this season. This veteran star simply knocks it out of the park.
Premiering on HBO May 31, just barely under the wire for Emmy consideration, Lange’s performance as a stage legend facing dementia should send chills down the spine of any other contenders for Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie this season. This veteran star simply knocks it out of the park.
- 5/30/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
"The play is my life! And no one is going to take that from me!" HBO has unveiled an official trailer for The Great Lillian Hall, a brand new HBO Original Movie set for a streaming debut on Max next week. It'll be out to watch on May 31st, which is just around the corner. When beloved Broadway actress Lillian Hall (Jessica Lange) starts forgetting her lines, she must reckon with the sacrifices she made for her career. Hall, a beloved Broadway actress, has never missed a performance throughout her long, illustrious career. Yet in the rehearsals her confidence is challenged. People and events conspire to take away her ability to do what she loves most. The illustrious Jessica Lange star as Lillian Hall in this, joined by Kathy Bates as Edith Wilson, Lily Rabe as Margaret Tanner, Jesse Williams as David Flemming, and Pierce Brosnan as Ty Maynard. While...
- 5/26/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Jessica Lange is perfection as the fictional actress Lillian Hall, known for decades as a revered star of the theater. During rehearsals for her starring role in The Cherry Orchard, she is having unusual difficulty memorizing her lines, and before long learns that the cause is early dementia. Despite that ominous theme, The Great Lillian Hall is a lovely tribute to life in the theater, with all its personal compromises, and a showcase for Lange, who deftly shows the character as a vulnerable woman and also displays the distinct style of Lillian the bravura actress.
Lillian is such a star that she is the key to the box office in the Broadway revival of Chekhov. The film’s trajectory takes her through rehearsals, and in and out of her personal life as she grapples with her diagnosis, in a plot driven by the question of whether she’ll make it to opening night.
Lillian is such a star that she is the key to the box office in the Broadway revival of Chekhov. The film’s trajectory takes her through rehearsals, and in and out of her personal life as she grapples with her diagnosis, in a plot driven by the question of whether she’ll make it to opening night.
- 5/24/2024
- by Caryn James
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jessica Lange may have hinted at her own retirement for years, but the legendary actress is actually playing it out onscreen with her latest film “The Great Lillian Hall.”
Lange stars as the titular (fictional) iconic stage actress who grapples with her own legacy amid a dementia diagnosis. Her daughter (Lily Rabe) struggles with separating her mother Lillian from her Broadway fame, while Kathy Bates, Jesse Williams, and Pierce Brosnan round out the cast.
“I have lived my entire life in a place that creates illusions,” Lange says in the trailer as Lillian. Yet upon her cognizant decline, what’s real anymore, anyway?
“The Great Lillian Hall” is directed by Michael Cristofer. The official synopsis reads: “As beloved Broadway star Lillian Hall (Lange) pours her heart, soul, and time into preparing for her next big role, she finds herself blindsided by confusion and forgetfulness. Battling against all odds to make it to opening night,...
Lange stars as the titular (fictional) iconic stage actress who grapples with her own legacy amid a dementia diagnosis. Her daughter (Lily Rabe) struggles with separating her mother Lillian from her Broadway fame, while Kathy Bates, Jesse Williams, and Pierce Brosnan round out the cast.
“I have lived my entire life in a place that creates illusions,” Lange says in the trailer as Lillian. Yet upon her cognizant decline, what’s real anymore, anyway?
“The Great Lillian Hall” is directed by Michael Cristofer. The official synopsis reads: “As beloved Broadway star Lillian Hall (Lange) pours her heart, soul, and time into preparing for her next big role, she finds herself blindsided by confusion and forgetfulness. Battling against all odds to make it to opening night,...
- 5/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The Last of Us won’t be back until 2025, but HBO on Wednesday gave fans a glimpse of what their favorite post-apocalyptic pair will be up to in Season 2.
The first photos from The Last of Us‘ sophomore season show Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie looking a little older (and maybe worse for wear) when the show returns. The images were released as part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s annual upfronts presentation in New York City. Check out the shot of Joel at the top of this post, and Ellie below.
More from TVLineJason Kelce Officially...
The first photos from The Last of Us‘ sophomore season show Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie looking a little older (and maybe worse for wear) when the show returns. The images were released as part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s annual upfronts presentation in New York City. Check out the shot of Joel at the top of this post, and Ellie below.
More from TVLineJason Kelce Officially...
- 5/15/2024
- by Kimberly Roots
- TVLine.com
Cognitive decline is waiting in the wings for The Great Lillian Hall in the trailer for the HBO’s star-packed new film.
The premium cable network shook up the 2024 Emmy race with its 11th hour acquisition of the showbiz-themed film starring Jessica Lange as an iconic Broadway diva facing the ultimate test.
More from TVLineSteve Carell to Star in Upcoming Bill Lawrence Comedy at HBOThe Last of Us Season 2: See Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in First Photos - Plus: When Will It Be Back?House of the Dragon Season 2: Greens and Blacks Suit Up for War in...
The premium cable network shook up the 2024 Emmy race with its 11th hour acquisition of the showbiz-themed film starring Jessica Lange as an iconic Broadway diva facing the ultimate test.
