Frank sinatra and dean martin

Hector Ramirez , a cameraman known for live events and music and comedy specials who racked up 20 Emmys and scores of other nominations in a career spanning 44 years and 200-plus credits, has died. He was 78. His wife, Alma, posted the news on social media last week. “Today I lost my husband, partner, friend, hero, protector, handyman and cameraman extraordinaire,” she wrote on January 11. “So many memories to behold in the 47 years of our marriage that my heart is broken and my world so much smaller. He was larger than life, a dad, grandfather, uncle, brother and loved by so many friends. He touched so many lives. He is deeply missed. No more pain baby, rest in peace and go and tell your stories to all the angels in heaven.” Ramirez won four Emmys for his work on Dancing with the Stars , on which he worked from 2006-13, and also won TV Academy hardware for American Idol, the 1994 Oscars , the 2008 Grammys and specials from Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon, Cher, … [Read more...] about Hector Ramirez Dies: 20-Time Emmy-Winning Cameraman On Oscars, Grammys, ‘DWTS’ & More Was 78

At the start of awards season, Edward Berger ’s All Quiet On The Western Front was a lock for International, but few could have foreseen how much further it would go. Alongside that nomination, the German film is now also in the running for Best Picture, having made the shortlist for Sound, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay, Makeup and Hairstyling, Production Design, Visual Effects and Cinematography. This grand haul follows its performance at the BAFTAs, where it gathered an astonishing 14 nominations in almost all major categories. As a result, the film joins Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2002) in second place to Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1981), which still holds the BAFTA record for nominations with 16. It’s a double-whammy that will surely prompt some second thoughts at Netflix: in a year that the streamer invested in some of cinema’s biggest names, one of its biggest critical hits is a foreign-language remake with no major stars, from a director best … [Read more...] about 2023 Oscars: ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ Earns Nine Nominations

EXCLUSIVE : Academy Award and 3x Emmy winner Bill Conti ( The Right Stuff ) has been tapped to pen the score for Roselli’s Way , a new biopic on Italian American pop singer Jimmy Roselli. The film scripted by J.D. Zeik ( Ronin ) will watch as Roselli looks back on a career, in which he was forever the underdog in comparison to contemporary Frank Sinatra, among others. Michael Besman, James Deutch, Roger Birnbaum and Mark Kimsey will produce for EMP Productions, along with Spike Seldin and Neil Jesuele of Remarkable Media, and veteran music exec and record producer Ron Fair, who will also serve as music supervisor. James Ivory and Stephen Dembitzer will serve as exec producers. A director is not yet attached to the project, though the casting search for its title character is now under way. “The story behind one of the greatest voices of his era needs to be told,” Conti told Deadline. “Roselli’s life, though unknown is most compelling.” Conti won an Academy … [Read more...] about Bill Conti, Academy Award-Winning Composer Behind ‘The Right Stuff,’ Boards James Ivory-Backed Biopic ‘Roselli’s Way’

AMC wants the $200 million profits lawsuit from The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman , Gale Anne Hurd and fellow executive producers to be D.O.A. “Having lost resoundingly in state court on different theories, Plaintiffs are at it again, now asking this Court to hand them a multimillion-dollar windfall through a new argument that finds no support in the plain language or purpose of the contractual provision (known as a ‘most favored nation’ or ‘MFN’ clause) on which Plaintiffs rely,” the James Dolan-led company declares in a motion to dismiss memorandum filed late last week in federal court ( read it here ). If you are confused, let’s be clear: This is not about the TWD profit participation action alleging sleight of hand that Kirkman, Hurd, David Alpert, Charles Eglee and ex-showrunner Glen Mazzara filed in 2017 against AMC. After being sliced and diced in a mini-trial in 2020, and then hacked up further by a now-retired Los Angeles Superior Court judge, … [Read more...] about AMC Seeks Dismissal Of $200M Profits Suit From ‘Walking Dead’ Creator Robert Kirkman And Fellow EPs

