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Sidney Poitier, Regal Star of the Big Screen, Dies at 94

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Sidney Poitier, Regal Star of the Big Screen, Dies at 94

Sidney Poitier, the noble leading man whose work in such films as No Way Out, Lillies of the Field and In the Heat of the Night paved the way for minority actors and actresses everywhere, has died. He was 94.

His death was confirmed by the press secretary for the Bahamas’ deputy prime minister after numerous reports cited Bahamian officials in confirming his death.

Poitier was the first Black man to win an Academy Award for best actor when he was acknowledged for his portrayal of a good-hearted nuns handyman in Lillies of the Field (1963).

He received an earlier best actor nomination for his turn as a convict on the run in The Defiant Ones (1958).

In 2002, he received an honorary Oscar from the Academy “for his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the motion picture industry with dignity, style and intelligence throughout the world.”

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Poitier was the first actor to star in mainstream Hollywood movies that depicted a Black man in a non-stereotypical fashion, and his influence, especially during the 1950s and ’60s as role model and image-maker, was immeasurable.

His deliberate and lilting voice contained grace and mesmeric manner made him one of the most beloved stars in Hollywood history.

Poitier also was the first African American to become the nation’s top box-office draw, attaining that distinction in 1967 when he starred in three memorable films: To Sir, With Love, as a teacher in London; In the Heat of the Night, as Philadelphia Det. Virgil Tibbs; and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, as the fiance of a white woman. All were benchmark performances.

“I made films when the only other Black on the lot was the shoeshine boy — as was the case at Metro. I was the lone guy in town,” he told Newsweek in 1988.

Since his big-screen debut as an extra in 1947, Poitier appeared in more than 40 films, including Blackboard Jungle (1955) and the landmark A Raisin in the Sun (1961).

In 1969, Poitier teamed with Paul Newman and Barbra Streisand (later joined by Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman) to launch the independent production company First Artists and broadened his talents to include writing and directing.

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He guided Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder in the box-office hit Stir Crazy (1980) and directed other films like the comedy Hanky Panky (1982) and the musical Fast Forward (1985).

Poitier was born in Miami on Feb. 20, 1927. His parents traveled back and forth from Cat Island in the Bahamas to Miami, where they sold tomatoes from their small farm. A complication in his mother’s pregnancy forced her to enter a hospital, where she delivered Poitier prematurely.

As a child, Poitier had just two years of formal schooling. Around age 11, he became fascinated with movies and while a teenager left for New York City, determined to be an actor. Arriving with virtually no money, he worked such odds jobs as porter, busboy and chicken plucker while living in bus terminals, lavatory booths and on rooftops overlooking Broadway.

After a stint in the Army and while working as a dishwasher, Poitier answered a want-ad placed by the American Negro Theater looking for actors. He auditioned, but his performance, marred by his thick accent, did not win him a spot.

He began listening to the radio to perfect his English and auditioned again — and was turned down once more — but he convinced the company to hire him as a janitor. He made his way to understudy and became friends with a classmate, Harry Belafonte.

Gradually, Poitier won acceptance and was rewarded in 1946 with a small part on Broadway in an all-Black production of Lysistrata. He continued to perform minor roles until writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz offered him $750 a week to play a big part in the influential film No Way Out (1950).

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In what was the first major movie to feature a Black actor in the role of an intelligent professional, Poitier plays a young doctor just starting out who is confronted by a racist patient (Richard Widmark).

His strong turn won him a role as a South African clergyman in Cry, the Beloved Country (1952), and he went on to break through as one of the rebellious high school students in Richard Brooks’ Blackboard Jungle (1955), a searing look at inner-city education.

Poitier further distinguished himself in Edge of the City (1957) opposite John Cassavetes in a rare movie about an interracial friendship, and he starred again for Brooks in Something of Value (1957), in which he played a Kenyan. Now critics were trumpeting him as a deserving Oscar nominee.

The following year, Poitier received a best actor Oscar nom for his performance as an escaped convict opposite Tony Curtis in The Defiant Ones. He followed that by playing Walter Lee Younger in the film adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun, one of his most demanding roles (he had done it on Broadway), then won the Oscar for his turn as Homer Smith, a traveling handyman who helps nuns build a church in the desert, in Lillies of the Field.

With his status as a power player, Poitier helped launch First Artists and returned as his Heat of the Night character (now working out of San Francisco) in They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1969) and The Organization (1971).

Soon after, Poitier entered a deal with Columbia Pictures to star in and produce two movies. He teamed with Belafonte to make the post-Civil War tale Buck and the Preacher (1972) and jumpstart his directorial career. In all, he would helm nine movies, running the gamut from interracial confrontations to slapstick and light comedies, including A Warm December (1973), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Let’s Do It Again (1975), A Piece of the Action (1977) and Ghost Dad (1990).

