Tag Archives: John Carpenter

Colman Domingo to Receive Vantage Award from the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

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Colman Domingo has a new vantage point…

The 56-year-old Emmy-winning Belizean-Guatemalan American actor and activist has been named as one of this year’s honorees of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ annual fundraising gala in October.

Colman Domingo, 2024 Met GalaHe’ll be honored alongside filmmaker John Carpenter and Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron.

The gala, co-chaired by Robert Rodriguez, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, will take place on October 17.

Domingo will receive the Vantage Award honoring an artist who is helping to challenge dominant narratives around cinema.

Theron will receive the Icon Award, celebrating an artist whose career has had a significant global impact.

Carpenter, a director and composer, will receive the Luminary Award, given to an artist whose singular contributions have expanded the creative possibilities of filmmaking.

“The Academy Museum Gala is a celebration of the artists and storytellers whose work continues to shape the cultural impact of cinema around the world,” said Academy Museum Director and President Amy Homma. “For our sixth annual Gala, we are honored to recognize John Carpenter, Colman Domingo, and Charlize Theron, whose extraordinary careers exemplify the creativity, innovation, and excellence that continues to move the industry forward.”

The Academy previously announced upcoming programs that include Theron in conversation with the museum’s Teen Council on August 22, featuring a screening of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015); Carpenter will host three nights of screenings of his films, including Halloween (1978), on September 26, in celebration of The Horror Show, the Academy Museum’s new large-scale exhibition.

The 2026 Academy Museum Gala Host Committee, also announced today, includes Jessica Alba, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Adrien Brody and Georgina Chapman, Jon M. Chu, Kirsten Dunst, Nicholas Galitzine, Ludwig and Serena Göransson, Regina Hall, Kate Hudson, Jessica Lange, Greta Lee, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Rami Malek, Demi Moore, Olivia Munn, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Questlove, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, Bird Runningwater and Teyana Taylor.

Rodriguez to Direct STX Entertainment’s Animated Film “Ugly Dolls”

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Things are about to get a little Ugly for Robert Rodriguez…

The 48-year-old Mexican American filmmaker will direct STX Entertainment’s animated Ugly Dolls, based on the children’s toys, which the company has long planned as the film to launch its family and animation division.

Robert Rodriguez

The movie will be released on May 10, 2019.

The dolls were created by David Horvath via his company Pretty Ugly LLC and have taken off in popularity in Asia.

Rodriguez, now better known for darker films like Sin City, El Mariachi, Desperado, Machete and From Dusk Till Dawn, was the creative force behind the big-screen family-friendly Spy Kids franchise.  

He’s known for pushing the envelope and trying new techniques whether its the graphic novel-like animation/live-action of Sin City or the digital eye candy of Spy Kids. He also did The Adventures of Sharkboy & Lavagirl in 3D back in 2005.

Rodriguez actually started out as a cartoonist and had a comic strip called Los Hooligans for his high school newspaper, the Daily Texan at St. Anthony’s in Austin. He also drew political cartoons and then started making short films.

Rodriguez, as previously reported, will direct 20th Century Fox’s Escape From New York, the remake of John Carpenter’s 1981 film.

Rodriguez to Direct “Escape From New York” Remake

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Robert Rodriguez is preparing for his big Escape…

The 48-year-old Mexican American filmmaker will direct Escape From New York, the remake of John Carpenter’s iconic 1981 film for 20th Century Fox.

Robert Rodriguez

The studio won a bidding battle for rights to the reboot in early 2015, with Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman’s The Picture Company set to produce.

Neil Cross is penning the script.

The original was released by Avco Embassy, and the rights were owned by Studiocanal. Carpenter will be an executive producer and have a big say in the tone of the project. Fox’s Mike Ireland, who brought in the movie, will oversee for the studio. The hope is to reinvent the property with an eye toward launching a Planet Of The Apes-like franchise.

The deal cements the relationship with Rodriguez and Fox; the director just helmed the studio’s Alita: Battle Angel, the film based on Yukito Kishiro’s manga graphic novels that was written by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis. Set in a 26th century dystopian future, the film follows the story of an amnesiac cyborg who, after being rescued from a scrap heap by a doctor, becomes a bounty hunter tracking down criminals. Rosa Salazar and Christoph Waltz star in the film, which has a July 20, 2018 release date mapped out.

The cynical original Escape From New York, hatched by Carpenter after the Watergate scandal, was set in a futuristic Gotham circa 1997. Kurt Russell played Snake Plissken, an eyepatch-sporting tough guy who is conscripted to rescue the President of the United States after Air Force One — en route to a summit that could head off World War III — goes missing after it crashes in New York, which has been relegated to a maximum security prison. Plissken, a former special forces operative convicted of trying to rob the Federal Reserve, is given 22 hours to liberate the president and a tape he carries which holds the key to peace. If he fails, he’s wired to explode.

Rodriguez and Carpenter have collaborated before. Rodriguez’s El Rey Network last fall announced the launch of The People’s Network Showcase, a series of specials featuring short films from emerging indie filmmakers. Carpenter hosted the premiere episode, The People’s Network Showcase: Horror Edition.