Living for the Cinema

This is the semi-autobiographical musical story of Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider), a legendary choreographer/director struggling with various addictions as he juggles developing a new stage musical and editing a film he has directed.  And it was directed by legendary choreographer/director Bob Fosse (Cabaret, Lenny) who at the time was dealing with many of the struggles when he wasn't winning multiple Tony Awards and Oscars.  It was a true passion project which also attracted a passionate response as it did well at the box office, received mass acclaim, and was also nominated for multiple Oscars including for Best Picture.  Scheider was also nominated for Best Actor that year, leading a very talented cast including Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer, Cliff Gorman, Ben Vereen, and Jessica Lange.  Jam-packed with several sequences which can be described as sad, sexy, sordid, and joyous, it was quite the original cinematic experience....IT'S SHOWTIME FOLKS!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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What happens when the acclaimed and idiosyncratic director of JFK, Natural Born Killers, and The Doors attempts to direct a conventional sports drama about his favorite sport?  Multiple Oscar-winner Oliver Stone showed us back in December 1999 that the result would be clearly anything BUT conventional!  And he had quite the cast for this epic tail of a few weeks in the life of the fictional Miami Sharks, a professional football team at a crossroads.   They have a hot-headed new owner (Cameron Diaz) trying in to rein their beleaguered veteran coach (Al Pacino) and have also just lost their veteran quarterback (Dennis Quaid) to a severe injury so they have to replace him with a third string quarterback (Jamie Foxx) with something to prove.  And what results is a wild 160 minutes of big budget football insanity jam-packed with game-related violence, debauchery, and VERY loud arguments!  Also included in this stacked cast are James Woods, LL Cool J, Jim Brown, Aaron Eckhart, Matthew Modine, John C. McGinley, Lela Rochon, Lawrence Taylor, Elizabeth Berkley, AND the late great Charlton Heston. :) It's time to make a run for the Pantheon Cup....

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Fifty years ago, recent Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola returned to write and direct what was likely one of the most highly anticipated sequels in the history of cinema.....and barely two years after the original film (The Godfather) had set the world by storm not only setting box office records but winning several Oscars including Best Picture.  How could any film live up to that?  Well in the opinions of most who saw it, THIS one did! 

Returning are stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, Talia Shire, and John Cazale among several others in this next chapter of The Corleone Saga with Al's Michael now leading one of the most powerful crime families in the country.  And this time around, he's expanding his empire further by working out a deal with powerful kingpin Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg) to expand operations into Cuba.  Of course, several complications ensue including an attempt on Michael's life which arouses suspicions towards every one around him.  From there, things don't go exactly as planned as Michael's fear and paranoia take him into unexpected directions.  Along the way during this 3+ hour epic, Coppola also presents us with the origins of Michael's father Vito now played by Robert Deniro.  We follow Vito's story from an orphaned kid travelling from his homeland of Italy to New York City and eventually growing into adulthood, building a criminal empire.  Considered by many to be even better than its predecessor, this would go on to win six Oscars including Best Picture.   

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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STRENGTH AND HONOR!

The legendary Sir Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner) returns to Ancient Rome to direct this long-awaited sequel to his Best Picture-winning, blockbuster smash from twenty four years ago, Gladiator.  This continuation takes place around sixteen years later as the legacy of the both Maximus and the late Emperor Marcus Aurelius has seemingly waned.  Rome is now even more corrupt with two childish, manic twin emperors (Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger) now running things as the Roman Empire has stretched itself even thinner under the military leadership of General Acacius (Pedro Pascal)....with bloody, increasingly elaborate gladiator games taking place in the Coliseum now as important as ever!

And into this brutal arena, A Hero Will Rise. :) His name is Lucius and he's a slave played by acclaimed up-and-coming actor Oscar-nominee Paul Mescal (Aftersun, All of Us Strangers) while the promoter who owns and controls him is Macrinus played by multiple Oscar-winner Denzel Washington.  Also still in the mix and returning from the first film is Lucilla played by Connie Nielsen (One Hour Photo, Wonder Woman) who seems to recognize this strapping young fighter who's staking Rome by storm....and what results is another swords-and-sandals epic somewhat similar to the first one, only THIS time featuring....sharks? :P  

