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Oscar winner Tim Robbins has been on the big screen for well into his fourth decade. Tour through our photo gallery above of Robbins’s 10 greatest films, ranked from worst to best.

Robbins won his Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for playing a former child abuse victim suspected of murder in Clint Eastwood‘s “Mystic River” (2003). He also competed as Best Director for the death-row prison drama “Dead Man Walking” (1995), which brought Susan Sarandon a Best Actress trophy. But while that film is certainly worthy of consideration among his best, this gallery is focused on Robbins’s work in front of the camera, so you won’t find it in our gallery above.

Though Robbins has yet to be recognized at the Emmys, his work on the HBO film “Cinema Verite” (2011) did bring him a Golden Globe nomination as Best TV Supporting Actor. Before that the actor won a...

Ryan Murphy has become the go-to person for actors who want to win Emmy Awards. In fact, 13 different performers have won Emmys for appearing in a Murphy production since 2010, for roles that are both humorous and monstrous. Starting with “Glee,” more than 40 actors have been recognized with a nomination by the TV academy, mostly in the limited series/movie categories. It’s no surprise Murphy’s name is typically heard at least once or twice per Emmy broadcast, whether in speeches thanking him or for nominations of his own for directing, producing and writing.

Scroll through our photo gallery above (or click here for direct access) to see which actors have won Emmys for Ryan Murphy shows, with Niecy Nash-Betts (“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”) being the most recent addition. At the current 2024 Emmys, four performers are recognized for their work on FX’s “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans”: Tom Hollander,...

The Emmy campaign trail can be a slog, but Diane Lane is loving it. With an Emmy nomination in tow, Lane has been hitting the circuit to discuss her part in Ryan Murphy’s FX limited series “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.” It’s a busy time as voting gets underway: Right after speaking to Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast, she was headed to another FYC event.

“This whole estimation of women’s worth is really in the zeitgeist, certainly politically and globally,” Lane says. “And it’s a wonderful time to be a woman because I think we’re continuing to put the footprints in the sand for generations to take even steps further generations.”

In an interview with Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast, Lane sat down with senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay and admitted she’s much more present than she used to be, and how at this...

“Star Wars has that special feel where it’s something that’s only heard in our universe,” notes Matthew Wood of the iconic sounds of the franchise. So with the recent work on Disney+ series in the “Star Wars” galaxy, he and Scott R. Lewis needed to ensure that the classic sound design was “going to be paid homage to as well as create new places for it to go.” The Television Academy clearly enjoyed those new places, as Wood and Lewis received Emmy nominations for sound editing and sound mixing, respectively, for both “The Mandalorian” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.

“It’s great being part of the toolbox,” notes Wood, the library of effects at his disposal at Skywalker Sound. “All these new directors coming in who have their vision…but they also want it to feel connected to Star Wars, and sound really is...

Exclusive: Diane Lane (Feud: Capote’s Women) has signed with CAA for representation.

Lane is an Oscar- and Emmy-nominated actress who will next star opposite Naomi Watts in the second season of FX’s anthology series Feud, titled Feud: Capote’s Women. In the series written by Jon Robin Baitz, directed by Gus Van Sant and produced by Ryan Murphy, she will play Nancy ‘Slim’ Keith.

The actress is currently in production on David E. Kelly’s upcoming Netflix limited series A Man in Full, starring opposite Jeff Daniels, with Regina King co-executive producing and directing.

Lane earned her first Oscar nomination in 2003 for her leading role in Adrian Lyne’s thriller Unfaithful, securing Emmy noms for the CBS miniseries Lonesome Dove and the HBO TV movie Cinema Verite in 1989 and 2011, respectively. She’s otherwise best known for turns in films like Under the Tuscan Sun and Must Love Dogs,...

“Feud” Season 2 at FX has added Tom Hollander, Diane Lane, and Calista Flockhart to its cast, Variety has learned exclusively from sources.

The trio join previously announced series stars Naomi Watts and Chloë Sevigny. The second season of the Ryan Murphy anthology series will tell the true story of how Truman Capote was friends with numerous members of New York high society until he published excerpts of his unfinished novel “Answered Prayers,” with the excerpts serving as a tell-all about the city’s elite.

It was previously announced that Watts will play famed socialite Barbara “Babe” Paley, while Sevigny will play C.Z. Guest. Hollander will star as Capote, with Lane playing Nancy “Slim” Keith and Flockhart playing Lee Radziwill.

Reps for the actors, FX, and 20th Television declined to comment.

Hollander is known for his roles in films such as the 2005 adaptation of “Pride & Prejudice” as well as “Gosford Park...

Kate Winslet is currently in first place in our early Emmy odds to win Best Limited/TV Movie Actress for “Mare of Easttown.” It would be her second Emmy and second win in the category — a perfect 10 years after her first.

The Oscar winner took home her first statuette for her performance on Todd Haynes‘ HBO miniseries “Mildred Pierce,” her first collaboration with the network. She beat out Taraji P. Henson (“Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story”), Diane Lane (“Cinema Verite”), Jean Marsh (“Upstairs Downstairs”) and Elizabeth McGovern (“Downton Abbey”). Remember when “Downton” competed as a miniseries? Good times. That’s how long ago this was.

“Oh, I didn’t think we were gonna win anything. Oh, look, I really did win it!” Winslet exclaimed upon accepting the trophy (watch above). “This means such a great deal to all of us because this really, I feel like, had nothing to do with me.

Pat Loud, the matriarch of the show “An American Family,” which is considered the first reality series on American television, died Sunday. She was 94.

A representative for Loud confirmed her death to Variety, and the news was posted to the official Loud Family Facebook page.

“With inconsolable sorrow, we are sad to share the news with friends and family that on Sunday January 10 at 1:55pm Pt, Pat Loud passed away peacefully in her sleep of natural causes,” the Loud Family’s post reads. “She was snuggled up safe in her comfy home, attended by loving children Michele, Delilah, Kevin and Grant.”

