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Considering how much of a grand backdrop casinos can provide in a movie, it’s fair to say that they haven’t featured in movies as often as some people might think. Even when we collated our top five films today, there’s not a huge range to choose from. Sure, movies might feature an odd scene or two in a casino, but the number of films that actually revolve around the inner workings of a casino or have multiple scenes set in and around them is minimal.

There are still some great films to choose from, though, and if the glitz and glamour of a casino is right up your street, then we’ve tried to handpick the films that we think will most appeal to you. We appreciate that casino gaming has changed since many of these classics first hit the big screen. Gone are the days of...

Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen are set to lead a limited series on the JonBenét Ramsey case at Paramount+, Variety has learned.

The show was first reported to be in the works back in March, but it had not landed at Paramount+ at that time. McCarthy and Owen will star as JonBenét’s parents, Patsy and John Bennett Ramsey.

“Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen are an extraordinary duo to delve into this tragic story that has cast a long, haunting shadow over American culture for nearly three decades,” said Chris McCarthy, Paramount Global Co-CEO and President/CEO of Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios.

Currently titled “JonBenét Ramsey,” the true crime series will explore the murder of six-year-old Jonbenét, who was found murdered in the basement of her family’s home just hours after she was reported missing. The official description for the show states:

“It follows the Ramsey family, before and...

Clive Owen, the guest on this episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast — which was recorded in front of an audience at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, where Owen was feted with the fest’s President’s Award, and which was presented by Lasvit, a Bohemian design and artisan house that creates sublime artworks of glass — is one of the world’s most admired stage and screen actors.

Best known for films such as Mike Nichols’ Closer (2004) and Spike Lee’s Inside Man (2006) and TV shows including Steven Soderbergh’s The Knick (2014-15) and, in the past year, two limited series, A Murder at the End of the World and Monsieur Spade, the 59-year-old has been described by The Guardian as “one of our finest actors,” by the New York Times as “a thinking person’s hunk” who possesses “volcanic charisma” and by...

Samuel Jackson and John Travolta are hit men with a penchant for philosophical conversations in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction,” coming to Plex on April 1. The multilayered crime movie, also starring Uma Thurman as a gangster’s wild wife and Bruce Willis as a down-on-his-luck boxer, is a darkly humorous, ultra-violent, and redemptive classic. The film netted Tarantino an Oscar for best original screenplay.

Watch the trailer for “Pulp Fiction”:

Clive Owen’s career was launched in the British neo-noir “Croupier,” directed by Mike Hodges. Owen plays Jack, a brooding writer who begins working as a croupier in a casino and gets drawn into a dangerous plan to rob it. Co-starring Gina McKee, it also arrives the first of next month.

Watch Now $0+ / month plex.tv Coming in April: 3 Generations Alex Rider: Stormbreaker American Honey (starts 4/27) The Cookout Croupier Crypto Diggers Domino: Battle of The Bones Don Jon...

Bill Pence, a co-founder of the Telluride Film Festival, passed away on Dec. 6 after a long illness at the age of 82, the Telluride Daily Planet reported on Wednesday.

In 1974, Pence co-founded the fest, along with his wife Stella Pence, film preservationist James Card, and producer Tom Luddy. He was also the co-director and president of the National Film Preserve, which runs the annual festival, which is held in the Colorado town over Labor Day weekend.

He and Stella also founded the Santa Fe Film Festival in New Mexico in 1980 and ran it for three years.

Also Read:

Mike Hodges, ‘Croupier’ and ‘Get Carter’ Director, Dies at 90

“Bill’s fire burned so very brightly and touched so many. Those who worked for him did it as much to not disappoint him as to carry on his vision,” wrote Jim Bedford in the Telluride Daily Planet.

“Bill Pence is an almost mythical...

Stephen Greif, who is known for playing Speaker of the House Sir Bernard Weatherill on Season 4 of “The Crown,” has died at 78.

“With great sadness we announce the death of our wonderful client Stephen Greif,” the English actor’s rep Michelle Braidman Associates tweeted Monday. “We will miss him dearly and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

With great sadness we announce the death of our wonderful client Stephen Greif.

His extensive career included numerous roles on screen and stage, including at the National Theatre, RSC and in the West End.

We will miss him dearly and our thoughts are with his family and friends x pic.twitter.com/sYcwILCvNr

— Michelle Braidman Associates (@TeamBraidman) December 26, 2022

Greif was born on Aug. 26, 1944, in Highgate, London. He is survived by two sons.

Also Read:

Dax Tejera, Executive Producer of ABC’s ‘This Week,’ Dies at 37

Greif’s extensive career included numerous roles on screen and stage,...

