Moviefone Editorial

Tag: warren-beatty

  • Glen Powell Attached to New ‘Heaven Can Wait’

    (Left) Actor Glen Powell arrives at The 89th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, February 26, 2017. Credit/Provider: Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S. (Right) Warren Beatty in 1978's 'Heaven Can Wait'. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    (Left) Actor Glen Powell arrives at The 89th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, February 26, 2017. Credit/Provider: Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S. (Right) Warren Beatty in 1978’s ‘Heaven Can Wait’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    Preview:

    • Glen Powell’s attached to star in ‘Heaven Can Wait’.
    • Stephen Gaghan is writing the script.
    • The story has been brought to screens before, most famously by Warren Beatty.

    Just when you thought Glen Powell couldn’t add another project to a growing To Do list, he goes and does just that.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, confirming a story from Puck, Powell is now attached to a new movie version of ‘Heaven Can Wait’, which has been brought to screens several times in the past.

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    What’s the story and history of ‘Heaven Can Wait’?

    Warren Beatty in 1978's 'Heaven Can Wait'.
    Warren Beatty in 1978’s ‘Heaven Can Wait’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    This story originated in a 1938 play by Harry Segall, which finds a boxer sent to Heaven by mistake, who argues that he should be sent back to Earth. Trouble is, his body has been cremated, so instead his soul is transported into the form of a pompous financier who is about to be murdered by his wife.

    Director Alexander Hall, working from a script by Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller, was the first to adapt the play into a movie, 1941’s ‘Here Comes Mr. Jordan’.

    Most famously, Warren Beatty directed and starred in his own adaptation, which restored the original title, but switched the main character to an NFL quarterback who dies prematurely due to an antsy angel and returns to Earth in the body of a recently murdered millionaire. Beatty directed the film with Buck Henry and co-wrote the script with Elaine May.

    The result was nominated for nine Oscars including best picture, with the movie scoring a win for best art direction.

    Most recently, Chris Rock took on the idea, starring in 2001’s ‘Down to Earth’, which saw the main character an aspiring black comic who gets a second shot at life by being placed in the body of a wealthy white businessman.

    Who is making the new version of ‘Heaven Can Wait’?

    George Clooney in 'Syriana'.
    George Clooney in ‘Syriana’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.

    Stephen Gaghan, who has written the likes of ‘Traffic’ and wrote and directed ‘Syriana’ (he probably wants to forget he was most recently responsible for the Robert Downey Jr.-starring ‘Dolittle’), is behind the script for the new version.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gaghan has found a new take on the story, though the basics –– a person gets a second chance after an unexpectedly early death –– remain intact.

    Related Article: Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie and Laura Dern Starring in ‘Monsanto’

    What else is Glen Powell attached to?

    Glenn Powell as Tyler, in 'Twisters' directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
    Glenn Powell as Tyler, in ‘Twisters’ directed by Lee Isaac Chung.

    Powell is producing and providing the introduction for documentary ‘The Blue Angels’ due on screens on May 23rd and will then be seen in disaster movie follow-up ‘Twisters’, out on July 19th.

    He’s also on board for Edgar Wright’s adaptation of ‘The Running Man’ and John Lee Hancock’s based-on-truth legal drama ‘Monsanto’, among several others.

    When will ‘Heaven Can Wait’ be in theaters?

    The movie, which is being produced by Paramount, hasn’t got a director attached yet, so news on a release date is unlikely for a while.

    Warren Beatty in 1978's 'Heaven Can Wait'.
    Warren Beatty in 1978’s ‘Heaven Can Wait’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

    List of ‘Heaven Can Wait’ Movies and Remakes:

    Buy ‘Heaven Can Wait’ Movies On Amazon

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  • Oscars 2018: Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty Will Present Best Picture Again

    Faye Dunaway, Warren BeattyGuess who’s back? TMZ reports that Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty — who played a pivotal part in last year’s huge Oscar snafu — will be back again to present Best Picture at the 90th Oscars on Sunday.

    We knew there’d be jokes galore at the two Oscar winners’ expense, but looks like they’ll be making those digs themselves.

    TMZ reports that the two were spotted rehearsing for Sunday’s awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre.

    And “an Oscar insider” even shared the introductory patter they were trying out: Dunaway reportedly said: “Presenting is better the second time around.” Beatty then announced “The winner is … ‘Gone with the Wind.””

    Ha ha. We’ll see if that joke makes it to the real show.

    As you recall, the “Bonnie and Clyde” costars were handed the wrong envelope last year. Instead of the Best Picture winner, they got a second envelope for Best Actress, prompting Dunaway to skip over Emma Stone’s name and announce that “La La Land” had won Best Picture.

    The “La La Land” crew proceeded to give thank-you speeches before the truth came out that “Moonlight” had really won Best Picture.

