HBO just announced that Boardwalk Empire’s 5th season will be its final season. The show is a period drama focusing on Enoch “Nucky” Thompson (based on the historical Enoch L. Johnson), a political figure who rose to prominence and controlled Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Continue reading
HBO plans to bring another dramatic masterpiece to life on film — The Normal Heart – with stars Julia Roberts and Mark Ruffalo. Originally written as a play set between 1981 and 1984, the story centers around a writer named Ned Weeks as he nurses his lover who is dying of an unnamed disease, while the doctors puzzled and frustrated by having no resources to research it. The play is considered a literary landmark and has been produced over 600 times in the U.S., Europe (where it was televised in Poland), Israel, and South Africa.
After 30 years, the play is headed to the silver screen. HBO films is currently producing the film as well as a potential sequel. The sequel would chronicle the events from 1987 through the 1990s. The film stars Roberts as Emma Brookner, a polio-stricken physician who treated several of the earliest victims of HIV-AIDS and Ruffalo as the lead character Ned Weeks. The project is being directed by American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy.
Flowers in the Attic was written in 1979 by V.C. Andrews and sold over 40 million copies worldwide. Continue reading
Most of Hollywood woke up this morning to discover which films are about to become legendary. The 86th annual Academy Awards, set to air on March 2, revealed their list of nominees for its upcoming award show. Continue reading
THE WOMAN
Lucy Liu was 19 when she was spotted by an agent while riding the subway. Apprehensive to work with him, she finally agreed after cross-referencing his credentials with the Better Business Bureau. This relationship lead Liu to book her first commercial and begin her career in acting. She spent the early 90s in small TV and film roles before landing the part of Ling Woo—specifically created for her by the writers—on Ally McBeal. In 1997 she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy for her role in the series. Liu’s next big move was playing Alex Munday in the movie Charlie’s Angels in 2000. Also in 2000 she hosted Saturday Night Live and appeared in TV shows like Ugly Betty and Sex in the City. This success lead to more movie roles—in 2003 Liu played O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino’s popular Kill Bill series, followed by a part in Chicago, and then opposite Kira Knightly in Domino. She has since starred in a variety of roles from providing her voice for Kung Fu Panda, making her Broadway debut in God of Carnage, a Tony-winning play and acting in a slew of other movies. Liu’s current project is working on the CBS television series Elementary, a Sherlock Holmes drama in which Liu plays the typically male part of Watson. In 2013 she became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. When not acting, Liu pursuits her passion for art. A painter and photographer, Liu attended the New York Studio School from 2004-2006 and often shows her work under a pseudonym, Yu Ling.
UPDATE* Season 3 of Elementary ends on May 14th! Make sure you tune in!
THE CAUSE
Incorporating her love for art with her love for charity, Liu has partnered with UNICEF—a United Nations program dedicated to providing much needed assistance to children and mothers in developing nations— on a variety of projects. Liu first joined with UNICEF in 2004 when she was named an ambassador and traveled with them to Pakistan and Lesotho. Since then the actress has continued to give to UNICEF by holding art shows in which she donates all of her profits to the program. She published a book featuring her artwork, Seventy Two, and vowed to donate proceeds from this as well. Liu was also named a spokeswoman for The Human Rights campaign in 2011 and has worked with Heinz to push back against anemia and other potentially life-threatening vitamin deficiencies that are occurring in children in developing countries. In 2012, Liu was honored for her widespread humanitarian work by the charity Women for Women International and presented with the Champion of Peace award.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
Visit UNICEF at http://www.unicefusa.org/ to find out how to donate, volunteer, or learn more about the challenges that UNICEF aspires to overcome.
Hold on to your seats, the 1960s were a wild ride! We eased into the decade gently, confident that conservative values, traditional roles, and classic clothes still prevailed. We were an affluent society, enjoying the fruits of a flourishing economy. Yet our new young president, John Kennedy, urged us to embrace self-sacrifice over selfishness, to work together to eliminate injustice and inequality. He set the tone for change, but no one was prepared for the social upheaval that would ensue. Our attitudes, behavior, mores — every assumption would be challenged. The pendulum, which began to swing — ever so slightly — in the 1950s from the right, would move hard and fast to the left, revolutionizing American life — especially for women. And boy were we ready! Continue reading
From DeadlineHollywood.com: CBS and Amazon are taking the video-on-demand model they introduced with the Amblin-produced summer series Under The Dome and are applying it to the new summer series from Steven Spielberg’s production company, Extant, which is set to debut on CBS in June. Continue reading
“It was one of those things where I wasn’t really looking for a relationship and I was thinking I’m going to take my time in L.A. Then I met her and I was so nervous. I was like, ‘Oh god, I think I’m going to fall in love with her.’ As I shook her hand I went, ‘I like you.'”—John Krasinski Any fans of The Office would naturally assume this would be a line spoken by the loveable character Jim Halpert, and not by the real life nice guy John Krasinski. But John is full of quotable lines when it comes to how he feels about his beautiful British bride, Emily Blunt. Continue reading
Written and Directed by four time Oscar winners Joel and Ethan Coen, this latest work of art has already been nominated for three Golden Globe awards, including Best Picture. Continue reading
THE WOMAN
Amy Adams broke into the Hollywood circuit with her performance in the 2005 independent film Junebug, for which she received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress. But before making it big, Amy was training to become a ballerina in her hometown of Castle Rock, Colorado. Feeling too constrained by the demands of ballet, Amy found she was more comfortable in the world of musical theater and soon was taking jobs in dinner theater companies first in Colorado and then in Minnesota. Continue reading
