Suzanne Shepherd, an actress known for playing mothers to key characters in Goodfellas and The Sopranos, has died. She was 89.
Shepherd died peacefully in her home in New York City early Friday morning, her agent told The Hollywood Reporter.
Shepherd appeared in 20 episodes of The Sopranos as Mary DeAngelis, the mother of Edie Falco’s Carmela Soprano, and played the mother of Lorraine Bracco’s Karen Hill in Goodfellas.
Sopranos actor Ray Abruzzo remembered Shepherd on Instagram, calling her “a force of nature.”
Her other credits include roles in movies like Mystic Pizza, Uncle Buck, Lolita, Requiem for a Dream, Living Out Loud and Working Girl and guest appearances in TV shows like Ed, Blue Bloods, Law & Order and Third Watch.
Shepherd’s last onscreen role was in 2023’s The Performance as Tess.
Born Oct. 31, 1934, Shepherd graduated from Bennington College and studied with Larry Arrick, Herbert Berghoff and Sanford Meisner...
Shepherd died peacefully in her home in New York City early Friday morning, her agent told The Hollywood Reporter.
Shepherd appeared in 20 episodes of The Sopranos as Mary DeAngelis, the mother of Edie Falco’s Carmela Soprano, and played the mother of Lorraine Bracco’s Karen Hill in Goodfellas.
Sopranos actor Ray Abruzzo remembered Shepherd on Instagram, calling her “a force of nature.”
Her other credits include roles in movies like Mystic Pizza, Uncle Buck, Lolita, Requiem for a Dream, Living Out Loud and Working Girl and guest appearances in TV shows like Ed, Blue Bloods, Law & Order and Third Watch.
Shepherd’s last onscreen role was in 2023’s The Performance as Tess.
Born Oct. 31, 1934, Shepherd graduated from Bennington College and studied with Larry Arrick, Herbert Berghoff and Sanford Meisner...
- 11/19/2023
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Suzanne Shepherd, an actor known for her roles in “The Sopranos” and “Goodfellas,” died Friday morning in her home in New York City, her agent confirmed to Variety. She was 89.
Shepherd portrayed Mary DeAngelis, the mother of Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco), in HBO’s crime drama series “The Sopranos,” as well as the mother of Lorraine Bracco’s character Karen Hill in 1990’s “Goodfellas.” She also had roles in “Jacob’s Ladder” (1990), “Trees Lounge” (1996), “Lolita” (1997), “American Cuisine” (1998), “Living Out Loud” (1998), “Requiem for a Dream” (2000), “A Dirty Shame” (2004), “Harold” (2008), “The Week Of” (2018) and “The Performance” (2023), among other films.
Shepherd was born on Oct. 31, 1934. She made her acting debut in the 1988 romcom “Mystic Pizza,” starring Julia Roberts, and appeared in such films as “Working Girl,” “Uncle Buck” and “Second Sight” before working on Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas.”
On the television side, she guest-starred in “Law & Order,” “Third Watch,” “Ed,” “Blue Bloods,” “Deadline,...
Shepherd portrayed Mary DeAngelis, the mother of Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco), in HBO’s crime drama series “The Sopranos,” as well as the mother of Lorraine Bracco’s character Karen Hill in 1990’s “Goodfellas.” She also had roles in “Jacob’s Ladder” (1990), “Trees Lounge” (1996), “Lolita” (1997), “American Cuisine” (1998), “Living Out Loud” (1998), “Requiem for a Dream” (2000), “A Dirty Shame” (2004), “Harold” (2008), “The Week Of” (2018) and “The Performance” (2023), among other films.
Shepherd was born on Oct. 31, 1934. She made her acting debut in the 1988 romcom “Mystic Pizza,” starring Julia Roberts, and appeared in such films as “Working Girl,” “Uncle Buck” and “Second Sight” before working on Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas.”
On the television side, she guest-starred in “Law & Order,” “Third Watch,” “Ed,” “Blue Bloods,” “Deadline,...
- 11/19/2023
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
The producer behind reality shows like “Ink Therapy” and “Living Out Loud” was sentenced Thursday to a year in federal prison for defrauding an investor out of 2 million.
Jonathan Lee Smith, 41, pleaded guilty last year, admitting that he had concocted fraudulent license agreements to get a loan from Bay Point Capital Partners.
Prosecutors had asked Judge John F. Walter to sentence Smith to 21 months, arguing it was important to impose a stiff sentence to deter white-collar crime.
“Defendant is an experienced businessman in the entertainment industry. He knew it was wrong to lie to secure a 2 million loan, but did it anyway,” prosecutors said in their sentencing memorandum. “And rather than make just one misrepresentation, defendant backed up his lie with counterfeit documents to show fake accounts receivable and fictitious incoming payments.”
Smith’s attorneys, meanwhile, asked for probation, noting that Smith had accepted responsibility for his conduct. The defense argued that Smith’s company,...
Jonathan Lee Smith, 41, pleaded guilty last year, admitting that he had concocted fraudulent license agreements to get a loan from Bay Point Capital Partners.
Prosecutors had asked Judge John F. Walter to sentence Smith to 21 months, arguing it was important to impose a stiff sentence to deter white-collar crime.
“Defendant is an experienced businessman in the entertainment industry. He knew it was wrong to lie to secure a 2 million loan, but did it anyway,” prosecutors said in their sentencing memorandum. “And rather than make just one misrepresentation, defendant backed up his lie with counterfeit documents to show fake accounts receivable and fictitious incoming payments.”
Smith’s attorneys, meanwhile, asked for probation, noting that Smith had accepted responsibility for his conduct. The defense argued that Smith’s company,...
- 7/28/2022
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: We hear that Amazon in a competitive situation has taken the Jennifer Lopez-produced Skydance TV series Backwards in Heels off the table.
The show will be written and directed by Oscar nominee Richard Lagravenese and follows the aspirational and timeless story about the glamourous women living at the Barbizon Hotel in post-wwii New York City.
Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, and Benny Medina will produce under their Nuyorican Productions. Julie Goldstein is also producing.
David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bill Bost are producing for Skydance TV.
The Barbizon Hotel, located at 140 East 63rd St. on the Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was for several decades a female-only residential hotel for young women who came to NYC for professional opportunities. Built in 1927, the 23-story hotel was a blend of Italian Renaissance and late Gothic revival and Islamic decorative elements. No men were allowed above the ground floor, and strict dress and conduct rules were enforced.
The show will be written and directed by Oscar nominee Richard Lagravenese and follows the aspirational and timeless story about the glamourous women living at the Barbizon Hotel in post-wwii New York City.
Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, and Benny Medina will produce under their Nuyorican Productions. Julie Goldstein is also producing.
David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bill Bost are producing for Skydance TV.
The Barbizon Hotel, located at 140 East 63rd St. on the Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was for several decades a female-only residential hotel for young women who came to NYC for professional opportunities. Built in 1927, the 23-story hotel was a blend of Italian Renaissance and late Gothic revival and Islamic decorative elements. No men were allowed above the ground floor, and strict dress and conduct rules were enforced.
- 3/28/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Jon Gregory, editor of such films as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and In Bruges has died, a representative confirmed to Deadline. He was 77.
Gregory worked with Mike Leigh across the director’s storied career, from an early short called The Short & Curlies to one of Leigh’s first features, High Hopes, to some of the director’s best-known work — such as Life Is Sweet, Naked and Secrets & Lies — to one of his most recent works, Peterloo. Leigh remembered his frequent collaborator in a piece posted by The Guardian today.
In it, Leigh praised Gregory’s ability to compose complex component parts into a cohesive whole. “He brought to the task his unique characteristic skill, imagination, sensitivity and sophistication, while, as always, staying true to the material,” wrote the director. He praised Gregory’s sense of when not to edit, as well.
Leigh recalled...
