Filmmaker Brett Morgen has added Grammy winner to a list of career accomplishments that includes multiple Emmy wins and an Academy Award nomination.
His documentary Moonage Daydream, an immersive exploration of David Bowie’s creative process, won Best Music Film at the 66th Grammy Awards, a category handed out Sunday in the pre-telecast ceremony at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
In his acceptance, Morgen was effusive in his praise of the British rock star, songwriter, visual artist, and actor who died in 2016 at the age of 69.
“David Bowie,” he said as he held the gramophone trophy, “the single greatest artist who’s walked the face of this earth.”
Director Brett Morgen accepts the Grammy Award for Best Music Film.
Morgen also thanked his wife, Debra Eisenstadt — an executive producer of the film — their children and the executors of Bowie’s estate, including William “Bill” Zysblat.
“I met with David Bowie’s executors…...
His documentary Moonage Daydream, an immersive exploration of David Bowie’s creative process, won Best Music Film at the 66th Grammy Awards, a category handed out Sunday in the pre-telecast ceremony at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
In his acceptance, Morgen was effusive in his praise of the British rock star, songwriter, visual artist, and actor who died in 2016 at the age of 69.
“David Bowie,” he said as he held the gramophone trophy, “the single greatest artist who’s walked the face of this earth.”
Director Brett Morgen accepts the Grammy Award for Best Music Film.
Morgen also thanked his wife, Debra Eisenstadt — an executive producer of the film — their children and the executors of Bowie’s estate, including William “Bill” Zysblat.
“I met with David Bowie’s executors…...
- 2/5/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Revered and reviled U.S. diplomat Henry Kissinger, whose death at 100 on Nov. 29 was met with the widespread view that his realpolitik was responsible for some of this country’s worst global war crimes, loved American celebrity — both his own, an expression of state power, as well as that of others, especially performers. He was “the ultimate starfucker,” noted Daniel Drezner, professor of international politics at the Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, in an appraisal published earlier this year on the occasion of Kissinger’s centennial.
Prior to meeting President Richard Nixon in 1967, Kissinger made frequent trips to Santa Monica to consult with the Rand Corporation, a global policy think tank. But after being appointed as national security adviser by the newly elected president in 1969, his profile skyrocketed — and the glitz of Hollywood was within reach. Fascinated since childhood with American popular culture, Kissinger pursued the...
Prior to meeting President Richard Nixon in 1967, Kissinger made frequent trips to Santa Monica to consult with the Rand Corporation, a global policy think tank. But after being appointed as national security adviser by the newly elected president in 1969, his profile skyrocketed — and the glitz of Hollywood was within reach. Fascinated since childhood with American popular culture, Kissinger pursued the...
- 11/30/2023
- by Gary Baum and Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This story about Brett Morgen and “Moonage Daydream” first appeared in the Down to the Wire: Comedy/Variety/Reality/Nonfiction issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
Three years into the editing of his challenging David Bowie film “Moonage Daydream,” Brett Morgen was pretty sure he was in big trouble. He’d run out of money for the production, and he was working toward the nebulous idea of creating what he would later call “an expression of Bowie rather than an explanation of Bowie,” which meant he could pretty much go in any direction at any time, both visually and aurally.
“I thought I was off the rails, that I was deceiving myself that this will make sense,” Morgen said. “I’m not exaggerating to say that three years into the edit, no one had seen a frame—no one in my office, no financiers, no assistant editor. It was all in my head.
Three years into the editing of his challenging David Bowie film “Moonage Daydream,” Brett Morgen was pretty sure he was in big trouble. He’d run out of money for the production, and he was working toward the nebulous idea of creating what he would later call “an expression of Bowie rather than an explanation of Bowie,” which meant he could pretty much go in any direction at any time, both visually and aurally.
“I thought I was off the rails, that I was deceiving myself that this will make sense,” Morgen said. “I’m not exaggerating to say that three years into the edit, no one had seen a frame—no one in my office, no financiers, no assistant editor. It was all in my head.
- 8/17/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Brett Morgen has signed with Entertainment 360.
Morgen is is considered one of the most influential and acclaimed nonfiction filmmakers of the past 25 years, with credits that include Moonage Daydream, Jane, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Crossfire Hurricane and The Kid Stays in the Picture.
Moonage Daydream premiered to critical acclaim at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and went on to become the highest-grossing nonfiction film this decade. The film was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary and received WGA, Cas, Mpse and Critics Choice awards.
In 2018, Morgen won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Director for his work on Jane. In addition, he has been awarded DGA, PGA, Ace, Mpse, WGA and IDA awards for Outstanding Documentary. In addition, he has received eight individual Emmy nominations, two Peabody Awards, two BAFTA nominations, three Ace Eddie nominations, and an Oscar nomination in 2000 for the documentary On the Ropes. ...
Morgen is is considered one of the most influential and acclaimed nonfiction filmmakers of the past 25 years, with credits that include Moonage Daydream, Jane, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Crossfire Hurricane and The Kid Stays in the Picture.
Moonage Daydream premiered to critical acclaim at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and went on to become the highest-grossing nonfiction film this decade. The film was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary and received WGA, Cas, Mpse and Critics Choice awards.
In 2018, Morgen won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Director for his work on Jane. In addition, he has been awarded DGA, PGA, Ace, Mpse, WGA and IDA awards for Outstanding Documentary. In addition, he has received eight individual Emmy nominations, two Peabody Awards, two BAFTA nominations, three Ace Eddie nominations, and an Oscar nomination in 2000 for the documentary On the Ropes. ...
- 6/8/2023
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Gigi Pritzker’s entertainment company Madison Wells and veteran doc maker Nanette Burstein have signed a co-production deal to develop premium unscripted projects together.
The two-year agreement will see Burstein, a director, producer and writer best known for the Oscar nominated On The Ropes film, develop documentaries and docuseries with backing from Madison Wells.
“I am thrilled to be partnering with longtime collaborators, Madison Wells, on this new venture. Documentary filmmaking is the love of my life. It is high time I formed my own company to produce not only my own work but support new, up and coming talent in this burgeoning field,” Burstein said in a statement on Tuesday.
Longtime unscripted producer and network exec Lesley Goldman will oversee development across projects that will aim to spotlight pressing issues facing women today.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Nanette and her interests align with our own: telling stories...
The two-year agreement will see Burstein, a director, producer and writer best known for the Oscar nominated On The Ropes film, develop documentaries and docuseries with backing from Madison Wells.
“I am thrilled to be partnering with longtime collaborators, Madison Wells, on this new venture. Documentary filmmaking is the love of my life. It is high time I formed my own company to produce not only my own work but support new, up and coming talent in this burgeoning field,” Burstein said in a statement on Tuesday.
Longtime unscripted producer and network exec Lesley Goldman will oversee development across projects that will aim to spotlight pressing issues facing women today.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Nanette and her interests align with our own: telling stories...
- 4/18/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Legendary astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan, who expanded scientific understanding of the universe and helped millions appreciate the wonders of the cosmos, will be the subject of an upcoming documentary feature from National Geographic Documentary Films.
The Untitled Carl Sagan Film will be produced by Fuzzy Door’s Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins, Emmy and Peabody winner Ann Druyan – Sagan’s life partner – and Academy Award nominee Nanette Burstein, with Burstein directing. Also producing is production company Hungry Man.
Dr. Carl Sagan during an interview with ‘The Tonight Show’ host Johnny Carson on September 16, 1976.
Sagan’s contributions to planetary science were equaled only by his capacity to spread an infectious joy of the marvel and immensity of space. His 1980 book Cosmos became the best-selling science book ever published in English, and he appeared frequently on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (amusing the host and the viewing public with...
