Latest news with #TheIrishman
Pink Villa
21 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
8 Movies Like The Shawshank Redemption to Add to Your Watch List: The Irishman to A Beautiful Mind
The Shawshank Redemption is the one movie that worked as a progressive arc for the industry. Not only were the fans hooked to the screens till the end, but they were also left craving for more. The Morgan Freeman starrer was up for the Academy Awards, but the cast and the crew of the film were left with no prize. The film is based on the central theme of Hope, and below are some movies like The Shawshank Redemption. The Irishman Director: Martin Scorsese Release Year: 2019 Genre: Crime/Drama IMDB Rating: 7.8 Where to Watch: Netflix The Irishman is a perfect watch for fans of the crime and thriller genres. The Martin Scorsese directorial is set in the town of Pennsylvania, where a truck driver, portrayed by the legendary Robert de Niro, goes on to become the top hitman. He also gets involved with the powerful Teamster, who has ties to the criminals. The film also stars Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. The movie resonates well with The Shawshank Redemption as it is well settled on the theme of prison survival. 12 Years a Slave Director: Steve McQueen Release Year: 2014 Genre: Drama/History IMDB Rating: 8.1/10 Where to Watch: Apple TV Based on the true and tragic story of Solomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave is a heart-wrenching film. The fans of The Shawshank Redemption would love the movie, considering it features elements of slavery, prison, and the hope and human spirit winning in the end. The film stars Chiwetel, playing the lead role. The plot of the movie revolves around a freeman being offered a job as a musician in the US. However, upon reaching, Northup is drugged and sent into the slave prison. Brad Pitt also makes an appearance in this cinematic piece that won three Oscars. The Pursuit of Happyness Director: Gabriele Muccino Release Year: 2007 Genre: Family/Drama IMDB Rating: 8/10 Where to Watch: Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Will Smith proves his potential in The Pursuit of Happyness. The movie is based on the theme of motivation and hope, similar to that of The Shawshank Redemption. The story of the cinematic piece revolves around Chris Gardner, who is attempting to improve his life for himself and his son, whose custody is with Chris after his wife left him. The Oscar-winning film is most likely to leave the audience weeping. The Green Mile Director: Frank Darabont Release Year: 2000 Genre: Fantasy/Drama IMDB Rating: 8.6/10 Where to Watch: Amazon Prime The Green Mile is quite similar to The Shawshank Redemption on many levels. The 2000 film stars Tom Hanks and Michael Clark Duncan as the lead characters. They play the roles of the prison guard and the prisoner, respectively. The movie is hailed by the same director as the former one and tells the tale of a black man who is convicted of the murder of two girls. When Paul Edgecomb, played by Hanks, meets the prisoner, his life changes, knowing that the latter possesses special skills. The movie received four Oscar nominations that year. Scent of a Woman The screens light up with Al Pacino's presence in Scent of a Woman. The movie is a perfect choice for fans of the thriller genre. The film revolves around a preschool student who is in desperate need of money. To earn a living, he agrees to help a visually impaired Colonel as his caregiver. Lesser known to the student, portrayed by Chris O'Donnell, the latter has motives of his own. The movie was up for Oscars, and Al Pacino went on to win it in the category of Best Actor. The Pelican Brief Director: Alan J. Pakula Release Year: 1993 Genre: Thriller/Crime IMDB Rating: 6.6 Where to Watch: Apple TV Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts starrer The Pelican Brief is set against the backdrop of a whodunnit. The plot of the film states that when two Supreme Court judges are killed, a college student, Sam, is given the intel on who the murderer is. Shortly after, Sam is assassinated, and it is all on his girlfriend, Darcy, to find out the truth. Fans of The Shawshank Redemption are sure to love it, as, just like Frank Darabont directorial, The Pelican Brief also talks about hope and following one's instincts. A Beautiful Mind Director: Ron Howard Release Year: 2000 Genre: Thriller/Romance IMDB Rating: 8.3 Where to Watch: Amazon Prime, Apple TV Ron Howard struck gold with A Beautiful Mind. When a genius mathematician, Josh Nash, believes himself to be in a lot of pain, he discovers he is suffering from a disorder. The movie stars Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly. Moreover, fans of The Shawshank Redemption are in for a treat, as the film tells the tale of a triumph for the human spirit and freedom. The movie also won four Oscars in 2001. Shutter Island Director: Martin Scorsese Release Year: 2010 Genre: Thriller/Mystery IMDB Rating: 8.2/10 Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Shutter Island proves to be one of Leonardo DiCaprio 's best works. The movie revolves around two US marshals who have been sent out to an asylum on a remote island to investigate the case of the missing prisoner. The movie is quite similar to The Shawshank Redemption, as it explores the theme of freedom, features an elaborate prison story, and is known for keeping the audience on the edge of their seats until the end.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sebastian Maniscalco's kids are his world. But he's not their friend.
