Hollywood
Not for the squeamish: The Substance reviewed
Both horribly familiar and wonderfully shocking, this body-horror film written and directed by Coralie Fargeat does a very traditional thing…
Nothing was off-limits for ‘the usual gang of idiots’ at Mad
First published in 1952, the satirical magazine helped free the American youth of Vietnam War era of some of the stupidest beliefs they were supposed to hold about their country
The dark truth about Hollywood assistants
Anew stop has been added to the map of Movie Star Homes and Crime Scenes, on sale at LAX airport:…
Bogart and Bacall’s first film together might as well have been called Carry On Flirting
Just a few months after the release of To Have and Have Not, with its sassy, sexy script, the film’s stars were married. But, as in many of Bogart’s films, romance also involved intrigue
The glamour of grime: revisionist westerns of the 1970s
The success of Bonnie and Clyde in 1967 sparked Hollywood’s interest in making more modern-day westerns and road movies, with no clear boundaries between good and evil
The curious influence of Oscar Wilde on Hollywood
After Wilde’s visit to the US in 1882, his philosophy of life became an inspiration to early filmmakers in their revolt against corporate America, Wall Street and provincial pettiness
How The Sopranos changed TV for ever
Peter Biskind describes how a once despised medium became the definitive narrative art form of the early 21st century. But has it now passed its peak?
‘We are stuck like chicken feathers to tar’: Elizabeth Taylor’s description of the fabled romance
The Burton-Taylor relationship was either one of the greatest love stories of all time or a suicide pact carried out in relentless slow motion
Complicated and slightly creepy: the Bogart-Bacall romance
Lauren Bacall was 25 years younger than Humphrey Bogart. Unlike his previous wives, she stayed – though Roger Lewis finds something creepy about their relationship
Letter from Thailand
Many of my friends, stranded by the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes, have temporarily given up their film projects and…
Identity politics is in retreat in Hollywood
‘Diversity is woven into the very soul of the story.’ If those words of praise from a rave review in…
Dark days in Hollywood: Mercury Pictures Presents, by Anthony Marra, reviewed
Summer is a time for blockbusters and Anthony Marra has delivered the goods with Mercury Pictures Presents, a sweeping book…
The magic of black and white films
He is a rich English lord with a very large house and his wife is a beautiful American with a…
The art of the witty riposte
One hundred or so years ago, a down-in-the-dumps Joseph Roth wrote to Stefan Zweig: ‘The barbarians have taken over.’ Later…
Oscars diary: a jaw-dropping night
Oscar week is intense – and it’s been a while since it’s been as intense. The red carpet is full…
Could today’s Hollywood stars have made it in ancient Greece?
The Oscar frenzy spent, it is worth reflecting on how easy writers and actors have it these days. The ancient…
How to save the Oscars
This Sunday’s Academy Awards will be a litmus test of whether Hollywood can uncouple itself from the political agenda of…
Hollywood, fist-fights and getting cancelled: Joan Collins and Taki in conversation
Joan Collins and Taki on golden Hollywood, fist-fights and getting cancelled
Why I was labelled a bitch: Joan Collins remembers the old Hollywood days
Readers of this magazine will have enjoyed Joan Collins’s diaries, and her Past Imperfect was one of the funniest showbiz…
Lumpily scripted and poorly plotted: Cry Macho reviewed
Clint Eastwood is 91; Cry Macho may well be his last film. Or maybe not. He has, after all, been…
The best podcasts where girls sit around talking about ghosts
‘I’ve actually seen ghosts.’ This statement comes less than ten minutes into the first episode of Dark House, a limited-series…
My literary heroes have led me astray
Gstaad Good manners aside, what I miss nowadays is a new, intelligent, finely acted movie. Never have I seen…
The genius of Basic Instinct
Our occasional series on cinema’s most underrated films arrives at what many have considered the peak of misogynistic trash. We’re…
