Billy Wilder Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz will portray legendary Old Hollywood director Billy Wilder in a biographical film from director Stephen Frears, the film’s producer Jeremy Thomas announced Monday. “Billy Wilder and Me” is part coming-of-age-story and part true-life portrait about a young woman who begins working with Wilder during the filming of “Fedora” on a Greek island in 1977. But as she continues with him to Germany to continue the shoot, she finds herself joining him on a journey into the memory of his family history.

Jamie Lloyd’s acclaimed London production of Sunset Boulevard starring Nicole Scherzinger will open on Broadway this fall at the St. James Theatre, producers announced today.

Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” swept at the Oscars 30 years ago next month, and to mark the anniversary, THR has put together a very impressive and comprehensive oral history about the film, its Oscar campaign, and much more. The article has tons of little tidbits— famous director Billy Wilder desperate to make ‘Schindler’ as his last film (Spielberg was weeks away from shooting, it was too late), and then a casting what-if with Mel Gibson that seems rather shocking in hindsight.

EXCLUSIVE: It is only after Eric Roth invites you to sit on his front porch and discuss screenwriting and the thorny process of making great movies that you find yourself saying, wait, you wrote that one too? He’ll tell you you’re sitting in a chair where Nobel Laureates and Pulitzer winners held court — as if sitting with arguably the greatest and most successful living screenwriter isn’t intimidating enough — and there will be the occasional interruption as neighbors or passersby stop by this covered birdhouse looking repository at the edge of his lawn where Roth places books he’s read and admired, to help others revel in his lifelong love of words. They all want to talk about what they read and Roth is in no hurry to send them on their way.

The hit London revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard is heading to Broadway later this year and bringing star Nicole Scherzinger and the rest of the West End principal cast with it.

Guy Lodge Film Critic Quick, silly and lent weight only by the costume department’s copious wigs and furs, “The Crime Is Mine” finds tireless French auteur François Ozon in the playful period pastiche mode of “Potiche” and “8 Women.” It’s a film less about any frenetic onscreen shenanigans as it is about its own mood board of sartorial and cinematic reference points — Jean Renoir, Billy Wilder, some vintage Chanel — and as such it slips down as fizzily and forgettably as a bottle of off-brand sparkling wine. This story of an aspiring stage star standing trial for a top impresario’s murder (and making the most of her moment in the tabloid flashbulbs) may be based on a nearly 90-year-old play, but for those versed more in Hollywood and Broadway than in French theater, Ozon’s adaptation resembles a kind of diva fanfic: What if Roxie Hart went up against Norma Desmond, except in rollicking 1930s Paris? As it happens, Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil’s 1934 comedy “Mon crime” has twice been adapted into Hollywood screwball romps: 1937’s Carole Lombard vehicle “True Confession” and the lesser 1946 remake “Cross My Heart,” starring Betty Hutton.

French film critic and historian Michel Ciment, the long-time publishing director of film magazine Positif, has died at the age of 85, French media reported on Monday evening.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Is there going be a musical episode of “Only Murders in the Building” in Season 3?! While it hasn’t been officially confirmed that Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez will be singing and dancing at some point, I recently got a tease from musical impresarios Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. “We’ve worked on the next season of ‘Only Murders in the Building,’” Shaiman said. “We’re not allowed to say anything more than that, but you could probably do that math.” The third season also includes appearances by Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd and Jesse Williams.

Steven Gaydos Executive VP of Content Austrian actor Helmut Berger, the groundbreaking star of European cinematic masterpieces such as Luchino Visconti’s “The Damned” and Vittorio De Sica’s “Garden of the Finzi-Continis,” has died at the age of 78. Berger died at home in Austria from natural causes. In one of European cinema’s most storied and creative periods, the 60s and 70s, Berger boldly established his place in the pantheon of Continental stars via a handful of films directed by Visconti, his one-time romantic partner. “The Damned,” “Ludwig” and “Conversation Piece” were all crafted with standout roles for Berger and the films were hugely successful both at the arthouse box office and with critics and awards groups.

Katie Reul editor Jay Weston, producer of films like “Lady Sings the Blues” and “Buddy Buddy,” died of natural causes Feb. 28 at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 93. Weston first met Billie Holiday at the Newport Jazz Festival — a chance encounter that would ultimately lead to Weston producing a biopic about her starring Diana Ross in 1972. “Lady Sings the Blues” marked Ross’ feature debut and went on to score five Academy Award nominations, including best actress for Ross and original screenplay. “I read the book and I said to [Holiday’s] agent, ‘I want to make a movie out of it,’” Weston said in a 2011 interview with the Los Angeles Business Journal, referring to the jazz singer’s autobiography. “He said, ‘Give me $5,000, and I’ll think about it.’ So I gave him $5,000, and it took 13 years and many $5,000 payments to keep the rights because everybody wanted it.”

The rules of survival in Hollywood have always fascinated me. “Consistency is the key – always present yourself to studios as a total bitch,” Bette Davis once confided. “Never delude yourself into thinking that a star can become a loyal personal friend,” advised Billy Wilder. “Since studios always lie, a producer’s mandate is to come up with bigger lies,” said David O. Selznick.

