Latest news with #TedTurner
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Kevin Spacey is back at Cannes. Not many people seem to care
Kevin Spacey's Cannes comeback is a discreet, low-key affair. The promenade is home to a gaggle of evening sunbathers while the steps to the beach club contain neither fans nor protesters. It is what is known in the trade as a soft relaunch. Spacey is guest of honour at the Better World Fund's gala dinner, where he is receiving a lifetime achievement award for 'excellence in film and television'. It marks a return to the limelight for the two-time Oscar-winner, whose career stalled after allegations of sexual assault and misconduct by more than 30 men. This is the actor's first visit to Cannes since 2016, one year before the #MeToo movement began. Inside the hotel beach club, the photographers jockey for position and complain of the party's lack of celebrity wattage. The more enterprising guests hold up their phones with their names displayed. The others risk going entirely unrecognised. 'There's no guestlist,' one photographer grumbles to his friend. 'Who even are these people?' Spacey's gala dinner is a breakaway event, not officially sanctioned by the Cannes film festival, although it takes place at the nearby Carlton hotel, the centrepiece berth for the event's A-list guests. The Better World Fund is a charitable foundation set up by the American entrepreneur Ted Turner, with a focus on the arts and a mission to 'build a more secure, prosperous world'. One of its longstanding supporters is the Indian-American film-maker Mira Nair, the director of Salaam Bombay! and Monsoon Wedding. On arriving, Nair says that she only learned of Spacey's invitation the day before. Asked if she is happy that the actor has been invited to the party, she says: 'I can say that I'm happy that I've been invited to the party. I'm happy that people are here, being honoured.' When Spacey belatedly appears on the red carpet, the photographers surge forward and knock over the cordon. Tables are upset and champagne glasses smashed. 'Thank you for coming,' he says, maintaining a stiff rictus smile, before pausing for a brief word with a TV crew. The actor ignores all further questions and is quickly steered past the gathered reporters. His gaze is fixed like a limpet on the dinner tables inside. Out on the prom, one lone demonstrator has now set up camp. Ramiro Magalhães is a Brazilian climate change activist who is in Cannes to protest against the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. He has a push-cart made up as a hospital stretcher, with the charred bough of a tree playing the role of the patient. Magalhães says he has never heard of Spacey. 'I don't know any actors,' he says. 'Is he a good actor?' Spacey, 65, is in Cannes for business as well as pleasure. He is starring in a low-budget independent thriller, The Awakening, that is being sold to foreign buyers inside the festival's Marché du Film. The Awakening's writer, producer and star, Matt Hookings, this week told reporters the actor's attendance at the gala dinner was part of a 'guerrilla marketing' campaign to promote the film. 'If anyone speaks to him, he could say he's in Cannes and receiving an award,' Hookings said. 'But he's also here with The Awakening, so the film gets plugged.' Inside the beach club, the guests take their seats for the dinner. Spacey will be hoping that the gala signals a new dawn. But out on the beach the sun was going down.
Sydney Morning Herald
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
10 iconic films that are finally streaming in Australia
I have a ritual when a new streaming service launches in Australia: I try to find the oldest movie available. Mostly I am disappointed. Classic Hollywood movies, very broadly from the introduction of the 'talkies' in the late 1920s through to late 1960s, are deeply under-represented in the streaming age (and other cinematic cultures, such as Japan or France, are essentially non-existent). Loading Timeless filmmaking just isn't a priority for commercial streaming services. If you search on Netflix, for example, the oldest movies in their 'classics' section are just two Hollywood releases from the 1960s – the 1966 western The Professionals and the 1969 counterculture salvo Easy Rider. Calling that minute selection tokenistic would be generous. But when Max launched at the start of this month I finally found satisfaction. Among the assets of Max's parent company, Warner Bros Discovery, is Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Launched in 1994 as a cable channel by media mogul Ted Turner, TCM holds the rights to significant Hollywood feature film libraries. TCM has its own hub on Max, debuting in Australia with approximately 100 initial titles and plans to add more. That number is just a drop in the ocean, but it's still a promising start and a terrific collection in itself. Whether you're unfamiliar with classic Hollywood movies or rediscovering the long unavailable works of iconic stars and celebrated directors, there's already much to enjoy on TCM. Here are 10 recommendations to get you under way. An American in Paris (1951) Culminating in a magical 17-minute dance sequence where stars Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron high-step their way through 44 different sets, this stylised Hollywood musical was a best picture winner at the Academy Awards. With Kelly as the expatriate artist caught between a wealthy older woman (Nina Foch) and an ingenue (Caron), the story is familiar, but every technical aspect is inspired, and the stars give off sparks. For fans of: La La Land. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) Fresh from Broadway, Mike Nichols captured every lacerating verbal blow in his adaptation of Edward Albee's play about sparring married adversaries (Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton) who bring a younger couple (George Segal and Sandy Dennis) into their alcohol-soaked world of mutual torment and shattered illusions. Marriage is a crucible in this chamber piece where every edge cuts to the bone. For fans of: Big Little Lies, Sharp Objects. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) The film that invented the teenager. 'That's a new disease,' Natalie Wood's high school student Judy notes after meeting James Dean's disaffected fellow student, Jim. Nicholas Ray's potent melodrama turns the coming-of-age tale into a troubled quest to stay afloat amidst parental condemnation and exploitative peers. Dean's brooding performance is the definition of iconic. For fans of: The O.C., Heartbreak High. Dial M for Murder (1954) This knotty crime thriller, which boasts a fascinating and unexpected performance from Grace Kelly, is generally not considered a top-tier Alfred Hitchcock film, but the film's mordant humour and sharply visual storytelling have aged exceptionally well. Ray Milland's cold-hearted former professional athlete plots to have his unfaithful wife (Kelly) murdered to get the insurance money, but his plan goes awry. For fans of: Killing Eve, Fargo. Loading Adam's Rib (1949) Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were one of Hollywood's great screen couples, and this pithy, prescient romantic-comedy about married New York lawyers on either side of a hot-button case involving adultery is a standout collaboration. George Cukor's direction leans into the high-spirited, making for a battle of the sexes that highlights the feisty, fertile dynamic between the two leads. For fans of: LA Law, Suits. A Clockwork Orange (1971) Withdrawn from circulation for decades following controversy about its subject and copycat crimes upon release, Stanley Kubrick's dystopian drama about the criminal journey of a bored British teenager (Malcolm McDowell's Alex) is the director indulging both his cold eye for violence and a satirical approach that is particularly uncompromising. The crime comes with punishment (and plenty of Beethoven), as Kubrick works over the audience's sympathies. For fans of: Fight Club. Gaslight (1944) Yes, it's the movie that inspired the now much-used term. Ingrid Bergman plays a wife psychologically tormented by her gold-digging husband (Charles Boyer), who uses false accusations, conniving interpretations and blanket denials to dislodge her sanity. Marital bliss is a cruel illusion in this mix of noir menace and haunted house unease, and Bergman gives a full-blooded performance as a woman taken to her absolute limits. Ninotchka (1939) This witty, urbane screwball comedy where personal pleasure proves too much for state ideology has a timeless appeal. Greta Garbo, the sternest of Hollywood leading ladies, plays a Soviet commissar sent to Paris to fix a trade deal gone awry. But she comes up against a charmingly dissolute Russian exile (Melvyn Douglas), whose attempts to sabotage her mission turns into a livewire romantic attraction. Loading For fans of: Bridgerton, Gilmore Girls. The Maltese Falcon (1941) In the legendary John Huston's directorial debut, Humphrey Bogart plays Sam Spade, a San Francisco private eye who gets caught up in the murderous competition between rivals pursuing the priceless titular artifact. It's a tight, coolly executed crime thriller, with a memorable supporting cast of nefarious contenders, each of whom is open to negotiation and a double-cross. Greed's corrupting force has rarely been so entertaining. For fans of: Perry Mason. The Searchers (1956) TCM has some excellent westerns, but I can't go past John Ford's compelling collaboration with John Wayne, which took the leading man's stoic heroism and turned it into vengeful self-loathing. Wayne plays a Civil War veteran whose niece (once again, Natalie Wood) is kidnapped by Native Americans – he spends years in a brutal pursuit, even as his motivation darkens. The final shot is an all-time heartbreaker.
