Exclusive: Linda Lowy, the Emmy award-winning casting director of Grey’s Anatomy and Friday Night Lights, has launched Backyard Casting with longtime colleagues Morgan Smith and Lily Trotter.
Lowy is the 2013 recipient of the Casting Society of America Hoyt Bowers achievement award and has nine Emmy nominations; she won three for Grey’s Anatomy, Friday Night Lights and Bastard Out of Carolina.
The Backyard Casting idea was hatched during the pandemic in Lowy’s backyard. Backyard casting is based in Los Angeles and will offer casting services for film and television.
A veteran feature film casting director before venturing into television, Lowy cast shows for more than 17 years under the Shonda Rhimes banner, including Greys, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder and Inventing Anna, in addition to many projects outside of Shondaland.
Lowy also served as the casting consultant for TNT from 2014-2019.
From 2019-22, Lowy was Executive VP of Casting...
Lowy is the 2013 recipient of the Casting Society of America Hoyt Bowers achievement award and has nine Emmy nominations; she won three for Grey’s Anatomy, Friday Night Lights and Bastard Out of Carolina.
The Backyard Casting idea was hatched during the pandemic in Lowy’s backyard. Backyard casting is based in Los Angeles and will offer casting services for film and television.
A veteran feature film casting director before venturing into television, Lowy cast shows for more than 17 years under the Shonda Rhimes banner, including Greys, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder and Inventing Anna, in addition to many projects outside of Shondaland.
Lowy also served as the casting consultant for TNT from 2014-2019.
From 2019-22, Lowy was Executive VP of Casting...
- 1/26/2024
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
While Anjelica Huston is the daughter of iconic, award-winning film director John Huston, she’s become a legend herself over several decades as a fashion model, actor, and director. Huston’s enjoyed a highly successful career racking up many awards including an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and several Emmy nominations. Still working today, she is regarded as one of the finest actors of her generation. And that’s in part why she chose not to become a mom.
Anjelica Huston is an award-winning actor
Huston started out as a model, working for some of fashion’s biggest names in the 1970s. It wasn’t long until she realized that what she really wanted to do was become an actor. She began taking acting classes in Los Angeles.
In 1985, she had her first breakout role in the film Prizzi’s Honor, a film directed by her father. She won an Academy Award...
Anjelica Huston is an award-winning actor
Huston started out as a model, working for some of fashion’s biggest names in the 1970s. It wasn’t long until she realized that what she really wanted to do was become an actor. She began taking acting classes in Los Angeles.
In 1985, she had her first breakout role in the film Prizzi’s Honor, a film directed by her father. She won an Academy Award...
- 3/23/2023
- by Tina Pavlik
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
With Michael B. Jordan making his directorial debut with Creed III this weekend, we wanted to know what film by a first time Actor turned Director has been your favorite? Some came out of the gates with Oscar Glory (Kevin Costner/ Robert Redford) while others found a passion they haven’t looked back from (Ron Howard/ Sofia Coppola). If you don’t see your favorite listed, please let us know what (and who) it is in the comments section.
Update: I have rightly been called out for listing Braveheart as Mel Gibson’s first film when he actually directed a film prior to that called The Man Without a Face in 1993. So I guess the results are slightly skewed, but really, wasn’t Braveheart the first Mel Gibson directed film we all saw?!
Favorite Film by a First Time Actor Turned DirectorThat Thing You Do! (1996) (Tom Hanks)Ordinary People (1980) (Robert Redford)In a World…...
Update: I have rightly been called out for listing Braveheart as Mel Gibson’s first film when he actually directed a film prior to that called The Man Without a Face in 1993. So I guess the results are slightly skewed, but really, wasn’t Braveheart the first Mel Gibson directed film we all saw?!
Favorite Film by a First Time Actor Turned DirectorThat Thing You Do! (1996) (Tom Hanks)Ordinary People (1980) (Robert Redford)In a World…...