Gregory worked with Mike Leigh across the director’s storied career, from an early short called The Short & Curlies to one of Leigh’s first features, High Hopes, to some of the director’s best-known work — such as Life Is Sweet, Naked and Secrets & Lies — to one of his most recent works, Peterloo. Leigh remembered his frequent collaborator in a piece posted by The Guardian today.
In it, Leigh praised Gregory’s ability to compose complex component parts into a cohesive whole. “He brought to the task his unique characteristic skill, imagination, sensitivity and sophistication, while, as always, staying true to the material,” wrote the director. He praised Gregory’s sense of when not to edit, as well.
Leigh recalled...
- 9/28/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Jonathan Lee Smith, the CEO of two Hollywood production companies that specialize in producing reality TV shows, has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud to obtain a $2 million business loan through fabricated documents and misrepresenting his companies’ financial circumstances.
Smith, who managed or owned Hoplite Entertainment and Hoplite Inc., agreed to plead guilty to the felony offense, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
“To convince a private lender to fund a $2 million loan last year, Smith falsely represented that his two companies had accounts receivable of $3,348,000, and he submitted falsified license agreements and other forgeries to back up the claim,” the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles, which prosecuted the case, said Tuesday. “To convince the private lender to give him additional time to repay the loan, court documents state, Smith falsely represented that payment was imminent. He also emailed a fake record...
Smith, who managed or owned Hoplite Entertainment and Hoplite Inc., agreed to plead guilty to the felony offense, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
“To convince a private lender to fund a $2 million loan last year, Smith falsely represented that his two companies had accounts receivable of $3,348,000, and he submitted falsified license agreements and other forgeries to back up the claim,” the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles, which prosecuted the case, said Tuesday. “To convince the private lender to give him additional time to repay the loan, court documents state, Smith falsely represented that payment was imminent. He also emailed a fake record...
- 6/8/2021
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
French-Venezuelan biologist and filmmaker Alexis Gambis, whose sophomore drama, “Son of Monarchs,” screens in t Sundance’s Next section, has always been fixated on the confluence of art and science. It led him to found the Imagine Science Film Festival, which enters its 14th edition in October, and the five-year old VOD platform Labocine, both of which showcase science in film and seek to further the discourse among scientists, artists and educators.
In December, Sundance bestowed its 2021 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize on the semi-autobiographical drama, which the jury cited “for its poetic, multilayered portrait of a scientist’s growth and self-discovery as he migrates between Mexico and New York City.”
For lead Tenoch Huerta, who plays a villain in the upcoming “Black Panther II,” portraying a scientist on “Monarchs” was a far cry from his previous roles in such projects as Netflix’s drug trafficking series “Narcos,” and migrant caravan drama,...
In December, Sundance bestowed its 2021 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize on the semi-autobiographical drama, which the jury cited “for its poetic, multilayered portrait of a scientist’s growth and self-discovery as he migrates between Mexico and New York City.”
For lead Tenoch Huerta, who plays a villain in the upcoming “Black Panther II,” portraying a scientist on “Monarchs” was a far cry from his previous roles in such projects as Netflix’s drug trafficking series “Narcos,” and migrant caravan drama,...
- 1/29/2021
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Holly Hunter missed out on a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Oscars for “The Big Sick” despite reaping SAG, Critics Choice, and Indie Spirit bids, but she’ll have a chance to pick up an Emmy later this year in the Best Drama Actress category for “Here and Now.” Created by Alan Ball (“American Beauty,” “Six Feet Under,” “True Blood”), the HBO series focuses on a multi-racial family whose bond is tested when one of their children begins seeing things which the rest cannot. Hunter plays Audrey Bayer, a therapist and the family matriarch. In honor of her recent small-screen achievement, let’s take a look back at some of the actress’s best big-screen performances. Tour through our photo gallery above of Hunter’s 12 greatest films, ranked from worst to best.
Despite her recent snub, Hunter has been popular at the Oscars. She won Best Actress for “The Piano...
Despite her recent snub, Hunter has been popular at the Oscars. She won Best Actress for “The Piano...
- 3/24/2018
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
This article marks Part 11 of the 21-part Gold Derby series Meryl Streep at the Oscars. Join us as we look back at Meryl Streep’s nominations, the performances that competed with her at the Academy Awards, the results of each race and the overall rankings of the contenders.
The latter half of the 1990s found Meryl Streep struggling to find a proper follow-up to her sublime, Oscar-nominated turn in “The Bridges of Madison County” (1995).
First, there was “Before and After” (1996), a sleepy collaboration with filmmaker Barbet Schroeder and leading man Liam Neeson. The picture, among Streep’s worst box office performers to date, was out of theaters within a month.
A bit more successful was “Marvin’s Room” (1996), a family drama that at last paired Streep with Diane Keaton, plus Hume Cronyn, Gwen Verdon and Leonardo DiCaprio. The film garnered modest reviews and box office receipts upon opening that December and it was ultimately Keaton,...
The latter half of the 1990s found Meryl Streep struggling to find a proper follow-up to her sublime, Oscar-nominated turn in “The Bridges of Madison County” (1995).
First, there was “Before and After” (1996), a sleepy collaboration with filmmaker Barbet Schroeder and leading man Liam Neeson. The picture, among Streep’s worst box office performers to date, was out of theaters within a month.
A bit more successful was “Marvin’s Room” (1996), a family drama that at last paired Streep with Diane Keaton, plus Hume Cronyn, Gwen Verdon and Leonardo DiCaprio. The film garnered modest reviews and box office receipts upon opening that December and it was ultimately Keaton,...
- 2/12/2018
- by Andrew Carden
- Gold Derby
[[tmz:video id="0_gl1dubdk"]] Some real talk from Craig Sager Jr. Being the son of a legendary NBA reporter could be "pretty frustrating growing up" ... but CS2 says he finally got the relationship he wanted thanks to one final project before his dad passed away. Craig opened up about his father to TMZ Sports ... telling us how the decision to co-author a book about the sideline reporter's battle with cancer brought them closer together than ever before. It's an...
- 1/9/2017
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Viola Davis' own experiences with sexual assault led her to become an advocate for the Rape Foundation, the actress explained in a powerful speech Sunday. Davis, 51, opened up about her experience with the group while being honored at the Rape Foundation's Annual Brunch in Beverly Hills. "Myself, my mother, my sisters, my friend Rebecca, my friend from childhood, we all have one thing in common: We are all survivors of sexual assault in some way, shape or form," said the How to Get Away with Murder star."Listen, when I was young, there were so many men in the...
- 9/26/2016
- by Brianne Tracy and Aurelie Corinthios
- PEOPLE.com
Viola Davis' own experiences with sexual assault led her to become an advocate for the Rape Foundation, the actress explained in a powerful speech Sunday.
Davis, 51, opened up about her experience with the group while being honored at the Rape Foundation's Annual Brunch in Beverly Hills.
"Myself, my mother, my sisters, my friend Rebecca, my friend from childhood, we all have one thing in common: We are all survivors of sexual assault in some way, shape or form," said the How to Get Away with Murder star.
"Listen, when I was young, there were so many men in the...
Davis, 51, opened up about her experience with the group while being honored at the Rape Foundation's Annual Brunch in Beverly Hills.
"Myself, my mother, my sisters, my friend Rebecca, my friend from childhood, we all have one thing in common: We are all survivors of sexual assault in some way, shape or form," said the How to Get Away with Murder star.
"Listen, when I was young, there were so many men in the...
- 9/26/2016
- by Brianne Tracy and Aurelie Corinthios
- People.com - TV Watch
"It's important to think. It's what separates us from lentils." --Richard Lagravanese, The Fisher King
He did it the hard way, like David battling Goliath this past Valentine's Day. Yes, Richard Lagravanese's latest effort, The Last Five Years, a romantic musical of sorts with next to no spoken dialogue, opened against the whip-wielding Fifty Shades of Grey, a syrupy soft core melodrama with perhaps too much dialogue.
