cloris leachman – We Are Movie Geeks

WAMG Tribute: Oscar-Winning Comedy Legend Cloris Leachman Has Died

Only a few days short of January’s end, 2021 has seen the loss of its first Oscar winner. Here’s how the Associated Press broke the news:

Cloris Leachman, an Oscar-winner for her portrayal of a lonely housewife in “The Last Picture Show” and a comedic delight as the fearsome Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein” and self-absorbed neighbor Phyllis on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” has died. She was 94.

Leachman died in her sleep of natural causes at her home in Encinitas, California, publicist Monique Moss said Wednesday. Her daughter Dinah Englund was at her side, Moss said.

Remarkably those 94 years encompassed nine decades of work on the big and small(er) screen. A truly versatile actress, her knack for comedy wasn’t really showcased until nearly twenty years into her astounding career. As a tribute we offer a fond look back at the work of a true cinema “scene-stealer” who could effortlessly inspire laughter and tears.

First, we start with a few details on her showbiz roots. Cloris was born in Des Moines, IA on April 30, 1926. As teen growing up near the Windy City, she acted in plays before being crowned “Miss Chicago 1946” as part of the Miss America pageant. Soon she moved to NYC to study under famed director Elia Kazan at the prestigious Actors Studio. We first saw Cloris in the movies as an uncredited extra in 1947’s CARNEGIE HALL.

But TV audiences would soon know her name as the young actress kept very busy during those early days of live broadcasts. It wasn’t long before the movie studios beckoned her to the West Coast. For her first speaking film role, Cloris made an unforgettable cinema splash as she ran down a pitch black highway, barefoot (and supposedly five months pregnant), wearing a trench coat, prior to the opening titles of director Robert Aldrich’s adaptation of Mickey Spillane’s KISS ME DEADLY from 1955. Despite her character Christina’s hasty demise, Cloris certainly made a big impression in “Tinsel Town”.

Returning to TV for a year, she would be seen again on the big screen in THE RACK with Paul Newman (the first of three films with him, with small roles in BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID and WUSA over a decade away). The small screen had more steady work for her as she became the second mom Ruth Martin to “Lassie”. After her single season stint ended, Cloris was in demand all over the TV landscape from Westerns, to police thrillers and even sitcoms. Some of her most memorable work was in the many anthology shows like “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, “One Step Beyond”, “Thriller”, and, most memorably, in an iconic “The Twilight Zone” story as the exhausted mother of the all-powerful Anthony Freemont (Billy Mumy) in ”It’s a Good Life”.

Cloris was finally back on the big screen in 1962’s THE CHAPMAN REPORT, seven years before BUTCH would start another film run with LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS, WUSA, THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR, and THE STEAGLE. As she continued on more guest-starring roles on TV series (and made-for-TV-movies), a young “maverick” filmmaker would offer her the role that would change her life.

Peter Bogdanovich, fresh from his cult classic TARGETS, cast Cloris as the repressed lonely wife of the high school football coach, Ruth Popper, who begins a torrid affair with one of his students, in his adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. The film was an unexpected box office smash which garnered lots of critical raves, especially for Leachman’s heartbreaking performance. And the Academy took notice bestowing eight nominations and awarding the coveted Supporting Actor and Actress Oscars to Ben Johnson and Cloris.

And just as Cloris finally made a name for herself in cinema, TV was also giving her career a huge boost with a character role in a truly “game-changing” situation comedy. Leachman was the abrasive Phyllis Lindstrom on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in 1970, a role that would earn her two Emmys and her own spin-off “Phyllis” from 1975 to 1977. And as the world learned of her comedic gifts another big director tapped her for his latest romp.

Hot off the box office smash BLAZING SADDLES, Mel Brooks, along with star and co-writer Gene Wilder, would lovingly parody the black and white movie monster masterpieces of yore in 1974’s YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Leachman plays a pivotal supporting character, the mistress/housekeeper of the old Transylvanian castle Frau Blucher. The role was heavily influenced by Una O’Connor in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN with touches of Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers in 1940’s REBECCA. Blucher herself inspired one of the film’s greatest “running gags”: whenever her name is spoken, a horse whinny is heard (causing her to grimace). The film was a huge hit and is often called the greatest horror/comedy/spoof of all time (as for yours truly, well, it’s my flat-out favorite flick ever).

But that’s not her last Brooks outing. Mel would call on her again for his Hitchcock-inspired comedy HIGH ANXIETY in 1977. This time Cloris was one of the villains, a sadistic shrew named Nurse Diesel who ran a shady sanitarium. Her forerunners were again Danvers, along with the controlling mom in NOTORIOUS and a touch of the Wicked Witch of the West. The final Brooks/Leachman collaboration would be in 1981’s THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD: PART 1 as she “dressed down” as Madam Defarge in the French Revolution segment.

