What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 19th August 2021.

The 27th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival kicked off on Friday 13th August and runs through until 20th August. Sarajevo is the capital and the largest city ​​of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is the political, financial, social and cultural centre of this south-eastern European Balkan state with regional influence in entertainment, media, fashion and the arts. The Sarajevo Film Festival has a special focus on the region of South-East Europe shining an international spotlight on films, talent and future projects from the region. High quality programming, a strong industry segment, an educational and networking platform for young filmmakers and thus generated presence of the international film industry, film authors and media representatives alongside a paying audience confirms its status as the leading film festival in the region, recognised by both professionals and the wider audience.

On the 13th August the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award was presented to the German film maker, playwright, author and photographer Wim Wenders for his exceptional contribution to the art of film. Oscar winning Bosnian Director Danis Tanovic's film 'NOT SO FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURHOOD AFFAIR' and the omnibus film 'LETTERS FROM THE ENDS OF THE WORLD' by the film collective Bistrik7, an international group of first-generation directors at the Sarajevo film.factory of the iconic Director Bela Tarr opened this year's edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival.

This year, the Sarajevo Film Festival has selected twenty-one feature films in the competition programme, which will run in-person from 13th through until 20th August. The Competition Programme for feature films offers The Heart of Sarajevo Award for the Best Feature Film, The Heart of Sarajevo Award for the Best Director, The Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Actor and The Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Actress. Then there is also the Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Documentary, the Human Rights Award and the Special Jury Award. In addition there are a further twenty-six films in competition making for a total of forty-seven films across its four competitive sections. The event will feature eighteen World Premieres and three International Premiere screenings. The other two competitive sections are for Short Films and Student Films.

In the Feature Film Competition category, ten films have been chosen for this section of the programme for fiction titles, including two world premieres, those films are :- 

* 'Bebia, A Mon Seul Desir' from Georgia and the UK and Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Juja Dobrachkous.

* 'Celts' from Serbia and Directed and Co-Written by Milica Tomovic.

* 'The Elegy Of Laurel' from Montenegro and Serbia and Directed and Written by Dusan Kasalica. World Premiere screening.
* 'Great Freedom' from Austria and Germany and Directed and Co-Written by Sebastian Meise.

* 'The Hill Where Lionesses Roar' from Kosovo and France and Directed and Written by Luana Bajrami.
* 'Looking For Venera' from Albania and Directed, Written, Co-Produced and Co-Edited by Norika Sefa.
* 'Moon, 66 Questions' from Greece and France and Directed and Written by Jaqueline Lentzou.

* 'Murina' from Croatia, Brazil, US and Slovenia and Directed and Co-Written by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic.

* 'Things Worth Weeping For' from Hungary and Directed and Co-Written by Cristina Grosan. World Premiere screening.

* 'Women Do Cry' from France and Albania and Directed, Co-Written and Co-Produced by Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova. 

The Documentary section of the competition programme is comprised of sixteen titles, of which eleven are features and eight are World Premieres, with those features being :-

* 'Disturbed Earth' from Bosnia, Spain and North Macedonia and  Directed and Produced by Kumjana Novakova and Guillermo Carreras-Candi. World Premiere screening.
* 'Divas' from Hungary and Directed, Co-Written and lensed by Mate Korosi. World Premiere screening.
* 'Factory To The Workers' from Croatia and Written, Directed, Co-Edited and lensed by Srdan Kovacevic.

* 'Landscapes Of Resistance' from Serbia, France and Germany and Directed and Co-Written by Marta Popivoda.

* 'Les Enfants Terribles' from Turkey, France and Germany and Written, Directed and and lensed by Ahmet Necdet Cupur.

* 'Looking For Horses' from Bosnia, Netherlands and France and Written, Directed, Co-Edited and lensed by Stefan Pavlovic.

* 'Recipe For Hate' from Serbia and Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Filip Colovic.

* 'Reconciliation' from Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro and Directed and Written by Marija Zidar.

* 'Soldat Ahmet' from Austria and Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Jannis Lenz.

* 'Sunny' from Georgia and Co-Written and Directed by Keti Machavariani.

* 'ZZZ (Journal About Zelimir Zilnik)' from Serbia and Written and Directed by Janko Baljak. World Premiere screening.

