Last year, John Leguizamo revealed that he was in talks with Marvel Studios to play the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Though Michael Keaton ultimately signed on to play the character, the Batman actor was reportedly hesitant to commit at first, and Marvel had Leguizamo lined up in case negotiations fell through.
Apparently, Leguizamo was told that the role was his prior to Keaton agreeing to play the part.
“I was supposed to be the Vulture,” Leguizamo said at the time. “We had negotiated and I was about to play him, and they said that Michael Keaton wanted it back and they asked me if I would give it up. I said, ‘Well, okay I guess.’ They said, ‘No, we’ll work with you again, we’re gonna…’ That’s what happened there.”
In a new interview with Business Insider, Leguizamo goes into a little more detail on what went down,...
Apparently, Leguizamo was told that the role was his prior to Keaton agreeing to play the part.
“I was supposed to be the Vulture,” Leguizamo said at the time. “We had negotiated and I was about to play him, and they said that Michael Keaton wanted it back and they asked me if I would give it up. I said, ‘Well, okay I guess.’ They said, ‘No, we’ll work with you again, we’re gonna…’ That’s what happened there.”
In a new interview with Business Insider, Leguizamo goes into a little more detail on what went down,...
- 5/11/2024
- ComicBookMovie.com
Mookie and Buggin’-Out back together again. We love to see it. Filmmaker, artist, tastemaker, and thespian Spike Lee has reunited with “School Daze” and “Do The Right Thing” brethren Giancarlo Esposito in a recent spot for Fiat’s new all-electric Fiat 500e. The commercial is entitled “Italy in America” and sees Esposito, whose father hails from Naples, introducing Lee to “la dolce vita”. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter marking the reunion, Lee and Esposito reflected on their friendship and collaborations, their shared appreciation for Italian culture, and various film projects on approach.
“This is a natural fit,” Lee said of working with Esposito on the project after years apart. “When you’re close, especially in this industry, there might be Spike the love, but there are schedules and delays that prevent working together again. But we have a bond. It’s been announced that I’m...
“This is a natural fit,” Lee said of working with Esposito on the project after years apart. “When you’re close, especially in this industry, there might be Spike the love, but there are schedules and delays that prevent working together again. But we have a bond. It’s been announced that I’m...
- 5/5/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
The trailer for Kate Winslet’s biopic about World War II correspondent photographer Lee Miller, Lee, shows Winslet struggling to hold a camera as bombs explode around her. Wearing a soldier’s helmet, she looks shaken and scared as she questions her life choices in voiceover: “Why does it matter? They’re just pictures.” But the emotion on her face and the trauma she subjects herself to for the pictures suggests the film, which opens in theaters on Sept. 27, will present a nuanced portrait of the photographer.
“You think I...
“You think I...
- 5/1/2024
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
If Criterion24/7 hasn’t completely colonized your attention every time you open the Channel––this is to say: if you’re stronger than me––their May lineup may be of interest. First and foremost I’m happy to see a Michael Roemer triple-feature: his superlative Nothing But a Man, arriving in a Criterion Edition, and the recently rediscovered The Plot Against Harry and Vengeance is Mine, three distinct features that suggest a long-lost voice of American movies. Meanwhile, Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Antiwar Trilogy four by Sara Driver, and a wide collection from Ayoka Chenzira fill out the auteurist sets.
Series-wise, a highlight of 1999 goes beyond the well-established canon with films like Trick and Bye Bye Africa, while of course including Sofia Coppola, Michael Mann, Scorsese, and Claire Denis. Films starring Shirley Maclaine, a study of 1960s paranoia, and Columbia’s “golden era” (read: 1950-1961) are curated; meanwhile, The Breaking Ice,...
Series-wise, a highlight of 1999 goes beyond the well-established canon with films like Trick and Bye Bye Africa, while of course including Sofia Coppola, Michael Mann, Scorsese, and Claire Denis. Films starring Shirley Maclaine, a study of 1960s paranoia, and Columbia’s “golden era” (read: 1950-1961) are curated; meanwhile, The Breaking Ice,...
- 4/17/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
John Leguizamo has joined the cast of the upcoming Apple TV+ drama series “Firebug,” Variety has learned. In addition, Kari Skogland has boarded the series as director and executive producer.
Leguizamo joins previously announced cast members Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett in the series. It was originally greenlit in December 2022.
The series is loosely based on true events and also draws from events documented in truth.media’s “Firebug” podcast. The official logline states that the show “will follow a troubled detective and an enigmatic arson investigator (Egerton) as they pursue the trails of two serial arsonists.”
Leguizamo with play Esposito, described as “a former policeman with a lot of bad habits and a lot of good instincts.”
Leguizamo is a highly-versatile performer with a career spanning four decades. He is known for his roles in films like “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar” (which earned him a Golden Globe nomination), “Romeo + Juliet,...
Leguizamo joins previously announced cast members Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett in the series. It was originally greenlit in December 2022.
The series is loosely based on true events and also draws from events documented in truth.media’s “Firebug” podcast. The official logline states that the show “will follow a troubled detective and an enigmatic arson investigator (Egerton) as they pursue the trails of two serial arsonists.”
Leguizamo with play Esposito, described as “a former policeman with a lot of bad habits and a lot of good instincts.”
Leguizamo is a highly-versatile performer with a career spanning four decades. He is known for his roles in films like “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar” (which earned him a Golden Globe nomination), “Romeo + Juliet,...
- 3/27/2024
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Roadside Attractions and Vertical have acquired US rights to the biopic Lee starring Kate Winslet as the celebrated model turned war photographer Lee Miller.
Lee premiered at TIFF 2023 and will open theatrically on September 20.
Ellen Kuras’ feature directorial debut charts the life of the trailblazing former model who went to Paris to become a photographer and eventually made it to the front line in the Second World War to document atrocities, launching her career as a war photographer.
Alexander Skarsgård, Andrea Riseborough, Josh O’Connor, Andy Samberg, and Marion Cotillard round out the key cast.
Kuras served as cinematographer on Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind...
Lee premiered at TIFF 2023 and will open theatrically on September 20.
Ellen Kuras’ feature directorial debut charts the life of the trailblazing former model who went to Paris to become a photographer and eventually made it to the front line in the Second World War to document atrocities, launching her career as a war photographer.
Alexander Skarsgård, Andrea Riseborough, Josh O’Connor, Andy Samberg, and Marion Cotillard round out the key cast.
Kuras served as cinematographer on Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind...
- 2/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Quiver Distribution announced today that they have acquired North American rights for the family crime drama Fresh Kills written and directed by Jennifer Esposito in her feature film debut. The film stars Esposito, Emily Bader, Odessa A’zion, Domenick Lombardozzi, and Annabella Sciorra. Quiver will release the film in theaters on May 17th.
Fresh Kills brings late 1980s Staten Island to vivid life through the lens of Rose Larusso (Bader), an inquisitive young girl who discovers her father (Lombardozzi) is an emerging mafia kingpin. Rose’s growing desire to break free from the path set before her soon threatens her existence and alienates her from her closest allies: her mother Francine (Esposito), her sister Connie (A’zion), and her aunt Christine (Sciorra).
“Fresh Kills is a brand new take on the classic mob movie” said Quiver Distribution Co-Presidents Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman, who...
Fresh Kills brings late 1980s Staten Island to vivid life through the lens of Rose Larusso (Bader), an inquisitive young girl who discovers her father (Lombardozzi) is an emerging mafia kingpin. Rose’s growing desire to break free from the path set before her soon threatens her existence and alienates her from her closest allies: her mother Francine (Esposito), her sister Connie (A’zion), and her aunt Christine (Sciorra).
“Fresh Kills is a brand new take on the classic mob movie” said Quiver Distribution Co-Presidents Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman, who...
- 2/6/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
The American Society of Cinematographers has done the right thing.
The group said today that Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee will receive its Board of Governors Award next month.
