Beloved actress, director, and author Diane Ladd has died at the age of 89, her family has confirmed.
Best known for several Academy Award–nominated turns including in ‘Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’, Ladd was a fixture of American film and television — a performer of rare grit and grace whose warmth illuminated every screen she graced.
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With her honeyed voice, fierce intelligence, and unmistakable presence, Ladd brought a depth of humanity to characters that might otherwise have been forgotten — mothers, dreamers, survivors, and women with something to prove.
Born Diane Lanier Ladner on November 29, 1935, in Meridian, Mississippi, Ladd grew up with a passion for storytelling. After studying drama at the University of Southern Mississippi, she made her way to New York, working in theater before transitioning to film and television.
Her early screen roles in the 1950s and 1960s established her as a versatile talent, but it was Martin Scorsese’s ‘Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’ — where she played the tough yet tender waitress Flo — that earned her an Oscar nomination and catapulted her to stardom.
Diane Ladd: A Life in Film
(L to R): Diane Ladd and Ellen Burstyn in ‘Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’.
Across the decades, Ladd built one of the most respected careers in Hollywood, with acclaimed performances in ‘Chinatown,’‘Something Wicked This Way Comes,’ and David Lynch’s ‘Wild at Heart.’ Her work earned her three Academy Award nominations, three Emmy nominations, and a Golden Globe win.
She often shared the screen with her daughter, actress Laura Dern, in projects such as ‘Rambling Rose’ — for which both were nominated for Oscars — and HBO’s ‘Enlightened.’ Their artistic bond became one of the most celebrated mother-daughter collaborations in film history.
Diane Ladd: Offscreen and Personal
Diane Ladd in ‘Hush Little Baby’.
Beyond her work on camera, Ladd was a writer, director, and environmental advocate. She published several books and, in later years, collaborated with Dern on the memoir “Honey, Baby, Mine,” reflecting on love, loss, and resilience.
She was married three times, including to actor Bruce Dern, with whom she shared daughter Laura. Ladd was known among friends and colleagues for her faith, humor, and boundless curiosity about life.
Ladd is survived by her daughter Laura, several grandchildren, and a legacy of cinematic excellence.
A Southern storyteller with a spirit as fierce as it was kind, Diane Ladd transformed every role into something unforgettable. Her artistry spanned generations, and her influence will continue to ripple through the worlds of film and television for years to come.
She will be remembered not only as an actress of extraordinary power, but as a woman who lived her life — and her art — with courage, compassion, and conviction.
(Left) Adam Pearson in ‘A Different Man’. Photo: A24. (Right) John Hurt as John Merrick in ‘The Elephant Man’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Preview:
Adam Pearson will star in a new adaptation of ‘The Elephant Man.’
Moby Pomerance adapted the script from his father’s play.
Filming should kick off next year.
Having already made a name for himself in his native UK thanks to his activism and TV work, Adam Pearson made the leap to movies with an impactful, if small role in ‘Under the Skin,’ in which he played one of the men who encounters Scarlett Johansson’s alien seductress.
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Since then, he’s worked on short films and other projects, yet formed a fruitful collaboration with writer/director Aaron Schimberg, playing opposite Jess Weixler in 2019’s ‘Chained for Life,’ about a beautiful actress who struggles to connect with her disfigured co-star on the set of a European auteur’s English-language debut.
But his big break was in last year’s ‘A Different Man,’ also written and directed by Schimberg, who wanted to give Pearson a showcase for a personality more like the actor’s own outgoing energy.
‘A Different Man’ starred Sebastian Stan as Edward, an aspiring actor undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance, only to see his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare.
In that movie Pearson played Oswald, a charismatic and funny man who essentially usurps Edward’s dreams of stardom –– and ends up married to the woman he loves.
Pearson scored plenty of awards attention for his supporting turn, and now, per Variety, he’s in line to play his most important role yet: Joseph Merrick, AKA “The Elephant Man.’
Moby Pomerance has written the script for the new movie, which adapts his father Bernard’s Tony-winning stage play.
Stephen Nemeth and Eve Pomerance will produce the new effort for production company Major Motion Pictures, and shooting is scheduled to start next spring.
This could be something really big for Pearson, who has long proved he’s a star in the making.
John Hurt as John Merrick in ‘The Elephant Man’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
‘The Elephant Man’s story is that of Joseph Merrick, a real-life English man living in the 19th century who became known for his severe physical deformities.
