‘Five Easy Pieces’ Star Lois Smith Remembers Director Bob Rafelson: ‘It Was a Time of Generational Change’

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaShudder has inked a deal with The Boulet Brothers to expand their Dragula franchise with a new season, a new spinoff series and an additional special set to debut on Shudder over the next twelve months. The pact comes on the heels of “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula’s” fourth season, which became one of Shudder’s most watched series of 2021.

EastEnders star Barbara Smith looked stylish as she took to the red carpet at a showbiz event in London.The 24 year old actress, who is best known for playing Dana Monroe in the BBC One soap, put on a chic display whilst posing for cameras at the bash. Pulling a serious expression in a snap, Barbara sported a black dress with a low-cut back and thin straps.The soap star completed the red carpet look with a pair of platform Converse shoes, as well as bronzed eyeshadow. Barbara looked completely different from her soap character as she made her way into the Sejuiced Brunch event at Kibele restaurant in Fitzrovia.

Stacey Giggs has ‘accused Max George of cheating’ on her with his former Strictly co-star Maisie Smith.The former WAG, 43, is reportedly furious with her ex, 33, who is now publicly dating 21-year-old Maisie. Stacey is thought to be feeling ‘betrayed’ by The Wanted singer Max, and has shared her heartbreak with a close pal. According to The Sun, Stacey told a friend: “To see them dating publicly so quickly after I dumped him is like a dagger to the heart.

“Bullet Train,” in theaters now, he puts all of that legendary energy into his role as The Elder, one of the many mysterious figures who board a Japanese bullet train. Starring alongside Brad Pitt, he nonetheless steals every scene he’s in, which is somewhat fitting for a man that “Lost” co-creator and showrunner Damon Lindelof once referred to as the Japanese Harrison Ford.Sanada will next be seen in 2023’s “John Wick: Chapter 4,” after being courted for a villainous role in the third film (“I worked with Keanu most more than 10 years ago. We’ve known each other a long time.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Bullet Train,” a John Wick-ian romp with Brad Pitt in the aisle seat, arrived in theaters with a $30.1 million opening weekend. That’s enough to top the domestic box office chart, but it’s only a so-so result given “Bullet Train’s” $90 million price tag and Pitt’s star power.

Matt Smith has a take on HBO’s House of Dragons that reminds one of an old West End stage play and film, to wit: “No Sex Please, We’re British.”

too much sex?This is a question that “House of the Dragon” star Matt Smith wondered regarding his upcoming HBO Max series.The “Game of Thrones” prequel — out Aug. 21 — is reportedly going to show less intimate scenes, but Smith, 39, still wondered if the 10-episode series has too much.“You do find yourself asking, ‘Do we need another sex scene?'” the “Doctor Who” star told Rolling Stone recently.

Lashana Lynch is set to star as Bob Marley’s wife Rita in an upcoming Paramount biopic about the reggae legend’s life and career. The actress, 34, recently appeared alongside Daniel Craig in No Time to Die and opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in the latest Dr. Strange film.

Bert Schneider, his partner in the independent production company Raybert, began kicking around the idea of a television show about a band “more interested in having fun than making a living”. Their Variety ad seeking “4 insane boys, [aged] 17-21” was answered by 437 hopefuls, and the successful applicants – Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork – were dispatched on a six-week improv course. The show’s goofily knowing house style did not arrive instantly – a pilot polled direly in testing.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Cha Cha Real Smooth” director Cooper Raiff and former Black Bear Pictures development executive Clementine Quittner are teaming up to launch a new production company, Small Ideas, with a goal of developing and producing independent film and television projects.The duo are joining forces to make projects from emerging filmmakers and creators, as well as projects written and directed by Raiff. Their first endeavor will be an undisclosed television series which Raiff will write, direct, and produce, and which Quittner will produce.Raiff’s most recent film, “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” won the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Apple for $15 million.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNichelle Nichols, the trailblazing star of “Star Trek” who died on Saturday at age 89, was a model of unruffled professionalism as Lieutenant Uhura, never breaking a sweat as she manned the communications desk of the Starship Enterprise.But for Nicholas Meyer, the director and screenwriter of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn” and “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” his favorite on-screen memory of Nichols’ is a rare moment where Uhura is at a loss for words. In the sixth installment, our heroes are trying to infiltrate Klingon airspace without the use of a universal translator, which would give them away.

