Amazon MGM Studios has handed an official pilot order to Band, a drama created and executive produced by Daniel Barnz who will direct the pilot and serve as showrunner on the potential series. The project had had a blinking green light for weeks while assembling its cast. The actors have now been set, including John Benjamin Hickey and Miguel Angel Garcia who star alongside Lynley Eilers, Alex Fitzalan, Henry Hunter Hall and Chanté Adams.
L-r: Chante Adams, Henry Hunter Hall, Lynley Eilers, Alex Fitzalan
Band is a diverse ensemble of passionate teens who navigate the chaos of adolescence while finding unity and belonging in their school’s marching band. Star player Axel (Garcia), his fiercely loyal best friend Sasha (Eilers), sexy newcomer Simon (Fitzalan), heartthrob drummer Evan (Hall), friends, and lovers march under the watchful eye of their fearless leader Cole (Hickey) and his right-hand Zadie (Adams). As the adults...
L-r: Chante Adams, Henry Hunter Hall, Lynley Eilers, Alex Fitzalan
Band is a diverse ensemble of passionate teens who navigate the chaos of adolescence while finding unity and belonging in their school’s marching band. Star player Axel (Garcia), his fiercely loyal best friend Sasha (Eilers), sexy newcomer Simon (Fitzalan), heartthrob drummer Evan (Hall), friends, and lovers march under the watchful eye of their fearless leader Cole (Hickey) and his right-hand Zadie (Adams). As the adults...
- 5/29/2024
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
The excitement is building as Doctor Who fans eagerly await the release of the upcoming episode, Boom, written by the esteemed Steven Moffat. New promotional images have surfaced, featuring Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday amidst what appears to be fiery chaos. Moffat’s Return After much anticipation, Moffat returns to Doctor Who with an episode that promises to be unique and compelling. Discussing his comeback, Moffat shared his admiration for fellow writers and how they influence his work. He mentioned Neil Simon as a writer whose comedy scripts are unparalleled, saying, one whom I suppose
The post Doctor Who Reveals New Pics Teasing Steven Moffats Boom Episode first appeared on TVovermind.
The post Doctor Who Reveals New Pics Teasing Steven Moffats Boom Episode first appeared on TVovermind.
- 5/25/2024
- by Steve Delikson
- TVovermind.com
Jerry Herman’s musical “Hello, Dolly!” dominated the 18th Tony Awards which took place at the New York Hilton on May 24, 1964. “Hello, Dolly!” entered the ceremony with 11 nominations and walked out with ten awards including best musical, best actress for Carol Channing, original score for Herman and for Gower Champion’s choreography and direction.
Other musicals in contention for multiple awards that year were “High Spirits,” based on Noel Coward’s classic comedy “Blithe Spirit,” “Funny Girl,” which transformed Barbra Streisand into a Broadway superstar, and “110 in the Shade,” based on the straight play “The Rainmaker.”
Bert Lahr, best known as the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz,” won lead actor in a musical for “Foxy,” based on Ben Jonson’s “Volpone.” The musical was not a hit closed after 72 performances. Also nominated in the category was Bob Fosse for a short-lived revival of Rodgers and Hart’s “Pal Joey.
Other musicals in contention for multiple awards that year were “High Spirits,” based on Noel Coward’s classic comedy “Blithe Spirit,” “Funny Girl,” which transformed Barbra Streisand into a Broadway superstar, and “110 in the Shade,” based on the straight play “The Rainmaker.”
Bert Lahr, best known as the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz,” won lead actor in a musical for “Foxy,” based on Ben Jonson’s “Volpone.” The musical was not a hit closed after 72 performances. Also nominated in the category was Bob Fosse for a short-lived revival of Rodgers and Hart’s “Pal Joey.
- 5/15/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Succession star Sarah Snook and singer-actress Nicole Scherzinger were among the big winners at the 2024 Olivier Awards, which were revealed this evening at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Scroll down for the full list of winners.
Snook picked up the Best Actress gong for her multi-character performance in the Sydney Theatre Company’s version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The play also picked up Best Costume Design for Marg Horwell. Scherzinger landed Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Norma Desmond in the recent revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway-bound Sunset Boulevard.
Elsewhere, the Best Director award went to Jamie Lloyd for the Savoy Theatre production of Sunset Boulevard while Vanya starring Andrew Scott landed Best Revival. Mark Gatiss won Best Actor for The Motive and the Cue. Will Close nabbed Best Supporting Actor for his role in the National Theatre’s...
Snook picked up the Best Actress gong for her multi-character performance in the Sydney Theatre Company’s version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The play also picked up Best Costume Design for Marg Horwell. Scherzinger landed Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Norma Desmond in the recent revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway-bound Sunset Boulevard.
Elsewhere, the Best Director award went to Jamie Lloyd for the Savoy Theatre production of Sunset Boulevard while Vanya starring Andrew Scott landed Best Revival. Mark Gatiss won Best Actor for The Motive and the Cue. Will Close nabbed Best Supporting Actor for his role in the National Theatre’s...
- 4/14/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye and Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
A few years ago, after a few rough battles with the press and paparazzi and the cancellation of his MSNBC talk show, Alec Baldwin penned a much-publicized article announcing he’d be leaving “public life.” He reconsidered that departure and then appeared in the popular 2018 films “BlacKkKlansman,” “Mission Impossible: Fallout” and “A Star Is Born,” as well as the 2019 release “Motherless Brooklyn.” On the small screen, he appeared in the limited series “The Looming Tower,” recreated his recurring role on the reboot of “Will and Grace” and hosted “Match Game.”
Most notably Baldwin continued his appearances on “Saturday Night Live” lampooning Donald Trump. He made so many appearances in 2017 that he won an Emmy as Best Comedy Supporting Actor, his third career prize after his two leading wins for “30 Rock.”
On the film side, Baldwin earned Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG and Critics Choice nominations for his supporting turn in...
Most notably Baldwin continued his appearances on “Saturday Night Live” lampooning Donald Trump. He made so many appearances in 2017 that he won an Emmy as Best Comedy Supporting Actor, his third career prize after his two leading wins for “30 Rock.”
On the film side, Baldwin earned Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG and Critics Choice nominations for his supporting turn in...
- 3/30/2024
- by Misty Holland, Robert Pius and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
With the 96th Academy Awards in the history books, it’s time to become obsessed over the 77th Tony Awards. Nominations are April 30th with the awards set to air on CBS on June 16 from Lincoln Center. Among the contenders for Tony nominations are many musicals based on movies including “Back to the Future,’ “The Notebook,” “Water for Elephants” and “The Outsiders”: high profile revivals such as Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” with Jeremy Strong; “Cabaret” with Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne and the Who’s “Tommy”; imports from London and transfers from off-Broadway.
Do you remember the Tony landscape 50 years ago? The 28th annual honors took place April 21, 1974, at the Shubert Theater and aired on ABC. And to say it was a star-studded affair is something of an understatement. Robert Preston, Peter Falk, Cicely Tyson, Florence Henderson hosted; presenters included Al Pacino –-let’s hope he had better...
Do you remember the Tony landscape 50 years ago? The 28th annual honors took place April 21, 1974, at the Shubert Theater and aired on ABC. And to say it was a star-studded affair is something of an understatement. Robert Preston, Peter Falk, Cicely Tyson, Florence Henderson hosted; presenters included Al Pacino –-let’s hope he had better...
- 3/14/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
A year after it moved from its longtime PBS home to CNN, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is switching telecast partners again. Netflix has struck a multi-year deal with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to move the Mark Twain Prize event to the streamer.
The deal begins this year, with Kevin Hart honored at the ceremony. This marks the 25th anniversary of the Mark Twain Prize, and Hart will be recognized “for his extraordinary contributions to the genre and his impressive achievements across comedy, film, and television.” This year’s event takes placeat the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on Sunday, March 24, and will be taped to premiere on Netflix on Saturday, May 11 — as the Netflix is a Joke Fest takes place in Los Angeles.
