The adventures of Conan the Barbarian are not, in their purest form, for children. Created by pulp author Robert E. Howard in 1932, the Cimmerian warrior inhabits a cruel world ruled by those who are handiest with a sword or endowed with the power of sorcery. Though Conan is uncommonly chivalric, he is utterly ruthless in combat — and Howard's battle scenes are described in invigoratingly vicious detail. There are impalements and beheadings and wholesale eviscerations. There are also orgies and elements of bondage. But the presence of wizards and dragons and all kinds of nasty monsters means Conan's tales are catnip for kids.

There have been efforts to tone down the sex and violence of Conan's tales, but they are essential to his appeal. Howard wrote with a boundless fury; he roared and raged as he bashed away at his typewriter. The savagery is the point. If you want sanitized, kid-friendly fantasy,...

This year there isn’t as much overlap between the Independent Spirit Awards and the Oscars as usual, but there is one actor nominated at both events: Renee Zellweger (“Judy”). She’s the front-runner to win both awards, so she’ll need two more acceptance speeches this weekend. Though she’s already an Oscar winner, this would actually be her first Spirit Award victory; she was previously nominated for “Love and a .45” (1994) and “The Whole Wide World” (1996) years before the Oscars first gave her the time of day.

SEERenee Zellweger movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best

Zellweger gets leading 17/5 odds of winning Best Female Lead at the Spirit Awards for her role as tragic Hollywood icon Judy Garland. That’s based on the combined predictions of thousands of Gold Derby users, including most of the Expert journalists we’ve surveyed from top media outlets as of this writing,...

Toni Cornell is putting her sorrow into words.

The 12-year-old daughter of late Soundgarden frontman, Chris Cornell, shared a moving letter on the rock legend's Facebook on Monday, reflecting on her first Father's Day without her dad.

"Let me start by saying how much I love you and how much you mean to me," the note reads. "Whenever I cry or feel like there’s no way I can go on, I hear your voice, 'Don’t sit worrying peanut. Worry is a waste of time, I’m Ok.'"

Watch: Chris Cornell's 'Heartbroken' Brother Shares Childhood Photo: 'It Really Hit Me How He Belonged to the World'

"I always took what you said to heart. Probably because everything you said was so smart," Toni continues. "Every time you came home from tour you spent all your hours with us. No matter how tired you were, how many time zones you traveled, you were there...

Chris Cornell‘s legacy is living on in his children.

On Monday, the late Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman’s Facebook page shared letters written to Cornell from daughters Toni, 12, and Lillian Jean, 17 this month, plus wife Vicky, in observance of Father’s Day — a month after the singer’s death by suicide at age 52.

“Let me start by saying how much I love you and how much you mean to me,” begins Toni’s letter, accompanied by a photo collage of herself with Cornell through the years. “You are my idol, someone I’ve always looked up to. You were always there for me.

The inaugural Dan Ireland Award, a juried cash prize of $3,000 for the director of the best film in the Louisiana International Film Festival’s New Visions / New Voices Category is sponsored by Winifred and Kevin Reilly, Jr., Renee Zellweger, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dennis Yares and Greg Kachel.

In addition to his long career as a director, teacher and co-founder of the Seattle International Film Festival, Dan Ireland served as the Artistic Director of Liff until his untimely death on April 14, 2016. The Dan Ireland Award was created in order to commemorate his dedication to new talent, storytellers and visionaries.Speaking at the Dan Ireland Award Ceremony, Chesley Heymsfield, Executive Director of Liff, said about Dan, “It was very hard for our entire team because when you work at an organization like this which is a grassroots community built organization to support local people, you become like family and it was very...

Dan and I were friendly competitors in the early days of video acquisitions. He was at Vestron, the first home video company whose deal with Time Life brought the industry into the mainstream. When he bought "Dirty Dancing", the video technology came into its own. I was at Lorimar Home Video and my earliest acquisition, "My Beautiful Laundrette" premiered at the Seattle Film Festival, the festival he had founded with Darryl McDonald (but was not running then as he had moved on to Vestron). We have stayed friends over these many years and I will always be beholden to Dan Ireland. A good man and all of his many friends already miss him!

He was supposed to be at Louisiana International Film Festival which he coprogrammed with Ian Birnie who just wrote in:

"In total shock. But almost no time to process. I am at Louisiana Ff. Dan was supposed to fly down with me but was feeling sick on Monday and thinking of cancelling. I called Tuesday and never heard back, so flew down solo, and was surprised to learn at the Opening Night on Thursday that no one at the fest had heard from him. Got the news in the middle of the night on Thursday...It would appear he had a stroke late Monday or early Tuesday. Will try to write some kind of tribute but am being pulled in 100 directions. Sorry I couldn't tell him that attendance has doubled this year, screenings are selling out, there is real energy. He is greatly missed in Louisiana today."