Ms. Leachman would keep very busy over the next decades as she bounced from TV (she would headline several sitcoms and stepped into the hit “The Facts of Life” for its final two seasons) to the movies with a cameo in 1979’s THE MUPPET MOVIE (as Orson Wells’ secretary) and played Granny Moses in the 1993 big-screen version of the 60s TV classic THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES. In between 70s comedies, Ms. Leachman was in a couple of 30s era crime thrillers. She led Public Enemy Number One to his doom as Anna Sage, the “woman in red”, in John Milius’ DILLINGER in 1973. Two years later she’d lead her own “crew” in Jonathan Demme’s CRAZY MAMA. She even revisited Ruth Popper in 1990’s TEXASVILLE (her third Bogdonavich film after co-starring in 1974’s DAISY MILLER). Cloris was soon in demand for grandmother roles with TV’s “Raising Hope” and in the BAD SANTA movies.

And she was also wanted at the “mike” for lots of animated projects. In TV Cloris lent her voice to everything from “The Simpsons” and Bob’s Burgers” to “Adventure Time” and “Justice League Action”. And at the movies she was heard in such cartoon features as BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICA, THE IRON GIANT, and MY LITTLE PONY: THE MOVIE. The last time we saw her on-screen credit was just a couple of months ago as she returned to her character “Gran” in the sequel to the 2013 hit, THE CROODS: A NEW AGE.

Hold on, we’ve not seen all of her work quite yet. Two feature films, NOT TO FORGET and HIGH HOLIDAY, will be completed soon (fingers crossed that the theatres will be ready). Ah, but for now we must say goodbye to one of our most prolific performances, though she’ll always be with us. Her Ruth Popper will forever touch our hearts as much as Frau Blucher (“whinny”) will tickle our funny bones as she screeches, “He vas’ my boyfriend!”. Just be careful that hot Ovaltine doesn’t shoot through your nose! Auf wiedersehen, Ms. Leachman!

THE CROODS: A NEW AGE – Review

In a time when many families are opting to forgo the big, big get-together and reunion, perhaps they may want to try instead a big cinematic reunion. It’s one that’s seven years in the making, though this particular family goes back several thousands of years. One of 2013’s surprise box office hits was THE CROODS from the hard-working folks at Dreamworks Animation which was indeed a worthy addition to their SHREK, DRAGON, and KUNG FU PANDA franchises. So is this adventure worth a return to the caves, let alone the theatres (no streaming-on-demand for this one…yet) ? Well, let’s dust off the old “loin-cloth” and visit that “family down the street” (oops, wrong animated ancestors) for THE CROODS: A NEW AGE.

It all starts with a fairly somber flashback as we witness young Guy’s last moments with his parents. Not to worry kids, we’re soon right in the thick of the action as the Croods, along with now teenage Guy (voice of Ryan Reynolds), cling tightly to the fur of their charging faithful “macawnivore” Chunky as they evade all manner of predators (those “kangadillos” are really pesky) as they seek out the new homeland they call “Tomorrow”. The main concern of papa Grug (Nicolas Cage) is finding food, but he’s distracted and extremely annoyed by the blossoming romance between Guy and his eldest daughter Eep (Emma Stone). Suddenly he’s stopped in his tracks by something Grug has never encountered: a wall, made of tied-together trees. Using his noggin (literally) he plows through to a wild, multi-colored utopia, a land-of-plenty with all manner of over-sized fruit and veggies. As they recover from their glutinous stupor, two odd shapes slowly come into focus as they get nearer. People! Humans! The duo is husband Phil (Peter Dinklage) and wife Hope (Leslie Mann) Betterman, who wear clothing that’s not fur (a softer thing called cloth), sandals, and tie their hair in buns and ponytails. Plus they know Guy, as they were friends of his folks. When the Croods are brought back to their tree-house domicile (!), they meet the third Betterman, teenage daughter Dawn (Kelly Marie Tran). While Phil and Hope seem welcoming, they’re secretly devising a plot to hook-up Guy with Dawn. But will Eep thwart their plans? And what is the dark secret that makes Phil forbid Grug and his clan from feasting on those luscious bananas that pile up everywhere? Can this really be “Tomorrow”?

