He was given an offer that he refused.

Actor Gianni Russo, who played Carlo Rizzi in “The Godfather,” said that once filming on the classic film wrapped, he had no contact with James Caan — until the late actor wanted a part in one of his movies.

When the Little Italy native helped produce the 1999 football drama “Any Given Sunday,” he said he got a call from Caan’s agent while they were casting.

“He said, ‘You know, Jimmy would be great in this movie. He’s a great sports buff,’” Russo, 78, told The Post of the Al Pacino-led flick, in which he had a supporting role.

“I said, ‘Do you think I would hire James Caan? I wouldn’t give Jimmy Caan a part in anything.’ He was so rude to me,” the Upper East Sider explained.

Russo claims that Caan, who played Sonny Corleone, the brother-in-law of Russo’s character, was not friendly to him from the first “Godfather” rehearsal at Patsy’s restaurant on West 119th Street.

“The biggest thorn in his side was, ‘Who’s Gianni Russo?’ This guy, he studied with Stella Adler, you name it. He was never nice to me from day one. But I’m thinking he was in character cause he’s a thespian,” he said.

Russo said he quickly discovered that he was wrong, because Caan, who grew up in Sunnyside, Queens, really did have beef with his castmate.

And it didn’t help that Russo, who was 27 when he was cast, had ties with real-life mobsters such as Frank Costello, Joe Colombo and Carlo Gambino.

“Cause he’s hanging around with mob guys, like Carmine Persico, and mob guys all know me already. I came from Mulberry Street, how do you live on Mulberry Street and not know mob guys?” he said.

He said that Caan “fell in love with mobsters,” through his experience on the 1972 set. “’Til the day he died, he thought he was a mobster. He thought he was Sonny Corleone,” he said.

Russo also claims that Caan went too far in an infamous “Godfather” fight scene where Sonny pummels Carlo for hitting his sister.

Although Russo said that a stunt double was used, particularly when Carlo was thrown over a railing, he also was in the scene and was injured by Caan.

“That’s me. He’s biting my hand; he’s banging my elbow with that steel garbage pail. He chipped my elbow,” he said. “When I crawled out and he lifted me in the air, he broke two of my ribs, which was not in the rehearsal. That was me laying there.”

Caan never admitted to hurting his co-star, saying that he worked with a stunt double that day.

“He discredits me even doing the scene. Unfortunately, we’re talking about a guy that’s dead, and to his dying day, that’s his story, ”he said. “He took it to his grave as we would say.”

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Sony stopped flogging films and television shows through the PS Store a little while back, but it promised to honor existing purchases. However, as of 31st August in Germany and Austria, it will begin the process of removing content from French film production and distribution company Studio Canal, meaning even if you paid for them you’ll no longer be able to access them.

A legal notice blames the removal on “evolving licensing agreements with content providers” and points out that “you’ll no longer be able to view your previously purchased Studio Canal content and it will be removed from your video library”. A list of films affected by the change includes the likes of John Wick and Paddington. There’s no mention of a refund or rebate.

It’s also unclear, as of now, whether this will apply to customers outside of Germany and Austria, but we’ll contact the company and try and get clarification. Either way, it’s a reminder that in an all-digital future, there’s always the possibility of your purchases being taken away – regardless of what content providers promise or say.

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CNN
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James Caan, the veteran screen actor known for his work in such films as “The Godfather,” “Misery” and “Elf,” has died, his family said in a statement on his verified Twitter account. He was 82.

“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6,” the statement read. “The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time.”

They did not disclose a cause of death.

Caan first found fame playing Chicago Bears halfback Brian Piccolo in “Brian’s Song,” a widely seen 1971 TV movie. The tearjerking film chronicled Piccolo’s real-life battle with terminal cancer and drew praise for its treatment of the interracial friendship between Piccolo and a Black teammate, Gale Sayers.

His next movie, 1972’s “The Godfather,” made Caan a star. Although he was not Italian, Caan was cast as hotheaded Sonny Corleone, the oldest of mobster Vito Corleone’s three sons, who is memorably gunned down by rival gangsters at a tollbooth.

In a 2021 interview for “CBS Sunday Morning,” Caan said he based Sonny’s persona on the late comedian Don Rickles.

“It wasn’t imitating Don Rickles. It was having that drive, that thing, you know? I was just locked into that,” he said of his performance.

The role earned him an Oscar nomination. Caan also appeared in a flashback in “The Godfather, Part II.”