For Sebastian Maniscalco, few sounds are sweeter than an audience's laughter. Though validation from other parents also ranks pretty high. 'Once you start hearing that what you're doing at the house is working outside the house, it's incredible,' says the 51-year-old comedian, who is dad to Serafina, 8, and Caruso, nearly 6. The son of Italian immigrants, Maniscalco regularly riffs on his childhood in his routines. His experiences growing up in an old-school Italian family have become a hallmark of his comedy style — and his parenting style too. He'll be the first to admit he's the disciplinarian in the household. 'I pride myself on teaching my kids manners,' he says. 'I don't want my kid growing up like some entitled brat who just expects everything to be handed to them. I'm not my kids' friend. I'll say no and be firm with it and not cave in.' But Maniscalco and his wife, Lana, balance each other well. 'She has a lot more patience,' he tells Yahoo Life. He refers to her as the gentle parent, but he draws the line at gentle parenting. 'That takes it to a new level where the kid is basically running the house,' he says. That's certainly not the case at the Maniscalco abode, where the kids make their beds, clean their plates and handle other chores. Never one to shy away from a teachable moment, the comedian will call out bad behavior in public: 'If I see it and my kids see it with me, I'll pull them aside and go, 'You see the way that kid behaved? We don't do that in our family.'' Maniscalco had some time to figure out his approach to parenting: He became a father in his 40s. That wasn't on purpose, he says — he just spent his earlier years building his career. And he wouldn't have it any other way. 'The wisdom and the maturity have benefited me as a father in ways that I never could imagine,' says Maniscalco, whose acting credits include Bookie, The Irishman and About My Father. 'I have lessons that I could pass down to my kids because I've lived a bit more of a life than a man who has kids in his 20s or early 30s.' He's had to find ways to juggle fatherhood with his career, and likes to build his schedule in spurts: a few days on, a few days off. A week on the road, a week at home. 'I love to work, but I also love my family,' he says. 'It's nice to go on the road for three days, do what I love to do and then come back.' That's because being a present dad is a nonnegotiable for him. When he's home, he's a mainstay at his son's Little League games and takes his daughter to gymnastics, calling their car rides 'some of the best times we've ever had' because it's just the two of them, distraction-free. As a family, they recently took in their first baseball game together and love hitting farmers markets. They're also big travelers and are headed to France and Italy this summer. Importantly, Maniscalco gets that parenting doesn't come with a script, so he's happy to pivot when needed and defer to Lana when he's been away. 'There are no egos here when it comes to getting stuff done around the house,' he says. 'It's not like, 'That's not my job' [or] 'I don't do that.' It's very much, 'What do you need?' [It's] very active.' He often jokes about his family, but Maniscalco, who is currently on his 'It Ain't Right' tour, isn't out to put his family on blast. 'I'm just looking to share stories that I find humorous,' he says. 'I feel like whatever I find funny is the type of humor that people are going to enjoy, and that my kids, if they ever look back on it, are not going to be embarrassed [by].' He also stays relatable by sharing too-real parenting moments on his socials, like the time his wife had to sit in their impossible-to-uninstall car seat (don't worry, it was in the back seat), or the realities of having two dogs (a house that 'smells like beef jerky and wet tennis balls.'). Alas, his kids may be some of his biggest inspirations, but they're also some of his toughest critics. Case in point: In December, Caruso fell asleep at one of his dad's shows. Still, Maniscalco wasn't offended. 'I don't blame him,' he says with a laugh.