The Untitled Carl Sagan Film will be produced by Fuzzy Door’s Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins, Emmy and Peabody winner Ann Druyan – Sagan’s life partner – and Academy Award nominee Nanette Burstein, with Burstein directing. Also producing is production company Hungry Man.
Dr. Carl Sagan during an interview with ‘The Tonight Show’ host Johnny Carson on September 16, 1976.
Sagan’s contributions to planetary science were equaled only by his capacity to spread an infectious joy of the marvel and immensity of space. His 1980 book Cosmos became the best-selling science book ever published in English, and he appeared frequently on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (amusing the host and the viewing public with...
- 3/30/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Back in May, Moonage Daydream – the hypnotic, experimental documentary abstraction that encapsulates David Bowie’s life, art, and philosophy – blew the top off of an already buzzing Cannes Film Festival. Brett Morgen, the film’s veteran director, writer, editor, and producer, has made a career out of expressive, atypical documentaries, like The Kid Stays in the Picture and Cobain: Montage of Heck.
A student of Brechtian philosophy, he is a searcher (or debunker) of truth as much as a filmmaker, the former through the latter, the latter simply a medium of choice. And if you know anything about Bowie, you know how wildly and wonderfully subjective truth can be, a perfect challenge for Morgen to capture the infinite artist post-mortem.
On the day of its nationwide IMAX release, I sat down with him to talk Moonage Daydream – style, history, approach, and where it all began.
—
Brett Morgen: It was 2007. I...
A student of Brechtian philosophy, he is a searcher (or debunker) of truth as much as a filmmaker, the former through the latter, the latter simply a medium of choice. And if you know anything about Bowie, you know how wildly and wonderfully subjective truth can be, a perfect challenge for Morgen to capture the infinite artist post-mortem.
On the day of its nationwide IMAX release, I sat down with him to talk Moonage Daydream – style, history, approach, and where it all began.
—
Brett Morgen: It was 2007. I...
- 9/21/2022
- by Luke Hicks
- The Film Stage
A steady flow of specialty films starts this weekend with the return of a key player to cinemas and a broader arthouse slate that will expand steadily into awards season. This is still a weird theatrical landscape but independent distributors and theater owners have agreed for months that there’s no recovery without a brisker pace of new releases
Indie distributors also appreciate that the weekend’s big studio release, The Woman King with Viola Davis, is a classic battle epic, yes, but also a story for adults, and for women. Another wide release, A24’s XXX prequel Pearl, skews young but — it’s still indie.
“I think we are starting to get a full complement of movies to see. Adult movies that are smart and funny,” says one specialty distribution executive. It’s been a long wait. “Patience is a virtue we need to have a lot of. These may not [all] be huge movies,...
Indie distributors also appreciate that the weekend’s big studio release, The Woman King with Viola Davis, is a classic battle epic, yes, but also a story for adults, and for women. Another wide release, A24’s XXX prequel Pearl, skews young but — it’s still indie.
“I think we are starting to get a full complement of movies to see. Adult movies that are smart and funny,” says one specialty distribution executive. It’s been a long wait. “Patience is a virtue we need to have a lot of. These may not [all] be huge movies,...
- 9/16/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
It could have been a straightforward documentary about the David Bowie story — but who wants straightforward when it comes to Bowie? Instead, Moonage Daydream is a gloriously innovative trip into the Thin White Duke’s mind, written, directed, and edited by Brett Morgen. He specializes in portraits of twisted artists, whether that means Hollywood mogul Robert Evans in The Kid Stays In The Picture or Kurt Cobain in Montage of Heck. But his latest goes even deeper, a full immersion in the gaudiest, glammiest of rock-star lives. In one of...
- 9/16/2022
- by Rob Sheffield
- Rollingstone.com
Brett Morgen went through a lot to make “Moonage Daydream.” It takes certain amount of obsession to capture on film the essence of the life of David Bowie, the shapeshifting music visionary, artist and actor. For Morgen, known for his work exploring another singular artist with “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” as well as “The Kid Stays in the Picture” and “Jane,” crafting the first authorized Bowie documentary was a nearly seven-year process. Until it was time to create the encompassing sound mix with help from Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti, he worked mostly alone, weathering both the pandemic and a serious heart attack.
“Moonage Daydream” is like no other music documentary audiences have seen before. With no talking heads or Bowie 101 facts, it’s geared towards super-fans and possibly the Bowie-curious, with sonically-enhanced remixes of more than 40 of his hits and lesser-played songs interlaced with never-before-seen images of his artwork,...
“Moonage Daydream” is like no other music documentary audiences have seen before. With no talking heads or Bowie 101 facts, it’s geared towards super-fans and possibly the Bowie-curious, with sonically-enhanced remixes of more than 40 of his hits and lesser-played songs interlaced with never-before-seen images of his artwork,...
- 9/15/2022
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
“Moonage Daydream” was reviewed by TheWrap out of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
The David Bowie documentary “Moonage Daydream” begins with a quote in which Bowie talks about Friedrich Nietzsche’s late 19th-century proclamation that God is dead and that humans must become gods themselves. It’s an appropriate enough opening, considering that Bowie’s most famous character, Ziggy Stardust, flirted with Nietzsche-style notions of man and Superman.
But a more telling quote comes later in Brett Morgen’s film, when Bowie talks about his fascination with “an artistic language that deals with fragments and chaos.” Because if there was ever a documentary that embraces the idea of fragments and chaos as organizing principles, it’s “Moonage Daydream,” which abandons all thought of straightforward narrative in favor of an immersive and purposefully mysterious and chaotic Bowie experience.
Or is “purposefully chaotic” a contradiction in terms? Regardless, “Moonage Daydream” is a bracing,...
The David Bowie documentary “Moonage Daydream” begins with a quote in which Bowie talks about Friedrich Nietzsche’s late 19th-century proclamation that God is dead and that humans must become gods themselves. It’s an appropriate enough opening, considering that Bowie’s most famous character, Ziggy Stardust, flirted with Nietzsche-style notions of man and Superman.
But a more telling quote comes later in Brett Morgen’s film, when Bowie talks about his fascination with “an artistic language that deals with fragments and chaos.” Because if there was ever a documentary that embraces the idea of fragments and chaos as organizing principles, it’s “Moonage Daydream,” which abandons all thought of straightforward narrative in favor of an immersive and purposefully mysterious and chaotic Bowie experience.
Or is “purposefully chaotic” a contradiction in terms? Regardless, “Moonage Daydream” is a bracing,...
- 9/15/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The documentary-maker on how Bowie’s view on life helped him through recovery from a heart attack – and his plans to move in with a famous actor
The American film-maker Brett Morgen, 53, has made documentaries on the musician Kurt Cobain, the naturalist Jane Goodall and the notorious Hollywood producer Robert Evans (2002’s The Kid Stays in the Picture). His new subject is David Bowie and, in Moonage Daydream, he has created an entrancing, visually explosive film that is almost as idiosyncratic as the man himself. Morgen lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.
David Bowie incites extreme fandom in people. Did you have to put that out of your mind?
I’ve been wildly surprised; I have felt almost nothing but appreciation and support. I think the way the film has been created is that, if you’re a hardcore aficionado, there’s enough new material to satiate you.
The American film-maker Brett Morgen, 53, has made documentaries on the musician Kurt Cobain, the naturalist Jane Goodall and the notorious Hollywood producer Robert Evans (2002’s The Kid Stays in the Picture). His new subject is David Bowie and, in Moonage Daydream, he has created an entrancing, visually explosive film that is almost as idiosyncratic as the man himself. Morgen lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.
