Exclusive: Tony Award-winning playwright and screenwriter Itamar Moses has signed with Grandview for management. His play The Ally recently premiered at The Public Theater, directed by Lila Neugebauer and starring Josh Radnor, and his new musical Dead Outlaw ran simultaneously Off Broadway with Audible Theater at the Minetta Lane.
In TV, Moses has written on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and Showtime’s The Affair, among others. The red-hot scribe is best known for 2017’s Broadway production of The Band’s Visit, for which he received the Tony for Best Book of a Musical. His work has appeared on Broadway and Off Broadway, at regional theaters across the country, and internationally.
Other awards for his work include from Lucille Lortel, New York Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle, and Obie for theater, as well as a Peabody Award and two WGA Award nominations for his TV work.
He continues to be represented...
In TV, Moses has written on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and Showtime’s The Affair, among others. The red-hot scribe is best known for 2017’s Broadway production of The Band’s Visit, for which he received the Tony for Best Book of a Musical. His work has appeared on Broadway and Off Broadway, at regional theaters across the country, and internationally.
Other awards for his work include from Lucille Lortel, New York Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle, and Obie for theater, as well as a Peabody Award and two WGA Award nominations for his TV work.
He continues to be represented...
- 4/17/2024
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Ali Louis Bourzgui is currently winning over audiences with his performance as Tommy in the new hit revival of The Who’s Tommy.
We caught up with the 24-year-old rising star, who is making his Broadway debut after previously being featured in the national tour productions of Tony-winning musicals Company and The Band’s Visit.
Tommy just opened on Broadway to rave reviews and the production is currently running at the Nederlander Theatre in New York City.
Check out 10 Fun Facts about Ali below.
Growing up in Massachusetts the other thing to do other than theatre was skiing. All through high school I was a part of the ski racing team and still know how to downhill ski race. I’m a vintage clothing collector. I love finding and styling clothes from the 60s and 70s. Give me a knit polo and a dagger collar any day. My favorite piece I’ve...
We caught up with the 24-year-old rising star, who is making his Broadway debut after previously being featured in the national tour productions of Tony-winning musicals Company and The Band’s Visit.
Tommy just opened on Broadway to rave reviews and the production is currently running at the Nederlander Theatre in New York City.
Check out 10 Fun Facts about Ali below.
Growing up in Massachusetts the other thing to do other than theatre was skiing. All through high school I was a part of the ski racing team and still know how to downhill ski race. I’m a vintage clothing collector. I love finding and styling clothes from the 60s and 70s. Give me a knit polo and a dagger collar any day. My favorite piece I’ve...
- 4/2/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
The actors from the current revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s “Merrily We Roll Along” have skyrocketed in Gold Derby’s combined odds for the 2024 Tony Awards nominations. The prediction center displays commanding leads for Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez and Daniel Radcliffe to win their respective categories. This is an understandable result considering this revival is the hottest ticket in town and this trio of performers has been ever-present in the media. But how often does a trio of actors from the same production pull off three separate acting victories at the Tony Awards?
It’s quite common for a musical to grab two acting trophies, but three awards is much rarer. To date, only 15 musical productions have earned three acting wins. The first time this feat occurred was at the 1956 ceremony, which was ironically the first time the Tony Awards ever announced a slate of nominees (previously...
It’s quite common for a musical to grab two acting trophies, but three awards is much rarer. To date, only 15 musical productions have earned three acting wins. The first time this feat occurred was at the 1956 ceremony, which was ironically the first time the Tony Awards ever announced a slate of nominees (previously...
- 3/14/2024
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
Raine Allen Miller’s debut feature Rye Lane, Adjani Salmon’s Dreaming Whilst Black, and Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical were among the top winners at the sixth edition of the CDG Casting Awards. Scross down for the full list of winners.
Kharmel Cochrane picked up the Best Casting in an Independent Film award for her work on Rye Lane. Dreaming Whilst Black landed the Best Casting in a TV Comedy Series award for Heather Basten, Peter Noden, and Fran Cattaneo, and Louise Kiely won Best Casting in a Film for The Banshees of Inisherin.
High-profile titles that missed out on honors include Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which was nominated for Best Casting in a Film alongside Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn. Kharmel Cochrane cast Saltburn and also popped in the noms for Best Casting in a Commercial for her work on Vanish ‘Me, My Autism & I.
The awards were...
Kharmel Cochrane picked up the Best Casting in an Independent Film award for her work on Rye Lane. Dreaming Whilst Black landed the Best Casting in a TV Comedy Series award for Heather Basten, Peter Noden, and Fran Cattaneo, and Louise Kiely won Best Casting in a Film for The Banshees of Inisherin.
High-profile titles that missed out on honors include Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which was nominated for Best Casting in a Film alongside Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn. Kharmel Cochrane cast Saltburn and also popped in the noms for Best Casting in a Commercial for her work on Vanish ‘Me, My Autism & I.
The awards were...
- 2/22/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The Boiling Point TV series, The Banshees of Inisherin, Rye Lane and Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical are among the U.K. Casting Directors’ Guild Awards winners for 2024.
The sixth CDG Casting Awards, handed out Wednesday evening in London, also honored the likes of the theater play Dear England, a TV adaptation of which Sky has just unveiled.
Competing for the awards were productions that premiered between Sept. 1, 2022 and Dec. 31, 2023 and they were selected as nominees by members of the guild. The Casting Directors’ Guild represents casting directors in the film, television, theater and commercials industries in the U.K. and Ireland.
Its awards celebrate “the incredible work achieved by casting teams across film, television, theater and commercials,” in partnership with global casting platform Spotlight.
“Casting directors are often the unsung storytellers of the industry. Their vision and skills that help orchestrate an ensemble of characters bring a script to life in every medium,...
The sixth CDG Casting Awards, handed out Wednesday evening in London, also honored the likes of the theater play Dear England, a TV adaptation of which Sky has just unveiled.
Competing for the awards were productions that premiered between Sept. 1, 2022 and Dec. 31, 2023 and they were selected as nominees by members of the guild. The Casting Directors’ Guild represents casting directors in the film, television, theater and commercials industries in the U.K. and Ireland.
Its awards celebrate “the incredible work achieved by casting teams across film, television, theater and commercials,” in partnership with global casting platform Spotlight.
“Casting directors are often the unsung storytellers of the industry. Their vision and skills that help orchestrate an ensemble of characters bring a script to life in every medium,...
- 2/22/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Barbie, Saltburn and The Banshees of Inisherin are among the nominees at the UK’s sixth CDG Casting Awards.
Lucy Bevan, Olivia Grant (associate), Lucy Downes (assistant) are nominated in Best Casting in a Film for Barbie, with Kharmel Cochrane (Saltburn), Louise Kiley (Banshees of Inisherin), Kahleen Crawford, Carla Morris & Eliza Heslop (All of Us Strangers) and Jessie Frost (Triangle of Sadness) providing the competition.
In the Best Casting in a TV Drama Series category, Nina Gold is nominated three times, for Andor and Slow Horses Seasons 2 and 3, competing against Shaheen Baig, Jonny Boutwood and Carolyn McLeod for Boiling Point and Robert Sterne and Kate Bone for The Crown.
In the TV Comedy category, Heather Basten, casting execs for Dreaming Whilst Black, Extraordinary, Motherland, Sex Education Season 4 and Ted Lasso Season 3 are up for awards. In the Limited or Single Series race are casting execs from A Small Light, Black Mirror Season 6, Somewhere Boy,...
Lucy Bevan, Olivia Grant (associate), Lucy Downes (assistant) are nominated in Best Casting in a Film for Barbie, with Kharmel Cochrane (Saltburn), Louise Kiley (Banshees of Inisherin), Kahleen Crawford, Carla Morris & Eliza Heslop (All of Us Strangers) and Jessie Frost (Triangle of Sadness) providing the competition.
In the Best Casting in a TV Drama Series category, Nina Gold is nominated three times, for Andor and Slow Horses Seasons 2 and 3, competing against Shaheen Baig, Jonny Boutwood and Carolyn McLeod for Boiling Point and Robert Sterne and Kate Bone for The Crown.
In the TV Comedy category, Heather Basten, casting execs for Dreaming Whilst Black, Extraordinary, Motherland, Sex Education Season 4 and Ted Lasso Season 3 are up for awards. In the Limited or Single Series race are casting execs from A Small Light, Black Mirror Season 6, Somewhere Boy,...