    A number of changes have been made to prevent a similar slip-up, including forbidding the accountants with the top-secret envelopes from doing distracting things like taking pictures and Tweeting from backstage. And, you know, just hand out the right envelopes at the right time.

    [Via TMZ]

  • There’s Way More to ‘Dick Tracy’ Than Meets the Eye: Podcast

    DICK TRACY 1990With the amount of running 52-year-old star Warren Beatty had to do in “Dick Tracy,” Madonna wasn’t the only one breathless.

    If the dad joke didn’t clue you in already, the “Can’t Wait!” crew (with special guest Drew Taylor) took a long, hard look at 1990 technicolor detective classic “Dick Tracy,” with special emphasis on the movie’s proclivity for disguising respected, well-known actors in bizarrely literal makeup. Other topics discussed include Beatty’s little-seen 2008 Dick Tracy TCM special, the movie’s very solid twist, and the surprising amount of detail and thought that went into “Dick Tracy’s” production and art design. Oh yeah, and the fact that it’s a Disney movie.

    Tune in next time, when we discuss Tim’s pick, another 1990 cinematic fever dream: “Gremlins 2: The New Batch.”

    Listen to CAN’T WAIT! A Movie Lover’s Podcast Episode 25: ‘Dick Tracy’ (1990)Total runtime: 50:08

    Subscribe to the CAN’T WAIT! podcast:

    Have thoughts/feelings/feedback about the podcast? Have a movie you really, really want us to watch and talk about? Hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the hashtag #CANTWAIT.

    CAN’T WAIT! A Movie Lover’s Podcast by Moviefone celebrates Hollywood’s guiltiest pleasures by taking a fresh look at critically ignored movies and giving them a second chance at life. Join Moviefone editors Tim Hayne, Rachel Horner, Phil Pirrello, and Tony Maccio as they extol the virtues and expose the failings (with love!) of nostalgic movies.

  • Ian McKellen Shares Great Advice for ‘Faye & Warren’ and All Awards Presenters

    BRITAIN-ENTERTAINMENT-CINEMA-FILM-BEAUTY AND THE BEASTIf only Sir Ian McKellen had spoken out before the 2017 Oscars, there would be no EnvelopeGate at all.

    The actor best known these days as Magneto in “X-Men” and Gandalf in “The Lord of the Rings,” who will next be heard as Cogsworth in “Beauty and the Beast,” took to Twitter to share a special message for ill-fated Best Picture presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. They were given the wrong envelope and didn’t realize it until Warren opened it on stage, realized there was a problem, and immediately passed the problem on to Faye for her to deal with it.

    Here’s what McKellen would’ve done:

    Of course, now everyone is going to want to check envelopes for the sole reason of avoiding what happened at the Oscars. To hell with secrecy. But it’s smart of him to always check. And the pronunciation issue is valid — remember Adele Dazeem?

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  • Steve Harvey Reacts to Oscars 2017 Gaffe: ‘Call Me, Warren Beatty’

    It’s not really a fair comparison, but it was an easy comparison: When the Steve Harvey and his Miss Universe gaffe.

    But Steve Harvey had the right card, he just read the wrong winner. Academy Awards presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, as we know now, did not have the right envelope. They could’ve saved the moment, but still. It’s not 100 percent the same.

    But if anyone can feel their pain, it’s Steve Harvey. Although, right now, he’s too busy being thrilled that someone else is the focus of You Had One Job insults.

    Harvey tweeted his reaction to the Oscar news early Monday morning:


    At least he’s getting some self-promotion out of other people’s embarrassment.

    On his morning show (via TMZ), Harvey did have more to say on the subject:

    “Me and Warren Beatty going to take photos together… So in closing I’d like to say, in the words of Martin Luther King: Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, I’m free at last!”

    Here’s Harvey’s “I have to apologize” gaffe:
    Here’s the Dunaway/Beatty drama last night with Best Picture winners “La La Land” and “Moonlight”:

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  • Oscars 2017 Best Picture Fail Explained: They Got ‘Wrong Category Envelope’

    89th Annual Academy Awards - ShowD’oh! Be gentle with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. As it turns out, they had only a small role in creating the biggest gaffe in Oscars history. It was more of a half-Steve Harvey than a full Harvey.

    Dunaway and Beatty presented the final award of the very long 89th Academy Awards, and mistakenly gave Best Picture to “La La Land” before it was revealed that “Moonlight” was the correct winner.

    As some fans suspected, especially after Beatty tried to explain he saw “Emma Stone, ‘La La Land’” in his envelope instead of the name of the Best Picture, they had been giving the wrong envelope backstage, the one for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

    This is what it was supposed to look like:

    89th Annual Academy Awards - Show

    And this is what Beatty had in his hands to present:

    89th Annual Academy Awards - Governors Ball
    Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has the job (for now) of tabulating nominations and votes for the Oscars, took ownership of the mistake and apologized:

    “We sincerely apologize to Moonlight, La La Land, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture. The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected. We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred. We appreciate the grace with which the nominees, the Academy, ABC, and Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation.”