The returning voice cast slips back into their roles like easing into a well-worn tiger-skin “one-piece”. Cage is affectionately dim-witted and surprisingly warm as the patriarch Grug, a great counterpoint to Catherine Keener as his calmer, understanding, and nurturing spouse Ugga. Reynolds eases up on his motor-mouth wiseacre screen persona as the energetic, often frustrated Guy, who is a delightful romantic comedy partner to Stone as the spunky, tough, and tender Eep. Cloris Leachman is a feisty force-of-nature as the gravelly-voiced Gran, while Clark Duke gives pre-teen Thunk an endearing distracted vibe. All of them contrast superbly with the talented trio introduced here. Tran makes Dawn a beacon of joyous delight as she encounters the delights of having an adventurous BFF in Eep (she’s okay with Guy, though). Mann is a devilish passive-aggressive diva as Hope, perhaps a prehistoric take on today’s social media “Karens”. But the biggest laughs are generated by the hysterical Dinklage who imbues Phil was so much smarmy snark making him a devious “hipster” prototype oozing with condescension. If he weren’t such a hoot, we’d be impatient for Grug to throttle him (although there is a nice comeuppance).

First-time feature director Joel Crawford brings a wonderful visual style to the story (credited to six writers…uh uh) filling every backdrop with dazzling eye-popping colors (you almost need shades at times) and imaginative animal-creature hybrids (I’d fancy a “wolfspider” stuffed toy, thank you). Its main strength may be in the characters, both familiar and new. Even when some scenes become “dialogue-heavy” we’re engaged due to the superior physical acting with each family member engaging in their specific “body language’ (essential with the feral, sound-effects spewing baby sister Sandy). The lil’ ones will be entranced by the “eye candy” and slapstick even as the plot enters the one-hour mark “lull” (a problem with live-action comedies too). A five or ten minute “trim” might have helped the now 95-minute flick. A few of the more “heavy-handed” gags come to mine. TV addiction is hammered home with Thunk’s obsession with the Betterman’s tree-house widow. He just wants to sit and stare (“Not now, Mom! The birds are on!”). Then there are the big female-empowerment sequences (the whole Eep/Dawn bonding is fun at first) leading to the huge battle/rescue finale as Gran gives her “sistas” tough code names (“You are ‘Bog-Water’!”) before leading the charge, complete with lots of MATRIX-inspired “bullet-time” bits). The score by Mark Mothersbaugh is quite rousing without being too bombastic. But, as with most Dreamworks films, the classic pop tunes are over-utilized, especially one nearing 50 made popular by a singing TV sitcom family. Despite its fumbles and flubs, the great vocal crew and them “purdy pitchers” make THE CROODS: A NEW AGE a worthy sequel sure to be a tasty cinematic dessert after you finish the big (well, not as usual) “boid”.

3 Out of 4

THE CROODS: A NEW AGE opens in selected theatres on November 25

The Croods Meet The Bettermans In THE CROODS 2: A NEW AGE Poster And Trailer

In 2013, audiences met The Croods – a loveable pre-historic family in search of a new home. From the directing team of Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, you can catch it on Netflix now – https://www.netflix.com/title/70143241?source=35

Read our review here: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2013/03/the-croods-the-review/

Now comes THE CROODS 2: A NEW AGE, , heading into theaters this Thanksgiving.

The Croods have survived their fair share of dangers and disasters, from fanged prehistoric beasts to surviving the end of the world, but now they will face their biggest challenge of all: another family.

The Croods need a new place to live. So, the first prehistoric family sets off into the world in search of a safer place to call home. When they discover an idyllic walled-in paradise that meets all their needs, they think their problems are solved … except for one thing. Another family already lives there: the Bettermans.

The Bettermans (emphasis on the “better”)—with their elaborate tree house, amazing inventions and irrigated acres of fresh produce—are a couple of steps above the Croods on the evolutionary ladder. When they take the Croods in as the world’s first houseguests, it isn’t long before tensions escalate between the cave family and the modern family.

Just when all seems lost, a new threat will propel both families on an epic adventure outside the safety of the wall, one that will force them to embrace their differences, draw strength from each other and forge a future together.

Guy (Ryan Reynolds) and his pet sloth Belt in DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age, directed by Joel Crawford.

THE CROODS 2: A NEW AGE features the voice talent of returning stars Nicolas Cage as Grug Crood, Catherine Keener as Ugga Crood, Emma Stone as their daughter, Eep; Ryan Reynolds as Eep’s boyfriend, Guy; Clark Duke (Hot Tub Time Machine) as Thunk and Cloris Leachman as Gran. They’re joined by new stars Peter Dinklage (HBO’s Game of Thrones) as Phil Betterman, Leslie Mann (Blockers) as Hope Betterman, and Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars: Episode VIII-The Last Jedi) as their daughter, Dawn.

The film is directed by Joel Crawford, who has worked on multiple DreamWorks Animation films, including Trolls and the Kung Fu Panda franchise, and is produced by Mark Swift (Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted).