Performers set for this year’s Mark Twain ceremony including Dave “Lil Dicky” Burd, Dave Chappelle, Jimmy Fallon, Tiffany Haddish,...
The deal begins this year, with Kevin Hart honored at the ceremony. This marks the 25th anniversary of the Mark Twain Prize, and Hart will be recognized “for his extraordinary contributions to the genre and his impressive achievements across comedy, film, and television.” This year’s event takes placeat the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on Sunday, March 24, and will be taped to premiere on Netflix on Saturday, May 11 — as the Netflix is a Joke Fest takes place in Los Angeles.
Performers set for this year’s Mark Twain ceremony including Dave “Lil Dicky” Burd, Dave Chappelle, Jimmy Fallon, Tiffany Haddish,...
- 3/14/2024
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
With Robert Downey Jr. tasting the Oscar glory for his immaculate performance in Oppenheimer, it’s time for his ex-partner Sarah Jessica Parker to shine at the Olivier Awards. Known for starring in HBO’s Sex and the City, the actor, who was previously tied to the Iron Man Star, starred opposite her husband of 26 years, Matthew Broderick, in Neil Simon’s 1968 play, Plaza Suite.
Following her brilliance in the play, the Hocus Pocus Star is now one of the frontrunners for the Best Actress accolade in the UK’s most prestigious Theatre Awards Ceremony.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick | Plaza Suite Sarah Jessica Parker Earns Herself Best Actress Nod at the Olivier Awards
After earning rave reviews from Theatre critics, with many citing her performance as a revelation, Sarah Jessica Parker has now garnered a nod for Best Actress in the Olivier Awards for Plaza Suite. The 3-act...
Following her brilliance in the play, the Hocus Pocus Star is now one of the frontrunners for the Best Actress accolade in the UK’s most prestigious Theatre Awards Ceremony.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick | Plaza Suite Sarah Jessica Parker Earns Herself Best Actress Nod at the Olivier Awards
After earning rave reviews from Theatre critics, with many citing her performance as a revelation, Sarah Jessica Parker has now garnered a nod for Best Actress in the Olivier Awards for Plaza Suite. The 3-act...
- 3/13/2024
- by Santanu Roy
- FandomWire
We are still approximately six weeks away from learning the nominees for the 77th Tony Awards, but across the pond the finalists for the 2024 Olivier Awards were just announced. A radical new remounting of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard” directed by Jamie Lloyd and starring Nicole Scherzinger is the most nominated show of the year with 11 citations. Another musical revival is nipping at its heels: the immersive “Guys and Dolls” scored 10, as did new play “Dear England,” which centers on England’s national men’s football team and stars Joseph Fiennes as Gareth Southgate. Scroll down to see a complete list of 2024 Olivier Awards nominations.
American audiences will be familiar with many of the plays, musicals and performers nominated this year. The Best New Musical category includes Tony Award-winning shows “Next to Normal” and “A Strange Loop,” while Best Musical Revival boasts productions of “Groundhog Day” and “Hadestown.” Caissie Levy,...
American audiences will be familiar with many of the plays, musicals and performers nominated this year. The Best New Musical category includes Tony Award-winning shows “Next to Normal” and “A Strange Loop,” while Best Musical Revival boasts productions of “Groundhog Day” and “Hadestown.” Caissie Levy,...
- 3/12/2024
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Richard Lewis’ career has, in some ways, always been defined by his proximity to darkness. As a stand-up comedian, he laid bare his personal struggles with drug addiction and alcoholism, pacing across the stage in his trademark all-black uniform, wringing his hands while he recounted how deeply he hated himself. (The title of his 1985 standup special? “I’m In Pain.”) And on Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which he played himself in perhaps his best known role, his health struggles became fodder for the show, with a 2005 kidney transplant inspiring a whole season arc.
- 2/28/2024
- by Ej Dickson
- Rollingstone.com
Lynda Gravátt, the Harlem-born actress who starred on New York stages in such productions as 45 Seconds From Broadway, Doubt, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Old Settler and Intimate Apparel, has died. She was 76.
Gravátt died Friday at a hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, her son David Gravátt told The Hollywood Reporter.
A founding member of Robert Alexander’s Living Stage at the famed Washington-based Arena Stage company, Gravátt received a 1999 Theatre World trophy for her performance as 1940s Harlem resident Quilly McGrath in The Old Settler and a Audelco prize in 2004 for her turn as the bossy landlady Mrs. Dickson in Intimate Apparel.
On Broadway in 2001, she stood by for Leslie Uggams as Ruby in August Wilson’s King Hedley II and portrayed Bessie James in Neil Simon’s 45 Seconds From Broadway, then appeared as Mrs. Muller in 2016 in the original Broadway production of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt.
Gravátt died Friday at a hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, her son David Gravátt told The Hollywood Reporter.
A founding member of Robert Alexander’s Living Stage at the famed Washington-based Arena Stage company, Gravátt received a 1999 Theatre World trophy for her performance as 1940s Harlem resident Quilly McGrath in The Old Settler and a Audelco prize in 2004 for her turn as the bossy landlady Mrs. Dickson in Intimate Apparel.
On Broadway in 2001, she stood by for Leslie Uggams as Ruby in August Wilson’s King Hedley II and portrayed Bessie James in Neil Simon’s 45 Seconds From Broadway, then appeared as Mrs. Muller in 2016 in the original Broadway production of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt.
- 2/27/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rita McKenzie, known for staging the longest-running one-woman show in theatrical history, died Feb. 17 in Los Angeles days before her 77th birthday. She succumbed to what her family described as a long-term illness.
A powerhouse stage voice and theatrical personality, McKenzie’s 1988 off-Broadway one-woman show, Ethel Merman’s Broadway, became the longest-running one- woman show in theatrical history.
McKenzie had a wide theatrical resume. She played Lita Encore in the Los Angeles premiere of Ruthless! The Musical and reprised the role in the recent New York revival of the show.
She also performed a wide range of stage roles throughout the U..S , including Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes!, appeared in the 50th Anniversary tour of Annie Get Your Gun, played Rose in Gypsy, and starred in a three-year U.S. tour of Neil Simon’s The Female Odd Couple, co-starring with Barbara Eden.
Additionally, she was the opening act...
A powerhouse stage voice and theatrical personality, McKenzie’s 1988 off-Broadway one-woman show, Ethel Merman’s Broadway, became the longest-running one- woman show in theatrical history.
McKenzie had a wide theatrical resume. She played Lita Encore in the Los Angeles premiere of Ruthless! The Musical and reprised the role in the recent New York revival of the show.
She also performed a wide range of stage roles throughout the U..S , including Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes!, appeared in the 50th Anniversary tour of Annie Get Your Gun, played Rose in Gypsy, and starred in a three-year U.S. tour of Neil Simon’s The Female Odd Couple, co-starring with Barbara Eden.
Additionally, she was the opening act...
- 2/18/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Rita McKenzie, the actress and singer best known for her boisterous performances in the one-woman show Ethel Merman’s Broadway, died Saturday in Los Angeles after a long illness, her husband, talent agent Scott Stander, announced. She was 76.
McKenzie first starred on stage as the powerful Merman — star of such iconic Broadway hits as Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy and Hello, Dolly! — in New York in 1988.
Belting out tunes like “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “I Got Rhythm” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” McKenzie toured throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia in what many consider the longest-running one-woman show in theatrical history.
She also starred in parts that Merman made famous: Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes!, the gunslinger in a 50th anniversary tour of Annie Get Your Gun and Rose in Gypsy.
Watch her perform here.
A native of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, McKenzie starred...
McKenzie first starred on stage as the powerful Merman — star of such iconic Broadway hits as Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy and Hello, Dolly! — in New York in 1988.
