Welcome to Career Watch, a vocational checkup of top actors and directors, and those who hope to get there. In this edition we take on Italian-American actor-director John Turturro, who stars in Richard Price and Steve Zaillian’s widely hailed limited series “The Night Of” (HBO).
Bottom Line: For 37 years, versatile New York actor John Turturro has delivered memorable characters who can be incredibly smart (“Quiz Show”) or insanely stupid (bowler Jesus Quintano in “The Big Lebowski”), lovable (“Fading Gigolo”) or menacing (the pool hustler in Martin Scorsese’s “The Color Of Money”). He’s a go-to player for both the Coens and Spike Lee as well as a reliable character actor for Hollywood tentpoles such as “The Transformers.”
Career Peaks: After winning a scholarship to the Yale Drama School and performing Ibsen, Ionesco, and John Patrick Shanley off-Broadway, Turturro got stuck playing violent killers in films like “Five Corners...
Bottom Line: For 37 years, versatile New York actor John Turturro has delivered memorable characters who can be incredibly smart (“Quiz Show”) or insanely stupid (bowler Jesus Quintano in “The Big Lebowski”), lovable (“Fading Gigolo”) or menacing (the pool hustler in Martin Scorsese’s “The Color Of Money”). He’s a go-to player for both the Coens and Spike Lee as well as a reliable character actor for Hollywood tentpoles such as “The Transformers.”
Career Peaks: After winning a scholarship to the Yale Drama School and performing Ibsen, Ionesco, and John Patrick Shanley off-Broadway, Turturro got stuck playing violent killers in films like “Five Corners...
- 7/31/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Welcome to Career Watch, a vocational checkup of top actors and directors, and those who hope to get there. In this edition we take on Italian-American actor-director John Turturro, who stars in Richard Price and Steve Zaillian’s widely hailed limited series “The Night Of” (HBO).
Bottom Line: For 37 years, versatile New York actor John Turturro has delivered memorable characters who can be incredibly smart (“Quiz Show”) or insanely stupid (bowler Jesus Quintano in “The Big Lebowski”), lovable (“Fading Gigolo”) or menacing (the pool hustler in Martin Scorsese’s “The Color Of Money”). He’s a go-to player for both the Coens and Spike Lee as well as a reliable character actor for Hollywood tentpoles such as “The Transformers.”
Career Peaks: After winning a scholarship to the Yale Drama School and performing Ibsen, Ionesco, and John Patrick Shanley off-Broadway, Turturro got stuck playing violent killers in films like “Five Corners...
Bottom Line: For 37 years, versatile New York actor John Turturro has delivered memorable characters who can be incredibly smart (“Quiz Show”) or insanely stupid (bowler Jesus Quintano in “The Big Lebowski”), lovable (“Fading Gigolo”) or menacing (the pool hustler in Martin Scorsese’s “The Color Of Money”). He’s a go-to player for both the Coens and Spike Lee as well as a reliable character actor for Hollywood tentpoles such as “The Transformers.”
Career Peaks: After winning a scholarship to the Yale Drama School and performing Ibsen, Ionesco, and John Patrick Shanley off-Broadway, Turturro got stuck playing violent killers in films like “Five Corners...
- 7/31/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Stars: Stephen Tyron Williams, Zaraah Abrahams, Rami Malek, Elvis Nolasco, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Joie Lee, Felicia Pearson, Jeni Perillo, Katherine Borowitz, Donna Dixon, Chiz Schultz, Lauren Macklin, Steven Hauck, Stephen Henderson, Rafael Osorio | Written and Directed by Spike Lee
The respected filmmaker hitting Kickstarter for help phenomenon seems to have died down over the last year or so but along with Zach Braff, Spike Lee was certainly one of the highlights of this short-lived trend. Shaking the virtual tip jar towards a great many people, myself included, he managed to get together a budget of just under $1.5 million, including a $10,000 donation from Steven Soderbergh and so presents us with Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, a somewhat surprise remake of 70’s indie flick Ganja & Hess. Even with my meagre donation, I think it was $10, it’s sad to say that I feel ripped off and I suspect most will.
The question...
The respected filmmaker hitting Kickstarter for help phenomenon seems to have died down over the last year or so but along with Zach Braff, Spike Lee was certainly one of the highlights of this short-lived trend. Shaking the virtual tip jar towards a great many people, myself included, he managed to get together a budget of just under $1.5 million, including a $10,000 donation from Steven Soderbergh and so presents us with Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, a somewhat surprise remake of 70’s indie flick Ganja & Hess. Even with my meagre donation, I think it was $10, it’s sad to say that I feel ripped off and I suspect most will.
