Forty years ago this week, the soundtrack to Neil Diamond’s The Jazz Singer arrived in record stores. The album was an enormous success due to hit singles “Love on the Rocks,” “Hello Again,” and “America,” even if the movie itself — which starred Diamond as a cantor who rebels against his strict, religious father by making pop music — was far less successful.
Diamond’s dreams of movie stardom go all the way back to the early Seventies when he unsuccessfully auditioned to play Lenny Bruce in Bob Fosse’s Lenny,...
Diamond’s dreams of movie stardom go all the way back to the early Seventies when he unsuccessfully auditioned to play Lenny Bruce in Bob Fosse’s Lenny,...
- 11/10/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
HBO Max has a major job on its hands to justify its approximately $15 a month subscription fee, especially given the strong competition out there from established names like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Disney Plus faced a similar challenge last year in arriving onto an already-saturated streaming marketplace, but at least had the advantage of major series like The Mandalorian to promote. While HBO Max will eventually be home to the Snyder cut of Justice League, and has some originals for its first week of availability, the big draw right now is its enormous back-catalogue of movies.
Given the various corporate elements that are going into HBO Max, including the Warner Bros. library, owners AT&T will be hoping that the combination of brand recognition for HBO programming, and a deep bench of movies, will convince people to add a new subscription to their list. To this end, HBO Max have added 122 films today,...
Given the various corporate elements that are going into HBO Max, including the Warner Bros. library, owners AT&T will be hoping that the combination of brand recognition for HBO programming, and a deep bench of movies, will convince people to add a new subscription to their list. To this end, HBO Max have added 122 films today,...
- 6/1/2020
- by Jessica James
- We Got This Covered
Germany’s film industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, but the sector remains teeming with opportunities for domestic and international productions and looks set to spring back into action in the coming months.
Boasting 10 federal and regional film funders with more than €330 million ($359 million) for film and TV production and a number of major studio and VFX facilities, the country has become a favorite location for international producers.
Warner Bros.’ “The Matrix 4” and Sony Pictures’ “Uncharted” were all set to shoot at Studio Babelsberg near Berlin before work stopped amid the Covid-19 outbreak in March. While the studio initially let go hundreds of film crew members following the shutdown, it has since reinstated them after securing financial assistance from the federal labor agency, staving off a potential legal dispute.
Other recent international projects that lensed in Germany include Abel Ferrara’s Berlinale screener “Siberia,” starring Willem Dafoe,...
Boasting 10 federal and regional film funders with more than €330 million ($359 million) for film and TV production and a number of major studio and VFX facilities, the country has become a favorite location for international producers.
Warner Bros.’ “The Matrix 4” and Sony Pictures’ “Uncharted” were all set to shoot at Studio Babelsberg near Berlin before work stopped amid the Covid-19 outbreak in March. While the studio initially let go hundreds of film crew members following the shutdown, it has since reinstated them after securing financial assistance from the federal labor agency, staving off a potential legal dispute.
Other recent international projects that lensed in Germany include Abel Ferrara’s Berlinale screener “Siberia,” starring Willem Dafoe,...
- 5/8/2020
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
This week, Dramatists Play Service's social media channel, 'Dps On Air,' features readings by Dps playwrights Michael John Lachiusa 'Hello Again,' 'The Wild Party,' 'See What I Wanna See' performing the song 'Dance While You Can' from his new musical 'The Gardens of Anuncia,' Kate Scelsa 'Everyone's Fine with Virginia Woolf' and more...
- 4/6/2020
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Keep Memory Alive's 24th annual Power of Love gala at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, March 7 brought top artists and performers Billy Ray Cyrus, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Kelsey Grammer, Sammy Hagar, Derek Hough, Chris Isaak, Jimmy Kimmel, Katlyn Nichols, Greg Phillinganes and more together to honor music legend Neil Diamond and raise crucial funds and awareness for Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.
Neil Diamond performs onstage at the 24th annual Keep Memory Alive Power of Love Gala
Credit/Copyright: Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive
Also in attendance were Paula Abdul, star of E!’s hit TV show “Botched” Paul Nassif, M.D., “Bar Rescue” star Jon Taffer, British singer Matt Goss, jeweler Steven Lagos, chef Hubert Keller, magician Hans Klok, photocomposer Ryszard Horowitz and owner Mark Davis, president Marc Badain and coach Jon Gruden of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Paying tribute to Diamond’s iconic music,...
Neil Diamond performs onstage at the 24th annual Keep Memory Alive Power of Love Gala
Credit/Copyright: Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive
Also in attendance were Paula Abdul, star of E!’s hit TV show “Botched” Paul Nassif, M.D., “Bar Rescue” star Jon Taffer, British singer Matt Goss, jeweler Steven Lagos, chef Hubert Keller, magician Hans Klok, photocomposer Ryszard Horowitz and owner Mark Davis, president Marc Badain and coach Jon Gruden of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Paying tribute to Diamond’s iconic music,...
- 3/12/2020
- Look to the Stars
Rumer Willis is feeling the heat. The actress will play a “pivotal role” in an upcoming episode of Fox’s firefighter drama 9-1-1, which promises to deliver one of the show’s biggest emergencies yet, TVLine has learned.
Willis is no stranger to Fox, having recently competed on The Masked Singer and recurred on Empire. Willis’ additional TV credits include roles on Pretty Little Liars, Hawaii Five-0, 90210 and Robot Chicken. She and partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy also won Season 20 of Dancing With the Stars. On the big screen, Willis has been seen in movies like The House Bunny, Hello Again and...
