
MollywoodMammootty's flair for dialects was noticed even in one of his earliest films, Padmarajan's Koodevidey.Mammootty in a still from Pranchiyettan and the Saint | FacebookIn the Anwar Rasheed directed Rajamanickyam, Mammootty plays Bellari Raja—an unschooled buffalo seller who spouts chaste Thiruvananthapuram slang. He renders it with a loud comical drawl and it is considered an image breaker for someone who is often lampooned for his inability to pull off comedy. So, it is ironic and momentous that he creates an epic emotional act in the middle of that hilarious mayhem. In that scene, where he reveals his identity to his mother, Mammootty brings forth the intensity and pathos he is known for, within the parameters of a local dialect. And no, he doesn’t go off the mark even for a nanosecond. He intones it with the same microscopic detailing he displayed while rendering that loud “Thirontharam” slang. Many...
- 9/7/2021
- by AditiKumar
- The News Minute

The SAG-aftra Foundation’s Covid-19 Relief Fund has distributed more than $4 million in direct financial assistance to some 4,000 SAG-aftra members in urgent need, with hundreds of applications still being reviewed. In his seventh “fireside chat,” Foundation president Courtney B. Vance noted today that “it’s still taking approximately three weeks to receive assistance, so please hang in there and be patient.”
See his latest “fireside chat” here:
Grants typically are for $1,000 to help pay for basic living expenses, such as food, housing and health care. “With over 100,000 actors out of work, our Disaster Relief Fund will need multiple millions of dollars to help those in need, so every dollar counts,” the Foundation states on its website. “The SAG-aftra Foundation operates solely on grants and donations and many of the industry’s top earners are supporting the Foundation.” The Relief Fund is administered by the Actors Fund.
Offering words of encouragement,...
See his latest “fireside chat” here:
Grants typically are for $1,000 to help pay for basic living expenses, such as food, housing and health care. “With over 100,000 actors out of work, our Disaster Relief Fund will need multiple millions of dollars to help those in need, so every dollar counts,” the Foundation states on its website. “The SAG-aftra Foundation operates solely on grants and donations and many of the industry’s top earners are supporting the Foundation.” The Relief Fund is administered by the Actors Fund.
Offering words of encouragement,...
- 5/12/2020
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
Actress Jeanna Michaels passed away on May 23 after a brief battle with lymphoma. She was 62.
"My passion for make-believe, my crude theatrical talent, and my friends (imaginary and otherwise) were what started me in productions from Coast to Coast," Michael wrote in her bio on the Compass Players website. She was the founder and Producing Artistic Director. "My father moved us from Manchester, Ct to the San Fernando Valley in California, and my living room productions led to award-winning high school and college productions." I was fortunate to be accepted as a Theater Arts major at UCLA. There, under the tutelage of Michael Gordon, I learned the craft and the business of theater. I was further blessed with other mentors like Stella Adler, Michael Shurtleff, and Ken McMillan. They transitioned me from a shy, gawky teenager to one of the million or so would-be-actors looking for a job—All of whom are talented,...
"My passion for make-believe, my crude theatrical talent, and my friends (imaginary and otherwise) were what started me in productions from Coast to Coast," Michael wrote in her bio on the Compass Players website. She was the founder and Producing Artistic Director. "My father moved us from Manchester, Ct to the San Fernando Valley in California, and my living room productions led to award-winning high school and college productions." I was fortunate to be accepted as a Theater Arts major at UCLA. There, under the tutelage of Michael Gordon, I learned the craft and the business of theater. I was further blessed with other mentors like Stella Adler, Michael Shurtleff, and Ken McMillan. They transitioned me from a shy, gawky teenager to one of the million or so would-be-actors looking for a job—All of whom are talented,...
- 6/26/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps


Ellen Albertini Dow, a multi-faceted performer and acting coach perhaps best known for spitting a fire rendition of "Rapper's Delight" in Adam Sandler's The Wedding Singer, died Monday, May 4th, Deadline reports. She was 101.
Along with her scene-stealing turn as The Wedding Singer's rapping granny (not to be confused with the actual Rappin' Granny, Vivian Smallwood), Dow has appeared in countless films and TV shows, despite beginning her on-screen career as a septuagenarian.
Dow's film credits included parts in Sister Act, Patch Adams and 54, while her feisty demeanor...
Along with her scene-stealing turn as The Wedding Singer's rapping granny (not to be confused with the actual Rappin' Granny, Vivian Smallwood), Dow has appeared in countless films and TV shows, despite beginning her on-screen career as a septuagenarian.
Dow's film credits included parts in Sister Act, Patch Adams and 54, while her feisty demeanor...
- 5/5/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Some sad news this morning, we have learned that Ellen Albertini Dow, who appeared in more than 100 shows and movies, died yesterday at 101 years old reports Deadline. She’s probably best known for her role as the rapping granny in Adam Sandler‘s The Wedding Singer.
Albertini Dow studied acting with Michael Shurtleff and Uta Hagen in NYC, worked with mimes Marcel Marceau and Jacques LeCog in Paris and played the Borscht Belt as part of a comedy act before moving west to teach in the drama department at Los Angeles City College. The Pennsylvania native later transferred to Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley, where her husband Eugene Dow launched the theater department where they both taught. Albertini Dow retired from teaching in 1985 and went on to study acting at the American Film Institute.
She will be missed. Drop a beat, Ellen:...
Albertini Dow studied acting with Michael Shurtleff and Uta Hagen in NYC, worked with mimes Marcel Marceau and Jacques LeCog in Paris and played the Borscht Belt as part of a comedy act before moving west to teach in the drama department at Los Angeles City College. The Pennsylvania native later transferred to Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley, where her husband Eugene Dow launched the theater department where they both taught. Albertini Dow retired from teaching in 1985 and went on to study acting at the American Film Institute.
She will be missed. Drop a beat, Ellen:...
- 5/5/2015
- by Graham McMorrow
- City of Films
Ellen Albertini Dow, whose memorable take on “Rapper’s Delight” stole the show in the 1998 Adam Sandler movie The Wedding Singer — and whose screen career started in her 70s — died today. She was 101. Her longtime manager Juliet Green confirmed the actress’ death to Deadline but offered no details. Albertini Dow studied acting with Michael Shurtleff and Uta Hagen in NYC, worked with mimes Marcel Marceau and Jacques LeCog in Paris and played the Borscht Belt as part of a…...
- 5/5/2015
- Deadline TV