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For Poitier, the ’70s were a relatively fallow period, a time when blaxploitation was in full force with street-smart, swaggering superheroes like John Shaft. Poitier’s serious dramas were out of vogue, and he retreated to the Bahamas at the start of the decade to reflect and recharge.

In 1980, he directed Stir Crazy, which went on to become a runaway hit, and reunited with Wilder (and Gilda Radner) to helm Hanky Panky.

He wrote a 1980 autobiography, This Life, documenting his journey from the tomato fields of the Bahamas to the pinnacle of Hollywood success, and directed Fast Forward, a dance musical about young people with big dreams. In essence, it was a story similar to his real-life saga.

After 10 years behind the camera, Poitier re-emerged as an actor. In Little Nikita (1988), he played an investigator trying to subvert Russian spies, and in Shoot to Kill (1988), he was a city-slicker FBI agent who teams with a reclusive mountain man (Tom Berenger) to chase down a psychopath across the Pacific Northwest.

He later co-starred with Robert Redford and Dan Aykroyd in Sneakers (1992) and played the deputy director of the FBI in The Jackal (1997), opposite Bruce Willis.

On television, Poitier played Nelson Mandela in the 1997 Showtime telefilm Mandela and de Klerk and narrated the documentary Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey (2001). In 1997, he was appointed ambassador of the Bahamas to Japan.

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He was the father of six daughters: Beverly, Pamela, Sherri and Gina (with first wife Juanita Hardy) and Anika and Sydney (with Joanna Shimkus, whom he married in 1975).

In his 2002 Oscar speech, Poitier reflected on the “courageous, unselfish choices made by a handful of visionary American filmmakers, directors, writers and producers” that shaped his career.

“Each [had] a strong sense of citizenship responsibility to the times in which they lived; each [was] unafraid to permit their art to reflect their views and values, ethical and moral, and moreover, acknowledge them as their own. They knew the odds that stood against them, and their efforts were overwhelming and likely could have proved too high to overcome.

“Still those filmmakers persevered, speaking through their art to the best in all of us. And I’ve benefited from their effort. The industry benefited from their effort. America benefited from their effort. And in ways large and small, the world has also benefited.”

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Review: SAMARITAN, A Sly Stallone Superhero Stumble

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Review: SAMARITAN, A Sly Stallone Superhero Stumble

Hitting the three-quarter-century mark usually means a retirement home, a nursing facility, or if you’re lucky to be blessed with relatively good health and savings to match, living in a gated community in Arizona or Florida.

For Sylvester Stallone, however, it means something else entirely: starring in the first superhero-centered film of his decades-long career in the much-delayed Samaritan. Unfortunately for Stallone and the audience on the other side of the screen, the derivative, turgid, forgettable results won’t get mentioned in a career retrospective, let alone among the ever-expanding list of must-see entries in a genre already well past its peak.

For Stallone, however, it’s better late than never when it involves the superhero genre. Maybe in getting a taste of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) with his walk-on role in the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel several years ago, Stallone thought anything Marvel can do, I can do even better (or just as good in the nebulous definition of the word).

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The property Stallone and his team found for him, Samaritan, a little-known graphic novel released by a small, almost negligible, publisher, certainly takes advantage of Stallone’s brute-force physicality and his often underrated talent for near-monosyllabic brooding (e.g., the Rambo series), but too often gives him to little do or say as the lone super-powered survivor, the so-called “Samaritan” of the title, of a lifelong rivalry with his brother, “Nemesis.” Two brothers entered a fire-ravaged building and while both were presumed dead, one brother did survive (Stallone’s Joe Smith, a garbageman by day, an appliance repairman by night).

In the Granite City of screenwriter Bragi F. Schut (Escape Room, Season of the Witch), the United States, and presumably the rest of the world, teeters on economic and political collapse, with a recession spiraling into a depression, steady gigs difficult, if not impossible, to obtain, and the city’s neighborhoods rocked by crime and violence. No one’s safe, not even 13-year-old Sam (Javon Walker), Joe’s neighbor.

When he’s not dodging bullies connected to a gang, he’s falling under the undue influence of Cyrus (Pilou Asbæk), a low-rent gang leader with an outsized ego and the conviction that he and only he can take on Nemesis’s mantle and along with that mantle, a hammer “forged in hate,” to orchestrate a Bane-like plan to plunge the city into chaos and become a wealthy power-broker in the process.

Schut’s woefully underwritten script takes a clumsy, haphazard approach to world-building, relying on a two-minute animated sequence to open Samaritan while a naive, worshipful Sam narrates Samaritan and Nemesis’s supposedly tragic, Cain and Abel-inspired backstory. Schut and director Julius Avery (Overlord) clumsily attempt to contrast Sam’s childish belief in messiah-like, superheroic saviors stepping in to save humanity from itself and its own worst excesses, but following that path leads to authoritarianism and fascism (ideas better, more thoroughly explored in Watchmen and The Boys).

