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There was once a time when it was completely unheard of for a movie star like Harrison Ford to become a series regular on a half-hour TV comedy. The closest we ever came to a Harrison Ford sitcom in the ‘90s was the time the Full House gang briefly attended Disney World’s Indiana Jones stunt show.

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But now, Ford is starring in the Apple TV+ show Shrinking, which is about therapists, not laundry or swimming instructors, along with Jason Segel and Jessica Williams. To promote the upcoming second season of the show, Ford recently spoke with Vanity Fair about his pivot to comedy. But, according to Ford, it wasn’t really a pivot at all. “As far as I’m concerned, everything I’ve ever done is comedy,” Ford told the outlet.

While this may come as a shock to anyone who ever saw Regarding Henry, the movie...

Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein, co-written with Gene Wilder (seen here with Marty Feldman and Teri Garr) inspired Tony McNamara’s screenplay adaptation of Alasdair Gray’s novel for Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things (Oscar wins for Emma Stone and costume designer Holly Waddington).

By using well-chosen excerpts from the audiobook of Gene Wilder’s autobiography, Kiss Me Like A Stranger, Ron Frank lets Wilder himself guide us through the documentary, by positioning him in dialogue with many friends and colleagues assembled here, most prominently Mel Brooks, who directed Wilder in a number of groundbreaking movies. We find out how the two met, because Anne Bancroft, starring at the time on stage in Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage (with Wilder as the Chaplain), was dating Brooks, who was looking for an actor to play Leo Bloom in what was to become The Producers. The two men clicked, as they both recall,...

Mickey Gilbert, the fearless stunt performer who jumped off a cliff for Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and doubled for Gene Wilder in films including Blazing Saddles, Silver Streak and The Frisco Kid, has died. He was 87.

Gilbert died Monday of natural causes at his home in Camarillo, California, his oldest son, Tim Gilbert, also a stunt performer, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Early in his career, Gilbert was a horse wrangler in William Wyler’s Ben-Hur (1959) and a bank robber in Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1969). Years later, he took the lumps for Lee Majors’ Colt Seavers on the 1981-86 ABC action show The Fall Guy.

Though they weren’t friends at the time, Gilbert and Redford were in the same class at Van Nuys High School, graduating in 1954. They got together on George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) when Redford...

Clockwise from upper left: Star Wars (Disney), Raiders Of The Lost Ark (Disney), The Fugitive (Warner Bros.), Blade Runner (Warner Bros.) American Graffiti (Universal), Hollywood Homicide (Sony)Graphic: AVClub

Harrison Ford is one of our biggest, most iconic movie stars. Much like Gary Cooper and Clint Eastwood, he tends to play tough,...

There are two major, notable exterior locations in Richard Marquand's 1983 sci-fi romp "Return of the Jedi." In the early scenes of the film, the dashing pilot Han Solo (Harrison Ford) must be rescued from a crime lord's desert palace where he has been frozen in stasis and hung on the wall as a trophy. The scene's desert exteriors were shot in Arizona, in a part of the desert called Buttercup Valley. In the climax of the desert scenes, a full-size floating skiff -- the pleasure barge of the evil Jabba the Hutt -- was blown up. To this day, one can visit the filming site and potentially find pieces of the barge, or of the Sarlacc, the film's pit-like desert monster. 

The other notable location was the massive redwood forests located in Northern California. The "Jedi" locations were notable, as it was the first time a "Star Wars" movie...

Harrison Ford is one of the biggest movie stars of all time. He went from the "cool big brother" in roles like Han Solo and Indiana Jones, then graduated to "America's Dad" in the Jack Ryan movies and "Air Force One." What kid in the '80s didn't want to be Ford, and what kid in the '90s didn't want to be raised (and rescued from terrorists) by him? As an '80s and '90s kid, I'm well-versed in Ford's filmography, having seen almost all of his movies. Yes, even the obscure ones like "The Frisco Kid." Okay, I've missed a lot of his 2000s and 2010s run, but let's be honest, Ford's choices have been pretty inexplicable ("Cowboys & Aliens?"; "Extreme Measures?"; "Morning Glory?"). No, I prefer prime Ford.