Get Carter (1971). Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.A fascinating figure in British cinema, Mike Hodges made his astonishing debut with Get Carter in 1971, a vicious tale of gangland revenge featuring an immortal lead performance from Michael Caine. A seminal British gangster movie, Get Carter immediately announced the arrival of a filmmaker with a keen eye for genre deconstruction, the film’s pithy nihilism and modernist sensibilities strikingly attuned to its vision of wanton amorality and national dilapidation. Other studio gigs followed, but film after film, it quickly became apparent that executives and marketing departments had no idea what to do with the work of this perennial outsider. The Terminal Man (1974) never saw a UK release, and A Prayer for the Dying (1987) was re-cut behind his back. Horror sequel Omen II: Damien (1978) was a disaster from the off, with Hodges unceremoniously replaced as director, and Black Rainbow (1989) effectively vanished for some 30 years.

It’s that time of year again. While some directors annually share their favorite films of the year, Steven Soderbergh lists everything he consumed, media-wise. For 2021––another year in which he not only released a new film, but shot another (and produced the Oscars)––he still got plenty of watching in.

Along with catching up on 2021’s new releases, he took in plenty of classics, including Jaws, Citizen Kane, Metropolis, The French Connection, and Lubitsch’s Ninotchka and Design For Living. Early last year, he also saw a cut of Channing Tatum’s Dog, which doesn’t arrive until next month. He also, of course, screened his latest movies while in post-production, with three viewings of No Sudden Move and three viewings of Kimi, which arrives on February 10 on HBO Max and the first look of which can be seen below.

Check out the list below via his official site.

When it comes to gambling, we all immediately think of roulette. This term is so deeply imprinted in our subconscious that our imagination provides the right images. The reason is easy to explain: Roulette plays a prominent role in many Hollywood films and series. The depiction of roulette has led new users to try the game at online casinos also where users can use free spins on registration no deposit and some other bonuses. You can apply the strategies used from your gambling movies while playing online.

There are, for example, a wide variety of James Bond films that occasionally venture into the casino. Casino Royale is of course the figurehead when we think of James Bond and Roulette. But the Bond film “Specter” is also about gambling. The casino scene with the Bond actor is always a must. What fits better than a game of roulette, a graceful young beauty,...

The casino and gambling world has inspired the production of many popular feature films, including poker, roulette and slot machine storylines, designed to appeal to a global audience:

Top 5 Casino And Gambling Movies

5. "The Gambler" (1974)

Aptly named, this movie follows the story of professor 'Axel Freed' (James Caan), an addict of casino gambling. Throughout the film, Freed plunges into a state of self-destruction with his mental health on edge as a result of his addiction, forced to borrow money to meet his rising gambling needs as well as to satisfy his desire for betting.

The film reaches a climax when Freed's borrowing behaviour and search for thrills ultimately threatens his life. Confiding to his friend 'Hips' (Paul Sorvino), Freed explains gamblers like him want to lose, which is why he doesn't place bets on sure winners. He confesses he loves placing risky bets where winning is not guaranteed, bringing him...

Want to know more about gambling? Check out seven of the best movies that feature casino themes. Enter this challenging world and find out what is behind this industry. Experience the adrenaline from the character’s point of view, learn from their mistakes and enjoy their success when they land the right combination.

1. Rain Man (1988)

After the death of his father, Charlie Babbit (Tom Cruise) finds out that he has an older brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman). Charlie comes with a brilliant idea to cheat on blackjack with the help of his brother. In the attempt to win big by putting Raymond to count the cards, they upset some powerful people that will not let this scheme pass by. If you are a blackjack fan, you’ll surely enjoy this movie. Don’t take protagonists as an example because every player has its strategy. If you want to play amazing blackjack titles with the best offers,...

Take a look @ classic movies with 'gambling' as a theme including "The Big Town", "The Gambler", "California Split" and "Croupier":

"The Big Town" (1987), directed by Ben Bolt and Harold Becker, features a variation of the game 'heads up craps' where players make side bets between themselves, instead of betting against the house.

Odds in these games are negotiated among the parties involved with the idea to get someone else to agree on the 50-50 odds.

The film stars Matt Dillon as a successful craps shooter who had to move to Chicago to become a professional player, before the easy accessibility of today's latest casino bonuses that can now be found online.

Director Karel Reisz' "The Gambler" (1974), stars James Caan as a college professor who descends into addiction, losing in underground casinos and gambling den brothels.

But through his journey, the character eventually finds himself and a positive redemption.