“Spike Lee is one of the most brilliant filmmakers of our time, and the social impact of his work is immeasurable,” ASC President Shelly Johnson said. “This award celebrates his respect for the partnership between director and cinematographer and how two people unite to tell a visual story in a way that can only be recognized as that of collaboration.”
The Brooklyn-raised Lee began his storied career in the 1980s as a writer-director of such films as She’s Gotta Have It, School Daze and Do the Right Thing, for which he earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination. Many more celebrated films would follow, including Malcolm X, Mo’ Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Crooklyn, Clockers, He Got Game, Summer of Sam, Girl 6,...
The group said today that Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee will receive its Board of Governors Award next month.
“Spike Lee is one of the most brilliant filmmakers of our time, and the social impact of his work is immeasurable,” ASC President Shelly Johnson said. “This award celebrates his respect for the partnership between director and cinematographer and how two people unite to tell a visual story in a way that can only be recognized as that of collaboration.”
The Brooklyn-raised Lee began his storied career in the 1980s as a writer-director of such films as She’s Gotta Have It, School Daze and Do the Right Thing, for which he earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination. Many more celebrated films would follow, including Malcolm X, Mo’ Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Crooklyn, Clockers, He Got Game, Summer of Sam, Girl 6,...
- 2/6/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Hello, and welcome to the Scene to Seen Podcast!
I am Valerie Complex Associate editor and film writer at Deadline. On today’s episode, we’re talking to director, writer, producers, and actress Jennifer Esposito, where we talk about her career and her directorial debut Fresh Kills.
With a career spanning over 25 years, Jennifer Esposito is a Screen Actors Guild, Critics Choice and Hollywood Foreign Press award recipient. She has appeared in over 60 films and television productions. She’s appeared in Crash by Paul Haggis, Summer of Sam by Spike Lee and Welcome To Collinwood, directed by The Russo Brothers. Her television work includes Spin City, Samantha Who, Blue Bloods, The Affair, The Boys, and Nora From Queens.
Jennifer makes her writing and directing debut with Fresh Kills, in which she also produced and plays a supporting role. She was also the first to incorporate NFTs as a fundraising tool for independent films.
I am Valerie Complex Associate editor and film writer at Deadline. On today’s episode, we’re talking to director, writer, producers, and actress Jennifer Esposito, where we talk about her career and her directorial debut Fresh Kills.
With a career spanning over 25 years, Jennifer Esposito is a Screen Actors Guild, Critics Choice and Hollywood Foreign Press award recipient. She has appeared in over 60 films and television productions. She’s appeared in Crash by Paul Haggis, Summer of Sam by Spike Lee and Welcome To Collinwood, directed by The Russo Brothers. Her television work includes Spin City, Samantha Who, Blue Bloods, The Affair, The Boys, and Nora From Queens.
Jennifer makes her writing and directing debut with Fresh Kills, in which she also produced and plays a supporting role. She was also the first to incorporate NFTs as a fundraising tool for independent films.
- 12/8/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Indie and art film producer Jon Kilik, unlike many, remains hopeful for the personal, mid-budget movie for grown-ups. “Those are the films directors love to make and audiences still love,” says Kilik, being feted this week at Poland’s Camerimage cinematography festival for work of special visual sensitivity.
Having flown in from a shoot in Rome, Kilik confesses he still loves being on set after a career spanning four decades, including work with Spike Lee, Julian Schnabel, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jim Jarmusch and Oliver Stone.
His latest project filming in Europe, “In the Hand of Dante,” starring Gal Gadot and Oscar Isaac in a metaphorical journey through hell to paradise, is characteristic of Kilik’s lifelong passion for bringing challenging works of literature and art to the screen.
And he’s proven time and again that such films have an audience and are economically viable, he points out, if handled...
Having flown in from a shoot in Rome, Kilik confesses he still loves being on set after a career spanning four decades, including work with Spike Lee, Julian Schnabel, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jim Jarmusch and Oliver Stone.
His latest project filming in Europe, “In the Hand of Dante,” starring Gal Gadot and Oscar Isaac in a metaphorical journey through hell to paradise, is characteristic of Kilik’s lifelong passion for bringing challenging works of literature and art to the screen.
And he’s proven time and again that such films have an audience and are economically viable, he points out, if handled...
- 11/19/2023
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Thursday’s episode of Paramount+’s “Frasier” revival saw the return of Dr. Lilith Sternin – the ex-wife of Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and mother of Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) – as the two parents compete for their son’s affection during his birthday.
Showrunner Joe Cristalli (“Life In Pieces”) told TheWrap that “nothing was more enjoyable as a fan to watch” than seeing Grammer and Neuwirth’s characters go toe-to-toe zinging each other again.
“There’s a version of this show where ‘Oh, Lilith and Frasier are a little softer now, they found a nice balance and they’re starting to come around’ and no, that’s not the case,” Cristalli told TheWrap. “They’re still going at each other hard and it’s so fun to write for that. It’s so fun for such a specific voice to come up with these insults and jokes that nobody else can perform except for Kelsey and Bebe.
Showrunner Joe Cristalli (“Life In Pieces”) told TheWrap that “nothing was more enjoyable as a fan to watch” than seeing Grammer and Neuwirth’s characters go toe-to-toe zinging each other again.
“There’s a version of this show where ‘Oh, Lilith and Frasier are a little softer now, they found a nice balance and they’re starting to come around’ and no, that’s not the case,” Cristalli told TheWrap. “They’re still going at each other hard and it’s so fun to write for that. It’s so fun for such a specific voice to come up with these insults and jokes that nobody else can perform except for Kelsey and Bebe.
- 11/16/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Jennifer Esposito, who accumulated around 70 credits as an actress in movies and series before making her debut as writer and director of Fresh Kills, has signed with Echo Lake Entertainment. The management company is tasked with helping her forge a new career path. When you have mortgaged your house to make her first film as Esposito did, it stands to reason you would not be happy thinking you got that out of your system, and go back to waiting for the phone to ring with acting jobs.
Echo Lake will work with WME, which reps her for writing and directing, and attorney Chris Tricarico, while Authentic continues to rep her for acting.
When most of us think of the wives of mobsters in the movies, we visualize those frumps who raised the kids and kept up those gaudy homes in Goodfellas. Esposito, who grew up in Brooklyn and Staten Island...
Echo Lake will work with WME, which reps her for writing and directing, and attorney Chris Tricarico, while Authentic continues to rep her for acting.
When most of us think of the wives of mobsters in the movies, we visualize those frumps who raised the kids and kept up those gaudy homes in Goodfellas. Esposito, who grew up in Brooklyn and Staten Island...
- 10/31/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Gritty drama premiered at Tribeca Festival.
The Exchange has boarded international sales to Jennifer Esposito’s debut feature Fresh Kills and will launch sales at AFM on the female-driven family story set in the world of organised crime.
The gritty drama, also written by, starring and co-produced by Esposito, premiered at 2023 Tribeca Festival and has had a strong run on the US festival circuit since.
It won the audience award for best narrative feature and an honorary prize for Excellence in Directing a Narrative Film from NY Women in Film & Television at Hamptons International Festival, in addition to the Best...
The Exchange has boarded international sales to Jennifer Esposito’s debut feature Fresh Kills and will launch sales at AFM on the female-driven family story set in the world of organised crime.
The gritty drama, also written by, starring and co-produced by Esposito, premiered at 2023 Tribeca Festival and has had a strong run on the US festival circuit since.
It won the audience award for best narrative feature and an honorary prize for Excellence in Directing a Narrative Film from NY Women in Film & Television at Hamptons International Festival, in addition to the Best...
- 10/24/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Before Jane Campion, Kathryn Bigelow, Greta Gerwig, Ava DuVernay or Chloe Zhao, Jennifer Esposito thought about being a director. “I wanted to go to NYU film school. I couldn’t afford it but also back then there were no role models,” the actress-turned-first-time director told me. “No brilliant female directors or filmmakers, or so few it’s embarrassing,” she continued. “So I became an actress.” That decision didn’t hurt her. After debuting on a “Law and Order” she went on to a regular role on “Spin City” and then films like Spike Lee‘s “Summer of Sam” and Oscar-winning Best Picture “Crash.”