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Forty years ago this December saw the release of the most popular AND influential action comedies of all time.  This was star Eddie Murphy's immediate follow-up to his two breakout hits the previous years, 48 Hrs. in '82 and then Trading Places in '83, only THIS time he was the sole star above the title for the first time.  And Eddie did not disappoint with this fish-out-of-water comedy about a Detroit cop named Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) who travels across the country to Beverly Hills to investigate the murder of his best friend.  Even though that might not SOUND like the set-up for an comedic film, Murphy's gift for improvisation and a game supporting cast (John Ashton, Judge Reinhold playing two local cops whom he teams up with in Beverly Hills) bring a lot of humor to the proceedings regardless, along with a clever Oscar-nominated script from Daniel Petrie Jr and top-flight helming from director Martin Brest whose follow-up would be the even better Midnight Run four years later.  What results are memorable characters, quotable lines, and of course a kicking soundtrack including an iconic synth score from Harold Faultemeyer.  The Heat IS On!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Closing out a decade comprising two iconic hits (Heat, The Last of the Mohicans), Oscar-nominated director Michael Mann decided to next collaborate with Oscar-winning writer Eric Roth (Forest Gump) on this docudrama about a controversial story which ran at the highly-rated news-program "60 Minutes" just a few years prior.  This news segment focused on an interview with "Big Tobacco" whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand (Russel Crowe) and what damaging secrets he was able to review about the questionable business practices of his former employer, Brown & Williamson.  Unfortunately this segment didn't air right away resulting from various complicating factors including political concerns at the network (CBS) airing it, ongoing litigation from Brown & Williamson, and Wigand's own personal history coming to light.  The producer on this segment and the other key "insider" in this story was 60 Minutes' Lowell Bergman played by Oscar-winner Al Pacino.  And what results is a stirring film which was beloved by critics though not by audiences....it would also receive seven Oscar nominations including for Best Picture.  It remains one of the best films from a sterling year (1999) for cinema and also featured a stacked cast including Diane Venora, Christopher Plummer, Phillip Baker Hall, Michael Gambon, Debi Mazar, Gina Gershon, and Bruce McGill.

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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The Pope has suddenly died and a new one must be elected via a titular conclave as soon as possible at Vatican City.  Cardinal Law (Ralph Fiennes) has been tasked with running this conclave and must not only ensure that every viable candidate has been properly vetted but that the nominating and voting processes are fair among all other cardinals.  And what results is akin to a courtroom/legal drama with several of the usual trappings including surprise revelations and witnesses.  Edward Berger (All Quiet On the Western Front) directs this highly acclaimed new thriller also co-starring John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, and Isabelle Rossellini.

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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David Ayers (Suicide Squad, The Beekeeper) directs this brutal war drama which takes place during the last days of World War II along the German front.  We follow a crew riding within a tank known as the titular "Fury" which is lead by Brad Pitt's grizzled veteran nick-named "Wardaddy."  Pitt leads a stellar cast including Michael Pena, Shia LeBouf, Jon Bernthal and Logan Lerman, the latter of whom plays Norman who becomes the audience avatar as he has just joined this crew and has never experienced combat before.  What results is a grisly adventure featuring several intense combat sequences ALL depicted from the vantage point of this Sherman tank.  

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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In the grand tradition of such intimate war epics as Dunkirk and Black Hawk Down, Oscar-winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) directed this ground-level journey of two young British army privates (Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay) who are sent on an urgent mission during World War I to deliver a message that will hopefully stop 1,600 men from walking straight into a deadly trap set by the enemy.  And everything which transpires on-screen is conducted within ONE continuous shot. :o One of the more acclaimed and successful war epics of recent years, this film nonetheless was dismissed by several as relying more on its central conceit than telling a compelling story....it was also nominated for ten Oscars including Best Picture, and ended up winning three.  Let's embark on this harrowing mission with Lance Corporals Blake and Schofield to see how this holds up five years after it was released.....

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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DIVORCE WEEK continues (and concludes) with this game-changing domestic drama directed by Robert Benton (Places in the Heart, Nobody's Fool) which not only nominated for nine Oscars but would also win five Oscars including Best Picture for 1979.  Starring as the titular Kramer's are Dustin Hoffman as Ted and Meryl Streep as Joanna - they are a young married couple living in New York City with their young son Billy (Justin Henry) and suddenly one day, Joanna decides to leave.  What results is a tense situation involving not only Ted attempting to connect with Billy as a single father but their eventual divorce, including a custody battle over their son.  All three stars were also nominated for Oscars along with Jane Alexander who co-stars as Margaret, a family friend who gets caught in the middle of this conflict.  This film was also a cultural phenomenon at the time of its release, also becoming the highest grossing box office hit of 1979.   

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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