The battle's result so far, at least as of this past Monday: $137,945 versus a worldwide take of $485,791,785. Well, at least David got the better reviews.
Yes, Richard Lagravanese, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of such acclaimed titles as The Fisher King, Behind the Candelabra, The Bridges of Madison County, and Unbroken, which he co-wrote with the Coen Brothers, and the intermittent director of such fare as Living Out Loud and Freedom Writers, is a survivor of numerous Hollywood battles, many won, some lost. Beloved, for example,...
He did it the hard way, like David battling Goliath this past Valentine's Day. Yes, Richard Lagravanese's latest effort, The Last Five Years, a romantic musical of sorts with next to no spoken dialogue, opened against the whip-wielding Fifty Shades of Grey, a syrupy soft core melodrama with perhaps too much dialogue.
The battle's result so far, at least as of this past Monday: $137,945 versus a worldwide take of $485,791,785. Well, at least David got the better reviews.
Yes, Richard Lagravanese, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of such acclaimed titles as The Fisher King, Behind the Candelabra, The Bridges of Madison County, and Unbroken, which he co-wrote with the Coen Brothers, and the intermittent director of such fare as Living Out Loud and Freedom Writers, is a survivor of numerous Hollywood battles, many won, some lost. Beloved, for example,...
- 3/3/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
The Hollywood Film Awards to be Broadcast Live from the Hollywood Palladium, Friday, Nov. 14 on CBS The “Hollywood Film Awards” today announced that multi-talented Academy and Emmy Award nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning actress, Grammy Award-winning musician and talk show host Queen Latifah, will host the inaugural broadcast of the Hollywood Film Awards, live from the Hollywood Palladium Friday, November 14, 2014 (8:00-10:00 Pm, live Et/delayed Pt) on the CBS Television Network. The “Hollywood Film Awards” have recognized excellence in the art of cinema and filmmaking for 17 years, honoring some of the world’s biggest stars. They are considered the official launch of the awards season. “I’m honored to be a part of such a legendary award show,” stated Latifah. “The Hollywood Film Awards have been a staple in the awards season for years, and I’m excited to be the first host to bring them to television!” “Queen Latifah is the real deal.
- 10/17/2014
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
[Editor's Note: We Can't Wait is a Team Experience series, in which we highlight our top 14 most anticipated films of 2014. Here's Jose Solis on The Last 5 Years.]
The Last 5 Years
A musical based on Jason Robert Brown's Off Broadway sensation about a crumbling young marriage which is told forward and backward in time simultaneously
Talent
Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick and stage star Jeremy Jordan (Newsies and Bonnie and Clyde on Broadway, Smash on TV)
Why We Can't Wait
When Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years debuted in 2001, the composer probably never expected his intimate musical (based on his relationship with ex-wife Theresa O'Neill) to become the theater sensation it would turn out to be. Although it was never Cats or Phantom-like in its success (the show has never actually been done on Broadway) the Chicago production and its subsequent Off-Broadway staging turned stars Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott into the doomed-lovers-of-choice of myriad theater geeks who still show up audition after audition carrying the music and lyrics to "Goodbye Until Tomorrow".
Brown's musical,...
The Last 5 Years
A musical based on Jason Robert Brown's Off Broadway sensation about a crumbling young marriage which is told forward and backward in time simultaneously
Talent
Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick and stage star Jeremy Jordan (Newsies and Bonnie and Clyde on Broadway, Smash on TV)
Why We Can't Wait
When Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years debuted in 2001, the composer probably never expected his intimate musical (based on his relationship with ex-wife Theresa O'Neill) to become the theater sensation it would turn out to be. Although it was never Cats or Phantom-like in its success (the show has never actually been done on Broadway) the Chicago production and its subsequent Off-Broadway staging turned stars Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott into the doomed-lovers-of-choice of myriad theater geeks who still show up audition after audition carrying the music and lyrics to "Goodbye Until Tomorrow".
Brown's musical,...
- 1/26/2014
- by Jose
- FilmExperience
Ja from Mnpp here - I know it's 2003 Month here at The Film Experience but Vulture has been doing a 15 year anniversary retrospective of all things 1998 this week, which has me reminiscing about that year too. I was in college working at the local art-house cinema - that'd be the lovely Little Theatre in Rochester New York, which everyone should visit if you ever happen to find yourselves in that neck of the woods. I loved working there - I was studying film at school and living film at work. I saw everything released during that period of time, and got to mingle with the Rochester rich and famous - I handed Phillip Seymour Hoffman a napkin once! This was when Happiness was out so, you know, it really meant something.
Anyway I was looking through the list of movies released in the Fall of 1998 and was wowed by a...
Anyway I was looking through the list of movies released in the Fall of 1998 and was wowed by a...
- 11/19/2013
- by JA
- FilmExperience
The fashion heiress and her racer husband welcomed a little boy named Otto Hermann Amos on Sept. 7 in Sumirgao, Italy. Congrats to the happy couple!
Margherita Missoni and her race car driver husband Eugenio Amos welcomed their first child together, a little boy named Otto! Their son is named after Ottavio Missoni, Margherita’s grandfather and the iconic fashion brand’s founder, who died earlier in 2013.
Margherita Missoni’s Baby Born — Fashion Heiress & Husband Welcome Baby Boy
Otto was reportedly ten days overdue, so his anxious parents-to-be documented their stressful wait via their Twitter and Instagram pages! The couple posted a pic of Margherita’s swelling belly on Sept. 1 with the caption:
Trying to persuade #ottohermann to come out #waitingforotto.
It wasn’t until almost a week later that their little boy made his fashionably late appearance! Of course, when Otto was born, he had to be celebrated in true...
Margherita Missoni and her race car driver husband Eugenio Amos welcomed their first child together, a little boy named Otto! Their son is named after Ottavio Missoni, Margherita’s grandfather and the iconic fashion brand’s founder, who died earlier in 2013.
Margherita Missoni’s Baby Born — Fashion Heiress & Husband Welcome Baby Boy
Otto was reportedly ten days overdue, so his anxious parents-to-be documented their stressful wait via their Twitter and Instagram pages! The couple posted a pic of Margherita’s swelling belly on Sept. 1 with the caption:
Trying to persuade #ottohermann to come out #waitingforotto.
It wasn’t until almost a week later that their little boy made his fashionably late appearance! Of course, when Otto was born, he had to be celebrated in true...
- 9/9/2013
- by Kristine Hope Kowalski
- HollywoodLife
One of Cuban’s greatest musicians, Arsenio Rodriguez, known as The Marvelous Blind Man (El Ciego Maravilloso) is now the subject of a documentary by renown doc filmmaker Rolando Almirante (Havana, 1967), filmmaker, producer and professor. With more than 20 documentaries under his belt, in Havana he recently premiered the documentary La Leyenda de Arsenio (The Arsenio Legend), with the record label Egrem as executive producer.
Born in Cuba on August 31, 1911, Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull died in Los Angeles December 31, 1970 and is buried in New York City where just until recently a grave marker was installed of this icon of Cuban music, funded by a group of fans and musicians.
Blinded as a young boy by a mule or horse’s kick, Arsenio became a famous musician and band leader in the island and was known as El Ciego Maravilloso (The Marvelous Blind Man). His music was revolutionary in the 1930s, 40s and 50s for its use of Afro-Cuban rhythm with the melodic lead by the “tres”, a three-course, six-string string instrument that he played masterfully.
Rolando discusses his own motivation to make this film with On Cuba, an online magazine in English about….what else? Cuba of course.
Arsenio Rodriguez singing his most famous song, La vida es un sueno (Life is A Dream):
As a child, I would hear the elderly members of my family talk about him. Years later, when I made my first music documentary, Jazz de Cuba, I included him consciously in my imagination after I heard a delicious anecdote from the celebrated musician Chucho Valdés, when he referred somewhat ironically to certain journalists who held him responsible, instead of Arsenio, for composing “El guayo de Catalina.”
Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull, better known as Arsenio Rodrí-guez, was born in Güira de Macurijes, a little town in Matanzas province, on Aug. 30, 1911.
He was known as the “The Wonderful Blind Man” (“El Ciego Maravilloso”) because of his uncommon talent for playing the tres, and he has gone down in history as one of the most relevant Cuban musicians of all time. Not just because of the dozens of songs that he wrote in the bolero, guaracha and son genres, but also because he structurally innovated the so-called conjunto, or ensemble, by adding the tumbadora, or conga drum. After Arsenio, nobody has been able to do it differently.
Many exponents of this genre view him as the “Father of Salsa.” I think that is not just because of his tireless zeal for innovation, but also the legacy of songs that have brought international fame to a number of bands, such as La Sonora Ponceña and the Fania All Stars.
Another good friend who is now getting up there in his years told me that when Arsenio played at La Tropical, that sanctuary of Cuban dance music, people preferred to watch, and dance later to his recorded music. The reason was that, despite his blindness, Arsenio very skillfully led his band and play the tres at the same time, making for an incredible show that over the years ended up carving out his legend.
A number of stories have sprung up about his blindness. Some say it happened when he was a child and was kicked by a horse; others say it was a rare genetic condition that runs in his family, causing some of his relatives to have retinitis pigmentosa.
As the years passed, creative fate led me to do a project in which Cuban musicians would pay tribute to Arsenio Rodríguez; during this process, we would film a documentary, organize a concert, and, at the same time, the whole production would be inspired by an album designed by producer, composer and critic Tony Pinelli, who had the original idea for the whole project.
In researching Arsenio’s life, I ran into his only daughter, Regla María Travieso. She still lives in Havana, in one of its outlying neighborhoods, surrounded by her saints and her memories. Something began to flower in her home, and it wasn’t just faded photos, including of the silent cemetery in New York where the musician was laid to rest. Songs, complete texts, and a whole string of anecdotes both funny and sad helped give shape to the life of a man whose days ended in Los Angeles, on Dec. 30, 1970.
In the late 1940s, Arsenio went to New York in an attempt to find a cure for his blindness. However, the diagnosis of the famous Dr. Castro-Viejo caused him to stop and meditate on the irreversible nature of his condition. Out of that experience came the lyrics of one of the most beautiful songs in Cuban music: “La vida es un sueño” (“Life is a dream).”
Forty years later, we were able to take Regla María to Arsenio’s grave, as part of the experience of making the film. I thought that at that moment, Regla’s spirit would give her father a Christian burial. A dozen Puerto Rican and Cuban musicians surrounded her, all holding hands and singing one of Arsenio’s songs. Perhaps it was an unmistakable sign of the musical ties between our islands, and between them and the Americas.
Last weekend Arsenio’s legend was in the Southland in the outdoor sculpture at the Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA).
Umberto Capiro, an L.A. based architect and aficionado of Cuban music and dance wrote in Living Out Loud, Los Angeles about it:
The audience was treated to two sublime sets featuring the music of the iconic Afro-Cuban composer, musician and band leader Arsenio Rodriguez.
MoLAA was filled to capacity to hear an All-Star orchestra “The Arsenio Rodriguez Project” made up of musicians from New York and Los Angeles. The line up included the legendary Afro-Cuban trumpet player Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros who played in Arsenio’s band, Tres Master-Nelson Gonzalez (Grupo Folklórico Y Experimental Nuevayorquino), Jose Mangual Jr. (Spanish Harlem Orchestra) who were accompanied by local master José Caridad Perico Hernández with Iris Cepeda on vocals and local musicians Jorge Pérez, Alberto Salas, Alberto Tamayo, Santiago Santioste and Luis Alberto Ortega.
One of Arsenio Rodriguez’s chief innovations was his interpretation of the “son montuno” Cuban music genre which took center stage at the evening’s concert.
… an avalanche of sound… buried the nearby dance floor and those seated behind for two packed sets. Since Arsenio Rodriguez was a tres player, it is no coincidence that this Cuban instrument was highlighted in several numbers with the virtuosity of Nelson Gonzalez on “Sueltala” & “Mami me gustó”. Other songs included in the sets were “Fuego en el 23″ and the iconic bolero “La Vida es un Sueño”. Several celebrities were spotted enjoying the evening, including Buena Vista’s Ry Cooder and actor Jimmy Smits.
The Arsenio Rodriguez Project is the brainchild of Guido Herrera, an Angelino via Peru who has been a Latin music promoter and DJ at the Kxlu 89.9Fm show “Alma Del Barrio” for many years. We must thank Guido for this magical evening of Cuban music under the stars in Long Beach, California.
Born in Cuba on August 31, 1911, Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull died in Los Angeles December 31, 1970 and is buried in New York City where just until recently a grave marker was installed of this icon of Cuban music, funded by a group of fans and musicians.
Blinded as a young boy by a mule or horse’s kick, Arsenio became a famous musician and band leader in the island and was known as El Ciego Maravilloso (The Marvelous Blind Man). His music was revolutionary in the 1930s, 40s and 50s for its use of Afro-Cuban rhythm with the melodic lead by the “tres”, a three-course, six-string string instrument that he played masterfully.
Rolando discusses his own motivation to make this film with On Cuba, an online magazine in English about….what else? Cuba of course.
Arsenio Rodriguez singing his most famous song, La vida es un sueno (Life is A Dream):
As a child, I would hear the elderly members of my family talk about him. Years later, when I made my first music documentary, Jazz de Cuba, I included him consciously in my imagination after I heard a delicious anecdote from the celebrated musician Chucho Valdés, when he referred somewhat ironically to certain journalists who held him responsible, instead of Arsenio, for composing “El guayo de Catalina.”
Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull, better known as Arsenio Rodrí-guez, was born in Güira de Macurijes, a little town in Matanzas province, on Aug. 30, 1911.
He was known as the “The Wonderful Blind Man” (“El Ciego Maravilloso”) because of his uncommon talent for playing the tres, and he has gone down in history as one of the most relevant Cuban musicians of all time. Not just because of the dozens of songs that he wrote in the bolero, guaracha and son genres, but also because he structurally innovated the so-called conjunto, or ensemble, by adding the tumbadora, or conga drum. After Arsenio, nobody has been able to do it differently.
Many exponents of this genre view him as the “Father of Salsa.” I think that is not just because of his tireless zeal for innovation, but also the legacy of songs that have brought international fame to a number of bands, such as La Sonora Ponceña and the Fania All Stars.
Another good friend who is now getting up there in his years told me that when Arsenio played at La Tropical, that sanctuary of Cuban dance music, people preferred to watch, and dance later to his recorded music. The reason was that, despite his blindness, Arsenio very skillfully led his band and play the tres at the same time, making for an incredible show that over the years ended up carving out his legend.
A number of stories have sprung up about his blindness. Some say it happened when he was a child and was kicked by a horse; others say it was a rare genetic condition that runs in his family, causing some of his relatives to have retinitis pigmentosa.
As the years passed, creative fate led me to do a project in which Cuban musicians would pay tribute to Arsenio Rodríguez; during this process, we would film a documentary, organize a concert, and, at the same time, the whole production would be inspired by an album designed by producer, composer and critic Tony Pinelli, who had the original idea for the whole project.
In researching Arsenio’s life, I ran into his only daughter, Regla María Travieso. She still lives in Havana, in one of its outlying neighborhoods, surrounded by her saints and her memories. Something began to flower in her home, and it wasn’t just faded photos, including of the silent cemetery in New York where the musician was laid to rest. Songs, complete texts, and a whole string of anecdotes both funny and sad helped give shape to the life of a man whose days ended in Los Angeles, on Dec. 30, 1970.
