Chicago

DVD Review: For Veterans Day, ‘The 95th’ Honors World War II Soldiers

PatrickMcD — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:57:57 -0700

CHICAGO – As Veterans Day approaches on November 11th, the generation that fought in World War 2 are dying off with each passing day. “The 95th: The Iron Men of Metz” profiles those few good men left, so that they can tell their story.

DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0

The 95th refers to the 95th Infantry Division, a World War Two army sector that was under the command of General George S. Patton. Their assignment? Bring down the German stronghold of Metz, a heavily fortified city in the northeast region of France. Their eventual liberation of the city, fraught with heavy casualties, earned them the nickname “The Iron Men of Metz” and the “Bravest of the Brave.”

WWII-era Uniform with the 95th Infantry Division Insignia
Photo credit: SoldiersandSailors.us

Four veterans of the division – Steve Finik, Nick Fusco, Chuck Wood and Paul Madden – tell their stories throughout the documentary, adding personal recollections to the broader scope of footage depicting their march into the heavily fortified German occupied city of Metz, and their orders to take it by force.

What was captivating about the stories was the surprising perspective that each veteran revealed. The film starts out with the flat assertion by Steve Finik that “war is just senseless,” and that the killing is “just not right,” and this was the supposed “Good War.” Phrases like “legal killing” and “there is the right way, and then the army way” are peppered throughout the reminiscences and adds a dash of real grit to what-did-you-do-in-the-war-daddy type of recollection.

There was also a nice reminder that in the time of war during the era, the guys that went over there weren’t necessarily the gung-ho types. Nick Fusco was in the engineering corp and couldn’t imagine himself as a killing element. His story of fraternizing with the German girls was telling because (as he said) he will willing to risk it for a little break in the action.

Giving these men the opportunity to tell their stories, some for the first time, gives a viewpoint on the strange alchemy of putting 18-year old neophytes, slapping a green uniform on each, outfitting them with a weapon and telling them to “take that town.” Chuck Wood was most elementary about the reflections of war, choosing when he first came home not to talk about it because, there was no one who could understand without having gone through it. He also hoped that he hadn’t killed anyone, but he wasn’t sure.

It was those pragmatic vulnerabilities that were most poignant in the re-telling, for it reflects an honesty about both the purpose of a war and the victims that are part of the circumstance.

DVD Cover of ‘The 95th: The Iron Men of Metz’
Photo credit: The95thMovie.com

Director Davidson Cole gives the documentary a nice balance between the interviews and archival photos/film of World War II. With more time passing and more veterans doing the same, it is good to put some context to that grainy black and white film that often represents the entire war. The filmmakers found rare footage of training, equipment examples and actual Metz newsreel sequences to fortify the look back by the surviving veterans.

Music from the era seemingly covered all the emotions of the era. Besides using standards such as “This is the Army, Mr. Jones” and the Big Band Swing, chestnuts like “Der Fuehrer’s Face” and “Dear Mom” gave in to a sense of time and place, with a context that evoked feeling as well as nostalgia.

The film climaxes with the four men traveling back to France, participating in the 55th anniversary of the Metz liberation in 1999. Like the rest of the film, it is a honest recitation of the hellish conditions they had to face, with a poignant scene in a cemetery with its infinite rows of white crosses that adds to the sense of enormous loss. Chuck Wood even remembered that one of those crosses owed him 10 bucks.

Its easy to forget, after almost three generations removed, that over 416,000 military deaths occurred during World War 2. The 95th Infantry Division itself suffered over 10,000 casualties during the conflict. This documentary honors the survivors in old age, but at the same time acknowledges the sacrifice of those who didn’t get the privilege to age.

“We gave hell, and we took hell…If you’re gonna fight be the winner, don’t be the loser, because then you’ve got big trouble. You lost a lot of men and you gained nothing.” veteran Steve Finik of the 95th Infantry, in a DVD extra interview.

”The 95th: The Iron Men of Metz” is available on DVD and features interviews with Steve Finik, Nick Fusco, Chuck Wood and Paul Madden, directed by Davidson Cole. DVD extras include archival footage, a tour of Metz and additional interviews. Click here for more information.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Theater Review: New Play ‘SunChoke’ is a Dereliction of Beauty

PatrickMcD — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:42:59 -0600

CHICAGO – “Beautiful,” I said to Josh Arteaga, the playwright of “SunChoke,” after experiencing his post-apocalyptic narrative at the Raven Theater. Why that particular word would come out of such dread is emblematic of the entirety.

Play Rating: 4.0/5.0

SunChoke contains many moments of spoken and expository beauty in it, despite the focus on the loss of humanity during a plague. Arteaga’s idea of creating a parallel universe next to the desperation both heightens the anguish and provides dark reasoning behind the reality.

’SunChoke’ runs through October 18th at the Raven Theater, Chicago, IL
Photo credit: Rodez Productions

The play is about three survivors of a massive plague that has effected cities throughout the countryside. Eli, Isaiah and Ruth have escaped to an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of the disaster, but have absolutely no food once they get there. This situation is putting a tentative grasp on their sanity and relationships, and will also determine who or what will ultimately catch up to them.

Meanwhile, on another parallel existence, an old man is reciting images of his childhood, or his former self. He plays host to a “Shape,” another form that exists outside the realm of the plague. The Shape desires its former self, which has a connection within the now decimated circumstance of the three survivors.

The Shape manufactures a representative to influence the survivor’s motivations. What transpires as a result of this manipulation frames the consequences.

