Latest news with #GoldenAgeHollywood
Time Out
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The 50 best fantasy movies of all time
A groundbreaker in several ways, Robert Zemeckis's truly looney half-'toon, half-live action comedy sendup presents an alternate-dimension vision of Golden Age Hollywood, one where 2D stars like Bugs Bunny walk off the screen and commingle with their flesh-and-blood peers. Of its many innovations, the most impressive might be its deployment of a primordial multiverse concept, with characters from the Disney universe sharing space with those from Warner Bros. and Universal. Trust us: in the days before mass corporate consolidation, the idea of seeing Mickey Mouse and Daffy Duck in the same movie was mind-blowing. Magic moment: Private investigator Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) drives into Toontown, where he's serenaded by a cheery chorus of anthropomorphic trees, animals and a goofily grinning sun.
New York Post
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Dennis Morgan's former LA home can be yours for $8.5M
This Mediterranean revival estate near Los Angeles has a lot to brag about. The home in La Cañada Flintridge was designed in 1927 by trailblazing architect Paul R. Williams, the designer of iconic commercial buildings and residences across California and the first African-American member of the American Institute of Architects. The residence later served as a retreat for Golden Age Hollywood actor Dennis Morgan. On top of its Californian bona fides, the sprawling property boasts an super-sized swimming pool. Now, this 1.2-acre estate can be yours for $8.5 million — marking its first sale in decades. Advertisement 'It's a truly magnificent, almost fossilized home,' Compass agent George Penner told The Post. 'It captures the spirit of Hollywood and Los Angeles in the 1930s.' 19 The grounds include unique structures like an observatory and a tea house. Sterling Reed Photography 19 The living room. Sterling Reed Photography Advertisement 19 Former resident Dennis Morgan appeared in Hollywood musicals and movies throughout the 1940s. Kobal / Shutterstock The primary estate residence, designed by Williams, includes four bedrooms across 8,156 square feet. Painstakingly crafted details are sprinkled throughout the home, including hand-painted stenciled ceilings, black and white marble floors, tile mosaics and stained glass. Specialty rooms include a paneled library, a music room and a basement wine cellar. 19 The home's reception hall with 20-foot ceilings. Sterling Reed Photography Advertisement 19 The formal dining room features a stained glass window. Sterling Reed Photography 19 The library. Sterling Reed Photography 19 The faux bois tea house, built in 1929. Sterling Reed Photography 19 The wonderful interior of the tea house. Sterling Reed Photography Advertisement 19 A one-bedroom casita. Sterling Reed Photography 19 The guest house includes an observatory and a two-car garage. Sterling Reed Photography 19 The guest house interior. Sterling Reed Photography The estate's grounds, nestled in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains, includes a garden, two greenhouses, a one-bedroom casita and a faux bois tea house built by a Japanese artisan in 1929. A two-bedroom guest house features a look-out 'observatory' and a two-car garage. Then, there's the swimming pool. 19 Penner said the Olympic-size pool draws a great deal of attention. Sterling Reed Photography 19 An aerial of the swimming pool. Cameron Carothers Photos 19 A garden fountain. Sterling Reed Photography Advertisement 19 Scattered sunlight hits a mosaic wall. Sterling Reed Photography 'Everyone seems to comment about the Olympic-size pool, because it's so unusual to have such an enormous, opulent pool for a single family home,' Penner said. Architect Paul R. Williams built the residence early in his career for attorney James Degnan. Williams went on to design homes for the likes of Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball. '[Williams] was a real trailblazer, and certainly the most prolific African-American architect of the 20th century, certainly in California,' Penner said. 'To do work of this incredible level in 1927 is, I think, extraordinary.' Advertisement Gina Guerra has lived in the home with her family since they purchased it for $2.07 million in 1999. The Guerras inherited the home's well-preserved — but 'quite run down' — architectural details, like original tiling and light fixtures, alongside stories of Errol Flynn partying on the property. Guerra told The Post that the family focused on restoration, rather than renovation, through their years of ownership, although upgrades to the kitchen and bathrooms were necessary. 19 Descendants of James Degnan gifted Guerra vintage photos of the property. 19 The dining room. Advertisement 19 The tiled fountain. 19 A vintage view of the observatory. Guerra added the property's expansive green space and multiple greenhouses turned her into an avid gardener. 'I'm now in the Garden Club of America judging program for horticulture, so it really took me down this whole path that I never expected in my life,' Guerra said. 'I hope another family moves in, raises their kids here and loves it the way we do.'
