"So, 'now'--ooh, what a wonderful first word, right in the beginning of the play. 'Now.' Not in the past. Not a history play. Now." Ian McKellen breaks down Richard III. [more inside]
posted by kirkaracha on Nov 5, 2009 - 46 comments

Jack Nicholson and January Jones. Together at last. [more inside]
posted by philip-random on Aug 2, 2009 - 29 comments

Always die with your eyes open. Actor Mike Doyle walks us through his seven onscreen deaths. [via]
posted by Horace Rumpole on Jun 3, 2009 - 21 comments

The recession has hit the theatre world (and the arts scene in general) very hard - but some argue that theatre practitioners aren't doing themselves any favours when seeking funding. The main question insufficiently addressed is "who is the funding for?" - hint: it's not about you. Approaching theatre as a product isn't working, not when MFA acting programs don't often allow its graduates to earn enough to earn back their debt. So now the question is: how can the economics of theatre be changed?
posted by divabat on Mar 29, 2009 - 60 comments

Oliver Reed. Movie star or hellraiser? Actor or alcoholic? But it was probably not as simple as that... The Real Oliver Reed (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) (Poss. NSFW Brief nudity) [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Aug 25, 2008 - 28 comments

Amy Walker does a little tour of 21 accents in 2 1/2 minutes. From the UK and Ireland to Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, France, Australia, New Zealand, and around North America. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on Mar 1, 2008 - 145 comments

Time Magazine's 25 Most Important Films On Race
posted by hadjiboy on Feb 8, 2008 - 69 comments

The return of BIG acting. Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jan 5, 2008 - 61 comments

Unhappy with her hair style, a bride flips out just hours before her wedding. Sobbing and screaming, she goes into the hotel washroom, rips apart her coiffure, and cuts her own hair. The episode is caught on video, posted to YouTube, and Farkalarity ensues. But the plot thickens. It turns out the bride is 22 year-old aspiring actress Jodi Behan, and the film was made by Toronto-based Ryerson University grad Ingrid Hass. It's a hoax, designed to put a lock on their film careers. We'll see more from these girls. Thursday on the Tonight Show, for a start.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium on Feb 1, 2007 - 65 comments

Good Day Mr. Kubrick! In 1984 Stanley Kubrick placed an ad in Variety requesting audition tapes from unknown actors for his next movie, "Full Metal Jacket." This is allegedly one of those tapes.
posted by KevinSkomsvold on Oct 26, 2006 - 57 comments

As Bollywood goes global its becoming more cosmopolitan - and embracing one of the most controversial aspects of globalization - "Westerners will do a lot of things on camera that Indian's just won't do," says Kaneez F. Khan, a Chennai-based producer. "It's easier just to outsource the role to someone who doesn't have anything at stake." (via.)
posted by Jos Bleau on Jun 22, 2006 - 22 comments

Real-Life Tekken.
posted by fandango_matt on Jun 19, 2006 - 28 comments

The Room: The Movie. Triple-threat (actor/writer/director) Tommy Wiseau made his cinematic debut in 2003 with the The Room (see trailer and various scenes), "a blend between a softcore porn flick and a Tennessee Williams stageplay." Wiseau ("who's not just one of the most unusual looking and sounding-with an unidentifiable Eastern European accent-leading men ever to grace the screen, but a narcissist nonpareil whose movie makes Vincent Gallo's "The Brown Bunny" seem the apotheosis of cinematic self-restraint...may be something of a first: A movie that prompts most of its viewers to ask for their money back-before even 30 minutes have passed." - Variety), allegedly raised $6 million outside Hollywood to cover production and marketing costs of the self-described "black comedy about love, passion, betrayal and lies" (see various rough dress rehersals). Audience members, including comedian David Cross, have been "marveling at the bizarre editing, bad bluescreen, uncomfortably explicit sex scenes and, of course, the enigma of Wiseau himself" as the film played monthly for years in Los Angeles. Available on DVD, diehard "roomies" swear by the theatrical experience, shout out their own commentary, hurl spoons at the screen and singalong to the soundtrack. Some call it "The Rocky Horror of the New Millenium" and stage "Room" parties. If you look at the marketing campaign or survived a screening you might see The Room as "a seminar on how NOT to make a movie." [Inspired by Boing Boing]
posted by boost ventilator on Jun 1, 2006 - 28 comments

