Ah, 1978. It was the year that Slashfilm writer Lee Adams entered the world, and two movies changed the course of comedy forever (those landmarks are unrelated; I'm not trying to claim any credit). Those movies were "National Lampoon's Animal House" and Cheech and Chong's "Up in Smoke" — two lowbrow hits whose influences are still felt to this day.
There was lowbrow stuff before 1978, of course. Slapstick — the age-old art of falling over, breaking things, and hitting people — was still doing the rounds in the increasingly weary adventures of Inspector Clouseau. But the class of '78 was different: wild, irreverent, raucous, bawdy, subversive, counterculture comedy that delighted the kids and antagonized the squares.
The two films had their roots in the '60s. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong developed their stand-up act in the latter part of the decade before making their break on the big screen with the granddaddy of stoner movies,...
There was lowbrow stuff before 1978, of course. Slapstick — the age-old art of falling over, breaking things, and hitting people — was still doing the rounds in the increasingly weary adventures of Inspector Clouseau. But the class of '78 was different: wild, irreverent, raucous, bawdy, subversive, counterculture comedy that delighted the kids and antagonized the squares.
The two films had their roots in the '60s. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong developed their stand-up act in the latter part of the decade before making their break on the big screen with the granddaddy of stoner movies,...
- 3/26/2023
- by Lee Adams
- Slash Film
On the subject of the rare sequels that equal or excel their predecessors, "Aliens" is surely one of the most popular nominations. James Cameron's 1986 sci-fi action extravaganza comes seven years after Ridley Scott's terrifying slasher-in-space "Alien," though Cameron was tapped to write the sequel years earlier. He already had "The Terminator" and a script for "Rambo: First Blood Part II" under his belt, and would carry the intensity of both into his "Alien" franchise entry.
This time, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the sole human survivor of the Nostromo, is back to aid locked-and-loaded Colonial Marines in search of a lost terraformer colony on exomoon Lv-426; there, the movie's title comes into play. Nearly two hours of movie goes by as the humans battle the H.R. Giger and Stan Winston-created xenomorphs and facehuggers, culminating in what /Film's Lee Adams calls "one of cinema's greatest climactic showdowns in one...
This time, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the sole human survivor of the Nostromo, is back to aid locked-and-loaded Colonial Marines in search of a lost terraformer colony on exomoon Lv-426; there, the movie's title comes into play. Nearly two hours of movie goes by as the humans battle the H.R. Giger and Stan Winston-created xenomorphs and facehuggers, culminating in what /Film's Lee Adams calls "one of cinema's greatest climactic showdowns in one...
- 12/10/2022
- by Anya Stanley
- Slash Film
"Black Mirror" holds a fascinating place in the television cultural landscape. I remember the days when the Channel 4 sci-fi anthology series had just dropped on Netflix, prior to the streaming service developing new seasons of their own. Everyone was excited to watch a new take on "The Twilight Zone" for a more cynical generation, and it was largely warranted.
The episode "15 Million Merits" showed a terrifying reality in which you never get to shut off your advertisements, whereas "Be Right Back" showcased the horrors of trying to recapture a human soul in a synthetic husk. Once Netflix took over, the show tackled even more of our techno-dystopian fears, such as Uber ratings as life currency, electronic prisons, and digital footprint blackmail.
While the series has been likened to a more haunting update on classic anthology horror, "Black Mirror" creator Charlie Brooker was largely influenced by a BBC film. A film so unsettling,...
The episode "15 Million Merits" showed a terrifying reality in which you never get to shut off your advertisements, whereas "Be Right Back" showcased the horrors of trying to recapture a human soul in a synthetic husk. Once Netflix took over, the show tackled even more of our techno-dystopian fears, such as Uber ratings as life currency, electronic prisons, and digital footprint blackmail.
While the series has been likened to a more haunting update on classic anthology horror, "Black Mirror" creator Charlie Brooker was largely influenced by a BBC film. A film so unsettling,...