Loud made history as part of “An American Family,” a 1973 PBS television documentary created by Craig Gilbert that is often cited as the first American reality series. The series followed Loud, her husband, Bill, and their five children as they went about their daily lives in Santa Barbara,...

The 2019 Emmys aren’t over yet, but the 2020 race has already begun. The eligibility period for next year’s awards has been underway since June, and Friday’s premiere of the Netflix limited series “Unbelievable” adds another major contender to the list with its timely story, starry cast and impressive pedigree behind the camera.

Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning article and an episode of the “This American Life” podcast, the series follows a pair of detectives (Toni Collette and Merritt Wever) as they investigate the rape of a teenager (Kaitlyn Dever), whose report of her assault was doubted by law enforcement. As of this writing, it has a Metacritic score of 81 based on 13 reviews counted thus far — 11 of them positive, two of them mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, it’s rated 92 percent fresh based on 25 reviews, only two of which are negative.

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Exclusive: Zanne Devine, executive producer of the upcoming Disney+ movie Secret Society of Second Born Royals, which recently wrapped principal photography, and the Disney Channel Original movie Kim Possible, has signed an overall deal with Disney Channels Worldwide. Under the deal, Devine will develop and produce movies for Disney Channel and the upcoming Disney+ streaming service.

“Working with Zanne on Kim Possible and Secret Society of Second Born Royals was such a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding experience for everyone involved that there was no question that we wanted to extend our relationship with her,” said Nancy Kanter, executive vice president, Content and Creative, Disney Channels Worldwide. “This deal will give us the opportunity to further mine her extraordinary production know-how, her deep relationships in the community and her love of great storytelling for the original movies we will be making for Disney Channel and Disney+. We couldn’t be more...

Diane Lane has signed with Wme in all areas.

An Oscar nominee for Unfaithful and two-time Emmy nominee, Lane next appears in Season 6 of Netflix’s House of Cards and Amazon’s new Matthew Weiner series The Romanoffs. She also co-stars with Matthew McCaughaghy and Anne Hathaway in writer-director Steven Knight’s Serenity, which hits theaters January 25.

Her list of credits ranges from the recent films Tully, Justice League and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice to Under the Tuscan Sun — for which she scored a Goden Globe nom — The Perfect Storm, Judge Dredd and Streets of Fire. She also appeared on the small screen in the telfilm Cinema Verite with James Gandolfini and the miniseries Lonesome Dove.

Lane, who had been with UTA, continues to be repped by attorney Stan Coleman of Weintraub Tobin.

The television movie category at the Emmys, through the years, has honored such landmark projects as ABC’s “Brian’s Song,” NBC’s “Roe v. Wade,” as well as HBO’s “And the Band Played On,” “Wit” and “The Normal Heart.” It’s probably time that the category be retired.

This year’s category is historically weak. Several of the nominees fall short of the bar of Emmy-worthiness. And it follows two years in which episodes of TV series that snuck their way into the race — PBS’ “Sherlock” in 2016, Netflix’s “Black Mirror” in 2017 — claimed the top prize over insubstantial competition.

It wasn’t always this way. The last time the movie category fell away, it was due to the weakness of an entirely different field; the category merged with limited series at the 2011 Emmys thanks to a dearth of miniseries. But the limited-series form was only just beginning its...

William Loud, patriarch of the family featured in the 1970s PBS documentary show “An American Family” which was widely considered the first U.S. reality TV series, died Thursday from natural causes. He was 97.

The family announced his death Thursday evening on Facebook.

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At 9:40 am on July 26, William Carberry Loud passed away in Los Angeles, CA of natural causes. Attended by all surviving…

Posted by The Loud Family on Thursday, July 26, 2018

The PBS docuseries aired from Jan. 11 to March 29, 1973. The series was originally intended as a slice-of-life depiction of a typical upper-middle-class family, but instead, it chronicled sweeping social changes. It documented William Loud and his wife,...

Did you know Tim Robbins has never been nominated for an Emmy? The Oscar winner hasn’t been as much of a fixture on television screens as he has been on the big screen, but now he could be recognized by the television academy with a Best Drama Actor bid for “Here and Now.” Created by Alan Ball (“True Blood,” “Six Feet Under,” “American Beauty”), this freshman HBO series centers on a multi-racial family whose bond is fractured when one of their children starts seeing things the rest cannot. Robbins plays Greg Boatwright, a philosophy professor and the family patriarch. In honor of his latest small-screen achievement, let’s take a look back at some of his best big-screen outings. Tour through our photo gallery above of Robbins’s 10 greatest films, ranked from worst to best.

Robbins won his Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for playing a former child abuse...

Production on the sixth and final season of “House of Cards” resumed Wednesday with two new faces: Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear have joined the cast, Netflix announced. The two are filling the void in the revamped season in the wake of Kevin Spacey’s dismissal over sexual misconduct allegations last fall. And they’ll try to do what Spacey was never able to during his five-year tenure: win an Emmy.

Lane and Kinnear will play siblings on the show, which will now be headlined by Robin Wright’s Claire Underwood. No other details about their characters were released, but “House of Cards” has been an Emmy magnet when it comes to acting nominations. The drama has netted 22 nominations for its actors over the past five seasons, including a whopping eight in 2016, with one win for guest star Reg E. Cathey in 2015.

See Robin Wright (‘House of Cards’) nabs Critics...

(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Bankside Films announced today Jack O’Connell, Chloe Grace Moretz and Josh Gad will star in Academy Award nominated writer /directors Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman’s Party of the Century, a New York romance based around Truman Capote’s infamous Black and White Ball.

Gad will portray Capote.