 Clive Owen (born October 3, 1964; age: 53) is an English actor who first became known for playing the lead character in the short-lived UK crime drama series Chancer from 1990-1991. He then gained further praise for his performance in the 1999 British drama film Croupier, and also earned strong reviews for his acting in the movie Close My Eyes (1991). […]

Source: uInterview

The post Clive Owen Bio: In His Own Words – Video Exclusive, News, Photos appeared first on uInterview.

Exclusive: Production is underway in London and Rome on Richard Loncraine’s British comedy ‘Finding Your Feet’.

Screen can reveal an exclusive first look at Timothy Spall and Imelda Staunton in British comedy Finding Your Feet.

The film follows Lady Sandra Abbott (Staunton) who, after discovering that her husband of forty years is having an affair, takes up a community dance class with her sister, where she finds a new lease of both fun and romance.

The cast is rounded out by Celia Imrie (The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous), David Hayman (The Jackal), John Sessions (Mr Holmes) and Josie Lawrence (EastEnders).

Richard Loncraine (Wimbledon) directs the feature from a script by Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcroft (Urban Hymn). John Sachs and Andrew Berg produce for Eclipse Films with Nick Moorcroft and Meg Leonard for Powder Keg Pictures, James Spring for Fred Films, and Charlotte Walls for Catalyst Global Media.

Executive producers...

Exclusive: Production is underway in London and Rome on Richard Loncraine’s British comedy ‘Finding Your Feet’.

Screen can reveal an exclusive first look at Timothy Spall and Imelda Staunton in British comedy Finding Your Feet.

The film follows Lady Sandra Abbott (Staunton) who, after discovering that her husband if forty years is having an affair, takes up a community dance class with her sister, where she finds a new lease of both fun and romance.

The cast is rounded out by Celia Imrie (The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous), David Hayman (The Jackal), John Sessions (Mr Holmes) and Josie Lawrence (EastEnders).

Richard Loncraine (Wimbledon) directs the feature from a script by Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcraft (Urban Hymn). John Sachs and Andrea Berg produce for Eclipse Films with Nick Moorcroft and Meg Leonard for Powder Keg Pictures, James Spring for Fred Films, and Charlotte Walls for Catalyst Global Media.

Executive producers...

Exclusive: Production is underway in London and Rome on Richard Loncraine’s British comedy.

Screen can reveal an exclusive first look at Timothy Spall and Imelda Staunton in British comedy Finding Your Feet.

The film follows Lady Sandra Abbott (Staunton) who, after discovering that her husband if forty years is having an affair, takes up a community dance class with her sister, where she finds a new lease of both fun and romance.

The cast is rounded out by Celia Imrie (The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous), David Hayman (The Jackal), John Sessions (Mr Holmes) and Josie Lawrence (EastEnders).

Richard Loncraine (Wimbledon) directs the feature from a script by Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcraft (Urban Hymn). John Sachs and Andrea Berg produce for Eclipse Films with Nick Moorcroft and Meg Leonard for Powder Keg Pictures, James Spring for Fred Films, and Charlotte Walls for Catalyst Global Media.

Executive producers...

Most well-known English actors want ‘in’ on the Hollywood action. No more so than these 4 UK stars who proved they know how to handle themselves around the poker table…and still look smoking hot. Check out our top British-born stars who we’d gladly bet our life on at any online casino… Ben in 21 played by Jim Sturgess Ben is a character based on the true to life story of a number of MIT students trained to be experts in card counting. Maths has never been so sexy. James Bond in Casino Royale played by Daniel Craig Craig is the latest Bond to take the world by storm. He is credited as one of the best known English actor’s worldwide! Big Chris in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels played by Vinnie Jones Vinnie Jones, UK football legend, had a starring role in this Guy Ritchie classic, putting him...

Take a look @ classic movies with 'gambling' as the main story focus including "The Big Town", "The Gambler", "California Split" and "Croupier":

One common trend with gambling in movies is that many of them (with the exception of Martin Scorsese's "Casino"), feature a peripheral mention of gambling, with sequences rarely comprehensive, doing little to impress everyday players.

"The Big Town" (1987), directed by Ben Bolt and Harold Becker, features a variation of the game known as 'heads up craps' where players make side bets between themselves instead of  betting against the house.

Odds of the games were negotiated among the parties involved with the focus getting someone else to agree on 50-50 odds.

The film stars Matt Dillon as a successful craps shooter who moves to Chicago to become a professional player, when craps was popular before the rise of today's casino games played online. 

Director Karel Reisz'...

