Rachel Stavis, billed as the “Hollywood Exorcist,” is channeling her creativity for a number of upcoming scripted projects.
Stavis is an author and filmmaker whose day job — as a “non-denominational exorcist on a mission to create global change by eradicating darkness from one person or place at a time,” per her bio – has put her in the employ of studio chiefs, movie stars and global political figures.
Stavis’ work ranges from the personal and therapeutic to paranormal investigations, and content makers are taking notice. Stavis is currently in the casting phase for her feature directorial debut “Da Wee Do Wa,” for which she also wrote the script. The film explores generational trauma suffered by women in the context of body horror. XYZ Films is in the mix to produce the project. V, formerly known as Eve Ensler, is on board as an executive producer. Acclaimed multi-hyphenate and “Better Things” creator...
Stavis is an author and filmmaker whose day job — as a “non-denominational exorcist on a mission to create global change by eradicating darkness from one person or place at a time,” per her bio – has put her in the employ of studio chiefs, movie stars and global political figures.
Stavis’ work ranges from the personal and therapeutic to paranormal investigations, and content makers are taking notice. Stavis is currently in the casting phase for her feature directorial debut “Da Wee Do Wa,” for which she also wrote the script. The film explores generational trauma suffered by women in the context of body horror. XYZ Films is in the mix to produce the project. V, formerly known as Eve Ensler, is on board as an executive producer. Acclaimed multi-hyphenate and “Better Things” creator...
- 4/24/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
“Harry Potter” franchise professor Miriam Margolyes told News Corp Australia’s News.com.au that she was approached by Marvel to star in a project described to her as “a story about witches. But she ultimately turned it down due to its location, along with the fact that playing the Potter films’ Pomona Sprout had her reluctant to play in the magic world again. Given the timing and Marvel’s projects in development, it appears to be “WandaVision” spinoff miniseries “Agatha.”
The actress explained in the interview, published last year, that the show’s location was a problem for her. “I don’t like America and I didn’t want to be in Georgia for four months,” she said. “So I just said, ‘well, I want a million pounds’ and they said, ‘you can have half a million,’ and I said, ‘no, I don’t want to do it,’ so it just stopped.
The actress explained in the interview, published last year, that the show’s location was a problem for her. “I don’t like America and I didn’t want to be in Georgia for four months,” she said. “So I just said, ‘well, I want a million pounds’ and they said, ‘you can have half a million,’ and I said, ‘no, I don’t want to do it,’ so it just stopped.
- 3/16/2024
- by Stephanie Kaloi
- The Wrap
10 Things I Hate About Julia Stiles
I hate that her idgaf attitude was not present in more 90s teen rom coms.
I hate that I totally forgot about the movie Save The Last Dance.
I hate that she doesn’t get the respect she deserves.
I hate that I thought she was in that movie Swimfan.
I hate that she got stuck doing generic rom coms.
I hate that her character in the Jason Bourne franchise never got a spin-off.
I hate that I really haven’t seen much of her later work.
I hate that she tricked me into liking Shakespeare as a teen.
But most of all, I hate the way I don’t hate her – not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all. Oh, and I hate that I don’t know what the heck happened to her?
So let’s find out: Wtf Happened to.
I hate that her idgaf attitude was not present in more 90s teen rom coms.
I hate that I totally forgot about the movie Save The Last Dance.
I hate that she doesn’t get the respect she deserves.
I hate that I thought she was in that movie Swimfan.
I hate that she got stuck doing generic rom coms.
I hate that her character in the Jason Bourne franchise never got a spin-off.
I hate that I really haven’t seen much of her later work.
I hate that she tricked me into liking Shakespeare as a teen.
But most of all, I hate the way I don’t hate her – not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all. Oh, and I hate that I don’t know what the heck happened to her?
So let’s find out: Wtf Happened to.
- 11/24/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Exclusive: British producer Rabia Sultana (Sour Milk) has announced the launch of her production company, Sultana Film, unveiling details on two projects that she has in development.
Sultana Film’s mission is to celebrate and bring light to a multicultural catalog of films showcasing various cultures and people. The first film in development at the company, titled Numbed, is a drama based on the life of director Zulaika Velazquez. A three-time Tony nominee in Excellence in Theatre, Valezquez’s previous work includes Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues.
The second project in the works at Sultana Film is a darkly comedic fantasy pic titled Blink. Set in a world where everyone has an odd affliction that goes away when they get a terminal illness, it follows a young woman who can’t blink as she joins forces with an Als patient. Blink‘s script by Kyle Lavore and Amy Fruchtman...
Sultana Film’s mission is to celebrate and bring light to a multicultural catalog of films showcasing various cultures and people. The first film in development at the company, titled Numbed, is a drama based on the life of director Zulaika Velazquez. A three-time Tony nominee in Excellence in Theatre, Valezquez’s previous work includes Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues.
The second project in the works at Sultana Film is a darkly comedic fantasy pic titled Blink. Set in a world where everyone has an odd affliction that goes away when they get a terminal illness, it follows a young woman who can’t blink as she joins forces with an Als patient. Blink‘s script by Kyle Lavore and Amy Fruchtman...
- 8/30/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Doom Patrol has found its Madame Rouge in The Flight Attendant‘s Michelle Gomez.
Gomez, who also appeared as Madam Satan in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, will join as a series regular and act alongside Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby and Matt Bomer in Doom Patrol season 3. She will appear as the DC Universe’s complicated and electrifying eccentric, who arrives at Doom Manor with a very specific mission… if only she could remember it.
In Doom Patrol, the ragtag group consists of superhero outcasts Cliff Steele aka Robotman (Brendan Fraser), Larry Trainor aka Negative Man (Bomer), Jane aka Crazy Jane (Guerrero), Rita Farr aka Elasti-Woman (Bowlby), and Victor Stone aka Cyborg (Joivan Wade). All of them have experienced trauma that gave them their special abilities, but with the guidance of The Chief (Timothy Dalton), they come together to help investigate phenomena as unique as them. When The Chief disappears,...
Gomez, who also appeared as Madam Satan in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, will join as a series regular and act alongside Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby and Matt Bomer in Doom Patrol season 3. She will appear as the DC Universe’s complicated and electrifying eccentric, who arrives at Doom Manor with a very specific mission… if only she could remember it.
In Doom Patrol, the ragtag group consists of superhero outcasts Cliff Steele aka Robotman (Brendan Fraser), Larry Trainor aka Negative Man (Bomer), Jane aka Crazy Jane (Guerrero), Rita Farr aka Elasti-Woman (Bowlby), and Victor Stone aka Cyborg (Joivan Wade). All of them have experienced trauma that gave them their special abilities, but with the guidance of The Chief (Timothy Dalton), they come together to help investigate phenomena as unique as them. When The Chief disappears,...
- 3/10/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
Katherine Helmond, who played the ditzy Tate matriarch on the groundbreaking 1970s comedy Soap and later starred on Who’s the Boss?, among many other roles, died February 23 of Alzheimer’s complications at her home in Los Angeles. She was 89. Apa announced the news.
Helmond is best known for her roles as the flighty Jessica Tate on ABC’s 1977-81 ensemble primetime soap opera sitcom Soap and as the sexy and wise Mona Robinson — who showed that romance and excitement are not over for older women — opposite Tony Danza, Judith Light and Alyssa Milano on ABC’s 1984-92 series Who’s the Boss?
She received four Best Actress Emmy Award nominations for Soap and back-to-back noms for Who’s the Boss? in 1988-89. Helmond also scored a Best Actress Golden Globe Award for Soap in 1981, another for Supporting Actress in Who’s the Boss in 1989 and a second a Globes...
Helmond is best known for her roles as the flighty Jessica Tate on ABC’s 1977-81 ensemble primetime soap opera sitcom Soap and as the sexy and wise Mona Robinson — who showed that romance and excitement are not over for older women — opposite Tony Danza, Judith Light and Alyssa Milano on ABC’s 1984-92 series Who’s the Boss?
She received four Best Actress Emmy Award nominations for Soap and back-to-back noms for Who’s the Boss? in 1988-89. Helmond also scored a Best Actress Golden Globe Award for Soap in 1981, another for Supporting Actress in Who’s the Boss in 1989 and a second a Globes...
- 3/1/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Torch Song’, ‘Jerry Springer The Opera’ Among Off Broadway’s Lortel Awards Nominees – Complete List
The name Jerry Springer isn’t one you’d likely connect with Off Broadway’s prestigious Lucille Lortel Awards, but there he is, or the opera named after him anyway, with 4 nominations.
The Off-Broadway League announced nominees for the 2018 Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway today. See the full list of nominees below.
This year’s awards ceremony, to be hosted by Laura Benanti and Jason Jones, who appear together on TBS’s The Detour, is set for Sunday, May 6, at the NYU Skirball Center. The evening will honor Tony-winning playwright and performer Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues) with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and longstanding Off-Broadway company Wp Theater for their Outstanding Body of Work.
