NEWS
January 15, 2014 | By Daniel Rothberg
Rhode Island, pay attention: Your favorite film is apparently "Hachi: A Dog's Tale. " A map posted on Reddit earlier this week charts the most popular film set in each state, and some results are surprising, especially for the nation's smallest state. Based on a true story, "Hachi" debuted in 2009, starring Richard Gere and Joan Allen. It follows a college professor who adopts an abandoned dog with a penchant for waiting at train stations. The map was compiled using ratings on the Internet Movie Database and "Hachi " received an 8.2 out of 10. But it doesn't exactly have the same blockbuster status as “Dumb and Dumber,” which also takes place in Rhode Island.
ENTERTAINMENT
December 6, 2013 | By Ryan Faughnder
Nelson Mandela, who fought for decades to end racial oppression in South Africa, has died just weeks before the wide release of a movie telling the story of his life. The film, titled "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," chronicles its subject's early life, the quarter-century he spent in prison, and his rise to become the first-ever black president of South Africa. He has since remained a symbol of the long fight against the apartheid regime. Mandela is played by the British actor Idris Elba in the film, which is set to debut in theaters across the U.S. on Christmas Day. The movie is being distributed by the Weinstein Co. and was directed by Justin Chadwick. PHOTOS: Actors who've portrayed Nelson Mandela on screen It has already built some momentum during its limited release.
ENTERTAINMENT
September 27, 2013 | By Nicole Sperling
Being the son of an obsessive filmmaker means your life already has a destiny, whether intended or not. That was certainly the case for Jonás Cuarón, the eldest son of Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón. Young Jonás spent weeks on his father's first feature, 1991's "Love in the Time of Hysteria. " He had a small role in his father's second film, 1995's "A Little Princess," and attended school on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. "He was so happy," remembered Alfonso. "He was the only boy surrounded by 20 girls.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
August 7, 2013 | By Steve Chawkins
Margaret Pellegrini, one of the last of the 124 little people who played Munchkins in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz," died Wednesday at her Glendale, Ariz., home. She was 89. The 4-foot-tall Pellegrini, a frequent guest of honor at "Oz" festivals around the U.S., had been in declining health since a stroke in March, said Colleen Zimmer, an organizer of the annual Oz-Stravaganza festival in Chittenango, N.Y., birthplace of "Oz" author L. Frank Baum. Illness kept Pellegrini from serving as grand marshal at this year's event.
NEWS
May 31, 2013 | By David A. Keeps
School's out, your parents are annoying and suburban Ohio is totally boring. For the three teenage protagonists in "The Kings of Summer," there's only one antidote: Build a house in the woods. For the CBS Films coming-of-age comedy, which premieres in Los Angeles and New York on Friday and will roll out across the U.S this summer, director Jordan Vogt-Campbell envisioned a scrap-pile sanctuary -- one that young people could have realistically built on a bare-bones budget. The result is a charming, patchwork example of ingenuity and craftiness.
ENTERTAINMENT
May 15, 2013 | By Glenn Whipp
Angry Birds will be flying into movie theaters in July 2016 with Sony announcing Wednesday that it has acquired the worldwide rights to the ubiquitous game franchise. The 3-D CG-animated movie will be developed and financed by Rovio Entertainment, the Finnish gaming company that created "Angry Birds. " John Cohen, who most recently produced Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures' "Despicable Me," will produce. Since its debut in December 2009, the "Angry Birds" game and its offshoots have been downloaded more than 1.7 billion times.