Amy Berg is the producer, director, and writer of the acclaimed documentary, “Deliver Us from Evil.” For the past five years, she has produced documentary segments for CNN Investigations and the CBS News program ?¢¬Ä¬ú30 Minutes of Special Assignment.?¢¬Ä Her work at CBS News earned her Emmy Awards in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, she launched Disarming Films to produce long-form documentaries for theatrical release.
Movie Stars: Impact on 1980s Box-Office
December 22, 2006 by
With the possible exception of Eddie Murphy, movie stars cannot salvage bad or uninteresting films. Murphy has been the only star that has had a consistent string of successes, despite varying degrees of artistic quality and interest. Beginning with his very first film, ?¢¬Ä48 Hrs,” in which he played a second banana to Nick Nolte, and continuing with ?¢¬ÄTrading Places,” co-starring Dan Aykroyd, almost every Murphy vehicle has been one of the top grossing movies of the year, including ?¢¬ÄBeverly Hills Cop” (1984) and its sequel, ?¢¬ÄThe Golden Child” (1987), and last year's ?¢¬ÄComing to America.”
John Wayne: Screen Image–Demands for Script Revisions
December 18, 2006 by
Wayne's demand for revisions was based on strong instincts as to the elements that best suited him. He asked Ford, for example, to make changes in ?¢¬ÄThe Were Expendable,” because he did not like the humiliation involved in the evacuation scene from Bataan. Thus, a new scene, in which he was willing to disobey orders and sneak off to a jungle guerrilla, until a superior officer orders him back aboard, was added.
John Wayne: Screen Image–Control as Star and Producer
December 18, 2006 by
The extraordinary coherence of Wayne's screen image, over such a prolonged period of time, is attributable to the great control he exercised over his career. Wayne used several means to obtain and maintain such control, the most important and obvious of which was to produce his own movies. He preferred to be the producer of his pictures because it provided him overall supervision that could not be achieved otherwise.
John Wayne: Screen Image
December 18, 2006 by
The distinctive Wayne screen persona can be described in terms of specific basic elements, the most important of which were: a forceful screen presence, physical and moral strength, virile masculinity, honesty and sincerity, the portrayal of distinctly American heroes, and indestructibility.
