ENTERTAINMENT
August 1, 2010 | By Dennis Lim, Special to The Times
Steven Spielberg's "Jaws," which opened 35 years ago this summer, is often credited — or blamed — for inventing the modern blockbuster: the art form, or rather economic model, that brought with it tentpole releases and long summers of big, expensive, aggressively hyped movies. But in its immediate wake, the influence of "Jaws" could be felt on a more literal level. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw a string of shockers that were designed with varying degrees of shamelessness to exploit the fear of carnivorous aquatic life: among many others, " Mako: The Jaws of Death" (1976)
ENTERTAINMENT
April 10, 2008 | Carina Chocano
April is Joe Dante month at L.A.'s New Beverly Cinema.
ENTERTAINMENT
December 6, 2005 | PATRICK GOLDSTEIN, "The Big Picture" runs Tuesdays in Calendar. Questions or comments can be e-mailed to patrick.goldstein@latimes.com.
HOLLYWOOD has always been portrayed as a hotbed of liberal activism, so who would've imagined that its first full-blown anti-Iraq war movie would come not from a famous political loudmouth like Oliver Stone but from Joe Dante and Sam Hamm, a pair of horror-thriller aficionados? Their hourlong film "Homecoming" premiered Friday as part of Showtime's "Masters of Horror" series.
ENTERTAINMENT
August 21, 2004
Douglas MacKINNON's Counterpunch article ["Insert Bias in Films -- Deduct From the Bottom Line," Aug. 16] detailed his self-described "Republican" take as to how, if someone was to buy one of his screenplays, he "would do everything" in his power "to ensure that it contains no political viewpoint" and that if moviemakers "want to get into politics, then they can run for office, take out ads or make documentaries." May I humbly submit this is a lousy way to approach a career in movies, literature or art of any kind?
ENTERTAINMENT
July 5, 1998 | David Chute, David Chute is an occasional contributor to Calendar
Some people who love movies regard the rapid progress of special effects technology over the past decade as a threat to the medium's very soul. And when you see a picture like "Godzilla," it's tough to disagree. Are some high-tech movies getting made now simply because they can be? Almost certainly. But is it inherently impossible to make a soulful film that pulls out all the stops, technologically speaking? Joe Dante is a filmmaker better equipped than most to ponder such weighty issues.
NEWS
August 18, 1996 | Peter Rainer
As the schlock movie magnate Lawrence Woolsey in this 1993 movie John Goodman (pictured) is paunchy but battering-ram solid. Joe Dante, who directed "Matinee" from a script by Charlie Haas, has a genuine affection for Woolsey and for the whole madcap schlock-horror world. Dante is the movie-maven Peter Pan of film. (ABC Saturday at 9 p.m.).