- 3/5/2023
- by Brad Hamerly
- JoBlo.com
Country music royalty is headed to Big Sky: Deadly Trails. Singers Darius Rucker and Lyle Lovett will guest star in an upcoming episode of the ABC series, which also features Reba McEntire. Rucker will portray a character named Possum, who, according to the release is “a hired gun who works at night like his nocturnal namesake.” Lovett is set to play Tex, a seemingly well-mannered cowboy and tracking specialist with a hidden menacing side and partner to Possum. Lovett recently guest starred as a ranger on Blue Bloods and has appeared in movies like Short Cuts and Bastard Out Of Carolina. Rucker has appeared on reality shows The Voice and Rucker’s Reno about his renovation of a historic mansion in Charleston. “Welcome to Montana, a place where the horizon never ends, full of friendly folk just trying to do right. but in the untamed wilderness, you never know what...
- 10/6/2022
- TV Insider
Today marks the 60th birthday of one of the finest and most underrated actors working: the great Jennifer Jason Leigh. Aside from a brief dalliance with the mainstream in the early 90s, her 40+ year career has been spent largely in independent cinema, from her beginnings elevating schlock like Eyes of a Stranger to her most recent role in Lena Dunham’s Sundance 2022 entry, Sharp Stick.
Leigh has never shown any interest in airing any part of her life offscreen in public. This is likely one of the reasons she has gone under the radar throughout her career. She has amassed huge respect in the industry, but her lack of interest in trophy chasing has meant she has just one Oscar nomination to her name and her pursuit of privacy and choice of roles that she’s never been a huge star. I get the feeling that’s exactly how she wants it.
Leigh has never shown any interest in airing any part of her life offscreen in public. This is likely one of the reasons she has gone under the radar throughout her career. She has amassed huge respect in the industry, but her lack of interest in trophy chasing has meant she has just one Oscar nomination to her name and her pursuit of privacy and choice of roles that she’s never been a huge star. I get the feeling that’s exactly how she wants it.
- 2/5/2022
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
In service to the director’s vision on a project, production designer Nelson Coates is an artistic pied piper. “You want to [construct] a visual arc and take people on that journey,” he says.
Having scoured locations in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand for Jon M. Chu’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” the two reunite for “In the Heights.” This time the job was to find areas in Washington Heights that represented the area’s diversity. “You’re trying to do a deep dive into a specific culture, food, furniture, art — the things that are held so dear [locally] that they’re just as important to the storytelling process,” Coates says. The neighborhood includes a mix of Puerto Rican, Dominican and Cuban influences. “So,” the designer continues, “helping delineate those cultures and also making them germane to what you see in Washington Heights was very important to the story.”
Exploration was key. Coates combed every street of the Heights,...
Having scoured locations in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand for Jon M. Chu’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” the two reunite for “In the Heights.” This time the job was to find areas in Washington Heights that represented the area’s diversity. “You’re trying to do a deep dive into a specific culture, food, furniture, art — the things that are held so dear [locally] that they’re just as important to the storytelling process,” Coates says. The neighborhood includes a mix of Puerto Rican, Dominican and Cuban influences. “So,” the designer continues, “helping delineate those cultures and also making them germane to what you see in Washington Heights was very important to the story.”
Exploration was key. Coates combed every street of the Heights,...
- 2/7/2020
- by Carla Renata
- Variety Film + TV
When Greta Gerwig’s already-lauded “Lady Bird” hits limited release later this week, the actress-writer-director will join a long line of other female filmmakers who used their directorial debut (this one is Gerwig’s solo directorial debut, just for clarity’s sake) to not only launch their careers, but make a huge mark while doing it. Gerwig’s Saoirse Ronan-starring coming-of-age tale is an instant classic, and one that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who has enjoyed Gerwig’s charming work as a screenwriter in recent years, bolstered by her ear for dialogue and her love of complicated and complex leading ladies.
While Hollywood still lags when it comes to offering up opportunities to its most talented female filmmakers, many of them have overcome the dismal stats to deliver compelling, interesting, and unique first features. In short, they’re good filmmakers who made good movies,...
