Directors Guild of America President Paris Barclay today (January 7) announced the five nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2013.
“To be chosen by your peers in a year full of incredibly well-crafted films is the true marker of outstanding directorial achievement,” said Barclay. “The passion and vision of each of the nominees resulted in tremendously diverse films that kept audiences mesmerized. Congratulations to each of the nominees on a job very well done.”
With no big shocks or omissions, the nominees are (in alphabetical order):
Alfonso CUARÓN
Gravity
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Mr. Cuarón’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: David Siegel (Arizona Unit)
First Assistant Directors: Josh Robertson, Stephen Hagen (Arizona Unit)
Second Assistant Director: Ben Howard
This is Mr. Cuarón’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
Paul Greengrass
Captain Phillips
(Columbia Pictures)
Mr. Greengrass’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Todd Lewis,...
“To be chosen by your peers in a year full of incredibly well-crafted films is the true marker of outstanding directorial achievement,” said Barclay. “The passion and vision of each of the nominees resulted in tremendously diverse films that kept audiences mesmerized. Congratulations to each of the nominees on a job very well done.”
With no big shocks or omissions, the nominees are (in alphabetical order):
Alfonso CUARÓN
Gravity
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Mr. Cuarón’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: David Siegel (Arizona Unit)
First Assistant Directors: Josh Robertson, Stephen Hagen (Arizona Unit)
Second Assistant Director: Ben Howard
This is Mr. Cuarón’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
Paul Greengrass
Captain Phillips
(Columbia Pictures)
Mr. Greengrass’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Todd Lewis,...
- 1/7/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Directors Guild of America has just announced their nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2013. The nominees are hardly a surprise (these are actually the five I predicted) and include some of the biggest names in the industry, such as Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street) and David O. Russell (American Hustle).
Other highly predictable nominees include Alfonso Cuaron for his brilliant work on Gravity (the best film of the year) and Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave. It’s interesting to note that this is where most of the competition has centered throughout awards season, with these two taking a vast majority of the awards. However, while favor started out in McQueen’s corner, the awards over the past month have shown that Cuaron is the clear favorite, making this award his to lose.
The nominations were somewhat interesting to predict this year. Cuaron, McQueen,...
Other highly predictable nominees include Alfonso Cuaron for his brilliant work on Gravity (the best film of the year) and Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave. It’s interesting to note that this is where most of the competition has centered throughout awards season, with these two taking a vast majority of the awards. However, while favor started out in McQueen’s corner, the awards over the past month have shown that Cuaron is the clear favorite, making this award his to lose.
The nominations were somewhat interesting to predict this year. Cuaron, McQueen,...
- 1/7/2014
- by Jeff Beck
- We Got This Covered
The Tribeca Film Festival have announced the juries for each category of competition. A host of actors, directors and journalists have been selected that include Evan Rachel Wood, Paul Haggis, Josh Radnor, Eva Longoria and Bryce Dallas Howard.
The members selected will be judging the films that fall within their respective categories, and you can check out the list below. Make sure to check back with us for all the latest from Tribeca including reviews, interviews and more! The festival runs from April 17th – April 28th in New York City.
World Competition Categories
The jurors for the 2013 World Narrative Competition are:
Kenny Lonergan: Academy Award®-nominated playwright, filmmaker and screenwriter. Credits include You Can Count On Me,Gangs of New York, and Margaret. His stage credits include Lobby Hero, The Waverly Gallery and This is Our Youth. He is a member of the Naked Angels Theater Company in New York.
The members selected will be judging the films that fall within their respective categories, and you can check out the list below. Make sure to check back with us for all the latest from Tribeca including reviews, interviews and more! The festival runs from April 17th – April 28th in New York City.
World Competition Categories
The jurors for the 2013 World Narrative Competition are:
Kenny Lonergan: Academy Award®-nominated playwright, filmmaker and screenwriter. Credits include You Can Count On Me,Gangs of New York, and Margaret. His stage credits include Lobby Hero, The Waverly Gallery and This is Our Youth. He is a member of the Naked Angels Theater Company in New York.
