On this day in movie history - The Disaster Artist (2017 movie & book):

The Disaster Artist

directed James Franco,

written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber,

was released in the United States on December 8, 2017.
Based on the book The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell.
Music by Dave Porter.

Cast:

James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Ari Graynor, Alison Brie, Jacki Weaver, Paul Scheer, Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson, June Diane Raphael, Megan Mullally, Jason Mantzoukas, Andrew Santino, Nathan Fielder, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith, Hannibal Buress, Bob Odenkirk, James Dean, Judd Apatow, Kristen Bell, Ike Barinholtz, Adam Scott, Kevin Smith, Keegan-Michael Key, Lizzy Caplan, Danny McBride, Zach Braff, J. J. Abrams, John Early, Joe Mande, Charlyne Yi, Kelly Oxford, Tom Franco, Zoey Deutch, Sugar Lyn Beard, Brian Huskey, Randall Park, Jerrod Carmichael, Casey Wilson, Lauren Ash, Angelyne, Bryan Cranston, Greg Sestero, Tommy Wiseau.

Recommended reading:

The Disaster Artist

My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made

By Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell.

Published by Simon & Schuster.

Published 2013.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 1451661193

ISBN-13: 978-1451661194

Description:

From the actor who lived through it all and an award-winning narrative nonfiction writer: the inspiring and laugh-out-loud funny story of a mysteriously wealthy social misfit who got past every road block in the Hollywood system to achieve success on his own terms – the making of The Room, “the Citizen Kane of bad movies.” – Entertainment Weekly.

The hilarious and inspiring story of how a mysterious misfit got past every roadblock in the Hollywood system to achieve success on his own terms: a $6 million cinematic catastrophe called The Room.

Nineteen-year-old Greg Sestero met Tommy Wiseau at an acting school in San Francisco. Wiseau’s scenes were rivetingly wrong, yet Sestero, hypnotized by such uninhibited acting, thought, “I have to do a scene with this guy.” That impulse changed both of their lives. Wiseau seemed never to have read the rule book on interpersonal relationships (or the instructions on a bottle of black hair dye), yet he generously offered to put the aspiring actor up in his LA apartment. Sestero’s nascent acting career first sizzled, then fizzled, resulting in Wiseau’s last-second offer to Sestero of costarring with him in The Room, a movie Wiseau wrote and planned to finance, produce, and direct – in the parking lot of a Hollywood equipment-rental shop.

Wiseau spent $6 million of his own money on his film, but despite the efforts of the disbelieving (and frequently fired) crew and embarrassed (and frequently fired) actors, the movie made no sense. Nevertheless, Wiseau rented a Hollywood billboard featuring his alarming headshot and staged a red carpet premiere. The Room made $1800 at the box office and closed after two weeks. One reviewer said that watching The Room was like “getting stabbed in the head.”

The Disaster Artist is Greg Sestero’s laugh-out-loud funny account of how Tommy Wiseau defied every law of artistry, business, and friendship to make “the Citizen Kane of bad movies” (Entertainment Weekly), which is now an international phenomenon, with Wiseau himself beloved as an oddball celebrity. Written with award-winning journalist Tom Bissell, The Disaster Artist is an inspiring tour de force that reads like a page-turning novel, an open-hearted portrait of an enigmatic man who will improbably capture your heart.

On this day in television history - Bonnie & Clyde (2013):

Bonnie & Clyde

a two-part miniseries directed by Bruce Beresford,

written by John Rice and Joe Batteer,

was released in the United States on December 8 – 9, 2013.
Based on the true 1934 Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow case.
Theme music by John Debney.

Cast:

Emile Hirsch, Holliday Grainger, Lane Garrison, Sarah Hyland, Holly Hunter, William Hurt, Austin Hebert, Elizabeth Reaser, Desmond Phillips, Aaron Jay Rome, Garrett Kruithof, Jonathan Vane.

On this day in movie history - 12 Monkeys (1995):

12 Monkeys

directed by Terry Gilliam,

written by David Peoples and Janet Peoples,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1995.
Inspired by the short movie La Jetée (1962), directed by Chris Marker.
Music by Paul Buckmaster.

