blake edwards Tagged Articles at Cinematical

American writer/director Blake Edwards will always have a special place in my heart for two reasons: 1) He was responsible for making one of my favorite movies of all time, Victor/Victoria, and 2) He showed me a side of Julie Andrews that was about as far from Mary Poppins as you could get (not to mention the man had one of the more memorable Oscar moments in recent history). But personal milestones aside, Edwards is one of the best comedic directors around, and his 1979 flick 10 set the standard for every 'mid-life crisis comedy' to come after it. We all should have known that a remake was inevitable, and Variety has now announced that Hyde Park has secured the rights to remake the classic film.

10 centers on a man named George Webber (played by Dudley Moore), who encounters a young woman on the street, and at the expense of his own relationships, becomes obsessed with this beautiful stranger, even going so far as to follow her on her honeymoon.

The film is probably best known for introducing Bo Derek to the world, but it was also a box office smash that made instant stars out of Derek and Moore. Edwards will serve as an executive producer on the remake, and according to Hyde's execs, it was a battle to get the legendary writer and director to agree to sell the rights. If the movie must be made, then maybe this is a job for Judd Apatow; because if anyone can make a raunchy comedy about a hot girl and an everyday guy, it's him.

Sound off below on who you would like to see rocking those infamous cornrows...

Num-num... Num-num... Birdie num-num! The infamous howdy part-ten-er house guest Hrundi V. Bakshi is making his way to the big screen once again it seems. Not only that -- but someone is ready to fill Peter Sellers' shoes. The New York Post says that Sacha Baron Cohen is looking to remake Blake Edwards' cult comedy, The Party. Apparently, the Borat frontman met Edwards at a screening of the flick in Santa Monica recently, and they were talking for a long time -- presumably about a remake.

Of course, this is only a rumor at this point, but is it one that we want to become a reality? Remakes have always been a part of the biz, there's no way around that, so the question becomes whether the remake can fly years later, and whether an actor can fill in the shoes. If anyone can pull off the innocently impish Hrundi, it's Sacha. But this definitely couldn't be a direct remake, because hippies and painted elephants just wouldn't make sense these days.

I'm thinking that it would retain some of the classic lines, but add a lot of political flavour -- a la Borat. But if that's the case -- couldn't he just make a whole new movie that is just loosely based on the original? The Party is a classic because of Sellers and its '60s strangeness. Is there any reason to stick to the original material, or should they just take the general idea and run with it? Or, do you love it so much that you can't bear the thought of a remake? Discuss.

Let me get this right out of the way -- I chose not to watch The Pink Panther (remake, was it?) when it hit theaters back in 2006. As a major fan of comedy, the original Panther flicks directed by Blake Edwards and featuring Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau are, in my mind, comedic masterpieces (with A Shot in the Dark being my favorite). From time to time I'll take in the occasional remake (and, more often, sequel), but there are some films I refuse to go near. Not because they look bad, or because people tell me they're bad -- I choose not watch them simply because I don't want the film to tarnish the awesome feelings I associate with the original work. Thus, I stayed far away from The Pink Panther (starring Steve Martin), so I will not use this space to rip apart a film I did not see.

Instead, I'll bring you news (via The Hollywood Reporter) that Harald Zwart has been tapped to direct The Pink Panther 2 for Columbia Pictures and MGM. The good news? Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel were brought on to rewrite the script; these are the two responsible for gems like Gung Ho, City Slickers and Parenthood. So, knowing they're involved should help boost some confidence. Zwart was the man behind Agent Cody Banks and One Night at McCool's, but let's not hold that against him. Steve Martin will once again return to play Inspector Clouseau, and this time it appears he teams up with a bunch of moronic European detectives to try to stop a massive crime wave. No word on a release date, but the powers that be are eying an August production start.

It's an inspiring year at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. They are honoring legendary filmmaker Blake Edwards, who is single handedly responsible for some of the greatest comedic films of all time. He is the director of all The Pink Panther films and one of my personal favorites, Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Aspen will also be awarding Comedy Central darling Stephen Colbert with the Person of the Year award. According to the Hollywood Reporter, festival organizers described the award recipient as being "the most important contributor to life in America in the past year, having exhibited such great accomplishment that they have affected or made history." Really? Colbert?

In the vain of inspiring filmmaking -- if Edwards doesn't inspire you enough -- USCAF is encouraging filmmakers to post their work online. In recognition of the rapid growth of YouTube and other digital media posting sites, Aspen has included The Funny Picture Show on their schedule. It not only allows filmmakers to create their work and have it screened, but also enables audiences to participate in the festival experience even when they're not making it to Aspen. Those who screen the films online are included in the voting process and winners get the opportunity to meet with HBO Films and USCAF executives.

Are you inspired to make something funny yet? If not, then throw in The Pink Panther (the original, not the Steve Martin version) and start writing. Then, when you're finished, submit it on www.funnypictureshows.com for an opportunity to screen in Aspen ... and just mayyybe you'll get to meet with some of those big Hollywood types. Good luck!

There's no doubt about it -- I am a huge Paul Feig fan. Most people have no idea who the man is, but if you're at all familiar with Freaks and Geeks, The Office, Arrested Development and Undeclared, then you're familiar with his work. For those of you who dig awkward childhood stories, I will also suggest reading Feig's book Kick Me -- simply hilarious stuff right there. Recently, Feig left the world of television to get his feet wet directing feature films -- his second, Unaccompanied Minors, is due out December 8.

Well, Warner Bros. is so happy with Minors, they've just signed Feig to do another film for the studio, one he will re-write and eventually direct. It's called Smooth Operator, and Feig describes it as "a high-tech version of Cyrano ... or like a Hitch-meets-Rush Hour." Story revolves around a pimped out CIA agent who's placed in charge of training a computer nerd on how to seduce a female operative. As you can imagine, the nerd needs a little bit of help in that area. And who better to tackle nerds than Paul Feig.

One of the things Feig intends to do with the script is beef up the physical comedy, something he's not so accustomed to -- obviously, from looking at his prior work, the man is more about character and less about pies to the face. It will also be the first time Feig adds a bit of action to his repertoire. However, he goes on to say, "I am first and foremost into character writing but the last few years I've wanted to try to bring back stuff I used to watch, movies from John Hughes, Blake Edwards, and stuff like the Three Stooges." It should be interesting to see if he succeeds ... I know my fingers are crossed.

Whether you're a fan of the original movie or the later stage musical of Victor/Victoria, when you hear the title, you probably think about Julie Andrews, who had the title role in both versions. Perhaps you might recall birthday boy Blake Edwards (he's 84), the 1982 film's director, although these days we tend to associate him with more the Pink Panther series. I do know a few people who would also remember the late great Robert Preston, who has most of the film's best lines. But today's Vintage (sort of) Image of the Day depicts a supporting actress in the film: Lesley Ann Warren, who plays a dumb-blonde gangster's moll. Warren has perhaps the most bizarre number in the film, Chicago, Illinois -- an almost frighteningly Twenties Kewpie-ish nightclub act with a gag stolen straight out of the 1937 film The Awful Truth. She was nominated for an Oscar for the above performance.

I dated a guy in college who was obsessed with Victor/Victoria. I can't remember how many times we watched the movie on videotape. There was also a lot of quoting and singing, often in the middle of the night. ("The middle of the night was about three hours ago.") And I realized the other day, when my computer's music player was set to random, that I still know all the words to Warren's goofy song from the film ("Trendy travellers tend to talk ..."), and I can still imitate her squeaky voice. However, I'm proud to say that I have never attempted to imitate the dance shown above.