- 10/31/2022
- by Matthew Bilodeau
- Slash Film
When giving out movie recommendations for movie night with teens, one that might raise eyebrows is "Cool Hand Luke." But Stuart Rosenberg's 1967 prison movie makes perfect sense for the youths. Adapted from the 1965 book of the same name by ex-con Donn Pierce, the tale contains what Lee Adams calls "one of the great anti-authoritarian figures of American cinema." Paul Newman stars as war vet Lucas Jackson, dispatched to a muggy Florida road camp after vandalizing some parking meters in a drunken haze. An aggressive nonconformist, Jackson lands on the brutal prison warden's radar, takes his licks every time, and becomes a hero among the inmates as a result.
A member of the Actors Studio, the "Hud" star had no problem going above and beyond the pages of the script, where Method acting might enable a more genuine performance. The star drank with fellow cast members and helped foster the...
A member of the Actors Studio, the "Hud" star had no problem going above and beyond the pages of the script, where Method acting might enable a more genuine performance. The star drank with fellow cast members and helped foster the...
- 8/28/2022
- by Anya Stanley
- Slash Film
Members of the original Broadway company of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams' A Broadway Musical , which only played one night on Broadway in 1978, will reunite for a concert presentation of the musical at Feinstein's54 Below on Sunday, July 16th, 2017 at 7pm amp 930pm.
- 6/22/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Kim Smith has been dancing since she was 2 years old and teaching dance for decades. So it broke her heart when her youngest daughter Ragan never quite fit in in the classes she tried.
“I was trying to find a program for Ragan, but she is autistic and has a short attention span,” Smith tells People.
So Smith, 50, created a class for Ragan, 7, and other kids with special needs like her in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“To be able to watch them learn choreography and watch their faces light up when they get a step right, it’s the most rewarding feeling as a teacher,...
“I was trying to find a program for Ragan, but she is autistic and has a short attention span,” Smith tells People.
So Smith, 50, created a class for Ragan, 7, and other kids with special needs like her in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“To be able to watch them learn choreography and watch their faces light up when they get a step right, it’s the most rewarding feeling as a teacher,...
- 2/21/2017
- by Michelle Boudin
- PEOPLE.com
Happy Birthday, Charles Strouse Strouse's first Broadway musical was the 1960 hit Bye Bye Birdie, with lyrics by Lee Adams, who would become his long time collaborator. Following this was Golden Boy 1964, also with Adams, starring Sammy Davis, Jr. and It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman 1966, based on the popular comic strip which introduced the song 'You've Got Possibilities' sung by Linda Lavin. In 1970, Applause starring Lauren Bacall, with book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and lyrics by Adams won Strouse his second Tony Award. In 1977, Strouse adapted another comic strip for the stage, creating the hit Annie, which garnered him his third Tony Award and two Grammy Awards. Other Strouse musicals include Charlie and Algernon 1979, Dance a Little Closer 1983, with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Rags 1986, Nick amp Nora 1993, and An American Tragedy 1995, with lyrics by David Shaber.
- 6/7/2016
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Happy Birthday, Charles Strouse Strouse's first Broadway musical was the 1960 hit Bye Bye Birdie, with lyrics by Lee Adams, who would become his long time collaborator. Following this was Golden Boy 1964, also with Adams, starring Sammy Davis, Jr. and It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman 1966, based on the popular comic strip which introduced the song 'You've Got Possibilities' sung by Linda Lavin. In 1970, Applause starring Lauren Bacall, with book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and lyrics by Adams won Strouse his second Tony Award. In 1977, Strouse adapted another comic strip for the stage, creating the hit Annie, which garnered him his third Tony Award and two Grammy Awards. Other Strouse musicals include Charlie and Algernon 1979, Dance a Little Closer 1983, with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Rags 1986, Nick amp Nora 1993, and An American Tragedy 1995, with lyrics by David Shaber.