- 1/30/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Barbie, Saltburn, Sex Education and Ted Lasso are among the U.K. Casting Directors’ Guild Awards nominees for the 2024 edition of its honors.
The list of nominees for the CDG Casting Awards, now in its sixth year, also includes the likes of The Crown, Andor, Slow Horses and All of Us Strangers.
Nominated productions premiered between Sept. 1, 2022 and Dec. 31, 2023 and have been selected by members of the guild. The Casting Directors’ Guild represents casting directors in the film, television, theater and commercials industries in the U.K. and Ireland.
“We are delighted to be celebrating the sixth edition of our CDG Awards, recognizing the outstanding contributions of our members,” said CDG co-chairs Jessica Ronane and Rebecca Wright.
Celebrating “the incredible work achieved by casting teams across film, television, theater and commercials, the awards will be held on Feb. 21 in London in partnership with global casting platform Spotlight.
Check out the full list of nominees below.
The list of nominees for the CDG Casting Awards, now in its sixth year, also includes the likes of The Crown, Andor, Slow Horses and All of Us Strangers.
Nominated productions premiered between Sept. 1, 2022 and Dec. 31, 2023 and have been selected by members of the guild. The Casting Directors’ Guild represents casting directors in the film, television, theater and commercials industries in the U.K. and Ireland.
“We are delighted to be celebrating the sixth edition of our CDG Awards, recognizing the outstanding contributions of our members,” said CDG co-chairs Jessica Ronane and Rebecca Wright.
Celebrating “the incredible work achieved by casting teams across film, television, theater and commercials, the awards will be held on Feb. 21 in London in partnership with global casting platform Spotlight.
Check out the full list of nominees below.
- 1/30/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jeb Brown (City Center’s Pal Joey), Eddie Cooper (Parade), Andrew Durand (Shucked) and Dashiell Eaves (Broadway’s A Christmas Carol) are among the cast set for the upcoming Audible staging and recording of Dead Outlaw, a new musical from the team behind The Band’s Visit.
The musical, which tells the bizarre true story of a turn-of-the-20th-century outlaw whose corpse became a mummified side-show attraction for decades, will begin previews on Wednesday, February 28 ahead of a Sunday, March 10 opening night at Audible’s Off Broadway Minetta Lane Theatre.
The limited engagement runs through Sunday, April 7, and will be recorded and released on Audible at a later date.
Also included in the principal cast will be Julia Knitel (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Ken Marks (Take Me Out), Trent Saunders (Hadestown) and Thom Sesma (City Center’s Oliver!).
As Deadline exclusively reported back in 2022, Dead Outlaw, conceived by David Yazbek,...
The musical, which tells the bizarre true story of a turn-of-the-20th-century outlaw whose corpse became a mummified side-show attraction for decades, will begin previews on Wednesday, February 28 ahead of a Sunday, March 10 opening night at Audible’s Off Broadway Minetta Lane Theatre.
The limited engagement runs through Sunday, April 7, and will be recorded and released on Audible at a later date.
Also included in the principal cast will be Julia Knitel (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Ken Marks (Take Me Out), Trent Saunders (Hadestown) and Thom Sesma (City Center’s Oliver!).
As Deadline exclusively reported back in 2022, Dead Outlaw, conceived by David Yazbek,...
- 1/10/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Daniel Dae Kim will return to Broadway this fall in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of David Henry Hwang’s comedy Yellow Face, to be directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman (Violet).
The production marks the Broadway premiere of Hwang’s play, an Obie Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist that originated in 2007 at Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum and subsequently opened that year Off Broadway at the Joseph Papp Public Theater.
The production, announced today as part of the Roundabout’s 2024-2025 season, will begin performances this September at the Roundabout’s Todd Haimes Theatre. Kim made his Broadway debut as the King of Siam in Lincoln Center’s Tony-winning 2017 production of The King and I. The Lost actor next be seen as the villainous Fire Lord Ozai in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, premiering in February.
The production of Yellow Face is...
The production marks the Broadway premiere of Hwang’s play, an Obie Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist that originated in 2007 at Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum and subsequently opened that year Off Broadway at the Joseph Papp Public Theater.
The production, announced today as part of the Roundabout’s 2024-2025 season, will begin performances this September at the Roundabout’s Todd Haimes Theatre. Kim made his Broadway debut as the King of Siam in Lincoln Center’s Tony-winning 2017 production of The King and I. The Lost actor next be seen as the villainous Fire Lord Ozai in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, premiering in February.
The production of Yellow Face is...
- 1/9/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Kimberly Akimbo, the 2023 Tony Award winner for best musical, will be closing on April 28.
The musical, which also took home four other Tony Awards, has been running at the Booth Theatre on Broadway since October 2022, after making its world premiere at the Atlantic Theater Company Off-Broadway in 2021. The entire original cast from the Off-Broadway run, including Tony Award winners Victoria Clark and Bonnie Milligan, has remained with the show throughout its run and will remain for the final performance.
A national tour is scheduled to follow starting in September.
The musical, which features a book by David Lindsay-Abaire and a score by Jeanine Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire, follows Kimberly (played by Clarke), a 16-year-old girl with a rare genetic condition that causes her to age rapidly, as she navigates a complicated family life and tries to fit in amongst her peers. The show was adapted from a 2001 play by Lindsay-Abaire.
In addition to Clarke,...
The musical, which also took home four other Tony Awards, has been running at the Booth Theatre on Broadway since October 2022, after making its world premiere at the Atlantic Theater Company Off-Broadway in 2021. The entire original cast from the Off-Broadway run, including Tony Award winners Victoria Clark and Bonnie Milligan, has remained with the show throughout its run and will remain for the final performance.
A national tour is scheduled to follow starting in September.
The musical, which features a book by David Lindsay-Abaire and a score by Jeanine Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire, follows Kimberly (played by Clarke), a 16-year-old girl with a rare genetic condition that causes her to age rapidly, as she navigates a complicated family life and tries to fit in amongst her peers. The show was adapted from a 2001 play by Lindsay-Abaire.
In addition to Clarke,...
- 1/5/2024
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
According to the current combined predictions of Gold Derby users, reigning Tony champ “Kimberly Akimbo” is the frontrunner to win this year’s Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album with 10/3 odds. So far within this century 10 shows that won Tonys for both Best Musical and Best Score also came out on top at the Grammys. Among them are “The Producers,” “Hairspray,” “Spring Awakening,” “In the Heights,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Kinky Boots,” “Hamilton,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “The Band’s Visit” and “Hadestown.” Will that trend continue this year?
SEEGrammys flashback: Revisiting The Weeknd’s notorious, confounding 2021 snub
“Kimberly Akimbo” features a score by Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire. Tesori has been nominated five times before but still has yet to win. Those previous bids were for “Thoroughly Modern Millie” in 2003 (lost to “Hairspray”), “Shrek the Musical” in 2010 (lost to “West Side Story”), “Fun Home” in 2016 (lost to “Hamilton”), “Soft Power” in...
SEEGrammys flashback: Revisiting The Weeknd’s notorious, confounding 2021 snub
“Kimberly Akimbo” features a score by Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire. Tesori has been nominated five times before but still has yet to win. Those previous bids were for “Thoroughly Modern Millie” in 2003 (lost to “Hairspray”), “Shrek the Musical” in 2010 (lost to “West Side Story”), “Fun Home” in 2016 (lost to “Hamilton”), “Soft Power” in...
- 12/15/2023
- by Jeffrey Kare
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: The filmmakers behind Israel’s 2024 International Feature Oscar submission are now working on a movie about an all-female Israeli Defence Force (Idf) tank unit which defended against the Hamas terror attacks on October 7.
Ayelet Menahemi, whose feature Seven Blessings won this year’s Ophir Prize in Israel, is slated to direct the film and will be teaming up again with writer-actress Eleanor Sela who is writing the script and also wrote and starred Seven Blessings.
The film is inspired by the true events regarding the first-of-its-kind all-female tank unit who engaged in fierce battles against Hamas attackers on the day of the October 7 massacres. The battle was the first instance in history of an all-female armored unit taking part in combat.
In addition to the battle, the filmmakers tell us the film will also explore the founding of the unit and the struggles the young women combatants faced in...