Rather than be smothered by Captain Solo and Dr. Jones, Ford used his most famous roles to craft...

Mace Neufeld, the producer whose star-driven action films were blockbusters, died overnight in his sleep at his home in Beverly Hills, his family told Deadline. He was 93.

Neufeld’s hit films included The Omen and its sequels, The Equalizer pics and several adaptations of Tom Clancy-penned Jack Ryan thrillers including Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears and The Hunt for Red October. He was Emmy-nominated for East of Eden and exec produced the Prime Video series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan starring John Kasinski.

A family friend told Deadline that Neufeld was working on a third Equalizer pic and another Tom Clancy series for Prime Video at the time of his death.

Neufeld was at his zenith in the ’90s when, with partner Bob Rehme, he formed Neufeld/Rehme and produced a string of hit films such as Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and Beverly Hills Cop III.

Val Bisoglio, a character actor who played John Travolta’s father in Saturday Night Fever, appeared opposite Jack Klugman on all eight seasons of Quincy, M.E. and had an arc on The Sopranos has died. He was 95.

His wife Bonnie Bisoglio said the actor died October 18 of Lewy body dementia at his home near San Olivos, CA.

Born on May 7, 1926, in Manhattan, Bisoglio began his screen career with guest roles on series including Bonanza and Mayberry R.F.D. By the early 1970s, he appeared on such popular TV fare as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family, The Partridge Family, Mannix and Love, American Style. He landed his first series-regular role on the short-lived CBS sitcom Roll Out in 1973.

He scored a second series-regular gig on a CBS sitcom, Working Stiffs, playing the owner of a Chicago office building where his sons — played by Michael Keaton and Jim Belushi — worked as janitors.

Val Bisoglio, a character actor whose credits across film, television and theater date back more than 50 years, died on Oct. 18. He was 95.

Bisoglio died in his mountain home near Los Olivos, Calif. His death was confirmed to Variety by his wife Bonnie Bisoglio.

Born Italo Valentino Bisoglio on May 7, 1926 in New York City, Bisoglio was raised by parents who had immigrated from towns near Monferrato, Alessandria, Italy. He began acting under the tutelage of Jeff Corey and appeared on the New York stage in productions such as “Kiss Mama,” “A View from the Bridge” and “Wait Until Dark,” as well as in New York City’s Shakespeare in the Park with Arthur Penn.

Bisoglio also starred in an array of television shows from the 1960’s on. His best-known roles were as Sgt. Sal Pernelli, the cook on “M.A.S.H.,” and Danny Tovo in “Quincy, M.E.” His final television role was...

As we bid farewell this week to the mighty Gene Wilder, find out how many of his movie roles you can recognise

Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx

Bonnie and Clyde

The Producers

Young Frankenstein

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)

Rhinoceros

The Woman in Red

Silver Streak

The Frisco Kid

Haunted Honeymoon

Blazing Saddles

Stir Crazy

Blazing Saddles

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother

Start the Revolution Without Me

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx

The Woman in Red

The World's Greatest Lover

Silver Streak

Stir Crazy

See No Evil, Hear No Evil

Hanky Panky

Another You

Silver Streak

Sunday Lovers

Bonnie and Clyde

Blazing Saddles

The Little Prince

Young Frankenstein

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother

Rhinoceros

See No Evil, Hear No Evil

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother...

The sad news for fans of film comedy spread like wildfire earlier this week. Here’s the opening paragraph facts from the New York Times:

Gene Wilder, who established himself as one of America’s foremost comic actors with his delightfully neurotic performances in three films directed by Mel Brooks; his eccentric star turn in the family classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”; and his winning chemistry with Richard Pryor in the box-office smash “Stir Crazy,” died early Monday morning at his home in Stamford, Conn. He was 83.

A nephew, the filmmaker Jordan Walker-Pearlman, confirmed his death in a statement, saying the cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mr. Wilder’s rule for comedy was simple: Don’t try to make it funny; try to make it real. “I’m an actor, not a clown,” he said more than once.

And what an actor. That’s from the...