While Hollywood still lags when it comes to offering up opportunities to its most talented female filmmakers, many of them have overcome the dismal stats to deliver compelling, interesting, and unique first features. In short, they’re good filmmakers who made good movies,...
- 11/1/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
TV and film star Glenne Headly died on Thursday at the age of 63, Et can confirm. No cause of death was provided.
"It is with deep sorrow that we confirm the passing of Glenne Headly," her reps said in a statement. "We ask that her family's privacy be respected in this difficult time."
Headly was best known for her work in the films Dick Tracy, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Mr. Holland's Opus. In 1989, she was nominated for an Emmy for her role in the TV miniseries Lonesome Dove, and again in 1996 for the Showtime film adaptation of Bastard Out of Carolina. Other credits include Mortal Thoughts, 2 Days in the Valley, ER, The Night Of and Monk.
At the time of her death, the New London, Connecticut, native was working opposite Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson on Future Man, a Hulu comedy from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
Hutcherson reacted to the tragic news on Instagram, penning a beautiful...
"It is with deep sorrow that we confirm the passing of Glenne Headly," her reps said in a statement. "We ask that her family's privacy be respected in this difficult time."
Headly was best known for her work in the films Dick Tracy, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Mr. Holland's Opus. In 1989, she was nominated for an Emmy for her role in the TV miniseries Lonesome Dove, and again in 1996 for the Showtime film adaptation of Bastard Out of Carolina. Other credits include Mortal Thoughts, 2 Days in the Valley, ER, The Night Of and Monk.
At the time of her death, the New London, Connecticut, native was working opposite Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson on Future Man, a Hulu comedy from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
Hutcherson reacted to the tragic news on Instagram, penning a beautiful...
- 6/9/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
Glenne Headly, star of films like Dick Tracy, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Mr. Holland's Opus, died Thursday night at the age of 62. The actress died from complications of a pulmonary embolism, her husband Bryan McColloch told the New York Times.
Headly's representative confirmed the actress' death to Deadline. "It is with deep sorrow that we confirm the passing of Glenne Headly," the rep said. "We ask that her family's privacy be respected in this difficult time."
At the time of her death, Headly was co-starring alongside Josh Hutcherson and Ed Begley Jr....
Headly's representative confirmed the actress' death to Deadline. "It is with deep sorrow that we confirm the passing of Glenne Headly," the rep said. "We ask that her family's privacy be respected in this difficult time."
At the time of her death, Headly was co-starring alongside Josh Hutcherson and Ed Begley Jr....
- 6/9/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Two-time Emmy nominee Glenne Headly died on Thursday at age 63. A cause of death was not immediately determined.
“It is with deep sorrow that we confirm the passing of Glenne Headly,” her reps said in a statement to our sister site Deadline. “We ask that her family’s privacy be respected in this difficult time.”
An original member of the Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble, the actress’ early stage credits included Off Broadway’s Extremities and The Philanthropist.
On TV, Headly earned her first Emmy nomination for playing Elmira Boot Johnson in 1989’s Lonesome Dove miniseries; her second came with Showtime’s...
“It is with deep sorrow that we confirm the passing of Glenne Headly,” her reps said in a statement to our sister site Deadline. “We ask that her family’s privacy be respected in this difficult time.”
An original member of the Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble, the actress’ early stage credits included Off Broadway’s Extremities and The Philanthropist.
On TV, Headly earned her first Emmy nomination for playing Elmira Boot Johnson in 1989’s Lonesome Dove miniseries; her second came with Showtime’s...
- 6/9/2017
- TVLine.com
With "Smash" behind her, Anjelica Huston is free to do press rounds for her new memoir, "A Story Lately Told." In the book she dishes on her childhood growing up in Ireland, her famous philandering director father John, how she coped with her mother's death in a car crash, and her experience meeting her half-brother Danny when he was already two years old. Huston invited CBS to her ranch in Northern California, where she rides horses (watch it here). On Charlie Rose (watch below), she credits "charming" Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter with pressuring her to write the book. A second book is in the works, with more challenging material for her to grapple with. Why? "More of the people are alive," she tells Rose, asserting that she has no intention of hurting anyone.I met Huston in Cannes in 1996 when she was promoting "Bastard Out of Carolina," her excellent...
