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The office of the President of the United States is way more famous than any specific president. Compared to, say, the king and queen of England, a new person gets to be the head of state every four or eight years via election rather than inheritance. This means you can...

Chicago – Use the word “surely” in any conversation, such as “Surely …” and inevitably you’ll get the answer, “Blah Blah, and don’t call me Shirley.” One of a trio that came up with that famous riposte, David Zucker, was at the Chicago Humanities Festival as co-author of “Surely you Can’t be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!”

The book was written with the other two members of the legendary movie comedy creators nicknamed Zaz … for (David) Zucker, (Jim) Abrahams and (Jerry) Zucker. In 1980, the trio wrote and directed one of the most influential comedy movies of their generation, the deliciously funny farce “Airplane!,” forever changing comic sensibilities and satire. The book is a look back to a different time and place in American entertainment, and David Zucker appeared on its behalf as part of the ongoing Fall Chicago Humanities Festival on October 21st, 2023.

David Zucker and His Book...

Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed “Oppenheimer,” which revolves around J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist considered the father of the atomic bomb, is one of the most highly anticipated films of the summer. Actually of the year. Over the decades there have been several films dealing with the Manhattan Project that culminated with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki thus ending World War II on Sept. 2, 1945.

Soon after the global conflict ended MGM, Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox were rushing to be the first studio to greenlight a movie dealing with the birth of the atomic bomb that ushered in the Cold War. MGM quickly put a project in motion hiring Robert Considine to write a story . The studio was circling the likes of its “A’ stars Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable and Van Johnson. Meanwhile over at Paramount, producer Hal Wallis was preparing a $1.5 million atomic bomb film called “Top Secret.

Actress Renuka Shahane recently went to watch the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer action film ‘Pathaan’ with her husband Ashutosh Rana, which also stars him in the role of Srk’s top boss. She took to Twitter and shared the picture from the movie date.

In the first photo, Ashutosh and Renuka sat inside a car as they wore ethnic outfits. The second selfie was clicked inside the theatre as the duo smiled and posed for the camera.

Srk responded to the actress’s tweet as he commented: “Col Luthraji ko bataya aapne ki aap meri pehli heroine hain (Did you tell Col Luthra that you are my first heroine)!! Or should we keep it a Top Secret otherwise he may fire me from the agency!!!”

Col Luthraji ko bataya aapne ki aap meri pehli heroine hain!! Or should we keep it a Top Secret otherwise he may fire me from the agency!

For the fans of this wonderful man, which I proudly count myself as one; 26 May 2013 marks the centenary of horror legend Peter Cushing. One of the most versatile actors to grace the big screen, Cushing never gave a single bad performance throughout his 50-year career. A dedicated perfectionist, who believed in giving nothing less than his best effort, Cushing’s 100% commitment always lifted a bad film. The movie may fail him but he would never fail his public.

Cushing began his acting career in repertory theatre and with his legendary one-way ticket to Hollywood, made his film debut in 1939. After a couple of productive years in the States, he worked his way back to England following the outbreak of World War 2. Marrying actress Helen Beck, he worked on stage but struggled to find good roles until he became a member of the RSC under Laurence Oliver. As British TV’s first big star,...

DVD Playhouse—November 2011

By Allen Gardner

Tree Of Life (20th Century Fox) Terrence Malick’s latest effort is both the best film of 2011 and the finest work of his (arguably) mixed, but often masterly canon. A series of vignettes, mostly set in 1950s Texas, capture the memory of a man (Sean Penn) in present-day New York who looks back on his life, and his parents’ (Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain) troubled marriage, when word of his younger brother’s suicide reaches him. Almost indescribable beyond that, except to say no other film in history so perfectly evokes the magic and mystery of the human memory, which both crystalizes (and sometimes idealizes) the past. Like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, this is a challenging, polarizing work that you must let wash over you. If you go along for the ride, you’re in for a unique, rewarding cinematic experience. Also available on Blu-ray disc.

We've lost another one of cinema's beloved character actors today as Michael Gough has passed away at the age of 94. His health had been failing for the past year and he died at home, surrounded by his family. He's most known for playing Bruce Wayne's trustworthy butler Alfred in the '80s/'90s run of Batman films, although he did so much more. Gough's career began way back in the 1940s with films like Anna Karenina and Sarabond. Later, he moved on to perform in several of the Hammer horror films, acting alongside such studio staples as Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Director Tim Burton grew up watching many of the Hammer films and subsequently thought of Gough when casting his big-screen adaptation of Batman. In recent years, Gough continued to work with Burton, lending his voice to films such as The Corpse Bride and Alice in Wonderland. Since...

Star of stage and screen and cult legend Michael Gough passed away today, March 17, 2011. He was 94 years old.

Gough was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya (now Malaysia), the son of British parents Frances Atkins (née Bailie) and Francis Berkeley Gough on November 23, 1916. Although he objected to World War II, he felt obligated to serve his country in the Non-Combatant Corps, and was a member of the No. 6 Ncc in Liverpool. From 1947 until his retirement in 2000, he acted in film, television, and toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his film debut in 1948 in Blanche Fury, the plot of which was based on an actual Victorian England homicide case. Over the years, he appeared with such notable actors as Vivien Leigh, Ralph Richardson and Sir Laurence Olivier.

Gough appeared in two separate Doctor Who serials, the first as the villain in the William Hartnell serial “The Celestial Toymaker”. He then...