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MCOF kicks off Friday

Panel discussions include national film critic Leonard Maltin and Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan.

It's been scaled down in length and number of screenings, but the Malibu Celebration of Film is still promising a unique display of entertainment and education as it returns for the sophomore edition of the "Best of the Best" film festival.

The celebration takes place Friday through Sunday with screenings at Pepperdine University's Elkins Auditorium, Smothers Theatre, Raitt Recital Hall and Alumni Park, as well as outdoor screenings at Bluffs Park and Calamigos Ranch. The movies featured have all won awards from previous festivals this past year. Additionally, on Saturday there will be a silent film accompanied by the Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra and Orson Welles' final film, "F is for Fake" will be shown.

The program begins at 10 a.m. on Friday at Smothers Theatre with the FILMS'COOL' contest. Six short films made by high school and college students will be shown, and a winner in each category will be selected by a panel of judges, which include FILMS'COOL' co-Chair Amy Magidan, actor Daniel Stern, Malibu Youth Services Librarian Lora Cokalat and Miss Malibu Pageant founder Kristen Bradford. The winners of the competition will receive internships at a production company or studio and $1,000.

The celebration continues at Calamigos Ranch on Friday with the opening night film and party. The evening kicks off at 6 p.m. with cocktails and a silent auction benefiting FILMS'COOL.' Following dinner, "an intimate conversation" will take place with three members of the Motion Picture & Television Fund: actress Valerie Allen, cinematographer Ralph Woolsey and director Charles Jarrot. The fund assists people in the entertainment industry who have fallen on hard times. This will be followed by the screening of "Man in the Chair," the tale of a rebellious young filmmaker who enters a student competition in hopes of winning a scholarship to a prestigious Hollywood film school. He receives help from a person living at a Motion Picture & Television Fund home.

Director Michael Schroeder and producer Randy Turrow will attend the screening with cast members Michael Angarano and Robert Wagner. They are expected to participate in a question and answer session following the movie.

The festivities continue on Saturday with screenings at various locations beginning at 12 p.m. Among the highlights are "Hearts of the Hills," a silent film made in 1919 that will be shown at Smothers Theatre with the Malibu Coast Chamber Orchestra doing a live performance of the score.

A screenwriter panel discussion will take place at Raitt Recital Hall at 2 p.m. Moderated by movie producer Trevor Albert, the panel will include Peter Dunne, who has written for television and authored a book on screenwriting. Catherine Ann Jones, who has written for film and also penned a book on screenwriting, and John Logan, a playwright and screenwriter, will also be on the panel

"This event will try to generate discussion amongst the panelists to show a breadth of knowledge and a breadth of experience," said John Evans, co-owner of Diesel, A Bookstore, which organized the discussion. "It's sort of a workshop that can go in any direction."

Diesel is hosting another panel discussion on Sunday at 2 p.m., also at Raitt Recital Hall. National film critic Leonard Maltin will converse with Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan. A similar discussion took place last year with Turan and critic David Thompson, with a moderator. But Evans said it was evident a moderator was not needed this year.

"They were so good at talking, and film critics in particular don't really need a moderator," Evans said. "It's really up to them what way to go, and people in the audience will be there to quiz them."

More screening will take place on Sunday, and the event will conclude at Bluffs Park at 7 p.m. with the documentary, "Sharkwater." Writer/director Rob Stewart will be in attendance to discuss the movie, which deals with the threat to the shark population in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands. His talk will be followed by a festival-closing party at Malibu Inn.

Last year, Robert Altman was given the Courage Award on the final day of the celebration. This year, the festival will not be recognizing anyone.

"We couldn't find an appropriate person to honor that could follow in the footsteps [of Robert Altman]," said Kim Jackson, the festival's executive director. "So we decided just to have a quiet year, and we'll bring it back next year."

Tickets can be purchased for individual events at the festival's Web site, www.mcof.org. The cost is $10 for most events, with the opening festivities costing $100 and the closing night party costing $75. Three-day program passes are also available for $100 to $750. A schedule for the screenings and other events can also be found on the Web site.