Cast:

Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, David Morse, Christopher Plummer, Jon Seda, Christopher Meloni, Michael Chance, Vernon Campbell, H. Michael Walls, Bob Adrian, Simon Jones, Carol Florence, Bill Raymond, Ernest Abuba, Irma St. Paule, Joseph Melito, Bruce Kirkpatrick, Wilfred Williams, Rozwill Young, Nell Johnson, Frederick Strother, Rick Warner, Frank Gorshin, Anthony 'Chip' Brienza, Joilet Harris, Drucie McDaniel, John Blaisse, Louis Lippa, Stan Kang, Pat Dias, Aaron Michael Lacey, Charles Techman, Jann Ellis, Johnnie Hobbs Jr., Janet Zappala, Thomas Roy, Harry O'Toole, Korchenko, Chuck Jeffreys, LisaGay Hamilton, Felix Pire, Matt Ross, Barry Price, John Panzarella, Larry Daly, Arthur Fennell, Karl Warren, Paul Meshejian, Robert O'Neill, Kevin Thigpen, Lee Golden, Joseph McKenna, Jeff Tanner, Faith Potts, Michael Ryan Segal, Annie Golden, Lisa Talerico, Stephen Bridgewater, Ray Huffman, Jodi Dawson, Jack Dougherty, Lenny Daniels, Herbert C. Hauls Jr., Charley Scalies, Carolyn Walker, Tiffany Baldwin, Bart the Bear, Al Brown, C.J. Byrnes, Phillip V. Caruso, Tom Detrik, Donald Faison, Kelly Farnan, Joe Gerety, Laura Glas, Robert Gleason, John Hagy, Adam Hatley, Bonnie Love, Julie Mabry, Raymond Mamrak, Sal Mazzotta, Roger Pratt, Allelon Ruggiero, Renee Spei, Richard Stanley, Thang, Ruth Leon Weiman, Susan Wool-Rush.

On this day in movie history - Sudden Impact (1983):

Sudden Impact

directed Clint Eastwood,

written by Joseph Stinson,

based on a story by Earl E. Smith, Charles B. Pierce, Chuck Pfarrer and Dean Riesner,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1983.
Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Cast:

Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, Bradford Dillman, Paul Drake, Audrie Neenan, Jack Thibeau, Michael Currie, Albert Popwell, Mark Keyloun, Kevyn Major Howard, Bette Ford, Nancy Parsons, Joe Bellan, Wendell Wellman, Mara Corday, Russ McCubbin, Robert Sutton, Nancy Fish, Carmen Argenziano, Lisa Britt, Bill Reddick, Lois De Banzie, Matthew Child, Mike Johnson, Nick Dimitri, Michael Maurer, Pat DuVal, Christian Phillips, Steven Kravitz, Dennis Royston, Melvin Thompson, Jophery C. Brown, William Upton, Lloyd Nelson, Christopher Pray, James McEachin, Maria Lynch, Ken Lee, Morgan Upton, John X. Heart, David Gonzales, Albert Martinez, David Rivers, Robert Rivers, Harry Demopoulos, Lisa London, Tom Spratley, Eileen Wiggins, John Nowak, John Bleifer, Cynthia Brian, Christine Card, Michael V. Gazzo, Conrad Hurtt, Camryn Manheim, Dihlon McManne, Meathead (the dog).

On this day in movie history - 48 Hrs. (1982):

48 Hours

directed Walter Hill,

written by Roger Spottiswoode, Walter Hill, Larry Gross and Steven E. de Souza,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1982.
Music by James Horner.

