Results tagged “philipseymourhoffman”

After a brief, critically-acclaimed run in Vienna in June, director Peter Sellars's chilling production of Othello is currently being staged here, for a similarly brief period of time, ending October 4th. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as Iago and John Ortiz, a Latino actor, as the titular Moor of Venice. Explaining the decision to cast a non-black actor in the title role, Sellars tells the Times, "In the 21st century in this country you can no longer look at Othello as a black guy, as some symbolic figure of the unrepresented black person. He is a person, period. In our cast we have three black actors, three Latin actors and two white actors. We’re mixing it up, just like America is mixing it up."

Don't feel bad about mangling the pronunciation of Charlie Kaufman's new film, Synecdoche, New York; page three of the press kit is solely dedicated to the title's pronunciation [Sih-NECK-doh-kee] and various meanings, such as "A Part is used for the Whole, as in The Screen for Movies." Though Kaufman wrote such gems as Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, this is his directorial debut, and he certainly picked an ambitious project to cut his teeth with. The haunting, surreal story spans almost the entire adult life of Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a regional theater director who moves to NYC from Schenectady after his wife Adele (Catherine Keener) leaves him.

• Perhaps the big surprise (besides Juno getting nominated for Best Director and Best Picture) was Ruby Dee for her work in American Gangster (its only other nomination was for art direction)

Prestige filmmakers take note: If you want the Times critics to really love you, what you need to do is put the fear in them. At least it worked for Tim Burton; his adaptation of Steven Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd gave reviewer A.O. Scott nightmares. And for that, Scott deems the film “close to a masterpiece, a work of extreme – I am tempted to say evil – genius.” (Current Rotten Tomato rating: 88% fresh.) One big question was whether the non-singing actors cast in the film would be able to pull it off; according to Burton the film is almost 90 sung. Well, it worked for Scott:

Johnny Depp’s voice is harsh and thin, but amazingly forceful. He brings the unpolished urgency of rock ’n’ roll to an idiom accustomed to more refinement., and in doing so awakens the violence of Mr. Sondheim’s lyrics and melodies.

The Gotham Awards gala run by the Independent Feature Project (IFP) will be held in Brooklyn for the first time tonight, after 17 years spent bouncing around between Roseland, Hammerstein Ballroom and Chelsea Piers. This year the independent film awards will take place on the soundstage of Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Among the thousand-plus guests expected to attend are Javier Bardem, Sean Penn, Laura Linney, Uma Thurman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Brooklyn’s...

SCIENCE: The science series at this cafe includes an informal discussion "about some of the most pressing scientific questions of our day, led by Columbia University’s foremost scientists.” It also includes a free drink! This week's topic is Galactic Cannibalism: You Are What You Eat!

In Jack Goes Boating, the four character romantic comedy by Bob Glaudini, Philip Seymour Hoffman fills the title role, a simple-minded burnout with nascent dreadlocks and a heart of gold who gets his first date in years thanks to Clyde (John Ortiz), his buddy and fellow limo driver. The lucky lady in question, Connie (Beth Cole), is the friend and co-worker of Clyde’s live-in girlfriend Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega). She’s also the perfect match for Jack, for she’s just as romantically awkward and insecure as her reggae-loving suitor.

Broadway star Michael Cerveris (Hedwig, Sweeney Todd, 21 Jump Street) has joined the already exciting cast of King Lear, which opens next month. He’ll be squaring off in the role of Kent across from Kevin Kline’s hotly anticipated Lear. But according to Isaac Butler’s Parabasis, the production’s real star is “genius-level Shakespearean actor” Philip Goodwin in the role of the Fool. But that’s not all! The Public Theater is giving a young upstart named Stephen Sondheim his big break by enlisting him to compose the music. (Tickets go on sale at the Public Theater’s box office this Sunday.)

Straphangers (and transit police), if you see a maniacally grinning man on the subway, surrounded by an entourage of keepers, or if the man starting jumping on the seats, do not be (that) afraid - it's just Tom Cruise! As part of the big scheme to make sure that all people can think about is Tom Cruise 24/7, Mission: Imossible III will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in grand fashion. Here's part of the press release:

Cruise's mission - "should he choose to accept it" - will begin at 3:30pm at MTV's "TRL" studios in Times Square. Traveling by motorcycle, speedboat, taxicab, helicopter, sports car, and subway, Cruise will crisscross the island, making his way to premieres in Tribeca and Harlem before heading to the U.S. premiere at the Ziegfeld Theatre (141 West 54th St.), hosted in conjunction with the Tribeca Film Festival.

During this Sunday's 60 Minutes, Philip Seymour Hoffman will reveal that he really loved doing drugs when he was younger. Here's what the 60 Minutes website says:

For the first time publicly, the actor, hailed for his performance as author Truman Capote, talks about his decision to get help for substance abuse...

Continue reading "Philip Seymour Hoffman, Our Favorite Schlub"

It's the itch we can't scratch - the Academy Awards. We make sure we see the announcements at 8:30AM and then rush to work, thinking about the nominations while on the train. This morning, Academy President Sid Ganis and Mira Sorvino (who isn't doing anything else, anyway) announced the nominations. As expected, Brokeback Mountain, Good Night and Good Luck, and Capote earned many nominations, and Crash made a surprising showing with Best Picture, Best Director and even a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Matt Dillon. Other surprises/interesting things:

- Nicolette Sheridan does not look over-Botoxed with fish lips!

Unlike last week, New Yorkers are treated to just nine new releases including three big titles ( -- about the late Arthur Kane, a member of the seminal NYC glam-meets-punk rock group New York Dolls. Elsewhere …

which is worth seeing solely for Philip Seymour Hoffman's brilliant channeling of Truman Capote.

, written by Greene and directed by William Carlos Menzies. Last week the Film Society of Lincoln Center web site indicated the program was sold out, but now it looks like tickets might be available. Worst case, there will be a stand-by line, and chances are some people will get in. (We've managed to do so via that line on more than one occasion.) This promises to be a great evening for film and book lovers everywhere.

Narelle Sissons, Set Designer

Remy Stern, New Yorkish

Dani Marco, Miss Rheingold

Tonight, the 92nd Street Y has a screening of the documentary, The Party's Over, which follows Philip Seymour Hoffman as he looks inside the political process during the 2000 Republican and Democratic conventions, with a post-screening question & answer session with Hoffman as well. The film was directed by Donovan Leitch and Rebecca Chaiklin, (produced by Robert Downey Sr., Stanley Buchtal, Robert Downey Jr. and Leitch) and features Susan Sarandon, Bonnie Raitt, Eddie Vedder, Noam Chomsky, Willie Nelson, Newt Gingrich and Courtney Love among various artists, activists, and politicans interviewed.

This past weekend, the Times looked at how Broadway theater ticket prices range wildly, from the top tier $75-85 range to $40 with discount, and then even $20 for rush tickets. While some shows , like Long Day's Journey Into Night offer seats in the $100 range, the granddaddy of setting premium pricing, The Producers, has been going discount. Stalwart discounter TKTS is being joined by theaters's own discounting programs like Hiptix at the Roundabout (discounts for Nine and Cabaret) and various special offers through Playbill and Telecharge. Theatrical producers says the new model is more similar to the airline model, trying to meet demand by changing prices.