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Netflix's Ted Sarandos says AI will make it cheaper to tell epic stories — and won't kill creativity
AI may be a game changer for Hollywood budgets, but it won't replace human creativity, says Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. In a conversation on the WTF podcast with entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, Sarandos said he wasn't afraid of AI. "I hope creators aren't either because it's going to make a great tool to tell stories even better, and make it possible to make movies they couldn't before," he said. Sarandos highlighted AI's potential to reduce the cost of visual effects. He said Martin Scorsese's Netflix film "The Irishman" used de-aging technology that was thought to have added about $30 million to the budget: "Today, we can do that exact film better for a fraction." That kind of cost reduction, Sarandos explained, could allow a wider range of creators to tell more ambitious stories without requiring blockbuster-size budgets. "Those tools will become very much like visual effect tools, very much like computer animation," he said. "You're using the tools to tell the story and express yourself in a way that you couldn't before." Sarandos didn't believe that AI would replace the emotional core of storytelling. "What AI is doing today is like the antithesis of imagination," he said. "It's giving you the most predictable outcome based on these kinds of rough ideas you're giving it." Sarandos admitted that some creators could simply accept AI-generated content without "taking the step of saying, 'Not like this,' and just go with what was spit out — that would be the danger." He was confident that the tech can "lower the cost of doing things in a way that makes it possible to tell bigger and better stories — but still requires people to do that." Director James Cameron echoed similar concerns in an April appearance on Meta's "Boz to the Future" podcast, suggesting AI could as much as halve the cost of effects-heavy blockbusters, but not replace human creators. Meanwhile, several tech giants now offer AI video tools. In December, OpenAI released Sora, an AI video generator that can create short videos from written instructions and edit existing videos by filling frames. Last month, Google unveiled Flow, which uses its latest AI models to generate visuals, sound effects, and dialogue.
San Francisco Chronicle
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Al Pacino turned down iconic ‘Star Wars' role because he was confused
Al Pacino revealed that he passed up on a role in George Lucas ' ' Star Wars ' because he couldn't make sense of the story. 'They handed me this script, and I thought, 'I don't understand,'' the 'Scarface' actor, who was offered the role of Han Solo in the 1977 box office hit, recalled during a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. He added that it felt like he was reading a 'different language.' Pacino said that he then passed the script along to his friend and mentor, fellow actor Charlie Laughton, for a second opinion. 'He was pretty wise and he said, 'I don't get it, Al. I dunno. I don't get it.' I said, 'Well, I don't either; what are we going to do? They offered me a fortune, but I don't know. No, I can't play something if I don't speak the language.' 'I said, 'I think I'm in the mood to make Harrison Ford a career,'' Pacino quipped, referring to the actor who ended up famously taking on the iconic role in the science-fiction series once he turned it down. Lucky for him, while he skipped out on the chance to be part of Lucas' billion-dollar franchise, Pacino still had the opportunity to star in a number of highly-acclaimed films in the years that followed, from 'Devil's Advocate' (1997) and 'The Insider' (1999) to ' The Irishman ' (2019) and ' Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.' His latest project,' The Ritual,' hit theaters Friday, June 6. The horror film also stars Abigail Cowen ('Redeeming Love', 'Fate: The Winx Saga'); Dan Stevens ('Beauty and the Beast', ' Abigail ') and Ashley Greene ('Twilight,' 'It Feeds'). It turns out Pacino wasn't the only actor to turn down the role of the famous intergalactic pilot in the 1970s. 'Boogie Nights' actor Burt Reynolds, who died in 2018, revealed that was also offered the part but turned it down because he 'didn't want to play that kind of role at the time.' 'Now I regret it,' he told Business Insider in 2016. 'I wish I would have done it.' Others, such as Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell auditioned for the role but never progressed further in the casting process.
Digital Trends
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Martin Scorsese says he can no longer watch any movies in theaters
Few directors have spent more time advocating for movies and movie theaters over the course of their careers than Martin Scorsese. In a recent interview with film critic Peter Travers, Scorsese said that he can no longer stand watching movies in theaters, and that includes his own films. 'I asked the maestro why he doesn't see movies in theatres any more and he went all raging bull about audiences who babble on phones during the movie, leave to order snacks and vats of soda, and keep up a noise level loud enough to drown out the actors,' Travers said, per The Guardian. Recommended Videos ''Come on, Marty,' I said, 'we couldn't keep our mouths shut when we were kids,'' Travers said, explaining that he had tried to remind the director that bad behavior in movie theaters isn't new. 'His [Scorsese's] eyes darkened. 'Yeah, maybe,' he conceded, 'but when we talked it was always about the movie and the fun we had chewing over the details.'' Scorsese's stance comes several years after he made related, controversial comments suggesting that the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies were akin to theme park rides. Even as he has continued to make great films, Scorsese has also become one of the leading voices on the state of the American film industry. The director has been working in Hollywood for 50 years now, and has made classics like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas over the course of his careers. His two most recent films, The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon, were both partnerships with streaming services.
