Bob Rafelson: Last News

Bert Schneider, his partner in the independent production company Raybert, began kicking around the idea of a television show about a band “more interested in having fun than making a living”. Their Variety ad seeking “4 insane boys, [aged] 17-21” was answered by 437 hopefuls, and the successful applicants – Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork – were dispatched on a six-week improv course. The show’s goofily knowing house style did not arrive instantly – a pilot polled direly in testing.

J. Kim Murphy Jessica Lange is thinking about retirement. In a candid interview with The Telegraph, the two-time Oscar-winner revealed that she is thinking of “phasing out of filmmaking” and offered some blunt criticism for the entertainment industry’s direction over the past few years.

Paul Sorvino, 'Goodfellas' Star, Dead at 83 David Warner, 'Titanic' and 'Omen' Actor, Dead at 80 Bob Rafelson, 'Five Easy Pieces' Director, Dead at 89 Shonka Dukureh, Big Mama Thornton in 'Elvis,' Dead at 44 Mickey Rooney Jr., Original Mouseketeer & Musician, Dead at 77 Jak Knight, Comedian and Voice in 'Big Mouth,' Dead at 28  

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNo movie better captures the maverick spirit of Bob Rafelson and the impact he had on the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s than “Five Easy Pieces.” The film follows Jack Nicholson’s Bobby Dupea, a former piano prodigy who has turned his back on his privileged lifestyle to embrace the life of a blue collar drifter. Dupea’s rejection of his upbringing struck a cord with the counterculture and turned “Five Easy Pieces” into a critical and commercial sensation, making it a rare film that tapped into and reflected the zeitgeist.Rafelson, who also directed “The King of Marvin Gardens” and helped create “The Monkees” television series, died on July 23 at the age of 89.

Paul Sorvino, 'Goodfellas' Star, Dead at 83 David Warner, 'Titanic' and 'Omen' Actor, Dead at 80 Bob Rafelson, 'Five Easy Pieces' Director, Dead at 89 Shonka Dukureh, Big Mama Thornton in 'Elvis,' Dead at 44 Mickey Rooney Jr., Original Mouseketeer & Musician, Dead at 77 Jak Knight, Comedian and Voice in 'Big Mouth,' Dead at 28  

A.D. Amorosi Though regarded by cinephiles as one of the architects of the “New Hollywood” largely because of moody character studies like 1970’s “Five Easy Pieces,” filmmaker Bob Rafelson — who died Saturday at 89 — will also always be adored for his co-creation and production of the decidedly less moody, madcap television series “The Monkees,” and for further directing that makeshift band in the comically avant-garde 1968 film “Head.”Rafelson is very fondly remembered by vocalist and drummer Micky Dolenz, the final surviving member of the Monkees, who shared his thoughts about Rafelson’s role in the creation and development of the group with Variety.  A wildly silly sitcom about a faux teeny-bop band meant that its producer-showrunners, Rafelson and Bert Schneider (who died in 2011), had to find a willing quartet of actor-musicians.

Bob Rafelson, the director, producer and writer who brought a European sensibility to American filmmaking with "Five Easy Pieces" in 1970, died Saturday evening at his home in Aspen, Colorado. He was 89 years old. Rafelson’s death was confirmed by his former personal assistant of 38 years, Jolene Wolff, who worked under Rafelson’s production banner Marmont Productions.

has died. He was 89.Rafelson died on Saturday at his home in Aspen, Colorado, according to multiple  reports.

Bob Rafelson, the filmmaker who earned an Oscar nomination for his classic film Five Easy Pieces, has died at 89.The director died at his home in Aspen, Colorado, of natural causes, according to Deadline.In addition to his many collaborations with actor Jack Nicholson — who earned his own Academy Award nomination for Five Easy Pieces — Rafelson was known for co-creating The Monkees and their eponymous TV show with his producing partner Bert Schneider. Bob Rafelson, the Oscar-nominated director of Five Easy Pieces, has died at his Aspen, Colorado, home of natural causes at 89, according to Deadline; pictured in 1990Rafelson began his career in the 1950s as a story editor for televised plays, and by the early 1960s he had moved up to producing.By the middle of the decade, he met his future work partner Bert Schneider, and the two created BBS Productions, along with Schneider's friend Stephen Blauner.

Hollywood director Bob Rafelson has died aged 89.The Oscar-nominated director died at his home in Aspen on Saturday night surrounded by his family, said his wife, Gabrielle.Bob was responsible for co-creating the pop music band The Monkees, whose 60s hits included I'm A Believer and Last Train To Clarksville.READ MORE:Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey, 62, pleads not guilty to sexual assault chargesHe also became an influential figure in the New Hollywood era of the 1970s and won an Emmy for an outstanding comedy series in 1967.His impact on the new Hollywood era paved the way for many recognised industry legends, including Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg.The late director earned Oscar nominations for co-writing and producing Five Easy Pieces and then the 70s breakthrough hit The Last Picture Show. Fans have since taken to social media to share heartfelt tributes to the movie producer.One heartbroken fan tweeted: "R.I.P.

Micky Dolenz, the drummer of the mid-1960s formed-for-TV band The Monkees that became a pop music staple and Emmy winners to boot, took to Twitter on Sunday to remember Bob Rafelson, one of the co-creators of the musical show.

The Hollywood Reporter.Along with his late partner Bert Schneider, Rafelson co-created the classic NBC sitcom The Monkees, which premiered in 1966. The pair had been inspired by The Beatles‘ 1964 film A Hard Day’s Night, and they decided to develop a TV series about a fictional band.Rafelson served as a producer and later executive producer on the show, and also directed several episodes.

Bob Rafelson, a giant in the American independent film movement as a writer, director, and producer, and later a cocreator of The Monkees television show, has died at 89 of natural causes at his Aspen, Colorado home.

Bob Rafelson, a director, producer and writer who brought a European sensibility to American filmmaking with “Five Easy Pieces” in 1970, died Saturday evening at his home in Aspen, Colo. He was 89 years old.Rafelson’s death was confirmed by his former personal assistant of 38 years, Jolene Wolff, who worked under Rafelson’s production banner Marmont Productions.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple’s upcoming limited series “The Big Cigar” has cast P.J. Byrne in a series regular role, Variety has learned exclusively.The six-episode series stars André Holland as Black Panther leader Huey P.

Steven Gaydos Executive VP of ContentIf the action-fueled, hit genre films “Bonnie and Clyde” in 1967 and “Easy Rider” in 1969 were the shotgun blasts whose breakout success opened the filmmaking doors for what became known as “The New Hollywood,” 1970’s “Five Easy Pieces” actually better represented the kind of film that the era’s aspiring young directors, producers, writers and actors were dreaming of making in those heady, hopeful days.It’s been 50 years since Bob Rafelson’s powerful, perceptive drama about a young man torn between a life of white privilege and high culture in the Northwest and a more earthy, elemental existence in the oilfields of Bakersfield, scored critical raves and four Oscar nominations; for best picture, Jack