- 4/15/2013
- by Damen Norton
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The Tribeca Film Festival announced today that it has selected 42 jurors for this year’s festival. The jurors include members of the filmmaking community — including Bryce Dallas Howard, Whoopi Goldberg, Paul Haggis, Taraji P. Henson, Kenneth Lonergan, Eva Longoria, Josh Radnor, and Evan Rachel Wood — as well as policy makers and entertainment business leaders.
According to a press release, the seven juries will award $180,000 in cash and prizes during the Festival (April 17-28). Tribeca All Access (Taa) Creative Promise Awards will award an additional $20,000 — $10,000 for narrative and $10,000 for documentary. All winners will also receive a work of original art by...
According to a press release, the seven juries will award $180,000 in cash and prizes during the Festival (April 17-28). Tribeca All Access (Taa) Creative Promise Awards will award an additional $20,000 — $10,000 for narrative and $10,000 for documentary. All winners will also receive a work of original art by...
- 4/10/2013
- by Lanford Beard
- EW - Inside Movies
The problem with the top festivals is that no matter what you are doing, you feel you should be doing something else. Whether to stay home and write or be out seeing films or partying/ networking, sometimes you feel like you're missing out of the really important things. And I lost my hat! If any readers find my white Russian fox hat that I bought in a Berlin flea market, please return it to me! Yesterday I missed the inauguration brunch Acme PR hosted in conjunction with the film Citizen Koch about Mayor Koch because I was trying to send out photos from my camera to my new MacBook Pro to my blog! I also missed Occupy Wall Street. But the truth of that is I am no longer in the mood for issue docs. Inequality For All satisfied my need for understanding that issue, God Loves Uganda repelled me, though one of the volunteers I was talking to was so incensed at the film's message of homophobia that I realized its value. I am going to write more on the docs in the coming days, but now just for fun, I'm going to do a survey of how many deal with personal subjects and how many with social issues. I did find a great parking lot for $5, but it was so far away that I was unable to see the films Big Sur (sold out) and C.O.G., but I did catch the buzz film Fruitvale about the New Years Eve shooting of Oscar, a 22 year old Bay Area resident. Starring the superb Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer and Melonie Diaz and directed by Ryan Coogler, it captured the family life so beautifully, Oscar was so sympathetic, so human, so young that at its end, I was totally depressed by the gun violence done in this film and in so many incidents over this past year. Another film about guns, Valentine Road by Sasha Alpert is getting very good buzz as well. Seeing Fruitvale because it was a buzz film and was so easy to enter with my press pass meant missing out of Gideon's Army which I really wanted to see but did not realize a ticket had been reserved for me and so I missed out on seeing it. Gideon's Army follows three young public defenders who are part of a small group of idealistic lawyers in the Deep South challenging the assumptions that drive a criminal justice system strained to the breaking point. I wanted to share it with my Pd friends in L.A. And the issue of justice and idealism would have taken me out of the depression over Fruitvale where the security guard who shot Oscar twice got off after serving 18 months in prison. Since this doc is an HBO doc, I might not get another chance to see it. At 4:00pm in Sundance (and Berlin, Cannes and Afm), the cocktail hour begins and we put aside watching films and switch to networking, catching up with news, meeting new people, etc. and so I went off to parties: The Louisiana Film Festival , Ifp, Film Independent and Indiewire, Kofic (the Korean film organization) and "The Party" of Sundance hosted by John Sloss and Cinetic were all on the calendar. Starting at the Riverhorse on Main, the Film Independent / Indiewire party was so exciting that I missed the Ifp party up the street. At the Find/ Indiewire party, I got to catch up with so many people including Bob and Jeannie Berney who will be opening their new company Picturehouse (2) with a Metallica film in 3D which sounds like a perfect Bob Berney film. I met Adam Donaghey, a partner of Aviation Cinemas who had been at the Arthouse Convergence. His theater is where they arrested up Lee Harvey Oswald and was originally the flag ship theater created by Howard Hughes as part of the Rko Theaters chain. They also have started the Oak Cliff Film Festival which is a festival of festivals, much like Toronto was in its early days before becoming the showcase and discovery festival it is today. We spoke of a new sort of festival scam that filmmakers need to heed, called Awards Festivals. You can buy an award so you can show your film to be a winner of a festival where it never even needs to screen! Withoutabox even lists these festivals without warning. Adam wishes Withoutabox would curate chosen festivals a bit more. I agree because uneducated filmmakers often tend to think that quantity not quality of film festivals their films show at makes the look better than it might be. For uneducated audiences who might then watch the film, disappointment may result. For the trade, it gives the film a tawdry look.