Suffice it to say that Avatar: The Way of Water commanded the Visual Effects Society ’s attention. James Cameron box office-smash sequel scored a record 14 nominations for the 2023 VES Awards , which were announced today. Helped by three noms in the Emerging Technology category, Disney’s The Way of Water topped the single-year noms haul by Disney+’s The Mandalorian in 2021. It also shattered the old high-water mark for films, set by — no big surprise here — the original Avatar, which amassed 11 noms in 2010. The hardware will be doled out at the 21st annual VES Awards on Wednesday, February 15, at The Beverly Hilton. Avatar: The Way of Water will vie for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature — the category that hews closest to the Visual Effects Oscar — against Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Jurassic World: Dominion, The Batman and Top Gun: Maverick , the film right behind the Avatar sequel on the 2022 list of top … [Read more...] about VES Awards Nominations: ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Smashes Records With 14 Noms From Visual Effects Society

Tosin Cole was larking about on the set of the Warner Bros House Party reboot in Los Angeles when an email dropped from casting director Kim Coleman ( BlacKkKlansman ) about Emmett Till ’s story. “I was like, ‘I’m filming for months non stop, I want to go home,’ ” he recalls thinking. “They wanted me to go for Medgar Evers , and I was like, ‘I don’t know who that is. Let me think about it.’ “ His agent brought him up short telling him, “No, you got to do it. At least send a tape.” “I was like, ‘I’m doing night shifts in LA. I don’t know when I’ll have time,’ ” he worried. That’s when Barbara Broccoli, an executive producer of UAR’s Till , zinged him a message saying, “We’d love to have you on board, if you can.” That missive sharpened Cole’s mind. Besides overseeing the James Bond universe with Michael G. Wilson, Broccoli’s active in theater and independent film production. She supported Debbie Tucker Green’s play Ear for Eye when it played London’s … [Read more...] about ‘Till’ Star Tosin Cole: From Larking About In The ‘House Party’ Reboot To Portraying A Civil Rights Legend

Even on a specialty level, horror just works post-pandemic with the latest pop from a strong showing by a trio of films, Fear and Infinity Pool , released this weekend, and Skinamarink in week three. Fear hails from Deon and Roxanne Avent Taylor’s Hidden Empire Film Group , the all-Black production company behind cult hit Meet The Blacks (2016) and The House Next Door: Meet The Blacks 2 , released into a shaky theatrical marketplace in June of 2021 that made nearly $3 million U.S. Fear , directed by Deon Taylor, was self-distributed by Hidden Empire Releasing on 974 screens, opening to an estimated $1.28 million for a per-screen average of $1,315. The breakdown: Fri: $466.9k (includes $132k in Thursday sneaks); Sat: $504k; Sun: estimated $310k. Shows were sold out in key markets across the country including LA, New York, Sacramento, Atlanta, Miami, DC, and Chicago. The 50% increase from Friday to Saturday, not including Thursday previews, shows … [Read more...] about ‘Fear’, ‘Infinity Pool’, ‘Skinamarink’ Scare Up Cash In Indie Horror Bonanza – Specialty Box Office

CNN will start showing the post-show Overtime segments from HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher as part of its Friday edition of CNN Tonight . The segments will start this Friday at 11:30 PM ET. The Overtime segments have up to now been posted online and promoted to viewers of Real Time . They feature Maher and his guests continuing their discussion on a range of topics and answering viewer questions. The scheduling of the segments is the latest move by CNN Worldwide chairman and CEO Chris Licht to bolster the network’s primetime and late-night lineup. He has not yet named a permanent show for the 9 PM ET timeslot, and sources say that one of the ideas considered has been to schedule a non-traditional host, such as a comedian, for that time period. But a range of options have been considered. Licht told the Los Angeles Times, “We are in conversations with culturally relevant individuals from the worlds of entertainment, sports and comedy who can bring fresh and unique … [Read more...] about CNN To Show Bill Maher’s ‘Overtime’ Segments As Part Of Friday Night Programming