Also this year, the Lortel Awards will posthumously elect composer Michael Friedman onto the Playwrights’ Sidewalk in front of the Lucille Lortel Theatre in Manhattan’s West Village. The 41-year-old Friedman, who won an...
The Off-Broadway League announced nominees for the 2018 Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway today. See the full list of nominees below.
This year’s awards ceremony, to be hosted by Laura Benanti and Jason Jones, who appear together on TBS’s The Detour, is set for Sunday, May 6, at the NYU Skirball Center. The evening will honor Tony-winning playwright and performer Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues) with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and longstanding Off-Broadway company Wp Theater for their Outstanding Body of Work.
Also this year, the Lortel Awards will posthumously elect composer Michael Friedman onto the Playwrights’ Sidewalk in front of the Lucille Lortel Theatre in Manhattan’s West Village. The 41-year-old Friedman, who won an...
- 4/4/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Today we remember Eve Ensler and the groundbreaking off-Broadway opening of her feminist phenomenon, The Vagina Monologues.
- 10/3/2017
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Jane Fonda is opening up about a traumatic experience from her childhood.
In a candid interview with actress Brie Larson for The Edit, the Grace and Frankie star reveals for the first time that she was sexually abused.
Watch: 5 Things We Love About Jane Fonda
"To show you the extent to which a patriarchy takes a toll on females, I've been raped," she says. "I've been sexually abused as a child."
"I know young girls who've been raped and didn't even know it was rape," she continues. "They think, 'It must have been because I said 'no' the wrong way.' One of the great things the women's movement has done is to make us realize that [rape and abuse is] not our fault. We were violated and it's not right."
Fonda also told the Room star that she was once fired from a job, all because she wouldn't accept her boss' sexual advances.
"I've been fired...
In a candid interview with actress Brie Larson for The Edit, the Grace and Frankie star reveals for the first time that she was sexually abused.
Watch: 5 Things We Love About Jane Fonda
"To show you the extent to which a patriarchy takes a toll on females, I've been raped," she says. "I've been sexually abused as a child."
"I know young girls who've been raped and didn't even know it was rape," she continues. "They think, 'It must have been because I said 'no' the wrong way.' One of the great things the women's movement has done is to make us realize that [rape and abuse is] not our fault. We were violated and it's not right."
Fonda also told the Room star that she was once fired from a job, all because she wouldn't accept her boss' sexual advances.
"I've been fired...
- 3/2/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
A version of this article originally appeared on ew.com.
Emma Watson loves to read.
The actress has that in common with her brainy Harry Potter character Hermione as well as bookish Belle, who she plays in the much-anticipated film Beauty and the Beast, out March 17. In addition to being a bookworm, Watson is also an outspoken feminist and as well as a Un Women Goodwill Ambassador and promoter of the organization’s HeForShe movement, which is dedicated to recruiting men into the movement for gender equality. As a response to her work with the Un, she launched the feminist...
Emma Watson loves to read.
The actress has that in common with her brainy Harry Potter character Hermione as well as bookish Belle, who she plays in the much-anticipated film Beauty and the Beast, out March 17. In addition to being a bookworm, Watson is also an outspoken feminist and as well as a Un Women Goodwill Ambassador and promoter of the organization’s HeForShe movement, which is dedicated to recruiting men into the movement for gender equality. As a response to her work with the Un, she launched the feminist...
- 2/21/2017
- by Madeline Raynor
- PEOPLE.com
It’s been five years since Daisy Coleman was found on her family’s front lawn in Missouri, wearing only a T-shirt and yoga pants, her hair turned brittle by the cold.
It’s been five years since Coleman, then 14, alleged she had been sexually assaulted by Matthew Barnett, a teenage boy in their small town. Coleman said Barnett plied her with alcohol at a party the night before she was found outside, and then raped her.
And it’s been five years since that accusation led to a felony sexual assault charge against Barnett that was later dropped, before...
It’s been five years since Coleman, then 14, alleged she had been sexually assaulted by Matthew Barnett, a teenage boy in their small town. Coleman said Barnett plied her with alcohol at a party the night before she was found outside, and then raped her.
And it’s been five years since that accusation led to a felony sexual assault charge against Barnett that was later dropped, before...
- 2/7/2017
- by Jeff Truesdell
- PEOPLE.com
World premiering last night at Doc NYC, City of Joy tells the story of a center for young women in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo dedicated to helping them overcome the aftermath of rape, abuse and traumatic violence. Directed by Madeleine Gavin, well known in the independent film world for editing films like Mean Creek, Meadowland and, most recently, Nerve, the film documents the relationship between the center’s three founders — Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Denis Mukwege, a Congo doctor; The Vagina Monologues playwright and actress Eve Ensler; and Congolese human rights activist Christine Schuler-Deschryver — while also […]...
- 11/12/2016
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
“Her Story” is the only indie web series to be nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category, and it just so happens to be about transgender women. Not only that, “Her Story” stars two transgender actresses, and its co-creator is transgender. Unfortunately, that is a rarity in Hollywood.
“I know enough about this industry to know we were a long shot,” said an ecstatic Jen Richards by phone on Friday, the day the nominations went live. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Richards wrote and produced “Her Story,” a romantic dramedy about three women living in Los Angeles. Richards also stars in the series as Violet, a trans woman who must confront her attraction to women when she meets a cute reporter named Allie, played by co-creator Laura Zak. Violet is stuck in an abusive situation with a man, and worries that...
“I know enough about this industry to know we were a long shot,” said an ecstatic Jen Richards by phone on Friday, the day the nominations went live. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Richards wrote and produced “Her Story,” a romantic dramedy about three women living in Los Angeles. Richards also stars in the series as Violet, a trans woman who must confront her attraction to women when she meets a cute reporter named Allie, played by co-creator Laura Zak. Violet is stuck in an abusive situation with a man, and worries that...
- 7/21/2016
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Drew Hodges is at a loss for words. Asked if he’s surprised at the life he’s leading -- did he imagine he’d grow up to fly around the world orchestrating scenes with great actors and artists for his own wildly influential agency -- he pauses three entire seconds. “I wish I had an answer for you,” he says. “It's like, Come for the veal, stay for the floor show.”
You might not know Drew Hodges’ name, but if you’ve enjoyed some form of popular culture in the past decade, you’re living in a world he helped create. "When I started, the idea of theater was still very much that ‘fabulous invalid’ thing," he says, “sort of dying, old, kind of nostalgic. I was lucky enough to work on a lot of stuff that started to chip away at that."
Twenty years ago, art-directing for his small design firm’s music,...
You might not know Drew Hodges’ name, but if you’ve enjoyed some form of popular culture in the past decade, you’re living in a world he helped create. "When I started, the idea of theater was still very much that ‘fabulous invalid’ thing," he says, “sort of dying, old, kind of nostalgic. I was lucky enough to work on a lot of stuff that started to chip away at that."
Twenty years ago, art-directing for his small design firm’s music,...
- 5/6/2016
- by Helen Eisenbach
- www.culturecatch.com
Ali Stroker & Orange Is The New Black's Lin Tucci to Bring The Vagina Monologues to New York Prisons
Broadway amp TV actress Ali Stroker Spring Awakening, Glee and Orange is the New Black co-star Lin Tucci are set to star in a special production of Eve Ensler's award-winning play The Vagina Monologues which will tour a group of N.Y. State Correctional Facilities in April from 418-422 for V-Day www.vday.org, the global activist movement which aims to end violence against women amp girls.
- 3/31/2016
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
"I'm in love with 'Mad Max: Fury Road,'" Eve Ensler told press and academy members at an afternoon tea celebrating the critically acclaimed Oscar-contender on Monday, January 4. She added that the post-apocalyptic actioner is "genius, riveting, brilliant, feminist, radical in every way." -Break- Ace Eddie Awards nominations: 'Mad Max' & 'Star Wars' in, 'Spotlight' out Ensler, the playwright and feminist activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues," seems like an unlikely participant in director George Miller's dystopian action thriller, but Miller sought her out after hearing her on the radio in Australia. "Eve happened to be down in Australia talking at a human rights convention," he remembered. "I thought, everything she's saying in this extended interview is exactly what we're thinking about, and wouldn't it be great if she were able to somehow come and work wi..."'...
- 1/6/2016
- Gold Derby
’Mad Max: Fury Road’ doesn’t hit theaters until Friday — Thursday night in some locations — but the reviews are in. George Miller’s latest film about a dystopian future is a cinematic tour de force. Out of 60 critics on Rotten Tomatoes, only one voice of dissent stands. Whatever you may think about Miller’s “Fury Road,” one thing is clear: this ain’t your 1979 Mad Max. Miller brought in Eve Ensler who wrote “The Vagina Monologues” to consult on how the women would react differently to the same traumas. Our own Drew McWeeny confirmed part of “Fury Road” tells the story of three generations of women fighting for their future in a world gone mad. Charlize Theron looks like she’s going to bite the head off an albino minion and bathe in his blood at any given moment. This terrifies a certain subset of men, even before they’ve seen the movie.