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Prue Skene, CEO of Ballet Rambert and potent behind-the-scenes force in British arts
Prue Skene, who has died aged 81, was a gifted cultural administrator and a discreetly potent force in the British performing arts. She began in the 1970s; her principal domain was dance. Compared to most attracted to that art form, she was inspired relatively late in life – at the age of 30, after seeing the work of New York choreographer Twyla Tharp at London's Roundhouse, where Prue was employed as a secretary. It was there that she also caught a performance by Ballet Rambert, which had been Britain's first independent classical dance company when it was founded in 1926, but had latterly become 'contemporary' – still a novel tag in 1970s London. She was instantly taken by Rambert's The Parades Gone By, a funky, high-camp piece by the late Lindsay Kemp that parodied Golden Age Hollywood, and never looked back. Prue Skene campaigned tirelessly on behalf of Rambert's daring output, finessing international tours, supporting its choreographers and dancers, and becoming its much-loved and reliable executive director (1975 to 1986), then later board chair (2000 to 2009). She also brought her lightness of touch and unswerving advisory hand to other pioneering companies, including the English Shakespeare Company in the late 1980s and, in 2016, Cardboard Citizens, a project bringing in the homeless to create theatre, where she was also chair. As one Rambert colleague put it: 'If Prue said something, it would happen.' Prudence Patricia Skene was born in Amersham in 1944, the second of four children to Phyllis and Robert Skene, and educated at the Francis Holland School when the family moved from Buckinghamshire to London after the war. Her parents had met at Oxford University but Prue showed no signs of following them there. Nor did she recall culture being high on the agenda in a comfortable home, though did think she was taken to the Opera House, where she felt sure she had seen the ballerina Margot Fonteyn but was unable to confirm it. She moved into secretarial work, which brought her to the Roundhouse, considered edgy and rough, almost 'fringe', in the 1960s and 1970s. Huge bands of the era – The Who, Pink Floyd – played there at weekends but they weren't for Prue Skene, not least because she was a weekday worker and went home on Fridays. She came into her own when invited to help administer the dance company that had so electrified her. One of Rambert's great hits was Cruel Garden, designed by Kemp and Ralph Koltai, and choreographed by Christopher Bruce, an important associate director at Rambert. Based on the works, and murder, of the Andalusian poet Federico García Lorca, the piece was made precisely for the Roundhouse space, premiering in 1977. For Skene it remained perhaps the company's signature show. In 1985, she married Brian Wray, marketing director at Imperial Tobacco (cigarette companies then being acceptable arts sponsors) and they made a life together in Bath. This marked a career pause. But within six years she was at Arts Council England, becoming a significant and astute force in the distribution of National Lottery funds to arts organisations. The list of posts she occupied was prodigiously long, and included executive producer of the English Shakespeare Company; director of the Arts Foundation; and trustee of the Nureyev Foundation. As chair at Cardboard Citizens, she showed her trademark steadiness. Founder and former CEO Adrian Jackson recalls: 'Prue was very determined and committed. As CEO life is sometimes easier with a pliant chair: Prue was not that. She tended to get what she wanted.' And few knew about her weaving skills. To a niece in the British Library once, looking together in the entrance hall at a huge tapestry If Not, Not (after RB Kitaj's mid-1970s painting), Prue said: 'I cut the last thread on that: same as launching a boat – smashing a bottle on the prow!' Skene was as modest as she was multi-talented. In 2000 she was appointed CBE for her services to the arts. Brian Wray died in 2002. Skene then shared her life with actor Michael Pennington, who survives her. Prue Skene, born January 9 1944, died March 5 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Arzner cinema: 'It's a judgement-free zone'