Caan was perhaps best known for playing tough-guy characters in such films as “Thief” and “Rollerball.” But he was a versatile actor who commanded a variety of roles, including “Misery,” the 1990 Stephen King adaptation about a mild-mannered romance novelist terrorized by an obsessive fan.

He is probably best known to younger audiences for his role in “Elf,” the Christmas tale in which he played Will Ferrell’s Scrooge-like father, a children’s book publisher unhappy to learn he has an exuberant grown son who wears an elf costume and pours maple syrup on his spaghetti.

In the same CBS interview, Caan said he almost turned down the role over the film’s title alone but Ferrell convinced him to join the project.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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CNN
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“Minions: The Rise of Gru” did gangbusters over the weekend. The latest film in the “Despicable Me” franchise of a would-be villain and his bizarre yellow henchmen had the biggest opening ever over the July 4th holiday.

For all its success in drawing audiences back to theaters, distributor Universal Pictures has, at least partially, the “Gentleminions” to thank.

Gentleminions are young people who film themselves dressed in formalwear, flooding unsuspecting movie theaters to see the newest “Minions” flick and hollering at the screen like they’re lining the ring at Wrestlemania. TikTok teens are arguably not the audience Illumination had in mind when concocting the latest slapstick-heavy animated children’s film, but they’ve turned out in droves anyway thanks to the viral trend – the hashtag #Gentleminions has over 22 million views and counting on the platform.

The Gentleminions are not always welcome, though. They’re showing up at theaters everywhere from the US to Australia and countries in between, causing chaos to the point that some theaters have banned them from buying tickets to “Minions” if they come dressed in a suit.

If you spot a Gentleminion at a viewing of “Minions,” don’t panic – they’re typically harmless, if irksomely obsessed with the little yellow menaces. Here’s how the odd trend came to be – and how teenage boys on TikTok became the Minions’ biggest fans.

To understand the Gentleminions, one must first understand the Minions themselves.

Minions first hit the scene when the first “Despicable Me” premiered in 2010. Immediately, viewers were drawn to the oblong creatures in overalls who served villain-turned-softie Gru. With names like Kevin and Bob, a penchant for drag and a wholly unique delivery of the word “banana,” the Minions endeared themselves to audience members across generations – including Facebook users of a certain age, some of started sharing memes of Minions that convey the thankless exhaustion of parenthood.

And then there are the ironic Minion memes, those shared by irreverent young people and jaded adults. The Minions, these users postulate, are funny because they are note funny, but they’re so unfunny that the same memes have become funny again. Somehow, within that cycle of earnestness and irony, the Minions have become what they’ve always striven to be: Comedy legends.

Now, in 2022, the children who grew up with Minions are now young adults and very fluent in internetspeak. Enter the Gentleminions.

To be a Gentleminion, one must arrive at the movie theater in formal attire – usually a suit and tie. Then, after one has purchased a ticket to “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” one must film themselves before, during and after the movie to demonstrate their excitement. One must cheer, leap up in glee and generally disrupt the viewing experience to inhabit the Gentleminion ethos. And then, of course, one must post their excursion on TikTok, setting the clip to a song called “Rich Minion” by the rapper Yeat.

Why dress up for a night at the theater? Bill Hirst, an Australian teen whose Gentleminions video has received millions of views, told Variety it was all “just for fun” after he and his friends saw another group of boys on TikTok who donned suits to the movies.

“We just chucked on our suits and went straight to the cinemas,” he said. “It was very spontaneous”

In a few cases, though, the Gentleminions’ mostly innocent revelry has sourced. The only movie theater in Guernsey, in the British Isles, had to cancel screenings of the movie after a horde of Gentleminions vandalized the theater and led some children at the screenings to leave in tears, its manager told the BBC.

Some American theaters have also seen light vandalism: A representative for a major theater chain who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record told the Los Angeles Times that its employees have been alerted to the trend after some Gentleminions caused minor property damage, though it doesn’t currently have rules in place to stop them from seeing the movie.

Movie theaters have long been the preferred domains of many a raucous teen, but the Gentleminions have pushed many theaters to their limits. In the UK, several theaters have banned certain young people from tickets to the film as a result of the chaos in Guernsey and other locales, the Guardian reported. One theater said it would not admit any “unaccompanied children wearing suits” who came to see the Minions make mischief.

