Jesse Eisenberg on Acting: “I don’t concern myself with thinking ahead to the finished product. I focus more specifically on what the character is experiencing”

Almost a year and a half ago actor Jesse Eisenberg made an unexpected move by becoming a playwright, debuting his play Asuncion at New York’s Cherry Lane Theatre.  However, the Oscar-nominated actor has no plans to quit being an actor… especially since he reveals to New York Magazine that he already almost did so prior to his Social Network success.

Eisenberg admits he felt disillusioned with acting right before his breakthrough role because he was worried about getting “stuck” starring in mainstream films like Adventureland and Zombieland.  He says, “I became very self-conscious. It just felt very close. It seemed like it could be a popular thing, and I was just overwhelmed.”  Read more

Jessica Chastain on Making Her Broadway Debut in ‘The Heiress’

If you took a time machine all the way back to 2010 and started to talk to people about the Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain, there’s a big chance that nobody would know who you were talking about.  Of course, I could think of a lot better ways of using a time machine, but the point still stands: after starring in six (!) films in 2011 alone, including The Help, Chastain has become a praised actress in Hollywood and is often on the shortlist for many upcoming projects. 

But now that she’s become a star in film Chastain is returning to another one of her passions by making her Broadway debut in The Heiress in the lead role of Catherine Sloper.  She spoke to Yahoo! News about the challenges of taking on such a role and why she is returning to theater.

As for whether she feels any pressure starring in a show that has been on Broadway before (The Heiress has been previously performed on Broadway in 1947, 1950, 1976, and 1995 and was also made into a 1949 film starring Olivia de Havilland as Catherine), Chastain says, “I don’t feel trepidation because what it shows is what an exquisite role Catherine is.  There’s no way my Catherine will be the same as Olivia de Havilland’s Catherine or Cherry Jones‘ or Jane Alexander‘s. We’re such different women with different sensibilities. I don’t feel the nervousness of it, because I could never be the wonder that is them and I just have to find who Catherine is to me.” Read more

Biography: Annette Bening

Two-time Golden Globe-winner Annette Bening was most recently seen in Focus Features’ critical and commercial sensation The Kids Are All Right, in which she played opposite Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. Her role as Nic earned her a Golden Globe and New York Film Critics Circle award, and Oscar, Screen Actors Guild, Critics Choice, and Independent Spirit nominations in the “Best Actress” category.

In 2010, Annette also starred in Sony Pictures Classics’ Mother and Child for writer-director Rodrigo Garcia co-starring Naomi Watts. In 2008, she was seen on the big screen in writer-director Diane English’s remake of The Women, starring alongside Meg Ryan, Eva Mendes and Jada Pinkett-Smith. Prior to that, She starred in the 2006 film Running With Scissors for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Annette was Julia Lambert in Being Julia for Sony Pictures Classics, the role that earned the actress her third Oscar nomination. For that performance, she was also named the National Board of Review’s “Best Actress,” won the Golden Globe award for “Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy,” and received a SAG nomination for “Best Actress.” She also starred in Mrs. Harris with Ben Kingsley for HBO, earning an Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globe nomination. Read more

Judy Greer to make her Broadway Debut in ‘Dead Accounts’

Judy Greer will be making her Broadway debut when she joins the cast of Dead Accounts, the upcoming Broadway show that will also star two-time Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz and Katie Holmes. 

The new comedy by Pulitzer Prize finalist Theresa Rebeck will be directed by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien and starts previews Saturday, November 3 and opens Thursday, November 29 at Broadway’s Music Box Theatre (239 West 45^th Street).

The show follows a guy named Jack (Butz), whose  unexpected return throws his family into a frenzy, and his sister Lorna (Holmes) needs answers. Is he coming home or running away? Where is his wife (Greer) everyone hates? And how did he get all that money? Rebeck’s new comedy tackles the timely issues of corporate greed, small town values, and whether or not your family will always welcome you back…with no questions asked. Read more

Winning Concept – The 20 Mile March

Written by Gywn Gilliss

Winning Concept – The 20 Mile March

Creating a Successful Marketing Campaign

I love reading about adventurers, explorers, those who dared to strike out and accomplish something major. Even if they didn’t change the world, their stories are worth hearing about… inspiring to say the least. And there’s a lot to be learned in reading biographies of these extraordinary people. You can apply their choices to your life as a Warrior- Actor.

For example, THE SOUTH POLE. A story of two adversaries. Amundsen and his counterpart, Scott, were both extremely courageous men, two very different (and probably difficult) personalities. Jim Collins, best selling author who wrote Good to Great, and Great by Choice, explores the personality traits of highly successful CEO’s and of each explorer. Because that’s what it gets down to in life- PERSONALITY. PERSONAL TRAITS. Read more

Biography: Brendan Gleeson

Brendan Gleeson recently reprised his role as Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. He first played the character in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Gleeson can now be seen in John Michael McDonagh’s comedic thriller The Guard, opposite Don Cheadle, and Simon Wincer’s horseracing drama The Cup. He co-stars in the forthcoming action-thriller Safe House, opposite Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds.

Gleeson received Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and British Independent Film Award nominations for his performance in Martin McDonagh’s comedic thriller In Bruges. He also won an Emmy Award^® and received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the 2009 HBO movie Into the Storm.