- 12/3/2013
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Tags: Morning BrewSamantha RonsonLindsay LohanCarla BruniDorothy AllisonJeanette WintersonIMDb
Good morning! I hope you all had a nice long weekend.
Lindsay Lohan spoke with Us Weekly about her relationship with Samantha Ronson.
Two toxic people cannot be together. End of story. We’re friends now. That’s how it started so I think that’s how it was meant to be. I was bold enough to say, "Yeah I like a girl. And?" That put her in a situation where she was being attacked every day. That’s not fair. And what am I left with? Heartbreak. That was three years ago. It was my last serious relationship.
"Didn't we almost have it all?"
Photo by Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty
And now Britney Spears' "Toxic" is in my head.
Calgary Stampeder Jon Cornish has two moms, and one of them is an Anglican priest. Pretty rad.
Jeanette Winterson wrote about...
Good morning! I hope you all had a nice long weekend.
Lindsay Lohan spoke with Us Weekly about her relationship with Samantha Ronson.
Two toxic people cannot be together. End of story. We’re friends now. That’s how it started so I think that’s how it was meant to be. I was bold enough to say, "Yeah I like a girl. And?" That put her in a situation where she was being attacked every day. That’s not fair. And what am I left with? Heartbreak. That was three years ago. It was my last serious relationship.
"Didn't we almost have it all?"
Photo by Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty
And now Britney Spears' "Toxic" is in my head.
Calgary Stampeder Jon Cornish has two moms, and one of them is an Anglican priest. Pretty rad.
Jeanette Winterson wrote about...
- 11/26/2012
- by trishbendix
- AfterEllen.com
Actress Jena Malone (Sucker Punch) is in the running for the pivotal role of strong-willed tribute Johanna Mason in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, EW has learned exclusively.
The character is described in author Suzanne Collins’ bestseller as possessing “a wicked ability to murder,” winning her Hunger Games by pretending to be weak and then picking off the other tributes. One open question about the character is whether director Francis Lawrence will keep Johanna’s introduction from the book, in which she first meets heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) naked — save for her green slippers.
Malone began her acting career...
The character is described in author Suzanne Collins’ bestseller as possessing “a wicked ability to murder,” winning her Hunger Games by pretending to be weak and then picking off the other tributes. One open question about the character is whether director Francis Lawrence will keep Johanna’s introduction from the book, in which she first meets heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) naked — save for her green slippers.
Malone began her acting career...
- 6/26/2012
- by Adam B. Vary
- EW - Inside Movies
Carson McCullers is a literary icon, an author whose work was important for many reasons, but largely because she was a great storyteller about the South. Her novels, short stories and plays have inspired many of today's contemporary writers, and she was also the inspiration for a play about her that Suzanne Vega put on in New York this past year.
Now she'll be immortalized on screen by Jena Malone in the biopic Lonely Hunter.
Deborah Kampmeier, who was behind Virgin and Hound Dog, will be directing and producing the film which was written by lesbian activist, professor and writer Sarah Schulman (The Owls). Sarah's description of the film is as follows
The story of Carson McCullers — 1940's southern author of Heart Is A Lonely Hunter and Member of the Wedding — and her two tumultuous marriages to the same man. Best friend of Tennessee Williams, mentor of Truman Capote, roommate of Gypsy Rose Lee,...
Now she'll be immortalized on screen by Jena Malone in the biopic Lonely Hunter.
Deborah Kampmeier, who was behind Virgin and Hound Dog, will be directing and producing the film which was written by lesbian activist, professor and writer Sarah Schulman (The Owls). Sarah's description of the film is as follows
The story of Carson McCullers — 1940's southern author of Heart Is A Lonely Hunter and Member of the Wedding — and her two tumultuous marriages to the same man. Best friend of Tennessee Williams, mentor of Truman Capote, roommate of Gypsy Rose Lee,...
