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      Tony Todd, Prolific Actor Best Known for ‘Candyman,’ Dies at 69

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      Mr. Todd’s decades-long career spanned across mediums and genres, but he was largely associated with a scary figure summoned in front of a mirror.Tony Todd, a prolific actor whose more than 100 film and television credits included “Candyman” and “Final Destination,” died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 69.Jeffrey Goldberg, Mr. Todd’s manager, announced the death in a statement on Saturday morning. He did not specify the cause.Mr. Todd’s decades-long acting career spanned genres and mediums. He starred or had prominent roles in several films, including the 1990 remake of “Night of the Living Dead,” “The Crow,” “The Rock” and Oliver Stone’s Oscar-winning Vietnam War movie, “Platoon.” His television credits include “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “24,” “The X-Files,” and many other shows. He also lent his rich voice to animation and video games.He was perhaps best known for his role as the titular demon in the 1992 movie “Candyman,” He told The New York Times in 2020 that he was proud of playing the terrifying figure with a hook for a hand, a Black man who had been wronged in life and is summoned from the beyond by people who call his name five times while looking in a mirror — unleashing vicious attacks in which the Candyman slices to death those who dared to disturb him. “If I had never done another horror film,” he said, “I could live with that, and I’d carry this character.”Mr. Todd reprised the role in the film’s 1995 and 1999 sequels and returned to it for the 2021 reboot, directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Jordan Peele.In the “Final Destination” franchise, Mr. Todd played the role of the mysterious funeral-home owner William Bludworth — the rare recurring character in a film series that famously killed off all of its new characters by the time the end credits rolled.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The Most Anticipated New Movie Releases in Winter 2024

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      From life stories (“A Complete Unknown,” “The Fire Inside”) to animated tales (“Moana 2,” “Mufasa”), these are the films we can’t wait to see this season.November‘EMILIA PÉREZ’ Four actresses — Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz — shared a prize at Cannes for their performances in this unlikeliest of musicals, about the friendship between a Mexican cartel kingpin (Gascón) and a lawyer (Saldaña) hired to arrange the kingpin’s gender transition. Jacques Audiard directed. (Nov. 13; Netflix)‘HOT FROSTY’ Remember “Mannequin”? This sounds kind of like that, except instead of a mannequin coming to life, it’s a snowman (Dustin Milligan), and instead of Andrew McCarthy, it has Lacey Chabert. (Nov. 13; Netflix)‘ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT’ This film from Payal Kapadia was the first Indian feature to compete at Cannes in 30 years; it won the Grand Jury Prize, effectively second place. It concerns two women (Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha) in Mumbai. One has a husband living abroad; the other is navigating an interfaith relationship that she strives to keep quiet. (Nov. 15; in theaters)Karla Sofía Gascón, left, is the title drug kingpin and Zoe Saldaña is the lawyer helping arrange her client’s gender transition.Netflix‘ELTON JOHN: NEVER TOO LATE’ The rocket man himself recalls how he soared to stardom in this documentary, shot during preparations for his 2022 appearances at Dodger Stadium, purportedly his final North American concerts. (Nov. 15 in theaters, Dec. 13 on Disney+)‘GHOST CAT ANZU’ Anzu is a big, fluffy, animated talking cat whose antics give Garfield a run for his money in this anime favorite from the festival circuit. (Nov. 15; in theaters)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      $7 Million Deal Is Reached for Upper West Side Movie Theater, Nonprofit Says

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      A nonprofit group says it has reached an agreement to buy the shuttered Metro Theater from its owners, but the deal is contingent on raising the money by the end of the year.A group trying to restore a landmark Upper West Side movie theater says it has signed an agreement to buy the building for $7 million if it can raise the money by the end of the year.The nonprofit corporation Upper West Side Cinema Center said on Friday it had reached the agreement with the current owners of the Metro Theater, which is on Broadway near 99th Street and closed in 2005. The building, known for its pink terra-cotta Art Deco facade, is owned by the estate of its former owner, Albert Bialek, who died last year. The owners could not immediately be reached for comment.Attempts in recent years to reimagine the space as a Planet Fitness gym or Alamo Drafthouse cinema were unsuccessful, and development options are limited because of the theater’s landmark status and because Bialek sold the air rights above the building. The nonprofit is spearheaded by Ira Deutchman, an independent film producer, and Adeline Monzier, the U.S. representative of the French film promoter Unifrance and a guest programmer at the Metrograph, a Lower East Side theater.Deutchman said that there was already funding pledged to cover about one-third of the sale price. The nonprofit is hoping to raise the rest with a mix of philanthropic support from major donors, government financing and individual contributions from current and former Upper West Side residents who may be nostalgic about the theater’s golden days, he said.If the nonprofit is successful in securing the money to cover the sale price, the next step would be to raise an additional, estimated $15 million to $25 million for its restoration.“I’d never worked on a project before where every single person I tell about it, their response is, ‘Oh, that is so needed,’” Deutchman said. “My joke is that they’ve never said that about a movie I’ve made.” More