As was the type of cruelty through misunderstanding his condition, he was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name “The Elephant Man,” and then went to live at the London Hospital, in Whitechapel, after meeting the surgeon Sir Frederick Treves.
Pomerance’s play is an adaptation of the Treves’ diaries and spans Merrick’s years at the hospital.
During his lifetime, Pomerance received thousands of letters from people around the world stating, “I am The Elephant Man,” a well-known line from the play.
Pomerance’s play gained fame because of the huge success of the adaptation, which first ran on the West End in London in 1977. It later ran on Broadway for many years and won several Tonys.
Perhaps the most famous portrayal in popular culture to date is David Lynch’s Oscar-nominated 1980 movie, where John Hurt took on the lead.
That project had no direct relation to the play, and in fact, producers of the original Pomerance play sued the film’s producer Brooksfilms at the time over the Hollywood production’s use of the same title.
‘The Elephant Man’: the actor and writer speak
Adam Pearson in ‘A Different Man’. Photo: A24.
Pearson will become the first person with actual facial issues –– in his case, neurofibromatosis –– to play the role.
He released an emotional statement about what Merrick means to him:
“Joseph Merrick is a man I have a long and complex relationship with. From having his name used as a term of derision to learning about the man himself in documentaries I’ve presented. It’s been a cathartic journey of growing to love and respect a man who I as a child I avoided even thinking about. Now as a disability advocate and actor, I can think of no greater honour (yet heavy responsibility) than to tell the true story of Joseph Carey Merrick.”
And here’s what producer Eve Pomerance had to say about the new project:
“My father never wanted prosthetics to be used on stage as he felt it took the audience out of the story. He wanted them to empathise fully with Merrick, to see themselves in him. Lines like, ‘I am not an animal, I am a man’ which have become synonymous with the play, will take on greater meaning with Adam telling this story and enable the audience to finally stand in Merrick’s shoes. My father would be beyond excited to see his dream becoming a reality.”
When will the new ‘Elephant Man’ arrive in theaters?
The movie so far only has backing to be made, without a distributor attached. But given the subject matter and the appeal of Pearson, we can imagine companies lining up to back it.
(L to R) Adam Pearson and Sebastian Stan in ‘A Different Man’. Photo: A24.
Other Movies Featuring a Character with a Disability:
The four-time Oscar nominee was known for his bold, sometimes divisive work.
He had been diagnosed with emphysema.
David Lynch, one of the singular voices of American cinema in the last few decades, has died. He was 78.
Lynch, who brought strange visions and complicated characters to the screen in his various movies and TV efforts, was known for dreamlike ruminations and left-turns. And in recent years, for providing a daily broadcast featuring weather reports –– just because.
He revealed last year that he had been diagnosed with emphysema after a lifetime of smoking and would likely not be able to leave his house to direct any longer. He was forced to relocate from his house due to the Sunset Fire and then his health took a turn for the worse.
Lynch’s family released a statement on his passing:
“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch. We would appreciate some privacy at this time. There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’ It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”
David Keith Lynch was born on January 20th, 1946, in Missoula, Montana the son of a research scientist father with the U.S. Forest Service, who moved the family frequently during Lynch’s childhood.
Art was always on Lynch’s mind. His early ambition was to become a painter, and, after graduating from high school in Alexandria, Virginia, he enrolled at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He later studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
There he created his first film, a 60-second animation entitled ‘Six Men Getting Sick’ in 1967, for an experimental painting and sculpture contest. In 1970 Lynch became a student at the American Film Institute’s Center for Advanced Film Studies (later the AFI Conservatory), where he worked on a variety of short films before he embarked on his first feature film, ‘Eraserhead.’
Shot over a period of a few years, the hallucinatory film starred Jack Nance as Henry Spencer, who tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newborn mutant child.
It baffled and repelled critics and many viewers, but it eventually became a cult favorite on the midnight movie circuit. It also established his commitment to uncompromising style and concepts.
David Lynch: On the big screen
Isabella Rossellini in ‘Blue Velvet’. Photo: De Laurentiis Entertainment Group.
One person who appreciated ‘Eraserhead’ at a midnight show at L.A.’s Nuart Theatre was Stuart Cornfeld, a producer at Mel Brooks’ Brooksfilms. He encouraged Brooks to employ Lynch, and, after viewing the film, Brooks offered the director a job.
