Further Delays for “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark”?

The producers of Broadway’s Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the most expensive Broadway production in history, are considering a delay of the musical’s opening night for a sixth time, in order to allow for additional improvements to the show. Producers are hopeful the delay will improve the commercial prospects after theater critics blasted the production this month.

The opening, which had been scheduled for March 15, now may be pushed to as late as June.

The management team for the show is mulling over plans for an invitation-only performance at 4:30p.m. on March 15 , with an A-list gala at the Grand Hyatt New York to follow, but a final decision by Producers has yet to be confirmed. A delay in opening could prevent “Spider-Man” from competing in this year’s Tony Awards: shows must open by April 28 to be eligible for a nomination. But with numerous negative reviews from critics, including one by The New York Times Ben Brantley stating “Spider-Man” may “rank among the worst” musicals in Broadway history,” a delay may be in order.

With a price tag topping out at $65 million, and costing $1 million a week to run, “Spider-Man” has been plagued by injuries (4) and financial troubles. Sunday’s matinee will be the 90th preview performance, which will be a record for a Broadway musical.

Jeffrey Tambor exits “La Cage aux Folles”

The producers of the Broadway revival of “La Cage aux Folles” announced Friday evening that Jeffrey Tambor has withdrawn from the show following Thursday’s performance,  only one week after taking over the role of Georges, previously played by Kelsey Grammer .  The musical’s producers released a statement citing Tambor “was experiencing complications from recent hip surgery and the pain and the challenge of performing in a musical eight times a week proved to be too physically demanding. We respect his talent enormously and regretfully accept his withdrawal from the production.”

Tambor’s understudy, Chris Hoch, will take over the role of Georges until a permanent replacement is announced.

Q & A: Jennifer Beals on her new show, ‘The Chicago Code’

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:00 — 11.7MB)

The Chicago Code, Shawn Ryan’s (The Shield, Terriers) great new show on FOX,  stars Jennifer Beals as Teresa Colvin, Chicago’s first female superintendent. She and her ex-partner, Jarek Wysocki (Jason Clarke) band together to take down their enemies, including Alderman Ronin Gibbons (Delroy Lindo).

I got a chance to talk with Jennifer on a conference call where she talked about coming back to series television, her ride-alongs with the Chicago P.D., and what she thinks The L Word did for her career.

The Chicago Code airs on Mondays at 9/8c on FOX.

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download from iTunes

What was it about this part that made you want to return to series television?

Jennifer Beals: I found it so interesting to play somebody who was walking into uncharted territory, in a way.  She’s really creating the template for this job, being the first female superintendent.  I just thought it would be very interesting to take that walk into what kind of a leader does she become in that position, and how do you balance your personal life with the demands of that kind of job.

I thought the relationship to Jarek was also interesting.  It’s a very interesting line that we walk between intimacy and respect and being able to tell the truth to one another and goading one another and making each other laugh.  I just thought that could potentially be interesting.  Of course, for me, working with Shawn Ryan was a real lure because I really admire his writing and I admire the way that he works with his team of writers as well.

We’ve seen so far a really great dichotomy in Teresa’s strengths but also her vulnerability at times, and so far, it’s always been on the job.  So I’m wondering, this season, do we ever get to see her out of her uniform so to speak, like in her personal life

Jennifer Beals: There is an episode where it deals with her family, and so you do see her personal life in that episode.  You do get little glimpses of it every now and again, but really, this is a person who has dedicated everything to their job for better or for worse.  Towards the end of the season, you start to see the toll that that takes on her personally.

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Watch 8 Minutes of ‘That Championship Season’ plus cast interviews!

Want to watch 8 minutes of That Championship Season?

Thanks to Broadway World, you can!

The video features all the stars (Brian Cox, Jim Gaffigan, Chris Noth, Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland) in snippets from the show.

Also check out the brief cast interviews. I recommend the one with Brian Cox if you can only watch one.

This is a limited engagement through Sunday, May 29th, 2011.