THE CROODS 2: A NEW AGE, WILL BE RELEASED IN CINEMAS IN THE UK AND IRELAND ON FEBRUARY 5TH, 2021

(clockwise, from top left) Sandy Crood (Kailey Crawford), Grug Crood (Nicolas Cage), Thunk Crood (Clark Duke), Gran (Cloris Leachman), Eep Crood (Emma Stone) and Ugga Crood (Catherine Keener) in DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age, directed by Joel Crawford.

Relive the Magic and Celebrate THE MUPPET MOVIE When it Returns to U.S. Theaters July 25th and July 30th

Forty years ago this summer, a frog with a dream to make millions of people happy hopped out of the swamp, onto a bicycle and into cinema history in “The Muppet Movie.” For two days only this July, the original classic is back in movie theaters nationwide from Fathom Events, The Jim Henson Company and Universal Pictures.

Tickets are available at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.

“The Muppet Movie” will play in more than 700 movie theaters on Thursday, July 25, and Tuesday, July 30, at 12:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. local time each day through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network (DBN). For a complete list of theater locations, visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

Following massive global success with the television hit “The Muppet Show,” which at its height aired in more than 100 countries around the world, Muppets creator Jim Henson took a huge creative risk to have the characters star in their first motion picture. The result, “The MuppetMovie,” directed by James Frawley, proved to be an enormous box-office hit. The film also charmed critics and received an Academy Award® nomination for “The Rainbow Connection,” the film’s iconic theme song with music and lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher.

The film stars Kermit (performed by Henson), Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear (performed by Frank Oz), Gonzo (performed by Dave Goelz) and his chicken Camilla (performed by Jerry Nelson), Scooter (performed by Richard Hunt), and Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem as they embark on a road trip to Hollywood where fame and fortune beckons, driven only by hope, dreams and a wisecracking bear.

In addition to the Muppet performers, “The Muppet Show” is a veritable who’s-who of 1970s pop culture, with a cast that includes Charles Durning, Austin Pendleton and cameo roles by Dom DeLuise, James Coburn, Madeline Kahn, Carol Kane, Telly Savalas, Milton Berle, Elliott Gould, Edgar Bergen, Bob Hope, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, Cloris Leachman and Orson Welles.

“‘The Muppet Movie’ is a cinematic treasure, a delightful film that may have been made 40 years ago but is truly timeless, thanks both to its iconic characters and to its always-stirring theme of following your dreams and believing in your own abilities,” said Tom Lucas, Fathom Events Vice President of Studio Relations. “This film’s return to the big screen is very well deserved and we are happy to work with The Jim Henson Company and Universal Pictures to give it a proper nationwide re-release.”

Frankenstein Double Feature: BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Oct. 20th at Washington University

“We belong…Dead!”

Please join Washington University’s Film and Media Studies and the Center for the Humanities as they celebrate the 200^th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein with a free screening of Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Young Frankenstein (1974). The event takes place at Brown Hall, Room 100, Washington University in St. Louis Friday October 20^th, 2017 at 7.00 pm. This is a FREE event and there will be free popcorn and soda there as well.

Two hundred years have passed since Mary Shelley, the British novelist and dramatist, published her novel Frankenstein. Since that moment, her creation has not only caused a big impact in the literary world, but also in cinema, an art that was not even alive when the monster was born. In celebration of Frankenstein’s upcoming birthday, Film and Media Studies and the Center for the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis is organizing a free screening that will combine horror and comedy on the eve of Halloween.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935), “Warning! The Monster Demands a Mate!” Widely considered the high point of the 1930s Universal horror cycle, BRIDE is a brilliant blend of black humor and Gothic style. Boris Karloff reprises his greatest role as the Monster, with Colin Clive as his reluctant “father,” the hilariously creepy Ernest Thesiger as Dr. Pretorius and Elsa Lanchester as the screaming-mimi Bride. (American Cinematheque)

Young Frankenstein (1974), Director Mel Brooks’ hilariously abby-normal homage to 1930s monster movies – one of the strangest, funniest, most brilliantly conceived comedies since the heyday of the Marx Bros. Gene Wilder (who co-wrote the script) stars as Dr. Frankenstein (“That’s Frahnk-en-steen”), grandson of the famed mad scientist, struggling to breathe life into tap-dancing monster Peter Boyle with demented help from hunchback assistant Marty Feldman, lusty Teri Garr, neurotic girlfriend Madeline Kahn and Frau Blucher herself, Cloris Leachman. Kenneth Mars is outlandishly memorable as one-eyed, one-armed German Inspector Kemp, “ze leader of zis community!” “The biggest problem we had in doing YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN was that we had to do so many takes because we couldn’t stop laughing.” – Teri Garr. (American Cinematheque)

What: Free screenings of Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Young Frankenstein (1974)

Where: Brown Hall, Room 100, at Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, EE.UU.

