If you weren't alive during the 1970s or don't have a particularly strong connection to the era, you may not recognize the name Louise Lasser. For a few years in the mid-'70s, Lasser was as popular and ubiquitous a TV star as Mary Tyler Moore or Carol Burnett. But unlike those comediennes, Lasser's unique blend of comic wit, ingenue charm, and unfathomably deep, ponderous melancholy hasn't had as much lasting power in the cultural psyche.
That may have less to do with her impact as the star of the boundary-breaking, ahead-of-its-time soap opera satire "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," and more to do with what the stress of producing five episodes a week per season did to her. "Mary Hartman" centered on an insecure, terminally cheerful yet chronically depressed Midwestern housewife who's never even encountered the concept of depression. The show was developed by Norman Lear as a kind of canny,...
That may have less to do with her impact as the star of the boundary-breaking, ahead-of-its-time soap opera satire "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," and more to do with what the stress of producing five episodes a week per season did to her. "Mary Hartman" centered on an insecure, terminally cheerful yet chronically depressed Midwestern housewife who's never even encountered the concept of depression. The show was developed by Norman Lear as a kind of canny,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Ryan Coleman
- Slash Film
It’s a very happy birthday for TV legend Norman Lear, who gets to celebrate with a bonus present: The new take on Lear’s syndicated 1970s series “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” has landed in script development at TBS.
As reported in February, “Schitt’s Creek” star Emily Hampshire is developing a fresh version of “Mary Hartman,” along with Jacob Tierney (“Letterkenny”). After being shopped by Sony Pictures TV to buyers this spring, the project has landed at TBS. The news comes as Lear, who was born in 1922, celebrates his 99th birthday.
“The kick of kicks as I turn 99 today is learning that TBS is developing ‘Mhmh’ and will allow us to make a new version of it starring Emily Hampshire,” Lear said in a statement. “As someone who believes his 99 years on this planet is owed to the amount of laughter he enjoyed through the years, here’s to the next 99. Bless you all!
As reported in February, “Schitt’s Creek” star Emily Hampshire is developing a fresh version of “Mary Hartman,” along with Jacob Tierney (“Letterkenny”). After being shopped by Sony Pictures TV to buyers this spring, the project has landed at TBS. The news comes as Lear, who was born in 1922, celebrates his 99th birthday.
“The kick of kicks as I turn 99 today is learning that TBS is developing ‘Mhmh’ and will allow us to make a new version of it starring Emily Hampshire,” Lear said in a statement. “As someone who believes his 99 years on this planet is owed to the amount of laughter he enjoyed through the years, here’s to the next 99. Bless you all!
- 7/27/2021
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
“Schitt’s Creek” star Emily Hampshire has signed on to star as the title character in a new, updated version of Norman Lear’s 1970s syndicated hit “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.”
Hampshire will also be an executive producer on the project, and co-write the script with Jacob Tierney (“Letterkenny”), who will serve as showrunner. Sony Pictures TV is planning to shop the show to buyers in the coming weeks.
It’s the latest series remake to come out of the Lear cannon, following the recent critically acclaimed reimagining of “One Day at a Time,” and an animated take on “Good Times” that is currently in the works. Lear and Brent Miller’s Act III Prods. is developing the new “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” with Sony, with Lear and Miller as executive producers alongside Hampshire and Tierney.
“Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” reunites Hampshire with Tierney, as Hampshire previously starred in Tierney’s film “The Trotsky.
Hampshire will also be an executive producer on the project, and co-write the script with Jacob Tierney (“Letterkenny”), who will serve as showrunner. Sony Pictures TV is planning to shop the show to buyers in the coming weeks.
It’s the latest series remake to come out of the Lear cannon, following the recent critically acclaimed reimagining of “One Day at a Time,” and an animated take on “Good Times” that is currently in the works. Lear and Brent Miller’s Act III Prods. is developing the new “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” with Sony, with Lear and Miller as executive producers alongside Hampshire and Tierney.
“Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” reunites Hampshire with Tierney, as Hampshire previously starred in Tierney’s film “The Trotsky.