Ayelet Menahemi, whose feature Seven Blessings won this year’s Ophir Prize in Israel, is slated to direct the film and will be teaming up again with writer-actress Eleanor Sela who is writing the script and also wrote and starred Seven Blessings.
The film is inspired by the true events regarding the first-of-its-kind all-female tank unit who engaged in fierce battles against Hamas attackers on the day of the October 7 massacres. The battle was the first instance in history of an all-female armored unit taking part in combat.
In addition to the battle, the filmmakers tell us the film will also explore the founding of the unit and the struggles the young women combatants faced in...
- 12/10/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Cuba is roughly 1,300 miles away, but in a rehearsal space in downtown Manhattan, it doesn’t feel all that far. Cradling their percussion instruments, horns, and guitars, a ten-piece band of musicians, some from Latin America, preparing to play a sinuous piece of son Cubano, as a theater crew — director, writer, actors and choreographers — hover around.
“Nothing like this has been attempted before,” says music supervisor Dean Sharenow. “It’s important that this is the real thing, not a Broadway musical production.”
Welcome to the next iteration of the enduring...
“Nothing like this has been attempted before,” says music supervisor Dean Sharenow. “It’s important that this is the real thing, not a Broadway musical production.”
Welcome to the next iteration of the enduring...
- 11/20/2023
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: As the FilmNation Entertainment team gathered in Santa Monica this week for the American Film Market, some reflection is in order. It has been 15 years since Glen Basner started the venture. Despite the hardships facing everyone at AFM with strikes and uncertainty, what a different a decade and a half makes. The launch happened in 2008, not the most fortuitous time to launch an indie film finance and production company with global ambitions.
“Back then, Summit and Mandate were the two top companies in the space,” Basner recalled when assessing the opportunity to launch a company back then. “Mandate was sold to Lionsgate and became a U.S. distributor, and Summit started their own U.S. distribution company. There was a hole in the marketplace we thought we could fill, and become that leading American international sales agent for feature films that had no connection to the U.S. distribution world.
“Back then, Summit and Mandate were the two top companies in the space,” Basner recalled when assessing the opportunity to launch a company back then. “Mandate was sold to Lionsgate and became a U.S. distributor, and Summit started their own U.S. distribution company. There was a hole in the marketplace we thought we could fill, and become that leading American international sales agent for feature films that had no connection to the U.S. distribution world.
- 11/2/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Suffs, the Shaina Taub musical about the suffragist movement that had a sold-out, extended run Off Broadway last year, will move to Broadway this spring, with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai on the producing team as co-producers.
Suffs will open at Broadway’s Music Box Theatre on Thursday, April 18.
“We are elated to welcome Secretary Clinton and Malala to our Suffs producing team,” said lead producers Jill Furman and Rachel Sussman. “As powerful role models, they each inspire millions around the globe in their rigorous fight for equality, and we are honored to have two such profoundly dedicated and courageous advocates supporting us on Broadway.”
Suffs, which originated at New York’s Public Theater, is set in 1913 as the women’s movement is heating up in America, anchored by the suffragists — “Suffs,” as they call themselves — and their relentless pursuit of the right to vote.
Suffs will open at Broadway’s Music Box Theatre on Thursday, April 18.
“We are elated to welcome Secretary Clinton and Malala to our Suffs producing team,” said lead producers Jill Furman and Rachel Sussman. “As powerful role models, they each inspire millions around the globe in their rigorous fight for equality, and we are honored to have two such profoundly dedicated and courageous advocates supporting us on Broadway.”
Suffs, which originated at New York’s Public Theater, is set in 1913 as the women’s movement is heating up in America, anchored by the suffragists — “Suffs,” as they call themselves — and their relentless pursuit of the right to vote.
- 10/18/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Christian Slater, Christopher Briney, Josh Radnor, Dagmara Dominczyk and more have joined the lineup of actors participating in The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway.
The annual event sees actors, writers, directors and production staff coming together on the night of Oct. 22 for a brainstorming session. The writers create the plays overnight and then the cast comes back together on Oct. 23 to rehearse ahead of the performance that evening. This year’s event will take place at The Town Hall and will honor playwright and former Law & Order: Svu showrunner Warren Leight, who has been a longtime supporter of the organization.
“Simply put, this promises to be an unforgettable evening,” said Artistic Director Mark Armstrong. “Warren is an extraordinary artist who’s spent his career lifting up others, so it’s no surprise that a long list of great artists have stepped up to celebrate him, on and offstage. He’s been...
The annual event sees actors, writers, directors and production staff coming together on the night of Oct. 22 for a brainstorming session. The writers create the plays overnight and then the cast comes back together on Oct. 23 to rehearse ahead of the performance that evening. This year’s event will take place at The Town Hall and will honor playwright and former Law & Order: Svu showrunner Warren Leight, who has been a longtime supporter of the organization.
“Simply put, this promises to be an unforgettable evening,” said Artistic Director Mark Armstrong. “Warren is an extraordinary artist who’s spent his career lifting up others, so it’s no surprise that a long list of great artists have stepped up to celebrate him, on and offstage. He’s been...
- 10/17/2023
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The elite and prestitious graduate acting program of New York’s The Julliard School will go tuition-free beginning this fall, a massive shift in the economics of arts schooling and student opportunities.
The school announced the move today, explaining that the four-year masters program, which currently costs each student about $53,300 per year, will eliminate the tuition after having raised $15 million including key gifts from Broadway theater producers Stephanie P. McClelland and John Gore.
The fourth year of the four-year program has always been tuition free in order for the school to compete with the many three-year arts schools, but the switch to entirely tuition-free is a major change in the world of elite arts education.
In a statement, the school said this morning, “Today we announced that the Drama Division’s Mfa in Acting will join Julliard’s growing list of tuition-free programs. Beginning in fall of 2024, all four years...
The school announced the move today, explaining that the four-year masters program, which currently costs each student about $53,300 per year, will eliminate the tuition after having raised $15 million including key gifts from Broadway theater producers Stephanie P. McClelland and John Gore.
The fourth year of the four-year program has always been tuition free in order for the school to compete with the many three-year arts schools, but the switch to entirely tuition-free is a major change in the world of elite arts education.
In a statement, the school said this morning, “Today we announced that the Drama Division’s Mfa in Acting will join Julliard’s growing list of tuition-free programs. Beginning in fall of 2024, all four years...
- 9/27/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Variety is debuting an exclusive clip from Farah Nabulsi’s thriller “The Teacher,” starring Imogen Poots (“The Father”) and Saleh Bakri. The film will have its world premiere on Saturday at the Toronto Film Festival in the Discovery section.
The film is Nabulsi’s feature debut following her Oscar-nominated and BAFTA award-winning short “The Present,” which also starred Bakri.
“The Teacher” follows Palestinian schoolteacher Basem (Bakri), who acts as a father figure to two of his students, Yacoub and Adam (Muhammad Abed Elrahman), amidst turmoil in the West Bank. Upon meeting British volunteer worker Lisa (Poots), Basem struggles to reconcile his life-threatening commitment to political resistance and his emotional support for Yacoub and Adam with the chance of a new romantic relationship.
The story – based on true events – takes place against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, offering insight into the lives of the people living in the region from all religious and cultural backgrounds.
The film is Nabulsi’s feature debut following her Oscar-nominated and BAFTA award-winning short “The Present,” which also starred Bakri.
“The Teacher” follows Palestinian schoolteacher Basem (Bakri), who acts as a father figure to two of his students, Yacoub and Adam (Muhammad Abed Elrahman), amidst turmoil in the West Bank. Upon meeting British volunteer worker Lisa (Poots), Basem struggles to reconcile his life-threatening commitment to political resistance and his emotional support for Yacoub and Adam with the chance of a new romantic relationship.
The story – based on true events – takes place against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, offering insight into the lives of the people living in the region from all religious and cultural backgrounds.
- 9/7/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Initial cast has been announced for Broadway’s Prayer for the French Republic. Written by Joshua Harmon and directed by David Cromer (The Band’s Visit), Prayer for the French Republic begins performances on Tuesday, December 19 with opening night set for Tuesday, January 9, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
Cast includes Emmy-nominated Anthony Edwards, Aria Shahghasemi (Legacies) along with several actors from the original Off Broadway production including Betsy Aidem (Leopoldstadt), Lucille Lortel award winner Francis Benhamou, Ari Brand, Molly Ranson and Nancy Robinette. Additional cast members and the creative team will be announced in the coming weeks.