Whether American cinemas will take the same steps to curb the chaos remains to be seen. CNN reached out to national chains AMC, Regal and Cinemark for comment on their response to the Gentleminions trend and is waiting to hear back.

Meanwhile, Universal Pictures has wholeheartedly embraced the Gentleminions: In a tweet last week, the company wrote: “to everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you.”

The Minions themselves even sent the Gentleminions a video salute on TikTok, wishing them “Bobspeed.” Their new “fans” might be seeing the film for disingenuous laughs, but the Minions are taking their teasing all the way to the bank.

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Two blockbuster animated franchises went head-to-head at the box office this past weekend. One of them benefited from buzz − and it wasn’t “Lightyear.”

In just three days, Universal and Illumination’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” tallied more than $107 million in domestic ticket sales and topped $200 million globally.

Its rival, Disney and Pixar’s “Lightyear,” has generated just $105 million domestically since it was released three weeks ago and has struggled to reach $190 million worldwide.

The two franchises are among the most popular and profitable for their respective studios, having each raked in billions of dollars in ticket sales over the last decade — so why did “Minions” soar and “Lightyear” flop?

It comes down to storytelling and target audience, box office analysts say.

“The relatively soft response to ‘Lightyear’ by audiences and their unbridled excitement for ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ reflects many different factors, not the least of which is the that the films are polar opposites in terms of their approach to a delivering story to the audience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

While “Minions” leaned heavily into the slapstick comedy that made the last four installments in the Despicable Me franchise so successful, “Lightyear” shifted away from a formula that endeared so many generations to the Toy Story franchise − centered on emotional stories around beloved childhood toys.

“Minions: The Rise of Gru” tells the villain origin story of Gru, who as a child seeks to establish himself amongst the biggest bad guys in the world. Along the way, his gang of denim overall-wearing minions bungles his plans, resulting in a silly, gut-busting romp.

“Slapstick comedy is a tried-and-true genre that kids of all ages have always loved,” Dergarabedian said.

“Lightyear,” which was also billed as an origin story, is about the movie that made Buzz Lightyear the hottest-selling toy and a coveted prize for young Andy. The characters on screen aren’t toys that believe they are real, they are actually human. This meta-style story might have been enticing to audiences that grew up with “Toy Story” in the ’90s, but for younger generations, the science-fiction action adventure missed the mark.

“Minions” was simply more accessible to audiences, analysts said.

“Minions” also got a surprise boost at the box office from teenagers, who bought 15% of the movie’s tickets during its opening weekend. For “Lightyear,” 6% of tickets were purchased by teens, according to data from EntTelligence.

A new trend on TikTok likely helped fuel “Minions” sales, as groups of young moviegoers dressed in formal attire to attend showings of the new Despicable Me movie. The “Gentleminions” hashtag has more than 9 million views on TikTok and gained the attention of Universal Studios.

“To everyone showing up to ‘Minions’ in suits: we see you and we love you,” the company wrote in a tweet last Friday.

Families accounted for 68% of “Minions: The Rise of Gru” ticket sales during its opening weekend, while adults without children accounted for 17% of tickets.

For “Lightyear,” families accounted for 65% of the tickets sold, while adults without children accounted for nearly 30% of ticket sales.

“What ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’s debut proves without a doubt is that family audiences are once again able to strongarm a movie at the box office,” said Jeff Bock, senior analyst at Exhibitor Relations. “We saw that with ‘Sonic 2’ earlier this year, but hadn’t yet seen a traditional animated movie slay the box office since pre-pandemic times.”

While it’s a promising sign for theaters that parents and kids are finally flocking back to cinemas, production delays during the pandemic mean there aren’t many new movies for them to watch.

Nickelodeon’s “Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank” arrives July 15 followed by Warner Bros.’ “DC League of Super-Pets” on July 29 and then there is a lull until Disney’s “Strange World” arrives November 23.

“This summer has long looked like it would provide the most high-profile animated releases for most of the remainder of the year, so it’s great news that the ‘Minions’ film is over-performing in the way it is,” said Shawn Robbins , chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.

Robbins noted that the Sony film “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile,” which uses live-action and animation, could be a sleeper hit at the box office when it arrives October 7 to help tide over families with children looking for movies during the fall.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”

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A bizarre TikTok trend has led cinemas to ban groups of rowdy, suit-clad teens from screenings of “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”

The trend sees groups of teenagers referring to themselves as “Gentleminions” wearing suits and bringing bananas, a reference to the Minion’s favorite snack, to the theater.