A classy crime thriller, with edgy suspense and twists that can't be predicted.  Mike Hodges directs Paul Mayersberg's script about a frustrated writer who returns to casino work to find material for a book.  A young Clive Owen shines as the rakish but sensible roulette & blackjack dealer, who documents his own criminal activities. Croupier Blu-ray Hen's Tooth Video 1998 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date November 3, 2015 / 24.95 Starring Clive Owen, Gina McKee, Kate Hardie, Alex Kingston, Nicholas Ball, Paul Reynolds, Ciro de Chiara, Rhona Mitra, Loretta Parnell. Cinematography Michael Garfath Production Designer Jon Bunker Art Direction Ian Reade-Hill, Alexander Scherer, Gernot Thöndel Film Editor Les Healey Original Music Simon Fisher-Turner Written by Paul Mayersberg Produced by Jonathan Cavendish, Marlow De Mardt, Jake Lloyd, James Mitchell, Brigid Olen, Christine Ruppert Directed by Mike Hodges

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

He: "You're my conscience." She: "Don't you have a conscience of your own?" If...

All week long our writers will debate: Which was the greatest film year of the past half century. Check here for a complete list of our essays. Just one glance at the Oscar nominees for 1998 might make it seem less a questionable choice for “best year in film” — and more an insane one. Instead of a 1974 – The Godfather II, The Conversation, Chinatown, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, etc – or even a 1994, where Shawshank, Quiz Show, and Pulp Fiction lost to Gump – you choose a year where the Oscars would allow Roberto Benigni to climb atop both the figurative and literal chairs of the Shrine? Fine, step away from the Oscars. Would you still celebrate a year that saw not one, but two movies about asteroids threatening the Earth? A year that saw such scars carved across cinematic history as Patch Adams, My Giant, Stepmom, and Krippendorf’s Tribe? It bears repeating: Krippendorf’S Tribe?...

You've probably seen all the '90s movies, like "Pulp Fiction," "Clueless" and "Wayne's World" that Netflix has to offer, but there are also plenty of lesser-known gems available to stream. Sit down and enjoy these indies, first films by famous directors and some other great '90s movies you might have missed.

1. "Big Night" (1996) R

A great movie (co-directed by stars Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott) about two Italian brothers in 1950s running an unsuccessful restaurant who go all out when a celebrity's visit promises to save their business.

2. "Boys Don't Cry" (1999) R

Hilary Swank won her first Best Actress Oscar for her searing portrayal of a woman who lives life as a man, until her secret is found out by her redneck friends.

3. "Clueless" (1995) PG-13

How many times have you seen Alicia Silverstone make over her friends and try to play matchmaker? Not enough!

4. "Croupier" (1998) Nr

The movie...

Clive Owen has said that he was never offered the role of James Bond, despite being heavily linked to the series for several years.

The Knick star suggested that it was his role in crime thriller Croupier that helped kick-start his career and put him in people's minds for 007.

"If I hadn't worn that tux in Croupier, I'd still be begging for the parts on cop shows Robson Green turned down!" he told The Express.

Owen was rumoured for the Bond role prior to Daniel Craig's casting in Casino Royale, but reports at the time said that he was turned down after demanding box office profit points in his contract.

"It's easy to keep saying no to a role you're not being offered," Owen added. "Am I going to be the next Sean Connery? No, I'll just be the next Clive Owen."

Owen's new show The Knick will air...

Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 14 Nov 2013 - 06:19

The overlooked greats of the year 1998 come under the spotlight in our list of its 25 underappreciated movies...

Dominated as it was by the financial success of two giant killer asteroid movies, gross-out comedy hit There's Something About Mary and Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, 1998 proved to be an extraordinary year for cinema.

Okay, so history doesn't look back too fondly on Roland Emmerich's mishandled Godzilla remake, and Lethal Weapon 4 was hardly the best buddy-cop flick ever made, despite its handsome profit. But search outside the top-10 grossing films of that year, and you'll find all kinds of spectacular modern classics: Peter Weir's wonderful The Truman Show, John Frankenheimer's rock-solid thriller Ronin, and Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line.

Then there was The Big Lebowski, the Coen brothers' sublime comedy that has since become a deserved and oft-quoted cult favourite.

Admit it – even if you’ve sworn off gambling because it’s such a bad habit, a lot of us find those movies in the gambling genre very exciting. Rounders (1998), which starred Matt Damon, Croupier (2000) with Clive Owen, and Casino (1995) with Scorcese’s usual suspects Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro are just some of those movies which made you want to bask in the gold and glitter of a gambler’s life.