Tim Perell will produce the film through his shingle Process Media. Bankside Films will exclusively handle foreign sales, with CAA and Bankside Films co-representing North American rights. Hilary Davis, Stephen Kelliher and Patrick Howson will executive produce for Bankside Films. Head Gear Films will provide production financing with Phil Hunt and Compton Ross acting as executive producers. Party of the Century will shoot later this year in New York City.

Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman commented, “Our film is a delicate balance of worlds converging at a pivotal moment in time. Jack,...

This year's festival was held over two weekends in Southend, in the Park Inn by Radisson Palace Hotel. Friday 20 January's standout movie was 'Savageland' (directors: Phil Guidry, Simon Herbert and David Whelan, 2015, Us). A prisoner is convicted to die by lethal injection after he is accused of going on a killing spree in his one-horse town. As he's the town loner, the survivors are keen to see him executed. Cinema verite interviews of the local sheriff and other town worthies add uncomfortable realism, as talking heads say there may be no direct motive for the murders but there's also a lot of local hate...

FX has put in development Flatlands, an hourlong serio-comedy from Oscar- and Emmy- nominated filmmakers Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (American Splendor, HBO’s Cinema Verite) and Likely Story. Co-written and to be directed by Berman and Pulcini, Flatlands is set in a multi-ethnic, old-school corner of Brooklyn where a bored PTA mom reinvents herself as a local political kingpin who will do anything — including dismantling her family — to attain power. Berman…...

What does it take to succeed in a man’s world? A Los Angeles Film Festival panel of women cinematographers ivealed what it took to make it to the top of a competitive industry.

1. A shot of LSD. Cinema verite shooter Joan Churchill (“Last Days in Vietnam”) started out by recovering from an eight-hour acid trip, she admitted, to shoot some of the most iconic images from the Rolling Stones Altamont doc, “Gimme Shelter.” That led to the assignment of shooting the Louds in PBS’s “An American Family.” A documentary cameraperson, often working with a hand-held camera and natural light, has to have “people skills,” she said. “You have to be interested in your subjects.” When she moved to London, she couldn’t get work until she joined the Asc—and became its first woman member. Her membership card read: “Lady Cameraman.”

2. Read and reread the script. French-born Maryse Alberti...

Manuel is working his way through all the Lgbt-themed HBO productions.

Last week we dipped our toes into Todd Haynes’s Mildred Pierce only to find that it’s oddly divisive, as is its leading lady, Ms Kate Winslet. Who knew? This week we look at a high profile project that was intended for the silver screen but given the current film market found itself in the not too shabby quarters of HBO: the Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, written by 2016 WGA Ian McClellan Hunter Award honoree Richard Lagravenese and directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Released in 2013, the project was perhaps the gayest project on HBO’s roster since Kushner’s Angels in America. Indeed, if you’ve been following us these past few weeks you’ll notice we’ve dealt with low-key flicks like Bernard and Doris and Cinema Verite. Documentaries it’s where it was until Soderbergh brought his...

Manuel is working his way through all the Lgbt-themed HBO productions.

Last week (and perhaps you missed it seeing as it was on Thanksgiving Eve), we talked about Diane Lane and RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Willam Belli in Cinema Verite which chronicled the behind-the-scenes drama of the first reality TV show, PBS’s An American Family. This week we look a decidedly new American family, the Henrickson clan of Big Love.

Shows like Big Love are precisely what draws me into the HBO brand. Here is a drama about a polygamous Mormon family man, Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) that tackled its subject matter with surprising candor and complexity. It at once aimed to present a deconstruction of the “traditional” American family while all the while rebuffing such an ideological construct in the first place. Bill lives with his three wives: Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloë Sevigny) and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin...

Last week we reminisced about Vito Russo with two related docs: the essential The Celluloid Closet and the 2011 HBO doc Vito. This week we turn from a pivotal figure in silver screen Lgbt history to a pivotal one for the small screen. I’m talking, of course, of Lance Loud, who famously came out in An American Family in 1973 when the Loud family became the subject of a PBS docuseries, what many deem to be one of the first reality shows in American TV. Directed by Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini, Cinema Verite (watch on HBOGo) follows the behind-the-scenes drama behind that infamous and breakthrough program.

For Americans, as we saw last week, many of the images they saw of homosexuals on movie screens were outright stereotypes. But they really paled in comparison to the images they were getting from the media. In 1967, CBS aired The Homosexuals an episode of CBS Reports.

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50 fabulous documentary films, covering hard politics through to music, money and films that never were...

Thanks to streaming services such as Netflix, we’ve never had better access to documentaries. A whole new audience can discover that these real life stories are just as thrilling, entertaining, and incredible as the latest big-budget blockbuster. What’s more, they’re all true too. But with a new found glut of them comes the ever more impossible choice, what’s worth your time? Below is my pick of the 50 best modern feature length documentaries.

I’ve defined modern as being from 2000 onwards, which means some of the greatest documentaries ever made will not feature here. I’m looking at you Hoop Dreams.

50. McConkey (2013)

d. Rob Bruce, Scott Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter, David Zieff

Shane McConkey was an extreme skier and Base jumper who lived life on the edge, and very much to the full.

It was the hair, at first I thought I would hate this movie because of the kid’s hair. Allow me to explain, Jude is one messed up teenager (aren’t all teenagers messed up in the movies?) At the very start we see his Father and Mother break up. His Father,( Ethan Hawke: Gattaca), likes to grow marijuana in his green house, and that is where he sleeps when Mom kicks him out of the house. Jude’s Father, Les, explains to young Jude,( Henry Keleman,) exactly what happened and how that will impact the future story.

Fast forward a few years and Jude, now played by Asa Butterfield, is a young man with troubles. He and his best friend,( apparently his only friend,) Teddy (Avan Jogia) like to get high and listen to Hard Core Punk Rock. Through the early part of the movie Jude has one...