- 5/13/2015
- by Donna Dickens
- Hitfix
The long-awaited sequel, Mad Max: Fury Road, appears to be a pulse-pounding, adrenaline-filled tour-de-force of intense, post-apocalyptic action. Yet, the situation of Tom Hardy’s stoic title character won’t be the only dramatic dilemma in focus. The film has Max rescuing a group of traumatized young women, and apparently the services of the playwright behind The Vagina Monologues was recruited to help the actresses convey their characters’ scarred psyches. In an interview with Esquire, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who plays Splendid, one of the five ladies Max helps liberate, discusses the unconventional measures George Miller used to instill depth to their characters. Eve Ensler, playwright of The Vagina Monologues, was reportedly brought on board Fury Road as a consultant, helping the actresses understand the trauma of their characters. As Huntington-Whitely explains of Ensler: She's spent time in the Congo working with rape victims and women who have ...
- 5/5/2015
- cinemablend.com
Rosie O'Donnell says temptation is everywhere now that she's single ... especially when she's face to face with some obsequious students from Barnard College. The freshly single O'Donnell showed up over the weekend at "The Vagina Monologues" in NYC. Rosie announced she and wife Michelle Rounds were going their separate ways, the day before she released her HBO documentary talking about life as a married woman. Rosie's had a rough week -- in addition to everything...
- 2/9/2015
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Blogger Howard Sherman spoke this morning play's writer, Eve Ensler who shared her reaction to the news, and the still evolving situation. She shared 'This is my perspective on it The Vagina Monologues is a play. It's one play. It was never meant to speak for all women and it was never a play about what it means to be a woman. It was a play about what it means to have a vagina. It was very specific. I don't I ever said that the definition of a woman - that a woman is defined by having a vagina. I think we have to be able to live in a world where talking about our vaginas is legitimate, due to that three and half billion women have them.'...
- 1/17/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Actor Feryna Wazheir has already marked her presence in films like Ketan Mehta’s Rang Rasiya with Randeep Hooda and Raj Kanwar’s Sadiyaan opposite Luv Sinha. In these couple of films, she has already had the chance to work with veteran actors like Rekha, Rishi Kapoor and Hema Malini, who costarred in the films with her. Besides working in acclaimed films, Feryna was a part of the popular play The Vagina Monologues by award- winning play-writer Eve Ensler.
It might not be a very large repertoire of work, but Feryna’s already got noticed not only by the critics but also the audience. And now sources tells us that the British- Asian actress has started taking Hindi Devanagari classes for her upcoming films.
A source close to the actress revealed, “Feryna is already proficient in Hindi and has shot for her much acclaimed film Rang Rasiya in sync sound.
It might not be a very large repertoire of work, but Feryna’s already got noticed not only by the critics but also the audience. And now sources tells us that the British- Asian actress has started taking Hindi Devanagari classes for her upcoming films.
A source close to the actress revealed, “Feryna is already proficient in Hindi and has shot for her much acclaimed film Rang Rasiya in sync sound.
- 1/8/2015
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
When it comes to women's issues, Scandal star and activist Kerry Washington is always tuned-in - and hands-on. She has merged her love of style with a cause that's dear to her heart, teaming up with the Allstate Foundation to design a limited-edition purse benefitting victims of domestic and financial abuse. "I actually fell into this work as an artist," Washington tells People of her dedication to the cause. "Back in 2000, I had just finished filming Save the Last Dance, and my friend and costar Julia Stiles invited me to watch her in Eve Ensler's play The Vagina Monologues.
- 10/30/2014
- by Janine Rayford Rubenstein
- PEOPLE.com
We're not going to lie - when we found out that Zoe Birkett was entering the Big Brother house earlier this week, the Digital Spy office got very excited indeed. What a blast from the past - and how much the "little podgy kid from Pop Idol with the dreadlocks" (her words, not ours) has grown up in the last 13 years. But it got us thinking - what happened to the other contestants? We put on our deerstalker, pulled out our magnifying glass and started digging...
Series One
Korben
Korben, whose real name is Chris Niblett, now seems to be going by the hybrid Korben Niblett. He previously worked at Jemma Kidd Make Up School, but according to his LinkedIn page (oh yes), earlier this year he launched his own company, Evolve Beauty. Not so much of the singing anymore, then...
Rik Waller
Well, for one thing, he's not Rik anymore - it's Richard now!
Series One
Korben
Korben, whose real name is Chris Niblett, now seems to be going by the hybrid Korben Niblett. He previously worked at Jemma Kidd Make Up School, but according to his LinkedIn page (oh yes), earlier this year he launched his own company, Evolve Beauty. Not so much of the singing anymore, then...
Rik Waller
Well, for one thing, he's not Rik anymore - it's Richard now!
- 7/16/2014
- Digital Spy
Kate del Castillo, a soap opera star with a string of hit telenovelas that have made her a household name in Latin America, might just be the most famous actress you’ve never heard of.
While the Mexico City native became famous playing fiercely strong women, it was her turn as a no-holds-barred drug trafficker in the 2011 Telemundo soap La Reina del Sur — a show with season finale ratings that beat English language broadcast networks in major markets — that cemented del Castillo’s status as one of Latin America’s most popular celebrities. Now she’s prepared to stun fans...
While the Mexico City native became famous playing fiercely strong women, it was her turn as a no-holds-barred drug trafficker in the 2011 Telemundo soap La Reina del Sur — a show with season finale ratings that beat English language broadcast networks in major markets — that cemented del Castillo’s status as one of Latin America’s most popular celebrities. Now she’s prepared to stun fans...
- 5/16/2014
- by Nina Terrero
- EW.com - PopWatch
While recent host Seth Rogen took nearly five years to return to “Saturday Night Live,” Charlize Theron makes that period look downright short by comparison. Her one and only other hosting gig took place in November 2000, making tonight’s return thirteen and a half years in the making. (To be fair, filming “Aeon Flux” took a lot out of everyone involved with that production, so we can’t fault her too much.) While preferring dramas to comedies in terms of her film choices, Theron does have “A Million Ways To Die In The West” on the way to your local movie theatre. Pairing her with Seth MacFarlane in that film might seem strange, but that’s probably precisely the point. That film sure looks a long way from "Monster" and "North Country." So maybe we’ll see a different performer than the one that graced Studio 8H at the turn of the century.
- 5/11/2014
- by Ryan McGee
- Hitfix
I was going to start this article by saying that I don't want to take anything away from Jared Leto's performance in "Dallas Buyers Club". But in a sense, I do. The performance certainly holds up as a piece of art, but as a part of our culture, I believe it needs contextualizing.
I am not the first person to suggest this. Chelsea Hawkins wrote in PolicyMic that "Dallas Buyers Club" fails trans actors while Paris Lees in the Independent was perhaps more equivocal but still asked "Why can't we cast trans people in trans roles?". Of course, nobody wants to limit trans actors to trans roles, but in the context of the status quo and general acceptability of handing the role to an actor such as Leto, it would be an undeniably liberating move.
But wait, you say - Leto was playing a pre-op trans woman. Surely it would be appropriate for the character to be played by a biological male? This doesn't strike me as exquisite logic. Laverne Cox famously spoke out against the objectifying focus on the status of trans people's genitalia, while Janet Mock talks about the obsession with "passing", pointing out that in her mind she is not passing as anything, but simply being herself.
The concept of "passing" betrays a corrosive misunderstanding that being transgender is in some sense a performance as opposed to a reality. By casting a well-known cis actor in a trans role, it makes it all about the performance. Anyone who has watched "Orange is the New Black" will know that watching a real trans actor in a trans role has an entirely different, utterly compelling and humanizing effect.
With that in mind, I thought it worth highlighting ten actors who could have played the role of Rayon. This is not because they meet the specifics that Leto brought to the character. The role was a fictional one, not based on a real-life person like Matthew McConaughey's Ron Woodroof, a fact which would seem to afford a great deal of freedom and possibility. In this case, the filmmakers chose not to pursue that route. But that doesn't stop us from imagining.
1. Harmony Santana
Santana's role in "Gun Hill Road" led to a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Independent Spirit Awards, the first trans actor nominated for a major acting award and a hugely significant milestone.
2. Laverne Cox
Breakout star of "Orange is the New Black", passionate trans advocate and exceedingly eloquent educator of Katie Couric, Laverne Cox's star is rising fast and is a delight to witness.
3. Jamie Clayton
Clayton hosted VH1's TRANSform Me alongside Laverne Cox, but she is also an actress of note, with perhaps her most high profile gig to date being her appearance in two episodes of HBO's "Hung".