The question...
- 5/11/2015
- by Ian Loring
- Nerdly
Comedies, without musical interludes, are just not that common on Broadway.
Sure, there have been some recent revivals -- notably "La Bete," "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Born Yesterday" -- and one-person shows such as "Ghetto Klown" and "Colin Quinn: Long Story Short," but new comedies, where no one dances, no one sings and we hang on wordplay, are pretty rare.
There's a reason. It's really hard to be funny.
But the three names behind "Relatively Speaking" -- Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen, each of whom wrote original one-act plays for the show -- pull people into the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
It's a fun night, and the comedies improve with each one. Coen's "Talking Cure" is about a mailman (Danny Hoch) who went postal and his subsequent sessions with a psychiatrist (Jason Kravits).
It's this one, in particular, where John Turturro's direction is most obvious,...
Sure, there have been some recent revivals -- notably "La Bete," "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Born Yesterday" -- and one-person shows such as "Ghetto Klown" and "Colin Quinn: Long Story Short," but new comedies, where no one dances, no one sings and we hang on wordplay, are pretty rare.
There's a reason. It's really hard to be funny.
But the three names behind "Relatively Speaking" -- Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen, each of whom wrote original one-act plays for the show -- pull people into the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
It's a fun night, and the comedies improve with each one. Coen's "Talking Cure" is about a mailman (Danny Hoch) who went postal and his subsequent sessions with a psychiatrist (Jason Kravits).
It's this one, in particular, where John Turturro's direction is most obvious,...
- 10/31/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
"A Serious Man" posed a serious, and welcome, challenge for Joel and Ethan Coen's longtime casting director, Ellen Chenoweth, and her partner on this project, Rachel Tenner, who had served as casting associate on the Coen brothers' last four projects. "They made it clear from the beginning that they didn't want anybody recognizable in the movie," says the L.A.-based Tenner of her bosses' directive. "They just wanted the story to tell itself, and they wanted to be a little under the radar with the cast and not have that stand out as 'known' people. That was definitely our mission. And they were lucky enough to be able to make it without any big names attached," adds the New York–based Chenoweth, who in addition to working on seven pictures with the Coens has worked multiple times with such notable directors as Clint Eastwood, George Clooney, Tony Gilroy,...
- 12/9/2009
- backstage.com
Focus Features has released new images from "A Serious Man," starring Simon Helberg, Richard Kind, Adam Arkin, George Wyner, Katherine Borowitz, Fyvush Finkel, Michael Stuhlbarg and Stephen Park. Ethan and Joel Coen write, produce and direct the film which sees theatres on October 2nd. "A Serious Man" is the story of an ordinary man’s search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and F-Troop is on TV. It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him.
- 9/15/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
We have the trailer, interview clips and film clips from Ethan and Joel Coen's "A Serious Man," starring Simon Helberg, Richard Kind, Adam Arkin, George Wyner, Katherine Borowitz, Fyvush Finkel, Michael Stuhlbarg and Stephen Park. The film opens on October 2nd via Focus Features. "A Serious Man" is the story of an ordinary man’s search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and F-Troop is on TV. It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more...
- 9/9/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Backbiting, treachery, sexual dalliance, intrigues -- that is the stuff of drama, often more behind stage than actually on the boards. John Turturro's "Illuminata" is a raucously radiant depiction of theater-company dramatics. It's a bawdy and flowery piece that should enliven art house business in the U.S.
Bolstered by a premiere cast, including Turturro, Susan Sarandon, Beverly D'Angelo and Christopher Walken, "Illuminata" is a fleshy and aptly messy treatise on creativity and survival. In Turturro's adaptation of a stage play, we center in on a struggling New York repertory company at around the turn of the century. Not surprisingly, the playwright Tuccio (Turturro) and the lead actress (Katherine Borowitz) have a mutually beneficial relationship, both professional and sexual. Unfortunately for Tuccio, his lead actor doesn't break a leg during the first performance, he dies. Nevertheless, playwrights are an especially nimble lot and Tuccio has another play that he is eager to substitute, an idea not seconded by the theater's management. Alas, an aging diva (Susan Sarandon) sees advantage in the new play -- there is a big part for her as, incredibly, an ingenue -- and she shepherds the work to the schedule.
Brimming with vainglorious characters, each with their career agendas, "Illuminata" is both a satirical look at the theater as well as a shrewd commentary on creativity. Despite some scathing commentary on the morality of "theater people," the scenario (Brandon Cole, John Turturro) is an unabashed love poem to the theater. Their screenplay is a ripe tribute to the theater and peppered by from-the-wings insights into the magical and manic process.
