Happy Birthday: Robert Wise (1914–2005)

September 10, 2016 festreviews Happy Birthday director, Happy Birthday, Robert Wise (1914–2005)

robertwise Robert Wise (1914–2005)

Born: September 10, 1914 in Winchester, Indiana, USA
Died: September 14, 2005 (age 91) in Los Angeles, California, USA

Married to:
Millicent Wise (29 January 1977 – 14 September 2005) (his death)
Patricia Doyle (25 May 1942 – 22 September 1975) (her death) (1 child)

[on Julie Andrews] How’s she got to the top? It can not be all just talent. A lot of talented don’t begin to make it the way she has made it. There is a genuineness about her; an unphoniness. She goes right through the camera, on to the film and out to the audience. Julie seems to have been born with the magic gene that comes through on the screen.

THE HINDENBURG
1975
dir. Robert Wise
Starring:
George C. Scott
Anne Bancroft

Executive Suite
1954
dir. Wise
Starring
Holden
Barbara Stanwyck
June Allyson

The Set-Up
1949
dir. Wise
Starring
Robert Ryan
Audrey Totter

The Day The Earth Stood Still
1951
dir. Wise
Starring
Michael Rennie
Patricia Neal

Somebody Up There Likes Me
1956
dir. Robert Wise
Cast
Paul Newman
Pier Angeli

The Haunting
1963
dir. Wise
starring
Julie Harris
Claire Brown

West Side Story
1961
dir. Wise
Jerome Robbins
Starring
Wood
Richard Beymer

The Sound of Music
1965
dir. Wise
Starring
Julie Andrews
Christopher Plummer

Happy Birthday: Chris Columbus

September 10, 2016 festreviews Happy Birthday Chris Columbus, director, Happy Birthday

Chris Columbus

Born: September 10, 1958 in Spangler, Pennsylvania, USA

Married to:
Monica Devereux (1983 – present) (4 children)

I was up on 140th Street in Harlem, in 1992. It was 3 in the morning, and I was walking back to get a cup of coffee. These two young kids came up to me and said to me, “What movie is this?” I said, “Home Alone 2,” and they said, “What do you do?” And I said, “I’m the director.” They said, “Oh, you’re John Hughes!”

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
2001
dir. Columbus
Starring
Richard Harris

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
dir. Chris Columbus

I Love You Beth Cooper
2009
dir. Columbus
starring
Hayden Panettiere
Paul Rust

HOME ALONE
1990
dir. Chris Columbus
Stars:
Macaulay Culkin
Joe Pesci

HOME ALONE 2
1992
dir. Chris Columbus
Stars:
Macaulay Culkin
Joe Pesci

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2002
dir. Columbus
starring
Daniel Radcliffe

Happy Birthday: Kimberly Peirce

September 8, 2016 festreviews Uncategorized director, Happy Birthday, Kimberly Peirce

Kimberly Peirce

Born: September 8, 1967 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA

You talk to any director, it’s tough. It’s tough to make movies that you love.

I like to go for the reality, I like to go for what’s underneath. And I don’t even judge it. But that isn’t what all Hollywood movies are. That’s an example where my success in Boys Don’t Cry (1999) brought me this great Hollywood career and all these offers that I really appreciate, but I really have a very particular thing that I like doing. I love real emotion, I love real drama.

CARRIE
2013
dir. Kimberly Peirce
Stars:
Chloe Grace Moretz
Julianne Moore

Stop-Loss
2008
Directed by Kimberly Peirce
Starring
Ryan Phillippe
Levitt

Happy Birthday: Brad Silberling

September 8, 2016 festreviews Happy Birthday Brad Silberling, director, Happy Birthday

Brad Silberling

Born: September 8, 1963 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Married to: Amy Brenneman (30 September 1995 – present) (2 children)

Wrote and directed the 2002 film Moonlight Mile (2002) based on his own experiences after the tragic murder of his girlfriend, actress Rebecca Schaeffer, in 1989.

CITY OF ANGELS
1998
dir. Brad Silberling
Starring:
Nicholas Cage
Meg Ryan

Land of the Lost
2009
dir. Brad Silberling
Starring
Ferrell
Danny McBride

Happy Birthday: Elia Kazan (1909–2003)

September 7, 2016 festreviews Happy Birthday director, Elia Kazan (1909–2003), Happy Birthday

Elia Kazan (1909–2003)

Born: September 7, 1909 in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey]
Died: September 28, 2003 (age 94) in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

His selection for an Honorary Oscar angered many in the filmmaking community on account of his being among the first to cooperate with the House UnAmerican Activities Committee in 1952, which led to the blacklisting that ruined many careers in Hollywood because of their political beliefs, and that Kazan had publicly stated that he had no regrets for that action. In response, there were loud protests against his selection for the award and some attendees of the awards ceremony, such as Nick Nolte , Ed Harris, stayed in their seats and refused to applaud when he received the award.

[on Marlon Brando] He was deeply rebellious against the bourgeois spirit, the over-ordering of life.

Boomerang
1947
dir. Elia Kazan
starring
Dana Andrews
Lee J. Cobb

A Streetcar Named Desire
1954
dir. Kazan
starring
Marlon Brando
Vivien Leigh

Viva Zapata!
1952
dir. Elia Kazan
Starring
Marlon Brando
Anthony QuinnOn the Waterfront
1954
dir. Kazan
starring
Marlon Brando
Eva Marie SaintA Face in the Crowd
1957
dir. Kazan
Starring
Andy Griffith
Patricia NealSplendor in the Grass
1961
dir. Kazan
starring
Natalie Wood
Warren Beatty

Happy Birthday: Noah Baumbach

September 3, 2016 festreviews Happy Birthday director, Happy Birthday, Noah Baumbach

Noah Baumbach

Born: September 3, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

[re Woody Allen] I think my parents had “Getting Even”, which was one of his collections, and when I read it I couldn’t believe it. I thought they were the funniest things that I had ever read, but also felt–this is the thing they say about great poetry or something–it’s like your own thoughts brought back to you with added majesty. It was like my own funny ideas brought back, and he just seemed so smart and funny, and I just felt so connected to it from that point forward.