Video from April 2007

Robert Wagner accepts award on behalf of Christopher Plummer - the Methodfest Life Achievement Award. Plummer was doing a play on Broadway at the time (Inherit the Wind, for which he received his seventh Tony nomination). Unfortunately, the clip does not include the taped acceptance speech that Plummer provided, but does include Wagner's comments.

http://www.diversitybroadband.com/mf07/

(You have to listen to a commercial first, then scroll to find the clips.)
There's second clip with a short interview with Wagner and director Michael Schroeder.

Three mix it up in FX transsexual pilot

LOS ANGELES - Joseph Fiennes, Blythe Danner and Robert Wagner have been cast in U.S. cable channel FX's transsexual drama pilot.

The untitled project, formerly known as "4 oz.", centres on a family man named Bob (Fiennes) who decides to get a sex change. Danner and Wagner will play Bob's parents, Bunny and Scotch. The roles of Bob's wife and kids have yet to be cast.

The pilot comes from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, respectively the creator and a writer/producer on FX's "Nip/Tuck". Production will begin at the end of October, with Murphy directing.

Fiennes recently appeared on the big screen in "Running With Scissors". Danner won two Emmys for her role on Showtime's "Huff". Wagner recently guest-starred on CBS' "Two and a Half Men" and AMC's "Hustle".

R.J. Update

He is in Los Angeles this week and next week filming episodes of Two and a Half Men.

Katie Wagner Married

I just found out that Katie Wagner got married (at the end of July, I think). She got married at her father's house (before he sold it)!

Riley is One

R.J.'s grandson, Riley, is one-year-old today.

A Dennis The Menace Christmas Premiering on DVD November 6th

One of the most recognizable comic strip characters ever created returns in live action form for the third time

BURBANK, Calif.--Just when you thought it was safe to celebrate the holidays, the Menace returns to jingle your bells and deck your halls in A Dennis The Menace Christmas. The DVD is set for release by Warner Premiere on November 6^th. This holiday season, naughty or nice, Dennis “The Menace” Mitchell is going to deliver Mr. Wilson the Christmas spirit whether he likes it or not. A Dennis The Menace Christmas will be available on DVD for $19.97 SRP.

Continuing on with the success of the franchise, A Dennis The Menace Christmas combines A Christmas Carol with the live action version of one of America’s most widely recognizable, chaos wreaking comic strip characters. Taking the reigns of a reimagined Mr. Wilson, film and television star Robert Wagner (Hart To Hart, It Takes A Thief, and the Austin Powers films) picks up where previous Mr. Wilsons (Walter Matthau and Don Rickles) left off. Rounding out the all-star cast is Academy Award winner Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest) as Mrs. Wilson and newcomer Maxwell Perry Cotton (Brothers and Sisters) as the newly defined Menace.

This Christmas Dennis will face his greatest challenge to deliver Mr. Wilson the “Holiday Spirit” and secure Santa’s delivery of his ultimate present… the Raleigh Mite-Y-Max bike. Along the way, he’ll ruin his school’s Thanksgiving pageant, take on the neighborhood bully, and, as always, make life miserable for poor Mr. Wilson. However, all is not as it seems, and for the first time Mr. Wilson will come away from the holidays with a newfound understanding of himself and his next-door Menace, thanks in part to Bob The Christmas Angel, played by comedian Godfrey (Phat Girlz, Zoolander).

The DVD also comes with a stocking's worth of bonus features including, a “Making of…” featurette, bloopers, outtakes, deleted scene, an audio commentary with Robert Wagner and director Ron Oliver, and a video commentary of key moments of the film - featuring Maxwell Perry Cotton (aka “Dennis the Menace”).

Originally created as a comic strip by the late Hank Ketcham in 1951, the Dennis The Menace comic strip appears in over 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries and 19 languages. Throughout the years the character has evolved into an animated series, two feature films, as well as the face of the Dairy Queen Franchise.

Email requests for materials to greg_longstreet@polarispr.com or fax to 323-939-1566.