David Bowie incites extreme fandom in people. Did you have to put that out of your mind?
I’ve been wildly surprised; I have felt almost nothing but appreciation and support. I think the way the film has been created is that, if you’re a hardcore aficionado, there’s enough new material to satiate you.
- 9/11/2022
- by Tim Lewis
- The Guardian - Film News
Plot: The life and art of David Bowie, as depicted through archival interviews, performances and footage.
Review: Moonage Daydream comes from director Brett Morgen. Over his long career, Morgen has tried to elevate the biographical documentary into an art form. He never uses talking head interviews, preferring to allow his subjects to do the talking for him. In The Kid Stays in the Picture, he had producer Robert Evans alive and well, allowing him to record narration for the film, which, as Patton Oswalt memorably described it, was like listening to Lucifer read his memoirs. In his Kurt Cobain doc, Montage of Heck, he had to get creative, creating musical montages and sound collages. His latest, Moonage Daydream, plays like a melding of the two styles. On the one hand, the movie has constant narration by its subject, the late David Bowie, cribbed from the endless amount of interviews he gave over his career,...
Review: Moonage Daydream comes from director Brett Morgen. Over his long career, Morgen has tried to elevate the biographical documentary into an art form. He never uses talking head interviews, preferring to allow his subjects to do the talking for him. In The Kid Stays in the Picture, he had producer Robert Evans alive and well, allowing him to record narration for the film, which, as Patton Oswalt memorably described it, was like listening to Lucifer read his memoirs. In his Kurt Cobain doc, Montage of Heck, he had to get creative, creating musical montages and sound collages. His latest, Moonage Daydream, plays like a melding of the two styles. On the one hand, the movie has constant narration by its subject, the late David Bowie, cribbed from the endless amount of interviews he gave over his career,...
- 9/8/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Universal Pictures has debuted a new trailer for the David Bowie documentary ‘Moonage Daydream.’
Brett Morgen’s feature-length experiential cinematic odyssey, explores Bowie’s creative, musical and spiritual journey. Told through sublime, kaleidoscopic, never-before-seen footage, performance and music, the film is guided by Bowie’s narration and is the first film to be officially sanctioned by Bowie’s estate.
Also in trailers – Teaser trailer drops for Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’
The doc will be released exclusively in IMAX on 16th September and in UK Cinemas from 23rd September.
The post Trailer drops for David Bowie doc ‘Moonage Daydream’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
Brett Morgen’s feature-length experiential cinematic odyssey, explores Bowie’s creative, musical and spiritual journey. Told through sublime, kaleidoscopic, never-before-seen footage, performance and music, the film is guided by Bowie’s narration and is the first film to be officially sanctioned by Bowie’s estate.
Also in trailers – Teaser trailer drops for Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’
The doc will be released exclusively in IMAX on 16th September and in UK Cinemas from 23rd September.
The post Trailer drops for David Bowie doc ‘Moonage Daydream’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 7/29/2022
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The legendary musician David Bowie, whom we sadly lost in 2016 at the age of 69, is being celebrated in the new film "Moonage Daydream." It will debut exclusively in IMAX, and take us through Bowie's career with performances, never-before-seen footage, and Bowie's narration (via archived interviews). "Moonage Daydream" joins the slate of recent films about the lives of famous musicians, such as "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Rocketman," but this time through a documentary lens.
"Moonage Daydream" comes from writer/director/producer Brett Morgen and is officially sanctioned by the artist's estate. The film is named after Bowie's song "Moonage...
The post Moonage Daydream Trailer: Revisit the Life of Musical Genius David Bowie appeared first on /Film.
"Moonage Daydream" comes from writer/director/producer Brett Morgen and is officially sanctioned by the artist's estate. The film is named after Bowie's song "Moonage...
The post Moonage Daydream Trailer: Revisit the Life of Musical Genius David Bowie appeared first on /Film.
- 7/27/2022
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
Brett Morgen Had a Heart Attack Making ‘Moonage Daydream’ — and Credits David Bowie for His Recovery
Documentarian Brett Morgen has tangled with rock legends before, with “Cobain: Montage of Heck” and Rolling Stones doc “Crossfire Hurricane,” but when he landed the plum assignment of directing the first officially sanctioned David Bowie documentary feature, he had no idea what he was in for. Finishing the movie took five years of absorbing Bowie’s massive archive by himself, tracking down hi-res footage and music stems suitable for IMAX and Dolby Atmos showings, and editing all alone during a pandemic. No wonder Morgen suffered a heart attack and wound up in a coma.
He insists that it was all for the best and turned him from a child-man into an adult — and that Bowie’s philosophical musings on art and life enabled him to complete the movie. To chart Bowie’s creative, musical, and spiritual journey, Morgen dug into a kaleidoscope of never-before-seen 16 and 35mm performance footage and movies,...
He insists that it was all for the best and turned him from a child-man into an adult — and that Bowie’s philosophical musings on art and life enabled him to complete the movie. To chart Bowie’s creative, musical, and spiritual journey, Morgen dug into a kaleidoscope of never-before-seen 16 and 35mm performance footage and movies,...
- 5/30/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Through all his hazy cosmic jive, David Bowie was always presented as a Starman, waiting in the sky for the right moment to blow our minds. Times have caught up with the legendary Thin White Duke, and one of the signs is a stellar alignment. If the stars look different, it is because there was an unforeseen conjunction. Neon Film’s immersive documentary Moonage Daydream premiered at Cannes this week as did Showtime’s The Man Who Fell to Earth’s newest episode, entitled “Moonage Daydream.”
In the series, K. Faraday (Chiwetel Ejiofor), is the home planet help requested by Thomas Jerome Newton, the character Bowie played in Nicholas Roeg’s 1976 film. The drone protégé of the mysterious Anthean scientist suffers an existential crisis and finds inspiration through a base human instinct. Moonage Daydream documents Bowie’s career with the most human touch. It is narrated by Bowie, himself, through...
In the series, K. Faraday (Chiwetel Ejiofor), is the home planet help requested by Thomas Jerome Newton, the character Bowie played in Nicholas Roeg’s 1976 film. The drone protégé of the mysterious Anthean scientist suffers an existential crisis and finds inspiration through a base human instinct. Moonage Daydream documents Bowie’s career with the most human touch. It is narrated by Bowie, himself, through...
- 5/30/2022
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Brett Morgen vividly remembers the first time he met David Bowie. When the Thin White Duke insults your work, it tends to burn deep into your memory. It was 2007, at which point Morgen had been a filmmaker for over a decade and had made documentaries on boxers (On the Ropes), Black music in America (the Say It Loud series), legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans (The Kid Stays in the Picture) and the Chicago 10 (Chicago 10). He had this idea for a collaboration with Bowie on what he called “a sort-of hybrid experimental film.
- 5/23/2022
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
“Moonage Daydream,” the first documentary sanctioned by David Bowie’s estate, has released a teaser trailer timed with the film’s world premiere at Cannes Film Festival.
Taking its title from the music icon’s song of the same name, the feature draws from unlimited access to Bowie’s archives – including 48 tracks – to tell the story of his life, legacy and artistic achievements in his own words.
The teaser opens with a camera following Bowie backstage as he prepares for a performance. Donning a glittery striped jacket with pointed shoulders and his signature red mullet, Bowie is instantly recognizable despite his back facing the camera.
Also Read:
‘Corsage’ With Vicky Krieps Acquired by IFC Films Out of Cannes
“Questions have arisen, such as who is he, what is he, where did he come from, is he a creature of a foreign power?” someone asks in voiceover. “Is he a creep?...