Willis is no stranger to Fox, having recently competed on The Masked Singer and recurred on Empire. Willis’ additional TV credits include roles on Pretty Little Liars, Hawaii Five-0, 90210 and Robot Chicken. She and partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy also won Season 20 of Dancing With the Stars. On the big screen, Willis has been seen in movies like The House Bunny, Hello Again and...
- 3/4/2020
- TVLine.com
Geena Davis and Audra McDonald will be honored by the Casting Society of America (Csa) at the 35th Annual Artios Awards, the organization announced Thursday.
Oscar winner and advocate Geena Davis will receive the Lynn Stalmaster Award for Career Achievement at the Los Angeles ceremony. Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner McDonald will be honored with the Marion Dougherty New York Apple Award, which is an annual recognition from the casting community to individuals who have made a special commitment to the New York entertainment industry through their collaboration with casting directors.
“In a year that saw great strides in the casting community, it is fitting Casting Society of America recognizes some of the most impactful artists and craftspeople who advance and support the work we do every day,” said Russell Boast, president, Csa. “The 35th Artios Awards will continue the mission of putting a spotlight on the art of casting around the world,...
Oscar winner and advocate Geena Davis will receive the Lynn Stalmaster Award for Career Achievement at the Los Angeles ceremony. Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner McDonald will be honored with the Marion Dougherty New York Apple Award, which is an annual recognition from the casting community to individuals who have made a special commitment to the New York entertainment industry through their collaboration with casting directors.
“In a year that saw great strides in the casting community, it is fitting Casting Society of America recognizes some of the most impactful artists and craftspeople who advance and support the work we do every day,” said Russell Boast, president, Csa. “The 35th Artios Awards will continue the mission of putting a spotlight on the art of casting around the world,...
- 12/12/2019
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope) is set as a lead in half-hour dramedy Generation, HBO Max’s pilot from 17-year-old Zelda Barnz, her father Daniel Barnz and executive producer Lena Dunham.
Written by Zelda and Daniel Barnz, Generation is a dark yet playful half-hour dramedy that follows a group of high school students whose exploration of modern sexuality (devices and all) tests deeply entrenched beliefs about life, love and the nature of family in their conservative community.
Plimpton will play Megan, the mother of the leading two roles that have yet to be cast. Megan is a magnetic Adderall-fueled type-a Orange County mother whose core convictions clash with the values of her children’s generation.
Dunham executive produces for Good Thing Going Productions, with Daniel and Ben Barnz for We’re Not Brothers Productions. Zelda Barnz is co-executive producer. Marissa Diaz produces for Good Thing Going Productions.
Plimpton earned two Emmy...
Written by Zelda and Daniel Barnz, Generation is a dark yet playful half-hour dramedy that follows a group of high school students whose exploration of modern sexuality (devices and all) tests deeply entrenched beliefs about life, love and the nature of family in their conservative community.
Plimpton will play Megan, the mother of the leading two roles that have yet to be cast. Megan is a magnetic Adderall-fueled type-a Orange County mother whose core convictions clash with the values of her children’s generation.
Dunham executive produces for Good Thing Going Productions, with Daniel and Ben Barnz for We’re Not Brothers Productions. Zelda Barnz is co-executive producer. Marissa Diaz produces for Good Thing Going Productions.
Plimpton earned two Emmy...
- 9/3/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
I can remember so well senior year of college when my friend Claudio came back from a trip to New York all abuzz over little drag rock show he'd seen Off-Broadway called Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I was grilling him for details on Audra and Marin in Ragtime and whether there was anything we could steal from Sam Mendes for our off-campus production of Cabaret, but Claudio only wanted to talk about Hedwig. The clincher for me was when he mentioned the star--and author--was John Cameron Mitchell. I was obsessed with John on the original cast albums of The Secret Garden and Hello Again. 'Okay, okay,' I agreed. I would see this Hedwig when I moved to New York four months later.
- 5/3/2019
- by Ben Rimalower
- BroadwayWorld.com
If you're bored with your new choices on Netflix, thought we'd give a shout out to a few options for only 99¢ on iTunes at the moment. Stronger, with Jake Gyllenhaal (who won our Bronze for Best Actor for last season) is their movie of the week. But in their often changing "Movies You Might Have Missed" section, also 99¢, they're currently offering five Pedro Almodóvar movies, Meryl Streep in She-Devil (which the Month of Meryl column hits next Thursday), the Glenn Close classic Fatal Attraction, David Fincher's Se7en, and, um, a Chinese remake of the unimprovable 90s romcom My Best Friend's Wedding... but at least it stars Shu Qi so it *might* be worth 99¢
And still more streaming options if you're not in the mood for Dwayne Johnson's Rampage this weekend or you've already see the delightful / problematic / futureOscarnominee Isle of Dogs. Amazon Prime has added a 55 wide movie...
And still more streaming options if you're not in the mood for Dwayne Johnson's Rampage this weekend or you've already see the delightful / problematic / futureOscarnominee Isle of Dogs. Amazon Prime has added a 55 wide movie...
- 4/13/2018
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
It is always a shock when a fan meets the object of his fandom. However, when You are the object of the fan to whom you are also a fan, the mutual fandom is off the chain. I recently met the amazing Tony Award nominated composerlyricist, Michael John Lachiusa, at the after party for the premiere of the film adaptation of his musical, Hello Again.