When film directors stage a scene from the mid-1970s, we all know how it’s done: They’ll clear everything out of a shot — commercial signage, etc. — that violates the period, and then they’ll plunk down a bunch of 1970s parked cars. Yet what they end up with still doesn’t usually look like the period — it looks prefab — and watching Blood Ties, a rivetingly scuzzy and authentic New York cops-and-crime drama (it’s set in 1974), starring Clive Owen as a hard case who has just gotten out of prison and Billy Crudup as his straight-arrow policeman brother,...

Los Angeles, Aug 13: Actor Clive Owen says stardom and fame was never his aim as he was more keen on doing theatre.

"I never wanted to be a movie star. And I didn't become an actor to become famous. I genuinely didn't. It was always theatre for me," dailymail.co.uk quoted Owen as saying.

The 47-year-old found success with the ITV series "Chancer" in 1990. He then went on to do movies like "Close My Eyes", "Closer" and "Croupier".

Ians...

Casino

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese

1995, USA

Based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese (the two previously collaborated on the 1990 hit film Goodfellas); Casino

marks the eighth and (to date) final collaboration between director Scorsese and Robert de Niro.

The legendary American director presents a fascinating insider’s perspective of what goes on behind-the-scenes in the world’s gambling mecca. Starring Hollywood icons Robert DeNiro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci, Casino excels with rich dialogue, fantastic sets, a great cast, excellent cinematography and well-drawn characters. Despite the three hour long running time and a somewhat scattered script, Casino nevertheless remains a smart, entertaining spectacle that is populated with significant themes of betrayal, greed, money and the mob’s decline.

Hard Eight (Sydney)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Screenplay by...

If actor Clive Owen ever finds himself at a loose end, Andrew has a few film pitches which he thinks will be a perfect fit…

Described as potentially “one note” in Empire Magazine (with the qualifying comment of “it's a bloody good note and nobody else could play it better”), Clive Owen is more versatile than many give him credit for.

After a varied career in film, stage and television with appearances of note in Chancer, Close My Eyes, the original theatrical version of Closer, and 1997's double-header of Croupier and Bent, he reached the big time in with a very strong run of films (from Sin City in 2005 through to Shoot 'Em Up in 2007). Since then he has alternated between more obviously commercial work such as Duplicity and Killer Elite with more personal, human dramas such as Intruders and The Boys are Back.

The blurb at the top of...

Let's get this out of the way: Clive Owen knows nothing about a "Sin City" or "Inside Man "sequel. Absolutely zilch. (According to recent reports, "Inside Man 2" is dead; "Sin City 2" may begin production later this year). Although he has gained a bit of a reputation for playing the rugged action star he did in those films -- and before that, a successful television actor -- his next movie, "Intruders," is a departure of sorts. The thriller/horror genre follows John Farrow (Owen), a man forced to battle the psychological demons he's passed onto his daughter. As for Owen's next project, he will have to fight demons of a different kind, as he portrays the late author Ernest Hemingway in HBO's "Hemingway and Gellhorn." Moviefone recently sat down with Owen to discuss "Intruders," "Children of Men," what he thought of Corey Stoller's Hemingway portrayal in "Midnight and Paris" and, yes,...

Clive Owen is a respected actor, who starred in a number of acclaimed theater productions in the U.K. before going on to become a major TV star, thanks to Stephen Poliakoff's "Close My Eyes" and the popular TV series "Chancer." After starring in Mike Hodges' surprise hit "Croupier," he became a fully-fledged movie star too, with supporting roles in "The Bourne Identity" and "Gosford Park" turning into lead roles, opposite Angelina Jolie in "Beyond Borders," in Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City," and an Oscar-nominated turn in "Closer." He even starred in one of the very best films of the last decade, Alfonso Cuaron's astonishing dystopia "Children of Men." But things haven't been so great of late. Starring vehicles like "Duplicity," "The International" and "The Boys Are Back" underwhelmed, and even a decent performance in an underrated film like...

Once upon a time, James Marsh‘s upcoming film Shadow Dancer (which Marsh now says is “sort of between titles right now”) had Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall set to star. Now, it has Clive Owen and Andrea Riseborough (you’ve seen her in stuff like Never Let Me Go and Happy-Go-Lucky) stepping in as the two leads in the Man on Wire director’s Ira thriller, which, despite its genre-friendly premise, is low budget [The Playlist, Vulture]. Does the man do it any different?

Thankfully, Marsh does a lot with a little (see Project Nim), as does Owen (see The Boys Are Back, Croupier). Gillian Anderson (The X-Files‘ Scully) and Aidan Gillen (The Wire‘s Mayor Carcetti) have also jumped on board the film.