Manori Ravindran International EditorChristoph Waltz will play Hollywood legend Billy Wilder in a new project from producer Jeremy Thomas.“Billy Wilder & Me” will be adapted by Christopher Hampton from Jonathan Coe’s book, with Stephen Frears directing. Billed as part coming-of-age story and part true-life portrait of Wilder, the film looks to capture “a heroic icon of Hollywood’s golden era for all cinema lovers.”Wilder’s directing credits include “Sunset Blvd.,” “The Apartment” and “The Seven Year Itch.”Here’s an official synopsis for the pic: In the summer of 1977, an innocent young woman begins working for famed director Billy Wilder and his screenwriter Iz Diamond on a Greek island during the filming of “Fedora.” When she follows Wilder to Germany to continue the shoot, she finds herself joining him on a journey of memory into the heart of his family history.

Christoph Waltz is to lead Stephen Frears and Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of Billy Wilder & Me. 

Existing in the marginal space between conspiracy Twitter-thread and National Enquirer article, Emma Cooper’s Marilyn Monroe Netflix doc, the unwieldy “The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes,” is a 100-minute rehashing of Anthony Summers’ 1985 book “Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe.” Updated little since that book was published almost four decades ago, Cooper’s doc plays out like mad libs for the conspiracy-minded.

according to Deadline.The project is helmed by Broadway veteran Christian Borle, who was previously cast in New York City Center’s production of “Into the Woods,” but was replaced by Neil Patrick Harris.Borle will play Joe/Josephine, a role originated by Tony Curtis in the film, and will be joined by J. Harrison Ghee as Jerry/Daphne, which Jack Lemmon played in the movie.Adrianna Hicks has been cast as Sugar, a role made famous by Marilyn Monroe.

Buster Keaton (1895–1966) was a brilliant comedian and filmmaker who conceived, wrote, directed, acted, and even edited most of his ten feature films and nineteen short comedies, which are perhaps the finest silent pictures ever made. With a face of stone and a mind that engineered breathtakingly intricate moments of slapstick, Keaton has become an icon of the American cinema.

Cate Blanchett (Nightmare Alley, Don’t Look Up) has been named as the latest recipient of Film At Lincoln Center’s Chaplin Award.

NEW YORK -- Lincoln Center will honor Cate Blanchett with its 47th Chaplin Award at the arts organization's annual fundraising gala.Film at Lincoln Center announced the award for Blanchett on Friday. It will be presented to her on April 25 at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall.“We are thrilled to welcome Cate Blanchett back to Film at Lincoln Center, where three of her films have previously screened as part of the New York Film Festival,” said Lesli Klainberg, executive director of Film at Lincoln Center, in a statement.

With his 8th Oscar nomination for directing today, Steven Spielberg joins a very select group of four filmmakers who have received 8-plus Best Director nominations. They include Billy Wilder, who also has 8, his contemporary Martin Scorsese, who has 9, and the great William Wyler, who earned 11 total directing nominations.

Spike Lee will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction at this year’s DGA Awards, Directors Guild of America President Lesli Linka Glatter announced today.

J. Kim Murphy Spike Lee will receive the lifetime achievement award for distinguished achievement in motion picture direction from the Directors Guild of America. The group announced Lee as the recipient of the organization’s top honor on Wednesday morning.“Icon.

Mel Brooks has been set as the 2021 recipient of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s Career Achievement Award.

Steven Gaydos Executive VP of ContentFilm history is filled with examples of screenwriters whose subsequent dazzling directorial careers have often eclipsed their brilliant roots as writers. Preston Sturges, Billy Wilder and Sam Peckinpah are only three of the American wordsmiths-turned-helmers that come to mind.

“read the room” when delivering speeches at the Academy Awards this month. Translation: Get off the stage before the orchestra is forced to awkwardly play you out.

Amber Ruffin has joined the Broadway-bound team of Some Like It Hot as a co-writer of the film-to-stage adaptation. The host of Peacock’s The Amber Ruffin Show will partner with Tony nominee Matthew López on the new musical’s book.

played an ambitious studio script editor.She had just turned 22 when “Sunset Boulevard” opened in 1950.The Milwaukee native moved to Hollywood to attend UCLA, where she studied theater. “Sunset Boulevard” was only her second film, after appearing in the 1949 Western “Canadian Pacific.” Olson nabbed a role in the noir as Betty Schaefer, who’s engaged to assistant director Artie Green (“Dragnet” star Jack Webb) but falls for struggling, cynical screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden).

This is Scorsese's ninth Oscar nomination, and the number eclipses the record of Billy Wilder, director ofsuch films as "The Apartment", "Some Like It Hot" and "Sunset Boulevard", who passed away in 2002.

The nominees for the 92nd Annual Academy Awards were announced Monday morning, and with his nomination for directing The Irishman, Martin Scorsese increases his lead as the most-nominated living director in Academy history.Scorsese's nine nominations now eclipse those of Billy Wilder, director of The Apartment, Some Like it Hot and Sunset Boulevard, who died in 2002.