The first impression of the apocalypse in SunChoke is how close it may be. The three survivors are normal twentysomethings, plucked from a sports bar or any electronic screen distraction. They speak lovingly about the fast food dollar menu, even though that was killing them just as acutely as the potential plague.

The parallel plane is jarring. In David Buckbee’s set design, the old man looms over the proceedings by seemingly sitting on top of the farmhouse’s kitchen cabinets, and is bathed with light as new truths are revealed. Chris Daley’s portrayal of the man is stunningly accurate. His presence is constant, and his monologues about a past that may or may not have taken place are chilling in their…yes…beauty.

Defying him is the Shape, even though it has been adopted by him. Again nostalgia plays into the desire for the Shape to return to a former life, and Virginia Marie interprets the utter torment in the character with clarity and purpose.

Less successful is the mode of the survivors. More dirt and desperation seemed necessary for the three characters, as their actions and thought processes become more grim. There was a disconnect to the abject fear within the scenario, even when an amazing character named Win (Danny Starr) begins to carry out the Shape’s final solution.

Josh Arteaga has formulated an end-of-the-world perspective that is rich in invention, symbolism and familiarity. And he has wrapped it in a angle that has plausibility. What is religion, after all, than the hope for a parallel time/place, with protective entities as our overseers? But in Artega’s more enlightened view of this parallelism, it is this spiritual destiny that is not the place we want to be.

“SunChoke” is presented by Rodez Productions at the Raven Theater, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago, Thursday-Sunday, through October 18th. Featuring Chris Daley, Virginia Marie, Marcus Davis, Margaret Grace, Aaron Weiner and Danny Starr. Written by Josh Arteaga, directed by Marie Winkeler. Click here for more information.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Film Director Jeremy Kruse on the Screening of ‘Flüffenhaus’

PatrickMcD — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:18:39 -0600

CHICAGO – Jeremy Kruse is a major part of Chicago’s vibrant film scene. The actor and writer has made a big splash with his short films, and now directs Emily Skyle’s “Fluffenhaus: The Comeback of a Pop Icon,” with an screening here September 17th.

Kruse, a Chicago area native, studied acting at New York University and focused primarily on film performance and creation. He came back here after a stint in Los Angeles, to focus on his craft and develop projects of interest in an environment where he has a sense of familiarity.

It was his recent short, ‘Anti Narrative Number 4.’ an award-winning and hilarious meditation on fame and self consciousness, that caught the attention of screenwriter Emily Skyle. She recognized that his directorial sensibility would be perfect for her pop music satire, “Fluffenhaus, The Comeback of a Pop Icon.”

Jeremy Kruse and friend during the filming of ‘Fluffenhaus: The Comeback of a Pop Icon.’
Photo credit: John Abbott for Fluffenhaus.com

HollywoodChicago.com caught up with Jeremy Kruse on the eve of the screening of Flüffenhaus, and talked about the short films, his approach to directing and overall philosophy of filmmaking.

HollywoodChicago.com: Describe the process in which you got involved as director for the film ‘Flüffenhaus: The Comeback of a Pop Culture Icon’?

Jeremy Kruse: Emily [Skyle, the screenwriter] has seen my film ‘Anti Narrative Number 4’ and she acted in my new short, ‘Hat Trick.’ She liked my work and the way that I worked so she decided to entrust me with her baby. We get along very well and have very similar senses of humor, so she thought I’d be a really good fit.

HC: What in Emily Skyle’s screenplay most intrigued you and allowed you to connect to the directing elements that made the film work?

JK: The characters were strong, the tone was funny and the whole thing is offbeat. I was attracted by the opportunity to block and execute long flowing one-take shots. I like working with actors and I knew Emily would give me the freedom and time to focus on the acting.

HC: What in your pop culture experience did you want to convey in the farcical aspects of the Flüffenhaus journey? Is this in the tradition of ‘Spinal Tap?’

JK: We are poking fun at pop icons that have no talent. Flüffenhaus has no talent.

It is a ‘mockumentary’ like Spinal Tap, and I wanted to be careful about how to express that genre. Emily is a big fan of Christopher Guest, as am I, but we didn’t want to directly emulate what he does. It is in the same vein, yet we tried to stay original in the choices we made.

HC: The website for Flüffenhaus is comprehensive and rendered for the precise marketing of today. How important is the web in marketing films today, especially for independent features?

JK: It can’t hurt. The website we have – Fluffenhaus.com – is great, and anyone who is interested in learning about the film can go there and find out more about it.

The web is so saturated with information of all different kinds, and there are so many films that come out, both studio and independent. And there are tons of those independent films just playing the festivals, not getting the attention they should, so if you happen to stumble upon a website or get an email blast with a link, than it can be really helpful.

Screenwriter and actress Emily Skyle as Kaitlyn in ‘Fluffenhaus: The Comeback of a Pop Icon.’
Photo credit: John Abbott for Fluffenhaus.com

HC: You recently released your second short film, “Hat Trick,” which involved a much bigger cast. What thematic circumstances are similar in this film from your first short “Anti-Narrative Number 4”?

JK: The two films don’t share much as far as themes are concerned. However, in both films I experiment with storytelling and film techniques. Both explore film in and of itself as a medium.

In Hat Trick, I have three actors play the lead role. I shot the film three times, and I present it three times, with a different actor in the lead role. It is essentially an experiment to see how three different actors can effect a feeling in the film, what three different actors can bring to a part.

HC: Describe the background of piecing together ‘Anti Narrative Number 4.’ What within the film do people who watch it most connect with, and when you won the Director’s Choice Award at the San Francisco International Festival of Shorts, what feedback did you receive from that honor?