Manhattan Theatre Club’s highly acclaimed, twice-extended, sold-out world premiere of Prayer for the French Republic at New York City Center – Stage I was the winner of the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.
Set in 1944, Prayer revolves around a...
Cast includes Emmy-nominated Anthony Edwards, Aria Shahghasemi (Legacies) along with several actors from the original Off Broadway production including Betsy Aidem (Leopoldstadt), Lucille Lortel award winner Francis Benhamou, Ari Brand, Molly Ranson and Nancy Robinette. Additional cast members and the creative team will be announced in the coming weeks.
Manhattan Theatre Club’s highly acclaimed, twice-extended, sold-out world premiere of Prayer for the French Republic at New York City Center – Stage I was the winner of the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.
Set in 1944, Prayer revolves around a...
- 8/15/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Frank Spotnitz, “The X-Files” exec producer and “Medici” creator, will figure alongside Israeli producer Eilon Ratzkovsky and broadcaster-producer Johnathan Young as facilitators and mentors at the third edition of the Full Moon Creative Lab, a program open to European screenwriters specializing in thriller, horror and fantasy TV series.
Launched by the Romanian Film Promotion and Transilvania Intl. Film Festival, the Full Moon Creative Lab consists of creative residencies taking place in Romania’s Transylvania this October and in February and June 2024.
Ratzkovsky produced “The Band’s Visit,” a Cannes 2007 Un Certain Regard winner, and TV series “Sirens.” Young was the former VP of original programming and commissioning editor for Central and Eastern Europe at HBO Max.
Further experts take in Romania’s Geo Doba, a screenwriter and vice president of the alumni network for the Berlin-based Serial Eyes TV writing program; screenwriter and script doctor Gabriela Iacob, a former head of...
Launched by the Romanian Film Promotion and Transilvania Intl. Film Festival, the Full Moon Creative Lab consists of creative residencies taking place in Romania’s Transylvania this October and in February and June 2024.
Ratzkovsky produced “The Band’s Visit,” a Cannes 2007 Un Certain Regard winner, and TV series “Sirens.” Young was the former VP of original programming and commissioning editor for Central and Eastern Europe at HBO Max.
Further experts take in Romania’s Geo Doba, a screenwriter and vice president of the alumni network for the Berlin-based Serial Eyes TV writing program; screenwriter and script doctor Gabriela Iacob, a former head of...
- 7/25/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
A show about a 16-year-old girl with an affliction that causes her to age four times as fast as normal? Or about a Jewish family in the decades leading up to the Holocaust? Or about antisemitism in early 1900s Georgia?
Those are the loglines of three of the four shows that were awarded top prizes at Sunday night’s 76th Tony Awards — best musical winner Kimberly Akimbo, best play winner Leopoldstadt and best musical revival winner Parade, respectively. (The fourth, best play revival winner Topdog/Underdog, closed back in January.)
Needless to say, they aren’t exactly easy sells on paper, and haven’t proven to be blockbusters on Broadway. But voters strongly embraced them anyway — not only as a way of celebrating acclaimed work, but also, one can reasonably assume, as a way of putting a little wind behind their sails (and sales) by providing some eye-catching material for their marquees and advertisements.
Those are the loglines of three of the four shows that were awarded top prizes at Sunday night’s 76th Tony Awards — best musical winner Kimberly Akimbo, best play winner Leopoldstadt and best musical revival winner Parade, respectively. (The fourth, best play revival winner Topdog/Underdog, closed back in January.)
Needless to say, they aren’t exactly easy sells on paper, and haven’t proven to be blockbusters on Broadway. But voters strongly embraced them anyway — not only as a way of celebrating acclaimed work, but also, one can reasonably assume, as a way of putting a little wind behind their sails (and sales) by providing some eye-catching material for their marquees and advertisements.
- 6/12/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jodie Comer has become the 100th performer to win a Tony Award for their Broadway debut for her performance in the play, “Prima Facie.”
She won Best Actress in a Play for portraying Tess, a lawyer who concentrates in providing legal defense for men who are accused of sexual assault but soon has the unthinkable happen to her. She is the 11th person to win the category for her first outing on a Broadway stage. She joins:
SEE2023 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories
Martita Hunt, “The Madwoman of Chaillot” (1949)
Beryl Reid, “The Killing of Sister George” (1967)
Phyllis Frelich, “Children of a Lesser God” (1980)
Jane Lapotaire, “Piaf” (1981)
Joan Allen, “Burn This” (1988)
Pauline Collins, “Shirley Valentine” (1989)
Janet McTeer, “A Doll’s House” (1997)
Marie Mullen, “The Beauty Queen of Leeane” (1998)
Jennifer Ehle, “The Real Thing” (2000)
Deanna Dunagan, “August: Osage County” (2008)
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other...
She won Best Actress in a Play for portraying Tess, a lawyer who concentrates in providing legal defense for men who are accused of sexual assault but soon has the unthinkable happen to her. She is the 11th person to win the category for her first outing on a Broadway stage. She joins:
SEE2023 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories
Martita Hunt, “The Madwoman of Chaillot” (1949)
Beryl Reid, “The Killing of Sister George” (1967)
Phyllis Frelich, “Children of a Lesser God” (1980)
Jane Lapotaire, “Piaf” (1981)
Joan Allen, “Burn This” (1988)
Pauline Collins, “Shirley Valentine” (1989)
Janet McTeer, “A Doll’s House” (1997)
Marie Mullen, “The Beauty Queen of Leeane” (1998)
Jennifer Ehle, “The Real Thing” (2000)
Deanna Dunagan, “August: Osage County” (2008)
Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other...
- 6/12/2023
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
The top honorees at the 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards were plays that focused on cultures outside of London. “My Neighbour Totoro,” which is based on the beloved Japanese film of the same name from Studio Ghibli, won six trophies, the most of the night, including Best New Comedy, Director, and four craft categories. A revival of the American classic “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams claimed three: Best Play Revival and for lead Paul Mescal and featured player Anjana Vasan. Meanwhile, the British-based “Prima Facie,” which is set to bow on Broadway this month and will thus compete at the Tony Awards, took home two prizes for Best Play and for star Jodie Comer.
The only other productions to win more than one trophy were all musicals. “Standing at the Sky’s Edge” won two of the top prizes: Best Musical and Best Original Score or New Orchestrations. “Tammy Faye,...
The only other productions to win more than one trophy were all musicals. “Standing at the Sky’s Edge” won two of the top prizes: Best Musical and Best Original Score or New Orchestrations. “Tammy Faye,...
- 4/3/2023
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Thirteen years after the comedy-mystery series “Monk” ended its successful eight-season run on the USA Network, star Tony Shalhoub and many of his cast mates are set to reprise their roles in the Peacock original telefilm “Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie.” Shalhoub is also serving as co-executive producer on the new project along with former “Monk” team members Andy Breckman, David Hoberman, and Randy Zisk.
Shalhoub, who played fastidious sleuth Adrian Monk on the original show, will be rejoined by supporting players Ted Levine (Capt. Stottlemeyer), Jason Gray-Stanford (Lt. Disher), Traylor Howard (Natalie Teeger), Melora Hardin (Trudy Monk), and Héctor Elizondo (Dr. Bell). The new movie will also prominently feature a currently undisclosed actress in the role of Monk’s stepdaughter, Molly Evans, who was first portrayed by Alona Tal (“Little Fires Everywhere”) in the series finale.
When viewers last saw Monk, he had just finished solving his wife,...
Shalhoub, who played fastidious sleuth Adrian Monk on the original show, will be rejoined by supporting players Ted Levine (Capt. Stottlemeyer), Jason Gray-Stanford (Lt. Disher), Traylor Howard (Natalie Teeger), Melora Hardin (Trudy Monk), and Héctor Elizondo (Dr. Bell). The new movie will also prominently feature a currently undisclosed actress in the role of Monk’s stepdaughter, Molly Evans, who was first portrayed by Alona Tal (“Little Fires Everywhere”) in the series finale.
When viewers last saw Monk, he had just finished solving his wife,...