For all the latest news, views and updates from the 27th Sarajevo Film Festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www.sff.ba

With Greater Sydney, where I live, still in COVID lockdown for another two weeks ending (at this stage) on Friday 27th August, this means all of our cinema's are closed until this date, which further means that the release of the movies as given below, slated for release this week, will be delayed somewhat across certain parts of Australia at least. That said, these movies will either have been released or are set for an imminent release somewhere in the world, and as Odeon Online has an international audience, I thought it best to carry on regardless. 

Turning attention to this weeks latest release new movies coming to an Odeon near you, we have Sci-Fi mystery romance that has a scientist discovering a way to relive your past and uses the technology to search for his long lost love. Following on is a biopic charting the career of the Queen of Soul from a child singing in her father's church choir to her international superstardom, comes this remarkable true story of this music icon's journey to find her voice. Next up is a psychological horror film of a widow who begins to uncover her recently deceased husband's disturbing secrets within the house he built for her. Next up is a dramatisation of real events that unfolded when a Thai youth football team becomes trapped in a cave while rescue workers scramble to save them; before closing out the week with a Hong Kong actioner about a highly respected cop with a long history of success on dangerous cases, however, his past soon comes back to haunt him when his former protege seeks revenge against all those who have wronged him.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead. 

'REMINISCENCE' (Rated M) - this American Sci-Fi thriller film is Written, Co-Produced and  Directed by Lisa Joy in her feature film making debut, and only her second directorial outing after helming a single episode of 'Westworld' although she is also the co-creator of that multi-award winning and nominated television series. Originally slated for a mid-April release this year, it was then moved to early September before being moved to this week in the US and Australia. The film will stream simultaneously on the HBO Max service in the United States for a period of one month. It cost US$68M to produce. 

Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman), is a private investigator of the mind, who navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Rebecca Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession, as Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae who has subsequently disappeared, uncovering a violent conspiracy, and must ultimately answer the question of how far would you go to hold on to the ones you love? Also starring Cliff Curtis and Thandiwe Newton.

'RESPECT' (Rated M) - is an American biographical drama film based on the life of famed American singer Aretha Franklin, and is Directed and Executive Produced by Liesl Tommy in her feature film making debut. Originally slated for a mid-August 2020 release, it was then pushed back to early October and then a limited release on 25th December 2020, followed by an expansion in early January of this year before going wide the following week. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was switched to a sole wide release for mid-January before being delayed again to this week in the US, Australia and other territories. Costing US$55M to produce, the film has garnered generally positive Reviews so far. And so here, Aretha Franklin (Jennifer Hudson, with Syke Dakota Turner playing the young Aretha) sings in her father's - The Reverend C.L. Franklin (Forest Whittaker) church choir as a child and grows up to become an international musical superstar and the Queen of Soul, while simultaneously enduring an abusive marriage and actively involved in the civil rights movement. Also starring Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald as mother Barbara Siggers Franklin, Saycon Sengbloh as older sister Erma Franklin, Hailey Kilgore as the younger sister Carolyn Franklin and Mary J. Blige. Aretha Franklin herself was involved with the development of this film up until her death on August 16, 2018.

'THE NIGHT HOUSE' (Rated M) - this American psychological horror film is Directed and Executive Produced by David Bruckner whose previous film making credits take in his debut 'The Signal' in 2007 and then segments of 'V/H/S' and 'Southbound' before 'The Ritual' and the reboot of the 1987 horror classic 'Hellraiser' currently filming. This film saw its World Premier screening back at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020 and now gets a release in Australia one week before the US, having generated mostly favourable Reviews. Reeling from the unexpected death of her husband, Beth (Rebecca Hall) is left alone in the lakeside home he built for her. She tries as best she can to keep it together, but then the nightmares begin. Disturbing visions of a presence in the house calling to her, beckoning her with a ghostly allure. Against the advice of her friends, she begins digging into her husband's belongings, yearning for answers. What she finds are secrets both strange and disturbing taking her on a journey she's determined to unravel. Also starring Sarah Goldberg, Stacy Martin and Evan Jonigkeit. 

'THE CAVE' (Rated M) - this Thai action drama film is about the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand, and is Written, Directed and Co-Produced by Tom Waller. The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival in early October 2019, was released in Thailand in late November 2019 and only now does it get a limited showing in Australia. The story is written from the points of view of several individuals involved in the rescue operation, including water pump manufacturer Nopadol Niyomka, retired Thai Navy SEAL Saman Kunan, and especially, Ireland-based cave diver Jim Warny, Australian doctor Ross Clarkson and others as themselves.

