Roger Ebert has died. But cinema is more alive than ever...

If the film critic has any kind of noble purpose, it is to shine a light on the good and the unexpectedly great in film.  No one gets into film criticism because they hate movies.  We got into this because we love the cinema and we love the singular experience of watching great movies.  If we have any kind of noble goal, it is to highlight what we love, even if its a minority opinion and even if it opens us up to ridicule from our peers.  If we have a social good, it is in highlighting the great movies that may have slipped under the radar.  It is in highlighting the little-seen independent film that desperately needs the publicity to stand out alongside its peers. It is also in highlighting the genuine artistry found in mainstream studio pictures, especially in a time when so many film scholars are all-too willing to write off every would-be 'big movie' and thus declare that cinema is dead.  Cinema is not dead.  Cinema is as alive as it's ever been.

In an era of franchises & tentpoles, Tony Scott made "movies"

As is the case with unexpected 'obituaries', you find yourself writing or saying things that you wish you had said when the person in question was still around to hear it or read it.  I wish I had written this in November 2010.  Tony Scott's film legacy is two-fold.  For the first fifteen years of his career, Tony Scott was among those most responsible for the modern-day macho blockbuster.  His second film, Top Gun, basically paved the way for the modern big-budget big-scale action picture that happened to be set on planet Earth.  I'm no fan of the film, but it was, along with Rambo: First Blood Part II, easily the biggest-scale action picture of its day that didn't involve Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or James Bond. It turned Tom Cruise into an icon and was almost as much of a cinematic game-changer as Star Wars or Batman.  But it was the second half of his career, spanning from 2001 to 2010, that made me a fan.  While we can argue over whether the first fifteen years were superior or inferior to his final nine, his last decade of work cast Mr. Scott in a new, arguably more important light.  In an era dominated by mega-budget fantasy spectacles, Tony Scott was often the last refuge for the old-school 'movie'.  

RIP Dwayne McDuffie... the man who saved the DC Animated Universe.

Dwayne McDuffie died this morning of complications from a surgerical procedure performed last night. He was 49 years old. He was the writer and producer of All-Star Superman, which streets today. McDuffie is known for many things: creating Static Shock, forming Milestone Media in 1992, and various runs on various successful DC and Marvel comic books. But for me, McDuffie was the savior of the DC Animated Universe. His first official project in that capacity was writing the two-part episode of Justice League entitled 'The Brave and the Bold'. The Flash and Green Lantern vs. Gorilla Grodd caper stood out by being, quite frankly, the first season one episode of Justice League that was any good. The quippy writing, exciting and zippy action and genuinely engaging humor stood out in a sea of self-serious and overly bland and dull adventures that littered the mediocre first season. It wasn't the only good episode that year (the Justice Society epic 'Legends' was terrific as well), but it was indeed a diamond in the rough. By season two, Dwayne McDuffie was a producer and the show was indeed roaring back to life, and the rest of the five-year run was every bit as good as we expect from the people who gave us Batman: the Animated Series. Point being, if Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski created the DC Animated Universe and Paul Dini and Alan Burnett expanded and improved it, then it was Dwayne McDuffie who kept it infused it with fresh blood. He kept it alive when Paul Dini, Michael Reaves, Boyd Kirkland, and others went on to other pastures. Rest in peace Mr. McDuffie, I can think of no better tribute than the climactic roll call of a universe that you more-or-less saved.

Scott Mendelson

RIP: Leslie Nielsen (1926-2010)

On the opening night of Scary Movie 3, when Leslie Nielsen paid homage to his 'want want to tell you all good luck, we're all counting on you' bit from Airplane!, my friend and I were only ones in the theater who laughed. I cannot describe to you how old I felt in that moment on October 24th, 2003. Rest in piece Leslie Nielsen. We'll try not to call you Shirley. Most of tonight's obituaries will (justifiably) focus on his legendary deadpan comic work in Airplane!, The Naked Gun, and non-Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker spoofs like Repossessed, Spy Hard, and Superhero Movie. But for those who only know Mr. Nielson as 'that guy from all of those spoofs', take a moment to relish Leslie Nielsen: horror film villain. After the jump, go about 5 minutes into the first clip for this second segment in the 1982 horror anthology Creepshow. Farewell Mr. Nielsen, you'll always be Shirley to us.

