Interviews
Interview: Joe DiPietro Talks Writing ‘Nice Work If You Can Get It,’ His Tony Nomination and Casting Stars in Broadway Shows
Joe: “I always keep educating myself. That has been the key to my success”
Interview: Jamie Anne Allman On ‘The Killing’ and Taking Risks at Auditions
Jamie: “If you don’t take risks, all of your friends will tell you that you’re really wise and you’re really careful, but you’re not going to move any mountains”
Q&A: Leonard Nimoy Talks ‘Fringe’, Voice Acting and ‘Big Bang Theory’
Mr. Nimoy on why he un-retired: “I’m a sucker for a good role”
Click Here For More Interviews!Columns
Winning Concept – The 20 Mile March
Creating a Successful Marketing Campaign
The Truth About Referrals
The simplest way to get agent or manager meetings is through your relationships, but lot of actors are afraid to ask for referrals
Adversity Is Your Friend
If you’re not getting out of your life what you think you should, why not take stock in what you’re doing and see if it matches what you claim to want in life?
Want To Read More Columns? Click Here!
Latest News
Anna Faris on Working with Sacha Baron Cohen in ‘The Dictator’: He Stayed in Character the Entire ShootMay 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has added a new character, Middle Eastern dictator Admiral General Aladeen, to his other famous creations, Ali G, Borat, and Bruno. Baron Cohen stars as Aladeen in The Dictator, which tells the story of how the all-powerful dictator fares on the occasion that he visits New York City and is mistaken for a commoner.
While it’s next to impossible to get a serious interview with Baron Cohen out of character, luckily the New York Times was able to get an interview with his co-star, Anna Faris.
Touching on perhaps the most difficult aspect of the production, Faris commented on Baron Cohen’s usual practice of staying in-character throughout an entire shoot. She says, “It’s the same here in that he fully embodies a character that is very different from himself.” She adds with a laugh, “Well, I guess only in some regards. I think all of us have a little dictator in us. Let’s just say I think he enjoyed playing the role.” Continue »
May 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment
It was only a matter of time before Anjelica Huston ended up singing on NBC’s backstage drama Smash.
In an interview with The New York Times Arts Beat, Huston admitted she wasn’t really expecting to be asked to sing. She said, “I was firmly in the role of producer, so none of that was going to come my way. I had an inkling that, maybe if pressed, I might do a dance step or two, but certainly not vocalize.”
But producers were able to convince the Academy Award-winning actress to sing “September Song,” a tune that was made famous when her grandfather, Walter Huston, sang it in the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday.
Despite the song’s personal association, Huston was still scared. She said, “I was a bit trepidatious, as you can imagine. When Marc [Shaiman] and Scott [Wittman] suggested this to me, I was really scared silent for a bit. And then they said, ‘If you feel like it, you could come on down to our recording studio and we’ll see how we get it along. If you like it, good, and if you hate it, we’ll scrap it.’ And of course they couldn’t get me to stop once I started. It’s very empowering, singing.” Continue »
May 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment
I’ve loved Saturday Night Live ever since I can remember and I can honestly say, that I’ve seen every episode. I’ve gone back to watch all the 70′s episodes and since high school, haven’t missed one episode.So, yeah, I’m a huge fan.
I got a chance to talk the mastermind behind SNL, Lorne Michaels, and New York Giants Quarterback Eli Manning about this weekends upcoming show, which Manning hosts.
I’m a huge Washington Redskins fan but I actually like Eli. He’s so sincere in everything he does, how could you not like the guy? Well, except Sunday’s when they play my ‘Skins.
In this Q&A, Michaels talks about cast changes, looking for new talent and who is the funnier Manning brother. Manning speaks about his time behind the scenes on SNL and the advice his older brother, Payton, gave him before heading into the week.
Saturday Night Live airs at 11:30pm on NBC Continue »
May 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment
As we already covered, Scarlett Johansson found the Black Widow costume in The Avengers to be rather uncomfortable. I almost feel bad for Johansson, since in this follow-up interview with Reuters she continues to elaborate on some of the more annoying aspects of the production.
