William Wyler: Last News

Alan K. Rode The death of actress-activist Marsha Hunt this week is a historical watershed and a personal loss. Marsha was one of the last living actors who began her movie career during the Great Depression in 1935. She became part of a now vanished Hollywood, initially at Paramount then at MGM, that bound contracted talent to studios with artists having little to no say over their choice of roles and careers. Nevertheless, she thrived in the studio system by becoming somewhat less than a genuine movie star and more of a consummate professional actress.   Marsha’s career was derailed by the Blacklist, a perfidious period of American history that has been endlessly chronicled and misunderstood. Never a Communist or radical, she was a forthright liberal who refused to accept her voice being marginalized by the endemic sexism and politics of the period. Marsha was the final survivor of the Committee of the First Amendment, an action group of film actors, directors and writers founded by screenwriter Philip Dunne, actress Myrna Loy, and directors John Huston and William Wyler. Members of the group flew to Washington D.C. on October 27, 1947 to protest the HUAC hearings investigating so-called subversive Communist influence in the motion picture industry. From a public relations perspective, the group’s involvement backfired and many people in the group subsequently had to seek political cover. After the pamphlet “Red Channels” was published in June 1950, naming Marsha and 150 other artists, journalists and writers by falsely portraying them as subversives who were manipulating the entertainment system, she had a great deal of trouble finding work in Hollywood.

Death Becomes Her“).The film from the renowned director of “It Happened One Night” went on to gross $3.3 million at the box office — a strong haul under most circumstances. The trouble is Capra’s budget had ballooned, and the movie needed to do nearly double that business just to break even. One of only two pictures made by Capra’s Liberty Films, “It’s A Wonderful Life” failed to recoup its high costs.

Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi starring ‘Wuthering Heights’.Emerald Fennell will write, direct and produce the new version of Emily Bronte’s classic novel in her third film, following 2020’s Promising Young Woman and 2023’s Saltburn, the latter of which she worked on with Elordi.She first announced her plans to adapt Wuthering Heights as her third feature in July, posting a surprise announcement to social media with a graphic reading, “Be with me always – Take any form – Drive me mad,” a line from the novel.Now, Variety has reported that the film is set for release just in time for Valentine’s Day, and will hit screen on February 13, 2026.A post shared by @wutheringheightsmovieRobbie, who had worked alongside Fennel on-screen for Barbie, had previously praised her directorial skills, telling Variety in an interview in January, “Emerald immerses you into a world so quickly.

Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are attached to star as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s forthcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Fennell will write, direct and produce the new version of Emily Bronte’s classic novel in her third film, following 2020’s Promising Young Woman and 2023’s Saltburn, the latter of which she worked on with Elordi.

Every month, the boutique cinephile DVD/Blu-Ray Label the Criterion Collection adds many new cineaste gems to its ever-growing closet, and November 2024 is no different. Four new titles were announced this week, and two classic releases received 4 K upgrades.

Saltburn director Emerald Fennell has hinted that her next project could be a film adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.The British filmmaker, who also made 2020’s Promising Young Woman, posted an image on social media on Friday (July 12) that includes the lines, “Be with me always – Take any form – Drive me mad”, which are lifted directly from the original novel.At the bottom of the image, which Fennell has credited to Katie Buckley, it reads: “A film by Emerald Fennell”.pic.twitter.com/NZXNYAm1wZ— Emerald Fennell (@emeraldfennell) July 12, 2024It would be the latest cinematic adaptation of the classic story, including William Wyler’s 1939 version with Laurence Olivier and the 2011 incarnation, which was helmed by Andrea Arnold (American Honey, Fish Tank) and starred Kaya Scodelario and James Howson.Fennell has not directly confirmed that she will be directing a new film version, but Variety reports that she will be re-teaming with MRC, the studio behind the viral hit Saltburn.Wuthering Heights was Emily Brontë’s only novel, published in 1847, and tells the story of two gentry families in the West Yorkshire moors. It is considered one of the great examples of gothic fiction, a genre that Fennell has expressed admiration for in the past.Writing for the LA Times in January, she said: “I’ve always been obsessed with the gothic.

