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Johnny Ferraro comes across like a Mafia soldier in witness relocation as a used car salesman, or maybe that one casino employee you really don’t want to mess with. He has a way of looking at the camera like he wants to strangle it, or at least spit on it. But somehow, some way, he musters charm. Ferraro is the creator of the much-mocked, absurdly popular proto-reality-tv competition series American Gladiators. Or is he?

This question lingers over the new two-part ESPN 30 for 30 film The American Gladiators Documentary, whose...

The robots won’t take over Hollywood if the WGA has anything to do with it.

One of the most interesting demands set out in the guild’s Pattern of Demands, which was unveiled earlier today, was the idea of regulating AI.

Or as the WGA put it, “Regulate use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies”.

A few years ago, it would have seemed crazy that AI would be able to replicate the work of TV and film writers. However, the rise of ChatGPT and other services, has shown that it might be closer than ever.

For instance, I asked ChatGPT if it had a pitch for a reboot of AMC’s Mad Men.

“Mad Men is back and better than ever. This time, the show takes place in the modern day, following a cast of characters as they navigate life in the cutthroat advertising industry of the 21st century.

The Amazing Johnathan, the veteran magician and comic who headlined in Las Vegas for more than a decade and appeared often on television including stand-up specials and David Letterman’s shows, died late Tuesday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 63 and had been struggling with health problems including cardiomyopathy for several years.

His wife, sideshow stunt artist Anastasia Synn, confirmed the news to the Las Vegas Journal-Review today. “I’m losing my beautiful, brilliant husband,” she’d said Tuesday on social media.

Born John Edward Szeles on September 9, 1958, in Detroit, he began doing street comedy in San Francisco as in the early 1980s and starting landing guest spots on TV including Thicke of the Night, Up All Night and Late Night with David Letterman. He would go on to appear many times on Letterman’s show on NBC and later CBS.

As stand-up comedy boomed in the late ’80s and early 1990s,...

"Keep your head up, keep your heart open." Humans crave connection. We need to talk, and hear from each other, converse, and interact. How do you do that if you're a filmmaker with no friends, stuck at home? Let's ask Benjamin Berman: "I made a new film! The first film made completely in quarantine??? Possibly. Get yourself a little human connection and check out The Follow-Up." Berman made a doc film that premiered last year called The Amazing Johnathan Documentary, and this is kind of / sort of his follow-up. As much as this might seem to be a film about connection during quarantine, beneath the surface it seems to be about how we're so desperate to connect we will pay excessive amounts of money to have washed up celebs record videos to make us feel better. Which really does make this a good follow-up to his doc. Check this out below.

Among cult magicians, The Amazing Johnathan stands out from the pack. His mix of magic and stand up comedy is truly unique. So, on the surface, his persona alone would make for a good documentary. However, The Amazing Johnathan Documentary has way more up its sleeve than that, no pun intended. Initially beginning as a simple portrait of the performer on the comeback/farewell trail after a medical diagnosis, the film evolves quickly into something utterly compelling and often bizarre. Much like The Amazing Johnathan himself, the movie contains deception after deception, though ultimately concluding on a surprise that’s even shocking to Johnathan himself. The documentary begins life in a somewhat straightforward manner. For years, The Amazing Johnathan was a popular comedy/magic act, often trafficking in the seemingly grotesque. Then, he stopped touring, somewhat suddenly. It turns out, he had received a terminal diagnosis. However, a few years back,...

This is the weirdest trailer I’ve seen in a while, and I totally dig it. You have probably heard of The Amazing Johnathan, as he has been a comedian/magician and star of his own Las Vegas show for many years. But it seems like now he is circling the drain in a downward spiral of drugs and odd behavior… or is he? It’s hard to tell. Director Benjamin Berman is making his feature debut, and looks like he may have gotten more than he bargained for in this wild ride of twists and turns. It looks very Andy Kaufman-esque, and I am intrigued for sure.

Check out the trailer below and watch The Amazing Johnathan Documentary in select theatres and on Hulu on August 16th. Will you be turning in?...

Director Ben Berman set out to make a fairly straightforward film when he opted to follow The Amazing Johnathan’s return to the stage after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. The once-famous magician had already passed the one-year mark doctors had predicted he had left to live and the fear was he could die in the middle of his physically demanding show. That was the drama Berman thought he was filming.

“Nothing you are seeing is real,” announces the first line of the first “The Amazing Johnathan” trailer. “Can you trust anything a magician says?” Berman quickly became the subject of his own documentary as the filmmaker-in-crisis started to question if he wasn’t part of an elaborate hoax being staged by the magician. It’s a fear that is only compounded when Berman discovers that Johnathan has granted another, better funded, and Oscar-winning documentary team access to tell his story.

Thanks to VancouverFilm.Net, here is the Vancouver Film Production Update for June 2017, including "Psych: The Movie", "Love Machine", "Lost In Space" and a whole lot more:

 

Game Over, Man

Feature

Local Production Company: Lumberjackson Productions Inc.