Belting out tunes like “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “I Got Rhythm” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” McKenzie toured throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia in what many consider the longest-running one-woman show in theatrical history.
She also starred in parts that Merman made famous: Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes!, the gunslinger in a 50th anniversary tour of Annie Get Your Gun and Rose in Gypsy.
Watch her perform here.
A native of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, McKenzie starred...
- 2/18/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ed Mintz, the founder of the motion picture industry’s tried-and-true audience polling service CinemaScore, died February 6. He was 83.
Known for its mathematical “Coca-Cola” algorithm developed by Mintz, CinemaScore has been prized by studios and exhibitors since its inception in the early 1980s as a domestic box office barometer for movies when it comes to its opening-night audience grades. Pre-pandemic, an A+ CinemaScore meant a movie could leg out to a 4.8x multiple off its U.S./Canada box office opening; a B+ meant a 3.2x multiple to final domestic gross; C+ and D+ 2.4x; and an F 2.2x.
CinemaScore continues to be operated by Mintz’s two sons, Harold and Ricky Mintz.
Mintz, a math wizard since his teenage years when he penned a book about square roots, The Mintz Method, sparked to the idea for CinemaScore in his late 30s in 1978. Mintz and his wife, along with another couple,...
Known for its mathematical “Coca-Cola” algorithm developed by Mintz, CinemaScore has been prized by studios and exhibitors since its inception in the early 1980s as a domestic box office barometer for movies when it comes to its opening-night audience grades. Pre-pandemic, an A+ CinemaScore meant a movie could leg out to a 4.8x multiple off its U.S./Canada box office opening; a B+ meant a 3.2x multiple to final domestic gross; C+ and D+ 2.4x; and an F 2.2x.
CinemaScore continues to be operated by Mintz’s two sons, Harold and Ricky Mintz.
Mintz, a math wizard since his teenage years when he penned a book about square roots, The Mintz Method, sparked to the idea for CinemaScore in his late 30s in 1978. Mintz and his wife, along with another couple,...
- 2/10/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Sarah Jessica Parker took a bow at the premiere performance of Plaza Suite at The Savoy Theatre in London.
The actress appeared in a floral long-sleeved dress with a floral hat with flowers on top of her hat.
In her role, she acted opposite her real-life husband, Matthew Broderick, in a revival of the Neil Simon comedy.
Parker is known for her role as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and The City. Prior to the series, she acted on Broadway in the 90s in the role of Princess Winifred in Once Upon a Mattress.
Plaza Suite is a classic Broadway show that takes place in the iconic Plaza Hotel with a married couple trying to help each other in their relationship by going back to a location where they fell madly in love with each other.
The revival originated on Broadway last year to mixed reviews.
The post Sarah...
The actress appeared in a floral long-sleeved dress with a floral hat with flowers on top of her hat.
In her role, she acted opposite her real-life husband, Matthew Broderick, in a revival of the Neil Simon comedy.
Parker is known for her role as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and The City. Prior to the series, she acted on Broadway in the 90s in the role of Princess Winifred in Once Upon a Mattress.
Plaza Suite is a classic Broadway show that takes place in the iconic Plaza Hotel with a married couple trying to help each other in their relationship by going back to a location where they fell madly in love with each other.
The revival originated on Broadway last year to mixed reviews.
The post Sarah...
- 2/2/2024
- by Gianna Stephens
- Uinterview
Frank Sinatra went through phases like he went through wives. The legendary crooner and movie star could exhibit impeccable taste for what people wanted to see and hear, and then, in a few year's time, completely lose his grasp of the zeitgeist.
Sinatra was threatening to enter one of his down periods in the mid-1960s. The popular music scene was in the throes of Beatlemania, while moviegoers were tiring of the Rat Pack's antics. Who wanted to see Sinatra and the gang saunter their way through Western and gangster pastiches like "4 for Texas" and "Robin and the 7 Hoods" when they could watch Elvis Presley set the screen ablaze with Ann-Margret in "Viva Las Vegas"?
To be fair, Sinatra was still Sinatra, but after giving one of his finest performances in John Frankenheimer's "The Manchurian Candidate," he started playing it way too safe. Bud Yorkin and...
Sinatra was threatening to enter one of his down periods in the mid-1960s. The popular music scene was in the throes of Beatlemania, while moviegoers were tiring of the Rat Pack's antics. Who wanted to see Sinatra and the gang saunter their way through Western and gangster pastiches like "4 for Texas" and "Robin and the 7 Hoods" when they could watch Elvis Presley set the screen ablaze with Ann-Margret in "Viva Las Vegas"?
To be fair, Sinatra was still Sinatra, but after giving one of his finest performances in John Frankenheimer's "The Manchurian Candidate," he started playing it way too safe. Bud Yorkin and...
- 2/1/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Many folks discovered actor Holt McCallany in his brawny breakout role as FBI analyst Bill Tench in David Fincher’s serial killer series “Mindhunter” (Netflix). McCallany, who is 60, brought an old-fashioned robust masculinity over three decades to countless smaller roles, from Fincher’s “Alien 3” and “Fight Club” to Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley.”
“Del Toro is one of the kindest, smartest and most gifted filmmakers,” said McCallany over Zoom. “The only thing is, he wouldn’t let me do my own stunts. ‘Guillermo. I can do it! Believe in me!’ I get run over by a car by Bradley Cooper. They let me do the part where I get smashed in the face by the bumper, but he wouldn’t let me roll over.”
Now he pops out of the ensemble in Sean Durkin’s holiday hit “Iron Claw” (A24) as Fritz Von Erich, the controlling patriarch to...
“Del Toro is one of the kindest, smartest and most gifted filmmakers,” said McCallany over Zoom. “The only thing is, he wouldn’t let me do my own stunts. ‘Guillermo. I can do it! Believe in me!’ I get run over by a car by Bradley Cooper. They let me do the part where I get smashed in the face by the bumper, but he wouldn’t let me roll over.”
Now he pops out of the ensemble in Sean Durkin’s holiday hit “Iron Claw” (A24) as Fritz Von Erich, the controlling patriarch to...
- 1/17/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
When Dominic Sessa found out he had been cast in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, he was a high school senior at the prestigious boarding school Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and was in the middle of writing a paper about “Hamlet or something” for a teacher who rarely gave good grades and was “super hard to impress,” he says. It was a tiny bit of art imitating life, as Sessa had just discovered he would be playing a teen at a fictional institution not unlike Deerfield who develops a bond over one lonely Christmas with an irascible professor played by Paul Giamatti — who rarely hands out an A.
Sessa never ended up finishing the paper. “I remember just slamming my laptop shut,” he recalls. It seems unlikely that Giamatti’s Paul Hunham would ever give Sessa’s Angus Tully the benefit of the doubt, but in real life, Sessa got away with this academic lapse.
Sessa never ended up finishing the paper. “I remember just slamming my laptop shut,” he recalls. It seems unlikely that Giamatti’s Paul Hunham would ever give Sessa’s Angus Tully the benefit of the doubt, but in real life, Sessa got away with this academic lapse.
- 1/16/2024
- by Esther Zuckerman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Clockwise l to r: Some Like It Hot (Marc J. Franklin), Waitress (Josh Lehrer), Spamalot (Joan Marcus), Legally Blonde (Paul Kolnik)Graphic: The A.V. Club
It’s nothing new for Broadway creatives to look to Hollywood for inspiration, but the trend has gotten a little out of hand in recent years.
It’s nothing new for Broadway creatives to look to Hollywood for inspiration, but the trend has gotten a little out of hand in recent years.