SEEExperts slugfest: Is ‘Maestro’ Bradley Cooper’s ticket to Oscar gold?
But a nagging story about growing up around gangster families in Staten Island kept haunting her. So she wrote and directed the mob drama “Fresh Kills” and is bringing it to the 31st Hamptons International Film Festival,...
SEEExperts slugfest: Is ‘Maestro’ Bradley Cooper’s ticket to Oscar gold?
But a nagging story about growing up around gangster families in Staten Island kept haunting her. So she wrote and directed the mob drama “Fresh Kills” and is bringing it to the 31st Hamptons International Film Festival,...
- 10/5/2023
- by Bill McCuddy
- Gold Derby
Celebration of the legendary New York hotel and haven for actors, artists and musicians that spills secrets of squalor, celebrity and death
Earlier this year saw the release of Dreaming Walls, an interesting if meanderingly vague film about New York’s legendary Hotel Chelsea; the place which is actually an apartment building and artist colony, famous for residents and habitués including Andy Warhol, Sid Vicious, Isadora Duncan, Dylan Thomas and Arthur Miller. That rather downbeat film emphasised the efforts of longterm residents to stay in the building after it was bought by new owners who allegedly wanted to sanitise and gentrify it. Here is a second documentary which is far more celebratory, with far more interviewees, far more sexy name-dropping and more uproarious anecdotes, especially about the friendly ghosts who allegedly roam its corridors.
Again, this film pays tribute to the building’s manager Stanley Bard, who cultivated its reputation...
Earlier this year saw the release of Dreaming Walls, an interesting if meanderingly vague film about New York’s legendary Hotel Chelsea; the place which is actually an apartment building and artist colony, famous for residents and habitués including Andy Warhol, Sid Vicious, Isadora Duncan, Dylan Thomas and Arthur Miller. That rather downbeat film emphasised the efforts of longterm residents to stay in the building after it was bought by new owners who allegedly wanted to sanitise and gentrify it. Here is a second documentary which is far more celebratory, with far more interviewees, far more sexy name-dropping and more uproarious anecdotes, especially about the friendly ghosts who allegedly roam its corridors.
Again, this film pays tribute to the building’s manager Stanley Bard, who cultivated its reputation...
- 10/5/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
In 1995, brothers Albert and Allen Hughes followed their electrifying directorial debut “Menace II Society” with “Dead Presidents,” an ambitious crime film set in 1970s New York filled with specific political references to illustrate the shameful treatment of Black veterans returning to the U.S. after the Vietnam War. Albert returns to that era as the director of the first and final episodes of Peacock’s “The Continental: From the World of John Wick,” a three-part prequel to the “John Wick” universe set in the titular hotel during the 1970s in New York City. The episodes exhibit Hughes’ usual strengths, from a balletic interaction between blocking, music, and camera movement to a bold, expressive color palette, but “The Continental” is a vastly different take on ’70s NYC than what Hughes learned on “Dead Presidents” — and that’s just the way Hughes likes it.
“The wonderful thing about the ‘John Wick’ films...
“The wonderful thing about the ‘John Wick’ films...
- 9/22/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
The full cast of “Dancing With the Stars” Season 32 was revealed on Wednesday, with Mira Sorvino and Tyson Beckford among those competing for the Mirrorball trophy. They join previously announced celebrity contestants Jamie Lynn Spears and reality TV stars Charity Lawson of “The Bachelorette” and Ariana Madix of “Vanderpump Rules.”
Read on for the entire cast and which professional dancer they’ve been assigned, from Marvel star Xochitl Gomez and dancer Val Chmerkovskiy to Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino and dancer Gleb Savchenko.
Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Paramount+
Jamie Lynn Spears
The “Zoey 101” star — and younger sister of Britney Spears — will be paired with professional dancer Alan Bersten. She plans to donate her weekly pay to strike relief funds. “While everybody else in my community is on strike, I have this unique opportunity where I was offered a chance to work when my community cannot work,” Spears said on Good Morning America.
Read on for the entire cast and which professional dancer they’ve been assigned, from Marvel star Xochitl Gomez and dancer Val Chmerkovskiy to Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino and dancer Gleb Savchenko.
Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Paramount+
Jamie Lynn Spears
The “Zoey 101” star — and younger sister of Britney Spears — will be paired with professional dancer Alan Bersten. She plans to donate her weekly pay to strike relief funds. “While everybody else in my community is on strike, I have this unique opportunity where I was offered a chance to work when my community cannot work,” Spears said on Good Morning America.
- 9/13/2023
- by Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
There are few actors who command the screen like Kate Winslet, and with Ellen Kuras’ Lee, the thespian has one of her sturdiest roles in years. As tenacious, groundbreaking American war photographer Lee Miller, Winslet appears in nearly every scene, dominates nearly every conversation, and says more with an arched eyebrow than many actors can say across pages upon pages of dialogue. Winslet’s work here is every bit as strong as the performances she gave in films like Sense and Sensibility, Revolutionary Road, Little Children, and The Reader. There’s argument to be made that Lee features her finest turn.
What of the film itself? The photography of Lee Miller may have been bold and brilliant, but Ellen Kuras’ Lee isn’t. It’s a fine film, an involving one, and Kuras is best-known as cinematographer for a stellar list of films––Swoon, I Shot Andy Warhol, Summer of Sam,...
What of the film itself? The photography of Lee Miller may have been bold and brilliant, but Ellen Kuras’ Lee isn’t. It’s a fine film, an involving one, and Kuras is best-known as cinematographer for a stellar list of films––Swoon, I Shot Andy Warhol, Summer of Sam,...
- 9/11/2023
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
Michael Imperioli met a witch to get the film 'Summer of Sam' made.'The Sopranos' star was living at the notoriously haunted Chelsea Hotel in New York City and explained how he took supernatural steps to get the 1999 crime thriller – which he co-wrote with director Spike Lee and Victor Colicchio – through development.Speaking in the documentary 'Ghosts of the Chelsea Hotel', Michael said: "I had just begun writing 'Summer of Sam' with Victor Colicchio – we wrote that script together."I really wanted to get it made. So I met somebody who was living here who was a witch, who said he could help me get it made, but it wasn't going to happen the way I thought it would. I was very ambitious at the time and wanted to get that made, so (I) resorted to tapping into otherworldly means to get it through the studio system.
- 9/7/2023
- by Joe Graber
- Bang Showbiz
Michael Imperioli enlisted a little supernatural help a la “Bewitched” to get “Summer of Sam” greenlit.
The “Sopranos” star co-wrote the script for the film based on real-life serial killer David Berkowitz Aka the Son of Sam, who terrorized New York in 1977. “Summer of Sam” was co-written and directed by Spike Lee, with both Imperioli and Lee having cameos in the film, which was released in 1999. Mira Sorvino, Adrien Brody, Jennifer Esposito, and John Leguizamo also starred.
In a clip from upcoming documentary “Ghosts of the Chelsea Hotel (and Other Rock & Roll Stories),” directed by Danny Garcia, Imperioli recalled asking a “witch” for assistance to get the film made while living at the hotel. Imperioli moved in at age 29.
“The Chelsea is a very mythical place,” Imperioli says in the clip (via Variety). “Especially if you’re an artist in New York, it looms very large, and the idea of...
The “Sopranos” star co-wrote the script for the film based on real-life serial killer David Berkowitz Aka the Son of Sam, who terrorized New York in 1977. “Summer of Sam” was co-written and directed by Spike Lee, with both Imperioli and Lee having cameos in the film, which was released in 1999. Mira Sorvino, Adrien Brody, Jennifer Esposito, and John Leguizamo also starred.
In a clip from upcoming documentary “Ghosts of the Chelsea Hotel (and Other Rock & Roll Stories),” directed by Danny Garcia, Imperioli recalled asking a “witch” for assistance to get the film made while living at the hotel. Imperioli moved in at age 29.