- 10/7/2011
- by Trish Bendix
- AfterEllen.com
Writer/director/producer Deborah Kampmeier and producer Troy Johanson of Full Moon Films announced today that Jena Malone will portray Southern gothic writer Carson McCullers in Lonely Hunter , the feature film based on her life story. A wild woman who transgressed gender laws and the color bar searching to understand her own mysterious passions, McCullers is the author of the classic novels "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" and "The Member of the Wedding." Deborah Kampmeier will direct, as well as produce the film with Johanson and Blair Breard. Abigail Disney of Fork Films will executive produce. A shoot is scheduled for the spring of 2012. Additional casting is under way. An actress and musician, Jena Malone made her film debut in Bastard Out of Carolina ....
- 10/7/2011
- Comingsoon.net
Her father was scary. Vincent Gallo got vicious. And Jack Nicholson taught her never to give a brown present. Anjelica Huston tells John Patterson about a life among Hollywood royalty
The last time I met Anjelica Huston was six or seven years ago in a luxury oceanfront hotel in Venice, California. It was windy and cold, Huston was still a smoker – we talked outside in the wind while she lit up like a naughty schoolgirl. Today, it's a blisteringly hot day, she's an enviably youthful 60, an ex-smoker now, sitting in the lounge of the luxury hotel next door, before a gigantic cinemascope window affording guests a million-dollar view of the Pacific, which looks seriously tempting in today's heat.
"I went in the ocean this year, the day after my birthday," she tells me as we watch the breakers gently roll in, "and it was actually really nice. It's like the Eiffel Tower is for Parisians,...
The last time I met Anjelica Huston was six or seven years ago in a luxury oceanfront hotel in Venice, California. It was windy and cold, Huston was still a smoker – we talked outside in the wind while she lit up like a naughty schoolgirl. Today, it's a blisteringly hot day, she's an enviably youthful 60, an ex-smoker now, sitting in the lounge of the luxury hotel next door, before a gigantic cinemascope window affording guests a million-dollar view of the Pacific, which looks seriously tempting in today's heat.
"I went in the ocean this year, the day after my birthday," she tells me as we watch the breakers gently roll in, "and it was actually really nice. It's like the Eiffel Tower is for Parisians,...
- 7/21/2011
- by John Paterson
- The Guardian - Film News
A couple of weeks ago, I sent the following message to this year's Cannonballers:
Now that summer is here (yes, I know not technically, but as far as I'm concerned summer begins when June does), I am thinking that it would be good to have a theme for some of the Cbr posts this summer: Summer Reads. I don't know about you, but summer vacations-especially when I go to the beach-are when I have some of my best opportunities to finally make a dent in my reading list. And I often make a trip to the library before heading out on vacation. I'd like to be able to give the Pajibans a bunch of recommendations as they may be looking to add to their summer reading lists.
Of course to do this, I need your help. I would like you to send me links to any reviews you've written for...
Now that summer is here (yes, I know not technically, but as far as I'm concerned summer begins when June does), I am thinking that it would be good to have a theme for some of the Cbr posts this summer: Summer Reads. I don't know about you, but summer vacations-especially when I go to the beach-are when I have some of my best opportunities to finally make a dent in my reading list. And I often make a trip to the library before heading out on vacation. I'd like to be able to give the Pajibans a bunch of recommendations as they may be looking to add to their summer reading lists.
Of course to do this, I need your help. I would like you to send me links to any reviews you've written for...
- 6/27/2011
- by Tamatha Uhmelmahaye
No-one can be entirely sure how, when or why things went wrong for Meg Ryan; however, since 1998’s often parodied You’ve Got Mail in which she and Tom Hanks failed to relive the magic of the identically themed- but infinitely better written- Sleepless in Seattle, her output has degraded to the point of insignificance. For over ten years, Ryan has produced an endless stream of indistinct, fluffy, saccharine romantic comedies, coupled with the occasional generic aberration to which absolutely no one paid attention.
