Albert Brenner Dies: ‘Bullitt’ Art Director, ’Turning Point’ & ‘Pretty Woman’ Production Designer, Five-Time Oscar Nominee Was 96

The loss of a legend. Iconic soccer star Pelé, widely considered to be the greatest player of all time, died on Thursday, December 29, after a battle with colon cancer. He was 82.

Malik Tillman is anticipating that Rangers will make improvements from their performance against Motherwell when Celtic come to their home patch.

British actor and satirist John Bird has died aged 86.

James J. Murakami, an art director, production designer and set designer on numerous film and television projects, died Dec. 15 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 91 and suffered complications from a fall, according to his wife.

Best Documentary Feature front runners All That Breathes, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Fire of Love, and The Territory are safely through to the next round after the Academy’s Documentary Branch whittled the list of remaining contenders to a shortlist of 15 films.

Rick Anderson, the co-founding bassist of the Tubes who was with the band for a half-century and played on “She’s a Beauty,” “Talk to Ya Later” and “White Punks on Dope,” has died. He was 75.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed Nkechi Okoro Carroll and her production company, Rock My Soul Productions, for representation in all areas.

A trio of teens navigates relationships in contemporary Helsinki in Girl Picture, Finland’s entry for the Best International Feature Oscar. Directed by Alli Haapasalo (Love and Fury), it’s an engaging portrait of young women that’s as refreshing as it is entertaining. To call this a “Finnish Booksmart” would be doing its originality a disservice, but there are coincidental similarities as a quick-witted lesbian and her straight girl friend try to help each other with their love lives over a series of parties and amusing encounters. 

Why do we have children? Cait’s Mam and Da would be hard-pressed to answer that, with a house full of sour teenage daughters, a toddler barely walking, another baby about to land and not enough money to pay a day laborer to bring in the hay. These are the kind of kids who go to school with no lunch. 

An Afro-European woman connects with her roots in Bantú Mama, the Dominican Republic’s entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar. Co-written and directed by Ivan Herrera, it’s was picked up by Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing. It’s a compelling drama featuring a strong performance from Clarisse Albrecht, who also co-wrote the screenplay.

Terrence O’Hara, a television director known for his work on shows like NCIS, Smallville and Angel, has died. He was 76.

I was joined at today’s Contenders Film LA3C event by the key people behind the hit epic The Woman King, which was just named to the prestigious list of AFI’s Top 10 Movies of the Year. It also scored a rare A+ Cinemascore during its opening weekend in September, proving it has not only critical acclaim but also that from the audience. The funny thing is this story of a band of all-female African warriors defending their kingdom in the 1800s was turned down by every studio the filmmakers approached until they finally got a yes from Sony’s TriStar Pictures. It was a smart move for the studio as it clearly has an Oscar contender here.

Helen Slayton-Hughes, a prolific character actor with small parts in scores of television shows and films but best known for her recurring role as court stenographer Ethel Beavers on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, has died. She was 92.

With Turning Red, director Domee Shi revisited her own past to create a story of a young girl struggling with pleasing her family as she comes into adolescence. It’s a story so relatable that Lindsey Collins, who was running Pixar’s creative development at the time, says she practically begged Shi to let her produce the film. Turning Red follows Meilin (Rosalie Chiang), a 13-year-old girl from Toronto who works at her family’s temple to make her mother Ming (Sandra Oh) proud. Due to a family blessing/curse, Meilin finds herself transforming into a large red panda whenever she experiences strong emotions, which is less than ideal for a teenager.

EXCLUSIVE: Tim Blake Nelson (Old Henry) will topline the boxing drama Bang Bang from director Vincent Grashaw (What Josiah Saw), which has wrapped production in Kentucky. (A first-look still from the pic can be found above.)