Director: Kyle Newacheck

Producer: Seth Rogan, Scott Rudin

Apr 12/17 - Jun 06/17

Love Machine

Feature

Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouve Productions Ltd

Director: David Leitch

Exec. Producer(s): Ethan Smith, Kelly McCormick

Jun 26/17 - Oct 06/17

One Of A Kind

Feature

Local Production Company: Two Sixty Six Productions Inc

Director: Felix Chong

Producer: Costa Vassos

Jul 13/17 - Jul 31/17

Overboard

Feature

Local Production Company: Tgl Productions Ltd

Director: Robert Greenberg

Producer: Eugenio Derbez, Ben Odell

May 23/17 - Jul 14/17

Skyscraper

Feature

Local Production Company: Main Mast Production - Can, Inc

Director: Rawson Marshall Thurter

Exec. Producer(s): Eric Hedayat

Aug 14/17 - Nov 17/17

Altered Carbon ~ Season 1

TV Series

Local Production Company: Altered Carbon Productions I Inc.

Why Watch? Opening with a great sense of dark comedy, this short film from Ben Berman carries that wry sensibility on its shoulder even during the mournful moments. I’m a Mitzvah is a road trip for one — all the frustration of trying to get home from an unfamiliar place is on tap with the added bonus of a dead body in tow. The story focuses on a young man (Ben Schwartz) who is chaperoning his friend’s dead body from Mexico back the U.S. when there’s a flight cancellation. So how many things are there to do in Mexico when you’re dead? There’s a lot to love here, particularly the desert-dry comedy in which one man beyond the sight of other friends and relatives deals with what remains of his friend. But beyond an Overnight At Bernie’s, the short casually plays out like almost any travelogue might — instead of two friends...

The odds of having your short film included in this year’s Sundance Film Festival are .008 percent. Out of the 66 short film line-up (selected among 8,161 submissions) we find actress Rose McGowan move behind the camera for her directing debut (Dawn), we have Ain’t Them Bodies Saints producer Toby Halbrooks shovel out Dig (see pic above) and Todd Rohal (The Guatemalan Handshake) returns to the fest in between features with Rat Pack Rat. Filmmaker Magazine New Faces of Independent Film director Dean Fleischer-Camp rolls up his shirt sleeves with Catherine, Matthew Lessner returns to Park City with the helping hand Chapel Perilous while The Strange Ones (’11 accepted short) co-helmer Christopher Radcliff won’t be making a dissappearing act with Jonathan’s Chest. Finally docu feature-film helmer Lucy Walker moves into The Lion’s Mouth Opens. I’ll of course be covering several of these – look out for our coverage.

Here...

Short films can go a long way. Especially when they’re showcased at the Sundance Film Festival. The festival’s Shorts program, which was announced today, has a tradition of identifying remarkable filmmakers as well as introducing stories that ultimately make it to the big-screen as features. For example, David O. Russell brought his first film, a short titled Bingo Inferno to Sundance in 1987, while Half Nelson, which earned Ryan Gosling his first Oscar nomination, grew out of Ryan Fleck’s 2004 Sundance short titled, Gowanus, Brooklyn. “If you look back at the directors who got their start by having a short at Sundance,...

Modern Family Season 4, Episode 17: “Best Men”

Written by Dan O’Shannon, Abraham Higginbotham and Bianca Douglas

Directed by Steven Levitan

Airs on Wednesdays at 9pm on ABC

This week we see the return of Sal, played brilliantly by none other than Elizabeth Banks, and this time she’s getting married. Barging in late at night, Sal announces that she wants Mitch and Cam to be her “Best Men”. The last minute announcement leads to a last minute hen party where Sal temporarily gets cold feet and makes out with a bar tender. Sal is a great character and Elizabeth Banks does crazy well, but the outcome feels a little disappointing. The episode is set out in a way that makes the audience expect, or hope, that Cam and Mitch end up getting married but the writers are probably saving this for a season finale. Lily is hilarious as always.

Modern Family Season 4, Episode 16: “Bad Hair Day”

Written by Elaine Ko

Directed by Gail Mancuso

Airs on Wednesdays at 9pm (Et) on ABC

This week’s episode is packed with guest stars as Claire heads off to a school reunion. With Phil playing on Jay’s bowling team, things work out for the best for Claire as she gets to see her ex-boyfriend (and ex-professor) played by Maxwell Caulfield. Annie Murnolo and David Faustino also guest star as Claire’s old school friends. After being booted off the team Phil turns up and surprises her, this leads to Claire admitting that she wanted to look at the life that might have been. Cue another guest star, Maribeth Monroe of Workaholics as the professor’s wife. Monroe plays pretty much the same character but does it perfectly, so Claire realises she is lucky to have ended up with Phil.

Much like last week,...

She's made many a cupcake alongside her sister on TV. Now, Katherine Kallinis has a bun in the oven. The DC Cupcakes star is expecting a child with husband Ben Berman, she tells People. The couple, whose wedding played out in an episode last year, are due to welcome their sweet addition in February. No surprise here: Cupcakes will help Kallinis reveal the sex of her baby at a November shower thrown by sister (and co-founder of their bakery, Georgetown Cupcake) Sophie Lamontagne. "Everyone will bite into the gender-reveal cupcakes and find either pink or blue buttercream in the middle,...

By now it should be obvious. The Who Dats are just a little more passionate about the New Orleans Saints than professional sports fans in other cities. There are currently at least 35 different Saints-related songs available on YouTube, and whole albums of material available elsewhere. Here are 10 of the best Saints songs on YouTube--10 of the greatest anthems of the Who Dat nation. To all my fellow citizens, new and old: sing along with pride. Who dat! Ben Berman is a web editor at OffBeat Magazine, the music, food and culture magazine of New Orleans. For their coverage of Saints songs and more Louisiana music check offbeat.com or follow them on Facebook or Twitter....