- 11/21/2017
- by Keith Price's Curtain Call
- BroadwayWorld.com
La Ronde has a lot to answer for. Arthur Schnitzler's classic play depicting a series of interconnected sexual liaisons has been adapted innumerable times since its 1920 premiere. It also has inspired an equally countless number of film, theater and literary works, including Michael John Lachiusa's 1993 musical that debuted at Lincoln Center. That work has now been adapted into a film version directed by Tom Gustafson featuring an array of veteran theater talents. But while Hello Again has been brought to the big screen, it has not been brought to anything resembling cinematic life. The movie does, however, offer...
- 11/8/2017
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Due to remarkable demand, Hello Again, the highly anticipated film adaptation of Michael John Lachiusa's acclaimed musical, will be seen in multiple new theater locations around the country. Screenvision Media, a national leader in cinema advertising, in association with Kaos Connect and SPEAKproductions, has announced that Hello Again will now be shown in over 230 theaters nationwide, with 80 recently added AMC locations and top DMAs including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Orlando beginning November 8.
- 11/3/2017
- by Movies News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Quick takes from the 25th Raindance Film Festival, with public screenings in London through October 1st, 2017.
In Another Life
British filmmaker Jason Wingard went to the Jungle, the refugee camp in Calais, intending to make a documentary about life there. But after befriending those living in squalor out of desperation, he decided to make a narrative based on their stories instead, shot in the Jungle and with some of them playing versions of themselves. The result is an astonishingly moving film that rehumanizes people who have been dehumanized in public discourse, putting faces to the still-ongoing refugee crisis and inescapably reminding us that those we’ve Othered are not very different from us. “In another life,” Syrian refugee Adnan (French actor Elie Haddad) tells us in the touching narration through which we follow his journey, “I was a teacher.” His new friends in the Jungle are other middle-class people from such far-flung places as Sudan,...
In Another Life
British filmmaker Jason Wingard went to the Jungle, the refugee camp in Calais, intending to make a documentary about life there. But after befriending those living in squalor out of desperation, he decided to make a narrative based on their stories instead, shot in the Jungle and with some of them playing versions of themselves. The result is an astonishingly moving film that rehumanizes people who have been dehumanized in public discourse, putting faces to the still-ongoing refugee crisis and inescapably reminding us that those we’ve Othered are not very different from us. “In another life,” Syrian refugee Adnan (French actor Elie Haddad) tells us in the touching narration through which we follow his journey, “I was a teacher.” His new friends in the Jungle are other middle-class people from such far-flung places as Sudan,...
- 9/30/2017
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
The screen adaptation of Hello Again struggles in its translation from the stage...
If there was ever a stage musical difficult to transfer to screen, it was Michael John Lachiusa’s controversial Hello Again. The story (or stories) or ten sets of lovers in ten time periods told non-chronologically, director Tom Gustafson and writer Cory Krueckeberg have attempted the near-impossible with mixed results.
How do you keep a film about sex with strangers from becoming a smut-fest? Well, the answer is apparently that you strip the story of most of its inherent sensuality and emotion, resulting in a well-directed and star-studded filmic experiment in place of a coherent movie.
Be prepared - every scene of the film is a sex scene in one way or another and, while that might sound quite appealing or even daring, in practice it feels rather relentless and, in the end, entirely pointless. We move...
If there was ever a stage musical difficult to transfer to screen, it was Michael John Lachiusa’s controversial Hello Again. The story (or stories) or ten sets of lovers in ten time periods told non-chronologically, director Tom Gustafson and writer Cory Krueckeberg have attempted the near-impossible with mixed results.
How do you keep a film about sex with strangers from becoming a smut-fest? Well, the answer is apparently that you strip the story of most of its inherent sensuality and emotion, resulting in a well-directed and star-studded filmic experiment in place of a coherent movie.
Be prepared - every scene of the film is a sex scene in one way or another and, while that might sound quite appealing or even daring, in practice it feels rather relentless and, in the end, entirely pointless. We move...
- 9/26/2017
- Den of Geek
Previous | Image 1 of 4 | NextTyler Blackburn portrays Jack in ‘Hello Again.’
Chicago – Opening Night was a “reel” party as the 35th edition of “Reeling2017,” Chicago’s Lgbtq+ International Film Festival, kicked off at the historic Music Box Theatre on September 21st, 2017. The opening film was ‘Hello Again,” directed by Tom Gustafson, and featured Tyler Blackburn (“Pretty Little Liars”) and Jenna Ushkowitz (“Glee”). All three walked the Red Carpet before the screening, joined by screenwriter Cory Krueckeberg, and HollywoodChicago.com was there for Exclusive Photos and interviews.
The following audio interviews coincide with the Exclusive Photos by photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com. Tyler Blackburn, Jenna Ushkowitz, Tom Gustafson and Cory Krueckeberg react to their Opening Night Reeling 2017 showing of “Hello Again,” a film based on Michael John Lachiusa’s celebrated 1993 Off-Broadway stage musical.
Click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through the slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below.
Chicago – Opening Night was a “reel” party as the 35th edition of “Reeling2017,” Chicago’s Lgbtq+ International Film Festival, kicked off at the historic Music Box Theatre on September 21st, 2017. The opening film was ‘Hello Again,” directed by Tom Gustafson, and featured Tyler Blackburn (“Pretty Little Liars”) and Jenna Ushkowitz (“Glee”). All three walked the Red Carpet before the screening, joined by screenwriter Cory Krueckeberg, and HollywoodChicago.com was there for Exclusive Photos and interviews.
The following audio interviews coincide with the Exclusive Photos by photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com. Tyler Blackburn, Jenna Ushkowitz, Tom Gustafson and Cory Krueckeberg react to their Opening Night Reeling 2017 showing of “Hello Again,” a film based on Michael John Lachiusa’s celebrated 1993 Off-Broadway stage musical.