Michele Satter, Founding Director, Feature Film Program of the Sundance Institute and Paul Federbush, International Director of the Feature Film Program invited me to tomorrow's Mahinda Global Filmmaking Awards Reception which awards $10,000 to 4 filmmakers with projects which give voice to issues needing to be heard. Again I have to miss something if I go there…Narco Cultura plays at 6:30pm, the Awards ceremony starts at 6pm, And I have been invited to my host's dinner party. I hope I can catch Narco Cultura (Isa: K5) on Cinando! The winners are Sarthak Dasgupta,The Music Teacher from India; Jonas Carpignano, A Chjana from Italy-us; Aly Muritiba, The Man Who Killed My Dead Beloved from Brazil; and Vendela Vida & Eva Weber, Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name UK-Germany-us. See more here
Rick Allen, Founder and CEO of Snagfilms (the owner of Indiewire) and I spoke of their ever-growing developments and I was startled and very happy to hear him praise my blog. Stefanie Sharis, COO and Andrew Mer, VP Content Partnerships of Snagfilms and I spoke of our plans in Berlin and Cannes.
Louisiana International Film Festival and Mentorship Program party where, for the second time during this festival, I caught a fantastic musical performance. The first was at the New York Film Lounge. This one was a "love riot" performance by jazz pianist extraordinaire, actor and educator Jonathan Batiste . Both the groups are represented by N.Y. Attorney Stephen Beers . I was with Ula again, and Indiewire's James Israel, doing the party circuit. I hope Ula will bring this fine New Orleans jazz pianist Jon Batiste to The American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. He had the room rocking with a sax, drums and -- was that a tuba? -- backing him up. I have filmed both groups and hope I can upload them for your enjoyment! The Louisiana Film Festival will be held in April and includes a mentorship program. It is being organized by our friends Jeff Dowd and Dan Ireland. Dan is now working on his next feature which sounds great with a cast of great actors. I want to go to this new festival to celebrate my birthday especially since my parents met in New Orleans as university students there, married and moved to L.A. where I was born, so it means a lot to me. Coincidently, when I mentioned this to the Executive Director and filmmaker Chesley Heymsfield, telling her my father was in med school at Lsu, she told me her father was Chancellor of the Lsu Medical School. In addition I am thinking that perhaps we can join forces with their Mentorship Program with The Literacy Project, which I began 4 years ago at El Centro del Pueblo in Echo Park. Their Mentorship Program, from what I understood, is headed by a Nobel Prize Winning Scientist. I may have heard wrong however, because the noise at this party was horrendous and the speech given was too long for sustained silence. Ula, James and I proceeded to the Korean party was a different group of folks gathering of the trade. While there I could do some matchmaking, one of my favorite pastimes, introducing Ula to Kiril of the Moscow Film Festival, seeing Clay Epstein, party organizers Henry Eshelmann and Mark Rabinowitz, being introduced by Ula and Kiral to the Busan International Film Festival/ Asian Film Market's Steering Committee Deputy Director (who is responsible for international marketing of the market, Chanil Jeon, who then introduced me to the programmer for North American films, Dosin Pak whose email is "Program [At] biff.kr" for all you North American filmmakers looking to break into Asia. I have written about Busan several times because I think South Korea's development and support of filmmaking, film education and film financing through its pre-sales market is a model other countries would be wise to follow. I would personally love to create an educational initiative there about cross-cultural competence. During one Cannes Festival, I spoke to their education director about that. So perhaps, with a little more time, I will be able to speak of how to actualize this idea. From the Korean party we went (Early) to John Sloss's Cinetic party, The Hot Ticket party for me. I know I'll see old friends there and meet new and not only interesting but important people in the business, and sure 'nuff, I did. I also know that if you come late to this party you are liable to spend a long time shivering in the cold waiting to be admitted. There was Anne Thompson holding court, Christine Vachon holding court and I am sure many others. I got some good face time with Cotty Chubb who has 3 films nearing completion, and Carol (whose last name I have forgotten regrettably without her card to jolt my memory) whom I last saw in Paris many years ago and has now returned to filmmaking. She in turn introduced me to the L.A. Based Rio Film Commissioner who works with the Rio-based Steve Solet. We gathered with old friends Tom Davia (of Shoreline) and Rodrigo Bellot whose film he wrote, We Are What We Are (Isa: Memento), just sold to eOne for U.S. for a low 6 figures. Eone already has Canada and U.K. That's enough for now. See you tomorrow!!