Cast:

Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Sonny Landham, Brion James, Kerry Sherman, Jonathan Banks, James Keane, Tara King, Greta Blackburn, Margot Rose, Denise Crosby, Olivia Brown, Todd Allen, Bill Dearth, Ned Dowd, Jim Haynie, Jack Thibeau, Jon St. Elwood, Clare Torao, Sandy Martin, Matt Landers, Peter Jason, Bill Cross, Chris Mulkey, Marcelino Sánchez, Bennie E. Dobbins, Walter Scott, W.T. Zacha, Begonya Plaza, Loyd Catlett, B.G. Fisher, Reid Cruickshanks, R.D. Call, Brenda Venus, Gloria Gifford, Nick Dimitri, John Dennis Johnston, Rock A. Walker, Dave Moordigian, J. Wesley Huston, Gary Pettinger, Marquerita Wallace, Angela Robinson Witherspoon, Jack Lightsy, John Hauk, Bob Yanez, Clint Smith, Luis Contreras, Suzanne M. Regard, Ola Ray, Bjaye Turner, The Bus Boys, Larry Clardy, Robert Cole, Steven G. Felix, Fritz Ford, Bob Harks, Vic Johnson, Michael D. Jones, David LeBell, Gus Loundermon, Brian O'Neal, Kevin O'Neal, Erika Pearson, Tony Roque, Richard Wakasa.

On this day in movie history - The Brink’s Job (1978 movie & book):

The Brink’s Job

directed William Friedkin,

written by Walon Green,

based on the book Big Stick-Up at Brinks by Noel Behn,

was released in the United States on December 8, 1978.
Music by Richard Rodney Bennett.

Cast:

Peter Falk, Peter Boyle, Allen Garfield, Warren Oates, Gena Rowlands, Paul Sorvino, Sheldon Leonard, Gerard Murphy, Kevin O'Connor, Claudia Peluso, Patrick Hines, Malachy McCourt, Walter Klavun, Randy Jurgensen, John Brandon, Robert Prosky.

Recommended reading:

Big Stick-Up at Brinks

By Noel Behn.

First published 1976.

Published by Putnam.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0399118977

ISBN-13: 978-0399118975

Description:

A riveting and frequently hilarious insider account of one of the twentieth century’s most outrageous capers.

On the evening of January 17, 1950, armed robbers wearing Captain Marvel masks entered the Brink’s Armored Car building in Boston, Massachusetts. They walked out less than an hour later with more than $2.7 million in cash and securities. It was a brazen and expertly executed theft that captured the imaginations of millions of Americans and baffled the FBI and local law enforcement officials.

But what appeared on the surface to be the perfect crime was, in fact, the end result of a mind-boggling series of mistakes, miscalculations, and missteps. The men behind the masks were not expert bank robbers but a motley crew of small-time crooks who bumbled their way into a record-breaking payday and managed to elude the long arm of the law for six years.

New York Times bestselling author Noel Behn tape-recorded nearly one thousand hours of interviews with the surviving robbers, including motormouthed mastermind Tony Pino, a character so colorful he might have been dreamed up by a Hollywood screenwriter, to tell the uncensored story of the heist forever known as “the Great Brink’s Robbery.” Fun and suspenseful from first page to last, Behn’s true-crime classic was the basis for The Brink’s Job (1978), the Academy Award–nominated film directed by William Friedkin and starring Peter Falk and Peter Boyle.

“It had me riveted with suspense, but it also made me laugh until I got hiccups.” – Cosmopolitan.

“A King Kong of crime entertainment . . . that no movie could match . . . The Brink’s job [was] a kind of D-Day event in the annals of crime . . . Glorious.” – Kirkus Reviews.

“One minute you’re laughing your head off. The next minute you chill with fear. Crooks and crime at their best. Pure magic!” – Harold Robbins.

“The best book about criminals ever written, a rich and beautiful depiction of their lives as well as their work, a book that elevates them from moving-picture types to complete, vivid humans. Noel Behn has taken one of the most extraordinary crimes of the century and turned it into a living tapestry. It’s a wonderful book.” – Paddy Chayefsky, Academy Award–winning screenwriter of Network.

“Reads like a Hollywood screenplay, except that it really happened.” – John Barkham Reviews.

On this day in music history - Hotel California, by the Eagles (1976):

Hotel California

Album by the Eagles,

released December 8, 1976.

Track list:

Hotel California; New Kid in Town, Life in the Fast Lane; Wasted Time; Wasted Time; Victim of Love; Pretty Maids All in a Row; Try and Love Again; The Last Resort.