    Just to correct the correction — it was not immediately corrected. If it were, the entire “La La Land” group wouldn’t have taken to the stage and already given speeches.

    Beatty clearly saw that something was wrong, and he even said that’s why he stalled, he wasn’t trying to be cute to delay the show, he was confused. But instead of speaking up, he just shared his confusion, and the card, with Dunaway, who must’ve just seen “La La Land” by Stone’s name and figured that was what to say. Because how often do you get the wrong envelope? But closeups of that card show that it was indeed marked “Actress in a Leading Role” on the outside, as well as the inside. So someone along the way should’ve caught it.

    Deadline suspected this is what happened, as they wrote last night:

    “How could this happen? This is the thinking: Price Waterhouse has two envelopes (two copies) for every winner. So when they handed the envelope to presenters they opened that for Emma Stone for Best Actress rather than the envelope for Best Picture. That’s why Beatty sputtered and was confused wondering what was going on. This has happened before, according to our colleague Pete Hammond, back in 1964 when Sammy Davis, Jr. also got the wrong envelope for the two music categories.”

    Craziness. It seemed like a prank at first, and that’s what a lot of stars thought, too. But nope. That really happened. And the Internet is loving it, joking that Russia hacked the election, “La La Land” won the popular vote, and dubbing the situation #EnvelopeGate, #OscarsFail, and #MoonlightGate.

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  • Here’s How ‘Moana’ Crushed the Competition at the Box Office

    Disney’s “Moana” had plenty to be thankful for over the holiday weekend, but for all the other new releases that went up against it, it was a Black Friday.

    “Moana” actually performed near the low end of expectations, even though it broke some records with its preview sales on Tuesday and its first-day tickets on Wednesday. Those early numbers had pundits suggesting the animated adventure could open as high as $90 million. But then the Turkey Day tryptophan coma kicked in, and the numbers went back to normal, for a more modest but still solid $55.5 million in estimated sales from Friday to Sunday, good enough to surf past “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” (with an estimated $45.1 million in its second weekend) to the top of this weekend’s box office chart.

    By contrast, Brad Pitt‘s World War II spy romance, “Allied,” had to settle for a fourth place opening estimated at a mere $13.0 million. (“Doctor Strange,” in its fourth week, edged it out of third by less than $400,000.) That was still way better than “Bad Santa 2,” opening in eighth place with just an estimated $6.1 million, well below the low-teens estimates of some analysts. And then there was Warren Beatty‘s long-awaited “Rules Don’t Apply,” which failed to meet even meager predictions of $2 to $3 million. The period Hollywood backstage tale premiered with just an estimated $1.6 million, debuting way down in twelfth place.

    Overall, this was a strong holiday at the box office, with total receipts up more than $25 million from a week ago and even up about $1 million from last Thanksgiving, a holiday weekend that saw the final “Hunger Games” movie sharing the multiplex with the debuts of “The Good Dinosaur” and “Creed.” This Thanksgiving, however, there was little sharing of the holiday bounty. “Moana” and “Beasts” carved up more than half the feast between them and left table scraps for everyone else.

    So why did “Allied,” “Bad Santa 2,” and “Rules” flounder? Here are three reasons.

    1. It’s Disney
    The studio behind such past Thanksgiving smashes as “Tangled” and “Frozen” knows how to reach a holiday audience of kids on school break. By now, Disney pretty much owns these Thanksgiving five-day weekends. The six biggest five-day Thanksgiving debuts and the eight biggest three-day Thanksgiving openings all belong to Disney. “Moana” now ranks as No. 2 in both categories, behind only “Frozen” (which had a $67.4 million Thanksgiving three-day weekend).

    2. Cartoons Aren’t Just for Kids
    “Moana” also knew how to reach adults, by casting familiar voices like Dwayne Johnson and getting “Hamilton” fountainhead Lin-Manuel Miranda to write the songs. Or maybe they just came along to babysit their kids. Either way, Disney claims some 43 percent of “Moana” viewers were 25 and older.

    3. Other Adult Fare? No So Adult
    Or at least, not that appealing to a grown-up audience. Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard‘s “Allied” looks like at least three other Pitt movies and at least one set of tabloid headlines. “Bad Santa 2,” coming 13 years after the original, may have looked like a cynical cash grab, a sequel no one asked for.

    As for “Rules Don’t Apply,” which marks Beatty’s first directing job since “Bulworth” 18 years ago — and his first acting role since legendary flop “Town and Country” 15 years ago — well, Beatty does remain a figure of fascination for much older audiences, but not for many under 50. And yet, he’s just a supporting character in his own movie, with the leads played by two much younger, lesser known actors.

