John Ortiz

CHICAGO – It’s funny that a movie with the word “Playbook” in its title is so clearly about how those of us who think we know exactly where life is taking us are merely kidding ourselves. Like so many of us, the hero of “Silver Linings Playbook,” Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper), has a plan to find happiness, to find his silver lining.

CHICAGO – It has been a tragic week for the show “Luck,” the critical smash on HBO that stars Nick Nolte and Dustin Hoffman. After a third horse died during production of the show, it has been ceased entirely, according to a just received press release from HBO. Another David Milch show that ended far too soon.

CHICAGO – That was quick. Two days after it premiered on HBO to rave reviews, the network has renewed David Milch and Michael Mann’s “Luck” with Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte for a second season.

CHICAGO – Legendary TV writer David Milch turns the world of horse racing and the people who populate it into a place not unlike the legendary title location in his beloved “Deadwood.” Just as everyone swirled around Al Swearengen’s saloon, almost all of the action in HBO’s stellar “Luck,” debuting January 29th, 2012, takes place at the track or the stables nearby.

CHICAGO – There are few character actors in the history of cinema more mesmerizing and fearless than Philip Seymour Hoffman. He’s created some of the most memorable characters ever to grace the screen: from the sexually arrested Allen in “Happiness” and the obsessed playwright Caden Cotard in “Synecdoche, New York” to the electrifying title role in “Capote.”

CHICAGO – One of the best working actors takes his skills behind camera in Philip Seymour Hoffman’s “Jack Goes Boating,” a character drama about one couple forming as another relationship falls apart at the same time. This gentle story of modern relationships is a subtle, slow-moving drama of moments and repercussions that works due to the talents of its cast and quality of its source material despite a few notable flaws.

CHICAGO – When Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz were working on Bob Glaudini’s dramatic play “Jack Goes Boating,” they mentioned the cinematic potential of the project to each other on multiple occasions. Through a series of events, “Boating” would become Hoffman’s directorial debut, opening in Chicago this Friday, September 24th, 2010.

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(L to R) Paul Walker and Vin Diesel reteam as agent Brian OConner and fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto for the ultimate chapter of the franchise built on speed

CHICAGO – This 38-image slideshow contains the press images for Universal’s “Fast & Furious,” starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, John Ortiz, and Laz Alonso. Written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin, the film opens on Friday, April 3rd, 2009.