In the late 1940s, Arsenio went to New York in an attempt to find a cure for his blindness. However, the diagnosis of the famous Dr. Castro-Viejo caused him to stop and meditate on the irreversible nature of his condition. Out of that experience came the lyrics of one of the most beautiful songs in Cuban music: “La vida es un sueño” (“Life is a dream).”
Forty years later, we were able to take Regla María to Arsenio’s grave, as part of the experience of making the film. I thought that at that moment, Regla’s spirit would give her father a Christian burial. A dozen Puerto Rican and Cuban musicians surrounded her, all holding hands and singing one of Arsenio’s songs. Perhaps it was an unmistakable sign of the musical ties between our islands, and between them and the Americas.
Last weekend Arsenio’s legend was in the Southland in the outdoor sculpture at the Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA).
Umberto Capiro, an L.A. based architect and aficionado of Cuban music and dance wrote in Living Out Loud, Los Angeles about it:
The audience was treated to two sublime sets featuring the music of the iconic Afro-Cuban composer, musician and band leader Arsenio Rodriguez.
MoLAA was filled to capacity to hear an All-Star orchestra “The Arsenio Rodriguez Project” made up of musicians from New York and Los Angeles. The line up included the legendary Afro-Cuban trumpet player Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros who played in Arsenio’s band, Tres Master-Nelson Gonzalez (Grupo Folklórico Y Experimental Nuevayorquino), Jose Mangual Jr. (Spanish Harlem Orchestra) who were accompanied by local master José Caridad Perico Hernández with Iris Cepeda on vocals and local musicians Jorge Pérez, Alberto Salas, Alberto Tamayo, Santiago Santioste and Luis Alberto Ortega.
One of Arsenio Rodriguez’s chief innovations was his interpretation of the “son montuno” Cuban music genre which took center stage at the evening’s concert.
… an avalanche of sound… buried the nearby dance floor and those seated behind for two packed sets. Since Arsenio Rodriguez was a tres player, it is no coincidence that this Cuban instrument was highlighted in several numbers with the virtuosity of Nelson Gonzalez on “Sueltala” & “Mami me gustó”. Other songs included in the sets were “Fuego en el 23″ and the iconic bolero “La Vida es un Sueño”. Several celebrities were spotted enjoying the evening, including Buena Vista’s Ry Cooder and actor Jimmy Smits.
The Arsenio Rodriguez Project is the brainchild of Guido Herrera, an Angelino via Peru who has been a Latin music promoter and DJ at the Kxlu 89.9Fm show “Alma Del Barrio” for many years. We must thank Guido for this magical evening of Cuban music under the stars in Long Beach, California.
- 7/17/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
april showers & a tuesday top ten in one!
Do you ever think of The Truman Show (1998)? I really and truly loved it in 1998 naming it 'The Best Film of the Year!' to anyone who would listen. (This was in my pre Film Experience days of course... though it's hard to remember such a time).
My Top Ten Of 1998 - Unranked
Bulworth (Warren Beatty) Celebration / Festen (Thomas Vinterberg) Gods and Monsters (Bill Condon) High Art (Lisa Cholodenko) The Idiots (Lars von Trier) Living Out Loud (Richard Lagravenese) The Opposite of Sex (Don Roos) The Thin Red Line (Terence Malick) The Truman Show (Peter Weir) Velvet Goldmine (Todd Haynes)
...with Central Station and Shakespeare in Love just outside the top ten though I'm always considering reinstating them. They were both once on the actual list (The Idiots and the Malick I saw a little later). I haven't seen any of them...
Do you ever think of The Truman Show (1998)? I really and truly loved it in 1998 naming it 'The Best Film of the Year!' to anyone who would listen. (This was in my pre Film Experience days of course... though it's hard to remember such a time).
My Top Ten Of 1998 - Unranked
Bulworth (Warren Beatty) Celebration / Festen (Thomas Vinterberg) Gods and Monsters (Bill Condon) High Art (Lisa Cholodenko) The Idiots (Lars von Trier) Living Out Loud (Richard Lagravenese) The Opposite of Sex (Don Roos) The Thin Red Line (Terence Malick) The Truman Show (Peter Weir) Velvet Goldmine (Todd Haynes)
...with Central Station and Shakespeare in Love just outside the top ten though I'm always considering reinstating them. They were both once on the actual list (The Idiots and the Malick I saw a little later). I haven't seen any of them...
- 5/1/2013
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
To call Beautiful Creatures the next Twilight or a possible successor to The Hunger Games is to belittle and possibly discredit a fantastically successful novel series by best-selling author Kami Garcia. While its true that Hollywood hopes that the screen adaptation of Garcia.s words hit the same audience targets as the translations of Stephenie Meyer and Suzanne Collins. words, it.s clear in Beautiful Creatures promotional spots that the movie is reaching for something higher, and painting a picture that.s slightly larger in scope. At least, that.s what we hope. A new TV spot has arrived online for , introducing the main characters and hinting at the mythology. We have it for you right here: Richard Lagravenese (Living Out Loud, P.S. I Love You) has had a stronger track record writing screenplays . he penned The Fisher King, The Bridges of Madison County and The Ref -- than ...
- 1/2/2013
- cinemablend.com
John McNaughton, the helmer behind the controversial cult classic 1986 horror film Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and the infamous 2001 thriller Wild Things, has signed on to direct his next movie, breaking his eleven year sabbatical from cinema.
Variety says that beginning production in New York imminently is The Harvest, a psychological horror thriller made for under $10 million that finds Michael Shannon and Samantha Morton among its cast.
Written by Stephen Lancelloti, the movie follows a married couple (Shannon & Morton) with medical backgrounds and a sick son (Charlie Tahan) who lives secluded in a controlled environment until a young girl (Natasha Calis) moves in next door and gives him hope of a better life. As the teens grow closer, the tight-knit world his over-protective mother has created begins to unravel.
Leslie Lykes and Meadow Williams also have supporting roles. Steven A. Jones, Kim Jose, David Robinson and Williams herself are producing.
Variety says that beginning production in New York imminently is The Harvest, a psychological horror thriller made for under $10 million that finds Michael Shannon and Samantha Morton among its cast.
Written by Stephen Lancelloti, the movie follows a married couple (Shannon & Morton) with medical backgrounds and a sick son (Charlie Tahan) who lives secluded in a controlled environment until a young girl (Natasha Calis) moves in next door and gives him hope of a better life. As the teens grow closer, the tight-knit world his over-protective mother has created begins to unravel.
Leslie Lykes and Meadow Williams also have supporting roles. Steven A. Jones, Kim Jose, David Robinson and Williams herself are producing.
- 12/12/2012
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
It's been a really long time since Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer director John McNaughton made a horror film. Hell, it's been over a decade since he's made any kind of film for that matter. Thankfully both of those facts are about to change.
Variety reports that after an 11-year absence from the big screen, McNaughton is set to return for psychological horror thriller The Harvest, for which Michael Shannon and Samantha Morton have come aboard to star alongside Natasha Calis.
Living Out Loud Prods. is financing The Harvest for under $10 million, while Elephant Eye Films will handle international sales. In addition to Calis (The Possession), the flick co-stars Charlie Tahan (Frankenweenie), Leslie Lyles and Meadow Williams.
Written by Stephen Lancellotti, The Harvest stars Morton and Shannon as a married couple with medical backgrounds and a sick son (Tahan) who lives secluded in a controlled environment until a young...
Variety reports that after an 11-year absence from the big screen, McNaughton is set to return for psychological horror thriller The Harvest, for which Michael Shannon and Samantha Morton have come aboard to star alongside Natasha Calis.
Living Out Loud Prods. is financing The Harvest for under $10 million, while Elephant Eye Films will handle international sales. In addition to Calis (The Possession), the flick co-stars Charlie Tahan (Frankenweenie), Leslie Lyles and Meadow Williams.
Written by Stephen Lancellotti, The Harvest stars Morton and Shannon as a married couple with medical backgrounds and a sick son (Tahan) who lives secluded in a controlled environment until a young...