In the words of the owners of a newly-opened cinema in south London: "We have a very niche offering, but a very dedicated audience". The Arzner, in Bermondsey Square, is billed as the only cinema in the capital dedicated solely to screening LGBTQ+ films, and Piers Greenlees and Simon Burke hope it will become a "safe, creative space for the queer community". It will offer a mix of cult classics, indie favourites and festival hits which are all about, by, or related to the LGBTQ+ community. Mr Greenlees and Mr Burke, the Arzner's co-founders, said people could "come and watch queer cinema any night of the week". The pair, who have known each other for more than 10 years, already own the Rising, a queer-focused pub in Bermondsey which opened in April last year. They want the Arzner to be a space that isn't heavily focused on drinking - although the cafe bar does offer bespoke cocktails named after Golden Age Hollywood icons like Rock Hudson and Marline Dietrich. Mr Greenlees said the venue created a pressure-free environment for all: "You can come as you are, it's a judgement-free zone." The cinema's programming consists of films related to LGBTQ+ experiences or made by queer individuals but are also "interesting films that will appeal to a much wider audience as well". Cult classics like Jennifer's Body and Girl, Interrupted are on the schedule, as well as more recent awards season offerings such as Call Me By Your Name and Moonlight. Classic films - think the Wizard of Oz and Sunset Boulevard - also feature. Mr Burke said he and Mr Greenlees have responded to a demand for more queer spaces - and audiences wanted to watch films not often shown in mainstream big screen cinemas. London-based film critic Jasmine Valentine said there was a distinct lack of permanent, LGBTQ+ creative spaces in the city. Although there are increasingly more queer films and filmmakers operating in Hollywood, the screenings themselves are still often limited to film festivals like BFI Flare, or curated seasons at mainstream venues. "We've never had an LGBT cinema before. We've had places that have done festivals or they've done pop-up events, but they've never been permanent. It's always been temporary," she said. She added: "As a queer woman myself, it's that you don't have a permanent space in the city, it's either a fleeting event that's on for a week, or it's somewhere that gets shut down or the funding stops. "So for this to come along and say, 'yes, we're going to be here, this is our art, and we're going to be here permanently for the LGBT community and for London', I mean, we couldn't ask for more." Dorothy Arzner The cinema is named after Dorothy Arzner, the only female director working in Hollywood from 1927 to 1943. She was in a public relationship for 40 years with choreographer Marion Morgan and had a significant - yet little known - contribution to Hollywood history, having invented the boom mic, discovered actresses Katherine Hepburn and Lucille Ball and taught Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola. Many of Arzner's films had a theme of unconventional romance: The Wild Party is about a college student who is attracted to one of her teachers, Honor Among Lovers is about a businessman attracted to his secretary, and Christopher Strong is a tale of illicit love among the English aristocracy. Mr Greenlees said they wanted to put Dorothy Arzner "front and centre" of the only queer cinema in London and naming the cinema was about "being proud in who we are and the entertainment we provide". Mr Burke also hoped that using her name and likeness would help attract wider audiences. He said: "There's quite a lot of focus on gay male spaces and we want this to be a very diverse and mixed space and the lesbian voice in that is really important. "Hopefully that will feed into the demographic of people we're here to serve." According to the 2023 census, Bermondsey is home to the highest number of LGBTQ+ people in London, and the Arzner has already been embraced by the community. Erin McKeown, who moved to the area two years ago, said: "This is on my doorstep and kind of brings everything that I love together in one place - queer cinema, building queer community, and having lovely cocktails on the side. "It is basically everything that I could want and hope for in a queer space." The Arzner is already receiving international attention, with visitors coming from the Netherlands and messages from America and Asia. "They want to know how they can get involved - if their films can be shown here - so seeing that response from both the community and the industry has been just phenomenal," said Mr Greenlees. Globally, box office revenue is declining and London venues like the Prince Charles Cinema have come under threat, Mr Burke and Mr Greenlees are optimistic they are here to stay. "We've put quite a lot of time into the business plan of this space to make sure that we're here for the community and that we can thrive here. "We absolutely see this as a commercially viable as well as a culturally important space." London's 'first dedicated LGBTQ+ cinema' approved Beloved West End cinema fighting for its future UK box office still below pre-pandemic levels, but BFI chief optimistic
BBC News
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The Arzner cinema: 'Come as you are, it's a judgement-free zone'
