Christina Ricci Goes Hollywood with Speed Racer

by Kevin Canfield | Published May. 9, 2008

A seasoned moviemaker at the age of 28, Christina Ricci has never been one to play by the rules. Ricci is surprising Hollywood again by starring in Speed Racer, her first big summer blockbuster, nearly two decades into her career. (No comments yet)

Tanna Frederick Lives the Hollywood Dream

by Jennifer M. Wood

It seems appropriate that actress Tanna Frederick's breakthrough came in a film called Hollywood Dreams, Henry Jaglom's tale of an aspiring actress who takes Hollywood by storm. With absolutely no connection to the movie business, the Iowa native has proven herself a force to be reckoned with—"determined" would be an understatement—and has found a kindred spirit in Jaglom, who can't say enough kind things about his new muse.

Jared Leto Throws His Weight Behind Chapter 27

by Mallory Potosky

For all the girls wondering how to get the key to Jared Leto's heart, here's part of the answer: Write an intriguing screenplay that allows him to spread his wings. That's all it took for writer-director Jarrett Schaefer to persuade Leto to star in his independent drama, Chapter 27, and throw his weight behind the film (quite literally) as an executive producer as well.

All HOP Stories

Dennis Farina Reveals What Happens in Vegas...

by Mallory Potosky
He’s been a part of some of the most critically acclaimed movies (Saving Private Ryan) and popular television shows (“Miami Vice,” “Law & Order”) of the past 30 years. But for Dennis Farina, the notion of making a living as an actor was not the first one that occurred to this son of blue-collar Chicago; his first career was as a beat cop in the City of Broad Shoulders. It was only after meeting director Michael Mann through a mutual friend that the actor best known for his wiseguy roles (Midnight Run, Get Shorty) and the occasional unorthodox ladies’ man (Sidewalks of New York, “Empire Falls”) landed his first role in the 1981 thriller, Thief. While Mann helped launch his career, Farina has gone on to work with a number of other strong auteur directors, including Steven Soderbergh (Out of Sight), Guy Ritchie (Snatch) and John Frankenheimer (Reindeer Games).

(No comments yet)

The Dark Knight Wins MovieTickets.com Challenge

by Melissa Rose Kimbler
This summer is unusually packed full of comic book and graphic novel adaptations, starring old favorites and some fresh faces. In light of this trend, MovieTickets.com ran a poll asking which superhero will win the summer's number one spot. Here’s what the online community had to say:
(1 comment)

Double Indemnity to Along Came Polly: The Greatest Insurance Films

courtesy of III
As the world continues its discussion of this year's Oscar winners and losers, the Insurance Information Institute has put together its own list of movies worth celebrating—those film in which insurance plays a starring role (a couple of them have even garnered Oscars of their own). Over the past 65 years, these films have featured Hollywood legends including Edward G. Robinson, Cary Grant and Faye Dunaway and in more recent years, popular actors such Jack Nicholson and Jennifer Aniston.
(No comments yet)

BAFTA Award Winners Announced

by Andrew Gnerre
This year’s British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award winners are official. In addition to the results that have become commonplace this awards season (Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem winning Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively), there were a few surprises, namely Atonement’s win for Best Picture. The British romance certainly benefited from a little home field advantage, beating out consistent frontrunners No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood to reclaim some of its post-Golden Globes momentum, right in time for the Oscars.
(1 comment)

Top 10 Movie Cities 2008

by Jennifer M. Wood
From Austin to Albuquerque and plenty of places in between, MovieMaker's eighth annual countdown of the 10 best places to live, work and make movies in the U.S. (36 comments)

All Latest Stories

#74: Spring 2008

These stories were published in the Spring 2008 MovieMaker Magazine.

Order this issue | Subscribe to MM

From the Archives

John Sayles: Genius on a Budget | Summer 2002
Alejandro González Iñárritu | Fall 2006
Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
Anthony MInghella: 1954 - 2008
Stephen Goldblatt's War on Film
Billy Wilder, Dudley Moore | Summer 2002
White (Makes Some) Noise | Fall 2003
10 Years of MovieMaker; 10 Years of Indie Film | Winter 2004
No Politics Allowed at New England’s Largest Film Festival
Low-Budget Horror Film a Career-maker for first-time moviemaker

Latest from the blog:

Kodak at Cannes

Since 1987 Kodak has been the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival, sponsoring the Camera d’Or prize that is awarded yearly to the best feature film by a first-time director. The tradition continues in 2008 when, for the fifth consecutive year, the festival will also hand out the Kodak Discovery Prize for Best Short Film.

“Cannes draws a huge number of filmmakers from all over the world every year, which gives Kodak a great opportunity to host our customers and show them how committed we are to the industry and to motion picture innovation,” says Kim Snyder, Kodak’s president and general manager of the Entertainment Imaging Division.

Posted 05.8.08 | News/Commentary | No comments yet...