Videos of the trend using #Gentleminions have been blowing up social media, with some videos garnering a million views apiece.

The self-proclaimed “Gentleminions” wear formal suits and go to the movie screening in large groups and cheer loudly as it begins to play. The actions of these teens are purposefully taken from the movie’s super-villain Gru, including the suit and copying his hand motions throughout the movie.

Since the movie is targeted primarily for young kids, the trend started as an ironic celebration of the movie premiere for teenagers.

The teens have been accused of disrupting the movie by making noise and throwing things.

Staff at some cinemas have even said they’ve a “massive” financial impact, having to issue refunds because of the bad behavior, according to the Mirror.

A Twitter user shared a photo of a sign at ODEON Cinemas in the UK that read, “Due to recent disturbances following the #gentleminions trend, any group of guests in formal attire will be refused entry for showing of ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru.’ Thank you.”

Videos have also been shared of people being threatened to be thrown out of the theater.

Though the viral trend was meant to mock the film, it actually helped give it one of the best box office openings over July 4 in history, according to Fast Company. The movie brought in over $125 million domestic and $93 million international over its opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo.

While cinemas aren’t happy with the suits, Universal Pictures has expressed its support.

“To everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you,” Universal tweeted.

The official Minions TikTok account has also encouraged the movement, posting a video of a minion looking out the window with videos of men in suits.

When a TikTok user posted a video writing, “Why are people actually pulling up in suits?,” the Minions account commented, “This is the dress code.”

“Bobspeed you gentleminions,” the caption read.

“Minions: The Rise of Gru,” which is part of the “Despicable Me” franchise, was released July 1.

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]]> https://harchi90.com/teens-banned-from-minions-screenings-over-gentleminions-tiktok-trend/feed/ 0 5144 https://harchi90.com/thor-love-and-thunder-review-christian-bale-amazes/ https://harchi90.com/thor-love-and-thunder-review-christian-bale-amazes/#respond Tue, 05 Jul 2022 14:34:48 +0000 https://harchi90.com/thor-love-and-thunder-review-christian-bale-amazes/ The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s best shot at Oscar glory has arrived in the form of Christian Bale’s ferocious Gorr the God Butcher in “Thor: Love and Thunder.” He’s as fantastic a Marvel villain as you’ll ever see. More threatening than Thanos and richer than Hela from “Thor: Ragnarok.” He has the complex motivations of Erik …

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s best shot at Oscar glory has arrived in the form of Christian Bale’s ferocious Gorr the God Butcher in “Thor: Love and Thunder.”

He’s as fantastic a Marvel villain as you’ll ever see. More threatening than Thanos and richer than Hela from “Thor: Ragnarok.” He has the complex motivations of Erik Killmonger of “Black Panther,” but with the mesmeric physical transformation we’ve come to expect from Bale.

The Brit is a glutton for punishment.

movie review

Running time: 125 minutes. Rated PG-13 (intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity.) In theaters July 8.

Able to shed and gain weight with the seeming ease of Alexa delivering the weather report, he’s Hollywood’s most addictive freak. In his latest role, the actor is stick-thin (no Batman biceps here) and looks like he might have fleas. And unlike so many of his A-list buds who casually pop into comic book movies to pay for their kitchen renovation, he can sensitively act against a green screen. He’s sensational.

Bale is part of an altogether thrilling action movie, written and directed by Taika Waititi, that enlivens the spotty Phase 4 of the MCU. It’s like “Eternals” never happened. If only…

The New Zealand filmmaker also once again takes on the role of rock alien Korg, who quickly recaps Thor’s history with his typical dry, pop-culture-savvy sense of humor. The “previously on” segment is set to “Only Time” by Enya.

These days, we learn, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) sits zen-like under a tree awaiting save-the-universe missions. Then he learns of Gorr, a vengeful fella, killing gods in response to his young daughter’s death in the desert.

If Gorr can reach a device called Eternity, he can vanquish every ethereal being in one fell swoop. Including Thor. Only the God of Thunder himself can stop him.

Well, Thor and the returning Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, who everyone forgets was in the MCU). Back on earth, Jane is ill and the pair, who broke up, are reunited in an unexpected, badass way.

Tessa Thompson’s party-hardy Valkyrie has been lording over New Asgard — an amusing blend of gods and school-board meetings — here on our planet. And she’s roped into the conflict when Gorr kidnaps all the city’s children.