Click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through the slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below.
- 9/25/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – The second-oldest Lgbtq+ international film festival in America, Reeling (Reeling17), launches its 35th edition in Chicago at the historic Music Box Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. The opening-night film will be the musical “Hello Again” with appearances by featured cast members Tyler Blackburn (“Pretty Little Liars”) and Jenna Ushkowitz (“Glee”) along with director Tom Gustafson and screenwriter Cory Krueckeberg.
‘Hello Again’ Opens Reeling2017 on September 21st at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago
Photo credit: Reeling2017
“Hello Again” is a movie adaptation of Michael John Lachiusa’s celebrated 1994 Off-Broadway musical, which in turn was inspired by Arthur Schnitzler’s stageplay “La Ronde” (written in 1897, with the first public performance in 1920). The 2017 film explores ten fleeting love affairs, across ten periods of New York City history, through ten lust-fueled episodes. It’s guaranteed to be saucy.
Reeling2017, the Chicago Lgbtq+ International Film Festival is in its 35th year, and has an incredible line-up of films,...
‘Hello Again’ Opens Reeling2017 on September 21st at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago
Photo credit: Reeling2017
“Hello Again” is a movie adaptation of Michael John Lachiusa’s celebrated 1994 Off-Broadway musical, which in turn was inspired by Arthur Schnitzler’s stageplay “La Ronde” (written in 1897, with the first public performance in 1920). The 2017 film explores ten fleeting love affairs, across ten periods of New York City history, through ten lust-fueled episodes. It’s guaranteed to be saucy.
Reeling2017, the Chicago Lgbtq+ International Film Festival is in its 35th year, and has an incredible line-up of films,...
- 9/21/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
London-based festival to open with Oh Lucy! with Josh Hartnett.
The 25th Raindance Film Festival (Sept 21 -Oct 2) has revealed the majority of its line-up and jury members.
The international premiere of Atsuko Hirayanagi’s Oh Lucy! (USA), starring Josh Hartnett, is the opening night film of the London-based event. The closing night film will be announced later this month.
The competition jury includes ex-bifa director Johanna Von Fischer, Spanish producer Rosa Bosch and actors Jamie Campbell Bower (Twilight), Jack O’Connell (Unbroken), Sean Bean (Game Of Thrones), Christopher Eccleston (Dr Who), Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), Celia Imrie (Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Training Day), Nicholas Lyndhurst (Only Fools and Horses), Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Hotel Rwanda), Josh Whitehouse (Northern Soul), Neil Marshall (Game Of Thrones) and Rachel Portman (Chocolat).
They will preside over awards for a competition line-up that features the European premiere of Koichiro Miki’s Noise and the world premiere of Evald Johnson’s High & Outside: A Baseball...
The 25th Raindance Film Festival (Sept 21 -Oct 2) has revealed the majority of its line-up and jury members.
The international premiere of Atsuko Hirayanagi’s Oh Lucy! (USA), starring Josh Hartnett, is the opening night film of the London-based event. The closing night film will be announced later this month.
The competition jury includes ex-bifa director Johanna Von Fischer, Spanish producer Rosa Bosch and actors Jamie Campbell Bower (Twilight), Jack O’Connell (Unbroken), Sean Bean (Game Of Thrones), Christopher Eccleston (Dr Who), Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), Celia Imrie (Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Training Day), Nicholas Lyndhurst (Only Fools and Horses), Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Hotel Rwanda), Josh Whitehouse (Northern Soul), Neil Marshall (Game Of Thrones) and Rachel Portman (Chocolat).
They will preside over awards for a competition line-up that features the European premiere of Koichiro Miki’s Noise and the world premiere of Evald Johnson’s High & Outside: A Baseball...
- 8/15/2017
- by orlando.parfitt@screendaily.com (Orlando Parfitt)
- ScreenDaily
There is a very niche swath of Broadway lovers and lesbians who will be over the moon to see Audra McDonald and Martha Plimpton share a seductive scene in “Hello Again,” a film adaptation of Michael John Lachiusa’s 1993 musical which released its steamy new trailer today.
Read More: Why the ‘Swiss Army Man’ Directors Backed the Psychedelic Comedy-Musical ‘Snowy Bing Bongs’
“Hello Again” tells ten love affairs set in each decade of the 20th century, following the sexual escapades of characters with names like The Whore, The College Boy, and The Young Thing. Lachiusa is best known for writing “The Wild Party,” which developed a cult following in the years since its Broadway debut in 1999. “Hello Again” is based on “La Ronde,” the 1897 play by Arthur Schnitzler which caused an uproar when it first played Berlin and Vienna in 1920.
Read More: ‘Dirty Dancing’ Review: ABC Musical Event Is Decidedly Not Worth Your Time
The movie stars six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, as well as similarly lauded theater actors Martha Plimpton, T.R. Knight, Cheyenne Jackson, and Rumer Willis. “Hello Again” is directed by Tom Gustafson from a screenplay by Cory Krueckeberg, the same pair behind the 2012 musical comedy “Mariachi Gringo.”
How many Broadway stars can you find?
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Related stories'Le Trou' Trailer: Jacques Becker's Nerve-Wracking Prison Break Drama Gets a Stunning Restoration -- Watch'To the Bone' Trailer: Lily Collins Stars In Marti Noxon's Deeply Personal Eating Disorder Drama -- Watch'God's Own Country' Trailer: A Taut Gay Romance With Verité Intimacy Set In The Yorkshire Countryside -- Watch...