JK: After making about 25 short films that ranged from 30 seconds to 7 minutes, one of the hardest aspects of actually making the film was scheduling. And what I’m talking about is ‘no-budget’ filmmaking. People rarely commit or even show up unless they’re getting paid, and I was getting tired of begging people to work for free.

I decided to write a film that I could do completely on my own. I ended up needing my Mom to run the camera for one shot She’s a photographer and she’s qualified, plus she works for cheap so that wasn’t a problem (laughs).

I had just seen a film called ‘’Five Obstructions’ by Lars von Trier. I thought it was hilarous, even though it wasn’t suppose to be funny. Anti Narrative became a parody of that film and out of that I began to develop themes. The biggest theme became fame and our society’s obsession with it. Anti Narrative Number 4 is about a guy making a film about himself in order to obtain fame.

The programmers of the San Francisco Fest loved the film because it’s pompous and it knows it. The narrator of the film, me, is pretentious and the film he’s making is pretentious. But he is likable, funny and honest. And people connected to the film because of that honesty and sincerity.

Jeremy Kruse in ‘Anti Narrative Number 4’
Photo credit: Jeremy Kruse

HC: As a younger and more contemporary filmmaker, what do you think your sensibility can most contribute to today’s filmmaking? What subject matters most interest you?

JK: I tried to make films that are funny and have depth. I understand that people want to be entertained and escape, but I also feel an audience feels cheated if a film is just pure silliness or starts funny and ends up sentimental. I strive to make films that have entertainment qualities but also have meaning.

As far as subject matters go, now I’m interested in the theme of entitlement. I just finished an animated TV pilot about a recovering crack addict who has a strong sense of entitlement (laughs).

HC: What in your childhood/secondary education or outside interest development steered you towards becoming a filmmaker? Were you fascinated more with the technique or storytelling elements of making movies?

JK: I grew up taking acting classes and being in plays, and I was always playing with my family’s video camera. I wrote my first play in high school and watched a ton of movies growing up. I didn’t become interested in film technique until I got to college, New York University, where I was an acting major. I was only in one play in college and the rest were film. By the time I was a senior, I was writing films for my friends and made my own films after I graduated.

HC: What familiar directors inspired you, either contemporary or deceased? What about their particular styles are blended in your particular style?

JK: I have many favorite directors and many films that inspired me but my very favorites are Charlie Chaplin and Woody Allen. They made and make films that are funny, smart and poignant.

HC: Speaking of Woody Allen, he once said 80% of show business success is just showing up. What is the fuel that keeps your passion burning in regard to filmmaking and to “keep showing up?”

JK: Well, money of course. I wanna make a lot of money and I want to buy stuff I don’t need. I am entitled (laughs).

HC: Finally, give one sentence promotions for Flüffenhaus, Hat Trick and Anti Narrative that will intrigue a potential audience member to show up and see them.

JK: Flüffenhaus is about a 3 pound dog that is famous.

Hat Trick is not about hockey.

Anti Narrative Number 4 contains some home movie footage of me as a little kid, and I was kind of cute back then.

‘Flüffenhaus: The Comeback of a Pop Culture Icon’ has an advanced screening and fundraiser at 7pm on Thursday, September 17th, at the Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee, Chicago. Director Jeremy Kruse and screenwriter Emily Skyle will attend the event. Click here to purchase tickets and for more information.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Director Marc Fienberg on How to ‘Play the Game’ With Andy Griffith

PatrickMcD — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:41:42 -0600

CHICAGO – When Marc Fienberg, first time director/writer of ‘Play the Game,’ was casting the role inspired by his grandfather, little did he know he soon would be working with the film and TV legend Andy Griffith.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

Griffith joined other sitcom stalwarts – including Doris Roberts of “Everyone Loves Raymond” and Liz Sheridan, best known as Jerry’s mother on “Seinfeld” – in a contemporary romantic comedy.

David (Paul Campbell) is a hotshot car salesman. When it comes to women, he is a player that uses the “game” to score easy relationships. In encouraging his widowed grandfather (Griffith) to use similar techniques, he sets off a series of events that have them both learning lessons about love and connection.

Show Biz Legends Andy Griffith and Doris Roberts ‘Play the Game’
Photo credit: Story Films

HollywoodChicago.com recently had a chance to interview writer/director Marc Fienberg in regard to his film debut. He talked about working with the sitcom giants, his grandfather’s Chicago roots and staying prepared as a first-time director.

HollywoodChicago.com: What were the advantages and disadvantages of having your directorial debut with your own screenplay, did you chart the course directly from the beginning or did you allow some flexibility while you were on set?

Marc Fienberg: You always allow flexibility on the set, but because there was such a long gestation period for the script, we had it in a good spot, in terms of where we wanted to end up. The actors did some great improvisation, there was time to do that, and some of it ended up in the film.

I did storyboard the entire movie, that was one of things that gave me security as a director.

HC: What was the set like with all the veterans of sitcom history – Andy Griffith, Liz Sheridan, Doris Roberts – in your midst? Were you able to discuss characterization with them or did you just let them do their own thing with it?

MF: A little bit of both. First off, just being on the set with them as a first time director was fantastic, amazing and a little nerve racking.

In terms of directing them, I learned very quickly an important lesson. They say that 90% of directing is casting, and I found that to be true. When you have legends like that with so much experience, the best thing I could do was yell ‘action’ and get out of the way. When I did that, great things happened, and when I didn’t do that, those were the scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor.

A quick story about Andy Griffith. I told him how to walk into a particular scene. He gave me a look that said, ‘I’ve been doing this longer that you’ve been alive’ (laughs). But he was a huge sport about it and very patient with me.