While Sam continues to think otherwise, Stallone’s superhero, 25 years past his last, fatal encounter with his presumably deceased brother, obviously believes superheroes are the problem and not the solution (a somewhat reasonable position), but as Samaritan tracks Joe and Sam’s friendship, Sam giving Joe the son he never had, Joe giving Sam the father he lost to street violence well before the film’s opening scene, it gets closer and closer to embracing, if not outright endorsing Sam’s power fantasies, right through a literally and figuratively explosive ending. Might, as always, wins regardless of how righteous or justified the underlying action.

It’s what superhero audiences want, apparently, and what Samaritan uncritically delivers via a woefully under-rendered finale involving not just unconvincing CGI fire effects, but a videogame cut-scene quality Stallone in a late-film flashback sequence that’s meant to be subversively revelatory, but will instead lead to unintentional laughter for anyone who’s managed to sit the entirety of Samaritan’s one-hour and 40-minute running time.

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Samaritan is now streaming worldwide on Prime Video.

Samaritan

Cast
  • Sylvester Stallone
  • Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton
  • Pilou Asbæk

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Matt Shakman Is In Talks To Direct ‘Fantastic Four’

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According to a new report, Wandavision’s Matt Shakman is in talks to direct the upcoming MCU project, Fantastic Four. Marvel Studios has been very hush-hush regarding Fantastic Four to the point where no official announcements have been made other than the film’s release date. No casting news or literally anything other than rumors has been released regarding the project. We know that Fantastic Four is slated for release on November 8th, 2024, and will be a part of Marvel’s Phase 6. There are also rumors that the cast of the new Fantastic Four will be announced at the D23 Expo on September 9th.

Fantastic Four is still over two years from release, and we assume we will hear more news about the project in the coming months. However, the idea of the Fantastic Four has already been introduced into the MCU. John Krasinski played Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The cameo was a huge deal for fans who have been waiting a long time for the Fantastic Four to enter the MCU. When Disney acquired Twenty Century Fox in 2019 we assumed that the Fox Marvel characters would eventually make their way into the MCU. It’s been 3 years and we already have had an X-Men and Fantastic Four cameo – even if they were from another universe.

Deadline is reporting that Wandavision’s Matt Shakman is in talks to direct Fantastic Four. Shakman served as the director for Wandavision and has had an extensive career. He directed two episodes of Game of Thrones and an episode of The Boys, and he had a long stint on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. There is nothing official yet, but Deadline’s sources say that Shakman is currently in talks for the job and things are headed in the right direction.

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To be honest, I was a bit more excited when Jon Watts was set to direct. I’m sure Shakman is a good director, but Watts proved he could handle a tentpole superhero film with Spider-Man: Homecoming. Wandavision was good, but Watts’ style would have been perfect for Fantastic Four. The film is probably one of the most anticipated films in Marvel’s upcoming slate films and they need to find the best person they can to direct. Is that Matt Shakman? It could be, but whoever takes the job must realize that Marvel has a lot riding on this movie. The other Fantastic Four films were awful and fans deserve better. Hopefully, Marvel knocks it out of the park as they usually do. You can see for yourself when Fantastic Four hits theaters on November 8th, 2024.

Film Synopsis: One of Marvel’s most iconic families makes it to the big screen: the Fantastic Four.

Source: Deadline

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Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase Star in ‘Zombie Town’ Mystery Teen Romancer (Exclusive)

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Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase have entered Zombie Town, a mystery teen romancer based on author R.L. Stine’s book of the same name.

The indie, now shooting in Ontario, also stars Henry Czerny and co-teen leads Marlon Kazadi and Madi Monroe. The ensemble cast includes Scott Thompson and Bruce McCulloch of the Canadian comedy show Kids in the Hall.

Canadian animator Peter Lepeniotis will direct Zombie Town. Stine’s kid’s book sees a quiet town upended when 12-year-old Mike and his friend, Karen, see a horror movie called Zombie Town and unexpectedly see the title characters leap off the screen and chase them through the theater.

Zombie Town will premiere in U.S. theaters before streaming on Hulu and then ABC Australia in 2023.

“We are delighted to bring the pages of R.L. Stine’s Zombie Town to the screen and equally thrilled to be working with such an exceptional cast and crew on this production. A three-time Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award winner with book sales of over $500 million, R.L. Stine has a phenomenal track record of crafting stories that engage and entertain audiences,” John Gillespie, Trimuse Entertainment founder and executive producer, said in a statement.

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Executive producers are Trimuse Entertainment, Toonz Media Group, Lookout Entertainment, Viva Pictures and Sons of Anarchy actor Kim Coates.  

Paco Alvarez and Mark Holdom of Trimuse negotiated the deal to acquire the rights to Stine’s Zombie Town book.

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