When: Friday, October 20 – 7 P.M.

Who: Program in Film and Media Studies and the Center for the Humanities

Plus: Free popcorn and sodas!

CRAZY MAMA June 10th at Webster University ‘A Tribute to Jonathan Demme’

CRAZY MAMA screens Saturday, June 10th at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). This is the second film in their ‘Tribute to Jonathan Demme’ The movie starts at 8:00pm.

A band of beauty shop desperadoes cartoonishly plunder their way from California to Arkansas to reclaim the old family farm in the 1975 hillbilly masterpiece CRAZY MAMA directed by Jonathan Demme and produced by Roger Corman, who made a whole series of these backwoods desperadoes flicks in the ’70s.

Cloris Leachman stars as Melba Stokes, who runs a beauty parlor in Long Beach, California with her mother Sheba (Ann Sothern) and her daughter Cheryl (Linda Purl). When the shop is repossessed by banker Jim Backus (aka Thurston Howell III in a great little cameo) Melba and the ladies head back to Arkansas and the family farm which was stolen away from them when shea was a girl. Along for the ride is Cheryl’s boyfriend, surfer boy Donny ‘Ralph Malph ‘ Most who finds out he’s going to be a daddy thanks to Cheryl. The ladies knock over a filling station, which sets about their plan to rob their way back to Arkansas earning the money to buy back the farm.

CRAZY MAMA is more comedic than Corman’s other period gangster flicks from the time, and is blessed with spirited performances by Leachman, Sothern, and especially Merie Earle as the nursing home escapee who finds a few thrills in her last days. There is some surprising violence, an eclectic 50’s soundtrack, and control over the whole crazy-quilt through the direction of Demme. The most touching scene in the film is when the weary travelers stand under a tree and remember their fallen friends by “shouting them into Heaven”.

Admission is:

$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.

Here’s the rest of the line-up for the other films that will be part of the ‘Tribute to Jonathan Demme’:

6/10 – Crazy Mama (1975)
6/16 – Melvin and Howard (1980)
6/17 – Stop Making Sense (1984)
6/23 – Something Wild (1986)
6/24 – Married to the Mob (1988)
6/30 – The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
7/1 – Philadelphia (1993)

Look for continued coverage of these films here at We Are Movie Geeks

Advance tickets are available from the cashier before each screening or contact the Film Series office (314-246-7525) for more options. The Film Series can only accept cash or check.

The Webster University Film Series site can be found HERE

http://www.webster.edu/film-series/

THE COMEDIAN Starring Robert De Niro and an All-Star Cast Debuts on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital May 2nd

Two-Time Academy Award Winner Robert De Niro Leads an All-Star Cast, Including Leslie Mann, Danny DeVito, Edie Falco, Charles Grodin, Cloris Leachman, Patti LuPone and Harvey Keitel in THE COMEDIAN

Two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro (Best Supporting Actor, The Godfather: Part II, 1974; Best Actor, Raging Bull, 1980) stars as an aging insult comic trying to reinvent himself for acclaimed filmmaker Taylor Hackford (Ray) in the comedy-drama THE COMEDIAN. De Niro’s eight-years-in-the-making passion project also stars Leslie Mann (Knocked Up), Danny DeVito (“Always Sunny in Philadelphia”), Edie Falco (“The Sopranos”), Charles Grodin (Dave), Academy Award winner Cloris Leachman (Best Supporting Actress, The Last Picture Show, 1971), Patti LuPone (“Penny Dreadful”), and Academy Award nominee Harvey Keitel (Best Supporting Actor, Bugsy, 1991), with a cast that includes Lucy DeVito (Leaves of Grass) and Billy Crystal (When Harry Met Sally…). In addition, the film features a veritable who’s who of stand-up comedians, including Jessica Kirson, Jim Norton, Jimmie Walker, Brett Butler, Richard Belzer, Freddie Roman, Stewie Stone, Gilbert Gottfried, Greer Barnes, Hannibal Buress, Bill Boggs, Sheng Wang, Ryan Hamilton, Aida Rodriguez, Dov Davidoff and Nick Di Paolo. THE COMEDIAN debuts on Blu-ray^™, DVD and digital May 2 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Bonus materials on the Blu-ray, DVD and digital versions of THE COMEDIAN include deleted scenes, “The Comedian At AFI Fest,” a lively Q&A featuring Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann, Danny DeVito and Taylor Hackford,” and the behind-the-scenes featurette “Backstage With The Comedian” where the director and cast discuss the making of the film.