So after years of embarrassment- coupled with international mockery for her performance on Parkinson and increasing resemblance to Mickey Rourke- at her own irrelevance in front of the camera, she is set to make her debut behind it with Into The Beautiful.
Described by the film’s producers as, “a contemporary Big Chill with longtime friends reconnecting,” it sounds like exactly the sort of piece...
So after years of embarrassment- coupled with international mockery for her performance on Parkinson and increasing resemblance to Mickey Rourke- at her own irrelevance in front of the camera, she is set to make her debut behind it with Into The Beautiful.
Described by the film’s producers as, “a contemporary Big Chill with longtime friends reconnecting,” it sounds like exactly the sort of piece...
- 4/7/2011
- by Ben Szwediuk
- Obsessed with Film
Jena Malone plays Rocket, part of a sisterhood of young women who hatch an escape plan from an asylum in Zack Snyder's hyperreal spectacle "Sucker Punch." Ever since her heralded film debut in 1996's "Bastard Out of Carolina," Malone has drawn comparisons to Jodie Foster in mostly indie-type roles in films like "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" (co-starring Foster), "Saved" and "Donnie Darko" -- and she even played a younger version of Foster's character in "Contact."
Now the 26-year-old has "womaned up" for her butt-kicking role in "Sucker Punch," which shows a new side of this versatile actress. We sat down with Malone and talked about her transformation into tough cookie and what she and Ice Cube now have in common.
This is the first time that you have played with guns and kicked ass on-screen. Was that an easy transition for you after so many indie films?...
Now the 26-year-old has "womaned up" for her butt-kicking role in "Sucker Punch," which shows a new side of this versatile actress. We sat down with Malone and talked about her transformation into tough cookie and what she and Ice Cube now have in common.
This is the first time that you have played with guns and kicked ass on-screen. Was that an easy transition for you after so many indie films?...
- 3/24/2011
- by Robert DeSalvo
- NextMovie
Oscar nominations for Precious and The Blind Side seem to have increased nonsensical attacks that the films are racist
As someone who did voter registration in the South during the 1960s, I am dismayed at the negative criticism now being voiced against two films, Precious and The Blind Side, that deal with the problems of growing up as a black person in America. The multiple Oscar nominations that both films have received have, if anything, increased the attacks on them.
Sadly, the attacks represent a racial step backwards rather than forward. If such criticism had been heeded in the 1960s, when "We Shall Overcome" was the anthem of the civil rights movement, it would have been fatal to a political movement that depended on black-white alliances for its successes.
The boldest civil rights undertaking of the era, the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964, in which white and black college students ran...
As someone who did voter registration in the South during the 1960s, I am dismayed at the negative criticism now being voiced against two films, Precious and The Blind Side, that deal with the problems of growing up as a black person in America. The multiple Oscar nominations that both films have received have, if anything, increased the attacks on them.
Sadly, the attacks represent a racial step backwards rather than forward. If such criticism had been heeded in the 1960s, when "We Shall Overcome" was the anthem of the civil rights movement, it would have been fatal to a political movement that depended on black-white alliances for its successes.
The boldest civil rights undertaking of the era, the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964, in which white and black college students ran...
- 2/22/2010
- by Nicolaus Mills
- The Guardian - Film News
NEW YORK -- Lisa Cholodenko has signed on to direct the Showtime original film Cavedweller. The indie writer-director, whose credits include Laurel Canyon and High Art, will be at the helm when Cavedweller goes into production later this year. Final casting decisions are still being made, but Kyra Sedgwick will star and serve as co-executive producer along with Orly Adelson (The Junction Boys) and David Yudain (Desert Saints). Cavedweller is an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Dorothy Allison, who also wrote Bastard Out of Carolina, another book that went on to become a Showtime film. The novel chronicles the return of a rock singer (Sedgwick) to her hometown in Georgia, where her kids remained with the abusive husband she left behind. Sedgwick's husband, Kevin Bacon, also will appear in Cavedweller in a supporting role. Showtime declined comment.
- 5/29/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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