Taking its title from the music icon’s song of the same name, the feature draws from unlimited access to Bowie’s archives – including 48 tracks – to tell the story of his life, legacy and artistic achievements in his own words.
The teaser opens with a camera following Bowie backstage as he prepares for a performance. Donning a glittery striped jacket with pointed shoulders and his signature red mullet, Bowie is instantly recognizable despite his back facing the camera.
Also Read:
‘Corsage’ With Vicky Krieps Acquired by IFC Films Out of Cannes
“Questions have arisen, such as who is he, what is he, where did he come from, is he a creature of a foreign power?” someone asks in voiceover. “Is he a creep?...
- 5/23/2022
- by Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
UK premiere will be held in 2,000 seat Sheffield City Hall.
Sheffield DocFest (23-28 June) is to open with the UK premiere of Brett Morgen’s David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream.
Written, directed, edited and produced by Morgen the film is billed as a genre-defying immersion into the art and sounds of David Bowie.
Sheffield DocFest will be the first public screening of the film following its bow in the Midnight Screenings’ section at Cannes. Universal Pictures Content Group will release the film internationally in September.
DocFest’s Opening Night will take place at the 2,000 seat Sheffield City Hall - 50 years...
Sheffield DocFest (23-28 June) is to open with the UK premiere of Brett Morgen’s David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream.
Written, directed, edited and produced by Morgen the film is billed as a genre-defying immersion into the art and sounds of David Bowie.
Sheffield DocFest will be the first public screening of the film following its bow in the Midnight Screenings’ section at Cannes. Universal Pictures Content Group will release the film internationally in September.
DocFest’s Opening Night will take place at the 2,000 seat Sheffield City Hall - 50 years...
- 5/17/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
David Cronenberg dared CinemaCon attendees to sleep well tonight.
The director, an architect of the body horror genre with “A History of Violence,” “Dead Ringers” and “The Fly,” made his first-ever trip to Las Vegas to showcase his next grisly film “Crimes of the Future,” testing the stomachs of movie theater owners across the nation.
“It seems an appropriate place to launch our attack on the world with ‘Crimes of the Future,'” Cronenberg told the crowd at Caesars Palace in reference to Sin City.
Though Cronenberg says he started writing the screenplay 20 years ago, Neon, the film’s distributor, called “Crimes of the Future” an “evolution of David’s work: past, present and future.” Without detailing any specifics, it will contain “key references to his previous films.”
As for the never-before-seen footage, it begins with a man who has several sets of ears on his head and concludes as...
The director, an architect of the body horror genre with “A History of Violence,” “Dead Ringers” and “The Fly,” made his first-ever trip to Las Vegas to showcase his next grisly film “Crimes of the Future,” testing the stomachs of movie theater owners across the nation.
“It seems an appropriate place to launch our attack on the world with ‘Crimes of the Future,'” Cronenberg told the crowd at Caesars Palace in reference to Sin City.
Though Cronenberg says he started writing the screenplay 20 years ago, Neon, the film’s distributor, called “Crimes of the Future” an “evolution of David’s work: past, present and future.” Without detailing any specifics, it will contain “key references to his previous films.”
As for the never-before-seen footage, it begins with a man who has several sets of ears on his head and concludes as...
- 4/26/2022
- by Rebecca Rubin and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
“Moonage Daydream,” a David Bowie historical film featuring a bounty of previously unreleased footage and helmed by Brett Morgen, the director behind “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” “Jane” and “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” will be distributed in the U.S. by Neon and internationally by Universal Pictures Content Group, with a streaming premiere on HBO and HBO Max in the spring of 2023. Variety broke the news of the project last November.
While no theatrical release date has been announced for the film — the first to be officially sanctioned by Bowie’s estate — sources tell Variety that it is likely to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month, the lineup for which is scheduled to be announced Thursday.
While the announcement sheds little light on what the film will actually be, it does note that Morgen was given “unfiltered access to Bowie’s personal archives and … unearthed hundreds...
While no theatrical release date has been announced for the film — the first to be officially sanctioned by Bowie’s estate — sources tell Variety that it is likely to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month, the lineup for which is scheduled to be announced Thursday.
While the announcement sheds little light on what the film will actually be, it does note that Morgen was given “unfiltered access to Bowie’s personal archives and … unearthed hundreds...
- 4/13/2022
- by Jem Aswad and Sasha Urban
- Variety Film + TV
Production took five years since late musician’s estate granted access to archives in 2017.
Neon, Universal Pictures Content Group and Imax will release Brett Morgen’s David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream, which is nearing completion after five years of production.
Neon will distribute the full-length feature in the US, Universal Pictures Content Group will release the film internationally, and HBO Documentary Films has taken North American rights for streaming and cable in spring 2023. Imax will distribute the film in select market.
BMG and Live Nation Productions co-financed Moonage Daydream, which takes its name from the track on Bowie’s fifth...
Neon, Universal Pictures Content Group and Imax will release Brett Morgen’s David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream, which is nearing completion after five years of production.
Neon will distribute the full-length feature in the US, Universal Pictures Content Group will release the film internationally, and HBO Documentary Films has taken North American rights for streaming and cable in spring 2023. Imax will distribute the film in select market.
BMG and Live Nation Productions co-financed Moonage Daydream, which takes its name from the track on Bowie’s fifth...
- 4/13/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Deadline has the first exclusive track from Jeff Danna’s score for Julia, which is set for release tomorrow via Watertower Music.
HBO Max’s eight episode comedy series is inspired by Julia Child’s (Sarah Lancashire) extraordinary life and her long-running television series, The French Chef, which pioneered the modern cooking show. Through Julia’s life and her singular joie de vivre, the series explores a pivotal time in American history—the emergence of public television as a new social institution, feminism and the women’s movement, the nature of celebrity and America’s cultural evolution. At its heart, the show is a portrait of a loving marriage with a shifting power dynamic.
One of Danna’s main challenges in his work here was to develop a theme that could speak to both the culinary icon’s spirit, and the series’ “brilliant and warm showcase” of her early years on television.
HBO Max’s eight episode comedy series is inspired by Julia Child’s (Sarah Lancashire) extraordinary life and her long-running television series, The French Chef, which pioneered the modern cooking show. Through Julia’s life and her singular joie de vivre, the series explores a pivotal time in American history—the emergence of public television as a new social institution, feminism and the women’s movement, the nature of celebrity and America’s cultural evolution. At its heart, the show is a portrait of a loving marriage with a shifting power dynamic.
One of Danna’s main challenges in his work here was to develop a theme that could speak to both the culinary icon’s spirit, and the series’ “brilliant and warm showcase” of her early years on television.
- 3/31/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
What brings documentaries to life? For an increasing number of them, it’s colorful characters — literally. Animation is making docs more accessible to a wider audience, allowing filmmakers to dramatize scenes that can’t be shown with footage and bringing them into once-unimagined awards categories.
No film has demonstrated this more clearly than Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s refugee saga “Flee.” The Neon/Participant release made Oscar shortlists for both documentary feature and international feature film, won a Gotham Award for documentary and Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. But it also scored a Golden Globe nom and Boston, Chicago and Detroit critics group award wins for animated feature, paving the way for an Academy Award nomination in that category as well.
The critical success of this Danish/French/Swedish/Norwegian co-production is igniting interest in other animated docs at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, but this...