Lynch took on the story of John Merrick, whose sensational life story had already inspired Bernard Pomerance’s hit 1977 play. The film version of ‘The Elephant Man’ forged a new path on the story, co-written by Lynch and starring a heavily made-up John Hurt as the sensitive Merrick, Anthony Hopkins as the London Hospital surgeon who became his guardian, and Brooks’ wife Anne Bancroft as a sympathetic West End stage star.
The movie had a powerful emotional impact and became a box office and critical hit; Lynch received Oscar nods as best director and for best adapted screenplay, with the film also taking a nomination for best picture.
‘The Elephant Man’s success led to a multi-picture deal with producer Dino De Laurentiis, the first of which was sci-fi misfire ‘Dune,’ an attempt to bring Frank Herbert’s sprawling novel series to the screen.
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Yet his second film for De Laurentiis would define the contours of his style. ‘Blue Velvet’ starred Kyle McLachlan, who had played the messianic hero of ‘Dune,’ as a small-town boy who is plunged into a whirlpool of sexual violence, murder and sadomasochism.
Among his other cinematic achievements? 1990’s ‘Wild at Heart,’ 1997’s ‘Lost Highway’ and 1999’s distinctly different ‘The Straight Story,’ which saw Richard Farnsworth as Alvin Straight, a farmer who rides a lawnmower across country to visit his ailing brother. The movie landed Farnsworth an Oscar nomination.
Movies such as ‘Mulholland Drive’ and ‘Inland Empire’ were more in line with his unique visions, and while he didn’t direct a movie after ‘Inland Empire,’ he kept his hand in with shorts and video productions.
He leaves behind a legacy that will only grow in acclaim.
David Lynch: ‘Twin Peaks’ and TV
(L to R) Kyle MacLachlan and Lara Flynn Boyle in ‘Twin Peaks’. Photo: ABC.
In 1990, Lynch revolutionized American network TV with ‘Twin Peaks,’ created with writer Mark Frost. Following the investigation of a high school girl’s mysterious murder in a Washington lumber mill town, the weekly ABC show explored disquieting, taboo subject matter and brought the inexplicable to modern narrative television.
A major hit in its first season, ‘Twin Peaks’ lost its momentum and ultimately its audience in its second.
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However, it spawned a feature-length prequel, 1992’s ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me’ and 25 years later, the ongoing affection of a loyal cult of fans sparked a limited-run third season for Showtime that picked up where the second season left off.
Lynch was rarely fond of digging into the meaning of his work, as this passage from the book ‘Lynch on Lynch,’ written with Chris Rodley, shows:
“Imagine if you did find a book of riddles, and you could start unraveling them, but they were really complicated. Mysteries would become apparent and thrill you. We all find this book of riddles and it’s just what’s going on. And you can figure them out. The problem is, you figure them out inside yourself, and even if you told somebody, they wouldn’t believe you or understand it in the same way you do.”
David Lynch: Actor
David Lynch as John Ford in ‘The Fabelmans’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Though he was more normally happier behind the camera, Lynch did end up making a variety of appearances in front of it, not the least his regular video updates.
He would pop up in his own work (mostly notably in ‘Twin Peaks’) and also in the films and shows of others, including ‘The Fabelmans,’ and lending his voice to the shows of Seth MacFarlane.
Lynch was married several times. He and artist Peggy Reavey wed in 1968 and divorced in 1974. Three years later he married Mary Fisk, and that marriage lasted 10 years.
In 2006, Lynch and filmmaker Mary Sweeney wed and divorced. Lynch married actor Emily Stofle in 2009. He is survived by his three children, Jennifer, Austin and Riley.
Steven Spielberg is, by any definition, among the masters of modern moviemaking. Able to switch between popular blockbusters and Oscar-winning dramas the way other people change shoes, he’s been responsible for some of the most famous and beloved films in the last few decades.
And now he’s back with a movie that aims to (partly) explore how he himself fell in love with films and filmmaking. The semi-autobiographical new drama ‘The Fabelmans’ had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend, and the first trailer is now online.
Co-written by the director and regular collaborator Tony Kushner (who earned Oscar nominations for ‘Lincoln’ and ‘Munich’), the basic story for this one is as follows: “Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, a young man named Sammy Fabelman discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.” Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that – there’s tension between his artistic mother Mitzi (Michelle Williams) and his more straightlaced, scientific father Burt (Paul Dano). Mitzi encourages her son’s creative side, while Burt wishes he’d keep his eye on more practical matters.
