Steven Spielberg

Robin Williams helped during 'Schindler's List' filming: Steven Spielberg

Apr 292018

The “Lincoln” filmmaker and Williams became close after they worked together on 1991’s “Hook” and when Spielberg took on the emotional task of directing “Schindler’s List” which was about German businessman Oskar Schindler

Steven Spielberg

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg credits late actor Robin Williams for helping him get through the “trauma” of filming “Schindler’s List”. The “Lincoln” filmmaker and Williams became close after they worked together on 1991’s “Hook” and when Spielberg took on the emotional task of directing “Schindler’s List” which was about German businessman Oskar Schindler, who is credited with saving 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust, Williams was there to comfort his friend by performing stand-up over the phone, reports aceshowbiz.com.

“Robin called me,” Spielberg said at the Tribeca Film Festival’s 25th-anniversary screening of the film on Thursday. “Robin knew what I was going through. Once a week he called me on schedule. He knew exactly what time it was in Poland, what time it was in San Francisco… and he would do 15 minutes of stand-up on the phone, and I would laugh hysterically because I had to release so much,” said Spielberg.

“The way Robin is on the telephone, he would always hang up on the loudest, best laugh you’d give him. He’d never say goodbye, just hang up on the biggest laugh,” he added. The emotionally-draining process of directing the movie paid off for Spielberg when he brought home Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director, but he didn’t feel like he could celebrate.

“That night wasn’t really a celebration at all. I don’t feel this movie is a celebration. The subject matter and the impact the film had on all of us… took sort of the celebration out of that,” he said. “It was wonderful to win, but at the same time I just remember how moved I was when Branko Lustig, our co-producer, showed the world that he was in Auschwitz, too, and had numbers on his arms,” he added.

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Steven Spielberg doesn't think Netflix movies deserve Oscars

Celebrities

Mar 262018

Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg thinks Netflix films are “TV movies”, and shouldnt get Oscar consideration

Steven Spielberg

Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg thinks Netflix films are “TV movies”, and shouldnt get Oscar consideration. Since Netflix began distributing movies, the industry has been rife with contention about whether such films deserve the same recognition as traditional, theatrically released films, particularly when it comes to the Academy Awards.

Spielberg shared his views in an interview with ITV News, reports variety.com. “Once you commit to a television format, you’re a TV movie. You certainly, if it’s a good show, deserve an Emmy, but not an Oscar. I don’t believe films that are just given token qualifications in a couple of theatres for less than a week should qualify for the Academy Award nomination,” Spielberg said.

Netflix just started gaining awards recognition for films like Dee Rees’ “Mudbound”, which received a one-week theatrical release here and New York, and Ava DuVernay’s “13th”, which did not release in theatres and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2016 Academy Awards. “Dunkirk” director Christopher Nolan has also weighed in on Netflix, calling the streaming giant’s release plans “bizarre” and “mindless”.

He later apologised to Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, however, calling his remarks “undiplomatic”. The controversy has also spread to question the place of Netflix films at festivals, with the premiere of Netflix’s “Okja” at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival being met with boos as the Netflix logo displayed on the screen. Cannes established a rule after last year’s festival that in the future, any films that are selected for competition must also commit to a theatrical distribution.

In a recent interview, Cannes director Thierry Fremaux said that Netflix and Amazon do represent “something important” and that “we will eventually come up with a good agreement because in order for a film to become part of history, it must go through theaters, box office, the critics, the passion of cinephiles, awards campaigns, books, directories, filmographies. All this is part of a tradition on which the history of film is based.”

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Saif Ali Khan to face a clash with Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks

Celebrities

Jan 052018

Actor Saif Ali Khan will face a clash with Hollywood actor Tom Hanks. Both their films will be releasing in India on the same date i.e 12th January 2018 saif ali tom hanks

Actor Saif Ali Khan will face a clash with Hollywood actor Tom Hanks. Both their films will be releasing in India on the same date i.e 12th January 2018. Saif Ali Khan’s next release Kaalakandi will face a clash with Tom Hanks starrer ‘The Post’. Steven Spielberg’s next directorial ‘The Post’ is releasing in India on 12th January 2018 which has Tom Hanks in lead role.

‘The Post’ is a thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership of Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of The Washington Post, and its driven editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), as they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents. Saif Ali Khan is known for his offbeat roles in his films, the actor had given a power-packed performance in his previous acclaimed black comedy film ‘Being Cyrus’ and now his next release Kaalakaandi is again a Bollywood Black Comedy written and directed by Akshat Verma.

On the other hand, Tom Hanks is one of the biggest global stars and is known for his performances in his films, he is all set to amaze the audience with ‘The Post’. The Post has already opened to phenomenal reviews in the USA where the film was released.

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Steven Spielberg's 'The Post' Shows Power Duo Meryl Streep & Tom Hanks Fighting The Government

Celebrities

Nov 092017

What happens when Hollywood legends Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg come under one roof? An explosion of awesomeness! Seriously, this deadly combination has all the possibilities to win an Oscar. The trailer that was released recently only goes on to prove why we and every other person who has seen a glimpse of this period film might be right in considering it Oscar-worthy.

We are talking about the upcoming movie ‘The Post’, which surprisingly marks the first ever collaboration of Hanks, Streep and Spielberg. Why did Hollywood not think of pairing the three legends earlier? Well, their 2015 release ‘Everything Is Copy’ cannot really be considered their first movie as it was a documentary on the life of writer and filmmaker Nora Ephron.

Set in the backdrop of 1970s America, ‘The Post’ follows the journey of Kay Graham (Meryl Streep), the country’s first female newspaper publisher of The Washington Post, who joins forces with the Editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), to unravel some of the deepest and darkest secrets and lies of the government.

Can the two journalists overcome their differences to expose a massive cover-up that might hold the key to the buried secrets of the government, which spanned three decades and four US Presidents? This ethical dilemma of choosing to save their skins or putting everything (their life, careers, freedom) at stake for what is right, weaves the rest of the plot.

The press and the government have always been at loggerheads for reasons everyone knows but never talks about. They are like a bickering couple, who can never come to terms with each other and will always have something or the other to blame. It’s a clear “can’t live with them or without them” situation.

Honestly, there could not have been a better time for Spielberg to come up with a movie like this. After Donald Trump’s win in the 2017 Presidential Elections, the government’s rift with the press and the media’s frustration has only worsened and become more evident. Earlier, this year Streep even called out President Trump during her speech at the Golden Globes. So, it will be interesting to see how Spielberg weaves his magic around this sensitive issue and turns it into a movie that both the press and government might look forward to.

‘The Post’ also stars Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Sarah Paulson, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Zach Woods. The mere mention of names like Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and the fact that they will touch base with one of the most controversial issues in the history of America, has catapulted our excitement into space. We cannot be more eager to watch this promising masterpiece that is slated to release on December 22, 2017.