HC: I noted that the relationship between Paul Campbell and Andy Griffith was fairly relaxed. How did the two actors approach the relationship, given the legendary status of Mr. Griffith?

MF: It got off to a nerve-racking start. They didn’t get to meet until we went right into a table read [pre-production]. Andy comes from a time when doing the table read was all out and really acting. Whereas Paul was just doing a walk-through, as he had learned. Andy whispered to me that he thought the young gentleman was ‘reading too fast’ and Paul heard him.

But when we started rehearsing the next day, and actually pushing the scenes, Andy called Paul’s agent to compliment him as an actor. From that day forward, it felt like a grandfather/grandson relationship. It was a huge mutual respect between the two, and they really loved working together.

Paul Campbell as David and Maria Sokoloff as Julie in ‘Play the Game’
Photo credit: Story Films

HC: What have you observed about modern relationships that inspired this screenplay? Are you implying that true love is possible or that the “game” means we’re all just tilting at windmills?

MF: Part of the challenge of making a great romantic comedy is having the happy ending, where the people you want to be together end up together, but also to surprise the audience.

Luckily we had an ending that satisfied people and yet still surprised them in a way they didn’t expect to be surprised. The goal for me was to come up with an ending that reflected a more realistic theme of the overall movie…is it necessary to ‘play games’ or is it better to just be completely honest?

HC: Was the cast bringing in some of their own relationship situations into the filmmaking process? How did they relate that into your screenplay?

MF: Not overtly. Based on the pre-production interviews, I suspect they did bring in their own relationship stories and ways of dealing with that into their characters.

But I think it’s more the reverse, where they really channeled the character through them, meaning they took the character as written and brought something new to it. For example, Andy Griffith took the character of my actual grandfather, as I wrote it, and brings something to it that even I didn’t see – and it’s my own grandfather.

HC: Who were the inspirations for the senior citizen characters in the film and what did you observe about them in steering the screenplay towards the subject matter it expressed about old age?

MF: It was really just my grandfather and his friends living every day as if it were their last, and at that age it could be. The more time I spent with them, the more special that philosophy became. And that was the DNA of the movie. Plus no matter how old you are, you need social interaction, companionship and love.

Director Marc Fienberg of ‘Play the Game’ in Chicago, July 28, 2009.”
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: What did you observe about the friendship of Andy Griffith with Rance and Clint Howard, in terms of its length and professional interaction?

MF: It was great because it was kind of a reunion for them. Clint was on the old Andy Griffith Show for five or six episodes. Rance and Andy go way back. So it was nice coming together that was completely unplanned before hiring everyone. Clint was the first one on, but I sent the script to Andy completely separate. Clint did put in a good word for us, which didn’t hurt.

Clint also suggested his father Rance, and I immediately made the call. We got lucky when Rance agreed to join the cast, and it became a reunion for them.

HC: I noted a number of Chicago references in the narrative, despite being filmed in Los Angeles. Did you consider filming it here or was the budget or film parameters not suited for actual location?

MF: The plan was to shoot in Chicago. What happened was, because it was an independent film, that we had to roll with where we ended up. It was much easier to do it in Los Angeles than in Chicago. But I couldn’t bear to cut the Chicago references. If you ignore the palm trees and the mountains, you can envision Chicago (laughs).

HC: As a young filmmaker, which classic directors are your inspiration and what contemporary directors serve as a template for the type of work you are doing?

MF: I studied business in college, not film, so I don’t necessarily follow the older directors, I’m ashamed to say.

But as for contemporary directors, Rob Reiner, Frank Darabont and Ron Howard come to mind. It occurred to me later that the reason I was thinking about casting Clint Howard is because I see him in every Ron Howard film. And the common thread with all of those directors is that they focus on story.

HC: What is the atmosphere right now in contemporary Los Angeles for filmmakers and actors? Is the economic downturn making that lifestyle more difficult?

MF: I’m sure it’s has made it more difficult, but I don’t think tangibly so, and here’s why – because it is so difficult to begin with, and that it couldn’t be more difficult, at least from a writing and directing standpoint. It’s such an uphill battle even in good times, in bad times it’s probably only a little bit tougher. I don’t think people feel any more pressure or difficulty than they already feel.

‘Play the Game’ opens August 28, 2009. Check theaters for show times. It features Andy Griffith, Paul Campbell, Doris Roberts, Liz Sheridan, Clint Howard and Maria Sokoloff, directed/written by Marc Fienberg.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Oscar Winner Olympia Dukakis at the Chicago Gabby Awards

PatrickMcD — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:44:30 -0600

CHICAGO – The highlight of the Gabby Awards, the June 19th ceremony in Chicago honoring Greek Americans, was Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.

In an emotional and memorable acceptance speech, Dukakis remembered her early childhood experiences and the lessons of her immigrant Greek parents. She also recalled a moment during the presidential campaign in 1988 of her cousin Michael Dukakis, where the two of them shared happy tears thinking of where they had both come and the family that allowed them to get there.

Olympia Dukakis at the Gabby Awards, Chicago, June 19, 2009.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Olympia Dukakis is a longtime stage veteran who broke through in a big way at the age of 56 in her Oscar-winning turn as Cher’s mother in “Moonstruck” (1987). She followed that with significant film roles in “Steel Magnolias” (1988) and “Mr. Holland’s Opus” (1994), plus playing the key character (Anna Madrigal) in the mini-series “Tales of the City” (1993).

HollywoodChicago.com talked with Ms. Dukakis at the Gabby Awards, and her fiery spirit showed throughout in discussing her career and point of view.