Ireland worked as an acquisitions executive, co-founded the renowned Seattle Film Festival, and directed films such as "The Whole Wide World," The Velocity of Gray," and "Jolene."

Here are some of the reactions from people who knew and worked with Dan Ireland over the years:

From Tim Ireland:

To all Dan's friends,

With great shock and sadness, Mike Ireland, Judy, and I must tell you that we have lost our "Hollywood" star. Dan passed away suddenly from natural causes on April 14. We found out just a few short hours ago, so details are sparse at the moment. We know the great multitude of Dan's friends will want to know this sorrowful news as soon as possible; and to all those in Los Angeles especially, we will appreciate your help and input in the coming days.

Ira Deutchman: If you haven’t heard, Dan Ireland has died. He was one of us.

Darryl Macdonald: Dan and I were emotional and intellectual SiameseTwins for most of our lives. We used to sneak out of classes in grade 7 to watch movies together, then came back together as best friends when he moved back to Vancouver in the early 70s and we ran into each other in a bar. We moved to Seattle together to refurbish and open the Moore Egyptian in 1975 and started Siff in 1976. The truth is that Dan's boundless ambition, dedication to talent, refusal to take 'no' for an answer and ability to bring anyone 'outside the fold' on-side is what made our success possible. Though our professional paths diverged somewhat a decade later when he moved to L.A. to pursue his real passion - making great movies - we were never less than cosmic lovers, and remained as close as close can be for the next 30 years. His legacy - best exemplified by his body of work and the enduring love of his huge circle of friends, is a testament to the unique sensibility and incredibly positive energy Dan brought to everything in his life. But that's not what I will miss forever - as rare a trait as that constant positive energy is. It's that positivity, and Dan's unique, twisted sense of humor I will forever miss. Nobody on earth will ever take his place where either of those elements are concerned. I'll miss him madly, and pray he has access to making the movies he cares about in Heaven.

Jeff Dowd: Kindly Please Share Widely. Rip Dan Ireland. Dan was and will eternally be one of the leads in so many people's personal “It's a Wonderful Life”--he touched and helped so many people in so many ways. I just wrote a lot about Dan recently in one of Our Classic Tales Episodes. If you email me at jeffdowd6[At] gmail.com with Dan in the subject line I will send you a rough draft with some Dan Classic Tales some time soon. If you want to talk about Dan please feel free to call me. Lotsa of love to everyone--and never forget that one of Dan's great attributes was his sense of humor and his laugh which you are all hearing now. Have a laugh for Daaaaaan!

Diane Slattery: Heartbroken... longtime friend from Vestron days. Please keep us posted on what we can do and greatest sympathies to his sister and all close to him.

Karen Roberts: Beautiful soul, handsome man, good friend to many - this is such a terrible loss for all who had the good fortune to know him - way too soon, very sad news. Please let me know how I can help - please let me know of any arrangements to remember him with others. Tears...

Temi Lopez: Dan is one of my closest friends ever... I'm devastated...will miss his warmth, his smile, his lovely voice... I love you Dan and always will.

Dan Ireland, director of The Whole Wide World and Jolene, has died at 57. Ireland, who also cofounded the Seattle International Film Festival in 1975, died Thursday at his Los Angeles home, his manager, Paul Nelson, tells People. While the cause of death remains unclear, Nelson confirms Ireland had recently been suffering from flu-like symptoms. His directorial debut, The Whole Wide World (1996), helped launch the career of his lead actress, Renée Zellweger. Ireland also directed Jessica Chastain in her film debut in 2008's Jolene, in which she played an orphan who spends a decade exploring the country. Chastain took to Twitter on Friday to express her condolences,...

Dan Ireland, director of The Whole Wide World and Jolene, has died at 57. Ireland, who also cofounded the Seattle International Film Festival in 1975, died Thursday at his Los Angeles home, his manager, Paul Nelson, tells People. While the cause of death remains unclear, Nelson confirms Ireland had recently been suffering from flu-like symptoms. His directorial debut, The Whole Wide World (1996), helped launch the career of his lead actress, Renée Zellweger. Ireland also directed Jessica Chastain in her film debut in 2008's Jolene, in which she played an orphan who spends a decade exploring the country. Chastain took to Twitter on Friday to express her condolences,...

Dan Ireland, a director and producer best known for “Jolene” and “The Whole Wide World,” died Thursday. He was 57. Ireland (above in 2003) was also the co-founder of the Seattle International Film Festival, which he ran with Darryl Macdonald from 1975 to 1986. His manager, Paul Nelson of Mosaic, confirmed Ireland’s death to TheWrap on Friday. “I don’t know what happened. I heard that he got the flu and then maybe pneumonia,” Nelson said. “He died in his kitchen” of his Los Angeles home. Also Read: David Gest, Music Producer and Ex-Husband of Liza Minnelli, Dies at 62 Ireland made his debut...