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      Jonathan Haze, Star of ‘The Little Shop of Horrors,’ Dies at 95

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      Best known for his star turn in the cult film about a flesh-eating plant, he was a go-to member of the low-budget auteur Roger Corman’s repertory company.Jonathan Haze, a prince of the B-movie who appeared in nearly 20 pulp cinema popcorn munchers by the king of the B-movie, the low-budget auteur Roger Corman — most notably as Seymour, the sniveling flower shop assistant in the original “The Little Shop of Horrors” — died on Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 95.His death was confirmed by his daughter Rebecca Haze.Mr. Haze, a fledgling actor who had hitchhiked to Los Angeles to chase his screen dreams, was working at a Hollywood gas station in 1952 when he was discovered by Wyott Ordung, a young actor and aspiring director affiliated with Mr. Corman.Mr. Corman at that point was just starting a career in which he would produce more than 300 exploitation films and direct roughly 50, with titles like “The Beast With a Million Eyes” and “Teenage Cave Man.” He was also known for his eye for talent: He gave early opportunities to Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Jack Nicholson, among many others.Mr. Corman cast Mr. Haze in two movies in 1954: “Monster From the Ocean Floor,” directed by Mr. Ordung, and “The Fast and the Furious,” whose title would be licensed decades later for the Vin Diesel car-frenzy franchise, in which he had an uncredited role.Among the many other Corman movies in which Mr. Haze appeared was “Not of This Earth” (1957), with Paul Birch, center, and Beverly Garland.MGMMr. Haze, left, and Ms. Garland were also in Mr. Corman’s “Gunslinger” (1956), along with Chris Alcaide, center, and Martin Kingsley.MGMAs the Tumblr site Know Your B Movie Actors observed: “Haze was a small, slight man with boyish good looks, and it was a virtual certainty that he would never be a leading man, even in Corman’s universe. Instead, he devoted himself to playing an assortment of oddballs and losers.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Hippo’ Review: This Coming-of-Age Tale Can Go

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      Trafficking in irreverence, the film follows a pair of stepsiblings with sexual tension.Like a stubborn toddler zipping his mouth shut while stomping his feet, “Hippo” manages to be noisily aggravating while saying nothing at all. Directed by Mark H. Rapaport in his feature debut, the indie film traffics in cynicism and irreverence while lacking in the quality it seems to want most: individuality.Shot in black and white and set in ’90s suburbia, the movie follows Hippo (Kimball Farley), a demanding teenager who lives at home with his mother (Eliza Roberts) and subdued stepsister, Buttercup (Lilla Kizlinger). The siblings are experiencing dual sexual awakenings, and a narrator (voiced by Eric Roberts) walks us through a multitude of stylized scenes in which the pair investigate their desires while pondering their greater purposes in life.Soon, and rather randomly, they each land on one. For Hippo, it is to protect the homestead from a variety of perceived threats. For Buttercup, it is to become pregnant.The story, then, is one of gendered stereotypes: Hippo, the chauvinist fixated on violence; and Buttercup, the virginal naïf longing to be with child. She is also in love with Hippo. What does she see in him? The film does not trouble itself to let us know, which is surprising given the sheer volume of narration overlaying shots of Buttercup lounging with a faraway look.“Hippo” is meant to be a comedy — a dark, muted one with a couple of rowdy set pieces. And although Roberts, channeling frivolity, does score some funny lines, the movie most often reads as a hollow exercise in mannered filmmaking, orbiting an array of characters whose carefully curated quirks are flimsy enough to blow away with the wind.HippoNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes. In theaters. More

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      Horror Movies to Stream Now: ‘Don’t Move,’ ‘Time Cut’ and More

