Steve McQueen watch sold for nearly $800,000
LOS ANGELES — A watch worn by Steve McQueen in “Le Mans” sold for nearly $800,000 at an auction of film memorabilia.
The auction house Profiles in History said Tuesday the Heuer wristwatch sported by the actor in the 1971 action movie sold for $799,500. A signed U.S. passport belonging to McQueen fetched $46,125.
Other items that were sold included a miniature drop-ship used in “Aliens” for $225,000; Groucho Marx's wire-rim glasses from “A Night at the Opera” for $86,100; and Vivien Leigh's hat from “Gone with the Wind” for $67,650.
One bidder coughed up $98,400 for Marlon Brando's assassination jacket from “The Godfather.” A personal copy of the 1971 film's script signed by Brando went for $55,000.
Virginia again backdrop for Lincoln film
RICHMOND, Va. — Central Virginia is again the backdrop for a film focusing on President Abraham Lincoln.
Lighting and production trucks were lined up Tuesday along a section of a busy downtown street in Richmond for a National Geographic channel film. It's called “Killing Lincoln” and it's based on the best-seller by Bill O'Reilly.
The film is a production of prolific filmmaking brothers Ridley and Tony Scott. Ridley Scott's “Prometheus” was a summer blockbuster.
The film stars Billy Campbell, who is listed by the production company as a native of Charlottesville. He most recently was in AMC's “The Killing.” The assassin John Wilkes Booth is played by Jesse Johnson, the son of actor Don Johnson.
Director Steven Spielberg's movie about Lincoln that was filmed in Virginia is set to open in November.
'Killer Joe' boasts NC-17 rating
LOS ANGELES — Matthew McConaughey is the latest A-lister to go NC-17. He plays the title role in “Killer Joe,” which carries the Motion Picture Association of America's maximum restriction because of “graphic disturbing content.”
Directed by Oscar winner William Friedkin, “Killer Joe” is only the second NC-17 theatrical film to be released in the U.S. this year, because no one under 18 can be admitted no matter who accompanies them and limited audiences mean limited revenues.
Still, more and more of Hollywood's top talent like McConaughey, Friedkin, and co-stars Emile Hirsch, Gina Gershon and Thomas Haden Church are embracing edgy projects that require the stiff rating.
The MPAA says on its website that an NC-17-rated film “is one that, in the view of the Rating Board, most parents would consider patently too adult for their children 17 and under.”
That's certainly true of “Killer Joe,” which opens in New York on Friday and other major cities next week. The MPAA says it contains “graphic disturbing content involving violence and sexuality, and a scene of brutality.”
Adapted from the stage by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts, it's a story about a small-time drug dealer (Hirsch) who hires a cop moonlighting as a hit man (McConaughey) to kill his mother for her life-insurance benefits, and offers his virgin sister as collateral.
Producer Hawk Koch elected film academy president
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has elected producer Hawk Koch as its new president.
The group's board of governors elected Koch to its top office Tuesday for a one-year-term. He served as first vice president of the film academy last year and has represented its producers branch as a governor for nine years.
Koch's credits include “Losing Isaiah,” “Gorky Park” and “Source Code.” He succeeds film executive Tom Sherak, who served three consecutive terms as president.