Dan Ireland, the producer and director who bolstered the careers of Rene Zellweger and Jessica Chastain when he guided the actresses in The Whole Wide World and Jolene, respectively, has died. He was 57. Ireland, who co-founded the Seattle International Film Festival in 1975 and ran the event through 1986, died Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, his manager, Paul Nelson at Mosaic, told The Hollywood Reporter. Nelson said that Ireland recently had been suffering with flu-like symptoms. Ireland made his directing debut with the 1930s Texas-set drama The Whole Wide World (1996), starring Zellweger as a

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The 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act is this July 2nd, two days before Independence Day commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence of the United States of America from the Kingdom of Great Britain (now officially known as the United Kingdom).

As an independent nation we went our own way even when The Slavery Abolition Act throughout the British Colonies was passed in 1833. Cynically one might say their act was motivated less by altruism than by what had become political and economic realities. However, the abolitionists on both sides of the sea saw it the same way that those of us with eyes are seeing the issues of economic inequality today. It is immoral and unjust that one human should own another, whether in slavery, in economic servitude or in sexual servitude.

However, fifty years ago, such unequal and inhuman treatment of fellow human beings was still being justified and upheld by a powerful elite, and it took almost super-human fortitude for those opposed to persevere to break the stranglehold of that group. As a young girl, a “Freedom Rider” came and spoke to my class at Temple Isaiah Religious School in West L.A. and I was inspired to do all I could for the ongoing fight for civil rights, which of course changed the world for everyone – from it came “women’s lib” and Glbt’s fight for equality (Stonewall was 40 years ago June 29). And yet, the economically poor African American and Latino populations are still objects of discrimination today. The repeal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the South freeing nine states, mostly in the South, to change their election laws without advance federal approval is seeing discrimination at the polls reasserting itself.

This January when I saw “Freedom Summer” directed by Stanley Nelson in Sundance, I felt inspired once again to do something!

But, all I can do is write and so I take pen to hand and invite others to be aware and to act wherever they are.

At the 2nd Louisiana International Film Festival this spring, “Freedom Summer” won the Best Documentary Award and it will open in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.

The Louisiana Ff parenthetically has two cineastes, well-known to all of us film folks, as Artistic Directors: Jeff “The Dude” Dowd and Dan Ireland.

Read: New Louisiana Film Festival to Launch With Dan Ireland & Jeff "The Dude" Dowd as Artistic Directors

Jeff could be subject of a book, but for now, suffice it to say Jeff Dowd ("Zebrahead") is famously the inspiration for the Dude in the Coen Bros.' "The Big Lebowski,"

Dan Ireland on the other hand, is the subject of this blog because he has done something beyond just showing a great film. Dan, a man of action, also co-founded the Seattle Film Festival with Darryl MacDonald who is Director of the Palm Springs Int’l Film Festival. The Seattle Film Festival just had its own anniversary of 40 years and it featured a retrospective of some of Dan’s 22 films which he has exec produced, produced or directed.

And now, he has produced a new film, a short film called “Hate From A Distance” which will be the center piece of a special event this Wednesday, July 2nd, on the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at The Museum of Tolerance in Beverly Hills

The film is an adaptation of a short story inspired by Civil Rights in America, set in Savannah, Georgia in 1963, told through the innocent eyes of an eleven-year old boy who is witness to the bitterness and hatred his father has for an African American dairy farmer living on the other side of a fence, separating physically and racially the very state of America during a most disgraceful and turbulent period in history.

The film was made and dedicated to the memory of and the 50th anniversary of The Civil Rights Act and as a voice that though we live by the Act, there is so much more that needs to be done to establish unity and equal rights in this country and the world.

Seen through the innocent eyes of eleven-year-old Danny Baker, racial tensions run rampant and deep in 1963 rural Georgia. Danny’s father Ned and neighbor Clyde Fellow, once childhood friends, are now divided over a land dispute in an era of inequality. Ned’s escalating anger, fueled by his own distorted righteousness, ultimately destroys his family and tears the community apart.

“ Hate from a Distance” reflects the injustices of a painful chapter of American history while honoring and 50th anniversary (July 2, 1964) of the Civil Rights Act abolishing segregation.

The film had its world premiere Saturday June 7th in a retrospective of Dan's history with “The Whole Wide World”, at Seattle Int’l Film Festival.

