Film & Digital Media and Phi Beta Kappa are screening Robert Rodriguez’s debut film “El Mariachi” (1992) at 7 p.m. today in Castellaw 101. The film screening is open to the public and free of charge.
According to IMDb, El Mariachi is an action and crime drama that follows a traveling mariachi who is “mistaken for a murderous criminal and must hide from a gang bent on killing him.” The film is 81 minutes long.
We can all agree that it’s been a pretty great year for movies.
But when it comes to this year’s best picture Oscar race, that’s probably where our accord ends.
At the moment, the critically lauded historical drama “12 Years a Slave” and the equally acclaimed box-office juggernaut “Gravity” head the list.
Lights, camera, propaganda.
This is the theme for the Cold War Film Festival, which will be presented by the history department Monday through Thursday.
The festival is an event featuring four days of movies from either the Cold War era or movies that represent it. The films will be shown in the Armstrong Browning Library Cox Lecture Hall. The event is free and open to everyone.
“Ender’s Game” will have a happy beginning this weekend, but maybe not a happy ending.
The pricey adaptation of Scott Orson Card’s popular 1985 sci-fi novel is poised to debut at No. 1 with a so-so $23 million, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys.
The Halloween season, to me, is synonymous with monsters, eerie music and a just little bit of blood.
While countless horror fanatics pop in a classic for a good scare, I slowed down to examine why and how horror film changes from decade to decade. In my research, I discovered that the horror culture indirectly reflects the time and society in which it occurs.
LOS ANGELES — There was never any doubt that “I Love Lucy” was full of color. But for those whose imaginations need some help, CBS will air in December a one-hour special featuring two newly colorized classic episodes of the 1950s series.
LOS ANGELES — Jackie Chan is not dead. And he’s not retiring.
“There are so many different rumors, I am getting used to it,” the 59-year-old actor-director says of online reports of his demise. “Don’t worry, before I die, I let you know.”
Audiences remain intrigued by the idea of Dracula, by the possibility of a monstrous, blood-draining creature who is nonetheless charismatic and certainly sexual if not sexy. It’s no surprise, then, that NBC is trying out a new “Dracula” TV series, premiering at 9 p.m. CST Friday.
A man attacked director Michael Bay with an air conditioner on the Hong Kong set of “Transformers: The Age of Extinction” on Thursday.
A statement the studio released described “a bizarre encounter with a man allegedly under the influence of a narcotic substance.”
It looks like “Glee” will take its final bow next year.
The Fox drama/musical will end its run after six seasons, Ryan Murphy, the series’ co-creator, said at a Paley Center for Media event honoring FX Networks on Wednesday night, according to TV Line.
The numbers said “Kick-Ass 2” was going to do just that. Before its theatrical release, audience tracking surveys estimated the superhero action-comedy could gross as much as $25 million its opening weekend.
Instead, the sequel took in only $13 million, finishing far behind the civil rights drama “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” and earning “Kick-Ass 2” an instant reputation as a flop.
Amy Poehler and Tina Fey will return to host the Golden Globes for the next two years, NBC announced Tuesday.
“Tina and Amy are two of the most talented comedic writer/performers in our business and they were a major reason the Golden Globes was the most entertaining awards show of last season,” said Paul Telegdy, president of alternative and late-night programming at NBC, which broadcasts the Golden Globes. “We’re elated they wanted to host together again and that they committed for the next two years.”
Fans of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” know Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, but his very funny new memoir, “Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man’s Fundamentals for Delicious Living” (Dutton, $26.95), will allow readers to get to know the comedian behind the mustache. In the book, Offerman reveals he is a former student of kabuki fight theater, a guitarist, a woodworker, former set designer and that, as a break dancer(!), he went by the name Tick Tock. He writes of wooing actress Megan Mullally, who is now his wife. We caught up with Offerman over the phone.
(Spoiler alert: This story contains no actual TV spoilers.)
I would really like to talk to you about TV spoilers today, but first I need to know: Did you see the series finale of “Breaking Bad?” Are you caught up on “Game of Thrones?” You know who died on that one amazing episode of “The Wire” toward the end of Season Three, right?
Maybe we shouldn’t have that discussion. I don’t want to ruin anything for you.
The government shutdown that started early Tuesday has already hit the Federal Communications Commission, the government agency that among other things regulates obscenity on what used to be known as the public airwaves.
Which has led some viewers to ask: Does this mean that broadcast TV will turn into a rat’s nest of foul language and naked bodies? Teacher is away, so there might be orgies on “Castle.” No oversight, so that means f-bombs on “The X-Factor.” CBS might turn into HBO.
Dr. Corey Carbonara, professor of film and digital media, was honored by the big leagues in Hollywood over the weekend.
Carbonara received an award for his outstanding teaching in the field of cinematography.
“I was totally shocked and totally humbled when I was told,” Carbonara said. “It was surreal.”
Similar to the actual effects of crystal meth, “Breaking Bad” is a highly addictive phenomenon that has quickly captured the attention of America. Hype surrounding the show is reaching an all-time high with the series finale scheduled to air on Sunday.