“The Chelsea is a very mythical place,” Imperioli says in the clip (via Variety). “Especially if you’re an artist in New York, it looms very large, and the idea of...
- 9/6/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Michael Imperioli may be best known for playing Christopher Moltisanti on the TV series The Sopranos, but he has over 100 other screen acting credits and several writing credits (including multiple episodes of The Sopranos). His first writing credit came on 1999 crime drama Summer of Sam (watch it Here), which was directed by Spike Lee… and during an interview for the documentary Ghosts of the Chelsea Hotel (and Other Rock & Roll Stories), Imperioli revealed that he visited a witch and used otherworldly means in an effort to get Summer of Sam into production!
Scripted by Imperioli, Lee, and Victor Colicchio, Summer of Sam has the following synopsis: During the summer of 1977, a killer known as the Son of Sam keeps all of New York City on edge with a series of brutal murders. The philandering Vinny unwittingly almost becomes a victim of the psychopath, and soon he and numerous people in his orbit — including his wife,...
Scripted by Imperioli, Lee, and Victor Colicchio, Summer of Sam has the following synopsis: During the summer of 1977, a killer known as the Son of Sam keeps all of New York City on edge with a series of brutal murders. The philandering Vinny unwittingly almost becomes a victim of the psychopath, and soon he and numerous people in his orbit — including his wife,...
- 9/6/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Michael Imperioli says he took supernatural steps to help him materialize his 1999 movie “Summer of Sam.”
The “Sopranos” and “White Lotus” actor was living at the Chelsea Hotel at the time and, in a new documentary about the notoriously haunted locale, recalls meeting with a witch in order to push the crime thriller “through the studio system” in Hollywood.
“I had just begun writing ‘Summer of Sam’ with Victor Colicchio — we wrote that script together,” Imperioli says in an exclusive clip from “Ghosts of the Chelsea Hotel.” “I really wanted to get it made. So I met somebody who was living here who was a witch, who said she could help me get it made, but it wasn’t going to happen the way I thought it would. I was very ambitious at the time and wanted to get that made, so resorted to tapping into otherworldly means to get it through the studio system....
The “Sopranos” and “White Lotus” actor was living at the Chelsea Hotel at the time and, in a new documentary about the notoriously haunted locale, recalls meeting with a witch in order to push the crime thriller “through the studio system” in Hollywood.
“I had just begun writing ‘Summer of Sam’ with Victor Colicchio — we wrote that script together,” Imperioli says in an exclusive clip from “Ghosts of the Chelsea Hotel.” “I really wanted to get it made. So I met somebody who was living here who was a witch, who said she could help me get it made, but it wasn’t going to happen the way I thought it would. I was very ambitious at the time and wanted to get that made, so resorted to tapping into otherworldly means to get it through the studio system....
- 9/6/2023
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Blue Bloods alum Jennifer Esposito has signed with WME.
The veteran Hollywood actor made her writing and directing debut this year with her 1980s-set mafia drama Fresh Kills, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Esposito wrote, produced and stars in the film, which features Annabella Sciorra and Domenick Lombardozzi.
Esposito, who played detective Jackie Curatola and Donnie Wahlberg’s partner for three seasons of CBS’ cop drama Blue Bloods, arrives at WME as she focused more on the writing and directing space by developing a slate of film and TV projects.
On NCIS, she played NCIS special agent Alexandra “Alex” Quinn, an experienced agent who left field work and became an instructor at the Law Enforcement Training Center before being lured back into the field as a federal agent.
As an actor, Jennifer is a SAG, Critics Choice, and Hollywood Foreign Press award winner. She has appeared in over 60 film and TV series,...
The veteran Hollywood actor made her writing and directing debut this year with her 1980s-set mafia drama Fresh Kills, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Esposito wrote, produced and stars in the film, which features Annabella Sciorra and Domenick Lombardozzi.
Esposito, who played detective Jackie Curatola and Donnie Wahlberg’s partner for three seasons of CBS’ cop drama Blue Bloods, arrives at WME as she focused more on the writing and directing space by developing a slate of film and TV projects.
On NCIS, she played NCIS special agent Alexandra “Alex” Quinn, an experienced agent who left field work and became an instructor at the Law Enforcement Training Center before being lured back into the field as a federal agent.
As an actor, Jennifer is a SAG, Critics Choice, and Hollywood Foreign Press award winner. She has appeared in over 60 film and TV series,...
- 8/8/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The upcoming John Wick event series, a three-part movie from director and executive producer Albert Hughes, finally has an air date.
The Continental: From the World of John Wick will premiere on Sept. 22. That will follow with night two airing Sept. 29 and night three airing Oct. 6.
The announcement was made during Peacock’s panel for the series at San Diego Comic-Con.
Hughes was on stage along with executive producer Marshall Persinger and the creative team, including action director Larnell Stovall, production designer Drew Boughton and editor Ron Rosen.
A prequel to the massively popular action movie franchise will explore the origin behind the iconic hotel-for-assassins at the center of the John Wick universe and seen through the eyes and actions of a young man named Winston Scott, as he’s dragged into the Hellscape of 1970s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind.
Scott...
The Continental: From the World of John Wick will premiere on Sept. 22. That will follow with night two airing Sept. 29 and night three airing Oct. 6.
The announcement was made during Peacock’s panel for the series at San Diego Comic-Con.
Hughes was on stage along with executive producer Marshall Persinger and the creative team, including action director Larnell Stovall, production designer Drew Boughton and editor Ron Rosen.
A prequel to the massively popular action movie franchise will explore the origin behind the iconic hotel-for-assassins at the center of the John Wick universe and seen through the eyes and actions of a young man named Winston Scott, as he’s dragged into the Hellscape of 1970s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind.
Scott...
- 7/21/2023
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Wes Anderson aesthetic, tone, and style are unmistakable. When this particular writer commented that you can recognize an Anderson film “within 10 seconds,” the subject of this interview interjected, “even less!” — and he’s not wrong. But there’s also the inherent charm of his often recurring cast of stars. Now appearing in his fifth Anderson feature, no one is a bigger fan of Anderson’s work and process than Oscar winner Adrien Brody.
So once you hear that Brody, who talks with obvious joy and understanding about everything from Anderson’s ability to cast incredible young talent and the way he uses animatics to plot his films, is playing a director in “Asteroid City” — a theatrical director, but a director nonetheless — the question seems obvious: is he playing Anderson?
No. Not really. Ok, maybe a little, but certainly not more than his primary inspiration: Elia Kazan.
“I’ve spent a lifetime with filmmakers,...
So once you hear that Brody, who talks with obvious joy and understanding about everything from Anderson’s ability to cast incredible young talent and the way he uses animatics to plot his films, is playing a director in “Asteroid City” — a theatrical director, but a director nonetheless — the question seems obvious: is he playing Anderson?
No. Not really. Ok, maybe a little, but certainly not more than his primary inspiration: Elia Kazan.
“I’ve spent a lifetime with filmmakers,...
- 6/16/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
John Leguizamo is one of the most versatile and beloved actors of our time. Whether it’s on the big screen, the small screen, or on stage, John Leguizamo has captivated audiences everywhere with his unique ability to take on roles that are so different from one another.
John Leguizamo. Depostiphotos
His film credits include hits like “Carlito’s Way”, “Summer of Sam” and “Romeo + Juliet”, as well as roles in Broadway productions such as “Freak” and “Ghetto Klown”. His television credits include the Emmy-nominated Netflix comedy “Latin History for Morons”, which he wrote and starred in, as well as a recurring role on “Fear the Walking Dead”.
John Leguizamo is also known for speaking his mind and, when it comes to diversity, he’s never been afraid to challenge the status quo. He is vocal about representation on-screen and in Hollywood and has spoken out about the importance of Latinx representation in the media.