The Age
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
10 iconic films that are finally streaming in Australia
I have a ritual when a new streaming service launches in Australia: I try to find the oldest movie available. Mostly I am disappointed. Classic Hollywood movies, very broadly from the introduction of the 'talkies' in the late 1920s through to late 1960s, are deeply under-represented in the streaming age (and other cinematic cultures, such as Japan or France, are essentially non-existent). Loading Timeless filmmaking just isn't a priority for commercial streaming services. If you search on Netflix, for example, the oldest movies in their 'classics' section are just two Hollywood releases from the 1960s – the 1966 western The Professionals and the 1969 counterculture salvo Easy Rider. Calling that minute selection tokenistic would be generous. But when Max launched at the start of this month I finally found satisfaction. Among the assets of Max's parent company, Warner Bros Discovery, is Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Launched in 1994 as a cable channel by media mogul Ted Turner, TCM holds the rights to significant Hollywood feature film libraries. TCM has its own hub on Max, debuting in Australia with approximately 100 initial titles and plans to add more. That number is just a drop in the ocean, but it's still a promising start and a terrific collection in itself. Whether you're unfamiliar with classic Hollywood movies or rediscovering the long unavailable works of iconic stars and celebrated directors, there's already much to enjoy on TCM. Here are 10 recommendations to get you under way. An American in Paris (1951) Culminating in a magical 17-minute dance sequence where stars Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron high-step their way through 44 different sets, this stylised Hollywood musical was a best picture winner at the Academy Awards. With Kelly as the expatriate artist caught between a wealthy older woman (Nina Foch) and an ingenue (Caron), the story is familiar, but every technical aspect is inspired, and the stars give off sparks. For fans of: La La Land. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) Fresh from Broadway, Mike Nichols captured every lacerating verbal blow in his adaptation of Edward Albee's play about sparring married adversaries (Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton) who bring a younger couple (George Segal and Sandy Dennis) into their alcohol-soaked world of mutual torment and shattered illusions. Marriage is a crucible in this chamber piece where every edge cuts to the bone. For fans of: Big Little Lies, Sharp Objects. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) The film that invented the teenager. 'That's a new disease,' Natalie Wood's high school student Judy notes after meeting James Dean's disaffected fellow student, Jim. Nicholas Ray's potent melodrama turns the coming-of-age tale into a troubled quest to stay afloat amidst parental condemnation and exploitative peers. Dean's brooding performance is the definition of iconic. For fans of: The O.C., Heartbreak High. Dial M for Murder (1954) This knotty crime thriller, which boasts a fascinating and unexpected performance from Grace Kelly, is generally not considered a top-tier Alfred Hitchcock film, but the film's mordant humour and sharply visual storytelling have aged exceptionally well. Ray Milland's cold-hearted former professional athlete plots to have his unfaithful wife (Kelly) murdered to get the insurance money, but his plan goes awry. For fans of: Killing Eve, Fargo. Loading Adam's Rib (1949) Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were one of Hollywood's great screen couples, and this pithy, prescient romantic-comedy about married New York lawyers on either side of a hot-button case involving adultery is a standout collaboration. George Cukor's direction leans into the high-spirited, making for a battle of the sexes that highlights the feisty, fertile dynamic between the two leads. For fans of: LA Law, Suits. A Clockwork Orange (1971) Withdrawn from circulation for decades following controversy about its subject and copycat crimes upon release, Stanley Kubrick's dystopian drama about the criminal journey of a bored British teenager (Malcolm McDowell's Alex) is the director indulging both his cold eye for violence and a satirical approach that is particularly uncompromising. The crime comes with punishment (and plenty of Beethoven), as Kubrick works over the audience's sympathies. For fans of: Fight Club. Gaslight (1944) Yes, it's the movie that inspired the now much-used term. Ingrid Bergman plays a wife psychologically tormented by her gold-digging husband (Charles Boyer), who uses false accusations, conniving interpretations and blanket denials to dislodge her sanity. Marital bliss is a cruel illusion in this mix of noir menace and haunted house unease, and Bergman gives a full-blooded performance as a woman taken to her absolute limits. Ninotchka (1939) This witty, urbane screwball comedy where personal pleasure proves too much for state ideology has a timeless appeal. Greta Garbo, the sternest of Hollywood leading ladies, plays a Soviet commissar sent to Paris to fix a trade deal gone awry. But she comes up against a charmingly dissolute Russian exile (Melvyn Douglas), whose attempts to sabotage her mission turns into a livewire romantic attraction. Loading For fans of: Bridgerton, Gilmore Girls. The Maltese Falcon (1941) In the legendary John Huston's directorial debut, Humphrey Bogart plays Sam Spade, a San Francisco private eye who gets caught up in the murderous competition between rivals pursuing the priceless titular artifact. It's a tight, coolly executed crime thriller, with a memorable supporting cast of nefarious contenders, each of whom is open to negotiation and a double-cross. Greed's corrupting force has rarely been so entertaining. For fans of: Perry Mason. The Searchers (1956) TCM has some excellent westerns, but I can't go past John Ford's compelling collaboration with John Wayne, which took the leading man's stoic heroism and turned it into vengeful self-loathing. Wayne plays a Civil War veteran whose niece (once again, Natalie Wood) is kidnapped by Native Americans – he spends years in a brutal pursuit, even as his motivation darkens. The final shot is an all-time heartbreaker.