Michele Satter, Founding Director, Feature Film Program of the Sundance Institute and Paul Federbush, International Director of the Feature Film Program invited me to tomorrow's Mahinda Global Filmmaking Awards Reception which awards $10,000 to 4 filmmakers with projects which give voice to issues needing to be heard. Again I have to miss something if I go there…Narco Cultura plays at 6:30pm, the Awards ceremony starts at 6pm, And I have been invited to my host's dinner party. I hope I can catch Narco Cultura (Isa: K5) on Cinando! The winners are Sarthak Dasgupta,The Music Teacher from India; Jonas Carpignano, A Chjana from Italy-us; Aly Muritiba, The Man Who Killed My Dead Beloved from Brazil; and Vendela Vida & Eva Weber, Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name UK-Germany-us. See more here
Rick Allen, Founder and CEO of Snagfilms (the owner of Indiewire) and I spoke of their ever-growing developments and I was startled and very happy to hear him praise my blog. Stefanie Sharis, COO and Andrew Mer, VP Content Partnerships of Snagfilms and I spoke of our plans in Berlin and Cannes.
Louisiana International Film Festival and Mentorship Program party where, for the second time during this festival, I caught a fantastic musical performance. The first was at the New York Film Lounge. This one was a "love riot" performance by jazz pianist extraordinaire, actor and educator Jonathan Batiste . Both the groups are represented by N.Y. Attorney Stephen Beers . I was with Ula again, and Indiewire's James Israel, doing the party circuit. I hope Ula will bring this fine New Orleans jazz pianist Jon Batiste to The American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. He had the room rocking with a sax, drums and -- was that a tuba? -- backing him up. I have filmed both groups and hope I can upload them for your enjoyment! The Louisiana Film Festival will be held in April and includes a mentorship program. It is being organized by our friends Jeff Dowd and Dan Ireland. Dan is now working on his next feature which sounds great with a cast of great actors. I want to go to this new festival to celebrate my birthday especially since my parents met in New Orleans as university students there, married and moved to L.A. where I was born, so it means a lot to me. Coincidently, when I mentioned this to the Executive Director and filmmaker Chesley Heymsfield, telling her my father was in med school at Lsu, she told me her father was Chancellor of the Lsu Medical School. In addition I am thinking that perhaps we can join forces with their Mentorship Program with The Literacy Project, which I began 4 years ago at El Centro del Pueblo in Echo Park. Their Mentorship Program, from what I understood, is headed by a Nobel Prize Winning Scientist. I may have heard wrong however, because the noise at this party was horrendous and the speech given was too long for sustained silence. Ula, James and I proceeded to the Korean party was a different group of folks gathering of the trade. While there I could do some matchmaking, one of my favorite pastimes, introducing Ula to Kiril of the Moscow Film Festival, seeing Clay Epstein, party organizers Henry Eshelmann and Mark Rabinowitz, being introduced by Ula and Kiral to the Busan International Film Festival/ Asian Film Market's Steering Committee Deputy Director (who is responsible for international marketing of the market, Chanil Jeon, who then introduced me to the programmer for North American films, Dosin Pak whose email is "Program [At] biff.kr" for all you North American filmmakers looking to break into Asia. I have written about Busan several times because I think South Korea's development and support of filmmaking, film education and film financing through its pre-sales market is a model other countries would be wise to follow. I would personally love to create an educational initiative there about cross-cultural competence. During one Cannes Festival, I spoke to their education director about that. So perhaps, with a little more time, I will be able to speak of how to actualize this idea. From the Korean party we went (Early) to John Sloss's Cinetic party, The Hot Ticket party for me. I know I'll see old friends there and meet new and not only interesting but important people in the business, and sure 'nuff, I did. I also know that if you come late to this party you are liable to spend a long time shivering in the cold waiting to be admitted. There was Anne Thompson holding court, Christine Vachon holding court and I am sure many others. I got some good face time with Cotty Chubb who has 3 films nearing completion, and Carol (whose last name I have forgotten regrettably without her card to jolt my memory) whom I last saw in Paris many years ago and has now returned to filmmaking. She in turn introduced me to the L.A. Based Rio Film Commissioner who works with the Rio-based Steve Solet. We gathered with old friends Tom Davia (of Shoreline) and Rodrigo Bellot whose film he wrote, We Are What We Are (Isa: Memento), just sold to eOne for U.S. for a low 6 figures. Eone already has Canada and U.K. That's enough for now. See you tomorrow!!