Gabriel LaBelle, seen in movies such as ‘The Predator’, plays Sammy, who is essentially Spielberg’s stand-in here (though that “semi” in “semi-autobiographical” gives the director plenty of wiggle room).
(L to R) Paul Dano, Gabriel LaBelle and Michelle Williams in Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans.’
The cast also includes Seth Rogen as Bennie Loewy, Burt’s best friend and honorary “uncle” to the Fabelman children, and Judd Hirsch as Mitzi’s Uncle Boris, Julia Butters as Sammy’s sister Reggie, Robin Bartlett as Sammy’s maternal grandmother Tina Schildkraut, and Keeley Karsten as Sammy’s sister Natalie. There’s also a cameo from fellow director David Lynch.
“When COVID hit, we had a lot of time and we had a lot of fear,” Spielberg said at the premiere. “I don’t think anyone knew in March or April of 2020 what was going to be the state of art or the state of life even a year from then. As things got worse and worse, I felt that if I was going to leave anything behind, what was the thing that I need to resolve and unpack about my mom, my dad and my sisters?”
As well as that solid cast, Spielberg recruited a typically solid line-up of collaborators for this one, including John Williams on score duty, Janusz Kaminski bringing his painterly style to the visuals, and costume design by Rick Carter.
“It was very spooky. It was terrifying,” LaBelle said at the premiere. “You get on set and you’re surrounded by masters. Writing, directing, acting, producing, cinematography, costumes, props, music, editing, everything. Just masters of this art. And there’s me. I’m that kid with the good audition.”
‘The Fabelmans’ will be in select theaters from November 11th before opening wide on November 23rd. So if you need something to distract your family on Thanksgiving this year, why not spend time with a version of Spielberg’s?
With production penciled in for later this year, it’s clear that ‘Dune’ director Denis Villeneuve is busy building the additional cast he needs for ‘Part Two’.
If the character’s name has you scratching your head, especially since he didn’t appear in the first ‘Dune’ movie, fear not.
Created by author Frank Herbert for the original ‘Dune’ novel, Feyd-Rautha is the younger nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen of House Harkonnen (played in the first movie by Stellan Skarsgard). He’s nominated by the Baron as the “Na-Baron” – heir to House Harkonnen.
The Baron favors the young Feyd-Rautha over Feyd’s older brother “The Beast” Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista in the movie). Feyd is both intelligent and charismatic and is dedicated to the Harkonnen culture of sadism and cruelty, though potentially only due to his upbringing.
Though Villeneuve and co-writer Jon Spaihts had considered including the character in the first movie, they’ve deemed it more useful to shift him to the second, since he’ll be a big part of causing more trouble for Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet, who will return for the new movie).
Sting in ‘Dune’ (1984)
Like Paul, Feyd was also part of the complex, politically savvy genetic breeding program run by the mysterious Bene Gesserit order of powerful women.
We’re sure the Beast won’t be too happy with the younger whippersnapper coming in.
And if you are aware of him, it’s likely you’re either a big fan of the book, or you recall Sting’s leather/rubber getup from when he played the part in David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation.
We can’t speak to whether there will be more oiled up action going on here, but Villeneuve’s take on the Harkonnen hasn’t shied away from either rubber costumes or characters submerged in liquid. So, you never know!
‘Dune: Part Two’ continues the story of Paul and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) as they regroup from the devastating attack on the Atreides base on Arrakis (the planet also known as Dune) by Harkonnen and Imperial forces.
Fleeing into the harsh Arrakis desert along with the native Fremen (including leader Stilgar, played by Javier Bardem) and warrior Chani (Zendaya), they’ll survive while plotting a reprisal, as Paul becomes a spiritual and military leader among the Fremen.
Skarsgard and Josh Brolin (as Atreides weapons master Gurney Halleck) are both expected to return alongside their fellow first movie cast mates.
Austin Butler as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis.’ Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros.
This would mark the latest big role for Butler, who had been acting for a few years before broke out in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’. He’s since scored the prime lead part of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’, which will cover large chunks of the musical icons career, the political figure with which he came into contact and his complicated relationship with manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks).
‘Elvis’ will be in theaters on June 24. ‘Dune: Part Two’ is currently set for release on October 20 next year.