- 3/20/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Two new works based on existing material dominated the nominations for the 2023 Olivier Awards, the top theatre honor in Britain. “My Neighbour Totoro” and “Standing at the Sky’s Edge” lead the play and musical fields with nine and eight bids apiece. The former is a stage adaptation of the Studio Ghibli film of the same name, brought to life in a visually stunning production featuring impressive puppetry by Basil Twist. “Standing at the Sky’s Edge” uses songs from the Richard Hawley album and new material to tell the story of three families in a Sheffield housing complex.
Revivals had strong showings, too. Director Daniel Fish’s remounting of “Rodger & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!” and the Paul Mescal-led “A Streetcar Named Desire” netted seven and six nominations, respectively. This production of “Oklahoma!” previously played Broadway and received eight Tony Award nominations, including wins for Best Revival and Featured Actress...
Revivals had strong showings, too. Director Daniel Fish’s remounting of “Rodger & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!” and the Paul Mescal-led “A Streetcar Named Desire” netted seven and six nominations, respectively. This production of “Oklahoma!” previously played Broadway and received eight Tony Award nominations, including wins for Best Revival and Featured Actress...
- 3/1/2023
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
“City of Stars” is heading to the city that never sleeps. “La La Land,” the Oscar-winning film from Damien Chazelle, will be adapted into a Broadway musical, it was announced Tuesday.
A premiere window for the production has not yet been announced. The musical comes from Lionsgate, the distributor behind the 2016 feature film, and the original movie’s composer Justin Hurwitz will return along with songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul to write new music for the stage musical.
Bartlett Sher, a Tony winner for the 2008 revival of “South Pacific,” directs from a book written by Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar and Matthew Decker. Marc Platt, a producer on the original film and a two-time Tony award winner for “A Strange Loop” and “The Band’s Visit,” serves as the lead producer on the project.
“I’m thrilled to reunite with Lionsgate and the incredible team behind ‘La La Land’ to...
A premiere window for the production has not yet been announced. The musical comes from Lionsgate, the distributor behind the 2016 feature film, and the original movie’s composer Justin Hurwitz will return along with songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul to write new music for the stage musical.
Bartlett Sher, a Tony winner for the 2008 revival of “South Pacific,” directs from a book written by Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar and Matthew Decker. Marc Platt, a producer on the original film and a two-time Tony award winner for “A Strange Loop” and “The Band’s Visit,” serves as the lead producer on the project.
“I’m thrilled to reunite with Lionsgate and the incredible team behind ‘La La Land’ to...
- 2/7/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
The Israeli government’s efforts to reserve state funding only for films that uphold the regime’s far-right agenda is causing growing alarm among local filmmakers.
Since taking office in December, culture minister Miki Zohar has pushed for new requirements that would force artists and filmmakers to guarantee their works will not tarnish Israel’s reputation or that of its military. He also examined the possibility of forcing the producers of the documentaries “H2: The Occupation Lab” and “Two Kids A Day” to pay back state funding for the films.
The move comes against the backdrop of planned reforms by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government — which is believed to be the most right-wing regime in Israel’s history — that include the possible gutting of public television in the name of free market competition.
Israel’s communications ministry has since said it will freeze plans to defund public broadcaster Kan,...
Since taking office in December, culture minister Miki Zohar has pushed for new requirements that would force artists and filmmakers to guarantee their works will not tarnish Israel’s reputation or that of its military. He also examined the possibility of forcing the producers of the documentaries “H2: The Occupation Lab” and “Two Kids A Day” to pay back state funding for the films.
The move comes against the backdrop of planned reforms by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government — which is believed to be the most right-wing regime in Israel’s history — that include the possible gutting of public television in the name of free market competition.
Israel’s communications ministry has since said it will freeze plans to defund public broadcaster Kan,...
- 2/6/2023
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
K-Pop legend BTS may be on hiatus but fans are decidedly not. Concert film BTS: Yet To Come hit no. 5 at the North American Box office this weekend with 5.1 million on 1,100+ screens, for a cume topping 7.8 million from the first showing Feb. 1.
The group announced last year it was planning to take a break. In October, after their one-off live concert to support the bid by Busan, Korea’s second biggest city, for the World Expo 2030, BTS said its seven members were planning to fulfill the Korean government’s mandatory military service and reconvene as a group in 2025. That concert footage has been cut, re-edited and remixed for the big screen.
“The members of BTS are currently moving forward with plans to fulfill their military service. After the phenomenal concert to support Busan’s bid for the World Expo 2030, and as each individual embarks on solo endeavors, it’s the...
The group announced last year it was planning to take a break. In October, after their one-off live concert to support the bid by Busan, Korea’s second biggest city, for the World Expo 2030, BTS said its seven members were planning to fulfill the Korean government’s mandatory military service and reconvene as a group in 2025. That concert footage has been cut, re-edited and remixed for the big screen.
“The members of BTS are currently moving forward with plans to fulfill their military service. After the phenomenal concert to support Busan’s bid for the World Expo 2030, and as each individual embarks on solo endeavors, it’s the...
- 2/5/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Animated fairy tale The Amazing Maurice voiced by Emilia Clarke, Hugh Laurie, David Thewlish, Gemma Arterton and Himesh Patel, jumps from Sundance to 1,700 screens via Viva Pictures, the distributor’s widest release to date and a big one for any independently produced animated film.
And Civil War drama Freedom’s Path starring Gerran Howell, Rj Cyler, and Ewen Bremner, debuts at 128 AMC and Regal Cinemas. In limited release, Let It Be Morning by the director of The Band’s Visit resurfaces, Kit Harrington is back in Baby Ruby and Call My Agent’s Laure Calamy stars in Full Time.
Maurice, directed by Toby Genken and written by Terry Rossio, a family action/comedy from the U.K., follows a streetwise cat and his gang of rats who come up with a perfect moneymaking scheme. Based on the novel The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Sir Terry Pratchett, it’s produced by Emely Christians,...
And Civil War drama Freedom’s Path starring Gerran Howell, Rj Cyler, and Ewen Bremner, debuts at 128 AMC and Regal Cinemas. In limited release, Let It Be Morning by the director of The Band’s Visit resurfaces, Kit Harrington is back in Baby Ruby and Call My Agent’s Laure Calamy stars in Full Time.
Maurice, directed by Toby Genken and written by Terry Rossio, a family action/comedy from the U.K., follows a streetwise cat and his gang of rats who come up with a perfect moneymaking scheme. Based on the novel The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Sir Terry Pratchett, it’s produced by Emely Christians,...
- 2/3/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
“Let It Be Morning” begins with a vision of prison bars, which turn out to be the metal on a cage holding wedding doves. Although the first scene is indeed set during nuptial celebrations, it’s an undeniably ominous omen when the door is opened and the birds refuse to fly.
There are, in fact, bars everywhere in Eran Kolirin’s Palestinian drama, though few others are as visible (or unsubtle). His protagonist, Sami (Alex Bakri), is confined by his marriage, his family, his town. Some of these imprisonments, like his unhappy relationship with his sharply intelligent wife (an excellent Juna Suleiman), are at least partially of his own making. Others, like a stubbornly closed checkport to Jerusalem, are not.
Sami’s instinct to escape immediately after his brother’s village wedding is, he insists, purely practical: he’s got to get back to work in the city before he gets fired.
There are, in fact, bars everywhere in Eran Kolirin’s Palestinian drama, though few others are as visible (or unsubtle). His protagonist, Sami (Alex Bakri), is confined by his marriage, his family, his town. Some of these imprisonments, like his unhappy relationship with his sharply intelligent wife (an excellent Juna Suleiman), are at least partially of his own making. Others, like a stubbornly closed checkport to Jerusalem, are not.
Sami’s instinct to escape immediately after his brother’s village wedding is, he insists, purely practical: he’s got to get back to work in the city before he gets fired.
- 2/3/2023
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
"Do you know when this is going to end?" Cohen Media Group has revealed a new US trailer for an Israeli indie drama titled Let It Be Morning, finally arriving in US theaters in February. The film first premiered in 2021 at the Cannes Film Festival, playing in the Un Certain Regard section. It later won in 9 awards at the Ophir Awards (Israel's Academy Awards) including for Best Film, Director, Actor and Actress. From Eran Kolirin (director of The Band's Visit) comes a new powerful and timely film Let It Be Morning. In the film, a Palestinian-born Israeli citizen attending his brother’s wedding in an Arab village finds himself unable to return home to Jerusalem when a road is blocked by Israeli soldiers. A bitter sweet comedy about a state of siege, both internal & external and about a man who built a wall around his heart, and how the walls starts coming apart when another,...