Scott Mendelson

RIP: Tom Mankiewicz (1942-2010) Want to read a 27-year old Batman screenplay from the man who helped save Superman: The Movie?

The great Tom Mankiewicz has died at the age of 68. He is not a household name to the geek community, but he should be. Aside from writing three James Bond pictures (Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die, and The Man With the Golden Gun), he is the man who more or less created the modern comic book film. He, along with Richard Donner, salvaged the first Superman picture back in 1978. As Donner and Mankiewicz discuss at length on the DVD commentary for the 'director's cut', the original Superman screenplay by Mario Puzo (author of The Godfather) was campy, jokey, and not terribly respectful of the legendary character known as the Man of Steel. It was Donner and 'creative consultant' Mankiewicz who revamped the project, bringing pathos, drama, reverence, and a tone of solemn importance to the first modern comic book epic. Without the work of Richard Donner and Tom Mankiewicz, there likely would have been no Batman, X-Men, Spider-Man, Iron Man, or The Dark Knight, to say nothing of the various comic book-influenced projects that followed (The Incredibles, Unbreakable, The Matrix, etc).

RIP - Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)

I have no great obituary, no epic essay on his career. There are other places for that. I was just a fan as a young child of the 1980s, like so many others. I have no profound words other than the sad sting of inevitability (the speed in which the feature articles went up implies that the news magazines and newspapers have been planning this for awhile). Obvious condolences to his friends and his children. So here's to one of the greatest albums of all time, Thriller (still and likely always to be the biggest selling original album of all time). Here's to Bad, a vastly underrated effort that's almost as good. And here's to the great comeback album that will never be. You have no idea how much I wanted one last good album from the King of Pop...

The thing that comes to mind is that famous Elton John refrain, sung about another living icon who died suddenly and prematurely. "Your candle blew out long before. Your legend never did."

Scott Mendelson

Ron Silver - 1946-2009 (RIP)

Because of my heavy workload this week, I neglected to comment on the passing of actor/activist Ron Silver. He had been battling esophageal cancer for two years, and the disease had crippled his vocals before it claimed his life. I remember driving home several months ago and listening to him speak on the Larry King show on the radio. As I heard his once precise and articulate voice now sound raspy, hoarse, and fragile, I immediately knew he was sick.

Much has been made in the various obituaries over his post 9/11 political transformation from liberal activist to Iraq war cheerleader. Like Dennis Miller, he was a Democrat who remained social liberal, but became a national security hawk after the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks in 2001. Whether or not this change cost him jobs over the last eight years I cannot say (I'd argue that he simply fell out of favor, like so many 'oh that guy' actors who worked just enough to not worry about money). If his political beliefs did cost him work, I'd say it's our loss.

He was one of my favorite character actors, a man who excelled at playing ruthlessly intelligent men, who sounded correct even if their logic was faulty. He was, along with Oliver Platt, my favorite reoccurring guest star on The West Wing, the kind of actor who could make Aaron Sorkin's rat-tat-tat dialogue transcend poetry and become musical theater. He made schlock like Time Cop and Blue Steel feel like art, and he made a good genre film like The Arrival feel genuinely great. Speaking of which, Lionsgate is putting The Arrival on Blu Ray in a bare bones, but gorgeous looking disc on April 21st. I heartily recommend a rental for this forgotten gem.