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Academy Awards: Press Room Cams

Here’s a batch of press room interviews from the Academy Awards featuring Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo and Aaron Sorkin.

Some questions they are asked are rather odd but the way they handle it is entertaining.

Check them out!

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The Actors: Oscar Acceptance Speeches From Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Colin Firth and Melissa Leo

There were no real surprises in the acting categories this year but all the winners were, I thought, deserving. There’s no way you can dispute any of their performances.

Here are the acceptance speeches of Colin Firth (Best Actor), Natalie Portman (Best Actress), Christian Bale (Best Supporting Actor) and Melissa Leo (Best Supporting Actress).

Also, check out the interview I did with Melissa last year (click here). I was in the tank for her and I’m incredibly happy she won. She totally deserved it!

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Complete List of the 83rd Academy Award Winners

Best Picture: The King’s Speech
Best Director: Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler, The King’s Speech
Best Art Direction: Robert Stromberg and Karen O’Hara, Alice in Wonderland
Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister, Inception
Best Editing: Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter, The Social Network
Best Original Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Best Sound Mixing: Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, Ed Novick, Inception
Best Sound Editing: Richard King, Inception
Best Makeup: Rick Baker and Dave Elsey, The Wolfman
Best Costume Design: Colleen Atwood, Alice in Wonderland
Best Visual Effects: Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb, Inception
Best Original Song: “We Belong Together,” Randy Newman, Toy Story 3
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Foreign Language Film: In a Better World
Best Documentary: Inside Job
Best Documentary Short Subject: Strangers No More
Best Live Action Short Film: God of Love
Best Animated Short: The Lost Thing

Awards By Film

Four: The King’s Speech, Inception
Three: The Social Network
Two: The Fighter, Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland
One: Black Swan, Inside Job, The Wolfman, In a Better World, Strangers No More, God of Love, The Lost Thing

2011 Independent Spirit Awards Winners

Here’s the winners of last nights Independent Spirit Awards. There were no real surprises – Winters Bone took both supporting actor nod which was nice to see.

Also, check out the 3 videos of host Joel McHale!

BEST FEATURE
Black Swan

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

BEST SCREENPLAY
Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Natalie Portman, Black Swan

BEST MALE LEAD
James Franco, 127 Hours

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Dale Dickey, Winter’s Bone

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Matthew Libatique, Black Swan

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through the Gift Shop

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The King’s Speech

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Alec Baldwin on co-hosting the Academy Awards: “It was very intimidating for me”

This Sunday is Oscar night, so who better to ask about the responsibility of hosting the Academy Awards than Alec Baldwin,  who shared the honor with Steve Martin last year?

“It was very intimidating for me,” said Baldwin. “The weight comes from the fact that you have two competing things: you want the show to be entertaining and fun and you’re honoring achievement in the motion picture business, which people take very seriously. To tether back and forth between those two can be difficult, at times.”

He adds, “the Oscars are different from other award shows in that some of these people are going to win this award and it’s going to shoot them into the stratosphere. It’s going to change their lives.”

To read more, go to: WSJ.com

Jim Gaffigan: “This is my acting-for-more-than-10-minutes debut”

When Jim Gaffigan hears laughter from the audience while performing on stage  in “That Championship Season “,  he can gauge whether or not it’s the type he’s hoping for. “Hearing laughs, as a comedian, there’s a language to them,” explains the 44-year-old stand-up.

Opening March 6th, “That Championship Season” is the story of a high-school basketball coach and  four former star players attending their 20th reunion. Gaffigan plays George,  one of the players, now a local mayor and former most-popular kid now consumed by his political career and his waistline.

While Gaffigan landed one of the prime roles in the play, he is best known as a character actor and for doing stand-up, so he was the only actor required to audition for his part. ”Everyone seems to be like, ‘Your Broadway debut!’ And I’m like, ‘No, this is my play debut. This is my acting-for-more-than-10-minutes debut.’”

Kiefer Sutherland, Chris Noth, Brian Cox and Jason Patric round out the rest of the cast.

To read more, go to: online.wsj.com

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