Read More: Ethan Hawke on How Indies are Gourmet and Blockbusters are a Barbecue Hoping to bring back the atmosphere of New York circa the late 1980s, "Ten Thousand Saints" depicts troubled teens trying to find themselves amidst the punk period. The film is adapted from Eleanor Henderson's novel and is written and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini ("American Splendor," "Cinema Verite"). Ethan Hawke, Asa Butterfield, Emile Hirsch, Hailee Steinfeld and Emily Mortimer star. The official synopsis reads: "'Ten Thousand Saints' is a coming-of-age story about three teenagers in late 1980's New York City — Jude (Butterfield), new to the city from Vermont, "straight-edge" musician Johnny (Hirsch), and troubled, rich uptown girl Eliza (Steinfeld) -- who break away from their messed up parents (Hawke and Mortimer) to form their own surrogate family." The film will be released in theaters and On Demand August...

With the passing of seminal documentarian Albert Maysles on March 5, it would only be appropriate to speak to Susan Froemke, his long time friend and frequent co-director. Albert Maysles –along with his brother David - made some of the most iconic American documentaries of all time, all the while revolutionizing the art form, largely through the utilization of cinema verite or direct cinema. This documentary motif, which grew popular by the Maysles and their contemporaries like D.A. Pennebaker and Richard Leacock, actually had been invented by Jean Rouch and originally inspired by Dziga Vertov’s theory about Kino Pravda nearly a century ago.

Cinema verite is sometimes called observational cinema, but that does not entirely explain its phenomenon; the style is largely concerned with the recording of events in which the subject and audience become unaware of the camera’s presence. One can feel the visceral and –at times- spontaneous reactions by its performers. (Take for instance Mick Jagger’s despair upon seeing footage of one of his fans killed at the Altamont Free Concert by a member of the Hells Angels in "Gimme Shelter").

The Maysles’ brothers were co-directors of acclaimed films such as the aforementioned "Gimme Shelter," "Grey Gardens" and "Salesman." They continued to make cinema verite documentaries together for thirty years until David’s death in 1987. They chronicled Hollywood luminaries like Orson Welles and Marlon Brando, and also chronicled the Beatles’ first visit to the U.S. Their range was vast and eclectic. They were nominated for a Best Documentary, Short Subjects Academy Award in 1974 for "Christo’s Valley Curtain." Afterward, Albert Maysles would co-direct with Deborah Dickson and Susan Froemke, and would go on to win an Emmy in 1992 for "Abortion: Desperate Choices." Up until his death, Albert continued making films on his own and in collaboration with other filmmakers for HBO and others. The collaboration between Albert Maysles and Susan Froemke had been just as impressive. Such films as "Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic" and "Ozawa" are part of their canon. Perhaps their most prominent collaboration (along with Deborah Dickson) was the 2001 Oscar nominated "Lalee’s Kin: The Legacy of Cotton," which followed a Mississippi Delta school district and a struggling Delta family. The film reflected the damaging effects of poverty in the Deep South.

In this Exclusive interview, Susan Froemke discusses Albert Maysles’ brilliance as co-director, collaborator, his integral place within cinematic history as well as generous artistic spirit.

Jared Feldschreiber: What were the circumstances in which you met Albert Maysles as film artists? Since you both collaborated on close to twenty films, how would you characterize your relationship both artistically and on a personal basis?

Susan Froemke: I arrived at Maysles Films in the early 70’s, 21 years old, and worked with Al and David until 2003. The Maysles shied away from hiring people right out of film schools because they wanted you to be open to their approach. They didn’t want to “un-teach you”—their word. I was an English Lit major which pleased them. I was privileged to be one of the few allowed to be on shoots with them (Bob Richman was too) so I saw their filming approach first hand. I worked very closely with David, Charlotte Zwerin and Ellen Hovde in the edit room. I eventually produced for them.

Jf: How would you describe your collaborative process?

Sf: When David died in 1987, Al and I partnered as a filming team--Al on camera while I took sound. A two person filming crew—no larger-- was essential to capturing the intimate footage we loved. Maysles Films was very much a family and it lasted for over 40 years. Everyone who worked there, and many talented filmmakers came through the company, felt the spirit of the place and we were all committed to the Maysles’ approach and very close personally.

We’d find a subject we thought was worthy of filming, follow the direction that subject took us on and then edit the footage all as a team. Our end credits were “a film by” and that was the true working relationship. Everyone had an equal voice. We are all so sad today.

Jf: In a TV interview, Albert disclosed a telling adage by Orson Welles, which seemed to fit his approach to documentaries: ‘In a fiction film, the director is God, in a non-fiction film, God is the director,' Albert cited Welles. Would you say that this was Albert’s modus operandi, and if so, would you say as a documentarian he remained resolute to never ‘prejudge’ his subjects and let the events on camera determine the film’s focus?

Sf: Oh yes, I heard that quote often from Al. Al and David (and I have to always include David as well because they developed their approach—their philosophy—together) took their direction from their subject. The only thing we asked from a subject was access. Al and David never told a subject what to do, never asked them to repeat an action or sentence. They never talked to the subject while filming. Never. They wanted to minimize the fact that filming was going on. They wanted to keep the true-life situation as real as possible. But this was Not fly on the wall filming. They hated being called that because there was always a deep bond between filmmaker and subject. A deep trust. Wherever the subject took us always produced the strongest footage. And reality never disappointed us.

Jf: Do you know who were Albert’s main film inspirations?

Sf: I don’t think Al ever saw any films except his own. He didn’t really go to the movies. Certainly not fiction films! He was inspired by the people he met on a train; or walking down the street, if he saw someone sad, he’d ask them why; faces in the crowd, this is what interested him. I do know that he did admire Henri Cartier–Bresson’s photographs.

Jf: In layman’s terms, what’s the value of cinema verite? How can one define it? Do you feel as though the modern sensibility is patient enough to deal with its approach? Was this ever a concern for you and Albert over time that you may lose your audience?