- 2/4/2021
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
If variety is the spice of life, Kenny Solms has tasted great success. Touted in his hometown newspaper as 'Philadelphia's funniest person,' he began his career in New York, where he teamed up with New York University classmate Gail Parent to create material for Leonard Sillman's last Broadway revue New Faces, and sketches for New York's famed Upstairs at the Downstairs. His collaboration with Ms. Parent climaxed with their co-creation of the now legendary Emmy award winning The Carol Burnett Show.
- 12/1/2016
- by BroadwayWorld TV
- BroadwayWorld.com
If variety is the spice of life, Kenny Solms has tasted great success. Touted in his hometown newspaper as 'Philadelphia's funniest person,' he began his career in New York, where he teamed up with New York University classmate Gail Parent to create material for Leonard Sillman's last Broadway revue New Faces, and sketches for New York's famed Upstairs at the Downstairs. His collaboration with Ms. Parent climaxed with their co-creation of the now legendary Emmy award winning The Carol Burnett Show.
- 11/29/2016
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
The Sopranos was named the best-written show in television history by the Writers Guild of America, edging out an eclectic collection of some of the most beloved and admired series. Members of the Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) voted online for the 101 Best Written TV Series, with David Chase’s iconic “family” drama topping Seinfeld, The Twilight Zone, All in the Family, and M*A*S*H*.
“At their core, all of these wonderful series began with the words of the writers who created them and were sustained by the writers...
“At their core, all of these wonderful series began with the words of the writers who created them and were sustained by the writers...
- 6/3/2013
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside TV
Opens
Friday, Feb. 20
A young actress of impressive poise, personality and comic chops, Lindsay Lohan more than held her own with Jamie Lee Curtis in last year's "Freaky Friday" -- which makes the underwhelming "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" all the more of a letdown.
In the title role, Lohan gets to show off her song-and-dance talents, but mainly she models David C. Robinson's costume confections, the only consistently buoyant aspect of the film. Girls ages 6-14 will get a charge from the fashion show, animation effects and, to a lesser degree, the cartoonish antics. But like most adolescent histrionics, the pic's impact on adults will be limited to mild amusement alternating with annoyance. The cute factor isn't enough to stir up significant boxoffice returns for the Walt Disney Co.
Lohan plays a budding Sarah Bernhardt who tosses aside her given name, Mary, for the more fitting handle Lola. She can't believe the calamity she's forced to endure when her divorced bohemian mother (Glenne Headly) moves Lola and her young twin sisters from New York to the netherworld of suburban New Jersey. A self-described flamingo among pigeons, the despairing Lola crosses the bridge as though into oblivion. She promptly clashes with Burberry-clad Heather-in-training Carla (Megan Fox, savoring every villainous taunt), nabbing the lead in the school play and thus displacing the reigning drama queen.
Lola flirts with Sam (Eli Marienthal) and becomes fast friends with the borderline-dowdy Ella (Alison Pill, in a disappointing follow-up to her high-strung turn in "Pieces of April"), who lives in a stuffy gated community and dares not disturb the universe -- until Lola comes along.
Ella and Lola share a passion for the rock band Sidarthur, whose lyricist, Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), Lola considers the greatest poet since Shakespeare. A cataclysm of cosmic proportions takes place -- the band breaks up -- and the girls are determined to attend their New York farewell concert, though they don't have tickets. As fate would have it, Carla will be attending not only the show but the afterparty at Stu's Soho loft, and she won't let Lola forget it.
An adaptation of the book by Dyan Sheldon, Gail Parent's first feature script in 17 years captures teen-girl hyperbole but lacks fizz and certainly doesn't earn its supposed emotional climaxes. Helmer Sara Sugarman, making her studio debut, struggles to tap a comic vein, never establishing momentum. Her 2001 "Very Annie Mary", set in her native Wales, was a comic grotesquerie with a grounding connection to character and place. Here, striving for whimsy, she throws in an assortment of bells and whistles, but for the most part the material is stubbornly inert, and the actors at times appear to be flailing.
Dance sequences choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, including numbers from the school production, provide bursts of energy and flair. As the shrill drama teacher overseeing the present-day musical version of "Pygmalion", Carol Kane delivers an unfortunate caricature, while Garcia earns a laugh or two as a cartoon version of a besotted rock star. Stephen H. Burum's lensing puts a high sheen on Leslie McDonald's brightly colored production design.
CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Sara Sugarman
Screenwriter: Gail Parent
Producers: Robert Shapiro, Jerry Leider
Director of photography: Stephen H. Burum
Production designer: Leslie McDonald
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Costume designer: David C. Robinson
Editor: Anita Brandt Burgoyne
Cast:
Lola: Lindsay Lohan
Stu: Adam Garcia
Karen: Glenne Headly
Ella: Alison Pill
Sam: Eli Marienthal
Miss Baggoli: Carol Kane
Carla: Megan Fox
Calum: Tom McCamus
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Friday, Feb. 20
A young actress of impressive poise, personality and comic chops, Lindsay Lohan more than held her own with Jamie Lee Curtis in last year's "Freaky Friday" -- which makes the underwhelming "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" all the more of a letdown.
In the title role, Lohan gets to show off her song-and-dance talents, but mainly she models David C. Robinson's costume confections, the only consistently buoyant aspect of the film. Girls ages 6-14 will get a charge from the fashion show, animation effects and, to a lesser degree, the cartoonish antics. But like most adolescent histrionics, the pic's impact on adults will be limited to mild amusement alternating with annoyance. The cute factor isn't enough to stir up significant boxoffice returns for the Walt Disney Co.
Lohan plays a budding Sarah Bernhardt who tosses aside her given name, Mary, for the more fitting handle Lola. She can't believe the calamity she's forced to endure when her divorced bohemian mother (Glenne Headly) moves Lola and her young twin sisters from New York to the netherworld of suburban New Jersey. A self-described flamingo among pigeons, the despairing Lola crosses the bridge as though into oblivion. She promptly clashes with Burberry-clad Heather-in-training Carla (Megan Fox, savoring every villainous taunt), nabbing the lead in the school play and thus displacing the reigning drama queen.
Lola flirts with Sam (Eli Marienthal) and becomes fast friends with the borderline-dowdy Ella (Alison Pill, in a disappointing follow-up to her high-strung turn in "Pieces of April"), who lives in a stuffy gated community and dares not disturb the universe -- until Lola comes along.
Ella and Lola share a passion for the rock band Sidarthur, whose lyricist, Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), Lola considers the greatest poet since Shakespeare. A cataclysm of cosmic proportions takes place -- the band breaks up -- and the girls are determined to attend their New York farewell concert, though they don't have tickets. As fate would have it, Carla will be attending not only the show but the afterparty at Stu's Soho loft, and she won't let Lola forget it.
An adaptation of the book by Dyan Sheldon, Gail Parent's first feature script in 17 years captures teen-girl hyperbole but lacks fizz and certainly doesn't earn its supposed emotional climaxes. Helmer Sara Sugarman, making her studio debut, struggles to tap a comic vein, never establishing momentum. Her 2001 "Very Annie Mary", set in her native Wales, was a comic grotesquerie with a grounding connection to character and place. Here, striving for whimsy, she throws in an assortment of bells and whistles, but for the most part the material is stubbornly inert, and the actors at times appear to be flailing.
Dance sequences choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, including numbers from the school production, provide bursts of energy and flair. As the shrill drama teacher overseeing the present-day musical version of "Pygmalion", Carol Kane delivers an unfortunate caricature, while Garcia earns a laugh or two as a cartoon version of a besotted rock star. Stephen H. Burum's lensing puts a high sheen on Leslie McDonald's brightly colored production design.
CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Sara Sugarman
Screenwriter: Gail Parent
Producers: Robert Shapiro, Jerry Leider
Director of photography: Stephen H. Burum
Production designer: Leslie McDonald
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Costume designer: David C. Robinson
Editor: Anita Brandt Burgoyne
Cast:
Lola: Lindsay Lohan
Stu: Adam Garcia
Karen: Glenne Headly
Ella: Alison Pill
Sam: Eli Marienthal
Miss Baggoli: Carol Kane
Carla: Megan Fox
Calum: Tom McCamus
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Opens
Friday, Feb. 20
A young actress of impressive poise, personality and comic chops, Lindsay Lohan more than held her own with Jamie Lee Curtis in last year's "Freaky Friday" -- which makes the underwhelming "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" all the more of a letdown.