What makes a great actor great? When I watch a performance, there are certain things I look for, and the biggest of those things is whether or not the actor is making choices about their work. There are plenty of actors who get through a scene just fine and who deliver their lines nicely and who never ever connect beyond that for me because it doesn’t feel like they’re bringing anything to the process aside from their physical presence. There are certain actors, though, who I am immediately drawn to because you can see how they’re taking the raw material of the script and they’re putting it through their personal filter so that the end result is something the writer couldn’t have imagined, that the director couldn’t have asked for, and that the actor never would have reached on his own. Gene Wilder was one of those actors,...

Gene Wilder, the comedian known to a generation as Willy Wonka and an icon thanks to his works with Mel Brooks on The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, has died from complications due to Alzheimer’s Disease, according to Variety. He was 83.

Wilder's nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman revealed the actor died following a private three-year battle with Alzheimer's. "The choice to keep this private was his choice, in talking with us and making a decision as a family," Walker-Pearlman wrote. "We understand for all the emotional and physical challenges this...

Public sightings of iconic actor Gene Wilder are as rare these days as public sightings of Willy Wonka (or Arthur Halliday). Three years ago, the retiree spoke with Robert Osborne at the 92nd Street Y in New York City in a rare public appearance. He discussed filming Mel Brooks classics like “Young Frankenstein” and “The Producers,” making Willy Wonka into his own and the state of modern Hollywood (including remakes of his own films!). The results will make you wish you could see Wilder back on the big screen.

Read More: We Miss You! Our Favorite Hypothetical Comebacks

It’s safe to assume Wilder has an old sensibility towards the industry. In this talk, he touches on his dislike for profanity in today’s films (“When they’re swearing… can’t they just stop and talk? Instead of swearing?”), confusion over what a podcast is (“Would I come on your what?...

On November 2nd, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (Wbhe) release the Johnny Depp: 4 Film Collection, two coming to Blu-ray for the first time, and the Harrison Ford: 5 Film Collection, three of which are also brand new to Blu-ray! To celebrate, we have Blu-ray copies to giveaway!

The Johnny Depp 4 Film Collection sees the actor starring alongside Charlize Theron, Helen Bonham Carter, Michelle Pfieffer, Alan Rickman and screen legend Marlon Brando in films including The Astronaut’s Wife, Dark Shadows, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Don Juan DeMarco.

The Harrison Ford 5 Film Collection sees the actor starring alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Julianne Moore, Alan Arkin, Virginia Madsen and John C. McGinley in films including Firewall, 42, Presumed Innocent, Frantic and The Fugitive.

Order today: Johnny Depp 4 Film Collection | Harrison Ford 5 Film Collection

© 2015 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

To win copies of both Blu-ray boxsets, just...

Michael Fassbender is never not worth watching, and his unique blend of cynical smarts and weary humor is perfectly suited to this bitterly funny road trip. I’m “biast” (pro): adore Michael Fassbender

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

Michael Fassbender. What else do you need to know? Michael Fassbender is never not worth watching, and that remains the case in Slow West. This is basically The Frisco Kid — you remember, that 1979 comedy with Gene Wilder as a rabbi and Harrison Ford as the scoundrel who helps him get across the Old West to San Francisco — as remade by the Coen Brothers. It’s far more Coen Brothers than the Coens’ own actual Western remake, True Grit, in fact, and Fassbender’s unique blend of cynical smarts and weary humor is perfectly suited to this dry, bitter road trip through...

Gene Wilder doesn't think he's funny -- at least not in real life.

"[People] say, 'What a comic, what a funny guy,' and I'm not -- I am really not -- except in a comedy film," said the actor, who made a rare public appearance Thursday night (June 13) at the 92Y in New York City. "I also make my wife laugh once or twice in the house, but nothing special."

It's a bit odd to hear Wilder, known for playing comedic roles in films, including "Blazing Saddles," "The Producers," and "Young Frankenstein," to say something like this. Then again, Wilder always was a dramatic actor at heart, studying at renown institutions the Old Vic, in England, and Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio, in New York, before earning acclaim in his now classic comedies.