- 6/7/2015
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Update August 14: Broadway will go dark: The marquees of Broadway theatres in New York will be dimmed in memory of Lauren Bacall on Friday, August 15, at exactly 7:45 p.m. for one minute.
One of the leading ladies of Hollywood’s Golden Age died today after a stroke. The sultry, fiery Lauren Bacall was 89. MSNBC’s Thomas Robert broke the news in a tweet, and the Bogart estate has confirmed it. She was famous for starring — onscreeen and off — with Humphrey Bogart in such 1940s classics as The Big Sleep, To Have and Have Not, Dark Passage and Key Largo. In one of Hollywood’s great love stories, they married in 1945 and stayed together until his death in 1957. Four years later she married another acting legend, Jason Robards Jr.; they divorced in 1969.
Related: Reactions to Lauren Bacall’s Death
Bacall worked in films consistently through the mid-1960s and...
One of the leading ladies of Hollywood’s Golden Age died today after a stroke. The sultry, fiery Lauren Bacall was 89. MSNBC’s Thomas Robert broke the news in a tweet, and the Bogart estate has confirmed it. She was famous for starring — onscreeen and off — with Humphrey Bogart in such 1940s classics as The Big Sleep, To Have and Have Not, Dark Passage and Key Largo. In one of Hollywood’s great love stories, they married in 1945 and stayed together until his death in 1957. Four years later she married another acting legend, Jason Robards Jr.; they divorced in 1969.
Related: Reactions to Lauren Bacall’s Death
Bacall worked in films consistently through the mid-1960s and...
- 8/14/2014
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline
Happy Birthday, Charles Strouse Strouse's first Broadway musical was the 1960 hit Bye Bye Birdie, with lyrics by Lee Adams, who would become his long time collaborator. Following this was Golden Boy 1964, also with Adams, starring Sammy Davis, Jr. and It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman 1966, based on the popular comic strip which introduced the song 'You've Got Possibilities' sung by Linda Lavin. In 1970, Applause starring Lauren Bacall, with book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and lyrics by Adams won Strouse his second Tony Award. In 1977, Strouse adapted another comic strip for the stage, creating the hit Annie, which garnered him his third Tony Award and two Grammy Awards. Other Strouse musicals include Charlie and Algernon 1979, Dance a Little Closer 1983, with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Rags 1986, Nick amp Nora 1993, and An American Tragedy 1995, with lyrics by David Shaber.
- 6/7/2013
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Today, it seems audiences know "Bye Bye Birdie" only from the prominent mention of it on "Mad Men," when the Sterling Cooper agency tried to copy Ann-Margret's minimalist opening number for a diet soda commercial. But when the movie musical premiered 50 years ago (on April 4, 1963), it was a huge smash. It made an instant star out of the Swedish-born actress, as well as boosting the fame of co-stars Dick Van Dyke and Paul Lynde. Based on the Broadway hit musical, "Bye Bye Birdie" was seen as a trenchant pop cultural satire at the time. Everyone knows that Conrad Birdie, the hip-swiveling rocker who is drafted into the Army, and who stages a publicity stunt on the Ed Sullivan show by agreeing to kiss a teen fan before reporting for duty, is inspired by Elvis Presley, who had to put his career on hold in 1958 when he was drafted. But...
- 4/4/2013
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Happy Birthday, Charles Strouse Strouse's first Broadway musical was the 1960 hit Bye Bye Birdie, with lyrics by Lee Adams, who would become his long time collaborator. Following this was Golden Boy 1964, also with Adams, starring Sammy Davis, Jr. and It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman 1966, based on the popular comic strip which introduced the song You've Got Possibilities sung by Linda Lavin. In 1970, Applause starring Lauren Bacall, with book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and lyrics by Adams won Strouse his second Tony Award. In 1977, Strouse adapted another comic strip for the stage, creating the hit Annie, which garnered him his third Tony Award and two Grammy Awards. Other Strouse musicals include Charlie and Algernon 1979, Dance a Little Closer 1983, with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Rags 1986, Nick amp Nora 1993, and An American Tragedy 1995, with lyrics by David Shaber.