- 1/15/2024
- by Cindy White
- avclub.com
A chance audition – and a broken femur – led to a role in Alexander Payne’s boarding school drama The Holdovers, and the debut of a lifetime. Its star’s next ambition? To be in movies without becoming famous
Dominic Sessa wasn’t thinking about the movies when he entered his senior year of high school at Deerfield Academy in western Massachusetts. The original plan was hockey – Sessa, a scholarship student from southern New Jersey, knew that New England prep schools are a launchpad for college careers. But a broken femur and the school’s winter activity requirement landed him in theatre, which he took to like a fish to water. So, new plan: maybe drama school. But in autumn 2021, when Sessa was starring in a student production of Neil Simon’s Rumors, his drama teacher asked him to audition for a Hollywood casting director who was scouting Deerfield as a potential filming location.
Dominic Sessa wasn’t thinking about the movies when he entered his senior year of high school at Deerfield Academy in western Massachusetts. The original plan was hockey – Sessa, a scholarship student from southern New Jersey, knew that New England prep schools are a launchpad for college careers. But a broken femur and the school’s winter activity requirement landed him in theatre, which he took to like a fish to water. So, new plan: maybe drama school. But in autumn 2021, when Sessa was starring in a student production of Neil Simon’s Rumors, his drama teacher asked him to audition for a Hollywood casting director who was scouting Deerfield as a potential filming location.
- 1/15/2024
- by Adrian Horton
- The Guardian - Film News
A double-holiday week on Broadway – the final week of 2023 – saw a surge in box office, with many shows posting record numbers.
Winner of the week? Disney’s The Lion King, which grossed a massive $4,316,629, not only setting a house record at the Minskoff but a Broadway record for the highest single-week gross ever, a big achievement even when noting that the long-running musical played nine performances, as did other productions over the holidays.
Broadway’s final week of the calendar year included both Christmas and New Year’s Eve, with tourists and high ticket prices sending the total weekly gross for the 27 shows to $45,413,789, a 36% increase over the previous week but about 13% lower than last year’s New Year’s Eve week tally when 33 productions were on the boards.
Total attendance for the week ending December 31 was 256,751, a 14% bump over the previous week (but down 18% from last year). About 96% of all seats were filled,...
Winner of the week? Disney’s The Lion King, which grossed a massive $4,316,629, not only setting a house record at the Minskoff but a Broadway record for the highest single-week gross ever, a big achievement even when noting that the long-running musical played nine performances, as did other productions over the holidays.
Broadway’s final week of the calendar year included both Christmas and New Year’s Eve, with tourists and high ticket prices sending the total weekly gross for the 27 shows to $45,413,789, a 36% increase over the previous week but about 13% lower than last year’s New Year’s Eve week tally when 33 productions were on the boards.
Total attendance for the week ending December 31 was 256,751, a 14% bump over the previous week (but down 18% from last year). About 96% of all seats were filled,...
- 1/3/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated with Mj totals: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has set a Broadway record for weekly ticket sales for a non-musical play, reporting a gross of $2,718,487.50 for the week ending Sunday. It was one of several high marks achieved for Main Stem shows in 2023’s final box office frame.
The Harry Potter gross passed the high mark originally set the week ending January 1, 2023. It is also a house record for the play’s home the Lyric Theatre.
The Tony-winning play has sold more than 10 million tickets worldwide since its July 2016 premiere and is Broadway’s most successful non-musical play with more than $330 million in total sales. A North American tour is set to launch in September 2024 in Chicago.
At the Neil Simon, the musical Mj topped its house record for an 11th time since opening in December 2021 and winning four Tonys. The production grossed $2,613,841 for its week, which ended...
The Harry Potter gross passed the high mark originally set the week ending January 1, 2023. It is also a house record for the play’s home the Lyric Theatre.
The Tony-winning play has sold more than 10 million tickets worldwide since its July 2016 premiere and is Broadway’s most successful non-musical play with more than $330 million in total sales. A North American tour is set to launch in September 2024 in Chicago.
At the Neil Simon, the musical Mj topped its house record for an 11th time since opening in December 2021 and winning four Tonys. The production grossed $2,613,841 for its week, which ended...
- 1/1/2024
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Norman Lear, the writer, producer and citizen activist who coalesced topical conflict and outrageous comedy in such wildly popular sitcoms as All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and The Jeffersons, has died. He was 101.
Lear died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by his family who, according to a statement on his official Instagram account, sang songs until the very end.
“Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him. He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning, the shape of the tree outside his window, and the sounds of beautiful music,” read the post. “But it was people — those he just met and those he knew for decades — who kept his mind and heart forever young. As we celebrate his legacy and reflect on the next chapter of life without him, we would like to thank everyone for all the love and support.
Lear died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by his family who, according to a statement on his official Instagram account, sang songs until the very end.
“Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him. He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning, the shape of the tree outside his window, and the sounds of beautiful music,” read the post. “But it was people — those he just met and those he knew for decades — who kept his mind and heart forever young. As we celebrate his legacy and reflect on the next chapter of life without him, we would like to thank everyone for all the love and support.
- 12/6/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The newest group of Kennedy Center honorees, including comedian Billy Crystal and actor Queen Latifah, were feted Sunday night at a star-studded event commemorating their lifetime achievement in arts and entertainment.
Opera singer Renée Fleming, music star Barry Gibb and prolific hitmaker Dionne Warwick were also honored at the black-tie gala. Each received personalized tributes, including appearances and performances that are typically kept secret from the honorees themselves.
President Joe Biden welcomed the honorees to the White House before the event, saying the performing arts “reflect who we are as Americans and as human beings.”
The honorees “have helped shape how we see ourselves, how we see each other and how we see our world,” said Biden who then introduced this year’s class with a set of glowing superlatives about their work.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden then headed to the Kennedy Center to attend the festivities. The...
Opera singer Renée Fleming, music star Barry Gibb and prolific hitmaker Dionne Warwick were also honored at the black-tie gala. Each received personalized tributes, including appearances and performances that are typically kept secret from the honorees themselves.
President Joe Biden welcomed the honorees to the White House before the event, saying the performing arts “reflect who we are as Americans and as human beings.”
The honorees “have helped shape how we see ourselves, how we see each other and how we see our world,” said Biden who then introduced this year’s class with a set of glowing superlatives about their work.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden then headed to the Kennedy Center to attend the festivities. The...
- 12/4/2023
- by The Associated Press
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Even if you don’t immediately recognize the name Frances Sternhagen, there’s still a good chance that you’ve seen her acting in something at some point over the decades. Sternhagen has stage and screen credits going back decades, and over that time she racked up Emmy nominations and Tony wins. Sadly, it’s being reported today that she passed away of natural causes this past Monday, at the age of 93.
Sternhagen earned her first screen credit on the TV show Producers’ Showcase in 1955, and went on to work on 75 other projects, including the Burt Reynolds comedy Starting Over, the Sean Connery sci-fi classic Outland, Independence Day – the 1983 drama, not the alien invasion movie; Dudley Moore’s Romantic Comedy, the John Lithgow / Morgan Freeman drama Resting Place, the Michael J. Fox drama Bright Lights, Big City and the Michael J. Fox comedy Doc Hollywood, Tales from the Crypt, The Outer Limits,...
Sternhagen earned her first screen credit on the TV show Producers’ Showcase in 1955, and went on to work on 75 other projects, including the Burt Reynolds comedy Starting Over, the Sean Connery sci-fi classic Outland, Independence Day – the 1983 drama, not the alien invasion movie; Dudley Moore’s Romantic Comedy, the John Lithgow / Morgan Freeman drama Resting Place, the Michael J. Fox drama Bright Lights, Big City and the Michael J. Fox comedy Doc Hollywood, Tales from the Crypt, The Outer Limits,...
- 11/29/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Frances Sternhagen, a Tony-winning actress with many decades on the stage and screen, died Monday of natural causes in New Rochelle, N.Y.
She was known for her recurring role as the regal grandmother of Dr. Carter (Noah Wyle) on “ER” and as Cliff’s mother on “Cheers,” for which she was twice nominated for Emmys.