4. Stephanie Michelini
Fellow Francophone director Sebastian Lifshitz showed "Dallas Buyers Club" director John-Paul Vallee how it's done by casting a trans actor in his feature film "Wild Side". The film won the Teddy at the Berlinale and a clutch of other festival awards, including a Best Actress trophy for Michelini.
5. Alexandra Billings
With roles on "E.R." and "Grey's Anatomy" among her credits, Billings made history as the first trans actor to appear in a transgender role on American television.
6. Elizabeth Coffey
Ok, so she hasn't done any screen acting for a while, but let's pay our dues regardless. Known as a "Dreamlander" as one of John Waters' regular cast of actors, Coffey played a transgender role in the iconic "Pink Flamingoes". Two years later, she returned to play a non-trans role for Waters in 1974's "Female Trouble".
7. Calpernia Addams
Addams first made the news for tragic reasons when her soldier boyfriend was murdered by his colleagues on discovery of their relationship. A subsequent fiction film of events led to her meeting Jane Fonda at Sundance and conceiving the idea for an all-transgender production of "The Vagina Monologues". Addams was later invited to perform in the 10th anniversary edition of the play alongside Fonda, Glenn Close and Salma Hayek.
7. Eva Robin's
Robin's considers herself androgynous rather than transgender, having been born male and then developed feminine features naturally. Her most famous role was in Dario Argento's horror film "Tenebrae". While the film's politics are certainly thorny, a non-cisgendered actor playing a female role for a celebrated director is a shamefully uncommon occurrence.
9. Bibi Andersen
Competition for a place in Almodovar's stable of actresses is fierce, but Bibi Andersen clocked up no less than four credits in Almodovar feature films in the late eighties and early nineties. It is also rumoured that it was Almodovar's desire to attend the 1988 Oscars with Andersen as opposed to his leading lady Carmen Maura that caused the 18-year professional rift between Maura and the director.
10. Candis Cayne
Following a role on "Nip / Tuck", Cayne went one further by becoming the first ever transgender actress to play a recurring transgender role on primetime as Carmelita in ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money".
Want more /bent? Follow us on Twitter.
I am not the first person to suggest this. Chelsea Hawkins wrote in PolicyMic that "Dallas Buyers Club" fails trans actors while Paris Lees in the Independent was perhaps more equivocal but still asked "Why can't we cast trans people in trans roles?". Of course, nobody wants to limit trans actors to trans roles, but in the context of the status quo and general acceptability of handing the role to an actor such as Leto, it would be an undeniably liberating move.
But wait, you say - Leto was playing a pre-op trans woman. Surely it would be appropriate for the character to be played by a biological male? This doesn't strike me as exquisite logic. Laverne Cox famously spoke out against the objectifying focus on the status of trans people's genitalia, while Janet Mock talks about the obsession with "passing", pointing out that in her mind she is not passing as anything, but simply being herself.
The concept of "passing" betrays a corrosive misunderstanding that being transgender is in some sense a performance as opposed to a reality. By casting a well-known cis actor in a trans role, it makes it all about the performance. Anyone who has watched "Orange is the New Black" will know that watching a real trans actor in a trans role has an entirely different, utterly compelling and humanizing effect.
With that in mind, I thought it worth highlighting ten actors who could have played the role of Rayon. This is not because they meet the specifics that Leto brought to the character. The role was a fictional one, not based on a real-life person like Matthew McConaughey's Ron Woodroof, a fact which would seem to afford a great deal of freedom and possibility. In this case, the filmmakers chose not to pursue that route. But that doesn't stop us from imagining.
1. Harmony Santana
Santana's role in "Gun Hill Road" led to a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Independent Spirit Awards, the first trans actor nominated for a major acting award and a hugely significant milestone.
2. Laverne Cox
Breakout star of "Orange is the New Black", passionate trans advocate and exceedingly eloquent educator of Katie Couric, Laverne Cox's star is rising fast and is a delight to witness.
3. Jamie Clayton
Clayton hosted VH1's TRANSform Me alongside Laverne Cox, but she is also an actress of note, with perhaps her most high profile gig to date being her appearance in two episodes of HBO's "Hung".
4. Stephanie Michelini
Fellow Francophone director Sebastian Lifshitz showed "Dallas Buyers Club" director John-Paul Vallee how it's done by casting a trans actor in his feature film "Wild Side". The film won the Teddy at the Berlinale and a clutch of other festival awards, including a Best Actress trophy for Michelini.
5. Alexandra Billings
With roles on "E.R." and "Grey's Anatomy" among her credits, Billings made history as the first trans actor to appear in a transgender role on American television.
6. Elizabeth Coffey
Ok, so she hasn't done any screen acting for a while, but let's pay our dues regardless. Known as a "Dreamlander" as one of John Waters' regular cast of actors, Coffey played a transgender role in the iconic "Pink Flamingoes". Two years later, she returned to play a non-trans role for Waters in 1974's "Female Trouble".
7. Calpernia Addams
Addams first made the news for tragic reasons when her soldier boyfriend was murdered by his colleagues on discovery of their relationship. A subsequent fiction film of events led to her meeting Jane Fonda at Sundance and conceiving the idea for an all-transgender production of "The Vagina Monologues". Addams was later invited to perform in the 10th anniversary edition of the play alongside Fonda, Glenn Close and Salma Hayek.
7. Eva Robin's
Robin's considers herself androgynous rather than transgender, having been born male and then developed feminine features naturally. Her most famous role was in Dario Argento's horror film "Tenebrae". While the film's politics are certainly thorny, a non-cisgendered actor playing a female role for a celebrated director is a shamefully uncommon occurrence.
9. Bibi Andersen
Competition for a place in Almodovar's stable of actresses is fierce, but Bibi Andersen clocked up no less than four credits in Almodovar feature films in the late eighties and early nineties. It is also rumoured that it was Almodovar's desire to attend the 1988 Oscars with Andersen as opposed to his leading lady Carmen Maura that caused the 18-year professional rift between Maura and the director.
10. Candis Cayne
Following a role on "Nip / Tuck", Cayne went one further by becoming the first ever transgender actress to play a recurring transgender role on primetime as Carmelita in ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money".
Want more /bent? Follow us on Twitter.
- 2/20/2014
- by Matthew Hammett Knott
- Sydney's Buzz
This Video of Vaginas Making Candy Is the Weirdest Thing You'll See Today Oh, that's why they call them Sweet Tarts. By Kate Hakala Perhaps you've already overdosed on Cvs aisle fare, those tiny Dove hearts with demonically addictive qualities, or the vagina-molded chocolate lollipops they sell in the lobby of college productions of The Vagina Monologues. There's just something about Valentine's Day, vaginas, and candy that go together so well. Or, that's the rumor. The ladies over at Uproxx created a bizarrely compelling what-if video that follows the simple hypothetical: "If Vaginas Made Candy." In this alternate confectionery-pussy universe, women can simply masturbate at a gas station and, poof, their vagina delivers a big bag of licorice rope with their orgasm. If you're looking for a punchline or a reason for this video, one won't come. But the [...]...
- 2/13/2014
- by Kate Hakala
- Nerve
One production of The Vagina Monologues has just lost its star. Veteran actress Maria Conchita Alonso, who was set to star in the Spanish-speaking version of the popular play in San Francisco next month, stepped down from her role Friday, Jan. 17 for expressing political support in a Tea Party campaign video. After facing threats of boycotts and protests for backing California Gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly in a bilingual Internet campaign video released last week, Venezuelan-raised Alonso, 56, decided it was best if she stepped down from [...]...
- 1/21/2014
- Us Weekly
Actress Karen Black.
I grew up hearing about Karen Black as far back as I can remember. She would pop up on television and my mother would point her out as a compatriot from their college days at Northwestern University, a mixture of pride and wistfulness in her voice as the memories came back. When I finally got the opportunity to sit down with Karen during the summer of 2007, the venerable actress had turned playwright, with a well-received L.A. production of "The Missouri Waltz," a musical for which she penned the book. Black was alternately eccentric, passionate, grounded and fascinating during our chat, her obvious intelligence shining through the entire proceedings.
“Black brings to all her roles a freewheeling combination of raunch and winsomeness,” Time magazine wrote about her in 1975. “Sometimes she is kittenish. At other times she has an overripe quality that makes her look like the kind...
I grew up hearing about Karen Black as far back as I can remember. She would pop up on television and my mother would point her out as a compatriot from their college days at Northwestern University, a mixture of pride and wistfulness in her voice as the memories came back. When I finally got the opportunity to sit down with Karen during the summer of 2007, the venerable actress had turned playwright, with a well-received L.A. production of "The Missouri Waltz," a musical for which she penned the book. Black was alternately eccentric, passionate, grounded and fascinating during our chat, her obvious intelligence shining through the entire proceedings.