Read More: Why the ‘Swiss Army Man’ Directors Backed the Psychedelic Comedy-Musical ‘Snowy Bing Bongs’
“Hello Again” tells ten love affairs set in each decade of the 20th century, following the sexual escapades of characters with names like The Whore, The College Boy, and The Young Thing. Lachiusa is best known for writing “The Wild Party,” which developed a cult following in the years since its Broadway debut in 1999. “Hello Again” is based on “La Ronde,” the 1897 play by Arthur Schnitzler which caused an uproar when it first played Berlin and Vienna in 1920.
Read More: ‘Dirty Dancing’ Review: ABC Musical Event Is Decidedly Not Worth Your Time
The movie stars six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, as well as similarly lauded theater actors Martha Plimpton, T.R. Knight, Cheyenne Jackson, and Rumer Willis. “Hello Again” is directed by Tom Gustafson from a screenplay by Cory Krueckeberg, the same pair behind the 2012 musical comedy “Mariachi Gringo.”
How many Broadway stars can you find?
Stay on top of the latest film and TV news! Sign up for our film and TV email newsletter here.
Related stories'Le Trou' Trailer: Jacques Becker's Nerve-Wracking Prison Break Drama Gets a Stunning Restoration -- Watch'To the Bone' Trailer: Lily Collins Stars In Marti Noxon's Deeply Personal Eating Disorder Drama -- Watch'God's Own Country' Trailer: A Taut Gay Romance With Verité Intimacy Set In The Yorkshire Countryside -- Watch...
- 6/21/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Here’s a first look at Hello Again, the film adaptation by Tom Gustafson (Mariachi Gringo) of composer-lyricist Michael John Lachiusa's acclaimed 1994 musical. A new riff on La Ronde, the scandal-causing Arthur Schnitzler play from 1897 (first filmed by Max Ophüls in 1950 and subsequently by Roger Vadim with 1964’s Circle of Love and Otto Schenk with Der Reigen in 1973) about series of sexual assignations across boundaries of class and status that seem…...
- 6/21/2017
- Deadline
It’s not often that a primetime network TV show devotes three minutes of airtime to a “Les Miserables” sendup featuring hyper-specific references to Inland Empire utility politics. But it helps when you have the right people to pull it off.
Such are the sheer, nothing-else-like-it delights of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” the newest jewel in the CW crown. At the show’s center is Rachel Bloom, who in addition to being the show’s star and co-creator (alongside “The Devil Wears Prada” scribe Aline Brosh McKenna) is also one of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s” biggest fans.
When we spoke to Bloom, the talk kept turning toward the cast and crew that helps color this crazy, lovable slice of the TV landscape. From the writing staff to the songwriting team headlined by executive music producer Adam Schlesinger, she spoke about how it takes a village to raise a child (that occasionally sings therapeutic boy band parodies).
It seems like a nice added bonus that the people you’ve cast in these central roles get to have their featured moments. If you want them to grow, you can give them their own songs.
A lot of other people on our show, they’re Broadway people — they’re singers by trade. With the roles of Josh and Greg, we weren’t even necessarily looking for people who could sing. We were looking for the best actors. In the breakdowns, we were putting things like, “sing, rap, play guitar — we’ll write to your strengths.” Not in our wildest dreams could we have realized the kind of Renaissance men that we cast in both Santino and Vince — I mean, God, Vince has like three black belts.
Pete is a comedy/improv/sketch guy and would not consider himself a singer, but he has a really good voice. And he’s really in touch with his body. Vella is the same way. She’s a fantastic actress. She went to Juilliard, and I think with her training and with her natural abilities, she has the command over her voice. And so that was a really pleasant surprise for us when we realized, “Oh, we don’t have to Auto-Tune these people.”
It’s great that they’re all different kinds of voice types on this show, because you have Vince with more of a pop sound, you have Santino with the classic sound, you have Donna with the big Broadway belt, you have Pete with this twang, and then you have Vella with this like rock and roll thing that we’re so excited to write more for her. She sang at our cast party, we had a karaoke machine and she sang TLC’s “Waterfalls…”
Oh my God.
And it was so good! And Adam [Schlesinger] and I were watching her, and I was like, “We gotta write a ’90s song for Vella” and he was like, “Absolutely.” It was kind of like she was auditioning for us — except she was drunk and didn’t realize she was — and we never cease to be amazed and surprised with the talents of the actors we have on the show. It’s not what you hear about working with TV actors sometimes, where they’re afraid to be brave or they’re snobby or they’ll only film from 1 to 4:30 and then they’ll be in their trailer. We have such grateful theater people.
And people like Pete still get non-singing moments like “Having a Few People Over,” which probably wouldn’t exist if you were working with a shorter runtime.
Precisely. I really like that now, in any given episode, a lot of the time the second song is another character. And it’s about the B-story. That makes me really happy. I think that some of the most impactful storylines we’ve done come from exploring things like Darryl and [White] Josh. It’s funny because now they’re everyone else’s favorite couple, and I’m kind of like “They were my favorite couple first!” I was on set for their first kiss. I got to sit on set, and I was like, “Done! They’re my favorite couple, they’re the ones I root for. Don’t give a fuck about anyone else.” Next season we’re going to deal with them more.
One of my favorite moments was when you brought back the grocery clerk at the end of the season.