HollywoodChicago.com: What was different about the scene on Broadway in the 1960s, when you were first starting out, as compared to the later eras, all the way up to today?

Olympia Dukakis: It was a lot more egalitarian back then, a lot more collaborative. People really believed that their work could make a difference and change things. There was theater in the streets, in the bars, in the coffee shops. There was kind of a belief in life.

HC: As an acting instructor of high academia and regard, what type of honesty in a performance can still turn your head?

OD: Being honest is good. But practicing informed honesty is better. To be vulgar about it, a dog pissing in the street is honest (laughs). So it has to be honesty with an informed sensibility and – having made such a vulgarity – a refined sensibility (laughs).

Olympia Dukakis Speaks Her Mind, Chicago, June 19, 2009.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: Your cousin was a presidential candidate and you are described as an activist and feminist. Why do you feel the descriptive feminist has fallen out of favor with women in the last 20 years?

OD: There was a reaction and backlash that happened after the first wave with everybody, especially men. It became popular to denigrate women who felt they wanted to do something to raise the consciousness of other women and men.

I think what has happened now, in viewing the world and how badly women are treated in other countries, that it has really brought us back to a more sensible place regarding the concept of feminism.

HC: What kind of perspective did you gain in the process of writing your memoir, “Ask me Tomorrow, A Life in Progress”?

OD: That was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. They kept asking me to do it, three times in all. I felt like Julius Caesar, twice he refused and the third time his vanity was hit. So he finally said yes, and that is what he got killed for (laughs).

It felt that way to me. But the publisher persisted and I began to think that maybe I do have something to offer. But the writing of it was very difficult for me.

I did gain perspective about my life, I remembered things. For example, when I was 12 years old I began to carry a knife. I had forgotten that and why I did it. It simply was necessary on the streets of my neighborhood, to fight my way to and from school.

HC: Where did your personal best moment as an actor take place? Was it part of your stage or film work?

OD: I have had wonderful moments on stage and some great film roles. It’s hard to compare them because they are so very different. I loved them both because they are two unique experiences, two different ways to communicate. I enjoy them both.

HC: Finally, as an instructor and mentor, what is your best one sentence advice to student actors?

OD: Patience, or get out.

Olympia Dukakis has three films scheduled for release in 2009 and 2010.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Melina Kanakaredes at Chicago Gabby Awards on ‘CSI: NY’

PatrickMcD — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:05:00 -0600

CHICAGO – The Greek actress with the hard-to-pronounce name (kan-uh-kuh-REE-deez), was a presenter in Chicago at the Gabby Awards, honoring Greek Americans, between seasons portraying a forensics expert on her hit TV show, “CSI: NY”.

Melina K. first made a splash as Dr. Sydney Hansen on the TV series, “Providence” and has supplemented her career with stage work, including a turn on Broadway as Sally Bowles in “Cabaret.”

Melina Kanakaredes at the Gabby Awards, Chicago, June 19, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HollywoodChicago.com caught up with wondrously upbeat Ms. K. after the Gabby awards, where she talked about a variety of subjects including life as an actress, and writing for CSI.

HollywoodChicago.com: You have now played the two most popular professions in television drama – the doctor and the cop. How fairly do you think these two professions are portrayed within the dramatic limits of television?

Melina Kanakaredes: I call it entertainment. Can a crime be solved in 43 minutes? Absolutely not. Can you stick your finger into a girl’s heart and she lives? I don’t think so.

That being said, when a woman plays the role of a forensic detective and that year the enrollment for young women in the sciences and forensics goes up over fifty percent, then I know I’ve done something really cool.

HC: You’ve taken on the iconic role of Sally Bowles in the stage version of Cabaret. How do you relate as a person to the struggles of that character?

MK: I think we all have the ability to lose track. But dreams are still important, because if you stop dreaming and stop trying to achieve something, then you lose. And I think Sally was the biggest dreamer ever.

And I loved the interpretation that came out in the latest staging of the play. It wasn’t the top hat style, it wasn’t all fabulous and nor was Sally’s life. Her desires, her struggles, her need to escape…all worked for me.

Melina K. Posing Appropriately Before a Greek–style Column at the Gabby Awards, Chicago, June 19, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: What are your three favorite monikers that show business professionals have tried to convince you to change your name to?

MK: My ultimate favorite was Lina Kane (laughs). Then there were the variations like Melina Lynne, which sounded like a country singer, and Melina Karedes, which still sounded Greek, but I still said no.

HC: Your pride in your Greek heritage is manifested in both your professional and philanthropic work. What does that heritage do for you to give strength and balance in your hectic life?

MK: I think a foundation of family is what is most important. I was born in a family that came from Greece and the history is so amazingly rich. And although we all take credit for that history and it’s been thousands and thousands of years, it is an inspiring thing no matter what you do in life. Not only are your parents there for you, but your cousins, brothers, sisters, neighbors that become aunts and uncles…it’s insane the support.

You can go off and do anything you desire, and you can fall, but there is always twenty hands to catch you. In my life, there is also twenty legs to kick me in the butt if I become all high and mighty (laughs). It’s a grounding force of love.

HC: How do the production team, writing staff and actors strive to keep the ‘CSI: NY’ franchise fresh?

MK: Well, for example, giving an actor the opportunity to write an episode is pretty amazing and I got that opportunity last season. It was the 24th show of the 5th season and for me it provided a fresh perspective.

Although I’ve been doing the show as an actor and have directed before, writing was an incredibly new experience. And it gave me the chance to put in a little Greek flair, I put in a weapon buried in Alexander the Great’s hidden tomb.