In the words of the owners of a newly-opened cinema in south London: "We have a very niche offering, but a very dedicated audience".The Arzner, in Bermondsey Square, is billed as the only cinema in the capital dedicated solely to screening LGBTQ+ films, and Piers Greenlees and Simon Burke hope it will become a "safe, creative space for the queer community".It will offer a mix of cult classics, indie favourites and festival hits which are all about, by, or related to the LGBTQ+ Greenlees and Mr Burke, the Arzner's co-founders, said people could "come and watch queer cinema any night of the week". The pair, who have known each other for more than 10 years, already own the Rising, a queer-focused pub in Bermondsey which opened in April last want the Arzner to be a space that isn't heavily focused on drinking - although the cafe bar does offer bespoke cocktails named after Golden Age Hollywood icons like Rock Hudson and Marline Greenlees said the venue created a pressure-free environment for all: "You can come as you are, it's a judgement-free zone." The cinema's programming consists of films related to LGBTQ+ experiences or made by queer individuals but are also "interesting films that will appeal to a much wider audience as well".Cult classics like Jennifer's Body and Girl, Interrupted are on the schedule, as well as more recent awards season offerings such as Call Me By Your Name and films - think the Wizard of Oz and Sunset Boulevard - also Burke said he and Mr Greenlees have responded to a demand for more queer spaces - and audiences wanted to watch films not often shown in mainstream big screen cinemas. London-based film critic Jasmine Valentine said there was a distinct lack of permanent, LGBTQ+ creative spaces in the there are increasingly more queer films and filmmakers operating in Hollywood, the screenings themselves are still often limited to film festivals like BFI Flare, or curated seasons at mainstream venues."We've never had an LGBT cinema before. We've had places that have done festivals or they've done pop-up events, but they've never been permanent. It's always been temporary," she added: "As a queer woman myself, it's that you don't have a permanent space in the city, it's either a fleeting event that's on for a week, or it's somewhere that gets shut down or the funding stops."So for this to come along and say, 'yes, we're going to be here, this is our art, and we're going to be here permanently for the LGBT community and for London', I mean, we couldn't ask for more." Dorothy ArznerThe cinema is named after Dorothy Arzner, the only female director working in Hollywood from 1927 to was in a public relationship for 40 years with choreographer Marion Morgan and had a significant - yet little known - contribution to Hollywood history, having invented the boom mic, discovered actresses Katherine Hepburn and Lucille Ball and taught Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola. Many of Arzner's films had a theme of unconventional romance: The Wild Party is about a college student who is attracted to one of her teachers, Honor Among Lovers is about a businessman attracted to his secretary, and Christopher Strong is a tale of illicit love among the English aristocracy. Mr Greenlees said they wanted to put Dorothy Arzner "front and centre" of the only queer cinema in London and naming the cinema was about "being proud in who we are and the entertainment we provide".Mr Burke also hoped that using her name and likeness would help attract wider said: "There's quite a lot of focus on gay male spaces and we want this to be a very diverse and mixed space and the lesbian voice in that is really important."Hopefully that will feed into the demographic of people we're here to serve." According to the 2023 census, Bermondsey is home to the highest number of LGBTQ+ people in London, and the Arzner has already been embraced by the McKeown, who moved to the area two years ago, said: "This is on my doorstep and kind of brings everything that I love together in one place - queer cinema, building queer community, and having lovely cocktails on the side."It is basically everything that I could want and hope for in a queer space." The Arzner is already receiving international attention, with visitors coming from the Netherlands and messages from America and Asia."They want to know how they can get involved - if their films can be shown here - so seeing that response from both the community and the industry has been just phenomenal," said Mr box office revenue is declining and London venues like the Prince Charles Cinema have come under threat, Mr Burke and Mr Greenlees are optimistic they are here to stay. "We've put quite a lot of time into the business plan of this space to make sure that we're here for the community and that we can thrive here."We absolutely see this as a commercially viable as well as a culturally important space."
