Various news outlets are reporting that Michael Crichton, the author most famous for Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain, has died at the age of 66 after an unpublicized battle with cancer. In addition to writing some of the most memorable books of our time, Crichton has been involved in various film and television projects. He co-wrote the screenplay for Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, created the hit show ER, and is also a capable director, having directed such films as Westworld and The First Great Train Robbery.
I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that Crichton’s works have significantly shaped my life. His ability to intermix thrilling science-fiction with his medical and [...]

Oscar-winning film legend Paul Newman has died of cancer at the age of 83. A statement from Newman’s family said: “His death was as private and discreet as the way he had lived his life.”
Newman’s filmography included: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Exodus, The Hustler, Torn Curtain, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, The Towering Inferno, Slap Shot, The Verdict, The Color of Money, The Hudsucker Proxy, Nobody’s Fool, Message in a Bottle, Road to Perdition, and Cars. Newman was set to reprise the role of Doc Hudson in Pixar’s Cars 2.
He will be missed. Leave your tributes, thoughts, and comments about Newman and [...]

Gregory Mcdonald died on Sunday at age 71 in Pulaski, Tennessee. Mcdonald is best known as the best-selling author of the Fletch book series, which was later adapted into a feature film series starring Chevy Chase. Mcdonald’s Running Scared and The Brave were also adapted for the big screen. Mcdonald had 26 published books and won the Edgar Allen Poe Award twice. Before writing the Fletch novels, Mcdonald was a journalist for the Boston Globe. He is survived by his wife, Cherlye, and five children.
Mcdonald ’s most recent brush with Hollywood involved the development of a Fletch prequel called Fletch Won. Kevin Smith was originally attached to write and direct [...]

Everyone reading this post has heard Don LaFontaine’s voice, but many of you probably don’t know his name. Don LaFontaine is a voiceover legend, whose voice has graced over 5,000 movie trailers and nearly 350,000 (!) commercials. He has generally been thought of as the person who coined the phrase “In a world…” He has helped to stoke excitement for such varied shows and films as Terminator 2, Cast Away, 24 and Arrested Development among countless others. Most recently, he has been seen in Geico commercials, in which he parodies the urgency of trailer voiceovers. (If you have a chance, head on over to Don’s website to gain an appreciation [...]

Yes, it seems the rumors are true. Dammit. Slashfilm would like to call a time-out and mourn the passing of Sho’Nuff, the nefarious “shogun of Harlem” in The Last Dragon, and one of the prettiest and meanest villains in all of cinema. Sho’Nuff was also known as actor Julius Carry. He was 56. RIP, Sho’Nuff.
Discuss: Any last words for Sho’?

When Morgan Freeman got into a car accident, the blogosphere was declaring The Dark Knight a cursed film. When Issac Hayes died immediately after Bernie Mac, some observed that Samuel L Jackson might be next due to the trio’s connection through the upcoming movie Soul Men. I don’t think anyone actually believes in these things, do they?
Now Defamer is declaring The Curse of Billy Bob Thornton. The latest death watch conspiracy theory involves the many co-stars of Thornton who have have suffered death, injury or sickness. John Ritter, Bernie Mac, J.T. Walsh, and Heath Ledger all died prematurely. Morgan Freeman and Shia LaBeouf both suffered car accidents, and Patrick Swayze [...]

Isaac Hayes, the unmistakable musician and actor who won an Oscar in 1971 for his “Theme From Shaft” and starred as Chef on South Park, has died at age 65. He was found unresponsive by a family member, having apparently collapsed during a workout. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hame of Fame in 2002.
Hayes will appear in the November film, Soul Men, which stars Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac, who died yesterday from a battle with pneumonia. Hayes was a forefather to the rap movement, and played a good hand in disco and funk. WIth his penchant for sunglasses and an earlier preference for gold jewelry [...]