John Leguizamo. Depostiphotos
His film credits include hits like “Carlito’s Way”, “Summer of Sam” and “Romeo + Juliet”, as well as roles in Broadway productions such as “Freak” and “Ghetto Klown”. His television credits include the Emmy-nominated Netflix comedy “Latin History for Morons”, which he wrote and starred in, as well as a recurring role on “Fear the Walking Dead”.
John Leguizamo is also known for speaking his mind and, when it comes to diversity, he’s never been afraid to challenge the status quo. He is vocal about representation on-screen and in Hollywood and has spoken out about the importance of Latinx representation in the media.
- 3/31/2023
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Indie filmmaker Onur Tukel has a lot to say in his latest, Poundcake, a horror satire that mixes slasher with political discourse.
Fans of Tukel know that his films have always been heavy on commentary, and this one is sure to get a rise out of people.
In the slasher satire, a hulking beast preys on straight, white men in New York City.
“No one seems too concerned about the victims, because, you know, they’re straight, white men. But if everyone can drop the hate and embrace their differences, they might find a way to ‘kill the beast!'”
Tukel stars alongside Ron Brice, Eva Dorrepaal, Pia Paez, Zarius LeGrand, and others.
Poundcake is inspired by slashers of the 80s and icons like Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Leatherface, Tukel previously told us. “In a slasher movie, the villain murders someone every eight or nine minutes and there’s...
Fans of Tukel know that his films have always been heavy on commentary, and this one is sure to get a rise out of people.
In the slasher satire, a hulking beast preys on straight, white men in New York City.
“No one seems too concerned about the victims, because, you know, they’re straight, white men. But if everyone can drop the hate and embrace their differences, they might find a way to ‘kill the beast!'”
Tukel stars alongside Ron Brice, Eva Dorrepaal, Pia Paez, Zarius LeGrand, and others.
Poundcake is inspired by slashers of the 80s and icons like Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Leatherface, Tukel previously told us. “In a slasher movie, the villain murders someone every eight or nine minutes and there’s...
- 3/20/2023
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Two-time Emmy and Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth is set to guest star in Paramount+’s “Frasier” sequel, reprising her role as Lilith, whom she first portrayed in “Cheers.”
Per the episode’s description, “When they reunite at Freddy’s birthday party, Lilith, in classic form, is far from pleased about having to share Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) now that Frasier is back living in Boston. What begins as a fun party with friends and family, inevitably becomes a Lilith-and-Frasier showdown for the ages!”
The sequel, announced for a greenlight back in October, sees Frasier set off to a different city with new challenges to face, new relationships to forge, and an old dream or two to finally fulfill. Frasier has re-entered the building!
Also Read:
‘Frasier’ Sequel With Kelsey Grammer Greenlit at Paramount+
“How I Met Your Mother” writer Chris Harris and Joe Cristalli (“Life In Pieces”) are penning the teleplay,...
Per the episode’s description, “When they reunite at Freddy’s birthday party, Lilith, in classic form, is far from pleased about having to share Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) now that Frasier is back living in Boston. What begins as a fun party with friends and family, inevitably becomes a Lilith-and-Frasier showdown for the ages!”
The sequel, announced for a greenlight back in October, sees Frasier set off to a different city with new challenges to face, new relationships to forge, and an old dream or two to finally fulfill. Frasier has re-entered the building!
Also Read:
‘Frasier’ Sequel With Kelsey Grammer Greenlit at Paramount+
“How I Met Your Mother” writer Chris Harris and Joe Cristalli (“Life In Pieces”) are penning the teleplay,...
- 3/1/2023
- by Natalie Oganesyan
- The Wrap
John Leguizamo will receive the Miami Film Festival‘s Impact Award on March 11.
Leguizamo’s new MSNBC series, “Leguizamo Does America,” will screen ahead of the award presentation. The festival’s upcoming 40th edition runs March 3-12.
The multi-hyphenate has more than 75 film, theater and television credits, including “Romeo + Juliet,” “Moulin Rouge!,” “Summer of Sam” and “Encanto.” The Emmy winner is next set to star alongside Toni Collette in Prime Video’s “The Power.” More recently, he co-starred in Mark Mylod’s film “The Menu.”
Following his Mff Impact award, Leguizamo will premiere his directorial debut, “Critical Thinking,” at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival. In addition to his Emmy award, Leguizamo has received a Drama Desk award and a special Tony award for his one-man show, “Latin History for Morons.”
“Leguizamo Does America” follows the actor as he travels from San Juan, Puerto Rico to East Los Angeles while making...
Leguizamo’s new MSNBC series, “Leguizamo Does America,” will screen ahead of the award presentation. The festival’s upcoming 40th edition runs March 3-12.
The multi-hyphenate has more than 75 film, theater and television credits, including “Romeo + Juliet,” “Moulin Rouge!,” “Summer of Sam” and “Encanto.” The Emmy winner is next set to star alongside Toni Collette in Prime Video’s “The Power.” More recently, he co-starred in Mark Mylod’s film “The Menu.”
Following his Mff Impact award, Leguizamo will premiere his directorial debut, “Critical Thinking,” at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival. In addition to his Emmy award, Leguizamo has received a Drama Desk award and a special Tony award for his one-man show, “Latin History for Morons.”
“Leguizamo Does America” follows the actor as he travels from San Juan, Puerto Rico to East Los Angeles while making...
- 2/24/2023
- by Charna Flam
- Variety Film + TV
Do The Right Thing filmmaker Spike Lee received a lengthy standing ovation as he cruised on stage at the BFI Southbank in London to receive the BFI’s Fellowship award Monday evening.
Lee was presented the award by his Inside Man leading man Clive Owen, who described the New Yorker as a “true trailblazer” who will go down in history as “one of the most important directors of his generation.”
Accepting the award, Lee thanked his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, who was in the audience as well as the artists he has collaborated with throughout his career, emphasizing that his decades-long career is the result of intense collaboration.
“I’ve said it before in many interviews: It’s not just me — there are many, many people, who you don’t see on this stage,” he said. “It takes a team effort. It takes a gang effort.”
Concluding his speech, Lee...
Lee was presented the award by his Inside Man leading man Clive Owen, who described the New Yorker as a “true trailblazer” who will go down in history as “one of the most important directors of his generation.”
Accepting the award, Lee thanked his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, who was in the audience as well as the artists he has collaborated with throughout his career, emphasizing that his decades-long career is the result of intense collaboration.
“I’ve said it before in many interviews: It’s not just me — there are many, many people, who you don’t see on this stage,” he said. “It takes a team effort. It takes a gang effort.”
Concluding his speech, Lee...
- 2/13/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The fellowship will be presented to Lee on February 13
US filmmaker Spike Lee is being honoured with a BFI Fellowship, the highest accolade to be bestowed by the British Film Institute (BFI).
It will be presented to Lee at a special event on February 13 at the BFI Southbank. The event will include a Q&a with the filmmaker, hosted by BFI chair Tim Richards and chief executive Ben Roberts, before a screening of Lee’s 1999 film Summer Of Sam.
Lee’s career as a filmmaker spans over 30 years and includes She’s Got To Have It (1986), Do The Right Thing...
US filmmaker Spike Lee is being honoured with a BFI Fellowship, the highest accolade to be bestowed by the British Film Institute (BFI).
It will be presented to Lee at a special event on February 13 at the BFI Southbank. The event will include a Q&a with the filmmaker, hosted by BFI chair Tim Richards and chief executive Ben Roberts, before a screening of Lee’s 1999 film Summer Of Sam.
Lee’s career as a filmmaker spans over 30 years and includes She’s Got To Have It (1986), Do The Right Thing...
- 1/27/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Spike Lee is to receive a BFI Fellowship, the highest honor bestowed by the UK’s lead organization for film.
The award will be presented to filmmaker Lee at an event at BFI Southbank, hosted by BFI Chair Tim Richards and BFI Chief Exec Ben Roberts, with an on stage Q&a with Spike Lee accompanied by a screening of Summer of Sam, on 13 February 2023.
