In the fall of 1983, one could already make a plausible case for Martin Scorsese as one of the greatest living American filmmakers based on “Mean Streets,” “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Taxi Driver,” “Italianamerican,” “The Last Waltz,” “Raging Bull,” and “The King of Comedy.” But as the holidays approached, Scorsese’s career was in trouble.
After establishing himself with a series of lean, mean masterpieces shot on tight schedules, the director’s productions had grown in a scale disproportionate to their financial success; “New York, New York,” “Raging Bull,” and “The King of Comedy” had all taken around a hundred days to shoot, and while all three are acknowledged as classics today, they received mixed reviews at the time and “Raging Bull” barely broke even at the box office — “New York, New York” and “The King of Comedy” were flat-out flops.
Scorsese spent most of 1983 preparing what was intended to...
After establishing himself with a series of lean, mean masterpieces shot on tight schedules, the director’s productions had grown in a scale disproportionate to their financial success; “New York, New York,” “Raging Bull,” and “The King of Comedy” had all taken around a hundred days to shoot, and while all three are acknowledged as classics today, they received mixed reviews at the time and “Raging Bull” barely broke even at the box office — “New York, New York” and “The King of Comedy” were flat-out flops.
Scorsese spent most of 1983 preparing what was intended to...
- 8/18/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
The Vampire’s Kiss episode of Wtf Happened to This Horror Movie? was Written by Ric Solomon, Narrated by Travis Hopson, Edited by Jaime Vasquez, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.
Nicolas Cage has brought us some truly unhinged performances. From Castor Troy in Face/Off, to his supporting role as Eddie in Deadfall, and even Edward Malus, a woman-punching policeman in the 2006 remake of The Wicker Man. There is no stopping his extreme method acting. But where did it all come from? In 1989, Nicolas’ seedling was born in the horror comedy Vampire’s Kiss (get it Here). Back in the 80’s, some would say that his performance was too chaotic and horrendous. If you were to ask a millennial’s opinion today, they would tell you it’s one of the greatest films ever made. This film might have begun Cage’s method acting, but...
Nicolas Cage has brought us some truly unhinged performances. From Castor Troy in Face/Off, to his supporting role as Eddie in Deadfall, and even Edward Malus, a woman-punching policeman in the 2006 remake of The Wicker Man. There is no stopping his extreme method acting. But where did it all come from? In 1989, Nicolas’ seedling was born in the horror comedy Vampire’s Kiss (get it Here). Back in the 80’s, some would say that his performance was too chaotic and horrendous. If you were to ask a millennial’s opinion today, they would tell you it’s one of the greatest films ever made. This film might have begun Cage’s method acting, but...
- 7/19/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Nicolas Cage’s turn as Count Dracula in Renfield, flying into theaters April 14 from Universal, isn’t the first time the actor has sunk his teeth into exploring the undead.
Thirty-four years ago, he starred in the indie flick Vampire’s Kiss as Peter Loew, a New York literary agent convinced that his lover Rachel (Jennifer Beals) has transformed him into a vampire. With a script from Joseph Minion (After Hours), director Robert Bierman’s feature initially had Dennis Quaid attached as the lead until he dropped out to shoot Innerspace. The film’s team remembers Cage calling repeatedly to pitch himself.
“We just didn’t see Nicolas in the part,” producer Barbara Zitwer admits to THR. Ultimately, Cage landed the gig and continued to surprise with his acting choices, including his insistence that Peter eat a live cockroach instead of a raw egg yolk as scripted. “I had a complete breakdown,...
Thirty-four years ago, he starred in the indie flick Vampire’s Kiss as Peter Loew, a New York literary agent convinced that his lover Rachel (Jennifer Beals) has transformed him into a vampire. With a script from Joseph Minion (After Hours), director Robert Bierman’s feature initially had Dennis Quaid attached as the lead until he dropped out to shoot Innerspace. The film’s team remembers Cage calling repeatedly to pitch himself.