Ellen Albertini Dow, whose memorable take on “Rapper’s Delight” stole the show in the 1998 Adam Sandler movie The Wedding Singer — and whose screen career started in her 70s — died today. She was 101. Her longtime manager Juliet Green confirmed the actress’ death to Deadline but offered no details. Albertini Dow studied acting with Michael Shurtleff and Uta Hagen in NYC, worked with mimes Marcel Marceau and Jacques LeCog in Paris and played the Borscht Belt as part of a…...
- 5/5/2015
- Deadline
None of us are the same person all the time. We change according to the people we are around; they draw different aspects of us out of ourselves. A sibling may draw us into the role of younger or older sibling automatically. A guy talking with other guys may talk and act one way and, on seeing a pretty girl, turn around and talk and act completely differently. Have you ever said or felt that a certain person brings out the best or worst in you? It’s probably true. You do it to others as well.
What’s true in life should be true in our writing. One of the major purposes of supporting characters, major or minor, good or bad, is to draw out aspects of the protagonist. There are differences between who we think we are and who we actually are and it’s other people and...
What’s true in life should be true in our writing. One of the major purposes of supporting characters, major or minor, good or bad, is to draw out aspects of the protagonist. There are differences between who we think we are and who we actually are and it’s other people and...
- 3/24/2013
- by John Ostrander
- Comicmix.com
First, Utah Republicans sang "Call Me Maybe." Now the Republican nominee for Washington governor, Rob McKenna, is getting in on a pop culture craze.
McKenna, the state attorney general, and his wife, Marilyn, danced Gangnam style at the Washington State Korean Association Korean Day event on Saturday. Marilyn McKenna promoted video of the pair on stage with a group of dancers on her Twitter account Tuesday afternoon and attracted the attention of Seattle Times political reporter Jim Brunner.
The McKennas joined the Korean dance craze that has swept the world in recent weeks. The video shows the state's top lawman and his wife gyrating, twisting and waving their arms wildly on stage for 2 1/2 minutes to cheers from the crowd. Several people can be seen rushing the stage to shoot video of the potential first couple dancing.
Not everyone's a fan, though. Marilyn McKenna tweeted that the couple's 12-year-old son offered...
McKenna, the state attorney general, and his wife, Marilyn, danced Gangnam style at the Washington State Korean Association Korean Day event on Saturday. Marilyn McKenna promoted video of the pair on stage with a group of dancers on her Twitter account Tuesday afternoon and attracted the attention of Seattle Times political reporter Jim Brunner.
The McKennas joined the Korean dance craze that has swept the world in recent weeks. The video shows the state's top lawman and his wife gyrating, twisting and waving their arms wildly on stage for 2 1/2 minutes to cheers from the crowd. Several people can be seen rushing the stage to shoot video of the potential first couple dancing.
Not everyone's a fan, though. Marilyn McKenna tweeted that the couple's 12-year-old son offered...
- 10/10/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Adding laughter is one of the best things an actor can do to take a performance from safe to spectacular. Whether in a comedy or a drama, great actors sprinkle laughter throughout their performances—not necessarily guffaws (although they're wonderful too), but social laughs masking nervousness, laughs to release tension, or laughs that come from an eagerness to please, for instance. Laughter is the social grease of human beings. Watch how often people around you laugh. You will be amazed how seldom we laugh because something is funny. The comedian Bob Newhart said, "Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it, and then move on."Make Unexpected ChoicesI called my book "How to Make Your Audience Fall in Love With You" because every actor needs to make appealing choices. Well, there is nothing more appealing than humor. Whether the laughs arise from...
- 12/29/2010
- backstage.com
How to Get a Great HeadshotThe most critical factor in getting great headshots is to find the right photographer for you. The best place to start is to ask actor friends who they recommend, especially if you like their headshots. If you're new to town and don't know many actors yet, try asking fellow students—because of course you're taking a class. You can also visit a reputable photo lab that specializes in headshot photography and ask for a list of recommended photographers.Though it's important that you are impressed by a photographer's portfolio or website, it's more important that you feel comfortable with the person you're hiring. Always meet in person with the photographer ahead of time to make sure that you are going to get along. Nothing is worse than having your picture taken by someone who makes you uncomfortable.While there's the cliché that it's all in...
- 5/5/2010
- backstage.com
We've all encountered those overly cerebral, mechanical actors—the ones so busy measuring beats and sorting objectives and obstacles that they don't really hear their scene partners' lines. Whatever the role, these actors do it by the book.But the "book" is more than just proverbial. It's constantly being written and rewritten, with publishers releasing a steady stream of new tomes on the craft and business of acting each year.We spoke with actors, coaches, and teachers to find out which titles are essential. They all agreed that although you can't master the art of acting by only following an instruction manual—like those misguided robotic actors—it's nonetheless beneficial to own at least a library shelf or two of books devoted to your profession.Rocking the ClassicsUnsurprisingly, among the titles most often mentioned by Back Stage's respondents were such venerable texts as "Sanford Meisner on Acting" (1987), Stella Adler...
- 1/28/2010
- backstage.com
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