Robert Towne, Oscar-winning screenwriter of Chinatown and other classics, dead at 89

Robert Towne, Oscar-winning screenwriter of Chinatown and other classics, dead at 89

Robert Towne, the Oscar-winning screenplay writer of Shampoo, The Last Detail and other acclaimed films, whose work on Chinatown became a model of the art form and helped define the jaded allure of his native Los Angeles, died Monday surrounded by family at his home there, said publicist Carri McClure. She declined to comment on any cause of death. … Read more

‘China is full of contrasts’: how Oscar win meant Ruby Yang Aids documentary was shut out

‘China is full of contrasts’: how Oscar win meant Ruby Yang Aids documentary was shut out

“M+ has acquired prints of ours, two of Lambert’s works and three of mine,” says Yang. “They also paid for their restoration in digital format and have licensed the films to show in perpetuity. We donated the 16mm prints to them and they have become part of the M+ permanent collection.” Yang and Lambert Yam … Read more

Super Size Me filmmaker Morgan Spurlock dead at 53

Super Size Me filmmaker Morgan Spurlock dead at 53

Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, an Oscar nominee who ate only at McDonald’s for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet, has died. He was 53. Spurlock died Thursday in New York from complications of cancer, according to a statement issued Friday by his family. “It was a sad day, as we said … Read more

Prolific ‘king of B movies’ filmmaker Roger Corman dead at 98

Prolific ‘king of B movies’ filmmaker Roger Corman dead at 98

Low-budget cinema maestro Roger Corman, who cranked out hundreds of outrageous films over six decades and helped launch the careers of acclaimed directors Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron and Ron Howard, died on Thursday at age 98, family members said. Corman, a producer and director hailed as the “king of B movies,” died … Read more

What Japanese moviegoers have to say about Oppenheimer as it debuts on Hiroshima, Nagasaki screens

What Japanese moviegoers have to say about Oppenheimer as it debuts on Hiroshima, Nagasaki screens

Oppenheimer finally premiered Friday in the nation where two cities were obliterated 79 years ago by the nuclear weapons invented by the American scientist who was the subject of the Oscar-winning film. The reviews of Japanese filmgoers who spoke to reporters were understandably mixed and highly emotional. The film’s release in Japan, more than eight … Read more

An Oscar changed everything for this public school instrument repair shop 

An Oscar changed everything for this public school instrument repair shop 

As It Happens6:21An Oscar changed everything for this public school instrument repair shop Steve Bagmanyan is putting retirement on hold — and he couldn’t be more thrilled about it. Bagmanyan is the supervisor at a warehouse in Los Angeles, where a small, but mighty, team of music lovers repair musical instruments for thousands of public … Read more

Ukraine Oscar Winner Mstyslav Chernov Talks to VOA About His Film

Ukraine Oscar Winner Mstyslav Chernov Talks to VOA About His Film

This month’s Academy Awards ceremony saw a big first for Ukraine as Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol” won the best documentary Oscar. The film is a first-person account of being in the eastern Ukrainian city during the first weeks of Russia’s invasion. Khrystyna Shevchenko talked with Chernov. Anna Rice has that story. Read original … Read more

20 Days in Mariupol win cut from Oscars international broadcast

20 Days in Mariupol win cut from Oscars international broadcast

The shortened version of the international broadcast of the 96th Oscars faced harsh criticism in Ukraine for omitting the segment announcing the documentary feature award, which went to Mstyslav Chernov’s 20 Days in Mariupol. The documentary, a collaboration between The Associated Press and PBS’s Frontline, is a harrowing first-person account set in the Ukrainian port city during … Read more

And the Oscar Goes To … The Movie Most People Have Seen 

And the Oscar Goes To … The Movie Most People Have Seen 

The Oscars are poised to do something on Sunday that they haven’t done in a very long time: Hand its top award to a blockbuster. After years of favoring smaller movies such as “The Shape of Water” and “Nomadland,” the clear best-picture favorite “Oppenheimer” — with just shy of $1 billion in tickets sold — … Read more

Oppenheimer’s top prize at SAG Awards adds to momentum as Oscars draw closer

Oppenheimer’s top prize at SAG Awards adds to momentum as Oscars draw closer

Oppenheimer continued to steamroll through Hollywood’s awards season on Saturday, winning the top prize, for outstanding cast, along with awards for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., at the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards. As the Academy Awards draw closer, Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic — already a winner at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs — … Read more