“We just didn’t see Nicolas in the part,” producer Barbara Zitwer admits to THR. Ultimately, Cage landed the gig and continued to surprise with his acting choices, including his insistence that Peter eat a live cockroach instead of a raw egg yolk as scripted. “I had a complete breakdown,...
- 4/15/2023
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It may have taken Nic Cage over 40 years to play Dracula in "Renfield," but he previously donned fangs for one of his most out-there performances in "Vampire's Kiss."
It's kind of surprising that it's taken this long for Nicolas Cage to play Count Dracula. If any actor was born to play the most famous vampire on the planet then surely it was our generation's most unpredictable screen legend. Now he's getting his chance in the comedy "Renfield," where he stars alongside Nicholas Hoult, who plays Dracula's beleaguered goon in the midst of an identity crisis. Cage has always expressed interest in vampire lore. He produced the 2000 film "Shadow of the Vampire," a fictionalized version of the making of "Nosferatu" that imagines what would have happened if an actual vampire had been among the cast. Mostly, however, his highly specific strain of acting has been saved for playing mere mortals. There...
It's kind of surprising that it's taken this long for Nicolas Cage to play Count Dracula. If any actor was born to play the most famous vampire on the planet then surely it was our generation's most unpredictable screen legend. Now he's getting his chance in the comedy "Renfield," where he stars alongside Nicholas Hoult, who plays Dracula's beleaguered goon in the midst of an identity crisis. Cage has always expressed interest in vampire lore. He produced the 2000 film "Shadow of the Vampire," a fictionalized version of the making of "Nosferatu" that imagines what would have happened if an actual vampire had been among the cast. Mostly, however, his highly specific strain of acting has been saved for playing mere mortals. There...
- 4/13/2023
- by Kayleigh Donaldson
- Slash Film
When you have at least three hall-of-fame works in your filmography —“Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas”— some of your other films are bound to be overlooked. Don’t weep for Martin Scorsese just yet, since the folks over at No Film School have found a snappy and slick video essay focused on one of Scorsese’s more obscure films. Released in 1985, written by Joseph Minion and starring Griffin Dunne, “After Hours” follows Paul Hackett as he has one of the worst nights had by anyone ever. The film is an absolute delight, Steven Soderbergh is an unabashed fan, and it's incredibly still not on blu-ray, though you can buy an HD version from Amazon or Vudu. Ahead of the film’s 30th anniversary next year, Adrian Martin and Cristina Alvarez Lopez created a breezy nearly-four-minute video essay on the film for Mubi Notebook. As we collectively wait until Warner...
- 12/2/2014
- by Cain Rodriguez
- The Playlist
Two related developments were concurrently unfolding in the television world in the mid 1980s. One, Steven Spielberg created “Amazing Stories,” an anthology series (like “Tales From The Crypt," which would follow it by just a few years) that debuted in the fall of 1985. Two, Martin Scorsese, whose films weren’t doing so wonderfully at the moment, turned his talents to TV (and horror) for the first time in his career. It’s only natural that the two friends’ paths would cross on an episode of “Amazing Stories.” Scorsese made his small screen debut with the program’s 19th episode, “Mirror Mirror,” which originally aired March 9, 1986. In the half hour episode, written by Joseph Minion, a much younger Sam Waterston plays Jordan Manmouth, a slightly acerbic yet incredibly successful horror novelist who becomes tormented by a mysterious black-robed figure only he can see that inhabits mirrors. Helen Shaver (of the “Poltergeist: The Legacy...
- 11/13/2014
- by Zach Hollwedel
- The Playlist
The second entry in a new and on-going series of audiovisual essays by Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin.