- 6/7/2012
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
By Christopher Stipp
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
Gnomeo And Juliet - Giveaway
For those of us with ankle biters in the audience it’s that time again when kids’ thoughts turn to summer vacation and their mouths start to belligerently harass their parents for things to do. Be it playing in the park, going out for lunch, or taking them to the library there is an endless stream of events you all will have to plan to satiate your young hooligans.
Thanks be to a mysterious little elven gnome I am able to promote a wee contest in support of the Blu-ray/DVD release of Gnomeo & Juliet which hits the streets on May 24th. Be one of the first parents, or “animation enthusiast” for those of you like me who still enjoy the medium,...
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
Gnomeo And Juliet - Giveaway
For those of us with ankle biters in the audience it’s that time again when kids’ thoughts turn to summer vacation and their mouths start to belligerently harass their parents for things to do. Be it playing in the park, going out for lunch, or taking them to the library there is an endless stream of events you all will have to plan to satiate your young hooligans.
Thanks be to a mysterious little elven gnome I am able to promote a wee contest in support of the Blu-ray/DVD release of Gnomeo & Juliet which hits the streets on May 24th. Be one of the first parents, or “animation enthusiast” for those of you like me who still enjoy the medium,...
- 5/20/2011
- by Christopher Stipp
Exclusive: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the playwright and comic book writer who was brought on to rewrite and hopefully save Broadway's Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, has booked several projects to follow. On the TV side, he'll become a co-producer and writer of the hit series Glee. And I'm told that he's just been set by MGM and Screen Gems to write a remake of Carrie, the Stephen King thriller about the telekinetic teenager who gets pushed too far at the prom and wreaks havoc on her fellow high school students. King's bestselling book was turned into the 1976 film that starred Sissy Spacek, John Travolta, Amy Irving and Piper Laurie as the repressive mother. For Aguirre-Sacasa, these diverse projects are right in his wheelhouse. On Carrie, he will write a version that is more faithful to the King book than the earlier movie, much the same as Joel and Ethan Coen went...
- 5/19/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Comic scribe Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has joined the creative team for the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. The writer has been hired to rework the show's storyline, bringing it in line with the character's distinguished history, Deadline reports. Aguirre-Sacasa is best known for his run on Marvel's Sensational Spider-Man. He has also penned an update of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams's superhero (more)...
- 2/19/2011
- by By Mark Langshaw
- Digital Spy
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has been hired to rewrite Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. The troubled Broadway musical is based off of the book written by Julie Taymor and Glen Berger.
Aguirre-Sacasa is a good choice since one of the biggest criticisms about the musical it is that the webslinger lacks and insiders voice. He definitely has a grasp on Spidey, having written a number of Spider-Man comics for Marvel. He recently wrote a book to the Charles Strouse/Lee Adams musical It's A Plane, It's Superman! which was a hit at the Dallas Theatre Center. He also writes on the HBO series Big Love.
The $65 million musical has recently received horrible reviews and been slammed with safety violations. It's production has been pushed back a fifth time to a March 15 opening night. Bono and The Edge recently brought in their record producer Steve Lillywhite. This hiring has been the the most...
Aguirre-Sacasa is a good choice since one of the biggest criticisms about the musical it is that the webslinger lacks and insiders voice. He definitely has a grasp on Spidey, having written a number of Spider-Man comics for Marvel. He recently wrote a book to the Charles Strouse/Lee Adams musical It's A Plane, It's Superman! which was a hit at the Dallas Theatre Center. He also writes on the HBO series Big Love.
The $65 million musical has recently received horrible reviews and been slammed with safety violations. It's production has been pushed back a fifth time to a March 15 opening night. Bono and The Edge recently brought in their record producer Steve Lillywhite. This hiring has been the the most...