This is actually pretty great. We were writing the song “I Have Friends” and I had a rough draft written and I was brainstorming with Aline, our other executive producer, Erin Ehrlich, and our co-executive producer Michael Hitchcock. “I Have Friends” is all about those fun specifics, like “a janitor that lives in an Rv behind the school.” And Hitchcock just busted out “grocery clerk with half an eyelid,” and I was like, “Done. Yes.” There was something so B-52’s about it and when I think of B-52’s I think of this kind of like nasal voice, which made me think of my friend Ben, who I did stuff at Ucb with and was also on an improv team with our writer’s assistant Elisabeth [Kiernan Averick]. Before he even auditioned or knew we were thinking of him, we just started writing the lines in his voice. We had such a great deleted scene from Episode 3 of him and Pete just going on an improv run. It was one of the funniest things to watch all season, and hopefully we’ll release it on a DVD extra.
When you’re shooting scenes, it’s easy to toss lines in. Is there a lyric or musical moment that came kind of at the last minute?
For “Sexy Getting Ready Song,” the lyric “whisper your dick hard” originally was something else. We were in the recording studio, and Jack, who produced the song, was directing me and he was just like “Okay, this next take, I want you to whisper someone’s dick hard,” and I was like, “Jack! That’s a lyric!”
CBS hasn’t gotten into the live musical game yet. But if they do, is there a particular show that you’d like for them to do?
Well, I’m pretty indie musical theatre. So if they did anything Sondheim, if they did a live version of “Assassins” or “Company”? God, if you’re gonna do a live show, doing “Rent” would be just fun.
Would you want to be Maureen?
Oh, yeah. Yes, I’d want to be Maureen. [laughs]
I mean, anything Kander and Ebb. “Chicago,” “Cabaret.” For any Jewish comedian who can sing, I mean “Funny Girl” is kind of the ultimate, right?
As a big musical theater fan, do you have a go-to underrated show that, if someone was really digging deeper, you would point them toward?
For comedy, “Gutenberg! the Musical.” That soundtrack is amazing. It’s just such a great example of comedy musical theater that should be mentioned more. And “Light in the Piazza” is just brilliant. I love “Whatever I Dream” from “A New Brain.” Michael John Lachiusa’s “The Wild Party,” which I actually directed in college, is one of the most underrated musical theater scores. The way the genre changes as the show gets darker, it’s absolutely brilliant.
There’s another musical he wrote called “Hello Again.” The song “Tom” from Hello Again is just one of the greatest songs ever written in musical theater. “Tom,” “Safe,” and “Mistress of the Senator,” every song on “Hello Again” is a winner and I feel like no one ever talks about it.
Obviously, you have a deep love of musical theater and now have people asking for the sheet music to use for audition songs in the future. That has to be an exciting feeling.
Oh, it’s so exciting. If you could be in on all the emails! I am bugging people constantly because I want the musical theater kids out there to have sheet music and karaoke tracks! So everything that the fans ask, chances are I’ve already asked about 6,000 times. It’s really exciting for me to interact with fans because fans of the show are people that I would want to be friends with. This is a show that I would watch.
[Editor’s Note: IndieWire’s Consider This campaign is an ongoing series meant to raise awareness for Emmy contenders our editorial staff and readership find compelling, fascinating and deserving. Running throughout awards season, Consider This contenders may be underdogs, frontrunners or somewhere in between. More importantly, they’re making damn good television we all should be watching, whether they’re nominated or not.]
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Related storiesTV Creators Agree the State of Lgbtq Characters is Slowly But Surely ImprovingDaily Reads: The Genius of 'Girls' Lies in Its Unlikeable Characters, How 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' Brought the Asian Bro to TV, and MoreDoes the CW Have a Season Two Problem?...
Such are the sheer, nothing-else-like-it delights of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” the newest jewel in the CW crown. At the show’s center is Rachel Bloom, who in addition to being the show’s star and co-creator (alongside “The Devil Wears Prada” scribe Aline Brosh McKenna) is also one of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s” biggest fans.
When we spoke to Bloom, the talk kept turning toward the cast and crew that helps color this crazy, lovable slice of the TV landscape. From the writing staff to the songwriting team headlined by executive music producer Adam Schlesinger, she spoke about how it takes a village to raise a child (that occasionally sings therapeutic boy band parodies).
It seems like a nice added bonus that the people you’ve cast in these central roles get to have their featured moments. If you want them to grow, you can give them their own songs.
A lot of other people on our show, they’re Broadway people — they’re singers by trade. With the roles of Josh and Greg, we weren’t even necessarily looking for people who could sing. We were looking for the best actors. In the breakdowns, we were putting things like, “sing, rap, play guitar — we’ll write to your strengths.” Not in our wildest dreams could we have realized the kind of Renaissance men that we cast in both Santino and Vince — I mean, God, Vince has like three black belts.
Pete is a comedy/improv/sketch guy and would not consider himself a singer, but he has a really good voice. And he’s really in touch with his body. Vella is the same way. She’s a fantastic actress. She went to Juilliard, and I think with her training and with her natural abilities, she has the command over her voice. And so that was a really pleasant surprise for us when we realized, “Oh, we don’t have to Auto-Tune these people.”
It’s great that they’re all different kinds of voice types on this show, because you have Vince with more of a pop sound, you have Santino with the classic sound, you have Donna with the big Broadway belt, you have Pete with this twang, and then you have Vella with this like rock and roll thing that we’re so excited to write more for her. She sang at our cast party, we had a karaoke machine and she sang TLC’s “Waterfalls…”
Oh my God.
And it was so good! And Adam [Schlesinger] and I were watching her, and I was like, “We gotta write a ’90s song for Vella” and he was like, “Absolutely.” It was kind of like she was auditioning for us — except she was drunk and didn’t realize she was — and we never cease to be amazed and surprised with the talents of the actors we have on the show. It’s not what you hear about working with TV actors sometimes, where they’re afraid to be brave or they’re snobby or they’ll only film from 1 to 4:30 and then they’ll be in their trailer. We have such grateful theater people.