While in the UK, Lee will visit teams at the BFI National Archive, who have liaised with the director on a new 35mm print of Malcolm X (1992), to premiere at the BFI’s inaugural Film on Film Festival taking place at BFI Southbank in June. He will also take a masterclass with young filmmakers.
Born in Atlanta in 1957 but raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Lee received his Mfa in Film Production at NYU/Tisch. After graduation, he founded 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, based in Brooklyn.
The award will be presented to filmmaker Lee at an event at BFI Southbank, hosted by BFI Chair Tim Richards and BFI Chief Exec Ben Roberts, with an on stage Q&a with Spike Lee accompanied by a screening of Summer of Sam, on 13 February 2023.
While in the UK, Lee will visit teams at the BFI National Archive, who have liaised with the director on a new 35mm print of Malcolm X (1992), to premiere at the BFI’s inaugural Film on Film Festival taking place at BFI Southbank in June. He will also take a masterclass with young filmmakers.
Born in Atlanta in 1957 but raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Lee received his Mfa in Film Production at NYU/Tisch. After graduation, he founded 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, based in Brooklyn.
- 1/27/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Director, writer, actor, producer and author Spike Lee is being accorded a BFI Fellowship, the highest honor bestowed by the British Film Institute.
The Fellowship will be presented to Lee at a celebratory event at BFI Southbank, hosted by BFI chair Tim Richards and BFI chief executive Ben Roberts on Feb. 13. The event will include an an in-depth on stage Q&a with Lee and a screening of “Summer of Sam.”
While in the U.K., Spike Lee will also visit teams at the BFI National Archive, who have liaised with him on a new 35mm print of “Malcolm X,” to premiere at the BFI’s inaugural Film on Film Festival taking place at BFI Southbank, June 8-11. Lee will also take a masterclass with young filmmakers while he is in the U.K.
Richards said: “I am honoured and excited to be awarding Spike Lee the prestigious BFI Fellowship.
The Fellowship will be presented to Lee at a celebratory event at BFI Southbank, hosted by BFI chair Tim Richards and BFI chief executive Ben Roberts on Feb. 13. The event will include an an in-depth on stage Q&a with Lee and a screening of “Summer of Sam.”
While in the U.K., Spike Lee will also visit teams at the BFI National Archive, who have liaised with him on a new 35mm print of “Malcolm X,” to premiere at the BFI’s inaugural Film on Film Festival taking place at BFI Southbank, June 8-11. Lee will also take a masterclass with young filmmakers while he is in the U.K.
Richards said: “I am honoured and excited to be awarding Spike Lee the prestigious BFI Fellowship.
- 1/27/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Spike Lee is set to add to his already extensive collection of awards with the BFI Fellowship, the highest honor bestowed by the British Film Institute.
The BFI said the Fellowship was in recognition of Lee’s “pioneering body of work that has spanned over thirty years and has chronicled black lives through bold and inventive cinematic works of art from feature films and documentary to television, music, commercials and books,” and will be presented to the Oscar-winner at a special celebration at BFI Southbank, set to include an in-depth on-stage Q&a and screening of his 1999 crime thriller Summer of Sam.
“I’m blessed to live up to my ancestors’ credo: ‘deeds, not words.’ I thank the BFI for helping me in continuing my generations of family legacy. Peace and love. Ya-dig? Sho-nuff,” said Lee, who joins a list of BFI Fellows including Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker, Satyajit Ray,...
The BFI said the Fellowship was in recognition of Lee’s “pioneering body of work that has spanned over thirty years and has chronicled black lives through bold and inventive cinematic works of art from feature films and documentary to television, music, commercials and books,” and will be presented to the Oscar-winner at a special celebration at BFI Southbank, set to include an in-depth on-stage Q&a and screening of his 1999 crime thriller Summer of Sam.
“I’m blessed to live up to my ancestors’ credo: ‘deeds, not words.’ I thank the BFI for helping me in continuing my generations of family legacy. Peace and love. Ya-dig? Sho-nuff,” said Lee, who joins a list of BFI Fellows including Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker, Satyajit Ray,...
- 1/27/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Indie filmmaker Onur Tukel has a lot to say in his latest, Poundcake, a horror satire that mixes slasher with political discourse.
Fans of Tukel know that his films have always been heavy on commentary, and this one is sure to get a rise out of people.
In the film, there’s a madman loose in New York City. Late at night, he stalks the streets looking for straight white men to punish. When he finds them, he kills them in unspeakable ways.
Tukel stars alongside Ron Brice, Eva Dorrepaal, Pia Paez, Zarius LeGrand, and others.
Poundcake is inspired by slashers of the 80s and icons like Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Leatherface, Tukel tells us. “In a slasher movie, the villain murders someone every eight or nine minutes and there’s a climax where the killer is revealed and/or dispatched.” Other inspirations include Spike Lee’s 1998 feature film...
Fans of Tukel know that his films have always been heavy on commentary, and this one is sure to get a rise out of people.
In the film, there’s a madman loose in New York City. Late at night, he stalks the streets looking for straight white men to punish. When he finds them, he kills them in unspeakable ways.
Tukel stars alongside Ron Brice, Eva Dorrepaal, Pia Paez, Zarius LeGrand, and others.
Poundcake is inspired by slashers of the 80s and icons like Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Leatherface, Tukel tells us. “In a slasher movie, the villain murders someone every eight or nine minutes and there’s a climax where the killer is revealed and/or dispatched.” Other inspirations include Spike Lee’s 1998 feature film...
- 1/17/2023
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Spike Lee will be this year’s recipient of the WGA East’s Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement.
The award, which will be presented March 5 at the 75th anniversary WGA Awards in New York City, is named after the famed writer who fronted for Dalton Trumbo and Ring Lardner Jr. during the Hollywood Blacklist before being blacklisted himself. In announcing Lee’s selection, the guild described him as “one of the greatest writer/directors in film history.”
“For nearly 40 years, Spike Lee has written and directed some of the most meaningful and creative films in cinema,” said WGA East President Michael Winship. “With a unique ability to challenge, entertain and inform, his narratives spotlight the racism and bigotry that too often have defined the Black experience in America.”
Lee began his storied career in the 1980s as a writer-director of such films as She’s Gotta Have It,...
The award, which will be presented March 5 at the 75th anniversary WGA Awards in New York City, is named after the famed writer who fronted for Dalton Trumbo and Ring Lardner Jr. during the Hollywood Blacklist before being blacklisted himself. In announcing Lee’s selection, the guild described him as “one of the greatest writer/directors in film history.”
“For nearly 40 years, Spike Lee has written and directed some of the most meaningful and creative films in cinema,” said WGA East President Michael Winship. “With a unique ability to challenge, entertain and inform, his narratives spotlight the racism and bigotry that too often have defined the Black experience in America.”
Lee began his storied career in the 1980s as a writer-director of such films as She’s Gotta Have It,...
- 1/12/2023
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
It took Ruth Carter a while to revisit the night she made history with her Academy Award win for her visionary costume designs for 2018’s “Black Panther.”
For a long time, Carter, who has been working in the industry for more than 30 years, didn’t watch the moment when she became the first African American to win the Oscar in the costume design category.
But as time went on, and her costumes went on display at various exhibitions, she would often hear her speech playing in the background.
“It took me a few months to listen to the speech from start to finish because there are so many emotions involved,” Carter says.
That groundbreaking moment would throw open doors for costume designers coming after her, many of whom cite Carter as an influence and integral in helping further their careers.
But her impact goes beyond inspiring costume designers. “It’s...
For a long time, Carter, who has been working in the industry for more than 30 years, didn’t watch the moment when she became the first African American to win the Oscar in the costume design category.
But as time went on, and her costumes went on display at various exhibitions, she would often hear her speech playing in the background.
“It took me a few months to listen to the speech from start to finish because there are so many emotions involved,” Carter says.
That groundbreaking moment would throw open doors for costume designers coming after her, many of whom cite Carter as an influence and integral in helping further their careers.
But her impact goes beyond inspiring costume designers. “It’s...