Fittingly, the film comes most alive in the performances with Turturro evincing a wonderful lead performance as the ambitious playwright. A special delight are the sprightly performances by Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken who push their portrayals to the red line. As the prima-donna diva, Sarandon exudes appetite and manipulation, while Walken is terrific as a foppish, egocentric drama critic.
Under Turturro's affectionate hand, the technical contributions are consistently marvelous, from cinematographer Harris Savides' lush lensings to composer William Bolcom's circus-style score, which conveys the zest and craziness of the great and small dramas going on off stage.
In Competition
Illuminata
Overseas Filmgroup
CREDITS:
Executive producer:Giovanni di Clemente
Producers:John Penotti, John Turturro
Director:John Turturro
Screenwriters:Brandon Cole, John Turturro
Based on an original play by:Brandon Cole
Director of photography:Harris Savides
Editor:Michael Berenbaum
Line producer:Carol Cuddy
Music:William Bolcom with Arnold Black
Conceptual designer:Roman Paska, Donna Zakowska
Production designer:Robin Standefer
Costume designer:Donna Zakowska
Casting:Todd Thaler
CAST:
Tuccio:John Turturro
Rachel:Katherine Borowitz
Celimene:Susan Sarandon
Bevalaqua:Christopher Walken
Astergourd:Beverly D'Angelo
Simone:Georgina Gates
Dominique:Rufus Sewell
Old Flavio:Ben Gazzara
Marco:Bill Irwin
Pallenchio:Donal McCann
Marta:Aida Turturro
Running time:120 minutes...
Bolstered by a premiere cast, including Turturro, Susan Sarandon, Beverly D'Angelo and Christopher Walken, "Illuminata" is a fleshy and aptly messy treatise on creativity and survival. In Turturro's adaptation of a stage play, we center in on a struggling New York repertory company at around the turn of the century. Not surprisingly, the playwright Tuccio (Turturro) and the lead actress (Katherine Borowitz) have a mutually beneficial relationship, both professional and sexual. Unfortunately for Tuccio, his lead actor doesn't break a leg during the first performance, he dies. Nevertheless, playwrights are an especially nimble lot and Tuccio has another play that he is eager to substitute, an idea not seconded by the theater's management. Alas, an aging diva (Susan Sarandon) sees advantage in the new play -- there is a big part for her as, incredibly, an ingenue -- and she shepherds the work to the schedule.
Brimming with vainglorious characters, each with their career agendas, "Illuminata" is both a satirical look at the theater as well as a shrewd commentary on creativity. Despite some scathing commentary on the morality of "theater people," the scenario (Brandon Cole, John Turturro) is an unabashed love poem to the theater. Their screenplay is a ripe tribute to the theater and peppered by from-the-wings insights into the magical and manic process.
Fittingly, the film comes most alive in the performances with Turturro evincing a wonderful lead performance as the ambitious playwright. A special delight are the sprightly performances by Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken who push their portrayals to the red line. As the prima-donna diva, Sarandon exudes appetite and manipulation, while Walken is terrific as a foppish, egocentric drama critic.
Under Turturro's affectionate hand, the technical contributions are consistently marvelous, from cinematographer Harris Savides' lush lensings to composer William Bolcom's circus-style score, which conveys the zest and craziness of the great and small dramas going on off stage.
In Competition
Illuminata
Overseas Filmgroup
CREDITS:
Executive producer:Giovanni di Clemente
Producers:John Penotti, John Turturro
Director:John Turturro
Screenwriters:Brandon Cole, John Turturro
Based on an original play by:Brandon Cole
Director of photography:Harris Savides
Editor:Michael Berenbaum
Line producer:Carol Cuddy
Music:William Bolcom with Arnold Black
Conceptual designer:Roman Paska, Donna Zakowska
Production designer:Robin Standefer
Costume designer:Donna Zakowska
Casting:Todd Thaler
CAST:
Tuccio:John Turturro
Rachel:Katherine Borowitz
Celimene:Susan Sarandon
Bevalaqua:Christopher Walken
Astergourd:Beverly D'Angelo
Simone:Georgina Gates
Dominique:Rufus Sewell
Old Flavio:Ben Gazzara
Marco:Bill Irwin
Pallenchio:Donal McCann
Marta:Aida Turturro
Running time:120 minutes...
- 5/22/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
What the film does offer is a fully developed, fleshed out character that is skillfully brought to life by a talented actor. What a waste though, since the few people who do see this film won't care about anyone in it by the time the closing credits roll down the screen.
