The Godfather

Preview: Who Will Go?

• Oct 9, 2007 05:49 AM ET
• by TV Guide News

Will Cam be the next pretty one to go? Cameron Mathison, Edyta Sliwinska by Carol Kaelson/ABC

This show is like The Godfather: Just when you thinkyou're out, they pull you back in. That's been the case with Season 2winner Drew Lachey filling in as cohost, and we've seen fellow Season 2alum Kenny Mayne back as well. And now we have the return of Season 4'sBilly Ray Cyrus, who will perform his latest hit single, "Ready, Set,Don't Go," on the results show. Oh, and he'll be singing the tunewith his daughter Miley, a.k.a. Hannah Montana, so just be glad you don'thave to pay $1,000 (or more!) to see her. — Joe Friedrich read more

Model Citizen Again Tops AFI's Best-films List

• Jun 21, 2007 03:15 PM ET
• by Matt Mitovich

As revealed during Wednesday night's AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies 10th Anniversary Edition special, Citizen Kane held onto the top spot on the 100-best-movies list, followed by The Godfather (up a notch from the 1998 countdown). Casablanca slipped from No. 2 to a third ranking. Among the pics making big leaps were John Wayne's The Searchers (from No. 96 to 12), Raging Bull (from No. 24 to 4), Vertigo (No. 61 to 9) and Charlie Chaplin's City Lights (No. 76 to 11). read more

Trail Leads Robert Duvall Back to TV

• Jun 22, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Mike Flaherty

Robert Duvall, Broken Trail

It is, as they say out on the range, a sight for sore eyes to see Robert Duvall back on TV in AMC's first-ever original movie, Broken Trail. The two-part, four-hour film (airing Sunday and Monday at 8 pm/ET) stars Duvall as grizzled cowboy Print Ritter, who leads his estranged, taciturn nephew Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church) on a harrowing horse drive from Oregon to Wyoming.

The ragtag travelers embark on your classic Western odyssey, complete with smallpox, bloodshed and outlaws, but with a twist: Duvall, who also served as executive producer, was intent on putting people, not shoot-'em-ups, center stage. "I tried to say, 'Let's just keep this very s read more

I don't know why the media ...

• Mar 27, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Jamie-Lynn Sigler, James Gandolfini and Robert Iler, The Sopranos

Question: I don't know why the media persists in comparing the ratings between The Sopranos and Desperate Housewives! Hello! Not everyone in the country has HBO, or even cable, in their homes! How can the media dream up this "competition" when the audiences aren't the same? Answer: Of course, you're right, but it's still a story. Maybe not so much the actual numbers, which are interesting if you compare Sopranos with its past performance rather than with its competition. Because in reality, HBO's primary competition is with its past success, and by that measure, The Sopranos has fallen a bit. Although still hefty by cable standards, The Sopranos is and always has been a special case, being HBO's breakthrough breakout hit. All of this leads to natural speculation and examination about whether the show took too long in coming back to recapture its peak audience, whether people are watching HBO differently (on multinight replays or On Demand), whether HBO has lost some of its pop-culture ... read more

Renee Zellweger has been ...

• Mar 2, 2006 03:00 AM ET
• by Maitland McDonagh

Glitter: Renée Zellweger in Chicago

Question: Renee Zellweger has been nominated for an Oscar three years in a row. Can you tell me how many other times this has happened? Has anyone ever pulled it off more than three times in a row? Thanks!Answer: William Hurt and Russell Crowe have both been nominated for best actor three times in a row, Hurt for Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), Children of a Lesser God (1986) and Broadcast News (1987) — he won for Kiss of the Spider Woman — and Crowe for The Insider (1999), Gladiator (2000) and A Beautiful Mind (2001). Crowe won for Gladiator. And just for the record, Zellweger's three-in-a-row nominations were for Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Chicago (2002) and Cold Mountain (2003); the third time was the lucky one for her. In the past, Elizabeth Ta read more

I know sequels and remakes ...

• Feb 23, 2006 03:00 AM ET
• by Maitland McDonagh

Question: I know sequels and remakes don't usually get nominated for Oscars, but has anyone other than Al Pacino ever been nominated for playing the same character in different movies? He was nominated for his portrayal of Michael Corleone in both The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974), which was a big exception to the sequel stigma. My friends and I were talking about it and we're all stumped.

Answer: Three other actors have also been honored twice for the same role: Bing Crosby was nominated for playing Father Chuck O'Malley in Going My Way (1944) and its sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's (1945). Peter O'Toole was nominated for playing King Hen read more

Is Marlon Brando the only ...

• Feb 23, 2006 03:00 AM ET
• by Maitland McDonagh

Question: Is Marlon Brando the only person who ever refused to accept his Academy Award?

Answer: No. Back in 1936, screenwriter Dudley Nichols refused to accept his best screenplay Oscar for The Informer (1935). The early 1930s were a time of bitter conflicts between the studios and their employees; studio executives were vehemently anti-union and accustomed to forcing actors, writers, composers and crew to work on studio terms or not work at all. Nichols, who later became president of the Screenwriters Guild, refused to accept his award as a protest against what was widely perceived as the Academy's decision to sell out its less powerful members to union-busting studio heads.

By the time George C. Scott read more

What was the holy day being ...

• Oct 13, 2005 04:00 AM ET
• by Maitland McDonagh

Question: What was the holy day being celebrated in the Godfather movie where people pinned money on a statue in the parade?

Answer: The scene you're describing is in The Godfather, Part II (1974), and takes place at the festival of San Gennaro. In Italy, towns and cities traditionally celebrated the feast days of patron saints with masses, religious processions — often involving life-size statues of the saint — donations to the Church and communal meals. Saint Gennaro, a bishop martyred in 305, is the patron saint of Naples. His feast day is Sept. 19 and the Italian immigrants (heavy on the Neapolitans) who settled in the New York City neighborhood in such numbers that it became known as Little Italy, brought the custom with them. The San Gennaro festival still takes place annually — 2005 was the 78th year — though it has become a very touri read more

I followed your advice over ...

• Oct 7, 2005 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Alias

Question: I followed your advice over the summer about the rumors surrounding Michael Vartan on Alias. I decided to ignore them and wait and see. Having seen the premiere, I am now thoroughly disgusted with this show that I once loved. They kill off a popular, beloved character and rehash old story lines... ancient manuscripts, secret doom and gloom organizations, revenge for dead fiancé etc. Obviously the writers have given up on this show, so why should the fans stick around? And the cryptic words from J.J. Abrams about "he's not dead until the fat lady sings"? Come on, bringing yet another character back from the dead?! Irina, Emily, Sloane, not to mention the "missing" Sydney and the doubled Francie... as much as I hate to see Vartan go, I've had my fill of resurrections on Alias. Get an original idea already! What's your advice now? Should I keep watching out of loyalty and hope that "they" know what they're doing? Or should I hop over to one of the other offerings at this time ... read more