No film has demonstrated this more clearly than Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s refugee saga “Flee.” The Neon/Participant release made Oscar shortlists for both documentary feature and international feature film, won a Gotham Award for documentary and Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. But it also scored a Golden Globe nom and Boston, Chicago and Detroit critics group award wins for animated feature, paving the way for an Academy Award nomination in that category as well.
The critical success of this Danish/French/Swedish/Norwegian co-production is igniting interest in other animated docs at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, but this...
- 1/21/2022
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety Film + TV
It's A Good Day For Bowie Fans As Brett Morgan Announces A Top Secret Project On The Iconic Musician
We've yet to have a tried and true David Bowie documentary that really gets into the nitty-gritty of who Ziggy Stardust was, on and off-stage. Now, we may get just that from Brett Morgan, the filmmaker behind "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck."
According to Variety, the director — who is also known for his work on "Jane," "The Runaways," and "The Kid Stays in the Picture" — has been "finalizing" a "top-secret" Bowie project, which is based on "thousands of hours of rare performance footage" of the legendary rock star, for the "last four years."...
The post It's a Good Day For Bowie Fans as Brett Morgan Announces a Top Secret Project on the Iconic Musician appeared first on /Film.
According to Variety, the director — who is also known for his work on "Jane," "The Runaways," and "The Kid Stays in the Picture" — has been "finalizing" a "top-secret" Bowie project, which is based on "thousands of hours of rare performance footage" of the legendary rock star, for the "last four years."...
The post It's a Good Day For Bowie Fans as Brett Morgan Announces a Top Secret Project on the Iconic Musician appeared first on /Film.
- 11/20/2021
- by Lex Briscuso
- Slash Film
A top-secret David Bowie project will soon see the light of day from the mind of Brett Morgen, the director behind “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” “Jane,” and “The Kid Stays in the Picture.” Per Variety, the hybrid film is based on thousands of hours of rarely seen concert and performance footage of Ziggy, who died from liver cancer in January 2016.
Sources told the publication that Morgen has been working on the Bowie film — which has yet to announce a title — for the past four years. A source also said the film is “neither documentary nor biography, but an immersive cinematic experience built, in part, upon thousands of hours of never before seen material.” That’s not unlike Morgen’s 2015 “Montage of Heck,” which blended more traditional documentary elements with expressionistic collages and artwork to explore the life and times of Nirvana frontman Cobain.
Reportedly, the Bowie project will also...
Sources told the publication that Morgen has been working on the Bowie film — which has yet to announce a title — for the past four years. A source also said the film is “neither documentary nor biography, but an immersive cinematic experience built, in part, upon thousands of hours of never before seen material.” That’s not unlike Morgen’s 2015 “Montage of Heck,” which blended more traditional documentary elements with expressionistic collages and artwork to explore the life and times of Nirvana frontman Cobain.
Reportedly, the Bowie project will also...
- 11/18/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck director Brett Morgen will reportedly set his documentary skills on another music icon: David Bowie.
Variety reports that Morgen has spent the past four years combing through thousands of hours of rare performance footage for the project, which a source described as “neither documentary nor biography, but an immersive cinematic experience.”
Bowie’s longtime producer Tony Visconti is among the many collaborators reportedly taking part in the project, with Visconti serving as music producer. Bowie’s estate — which has long disallowed an authorized Bowie...
Variety reports that Morgen has spent the past four years combing through thousands of hours of rare performance footage for the project, which a source described as “neither documentary nor biography, but an immersive cinematic experience.”
Bowie’s longtime producer Tony Visconti is among the many collaborators reportedly taking part in the project, with Visconti serving as music producer. Bowie’s estate — which has long disallowed an authorized Bowie...
- 11/18/2021
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Brett Morgen, the freewheeling director behind “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” “Jane” and “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” is finalizing a top-secret David Bowie project based on thousands of hours of rare performance footage of the musician, most of it previously uncirculated, sources confirm to Variety.
Morgen has been at work on the Bowie film, for which an official title has not been disclosed, for the last four years. A source close to the production cryptically describes it as “neither documentary nor biography, but an immersive cinematic experience built, in part, upon thousands of hours of never before seen material.”
Sources say live concert footage plays a central role in the film, and that Morgen is eyeing an IMAX release. The filmmaker wears a number of hats on the project, taking on editing, writing and producing duties, in addition to directing.
A Sundance Film Festival premiere in late January could be in the cards.
Morgen has been at work on the Bowie film, for which an official title has not been disclosed, for the last four years. A source close to the production cryptically describes it as “neither documentary nor biography, but an immersive cinematic experience built, in part, upon thousands of hours of never before seen material.”
Sources say live concert footage plays a central role in the film, and that Morgen is eyeing an IMAX release. The filmmaker wears a number of hats on the project, taking on editing, writing and producing duties, in addition to directing.
A Sundance Film Festival premiere in late January could be in the cards.
- 11/18/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
One might think that “Last Chance U” and “Cheer” executive producer and director Greg Whiteley’s 2014 documentary experience with Mitt Romney would bond him to Nanette Burstein, who executive produced and directed “Hillary,” a four-part docuseries about Hillary Clinton. It would not be an incorrect assumption, but it would be a limiting one.
When Variety brought the filmmakers together for a candid conversation about their recent Emmy-eligible series, we found they have something much deeper in common: Both of their approaches to storytelling can be summed up by the opening of Burstein’s 2002 documentary “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” about Robert Evans.
That project begins with the admission that there are multiple sides to a story and only one (very specific) side will be told within. The people Burstein and Whiteley choose to follow dictate the stories they will be telling, which means they are telling a person’s truth,...
When Variety brought the filmmakers together for a candid conversation about their recent Emmy-eligible series, we found they have something much deeper in common: Both of their approaches to storytelling can be summed up by the opening of Burstein’s 2002 documentary “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” about Robert Evans.
That project begins with the admission that there are multiple sides to a story and only one (very specific) side will be told within. The people Burstein and Whiteley choose to follow dictate the stories they will be telling, which means they are telling a person’s truth,...
- 7/2/2020
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
Hillary Clinton and Nanette Burstein first met in 2018, two years after the presidential election that shook the world. Burstein was chosen to make a documentary based on behind-the-scenes footage captured in 2016 by Clinton’s staff. Hillary, a four-part series, premiered on Hulu in March, and in 35 hours of interviews with Burstein, Clinton addressed everything from growing up as a feminist, to her devastating electoral loss to Donald Trump. In between are key sections about Clinton’s time in the U.S. Senate, serving as Barack Obama’s Secretary of State, and decades of experiences with husband Bill Clinton, one of many candid on-camera interviewees. In a Zoom conversation with Deadline, Clinton and Burstein discuss Hillary and the tumult of 2020. This presidential election year, now also defined by Covid-19 and sweeping protests against racism, has thrust their historical record into a vibrant dialogue with the present.
- 7/1/2020
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Four of TV’s top documentary filmmakers will reveal the details behind their gritty and true life programs when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with key 2020 Emmy contenders this month. Each person will participate in two video discussions to be published soon: one-on-one with our senior editor Joyce Eng and a group chat with Joyce and all of the directors together.
SEEalmost 300 interviews with 2020 Emmy contenders
This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2020 Emmy contenders:
Nanette Burstein represents Hulu for “Hillary”
Burstein received an Oscar nomination and Directors Guild win for “On the Ropes.” Other projects have included “The Creators,” “Going the Distance” and “The Kid Stays in the Picture.”
James Hernandez represents HBO for “McMillion$”
Hernandez has also directed “Stick Together,” “Phantom,” “Four Chaplains,” “Unnatural Selection,” “Happenstance” and “The Sixth Minute.”