Sf: Al was never interested in any approach to filmmaking but “direct cinema” which we defined as the truth that unfolded before our camera. This is a timeless approach, one that allowed us to examine the human spirit. I think it will last through the ages, like great literature. It never occurred to us to worry about losing an audience. If you have a complex narrative with charismatic characters, your film will always find viewership.

Jf: How many films did you work on with Albert, and which ones were your favorites in terms of content, their form and other personal collaborative memories?

Sf: I made over 20 films with Al. Favorites include "Grey Gardens", "Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic," "Lalee’s Kin: The Legacy of Cotton," "Soldiers Of Music: Rostropovich Returns to Russia." There are so many. The trip to Russia in the early 90’s with Al to film Rostropovich’s return to Russia after 16 years of exile was a magnificent trip. Al had a tremendously nostalgic feeling towards Russia because he and David had taken a motorcycle trip there in the 50’s and began filming then. We traveled with Rostropovich and his family for a week and each encounter they had—whether musical or political-- was profound so we came back with rich, beautiful footage that told a story of courage and bravery. Al’s intuitive, lyrical camera was stunning whether filming Rostropovich playing the cello or just faces of strangers in a crowd.

Jf: In which scenes in the films you worked on together would you say you achieved a kind of ‘cinema truth?’

Sf: There is a scene in "Lalee’s Kin" which was filmed in the Mississippi Delta’s poorest county where Lalee, a 60 year old Great Grandmother, realizes her 12 year old granddaughter hasn’t made it to school on the first day of classes because she didn’t have any pencils or paper to take with her. The granddaughter is softly crying as Lalee searches through her house trying to find some pencils. This is a child who wants to be educated but painfully knows the odds aren’t in her favor. It’s a heartbreaking scene that illuminates the scale of the problems of poverty—how difficult it is to educate the child from an illiterate family. It is ‘cinema truth’ at it’s best.

Albert Maysles’ documentary film career began in 1955 when he traveled abroad to shoot "Psychiatry in Russia." He made films until his death, as exemplified by his latest “In Transit," which is due to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. The film centers on the Empire Builder - America’s busiest long-distance train route that runs from Chicago to Seattle. "Iris," another documentary of the fashion icon Iris Apfel, will also be released next month.

Who can forget 2003 when filmmaker-duo Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini landed at Sundance with a highly inventive biopic, a seminal film really in the indie film cannon. Featuring the debatably unlikeable Clevelander Harvey Pekar, American Splendor moved put the pair on a pedestal, and while they’ve been back to Sundance for The Extra Man (’10), they’ve pretty much stuck to commercial indie items in The Nanny Diaries (07), Cinema Verite – HBO ’11, and Girl Most Likely (aka Imogene) ’12. Starring Asa Butterfield, Ethan Hawke, Hailee Steinfeld, Emile Hirsch, Emily Mortimer and Julianne Nicholson, production began way back at the end of January on Ten Thousand Saints, which comes with a built-in fanbase due to the novel on which it is based on. Should be a high value sales item if included.

Gist: Based on the novel of the same name by Eleanor Henderson, set in the 1980s, a teenager (Asa Butterfield) from...

Normally, Nicholas Sparks adaptations are nothing to get excited about, but the cast that is coming together for The Longest Ride, Fox’s latest attempt to find Notebook-style success with a tearjerker from the prolific author, is unusually interesting. We previously reported that Scott Eastwood (yes, son of Clint), Boardwalk Empire actor Jack Huston and acting veteran Alan Alda had boarded the project in leading roles, joining Game of Thrones actress Oona Chaplin and Under the Dome star Britt Robertson, and now we’ve learned that Lolita Davidovich has also signed on.

Davidovich, who recently appeared alongside the late James Gandolfini in HBO original movie Cinema Verite, will play the protective mother of Eastwood’s character, a cowboy who goes out during a blizzard in a race against time to save his family ranch and the love of his life (Robertson). His path intersects with that of an imperiled older...

HBO will air the special “James Gandolfini: Tribute to a Friend,” on Sunday, the network announced Wednesday. The tribute will include more than two dozen friends and colleagues of the three-time Emmy winner, who died June 19 at age 51 while vacationing in Rome. Also read: Robert De Niro Takes on James Gandolfini Role on HBO’s ‘Criminal Justice’ The special will include reflections, clips of Gandolfini’s work, as well as behind-the-scenes footage. Besides starring on HBO’s “The Sopranos” from 1999 to 2007, Gandolfini starred in the network’s 2011 film “Cinema Verite” and produced the HBO documentaries “Wartorn: 1861 to 2010″ in 2010 and.

Punk rock movies are usually a very mixed bag (see this year's "Cbgb") but with colorful characters and big emotions, filmmakers are going to keep flocking to the subject matter. Thus, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini ("American Splendor," "Cinema Verite") are going to turn it up with "Ten Thousand Saints." The pair adapted the Eleanor Henderson novel, set in 1980s New York City (of course), that tells the story of "Vermont teenager Jude, who moves in with his hippie dad in NYC after his best friend Teddy overdoses. There he falls in with the no drugs, no sex, no meat straight-edge hardcore punk scene of the East Village." Hailee Steinfeld is on board in the role of Eliza, "who becomes pregnant with Teddy’s child and leans on his brother Johnny and Jude for support." [Deadline] Last fall when "Tarzan" was first gearing up, Samuel L. Jackson was eyed for...

Looks like Josh Brolin and Diane Lane can officially, legally move on with their lives. The former couple's divorce has just been finalized in L.A., TMZ reported on Monday, Dec. 2. According to documents filed in L.A. County Superior Court on Nov. 27 and obtained by TMZ, Brolin and Lane came to a private financial agreement, and she will not be seeking spousal support from her ex. Nor will she be keeping his name; the Cinema Verite actress, 48, has reportedly dropped "Brolin" from her legal name. Married [...]...