The film will get rolling next month in Dublin.

Are you excited for Shadow Dancer (or whatever it’s called)? Is Owen right to replace Pearce?

E-mail Dan...

Viva! Spanish Film Festival, Manchester

Opener Tear This Heart Out recreates a 1930s Mexican town with all its intrigues, and there are star-studded shorts to mark the 100th anniversary of the Mexican revolution, but much of this year's Spanish-lanugage film festival is bang up to date. Chilean movie The Life Of Fish is set at a party, while Aurora Borealis: My Final Day is presented as a Mexican teenager's video suicide note. The Colours Of The Mountain contrasts a rural village with guerrilla wars, and Spanish comedy Fat People focuses on obesity. Also, the documentary Circus tracks one of Mexico's last travelling circuses, while Sins Of My Father is a son's view of drug baron Pablo Escobar.

Cornerhouse, Sat to 27 Mar

Minghella Film Festival, Newport

Three years after Anthony Minghella's death, the shoring up of his legacy continues thanks to his fans, family and celebrity mates. The latter...

The past several years have seen a resurgence in interest in the Film Noir genre, not just in recreations via a host of films, but in the classics that started it all. That interest has spawned a series of releases on DVD, and The Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 5 is filled with treats.

You might expect that we would be reaching by the time we got to the fifth installment, a set with eight films, but in some sense the opposite may be true here.

While not the biggest names in the genre, the set gives us some true favorites, as well as some great actors.

Cornered (1945):

From England to continental Europe to Buenos Aires, ex-rcaf pilot Dick Powell stalks the Nazi collaborator who murdered his bride. But one fact constantly surfaces during his quest: no one can describe the mysterious man. Joining Powell in the film shadows are...

Steven Moffat has revealed the titles of the first few stories of Matt Smith's era as the Eleventh Doctor.

The series begins with The Eleventh Hour written by Moffat himself and is believed to follow directly on from the regeneration in The End of Time. Episode Two is The Beast Below also by Moffat with Episode Three seeing the return of the Doctor's greatest foe in Victory of the Daleks by Mark Gatiss.

Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine, Moffat also confirmed a number of guest stars for the new series coming to the UK in the Spring.

Arthur Darvill will join the cast of Episode One as Rory. Darvill was previously seen in Little Dorrit, playing Tip Dorrit in the 2008 series.

Sophie Okonedo stars in Episode Two. She recently seen playing Winnie Mandela in the film Mrs Mandela and has previously starred in series such as Criminal Justice, Father and Son and Clocking Off.

The Boys are Back star Clive Owen is an infuriatingly talented actor. Infuriating because he seems to dodge attention almost with malice aforethought. From as far back as '98s Croupier (and before), he has delivered characters that are almost unbelievably difficult. Looking at Croupier on paper, you just wouldn't think anyone could pull that off without it turning comic, or utterly boring. His resume is filled with similar characters, not least his television movie eye-roller, Ross Tanner from the Second Sight series. I mean, you can hardly explain the idea to someone with a straight face. Moving on to bigger productions, directors, and budgets with such things as - Gosford Park, The International, and Duplicity - and one of the best films and performances in recent memory, Children of Men, Owen is nevertheless all too frequently referred to as, "Oh, yeah, I've seen that guy."...

What American cinemagoers make of the acclaimed adaptations of David Peace's Ellroy-meets-70s-Yorkshire noir novels will be intriguing to see

It's a long journey from the bleakest corners of West Yorkshire to the sleepless glitz of Manhattan. But that's the route being taken by the Red Riding trilogy, the film adaptations of three of David Peace's four northern noir crime novels that aired on Channel 4 last year – they're now set to enjoy a theatrical release in the Us, kicking off next month in New York. It's certainly an intriguing meeting of cultures; what even the most anglophile American audience will make of stories so steeped in the murkiest stuff of late 20th-century British history remains to be seen.

There again, it's never been a fruitful pastime predicting which British movies might find favour in the States. Those with long memories will recall the unlikely box-office success of curios...

"All the same, there was something going on which remains true, even when the words and pictures are mostly made up."

In 1990, playwright Tom Stoppard directed a movie version of his acclaimed play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. In the first week of the shoot, somebody remarked that Stoppard wasn't moving the camera very much. Although Stoppard had consulted with his friend and former collaborator Steven Spielberg prior to the shoot, he realized that he had actually forgotten that he could move the camera. So he resolved to move the camera in week two. Then he found that moving the camera could be quite difficult. So in week three he stopped moving the camera.