The freshness is when all the talent in the room thinks outside the box and I was a beneficiary of the executive producer doing so.

HC: What type of film character would be a dream role for you? What type of characterization have you not been considered for that you would like to try?

MK: My dream role right now is a comedy. I am the biggest klutz known to man. I think I’m funny, and I love comedy – I was a musical theater girl, musical comedy and have done physical comedy. I would love to do something in that arena.

The sixth season of ‘CSI: NY’ starring Melina Kanakaredes, Gary Sinise, Carmine Giovinazzo, Hill Harper and Eddie Cahill will premiere in Fall, 2009.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Gen Art Film Festival: Chicago Red Carpet With Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marc Webb, Scott Caan

PatrickMcD — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:01:18 -0600

CHICAGO – The Gen Art Film Festival here had red carpet events last week for two movie premieres, “(500) Days of Summer” with star Joseph Gordon-Levitt and director Marc Webb, plus “Mercy” with star and writer Scott Caan.

HollywoodChicago.com was there for both events and scored some Q&A with the principle architects of both films.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lead Actor, “(500) Days of Summer”

The child actor favorite of “Third Rock from the Sun” is all grown up and is making a splash in the independent and now mainstream film world. Following stellar performances in “Brick” (2005) and “The Lookout” (2007), Gordon-Levitt is excellent in his latest, a relationship comedy directed by Marc Webb. Look also for G-L in this summer’s “G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra”.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt at the Gen Art Film Fest, Chicago, June 23, 2009.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HollywoodChicago.com: How did your actor’s work on a sitcom and in television in general train you for the next phase of movie acting?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: I was really lucky that on ‘Third Rock from the Sun’ I was working with phenomenal actors. I learned a great deal from John [Lithgow], Jane [Curtin], Kristen [Johnston] and French [Stewart]. I use what I learned from them all the time.

HC: Rian Johnson and you created a substantial mind blast with 2005’s ‘Brick’. Do you anticipate working with him again, are there any projects floating about?

JG-L: I would hope so. Rian and I are really close and I think he’s going to be making movies for the rest of his life and hopefully I’m doing the same so there is bound to be an intersection at some point.

HC: Your first mainstream summer action movie is about to be released. What is the atmosphere on that type of movie set as opposed to your usual more sedate independent drama?

JG-L: The G.I. Joe set was nothing but fun. It was like getting together with your buddies when you were a kid and playing with toys. Even with all the special effects work, all it is was a fun bunch of toys.

HC: Growing up on screen has claimed its share of child actor victims. What has kept you not only balanced, but constantly evolving in the type and manner of screen roles?

JG-L: I guess I’ve been lucky enough to be around other cool people.

Marc Webb, Director, “(500) Days of Summer”

Webb is making his feature film debut with this beautifully crafted modern day love story.

Marc Webb at the Gen Art Film Fest, Chicago, June 23, 2009.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: This is your first feature film. What was it about this particular script and theme that drew you into consideration to direct it?

Marc Webb: It was gut reaction, really. After I read it and put it down, something about it touched me. It felt very relatable, even though it was described as a romantic comedy. I hate romantic comedies.

From the first page I thought it was actually quite funny and by end of it I really related to it. It was a moment of total clarity. It made sense to me and I thought I could do it.

HC: Orson Welles once called filmmaking the “biggest electric train set a boy ever had”, what element of the ‘train set’ in directing do you enjoy most and how do you try to use it to its fullest potential?

MW: What Welles said is completely friggin’ true (laughs). I did a split screen sequence that was just a blast. It was a challenge technically but it really paid off.

Then we did a dance sequence that on-set was just sheer joy for everyone involved. It was just fun. And I feel if you’re not having fun shooting, you shouldn’t be shooting.

There are so many people on a film production working together to execute the vision, it’s magical. It’s actually oddly moving, I say that without irony.

Scott Caan, Writer and Lead Actor, “Mercy”

Caan, a veteran actor probably best known for his role as Turk Malloy in the “Ocean’s 11” franchise, is also a superlative screenwriter and director with three scripts to his credit. He breaks out with the poignant “Mercy”, a bittersweet love story that also features a prominent role for his actor father, James Caan.

Scott Caan (left), Director Patrick Hoelck and Lead Actress Wendy Glenn of ‘Mercy’ in Chicago, June 25, 2009.
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: As a veteran screenwriter, how was it writing a film about a writer? Did you get inspiration just sitting there plying the craft of writing?

Scott Caan: I think all writers at some point write a movie about a writer. I wouldn’t know how to write a story about an architect (laughs). Usually when I write something, there is always the character of “the writer”.

HC: Do you think you’ve had as much opportunity as your Dad to play different types of roles at a similar age? Or did the era he worked in give him the advantage?

SC: That’s a loaded question, and a longer discussion. He was a pretty big movie star and had the choice to do whatever he wanted. I’m not in that same position. I have to act when they will pay me to act, I don’t get to pick and choose as much. There just aren’t as many roles offered.

HC: Are you a student of any particular school of acting?

SC: I studied the [Stanford] Meisner technique for a long time. I like the moment-to-moment reality taught in the method. I like a type of training where nothing is planned, with more of a spontaneous approach to acting, it feels more artistic.

’(500) Days of Summer’ has a limited release July 17, 2009, and features Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, directed by Marc Webb. ‘Mercy’ features Scott Caan, Wendy Glenn, directed by Patrick Hoelck.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Just for Laughs Chicago: Lisa Lampanelli vs. HollywoodChicago.com

PatrickMcD — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:46:56 -0600

CHICAGO – Two intrepid HollywoodChicago.com reporters – Patrick McDonald and Alissa Norby – faced off against the “queen of mean” – comic Lisa Lampanelli – with the help of ace HC photog Joe Arce. Who will come out of this pit morally alive?