In the title role, Lohan gets to show off her song-and-dance talents, but mainly she models David C. Robinson's costume confections, the only consistently buoyant aspect of the film. Girls ages 6-14 will get a charge from the fashion show, animation effects and, to a lesser degree, the cartoonish antics. But like most adolescent histrionics, the pic's impact on adults will be limited to mild amusement alternating with annoyance. The cute factor isn't enough to stir up significant boxoffice returns for the Walt Disney Co.
Lohan plays a budding Sarah Bernhardt who tosses aside her given name, Mary, for the more fitting handle Lola. She can't believe the calamity she's forced to endure when her divorced bohemian mother (Glenne Headly) moves Lola and her young twin sisters from New York to the netherworld of suburban New Jersey. A self-described flamingo among pigeons, the despairing Lola crosses the bridge as though into oblivion. She promptly clashes with Burberry-clad Heather-in-training Carla (Megan Fox, savoring every villainous taunt), nabbing the lead in the school play and thus displacing the reigning drama queen.
Lola flirts with Sam (Eli Marienthal) and becomes fast friends with the borderline-dowdy Ella (Alison Pill, in a disappointing follow-up to her high-strung turn in "Pieces of April"), who lives in a stuffy gated community and dares not disturb the universe -- until Lola comes along.
Ella and Lola share a passion for the rock band Sidarthur, whose lyricist, Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), Lola considers the greatest poet since Shakespeare. A cataclysm of cosmic proportions takes place -- the band breaks up -- and the girls are determined to attend their New York farewell concert, though they don't have tickets. As fate would have it, Carla will be attending not only the show but the afterparty at Stu's Soho loft, and she won't let Lola forget it.
An adaptation of the book by Dyan Sheldon, Gail Parent's first feature script in 17 years captures teen-girl hyperbole but lacks fizz and certainly doesn't earn its supposed emotional climaxes. Helmer Sara Sugarman, making her studio debut, struggles to tap a comic vein, never establishing momentum. Her 2001 "Very Annie Mary", set in her native Wales, was a comic grotesquerie with a grounding connection to character and place. Here, striving for whimsy, she throws in an assortment of bells and whistles, but for the most part the material is stubbornly inert, and the actors at times appear to be flailing.
Dance sequences choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, including numbers from the school production, provide bursts of energy and flair. As the shrill drama teacher overseeing the present-day musical version of "Pygmalion", Carol Kane delivers an unfortunate caricature, while Garcia earns a laugh or two as a cartoon version of a besotted rock star. Stephen H. Burum's lensing puts a high sheen on Leslie McDonald's brightly colored production design.
CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Sara Sugarman
Screenwriter: Gail Parent
Producers: Robert Shapiro, Jerry Leider
Director of photography: Stephen H. Burum
Production designer: Leslie McDonald
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Costume designer: David C. Robinson
Editor: Anita Brandt Burgoyne
Cast:
Lola: Lindsay Lohan
Stu: Adam Garcia
Karen: Glenne Headly
Ella: Alison Pill
Sam: Eli Marienthal
Miss Baggoli: Carol Kane
Carla: Megan Fox
Calum: Tom McCamus
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Friday, Feb. 20
A young actress of impressive poise, personality and comic chops, Lindsay Lohan more than held her own with Jamie Lee Curtis in last year's "Freaky Friday" -- which makes the underwhelming "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" all the more of a letdown.
In the title role, Lohan gets to show off her song-and-dance talents, but mainly she models David C. Robinson's costume confections, the only consistently buoyant aspect of the film. Girls ages 6-14 will get a charge from the fashion show, animation effects and, to a lesser degree, the cartoonish antics. But like most adolescent histrionics, the pic's impact on adults will be limited to mild amusement alternating with annoyance. The cute factor isn't enough to stir up significant boxoffice returns for the Walt Disney Co.