Stealing Cars

William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, John Leguizamo, Emory Cohen, Mike Epps and Paul Sparks have joined Bradley Kaplan's ensemble drama "Stealing Cars" which is currently shooting in New York.

The story follows a rebellious teenager who is sent to juvenile prison and learns to forgive himself in the wake of a tragic car accident. Rachel Winter will produce. [Source: Screen]

Get On Up

Nick Eversman ("Tomorrow People," "Cinema Verite") has been cast as Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger in the James Brown biopic "Get on Up" at Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment. Brian Grazer, Erica Huggins and Victoria Pearman are producing.

Chadwick Boseman stars as the Godfather of Soul and traces Brown's rise from humble beginning to stardom to through his eventual drug-fueled downfall. The film features a scene in which Jagger and Brown appear together at a concert. [Source: THR]

Ring By Spring

Rachel Boston ("Witches of East End") will...

Peter Wintonick, whose exemplary work in documentary was surpassed only by his passionate championing of the documentary form, died yesterday  in Montreal. He was 60 and had been diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer.

Wintonick's best known work included Manufacturing Dissent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992), directed with Mark Achbar, and Cinema Verite: Defining the Moment (1999). According to a press release from the National Film Board of Canada, with whom Wintonick worked closely for decades, Manufacturing Consent was one of the most successful documentaries in Canadian history, earning ...

Eight Indian films will be part of a Retrospective on Indian documentaries at the Cinema Verite Iran International Documentary Film Festival.

The films are Bahadur The Accidental Brave by Aditya Seth, There Is Something In The Air by Iram Ghufran, The Women In Blue Berets by Farida Pacha, Mayong: Myth/Reality by Utpal Borpujari, Director, Painter Shri Babura Laad Saheb by Richa Hushing, Dhananjay Kulkarni “Chandragupta” by Rirvu Laha, The Sound Of Old Rooms by Sandeep Ray and Powerless (Katiyabaaz) by Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar.

Organised by the Documentary & Experimental Film Center (Defc), the 7th edition of the annual documentary festival will be held from December 10-17, 2013 in Tehran.

Bahadur The Accidental Brave traces the Nepalese labour migration to India. Their high risk sexual behaviour makes them susceptible to HIV. The documentary is an in-depth look into the social, economic and political life of the Nepalese migrants.

There Is...

Sporting her perpetually disheveled hair and unknowingly about to meet her romantic fate, Adele (Adele Exarchopoulos) heads to school in the first frames of Abdellatif Kechiche’s Palm d'Or-winning film Blue is the Warmest Color (La Vie d'Adele: Chapters 1 &2) (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S. Sundance Selects). The Franco-Algerian director’s latest film could be described as one of intimate ambition. It follows its characters for over a decade expanding 179 minutes of evocative imagery, which flies by on the screen with incredible fluidity, never giving the audience any indication of its length. Instead, the incarnations -- since such great takes mustn’t simply be called performances -- by the two leading actresses are so tremendously captivating that it is impossible to look away or not to be submerged into their passionate relationship.

In the tradition of many other coming-of-age tales, young Adele is preoccupied with her own sexual awakening. Her innocence and inexperience collide with the realization that she may not be like the rest of her girl friends. She tries to date a handsome boy from her class only to discover how unfulfilling that is for her, an event that resonates with confusion and discomfort, adding to the complexity of her teenage emotions. One night, tempted by curiosity and following her openly homosexual friend, Adele wanders around a lesbian bar where she finally meets the mysterious blue-haired Emma (Léa Seydoux). Despite the seemingly casual nature of their encounter Adele knows she has been looking for her. Crossing paths briefly just days before, she became instantly infatuated with Emma’s odd beauty, falling victim to the romantic myth of love at first sight.

During the first half of the film Kechiche organically includes philosophical hypotheses on the nature of love via several classroom sequences. He delves into the conflicting ideas of a predestined plan vs. random chance as two mutually exclusive possibilities for the path each human life follows. Regardless of which of these forces produced Adele and Emma’s serendipitous meeting, it is clear their lives will forever be affected by it.

Emma is a strong college art student fully accepted as a homosexual woman, while Adele is just starting to grapple with the implications of identifying herself with that label. Their differences are even more noticeable when they meet each other’s families. One is sophisticated, liberal, and above all accepting of Emma’s sexual orientation and career choice as a painter; on the other hand, Adele’s working class parents love her but are unaware of what goes on behind closed doors between the two girls. That secrecy and Adele’s inability to come to terms with her sexuality become the prime source of conflict for the couple.

Much has been said about the explicit depiction of sex in the film. Deemed by many as exploitative or influenced by the director’s masculine perspective (though some say he too is homosexual), the intimate scenes feel driven by passion rather than only existing for mere provocation. Daring and sensuous, these sequences of beautiful vulnerability speak volumes about the strenuous labor by the actresses and their director. Kechiche's style of Cinema Verite, combined with the terrific naturalism of Seydoux and Exarchopoulos' acting delivers a compelling film of outstanding honesty.

Each scene runs its course without the need to cut them short. They flow as small building blocks of a love story that exudes intensity and fragility. As the characters’ relationship develops into adulthood the lustful and vibrant passion diffuses and they begin to fall apart. Adele wants to be a teacher and Emma lives to paint, and as their two separate ways take form, their love for each other is tested. This slow-burning development of their flaws and aspirations allows the actresses to showcase their talent by throwing away any inhibitions and becoming their characters from the inside out. Seydoux as androgynous and tough Emma evokes a strange mystique. Her apparent maturity and assertiveness clash with Adele’s need to be loved and her indecision to come out fully as a lesbian woman. Few times before have two actresses given such audacious performances. Certainly these are two of the best roles in any film, from any country, in a very long time.