The show has steadily grown in popularity since its premiere in 2008, but peaked for its episode on September 16 with a 6.4 million-strong viewership, more than any episode in its first four seasons.
The spectacular 22-year partnership of Walt Disney Co. and producer Jerry Bruckheimer will come to an end next year, signaling the Burbank company’s changing priorities and how the shifting sands of the movie business are affecting A-list producers.
The producer’s first-look deal with Walt Disney Studios will not be renewed when it expires in 2014, ending a run that resulted in 27 movies, from early hits like “The Rock” and “Armageddon” to the long-running “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, and almost $9 billion in box-office receipts.
Nina Davuluri isn’t the first Miss America of color. She’s not even the first Asian-American to wear the crown. But her victory has clearly struck a chord in some quarters.
At a news conference held after her name was announced Sunday night, the first question was about social media users apparently upset that someone of Indian heritage had won. Some tweets called her Arab and a terrorist.
The “In Memoriam” segment at this year’s Emmys will be extended, with several actors and a producer receiving special recognition.
Among those to be spotlighted are James Gandolfini, whose “Sopranos” costar Edie Falco will speak; “Glee” star Cory Monteith will be paid tribute by costar Jane Lynch; Robin Williams will remember his “Mork and Mindy” friend Jonathan Winters; Rob Reiner will say some words about his “All in the Family” mother-in-law Jean Stapleton; and Michael J. Fox will pay tribute to “Family Ties” producer Gary David Goldberg.
efore celebrating the Emmys, Kerry Washington and other TV insiders took a moment to toast diversity.
Washington was among the honorees at a pre-Emmy reception hosted Tuesday night by the television academy and the SAG-AFTRA actors union. The academy’s headquarters in North Hollywood were transformed into a jetsetting soiree complete with 1960s-era furniture and mid-century modern wall sculptures.
A collective sigh of contempt among horror enthusiasts is the best mental picture to describe this new scare flick. Another notch in the proverbial bedpost of horror flicks, “Insidious Chapter 2” was essentially nothing more than a collection of the first film’s outtakes and deleted scenes that never made it into the movie.
The film picks back up with the Lambert family and their life post-possession, or so they think. Delving into the father’s forgotten past, the film reveals that everyone must deal with their own demons, no matter how delightfully creepy.
Despite the growth of Netflix, Amazon.com and other legal channels for watching entertainment online, the volume of pirated movies, TV shows, music, books and video games online continues to grow at a rapid pace.
The amount of bandwidth used for copyright infringement in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific has grown nearly 160 percent since November 2011, accounting for 24 percent of total Internet bandwidth, according to a study from NetNames, the British brand protection firm.
The Berlin Wall was a thing of chicken wire and Kleenex compared with the barrier that once stood between film and television in America.
Unlike British actors, who moved easily between stage, television and film, American movie stars were essentially instructed not to bother with TV.
Warner Bros. and “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling are going to try to catch lightning in a bottle again.
The Hollywood movie studio and best-selling writer have unveiled a new agreement to make movies based on Rowling’s work. While Harry Potter may be over, the witches and wizards that can be found in Potter’s Hogwarts textbook
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” along with the adventures of fictitious author Newt Scamander will live on.
Just as I started to have faith in the art of horror films again, this load of trite guff happens. Reeking of apathy and lacking continuity, “You’re Next,” released on Aug. 23, is a bloody awful time that’s less of a suspense quencher and more of a sadistic “Home Alone.”
The plot follows the Davison clan gathering together at their parents’ new house in the woods. Catty comments and trivial squabbling around the dinner table is abruptly cut short when assassins invade their home, killing them off one by one. While it’s certainly the typical slice-‘em-up flick, the last seven minutes or so offer a compelling twist to the norm.
Lost at sea, lost in space, lost children, lost freedom, lost homeland, lost money, lost identity, lost jobs, lost hope, lost faith, lost lives: This fall, this is film. This is serious. I can’t wait.
September always brings a change in the temperature of what we see on screen. The Oscar contenders start showing up, the significant films with more to consider than, say, “The Wolverine” or “World War Z.” As much popcorn fun as “Wolverine,” “War” and the like might be, they don’t ask much of us. Not so the fall.
Set during a time that drastically overhauled the American societal landscape, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” released on Aug. 16, is a bold move in the way of touching on issues most people would rather forget. However, in this biopic, director Daniels neither excels in storytelling nor disappoints in whistleblowing.
The plot follows Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), a black house servant born on a cotton farm in the South, and his long-time-coming journey to employment as head butler in the White House. During his lengthy tenure, he serves every president from Eisenhower to Reagan, collecting insightful views of each.
Every story has a beginning, and for many aspiring students of film and digital media, the journey starts when they enter the classrooms of the Castellaw Communications Center.
Each professor has his specialty; for senior lecturer Brian Elliott, it is television and screenwriting. Elliott said his desire is to guide those who are trying to achieve their dreams of making it in the entertainment industry.
Dr. Corey Carbonara, a professor in the film and digital media department, has been a professor at Baylor for 30 years. He has contributed much to Baylor’s film department along with other film professors.
Carbonara sat down in an interview to talk about his time here, some of the research he has worked with and what he talks with his students about in the classroom.