“Black brings to all her roles a freewheeling combination of raunch and winsomeness,” Time magazine wrote about her in 1975. “Sometimes she is kittenish. At other times she has an overripe quality that makes her look like the kind...
- 8/9/2013
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Actor with a natural and rebellious style, she helped to launch the French New Wave
Bernadette Lafont, who has died aged 74, could have claimed to be the first female star of the Nouvelle Vague. François Truffaut chose the sensual, dark-haired, 18-year-old Lafont and her new husband, Gérard Blain, to play lovers in the director's first professional film, Les Mistons (The Mischief-Makers, 1957). In this charming short, shot in Nîmes one summer, a group of pubescent boys spy on Lafont and Blain's lovemaking in the fields. Blain and Lafont were also picked to appear in arguably the first French New Wave feature, Claude Chabrol's Le Beau Serge (1958). In this film, about a young man returning to his childhood home, Lafont played the "village vamp".
Lafont's fresh look and performance style crystallised the movement's ideological and cinematic ambitions. Truffaut and his colleagues found mainstream stars inadequate to their needs, using instead unknown and non-professional actors,...
Bernadette Lafont, who has died aged 74, could have claimed to be the first female star of the Nouvelle Vague. François Truffaut chose the sensual, dark-haired, 18-year-old Lafont and her new husband, Gérard Blain, to play lovers in the director's first professional film, Les Mistons (The Mischief-Makers, 1957). In this charming short, shot in Nîmes one summer, a group of pubescent boys spy on Lafont and Blain's lovemaking in the fields. Blain and Lafont were also picked to appear in arguably the first French New Wave feature, Claude Chabrol's Le Beau Serge (1958). In this film, about a young man returning to his childhood home, Lafont played the "village vamp".
Lafont's fresh look and performance style crystallised the movement's ideological and cinematic ambitions. Truffaut and his colleagues found mainstream stars inadequate to their needs, using instead unknown and non-professional actors,...
- 7/26/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Georgetown University, the oldest Jesuit and Catholic college in the United States, no longer deserves to call itself a Catholic institution, a celebrity alumnus claims.
William Peter Blatty, a 1950 graduate of Georgetown and author of "The Exorcist," filed a complaint against the university on May 31 with Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, D.C.
Blatty argues that Georgetown does not comply with Ex Corde Ecclesiae, former Pope John Paul II’s 1991 decree regarding Catholic universities, The Hoya reports.
Blatty's petition claims to represent "more than 1,200 alumni, students, parents, teachers, and other laity from around the world." Blatty promised in May 2012 he would file a canon lawsuit against Georgetown for allegedly failing to adhere to Catholic principles.
Among the grievances cited, the university failed to ensure "that all official actions and commitments [are] authentically Catholic," to recruit personnel that are willing and able to "promote Catholic identity," to respect Catholic doctrine and...
William Peter Blatty, a 1950 graduate of Georgetown and author of "The Exorcist," filed a complaint against the university on May 31 with Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, D.C.
Blatty argues that Georgetown does not comply with Ex Corde Ecclesiae, former Pope John Paul II’s 1991 decree regarding Catholic universities, The Hoya reports.
Blatty's petition claims to represent "more than 1,200 alumni, students, parents, teachers, and other laity from around the world." Blatty promised in May 2012 he would file a canon lawsuit against Georgetown for allegedly failing to adhere to Catholic principles.
Among the grievances cited, the university failed to ensure "that all official actions and commitments [are] authentically Catholic," to recruit personnel that are willing and able to "promote Catholic identity," to respect Catholic doctrine and...
- 6/8/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Strictly Come Dancing star Lisa Riley has signed a book deal with publishers Orion.
Riley's autobiography Never Judge A Book By Its Cover will be released in November.
The actress and presenter found fame in the '90s when she played Mandy Dingle in Emmerdale.
Riley went on to host You've Been Framed and starred in the TV series Fat Friends, before moving into stage productions of Calendar Girls and The Vagina Monologues.
Last year, she took part in Strictly Come Dancing and surprised the judges and viewers with her dance skills, ending up reaching the semi-finals and finishing fifth.
"To say that I'm excited about my book coming out would be a total understatement!" said Riley.
"After the roller coaster year that I have had I want to share my 'Life Story' up to now with everyone, and feel that as the girl next door (which is what I am!
Riley's autobiography Never Judge A Book By Its Cover will be released in November.
The actress and presenter found fame in the '90s when she played Mandy Dingle in Emmerdale.
Riley went on to host You've Been Framed and starred in the TV series Fat Friends, before moving into stage productions of Calendar Girls and The Vagina Monologues.
Last year, she took part in Strictly Come Dancing and surprised the judges and viewers with her dance skills, ending up reaching the semi-finals and finishing fifth.
"To say that I'm excited about my book coming out would be a total understatement!" said Riley.
"After the roller coaster year that I have had I want to share my 'Life Story' up to now with everyone, and feel that as the girl next door (which is what I am!
- 5/29/2013
- Digital Spy
The Bucks County Playhouse Bcp has announced today that Olivia Oguma Eve Ensler's Emotional Creature will join Adriane Lenox and Andrea McArdle for the limited engagement of The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler and directed by Karen Carpenter. Oguma replaces Elizabeth Ashley who regretfully had to withdraw due to personal reasons and hopes to return to the Playhouse stage in the near future. Performances will be Wednesday, February 13 - Sunday, February 17 at the Bucks County Playhouse 70 South Main Street in New Hope, Pa.
- 2/4/2013
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
The winners of the 3rd Annual Cinema Tropical Awards were announced at a special event at the New York Times headquarters in New York City,celebrating the best of the Latin American film production of the year in five different categories:
- Best Feature Film
- Best Documentary Film
- Best Director, Feature Film
- Best Director, Documentary Film
- Best First Film
The Cinema Tropical Awards are presented in partnership with Voces, Latino Heritage Network of The New York Times and 92YTribeca, with the support of the Mexican Cultural Institute. Special thanks to Lucila Moctezuma and Mario Díaz.
Best Feature Film
- O Som Ao Redor / Neighboring Sounds (Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazil, 2012)
Best Director, Feature Film
- MatÍAs Meyer, Los ÚLtimos Cristeros / The Last Christeros (Mexico, 2011)
Best Documentary Film
- El Salvavidas / The Lifeguard (Maite Alberdi, Chile, 2011)
Best Director, Documentary Film
- JosÉ ÁLvarez, CanÍCula (Mexico, 2011)
Best First Film
- El Estudiante / The Student (Santiago Mitre, Argentina, 2011)
The films were selected from a list of Latin American feature films with a minimum of 60 minutes in length that were premiered between April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012. The winners and final nominees were selected by a six-member jury panel from a list of fiction and documentary films compiled from the selections of a nominating committee composed of 14 film professionals from Latin America, the U.S. and Europe (see list below).
Fiction Jury
Dennis Lim writes about film and popular culture for various publications including The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. He is the founding editor of Moving Image Source, the online publication and research resource of the Museum of the Moving Image and was formerly the film editor of The Village Voice. His work has also appeared in The Believer, The Oxford American, Blender, Spin, Espous, Indiewire, New York Daily News, The Independent on Sunday, The Guardian, and the film quarterly Cinema Scope, where he is a contributing editor. A member of the National Society of Film Critics and the editor of The Village Voice Film Guide (2006), he has served as a member of the New York Film Festival selection committee and he teaches in the Cultural Reporting and Criticism graduate program a New York University.
Matías Piñeiro is a filmmaker and professor at the Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires. His first feature-length work, El hombre robado / The Stolen Man (2007), won awards at the Jeonju International Film Festival and at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival. In 2009, his second feature, Todos mienten / They All Lie, premiered at Bafici (Buenos Aires Festival International de Cine Independiente), where it won two awards. It also won a prize at the Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine. In 2010, he was selected—along with James Benning and Denis Côté—to screen his third film, Rosalinda at the 11th Jeonju Digital Project. Piñeiro recently premiered his most recent film, Viola, at the Toronto Film Festival, and it's slated for a Us release in 2013. He earned a filmmaking degree from Universidad del Cine. His award-winning films have been screened around the world, including at Anthology Film Archives, Festival des 3 Continents, the Festival del film Locarno, the London Film Festival, Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, the Museum of Modern Art, Rencontré Cinémas d’Amerique Latine de Toulouse, and the Viennale.
Frida Torresblanco served as a producer in Spain working on film including The Dancer Upstairs, directed by John Malkovich and starring Javier Bardem, as well as Susan Seidelman’s Gaudi Afternoon. She moved to New York City in 2002 to launch and lead Alfonso Cuaron’s film production company, Esperanto, where she served as Executive Producer and Creative On-Set Producer for The Assassination of Richard Nixon (directed by Niels Mueller, starring Sean Penn), among others. In 2006, Frida joined Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro to produce El laberinto del Fauno / Pan’s Labyrinth (Three Oscars & another three Oscar nominations; three wins & five BAFTA nominations; a nomination for the Palm d’Or and a Golden Globe). The Hollywood Reporter named Frida one of the 50 most powerful Latinos in Hollywood. She also produced Rudo y Cursi (directed by Carlos Cuarón, starring Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna). In 2010, Frida launched her new film production company, Braven Films, with partners Eric Laufer and Giovanna Randall. Her next project, Magic Magic, produced through Braven Films, will star Michael Cera, Juno Temple and Emily Browning.