Gleeson made his feature film debut in Jim Sheridan’s The Field, followed by small roles in such films as Mike Newell’s Into the West and Ron Howard’s Far and Away. He first gained attention for his performance in Mel Gibson’s Best Picture winner Braveheart. Next, he appeared in Michael Collins and The Butcher Boy and starred in the independent film Angela Mooney, executive produced by John Boorman. Read more

Biography: Kristin Scott Thomas

Award winning actress Kristin Scott Thomas has become internationally renowned for her talent, elegance and commitment to her craft. Never shying away from challenging roles and determined not to repeat herself, Scott Thomas‘ body of work is an extraordinary collection of acclaimed film, television and theatre performances.

Scott Thomas was recently seen in Gilles Paque Brenner‘s Sarah’s Key. Based on the international bestseller by Tatiana de Rosnay, the film weaves two different stories, one set in World War II Paris and the other in the present. Scott Thomas received a Cesar Award nomination for her performance in the film. She was also recently seen in Alain Corneau‘s Crime d’amour which had an IFC release in 2011.

Upcoming, she will appear in Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod‘s Bel Ami opposite an all-star cast including Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman and Christina Ricci; and Pawel Pawlikowski‘s La Femme du 5eme (aka The Woman In the Fifth) opposite Ethan Hawke; Lola Doillon Sous ton Emprise and Alain Corneau Une Femme Parfaite.

In 2010, Scott Thomas co-starred in Sam Taylor Wood’s directorial debut, Nowhere Boy. The film follows John Lennon‘s teenage years and his first steps to stardom and Scott Thomas plays Lennon’s aunt Mimi opposite Aaron Johnson and Anne Marie Duff. For her performance, she received a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA nomination and a British Film Independent Award nomination. In 2009, Scott Thomas was seen in Catherine Corsini’s Partir, about a woman prepared to abandon everything in the pursuit of passion.  For her performance, Scott Thomas received a Best Actress Cesar Award nomination. Read more

Neil Patrick Harris Returns as the Host of the 66th Annual Tony Awards

Neil Patrick Harris will return as host of the 2012 Tony Awards® on Sunday, June 10th, live from the Beacon Theatre in New York City.

This will be the third time that he’s hosted the show, previously serving as host for both the 63rd Annual Tony Awards in 2009, and the 65th Annual Tony Awards in 2011. Like he did in 2011, Harris will also act as a producer, along with executive producers Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment on the 66th Annual Tony Awards.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of this year’s Tony Awards,” he said. “Not only will I be shining a spotlight on the best that Broadway has to offer, but hopefully I’ll score some free house seats to a show or 5.”

The Tony Awards will air live on CBS from 8:00-11:00PM (ET/PT time delay). The American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. Read more

Q&A: BD Wong and Cherry Jones Talk ‘Awake,’ Auditioning and Winning a Tony Award

In NBC’s new drama, Awake, Jason Isaacs plays Michael Britten, a Detective who is trapped in two separate realities. In one reality, his wife survived, but his son has died; in the other, his son is alive, but his wife is gone. In each world, Britten is ordered into therapy by his department to help him come to grips with his personal tragedy.

Britten’s two therapists, Drs. Lee and Evans, are played by BD Wong (Law & Oder: Special Victims Unit) and Cherry Jones (24). After 11 years on SVU, Wong wasn’t looking to play another therapist but he liked the script for Awake so much, that he didn’t even care he was about to play another Psychiatrist.

While both Wong and Jones are primarily known for their television work, at least for me, their theater work is impresses me most. Jones is a two-time Tony Award winner for The Heiress and Doubt and Wong won his statue for M. Butterfly.

They are two of the nicest people you’ll ever talk with and you can totally tell this in the Q&A. Here, they talk about Awake, how Cherry is the “worst auditioner in the world” and what it’s like to win a Tony.

Read this! Read more

Filmography: Lili Taylor

Lili Taylor next stars opposite James Franco in Stephen Elliott’s Cherry; and with Mickey Rourke and Jeffrey Dean Morgan in Hany Abu-Assad’s The Courier.

Her many other features include Andrew Wagner’s Starting Out in the Evening, opposite Frank Langella; Michael Mann’s Public Enemies; two Robert Altman films, Prêt-à-Porter (Ready to Wear) and Short Cuts, sharing a Golden Globe Award as well as a Venice International Film Festival honor with the ensemble cast of the latter; John Sayles’ Casa de los Babys; Emir Kusturica’s Arizona Dream, opposite Johnny Depp; Stephen Frears’ High Fidelity; John Waters’ Pecker; Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July; Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything…; Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction; Jan de Bont’s The Haunting; Ron Howard’s Ransom, for which she won a Blockbuster Award for Best Supporting Actress; David Anspaugh’s Rudy; Alan Rudolph’s Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle; Mary Harron’s The Notorious Bettie Page and I Shot Andy Warhol, for which she was accorded a Special Recognition prize at the Sundance Film Festival; Stanley Tucci’s The Impostors; Toni Kalem’s A Slipping-Down Life; Bent Hamer’s Factotum, for which she was named Best Actress at the Copenhagen Film Festival; and Donald Petrie’s Mystic Pizza, in which she made her indelible film debut. Read more

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