Since the Black Widow is a kick-ass S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Johansson had to learn particular fighting skills — which were easier to learn than to implement on set. She explains, “We incorporated this Wushu style (of fighting) when the Widow wields a huge alien gun. That was new and really challenging. I had to learn how to spin it and move it. It was hard because I’d hit myself with it all the time. And it’s heavy. You learn (by using) a broom handle so you’re like, ‘Ah, I got it down, I’ve mastered it.’ Then all of a sudden they’re like, ‘Here’s the prop’ and you’re like, ‘What? This thing is 20 lbs!’ I was so terribly battered. I’d wake up every day in agony but it was a continuous thing, so it became normal (laughs).” Continue »
May 4, 2012 | 2 Comments
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:36 — 15.6MB)
When Blayne Weaver came out to LA at 19, he was just like you and me. Ready to rock and eager to work. He got lucky pretty quick and booked parts in shows like JAG, ER and Chicago Hope but eventually he realized that he wanted to do something more substantial.
So, with the help of a friend, he picked up his pen (ok, he sat at his computer) and started writing.
That burst of inspiration turned out to be a film called Manic that starred Don Cheadle, Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Pretty good for a first time screenwriter!
He had a small part in the film and as he was on set, he started to watch the director and began to think, “I can do this.”
And he did.
He wrote and directed a short called Losing Lois Lane, then came his first feature called Outside Sales. Next up was Weather Girl starring Mark Harmon, Kaitlin Olson, Jon Cryer and Jane Lynch.
And now, 6 Month Rule.The film, about a womanizer who, while teaching his recently dumped friend the rules of emotional detachment, accidentally finds someone who could permanently kill those rules. The film stars Blayne, Martin Starr, Natalie Morales, Dave Foley, Jaime Pressly and John Michael Higgins and will be released in New York and Los Angeles in June.
Blayne and I talked recently about the film, what’s it like to direct himself and if it’s easier to act in something he’s written.
On Twitter: Follow Blayne and 6 Month Rule! Continue »
May 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Let’s be honest: the only way you can pull off playing a pirate is by camping it up. Everybody loves pirates, but nobody has taken them seriously in decades. Christian Borle, who stars as the pirate who one day will be Captain Hook in the Peter Pan origin musical Peter and the Starcatcher, tells the San Francisco Chronicle that a lot of his character is swiped from some of the best known villains in history.
Borle says, “I think I just stole a little bit from all kinds of different places,” and the interviewer gives comic book villains, Indiana Jones villains, Darth Vader, and Dr. Evil as Borle’s reference points. As liberally as Borle has taken from other sources, he confesses that he has deliberately avoided plundering the attributes of the twenty-first century’s most famous pirate, Johnny Depp. Continue »
May 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Clark Gregg has gone from an actor with a recognizable face to one of the key crossover characters that links the Marvel superhero movies together. As S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson, Gregg has appeared in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, The Avengers, and two “mini-movies,” which has brought him to a level of fame he hasn’t experienced before.
However, Gregg — who wrote, directed, and starred in the 2008 movie Choke — spoke to New York Magazine about his ambitions behind the camera — which, of course, includes superheroes. Continue »
May 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Are you ready for The Avengers? It seems like everyone who has caught it early has given it nothing but rave reviews. As thrilled as audiences might be for the long-awaited superhero team-up movie, for Samuel L. Jackson, who has previously appeared as S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury four times in small roles in other Marvel films, The Avengers is his chance to have a more prominent role in a Marvel film for the first time.
While Jackson has worked with most of the other Avengers actors separately before, now that they’re in one film he realizes that it’s finally happening and that it’s possible to live up to the ultra-high expectations. Continue »
May 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment
End of Watch: Two young Los Angeles police officers, Taylor (Gyllenhaal) and Zavala (Pena) patrol the city’s meanest streets of south central Los Angeles. Giving the story a gripping, first-person immediacy, the action unfolds entirely through footage from the handheld HD cameras of the police officers, gang members, surveillance cameras, and citizens caught in the line of fire to create a riveting portrait of the city’s darkest, most violent corners, the cops who risk their lives there every day, and the price they and their families are forced to pay.
Writer/Director: David Ayer
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, America Ferrera
In Theaters: September 28th Continue »
May 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Holy crap! This is awesome! No time to write. I gotta watch this again.
The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.
Director: Marc Webb
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen, Sally Field
Writers: Steve Kloves, James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent
In Theaters: July 3rd Continue »