Lisa Lampanelli in Chicago, June 20, 2009. READY: Smiling and greeting
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

The following is the actual transcript – with notable dirty words slightly altered – in the exchange between Lampanelli and McDonald and Norby, while camped into the queen’s dressing room in the Chicago Theater on June 20th. The photographs and descriptions are Joe Arce’s.

Patrick McDonald: It was said I’d get one question.

Lisa Lampanelli: F**king f*ggots, always have questions.

PM: I was born around the same time (names year) as you…

LL: (Quickly corrects me with the year after I mentioned), don’t even f**king start it, you dirty f*ggot.

PM: …what do you think people of our generation lost out on, and gained at the same time, in this particular moment in social history?

LL: I just want to murder you in your f**king sleep, lucky you missed out on the death penalty because that is what I would give you for that friggin’ question.

AIM: Pondering
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

That’s awful, but I like you, and I’m not the same generation, I’m a year younger.

No, I like you, didn’t we talk?

PM: No.

LL: What’s your name, f*ggot?

PM: Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

LL: F**king jag-off.

FIRE: Lethal Barrage When Comic Sharks Attack
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Lisa is now very depressed that she didn’t see “Jimmy”. It is now HC theater critic Alissa Norby’s turn to ask the one question.

Alissa Norby: How do you transition from journalism to stand-up, and who were your influences that helped in the process?

LL: Well, I have to tell you when you’re doing journalism, it’s really hard and you earn about 12,000 dollars a year. So I said to myself, listen, why don’t I earn more by saying the word c*nt, comedy was the only thing to do.

Transitionally, that’s what happened. And I was a DJ in between. I don’t like to brag but I did weddings and karaoke. I like karaoke, so f**king step off, I will sing the f**king rings around you, ‘Paradise by the Dashboard Lights’. Best karaoke singer in the world!

AN: I won’t challenge it.

LL: Yeah, don’t.

It was time to leave the queen’s dressing room.

Patrick McDonald: Say random things and I’ll make up a question.

Lisa Lampanelli replied to that favor. The following is the question and her answer…

PM: Given the internal and external strife that is manifested within our short, desperate existence, what is your opinion on the question of the supreme being?

LL: Eat my box.

Just for Laughs Chicago can be seen on TBS all weekend, June 27th and 28th. Check TV listings for times and programming. Lisa Lampanelli’s website may contain an edible box.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Just for Laughs Chicago: Martin Short on His Own Character

PatrickMcD — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:21:23 -0600

CHICAGO – Martin Short, the classic comic performer of SCTV, Saturday Night Live and film, came to Chicago as part of Superstation TBS “Just for Laughs” Festival, hosting and performing in the “Let Freedom Hum” revue on June 17th.

Martin Short (as Lawrence Orbach) and friend as part of ‘Just for Laughs’ Chicago
Photo credit: ©2009 Jeremy Freeman for TBS ‘Just for Laughs’ Chicago

Dusting off some of his famous characters, like inept talk show host Jiminy Glick, Short also introduced some of the top comedy stand-up talent in the country, including John Pinnette, Tom Papa, Greg Giraldo, Jeremy Hotz and Kathleen Madigan.

HollywoodChicago.com caught up with Short right after the taping of the special, which will air June 26th on TBS (check listings). He spoke about the Canadian sensibility of comedy, the two second cities and some memories of then and now.

HollywoodChicago.com: How did being born and raised in Canada inform and help develop the comedy that came out of your particular early era (the one that evolved into SCTV)?

Martin Short: I think in Canada we got a lot of other sensibilities, while getting the American comedy sensibility. We got ABC, NBC, CBS…but also BBC 1&2 and CBC and CTV. We got shows like Benny Hill before America and the Pythons right when they started. And that did influence people like Mike Myers, Phil Hartman, my SCTV colleagues and myself. The absurdity was more of the common strain, rather than, for example, political satire.

HC: What, in your experience, was the main difference between Chicago’s Second City troupe and Toronto’s version in your early career?

MS: I always thought Chicago’s Second City was politically more astute and there were more characters and insanity going on at the Second City in Toronto.

Martin Short in Chicago on June 17, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: How did it feel to do some of your old characters in “Let Freedom Hum”?

MS: This was fun, there were a lot of characters I hadn’t done in a long time. Lawrence Orbach, insecure stand-up comedian, is a character I haven’t done in 20 years, so that was kind of cool.

It’s the Day in the Life of a Stand-up, we see Lawrence at home. And then when we tried his material at a club, it was expected to bomb, but it didn’t so we had to change the tone of the whole piece (laughs).

HC: When you did your character of talk show host Jiminy Glick, is it more fun to do that with comedians, because they are into it?

MS: All characters are different, some are written and structured, Jiminy Glick is a weird one for me, I just talk. I look back at the playback later and think, ‘what the…’, did I say that? I use expressions I’ve never used before, it’s all very perverse.

HC: Peter Sellers once said that he didn’t know where his characters ended and he began. You are known for getting completely immersed in your characters. Do you ever have the same feeling as Sellers had and why?

MS: I would never even try to put myself in the same camp as Peter Sellers.

I do think that sometimes you can hopefully get so lost in a character that your improvising within that character and staying with it through the character.

I never have problems shaking a character. I’m not that good (laughs). Peter was different at that.

HC: What are your favorite memories of Gilda Radner and John Candy, now that it’s been awhile since they’ve unfortunately passed?