    You could argue that the 79-year-old is simply out of touch with what modern audiences want from movies, but even older audiences must have been hard-pressed to find interest in a Beatty comeback that’s not much of a Beatty comeback.

    All three movies had underwhelming reviews from critics, whom older audiences still read. But paying customers themselves agreed with the critics, giving the films lackluster word-of-mouth at CinemaScore.

    In general, it’s been hard to get adults to come to the multiplex this fall. The grown-up thrillers and prestige Oscar-hopeful dramas that were supposed to draw them out of their living rooms have mostly failed, either because of poor execution, poor marketing, or poor timing.

    Certainly, having three such films open in wide release at once wasn’t going to do any one of these adult movies any favors. Having them open opposite a well-made Disney cartoon that they’d enjoy watching with their kids proved a recipe for unappetizing turkey leftovers.

  • Top Rated Movies by Actor/Directors

    Orson Welles in Citizen KaneEgo manifests in strange ways, especially when fantasy is your profession. Some actors demand that no green M&Ms shall touch red M&Ms; some want a Thanksgiving-sized platter of gluten-free everything; others promise to explode should a lowly assistant dare to make eye contact.

    Sometimes, though, it takes a touch of that same ego to make an actor realize, “Hey, I bet I can work both sides of the camera.” And why not? With big-budget movie shoots lasting from a few months to more than a year, actors attend the most intensive film school possible — right on the set. It’s an education that has given us decades’ worth of movies good enough to make everyone jealous of the multifaceted talent on display.

    ‘Citizen Kane’ (1941)

    If there were lists like these 70 years ago, “Citizen Kane” would’ve been on them. If there are lists like this 70 years from now, “Citizen Kane” will be on them. Some clichés are clichés for a reason.

    And those reasons are plenty, in this case. “Kane” is a film school on the screen. In its less than two-hour run time, it establishes techniques — ranging from naturalistic, fast-talking dialogue to extreme close-ups and depth of field to rear projection — that would define the way movies were made for decades to come. And even if you’re not into filmmaking technicalities, the multi-perspective morality tale moves at a surprising clip for a 1940s movie.

    Actor-director Orson Welles did all of this when he was 25 years old. Meanwhile, today’s 25-year-old artists write songs about their butts.

    ‘Easy Rider’ (1969)

    Ever since “Citizen Kane,” it hasn’t really been a surprise when an actor takes up the camera with solid results. It is a surprise, though, when an actor-director makes a movie that captures the spirit of an entire generation and changes the way indie movies are made forever.

    But that’s just what Dennis Hopper did when he directed “Easy Rider.” Its freewheeling roots manifested not only in the movie’s themes, but in its point-and-shoot filmmaking style. Humbly putting himself in a thankless role and letting Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson take the cool-guy reins, Hopper acted like a cultural observer. And what he observed was the sex, drugs, music, and road-tripping adventure that defined the counterculture of the ’60s, even as the ’70s loomed with clouds shaped a whole lot like Nixon and Vietnam.

    ‘Unforgiven’ (1992)

    In a lot of ways, Rawhide” was his grade school; the creation of the spaghetti Western genre alongside Sergio Leone was his high school; the eventual direction of gritty classics like “The Outlaw Josey Wales” and “High Plains Drifter” were his college thesis papers.

    It makes sense, then, that Best Picture Oscar winner “Unforgiven” is a deconstruction of the whole Western genre — before you can tear something down, you’ve got to know it inside out. There’s no rootin’ tootin’ shootout in “Unforgiven,” no black hats or white hats. Every bullet makes an impact, death counts, and every hero and villain is just a shade of gray. “Unforgiven” doesn’t just deconstruct cowboy legends, it’s a legend all its own.

    ‘The Great Dictator’ (1940)

    If you want to prove the point that great themes and great movies are time-proof and trend-proof, look no further than Charlie Chaplin‘s “The Great Dictator.” This ageless political satire not only has heart, smarts, and funnies, it has major cajones — Chaplin released his Hitler-mocking masterpiece as German bombs were still falling on London.

    You know Chaplin best as a silent film star, but when he spoke, it counted. When he looked right at the camera lens and said, “The hate of men will pass, and dictators die,” even President Roosevelt took pause. And if it’s good enough for Roosevelt, it’s good enough for your movie night.

    ‘Reds’ (1981)

    Here’s one you can impress your intellectual friends with at parties. Years before the Technicolor bombast of “Dick Tracy,” director-star Warren Beatty brought his leftie-journalist-in-1917-Russia opus to the screen. “Reds,” which also brings Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson along for the ride, is everything you’d expect from a truly skilled director taking on a political period piece — a quick-witted screenplay, sumptuous cinematography, plentiful passion, and a whole lot of well-delivered idealism. Just so happens that skilled director is also the face on the poster.

    Sources

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