Reginald Hudlin represents Netflix for “The Black Godfather”
Hudlin received...
SEEalmost 300 interviews with 2020 Emmy contenders
This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2020 Emmy contenders:
Nanette Burstein represents Hulu for “Hillary”
Burstein received an Oscar nomination and Directors Guild win for “On the Ropes.” Other projects have included “The Creators,” “Going the Distance” and “The Kid Stays in the Picture.”
James Hernandez represents HBO for “McMillion$”
Hernandez has also directed “Stick Together,” “Phantom,” “Four Chaplains,” “Unnatural Selection,” “Happenstance” and “The Sixth Minute.”
Reginald Hudlin represents Netflix for “The Black Godfather”
Hudlin received...
- 6/18/2020
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Politics are everywhere in 2020, especially on TV, where Hulu premiered its documentary series “Hillary” on March 6. Its subject, politician Hillary Rodham Clinton, didn’t win the 2016 presidential election, but this look into her life and career could win Emmys. So what do critics think of this portrait of a lady under fire?
As of this writing “Hillary” has a MetaCritic score of 76 based on 18 reviews counted thus far: 15 positive, 3 somewhat mixed, none outright negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, which categorizes reviews simply as positive or negative and not on MetaCritic’s nuanced sliding scale, it has a freshness rating of 76% based on 41 reviews, 10 of which are classified as negative. The Rt critics’ consensus says, “‘Hillary’ faces the impossible task of consolidating a full life into four hours — still, it serves as an insightful, often powerful exploration of Hillary Clinton’s life and legacy.”
SEE73% of Emmy viewers want a host this year,...
As of this writing “Hillary” has a MetaCritic score of 76 based on 18 reviews counted thus far: 15 positive, 3 somewhat mixed, none outright negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, which categorizes reviews simply as positive or negative and not on MetaCritic’s nuanced sliding scale, it has a freshness rating of 76% based on 41 reviews, 10 of which are classified as negative. The Rt critics’ consensus says, “‘Hillary’ faces the impossible task of consolidating a full life into four hours — still, it serves as an insightful, often powerful exploration of Hillary Clinton’s life and legacy.”
SEE73% of Emmy viewers want a host this year,...
- 3/10/2020
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
With heavy hype and globs of press, Hulu is set to premiere its Hillary Clinton documentary series March 6.
The four-part series, directed by Nanette Burstein (The Kid Stays in the Picture), is an examination of her life, both public and private, dating back to her childhood. Over the course of more than four hours, Clinton along with several dozen friends, colleagues, journalists and family members explore a range of subjects, from her marital woes to her two failed presidential attempts.
On the eve of its release, here are 10 things to know about the making of Hillary.
1....
The four-part series, directed by Nanette Burstein (The Kid Stays in the Picture), is an examination of her life, both public and private, dating back to her childhood. Over the course of more than four hours, Clinton along with several dozen friends, colleagues, journalists and family members explore a range of subjects, from her marital woes to her two failed presidential attempts.
On the eve of its release, here are 10 things to know about the making of Hillary.
1....
Hillary Clinton has said that the jury’s verdict in the trial of Harvey Weinstein, formerly one of her primary Hollywood donors, “really speaks for itself.”
“It is obviously something that people have looked at and followed, because it was time for an accounting and the jury clearly found that,” said Clinton, who was speaking Tuesday morning at the Berlin Film Festival.
Clinton’s Hulu doc series “Hillary” premiered in Berlin on Monday, a month on from its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. She is easily one of the most high-profile attendees at this year’s fest, which kicked off on Feb. 20 and runs to March 1.
The former first lady emerged in Berlin a day after the verdict came down on disgraced producer Weinstein, who was convicted on Monday morning of committing a “criminal sexual act” and third-degree rape, following a six-week trial in New York Supreme Court.
“It is obviously something that people have looked at and followed, because it was time for an accounting and the jury clearly found that,” said Clinton, who was speaking Tuesday morning at the Berlin Film Festival.
Clinton’s Hulu doc series “Hillary” premiered in Berlin on Monday, a month on from its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. She is easily one of the most high-profile attendees at this year’s fest, which kicked off on Feb. 20 and runs to March 1.
The former first lady emerged in Berlin a day after the verdict came down on disgraced producer Weinstein, who was convicted on Monday morning of committing a “criminal sexual act” and third-degree rape, following a six-week trial in New York Supreme Court.
- 2/25/2020
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Hillary Clinton has said that “nothing was off limits” with regards to Hulu’s four-part documentary series on her life and 2016 Presidential Campaign but admitted that the process was “intense”.
Former Secretary of State Clinton kicked off Hulu’s day at the Winter TCA press tour with a candid interview about the doc, alongside director Nanette Burstein, touching on how the film came about, what she hopes people learn from it as well as her thoughts on attending the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals.
Clinton admitted that the film didn’t start off as it ended, it was originally set up as a more traditional campaign documentary but added that she was “very impressed” with Burstein, who told her that she wanted to create a “bigger story” that was “part of the arc of women’s history”.
Hillary is a four-part documentary from The Kid Stays In The Picture and Gringo director Burstein.
Former Secretary of State Clinton kicked off Hulu’s day at the Winter TCA press tour with a candid interview about the doc, alongside director Nanette Burstein, touching on how the film came about, what she hopes people learn from it as well as her thoughts on attending the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals.
Clinton admitted that the film didn’t start off as it ended, it was originally set up as a more traditional campaign documentary but added that she was “very impressed” with Burstein, who told her that she wanted to create a “bigger story” that was “part of the arc of women’s history”.
Hillary is a four-part documentary from The Kid Stays In The Picture and Gringo director Burstein.
- 1/17/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
“Minamata,” starring Johnny Depp, Nanette Burstein’s documentary series about Hillary Clinton, “Hillary,” and Agnieszka Holland’s “Charlatan” have been selected to play in the Berlinale Special section of the Berlin Film Festival, the event said Tuesday.
Also selected in the section are two documentary features, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s “Last and First Men,” narrated by Tilda Swinton, and Jia Zhang-ke’s “Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue.”
These five titles join Matteo Garrone “Pinocchio” in Berlinale Special, whose selection was announced last month.
Depp plays celebrated photographer W. Eugene Smith in Andrew Levitas’ “Minamata,” which follows Smith as he takes on a powerful corporation responsible for poisoning the people of Minamata, Japan, in 1971.
The film is based on Aileen Mioko Smith and W. Eugene Smith’s book “Minamata,” which has been adapted by David K. Kessler (“A Hard Day’s Day”).
HanWay Films is handling international sales on “Minamata,...
Also selected in the section are two documentary features, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s “Last and First Men,” narrated by Tilda Swinton, and Jia Zhang-ke’s “Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue.”
These five titles join Matteo Garrone “Pinocchio” in Berlinale Special, whose selection was announced last month.
Depp plays celebrated photographer W. Eugene Smith in Andrew Levitas’ “Minamata,” which follows Smith as he takes on a powerful corporation responsible for poisoning the people of Minamata, Japan, in 1971.
The film is based on Aileen Mioko Smith and W. Eugene Smith’s book “Minamata,” which has been adapted by David K. Kessler (“A Hard Day’s Day”).
HanWay Films is handling international sales on “Minamata,...
- 1/14/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Two years ago, a West End staging of a new play based on Hollywood producer Robert Evans’ classic Hollywood memoir The Kid Stays In The Picture seemed all but certain for an imminent transfer to Broadway. Strong reviews, a sold-out run, rampant press rumors of a transfer, a name director in Simon McBurney, the stateside-friendly subject matter, the direct involvement of Evans himself and London’s Royal Court Theatre’s then-recent record of well-received New York transfers combined to make the Hollywood tale seem like a perfect Broadway baby.