- 1/26/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
A version of this story about Alex Borstein and Tony Shalhoub of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” first appeared in the Down to the Wire: Comedy issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
Of the nine actors nominated for Emmys during the first four seasons of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” two have joined series star Rachel Brosnahan in being nominated every year: Tony Shalhoub, who plays Midge’s father, Abe Weissman, and has four nominations and a win to show for it; and Alex Borstein, who plays Midge’s fiery manager, Susie Myerson, and has four noms and two wins.
They’re both back again in 2022, and it’s a bittersweet moment because it comes in the middle of filming the fifth and final season of “Mrs. Maisel,” Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino’s Amazon Prime Video show about a divorced young mother who becomes an aspiring comedian in late 1950s and early ’60s New York City.
Of the nine actors nominated for Emmys during the first four seasons of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” two have joined series star Rachel Brosnahan in being nominated every year: Tony Shalhoub, who plays Midge’s father, Abe Weissman, and has four nominations and a win to show for it; and Alex Borstein, who plays Midge’s fiery manager, Susie Myerson, and has four noms and two wins.
They’re both back again in 2022, and it’s a bittersweet moment because it comes in the middle of filming the fifth and final season of “Mrs. Maisel,” Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino’s Amazon Prime Video show about a divorced young mother who becomes an aspiring comedian in late 1950s and early ’60s New York City.
- 8/9/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Charades handles international sales.
Moshe Rosenthal’s 2022 Jerusalem Film Festival audience winner Karaoke has gone to Greenwich Entertainment for distribution in North America.
The comedy of manners centres on an upper-middle-class couple on the outskirts of Tel Aviv whose lives get a much-needed injection of excitement when a flashy talent agency owner moves into the penthouse apartment in their tower block.
The couple get coveted party invitations and find themselves competing for the newcomer’s attention while acting out long dormant ambitions and identities. Israeli actors Lior Ashkenazi, Sasson Gabay (The Band’s Visit) and Rita Shukrun star.
First-time feature director Rosenthal wrote the screenplay.
Moshe Rosenthal’s 2022 Jerusalem Film Festival audience winner Karaoke has gone to Greenwich Entertainment for distribution in North America.
The comedy of manners centres on an upper-middle-class couple on the outskirts of Tel Aviv whose lives get a much-needed injection of excitement when a flashy talent agency owner moves into the penthouse apartment in their tower block.
The couple get coveted party invitations and find themselves competing for the newcomer’s attention while acting out long dormant ambitions and identities. Israeli actors Lior Ashkenazi, Sasson Gabay (The Band’s Visit) and Rita Shukrun star.
First-time feature director Rosenthal wrote the screenplay.
- 8/3/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
One of the few good things on the margins of the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict is that there is at least some cultural exchange between the sides, so dissonant tones critical to the official policies can be heard, at least coming from the Israeli side. One of those voices certainly belongs to filmmaker and screenwriter Eran Kolirin whose film “The Band’s Visit” (2007) dared to ask a crucial question how it is for good people at a wrong place, such was the case of the visiting Egyptian band in Israel.
Kolirin’s newest film “Let It Be Morning” is a proper Israeli-Palestinian collaboration, based on the novel by the Palestinian journalist-writer Sayed Kashua, known for the source material of the films “Private” (2004) and “A Borrowed Identity” (2014), and on the topic of the Israeli Arabs and their need to re-assess the identities they have built in the times of distress. Filmed with a...
Kolirin’s newest film “Let It Be Morning” is a proper Israeli-Palestinian collaboration, based on the novel by the Palestinian journalist-writer Sayed Kashua, known for the source material of the films “Private” (2004) and “A Borrowed Identity” (2014), and on the topic of the Israeli Arabs and their need to re-assess the identities they have built in the times of distress. Filmed with a...
- 7/27/2022
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
Kino Lorber has acquired North American rights to first-time Lebanese director Mounia Akl’s timely drama “Costa Brava, Lebanon,” which launched positively last year from Venice.
“Costa Brava” provides an acerbic take on Lebanon’s waste management crisis and its turbulent political landscape and combines the country’s strife with the global climate crisis.
The darkly comic drama pairs Oscar-nominated Lebanese star and filmmaker Nadine Labaki (“Capernaum”) and Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (“The Band’s Visit”) as a couple who has moved from Beirut to live idyllically in the mountains, until one day the government decides to build a garbage landfill right beside their house.
After bowing from Venice “Costa Brava” segued to the Toronto and London fests, where it won prizes.
The pic’s production team boasts about it being the first feature in the Arab region to implement green measures on set, with strict sustainability protocols about recycling, water use,...
“Costa Brava” provides an acerbic take on Lebanon’s waste management crisis and its turbulent political landscape and combines the country’s strife with the global climate crisis.
The darkly comic drama pairs Oscar-nominated Lebanese star and filmmaker Nadine Labaki (“Capernaum”) and Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (“The Band’s Visit”) as a couple who has moved from Beirut to live idyllically in the mountains, until one day the government decides to build a garbage landfill right beside their house.
After bowing from Venice “Costa Brava” segued to the Toronto and London fests, where it won prizes.
The pic’s production team boasts about it being the first feature in the Arab region to implement green measures on set, with strict sustainability protocols about recycling, water use,...
- 6/7/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Kino Lorber has picked up North American rights to Costa Brava, Lebanon, a darkly comic tale set against the current political and environmental crises in Lebanon.
Mounia Akl’s directorial debut, which premiered in Venice’s Orizzonti Extra sidebar last year, stars actress/director Nadine Labaki (Capernaum) and Saleh Bakri (The Band’s Visit). Kino Lorber is planning a theatrical release for Costa Brava, Lebanon on July 15.
Aki’s intergenerational family story focuses on the free-spirited Badri clan, who, in an effort to escape the toxic pollution and social unrest of Beirut, build a mini-utopia off the grid. But the world intervenes when the Lebanese government begins construction on a garbage landfill right outside their fence. The country’s trash and corruption is literally being brought to their doorstep. The Badris are forced to either stay true to their ideals and live outside the...
Kino Lorber has picked up North American rights to Costa Brava, Lebanon, a darkly comic tale set against the current political and environmental crises in Lebanon.
Mounia Akl’s directorial debut, which premiered in Venice’s Orizzonti Extra sidebar last year, stars actress/director Nadine Labaki (Capernaum) and Saleh Bakri (The Band’s Visit). Kino Lorber is planning a theatrical release for Costa Brava, Lebanon on July 15.
Aki’s intergenerational family story focuses on the free-spirited Badri clan, who, in an effort to escape the toxic pollution and social unrest of Beirut, build a mini-utopia off the grid. But the world intervenes when the Lebanese government begins construction on a garbage landfill right outside their fence. The country’s trash and corruption is literally being brought to their doorstep. The Badris are forced to either stay true to their ideals and live outside the...
- 6/7/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“It’s what any actor would dream of,” shares Tony Shalhoub of his ever-evolving character Abe Weissman on Amazon Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” In the fourth season, the former Columbia University professor starts a job as a theatre critic at the Village Voice, another major change for the role that the actor describes as a “luxury.” “It’s true of most of these characters on ‘Maisel.’ They evolve, they reinvent themselves, they’re forced to let go of things that have become part of their persona,” the four-time Emmy winner notes. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Shalhoub has appeared on Broadway eight times in the past four decades, not to mention his other stage work. The Tony winner for “The Band’s Visit” admits that the chance to “take on that mantle as Abe as a critic was really exciting,” joking that he feels it’s “payback time.
Shalhoub has appeared on Broadway eight times in the past four decades, not to mention his other stage work. The Tony winner for “The Band’s Visit” admits that the chance to “take on that mantle as Abe as a critic was really exciting,” joking that he feels it’s “payback time.
- 5/25/2022
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Some of the biggest names in film, television and the Broadway stage won’t be making the coveted pilgrimage to Radio City Music Hall this June when the 75th annual Tony Awards are handed out, as such high-profile performers as Daniel Craig, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Katrina Lenk, Beanie Feldstein, Jane Lynch and Patrick J. Adams were not among the nominations announced Monday morning.