Fall TV Preview: Two and a Half Men

When you think about it, it’s easy to see why Two and a Half Men is the highest rated sitcom on TV. We spend so much time during the week trying to keep up with complex, serialized dramas like Lost and 24 that it’s comforting to spend half an hour every Monday night with two brothers who we know will never change. Charlie (Charlie Sheen) will always be a shallow, materialistic skirt chaser. Alan (Jon Cryer) will always be a neurotic single father who can’t quite get over his (recently remarried) ex-wife. The only characters who we may see changes in this season are the guys’ mother Evelyn (Holland Taylor), who will continue her romance with Teddy (Robert Wagner) and Alan’s son Jake (Angus T. Jones), who is just hitting puberty. Pretty soon they’ll need to change the title to Two and 3/4 Men.

Robert Wagner on Sirius Satellite Radio

Robert Wagner was a guest on Sirius Satellite Radio's Animal Intuition
with host Sonya Fitzpatrick on Aug 28. The show aired live 11 am - 1 pm ET on Sirius Stars channel 102.

Mr. Wagner and Ms. Fitzpatrick are friends and share a love for animals which they discussed on the program.

Click here to download the interview in .wma format.

Robert Wagner Selling House

According to the Los Angeles Times Real Estate Section today, "R.J., as actor Robert Wagner is known, and his wife, actress Jill St. John, spend much of their free time at an out-of-state mountain resort. So, Wagner, 77, decided to sell his home in Brentwood's Mandeville Canyon, designed by Cliff May, for close to $15 million, including an adjacent parcel. The combined 2 acre property is about ready to close escrow."

Larry Passed On

I'm sad to report that R.J.'s beloved dog, Larry, had to be put down. I'm sure this was very difficult for Mr. Wagner.

USPS Honors Jimmy Stewart with New Postage Stamp

James Stewart, Hollywood's quintessential everyman, is being honored by the U.S. Postal Service with his own postage stamp. The stamp will be the 13th in the "Legends of Hollywood" series, which also includes Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Alfred Hitchcock, Lucille Ball and John Wayne. Ceremonies will be held on Friday, August 17th at Universal Studios in Hollywood, as well as the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

Stewart starred in some of the most loved and respected films in Hollywood history, including:

It's a Wonderful Life
Vertigo
Rear Window
The Philadelphia Story
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Anatomy of a Murder
Harvey

... among many others.

Here's the official press release from the USPS:

Washington, DC — Tomorrow, the U.S. Postal Service salutes a World War II veteran who rose from the rank of private to retire as a brigadier general — one of the highest ranks ever achieved by a Hollywood actor. During World War II, as a B-24 combat pilot and commander, James Stewart flew 20 missions over Germany including one over Berlin. His first movie after the war was It's a Wonderful Life.

As the 13th stamp in the “Legends of Hollywood” series, the 41-cent First-Class James Stewart commemorative stamp honors James Stewart, whose naturalistic acting style made the characters he played seem “real.” The sheet of 20 stamps are available nationwide Friday, August 17, and will be dedicated at 10:30 a.m. PT at Universal Studios Hollywood at The Globe Theatre inside the theme park in Universal City, CA. Similar ceremonies will take place at the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Stewart's hometown of Indiana, PA, and in the Marquette, MI, courthouse where Stewart was filmed during the making of Anatomy of a Murder (1959).

“It's our privilege to pay tribute to James Stewart, a fantastic actor, a great gentleman, a brave soldier, and an inspirational human being who truly led a wonderful life,” said Vice Chairman, U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors Alan C. Kessler, who will dedicate the stamp in Universal City. “Jimmy Stewart knew how to touch us. Now it's time for our Nation to show how we feel.”

Joining Kessler in dedicating the stamp will be Stewart's children, Kelly Stewart Harcourt, Judy Stewart and Michael McLean.

“Our family is so honored by this stamp,” said Kelley Stewart Harcourt. “I'm sure my father would be humbled as well. He received many awards throughout his life and I'm sure he would view this as one of the most cherished.”