DocuMentary Jury
Ryan Harrington is the Director of Documentary Programs at the Tribeca Film Institute where he oversees the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, the Tfi Documentary Fund, Tribeca All Access documentary program and the Latin America Media Arts Fund while developing other initiatives and programs that support non-fiction filmmaking. Recent Tfi successes include Give Up Tomorrow, If a Tree Falls, The Redemption of General Butt Naked, The Oath, Enemies of the People, Marathon Boy and Donor Unknown. Independently he is currently working on the feature doc Hungry in America, with filmmakers Kristi Jacobson & Lori Silverbush and Participant Media, that explores why so many people in the USA go without food, and what can be done about it. Harrington managed production for A&E IndieFilms, the theatrical documentary arm of the A&E Network, for four years. Throughout his time there he championed the Oscar-nominated films Murderball and Jesus Camp, and the Sundance hits My Kid Could Paint That and American Teen.
Paula Heredia is a director and editor based in New York. She was awarded an Emmy for the HBO documentary In Memoriam, NYC 9/11/01, and an Ace Eddie Award for the acclaimed documentary Unzipped. Her directorial work includes the documentaries George Plimpton and the Paris Review, Ralph Gibson, and The Couple in the Cage. Her dramatic work includes Having a Baby, Tras La Ventana, Slings and Arrows, and La Cena de Matrimonio. Her short film La Pájara Pinta premiered at the Lincoln Center Film Society LatinBeat Film Festival. Heredia’s editorial work can be seen in the HBO feature-length documentary Addiction, which received the 2007 Emmy Governors Award, and Alive Day Memories—Home from Iraq, executive produced by James Gandolfini for HBO. Her new edit, The Art of Failure: Chuck Connelly Not for Sale and Jacques D'Ambois in China, will air on HBO this summer. Other editorial credits include: Modulations Cinema for the Ear, The Vagina Monologues, Finding Christa and Free Tibet. Paula’s work and creative process is featured in the book: The Art of the Documentary by Megan Cunningham. With partner Larry Garvin, she co-founded Heredia Pictures, heads the international committee of New York Women in Film and Television and serves on the board of advisors of Tribeca All Access and Clementina, Inc.
Chi-hui Yang is a film programmer, lecturer and writer based in New York. As a guest curator, Yang has presented film and video series at film festivals and events internationally, including MoMA's Documentary Fortnight, Robert Flaherty Film Seminar (“The Age of Migration”), Seattle International Film Festival, Washington D.C. International Film Festival and Barcelona Asian Film Festival. From 2000-2010 he was the Director and Programmer of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, the largest showcase of its kind in the Us. Yang is also the programmer of “Cinema Asian America,” a new On-Demand service offered by Comcast and currently a Visiting Scholar at New York University’s Asian/Pacific/American Institute.
Nominating Committee
- Isabel Arrate Fernandez, Idfa, The Netherlands
- Hugo Chaparro, film critic, Colombia
- Lucile De Calan, programmer, Biarritz Latin American Film Festival, France
- Denis de la Roca, programmer, Abu Dhabi Film Festival
- Mara Fortes, programmer, Morelia Film Festival
- Erick Gonzalez, programmer, Valdivia Film Festival, Chile
- Elías Jiménez, director, Festival Ícaro, Guatemala
- Roger Alan Koza, film critic and programmer, Filmfest Hamburg, Ficunam, Mexico
- Janneke Langelaan, Hubert Bals Fund, The Netherlands
- Diego Lerer, film critic, Argentina
- Rosa Martinez Rivero, film producer, Argentina
- Christian Sida-Valenzuela, director, Vancouver Latin American Film Festival
- Hebe Tabachnik, programmer, Los Angeles and Palm Springs Film Festivals
- Sergio Wolf, film programmer, Argentina...
- Best Feature Film
- Best Documentary Film
- Best Director, Feature Film
- Best Director, Documentary Film
- Best First Film
The Cinema Tropical Awards are presented in partnership with Voces, Latino Heritage Network of The New York Times and 92YTribeca, with the support of the Mexican Cultural Institute. Special thanks to Lucila Moctezuma and Mario Díaz.
Best Feature Film
- O Som Ao Redor / Neighboring Sounds (Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazil, 2012)
Best Director, Feature Film
- MatÍAs Meyer, Los ÚLtimos Cristeros / The Last Christeros (Mexico, 2011)
Best Documentary Film
- El Salvavidas / The Lifeguard (Maite Alberdi, Chile, 2011)
Best Director, Documentary Film
- JosÉ ÁLvarez, CanÍCula (Mexico, 2011)
Best First Film
- El Estudiante / The Student (Santiago Mitre, Argentina, 2011)
The films were selected from a list of Latin American feature films with a minimum of 60 minutes in length that were premiered between April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012. The winners and final nominees were selected by a six-member jury panel from a list of fiction and documentary films compiled from the selections of a nominating committee composed of 14 film professionals from Latin America, the U.S. and Europe (see list below).
Fiction Jury
Dennis Lim writes about film and popular culture for various publications including The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. He is the founding editor of Moving Image Source, the online publication and research resource of the Museum of the Moving Image and was formerly the film editor of The Village Voice. His work has also appeared in The Believer, The Oxford American, Blender, Spin, Espous, Indiewire, New York Daily News, The Independent on Sunday, The Guardian, and the film quarterly Cinema Scope, where he is a contributing editor. A member of the National Society of Film Critics and the editor of The Village Voice Film Guide (2006), he has served as a member of the New York Film Festival selection committee and he teaches in the Cultural Reporting and Criticism graduate program a New York University.
Matías Piñeiro is a filmmaker and professor at the Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires. His first feature-length work, El hombre robado / The Stolen Man (2007), won awards at the Jeonju International Film Festival and at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival. In 2009, his second feature, Todos mienten / They All Lie, premiered at Bafici (Buenos Aires Festival International de Cine Independiente), where it won two awards. It also won a prize at the Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine. In 2010, he was selected—along with James Benning and Denis Côté—to screen his third film, Rosalinda at the 11th Jeonju Digital Project. Piñeiro recently premiered his most recent film, Viola, at the Toronto Film Festival, and it's slated for a Us release in 2013. He earned a filmmaking degree from Universidad del Cine. His award-winning films have been screened around the world, including at Anthology Film Archives, Festival des 3 Continents, the Festival del film Locarno, the London Film Festival, Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, the Museum of Modern Art, Rencontré Cinémas d’Amerique Latine de Toulouse, and the Viennale.
Frida Torresblanco served as a producer in Spain working on film including The Dancer Upstairs, directed by John Malkovich and starring Javier Bardem, as well as Susan Seidelman’s Gaudi Afternoon. She moved to New York City in 2002 to launch and lead Alfonso Cuaron’s film production company, Esperanto, where she served as Executive Producer and Creative On-Set Producer for The Assassination of Richard Nixon (directed by Niels Mueller, starring Sean Penn), among others. In 2006, Frida joined Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro to produce El laberinto del Fauno / Pan’s Labyrinth (Three Oscars & another three Oscar nominations; three wins & five BAFTA nominations; a nomination for the Palm d’Or and a Golden Globe). The Hollywood Reporter named Frida one of the 50 most powerful Latinos in Hollywood. She also produced Rudo y Cursi (directed by Carlos Cuarón, starring Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna). In 2010, Frida launched her new film production company, Braven Films, with partners Eric Laufer and Giovanna Randall. Her next project, Magic Magic, produced through Braven Films, will star Michael Cera, Juno Temple and Emily Browning.
DocuMentary Jury
Ryan Harrington is the Director of Documentary Programs at the Tribeca Film Institute where he oversees the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, the Tfi Documentary Fund, Tribeca All Access documentary program and the Latin America Media Arts Fund while developing other initiatives and programs that support non-fiction filmmaking. Recent Tfi successes include Give Up Tomorrow, If a Tree Falls, The Redemption of General Butt Naked, The Oath, Enemies of the People, Marathon Boy and Donor Unknown. Independently he is currently working on the feature doc Hungry in America, with filmmakers Kristi Jacobson & Lori Silverbush and Participant Media, that explores why so many people in the USA go without food, and what can be done about it. Harrington managed production for A&E IndieFilms, the theatrical documentary arm of the A&E Network, for four years. Throughout his time there he championed the Oscar-nominated films Murderball and Jesus Camp, and the Sundance hits My Kid Could Paint That and American Teen.