"Just Like in the Movies'' does start out in promising fashion. We find a private investigator awkwardly pitching himself for the cameras at a video dating service. It is a nice, humorous moment.
But just as we settle comfortably into believing this could be a light-hearted romance, with perhaps a mystery angle, the film disappoints us by turning into a personal identity crisis flick that leaves us feeling conned.
Jay O.Sanders plays Ryan Legrand, the private investigator in search of a story. All he seems able to find, and preserve on film, are clients' spouses who are screwing around with non-spouses. Not the most enlightening of jobs.
In due time we learn that Ryan is anally uptight, divorced, has a 7-year-old son with whom he can't relate and is lonely.
Sanders' wonderful performance is practically the lone saving grace. His large, puppy dog demeanor belies his emotional vulnerability. We find ourselves mourning the fact that there's no room for his character to maneuver.
As welcome comic relief, there is Alan Ruck as Ryan's long-haired, hip, wise-cracking assistant, Dean. His peppy tirades are a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant atmosphere.
Though Sanders and Ruck may be its saving grace, they alone can't save this film. Katherine Borowitz as Ryan's aloof love interest isn't given a chance to do much. And the talented Michael Jeter seems sorely underused, as he is filled with the energy this film so desperately needs.
There is an effort to create some dramatics between Ryan and his distant son, Carter (Alex Vincent), but in spite of Sanders' powerful emoting, these scenes end up looking forced and unnatural.
Things just don't move in this film. It's not so much that there isn't enough action. There isn't even that much movement.
We suffer through way too much sitting and talking, most of it of the existential variety.
It's always good to see someone taking a chance by straying from the safe, mainstream path. But it might be a good idea to pick a direction that isn't all uphill. "Just Like in the Movies'' runs out of life sustaining breath before it ever begins.
JUST LIKE IN THE MOVIES
Cabriolet Films
Director-writer Bram Towbin
Associate director Mark Halliday
Producer Alon Kasha
Director of photography Peter Fernberger
Editor Jay Keuper
Music John Hill
Color
Cast:
Ryan Legrand Jay O. Sanders
Tura Katherine Borowitz
Dean Alan Ruck
Vernon Michael Jeter
Carter Legrand Alex Vincent
Astronomer Fred Sanders
Running time -- 85 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
"Just Like in the Movies'' does start out in promising fashion. We find a private investigator awkwardly pitching himself for the cameras at a video dating service. It is a nice, humorous moment.
But just as we settle comfortably into believing this could be a light-hearted romance, with perhaps a mystery angle, the film disappoints us by turning into a personal identity crisis flick that leaves us feeling conned.
Jay O.Sanders plays Ryan Legrand, the private investigator in search of a story. All he seems able to find, and preserve on film, are clients' spouses who are screwing around with non-spouses. Not the most enlightening of jobs.
In due time we learn that Ryan is anally uptight, divorced, has a 7-year-old son with whom he can't relate and is lonely.
Sanders' wonderful performance is practically the lone saving grace. His large, puppy dog demeanor belies his emotional vulnerability. We find ourselves mourning the fact that there's no room for his character to maneuver.
As welcome comic relief, there is Alan Ruck as Ryan's long-haired, hip, wise-cracking assistant, Dean. His peppy tirades are a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant atmosphere.
Though Sanders and Ruck may be its saving grace, they alone can't save this film. Katherine Borowitz as Ryan's aloof love interest isn't given a chance to do much. And the talented Michael Jeter seems sorely underused, as he is filled with the energy this film so desperately needs.
There is an effort to create some dramatics between Ryan and his distant son, Carter (Alex Vincent), but in spite of Sanders' powerful emoting, these scenes end up looking forced and unnatural.
Things just don't move in this film. It's not so much that there isn't enough action. There isn't even that much movement.
We suffer through way too much sitting and talking, most of it of the existential variety.
It's always good to see someone taking a chance by straying from the safe, mainstream path. But it might be a good idea to pick a direction that isn't all uphill. "Just Like in the Movies'' runs out of life sustaining breath before it ever begins.
JUST LIKE IN THE MOVIES
Cabriolet Films
Director-writer Bram Towbin
Associate director Mark Halliday
Producer Alon Kasha
Director of photography Peter Fernberger
Editor Jay Keuper
Music John Hill
Color
Cast:
Ryan Legrand Jay O. Sanders
Tura Katherine Borowitz
Dean Alan Ruck
Vernon Michael Jeter
Carter Legrand Alex Vincent
Astronomer Fred Sanders
Running time -- 85 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
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