Last night, Wilder spoke about his career in and outside of show business, with Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osbourne.

With "The Avengers" smashing box office records left and right, it's a bit challenging to focus on any other movies that don't involve Earth's mightiest heroes. But we're doing exactly that in this week's Watch It, which contains an ode to Maurice Sendak, a trip six feet under, and a visit to '70s era New York with Woody Allen and Diane Keaton.

Tami Katzoff, MTV News producer:

“The Frisco Kid” was one of my favorite movies when I was very young. The 1979 film stars Gene Wilder as a fresh-off-the-boat Polish rabbi on his way to a gig in San Francisco, and Harrison Ford as a soft-hearted Wild West bank robber who helps him get there. I must have watched “The Frisco Kid” (and “Time Bandits”) on VHS a dozen times in the 80’s, but until recently I hadn’t seen it in many years. So when I sat down...

It's going to be a heavily hyped season of "Doctor Who" this year, and it won't just be because two popular companions will be departing in a "heartbreaking" way. Filming began this week for the seventh season of "Doctor Who," and BBC News is sharing some of the guest list that has been invited to the party. They include David Bradley, Rupert Graves and Mark Williams. Bradley might be best known as Argus Filch, the squib groundskeeper at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. However, his resume is far more extensive than that, with projects that include "The Frisco Kid" as Julius Rosensheine in 1979, "The Canterbury Tales" as January in 1998, and "Hot Fuzz" in 2007 as Arthur Webley. He also appeared in the "Game of Thrones" episode "Baelor" as Walder Frey. Bradley is no stranger ...

If you saw our pictures from the premiere, then you’ll know that director Jon Favreau, stars Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde and Harrison Ford, and producer/writer Roberto Orci are in London promoting Cowboys & Aliens. We went along to the press conference to get some insight into the film, its production and the cast…

Which side this movie appealed to you more, the cowboy side or the alien side?

Jon Favreau: I grew up watching Science Fiction. I was first exposed to the Western through Science Fiction. I grew up with Star Wars, I’m part of that generation, and (George) Lucas drew a lot of inspiration from Kurosawa, and Kurosawa drew a lot of inspiration from John Ford. Spielberg is a huge John Ford fan as well. As you learn more about directing you appreciate the Western more. It was a great opportunity to do a large scale Western,...

"Cowboys & Aliens" rode to the top of the box office this past weekend (tying with "The Smurfs"), so "Extra" is highlighting those sexy men of the West - be they old or new! Yee haw!

30 Sexy CowboysDaniel Craig in 'Cowboys & Aliens'

As Jake Lonergan, Craig is the latest Hollywood star to play a ruggedly handsome cowboy from the Old West.

Kurt Russell in 'Tombstone'

Role: The famed lawman Wyatt Earp Best line: "I...

Harrison Ford's upcoming role of Colonel Dolarhyde in Cowboys and Aliens seems like a perfect fit for Ford — he gets to wear a hat, he fights aliens, the character is an antihero — but the movie is set in 1873 Arizona, making it Ford's first Western since 1979's The Frisco Kid. Ford had been looking for Western, the actor told Extra, but still, he almost didn't take the role.

I ready thirty pages and threw it across the room and said, "What the hell is this? There's nothing in this for me! I'm an actor!" Anyway, I told my agent, "Listen, I know there's not a lot going around these days, but..." [And] he said, "Go back and read the rest of it." And I did, and — I've always been looking for a Western — and, as I got deeper into it I sensed the complexity of the ambition of the piece a...

Source: FilmShaft - Harrison Ford Says Many Special Effects Films Are Soulless

Here's an interesting piece of comment from superstar Harrison Ford who has spent more than a fair share of his career appearing in films with mucho special effects. Talking to Hero Complex, the star of the forthcoming Cowboys & Aliens aired his views on the modern over-emphasis on CGI.

Put into context, which is always important, what he says does have the ring of truth. Although Ford is known for being a bit grumpy with the press, he talked with candour about what he finds lacking in some sci-fi and special effects-driven movies:

"I think what a lot of action movies lose these days, especially the ones that deal with fantasy, is you stop caring at some point because you’ve lost human scale. With the CGI, suddenly there’s a thousand enemies instead of six – the army goes off into the horizon.