An aging comic icon, Jackie (Robert De Niro), has seen better days. Despite his efforts to reinvent himself and his comic genius, the audience only wants to know him as the former television character he once played. Already a strain on his younger brother (Danny DeVito) and his sister-in-law (Patti LuPone), Jackie is forced to serve out a sentence doing community service for accosting an audience member. While there, he meets Harmony (Leslie Mann), the daughter of a sleazy Florida real estate mogul (Harvey Keitel), and the two find inspiration in one another, resulting in surprising consequences.

Directed by Taylor Hackford, THE COMEDIAN has a screenplay by Art Linson & Jeff Ross, Richard LaGravenese and Lewis Friedman from a story by Art Linson. It was produced by Mark Canton, Courtney Solomon, Taylor Hackford, Art Linson and John Linson; with Scott Karol, Wayne Marc Godfrey, Robert Jones, Iain Abraham, Dennis Pelino, Fredy Bush, Mark Axelowitz, Lawrence Smith and Peter Sobiloff serving as executive producers.

Blu-ray, DVD & Digital Special Features Include:

Deleted Scenes
“The Comedian At AFI Fest: Q&A Featuring Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann, Danny DeVito and Taylor Hackford”
“Backstage With The Comedian,” featurette

.THE COMEDIAN has a runtime of 120 minutes and is rated R for crude sexual references and language throughout

Win A Poster From THE COMEDIAN Starring Robert De Niro And Leslie Mann

WAMG is giving away one signed poster for THE COMEDIAN, the upcoming movie starring Robert De Niro! Don’t miss De Niro, Leslie Mann, and Danny DeVito in director Taylor Hackford’s new film.

An aging comic icon, JACKIE BURKE (Robert De Niro) has seen better days. Despite his efforts to reinvent himself and his comic genius, the audience only wants to know him as the former television character he once played.

Already a strain on his younger brother (Danny DeVito) and his wife (Patti LuPone), Jackie is forced to serve out a sentence doing community service for accosting an audience member.

While there, he meets HARMONY (Leslie Mann), the daughter of a sleazy Florida real estate mogul (Harvey Keitel), and the two find inspiration in one another resulting in surprising consequences.

Through the alchemy of their unlikely friendship, Harmony and Jackie overcome their own emotional damage and emerge as better people.

For a chance to win a poster signed by the cast, enter your name and email address in our comments section below.

OFFICIAL RULES:

1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES. NO P.O. BOXES. NO DUPLICATE ADDRESSES.

2. WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES.

No purchase necessary

#TheComedian

In Theaters February 3rd

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SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE – The Review

If you are uptight and faint of heart, SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE is not your movie. Still here? Ok, good. If you aren’t easily offended, and are looking for a laugh mixed with some jump scares, this movie is for you!

In SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, three life-long scouts team up with cocktail waitress after a zombie outbreak spreads through their town. They don’t have long to use their survival skills and try to make it out before it’s too late.

Sound like a familiar plot? Sure… but I promise that you haven’t quite seen a zombie movie like this. This movie is completely predictable, but fun! Director Christopher Landon combines the modern-day tale with elements of 80’s horror and adventure films. In other words, there are plenty of cheesy, raunchy moments… and yes, even boobs. I’m an old school, campy horror fan, so I found this movie to be funny. Some won’t. I guess you could say that this film is like blue cheese… it’s not for everyone!

Cast members Tye Sheridan, Joey Morgan, and Logan Miller work together extremely well. You can tell that they really got along, and they were believable as friends. Actress Sarah Dumont, on the other hand, was hit and miss. There were moments where her kick-ass, bad girl act really paid off, and moments where she fell really flat. She kind of has this flat, hard to read acting style going on to where I couldn’t tell if it was part of her character, or not. David Koecher is funny as usual, but he’s not in the film enough to be a huge influence. Cloris Leachman, on the other hand, wasn’t in the film enough, but really added the laughs for me! To have a legend do what she does in the film is incredibly ballsy, and it paid off!

One cool thing that Landon did in this film was use practical effects. This is always a big plus for me, because I think it really pays off in the end. It’s so easy for filmmakers to cop-out and use CGI, and the slightest mistake with it throws you out of the movie. With practical effects, the audience tends to be more forgiving. Plus, no one wants an animated zombie. Give me a real human splattered with blood and flesh wounds!