It will show again this Wednesday at The Museum of Tolerance in Beverly Hills. The 19 minute screening will be followed by an introduction of the cast and a brief panel discussion and audience Q&A with Dr. Robert and Helen Singleton, Freedom Riders, activists and educators, Dr. Max Felker-Kantor, USC graduate with PhD in History (emphasis on race, civil rights and social movements) and moderated by journalist-author-activist David Ehrenstein. David is an American critic who focuses primarily on Lgbtq issues in cinema. Ehrenstein was born in New York City. His father was a secular Jew with Polish ancestors, and his mother was of African-American and Irish descent.[1] His mother raised him in her religion, Roman Catholicism. Among those invited are educators, students, members of organizations such as Aclu , NAACP , U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, journalists and activists.

Writer/Producer Dennis Yares's grandparents left Poland prior to the German occupation and most remaining relatives perished under Nazi regime. He was born in Israel and moved to N.Y. as a young boy. He made his professional reputation as an art gallerist, in addition, he also wrote the screen adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's classic short story, “Jolene”, which was directed by Dan Ireland.

He wrote a short story as one of his collection of 52 stories and when he realized it was the 50th anniversary this year. He and Dan as the director, stepped up and co-produced the film in the spring - in three weeks.

It features a score by composer Harry Gregson-Williams and Tom Howe, who will also attend the screening.

The short will also qualify for Academy Award consideration after having a short commercial run.

“Great men are forged in fire.

It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame.

Whatever the cost.”

The Warrior Doctor (John Hurt), The Day of the Doctor, November 23, 2013

After all the press, after all the hype, after a week of BBC America’s Doctor Who Takeover, I was really afraid that actual episode was going to suck, that I was going to be miserably let down, wretchedly disappointed.

I. Was. Absolutely. Completely. Totally. Utterly. Positively.

Blown. Away.

The whole wide world became the whole wide Whovian world yesterday, as the BBC simulcast The Day Of The Doctor in over 75 countries – Angola, Australia, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde Islands, the Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, the Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland,...

The "Beasts of the Southern Wild" effect continues. The Louisiana International Film Festival will hold its inaugural event April 18-21 in Baton Rouge and New Orleans to celebrate indigenous and international films. Filmmaker Dan Ireland ("The Whole Wide World") and producer Jeff Dowd ("Zebrahead"), famously the inspiration for the Dude in the Coen Bros.' "The Big Lebowski," have been named co-artistic directors of the new fest. The first submission deadline is January 7 through WithoutABox.com. Liff also involves a mentorship program and will present a special photo and multimedia exhibition by civil rights movement photojournalist and author Bob Adelman. The launch comes at a time when Shreveport has become one of the highest-profile locations for outside-of-Hollywood film production. "We founded the Louisiana International Film Festival and Mentorship Program to act as a conduit for our state's...

Is it just me, Dance Moms Nation, or was this the feel-bad episode of the year? So much so that I changed my mind about what this blog should be called about 18 times in the first ten minutes alone. Abb-niss Eats The Children. Everyone’s Replaceable. Bully For You — whoops did that one already. Hush, Little Leslie, Don’t Say A Word. Go For The Silver (Anniversary). It’S The Largest Competition In The Whole Wide World! And given the various horrors of last week’s trip to Michigan, I expected Abby to spend at least the whole time I decided what to call [...]...

In almost every single film that Will Ferrell has appeared, he's sang some sort of song. Whether it's Afternoon Delight from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Por Ti Volare from Step Brothers, The Whole Wide World in Stranger Than Fiction or Baby It's Cold Outside with Zooey Deschanel in Elf, he's sang a lot. Now he's doing something we've never seen him do before: singing in Spanish. Funny or Die has just premiered a new music video for the song Yo No Se (or I Don't Know), on the soundtrack for Casa de mi Padre, the Spanish language comedy in theaters next weekend, and it's pretty damn great. Watch it! Here's the music video of Will Ferrell singing Yo No Se from Casa de mi Padre via Funny or Die: Casa de Mi Padre, or The House of My Father in Spanish, is directed by Matt Piedmont, a former...

Actor, singer and Broadway star Harve Presnell died July 1, 2009 at the age of 75. Born September 14, 1933, Presnell started his career on stage, playing prominent roles on Broadway in shows such as The Unsinkable Molly Brown, before moving into film work in the late 1960s. Perhaps best known as the domineering father-in-law to William H. Macy's sheepish wannabe kidnapper in Fargo, Presnell enjoyed a career resurgence in the 1990s and became one of the more recognizable character actors of the last two decades.

Presnell's performance in Fargo was one of those that made even cinephiles wonder, who is this guy? Playing Wade Gunderson, the gruff and obstinate father of the film's kidnap victim, he complemented the desperate ambition of Macy's Jerry Lundegaard and the smalltown sensibleness of Frances McDormand's Marge Gunderson. That same year, he appeared in several other movies, including The Whole Wide World, Larger Than Life and The Chamber,...