The Bearded Trio

Imperial Stormtroopers pursue the escaping Rebels as they flee Cloud City In 1980 The Empire Strikes Back was released in theaters and broke box office records. Not surprising in hindsight given it was the sequel to the most popular film ever made, but during production George Lucas wasn’t sure if the film was going to be the huge hit everyone expected it to be. With budget problems, extended shooting schedules, disgruntled actors and major setbacks seemingly every step of the way, Empire was not an easy film to make. While 2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the film’s release, I wanted to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the making of the film which took place 40 years ago today and go back and revisit some of the highlights as well as the ups and downs that occurred during the creation of this epic movie. Four decades ago filmmaker George Lucas handed the reins of his big budget Star Wars sequel over to director Irvin Kershner and producer Gary Kurtz. Having just finished ...

We have another wonderful guest post, this time from Brad Monastiere who explains why the Indiana Jones movies are so important to him. Outside of my family, I don’t think any three real-life individuals influenced me as a boy the way George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and John Williams did. I was born in 1973, making me the ripe-old age of 4 when Star Wars: A New Hope was released. I still vividly recall to this day, being so angry that Darth Vader got away. He was the bad guy, and well, it just wasn’t fair! If only a soothsayer had been present that early summer day in Southeast Michigan to assure me that because of his survival, no fewer than five more Star Wars films would be coming out. As I was able to understand the timeless story that is Star Wars at such a young age, so I was also able to get caught up in the thrills of the Indiana Jones saga at a similar stage in my life. Looking back, I am astonished at how the release of each of those four films has coincided with a sta...

Guest blogger,  Fran Del Pizzo takes a look at Steven Spielberg's underrated, 'Always' Few films in Steven Spielberg’s oeuvre are as contentious as the 1989 romantic drama Always. Tending to occupy a spot near the bottom of the list in articles that rank the directors’ body of work, it is also, in the vein of Empire of the Sun (1987) and 1941 (1979) one of his lesser successful works commercially too. Despite this, it’s clear that the film was a very personal project for its director - his admiration for the Victor Fleming film that it was based upon, and the timing of his decision to make the picture at a key moment in his own life, as well as the themes and motifs that Always explores, makes it a fascinating film to look back upon on its 30 year anniversary. On a personal note, it is, along with The Terminal (2004), my favourite ‘underrated’ entry in the long career of its director and one that should be re-reviewed as a ‘quintessential Spielberg film’ (Koresky, 2012)...

Apple TV+ Announced.  Steven Spielberg On Hand To Promote New Streaming Service. Today, Apple unveiled their new streaming service to rival the other streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.  The increasingly crowded streaming on-demand competition has now got the likes of Apple to deal with and the tech company pulled out all the punches today with their announcement.  Steven Spielberg led a glamorous group of stars as they took to the stage to announce Apple TV+. Other stars on hand were Reese Witherspoon, J.J, Abrams, Jennifer Aniston. Steve Carell, Jason Momoa and even Big Bird from Sesame Street. Apple TV+ is going to be big and Apple are eager to make it work as they have reportedly invested over a billion dollars in the new venture.  Steven Spielberg was on hand and of course the director has an interest in Apple as they announced last year that one of the launch titles will be the return of Amblin's "Amazing Stories." The Bearded ...

10 Years Of The Bearded Trio - Robert MacNaughton Answers Our Quick Fire Questions The Bearded Trio is 10 years old this year so we've become a little nostalgic and decided to post some of our favourite posts from over the years.  To kick us off we have our short interview with E.T. The Extra Terrestrial's, Robert MacNaughton (Elliott's older brother, Michael.)  He kindly answered our "quick fire questions."  This was a feature we ran regularly with questions that kind of replicated the quick fire round that James Lipton would ask his guests on "Inside The Actor's Studio." I met Robert at London Film & Comic Con in 2013 and he kindly agreed to answer my questions.  I said to not think about them too much and tell me the first thing that comes to mind, hence the short answers.  Here we go: You're stuck in a swamp on Dagobah. What one movie, TV show, album and book would you take? MY movie would be The Fighter and TV show - Survivor (S...

15 Facts On John Williams It's John Williams' birthday today so to celebrate the maestro's 90th Birthday, we've compiled fifteen facts on the iconic composer that you may or may not know.  Happy Birthday John, keep swinging that baton. 1 - John William's son, Joseph Williams, became the lead singer of the band Toto who you may know from the song, “Africa” 2 - There have been three Steven Spielberg theatrical movies that have not had a John Williams score.  "The Color Purple" (which was composed by Quincy Jones, who also produced the film) "Bridge of Spies" (composed by Thomas Newman) and Ready Player One (composed by Alan Silvestri.) 3 - With 51 Oscar nominations, Williams currently holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for a living person, and is the second most nominated person in Academy Awards history behind Walt Disney's 59. Forty-six of Williams's Oscar nominations are for Best Original Score and five are for B...

This Indiana Jones Themed Home Office Has Plenty of Fortune and Glory Indiana Jones fan, Scott Rox contacted us and was eager to share a few photos of his latest home office setup.  You have to admit that is a rather cool Indiana Jones themed office.  Scott told us: It's been a hobby of mine for the past 30 years.  Each time we moved I would set up a different display and this is what we came up with this time. The figure has undergone several changes as well with a new body this time around.  My first head was more like a caricature sculpt that a lady from New York did for me.  It was an okay likeness but not like this one.  I had a second head made which was from latex and looked okay but this was the latest that a guy had made from plaster then I had it painted by an artist.  Eventually you have to say good enough otherwise you can go crazy over this stuff. We decided to add a sports theme to the theater and move the Indy theme to my home of...

The Lost Key: Amblin‘  Exclusive guest post by Joerg Breitenfeld For an ever-long time, Spielberg's first foray into cinematic terrain remained a mystery. Only a small circle of people had seen his 35mm short film during its short-lived theatrical run in December 1968. Even fewer had access to a film recording. Amblin' was never broadcast on television or sold on disc or otherwise. Compared to the director's other films, very little has been written about Amblin', although it paved the way for Spielberg's career as a professional director. Finally, eight years ago, a video recording appeared on Vimeo and YouTube. It was of deplorable quality and came from obscure sources, but that was fine for me and all the other Spielberg aficionados who had waited so long for the lost key to Spielberg’s early work. I had no idea what was waiting for me behind the opening titles and how much this film has in fact influenced Spielberg's subsequent work. To tell you up...