“Frannie, as she was known to her family, friends, and colleagues was a hardworking, award-winning, beloved and celebrated actress for over 60 years. Her foundation was the theater, but she was known for roles in film, television, and spoken arts. She was versatile – adept at comedy as well as drama, character roles and leading ladies,” her family said in a statement.
Sternhagen made a distinct impression in her role as the doctor who helps Sean Connery’s cop in Peter Hyams’ 1981 sci-film “Outland” and in “Misery,” she played the sheriff’s wife Virginia, who was...
She was known for her recurring role as the regal grandmother of Dr. Carter (Noah Wyle) on “ER” and as Cliff’s mother on “Cheers,” for which she was twice nominated for Emmys.
“Frannie, as she was known to her family, friends, and colleagues was a hardworking, award-winning, beloved and celebrated actress for over 60 years. Her foundation was the theater, but she was known for roles in film, television, and spoken arts. She was versatile – adept at comedy as well as drama, character roles and leading ladies,” her family said in a statement.
Sternhagen made a distinct impression in her role as the doctor who helps Sean Connery’s cop in Peter Hyams’ 1981 sci-film “Outland” and in “Misery,” she played the sheriff’s wife Virginia, who was...
- 11/29/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Frances Sternhagen, the versatile actress whose half-century on Broadway included two Tony Awards, seven nominations and memorable roles in Equus, On Golden Pond and The Heiress, has died. She was 93.
Sternhagen died peacefully Monday of natural causes at her home in New Rochelle, New York, her family said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. “We continue to be inspired by her love and life,” they noted.
With all her success on the stage, Sternhagen is perhaps best known for playing two mothers on television: the blue-blooded Bunny MacDougal on HBO’s Sex and the City and the overbearing Esther Clavin on NBC’s Cheers. She received Emmy nominations for both performances.
Sternhagen specialized in portraying characters who had a no-nonsense, overbearing attitude and plucky fortitude. She relished roles that were off the beaten track — the odder and more eccentric, the better.
“I must say it’s fun to play these snobby older ladies.
Sternhagen died peacefully Monday of natural causes at her home in New Rochelle, New York, her family said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. “We continue to be inspired by her love and life,” they noted.
With all her success on the stage, Sternhagen is perhaps best known for playing two mothers on television: the blue-blooded Bunny MacDougal on HBO’s Sex and the City and the overbearing Esther Clavin on NBC’s Cheers. She received Emmy nominations for both performances.
Sternhagen specialized in portraying characters who had a no-nonsense, overbearing attitude and plucky fortitude. She relished roles that were off the beaten track — the odder and more eccentric, the better.
“I must say it’s fun to play these snobby older ladies.
- 11/29/2023
- by Chris Koseluk
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Frances Sternhagen, the legendary Broadway actress who won two Tony Awards, was nominated for another five and achieved lasting and widespread recognition for her comedically stern portrayal of Esther Clavin, the demanding mother of insufferable postman Cliff Claven on Cheers, died Nov. 27 of natural causes. She was 93.
Her death was announced by her son, the actor John Carlin, on Instagram.
“Frannie. Mom. Frances Sternhagen. On Monday night, Nov 27, she died peacefully at her home, a month and a half shy of her 94th birthday,” Carlin wrote today, ending the tribute with “Fly on, Frannie. The curtain goes down on a life so richly, passionately, humbly and generously lived.”
See Carlin’s Instagram post below.
Sternhagen, one of the New York stage’s most celebrated and beloved stars, gave indelible performances in productions including the 1972 production of The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, Equus in 1975, Angel in 1978, On Golden Pond in 1979 and,...
Her death was announced by her son, the actor John Carlin, on Instagram.
“Frannie. Mom. Frances Sternhagen. On Monday night, Nov 27, she died peacefully at her home, a month and a half shy of her 94th birthday,” Carlin wrote today, ending the tribute with “Fly on, Frannie. The curtain goes down on a life so richly, passionately, humbly and generously lived.”
See Carlin’s Instagram post below.
Sternhagen, one of the New York stage’s most celebrated and beloved stars, gave indelible performances in productions including the 1972 production of The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, Equus in 1975, Angel in 1978, On Golden Pond in 1979 and,...
- 11/29/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Sitcoms are among some of the most beloved TV shows ever made. Unlike respected premium drama series like "The Wire," "Breaking Bad," or "True Detective," which regularly top lists of the greatest TV shows ever made, shows like "Friends," "Seinfeld," "Cheers," and "The Office" are beloved in a way that feels a lot more personal. Sitcoms are feel-good experiences, even when they're shows about nothing, and are the exact opposite of David Fincher's intense thrillers.
Which is why I can't shake the feeling that the auteur is making fun of himself with his latest effort. As /Film's Chris Evangelista wrote in his review of "The Killer," "I'm not saying Fincher is on the same level as a cold-blooded killer, but he clearly sees a lot of himself (and his approach to his work) in his latest protagonist." But if the director was trying to draw this parallel between the...
Which is why I can't shake the feeling that the auteur is making fun of himself with his latest effort. As /Film's Chris Evangelista wrote in his review of "The Killer," "I'm not saying Fincher is on the same level as a cold-blooded killer, but he clearly sees a lot of himself (and his approach to his work) in his latest protagonist." But if the director was trying to draw this parallel between the...
- 11/25/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Kevin Hart will be awarded the 25th Mark Twain Prize for American Humor by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts next March, joining a roster of previous recipients that includes Carol Burnett, Bill Murray, David Letterman, Dave Chappelle and last year’s honoree Adam Sandler.
“I’ve been doing comedy since the inception of this award 25 years ago,” Hart said in a statement. “To be honored in this commemorative year feels surreal. Comedy is my outlet for social commentary and observations on life – I am grateful to the Kennedy Center for recognizing my voice and impact on culture.”
The prize will be presented to Hart at a gala performance on March 24, 2024, in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Broadcast and casting details will be announced at a later date.
The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor recognizes individuals who have had an impact on American society in ways...
“I’ve been doing comedy since the inception of this award 25 years ago,” Hart said in a statement. “To be honored in this commemorative year feels surreal. Comedy is my outlet for social commentary and observations on life – I am grateful to the Kennedy Center for recognizing my voice and impact on culture.”
The prize will be presented to Hart at a gala performance on March 24, 2024, in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Broadcast and casting details will be announced at a later date.
The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor recognizes individuals who have had an impact on American society in ways...
- 11/15/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Matthew Perry Remembered by ‘Odd Couple’ Co-Star Thomas Lennon: He ‘Was Always Trying to Get Better’
“Reno 911!” star Thomas Lennon worked closely with Matthew Perry on the CBS remake of “The Odd Couple,” which aired for three seasons and 38 episodes from 2015 and 2017. Perry developed and executive produced the show (with Danny Jacobson and Joe Keenan) and starred as Oscar Madison, opposite Lennon as Felix Unger. Lindsay Sloane, Yvette Nicole Brown and Wendell Pierce also starred in the series, based of course on the Neil Simon play (later made famous as a TV sitcom in the 1970s). It was a reunion for Lennon and Perry, who also worked together on the 2009 film “17 Again.” In that comedy, Perry and Lennon play best friends. Variety asked Lennon to offer his memories of working with Perry over the years; below, he shares this tribute.
Matthew Perry told me a lot of stories—none of which can be printed in Variety.
Matty lived messy.
Matty had huge feelings and...
Matthew Perry told me a lot of stories—none of which can be printed in Variety.
Matty lived messy.
Matty had huge feelings and...
- 10/31/2023
- by Thomas Lennon
- Variety Film + TV
Matthew Perry, the actor known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit NBC sitcom “Friends,” has died. He was 54.
Perry was found dead Saturday in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home, law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times. Authorities found him unresponsive around 4 p.m., and there was no signs of foul play or drugs on the scene.