- 12/6/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Harry Connick Jr. (Dolphin Tale) and Mira Sorvino (Shining Vale) are set to star in the romantic comedy The Islander, from Cyprus-based filmmaker Stelana Kliris, which has also cast newcomer Ali Fumiko Whitney (The Road Dance).
The film shooting next month in Cyprus follows a has-been musician (Connick Jr.) as he moves, sight unseen, to a remote cliffside house on an island, only to discover his new home has an unfortunate notoriety. Through a series of charming mishaps, it turns out maybe love can be found right where he left it.
Kliris will direct from her own screenplay, and produce alongside Keith Arnold and Steven Shapiro. The project is from Uinta Productions (Tommy’s Honour) and Kliris’s Cyprus-based Meraki Films, in association with Das Films (The November Man), with support from the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Cyprus Film Commission’s incentives scheme. Pic will...
The film shooting next month in Cyprus follows a has-been musician (Connick Jr.) as he moves, sight unseen, to a remote cliffside house on an island, only to discover his new home has an unfortunate notoriety. Through a series of charming mishaps, it turns out maybe love can be found right where he left it.
Kliris will direct from her own screenplay, and produce alongside Keith Arnold and Steven Shapiro. The project is from Uinta Productions (Tommy’s Honour) and Kliris’s Cyprus-based Meraki Films, in association with Das Films (The November Man), with support from the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Cyprus Film Commission’s incentives scheme. Pic will...
- 4/28/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Cinematographer Ellen Kuras became the first woman to receive the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award at the ASC Awards in Hollywood on Sunday night.
Kuras, whose credits include “Summer of Sam,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Blow,” called attention to long working hours on set and advocated for on-set safety during her acceptance speech. “We leave set after having worked a long day or
night. During my lifetime, I’ve lost count how many times I struggled to get home after long hours on set. How I barely managed to get into my driveway. And I know that I am definitely not alone in this struggle,” she said.
Just last year, nearly 60,000 IATSE workers almost brought the industry to a halt demanding better hours and working conditions, saying that the surge in production over the past decade has led to long hours and dangerous situations on set. Said Kuras,...
Kuras, whose credits include “Summer of Sam,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Blow,” called attention to long working hours on set and advocated for on-set safety during her acceptance speech. “We leave set after having worked a long day or
night. During my lifetime, I’ve lost count how many times I struggled to get home after long hours on set. How I barely managed to get into my driveway. And I know that I am definitely not alone in this struggle,” she said.
Just last year, nearly 60,000 IATSE workers almost brought the industry to a halt demanding better hours and working conditions, saying that the surge in production over the past decade has led to long hours and dangerous situations on set. Said Kuras,...
- 3/21/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Spoiler Alert: This story includes details about this week’s Episode 3 Of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Brian Tarantina, the veteran actor who played Jacopo “Jackie” Dellapietra in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and died in late 2019 before filming started on recently launched Season 4, has been gracefully written out of the series. Tarantina had worked with Maisel creator Amy Sherman. Palladino since Gilmore Girls. His character, nightclub manager Jackie, was Susie’s (Alex Borstein) straight-talking boss who ran the Gaslight, the Greenwich Village club where ‘Midge’ Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) was discovered. He moved into Susie’s small apartment in Season 3 while she and Midge were on tour and his absence in the busy first two episodes of their tumultuous return this month may not have been missed. But in Episode 3, called Everything Is Bellmore, which dropped Thursday, Jackie has died suddenly of a stroke, leaving Susie bereft. When only four people turn up to the funeral,...
- 2/25/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Filmmaker earned Guild’s DGA Honor in 2002.
Spike Lee will receive the Directors Guild Of America’s (DGA) lifetime achievement award, joining a roster of previous winners that includes Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott and Akira Kurosawa.
Lee will collect the Guild’s highest honour at the 74th Annual DGA Awards on March 12. The Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction has only been bestowed 35 times in the history of the DGA – and so far never to a woman. The Guild presented the filmmaker with a DGA Honor in 2002 for his “distinguished contributions to our nation...
Spike Lee will receive the Directors Guild Of America’s (DGA) lifetime achievement award, joining a roster of previous winners that includes Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott and Akira Kurosawa.
Lee will collect the Guild’s highest honour at the 74th Annual DGA Awards on March 12. The Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction has only been bestowed 35 times in the history of the DGA – and so far never to a woman. The Guild presented the filmmaker with a DGA Honor in 2002 for his “distinguished contributions to our nation...
- 1/19/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Spike Lee will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction at this year’s DGA Awards, Directors Guild of America President Lesli Linka Glatter announced today.
The DGA’s highest honor will be presented to Lee at the 74th annual DGA Awards on Saturday, March 12. Lee is the first Black director to get the award, which recognizes extraordinary efforts in the art of cinema, He joins a roster of just 35 helmers so honored, including Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Billy Wilder, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Miloš Forman and, most recently, Ridley Scott.
In a statement, Glatter said, “Icon. Trailblazer. Visionary. Spike Lee has changed the face of cinema, and there is no single word that encapsulates his significance to the craft of directing. From his groundbreaking Do the Right Thing, BlacKkKlansman, and everything in-between – to his signature ‘double dolly’ shot, Spike is an innovator on so many levels.
The DGA’s highest honor will be presented to Lee at the 74th annual DGA Awards on Saturday, March 12. Lee is the first Black director to get the award, which recognizes extraordinary efforts in the art of cinema, He joins a roster of just 35 helmers so honored, including Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Billy Wilder, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Miloš Forman and, most recently, Ridley Scott.
In a statement, Glatter said, “Icon. Trailblazer. Visionary. Spike Lee has changed the face of cinema, and there is no single word that encapsulates his significance to the craft of directing. From his groundbreaking Do the Right Thing, BlacKkKlansman, and everything in-between – to his signature ‘double dolly’ shot, Spike is an innovator on so many levels.
- 1/19/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Odessa A’zion (Grand Army) and Emily Bader (Paranormal Activity) will star in Fresh Kills along with Annabella Sciorra (Blue Bloods). Fresh Kills is the upcoming feature film written, directed, and also starring actress Jennifer Esposito (Summer of Sam).
In a groundbreaking departure from traditional film financing, the Fresh Kills production will be financed by an offering on the Upstream Exchange, which today announced a $3.5 million Initial Public Offering “IPO” of securities by Fresh Kills, Inc. Fresh Kills intends to be the first feature film financed and traded by a global group of fan investors via this first-of-its kind IPO on Upstream – the revolutionary Ethereum-powered digital stock exchange powered by Horizon Fintex (Horizon) and Merj Exchange Limited (Merj).
Fresh Kills is a gripping drama that tells the story of the loyal women of an organized crime family that dominated some of the boroughs of New York City in the late 20th century.
In a groundbreaking departure from traditional film financing, the Fresh Kills production will be financed by an offering on the Upstream Exchange, which today announced a $3.5 million Initial Public Offering “IPO” of securities by Fresh Kills, Inc. Fresh Kills intends to be the first feature film financed and traded by a global group of fan investors via this first-of-its kind IPO on Upstream – the revolutionary Ethereum-powered digital stock exchange powered by Horizon Fintex (Horizon) and Merj Exchange Limited (Merj).
Fresh Kills is a gripping drama that tells the story of the loyal women of an organized crime family that dominated some of the boroughs of New York City in the late 20th century.
- 12/13/2021
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The Sopranos alum Michael Imperioli and Fabian Alomar (Mayans M.C.) have been tapped for heavily recurring roles opposite Chris Estrada in Hulu comedy series This Fool, from ABC Signature.
Written by rising Latino comedian Estrada and Corporate creators Jake Weisman, Matt Ingebretson and Pat Bishop, the series stars Estrada as Julio Lopez, a self-described “punk ass bitch” who still lives at home and goes out of his way to help everyone but himself. The half-hour series sees Lopez work at a gang-rehabilitation non-profit and his quest to overcome his codependency issues with his family as he navigates working class life in South Central Los Angeles.