America's First Superstar. He was the highest paid actor in the world, beloved by fans so passionate about his performances that a riot (23 people killed, more than a hundred wounded) ensued when a rival dared to perform the role that had made him famous. He enjoyed all the trappings of a superstar's life: portraits taken by America's most famous photographer, a large mansion (now a historic landmark), and of course a scandalous divorce trial (he lost). He was also one of the most prominent book collectors in the country. Edwin Forrest was born 200 years ago.
posted by matteo on Mar 21, 2006 - 19 comments

RIP Andreas Katsulas ...and G'Kar, and Commander Tomalak, and the big screen's one-armed man, and ... damn.
posted by WolfDaddy on Feb 14, 2006 - 60 comments

Everything's Coming up Rosie Just further proof that Ms. O'Donnell is one of the finest actresses of this generation, nay, of this millennium.
posted by rokabiri on May 6, 2005 - 38 comments

Cleveland Press Shakespeare Photographs Er, no, not photographs of Shakespeare--that would be difficult--but of Shakespeare's plays in performance, 1870-1982. Covers productions in all media; photographs can be browsed by dramatic genre (tragedy, comedy, etc.). On a related note, see also Harry Rusche's Shakespeare Illustrated (outstanding and extensive site devoted to nineteenth-century paintings of scenes from Shakespeare's plays).
posted by thomas j wise on Sep 27, 2003 - 6 comments

Eric Conveys an Emotion. Not just the easy ones like fear, annoyance, and did I leave the oven on?, but also the universal states of the human condition: realizing Dan Quayle is your father, the blue screen of death, caught downloading naughty pictures, erectile dysfunction. Requests cheerfully accepted.
posted by Wet Spot on Apr 18, 2003 - 18 comments

Scooby Doo stage play debuts in Toronto and former Kids In The Hall alumni are implicated in its production. Deconstructed French farce, post-modernism run amuck, or yet another sign of the impending teevee apocalyse? (via BoingBoing)
posted by MrBaliHai on Dec 5, 2001 - 1 comment

Anthony Hopkins cares less about his movies than you do. Wow, I like his attitude toward acting and the industry. He's the polar opposite of the typical Hollywood pretentious types. What's wrong with some apathy in your life anyhow?
posted by skallas on Aug 21, 2001 - 17 comments

The Simpsons Get Respectable in this play where all the characters from the show act out Hamlet? It's a one-man show in New Jersey, but I'd pay to see this. It proves Hamlet's weird universality, but seeing Apu as "the first murderer" has got to be a rush. (via TV Tattle)
posted by rev- on Aug 3, 2001 - 20 comments

Voices In My Head... Call me crazy, but I think casting "celebrity voices" in animated flix is counter-intuitive. Think back to the classic Disney movies - "Pinocchio" and "101 Dalmations" come to mind - and the fact that they regularly used professional voice-actors, not a cast of celebrities-du-jour. With the new trend in animated movies, I find myself picturing the celebrity doing the voice, not the animated character of the story. Quick - what's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the movie "Aladdin?" Robin Williams as the Genie, I'd wager. Your thoughts on this weighty matter?
posted by davidmsc on May 18, 2001 - 36 comments

Tom Hanks = the Jimmy Stewart of our day? one of Salon's useful popular media pieces, but nothing you couldn't read on Sunday Arts section of the Times, such pieces being the Holy Ghost of Salon's Trinity (see inside for the Father and the Son)...
posted by MattD on Jan 12, 2001 - 12 comments