Something about the British approach to cinema is vividly captured in the above anecdote. At any point in the preparation of this film, which ended up being flat, distant and visually dead, did anybody on the...

Clive Owen Gets Back

By

Alex Simon

Clive Owen is one of those actors that keep surprising you. Just when you think the audience, and the Hollywood establishment, has pegged him as an action hero, a leading man, or a romantic comedy pin-up, Owen pulls an about-face and does something unexpected.

It all started October 3, 1964 in Coventry, England. Owen’s father, a country music singer, abandoned the family when he was just three. His mother later remarried, with Clive and his four brothers raised by his mother and stepfather, who worked for British Rail. Owen has characterized those early years as "rough." A self-described “solidly working class” kid, Owen was bitten by the acting bug at age 13 and followed his dream to The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art several years later. Initially cutting his teeth on high-profile British television programs such as “Chancer” and “Sharman,” as well as art house...

The Mill Valley Film Festival opens tonight, filling the next 10 days with some of the most anticipated films of the rest of the year, as well as a selection of international films making its way to the Bay Area. In addition, the festival will also host the awarding of talents such as Woody Harrelson, Clive Owen, Uma Thurman, Jason Reitman and screen legend Anna Karina.

We'll have reviews coming in for the festival soon, but for the moment, here's a brief preview of what to look for.

Clive Owen gets a spotlight for bringing his latest work, the patriarchal drama The Boys Are Back, which opens the festival tonight. Owen plays a father who has to raise his two sons on his own after his wife's sudden death. As part of the program is a screening of Owen's breakout role in the gambling thriller Croupier.

Paired with fatherhood is Motherhood,...

Ever since I saw Croupier while visiting London with my folks years ago, Clive Owen has been one of my very favorite actors. No one does that British brooding thing quite like he does (see: Gosford Park, Closer, Inside Man), and when he's bad-ass (i.e. King Arthur, Children of Men, Shoot 'Em Up), he's thrilling. But in his latest movie The Boys Are Back (directed by Shine's Scott Hicks), Owen sheds that stoic persona to play Joe Warr, a father of two sons who, following the death of his second wife, is faced with raising both of them on his own.

It's been 30 years since Kramer vs. Kramer took movie audiences by surprise with its tale of a workaholic dad forced to reorder his priorities to focus on being a caregiver (back before anyone had heard the term "caregiver"). That film was a change of pace for Dustin Hoffman, softening an edgy image and earning him his first Oscar. Now here comes Clive Owen in Scott Hicks' The Boys Are Back, a reworking of similar themes in a way that is just as telling and just as affecting. Indeed, Owen hasn't played this kind of role before, at least not since he first popped up on American radar in Bent and Croupier a dozen years ago. While he's shown versatility in a variety of roles, he's never played a character dealing with problems as normal as the ones confronting Joe Warr, the...

Our ‘hero’ is Jack (Clive Owen). It would be difficult to create, especially allowing for serious analyzation, a better anti-hero. Jack is an aspiring writer, living with his girlfriend, an in-store detective, and his writing is going nowhere. Beaten down by his writer’s block, and a publisher’s attempts to get him to knock out meaningless drivel, Jack actually responds when his estranged father rings up to tell him about a possible job as a croupier. Jack, we are led to understand, has some serious history in the world of gambling, apparently from both sides of the table. He’s put that sort of thing behind him, but he’s getting pretty desperate. Not only for money, but for some ability to pretend (if nothing else) that he is doing something worthwhile. Living off his girlfriend isn’t quite filling that bill. As Jack, narrating (another hallmark of film...

The International Movie Reviewby Eric Sloss, Writer “The International” is a timely movie about a big greedy bank wanting to have as much power as it can in this global economy. At times it drags, but it generally succeeds in its convictions. Clive Owen plays an Interpol agent Louis Salinger trying to take the bank down. Owen is very good in thrillers such as this. He brings an everyman toughness and weariness that is needed to pull it off. It is a skill that he has put in good use in such films as “Children of Men”, the Spike Lee bank heist movie “Inside Man”, the bloody good “Sin City”, the underrated “King Arthur” and the great unseen “Croupier”. Naomi Watts is attorney Eleanor Whitman in the New York Da’s office who is working on the case with Louis. Their target is the International Bank of Business and Credit...

“The International” is a timely movie about a big greedy bank wanting to have as much power as it can in this global economy. At times it drags, but it generally succeeds in its convictions. Clive Owen plays an Interpol agent Louis Salinger trying to take the bank down. Owen is very good in thrillers such as this. He brings an everyman toughness and weariness that is needed to pull it off. It is a skill that he has put in good use in such films as “Children of Men”, the Spike Lee bank heist movie “Inside Man”, the bloody good “Sin City”, the underrated “King Arthur” and the great unseen “Croupier”. Naomi Watts is attorney Eleanor Whitman in the New York Da’s office who is working on the case with Louis. Their target is the International Bank of Business and Credit (Ibbc). The bank has been dealing with...

