Hugh Jackman is out to prove something

“You try to find the triggers you need to inhabit a character, and then, when you’re confident you’ve found the triggers to change into that other character, you don’t have the burden to live a part. And if that weren’t the case, you’d very quickly get divorced – although my wife likes to say that because she married an actor, she gets to have an affair with a new man every three months.”

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Mel Gibson screws a screenwriter

Screenwriter Benedict Fitzgerald has filed a lawsuit claiming he was screwed out of $10 million from the 2004 film ‘ The Passion of the Christ‘.

According to Fitzgerald’s court documents, Mel Gibson got the writer to accept a lower-than-normal fee to cowrite the film by insisting it was a very low-budget indie production and that Gibson himself would refrain from taking any revenue until he had properly compensated his crew.

Then it went on to become a blockbuster and gross $600 million. So now, Fitzgerald wants some ‘Payback‘.

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Don't let this happen to us

We have some great people who visit this site. Michael Russnow left a comment on a previous post and it was too good not to share it with everyone.

He writes: “You ought to look at the following short video produced in Cologne, Germany by TV Star Andreas Stenschke. It points to what is at stake for writers, actors and directors regarding the potential loss of income when reruns of TV shows and movies go to the Internet rather than on cable and broadcast TV, where they currently show. It is particularly relevant as the Writers Guild is now in a battle with the AMPTP over their reneging of the Internet residual formula agreed to at the end of the strike in February.

The Europeans’ (and other international artists) situation is absurd and the AMPTP producers and networks would like nothing more than to remake that as their modus operandi on our shores as well.”

New Mexico Sucks Up To Famous People

With more and more filming fleeing California and Gov. Arnold doing nothing about it, this story warms our heart.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson hosted a star-studded dinner party last weekend to thank moviemakers and celebrities, including George Clooney, Kevin Spacey and Paul Sorvino, for shooting films in the state.

Lured by hefty financial incentives and the availability of production facilities and technical crews, more than 110 feature films and television series have been shot in the state, earning it the nickname “Tamalewood.”

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SAG: Questions and Answers regarding negotiations

Why should we vote to authorize a strike?
We need to show management that we are willing to fight to preserve our ability to earn a living as union performers; otherwise, management will take that away from us.  Nearly half of our earnings as union performers come from residuals, but management wants us to allow them to make programs for the Internet and other new media non-union and with no residuals.  This means that as audiences shift from watching us on their televisions to watching us on their computers and cell phones our ability to earn a living will go away and future generations of actors may never be able to earn a living through their craft.  This change will happen faster than you think.

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Economy is affecting the way writers sculpt future shows

The buzz around Hollywood is that shows portraying over-the-top wealth like ABC’s flashy “Dirty Sexy Money” are on their way out. Writers believe the time is again ripe for working class comedies like 1980s sitcom “Roseanne” and 1970s blockbuster “All in the Family.”

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William Hurt: Typecasting & Acting

William Hurt has some words for Hollywood: “People want persona in this town, that’s what they crank out so you’re always working against that cheapening of your talent and ability.”

In his upcoming film, The Yellow Handkerchief, he plays an ex-con with a troubled past. How did he get into character? “I spent the night in a maximum security prison, I guess I’m one of the first people who’s ever done that and I spent the night talking around the corner to a guy who’s going to be in there for two thousand years and we never saw each other’s faces. I wanted to authenticate that and I wanted to show people whose existence comes from the ground up, from the dirt on which we walk,” he said.

Michael Chiklis talks about 'The Shield'

“How many times in an actor’s career does a role like Vic Mackey come along where you have to live with it for years?” said Michael Chiklis.

“It was almost symphonic. Vic has this tremendous conscience at the same time he has these sociopathic tendencies.”

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Alan Rosenberg responds to the recent developments regarding SAG's TV/Theatrical negotations

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James Franco talks kissing Sean Penn… then kisses Letterman

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