Paula Heredia is a director and editor based in New York. She was awarded an Emmy for the HBO documentary In Memoriam, NYC 9/11/01, and an Ace Eddie Award for the acclaimed documentary Unzipped. Her directorial work includes the documentaries George Plimpton and the Paris Review, Ralph Gibson, and The Couple in the Cage. Her dramatic work includes Having a Baby, Tras La Ventana, Slings and Arrows, and La Cena de Matrimonio. Her short film La Pájara Pinta premiered at the Lincoln Center Film Society LatinBeat Film Festival. Heredia’s editorial work can be seen in the HBO feature-length documentary Addiction, which received the 2007 Emmy Governors Award, and Alive Day Memories—Home from Iraq, executive produced by James Gandolfini for HBO. Her new edit, The Art of Failure: Chuck Connelly Not for Sale and Jacques D'Ambois in China, will air on HBO this summer. Other editorial credits include: Modulations Cinema for the Ear, The Vagina Monologues, Finding Christa and Free Tibet. Paula’s work and creative process is featured in the book: The Art of the Documentary by Megan Cunningham. With partner Larry Garvin, she co-founded Heredia Pictures, heads the international committee of New York Women in Film and Television and serves on the board of advisors of Tribeca All Access and Clementina, Inc.
Chi-hui Yang is a film programmer, lecturer and writer based in New York. As a guest curator, Yang has presented film and video series at film festivals and events internationally, including MoMA's Documentary Fortnight, Robert Flaherty Film Seminar (“The Age of Migration”), Seattle International Film Festival, Washington D.C. International Film Festival and Barcelona Asian Film Festival. From 2000-2010 he was the Director and Programmer of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, the largest showcase of its kind in the Us. Yang is also the programmer of “Cinema Asian America,” a new On-Demand service offered by Comcast and currently a Visiting Scholar at New York University’s Asian/Pacific/American Institute.
Nominating Committee
- Isabel Arrate Fernandez, Idfa, The Netherlands
- Hugo Chaparro, film critic, Colombia
- Lucile De Calan, programmer, Biarritz Latin American Film Festival, France
- Denis de la Roca, programmer, Abu Dhabi Film Festival
- Mara Fortes, programmer, Morelia Film Festival
- Erick Gonzalez, programmer, Valdivia Film Festival, Chile
- Elías Jiménez, director, Festival Ícaro, Guatemala
- Roger Alan Koza, film critic and programmer, Filmfest Hamburg, Ficunam, Mexico
- Janneke Langelaan, Hubert Bals Fund, The Netherlands
- Diego Lerer, film critic, Argentina
- Rosa Martinez Rivero, film producer, Argentina
- Christian Sida-Valenzuela, director, Vancouver Latin American Film Festival
- Hebe Tabachnik, programmer, Los Angeles and Palm Springs Film Festivals
- Sergio Wolf, film programmer, Argentina...
- 1/23/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The following "Auditions at a Glance" calendar conveniently organizes projects by the date and day-of-the-week that the projects' auditions are taking place, to help you schedule your plans. Click on any of the following links to see the casting and job notices related to the dates and project titles highlighted below. Thurs. Jan. 10 • 'Gypsy' • HBO Camera Assessment Fri. Jan. 11 • HBO Camera Assessment Sat. Jan. 12 • 'Dana's Dilemma' • 'Gypsy' • 'Grease' • 'Hairspray' • 'Ragtime' • 'Ramona' • 'See Rock City and Other Destinations' • '12 Angry Men' Sun. Jan 13 • 'Damn Yankees' • 'Grease' • 'Hairspray' • 'Ragtime' • 'The Vagina Monologues' • '12 Angry Men' • 'Avenue Q' Mon. Jan. 14 • 'Caught in the Net' • 'Damn Yankees' • 'Jersey Boys', Nv • 'The Lover' • 'The Scottsboro Boys' • 'Little Shop of Horrors', NoCal • 'The Mission Play' • 'Avenue Q' Tues. Jan. 15 • 'Caught in the Net' • 'Damn Yankees' • 'Jersey Boys', Singers & Dancers, Nv • 'Grease' • 'The Scottsboro Boys' Weds. Jan. 16 • 'The Phantom Tollbooth' Thurs.
- 1/8/2013
- backstage.com
The Off Broadway premiere of Emotional Creature, the newest play by Tony Award-winning playwright, performer, activist, and The Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler, will end its limited engagement as scheduled on Sunday, January 13th. Produced Off Broadway by Carole Black and Pat Mitchell, and directed by Obie Award-winner Jo Bonney By the Way, Meet Vera Stark with original music and musical direction by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder, Emotional Creature began previews The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center 480 West 42nd Street on Friday, October 26, 2012, and officially opened on Monday, November 12, 2012.
- 1/4/2013
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
New Delhi, Dec 30: It is perhaps more than coincidence: Playwright and gender activist Eve Ensler, best known for the episodic "The Vagina Monologues", is all set to launch a new movement from India, "One Billion Rising," Jan 14.
The launch is set to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Indian adaptation of "The Vagina Monologues". It also comes at a time when the nation has been collectively revulsed and shaken by the gang-rape and death of a 23-year-old student in a Delhi bus.
A communique from Poor Box Production, with which Ensler is in partnership in India, said: The movement will "energise, refocus resources and turn.
The launch is set to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Indian adaptation of "The Vagina Monologues". It also comes at a time when the nation has been collectively revulsed and shaken by the gang-rape and death of a 23-year-old student in a Delhi bus.
A communique from Poor Box Production, with which Ensler is in partnership in India, said: The movement will "energise, refocus resources and turn.
- 12/30/2012
- by Diksha Singh
- RealBollywood.com
Eve Ensler makes me cry.
Judging by the tissues being raised to eyes during a matinee, the playwright of "The Vagina Monologues" has that effect on many with her latest play, "Emotional Creature."
At off-Broadway's The Pershing Square Signature Center, the gut-wrenching play mines more of Ensler's specialized talent: spotlighting what women endure simply by being born female.
The six characters are all young women, and they don't interact with one another, as characters do in traditional dramas. Rather, each actress delivers monologues of how she struggles with different situations.
The actresses come together to serve as the chorus and in the opening and closing numbers, but each actress is strong enough to tell a story that represents millions of others young women.
Some stories are tinged with sweetness, such as a young woman (Ashley Bryant, "Gossip Girl") taking endless photos of herself for her Facebook profile. Some are tragic...
Judging by the tissues being raised to eyes during a matinee, the playwright of "The Vagina Monologues" has that effect on many with her latest play, "Emotional Creature."
At off-Broadway's The Pershing Square Signature Center, the gut-wrenching play mines more of Ensler's specialized talent: spotlighting what women endure simply by being born female.
The six characters are all young women, and they don't interact with one another, as characters do in traditional dramas. Rather, each actress delivers monologues of how she struggles with different situations.
The actresses come together to serve as the chorus and in the opening and closing numbers, but each actress is strong enough to tell a story that represents millions of others young women.
Some stories are tinged with sweetness, such as a young woman (Ashley Bryant, "Gossip Girl") taking endless photos of herself for her Facebook profile. Some are tragic...
- 11/27/2012
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Emotional Creature, the new play written by Tony Award-winning playwright, performer, activist, and The Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler, gets a New York premiere this fall. Directed by Obie Award-winner Jo Bonney By the Way, Meet Vera Stark with original music and musical direction by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder, Emotional Creatureopened on November 12, direct from an acclaimed World Premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California. Anne Hathaway just visited the show and you can check out photos of her wit hthe cast below...
- 11/16/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Anne Hathaway shared a hug with writer Eve Ensler in NYC last night. Anne checked out an off-Broadway performance of Emotional Creatures, a new play based on the book by Eve, who also wrote The Vagina Monologues. The production officially opened on Monday, which happened to also be Anne's 30th birthday. She had a week packed with events including the Women's Media Awards, where Eve was also in attendance, and a special screening of Lincoln. Anne fit in time with her husband, Adam Shulman, yesterday, when they went shopping at a children's store together. The couple are reportedly still in the "honeymoon phase" following their gorgeous Big Sur wedding in September. View Slideshow ›...
- 11/16/2012
- by Lauren Turner
- Popsugar.com
Emotional Creature, the new play written by Tony Award-winning playwright, performer, activist, and The Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler, gets a New York premiere this fall. Directed by Obie Award-winner Jo Bonney By the Way, Meet Vera Stark with original music and musical direction by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder, Emotional Creature opened on last night, November 12, direct from an acclaimed World Premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California. BroadwayWorld was there for the opening and we bring you coverage below...
- 11/13/2012
- by Kevin Thomas Garcia
- BroadwayWorld.com
Producers Carole Black and Pat Mitchell present Emotional Creature, the new play written by Tony Award-winning playwright, performer, activist, and The Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler, will get a New York premiere this fall. Directed by Obie Award-winner Jo Bonney By the Way, Meet Vera Stark with original music and musical direction by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder, Emotional Creature will open on Monday, November 12, 2012, direct from an acclaimed World Premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California.