Since the November 2019 release of the music video “Heartless,” The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye a noted cinephile who has cited David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese as inspirations in the past, has crafted a deep cinematic narrative throughout the video elements of his fourth album After Hours. Along with the lyrical and visual narratives of the album itself, which tracks a man dubbed The Weeknd through a bad break-up, a hard look at his hedonistic lifestyle, and in the end some wistful wisdom as he starts to maybe group up a bit, the videos and live appearances to promote the album are also chock full of cinematic references. Take the title itself: After Hours evokes late night clubs, but from a cinematic point of view it immediately brings up visions of Martin Scorsese’s 1985 cult classic of the same name about a word processor named Paul who takes a late night trip to SoHo in New York City and can’t seem to ever get himself back home.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘After Hours’ (right)
Much like Paul, the videos find a man dubbed The Character (played of course by The Weeknd) in an endless journey through the darker parts of himself – and through a myriad of film references.
The Weeknd debuted his now signature red suit in the video for “Heartless,” directed by Anton Tammi, which itself is a reference to a suit worn by Robert De Niro in Scorsese’s 1995 film ‘Casino’. The video, shot in Las Vegas, features The Character and a friend (played by Metro Boomin) as they gallivant around Sin City, stumbling in a drug-induced haze like Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro in Terry Gilliam’s 1998 adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He even worked this stumble into his performance at the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Blade Runner’ (right)
The video for his next single “Blinding Lights,” also directed by Tammi, there are even more film references. We see The Character steal a car and head back to Los Angeles, where, among other things, he dances in the 2nd Street Tunnel. This landmark of Los Angeles has been featured in countless films, including Ridley Scott’s 1982 film ‘Blade Runner.’ An adaptation of the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (side note: the author is also referenced in the lyrics of “Snow Child,” with the line “give her Phillip K Dick”), the film is set in Los Angeles in November 2019 – the same month the video was released – and references to it will show up in a later video.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘The Dark Knight’ (right)
Much has been made of The Weeknd’s dancing throughout the promotion of After Hours being reminiscent of Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Joker,’ but in fact these videos are peppered with references to many cinematic Jokers, including the moment in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight,’ where Heath Ledger gleefully hangs his head outside a stolen police car he’s driving.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Blue Velvet’ (right)
Much of the vibe throughout the music videos and live performances for After Hours have a Lynchian feel to them and in “Blinding Lights,” there is a direct reference to David Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet,’ where Dennis Hopper’s psychopath Frank Booth watches tormented torch singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) croon the titular song. In “Blinding Lights,” The Character is mesmerized by the musical stylings of an unnamed singer played by Miki Hamano, whose voice literally lifts him off the ground.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Twin Peaks’ (right)
We even get another hint of the Red Room from ‘Twin Peaks;’ in fact much of the eerie instrumental music that accompanies The Weeknd in the moments between videos and throughout the ‘After Hours’ short film have an Angelo Badalamenti vibe to them.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Joker’ (right)
Perhaps the most obvious reference in the video is his dancing, sometimes in the 2nd Street Tunnel, sometimes elsewhere throughout downtown Los Angeles, appears to be directly lifted from Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker as he dances to Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 2” as he makes his way to make his late night debut in Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker.’
‘After Hours’ (left) and ‘The King of Comedy’ (right)
The After Hours short film, again directed by Tammi, takes place shortly after The Weeknd’s performance of “Blinding Lights” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The video begins as his set ends, The Character grinning like Rupert Pupkin at the end of Martin Scorese’s ‘The King of Comedy’ – itself a huge influence of Todd Phillips’s ‘Joker.’
‘After Hours’ (left) and ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ (right)
Tesfaye has stated influences on the short film also include Adrian Lyne’s psychological horror film ‘Jacob’s Ladder,’ which includes a scene where Tim Robbins is menaced by unknown forces in an empty subway station, Roman Polanki’s ‘Chinatown’ (the bandage on his nose), Claire Deni’s ‘Trouble Every Day,’ Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, and Brian De Palma’s ‘Dressed to Kill.’
“In Your Eyes” (left) and ‘Dial M for Murder’ (right)
The video with possibly the most film references is “In Your Eyes,” in which The Character wordlessly stalks a young blonde woman à la Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween.’ The horror movie infused video has nods to everything from Wes Craven’s ‘Scream’ to Dario Argento’s Suspiria to Alfred Hitchcock. At one point the woman takes refuge in a phone booth – à la ‘The Birds’ – and dials for help. Tammi, uses an ultra close-up of the keys, an homage to ‘Dial M For Murder,’ in which Hitchcock blonde Grace Kelly’s husband Ray Milland has hired someone to murder her.