'RAGING FIRE' (Rated MA15+) - is a Hong Kong Chinese action film Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Benny Chan in his final film making release before his death on 23rd August 2020. The film was released in China at the end of July and goes on release in Hong Kong and here is Australia this week, having so far grossed US$90M. Cheung Sung-pong (Donnie Yen) is an officer of the Regional Crime Unit who worked on the front line for many years and cracked many major cases. However, he is seen as an outcast due to his extremely righteous character which affected his career, but his protege, Yau Kong-ngo (Nicholas Tse), respects him as a good officer although Yau does not completely agree with Cheung's overly hard-boiled style and believes in taking shortcuts. Yau is able to gain promotion up to Cheung's level, however, fate unexpectedly brings them to different paths and pits them against one another when Yau goes rogue and swears revenge on Cheung when he testified against him, leading him to be imprisoned in the past for beating a criminal suspect to death. Benny Chan had twenty-six Director credits to his name, ten as Writer and twenty-five as Producer and his feature film making credits since his debut in 1990 with 'A Moment of Romance' also including 'Who Am I?', 'New Police Story', 'Rob-B-Hood' and 'Shaolin' all with Jackie Chan, as well as 'Fist of Fury', 'Gen-X Cops', 'Gen-Y Cops', 'Divergence', 'Invisible Target' and 'The White Storm'.

With five new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the coming week, at your local Odeon, or perhaps not!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

The Odeon Online Obituary : The screen celebrities who passed away in August 2020.

In August, the world bid a fond farewell to a number of stars of the silver screen and the small screen. In brief, shown below, is my passing tribute to those stars who leave an indelible mark on the entertainment industry, and in particular the world of film and television. May you all Rest In Peace, and thanks for the memories . . . . Reni Santoni, Tom Pollock, Wilford Brimley, Leslie Randall, Brent Carver, Kurt Luedtke, Silvana Bosi, Linda Manz, Gary Cowling, Ben Cross, Benny Chan, Allan Rich, Lori Nelson, Caesar Cordova, David S. Cass Snr., Chadwick Boseman and Norm Spencer.

* Reni Santoni - born 21st April 1939, died 1st August 2020, aged 82. Santoni was American Actor of film and television who accumulated 103 screen acting credits to his career spanning six decades and launching with a small role in the drama film 'Strangers in the City' in 1962. Following a number of appearances in TV series over the following years, his next big screen roles came with 'Enter Laughing' in 1967, then 'A Great Big Thing' and 'Anzio' both in 1968, and 'Guns of the Magnificent Seven' in 1969. His next more notable big screen appearance same in 1971's 'Dirty Harry' with Clint Eastwood, then 'Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid' with Steve Martin in 1982, 'Bad Boys' in 1983 with Sean Penn, 'Brewster's Millions' in 1985 with Richard Pryor and John Candy, 'Cobra' in 1986 with Sylvester Stallone, 'The Pick-up Artist' in 1987 with Robert Downey Jnr., 'The Package' in 1989 with Gene Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones, '28 Days' in 2000 with Sandra Bullock with 'Clean Sweep' recently announced. In the meantime there were numerous appearances on single and multiple episodes of television series including 'The Odd Couple', 'The F.B.I.', 'Barnaby Jones', 'Lou Grant', 'Hawaii Five-0', 'The Rockford Files', 'Charlie's Angels', 'CHiPs', 'Hill Street Blues', on thirteen episodes of 'Sanchez of Bel Air', 'Moonlighting', 'Miami Vice', on seven episodes of 'Midnight Caller', 'Murder, She Wrote', 'NYPD Blue', on eleven episodes of 'Murder One' and its follow up mini-series 'Murder One : Diary of a Serial Killer', on four episodes as Poppie the unhygienic Restauranteur on 'Seinfeld', 'Judging Amy', 'Gray's Anatomy' with 'Franklin & Bash' being his final small screen role in 2012. He also broke into the field of voice over work providing expert characterisations whenever required, including on Eddie Murphy's 'Dr. Dolittle' film series.