- 12/12/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
After making her mark in 2007's indie Rocket Science, Anna Kendrick has often played the same sort of fast-talking Type-a personality on screen. She earned an Oscar nomination doing a similar routine in Up in the Air, but she also proved she has impressive musical skills in this month's buzzed-about comedy Pitch Perfect. Now Moviehole reports that one of Kendrick's upcoming projects will allow her to put her pipes on display again, as she'll star in a film adaptation of the stage musical The Last Five Years, a love story told backward and forward at the same time through the perspectives of the two people involved. More below. Filmmaker Richard Lagravenese (finishing up Beautiful Creatures, of Living Out Loud, P.S. I Love You and Freedom Writers previously) is writing and directing the film, which is based on Jason Robert Brown's play about the struggles of a relationship. It sounds...
- 10/22/2012
- by Ben Pearson
- firstshowing.net
"We make our own lives." Warner Bros has debuted a trailer for Beautiful Creatures, an adaptation of the young adult series of novels by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, directed by Richard Lagravenese. Getting ready to (attempt to) follow in Twilight's footsteps, this supernatural drama centers on a local teenage boy, played by Alden Ehrenreich, and the mysterious new girl in town named Lena Duchannes, played by Alice Englert, who uncover dark secrets about their families. Is she a witch or what?! You'll have to watch and see. Other than that, Emma Thompson and Jeremy Irons seem outstanding, the rest is up to you. Here's the first trailer for Richard Lagravenese's Beautiful Creatures adaptation, in high def on Apple: Based on the first novel in the five-book Caster Chronicles series, Beautiful Creatures is written & directed by Richard Lagravenese (Living Out Loud, Freedom Writers, P.S. I Love You). Alden Ehrenreich plays Ethan,...
- 9/20/2012
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
by David Harkness, MoreHorror.com
Blu-Ray lovers and horror fans alike will be happy to hear that MGM Home Entertainment will be releasing three great horror titles to Blu-Ray just in time for the Halloween season -- Jeepers Creepers, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Be sure to look for them at stores near you. Read more information about each of these titles from the official press release below.
........
Jeepers Creepers (Blu-ray)
You can keep your doors locked. You can keep your eyes closed. But still, he’ll get what he wants and what he wants is you. Brace yourself for “90 minutes of steadily mounting horror [that] delivers more than its share of honest chills“ (The Baltimore Sun). From “the scariest opening sequence of any horror picture in recent memory“ (Los Angeles Times) to “one of the gutsiest endings to a film this year“ (Dallas Morning News), Jeepers Creepers...
Blu-Ray lovers and horror fans alike will be happy to hear that MGM Home Entertainment will be releasing three great horror titles to Blu-Ray just in time for the Halloween season -- Jeepers Creepers, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Be sure to look for them at stores near you. Read more information about each of these titles from the official press release below.
........
Jeepers Creepers (Blu-ray)
You can keep your doors locked. You can keep your eyes closed. But still, he’ll get what he wants and what he wants is you. Brace yourself for “90 minutes of steadily mounting horror [that] delivers more than its share of honest chills“ (The Baltimore Sun). From “the scariest opening sequence of any horror picture in recent memory“ (Los Angeles Times) to “one of the gutsiest endings to a film this year“ (Dallas Morning News), Jeepers Creepers...
- 8/30/2012
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Fox is releasing three horror classics on Blu-ray on September 11th and we have the specs and cover art for each below.
I’m excited to see that director commentaries seem to be pretty much compulsory now!
Jeepers Creepers (2001, dir: Victor Salva)
You can keep your doors locked. You can keep your eyes closed. But still, he’ll get what he wants, and what he wants is you. Brace yourself for “90 minutes of steadily mounting horror [that] delivers more than its share of honest chills” (The Baltimore Sun). From “the scariest opening sequence of any horror picture in recent memory” (Los Angeles Times) to “one of the gutsiest endings to a film this year” (Dallas Morning News), Jeepers Creepers is the real deal in terror! On a desolate country highway, two homeward-bound teens (Gina Philips, Living Out Loud, and Justin Long, TV’s “Ed”) are nearly run off the road by...
I’m excited to see that director commentaries seem to be pretty much compulsory now!
Jeepers Creepers (2001, dir: Victor Salva)
You can keep your doors locked. You can keep your eyes closed. But still, he’ll get what he wants, and what he wants is you. Brace yourself for “90 minutes of steadily mounting horror [that] delivers more than its share of honest chills” (The Baltimore Sun). From “the scariest opening sequence of any horror picture in recent memory” (Los Angeles Times) to “one of the gutsiest endings to a film this year” (Dallas Morning News), Jeepers Creepers is the real deal in terror! On a desolate country highway, two homeward-bound teens (Gina Philips, Living Out Loud, and Justin Long, TV’s “Ed”) are nearly run off the road by...
- 8/29/2012
- by Alvin
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
As reported previously, Fox is giving everyone one hell of a Halloween-themed present as they're ready to release three timeless terror tales into the world of high-definition horror! Read on for all the specs!
Look for these three classics in stores on September 11th.
Jeepers Creepers (Blu-ray)
You can keep your doors locked. You can keep your eyes closed. But still, he’ll get what he wants, and what he wants is you. Brace yourself for "90 minutes of steadily mounting horror [that] delivers more than its share of honest chills" (The Baltimore Sun). From "the scariest opening sequence of any horror picture in recent memory" (Los Angeles Times) to "one of the gutsiest endings to a film this year" (Dallas Morning News), Jeepers Creepers is the real deal in terror! On a desolate country highway, two homeward-bound teens (Gina Philips, Living Out Loud, and Justin Long, TV’s "Ed") are...
Look for these three classics in stores on September 11th.
Jeepers Creepers (Blu-ray)
You can keep your doors locked. You can keep your eyes closed. But still, he’ll get what he wants, and what he wants is you. Brace yourself for "90 minutes of steadily mounting horror [that] delivers more than its share of honest chills" (The Baltimore Sun). From "the scariest opening sequence of any horror picture in recent memory" (Los Angeles Times) to "one of the gutsiest endings to a film this year" (Dallas Morning News), Jeepers Creepers is the real deal in terror! On a desolate country highway, two homeward-bound teens (Gina Philips, Living Out Loud, and Justin Long, TV’s "Ed") are...
- 8/28/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
We had an early report of these upcoming horror Blu-rays, but now it has been officially announced. Check out the release details, bonus features, and cover art for Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Jeepers Creepers, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2: Killer Klowns From Outer Space (Blu-ray) Finally the truth about clowns is out! Beneath their smirky sinister grins and wildly patterned clothes are clever killers from out of this world. The “juxtaposition of their toy-store arsenal and malevolent intent proves to be a tasty combination” (Los Angeles Times) in this killer entertainment that will leave you fearing these big-top creatures for good. A spaceship looking like a circus tent lands in a field near a small town, signaling the attack of deviant, red-nosed, balloon-twisting psychos from another world who plan to annihilate mankind by turning people into cotton candy! Luckily, the town’s teen citizenry decides to fight...
- 8/28/2012
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Actor Martin Donovan has starred in films such as “Trust,” “Amateur,” “The Portrait of a Lady,” “The Opposite of Sex,” “Living Out Loud,” “Insomnia,” “The Sentinel,” “The Haunting in Connecticut” and “Unthinkable,” and TV series such as “Wonderland,” “Weeds” and “Boss.” His first film as a writer-director, the Tribeca Film hostage tragi-comedy “Collaborator,” in which he stars with David Morse, is available now via cable VOD, iTunes, Amazon and Vudu, and opens theatrically in New York July 6 and in L.A. July 20. (You can follow the film on Facebook or Twitter, @DonovanWord.) After a few decades of toiling in the trenches as an actor, the Red Sea finally parted and I was given the chance to direct my own film, “Collaborator.” This miraculous event gave me the opportunity to test what I’ve learned about the...