- 11/6/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Producers Carole Black and Pat Mitchell present Emotional Creature, the new play written by Tony Award-winning playwright, performer, activist, and The Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler, will get a New York premiere this fall. Directed by Obie Award-winner Jo Bonney By the Way, Meet Vera Stark with original music and musical direction by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder, Emotional Creature will begin previews at The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center 480 West 42nd Street on Friday, October 26, 2012 with an official opening night set for Monday, November 12, 2012, direct from an acclaimed World Premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California.The cast and creative team just met the press and you can check out complete photo coverage below...
- 10/11/2012
- by Kevin Thomas Garcia
- BroadwayWorld.com
Waterloo Road actress Chelsee Healey has revealed that she is nervous about her theatre debut. The Strictly Come Dancing star will leave the BBC One drama as Janeece Bryant next Thursday (September 27), before appearing on stage for a tour of The Vagina Monologues. Healey will appear alongside Coronation Street star Vicky Entwistle, Hayley Tamaddon and Clare Buckfield in the stage production. "This is my stage debut, this is full-on theatre, it's as good as it gets," she told BBC Breakfast. "Vicky Entwistle and Clare Buckfield are both lovely. I've never done (more)...
- 9/20/2012
- by By Tom Eames
- Digital Spy
They're practically the same age, with names so similar they give dyslexics seizures, and both have played love interests of Julia Roberts. But Dermot Mulroney and Dylan McDermott are not the same person. We swear.
The two actors have both had steady careers, with Mulroney sticking mostly to character roles on the big screen ("Zodiac," "J. Edgar") while McDermott found fame on the boob tube starring in hit shows like "The Practice," "Dark Blue" and Ryan Murphy's current FX series "American Horror Story."
What would happen if these two went toe-to-toe for nine electrifying rounds in our ring of pop culture minutiae? With McDermott set to join Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis on the election trail in "The Campaign" this week, there's no better time than the present.
Best Movie Role
Dermot Mulroney: Randall Hertzel, "About Schmidt" (2002)
Dylan McDermott: Secret Service Agent Al D'Andrea, "In the Line of Fire" (1993)
Advantage: Mulroney,...
The two actors have both had steady careers, with Mulroney sticking mostly to character roles on the big screen ("Zodiac," "J. Edgar") while McDermott found fame on the boob tube starring in hit shows like "The Practice," "Dark Blue" and Ryan Murphy's current FX series "American Horror Story."
What would happen if these two went toe-to-toe for nine electrifying rounds in our ring of pop culture minutiae? With McDermott set to join Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis on the election trail in "The Campaign" this week, there's no better time than the present.
Best Movie Role
Dermot Mulroney: Randall Hertzel, "About Schmidt" (2002)
Dylan McDermott: Secret Service Agent Al D'Andrea, "In the Line of Fire" (1993)
Advantage: Mulroney,...
- 8/8/2012
- by Max Evry
- NextMovie
Republican lawmakers in Michigan don't watch enough television. The ruckus about the use of the word vagina in the statehouse there proves it.
The brouhaha over vagina started when a female lawmaker in Michigan said she was barred from speaking in the statehouse after she uttered the v-word when debating anti-abortion legislation. This led to a performance of The Vagina Monologues at the Capitol. Michigan Republicans said it wasn't the use of the word vagina they objected to but that the lawmaker, Democratic State Representative Lisa Brown, compared the legislation to rape and that violated the rules of decorum.
Here's what Brown said: "I'm flattered you're all so concerned about my vagina, but no means no."
Eve Ensler, the author of The Vagina Monologuestold the Associated Press by phone, If we ever knew deep in our hearts that the issue about abortion... was not really about fetuses and babies, but...
The brouhaha over vagina started when a female lawmaker in Michigan said she was barred from speaking in the statehouse after she uttered the v-word when debating anti-abortion legislation. This led to a performance of The Vagina Monologues at the Capitol. Michigan Republicans said it wasn't the use of the word vagina they objected to but that the lawmaker, Democratic State Representative Lisa Brown, compared the legislation to rape and that violated the rules of decorum.
Here's what Brown said: "I'm flattered you're all so concerned about my vagina, but no means no."
Eve Ensler, the author of The Vagina Monologuestold the Associated Press by phone, If we ever knew deep in our hearts that the issue about abortion... was not really about fetuses and babies, but...
- 6/20/2012
- by Caryn Brooks
- Aol TV.
Lansing, Mich. — A state lawmaker who says she was barred from speaking in the Michigan House because Republicans objected to her saying "vagina" during debate over anti-abortion legislation performed "The Vagina Monologues" on the Statehouse steps – with a hand from the author.
Eve Ensler, whose groundbreaking play about women's sexuality still packs theaters 16 years after it debuted, oversaw Monday night's performance by Democratic state Rep. Lisa Brown, 10 other lawmakers and several actresses.
Capitol facilities director Steve Benkovsky estimated about 2,500 spectators – women and men – watched the play in downtown Lansing from lawn chairs and blankets. Billed on Facebook as the "Vaginas Take Back the Capitol!" event, the combination play and protest included political signs and chants of "Vagina! Vagina!"
Ensler, who flew in from California, where she's overseeing production of her new play, said she was thrilled to be involved and likened the punishment meted out by the Republican leadership of...
Eve Ensler, whose groundbreaking play about women's sexuality still packs theaters 16 years after it debuted, oversaw Monday night's performance by Democratic state Rep. Lisa Brown, 10 other lawmakers and several actresses.
Capitol facilities director Steve Benkovsky estimated about 2,500 spectators – women and men – watched the play in downtown Lansing from lawn chairs and blankets. Billed on Facebook as the "Vaginas Take Back the Capitol!" event, the combination play and protest included political signs and chants of "Vagina! Vagina!"
Ensler, who flew in from California, where she's overseeing production of her new play, said she was thrilled to be involved and likened the punishment meted out by the Republican leadership of...
- 6/19/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
In a completely terrifying development, Alan Ball says that Rick Santorum inspired this season of True Blood, because more frightening than any monster is the concept of a theocracy, which is basically the idea behind the Authority. Although on second thought, the idea that he inspired True Blood may be more terrifying to Santorum.
While it appears that the saner party prevailed in the Greek elections, the Nazis there celebrated by shouting "Another punch for the lesbian!"
Madagascar 3 earned more money in its second weekend than openers Rock of Ages and That's My Boy combined.
Last week, Shonda Rhimes criticized Bunheads for the lack of diversity in the sprawling cast. Now creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has responded, but she may be punching out of her weight class. "Look, I’m not going to get into a pissing match with Shonda Rhimes because she has 15,000 shows on the air, and she...
While it appears that the saner party prevailed in the Greek elections, the Nazis there celebrated by shouting "Another punch for the lesbian!"
Madagascar 3 earned more money in its second weekend than openers Rock of Ages and That's My Boy combined.
Last week, Shonda Rhimes criticized Bunheads for the lack of diversity in the sprawling cast. Now creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has responded, but she may be punching out of her weight class. "Look, I’m not going to get into a pissing match with Shonda Rhimes because she has 15,000 shows on the air, and she...
- 6/18/2012
- by lostinmiami
- The Backlot
Lansing, Mich. -- A Michigan lawmaker barred from speaking in the state House after she used the word "vagina" during a debate on an anti-abortion bill will participate in a performance of the Tony Award-winning play, "The Vagina Monologues," on the state Capitol steps.
Michigan Democratic Party fundraiser Laura Hornshaw said Saturday in an email that Monday evening's performance was planned in response to Rep. Lisa Brown not being allowed to speak on the House floor Thursday.
Republicans who control the chamber said the West Bloomfield Democrat violated decorum Wednesday while speaking against a bill requiring doctors to ensure women aren't coerced into ending their pregnancies.
Brown told Republicans she was flattered they were "all so concerned about my vagina. But no means no."...
Michigan Democratic Party fundraiser Laura Hornshaw said Saturday in an email that Monday evening's performance was planned in response to Rep. Lisa Brown not being allowed to speak on the House floor Thursday.
Republicans who control the chamber said the West Bloomfield Democrat violated decorum Wednesday while speaking against a bill requiring doctors to ensure women aren't coerced into ending their pregnancies.
Brown told Republicans she was flattered they were "all so concerned about my vagina. But no means no."...
- 6/16/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Eve Ensler, the Tony Award-winning playwright, performer, activist, and author of the international sensation The Vagina Monologues, launches her new website, www.eveensler.org, today, April 16. The site serves as a virtual home base for Enslers creative works, including a comprehensive archive of her extensive articles, essays, books, plays, films, documentaries, and speeches, as well as up to the moment information on her activities.
- 4/16/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
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