* Tom Pollock - born 10th April 1943, died 1st August 2020, aged 77. Pollock was an American film Producer and studio executive. He started his career as an entertainment lawyer, before transitioning to a studio executive and film Producer. He was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute and a co-owner of The Montecito Picture Company which he formed in 1998 with film Director and Producer Ivan Reitman. He was Executive Producer on twenty-two films from 2000 onwards beginning with 'Road Trip' that year, and going on with 'Evolution', 'Killing Me Softly', 'Disturbia', 'I Love You, Man', 'Up in the Air', 'Chloe', 'Hitchcock', 'Draft Day', 'Ghostbusters' in 2016, 'Baywatch' and 'Father Figures' in 2017 being his final film executive produced, with 'Ghostbusters : Afterlife' due for release next year and 'Godmothered' currently in post-production.

* Wilford Brimley - born Anthony Wilford Brimley on 27th September 1934, died 1st August 2020, aged 85. Brimley was an American Actor of film and television who amassed seventy-seven screen acting credits throughout his career spanning five decades and launching with a small uncredited bit part in 1969's 'True Grit' and 1971's 'Lawman'. His first big screen outing in a credited role came opposite Jack Lemmon and Jane Fonda in 'The China Syndrome' in 1979, followed by 'The Electric Horseman' that same year with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda again, then 'Brubaker' in 1980 with Robert Redford again too. 'Borderline' came next also in 1980 with Charles Bronson, then 'Absence of Malice' with Paul Newman in 1981, 'The Thing' in 1982 with Kurt Russell, 'Tender Mercies' in 1983 with Robbert Duvall, '10 to Midnight' with Charles Bronson also in 1983, 'Harry & Son' in 1984 with Paul Newman again, 'The Natural' with Robert Redford once more in 1984, 'Cocoon' in 1985 for Director Ron Howard, 'End of the Line' in 1987 with Kevin Bacon, 'Cocoon : The Return' in 1988, 'The Firm' in 1993 with Tom Cruise and 'Hard Target' with Jean-Claude Van Damme, 'In & Out' with Kevin Kline in 1997, 'Did You Hear About the Morgans' in 2009 with Hugh Grant and 'Cellophane' currently in pre-production at the time of his death. In the intervening years there were appearances on ten episodes of 'The Waltons', on forty-six episodes of 'Our House', on 'Homicide : Life on the Street', 'Walker : Texas Ranger' and 'Seinfeld' amongst others. He was also the long time face of of TV commercials for the Quaker Oats Company, and also worked on TV ads for Liberty Medical, the American Diabetes Association and Bryan Foods.

* Leslie Randall - born 19th October 1924, died 2nd August 2020, aged 95. Randall was an English Actor of television and film who enjoyed success in both the US and UK. During his career spanning six decades he notched up just twenty-four screen acting credits beginning with the 1952 made for TV movie 'Trial Gallop' with Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine. His first big screen role came in 1960 with 'Just Joe' followed by 'Mystery Submarine' in 1962, 'Billy Liar' in 1963 with Tom Courtney and Julie Christie then Derek Jarman's 'The Garden' in 1990 with Tilda Swinton, 'Goal!' in 2005 and its follow up 'Goal II : Living the Dream' in 2007 with 'Last Chance Harvey' in 2008 with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson being his final acting role. In the meantime there were appearances on 'The Monkees', 'I Dream of Jeannie', 'Family Affair', on thirteen episodes of his own comedy sketch show 'Joan and Leslie' which ran from 1969 to 1970 and which he also Directed, Produced and wrote for, 'Emerdale Farm', 'Casualty', 'Peak Practice', 'Doctors', 'According to Bex' and 'My Family'.

* Brent Carver - born 17th November 1951, died 2nd August 2020, aged 68. Carver was a Canadian Actor of cinema, television, and theatre who accumulated forty-six screen acting credits to his name throughout a career which began on a single episode of 'Beachcombers' in 1972. He followed this up with eight episodes on 'Inside Canada' in 1974 and his first big screen role came with top billing in 1983's 'The Wars', and then 'Cross Country' later that same year. 'Shadow Dancing' came next in 1988, then 'Millennium' in 1989, 'The Shower' in 1992, 'Lilies' in 1996, 'Deeply' in 2000, 'Ararat' in 2002, 'The Event' in 2003 and 'Romeo and Juliet' in 2014. In the meantime there were numerous made for TV movies and TV series appearances including 'The Pirates of Penzance', 'Much Ado About Nothing', 'The New Twilight Zone', 'Street Legal', 'Leonardo : The Dream of Flight', 'Deep South', 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow', 'Deep in the City' and 'Save Me' most recently in 2017. He collected four award wins and another four nominations for his screen work, as well as a Tony Award win for his role in the stage show 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' in 1993. His other stage shows took in the likes of 'Hamlet', 'Cabaret', 'Cyrano de Bergerac', 'Richard II', 'Parade', 'Fiddler on the Roof', 'King Lear', 'The Lord of the Rings', 'The Elephant Man', 'As You Like It', 'Twelfth Night' and 'The School for Scandal' in 2017. In 2014, Carver received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award - Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, for his lifetime contribution to Canadian theatre.