Blue is undoubtedly the work of an auteur. Even after all the scandalous accusations and discomfort towards the film, there is no denying this is a riveting piece of filmmaking. Every move and every touch is carefully planned to create a realistic yet dreamy account of two women who are consumed by ravaging love, who suffer through it, and who survive it. No one in cinema has ever gotten closer to conveying the mix of torturous anguish and insane joy of what it means to be in love as have Kechiche and his fearless protagonists.

Actor Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Nightmare On Elm Street) has signed with Resolution. He previously was a client of Wme. The 25-year-old most recently graced TV screens on The CW’s The Secret Circle and HBO’s Cinema Verite with James Gandolfini. His indie film streak of late includes Gregg Araki’s Kaboom, Catherine Hardwick’s Plush, and The White City. Dekker is also repped by The Schiff Co and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Onetime Dancing With The Stars contestant-turned-dwts co-host Brooke Burke-Charvet has signed with CAA. She’s going into her seventh season co-hosting the ABC show, which she won in season 7. Burke-Charvet continues to be managed by Bx2 Management and Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finkelstein & Lezcano. Award-winning writer-director Ron Morales has signed with Apa. His sophomore feature Graceland nabbed the Audience Award at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival and was shortlisted by the Philippines as a...

There's no question that James Gandolfini's legacy is Tony Soprano from the HBO TV series The Sopranos. But the actor, who died suddenly yesterday in Italy, also appeared in more than 40 films. This includes some decent turns in made-for-cable movies like William Friedkin's 12 Angry Men and the drama Cinema Verite, which cast him as reality-tv pioneer Craig Gilbert. As in the case of the latter, he tended to shine even when the material wasn't up to his level of talent. Just a couple weeks ago his most recent theatrical release Violet & Daisy further proved that he could often save a feature film -- or, at least be the best thing about it. Another recent part was initially declined by Gandolfini, because he felt it was just another Tony-type mafia hit man...

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Sopranos star James Gandolfini has passed away at the age of 51.

Per Deadline, the actor died on Wednesday of a suspected heart attack while in Italy. He was 51.

During his estimable run as The Sopranos‘ paterfamilias Tony, Gandolfini earned three Emmys in five tries, as well as a Golden Globe award. He also stands as the only three-time winner for the Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Drama.

In an email to Deadline, former HBO Chairman Chris Albrecht, who in 1997 greenlit the crime family saga, declared himself “absolutely stunned. I got the word from Lorraine Bracco [who played Dr. Melfi] and just...

After the success of Bridesmaids, former "SNL" cast member Kristen Wiig could have done anything, and she decided to move away form studio comedies towards a passion project called Imogene. The indie comedy follows a woman (Wiig) who ends up in the custody of her obnoxious, gambling addicted mother (Annette Bening) after faking a suicide attempt to get her ex-boyfriend back. Now the first trailer is here, with the new title Girl Most Likely, and it looks mildly amusing. Wiig is doing her best, but it almost seems like it's trying too hard to be that quirky comedy, especially with Matt Dillon's character. Watch! Here's the first trailer for Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini's Girl Most Likely, from Yahoo: Cinema Verite directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini are at the helm of Girl Most Likely (formerly Imogene), an indie comedy from writer Michelle Morgan (Middle of Nowhere...

James Gandolfini's next project for HBO will be somewhat lighter than his previous ones.

The former "Sopranos" star is joining Steve Carell ("The Office") for a movie called "Bone Wars," about competing paleontologists in the "great dinosaur rush" of the late 1800s, Deadline reports. It's based on a real-life feud between scientists Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, who competed furiously in the search for dinosaur fossils.

Carell and Gandolfini will also serve as executive producers of the movie, which is searching for a writer.

The two actors currently co-star in "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," which hasn't done much at the box office in its three-plus weeks of release. The offbeat material here could suit them, though. It brings to mind the "Archaeology Today" sketch on "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (which you can watch below).

Gandolfini's last on-screen appearance on HBO was in the movie "Cinema Verite" in...

Up on the DVD and Blu-ray shelves this week, unplug the "Wreck-It Ralph" arcade noise (and, for the love of all that is holy, put down your guns and step away from that insipid "Red Dawn" remake) as there are some better choices to be made for cineastes of all tastes. Read More: Discworld: Naked Spaniards, Early Cinema Verite and the Cheerier 'Amour"   "California Solo" (Strand Releasing)   On this side of the pond, many of us weren't aware of Robert Carlyle until 1996's international breakout "Trainspotting," in which the chameleonic Scottish actor portrayed an alcoholic sociopath who hung out with heroin junkies. Here, in writer-director Marshall Lewy's somber, sun-baked, underseen character study, Carlyle again likes his drink a bit too much as long-haired Lachlan MacAldonich, a relatively high-functioning addict living a modest existence as an organic farm manager just outside of Los Angeles. In a former life, Lachlan played...

After the success of Bridesmaids, former "SNL" cast member Kristen Wiig could have done anything, and she decided to move away form studio comedies towards a passion project called Imogene. The indie comedy follows a woman (Wiig) who ends up in the custody of her obnoxious, gambling addicted mother (Annette Bening) after faking a suicide attempt to get her ex-boyfriend back. Now the first trailer is here, with the new title Girl Most Likely, and it's kind of messy. While it looks funny, the trailer is edited very poorly (there's a record scratch), and feels like a rough cut. Hopefully the movie turned out better. Watch! The trailer was removed at the request of Lionsgate. Apparently it was a leaked version that was not meant to be released. Stay tuned for the official trailer when it becomes available. Cinema Verite directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini are at the...