And at least as surprising as the snubs was the strong showing of Paradise Square, a musical that received fairly mixed reviews and has been struggling at the box office since opening April 3. The musical, a comeback for producer Garth H. Drabinsky, scored 10 nominations (tying with Mj and second only to A Strange Loop). Among Paradise Square‘s are Best Musical, Joaquina Kalukango’s nom for Best Lead Actress/Musical, and A.J. Shively’s nom for Featured Actor/Musical.
Among the biggest surprises and take-aways...
And at least as surprising as the snubs was the strong showing of Paradise Square, a musical that received fairly mixed reviews and has been struggling at the box office since opening April 3. The musical, a comeback for producer Garth H. Drabinsky, scored 10 nominations (tying with Mj and second only to A Strange Loop). Among Paradise Square‘s are Best Musical, Joaquina Kalukango’s nom for Best Lead Actress/Musical, and A.J. Shively’s nom for Featured Actor/Musical.
Among the biggest surprises and take-aways...
- 5/9/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
With 34 productions eligible for this year’s Tony Awards, there were plenty of names missing when nominations were announced on Monday morning. Among the most surprising 2022 Tony Awards nominations snubs was Katrina Lenk, who plays Bobbie in Marianne Elliott’s reimagining of the late Stephen Sondheim’s “Company.” The production merited nine nominations, including Best Musical Revival, Best Director, Best Featured Actor (Matt Doyle), and Best Featured Actress. Lenk previously won a Tony Award for her performance in Best Musical-winner “The Band’s Visit.”
See the complete list of 2022 Tony Awards nominees
Original musical “Flying Over Sunset” also underperformed. Even though the shuttered production scored four nominations, including Best Actress (Carmen Cusack) and Best Score, it missed out on the top category of Best Musical and Best Book for librettist James Lapine.
The star-studded revival of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” also missed out on a number of key nominations. Director Sam Gold...
See the complete list of 2022 Tony Awards nominees
Original musical “Flying Over Sunset” also underperformed. Even though the shuttered production scored four nominations, including Best Actress (Carmen Cusack) and Best Score, it missed out on the top category of Best Musical and Best Book for librettist James Lapine.
The star-studded revival of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” also missed out on a number of key nominations. Director Sam Gold...
- 5/9/2022
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
The red bucket brigades so long-familiar to Broadway spring audiences were back this year after a two-year pandemic absence, and the results were heartening: donations across Broadway, Off Broadway and touring productions to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS totaled 4,288,994.
One musical in particular outdid itself: The Music Man, starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, raised a single-show record of 2,071,806 through post-show memorabilia auctions and autographed poster sales.
Until the pandemic, spring on Broadway meant onstage, post-show appeals from cast members of participating shows asking audiences to drop some cash into the red buckets in the lobby. Traditionally, the cast members would old the buckets, offering the fast-moving lines of donors the chance for a quick up-close hello with the stars. This year, the ongoing threat of Covid infection prevented direct interaction with casts, so Broadway Cares volunteers and staff thanked audiences for the donations.
This year’s Broadway Cares’ Spring...
One musical in particular outdid itself: The Music Man, starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, raised a single-show record of 2,071,806 through post-show memorabilia auctions and autographed poster sales.
Until the pandemic, spring on Broadway meant onstage, post-show appeals from cast members of participating shows asking audiences to drop some cash into the red buckets in the lobby. Traditionally, the cast members would old the buckets, offering the fast-moving lines of donors the chance for a quick up-close hello with the stars. This year, the ongoing threat of Covid infection prevented direct interaction with casts, so Broadway Cares volunteers and staff thanked audiences for the donations.
This year’s Broadway Cares’ Spring...
- 5/5/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
“It feels like a completely new production,” explains “Company” star Katrina Lenk. The Tony Award-winning actress (“The Band’s Visit”) plays Bobbie in director Marianne Elliott’s envisioned staging of Stephen Sondheim’s classic. Switching the gender of the central role helped Lenk avoid feeling pressure about playing a role many formidable male talents have taken on before her. “We were really approaching it as a brand new piece,” she says, “so all the pressure went away because it didn’t really apply.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.
SEEMatt Doyle interview: ‘Company’
Lenk is particularly interested in how changing the character from Bobby to Bobbie allows for a close examination of what it is like to exist as a woman in today’s world. She is asking herself questions like “how do women perform femininity?” and wondering why they have “a tendency to people and have an outward focus on other people’s needs.
SEEMatt Doyle interview: ‘Company’
Lenk is particularly interested in how changing the character from Bobby to Bobbie allows for a close examination of what it is like to exist as a woman in today’s world. She is asking herself questions like “how do women perform femininity?” and wondering why they have “a tendency to people and have an outward focus on other people’s needs.
- 4/27/2022
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
In this year’s Tony Awards race for Best Actress in a Musical, there are three classic roles that have been nominated before, but haven’t won: Bobbie in “Company,” Caroline Thibodeaux in “Caroline, or Change,” and Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl.” Can any of them finally prevail this time?
See‘Hangmen’ could finally earn Martin McDonagh a long awaited Tony Award for Best Play
As of this writing Sharon D. Clarke is the front-runner according to the combined predictions of Gold Derby users with 9/2 odds. In “Caroline, or Change,” she played Caroline Thibodeaux, a 39-year-old African-American maid and a single mother of four working for a middle-class Jewish family in Louisiana back in 1963. For the original Broadway production back in 2004, Tonya Pinkins was the odds-on favorite to win Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as the title character. In what was considered to be a hotly contested race that year,...
See‘Hangmen’ could finally earn Martin McDonagh a long awaited Tony Award for Best Play
As of this writing Sharon D. Clarke is the front-runner according to the combined predictions of Gold Derby users with 9/2 odds. In “Caroline, or Change,” she played Caroline Thibodeaux, a 39-year-old African-American maid and a single mother of four working for a middle-class Jewish family in Louisiana back in 1963. For the original Broadway production back in 2004, Tonya Pinkins was the odds-on favorite to win Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as the title character. In what was considered to be a hotly contested race that year,...
- 4/14/2022
- by Jeffrey Kare
- Gold Derby
A perfect movie for the moment — though it debuted in late 2020, winning the Grand Prize at Tallin Black Nights — “Fear” offers both seriocomic balm and finger-wagging just as another major refugee crisis roils the world. Bulgarian theater and film veteran Ivaylo Hristov’s latest feature brings to mind not just current Ukraine-related events, but wider European and global trends, as it depicts a border backwater rattled when a lonely local widow takes in an African man fleeing war. Selected as last year’s Bulgarian Oscar submission, this warmly ingratiating piece in cool widescreen monochrome is a keeper, reminiscent of bittersweet fish-out-of-water arthouse hits like “The Band’s Visit,” as well as select gems from Soviet-bloc nations’ 1960s new wave.
Flinty middle-aged widow Svetla (Svetlana Yancheva) is introduced closing up the classroom she’ll no longer be teaching in, as the entire school is being closed for lack of students. Indeed, everything...
Flinty middle-aged widow Svetla (Svetlana Yancheva) is introduced closing up the classroom she’ll no longer be teaching in, as the entire school is being closed for lack of students. Indeed, everything...
- 3/10/2022
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Touzani’s previous feature Adam premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and was Morocco’s Oscar candidate.
Berlin-based Films Boutique has taken world rights to The Blue Caftan, the second film by Maryam Touzani. The company has also announced early deals on the film, due to be delivered later this spring. It has sold to Japan (Longride), Switzerland (Filmcoopi) and Spain (Karma) and will be distributed by Ad Vitam in France.
The Blue Caftan is billed by its producer Nabil Ayouch as “a deeply moving gaze into the stifled homosexuality of a man within his marriage.”
The film follows Halim...
Berlin-based Films Boutique has taken world rights to The Blue Caftan, the second film by Maryam Touzani. The company has also announced early deals on the film, due to be delivered later this spring. It has sold to Japan (Longride), Switzerland (Filmcoopi) and Spain (Karma) and will be distributed by Ad Vitam in France.
The Blue Caftan is billed by its producer Nabil Ayouch as “a deeply moving gaze into the stifled homosexuality of a man within his marriage.”
The film follows Halim...