- 1/24/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Prolific American actor who was Oscar nominated for roles in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and To Be Or Not to Be
The American actor Charles Durning, who has died aged 89, first grabbed audience attention as the crooked Lieutenant Snyder in The Sting (1973). He makes an explosive appearance, tearing down an alley after the slick grifter played by Robert Redford, and repeatedly lurches out of the shadows throughout the rest of the film. Durning had only a handful of scenes, and over the next 40 years would seldom be granted more screen time in 200-odd film and TV roles. Nevertheless, his jowly face, with its boxer's nose and sly eyes, grew increasingly familiar, and his name in the opening titles usually promised good things ahead. His heavyset frame meant he was often cast as tough guys, but he later assumed more jovial roles, portraying Father Christmas several times.
His first...
The American actor Charles Durning, who has died aged 89, first grabbed audience attention as the crooked Lieutenant Snyder in The Sting (1973). He makes an explosive appearance, tearing down an alley after the slick grifter played by Robert Redford, and repeatedly lurches out of the shadows throughout the rest of the film. Durning had only a handful of scenes, and over the next 40 years would seldom be granted more screen time in 200-odd film and TV roles. Nevertheless, his jowly face, with its boxer's nose and sly eyes, grew increasingly familiar, and his name in the opening titles usually promised good things ahead. His heavyset frame meant he was often cast as tough guys, but he later assumed more jovial roles, portraying Father Christmas several times.
His first...
- 12/28/2012
- by Chris Wiegand
- The Guardian - Film News
By MoreHorror.com,
The complete legacy of one deadly experiment, 'Mimic: 3-film Set' (which includes Guillermo Del Toro's Director's Cut of Mimic) will be unleashed to DVD and Bly-ray on May 1. Read the official details below.
Audiences will experience thrills and chills from the franchise that brought the epic battle of man and nature to life as Lionsgate debuts the Mimic: 3-Film Set on Blu-ray Disc this May. Available for the first time as an HD collection, the set includes Mimic: The Director’s Cut, along with Mimic 2 and Mimic 3: Sentinel – both on Blu-ray Disc for the first time and available exclusively in the set. Telling the complete story of one deadly genetic engineering experiment, each film includes a host of special features, certain to excite and terrify fans of the sci-fi series.
Mimic: The Director’S Cut Synopsis
Directed by Oscar® nominee Guillermo Del Toro (Best Writing,...
The complete legacy of one deadly experiment, 'Mimic: 3-film Set' (which includes Guillermo Del Toro's Director's Cut of Mimic) will be unleashed to DVD and Bly-ray on May 1. Read the official details below.
Audiences will experience thrills and chills from the franchise that brought the epic battle of man and nature to life as Lionsgate debuts the Mimic: 3-Film Set on Blu-ray Disc this May. Available for the first time as an HD collection, the set includes Mimic: The Director’s Cut, along with Mimic 2 and Mimic 3: Sentinel – both on Blu-ray Disc for the first time and available exclusively in the set. Telling the complete story of one deadly genetic engineering experiment, each film includes a host of special features, certain to excite and terrify fans of the sci-fi series.
Mimic: The Director’S Cut Synopsis
Directed by Oscar® nominee Guillermo Del Toro (Best Writing,...
