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Michael Finnell
Michael Finnell is a film producer active from the 1970s to the present. He has produced several horror-comedy films, particularly with the director Joe Dante. Finnell worked for the American producer Roger Corman before emerging as a producer in his own right. His first films were ''Avalanche'' (1978) and ''Rock 'n' Roll High School'' (1979), with Corman. One of the first without Corman was the movie ''Airplane!'', in which he was listed in the end credits as "generally in charge of a lot of things". Working with Dante, Finnell then produced the modest hit ''The Howling'' in 1981 and the blockbuster ''Gremlins'' in 1984. Dante and the special effects designer Chris Walas have said that Finnell's producing style was influenced by Corman, in that Finnell was very concerned about budgeting and wanted to make sure even cheap purchases contributed to the final film. The anecdote Walas told was of Finnell engaging in long phone calls over the purchase of a kitchen knife to be used in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1970s In Film
The decade of the 1970s in film involved many significant films. Highest-grossing films (United States and Canada) All figures are for the United States and Canada. Some figures * are for rentals accruing to the distributor, not total box office gross. Asian cinema An Asian cinema touchstone beginning in the early 1970s was traditional Hong Kong martial arts films which sparked a greater interest in Chinese martial arts across the world. Martial arts film reached the peak of its popularity largely due to its greatest icon, Bruce Lee. His films elevated the genre to a new level and sparked a greater interest in martial arts in the Western world. Lee became famous for playing Kato in the television series ''The Green Hornet'' during the 1960s. When he returned to Hong Kong, Lee starred in three films that shot him to stardom all over Asia, ''The Big Boss'' (1971), ''Fist of Fury'' (1972) and ''Way of the Dragon'' (1972). After the kung fu film ''Five Fingers of Death'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Small Soldiers
''Small Soldiers'' is a 1998 American action comedy film directed by Joe Dante and written by Gavin Scott, Adam Rifkin, Ted Elliott, and Terry Rossio. It stars Kirsten Dunst and Gregory Smith, along with the voices of Frank Langella and Tommy Lee Jones. It depicts two factions of toys which turn sentient after being programmed with a military microprocessor, putting in danger when one faction ultimately turns lethal. Released on July 10, 1998, in the United States, the film received mixed reviews, but grossed $87.5 million on a $40 million budget. ''Small Soldiers'' marks the last on-screen film role of Phil Hartman, who was murdered two months before the film's American premiere, and is dedicated in his memory. It was also the final film role of Clint Walker. Plot When top defense contractor GloboTech Industries acquires the Heartland Toy Company, CEO Gil Mars commissions toy designers Larry Benson and Irwin Wayfair to develop toys capable of "playing back". Mars selects Lar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eating Raoul
''Eating Raoul'' is a 1982 American black comedy film written, directed by and starring Paul Bartel with Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Ed Begley Jr., Buck Henry, and Susan Saiger. It is about a prudish married couple (Bartel and Woronov) who resort to killing and robbing affluent swingers to earn money for their dream restaurant. The writers commissioned a single-issue comic book based on the film for promotion; it was created by underground comix creator Kim Deitch. Plot Paul Bland is a balding wine snob who works at a cheap wine shop. His attractive wife Mary is a nurse who is routinely groped by hospital patients. When Paul is fired, they are left with barely enough money to survive and fear that they will never realize their dream of opening a restaurant. Paul and Mary sleep in separate twin beds since they are prudes who disapprove of sex. They live in an apartment building which regularly hosts swingers parties, which they despise. When a drunk swinger wanders into the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starhops
''Starhops'' is 1978 exploitation film directed by Barbara Peeters. It was based on a script by Stephanie Rothman, writing under a pseudonym, and was edited by Steve Zaillian, who later became an Oscar-winning screenwriter. Premise Three carhops team up to save their cash-strapped Venice Beach drive-in restaurant from the clutches of a greedy oil baron who wants the land it sits on. Cast *Dorothy Buhrman as Danielle *Sterling Frazier as Cupcake *Jillian Kesner as Angel *Anthony Mannino as Kong *Paul Ryan as Norman *Al Hobson as Carter Axe *Dick Miller as Jerry *Peter Liapis as Ron Production Rothman originally wrote the script, then entitled ''Carhops'', while she was at Dimension Pictures. She took it with her when she left Dimension in 1975 and sold it to some producers, only to have them hire Barbara Peeters as the director instead. The movie was retitled due to the fact there was another film released with the same title. Rothman took her name off the movie, using a pse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Theft Auto (film)
''Grand Theft Auto'' is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring and directed by Ron Howard in his first feature film directorial debut, who also wrote the screenplay with his real life father Rance Howard, who also co-starred in the film. As of 2022, this film marks the only movie in Howard's career that he both directed and starred in. The film takes its title from the crime grand theft auto, which is committed a number of times by several different characters. Plot In Los Angeles, Paula Powers' (Nancy Morgan) wealthy parents, Bigby ( Barry Cahill) and Priscilla Powers (Elizabeth Rogers), want her to marry Collins Hedgeworth (Paul Linke), whom they refer to as her fiance, and also hails from a wealthy family. Paula is really in love with classmate Sam Freeman (Ron Howard), an environmental research major, however, her father dismisses him as a "fortune hunter", which they dispute. Bigby yells at Sam to leave, and while he tries to defend himself, Paula tells him to go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
21 Grams