Waititi, who did an equally terrific job with “Ragnarok” and should direct every Marvel movie, never gets lost in plot or vocabulary. Instead, he draws us in with stratospheric stakes for every single character and a genuine sense of peril. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” was touted as a rare Marvel horror movie. “Love and Thunder,” as funny as it is, is much, much scarier.

For example, towards the end of the film, Waititi employs mostly black-and-white and Bale’s Gorr starts to resemble an anguished Nosferatu.

Fret not — Thor’s not all horror. This subseries, along with the supremely enjoyable “Spider-Man” movies, has been among the funniest of the MCU since Waititi took over.

We meet new gods such as Russell Crowe’s Zeus, who’s straight outta “Monty Python.” And there’s a fearsome, hilarious rivalry between Thor’s Hammer and Stormbreaker — two inanimate objects.

And, as much praise as Bale deserves, Hemsworth’s Thor still manages to take a regal, impenetrable figure and make him, for lack of a better word, human. We worry as much about the God of Thunder saving all the universe’s gods as we do about him getting dumped via a note left in the kitchen.

“Love and Thunder” is an urgent reminder that in order for the MCU to keep going, in an entertaining, soulful way, creativity and innovation is required. You can’t just say “multiverse” 1,000 times and call it a movie.

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]]> https://harchi90.com/thor-love-and-thunder-review-christian-bale-amazes/feed/ 0 5088 https://harchi90.com/breakin-star-bruno-pop-n-taco-falcon-dead-at-58/ https://harchi90.com/breakin-star-bruno-pop-n-taco-falcon-dead-at-58/#respond Mon, 04 Jul 2022 15:28:06 +0000 https://harchi90.com/breakin-star-bruno-pop-n-taco-falcon-dead-at-58/ Bruno Falcon, the trailblazing hip-hop dancer and choreographer known as “Pop N Taco,” died Saturday at his Long Beach, California, home. He was 58. The pop-and-lock legend of the early ’80s cult movie “Breakin’ ” passed away of natural causes, his sister Diana Wolgamott confirmed to local news outlets. No official cause of death has …

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Bruno Falcon, the trailblazing hip-hop dancer and choreographer known as “Pop N Taco,” died Saturday at his Long Beach, California, home. He was 58.

The pop-and-lock legend of the early ’80s cult movie “Breakin’ ” passed away of natural causes, his sister Diana Wolgamott confirmed to local news outlets. No official cause of death has been confirmed, but she said she believes he might have died of a heart attack.

The East LA native was a mainstay in the street dance scene throughout the ’80s and ’90s.

“People couldn’t believe there was a Mexican who could pop,” Falcon once told Soc!ety Dance Academy magazine. “They would challenge me in front of the school or a party or a high school dance. They’d come out, right at you, right in front of your face.”

He got his big mainstream break as Electro Rock 1 in the 1984 breakdancing hit “Breakin,’ ” starring alongside rapper and future “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star Ice-T and dancer Adolfo “Shabba Doo” Quinones, who preceded Falcon in death at 65 in 2020.

“Yep, just got a text,” Ice-T, 64, tweeted when fans asked him if he had heard the news of Falcon’s death. “He was way to [sic] young. Shh.”

Falcon also collaborated with Michael Jackson and danced in the King of Pop’s classic “Smooth Criminal” music video, for which he reportedly choreographed the now-signature “anti-gravity lean” move.

In addition to dancing for Janet Jackson, Lionel Richie and Chaka Khan, Falcon also appeared in a pair of Jackson’s short film projects: “Captain EO,” directed by “Godfather” Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola in 1986, followed by 1988’s “Moonwalker. ”

After co-starring in the lackluster sequel “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo,” Falcon appeared in 1991’s “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey,” opposite Keanu Reeves, and he choreographed live-action sequences for Don Bluth’s “Thumbelina” in 1994.

Veteran actress-singer-choreographer Toni Basil — who starred alongside Jack Nicholson in 1969’s “Easy Rider,” choreographed 1979’s “The Rose” and belted out the iconic ’80s dance track “Mickey” — also shared her condolences via social media.

“Rest In Peace My long time dear beautiful friend and collaborator over many years — the legendary ground breaking brilliant dancer Pop-n-Taco Bruno Falcon. June 10, 1964-July 2, 2022,” Basil, 78, tweeted along with a classic clip introduced by the Smothers Brothers, Thomas and Richard.

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