Perry gained international recognition for his role as the wry, fast-on-his-feet twentysomething Chandler on “Friends,” which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. He earned a Primetime Emmy nomination in 2002 for his performance on the iconic sitcom. Among the six stars in the “Friends” ensemble, Perry was ambitious as a performer and a producer, but he also grappled with a long struggle with substance abuse that stunted his career. Later in life, particularly with his 2022 book, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir,” Perry focused much of his energy...
Perry was found dead Saturday in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home, law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times. Authorities found him unresponsive around 4 p.m., and there was no signs of foul play or drugs on the scene.
Perry gained international recognition for his role as the wry, fast-on-his-feet twentysomething Chandler on “Friends,” which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. He earned a Primetime Emmy nomination in 2002 for his performance on the iconic sitcom. Among the six stars in the “Friends” ensemble, Perry was ambitious as a performer and a producer, but he also grappled with a long struggle with substance abuse that stunted his career. Later in life, particularly with his 2022 book, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir,” Perry focused much of his energy...
- 10/29/2023
- by Michaela Zee and Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
There’s no shortage of brilliant detectives in novels, film and television, but one of the greatest — or at least the one with the fanciest facial hair — is Hercule Poirot. The Belgian investigator, created by Agatha Christie, has appeared 33 novels, more than 50 short stories, and has been played by a variety of iconic actors.
But for whatever reason, Poirot has only sporadically appeared on the big screen, with many of his earliest movie appearances being lost to time, while some of his other noteworthy adventures were rewritten as vehicles for Christie’s other beloved creation, Miss Marple.
Here we take a look at the various theatrically-released adventures of Hercule Poirot, from the 1930s to today, and see which of his mysteries were truly worth solving.
Photo credit: Columbia
Honorable Mention: “Murder By Death” (1976)
Neil Simon’s wacky spoof of the supersleuth genre, directed by Robert Moore, features an all-star cast...
But for whatever reason, Poirot has only sporadically appeared on the big screen, with many of his earliest movie appearances being lost to time, while some of his other noteworthy adventures were rewritten as vehicles for Christie’s other beloved creation, Miss Marple.
Here we take a look at the various theatrically-released adventures of Hercule Poirot, from the 1930s to today, and see which of his mysteries were truly worth solving.
Photo credit: Columbia
Honorable Mention: “Murder By Death” (1976)
Neil Simon’s wacky spoof of the supersleuth genre, directed by Robert Moore, features an all-star cast...
- 9/15/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
Michael McGrath, the veteran stage actor who received a Tony Award for his performance in the musical Nice Work If You Can Get It, has died. He was 65.
McGrath died unexpectedly in his sleep Thursday at his home in Bloomfield, New Jersey, his publicist told The Hollywood Reporter. No cause of death has been determined.
A regular in Broadway and off-Broadway musicals and musical comedy productions, McGrath had starring turns in Plaza Suite, Tootsie, Memphis, Born Yesterday and Wonderful Town. He was also the first actor to play Patsy, King Arthur’s long-suffering sidekick, in Spamalot, which earned him his first Tony nomination.
“Very saddened to hear that Michael McGrath, our first and most beloved Patsy in Spamalot, has passed away,” Idle wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Warm hugs to all the Spamalot family and very happy memories of a lovely man.”
McGrath was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Sept.
McGrath died unexpectedly in his sleep Thursday at his home in Bloomfield, New Jersey, his publicist told The Hollywood Reporter. No cause of death has been determined.
A regular in Broadway and off-Broadway musicals and musical comedy productions, McGrath had starring turns in Plaza Suite, Tootsie, Memphis, Born Yesterday and Wonderful Town. He was also the first actor to play Patsy, King Arthur’s long-suffering sidekick, in Spamalot, which earned him his first Tony nomination.
“Very saddened to hear that Michael McGrath, our first and most beloved Patsy in Spamalot, has passed away,” Idle wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Warm hugs to all the Spamalot family and very happy memories of a lovely man.”
McGrath was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Sept.
- 9/15/2023
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Matthew Broderick has enjoyed a career lasting 40 years on stage, screen and now TV, but he accepts the headline of his legacy will always be Ferris Bueller.
The star of new Netflix drama Painkiller, a fictionalized retelling of the origins and aftermath of the opioid epidemic in which he plays former president of Purdue Pharma Richard Sackler, told the UK’s Guardian newspaper: “What’s my legacy? Well, I’m Ferris Bueller, I suppose. I have to accept it. And I like it. I’ve made my peace with it.”
Of his evolving career since the hit 1986 film written and directed by John Hughes about a teenage schoolboy playing truant in Chicago, he said: “People associated me with younger roles, but I wanted them to come with me and get used to the fact that I’m wrinkly. And it was hard. The 90s were hard. Lots of ups and downs.
The star of new Netflix drama Painkiller, a fictionalized retelling of the origins and aftermath of the opioid epidemic in which he plays former president of Purdue Pharma Richard Sackler, told the UK’s Guardian newspaper: “What’s my legacy? Well, I’m Ferris Bueller, I suppose. I have to accept it. And I like it. I’ve made my peace with it.”
Of his evolving career since the hit 1986 film written and directed by John Hughes about a teenage schoolboy playing truant in Chicago, he said: “People associated me with younger roles, but I wanted them to come with me and get used to the fact that I’m wrinkly. And it was hard. The 90s were hard. Lots of ups and downs.
- 8/5/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
In Hollywood it only takes one role to turn you into an icon, and one moment to take it all away. Long before cancel culture was a phrase, one iconic celebrity had a meltdown of epic proportions that helped usher in the age of the viral video. As many TV stars have found out, life after a hugely successful show can be quite tough for some. With Julia Louis-Dreyfus winning countless Emmy’s, Jason Alexander returning to his stage roots and Jerry Seinfeld continuing his legendary stand up career, its time we find out what happened to the other member of Seinfeld’s iconic cast: Wtf Happened to Michael Richards? Ya know… Kramer!
But as always we must begin at the beginning and the beginning began on his birthday July 24, 1949 in Culver City, California. After starting on the stand up circuit in 1979, Richards career would take off when he was...
But as always we must begin at the beginning and the beginning began on his birthday July 24, 1949 in Culver City, California. After starting on the stand up circuit in 1979, Richards career would take off when he was...
- 7/7/2023
- by Brad Hamerly
- JoBlo.com
Lawrence Turman, the principled Oscar-nominated producer of The Graduate who was behind other films including The Great White Hope, Pretty Poison, American History X and the last movie Judy Garland ever made, has died. He was 96.
Turman died Saturday at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, his family announced.
A former agent, he and producer David Foster began a 20-year partnership in 1974, and the first film to come out of the Turman Foster Co. was Stuart Rosenberg’s The Drowning Pool (1975), starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
They went their separate ways in 1991 when Turman left to begin an association heading the esteemed Peter Stark Producing Program at USC that lasted until his retirement in 2021.
However, Turman wasn’t done producing, and in 1996 he and John Morrissey launched the Turman-Morrissey Co., which made the Jamie Foxx-starring Booty Call (1997); Tony Kaye’s American History X...
Turman died Saturday at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, his family announced.
A former agent, he and producer David Foster began a 20-year partnership in 1974, and the first film to come out of the Turman Foster Co. was Stuart Rosenberg’s The Drowning Pool (1975), starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
They went their separate ways in 1991 when Turman left to begin an association heading the esteemed Peter Stark Producing Program at USC that lasted until his retirement in 2021.
However, Turman wasn’t done producing, and in 1996 he and John Morrissey launched the Turman-Morrissey Co., which made the Jamie Foxx-starring Booty Call (1997); Tony Kaye’s American History X...
- 7/3/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Actor Kevin Bacon has worked steadily as an actor and appeared in so many different films that he actually spawned a trivia game called “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.” The purpose is to see if you can link Bacon to any other actor in less than six other movies.