For a deluge of famous entertainers and political activists (Alec Baldwin, Ben Stiller, Paul Begala, Franl Luntz, Laurence O'Donnell, Robert Greenwald) eulogizing one of their own, go to The Huffington Post and scroll down to the bottom. I can think of no better testament than posting this little ditty. It's the trailer and opening credits for an unaired pilot called Heat Vision And Jack. It stars Jack Black, Christine Taylor, and Owen Wilson as a talking motorcycle. It also features Ron Silver as murderous secret government operative Ron Silver.

Scott Mendelson

'James was here' (James Whitmore - RIP)

James Whitmore, one of my favorite character actors, has died at 87.  He was diagnosed with lung cancer just this Thanksgiving.   He passed away this afternoon. Most of our peers will know him as Brooks in The Shawshank Redemption.  I will always think of him as the eccentric, but charming Dr. Albert Frock in The Relic (in a horror film filled with onscreen gore, his character gets the dignity of an offscreen death).  He was also terrific as Raymond Oz, a once brilliant attorney crippled by memory loss, in The Practice.  His career spanned 146 credits from 1949 to 2007.  Another legend is gone.  He will be very missed.  

James Whitmore - October 1, 1921 - February 6th, 2009.

Scott Mendelson

Ricardo Montalban dies at 88.

Let me be the one person who posts a Ricardo Montalban clip that isn't from Star Trek II. Here's a lovely little moment from the last live-action film Montalban even appeared in, Spy Kids 3D: Game Over (from about 2:55-4:40). Neither he or Sylvester Stallone are at their best, acting wise, but it's a surprisingly nice moment.

Ricardo Montalban, RIP - 11/25/1920 - 01/13/2009

Scott Mendelson

Paul Newman has died of cancer at 83

Condolences to friends and family. If there is a need to update, I will do so as more comes in. Here is the article.

Scott Mendelson

In A World With Don LaFontaine... film trailers were far more entertaining.

Old news, but still worthy of mention. Don LaFontaine, the man who more or less invented modern voice over, especially in the realm of film trailers, died Monday at the age of 68 from complications from pneumothorax (a collapsed lung issue).

Maybe I should feel a little guilty, but, as an occasional dabbler in voice over, one of the first thoughts I had when I heard the news was something similar to the line echoed at the end of the first video below.

"In a world without Don LaFontaine... we'd all have a lot more money!"

He may have dominated the promo and trailer marketplace, but he also did it better than any one else. We'll also be a little sadder in that world. He was the God of his industry, and allegedly a hell of a nice person. Those who knew him will miss him, and those who only knew his voice will miss hearing him.







Don LaFontaine - 1940-2008 RIP.

Scott Mendelson

What the hell? (Bernie Mac has died of pneumonia at 50)

I had no idea he was that ill. I knew he was in the hospital for a few days, battling an infection. My goodness. Anyway, here's the article. Apparently, he suffered for years from sarcoidosis, but that was not the apparent cause of death. A true jaw dropper. Sympathies and condolences to friends and family of course. Geez.

Scott Mendelson

George Carlin - 1937-2008

“Scratch any cynic, and you’ll find a disappointed idealist.”

The New York Times obituary does a far better job of summing up his life and groundbreaking work than I ever could. If Lenny Bruce was the Jesus of comedy (martyred for exposing our societal sins using stand-up comedy, dying so that others could follow in his footsteps without fear), then George Carlin was surely one of his lead apostles. Carlin was the last of the holy trinity of stand-up comedy (Bruce, Carlin, and Richard Pryor). He will be missed. He was 71.

Stan Winston has died... (1946-2008)

Sorry to report...

Stan Winston, pioneering special effects god and four-time Oscar winner, died yesterday at the age of 62. Cause of death is multiple myeloma, which he apparently suffered from for the last seven years. Obvious condolences to his friends and family. If there are any relevant updates to this story, then I'll update. He was currently working on Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, which is to be released May 22nd, 2009. For what it's worth, his last finished project was Iron Man, so at least he went out on a winner.

Scott Mendelson