***
Martin Scorsese once said (while shooting Cape Fear in 1991) that it’s hard to show characters walking out their front door, going over to their car while talking about something or other, and getting in. Hard to make that visually, dramatically, cinematically interesting. Hard to ingeniously compress it, or elide it altogether, as his master (one of many masters) Alexander Mackendrick would have done. Hard to manoeuvre in every sense—to do it well, and then fit into its exact, best spot in the whole film, the total structure. Such scenes, strung together in a jazzy, Spike Lee-style curve over two or three hours, constitute a narrative archipelago in Scorsese: a pattern of disconnected islands, not a whole, smoothed-out landscape.
We know from The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) that Scorsese is not terribly interested,...
***
Martin Scorsese once said (while shooting Cape Fear in 1991) that it’s hard to show characters walking out their front door, going over to their car while talking about something or other, and getting in. Hard to make that visually, dramatically, cinematically interesting. Hard to ingeniously compress it, or elide it altogether, as his master (one of many masters) Alexander Mackendrick would have done. Hard to manoeuvre in every sense—to do it well, and then fit into its exact, best spot in the whole film, the total structure. Such scenes, strung together in a jazzy, Spike Lee-style curve over two or three hours, constitute a narrative archipelago in Scorsese: a pattern of disconnected islands, not a whole, smoothed-out landscape.
We know from The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) that Scorsese is not terribly interested,...
- 4/15/2014
- by Cristina Álvarez López & Adrian Martin
- MUBI
By Christopher Stipp
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
Parenthood - Giveaway
I am thankful for shows like this.
I’m tired of the bloated guys in sitcoms with their bombshell wives, pontificating on all things funny about the human condition. I would hazard a guess that if I was 80 these kinds of things would appeal to me but they don’t. It’s shows like Parenthood that give a glimpse at the hairy underbelly that is regular life. Season 1 of Parenthood showed just how introspective you could get about the trials and tribulations of fathers, mothers, daughters and sons while also being kindhearted and likable. Peter Krause is just a dominant force, much like he was in Six Feet Under, and he proves to be just as dynamic of a presence in this series,...
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
Parenthood - Giveaway
I am thankful for shows like this.
I’m tired of the bloated guys in sitcoms with their bombshell wives, pontificating on all things funny about the human condition. I would hazard a guess that if I was 80 these kinds of things would appeal to me but they don’t. It’s shows like Parenthood that give a glimpse at the hairy underbelly that is regular life. Season 1 of Parenthood showed just how introspective you could get about the trials and tribulations of fathers, mothers, daughters and sons while also being kindhearted and likable. Peter Krause is just a dominant force, much like he was in Six Feet Under, and he proves to be just as dynamic of a presence in this series,...
- 9/7/2010
- by Christopher Stipp
Think of a vampire. Picture it in your mind. The most iconic representations in cinema are no doubt conjured forth: Max Schrek with his long, spindly frame and rat-like visage or Bela Lugosi with his cape, Hungarian drawl and intense stare. Perhaps it is Sir Christopher Lee with his suave countenance, immaculate tailoring and graceful presence. Then again, there is Gary Oldman’s doomed-romantic Count Dracula. And there’s The Lost Boys and the Joss Whedon creation Angel: the lovelorn vampire with a wicked curse. Another very post-modern creature of the night (and day) is Edward Cullen (more likely in this year’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon to steal a girl’s heart than her blood).
Nobody would ever think of Nicolas Cage’s bizarre riff on this legendary creature in Robert Bierman’s film, Vampire’S Kiss. On a technicality, it can be argued the character is not a vampire.
Nobody would ever think of Nicolas Cage’s bizarre riff on this legendary creature in Robert Bierman’s film, Vampire’S Kiss. On a technicality, it can be argued the character is not a vampire.
- 8/26/2009
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
CHICAGO -- To win cult status, films must be at least one of the following: brainy, warped, poorly shot, stuffed with weird production design, have an oddball cast and revel in the excessive. Cultie aspirant ''Motorama'' has one of the above, but how much enthusiasm can one muster for seeing Michael J. Pollard on the screen again?
''Motorama, '' alas, is not likely to appeal to those with three-digit IQs. Its most receptive audience may be among pre-teens, defying the curfew order.