Bacon started his career at the Circle in the Square Theater School in New York City, which then led to small roles in the immensely popular “Animal House” and in the Neil Simon film “Only When I Laugh.” He then appeared in the sleeper smash “Friday the 13th” where he was one of the early victims in the immensely popular series of films. Fame would come when he joined such other young actors as Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Ellen Barkin, Mickey Rourke, Tim Daly and Paul Reiser in the bittersweet comedy “Diner” from Barry Levinson. Two years later he would have...
Bacon started his career at the Circle in the Square Theater School in New York City, which then led to small roles in the immensely popular “Animal House” and in the Neil Simon film “Only When I Laugh.” He then appeared in the sleeper smash “Friday the 13th” where he was one of the early victims in the immensely popular series of films. Fame would come when he joined such other young actors as Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Ellen Barkin, Mickey Rourke, Tim Daly and Paul Reiser in the bittersweet comedy “Diner” from Barry Levinson. Two years later he would have...
- 7/1/2023
- by Robert Pius, Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
The first time I saw Alan Arkin onscreen, he scared the hell out of me.
The veteran Academy Award-winning actor, who died Thursday at the age of 89, is best known these days for his wittily avuncular presence in films like Little Miss Sunshine and such television shows as The Kominsky Method, his last great acting role. But my first exposure to him came in middle school, where for some inexplicable reason the powers that be decided that treating the entire student body to a screening of the film Wait Until Dark was a good idea.
In that classic 1967 thriller, Arkin played Harry Roat, the most sadistic member of a trio of villains terrorizing a blind Audrey Hepburn because they think she possesses a doll filled with heroin. In a climactic scene set in almost near-darkness, a seemingly dead Roat suddenly jumps into the frame and grabs Hepburn by the leg.
The veteran Academy Award-winning actor, who died Thursday at the age of 89, is best known these days for his wittily avuncular presence in films like Little Miss Sunshine and such television shows as The Kominsky Method, his last great acting role. But my first exposure to him came in middle school, where for some inexplicable reason the powers that be decided that treating the entire student body to a screening of the film Wait Until Dark was a good idea.
In that classic 1967 thriller, Arkin played Harry Roat, the most sadistic member of a trio of villains terrorizing a blind Audrey Hepburn because they think she possesses a doll filled with heroin. In a climactic scene set in almost near-darkness, a seemingly dead Roat suddenly jumps into the frame and grabs Hepburn by the leg.
- 6/30/2023
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hollywood legend Alan Arkin died in June 2023, leaving behind a legacy of work that won’t be forgotten. His wife, Suzanne Newlander Arkin, survives him, as do his children. So, who is Alan Arkin’s wife, and how many kids does he have? Here’s what to know about the star’s spouse and family.
Who is Alan Arkin’s wife, Suzanne Newlander Arkin?
Alan Arkin died at 89 years old on June 30, 2023. The Academy Award winner will never be forgotten thanks to his roles in Little Miss Sunshine, The Kominsky Method, and numerous other TV shows and movies. “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man,” his kids told People. “A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”
So, who was Alan Arkin’s wife when he died? He was reportedly married to Suzanne Newlander Arkin — his third wife.
Who is Alan Arkin’s wife, Suzanne Newlander Arkin?
Alan Arkin died at 89 years old on June 30, 2023. The Academy Award winner will never be forgotten thanks to his roles in Little Miss Sunshine, The Kominsky Method, and numerous other TV shows and movies. “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man,” his kids told People. “A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”
So, who was Alan Arkin’s wife when he died? He was reportedly married to Suzanne Newlander Arkin — his third wife.
- 6/30/2023
- by Lauren Weiler
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Alan Arkin, who won an Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine, was nominated for Argo and two other films, scored six Emmy noms and won a Tony Award, died Thursday at his home in San Marcos, CA. He was 89.
The news was announced Friday morning by his sons, actors Adam, Matthew and Anthony, in a joint statement. Matthew Arkin told The New York Times that his father had suffered from heart ailments.
The statement read: “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”
Related: Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries
In addition to his Oscar-winning film work, Arkin won a Tony Award for acting in Enter Laughing) and was Tony-nominated for directing The Sunshine Boys. He also was nominated for a half-dozen Emmy Awards spanning 53 years,...
The news was announced Friday morning by his sons, actors Adam, Matthew and Anthony, in a joint statement. Matthew Arkin told The New York Times that his father had suffered from heart ailments.
The statement read: “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”
Related: Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries
In addition to his Oscar-winning film work, Arkin won a Tony Award for acting in Enter Laughing) and was Tony-nominated for directing The Sunshine Boys. He also was nominated for a half-dozen Emmy Awards spanning 53 years,...
- 6/30/2023
- by Zac Ntim and Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Alan Arkin, the Academy Award-winning actor known for his roles in films including Little Miss Sunshine, Argo, Catch-22, and Glengarry Glen Ross, has died at the age of 89.
Arkin passed away on Thursday, June 29th at his home in California. “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed,” his sons said in a statement.
Born March 26th, 1934 in Brooklyn, New York, Arkin began taking acting lessons at the age of 10 and studied at multiple drama academies before making his 1957 feature film acting debut in the musical Calypso Heat Wave. After a few TV cameos, he made his Broadway debut in 1961 with From the Second City.
A star turn in 1963’s Enter Laughing earned Arkin the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, which he...
Arkin passed away on Thursday, June 29th at his home in California. “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed,” his sons said in a statement.
Born March 26th, 1934 in Brooklyn, New York, Arkin began taking acting lessons at the age of 10 and studied at multiple drama academies before making his 1957 feature film acting debut in the musical Calypso Heat Wave. After a few TV cameos, he made his Broadway debut in 1961 with From the Second City.
A star turn in 1963’s Enter Laughing earned Arkin the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, which he...
- 6/30/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Film News
Acting legend Alan Arkin is dead at age 89.
The Oscar, Tony, Emmy, BAFTA, SAG, and Golden Globe winner passed away at his home.
Perhaps best known for his roles in “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award, Arkin began his acting career in 1957 — and ended up with a body of work of startling range. Arkin was an early member of the Second City comedy troupe and starred on Broadway with his Tony-winning turn in 1963’s “Enter Laughing.”
His film breakout was via comedy as well: in his first major onscreen role in Norman Jewison’s 1967 Cold War caper “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming” he plays the “political officer” on a Soviet submarine that runs aground on a small New England island of only 200 residents. The sub’s captain, too embarrassed to radio the motherland for help, sends...
The Oscar, Tony, Emmy, BAFTA, SAG, and Golden Globe winner passed away at his home.
Perhaps best known for his roles in “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award, Arkin began his acting career in 1957 — and ended up with a body of work of startling range. Arkin was an early member of the Second City comedy troupe and starred on Broadway with his Tony-winning turn in 1963’s “Enter Laughing.”
His film breakout was via comedy as well: in his first major onscreen role in Norman Jewison’s 1967 Cold War caper “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming” he plays the “political officer” on a Soviet submarine that runs aground on a small New England island of only 200 residents. The sub’s captain, too embarrassed to radio the motherland for help, sends...
- 6/30/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson and Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Alan Arkin, an Oscar-winning actor for “Little Miss Sunshine” with a body of work that spans seven decades of stage and screen acting, died June 29 at his home in Carlsbad, Calif, Variety has confirmed. He was 89.
Arkin’s sons Adam, Matthew and Anthony said in a joint statement, “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”
Arkin, who was known for projecting a characteristically dry wit but could play tragedy with equal efficacy, won his Oscar for his supporting performance in the indie comedy “Little Miss Sunshine” in 2007; he scored an encore nomination for his punchy and profane turn in Ben Affleck’s best picture winner “Argo.” Arkin picked up two earlier nominations in his film career, for “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming...