Then, nothing.
Well, nothing but rumors, and, given the book’s troubled stage adaptation history, for understandable reason. An earlier adaptation of Evans’ memoir had spectacularly flamed out, with a prominent playwright – Jon Robin Baitz – and director – Richard Eyre – bolting from the project. Reports suggested even Evans himself was ready to walk, at one point seeming,...
Then, nothing.
Well, nothing but rumors, and, given the book’s troubled stage adaptation history, for understandable reason. An earlier adaptation of Evans’ memoir had spectacularly flamed out, with a prominent playwright – Jon Robin Baitz – and director – Richard Eyre – bolting from the project. Reports suggested even Evans himself was ready to walk, at one point seeming,...
- 11/5/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Iconic producer Robert Evans’ death at 89 this week was met with a wave of appreciations for the driving force behind “Chinatown” and “The Godfather,” but if it wasn’t for a documentary released 18 years ago, that legacy might have remained in the shadows. Co-directors Brett Morgen and Nanette Burstein’s “The Kid Stays in the Picture” recounts Evans’ pivotal role in many of the iconoclastic Hollywood achievements that defined the 1970s, as well as the fatal missteps — from a cocaine bust to a scandalous murder trial — that threw him off track.
“I think the movie gave people a better understanding of him,” Burstein said in a phone interview this week. “People thought he was very Nora Desmond-like.” The stylish documentary, which adapted Evans’ 1994 memoir into a subjective retelling of his highs and lows using his voiceover as a guide, became a breakout hit at Sundance and brought Evans back into public view.
“I think the movie gave people a better understanding of him,” Burstein said in a phone interview this week. “People thought he was very Nora Desmond-like.” The stylish documentary, which adapted Evans’ 1994 memoir into a subjective retelling of his highs and lows using his voiceover as a guide, became a breakout hit at Sundance and brought Evans back into public view.
- 11/2/2019
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Robert Evans, the legendary head of Paramount Pictures and larger-than-life producer of “Chinatown” and “Marathon Man,” died Saturday at the age of 89. An aspiring actor, the tan and good-looking Evans claimed that actor Norma Shearer spotted him poolside and asked him to play her former husband, the legendary MGM exec Irving Thalberg, in the film “Man of a Thousand Faces.” As an actor, Evans never achieved great things.
He would make his mark as a top executive at Paramount, mentoring and clashing with up-and-coming directors such as Roman Polanski, Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich.
With him goes a vital link to Hollywood’s golden age and to the “young turks” who ushered in a bold new period of moviemaking in the 1970s. Bogdanovich spoke with Variety about Evans’ life and legacy. It was Evans who bought Bogdanovich’s first picture, the 1968 suspense thriller “Targets,” and later collaborated with him...
He would make his mark as a top executive at Paramount, mentoring and clashing with up-and-coming directors such as Roman Polanski, Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich.
With him goes a vital link to Hollywood’s golden age and to the “young turks” who ushered in a bold new period of moviemaking in the 1970s. Bogdanovich spoke with Variety about Evans’ life and legacy. It was Evans who bought Bogdanovich’s first picture, the 1968 suspense thriller “Targets,” and later collaborated with him...
- 10/29/2019
- by Peter Bogdanovich
- Variety Film + TV
The word “legend” refers to a great many people who have worked in Hollywood. But when you’re talking about a movie star or a fabled director, the essence of the legend can be found up onscreen. With a producer, the legend usually has more to do with the shadow world offscreen — with what, exactly, he did to get a movie made. And as surely as the studio-system era was built on such legends as the pitch-perfect vulgarity of Samuel Goldwyn or the control-freak tyranny of Louis B. Mayer, the Hollywood that came after them had the high-wire, livin’-large effrontery of Robert Evans.
A former cheeseball actor who took over as the head of production for Paramount Pictures in the late ’60s, guided it back from the dead, and presided over as brilliant and game-changing a run as the movies had ever seen, Evans represented a unique fusion: of...
A former cheeseball actor who took over as the head of production for Paramount Pictures in the late ’60s, guided it back from the dead, and presided over as brilliant and game-changing a run as the movies had ever seen, Evans represented a unique fusion: of...
- 10/29/2019
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Evans (right) with Robert Shaw on the set of "Black Sunday" in 1977.
By Lee Pfeiffer
Robert Evans has passed away at age 89. The former actor-turned-studio head had a long, dramatic career that saw him appointed to run Paramount Pictures at the tender age of 36 when the studio was bleeding red ink. Under Evans' management, the studio rebounded, releasing such classics as "Chinatown", "Rosemary's Baby", "The Odd Couple", "True Grit" and, most notably, "The Godfather". Even Evan's non-blockbusters became cult classics. Among them: "Harold and Maude" and "The Italian Job". Other hits brought to the screen by Evans include "Marathon Man" and "Black Sunday". His tumultuous private life was the stuff of Hollywood lore including his seven marriages. Evans' producing career started modestly when he bought the screen rights to the crime thriller "The Detective" by Roderick Thorp. He successfully brought it to the screen in an acclaimed 1968 film starring Frank Sinatra.
By Lee Pfeiffer
Robert Evans has passed away at age 89. The former actor-turned-studio head had a long, dramatic career that saw him appointed to run Paramount Pictures at the tender age of 36 when the studio was bleeding red ink. Under Evans' management, the studio rebounded, releasing such classics as "Chinatown", "Rosemary's Baby", "The Odd Couple", "True Grit" and, most notably, "The Godfather". Even Evan's non-blockbusters became cult classics. Among them: "Harold and Maude" and "The Italian Job". Other hits brought to the screen by Evans include "Marathon Man" and "Black Sunday". His tumultuous private life was the stuff of Hollywood lore including his seven marriages. Evans' producing career started modestly when he bought the screen rights to the crime thriller "The Detective" by Roderick Thorp. He successfully brought it to the screen in an acclaimed 1968 film starring Frank Sinatra.
- 10/28/2019
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
After covering the Watts riots and writing the occasional Hollywood piece early in his career as the Los Angeles correspondent for The New York Times, Deadline columnist Peter Bart made a temporary exit from journalism to leap into a Paramount Pictures job offered him by actor-turned-Robert Evans. This was when the hit-starved studio lot was floundering and in danger of being sold to be turned into a graveyard. Here, Bart recalls why he gave up one of the best reporter jobs in journalism for a leap with Evans at the onset of an auteur era in cinema.
Robert Evans, who died Saturday at his home at age 89, became famous as a forceful Hollywood studio chief with a vivid life style. But at various stages of his life he seemed a man at war with himself.
While his regime at Paramount Pictures was responsible for hits like The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II...
Robert Evans, who died Saturday at his home at age 89, became famous as a forceful Hollywood studio chief with a vivid life style. But at various stages of his life he seemed a man at war with himself.
While his regime at Paramount Pictures was responsible for hits like The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II...
- 10/28/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Robert Evans, the colorful and charismatic producer and former president of production at Paramount who died over the weekend, left a singular film legacy. Here is a photo gallery of the man behind the autobiography The Kid Stays in the Picture and narrator of the 2002 big-screen documentary of the same name produced who such memorable films as Chinatown, Marathon Man and Urban Cowboy. He also led the Hollywood studio when it released classics including The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Rosemary’s Baby and Love Story.
“As an actor, a producer and a leader, he has left an indelible mark on our studio and the world of film,” Paramount Pictures said in a statement this morning. “His influence will be felt for generations to come. We extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones.”
