the fly and flicks him out of the window.
A London native, Morton has extensive training in bringing things to life. He got his start in the animation program at the West Surrey College of Art & Design. "I wanted to do film, but because I could draw, and because the animation program didn’t have many people, they put me there," says Morton. "Animation is great training for directing live action, because you do everything: You’re the director, the actor, the art director, the editor, the writer. It’s good for working with actors, because you know what it’s like to be inside a character."
After graduating in ’78, he formed his own London-based production company, Cucumber, with his wife, MJZ partner/director Annabel Jankel. Though the two direct separately now, they worked then as a team. Their most famous collaboration was Max Headroom, the half-animated, half-human host of a variety show on Channel 4 in the U.K.
By ’88, Morton and Jankel had moved to Hollywood, where they co-directed the feature D.O.A. "Movies are such a long, laborious, ongoing thing," says Morton, who nonetheless is shepherding "one or two" scripts through development. "Commercials are exciting and short, and I probably enjoy them more, but I still feel kind of a need to do movies."
When he does direct another film, it’s likely to be one that reflects his worldview: "Life, to me, is a twisted, ironic drama. I suppose I’m always trying to re-create that in my work. Even when I direct a dream sequence, I try to work from some premise of reality. There is nothing as crazy as real life."c
Judge Upholds Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Charge Against Alec Baldwin In “Rust” Shooting
A New Mexico judge has upheld her decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
In a ruling Thursday, state District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer stood by her July decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin. She said prosecutors did not raise any factual or legal arguments that would justify reversing her decision.
"Because the state's amended motion raises arguments previously made, and arguments that the state elected not to raise earlier, the court does not find the amended motion well taken," the judge wrote, adding that the request was also untimely.
A spokesperson for Baldwin's lawyers said Friday that they had no immediate reaction to teh decision.
The case was thrown out halfway through trial on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
Baldwin's trial was upended by revelations that ammunition was brought into the Santa Fe County sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammo unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers say investigators "buried" the evidence in a separate case file and filed a successful motion to dismiss.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey can now decide whether to appeal to a higher court.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for "Rust," was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer —... Read More