Also participating will be actor Robert Wagner, a longtime friend of Stewart, who will speak to his philanthropic endeavors.

“Jimmy Stewart gave so much to this country through his dedicated military service, to his craft as an actor, and to his family as a loving husband and devoted father,” said Wagner. “He also gave back to the community. For a quarter of a century, the Jimmy Stewart Annual Relay Marathon benefited the St. John's Child and Family Development Center, as well as other programs and services at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica. From 1982 to 2006, the event raised more than $9 million.”

Stewart's role as a World War II decorated bomber pilot will be highlighted by a former intelligence officer who served with Stewart during the war.

“Jimmy Stewart was famous in another world and volunteered for wartime duty directly from civilian life,” said Starr Smith, who introduced Stewart to Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite during the war and recently authored a book on Stewart. “He was a man who trained hard and served well — a man who, from the beginning, wanted desperately to join the hunt in the cause of freedom. He was a man who led and inspired his fellow airmen in battle, won the admiration and respect of his superiors, and, in the end, was like many others — a good man who fought the good fight.”

President and CEO of Heartland Truly Moving Pictures, Jeffrey Sparks, will speak about Stewart's film accomplishments.

“On turning 80, Stewart was asked how he wanted to be remembered; he replied, ‘As someone who believed in hard work and love of country, love of family and love of community.’ Jimmy Stewart succeeded in living his life as he wished to be remembered — a lesson warranting emulation by all of us. Clarence the wingless angel spoke to George Bailey about how each of our lives touches so many others — and, when we are no longer around, we leave an awful hole. I would contend that Jimmy Stewart left no such hole. He filled the hearts of a nation — leaving behind far more than he took.”

Art director Phil Jordan of Falls Church, VA, designed the stamp using a portrait of Stewart by Drew Struzan of Pasadena, CA. Struzan based his work on a photograph taken during the filming of The Stratton Story. The painting on the selvage, also by Struzan, shows Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the 1939 film for which he received his first Academy Award nomination for “best actor.”

Hart to Hart in OK

Oklahoma's The Cox Channel is expanding. The station also has added syndicated programming, including "Gunsmoke,” "Hart to Hart,” "Bewitched” and "Designing Women.”

TV Land Canada Announces Its Fall 2007 Schedule

On TV Land Canada, everything old is new again! New to the TV Land Canada schedule this September is Fantasy Island; Hart to Hart; Love, American Style; and It's Garry Shandling's Show.

Robert on Two and a Half Men

Season Finale of Two and 1/2 Men

SEASON FINALE at a Special Time

Monday, May 14, 8:30pm et/pt

Prostitutes and Gelato

Charlie and Alan must confront their "daddy issues" when Evelyn's new boyfriend invites them to Vegas on his private jet. Robert Wagner and Mike Connors guest star. TV14-DL

Wagner still punching in ‘Hustle’

Robert Wagner shows up on BBC1 tonight in the first episode of the fourth series of the popular con artist show “Hustle” (below left, with Jaime Murray, Robert Vaughn and Marc Warren). He plays a wealthy collector of movie memorabilia who is conned into thinking he can buy the Hollywood Sign. The episode is the first in the series to be shot in the United States where it is carried by AMC. Wagner, however, did make a TV series in the United Kingdom a long time ago for the BBC and Universal Pictures titled “Colditz.” It was a prisoner of war drama set during World War II costarring Jack Hedley, Richard Heffer and Edward Hardwicke, shown standing behind Wagner and David McCallum below. The series ran for 24 episodes in 1972-74 but the American actor appeared in just 14 of them. This is what he told me about it:

I liked the opening, the first year, but then we had a very difficult time. It started out as a kind of documentary but in the end they had the prisoners out sitting on deck chairs and they’d be singing away. The guys in Colditz never sang; they were starving to death. I said, ‘What is this, a bloody musical?’ I turned my back on the camera and walked out because they took something that could really have been great and put it in the toilet. The reason I reacted so strongly was because I really loved doing it, and I hated to see it wasted.”