- 3/13/2012
- by admin
- MoreHorror
I really can’t find any flaws with Daniel Radcliffe. He’s cute, he’s talented, he’s polite, he’s insanely rich. And he helps out The Trevor Project. So the Trevor Project is going to award him their Hero Award next month. I guess he can put it beside the one he got for defeating Voldemort.
On Friday came the not-so surprising announcement that the Chicago Cubs would become the second Mlb team to make an It Gets Better video. It wasn’t so surprising because Laura Ricketts, a lesbian, owns the team with her family and sits on the board. But what was so surprising was that 24 hours later, in response to a petition by a 12-year-old, the Boston Red Sox would announce their intent to make a video themselves.
Meanwhile, coming out in the locker room remains a difficult trick to master, even at an elite school like Stanford.
On Friday came the not-so surprising announcement that the Chicago Cubs would become the second Mlb team to make an It Gets Better video. It wasn’t so surprising because Laura Ricketts, a lesbian, owns the team with her family and sits on the board. But what was so surprising was that 24 hours later, in response to a petition by a 12-year-old, the Boston Red Sox would announce their intent to make a video themselves.
Meanwhile, coming out in the locker room remains a difficult trick to master, even at an elite school like Stanford.
- 6/5/2011
- by Ed Kennedy
- The Backlot
Though real-life experience doesn’t always work out so convincingly, sometimes a cliche like “one good thing leads to another” actually does ring true. At least that was the case back on February 1 of this year, when I was catching up on one of my favorite blogs, Matthew Dessem’s The Criterion Contraption. One of the comments there caught my attention and led me to follow a link that landed me on one of the most unique and creative Criterion-related blogs I’ve found.
Criterion Affection offers a more visual than prosaic take on the various entries in the Criterion Collection, and I was quickly drawn in by the colorful renderings that artist Michele Rosenthal created for each film. Sensing a kindred spirit in her ambition to watch every Criterion release and leave behind some souvenir of the encounter (hers in pictures, mine in words), I just had to know...
Criterion Affection offers a more visual than prosaic take on the various entries in the Criterion Collection, and I was quickly drawn in by the colorful renderings that artist Michele Rosenthal created for each film. Sensing a kindred spirit in her ambition to watch every Criterion release and leave behind some souvenir of the encounter (hers in pictures, mine in words), I just had to know...
- 4/1/2011
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
Film and TV actor best known as Seinfeld's bothersome Uncle Leo
The American actor Len Lesser, who has died aged 88 from pneumonia, after suffering from cancer for two years, won many fans in his role as Uncle Leo in the offbeat sitcom Seinfeld. He was notable for the boisterous "Jerry! Hello!" greeting he gave his screen nephew. The elderly uncle had an obsession with greetings and insisted that Jerry must always say "Hello!", no matter how embarrassing the situation. That applied even when Jerry caught Leo shoplifting at a bookshop. "You still say hello," he chastised.
"He's the kind of guy who is a total nuisance at times and the kind of guy you avoid," said the bald, moustached actor of his character. Lesser joined the sitcom during its second series (1991) and appeared, on and off, until the end of the show's lengthy run, in 1998. The programme featured the...
The American actor Len Lesser, who has died aged 88 from pneumonia, after suffering from cancer for two years, won many fans in his role as Uncle Leo in the offbeat sitcom Seinfeld. He was notable for the boisterous "Jerry! Hello!" greeting he gave his screen nephew. The elderly uncle had an obsession with greetings and insisted that Jerry must always say "Hello!", no matter how embarrassing the situation. That applied even when Jerry caught Leo shoplifting at a bookshop. "You still say hello," he chastised.
"He's the kind of guy who is a total nuisance at times and the kind of guy you avoid," said the bald, moustached actor of his character. Lesser joined the sitcom during its second series (1991) and appeared, on and off, until the end of the show's lengthy run, in 1998. The programme featured the...
