Maltin on Movies

How is it that Kiwi native Rose McIver is so talented, so versatile, and still so nice? Popular most recently for her appearances on IZombie and the current Ghosts on CBS, she has also worked with Peter Jackson on The Lovely Bones and a host of other TV shows (like Masters of Sex ) and films—going all the way back to Jane Campion's The Piano --sometimes playing American (flawlessly) and other time...

With a starring role in the current VOD release All My Puny Tomorrows Alison Pill has a showcase worthy of her abundant talent. That's no secret to fans who have followed her since her days as a child actress… including many of today's leading filmmakers, who have cast her in such notable films as Milk, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Snowpiercer, and Hail, Caesar! , to name just a few. And she recen...

Our guest grew up as a privileged son of Hollywood royalty. George Stevens Sr. made such classic movies as Gunga Din, Shane, and Giant , and in time invited his son to join his filmmaking team. But George Stevens Jr. went on to forge his own formidable career in Washington D.C. as founder of the American Film Institute and co-creator of the Kennedy Center Honors. His newly published autobiography...

In his earliest screen appearances (remember Quest for Fire ?) Ron Perlman was buried under a ton of makeup and prosthetics. That's also how he became the Emmy-winning star of television's Beauty and the Beast . Since then he's shown his versatility, especially in his collaborations with the gifted filmmaker Guillermo del Toro like Hellboy and the forthcoming Pinocchio . His new film The Last Vict...

Gustav Hoegen is one of those creative artists whose work is seen by millions of people but whose name and face remains little-known. He is a creature designer who specializes in audio-animatronics. You've seen his imaginative designs come to life in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Prometheus, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, all of the recent Star Wars feat...

Karen Gillan first came to prominence playing Amy Pond during two seasons on D r . W h o . Then she was cast as Nebula in G u a r d i a n s o f t h e G a l a x y V o l . 2 and her career went into overdrive. She'll be reprising her signature role in T h o r : L o v e a n d T h u n d e r and in Volume 3 of G u a r d i a n s next year. Meanwhile, you can see her play opposite herself in the science-...

His performance as the devilish media baron Logan Roy has helped make Succession must-see television. But Brian Cox has been giving inspired performances for decades, on stage, screen and television; he was the first actor to play Hannibal Lecter in 1986's Manhhunter. Now he's gathered his best stories in a candid, witty book called Putting the Rabbit in the Hat. He is also a fanatic about Hollywo...

The success of Ray Donovan has introduced Eddie Marsan to a legion of viewers who may not have seen (or recognized) him from the hundred-or-so feature films he's been in, from Gangs of New York and War Horse to Mike Leigh's wonderful Vera Drake and Happy-go-Lucky. He is the very model of a modern working actor, ready to take on a new accent and persona with each new assignment…and that's the way h...

Television viewers may know him best for his seven-year run as the star of Without a Trace (or his Emmy-winning appearances on Frasier ) but Anthony LaPaglia has had a long and varied career on stage and film. Early credits include 29 th Street, Innocent Blood, Betsy's Wedding , Jessie's favorite Empire Records and Spike Lee's Summer of Sam. Now he's starring in Nitram , a drama about one of the m...

Neal McDonough is one of the busiest actors in show business. Now he is adding "writer" and "producer" to his resumé with a feature called Boon that comes to theaters and VOD on April1st. His talent and work ethic have earned him the respect of men like Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood, so he's got great role models to follow. From Band of Brothers to Minority Report, Desperate Housewives to Ar...

Sue Lloyd was raised by her grandfather, the legendary silent-screen comedian Harold Lloyd—the guy in horned-rim glasses and a straw hat who dangled off a clock on the side of a building in his hit comedy Safety Last . (Her grandmother had been his leading lady on screen.) He introduced her and her friends to his film vault and paved the way for them to protect his movies, which she makes availabl...

Immortalized as Leland Palmer in David Lynch's Twin Peaks (in 1990-91, 2017 and in the 1992 prequel feature), Ray Wise has appeared in hundreds of movies and TV shows...and he still loves what he does. He tells Leonard and Jessie that he set his sights on being a professional actor in the fourth grade. That goal was met years ago, with roles on such TV series as Love of Life, The Young and the Res...

