Bob Mankoff is not exactly a media star, but that doesn't seem to bother HBO, which is trumpeting a new doc about him, titled "Very Semi-Serious." Mankoff, 71, is the longstanding cartoon editor of…
When I plunked down my $4 to see "Star Wars" in Westwood on May 25, 1977, I had no premonition that this would be a historic opening. The buzz on the film had been muted. The project had been…
Over the past two weeks I have seen movies dealing with brain injury, child molestation, the Hollywood blacklist, the Bolivian elections and a "doomsday machine." Little wonder some bankers think of…
The other day I found myself sitting in a movie theater watching Bradley Cooper skillfully orchestrate a gourmet dinner. And I was getting hungry. I was also getting curious. I was alone in the…
The awards season spells Q&A time in Hollywood or, as publicists call it, "softball season." Award-hungry stars and filmmakers faithfully show up at screenings or video shoots to field respectful, if…
Awards season is upon us, and the studios' pulse rate always quickens amid the maze of parties, celebrity screenings and Q&A sessions. But while Hollywood is partying, are the studios' corporate…
It's become abundantly clear to me lately that my tastes are veering away from the mainstream (wherever that is). For example, I still peer at my TV screen, even though 57% of the young demo now…
One of the first decisions made by Giancarlo Parretti after acquiring MGM in 1990 for $1.2 billion was to appoint his 21-year-old daughter, Valentina, as the studio's chief financial officer. When I…
Hal Wallis, the great, grizzled producer, once told me that no one should ever pitch a movie that can't be summed up in a single sentence — one without commas or clauses. I pondered his advice after…
"I am a dealmaker." Donald Trump's clarion call is resonating strongly in the show business community -— an assemblage that usually leans to the left. "He follows his gut," one CEO confided to me…
A network executive caused a stir the other day by complaining there was "too much television" out there. He was reacting to the fact that scripted series on cable had almost doubled in quantity over…
![[PHOTOS] Guys Choice Awards on Spike](https://web-archive.nli.org.il/National_Library/20160521004321im_/https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/damon-affleck.jpg?w=130&h=68&crop=1)