Imperioli will play Minister Leonard Payne, the founder of the gang rehab facility Hugs Not Thugs. He is fatherly, has a bit of a hair-trigger temper, insightful and pragmatic. A former mortgage broker who specialized in foreclosures, Payne had a breakdown that started...
Written by rising Latino comedian Estrada and Corporate creators Jake Weisman, Matt Ingebretson and Pat Bishop, the series stars Estrada as Julio Lopez, a self-described “punk ass bitch” who still lives at home and goes out of his way to help everyone but himself. The half-hour series sees Lopez work at a gang-rehabilitation non-profit and his quest to overcome his codependency issues with his family as he navigates working class life in South Central Los Angeles.
Imperioli will play Minister Leonard Payne, the founder of the gang rehab facility Hugs Not Thugs. He is fatherly, has a bit of a hair-trigger temper, insightful and pragmatic. A former mortgage broker who specialized in foreclosures, Payne had a breakdown that started...
- 11/23/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Lee was to have presided over the 2020 edition.
US filmmaker Spike Lee is the star of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival poster, ahead of his duties as this year’s jury president.
Lee was to have presided over the 2020 edition of the festival until it was cancelled due to the pandemic but will return to oversee the Competition jury of the 74th edition, which takes place from July 6-17.
Lee will be the first black jury president in the history of the festival, although Mauritanian-born Malian director Abderrahmane Sissako presided over the Un Certain Regard jury in 2003.
The festival said it...
US filmmaker Spike Lee is the star of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival poster, ahead of his duties as this year’s jury president.
Lee was to have presided over the 2020 edition of the festival until it was cancelled due to the pandemic but will return to oversee the Competition jury of the 74th edition, which takes place from July 6-17.
Lee will be the first black jury president in the history of the festival, although Mauritanian-born Malian director Abderrahmane Sissako presided over the Un Certain Regard jury in 2003.
The festival said it...
- 6/17/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Netflix‘s new docuseries The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness aims to restructure a deeply ingrained story. New York City’s most notorious serial murderer wasn’t a serial murderer after all. If David Berkowitz was part of a team of street level satanic power brokers, the entire story is a false narrative.
The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness is an impressive entry in the true crime documentary premiere run at Netflix. It focuses on the work of journalist Maury Terry, whose investigation into the Son of Sam case was criminally sidelined. Terry was convinced that convicted lone serial killer David Berkowitz was part of “a highly motivated and well-organized cult group whose various criminal enterprises included the .44 homicide.”
Terry’s 1987 book The Ultimate Evil: An Investigation of America’s Most Dangerous Satanic Cult, is a must read. But it got lost in the Satanic Panic,...
The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness is an impressive entry in the true crime documentary premiere run at Netflix. It focuses on the work of journalist Maury Terry, whose investigation into the Son of Sam case was criminally sidelined. Terry was convinced that convicted lone serial killer David Berkowitz was part of “a highly motivated and well-organized cult group whose various criminal enterprises included the .44 homicide.”
Terry’s 1987 book The Ultimate Evil: An Investigation of America’s Most Dangerous Satanic Cult, is a must read. But it got lost in the Satanic Panic,...
- 5/5/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Editor Barry Alexander Brown had completed his film “The War at Home” and had returned to Atlanta to research a project when he was first introduced to Spike Lee through a mutual friend. At the time, Lee was at New York University working on a cable TV project.
The year was 1981, and later, Brown and Lee were back in New York. It was Brown who offered the aspiring filmmaker a part-time job at First Run Features to check prints. “I was making deliveries going to the post office with 35mm cans,” Lee recalls.
It marked the beginning of their 40-year and counting collaborative friendship and working partnership.
Lee with be presented with the Golden Eddie filmmaker of the year award on April 18 during the 71st American Cinema Editors (Ace) Eddie Awards.
Brown is Lee’s go-to editor. Together, they have worked on a number of the director’s most memorable...
The year was 1981, and later, Brown and Lee were back in New York. It was Brown who offered the aspiring filmmaker a part-time job at First Run Features to check prints. “I was making deliveries going to the post office with 35mm cans,” Lee recalls.
It marked the beginning of their 40-year and counting collaborative friendship and working partnership.
Lee with be presented with the Golden Eddie filmmaker of the year award on April 18 during the 71st American Cinema Editors (Ace) Eddie Awards.
Brown is Lee’s go-to editor. Together, they have worked on a number of the director’s most memorable...
- 4/15/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
The Cannes Film Festival said Tuesday that Spike Lee will be its jury president in 2021, one year after he was due to preside over the festival but couldn’t due to its cancellation.
The 74th edition of Cannes is due to run July 6-17 after being pushed back from its traditional May slot due to the pandemic.
The festival said today that “preparations are in full swing with a large numbers of films being viewed by the selection committee. The Festival will have the opportunity to outline in more details the 74th edition in the coming weeks.”
The Official Selection and the rest of the jury are due to be unveiled in early June.
“Throughout the months of uncertainty we’ve just been through, Spike Lee has never stopped encouraging us. This support is finally coming to fruition and we could not have hoped for a more powerful personality to chart our troubled times,...
The 74th edition of Cannes is due to run July 6-17 after being pushed back from its traditional May slot due to the pandemic.
The festival said today that “preparations are in full swing with a large numbers of films being viewed by the selection committee. The Festival will have the opportunity to outline in more details the 74th edition in the coming weeks.”
The Official Selection and the rest of the jury are due to be unveiled in early June.
“Throughout the months of uncertainty we’ve just been through, Spike Lee has never stopped encouraging us. This support is finally coming to fruition and we could not have hoped for a more powerful personality to chart our troubled times,...
- 3/16/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
US filmmaker was to have presided over the 2020 edition of Cannes until it was cancelled due to the pandemic.
US director Spike Lee has renewed his commitment to take up the baton of jury president at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, which is due to unfold with the later-than-usual dates of July 6-17 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lee was to have presided over the 2020 edition of the festival until it was cancelled in mid-April and replaced with a Cannes 2020 label instead.
Frémaux later revealed that Lee’s Netflix-backed drama Da 5 Bloods had been due to screen out of competition at the festival,...
US director Spike Lee has renewed his commitment to take up the baton of jury president at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, which is due to unfold with the later-than-usual dates of July 6-17 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lee was to have presided over the 2020 edition of the festival until it was cancelled in mid-April and replaced with a Cannes 2020 label instead.
Frémaux later revealed that Lee’s Netflix-backed drama Da 5 Bloods had been due to screen out of competition at the festival,...
- 3/16/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Michael Imperioli could be back at HBO, where he starred for seven seasons on the network’s seminal drama “The Sopranos.”
Imperioli is set to produce and star in a new series with Alec Berg, which is currently in development.
The project is described as “a meta blend of fact and fiction loosely based on Imperioli’s experiences as a practicing Buddhist.” Imperioli would write with Berg, with Amy Solomon as an executive producer.
Imperioli is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti on the HBO crime drama “The Sopranos,” for which he was nominated for five Emmys and two Golden Globes, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama in 2004. More recently, Imperioli had a small role in Regina King’s film “One Night in Miami,” playing famed boxing trainer Angelo Dundee.
His other credits include “The Last Full Measure,” “Goodfellas,” “Cabaret Maxime” and “Summer of Sam.
Imperioli is set to produce and star in a new series with Alec Berg, which is currently in development.
The project is described as “a meta blend of fact and fiction loosely based on Imperioli’s experiences as a practicing Buddhist.” Imperioli would write with Berg, with Amy Solomon as an executive producer.
Imperioli is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti on the HBO crime drama “The Sopranos,” for which he was nominated for five Emmys and two Golden Globes, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama in 2004. More recently, Imperioli had a small role in Regina King’s film “One Night in Miami,” playing famed boxing trainer Angelo Dundee.
His other credits include “The Last Full Measure,” “Goodfellas,” “Cabaret Maxime” and “Summer of Sam.
- 2/2/2021
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
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