Lohan plays a budding Sarah Bernhardt who tosses aside her given name, Mary, for the more fitting handle Lola. She can't believe the calamity she's forced to endure when her divorced bohemian mother (Glenne Headly) moves Lola and her young twin sisters from New York to the netherworld of suburban New Jersey. A self-described flamingo among pigeons, the despairing Lola crosses the bridge as though into oblivion. She promptly clashes with Burberry-clad Heather-in-training Carla (Megan Fox, savoring every villainous taunt), nabbing the lead in the school play and thus displacing the reigning drama queen.
Lola flirts with Sam (Eli Marienthal) and becomes fast friends with the borderline-dowdy Ella (Alison Pill, in a disappointing follow-up to her high-strung turn in "Pieces of April"), who lives in a stuffy gated community and dares not disturb the universe -- until Lola comes along.
Ella and Lola share a passion for the rock band Sidarthur, whose lyricist, Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), Lola considers the greatest poet since Shakespeare. A cataclysm of cosmic proportions takes place -- the band breaks up -- and the girls are determined to attend their New York farewell concert, though they don't have tickets. As fate would have it, Carla will be attending not only the show but the afterparty at Stu's Soho loft, and she won't let Lola forget it.
An adaptation of the book by Dyan Sheldon, Gail Parent's first feature script in 17 years captures teen-girl hyperbole but lacks fizz and certainly doesn't earn its supposed emotional climaxes. Helmer Sara Sugarman, making her studio debut, struggles to tap a comic vein, never establishing momentum. Her 2001 "Very Annie Mary", set in her native Wales, was a comic grotesquerie with a grounding connection to character and place. Here, striving for whimsy, she throws in an assortment of bells and whistles, but for the most part the material is stubbornly inert, and the actors at times appear to be flailing.
Dance sequences choreographed by Marguerite Derricks, including numbers from the school production, provide bursts of energy and flair. As the shrill drama teacher overseeing the present-day musical version of "Pygmalion", Carol Kane delivers an unfortunate caricature, while Garcia earns a laugh or two as a cartoon version of a besotted rock star. Stephen H. Burum's lensing puts a high sheen on Leslie McDonald's brightly colored production design.
CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Sara Sugarman
Screenwriter: Gail Parent
Producers: Robert Shapiro, Jerry Leider
Director of photography: Stephen H. Burum
Production designer: Leslie McDonald
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Costume designer: David C. Robinson
Editor: Anita Brandt Burgoyne
Cast:
Lola: Lindsay Lohan
Stu: Adam Garcia
Karen: Glenne Headly
Ella: Alison Pill
Sam: Eli Marienthal
Miss Baggoli: Carol Kane
Carla: Megan Fox
Calum: Tom McCamus
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 2/19/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Aussie hunk Adam Garcia (Coyote Ugly) has joined the cast of Disney's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen alongside Lindsay Lohan and Alison Pill, according to Variety. Directed by Sara Sugarman from a script by Gail Parent, the comedy revolves around a popular teen girl who moves to the suburbs, only to discover her new high school worships another popular girl. Shooting is slated to begin this summer.
- 4/30/2003
- IMDbPro News
Lindsay Lohan and Alison Pill have been cast in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen for the Walt Disney Co. and director Sara Sugarman. Based on the Dyan Sheldon novel, Drama Queen will star Lohan as a New York teenager who reinvents herself when she is forced to move to a New Jersey suburb. Pill will play Lohan's best friend in the film. Drama Queen, which is slated for an early-summer production start, was adapted for the big screen by Gail Parent and is being produced by Jerry Leider and Robert Shapiro. Disney production exec Brad Epstein is overseeing for the studio.
- 3/28/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Indie director Sara Sugarman is in early negotiations to make her studio feature debut at the helm of New Line Cinema's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. Based on the Dyan Sheldon novel, Drama Queen will star Hilary Duff as a New York teenager who reinvents herself when she is forced to move to a New Jersey suburb. The film was adapted for the big screen by Gail Parent and is being produced by Jerry Leider and Robert Shapiro. Although Drama Queen will mark Sugarman's studio feature debut, she has directed several indie features, including Very Annie Mary and Mad Cows. She also has appeared as an actress in Sid and Nancy and the British television series Grange Hill.
- 10/18/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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