- 2/17/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
Among the many complaints lobbed at "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark," the budget-busting Broadway musical plagued by problems, fans of the wall-crawler's comic book adventures have found little to like about the show's loose interpretation of the Marvel superhero's origin story. That could change, however, now that the show has seen fit to have someone with real comics experience rework the show's story.
According to Deadline, accomplished scribe Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has joined the "Turn Off The Dark" creative team and will rewrite the musical's story to bring it more in line with the webslinger's familiar history.
A writer with comics, stage, and television credits to his name, Aguirre-Sacasa recently penned a successful update of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams' musical "It's a Bird…It's a Plane…It's Superman!" He was also the author of a long run on Marvel's "Sensational Spider-Man" comic book series.
The "Turn Off The Dark...
According to Deadline, accomplished scribe Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has joined the "Turn Off The Dark" creative team and will rewrite the musical's story to bring it more in line with the webslinger's familiar history.
A writer with comics, stage, and television credits to his name, Aguirre-Sacasa recently penned a successful update of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams' musical "It's a Bird…It's a Plane…It's Superman!" He was also the author of a long run on Marvel's "Sensational Spider-Man" comic book series.
The "Turn Off The Dark...
- 2/16/2011
- by Rick Marshall
- MTV Splash Page
I'm told that the producers of the troubled Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark have hired Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to rewrite the book originally done by Julie Taymor and Glen Berger. Considering that one of the criticisms of the show is that it lacks an insider's voice about the webslinger, Aguirre-Sacasa is a strong choice. While his credits include most recently writing a new book to the Charles Strouse/Lee Adams musical It's A Plane, It's Superman! that was a hit at the Dallas Theatre Center, he has also written Spider-Man comics for Marvel. He also writes on the HBO series Big Love and Aguirre-Sacasa is repped by Wme. The $65 million production pushed back a fifth time to a March 15 opening night, but most critics weighed in this month with scathing reviews. Songwriters Bono and The Edge recently brought in their record producer Steve Lillywhite, and the production has been...
- 2/16/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Here is an excerpt from the report which was just posted over at Deadline: I'm told that the producers of the troubled Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark have hired Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to rewrite the book originally done by Julie Taymor and Glen Berger. Considering that one of the criticisms of the show is that it lacks an insider's voice about the webslinger, Aguirre-Sacasa is a strong choice. While his credits include most recently writing a new book to the Charles Strouse/Lee Adams musical It's A Plane, It's Superman! that was a hit at the Dallas Theatre Center, he has also written Spider-Man comics for Marvel. I remember Aguirre-Sacasa doing some solid work on the now cancelled title Sensational Spider-Man a few years back so this might just be exactly what the expensive and disaster riddled musical needs. Despite the various accidents that have befallen those involved with the show,...
- 2/16/2011
- ComicBookMovie.com
The longtime Hollywood manager and producer and former agent Hillard "Hilly" Elkins died of a heart attack on Wednesday evening. He was 81. "Hilly was a larger-than-life character, a legendary stage and film producer and a manager of many great talents," emails his close pal Jay Weston. "He started at 18 in the William Morris mailroom and there is a story that he delivered its mail personally to theatre magnet Lee Shubert each day wearing a homberg. One day, Lee Shubert called William Morris and asked for that fellow in the homberg. And he was immediately promoted to agent. At the time of his death, he was working on DiCaprio starring in Kurt Vonnnegut’s Cat’s Cradle because Hilly owned its screen rights. Beloved, humorous, charming, fun. He was an amazing man." According to his official bio, Elkins began in the Morris mailroom and moved up the ranks to head of the theatrical department.
- 12/3/2010
- by NIKKI FINKE
- Deadline Hollywood
What’s brand new, big and British? Why, it’s the first annual London Underground Film Festival, which will run at the infamous Horse Hospital underground screening room on Dec. 4-10.
Seven full days and nights is an exceptionally aggressive schedule for a first time out, but it’s even more impressive once you dig into the variety of films and programs being offered, including lectures, installations and live performances mixed in with feature length films and short film programs.