Arkin’s sons Adam, Matthew and Anthony said in a joint statement, “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”
Arkin, who was known for projecting a characteristically dry wit but could play tragedy with equal efficacy, won his Oscar for his supporting performance in the indie comedy “Little Miss Sunshine” in 2007; he scored an encore nomination for his punchy and profane turn in Ben Affleck’s best picture winner “Argo.” Arkin picked up two earlier nominations in his film career, for “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming...
- 6/30/2023
- by Carmel Dagan and J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
When I was a little kid in the 1960s and a teen in the 1970s, there was simply no one cooler than Mel Brooks. He was the guy (along with Buck Henry) who created and wrote the comedy masterpiece “Get Smart,” and even as a child I could recognize the genius behind it. While I was a little too young to appreciate the greatness of his 1967 directorial debut, “The Producers”, once the ’70s rolled around I was in comedy heaven thanks to “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein.” Those two classics of big screen comedy came out the same year: 1974.
As a result, I spent much of that year as a high school sophomore and junior laughing my proverbial butt off in movie theaters (those things we used to frequent prior to the advent of streaming technology). The campfire farting scene in “Bs” was my generation’s comedic colossus.
I lost...
As a result, I spent much of that year as a high school sophomore and junior laughing my proverbial butt off in movie theaters (those things we used to frequent prior to the advent of streaming technology). The campfire farting scene in “Bs” was my generation’s comedic colossus.
I lost...
- 6/28/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
The 46th Kennedy Honors will celebrate an immensely varied and talented crew of artists. Among them are comedian/actor Billy Crystal, rapper/actor Queen Latifah, Bee Gees’ leader Barry Gibb, soprano Renée Fleming and singer Dionne Warwick.
With this honor, Crystal joins a small group of comedians who have been recognized with both a Kennedy Center honor and the Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement, which includes David Letterman, Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, Lily Tomlin, Carol Burnett and Neil Simon.
Queen Latifah’s presence is particularly poignant as hip-hop celebrates...
With this honor, Crystal joins a small group of comedians who have been recognized with both a Kennedy Center honor and the Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement, which includes David Letterman, Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, Lily Tomlin, Carol Burnett and Neil Simon.
Queen Latifah’s presence is particularly poignant as hip-hop celebrates...
- 6/22/2023
- by Brittany Spanos
- Rollingstone.com
Paxton Whitehead, the distinguished English actor and theater mainstay known for playing stuffy types in films and TV shows including Back to School, Mad About You and Friends, has died. He was 85.
Whitehead died Friday at a hospital in Arlington, Virginia, his son, Charles Whitehead, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Whitehead earned a Tony nomination for his turn as Pellinore in a 1980 revival of Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot opposite Richard Burton and appeared 16 other times on Broadway from 1962-2018.
Notably, he starred as Sherlock Holmes in 1978-79’s The Crucifer of Blood, which ran for 236 performances at the Helen Hayes Theatre, co-starred Glenn Close and was nominated for four Tonys, winning one.
He also was in Broadway productions of My Fair Lady with Richard Chamberlain, Lettice and Lovage, Noises Off and The Importance of Being Earnest.
After years on the stage, Whitehead made his movie debut in Back to School (1986), in which he portrayed Dr.
Whitehead died Friday at a hospital in Arlington, Virginia, his son, Charles Whitehead, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Whitehead earned a Tony nomination for his turn as Pellinore in a 1980 revival of Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot opposite Richard Burton and appeared 16 other times on Broadway from 1962-2018.
Notably, he starred as Sherlock Holmes in 1978-79’s The Crucifer of Blood, which ran for 236 performances at the Helen Hayes Theatre, co-starred Glenn Close and was nominated for four Tonys, winning one.
He also was in Broadway productions of My Fair Lady with Richard Chamberlain, Lettice and Lovage, Noises Off and The Importance of Being Earnest.
After years on the stage, Whitehead made his movie debut in Back to School (1986), in which he portrayed Dr.
- 6/19/2023
- by Alex Ritman and Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tom Stoppard won the Best Play trophy for “Leopoldstadt” at the 2023 Tony Awards. This is his fifth win in the category, breaking his own Tony record. The theater legend maintains an impressive lead as the winningest playwright in the Best Play category.
“Leopoldstadt” is a sprawling epic which traces the lineage of a Jewish family in Vienna from 1899 to 1955. The play considers important questions of assimilation and identity. The show picked up four wins in total, with additional victories for Brandon Uranowitz in Featured Actor in a Play, Patrick Marber in Director of a Play, and Brigitte Reiffenstuel in Costume Design of a Play.
Stoppard has now won the Best Play category five times in his career, more than any other playwright in history. He previously prevailed for “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” (1968), “Travesties” (1976), “The Real Thing” (1984), and the three-part epic “The Coast of Utopia” (2007). The Tony Awards do not...
“Leopoldstadt” is a sprawling epic which traces the lineage of a Jewish family in Vienna from 1899 to 1955. The play considers important questions of assimilation and identity. The show picked up four wins in total, with additional victories for Brandon Uranowitz in Featured Actor in a Play, Patrick Marber in Director of a Play, and Brigitte Reiffenstuel in Costume Design of a Play.
Stoppard has now won the Best Play category five times in his career, more than any other playwright in history. He previously prevailed for “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” (1968), “Travesties” (1976), “The Real Thing” (1984), and the three-part epic “The Coast of Utopia” (2007). The Tony Awards do not...
- 6/12/2023
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
Sarah Jessica Parker has announced plans to make her debut on London’s West End stage next year, alongside her husband Matthew Broderick.
The couple will play three different couples staying in one hotel room – Suite 719 of the Plaza hotel in New York – in the new adaptation of Neil Simon’s play ‘Plaza Suite’. The couple have previously starred in the same production on Broadway. The London show will debut at the Savoy Theatre in January 2024.
Parker is shortly to return in the the second season of And Just Like That…, the sequel to Sex and the City, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
Unlike Parker, Broderick has appeared on London’s West End stage before, most recently in 2019’s Starry Messenger.
The couple will play three different couples staying in one hotel room – Suite 719 of the Plaza hotel in New York – in the new adaptation of Neil Simon’s play ‘Plaza Suite’. The couple have previously starred in the same production on Broadway. The London show will debut at the Savoy Theatre in January 2024.
Parker is shortly to return in the the second season of And Just Like That…, the sequel to Sex and the City, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
Unlike Parker, Broderick has appeared on London’s West End stage before, most recently in 2019’s Starry Messenger.
- 6/10/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
In a new interview, Matthew Broderick says he would occasionally “butt heads” with John Hughes during the making of the 1986 comedy classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
“He was not easygoing in some ways,” Broderick, 61, says of the late writer-director legend on The Hollywood Reporter’s It Happened in Hollywood podcast. “He was nervous it wouldn’t come out right.”
Broderick fondly recalls spending hours in Hughes’ swimming pool in Brentwood around the time of the filming, “smoking cigarettes and eating potato chips” as they discussed the role that would eventually shoot the actor, then 23, to superstardom.
But things got off to a bumpy start when filming began on location in Chicago in September 1985.
“I remember we did a costume test early on,” Broderick recalls. “We walked around the streets of Chicago in our costumes and they filmed us — me, Alan [Ruck], Jennifer Grey and Mia [Sara].
“That was a big drama.
“He was not easygoing in some ways,” Broderick, 61, says of the late writer-director legend on The Hollywood Reporter’s It Happened in Hollywood podcast. “He was nervous it wouldn’t come out right.”
Broderick fondly recalls spending hours in Hughes’ swimming pool in Brentwood around the time of the filming, “smoking cigarettes and eating potato chips” as they discussed the role that would eventually shoot the actor, then 23, to superstardom.
But things got off to a bumpy start when filming began on location in Chicago in September 1985.
“I remember we did a costume test early on,” Broderick recalls. “We walked around the streets of Chicago in our costumes and they filmed us — me, Alan [Ruck], Jennifer Grey and Mia [Sara].
“That was a big drama.
- 5/31/2023
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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