The Detroit-born actor started in movies in Hollywood in 1950 and appeared in some decent films along the way such as “The War Lover,” “The Pink Panther” and “The Towering Inferno.” His biggest successes were on TV, however, playing a reformed cat burglar in “It Takes a Thief” (left) which ran for three seasons from 1968, and the suave Jonathan Hart opposite Stephanie Powers in “Hart to Hart,” which ran for five seasons from 1979. He also played Brick opposite his wife Natalie Wood and Laurence Olivier in a TV version of Tennessee Williams’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

He showed up this year in a pretty good picture about filmmaking titled “Man in the Chair,” starring Christopher Plummer, but he is probably best known to young moviegoers as No. 2 in the Austin Powers pictures. I’ve interviewed Wagner several times and found him to be a classy gent, the kind who would write a note to your editor if he liked something you’d written. Promoting a 1987 TV movie titled “Love Among Thieves,” he introduced me to his leading lady, Audrey Hepburn, which was a treat. The actor had a clear idea of his abilities when he spoke about his career, and that is always endearing in a Hollywood star. Here are some comments from an interview I did with him in 1983:

I always knew that this was what I wanted to do but I never knew if I would make it. I had a lot of people stroking me over the years — a lot of good people like Spencer Tracy and Elia Kazan who boosted me. I could have gone down. I had a lot of enthusiasm but I don’t think I was really so talented. I don’t think I’ve had all that talent within me that was bursting loose, that couldn’t wait to be seen and captured on the screen. I think I was really fortunate.

I know what that sounds like but it’s the truth. It’s the truth. I mean, you look back at some of those pictures and you say, ‘Whew!’ But I kept going and in some of the stuff I was good, you know? Some of the stuff, I was O.K. I look back, and some of it wasn’t so bad for the time.

I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. It’s not been particularly a case of not getting the parts that you want but of not working at all. When I came back from Europe in the early ’60s, I had a soft spot for a while. I was out of work for a long time.

The guy who pulled me out of it was Paul Newman in ‘Harper.’ I think I loosened up a little bit in that film too. I’ve been really fortunate to have worked with people who have encouraged me, who’ve said, ‘Come on, you know it’s not gonna be that bad. Do it.’

I was sitting around the other day with a guy who started out in the picture business the same time I did and, I don’t know, it’s a real phenomenon: if you’re there and you keep going, if you just keep punching at it, somehow you stick around.

Robert Wagner looking to get back in weekly TV series game

Robert Wagner, a TV mainstay through three decades with his "It Takes a Thief," "Switch" and "Hart to Hart" shows, is looking to get back into the weekly series game. This time, in a comedy. "I love the form," he says, "absolutely love it."

He guest stars in the May 14-airing season finale of "Two and a Half Men," and just finished shooting an ABC comedy pilot in which he plays the head of a law firm surrounded by rival up-and-coming legal eagles including Scott Wolf, Ayda Field, Amanda Detmer and Ben Savage.

"It was such a fun experience. I've done guestings, but I've never been involved in a pilot like this from the ground up, and with all these young actors. It was like an opening night," Wagner says of the prospective show from Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs ("What About Brian," "October Road," "Just Shoot Me!").

The "Two and a Half Men" episode pits him and former "Mannix" star Mike Connors against each other as rivals for the affections of Holland Taylor. Wagner's character is wealthy and dashing but has a Viagra problem.

"You always wonder what it's going to be like, coming into such a tight group of people on an established show, but they couldn't have been nicer to me," Wagner recalls. "When I drove onto the lot, Jon Cryer happened to be outside, and said, 'Oh, we're so happy to have you! Park right there around the corner' -- such a nice welcome. It was terrific working with him, Charlie (Sheen) and Holland, and the character was so well written for me, I slipped into it and felt very comfortable with the chemistry."

Two and a Half Men

Two and a Half Men

May 14

What's happening: In the fourth-season finale, the Harper brothers jet off to Las Vegas with Mom's wealthy new boyfriend. Forever-dapper Robert Wagner guest stars as Evelyn's beau, while Mannix himself, Mike Connors, turns up.