The jokes in this film are really going to upset some people, and make them cringe. There are plenty of crass, ‘I can’t believe they went there!’ moments. Even I made a few audible gasps in the theater. If you are easily offended, I’m going to tell you to just stay home right now. This movie is just going to piss you off. Sometimes we need a break from our PC society, and I commend Landon for having the balls to tell jokes with no apologies. I know critics are going to eat this film alive, but can’t we just go into a movie and take it for what it is? It’s not trying to be the next big Oscar contender… It’s just trying to have fun! Take it, or go rent FORREST GUMP.

Overall Rating : 3.5 out of 5 stars

Official Website: http://www.scoutsandzombiesmovie.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScoutsVsZombiesMovie

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScoutsVsZombies

#ScoutsVsZombies

SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE opens on Friday, October 30, 2015.

EXCLUSIVE : WAMG Talks To CHRISTOPHER LANDON – SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

In SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, three scouts and lifelong friends join forces with one badass cocktail waitress to become the world’s most unlikely team of heroes. Recently, I sat down with director Christopher Landon to talk about the film. I have to add that he is an incredibly wonderful interview! I had a blast talking with him, as you will see below!

When their peaceful town is ravaged by a zombie invasion, three scouts will fight for the badge of a lifetime and put their scouting skills to the test to save mankind from the undead.

The first question I have to ask is how this movie come about?

CHRISTOPHER LANDON : How did this wack-a-doodle thing get made? [Laughs]

Yeah! It’s a lot of fun!

CHRISTOPHER LANDON : So, I just finished PARANORMAL ACTIVITY : THE MARKED ONES, which had a lot of comedy in the beginning of it. So, Paramount called me up and said ‘We have this script called SCOUTS vs. ZOMBIES, which was the original title, and I instantly thought ‘either this is going to be awesome, or really stupid,’ and it was both… and I was really happy about that. [Laughs] I read it, and I was like ‘this is a surprisingly sweet movie.’ It was written, at the time, as PG-PG13, and I was like ‘that’s a hat trick.’ I don’t know how you can make a zombie movie for kids. So, I went back to them and I said ‘You know what? I think this is cool. I think this could be really funny. I think it should be Rated R, and I think it should be gory, and I think it should be balls out crazy! I was surprised that they were like ‘OK! Go for it!’ When they said ‘Go for it!’ they really meant it. so in my dream bag of what I would want to see in this kind of movie… I got to pull all of that stuff out… and they were really supportive of that. It just, kind of, evolved. I think I wrote a couple of – I think I wrote two drafts – and then the next thing I knew we were off and making it. It was surprising too. I think that size of the movie is hard to get made right now. You’re either dealing with very small, Jason Blum style 5 million dollar movies, or your GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. There’s very little in between now, and so the fact that the studio was willing to make this movie was impressive. The fact that they were willing to make a movie with no real major stars was impressive, but also that they really supported me in my vision to make a movie that felt like THE GOONIES, and felt like GREMLINS… that was a throwback. I wanted to make an 80’s style movie. It was pretty cool.

It’s great that you mention GREMLINS and THE GOONIES because it does have that 80’s kind of feel. You have the friendship, but you also have the raunchy elements… you have the boobs!

CHRISTOPHER LANDON : The boobs are there! [Laughs] By the way, it’s funny because my friends all make fun of me because I’m gay, and they’re like ‘Why does the gay guy always have boobs in his movies?’ [Laughs] I’m like ‘I don’t know! They just keep popping up!’ It’s horror!

It’s horror! There should be boobs! [Laughs] It’s cool that you threw that stuff in, because a lot of horror today sort of misses the mark on the themes and patterns of 80’s films. What other influences did you have going into this?

CHRISTOPHER LANDON : My big influences, of course, was THE GOONIES, MONSTER SQUAD was there, but then there were echoes of SUPERBAD. That was something that I really loves, and felt like kind of had a place in this movie. Even, in a weird way, and this is the weirdest reference, but STAND BY ME. There was a tinge of that, and you’ll see that in the campfire scene. I really wanted to sell the idea of this friendship, and of these three guys, and the experience that they’re going through. I think it’s a very relatable thing… to be in high school, and to find yourself at a crossroads in your friendships, where you’re outgrowing a friendship, or you’re at least in the process of reevaluating a friendship because you want to trade up to things that don’t really matter, which is something that I talked about in the movie. So, I really wanted to capture it all in a very relatable story, but then still deliver the ridiculous headpieces, and the scares, and the fun, and all that kind of stuff.

When it comes to the comedy in this film, and how dirty it goes how did you find the balance between it and the horror, and was there anything that went too far that you couldn’t put into the movie?