Academy Award winner Emerald Fennell looks to have found her next feature project on the heels of Saltburn, as she’s taken to X to tease that she’ll be helming an adaptation of Wuthering Heights, the classic Gothic romance by Emily Brontë.

Ethan Shanfeld The Yorkshire Moors are about to get freaky. Emerald Fennell is teasing her own film adaptation of “Wuthering Heights,” the famed 1847 gothic novel by Emily Brontë about two families living in northern England.

Killers of the Flower Moon confirmed today, Martin Scorsese has become the living director with the most Oscar nominations.The Academy included the 81-year-old on their Best Director shortlist, giving him his tenth nomination in total, and overtaking Steven Spielberg’s nine.Scorsese’s nominations go back to 1980’s Raging Bull, but he has only won the prize once, for 2006’s The Departed. His other recent nominations include The Irishman, The Wolf of Wall Street and Hugo.

Steven Gaydos Executive VP of Content They say failureis an orphan, but success has many fathers; however, that rule may not apply when your child is a bomb that has the potential to end all life on Earth. That is one of the many gut-wrenching and provocative points raised in Christopher Nolan’s awards contender “Oppenheimer,” a bracing and cinematically bold look at the titular scientist who many credit as the father of the atomic bomb.

It’s not every day that a filmmaker will rise up during an interview and recite Old Testament tales and sing out their favorite hymn. Well, hallelujah, brother Jeymes Samuel for spreading the gospel’s good news.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor “There’s no such thing as simple. Simple is hard.” – Martin Scorsese   Legend. Master.

Katie Reul editor Winning best picture at the Academy Awards, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” capped off a ground-breaking awards season and became the most-awarded best picture winner since 2008’s “Slumdog Millionaire.” “Everything Everywhere” took home seven Oscars on Sunday night, including best picture, director, original screenplay, lead actress, supporting actress, supporting actor and editing. At the 2009 Oscars, Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” scored eight awards, including best picture, director, adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing, score, original song and sound mixing. Before “Everything Everywhere,” the closest a best picture winner has gotten to topping that number was the 2010 ceremony, when “The Hurt Locker” won six Oscars.

As a producer, Mirisch aggressively recruited top filmmakers such as Billy Wilder and Norman Jewison, then gave them freedom to craft the movies as they saw fit.“We offered these filmmakers what they needed,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1983. “Billy could call me up and say, `I’d next like to do a picture about so-and-so’ — and that’s all we’d need to know.

Veronica Cartwright is set to guest star in The CW‘s upcoming series Gotham Knights.

Rome’s historic Cinecittà Studios on Monday afternoon (Aug. 1) and was extinguished by three teams of firefighters. The fire broke out in the area where a set depicting renaissance Florence was housed and which was being decommissioned, destroying parts of it.

Wilson Chapman editorBeanie Feldstein and Jane Lynch will depart the current Broadway revival of “Funny Girl” this fall, the production announced Wednesday.The news was announced by the production, which confirmed that both stars will depart the production on Sept. 25. The male leads, Ramin Karimloo and Jared Grimes, will remain with the show.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItaly’s iconic Cinecittà Studios turn 85 this year and it’s never looked so young.The famed facilities, which in their Hollywood-on-the-Tiber heyday hosted sword-and-sandals epics such as William Wyler’s “Ben-Hur” and were later home to Federico Fellini, are undergoing a major overhaul that now sees Europe’s largest LED wall situated on the lot near Fellini’s huge Studio 5.Known as Cinecittà’s T18 Virtual Production Stage, the 412-square-meter (4,434-sq.-ft.) semicircular screen made up of hundreds of high-def displays that serve as interactive backdrops for actors on a smart set, is one of more than a dozen state-of-the art soundstages being built there thanks to a multimillion-euro cash injection provided by the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery fund. The revamp is being spearheaded by Nicola Maccanico, managing director of Italy’s Istituto Luce-Cinecittà, the state film entity that operates Rome’s expanding Cinecittà Studios.

With his 8th Oscar nomination for directing today, Steven Spielberg joins a very select group of four filmmakers who have received 8-plus Best Director nominations. They include Billy Wilder, who also has 8, his contemporary Martin Scorsese, who has 9, and the great William Wyler, who earned 11 total directing nominations.