* Kurt Luedtke - born 28th September 1939, died 9th August 2020, aged 80. Luedtke was an American Screenwriter who generated just three writing credits throughout his career which were  'Out of Africa' in 1985 with Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as well as it garnering another six Oscar wins and four other nods. He also wrote 1981's 'Absence of Malice' with Paul Newman and Sally Field, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, as well as 1999's 'Random Hearts' with Harrison Ford and Kristen Scott Thomas. All three films were Directed by Sydney Pollack.

* Silvana Bosi - born 23rd July 1934, died 10th August 2020, aged 86. Bosi was an Italian Actress of film and television who had forty-four acting credits to her name in a career that launched in 1989 with a role in the Italian comedy film 'Mortacci' with Malcolm McDowell. She went onto roles in more mainstream and widespread films including 1999's 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' with Matt Damon, 2000's 'Bread and Tulips' with Bruno Ganz, 'Letters to Juliet' in 2010 with Amanda Seyfried and 'The American' that same year with George Clooney with her other screen credits being from her native Italy in locally made TV movies, feature films and television series appearances, with her last role coming in 2019.

* Linda Manz - born 20th August 1961, died 14th August 2020, aged 58. Manz was an American Actress of film and television who accumulated just twelve screen acting credits throughout her career which began with a small role in her debut feature film 'Days of Heaven' in 1978 Directed by Terrence Malick, and ended with David Fincher's 'The Game' in 1997. In between time there were other films including 'The Wanderers' in 1979, 'Boardwalk' in 1979 too and the made for TV movie 'The Orphan Train' also that same year, then the lead role in the Dennis Hopper Directed and starring 'Out of the Blue' in 1980, 'Longshot' in 1981 and then 'Gummo' in 1997. In between time she appeared in two TV series - on four episodes of 'Dorothy' in 1979 and on a single episode of 'Faerie Tale Theatre' in 1985. She appeared as herself in the 2016 documentary about the life of Dennis Hopper 'Along for the Ride'.

* Gary Cowling - born 4th November 1961, died 17th August 2020, aged 58. Cowling was an American Actor of stage, cinema and television who accumulated just seventeen screen acting credits to his name during his twenty year career in front of the camera. His first screen acting role came with a small part in 'What's Your Sign?' in 1997, followed by uncredited roles in 1998's 'Celebrity' and 1999's 'Sweet and Lowdown'. His next big screen role came with 'The Namesake' in 2006 with Cal Penn and Irrfan Khan, then 'Shooting Johnson Roebling' in 2007, and then 'The Accidental Husband' in 2008 with Uma Thurman and Colin Firth being his final feature film role. In the meantime, he appeared in 'Law & Order', 'The Sopranos', on three episodes of 'The Speed Creeper', 'One Life to Live', on seven episodes of 'Hustling' (of which he also Co-Produced or Produced twenty-seven episodes between 2011 and 2014), and an episode of 'Unproductive' in 2015 being his final screen appearance.