CHRISTOPHER LANDON : Ok, oh man. I’m gonna get in trouble. Let’s see what we can print here. So, um… I … First of all, I always tend to follow the ‘South Park’ rule of comedy, which is that I don’t think that anything is sacred. I think that life is meant to be laughed at as much as possible. I have a gallows humor that I grew up with, so I don’t find anything particularly taboo. I never felt like I was personally crossing a line. I know that in terms of personal taste, for some, I have. There are moments in the movie… there’s one moment in the movie that tends to offend some people. I’m not going to say what it is, but that’s the one that kind of makes me… I find it kind of interesting because people are offended at this one particular scene, but then they’re not offended by other stuff, and I’m always like ‘That’s so weird to draw a line in the weirdest places.’ But, I wrote one scene that ended up not making it. I had to come up with a pretty quick replacement for it because the studio got cold feet. I will tell you what it is if you want to hear it. I’ll get in trouble for what it is, but I don’t care. [Laughs]

Of course I wanna hear it! [Laughs]

CHRISTOPHER LANDON : So, there’s a scene in the movie where out scouts encounter a homeless zombie, and they have a sing-a-long with the zombie. You saw the movie?

Yes. I saw it last night.

CHRISTOPHER LANDON : Ok. So, they do a sing-a long. The original version of that scene was, and this is why I was gonna go to hell… They’re walking down the street and they see a school bus off to the side of the road, and it turns out that it’s a short school bus… and an intellectually and developmentally disabled child comes off the bus, and they can’t figure out if he is a zombie, or it’s part of his disability. So, they are debating back and forth on if they should shoot him or not, and he keeps getting closer, and closer. It was hysterical! [Laughs] It was hysterical, but horribly mean and offensive. So, the studio…

That was NOT the direction that I thought you were going! [Laughs] #00:08:24.9#

CHRISTOPHER LANDON : So, they were like ‘We’ve been really cool about everything, This one is not ok with us!’, which was tough, because I knew it was going to be the funniest scene in the movie. It’s so wrong that it’s right. I know most of my audience would have been you… and they would have died laughing, but I would have gotten hate mail! It wasn’t even one of those ‘I can fight for it’ moments, it was the head of the studio calling me, saying ‘We won’t let you make the movie if you keep this scene.’

Oh, yeah! That was the line in the sand! [Laughs]

CHRISTOPHER LANDON : But it was really funny! [Laughs] It was a really good scene!

So, I’m guessing this won’t be on the bonus features either?

CHRISTOPHER LANDON : No. This will not be on the bonus features! I literally was trying to find a way to shoot both somehow without them knowing… like, I was gonna swap the cards out, and find the actor, and do the whole thing, but there was no time in the schedule, and it was literally one of those that if I got caught, I could get fired deals. So I was like ‘Fine. I won’t do it…’ It’s a really tough scene to watch for me, because while I’m so proud of that moment, and I think it plays really well, and it’s definitely quirky and funny, It always reminds me of the one that got away!

Wow! Where do we go from here in the interview? [Laughs] Cloris Leachman! Super excited about that! How did you convince her to do this? [Laughs]

CHRISTOPHER LANDON : She’s amazing! YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN was one of my all time favorite movies, so I’ve been a fan of hers ever since then. It was really just a call. It was a ‘Will you do this?’ and she said yes! I heard ‘Oh, she’s pretty out there! She’s really crazy, and fun to work with!’ but there is nothing that prepares you for this woman. She shows up. She’s a force of nature. Her first day on set, I was waiting by her trailer, because I wanted to be there when she arrived – she’s a legend, so you have to show your respect. So, I’m standing there with Logan, and she pulls up, and she’s already in character, and she’s clawing at the window like a zombie [laughs] looking at me. She gets out of the car, and the first thing she says to Logan is ‘I’m gonna eat your ass!’ [Laughs] I was like ‘You’re gonna be so much fun to work with!’ and she was! She was crazy, and she would tell the funniest stories! Every night, when we would wrap her, I would walk her to her car. We would do an arm in arm, and I would take her though set… and as I walked her through set she would literally go to every single crew member [whispers] ‘Goodnight’ [as she was flipping them off]… [Laughs] She’d flip everyone off! We had one night where we had a crowd of looky-lou people watching in the neighborhood… kids, and everyone… and when she came out, she flew two birds at them [laughs] and I was like ‘You’re a nutcase! I love you!’

That sounds amazing! [Laughs]

CHRISTOPHER LANDON : It was pretty fun. We were always laughing, and it was tough sometimes because there were times when we really needed to get the shit moving faster. It was hard because we had really funny people on set that made you laugh all the time.

SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE hits theaters tomorrow

Official Website: http://www.scoutsandzombiesmovie.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScoutsVsZombiesMovie

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScoutsVsZombies

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Overall Rating : 3.5 out of 5 stars

SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE opens on Friday, October 30, 2015.

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SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE hits theaters tomorrow

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