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      This month’s picks include 2000s nostalgia, feminist thrills and the one and only Corey Feldman.‘Mads’Stream it on Shudder.David Moreau’s spectacular single-shot thriller is set at the beginning of the end of the world. It begins as a young woman violently stabs herself in a car driven by Romain (Milton Riche, excellent). It continues as Romain’s girlfriend, Anais (Laurie Pavy, fearless and unhinged), becomes infected with an unexplained affliction that turns her into a feral maniac. And it ends with a despairing scene inside an elevator that — actually, I’ll stop there, because to say more would ruin the perspective-shifting twists that vault this singular French film down its deranged and gruesome path.As he showed in his assaultive home invasion film “Them,” Moreau is an assured writer and propulsive director. Philip Lozano’s disorienting cinematography, along with pulsing sounds and foreboding voice-overs, together have a grip that doesn’t let up. For fans of the New French Extremity who want to feel like it’s 2000 all over again, this nihilistic film is a must-see.‘The Birthday’Rent or buy it on major platforms.Eugenio Mira’s nightmarish farce premiered at the Sitges International Film Festival in 2004 but was never shown in theaters after making the festival rounds. It’s now streaming for the first time after building a following when a bootleg copy was uploaded to YouTube. Jordan Peele considers it “a cinematic marvel,” according to the film’s press notes.I’m including it here not because it’s a horror film in any traditional sense; the blood bath stuff doesn’t arrive until late. What it does have is Corey Feldman giving an all-out, darkly comedic performance that’s one of his best.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      New Movies and Shows Coming to Netflix in November: ’Emilia Pérez’ and More

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      A parade of notable new titles are coming for U.S. subscribers all month. Here’s a roundup of the most promising.Every month, Netflix adds movies and TV shows to its library. Here are our picks for some of November’s most promising new titles for U.S. subscribers. (Note: Streaming services occasionally change schedules without giving notice. For more recommendations on what to stream, sign up for our Watching newsletter here.)‘Emilia Pérez’Starts streaming: Nov. 13A winner of multiple prizes at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, this genre-bending, gender-bending movie has Zoe Saldaña playing Rita, a lawyer enlisted to help a cartel boss formerly known as Juan begin her new life as Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón), while also helping Emilia’s wife, Jessi (Selena Gomez), adjust to the change. Written and directed by the accomplished French filmmaker Jacques Audiard — and featuring songs by the composer Clément Ducol and the singer Camille — “Emilia Pérez” is at once a comedy, a musical and a crime drama, shifting approaches freely as it tells the story of a woman aiming for a profound transformation of a messy life.‘The Piano Lesson’Starts streaming: Nov. 22Following “Fences” (2016) and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (2020), Denzel Washington’s latest film adaptation of the plays in August Wilson’s “Pittsburgh Cycle” tackles one of the playwright’s most popular works. Produced by Washington (with Todd Black) and directed by Washington’s son Malcolm, “The Piano Lesson” has John David Washington (another son) as Boy Willie, who hatches a plan to buy some land by selling his family’s hand-carved piano, currently in the possession of his Uncle Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson) but held dear by Willie’s sister, Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler). Set in the 1930s, the film is a lively and complex drama about a Black family debating the best way to honor its enslaved ancestors — either by preserving their history as-is or by using their legacy as a way to get ahead.‘Spellbound’Starts streaming: Nov. 22One of the first feature film projects announced by Skydance Animation (way back in 2017) finally makes it to the screen after a production complicated by Covid and distribution difficulties. Rachel Zegler voices Ellian, a princess of the kingdom of Lumbria, which is being torn apart after a spell transformed the king (Javier Bardem) and queen (Nicole Kidman) into monsters. Featuring songs by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, and direction by Vicky Jenson (best-known for her work on “Shrek”), “Spellbound” follows Ellian’s multi-step quest to save her family and her people.‘Our Little Secret’Starts streaming: Nov. 27The 2022 Netflix movie “Falling for Christmas” saw the return of Lindsay Lohan as a leading lady in a film for the first time in nearly a decade; and the movie went on to become one of the streamer’s biggest hits that holiday season. Two years later, Lohan is once again surrounded by wreaths, ribbons and twinkling lights for the romantic comedy “Our Little Secret.” She play Avery, who gets stuck at a holiday gathering with her boyfriend’s family, where she discovers that her man’s sister is dating Logan (Ian Harding), with whom Avery had a messy breakup 10 years earlier. Since the exes both want to make a good impression for their new significant others’ fussy mother (Kristin Chenoweth), they decide to pretend they don’t know each other — which becomes increasingly complicated as the Christmas togetherness rolls on, day after day.‘Senna’Starts streaming: Nov. 29This flashy Brazilian mini-series dramatizes the too-brief career of the Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna. Gabriel Leone plays Senna, who took the F1 circuit by storm in the late 1980s and early ’90s before dying at 34 from injuries sustained during a race. “Senna” is packed with fast-paced racing scenes, but the show’s creator, Vicente Amorim, is just as interested in the backroom politicking that sprung up once Senna’s more aggressive racing style put him in the winner’s circle ahead of the more established (and more conservative) European stars. While getting into Senna’s family and personal life, the series also documents how one of Brazil’s national heroes argued that the sport’s financiers and governing bodies too often kept the drivers from competing at their best.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More