- 7/5/2012
- by Martin Donovan
- Indiewire
While it looks like Hunger Games will likely take the spot of Twilight once it wraps up this fall, Warner Bros is putting in their bid for the female-centric young adult genre in the form Beautiful Creatures. The "supernatural star-crossed romance" (ugh already) is based on Margaret Stohl's popular 2009 novel and is currently shooting right now, under the direction of Richard Lagravenese. EW.com has published a first look at the two young leads - Alden Ehrenreich (Tetro, Twixt, Stoker) and newcomer Alice Englert, who play star-crossed lovers Ethan and Alice down in South Carolina. Oh boy, this is going to get steamy quick. Here's their new first look below, a quick photo of the two of them in a rather dreamy setting. How lovely! Based on the first novel in the five-book Caster Chronicles series, Beautiful Creatures is written & directed by Richard Lagravenese (Living Out Loud, Freedom Writers,...
- 5/4/2012
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Ja from Mnpp here with a bit of happy news for those of us who bow down before the awesome thespian powers of Emma Thompson (and our knees hurt because we've been bowing for awhile hoping it will make her work more often, to not enough avail) - she's at work on several new projects (that Richard Lagravenese project Beautiful Creatures sounds interesting to me, but then I've been waiting 15 years for him to make something as good as Living Out Loud) and today it's been announced she's actually going to go back and play a character she already has before... and it's not Nanny McPhee! She was nominated for an Oscar for playing the human rights attorney Gareth Pierce in 1993's In the Name of the Father and she's going to play Pierce again, says Screen Daily.
"The Middle East- and London-set drama [called The Secret Evidence] follows a young British couple mistakenly...
"The Middle East- and London-set drama [called The Secret Evidence] follows a young British couple mistakenly...
- 4/4/2012
- by JA
- FilmExperience
Skins star Jack O'Connell has landed the lead role in a new supernatural love story feature film ''Beautiful Creatures.''
Based on the first novel in a series known as the Caister Chronicles, it could be the start of a new Twilight-esque franchise, with Beautiful Creatures being followed by the subsequent books in the series Beautiful Darkness and Beautiful Chaos.
Jack will star alongside New Zealander Alice Englert as the two teenage lovers - Ethan, a local boy who meets and becomes bewitched by Lena Duchannes, a 16-year-old whose family has moved to his small South Carolina town. The two must confront a curse that's haunted her family for generations as they uncover dark secrets about their families, their history and their town, and Lena has to come to grips with her powers.
Jack (represented by Conway Van Gelder) will be seen this year in the Michael Morpugo adaptation Private Peaceful,...
Based on the first novel in a series known as the Caister Chronicles, it could be the start of a new Twilight-esque franchise, with Beautiful Creatures being followed by the subsequent books in the series Beautiful Darkness and Beautiful Chaos.
Jack will star alongside New Zealander Alice Englert as the two teenage lovers - Ethan, a local boy who meets and becomes bewitched by Lena Duchannes, a 16-year-old whose family has moved to his small South Carolina town. The two must confront a curse that's haunted her family for generations as they uncover dark secrets about their families, their history and their town, and Lena has to come to grips with her powers.
Jack (represented by Conway Van Gelder) will be seen this year in the Michael Morpugo adaptation Private Peaceful,...
- 2/9/2012
- by noreply@blogger.com (ScreenTerrier)
- ScreenTerrier
Last week we reported that Viola Davis going to be starring in Ender’s Game and Beautiful Creatures. The latter movie would be based on series of popular young adult novels that follow the story of two teenage lovers one of which uncovers dark secrets about their families, their history, and their town.
Now Variety has word that Jack O’Connell and Alice Englert have been given lead roles in Beautiful Creatures. According to the trade the movie will follow the two as they play two teenage lovers who “uncover dark secrets about their families, their history and their town.”
The movie will be based on Kami Carcia and Margaret Stohl’s Caster Chronicle series of the same name and will be directed by Richard Lagravenese (Living Out Loud, Freedom Writers, P.S. I Love You). The first book, Beautiful Creatures, tells the story of Ethan (Jack O’Connell) meeting a new town resident,...
Now Variety has word that Jack O’Connell and Alice Englert have been given lead roles in Beautiful Creatures. According to the trade the movie will follow the two as they play two teenage lovers who “uncover dark secrets about their families, their history and their town.”
The movie will be based on Kami Carcia and Margaret Stohl’s Caster Chronicle series of the same name and will be directed by Richard Lagravenese (Living Out Loud, Freedom Writers, P.S. I Love You). The first book, Beautiful Creatures, tells the story of Ethan (Jack O’Connell) meeting a new town resident,...
- 2/8/2012
- by Mike Lee
- FusedFilm
Not to be confused with the drama Beautiful Creatures from 2000, this project is an adaptation of another popular young adult book series titled Beautiful Creatures, written by Kami Carcia and Margaret Stohl. Alcon Entertainment is developing at Warner Bros, and they've just announced their two leads who will star in the film, along with Viola Davis who was just cast last week. Jack O'Connell ("Skins", This is England, Harry Brown) and newcomer Alice Englert (The Water Diary) will star as the two teenage lovers - a local boy, and a "mysterious new girl who uncover dark secrets about their families, their history and their town." Based on the first novel in the five-book Caster Chronicles series, Beautiful Creatures will be written and directed by Richard Lagravenese (Living Out Loud, Freedom Writers, P.S. I Love You). The coming of age story will start shooting in April in New Orleans. Jack O'Connell...
- 2/8/2012
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
As someone who wishes he were a cast member (or extra or whatever) in Living Single or Living Out Loud (if you haven’t seen it, see it), I have a soft spot for 90′s R&B. Check the Most Played tracks on my iPod, and make way for Deborah Cox, Jodeci, and Blackstreet. It’s how I live, and despite my heavy Caucasian guilt, I’m proud of my unrelenting taste in music, and the fact that, in junior high, I was listening to Erykah Badu when other kids my age were listening to The Offspring (sorry, The Offspring, but I just don’t think it’s going to work out) (P.S. I was a weird kid). Good news, then, to those like me! We can rejoice in a new video from Mark “Return Of The Mack” Morrison, who — despite his unyielding penchant for getting arrested — is still The Best.
- 6/7/2011
- by Eliot Glazer
- BestWeekEver
Updated: Ok, so I’ve had way to many emails from you guys pointing out that the Oscar form isn’t working for some of you this time around. I’ve put my best team of problem solvers on the issue and they can’t work it out, but 7 or 8 of you have told me it’s not working for you… so I presume there’s many more out there. To date we’ve had a little less entries than last time, so this problem is too much for me to ignore.
My only solution for now is for you to email your picks to editor@obsessedwithfilm.com. I will be collating results on Monday or Tuesday, so you’ve got a bit of time left to enter.
Now you’ve read our 1999 Academy Awards retrospective, here’s your chance to re-write history without the hassle of going back in...
My only solution for now is for you to email your picks to editor@obsessedwithfilm.com. I will be collating results on Monday or Tuesday, so you’ve got a bit of time left to enter.
Now you’ve read our 1999 Academy Awards retrospective, here’s your chance to re-write history without the hassle of going back in...
- 12/11/2010
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
Start with Pt 1 of this 90s Flashback... if you're confused about what's going on. To make a long story short, I'm excerpting items from an old zine I wrote in Spring 2000, during the first year of the website. Yes, I was originally juggling too many things. Why that's not like me At All.
We previously covered my dated lists for Actors, Supporting Actresses and Supporting Actors -- lists I don't agree with in full anymore (though the supporting actresses list I quite like still). So now we move on to Picture and Actress.
Best Actress
Top ten chronological order. What follows is original text from the magazine, with the winner in bold text. I had purposefully excluded 1999 which is why you don't see Kate Winslet for Holy Smoke or Hilary Swank for Boy's Don't Cry though here's what I wrote about Swank in that same zine...
