Hello boys and girls! I’m back for twenty seven words, but now I must go. It is a sad day today, please see below. Hey, that rhymed!

The balcony is closed.

This is the last season of “At the Movies,” the long-running syndicated review show made into a hit in the 1980s by dueling Chicago critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.

The show’s roots go back to 1975′s “Sneak Previews.”

Here’s a statement from distributor Disney-ABC Domestic TV:
After 24 seasons with us in national syndication, the highly regarded movie review show “At the Movies” (formerly known as “Siskel & Ebert” and “Ebert & Roeper”) will air its last original broadcast the weekend of August 14, 2010.

This was a very difficult decision, especially considering the program’s rich history and iconic status within the entertainment industry, but from a business perspective it became clear this weekly, half-hour, broadcast syndication series was no longer sustainable. We gratefully acknowledge the outstanding work of the program’s current co-hosts A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips and top-notch production staff, and it is with heartfelt appreciation that we extend very special thanks to the two brilliant, visionary and incomparable critics that started it all, Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel.

Online reviews and aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic have made finding knowledgeable opinions movies easier than ever for fans, yet have also evolved the consumption of criticism in such a way that made the half-hour review show seem dated. “At the Movies” also never again found a critic pairing with the chemistry that matched the breakout pairing of Siskel and Ebert.
(via THR)

Cary Grant is one of my favorite “chicken soup” actors.  Similar to Jimmy Stewart and Gene Kelly, his amiable appearance and affable screen persona is always a welcome addition to a lazy Sunday afternoon of movie watching.

In honor of Mr. Grant – star of such classics as Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, Arsenic and Old Lace, North By Northwest, and Charade – I present to you five bits of info about the man you might not know.

1. Let’s get this one out of the way – most likely, Grant swung for both teams.  Over the years, there were a number of rumors, sightings, and stories (some stemming from Grant’s first two wives), accusing him of being a homosexual…or, at the very least, bi-sexual.

Funnily enough, aside from pornography, 1931′s Bringing Up Baby, is cited as the first work of fiction to use the word “gay” in a homosexual context…and Grant ad-libbed the line.  Perhaps his purported relationship with actor Randolph Scott was on his mind.  For the remaining four bits, follow the jump…

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As a Los Angeles resident, I often find myself strolling down The Hollywood Walk of Fame.  What’s troubling about the Walk (beyond the cheap tattoo parlors, dirty lingerie joints, and discarded Popeye’s Chicken wrappers) is how many motion picture names I don’t recognize.

In an effort to curb my ignorance and set the record straight on some of those beguiling pink terrazzo stars, I’m starting a new series on the “Scene Unseen” Blog entitled, “The Hollywood Walk of Who?”  

First up, DOROTHY ARZNER – 1500 North Vine Street.

After beginning her career as a script writer and film editor for Paramount Pictures, Arzner became one of the first female directors in the history of feature films.  After threatening to leave Paramount for rival Columbia, the powers that be put her in charge of Fashions for Women in 1927, which proved a commercial success.

Read more after the jump…

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Did you know that over the course of 22 years…in 17 western movies…Jimmy Stewart rode the SAME horse?  The horse’s name was “Pie.”

Joan Bakewell at the National Film Theatre interviewed Stewart about Pie in 1972:

“I liked this darned little horse…I actually believed that he understood about making pictures. I ran at a full gallop, straight towards the camera, pulled him up and then did a lot of dialogue and he stood absolutely still. He never moved. He knew when the camera would start rolling and when they did the slates. He knew that because his ears came up.

The last picture that Hank Fonda and I made, The Cheyenne Social Club, Pie was getting old. We did it in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pie got sick and I couldn’t use him the whole time. And, unbeknownst to me, Hank painted a picture of the horse in watercolour. He’s an excellent artist – watercolours, oils, ink, lithograph, anything. He has an amazing talent. When we got home, he brought me the picture and two days later Pie died. It was a great loss. But I have Pie in our library and I consider him a friend.”

Super fan and fellow Stewart admirer, Warren Madsen, alerted me to this fact a while back, and now I share this random tidbit with you.

Since today is Father’s Day, I thought I’d honor the father of one of my favorite working directors, Paul Thomas Anderson.

Between 1963 and 1966, Ernie Anderson, aka “Ghoulardi,” was the host of Shock Theater on WJW-TV 8 in Cleveland, Ohio.

At 11:20 pm every Friday, Ghoulardi would showcase low-grade horror and science fiction flicks while playing pranks, splicing random stock footage mid-picture, and even insulting the evening’s film – “This movie is so bad, you should just go to bed.”

The Ghoulardi persona was an irreverent hipster beatnik with a series of bad wigs and a fake Van Dyke beard.  He broke boundaries, challenged censors, and paved the way for late-night cult favorites like Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater and Mystery Science Theater 3000.  And last, but certainly not least, without Ernie, we would not have P.T. Anderson, and his five wonderful films thus far, from Sydney to There Will Be Blood.  Happy Father’s Day…and “stay sick!”

For a sampling of Ghoulardi’s work, go here.

In honor of Memorial Day (i.e., “Barbecue Monday”), I’d like to shine a light on a strange pop culture phenomenon…Scarlett O’Hara at the Twelve Oaks Barbecue collectibles.  That’s right…f’n collectibles.

The legendary white and green dress worn by Vivien Leigh has inspired dolls,
collector plates, and its own physical restoration and donation to LACMA.

While Gone with the Wind will always be known for “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” and “Tomorrow is another day,” I prefer the underated, “Charles Hamilton, I want to eat barbecue with you.”  

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Before James Byron Dean donned that red jacket and become the rebellious icon of the 1950′s, he was Cal Trask in East of Eden.

In this incredible clip, Paul Newman screen tests alongside Dean for the role of Cal’s brother, Aron. The part eventually went to Richard Davalos, who later starred opposite Newman as the convict Blind Dick in Cool Hand Luke.

Go ahead, girls (hell…go ahead, GUYS) and eat your heart out at this pair of screen legends.

The other day I was walking through Brentwood (yes, O.J.’s Brentwood), when I saw Jean Harlow on a bear skin rug.

It was something I had seen before…an image stripped from the pages of vintage “Vanity Fair”…the soft shadow fireside haze of classic Hollywood.

Suffice to say, it piqued my interest, and I entered the Cambridge Art Gallery for the very first time.  Inside, matted and elegantly framed, was a collection of George Hurrell photography.

If that name doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps, “Grand Seigneur of the Hollywood Portrait” does.  Or, “The Godfather of Glamour Photography.”  Hurrell, whose mesmerizing images filled the pages of fashion magazines in the early days of Hollywood, worked as head of the MGM portrait gallery beginning in 1930.

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Ever wonder what this guy’s name is?

It’s Leo.

You’re welcome.