Comedian and actor Bernie Mac, who has starred in films and television shows such as Transformers, Soderbergh’s Ocean’s series, and The Bernie Mac Show has died. CNN reports that Bernie Mac had been hospitalized for more than a week due to a lung infection and that he died early Saturday morning from complications relating to pneumonia. He was 50 years old at the time.
In my own experience, I have always found him to be able to bring levity to whatever project he was involved in. Most recently, I look back quite fondly on his his creepy salesman role in Ocean’s Eleven; that forceful handshake still haunts my dreams, in a [...]

While Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay had it moments, ultimately Slashfilm was let down, graphing it as a 4.5/10 (and later a 3.5/10 for the inclusion of a 311 song in 2008). The profitable sequel hits DVD on Tuesday and today Harold and Kumar 3 was given the greenlight for John Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, the writer/directors of the previous film, who also penned the funnier White Castle.
Kal Penn and John Cho have an option for a third film, and unless they’ve upgraded to heroin, we expect them to bong it up and crash yet another Bottlomless Party on screen—but this time, I dunno, make it count. Diving [...]

Look at C. Thomas Howell in the yearbook photo above. Today’s teens need to aim higher. Emptying today’s “post-9/11″ quota is screenwriter Carl Ellsworth (Disturbia, Y: The Last Man adaptation) who will pen the remake of 1984’s Red Dawn, the beloved Russian invasion teen patriot movie that inspired Toy Soldiers and many a neighborhood ground warz. Ellsworth described his take to the Hollywood Reporter…
“The tone is going to be very intense, very much keeping in mind the post-9/11 world that we’re in,” says Ellsworth, who was 11 when the original was released. “As ‘Red Dawn’ scared the heck out of people in 1984, we feel that the world is kind [...]

As expected, Warner Bros’ The Dark Knight includes a dedication to the late Heath Ledger in the credits. The text will read:
“In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe“
For those of you who don’t know, Wickliffe is the special-effects technician who was killed last September in a stunt-car accident on the set of the Batman sequel.
via: THR

In our obituary post last night, I mentioned how my favorite big screen performance of Carlin’s was in Kevin Smith’s Jersey Girl. Smith was a filmmaker who used Carlin in his films when available. Watching his few appearances, I’m shocked that his career in film never blew up. Smith takes a look back at the great comedy legend in a guest column for Newsweek:
“In 2001, George did me a solid when he accepted the part of the orally fixated hitchhiker who knew exactly how to get a ride in “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” When he wrapped his scene in that flick, I thanked him for making the time, [...]

Man, this is really sad. A Slashfilm fave, legendary comedian and thinking man, George Carlin, died today (Sunday) from heart failure at a Santa Monica hospital. He was admitted on Sunday afternoon after experiencing chest pains. Sadder still, Carlin was to receive the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the Kennedy Center this November. No word on how that event will proceed, but let’s hope it will be a fine send-off from his peers for a career that spanned five decades. Carlin said this regarding the reward: “Thank you Mr. Twain. Have your people call my people.” That is one phone call that warranted a tap.
Peter’s Thoughts: This [...]

The passing of Stan Winston hit everyone off guard yesterday, including the many people who have worked with the legend over the years.
McG has posted a statement on the Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins website, declaring his intention to dedicate the fourth Terminator film to the memory of Stan. Here is an excerpt: “Stan was a good guy who was in it for all the right reasons. He loved what he did. Stan confided in me once, that he created imaginary monsters as a child to keep him company. He said he felt like the only kid in the world who did this. Little did he know his childhood friends [...]

I have a bit of unfortunate news to report. Academy Award winning special effects and make-up artist Stan Winston died last night. Winston is best known for his work in the Terminator series (Winston designed the original Terminator Endoskeleton), Jurassic Park, Aliens, Predator, and Edward Scissorhands. A frequent collaborator of James Cameron, they co-founded Digital Domain in 1993. Winston was the second special effects artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Winston also worked on The Thing, Friday the 13th Part III, Alien Nation, The Monster Squad, Pumpkinhead, Interview with the Vampire, Congo, The Island of Doctor Moreau, Small Soldiers, Pearl Harbor, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Big Fish, [...]