To help out with such an ambitious project, the London Underground has asked a couple of festival big guns to help them out. First, underground film historian and Program Director of Australia’s Revelation Perth International Film Festival Jack Sargeant has curated a full day of films for Sunday, Dec., all of which have played at Revelation under his watch.
The films Sargeant has picked are Kevin Barker’s The Family Jams,...
Seven full days and nights is an exceptionally aggressive schedule for a first time out, but it’s even more impressive once you dig into the variety of films and programs being offered, including lectures, installations and live performances mixed in with feature length films and short film programs.
To help out with such an ambitious project, the London Underground has asked a couple of festival big guns to help them out. First, underground film historian and Program Director of Australia’s Revelation Perth International Film Festival Jack Sargeant has curated a full day of films for Sunday, Dec., all of which have played at Revelation under his watch.
The films Sargeant has picked are Kevin Barker’s The Family Jams,...
- 12/1/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Composer of a string of Broadway musicals, he was best known for Fiddler On the Roof
Days after speaking at a memorial service for his Fiddler On the Roof collaborator Joseph Stein, the composer Jerry Bock has died, aged 81. With Stein and the lyricist Sheldon Harnick, Bock wrote some of the most loved and admired Broadway songs of the last century. Fiddler On the Roof, set in Tsarist Russia and starring Zero Mostel as Tevye the milkman, opened on Broadway in 1964 and broke all box-office records, running for more than 3,200 performances.
The show made Bock world-famous for his lilting, instantly familiar Jewish melodies and catchy rhythms. There was consummate artistry in the way he could set to music even so banal an exchange as "Do you love me?" "Do I what?" "Do you love me?" "Do I love you...?" with its tender, affirmative swerve in the last phrase.
Between 1956 and...
Days after speaking at a memorial service for his Fiddler On the Roof collaborator Joseph Stein, the composer Jerry Bock has died, aged 81. With Stein and the lyricist Sheldon Harnick, Bock wrote some of the most loved and admired Broadway songs of the last century. Fiddler On the Roof, set in Tsarist Russia and starring Zero Mostel as Tevye the milkman, opened on Broadway in 1964 and broke all box-office records, running for more than 3,200 performances.
The show made Bock world-famous for his lilting, instantly familiar Jewish melodies and catchy rhythms. There was consummate artistry in the way he could set to music even so banal an exchange as "Do you love me?" "Do I what?" "Do you love me?" "Do I love you...?" with its tender, affirmative swerve in the last phrase.
Between 1956 and...
- 11/4/2010
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s lucky 13 for the Antimatter Film Festival in Victoria, BC. That is, their 13th annual fest is all set to run on Oct 8-16. That’s nine mind-blowing nights of experimental short films, live film performances and culture-shattering documentaries.
The fest kicks off on the 8th with a 16mm screening of Sergei Eisenstein’s classic silent film Battleship Potemkin that will be accompanied by a live soundtrack by DJ-son Bitter Herbs [Jason Flower]. The people’s revolution never sounded so funky! Then, the fest concludes on the 16th with the event “Uzos [Underwater Zombies from Outer Space]” and will feature performances by Ryan Beattie, Atomic Vaudeville, Slut Revolver, Wes Borg and more.
Smooshed between those two events will be the debut feature film by acclaimed ethnographic filmmaker Ben Russell, Let Each One Go Where They May, which documents the amazing recreation of a bold escape made by slaves. Other feature length documentaries screening are: Teen Routines,...
The fest kicks off on the 8th with a 16mm screening of Sergei Eisenstein’s classic silent film Battleship Potemkin that will be accompanied by a live soundtrack by DJ-son Bitter Herbs [Jason Flower]. The people’s revolution never sounded so funky! Then, the fest concludes on the 16th with the event “Uzos [Underwater Zombies from Outer Space]” and will feature performances by Ryan Beattie, Atomic Vaudeville, Slut Revolver, Wes Borg and more.