- 2/11/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The strange, true-life story of Elmer McCurdy, a turn-of-the-20th Century train robber whose corpse became a carnival attraction and unwitting stage prop well into the 1970s, will be adapted into a musical by the writers of Broadway’s acclaimed The Band’s Visit.
The new theater piece, titled Dead Outlaw, will feature music and lyrics by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, with a book by Itamar Moses. The project marks the first reteaming of Yasbek and Moses since their multiple-Tony-winning The Band’s Visit, which made its Broadway debut in 2017.
Yazbek and Della Penna have composed 14-songs for Dead Outlaw, and a premiere presentation is scheduled for March 14 at the Manhattan venue 54 Below.
Elmer J. McCurdy was a bank and trainer robber in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who died in a 1911 shoot-out with police in Oklahoma. His corpse was mummified and displayed at a funeral home...
The new theater piece, titled Dead Outlaw, will feature music and lyrics by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, with a book by Itamar Moses. The project marks the first reteaming of Yasbek and Moses since their multiple-Tony-winning The Band’s Visit, which made its Broadway debut in 2017.
Yazbek and Della Penna have composed 14-songs for Dead Outlaw, and a premiere presentation is scheduled for March 14 at the Manhattan venue 54 Below.
Elmer J. McCurdy was a bank and trainer robber in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who died in a 1911 shoot-out with police in Oklahoma. His corpse was mummified and displayed at a funeral home...
- 2/7/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Regev has been the CEO of the Jerusalem Cinematheque since 2013.
Jerusalem Cinematheque CEO Noa Regev has been appointed as the new CEO of the Israel Film Fund (Iff) and is due to take up the role at the beginning of April.
She replaces veteran producer and broadcast executive Lisa Shiloach-Uzrad, who spent two-and-a-half years in the role having succeeded long-time executive director Katriel Schory in 2019.
Regev has been CEO of the Jerusalem Cinematheque since 2013. She took over the organisation at a delicate point in its history as its hands-on founder Lia Van Leer, who was then in her late 80s,...
Jerusalem Cinematheque CEO Noa Regev has been appointed as the new CEO of the Israel Film Fund (Iff) and is due to take up the role at the beginning of April.
She replaces veteran producer and broadcast executive Lisa Shiloach-Uzrad, who spent two-and-a-half years in the role having succeeded long-time executive director Katriel Schory in 2019.
Regev has been CEO of the Jerusalem Cinematheque since 2013. She took over the organisation at a delicate point in its history as its hands-on founder Lia Van Leer, who was then in her late 80s,...
- 2/4/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The members of Latin boy band Cnco are making their acting debut in the Disney+ miniseries 4 Ever, which recently began production in Miami. The series is set to air later this year in Latin America, with other Disney+ markets to follow.
In 4 Ever, young musicians Andy (Christopher Vélez), Ian (Richard Camacho), Ciro (Zabdiel De Jesús), and Darío (Erick Brian Colón) meet by chance at a restaurant, where they get involved in an unexpected situation: A valuable guitar has just disappeared. To recover the guitar and return it to its owner, they must put together a band.
Their mission is challenging because each musician is different. Andy is described as a demanding perfectionist, Darío is sensitive and romantic, and Ciro is distant and aloof. But it’s their passion for music that bonds as they embark on a journey that involves the promise of success.
Rounding out the cast are Carlos Ponce,...
In 4 Ever, young musicians Andy (Christopher Vélez), Ian (Richard Camacho), Ciro (Zabdiel De Jesús), and Darío (Erick Brian Colón) meet by chance at a restaurant, where they get involved in an unexpected situation: A valuable guitar has just disappeared. To recover the guitar and return it to its owner, they must put together a band.
Their mission is challenging because each musician is different. Andy is described as a demanding perfectionist, Darío is sensitive and romantic, and Ciro is distant and aloof. But it’s their passion for music that bonds as they embark on a journey that involves the promise of success.
Rounding out the cast are Carlos Ponce,...
- 2/4/2022
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi’s “Forever Young,” Golshifteh Farahani starrer “Romantique,” and the documentary “Last Dance” will be launched by sales boutique Charades at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous.
“Forever Young” (“Les amandiers”) stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz (“Possessions”), Louis Garrel (“An Officer and a Spy”), Vassili Schneider and Suzanne Lindon (“Spring Blossom”). The film opens at the end of the 1980s in Paris and follows a young troupe of comedians who have just have been admitted to Les Amandiers, the prestigious theater school headed by Patrice Chéreau. The film is produced by France’s Ad Vitam production and Italy’s Bibi Film.
“Romantique” (“Une Comedie romantique) marks Thibault Segouin’s feature debut, starring Farahani and Alex Lutz. The movie follows César, a notorious liar and a failing artist who lives in Montmartre in Paris and discovers he is the father of a three-year-old little girl. The film is produced by Latika and will be released by Alba Films.
“Forever Young” (“Les amandiers”) stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz (“Possessions”), Louis Garrel (“An Officer and a Spy”), Vassili Schneider and Suzanne Lindon (“Spring Blossom”). The film opens at the end of the 1980s in Paris and follows a young troupe of comedians who have just have been admitted to Les Amandiers, the prestigious theater school headed by Patrice Chéreau. The film is produced by France’s Ad Vitam production and Italy’s Bibi Film.
“Romantique” (“Une Comedie romantique) marks Thibault Segouin’s feature debut, starring Farahani and Alex Lutz. The movie follows César, a notorious liar and a failing artist who lives in Montmartre in Paris and discovers he is the father of a three-year-old little girl. The film is produced by Latika and will be released by Alba Films.
- 1/11/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
With last year’s surprise nominee “The Man Who Sold His Skin” hailing from Tunisia, Oscar handicappers should be sure to give West Asia and North Africa titles close scrutiny this time around.
Among the 11 submissions are several titles likely to be highly competitive in the international feature category. These include Iran’s social media critique “A Hero” from previous two-time winner Asghar Farhadi; Israel’s “Let It Be Morning”, a wry satire helmed by Eran Kolirin, about a Palestinian village put under military lockdown by the Israeli army; and Lebanon’s “Costa Brava, Lebanon,” a darkly comic commentary on the realities of modern-day Lebanon from feature debutant Mounia Akl.
Although “A Hero” may not be prime Farhadi, it already boasts the Grand Prix from Cannes. The narrative focuses on one of life’s losers, a likeable working-class man who, while on a short furlough from debtors prison, engineers events...
Among the 11 submissions are several titles likely to be highly competitive in the international feature category. These include Iran’s social media critique “A Hero” from previous two-time winner Asghar Farhadi; Israel’s “Let It Be Morning”, a wry satire helmed by Eran Kolirin, about a Palestinian village put under military lockdown by the Israeli army; and Lebanon’s “Costa Brava, Lebanon,” a darkly comic commentary on the realities of modern-day Lebanon from feature debutant Mounia Akl.
Although “A Hero” may not be prime Farhadi, it already boasts the Grand Prix from Cannes. The narrative focuses on one of life’s losers, a likeable working-class man who, while on a short furlough from debtors prison, engineers events...
- 12/13/2021
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Miranda Rae Mayo is reteaming with her former Chicago Fire co-star Yuriy Sardarov on Daddy, a dark comedy written and directed by Neal Kelley and Jono Sherman, which will enter production in Topanga Canyon next week.
The film is set in a dystopian society where the state has the power to determine who can and cannot father children, watching as four men attend a government sanctioned retreat in the remote mountains of California. When they show up at the site, only to find no guide or instructions waiting for them, they are left to their own devices and must prove to themselves—and each other—that they have what it takes to become fathers.
Kelley and Sherman are producing the film—also starring Pomme Koch (The Band’s Visit)—under their Twnshp Pictures banner, with The Kalin Company’s Sophia Kalin. Nathan Nemon is exec producing.
Mayo is best known...
The film is set in a dystopian society where the state has the power to determine who can and cannot father children, watching as four men attend a government sanctioned retreat in the remote mountains of California. When they show up at the site, only to find no guide or instructions waiting for them, they are left to their own devices and must prove to themselves—and each other—that they have what it takes to become fathers.
Kelley and Sherman are producing the film—also starring Pomme Koch (The Band’s Visit)—under their Twnshp Pictures banner, with The Kalin Company’s Sophia Kalin. Nathan Nemon is exec producing.
Mayo is best known...
- 12/1/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
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