* Ben Cross - born Harry Bernard Cross on 16th December 1947, died 18th August 2020, aged 72. Cross was an English Actor of stage, screen and TV who amassed 104 screen acting credits to his name during a career that launched with the ten minute short film 'The Reprieve' in 1972. He then had a bit part in the 1974 TV movie 'Great Expectations' before his debut feature film role in 1977's 'A Bridge Too Far' with an all star cast. His breakout role came in his next feature film - 1981's 'Chariot's of Fire' in which he played the 1924 British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams. That film won four Oscars amongst its total haul of seventeen award wins and nineteen other nominations. His other big screen roles over the years that followed included 'The Assisi Underground' in 1985 with James Mason, 'Live Wire' in 1992 with Pierce Brosnan, 'First Knight' in 1995 with Sean Connery, 'Turbulence' in 1997 with Ray Liotta, 'The Venice Project' in 1999 with Dennis Hopper, 'Exorcist : The Beginning' in 2004 with Stellan Skarsgard, 'The Mechanik' in 2005 with Dolph Lundgren, 'War, Inc.' in 2008 with John Cusack, J.J. Abrams 'Star Trek' in 2009 with Chris Pine, 'A Common Man' in 2013 with Ben Kingsley with 'The Hurricane Heist' with Toby Kebbel in 2018, 'Wildlings' in 2019 and 'The Rest is Ashes' this year being his final big screen role. Over the years in between there were numerous made for TV movies and appearances on single and multiple episodes of TV series, taking in the likes of mini-series 'The Flame Trees of Thika', 'The Citadel', 'The Far Pavillions', 'The Potato Factory', 'Solomon', 'Spartacus' and 'Ben Hur' plus other episodes on regular TV series including twelve episodes on 'Dark Shadows', on twenty-one episodes of 'Banshee', '12 Monkeys' and on four of 'Pandora' as recently as last year. The following feature films were in various stages of production at the time of Cross' death : 'Last Letter from Your Lover' (in post), 'The Devil's Light' (filming), 'Resilient 3D' (pre) and 'Liberty' (pre).

* Allan Rich - born Benjamin Norman Schultz on 8th February 1926 and died on 22nd August 2020, aged 94. Rich was an American character Actor of film, television and theatre who amassed 132 screen acting credits throughout his six decade spanning career. He began his acting career at the age of just nine, and by the time he was in his late teens he was appearing in a number of Broadway productions. His small screen debut came in 1963 with appearances on 'Armstrong Circle Theatre', then 'Naked City', and 'East Side/West Side'. His first big screen role came in 1973 with Al Pacino in 'Serpico' and a year later with James Cann in 'The Gambler'. From here his other cinema outings took in the likes of 'The Frsico Kid' in 1979 with Gene Wilder, 'The Entity' in 1982 with Ron Silver, 'Betsy's Wedding' in 1990 with Alan Alda, 'Highlander II : The Quickening' in 1991 with Christopher Lambert, 'Guilty by Suspicion' also in 1991 with Robert De Niro, 'Quiz Show' in 1994 with Ralph Fiennes, 'Disclosure' that same year with Michael Douglas, 'Jack' in 1996 with Robin Williams, 'Amistad' in 1997 with Anthony Hopkins, 'Man in the Chair' in 2007 with Christopher Plummer with 'Wish I Was Here' in 2014 with Zach Braff being his final screen role. In the meantime there were numerous appearances on TV series including 'The Rockford Files', 'Hawaii Five-0', 'Kojak', 'Little House on the Prairie', 'Happy Days', 'CHiPs', 'The Incredible Hulk', 'Magnum P.I.', 'Hill Street Blues', 'The Fall Guy', 'Chicago Hope', 'The Nanny', 'Judging Amy', 'NYPD Blue', 'House M.D.', and '2 Broke Girls'. Rich was also the co-founder of the not-for-profit organisation 'We Care About Kids', which produces educational short films for middle and high school kids, he became the personal manager to a number of Hollywood Actors, he mentored Rene Russo, and was the distributor and publisher of Hollywood photographic portraits taken by George Hurrell who contributed to the image of Hollywood glamour during the '30's and '40's.

* Benny Chan - born Benny Chan Muk-Sing on 7th October 1961, died 23rd August 2020, aged 58. Chan was a Hong Kong Director, Producer and Writer who throughout his three decade career amassed twenty-six Directing credits, twenty-five as Producer and ten as Writer. His Directorial debut came in the TV show 'The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain' of which he Directed thirty-seven of its forty episodes and wrote the screenplay for all forty episodes in 1985. His first big screen debut came in 1990 with 'A Moment of Romance' which he followed up in 1993 with 'A Moment of Romance II' and then came 'Big Bullet' in 1996 and in 1998 his first collaboration with Hong Kong martial arts action star Jackie Chan in 'Who Am I?'. His other outings with Jackie Chan were 2004's 'New Police Story' which picked up seven award wins and another twenty-two nods from around the awards and festivals circuit, then 'Rob-B-Hood' in 2006 and 'Shaolin' in 2011. In the meantime, some of his other works included 'Gen-X Cops' in 1999 and its follow up in 2000 'Gen-Y Cops' with Paul Rudd and Maggie Q, 'Heroic Duo' in 2003, 'Invisible Target' in 2007, 'City Under Siege' in 2010, 'The White Storm' in 2013, 'Call of Heroes' in 2016, and currently in post-production at the time of his death 'Raging Fire' with Donnie Yen. Chan won two awards and eleven other nominations during his career.

