Backlots Posted by Lara on April 14, 2019

As any longtime festival attendee knows, a seat at one of the pre-code films at the TCM Classic Film Festival is akin to a ticket for the hottest show in town. Passholders line up hours in advance, hoping to secure a good line number–if they’re lucky and get there early...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on April 12, 2019

From the start, day 1 of the TCMFF was the one I was most excited about. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Jacques Demy’s beautiful Technicolor tribute to the Hollywood musical, is one of my all-time favorite films–one whose complete score I have downloaded in my iTunes. As all dialogue is s   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on April 2, 2019

Dear readers, it is quite hard to believe that the TCM Classic Film Festival is just over a week away. Like other festival attendees, I have been busy creating my festival itinerary, doing my yearly grumble over time slot conflicts, and comparing overlaps with my friends’ schedules. I thought   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on March 10, 2019

It’s getting to be that time of year again–when film fans from around the globe descend on Hollywood Boulevard to attend the TCM Classic Film Festival, a classic Hollywood celebration of epic proportions. This will be the 10th year of this highly anticipated festival, held between Apri   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on February 14, 2019

Two weekends ago, I braved rainy San Francisco weather and a quickly dying cell phone to attend Noir City 17’s presentation of À Bout de souffle, also known by its English title as Breathless. Jean-Luc Godard’s masterpiece of New Wave cinema, it is widely credited as having invented th   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on January 13, 2019

When we speak of “lost films,” we never mean really lost. The significance of that phrase is to say that no copies are known to have been preserved in any archive , museum, or collection–and thus, the film in question hasn’t been seen publicly since around the time of its...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on January 7, 2019

I received confirmation this morning from Olivia de Havilland’s counsel, Suzelle Smith, that the Supreme Court has declined to hear the case of Havilland v FX, Olivia de Havilland’s petition to the court to hear her case against FX. It is a disappointing decision, but de Havilland has   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on January 4, 2019

Hello readers, just a very quick update for those following the Olivia de Havilland case. Today, the Supreme Court is expected to decide whether or not they will take up her petition. If you would like to follow the case on the SCOTUS blog, here is the link to the...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on December 27, 2018

When I first heard that there would be another Mary Poppins movie made in 2018, I wasn’t sure what to think. Being a lifelong devotee of the original film, I was hard-pressed to imagine anyone who could fill the gigantic shoes of Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, or if...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on December 18, 2018

Apologies for the delayed post, readers. Holidays and other necessities of living have gotten in the way of a timely posting since the California wildfires of early November. We’re still recovering as a state but the good news is that we’ve had some rain, the smoke has cleared, and t   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on November 10, 2018

Image of the Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles, courtesy of ABC7 New York As I write this post, I’m looking out the window into a haze of smoke, blowing down to the Bay Area from the Camp Fire in Chico. California is fighting several severe wildfires right now, and as...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on October 21, 2018

Hello dear readers, Just a quick note to let you know that Backlots’ coverage of Olivia de Havilland vs. FX won the CMBA Award in the category of Best Classic Movie Series. It has been a marvelous run–and it’s not over yet! Stay tuned for more coverage as we wait...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on October 8, 2018

Each year in September, the Classic Movie Blog Association gives out awards for standout classic movie writing online during the past year. I’m happy to say that this year, Backlots is nominated for three CMBA awards–one for “Standing Up for What’s Right: The Friendship of   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on October 3, 2018

Hello dear readers, the month of September seemed to whiz by so quickly that Backlots went without an update. But here we are at the beginning of October and I’m here to report that we have movement on the Olivia de Havilland case. De Havilland’s lawyer, Suzelle Smith, has informed...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on August 27, 2018

Armed with the rejection of the California Supreme Court in her case against FX, Olivia de Havilland is to file her case with the United States Supreme Court this September. This is a huge undertaking, and while the SCOTUS only takes a small fraction of the thousands of cases filed...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on August 1, 2018

This morning while checking in with mutual friends, I was sad to hear that Mary Carlisle, one of the last remaining stars of the 1930s, died today at the age of 104. She lived at the Motion Picture & Television Fund home in Woodland Hills, and to her very last...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on July 13, 2018

Dear readers, I’ve been waiting to post about this until I got details from Olivia de Havilland’s lawyer regarding next steps, but a few days ago we got word that the California Supreme Court has declined to review de Havilland’s case against FX. For those of us who have been...   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on July 5, 2018

A few days ago, Scarlett Johansson was announced as the lead in a new movie called Rub & Tug about Dante “Tex” Gill, a transgender man who owned a massage parlor and became involved in mob crime. The casting has generated an angry buzz, only heightened by a Johansson rep’s rep   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on June 25, 2018

In response to Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ ousting from the Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington, VA on Friday, I wrote a tweet detailing one of my favorite Hollywood stories about standing up for core principles and values. To my great pleasure and surprise, the tweet has gone legitimately viral. Re   read more

Backlots Posted by Lara on June 22, 2018

Dear readers, if you’re at all like me, you’ve been having a hard time with the news lately. Unimaginable things are happening in this country and the world, and in our current digital landscape, there seems to be no escape. Each day we’re bombarded with images, sounds, and feelin   read more