I'm rooting for Swank on Oscar night.
We previously covered my dated lists for Actors, Supporting Actresses and Supporting Actors -- lists I don't agree with in full anymore (though the supporting actresses list I quite like still). So now we move on to Picture and Actress.
Best Actress
Top ten chronological order. What follows is original text from the magazine, with the winner in bold text. I had purposefully excluded 1999 which is why you don't see Kate Winslet for Holy Smoke or Hilary Swank for Boy's Don't Cry though here's what I wrote about Swank in that same zine...
I'm rooting for Swank on Oscar night.
- 8/30/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Ellen Lewis on Michael ShannonWhen I was asked to write about an actor I love, Michael Shannon immediately jumped into my mind. It probably stems from the fact that I'm from Chicago, where Michael lived and worked for many years.In 1998 Paula Muzik, an agent in Chicago, called to tell me about Michael, who was coming to New York in the play "Killer Joe." There was an intensity and disturbing quality to Michael's performance in "Killer Joe." Combined with his physical presence and dark humor, he slightly frightened you. He was unlike any actor I had seen before, and it was exciting to think about the roles one could try him for.Years later I was casting "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" for Sidney Lumet. Sid's office at the time was at Sound One. Casting for Sidney, as other casting directors can attest, is an amazing experience—and unusual,...
- 7/7/2010
- backstage.com
We're looking at each Meryl Streep Oscar nod and its competitive field.
Previously: 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 90 and 95
Twenty years after her first nomination for The Deer Hunter (1978) Meryl Streep replaced Bette Davis as runner up to Katharine Hepburn's Oscar throne with her cancer victim in One True Thing. For a very short time period (i.e. twelve months) the three legends had a 10-11-12 Oscar nomination spread. Streep would soon leave both Hepburn and Davis in the dust. But we'll get to her #1 status when it rolls around.
1998 the nominees were
Cate Blanchett, ElizabethFernanda Montenegro, Central Station *Nathaniel's vote*
Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in LoveMeryl Streep, One True ThingEmily Watson, Hilary & Jackie
The Blanchett vs. Paltrow contest has arguably been the most discussed in modern Oscar Actress history with the possible exception of Swank vs. Bening (both rounds). People still get hot under their ruffs about this one a full dozen years later.
Previously: 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 90 and 95
Twenty years after her first nomination for The Deer Hunter (1978) Meryl Streep replaced Bette Davis as runner up to Katharine Hepburn's Oscar throne with her cancer victim in One True Thing. For a very short time period (i.e. twelve months) the three legends had a 10-11-12 Oscar nomination spread. Streep would soon leave both Hepburn and Davis in the dust. But we'll get to her #1 status when it rolls around.
1998 the nominees were
Cate Blanchett, ElizabethFernanda Montenegro, Central Station *Nathaniel's vote*
Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in LoveMeryl Streep, One True ThingEmily Watson, Hilary & Jackie
The Blanchett vs. Paltrow contest has arguably been the most discussed in modern Oscar Actress history with the possible exception of Swank vs. Bening (both rounds). People still get hot under their ruffs about this one a full dozen years later.
- 6/20/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
It's only fitting that Queen Latifah's namesake chess piece is the one that can move in any direction. There's hardly a title this Queen doesn't own: rapper, actor, producer, and the author of two books, including the just-released "Put on Your Crown," a tome on self-esteem that falls somewhere between biography and self-help book. Born Dana Owens, Latifah was a teenager when she won raves for her 1989 debut album "All Hail the Queen," in which she announced her arrival with, "A woman can bear you, break you, take you/Now it's time to rhyme, can you relate to/A sister dope enough to make you holler and scream."Latifah soon transitioned into acting with a turn in Spike Lee's 1992 film "Jungle Fever." Eager to see a wider range of women represented on television, she co-created and starred in the comedy "Living Single," which ran for five seasons on Fox.
- 5/12/2010
- backstage.com
11/17 ~ Todays special boys and girls. Are you one of them?
Mischa, Marty and Rachel
1897 Frank Fay, aka Mr. Barbara Stanwyck. The theory goes that their troubled marriage was the basis of A Star is Born. That story is so big it's practically it's own franchise. I can't stop thinking about it today: Stanwyck through the lens of Gaynor, Garland, Streisand. Yummy!) Even if it's only an urban La legend, I love to think about it. Fay, a popular comedic actor, was also the originator of the Harvey role (on stage) before Jimmy Stewart got to it.
1901 Lee Strasberg, the hugely influential acting teacher that helped popularize "The Method" Students included... well, basically a whose who of late 40s / early 50s giants of the silver screen.
1905 Mischa Auer, very tall actor of oversized comic turns. You'll remember him from the blissfully funny My Man Godfrey and best picture winner You Can't Take It With You...
Mischa, Marty and Rachel
1897 Frank Fay, aka Mr. Barbara Stanwyck. The theory goes that their troubled marriage was the basis of A Star is Born. That story is so big it's practically it's own franchise. I can't stop thinking about it today: Stanwyck through the lens of Gaynor, Garland, Streisand. Yummy!) Even if it's only an urban La legend, I love to think about it. Fay, a popular comedic actor, was also the originator of the Harvey role (on stage) before Jimmy Stewart got to it.
1901 Lee Strasberg, the hugely influential acting teacher that helped popularize "The Method" Students included... well, basically a whose who of late 40s / early 50s giants of the silver screen.
1905 Mischa Auer, very tall actor of oversized comic turns. You'll remember him from the blissfully funny My Man Godfrey and best picture winner You Can't Take It With You...
- 11/17/2009
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
When Lynda Obst packaged her romantic-comedy project "What Was I Thinking?" with stars Leslie Mann and Elizabeth Banks attached, the studio at the top of her list was New Line. "I purposely took it there first; they did 'He's Just Not That Into You,' " the producer said, citing the hit ensemble romantic comedy, released by New Line in February, that grossed nearly $94 million domestically.
That same studio is now casting another ensemble romancer, "Valentine's Day," assembling a lineup that includes Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway and Bradley Cooper. It's also about to roll on the Drew Barrymore-Justin Long comedy "Going the Distance."
In short, the house that Freddy Krueger built suddenly finds itself home to a flock of chick flicks.
In the old days, New Line gave off a decidedly masculine vibe, churning out horror movies like the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series and such raucous comedies...
That same studio is now casting another ensemble romancer, "Valentine's Day," assembling a lineup that includes Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway and Bradley Cooper. It's also about to roll on the Drew Barrymore-Justin Long comedy "Going the Distance."
In short, the house that Freddy Krueger built suddenly finds itself home to a flock of chick flicks.
In the old days, New Line gave off a decidedly masculine vibe, churning out horror movies like the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series and such raucous comedies...
- 7/8/2009
- by By Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Richard LaGravenese is returning to the director's seat with PS, I Love You for Warner Bros. Pictures. Wendy Finerman is producing. Based on the novel PS, I Love You by Cecilia Ahern, the story centers on a grieving young widow who discovers that her late husband has left her a list of tasks revealed in 10 messages, delivered anonymously, intended to ease her out of grief and transition her to a new life. The book was a best seller in the United Kingdom and was published in the United States by Hyperion this year. Ahern is the daughter of the Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern. Steven Rogers is adapting the novel. Polly Cohen is the creative executive for Warner Bros. LaGravenese directed Living Out Loud. His extensive writing credits include The Horse Whisperer, The Mirror Has Two Faces, Monster-in-Law and In Search of Ted Demme. He is completing the screenplay for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty for producers Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and John Goldwyn. Finerman produced Forrest Gump, Stepmom and Drumline. Rogers has worked with Finerman on Stepmom. He also wrote Kate & Leopold and Hope Floats. LaGravenese is repped by CAA. Rogers is repped by UTA.
- 10/25/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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