Maisie Smith has shared a string of sizzling bikini snaps on social media after jetting off to Portugal with her pals. The former EastEnders actress, 21, has been enjoying a sun-soaked getaway after taking part in the Strictly Presents: Keep Dancing tour, which finished on 23 July. She looked relaxed as she shared selfies and videos on her Instagram Stories alongside her friends, and could be seen posing in a strapless brown bikini as she lounged by the pool.

Paul Sorvino, 'Goodfellas' Star, Dead at 83 David Warner, 'Titanic' and 'Omen' Actor, Dead at 80 Bob Rafelson, 'Five Easy Pieces' Director, Dead at 89 Shonka Dukureh, Big Mama Thornton in 'Elvis,' Dead at 44 Mickey Rooney Jr., Original Mouseketeer & Musician, Dead at 77 Jak Knight, Comedian and Voice in 'Big Mouth,' Dead at 28  

Paul Sorvino, 'Goodfellas' Star, Dead at 83 David Warner, 'Titanic' and 'Omen' Actor, Dead at 80 Bob Rafelson, 'Five Easy Pieces' Director, Dead at 89 Shonka Dukureh, Big Mama Thornton in 'Elvis,' Dead at 44 Mickey Rooney Jr., Original Mouseketeer & Musician, Dead at 77 Jak Knight, Comedian and Voice in 'Big Mouth,' Dead at 28  

The recent limited series “The Offer” reminded viewers that before Albert S. Ruddy was taken seriously as the producer of “The Godfather,” he was often dismissed as the guy who created “Hogan’s Heroes.” Similarly, another key architect of the New Hollywood of the 1970s — director and producer Bob Rafelson — would find himself earning greater respect as the man behind such iconic, essential American films as “Five Easy Pieces,” “The Last Picture Show” and “Easy Rider” than as one of the creators of “The Monkees.”The difference, of course, is that “Hogan’s Heroes” is the kind of old sitcom contemporary audiences would call “problematic,” while “The Monkees” has endured both as a screwball piece of television and as the launching pad for a band that’s beloved to this day.

A.D. Amorosi Though regarded by cinephiles as one of the architects of the “New Hollywood” largely because of moody character studies like 1970’s “Five Easy Pieces,” filmmaker Bob Rafelson — who died Saturday at 89 — will also always be adored for his co-creation and production of the decidedly less moody, madcap television series “The Monkees,” and for further directing that makeshift band in the comically avant-garde 1968 film “Head.”Rafelson is very fondly remembered by vocalist and drummer Micky Dolenz, the final surviving member of the Monkees, who shared his thoughts about Rafelson’s role in the creation and development of the group with Variety.  A wildly silly sitcom about a faux teeny-bop band meant that its producer-showrunners, Rafelson and Bert Schneider (who died in 2011), had to find a willing quartet of actor-musicians.

Bob Rafelson, the director, producer and writer who brought a European sensibility to American filmmaking with "Five Easy Pieces" in 1970, died Saturday evening at his home in Aspen, Colorado. He was 89 years old. Rafelson’s death was confirmed by his former personal assistant of 38 years, Jolene Wolff, who worked under Rafelson’s production banner Marmont Productions.

has died. He was 89.Rafelson died on Saturday at his home in Aspen, Colorado, according to multiple  reports.

Rafelson was one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood movement in the 1970s, working with stars like Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern and Jessica Lange. With “Five Easy Pieces” in 1970, Rafelson earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, with Nicholson earning a Best Actor nomination in a career-launching performance as an oil rig worker forced to reunite with his upper-class musician family after hearing the news that his father is dying.