''21 Grams'' is a 2003 American psychological drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu from a screenplay by Guillermo Arriaga. The film stars Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Danny Huston and Benicio Del Toro. The second part of Arriaga's and Iñárritu's "Trilogy of Death", preceded by ''Amores perros'' (2000) and followed by ''Babel'' (2006), ''21 Grams'' interweaves several plot lines in a nonlinear arrangement. The film's plot is about the consequences of a tragic hit-and-run accident. Penn plays a critically ill mathematician, Watts plays a grief-stricken mother, and Del Toro plays a born-again Christian ex-convict whose faith is sorely tested in the aftermath of the accident. The three main characters each have "past", "present" and "future" story threads, which are shown as non-linear fragments that punctuate elements of the overall story, all imminently coming toward each other and coalescing as the story progresses. The film grossed $60.4 mill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cannonball (film)
''Cannonball'' (stylized on-screen as ''Cannonball!'', and released theatrically in the UK as ''Carquake'') is a 1976 American comedy film directed by Paul Bartel and starring David Carradine. The film is one of two released in 1976 that were based on a real illegal cross-continent road race that took place for a number of years in the United States (the other being'' The Gumball Rally''). The same topic later became the basis for the films ''The Cannonball Run'', ''Cannonball Run II'' and ''Speed Zone''. The film was written and directed by Paul Bartel, who also directed ''Death Race 2000''. The name of the film and the plot were inspired by Erwin G. "Cannon Ball" Baker (1882–1960), who traveled across the United States several times, and by the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, an illegal cross-continent road race introduced by Brock Yates to protest against the 55 MPH speed limit. Plot The Trans-America Grand Prix is an illegal race held every year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hollywood Boulevard (1976 Film)
''Hollywood Boulevard'' is a 1976 film directed by Allan Arkush and Joe Dante (the feature film directorial debut of both directors). This film stars Candice Rialson as an aspiring actress who has just arrived in Los Angeles, and was made as a result of a bet between Jon Davison and Roger Corman to make the cheapest ever film for New World Pictures. This was accomplished by extensive use of footage from other New World films. Plot In a prologue, pompous film director Eric Von Leppe (Paul Bartel) is shooting a skydiving sequence for low-budget Miracle Pictures in which an actress is killed. Candy Wednesday (Candice Rialson) arrives in Los Angeles to make it as an actor. She gets an agent, Walter Paisley (Dick Miller), but struggles to find work until she inadvertently gets involved in a bank robbery as a getaway driver. This gets her a job for Miracle Pictures as a stunt driver. She meets Eric Von Leppe, temperamental starlet Mary McQueen (Mary Woronov), sleazy producer PG (Rich ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deceived
''Deceived'' is a 1991 American psychological thriller film directed by Damian Harris. The script was written by Mary Agnes Donoghue and rewritten by Bruce Joel Rubin. Goldie Hawn and John Heard star as a happily married couple whose lives are disrupted when secrets from the past are revealed. Plot Adrienne Saunders is happily married to her art dealer husband, Jack. They have a daughter named Mary. After the local museum curator is mysteriously murdered, Jack falls under suspicion of selling forged treasures to the museum. Jack has to suddenly go to Boston on a work related trip, but Adrienne hears from a friend that she thought she saw Jack in town. Adrienne confronts him, but he denies being in town. As pressure mounts on Jack over a forged relic, Adrienne receives word from the police that Jack died in a car accident. In trying to wrap up Jack's affairs, Adrienne begins to suspect that her husband was not who he claimed to be. When she sees a high school yearbook pict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Innerspace
''Innerspace'' is a 1987 American science fiction comedy film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Michael Finnell. Steven Spielberg served as executive producer. It was inspired by the 1966 science fiction film ''Fantastic Voyage''. It stars Dennis Quaid, Martin Short and Meg Ryan, with Robert Picardo and Kevin McCarthy, with music composed by Jerry Goldsmith. It earned $25.9 million in worldwide theatrical rentals and won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects, the only film directed by Dante to do so. Plot In San Francisco, down-on-his-luck U.S. Navy aviator Lt. Tuck Pendleton resigns his commission and volunteers for a secret miniaturization experiment. He is placed in a submersible pod and both are shrunk to microscopic size. They are transferred into a syringe to be injected into a rabbit, but the lab is attacked by a rival organization, led by scientist Dr. Margaret Canker, that plans to seize the experiment and steal the miniaturization technology. Experiment supervisor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Movie
"The Movie" is the 54th episode of the sitcom ''Seinfeld''. It is the 14th episode of the fourth season, and first aired on January 6, 1993 on NBC. The episode revolves entirely around the characters' struggles to go to see a movie together. Plot Jerry has two stand-up acts scheduled for the same night; due to a delay in one of them, he cannot make both shows. A hopeful comedian, Buckles, hangs around to fill in when somebody drops out. Jerry agrees to lose his moment at the microphone, as he is meeting his friends to see a movie, ''CheckMate'', at 10:30. On his way to the movie theater, Jerry is grabbed by Buckles, who insists on sharing a taxicab. Buckles irritates Jerry by trying out a new comic routine. George has been chosen to buy the movie tickets. At the Paragon Theater, George joins the end of a queue. He taps the shoulder of the man in front of him, confirming that he does not have a ticket, which leads him to conclude he is in the line to purchase tickets. Elaine an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Razzie Award
The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzie Awards' satirical annual ceremony has preceded its opposite, the Academy Awards, for four decades. The term ''raspberry'' is used in its irreverent sense, as in "blowing a raspberry". The statuette itself is a golf ball-sized raspberry atop a Super 8mm film reel spray-painted gold, with an estimated street value of $4.97. The Golden Raspberry Foundation has claimed that the award "encourages well-known filmmakers and top notch performers to own their bad." The first Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony was held on March 31, 1981, in John J. B. Wilson's living-room alcove in Hollywood, to honor the perceived worst films of the 1980 film season. To date, Sylvester Stallone is the most awarded actor ever with 10 awards. History A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