Next summer sees a sci-fi spectacular in the shape of some Cowboys & Aliens. Jon Favreau is directing and the cast is quite frankly brilliant. Daniel Craig headlines alongside the lovely Olivia Wilde and the legendary Harrison Ford – who hasn’t starred in an oater since The Frisco Kid back in 1979. Saddle up for thrills, gunfights … and aliens!

If you haven’t seen the fabulous teaser trailer yet, check it out right here. I also love the Ronseal title. Does what it says on the tin, or what?

Synopsis:

“1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde.

The first trailer for John Favreau’s out and proud 2D sci-fi western adventure – Cowboys & Aliens – has landed, Earthlings. If you haven’t seen the teaser poster with Daniel Craig’s tight air-brushed buttocks on display, we’ve included that, too. Lots of people have complained it looks like a certain blockbuster loser called Jonah Hex, but Fav’s movie won’t be a turkey before Christmas judging from this trailer.

And Harrison Ford makes his first western since 1979′s The Frisco Kid! Wicked cool.

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde. It’s...

Starring: Gene Wilder, Harrison Ford; Director: Robert Aldrich The Frisco Kid is a lighthearted Western adventure about a Polish Rabbi named Avram (Wilder) who is charged with heading up a new Congregation in the newly burgeoning California during the Gold Rush. Missing his boat upon landing Philadelphia, Avram is forced to traverse the newly mapped American frontier to reach his destination. Along the way Avram becomes the target of vile thugs who rob him and leave him alone in the strange American Northeast. A twist of fate leads him to meet Tommy (Ford), a gun-toting bank robber who...

The premise for director Kevin Asch's debut Holy Rollers may seem like the basis for a wacky situational comedy--Hasidic Jews become drug smugglers--but in fact, it's a crime drama that probably owes more to early Scorsese than to Gene Wilder's The Frisco Kid . Possibly not since Henry Bean's equally controversial The Believer has a movie delved so fully into the Orthodox Jewish community and belief system in such a unique manner. Jesse Eisenberg plays a young Hasidic man name Sam with spiritual ambitions who gets caught up in the world of drug smuggling through his friend and neighbor Yusef (Justin Bartha) and an Israeli drug dealer named Jackie (Danny Abeckaser, the film's producer who originally came up with the basic concept). Even though he knows it's wrong, the appeal of...

Chicago – A very subdued and scientific Harrison Ford recently spoke with HollywoodChicago.com and two other Chicago film critics on the subject of his new true-story film “Extraordinary Measures”. Ford stars in the film and served as its executive producer since inception.

At one point in our interview, the 67-year-old Chicago native calmly uttered a minor expletive and then reminded us that we have the choice about whether or not to print it. While the interview style of some actors can fall into the more eccentric bucket, the Ford experience on this day was decidedly professional, conservative and relatively serious.

Hollywood legend Harrison Ford poses for his hometown HollywoodChicago.com red-carpet portrait at

the premiere of “Extraordinary Measures” on Jan. 12, 2009 at the AMC River East movie theater in Chicago.

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

In other words, Ford clearly wasn’t wearing his extreme adventurer...

Chicago – Hollywood legend Harrison Ford of “Indiana Jones” fame posed for his hometown HollywoodChicago.com red-carpet portrait at the premiere of “Extraordinary Measures” on Jan. 12, 2009 at the AMC River East movie theater in Chicago.

Harrison Ford has starred in “Star Wars,” “Apocalypse Now,” “The Frisco Kid,” “Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Blade Runner,” “Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” “Witness” and “The Mosquito Coast”.

Ford also starred in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” “Patriot Games,” “The Fugitive,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “The Devil’s Own,” “Air Force One,” “Six Days Seven Nights,” “Random Hearts,” “What Lies Beneath,” “K-19: The Widowmaker,” “Firewall” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”. Our exclusive portrait of Harrison Ford can be found below.

Stay tuned for our upcoming Harrison Ford interview on

“Extraordinary Measures” by HollywoodChicago.