MS: Gilda and John were two very close friends of mine, and they are the same memories that you would have with any close friends. A million laughs, a million funny dinners and hysterical moments. Great times.

I can see them walking through that tent (pointing) right now. Sometimes when you so saturated with people they never leave you. That is what is great about them.

Martin Short’s “Let Freedom Hum” will air Friday, June 26th on Superstation TBS. Check listings for show time. ‘Just for Laughs’ Chicago runs through June 21st, 2009. Click here for tickets and details.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Just for Laughs Chicago: Wrangling the Free-Wheelin’ Andy Dick

PatrickMcD — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:43:24 -0600

CHICAGO – Andrew R. “Andy” Dick is one of the most brilliantly infamous and misunderstood comic forces in the last twenty years. Appearing at Superstation TBS “Just for Laughs” Festival in Chicago, he combined farce, music and pure Andy in his show.

Andy Dick is very, very calm in Chicago on June 19, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

During a rollicking interview with HollywoodChicago.com, Dick went over his career and philosophy, between bouts of singing Edie Brickell songs (”Where is she now?” he wondered, before speculating about her work on a part of Paul Simon’s anatomy).

HollywoodChicago.com: Your bio indicates that you moved around a lot as a kid. What area of the country most influenced your ever-evolving style of performance?

Andy Dick: Besides the first one, from Connecticut to Pennsylvania, which hurt and was emotionally jarring, the one that cracked my head open like an egg was moving from the United States to Yugoslavia. It was horse and buggies and a farmer’s market. It was a silver bullet train that went to the big city. I lived outside Zagreb for a whole year, and opened my mind up on every level. It was fantastic.

HC: Do you think some of your more notorious circumstances are merely performance art in real life that others simply don’t get?

AD: Let’s say that. I love that, and yes.

To be honest with you, I don’t know what percentage it is and over the years my real life took over and bled into my performance art. We can flash back all the way to the Aspen Comedy Festival, where I did a pre-planned vomit routine. I’m infatuated with vomit.

They thought it was all real and I’ve never been asked back to that Festival. So there are some things I do, and do well, that people don’t get.

HC: Is your character of “Queen of Pop” Daphne Aguilera based on anyone?

AD: It’s loosely based on on my Mom, because not really, because my mother wasn’t a whore (laughs). Daphne is a lush, and my Mom drank a lot. My Mom was a great woman, but she was married until she died. I love Daphne.

Andy Dick in Chicago on June 18, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: Where does the influence come from, family or performance experience, in your ability to step over the line sometimes?

AD: I think it comes from the fact that my Dad was a Lieutenant Commander on a submarine in the Navy and he ran his family like a tightly run ship. And I felt like I was on a sub under nine miles of water. And I couldn’t breathe.

I needed to get out and break the bubble. And I did. I got out and did my thing and ninety percent of my career is in retaliation against my Dad. I did love and respect him, who died before my career took off and I do wish he were here to see it.

HC: Since you were involved in the 1995 spin-off of the concept, what was it about “Get Smart”? What was your weirdest experience on that show?

AD: When I did the spin-off – it only lasted seven episodes – I was the son, Zach Smart, of Don Adams’ Maxwell Smart. I worked with Don Adams, and he was great, it was working with a legend.

He was getting older, and couldn’t remember his lines. There was one time, when all he had to say was ‘picky, picky’ in that Maxwell Smart voice. He forgot picky, picky and it came out as ‘ticky tacky’. I fell on the floor laughing.

HC: Didn’t you also do an episode of Star Trek:Voyager?

AD: Yeah, and I couldn’t remember those lines to save my life. You can’t improvise the names of phaser guns. You can’t say, ‘hand me the ticky tacky, Lieutenant Picky-Picky.’ You couldn’t do that on Star Trek:Voyager.

I was a hologram doctor, so I posted my lines on post-it notes, like Marlon Brando, all around the consoles, because we were on a space ship. But I wasn’t wearing my glasses, so I couldn’t see them. I was literally crying, saying I couldn’t do this. Beam me up, ticky-tacky (laughs).

HC: What type of scripts or roles are you offered now and do any of them make you wonder what the industry thinks of you?

AD: Precisely. I just got offered a role as a guest star in a pilot and they want me to play a Joe Francis type [Girls Gone Wild]. He’s a guy who goes around trying to get girls to take their tops off. I’m like, guys I don’t want to do that!

HC: Have you recorded the songs with your band [Andy Dick and the Bitches of the Century]?

AD: I have four albums on iTunes. The recordings are good, but the live version is better, because every show we do I add a new little ‘ticky-tacky’.

HC: Were you advised to change your name, like Tim Allen did, because he was originally Tim Dick?

AD: When I got to Los Angeles, my agent at the time said, ‘first things first, we’re changing your name!’ And I said, no we’re not, that’s like giving the middle finger to my family. So then I spent the next twenty years defacing the name anyway (laughs). I should have changed my name, they we’re right (laughs).

HC: Finally, how would you categorize yourself as a performer?

AD: I call myself a provocateur, not a comic. I use my acting skills to adjust the equalizer between emotion and action. To provoke an audience and get them to believe in something that is not happening. I also call myself a performance artist.

There is one bit I do where we freeze at the end, and there is about 3 minutes of silence. The audience is digesting it, in their mind and body and soul, they’re processing it. And that silence is not uncomfortable to me, I like it. I live in that silence.

TBS ‘Just for Laughs’ Chicago runs through June 21st, 2009. Click here for tickets and details. Find out all about Andy Dick here.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com