FRANCES HA
2013
dir. Noah Baumbach
Stars:
Greta Gerwig
Mickey Sumner

The Squid and the Whale
2005
dir. by Noah Baumbach
starring
Daniels
Laura Linney

Greenberg
dir. Noah Baumbach
Stars
Ben Stiller
Greta Gerwig

Happy Birthday: Hal Ashby (1929–1988)

September 2, 2016 festreviews Happy Birthday director, Hal Ashby (1929–1988), Happy Birthday

Hal Ashby (1929–1988)

Born: September 2, 1929 in Ogden, Utah, USA
Died: December 27, 1988 (age 59) in Malibu, California, USA

Married to:
Joan Marshall (21 August 1969 – 1970) (divorced)
Shirley Stockman (31 July 1963 – 21 March 1968) (divorced) (1 child)
Maloy “Mickey” Joan Bartron (4 August 1956 – 1963) (divorced)
Maxine Marie Armstrong (25 July 1949 – 1950) (divorced)
Lavon Compton (1 March 1947 – 10 May 1948) (divorced) (1 child)

I basically have a very positive philosophy of life, because I don’t feel I have anything to lose. Most things are going to turn out okay.

Harold and Maude
1971
dir. Ashby
starring
Bud Cort
Ruth Gordon

COMING HOME
1978
dir. Hal Ashby
Stars:
Jane Fonda
Jon Voight

The Last Detail
1973
dir. Ashby
Starring
Jack Nicholson
Otis Young
Randy Quaid

Shampoo
1975
dir. Ashby
Starring
Warren Beatty
Goldie Hawn

THE SLUGGER’S WIFE
1985
dir. Hal Ashby
Stars:
Michael O’Keefe
Rebecca De Mornay

Happy Birthday: William Friedkin

August 29, 2016 festreviews Happy Birthday director, Happy Birthday, William Friedkin

William Friedkin

Born: August 29, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, USA

The French Connection (1971) was really made in the editing room. One of the easiest sequences to do was the chase scene. It was relatively easy to do because everything was worked out minutely, carefully planned and checked in advance. Of course, there were some human errors and we did wreck a couple of cars before we were through.

The Boys in the Band
1970
dir. Friedkin
Starring
Kenneth Nelson
Frederick Combs

The French Connection
1971
dir. Friedkin
Starring
Gene Hackman
Roy Scheider

The Exorcist
1973
dir. Friedkin
Cast
Ellen Burstyn
Max von Sydow

Sorcerer
1977
dir. Friedkin
starring
Roy Scheider
Bruno Cremer

Bug
2007
dir. Friedkin
Starring
Zach Braff
Ashley Judd
Michael Shannon

KILLER JOE
2012
dir. William Friedkin
Stars:
Matthew McConaughey
Emile Hirsch

BUG
2006
dir. William Friedkin
Stars:
Ashley Judd
Michael Shannon

ARBITRAGE
2012
dir. Nicholas Jarecki
Stars:
Richard Gere
Susan Sarandon

Happy Birthday: Joel Schumacher

August 29, 2016 festreviews Happy Birthday director, Happy Birthday, Joel Schumacher

Joel Schumacher

Born: August 29, 1939 in New York City, New York, USA

“Val did me two great favors. When I wanted him to be Batman, he said yes. Then he created a situation which allowed me not to have him play Batman again. They were both happy, happy instances, for which I will always be grateful.” — Premiere magazine (April 1997), in an article on Val Kilmer.

The Lost Boys
1987
dir. Schumacher
Starring
Jason Patric

Flatliners
1990
dir. Schumacher
starring
Kiefer Sutherland
Kevin Bacon
Julia Roberts

Falling Down
1993
dir. Schumacher
Starring
Michael Douglas
Robert Duvall

Batman Forever
1995
dir. Schumacher
Starring
Val Kilmer
Jim Carrey

HOUSE of CARDS season 1
2013
Best of the NETFLIX show

TRESPASS
dir. Joel Schumacher
Stars:
Nicolas Cage
Nicole Kidman

A Time to Kill
1996
dir. Schumacher
starring
Matthew McConaughey
Sandra Bullock<

Batman & Robin
1997
dir. Schumacher
Starring
Clooney
Uma Thurman
Arnold Schwarzenegger

8MM
1999
dir. Joel Schumacher
Starring
Nicolas Cage
Joaquin Phoenix
James Gandolfini

VERONICA GUERIN
2003
dir. Joel Schumacher
Stars:
Colin Farrell
Cate Blanchett

Happy Birthday: David Fincher

August 28, 2016 festreviews Happy Birthday David Fincher, director, Happy Birthday

David Fincher

Born: August 28, 1962 in Denver, Colorado, USA

[on getting at least 60% of what you want on a film set] . . . I think that’s probably on a good day. I would say probably, on a given film, Fight Club (1999) is probably closest to what we wanted to do. It’s about 75% of what we wanted. I think Panic Room (2002), even though it was storyboarded within an inch of its life, was probably 60%. The Social Network (2010), I wasn’t transposing what I had in my head on it, because I was really following the text, and following these kids, so that movie was, y’know, about 70-75% of what I thought it was going to be. This movie is probably about that. I think you’re doing pretty good if you can get 70% of what you want.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK
dir. Fincher
Stars:
Jesse Eisenberg
Andrew Garfield