- 2/22/2011
- by Anthony Hayward
- The Guardian - Film News
The note was practically a high "A-sharp"; the cacophony of voices blended perfectly to form an instantly recognizable tone, striking the right balance of volume and shrill while conveying contagious enthusiasm. There were big smiles, hearty applause and a collective pat on the back. Only this chorus wasn't singing on the set of "Glee"; it was 16 cheering department heads seated around a conference table at the Los Angeles offices of 20th Century Fox Television, the studio that produces the hit Fox show. Piped in via video: another eight team members from Columbia Records in New York.Welcome to the "Gleekly meeting," a pep rally during which the many tentacles that tend to the nearly half-billion-dollar brand convene to discuss the latest strategies for what has become the network's No. 2 priority. Averaging 14 million viewers this season, "Glee" still trails "American Idol" by a good 10 million, but it's inching closer to the juggernaut with each passing day.
- 1/26/2011
- backstage.com
Italian film director and screenwriter who established a new school of social-realist comedy
The Italian film director Mario Monicelli has died aged 95, after jumping out of a hospital window in Rome. Monicelli directed more than 60 films, most of which he co-wrote. He was best known for I Soliti Ignoti (Big Deal On Madonna Street, 1958), which was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign-language film. It was remade by Louis Malle as Crackers (1984) and turned into a Broadway musical, Big Deal, by Bob Fosse in 1986. Monicelli's original is one of the most internationally admired Italian comedies of the past 60 years.
Born in Viareggio, Tuscany, Monicelli was the son of a journalist, Tomaso Monicelli, who founded one of the earliest Italian film magazines. Tomaso killed himself in 1946. Mario studied at the universities of Milan and Pisa and took an early interest in films. With the future publisher Alberto Mondadori, he collaborated...
The Italian film director Mario Monicelli has died aged 95, after jumping out of a hospital window in Rome. Monicelli directed more than 60 films, most of which he co-wrote. He was best known for I Soliti Ignoti (Big Deal On Madonna Street, 1958), which was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign-language film. It was remade by Louis Malle as Crackers (1984) and turned into a Broadway musical, Big Deal, by Bob Fosse in 1986. Monicelli's original is one of the most internationally admired Italian comedies of the past 60 years.
Born in Viareggio, Tuscany, Monicelli was the son of a journalist, Tomaso Monicelli, who founded one of the earliest Italian film magazines. Tomaso killed himself in 1946. Mario studied at the universities of Milan and Pisa and took an early interest in films. With the future publisher Alberto Mondadori, he collaborated...
- 11/30/2010
- by John Francis Lane
- The Guardian - Film News
More than 4m copies of Agatha Christie's 80 whodunnits are bought around the world every year. But is she really as good as her fans say, or have they just lost the plot?
To me, they're not so much whodunnits as idontgeddits. I have tried many times over the years to get into Agatha Christie's books. It should be easy. I'm an omnivorous (if you're being polite; undiscriminating if you're not) reader. I am no fan of the modern world and particularly not of the gore that increasingly besplatters it whenever the words "murder mystery" or "crime fiction" heave into view.
But I have always found Christie unreadable. Frank Skinner in his autobiography explains that he can't enjoy fiction – any fiction – because the minute he opens a book to read "Alan walked into the room", he thinks, "No, he didn't. There was no Alan. There is no room. You...
To me, they're not so much whodunnits as idontgeddits. I have tried many times over the years to get into Agatha Christie's books. It should be easy. I'm an omnivorous (if you're being polite; undiscriminating if you're not) reader. I am no fan of the modern world and particularly not of the gore that increasingly besplatters it whenever the words "murder mystery" or "crime fiction" heave into view.
But I have always found Christie unreadable. Frank Skinner in his autobiography explains that he can't enjoy fiction – any fiction – because the minute he opens a book to read "Alan walked into the room", he thinks, "No, he didn't. There was no Alan. There is no room. You...
- 10/1/2010
- by Lucy Mangan
- The Guardian - Film News
People magazine has determined their best dressed, and there are some familiar faces among them.
"The Switch" star Jennifer Aniston leads the pack. The celeb mag has dubbed her "The American Classic."
It appears that she likes to keep things simple -- figure-hugging short dresses in neutrals that show off her body and her flat-ironed locks.
In contrast, "Glee" star Lea "The It Girl" Michele is not afraid of color, frills, making a statement or experimenting with different 'dos on the red carpet.