Here is a photographic collection of work associated with the producer-exec who, in background, persona, and appearance,...
“As an actor, a producer and a leader, he has left an indelible mark on our studio and the world of film,” Paramount Pictures said in a statement this morning. “His influence will be felt for generations to come. We extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones.”
Here is a photographic collection of work associated with the producer-exec who, in background, persona, and appearance,...
- 10/28/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Francis Ford Coppola, Brett Morgen, actress Ali MacGraw and many more are mourning the Monday death of Robert Evans, the legendary film producer and Paramount Pictures chief in the ’60s and ’70s.
Coppola honored Evans for his contributions to “The Godfather” films when he was at Paramount and for his help as an independent producer on Coppola’s “The Cotton Club” from 1984.
“I remember Bob Evans’ charm, good looks, enthusiasm, style, and sense of humor. He had strong instincts as evidenced by the long list of great films in his career,” Coppola said in a statement to TheWrap. “When I worked with Bob, some of his helpful ideas included suggesting John Marley as Woltz and Sterling Hayden as the Police Captain, and his ultimate realization that ‘The Godfather’ could be 2 hours and 45 minutes in length; also, making a movie out of ‘The Cotton Club’ — casting Richard Gere and Gregory Hines,...
Coppola honored Evans for his contributions to “The Godfather” films when he was at Paramount and for his help as an independent producer on Coppola’s “The Cotton Club” from 1984.
“I remember Bob Evans’ charm, good looks, enthusiasm, style, and sense of humor. He had strong instincts as evidenced by the long list of great films in his career,” Coppola said in a statement to TheWrap. “When I worked with Bob, some of his helpful ideas included suggesting John Marley as Woltz and Sterling Hayden as the Police Captain, and his ultimate realization that ‘The Godfather’ could be 2 hours and 45 minutes in length; also, making a movie out of ‘The Cotton Club’ — casting Richard Gere and Gregory Hines,...
- 10/28/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Robert Evans lived a lot of life. From producing some of the most influential Hollywood films of the 1960s and ’70s, to the many criminal entanglements he detailed in his 1994 autobiography “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” Evans’ 89 years on Earth were as epic as his storied movie career.
Evans passed away on October 26, leaving behind a mountain of glorious production credits from “Chinatown” (which earned him a Best Picture Academy Award nomination) to “Rosemary’s Baby” (as a Paramount executive), and he was undoubtedly instrumental in shaping Francis Ford Coppola’s “Godfather” trilogy.
As Peter Biskind wrote in “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls,” “Evans was one of the great crash-and-burn stories of the ’70s.” But that’s hardly the case for the many Hollywood luminaries whose careers he helped launch and shape, cultivating relationships with talent (such as his onetime wife Ali MacGraw and Roman Polanski) that he nurtured over the years across multiple projects.
Evans passed away on October 26, leaving behind a mountain of glorious production credits from “Chinatown” (which earned him a Best Picture Academy Award nomination) to “Rosemary’s Baby” (as a Paramount executive), and he was undoubtedly instrumental in shaping Francis Ford Coppola’s “Godfather” trilogy.
As Peter Biskind wrote in “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls,” “Evans was one of the great crash-and-burn stories of the ’70s.” But that’s hardly the case for the many Hollywood luminaries whose careers he helped launch and shape, cultivating relationships with talent (such as his onetime wife Ali MacGraw and Roman Polanski) that he nurtured over the years across multiple projects.
- 10/28/2019
- by Ryan Lattanzio, Kate Erbland and Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Industry legend lived large, produced classic American cinema of 1970s.
Robert Evans, the larger-than-life Hollywood executive who as head of production at Paramount guided the studio through a period of extraordinary creativity in the late 1960s and 1970s and produced Chinatown, has died. He was 89.
In a statement, Paramount Pictures said, “Hollywood has lost one of its most influential and iconic figures in the inimitable Bob Evans. He was a valued and beloved partner to Paramount Pictures for over half a century, and his contributions to our organization and the entertainment industry are innumerable and far-reaching. As an actor, a producer and a leader,...
Robert Evans, the larger-than-life Hollywood executive who as head of production at Paramount guided the studio through a period of extraordinary creativity in the late 1960s and 1970s and produced Chinatown, has died. He was 89.
In a statement, Paramount Pictures said, “Hollywood has lost one of its most influential and iconic figures in the inimitable Bob Evans. He was a valued and beloved partner to Paramount Pictures for over half a century, and his contributions to our organization and the entertainment industry are innumerable and far-reaching. As an actor, a producer and a leader,...
- 10/28/2019
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Robert Evans, the legendary Paramount Pictures exec and consummate Hollywood producer behind films like Chinatown and Marathon Man, died on Saturday, October 26th, Variety reported. He was 89. A representative for Evans confirmed his death, though no cause or location was given; The New York Times reported that Evans died in Beverly Hills.
Evans’ career stretched across decades and was filled with an array of glitzy highs and brutal lows. He was best known for running and revitalizing Paramount in the late Sixties and early Seventies, overseeing hits like The Odd Couple,...
Evans’ career stretched across decades and was filled with an array of glitzy highs and brutal lows. He was best known for running and revitalizing Paramount in the late Sixties and early Seventies, overseeing hits like The Odd Couple,...
- 10/28/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Refresh for updates The late Robert Evans, one of Hollywood’s most important producers and studio executives of the last half century, who shepherded to the screen such cinematic treasures of the 1960s and ’70 as Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, The Godfather, and The Godfather II, among many others, was remembered today by colleagues and friends in Hollywood. Tweeted Brett Morgen, who directed the film version of Evans’ The Kid Stays In The Picture memoir, “Bob Evans produced some of the greatest films of all time, but the greatest production of all, was his life.” Dana Brunetti, producer of The Social Network, wrote, “One of the best story tellers this business ever had. He and his story was the driving force for me to pursue producing.”
Actress Ali MacGraw, married to Evans from 1969 to 1972, said in a statement, “Our Son Joshua and I will miss Bob tremendously and we are so...
Actress Ali MacGraw, married to Evans from 1969 to 1972, said in a statement, “Our Son Joshua and I will miss Bob tremendously and we are so...
- 10/28/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Francis Ford Coppola remembered his sometime-patron, collaborator and frenemy Robert Evans as a producer with “strong instincts” in an emotional tribute. Evans, the legendary producer and former head of Paramount Pictures, died on Saturday night at the age of 89. He played a crucial role in the creation of such film classics as “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Chinatown” and “Marathon Man.”
At Paramount, he plucked Coppola, then a rising young filmmaker, from semi-obscurity and tasked him with bringing Mario Puzo’s bestseller “The Godfather” to the screen. The two clashed frequently, but they created a beloved film that was also a box office success and Oscar winner. When they collaborated again on 1984’s “The Cotton Club,” it was not as star-crossed. That film was mired in lawsuits, budget over-runs, and competing creative visions. It became an infamous bomb that hurt both men’s careers. On Monday, however, Coppola chose to accentuate the positive aspects of their alliances.
At Paramount, he plucked Coppola, then a rising young filmmaker, from semi-obscurity and tasked him with bringing Mario Puzo’s bestseller “The Godfather” to the screen. The two clashed frequently, but they created a beloved film that was also a box office success and Oscar winner. When they collaborated again on 1984’s “The Cotton Club,” it was not as star-crossed. That film was mired in lawsuits, budget over-runs, and competing creative visions. It became an infamous bomb that hurt both men’s careers. On Monday, however, Coppola chose to accentuate the positive aspects of their alliances.
- 10/28/2019
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
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