Josh Brolin and Diane Lane are going their separate ways. A little more than eight years after they tied the knot, the Cinema Verite actress, 48, and her Gangster Squad actor husband, 45, have split, reps for the couple tell Us Weekly exclusively. "Diane Lane and Josh Brolin have decided to end their marriage," the reps tell Us. Adds an insider: "It was a mutual decision. It is very amicable. It's not ugly, it's just over." The spouses, who married in August 2004, split a couple of months [...]...

James Gandolfini's return to series TV on HBO won't be happening anytime soon as the network has decided not to move ahead with the drama pilot "Criminal Justice."

The Hollywood Reporter has the news about the project, which would have seen Emmy winning "Sopranos" star Gandolfini heading up an adaptation of a 2008 BBC series. Steven Zaillian ("Moneyball") was on board to direct and co-write with Richard Price ("The Color of Money").

Gandolfini has kept close ties with HBO since the infamous 2007 series finale of "The Sopranos." He co-starred in the network's original movie "Cinema Verite" and executive produced the documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq" and movie "Hemingway and Gelhorn."

Gandolfini remains busy in the film world as well, most recently appearing in the fall 2012 releases "Zero Dark Thirty," "Not Fade Away" and "Killing Them Softly" and soon to be seen in "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" opposite Steve Carell...

James Gandolfini has lined up his first series at HBO since the end of "The Sopranos."

Gandolfini will star in an adaptation of British drama "Criminal Justice," which HBO has ordered to pilot, Deadline reports. He'll play a defense attorney who trolls for clients in police precincts and appoints himself counsel for a young man (Rizwan Ahmed) accused of murder.

"Criminal Justice" ran for two five-episode seasons in the U.K. and won BAFTA Awards for best drama serial and best writing (by creator Peter Moffat). Each season told a separate story, with different characters, of one person's journey through the justice system. If the HBO version is picked up, the first season will follow the story of the original. Gandolfini would return for subsequent seasons, however.

Richard Price ("The Wire," "NYC 22") and Steven Zaillian ("Moneyball," "Schindler's List") are co-writing the script, and Zaillian will direct the pilot. They'll also be executive producers,...

It seems that HBO and James Gandolfini are just the kind of couple that are meant to be together. Of course, the network and star both mutually benefited with the rousing success of "The Sopranos," but even after the show was over they kept each other's phone numbers. Gandolfini's been attached to a number of brewing projects for his old employers, and a few years later the actor co-starred in the HBO movie "Cinema Verite" with Diane Lane and Tim Robbins. And it looks like they're set to work together again as the cable channel has greenlit a pilot that will put Tony Soprano back in the fold. Gandolfini will join Riz Ahmed in the bland-it-needs-a-title-change "Criminal Justice." A remake of the 2008 BBC series that starred Ben Whishaw, the project will boast a script from writers Steve Zaillian ("The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo") and Richard Price ("Clockers"), and the...

Kristen Wiig's "Imogene" has gone to Lionsgate and Roadside for joint Us distribution after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. From directors Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman ("Cinema Verite," "American Splendor"), the film follows Wiig's Imogene, a New York playwright whose promise has faded and whose boyfriend has dumped her. Desperate, she fakes a suicide to get him back, but the plan backfires and she ends up in the hands of her gambling addict of a mother (Annette Bening). A complete symopsis is below. The film was written by Michelle Morgan and produced by Celina Rattray and Trudie Styler. Wiig, Morgan, Steve Golin and Miranda Bailey exec produced. ThePlaylist reviewed the film from Tiff: "If it all sounds like, well, a sitcom, or a Lifetime series, it sort of is,..a script saddled with wayyy too much wacky, and never enough nuance. But there is Kristen Wiig,...

More Toronto International Film Festival acquisitions abound, including the comedy "Imogene" and the documentary "The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld," right on the heels of Roadside Attractions picking up Sarah Polley's documentary "Stories We Tell."  Roadside, along with Lionsgate, grabbed the U.S. distribution rights for "Imogene," which stars Kristen Wiig as a writer who fakes her own suicide to win back her boyfriend and winds up living with her gambling-addicted mother (Annette Bening). Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman ("American Splendor") directed the movie from a script by Michelle Morgan ("Cinema Verite"), but, according to our review, the movie belongs to Wiig and Bening, who both "elevate the material" alongside co-stars Matt Dillon and Darren Criss. No word yet on when "Imogene" will land in theaters, but we wouldn't be surprised if the film...

New York — Mel Stuart, an award-winning documentarian who also directed "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," has died. He was 83.

His daughter, Madeline Stuart, said he died Thursday night of cancer at his home in Los Angeles.

Stuart's documentaries include "The Making of the President 1960," for which he won an Emmy, as well as subsequent explorations of the 1964 and `68 campaigns. Other programs were "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" and the Oscar-nominated "Four Days in November."

His groundbreaking 1973 film "Wattstax" focused on the Wattstax music festival of the previous year and Los Angeles' Watts community in the aftermath of the 1965 riots.

But while Stuart's documentaries won acclaim and cemented his reputation, he won a special sort of following with the 1971 musical fantasy "Willy Wonka."

That film was his response to a young reader of the Roald Dahl children's classic "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory": Stuart's daughter Madeline...

Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, the directors of "American Splendor," HBO's 2011 drama "Cinema Verite" and the underrated 2010 indie "The Extra Man," return to the world of dark comedy this year with a break-out SNL star as their lead in "Imogene." Kristen Wiig, Annette Bening and Matt Dillon headline this hilarious comedy about a washed-up playwright who, after faking her own suicide as a ploy to get her ex-boyfriend's attention, winds up remanded to the custody of her wackily dysfunctional family. Darren Criss also stars. Michelle Morgan, a SNL pal of Wiig's, wrote the screenplay, and as an exec-producer, the "Bridesmaids" star has been trying to get Morgan's film off the ground for several years now. The success of "Bridesmaids" certainly helped seal the deal for "Imogene." No release date or stateside distributor yet for the film, but we presume "Imogene" will...