Smooshed between those two events will be the debut feature film by acclaimed ethnographic filmmaker Ben Russell, Let Each One Go Where They May, which documents the amazing recreation of a bold escape made by slaves. Other feature length documentaries screening are: Teen Routines,...
- 10/4/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Last April, word broke that comic scribe Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa had signed on to write an updated version of the musical "It's a Bird…It's a Plane…It's Superman" with director Kevin Moriarty at the Dallas Theater Center in Dallas, Texas. With the revived musical scheduled to open in June, Aguirre-Sacasa has started to elaborate on the changes he made to the original musical by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams — the Broadway legends behind "Bye Bye Birdie."
Aguirre-Sacasa told Comic Book Resources the story will be set in 1939, one year after Superman's first sighting in Metropolis.
"By making it a year after Superman's debut, we could cut into the story," he explained. "Enough time has passed that Lois Lane is already in love with Superman (and not interested in Clark) and Lex Luthor wants to kill Superman." Aguirre-Sacasa also indicated that the interplay between Clark and Lois would be...
Aguirre-Sacasa told Comic Book Resources the story will be set in 1939, one year after Superman's first sighting in Metropolis.
"By making it a year after Superman's debut, we could cut into the story," he explained. "Enough time has passed that Lois Lane is already in love with Superman (and not interested in Clark) and Lex Luthor wants to kill Superman." Aguirre-Sacasa also indicated that the interplay between Clark and Lois would be...
- 2/16/2010
- by Blair Marnell
- MTV Splash Page
The 1966 It's a bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman musical will receive a 21st century update. The revamped version of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams' play - which was based on a book by Robert Benton and David Newman - will appear onstage at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in Dallas. The original featured none of Superman's regular cast of characters other than Clark Kent and Lois Lane, but Sprouse and Adams are updating the story based on a new book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Marvel Divas). The new version will include characters such as the genius supervillain (more)...
- 2/16/2010
- by By Hugh Armitage
- Digital Spy
The major challenge in taking on an iconic work like “Bye Bye Birdie” is how profoundly it is identified with other stars, say Bill Irwin and Jayne Houdyshell. They are now starring in the Broadway revival—the first since it premiered in 1961—written by Michael Stewart with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams. “Paul Lynde asserts an indelible gravitational pull,” admits Irwin, who plays the slightly demented Harry MacAfee, father to the teenage lead. “So when you see lines on the page, it’s hard not to hear them as he said them.”Houdyshell, who plays Albert’s smothering mom, Mae Peterson, agrees. “The women who have played the role are fantastic. Though I never saw Kay Medford [in the original Broadway production], I saw Maureen Stapleton in the movie and Tyne Daly in the TV version. The challenge was to let go of any preconceived notion and try and find it...
- 10/26/2009
- backstage.com
After a 48 year absence, Bye Bye Birdie will return to Broadway this fall presented by Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) in a production starring John Stamos (Albert Peterson), Gina Gershon (Rose Alvarez), Bill Irwin (Mr. Harry MacAfee) and Jayne Houdyshell (Mrs. Mae Peterson). Directed & choreographed by Robert Longbottom, Bye Bye Birdie has a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse. Roundabout is proud to welcome back three artists who have previously worked at the theatrical institution: John Stamos, Gina Gershon and Bill Irwin.
- 5/4/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
After a 48 year absence, Bye Bye Birdie will return to Broadway this fall presented by Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) in a production starring John Stamos (Albert Peterson), Gina Gershon (Rose Alvarez), Bill Irwin (Mr. Harry MacAfee) and Jayne Houdyshell (Mrs. Mae Peterson). Directed & choreographed by Robert Longbottom, Bye Bye Birdie has a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse. Roundabout is proud to welcome back three artists who have previously worked at the theatrical institution: John Stamos, Gina Gershon and Bill Irwin.
- 4/2/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.