And people like Pete still get non-singing moments like “Having a Few People Over,” which probably wouldn’t exist if you were working with a shorter runtime.
Precisely. I really like that now, in any given episode, a lot of the time the second song is another character. And it’s about the B-story. That makes me really happy. I think that some of the most impactful storylines we’ve done come from exploring things like Darryl and [White] Josh. It’s funny because now they’re everyone else’s favorite couple, and I’m kind of like “They were my favorite couple first!” I was on set for their first kiss. I got to sit on set, and I was like, “Done! They’re my favorite couple, they’re the ones I root for. Don’t give a fuck about anyone else.” Next season we’re going to deal with them more.
One of my favorite moments was when you brought back the grocery clerk at the end of the season.
This is actually pretty great. We were writing the song “I Have Friends” and I had a rough draft written and I was brainstorming with Aline, our other executive producer, Erin Ehrlich, and our co-executive producer Michael Hitchcock. “I Have Friends” is all about those fun specifics, like “a janitor that lives in an Rv behind the school.” And Hitchcock just busted out “grocery clerk with half an eyelid,” and I was like, “Done. Yes.” There was something so B-52’s about it and when I think of B-52’s I think of this kind of like nasal voice, which made me think of my friend Ben, who I did stuff at Ucb with and was also on an improv team with our writer’s assistant Elisabeth [Kiernan Averick]. Before he even auditioned or knew we were thinking of him, we just started writing the lines in his voice. We had such a great deleted scene from Episode 3 of him and Pete just going on an improv run. It was one of the funniest things to watch all season, and hopefully we’ll release it on a DVD extra.
When you’re shooting scenes, it’s easy to toss lines in. Is there a lyric or musical moment that came kind of at the last minute?
For “Sexy Getting Ready Song,” the lyric “whisper your dick hard” originally was something else. We were in the recording studio, and Jack, who produced the song, was directing me and he was just like “Okay, this next take, I want you to whisper someone’s dick hard,” and I was like, “Jack! That’s a lyric!”
CBS hasn’t gotten into the live musical game yet. But if they do, is there a particular show that you’d like for them to do?
Well, I’m pretty indie musical theatre. So if they did anything Sondheim, if they did a live version of “Assassins” or “Company”? God, if you’re gonna do a live show, doing “Rent” would be just fun.
Would you want to be Maureen?
Oh, yeah. Yes, I’d want to be Maureen. [laughs]
I mean, anything Kander and Ebb. “Chicago,” “Cabaret.” For any Jewish comedian who can sing, I mean “Funny Girl” is kind of the ultimate, right?
As a big musical theater fan, do you have a go-to underrated show that, if someone was really digging deeper, you would point them toward?
For comedy, “Gutenberg! the Musical.” That soundtrack is amazing. It’s just such a great example of comedy musical theater that should be mentioned more. And “Light in the Piazza” is just brilliant. I love “Whatever I Dream” from “A New Brain.” Michael John Lachiusa’s “The Wild Party,” which I actually directed in college, is one of the most underrated musical theater scores. The way the genre changes as the show gets darker, it’s absolutely brilliant.
There’s another musical he wrote called “Hello Again.” The song “Tom” from Hello Again is just one of the greatest songs ever written in musical theater. “Tom,” “Safe,” and “Mistress of the Senator,” every song on “Hello Again” is a winner and I feel like no one ever talks about it.
Obviously, you have a deep love of musical theater and now have people asking for the sheet music to use for audition songs in the future. That has to be an exciting feeling.
Oh, it’s so exciting. If you could be in on all the emails! I am bugging people constantly because I want the musical theater kids out there to have sheet music and karaoke tracks! So everything that the fans ask, chances are I’ve already asked about 6,000 times. It’s really exciting for me to interact with fans because fans of the show are people that I would want to be friends with. This is a show that I would watch.
[Editor’s Note: IndieWire’s Consider This campaign is an ongoing series meant to raise awareness for Emmy contenders our editorial staff and readership find compelling, fascinating and deserving. Running throughout awards season, Consider This contenders may be underdogs, frontrunners or somewhere in between. More importantly, they’re making damn good television we all should be watching, whether they’re nominated or not.]
Stay on top of the latest TV news! Sign up for our TV email newsletter here.
Related storiesTV Creators Agree the State of Lgbtq Characters is Slowly But Surely ImprovingDaily Reads: The Genius of 'Girls' Lies in Its Unlikeable Characters, How 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' Brought the Asian Bro to TV, and MoreDoes the CW Have a Season Two Problem?...
- 6/13/2016
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Collateral Beauty
Helen Mirren is in negotiations to join Will Smith in the drama "Collateral Beauty" for New Line. David Frankel is taking over for Alfonso Gomez-Rejon as helmer. Shooting kicks off early next year in New York City.
Allan Loeb penned the script about a Manhattan advertising executive (Smith) who experiences a personal tragedy. When his colleagues devise an unconventional plan to break him out of his depression, it ends up backfiring. [Source: The Wrap]
Live By Night
"Bosch" and "Argo" star Titus Welliver is set to play a powerful mobster in the prohibition-era crime drama "Live By Night" at Warner Bros. Pictures. Chris Messina, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning, Max Casella, Scott Eastwood, Anthony Michael Hall and Chris Cooper will co-star.
Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, Affleck plays the son of a prominent police captain who enters a world of organized crime that takes him from Boston to Florida and Havana.
Helen Mirren is in negotiations to join Will Smith in the drama "Collateral Beauty" for New Line. David Frankel is taking over for Alfonso Gomez-Rejon as helmer. Shooting kicks off early next year in New York City.
Allan Loeb penned the script about a Manhattan advertising executive (Smith) who experiences a personal tragedy. When his colleagues devise an unconventional plan to break him out of his depression, it ends up backfiring. [Source: The Wrap]
Live By Night
"Bosch" and "Argo" star Titus Welliver is set to play a powerful mobster in the prohibition-era crime drama "Live By Night" at Warner Bros. Pictures. Chris Messina, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning, Max Casella, Scott Eastwood, Anthony Michael Hall and Chris Cooper will co-star.
Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, Affleck plays the son of a prominent police captain who enters a world of organized crime that takes him from Boston to Florida and Havana.
- 12/2/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winner Audra McDonald is currently shooting a film adaptation of “Hello Again,” based an Off Broadway musical by composer Michael John Lachiusa, TheWrap has learned. McDonald is joined by Emmy winner Martha Plimpton, former “Grey’s Anatomy” star T.R. Knight, Rumer Willis (“Sorority Row”) and “Glee”‘s Jenna Ushkowitz in the film, directed by Tom Gustafson (“Were the World Mine”). The musical was originally staged in 1994 by Lincoln Center Theatre, where it earned eight Drama Desk nominations. It’s since been performed in numerous languages by companies around the world. Also Read: 'Grease: Live' First Teaser Sees Julianne Hough,...
- 12/2/2015
- by Matt Donnelly
- The Wrap
The cast is set for Hello Again, an indie feature adaptation of Michael John Lachiusa’s 1994 chamber musical. Audra McDonald, Martha Plimpton, T.R. Knight, Rumer Willis, Jenna Ushkowitz, Nolan Gerard Funk, Sam Underwood, Tyler Blackburn and Al Calderon will star in the pic for director Tom Gustafson. Cory Krueckeberg wrote the screenplay, with music and lyrics by Lachiusa. The logline: Hello Again follows 10 lost souls who skip across 10 periods in New York…...
- 12/1/2015
- Deadline
Like the M34 bus, Michael John Lachiusa never disappoints for long: If you don’t enjoy one show, another will come by soon. At 53, he remains probably the most prolific of his cohort of theater composers, also writing his own lyrics and often his own books. In addition to his operas and song cycles and out-of-town experiments, eleven of his musicals have received full-scale New York productions, starting with First Lady Suite, at the Public, in 1993. By my taste buds, the results are delicious about half the time: I’m a fan of Hello Again, The Wild Party, and See What I Wanna See, among others. But even when I haven’t warmed to his work I’ve admired it; his intent is never less than to use the full resources of the genre, and his own questing musical voice, to explore serious themes. If the execution is sometimes unconvincing,...
- 10/22/2015
- by Jesse Green
- Vulture
The Tony Awards Administration Committee has announced that John Cameron Mitchell will receive the 2015 Special Tony Award. John's return to 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' is one for the history books. He not only wrote and co-created the role with Stephen Trask - before directing and starring in the film - but returned to Broadway to star as Hedwig this season after a series of rave performances by Neil Patrick Harris, Andrew Rannells and Michael C. Hall. This is a remarkable undertaking, and we are honored to recognize his outstanding success with this honor, Heather Hitchens, President of the American Theatre Wing, and Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League, said. John Cameron Mitchell's New York stage appearances included Broadway's Big River, and the original casts of The Secret Garden Drama Desk nomination and Six Degrees of Separation. Off-Broadway Larry Kramer's The Destiny of...
- 4/27/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
All the news stories we didn't get to and/or articles we like with a wee slant toward the stage this morning... itching to see a show again.
Guardian on the homophobic charges against the MPAA. That über obnoxious organization has struck again. Pride is the second gay movie this year without sex scenes or nudity to be slapped with an R rating.
/Film The Twilight Saga may well be back after some short films. When I first heard this news I groaned and rolled my eyes but then I read the plan and it's sort of a support young female filmmakers thing so it sounds kind of cool, actually. Pit that Twilight is so obnoxious
The Playlist ranks all 35 of David Fincher's music videos. I used to be so obsessed with him because of Madonna. It's possible that I already linked this? I don't know. But their rankings are fairly good.
Guardian on the homophobic charges against the MPAA. That über obnoxious organization has struck again. Pride is the second gay movie this year without sex scenes or nudity to be slapped with an R rating.
/Film The Twilight Saga may well be back after some short films. When I first heard this news I groaned and rolled my eyes but then I read the plan and it's sort of a support young female filmmakers thing so it sounds kind of cool, actually. Pit that Twilight is so obnoxious
The Playlist ranks all 35 of David Fincher's music videos. I used to be so obsessed with him because of Madonna. It's possible that I already linked this? I don't know. But their rankings are fairly good.
- 10/3/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
• Boardwalk Empire actor Jack Huston will take the chariot reins as the title role in the upcoming remake of Ben-Hur. Previously, Tom Hiddleston had been in talks for the role of slave Judah Ben-Hur in the Paramount and MGM picture. Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) is directing the film adapted by John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) and Keith Clarke (The Way Back) that is said to be based more on Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ than the 1959 film that starred Charlton Heston. Morgan Freeman has already been cast as Ildarin, the teacher who helps make the slave Ben-Hur into chariot racer champion.
- 9/18/2014
- by Jake Perlman
- EW - Inside Movies
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