To untold millions of people she will always be bright-eyed Jane Banks in the original Mary Poppins (1964). The real-life Karen Dotrice is the mother of three who grew up in a show-business family. Her father Roy was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and her godfather was Charles Laughton! Luckily for us, Karen cherishes the memory of making Poppins and has especially fond recollections of...

On the eve of the hilarious Space Force (starring Steve Carell and John Malkovich) returning to Netflix for Season 2, its director Ken Kwapis joins us to talk about the joy of working with such a talented ensemble, and to review his multifaceted career. He's just written a smart and useful book called But What I Really Want to Do is Direct (St. Martin's Griffin), based on his experiences directing...

Adrien Brody has written a new role for himself in the indie picture Clean , now in theaters and on VOD. It's the latest in an ever-growing rogue's gallery that includes his Oscar-winning role in The Pianist , his recent appearance on Succession, and an appearance as L.A. Lakers coach Pat Riley in an upcoming miniseries. He's part of Wes Anderson's elite corps of favorite actors and has played eve...

I have followed Woody Allen since I was a boy, from his heyday as a standup comic to his emergence as one of America's most original (and prolific) filmmakers, so he is very much a part of my life. At 86 he is as busy as ever. His latest film, Rifkin's Festival (starring Wallace Shawn and Gina Gershon) opens today in theaters and on VOD. He has another film ready to shoot, a play about to be produ...

Ernest Dickerson studied cinematography at NYU where, on his first day, he met and bonded with fellow student Spike Lee. They made six memorable films together (including Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X ) before Ernest made his directing debut with Juice, which has just been released in a special Blu-ray edition marking its 30 th anniversary. He has gone on to direct such striking TV series as Th...

Guillermo del Toro is a sorcerer who places no limits on his imagination. His new film, Nightmare Alley, now playing in theaters, is an exquisitely rendered film noir that stands alongside his earlier work ( The Devil's Backbone, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth, The Shape of Water ) with the promise of more to come—like his "take" on Pinocchio. Leonard and Jessie are longtime devotees and are thrilled to...

Lily Rabe is a talented actress with superior bloodlines: her mother was the gifted Jill Clayburgh, and her father is playwright David Rabe. But she has carved her own path and proves it yet again as the loving mother in George Clooney's new film The Tender Bar, now in theaters and soon on Amazon Prime. One of her biggest fans is producer-director Ryan Murphy, who has crafted challenging roles for...

Corbin Bernsen achieved stardom over eight seasons on the TV series L.A. Law and hasn't stopped working since—on both sides of the camera. His latest film as an actor is The Hating Game , now available on VOD. He grew up in a show-business household; his father was producer-director Harry Bernsen and his mother was Jeanne Cooper, a busy actress and one of the queens of daytime drama. With no illus...

As the mother of the "farm to table" movement, Alice Waters has changed the way food is prepared and served in countless restaurants around the world. She opened Chez Panisse 50 years ago in Berkeley, California and is still going strong. She is also a diehard film buff who named her establishment after a character in the timeless Marcel Pagnol movies of the 1930s (Marius, Cesar, Fanny). Leonard a...

Robert B. Weide, Bob to his friends, is a rare bird who has studied comedy and also created it, on a very high level. His documentary W.C. Fields Straight Up won an Emmy and Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth was nominated for an Oscar. His latest documentary, Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time, is now playing in theaters and on VOD, and it was forty years in the making. Bob explains why and traces...

Joe Pantoliano is one of those actors who serves as a secret weapon in scores of TV shows and movies. His latest, Hide and Seek , opens today in theaters and on VOD. His credits include memorable roles in Memento, The Matrix, The Sopranos (which earned him an Emmy) and Midnight Run . He has also written two books about his life and philosophy—not bad for a guy who was challenged by dyslexia. He ex...

Ask Jessie or Leonard who their favorite guests have been and they will invariably name the late Richard Donner, who came to our studio in 2018. The man who directed Superman (with Christopher Reeve), The Omen, Lethal Weapon, and The Goonies should need no introduction…but his career began in theater and television and he had many great memories he was happy to share. Is there anyone else who can...

When Leonard feels like discussing vintage animation he calls on old friends like Jerry Beck ( www.cartoonresearch.com ) and Mark Evanier ( newsfromme.com ) who never run out of things to say. Mark actually worked for Hanna-Barbera and even shared an office with Tex Avery. Jerry is involved in restorations of other classic cartoon shorts. These three pals wax nostalgic about the cartoon history th...