Narratively, ''Motorama, '' screened here at the Chicago International Film Festival, sounds like it has got a lot going for it: a 10-year-old (Jordan Chrisopher Michael) sets out in a stolen red Mustang on a cross-Southwest states quest to win a gas station game. If the tyke can garner all the letters in the word ''motorama, '' he wins $500 million.
His venture is not sparked purely by the passions of winning the big bucks but are prompted by his, as the social scientist types would say, ''dysfunctional home life.''
Admittedly, brainy blond boys, in this post-Macaulay Culkin age, are disarmingly sympathetic characters when triumphing over dimball adults, but after the first few narrative miles, ''Motorama'' runs out of story gas. Kid drives car, stops for gas, gets contest tickets from cooty station attendant; drives off, stops for gas, gets tickets from goofball station attendant; drives off, stops for gas . . . on and on.
While there are glints and squints of the vast Southwest here that contain glimmers of satirical intelligence, ''Motorama'' is, for the most part, a dumb-numb ride. In Joseph Minion's monochromatic script, even the roadside loons are all of a similar dimension. Under Barry Shils' direction, ''Motorama'' comes across as being kind of a city slicker's apprehension of the weird outposts of the way-out West.
Technical contributions are sagely mounted: Dana Allyson's costume design is rightly wacko, while Vincent Jefferds and Cathlyn Marshall's production design conveys a peculiarly parched panorama.
MOTORAMA
Proletariat Productions Corp.
Producer Donald P. Borchers
Director Barry Shils
Screenwriter Joseph Minion
Editor Peter Verity
Music Andy Summers
Director of photography Joseph Yacoe
Costume design Dana Allyson
Production designer Vincent Jefferds, Cathlyn Marshall
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Gus Jordan Christopher Michael
Phil John Diehl
Miss Lawton Robin Duke
Vern Meatloaf
Lewie Michael J. Pollard
Running time -- 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
''Motorama, '' alas, is not likely to appeal to those with three-digit IQs. Its most receptive audience may be among pre-teens, defying the curfew order.
Narratively, ''Motorama, '' screened here at the Chicago International Film Festival, sounds like it has got a lot going for it: a 10-year-old (Jordan Chrisopher Michael) sets out in a stolen red Mustang on a cross-Southwest states quest to win a gas station game. If the tyke can garner all the letters in the word ''motorama, '' he wins $500 million.
His venture is not sparked purely by the passions of winning the big bucks but are prompted by his, as the social scientist types would say, ''dysfunctional home life.''
Admittedly, brainy blond boys, in this post-Macaulay Culkin age, are disarmingly sympathetic characters when triumphing over dimball adults, but after the first few narrative miles, ''Motorama'' runs out of story gas. Kid drives car, stops for gas, gets contest tickets from cooty station attendant; drives off, stops for gas, gets tickets from goofball station attendant; drives off, stops for gas . . . on and on.
While there are glints and squints of the vast Southwest here that contain glimmers of satirical intelligence, ''Motorama'' is, for the most part, a dumb-numb ride. In Joseph Minion's monochromatic script, even the roadside loons are all of a similar dimension. Under Barry Shils' direction, ''Motorama'' comes across as being kind of a city slicker's apprehension of the weird outposts of the way-out West.
Technical contributions are sagely mounted: Dana Allyson's costume design is rightly wacko, while Vincent Jefferds and Cathlyn Marshall's production design conveys a peculiarly parched panorama.
MOTORAMA
Proletariat Productions Corp.
Producer Donald P. Borchers
Director Barry Shils
Screenwriter Joseph Minion
Editor Peter Verity
Music Andy Summers
Director of photography Joseph Yacoe
Costume design Dana Allyson
Production designer Vincent Jefferds, Cathlyn Marshall
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Gus Jordan Christopher Michael
Phil John Diehl
Miss Lawton Robin Duke
Vern Meatloaf
Lewie Michael J. Pollard
Running time -- 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 10/15/1991
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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