* Lori Nelson - born Dixie Kay Nelson on 15th August 1933, died 23rd August 2020, aged 87. Nelson was an American Actress and model who was most active during the 1950's and '60's. Throughout her career she amassed forty-three screen acting credits beginning with a role in the 1952 Western 'Bend of the River' with James Stewart and Rock Hudson. That same year she appeared in 'Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair' as Rosie Kettle - a role she would reprise a year later in 'Ma and Pa Kettle go to Waikiki'. She would follow this up with other features including 'The All American' with Tony Curtis, 'Tumbleweed' and 'Destry' both with Audie Murphy, then 'Underwater!' with Jane Russell, 'I Died a Thousand Times' with Jack Palance, 'Pardners' with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis with the low budget Sci-Fi horror 'The Naked Monster' being her final screen appearance in 2005. Meanwhile, she made appearances on TV series mostly through the late '50's and early '60's on thirty-nine episodes of 'How to Marry a Millionaire' from 1957 through 1958 and then 'Wanted : Dead or Alive', 'The Texan', 'Wagon Train', 'Sugarfoot', 'Tales of Wells Fargo', 'Laramie', 'Whispering Smith' and on two episodes of 'Armstrong Circle Theatre' being her final screen appearance in 1961 until a single episode on 'Family Affair' in 1971, and then nothing until 1991's 'Black Gaucho', 'Secret Sins of the Father' in 1994 and 'Mom, Can I Keep Her?' in 1998.

* Caesar Cordova - born 16th May 1936, died 26th August 2020, aged 84. Cordova was an American Actor of film and television born in Puerto Rico, who accumulated just seventeen screen acting credits to his name in a career spanning twenty years form 1973 to 1993. His first on screen role came with the TV series 'Toma' in 1973 on a single episode before his first feature film 'Shark's Treasure' in 1975 with Yaphet Kotto. His following big screen roles over the years took in 'Death on Credit' in 1980, 'Where the Buffalo Roam' that same year with Bill Murray, 'Cutter's Way' in 1981 with Jeff Bridges, 'Nighthawks' also in 1981 with Sylvester Stallone, 'Scarface' in 1983 with Al Pacino, and then 'Carlito's Way' with Al Pacino again in 1993 which was to be his final screen appearance. In the meantime they were roles on 'Baretta', 'Kojak', 'Police Woman', 'The A-Team', and 'Cagney & Lacey'.

* David S. Cass Snr. - born sometime in 1942, died 27th August 2020, aged 78. Cass was an American Actor, Stuntman, Director, Writer and occasional Producer who amassed ninety-four screen acting credits, seventy-eight stuntwork credits, forty-two as Director, six as Writer and four as Producer throughout his career which began as an extra on a single episode of 'Wagon Train' in 1965. His first big screen outing came in 1970 in 'Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came' followed by 'Dirty Dingus Magee' with Frank Sinatra, then 'Enter the Devil', 'Earthquake' with Charlton Heston in 1974, 'Two-Minute Warning' with Charlton Heston again in 1976, 'The Island of Dr. Moreau' with Burt Lancaster in 1977, 'The Goodbye Girl' with Richard Dreyfus that same year, 'Heaven's Gate' in 1980 with Kris Kristofferson, 'Tron' in 1982 with Jeff Bridges, 'Smokey and the Bandit Part 3' and 'Best Seller' in 1987 with James Woods being his last feature film appearance. In the intervening years there were numerous TV movies which he Directed, and appeared in, and TV series too including 'The Wild Wild West', 'The High Chaparral', 'Bonanza', 'Mission : Impossible', 'The F.B.I.', 'Gunsmoke', 'The Waltons', 'Police Woman', 'Starsky and Hutch', 'The Six Million Dollar Man', 'The Bionic Woman', 'Wonder Woman', 'Centennial', 'The Rockford Files', 'Benson', 'Fantasy Island', 'Knight Rider', 'Magnum P.I', 'Simon & Simon' with TV movies 'Hard Ground', 'Family Plan' and 'Mystery Woman : Oh Baby' being his final three screen roles coming in 2003, 2005 and 2006 respectively. His first foray into Directing came in 1999, which Cass concentrated on after his acting stint, with a prolific output in the first decade of the 21st Century and which did not let up until 'Happily Never After' in 2017 and the short film 'Sisters' in 2018.