“In Your Eyes” (left) and ‘The Terminator’ (right)
The woman then flees to a club titled After Hours – which uses the exact same lightbulb font as the Tech Noir club in James Cameron’s ‘Terminator,’ an idea that came early in the creative ideation for the video.
The horror vibes continue in the video for “Too Late”, directed by Cliqua. After being decapitated at the end of the previous video, The Character’s head is found by two models on the side of the road. The world they inhabit feels akin to Nicholas Winding Refn’s psychological horror film ‘The Neon Demon,’ where the Los Angeles modeling scene is depicted as so bleak the models are literally eating each other alive. Tesfaye is a noted friend of director Refn.
“Too Late” (left) and ‘American Psycho’ (right)
When the two discover that the head belongs to The Weeknd, they concoct a nefarious plan to bring him back to life. Laying newspapers on their floor and donning clear plastic rain gear à la Mary Harron’s adaption of Bret Easton Ellis’s yuppie black comedy American Psycho, the girls lure an unsuspecting male stripper (Ken XY) to their home in order to murder him and place The Character’s head on his body. Spooky.
“Save Your Tears” (left) and ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (right)
In the most recent video, “Save Your Tears” again directed by Cliqua, The Character is now performing for a masked crowd straight out of Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Eyes Wide Shut.’ After appearing at the American Music Awards with a fully bandaged face like the models, his face has now clearly been marred by plastic surgery (looking quite a bit like Jocelyn Wildenstein aka the Tiger Woman of NYC).
“Save Your Tears” (left) and ‘Batman’ (right)
As the video ends, there is one last Joker reference – this time with Jack Nicholson’s iteration. In the climax of Tim Burton’s ‘Batman,’ he pulls a gun on himself after forcing Vicki Vale (Kim Basigner) to dance with him. Like Nicholson’s Joker, when he pulls the trigger there’s no bullet; The Character’s gun shoots confetti, just like the Joker’s gun pops out a flag.
Since these are just a few of the many references found throughout the music videos for After Hours (and in fact most of his music videos going back a decade), it’s only a matter of time before The Weeknd makes a feature film himself, or at least drops a link to his Letterboxd profile.
This December, director Denis Villeneuve’s vision of Dune, Frank Herbert’s science fiction epic, will hit the big screen.
Here’s the official synopsis from Warner Bros:
A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet stars as Paul Atreides, and the supporting cast includes Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.
As you may know, this isn’t the first ‘Dune’ adaptation. In the mid 70s, filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky worked on putting the story on screen, but the project ultimately fell apart (the doc ‘Jodorowsky’s Dune‘ provides a fascinating history of the failed production). David Lynch’s film adaptation hit theaters in 1984, and although the film is widely considered a flop, author Frank Herbert was quoted as being pretty satisfied with Lynch’s version. And in 2000, the Sci-Fi Channel aired a three-part miniseries titled ‘Frank Herbert’s Dune,’ which was then followed up in 2003 with another sequel mini-series, ‘Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune.’
‘Dune’ is slated to open in theaters on December 18, 2020.
The Academy announced the results of the nomination vote, which occurred on Saturday.
Davis is a past Supporting Actress Oscar winner for 1988’s “The Accidental Tourist” and a Best Actress actress nominee for 1991’s “Thelma and Louise.” She will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Four-time nominee Lynch (“The Elephant Man,” “Mulholland Drive”), two-time nominee Wertmüller (“Seven Beauties”), and Native American actor Studi (“Dances With Wolves,” “Last of the Mohicans”) will receive Honorary Oscars for career achievement.
This year’s Governors Awards will take place October 27, earlier than usual due to the 92nd Academy Awards moving earlier than usual (to February 9).
Nicolas Cage is one of those performers whose roles are filled with such intensity and passion that you wonder how he can work himself up enough to do the next job. Only he does, time and time again. Seriously, he’s been making about a half-dozen movies a year, mostly due to outstanding financial issues (we could have told him that Bavarian castle was a bad investment), but still, each one is more electric than the last. In honor of “Mom & Dad,” an insane-looking movie where parents become inclined to murder their children (in theaters and VOD today), and the upcoming Sundance premiere of his offbeat revenge thriller “Mandy” (which just sounds so awesome), we thought we’d rundown five of our favorite berserker Nic Cage performances.
What do you think of our list? Which movies would you have included? And which ones have you never seen? Let us know!