The long and short of it is that she likes her gowns both long and short -- she likes them all.
Also making the cut are Rihanna ("The Daring Diva"), Jessica Alba ("The Mix Master"), Zoe Saldana ("The Red Carpet Queen"), Gwen Stefani ("The Rocker Mom"), Kate Middleton ("The Princess in Waiting"), Rachel Bilson ("The Denim Darling"), Olivia Palermo ("The Uptown Girl") and Diane Kruger ("The Runaway...
"The Switch" star Jennifer Aniston leads the pack. The celeb mag has dubbed her "The American Classic."
It appears that she likes to keep things simple -- figure-hugging short dresses in neutrals that show off her body and her flat-ironed locks.
In contrast, "Glee" star Lea "The It Girl" Michele is not afraid of color, frills, making a statement or experimenting with different 'dos on the red carpet.
The long and short of it is that she likes her gowns both long and short -- she likes them all.
Also making the cut are Rihanna ("The Daring Diva"), Jessica Alba ("The Mix Master"), Zoe Saldana ("The Red Carpet Queen"), Gwen Stefani ("The Rocker Mom"), Kate Middleton ("The Princess in Waiting"), Rachel Bilson ("The Denim Darling"), Olivia Palermo ("The Uptown Girl") and Diane Kruger ("The Runaway...
- 9/15/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Distinguished Italian director noted for art documentaries
Though the Italian media prefer to remember him as one of the inventors of the first popular programme of television commercials – called Carosello (Carousel) and broadcast each evening at peak viewing time on the only channel of the Italian public broadcaster Rai in the mid-1950s – Luciano Emmer, who has died aged 91, was a distinguished Italian cinema director. He directed a dozen features during 70 years as a film-maker, the first of which, Domenica d'Agosto (Sunday in August), became an international arthouse hit in 1950. He was, however, best known for scores of documentaries on art.
Born in Milan, Emmer spent most of his childhood in Venice, where his father was the city's municipal engineer. As a boy, he made good use of his father's free pass to the local cinemas, where his preference was for Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy, but he also...
Though the Italian media prefer to remember him as one of the inventors of the first popular programme of television commercials – called Carosello (Carousel) and broadcast each evening at peak viewing time on the only channel of the Italian public broadcaster Rai in the mid-1950s – Luciano Emmer, who has died aged 91, was a distinguished Italian cinema director. He directed a dozen features during 70 years as a film-maker, the first of which, Domenica d'Agosto (Sunday in August), became an international arthouse hit in 1950. He was, however, best known for scores of documentaries on art.
Born in Milan, Emmer spent most of his childhood in Venice, where his father was the city's municipal engineer. As a boy, he made good use of his father's free pass to the local cinemas, where his preference was for Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy, but he also...
- 12/3/2009
- by John Francis Lane
- The Guardian - Film News
Rome's couturiers are cash-strapped and the Italian government just might save them. Italy is planning a financial bailout for the struggling fashion industry. The Italian clothing industry began looking for a government bailout amidst a financial crisis where even the super-rich have cut back on their haute fashion. Now, the Italian minister of economic development Claudio Scajola says help is on the way.
Scajola promises that the "first interventions" for the industry will be presented by mid-March. Details of the government assist have not been revealed but Italy gave billion to the fledgling banks and another .7 billion to Italian carmakers recently. Italian fashion houses hope they're the next in line for that aid.
"Orders have been blocked for a month and a half. The situation is explosive," said Michele Tronconi, head of the Italian Textile and Fashion Federation. The Italian fashion industry reportedly employs over 80,000 people and is home to over 30,000 distribution companies.
Scajola promises that the "first interventions" for the industry will be presented by mid-March. Details of the government assist have not been revealed but Italy gave billion to the fledgling banks and another .7 billion to Italian carmakers recently. Italian fashion houses hope they're the next in line for that aid.
"Orders have been blocked for a month and a half. The situation is explosive," said Michele Tronconi, head of the Italian Textile and Fashion Federation. The Italian fashion industry reportedly employs over 80,000 people and is home to over 30,000 distribution companies.
- 3/5/2009
- icelebz.com
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