* Chadwick Boseman - born 29th November 1976, died 28th August 2020, aged 43. Boseman was an American Actor, Producer, and the Director of two short films in 2008 and 2012. Wanting to originally write and Direct, he began to study acting to learn how to relate to actors, and in 2008 relocated himself from Brooklyn to Los Angeles to take up a career as an Actor. During his short yet distinguished career he accumulated thirty-five screen acting credits launching proper in 2003 on an episode of 'Third Watch'. His first big screen role came in the 2008 sports biographical film 'The Express' which was followed up by top billing in 2012's 'The Kill Hole', and then perhaps his breakout starring role as Jackie Robinson, the first African-American major league baseball player of the modern era, in the 2013 historical sports biopic '42' with Harrison Ford. Another sporting themed film followed in 2014 with 'Draft Day' with Kevin Costner, and then the biographical film in which he portrayed Rock 'n' Roll music legend James Brown in 'Get on Up' also in 2014. 'Gods of Egypt' came next, then his first outing as T'Challa the King of Wakanda (aka Black Panther) in the Marvel film 'Captain America : Civil War', a role he would reprise in the hugely successful standalone MCU film 'Black Panther' in 2018 and then again 'Avengers : Infinity War' that same year and in the even more successful and critical lauded 'Avengers : Endgame' in 2019. There has also been 'Message from the King' in 2016, 'Marshall' in 2017, '21 Bridges' in 2019, 'Da 5 Bloods' for Spike Lee earlier this year, with 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' recently completed but yet to be released on Netflix, 'Yasuke' in pre-production and the Marvel Studio's animated series 'What If . . . ?' to which Boseman lent his voice talents as Black Panther and due for release in 2021. Early on his career he also appeared in a handful of TV series including 'Law & Order', 'CSI : NY', 'ER', 'Cold Case', on nine episodes of 'Lincoln Heights' and on thirteen episodes of 'Persons Unknown' amongst others. He collected ten award wins and a further thirty nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. Boseman tragically died from complications from stage III Colon Cancer which he had been secretly battling for four years, and which earlier this year had progressed to stage IV.

* Norm Spencer - born 23rd February 1958, died 31st August 2020, aged 62. Spencer was a Canadian Actor and Voice Actor of film and television who notched up thirty screen acting roles throughout his career beginning with his voice work on 'Babar : The Movie' in 1989. For the following five years he had roles in live action TV series including 'E.N.G.', 'Top Cops', 'Katts and Dog' and 'Forever Knight' before landing perhaps his most well known voice role as Cyclops in the video game 'X-Men : Children of the Atom'. This was to be his signature role which he would reprise over the following years on the animated series of 'Spider-Man', 'X-Men vs. Street Fighter', then on sixty-eight episodes of 'X-Men', and on the video games 'Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter' and 'Marvel vs. Capcom 2 : New Age of Heroes'. In between time there were further live action roles on 'Due South', 'Earth : Final Conflict', 'Relic Hunter', 'Bait', 'Cradle of Lies', and on seven episodes of 'Majority Rules!' His final voice acting work was on thirty-two episodes of the animated series 'Rescue Heroes' closing out in 2013 but not before lending his voice talents also to the animated series 'The Busy World of Richard Scarry', 'Silver Surfer', 'The Dumb Bunnies' and the animated feature 'Rescue Heroes : The Movie'.

Seventeen deaths reported this month from the film and television community at large, and that community is just a little bit poorer as a result. As some governments the world over are easing up on their COVID-19 restrictions, others are enforcing further stages of lockdowns because of a second wave in cases, remember the basic principles still being advocated - maintain a safe distance, hand hygiene and wear a mask if you are unable to maintain a safe distance especially - together we can all beat this thing. Stay safe and remain healthy.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-