More from TVLineSteve Carell to Star in Upcoming Bill Lawrence Comedy at HBOThe Last of Us Season 2: See Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in First Photos - Plus: When Will It Be Back?House of the Dragon Season 2: Greens and Blacks Suit Up for War in...
- 5/14/2024
- by Michael Ausiello
- TVLine.com
Dunk and Egg’s first quest will be a brief one.
HBO’s forthcoming Game of Thrones spinoff about Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg, will have a six-episode Season 1, TVLine has confirmed. Our sister site The Hollywood Reporter first broke the news.
More from TVLineJason Kelce Officially Joins ESPN's Monday Night Football Pregame ShowHBO Acquires Jessica Lange Pic The Great Lillian Hall, Rushes to Air Ahead of Emmy CutoffHouse of the Dragon Season 2: Greens and Blacks Suit Up for War in Dragon-tastic New Trailer
Also, the series — formerly referred to as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight...
HBO’s forthcoming Game of Thrones spinoff about Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg, will have a six-episode Season 1, TVLine has confirmed. Our sister site The Hollywood Reporter first broke the news.
More from TVLineJason Kelce Officially Joins ESPN's Monday Night Football Pregame ShowHBO Acquires Jessica Lange Pic The Great Lillian Hall, Rushes to Air Ahead of Emmy CutoffHouse of the Dragon Season 2: Greens and Blacks Suit Up for War in Dragon-tastic New Trailer
Also, the series — formerly referred to as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight...
- 5/7/2024
- by Kimberly Roots
- TVLine.com
Wallace Beery from Pancho Villa to Long John Silver: TCM schedule (Pt) on August 17, 2013 (photo: Fay Wray, Wallace Beery as Pancho Villa in ‘Viva Villa!’) See previous post: “Wallace Beery: Best Actor Oscar Winner — and Runner-Up.” 3:00 Am The Last Of The Mohicans (1920). Director: Maurice Tourneur. Cast: Barbara Bedford, Albert Roscoe, Wallace Beery, Lillian Hall, Henry Woodward, James Gordon, George Hackathorne, Nelson McDowell, Harry Lorraine, Theodore Lorch, Jack McDonald, Sydney Deane, Boris Karloff. Bw-76 mins. 4:30 Am The Big House (1930). Director: George W. Hill. Cast: Chester Morris, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Robert Montgomery, Leila Hyams, George F. Marion, J.C. Nugent, DeWitt Jennings, Matthew Betz, Claire McDowell, Robert Emmett O’Connor, Tom Wilson, Eddie Foyer, Roscoe Ates, Fletcher Norton, Noah Beery Jr, Chris-Pin Martin, Eddie Lambert, Harry Wilson. Bw-87 mins. 6:00 Am Bad Man Of Brimstone (1937). Director: J. Walter Ruben. Cast: Wallace Beery, Virginia Bruce, Dennis O’Keefe. Bw-89 mins.
- 8/17/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Psycho. The Birds. Rear Window. North By Northwest. Every film geek knows the major works of Alfred Hitchcock, but have you ever seen 1927's The Ring? It's Hitchcock's fourth film, and while it's never quite been considered a classic, the silent film was an influence on Martin Scorsese when he directed Raging Bull awhile back. The Ring stars Carl Brisson and Ian Hunter as two boxers who battle for the love of the same woman, played by Lillian Hall Davis. For those not heading to Comic-Con this year, you can check this out for free since the film is getting the online live-stream treatment on Saturday, July 14th. More below! Here are a few stills from Alfred Hitchcock's influential film The Ring: A website called The Space is hosting the live-stream, and you can bookmark the page right now to prepare for the upcoming show. But here's the catch.
- 7/9/2012
- by Ben Pearson
- firstshowing.net
Claudette Colbert, Alla Nazimova, Marion Davies, Charles Boyer: Cinecon 2011 Thursday September 1 (photo: Alla Nazimova) 7:00 Hollywood Rhythm (1934) 7:10 Welcoming Remarks 7:15 Hollywood Story (1951) 77 min. Richard Conte, Julie Adams, Richard Egan. Dir: William Castle. 8:35 Q & A with Julie Adams 9:10 Blazing Days (1927) 60 min. Fred Humes. Dir: William Wyler. 10:20 In The Sweet Pie And Pie (1941) 18 min 10:40 She Had To Eat (1937) 75 min. Jack Haley, Rochelle Hudson, Eugene Pallette. Friday September 2 9:00 Signing Off (1936) 9:20 Moon Over Her Shoulder (1941) 68 min. Dan Dailey, Lynn Bari, John Sutton, Alan Mowbray. 10:40 The Active Life Of Dolly Of The Dailies (1914) 15 min. Mary Fuller. 10:55 Stronger Than Death (1920) 80 min. Alla Nazimova, Charles Bryant. Dir: Herbert Blaché, Charles Bryant, Robert Z. Leonard. 12:15 Lunch Break 1:45 Open Track (1916) 2:00 On The Night Stage (1915) 60 min. William S. Hart, Rhea Mitchell. Dir: Reginald Barker. 3:15 50 Miles From Broadway (1929) 23 min 3:45 Cinerama Adventure (2002). Dir: David Strohmaier. 5:18 Discussion...
- 9/2/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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