“The International” is a timely movie about a big greedy bank wanting to have as much power as it can in this global economy. At times it drags, but it generally succeeds in its convictions. Clive Owen plays an Interpol agent Louis Salinger trying to take the bank down. Owen is very good in thrillers such as this. He brings an everyman toughness and weariness that is needed to pull it off. It is a skill that he has put in good use in such films as “Children of Men”, the Spike Lee bank heist movie “Inside Man”, the bloody good “Sin City”, the underrated “King Arthur” and the great unseen “Croupier”. Naomi Watts is attorney Eleanor Whitman in the New York Da’s office who is working on the case with Louis. Their target is the International Bank of Business and Credit (Ibbc). The bank has been dealing with...

Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Clive Owen has taken the big screen by storm, making quite a name for himself in the U.K., the United States and around the world. With his captivating performance in the title role of Mike Hodges’ sleeper hit “Croupier,” critics have compared him to the likes of Bogart, Mitchum, and Connery. The versatile actor also starred as The Driver in the series of BMW internet short features entitled “The Hire,” each directed by John Frankheimer, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-wai, Guy Ritchie, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. In 2005, Owe...

Clive Owen has made a career out of playing brooding loners, yet he never seems to be repeating himself. Even his hesitant heroes bear little resemblance to one another. His indestructible Sin City character will never be confused with his cartoon antihero in Shoot 'Em Up or his weary Everyman reluctantly saving the world in Children of Men. If there's a common thread to his roles--including the brilliant bank robber in Inside Man, the cuckolded husband in Closer, and Sir Walter Raleigh in Elizabeth: The Golden Age--it's an intelligence and an air of sophistication that Owen can't help but bring to every role he plays.His smooth confidence had many clamoring for Owen to inherit the mantle of James Bond, a role he claims he was never offered before Daniel Craig assumed the title. This seems inconceivable, as the character would have fit Owen as snugly as an Armani tux,...

British thespian and perpetual "next big thing" Clive Owen spent a better part of the early 2000's hounded by rumors that he'd been tabbed to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, largely because the bulk of his star-making turn in 1998's Croupier involved cruising around a casino while wearing a tux. Of course, the role eventually went to the beefier, blonder Daniel Craig, whose two stints as 007 have together earned over a billion dollars worldwide. Owen's films, as you might guess, have earned considerably less.

We'll never know the extent to which Owen lobbied for the Bond role -- or if he ever desired it at all -- but his recent career choices are telling. Next year, he's set to play an Interpol agent in Tom Tykwer's thriller The International and an MI6 agent-turned-corporate spy in Tony Gilroy's thriller Duplicity. And just today, Owen signed on to star in the thriller Cartagena.

• Julia Roberts and Clive Owen are going to star in Duplicity, A Universal Pictures drama written and directed by Tony Gilroy- who recently helmed Michael Clayton. Roberts and Owen previously teamed in the Mike Nichols- directed Closer.Described as a caper pic set in the world of big business, Owen and Roberts will play rival corporate spies that also happen to be lovers.The film is set to roll in March- once Owen finishes work on the Tom Tykwer-directed The International. Roberts will next be seen in Charlie Wilson's War- directed by Nichols, in which she stars opposite Tom Hanks.Duplicity sounds a bit like a corporate take on Mr. and Mrs. Smith- although under the direction of Gilroy, I imagine the film will not be as tongue in cheek as it sounds. Michael Clayton was one hell of a debut for Gilroy, so it

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CANNES -- Shooting Gallery founder Larry Meistrich is launching production, financing and distribution outfit Nehst Media Enterprises, focusing on features, television and direct-to-Web content.

Meistrich will head the company with entrepreneur Ari D. Friedman and will be drumming up new projects at Cannes. The executives lead a team that includes production group president Dana Offenbach, president of production William Keys and Web content and consumer network head Jeff Silverstein Films, USA Films and Artisan Entertainment. Silverstein founded interactive video company Fusion Media, working with such companies as Sony, AT&T and IBM.

Meistrich served as a producer of Sling Blade, You Can Count on Me, Laws of Gravity and Croupier. He also launched and sold the food delivery Web site HomeDelivery.com.

More information about the film fund, launch partners and initial properties will be announced in the next few weeks.