Interviews

Q&A: Rocky Director John Avildsen on Working With Lloyd Kaufman

By Camille Dodero Tue., Jul. 10 2012 at 4:15 PM
Categories: Actors, Film, Interviews, Lloyd Kaufman, Movies

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John G. Avildsen at the Oscars

In last week's print issue of the Village Voice, we spent time with Lloyd Kaufman, the Troma Entertainment president and splatter-comedy director who's currently remaking his early '80s original, Class of Nuke 'Em High this summer. Kaufman's known for his prolific career in the independent underground, but one of his earliest mentors was future Academy Award Winner John G. Avildsen, who met Lloyd in the editing room of shoestring studio Cannon Films and brought him on for Joe (1970), which introduced actors Susan Sarandon and Peter Boyle, and then Rocky, which shows Kaufman briefly onscreen as a drunken bum and in the credits as pre-production manager. "A title I had never heard and never have since," offers Avildsen, who invented credits for nonunion Lloyd, including "executive in charge of locations" on Saturday Night Fever, which the Academy Award winner was slated to direct. Avildsen spoke with us on the phone recently about his old friend.

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Actors

Alec Baldwin (Sort of) Runs for Mayor Again

By Victoria Bekiempis Tue., Apr. 17 2012 at 2:53 PM
Categories: Actors, Victoria Bekiempis

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Remember when Alec Baldwin considered a mayoral run, and then decided not to, giving the impression that the whole ordeal was nothing more than a bad publicity stunt?

Well, looks like he's up to his old tricks again, according to Baldwin's most recent speech on Bloomberg Television (via Daily News.)

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Campaigns

Alec Baldwin Will Not Run For Mayor After All

By Rosie Gray Wed., Dec. 21 2011 at 5:37 PM
Categories: 30 Rock, Actors, Campaigns, Rosie Gray

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For a while, Alec Baldwin was doing his damnedest to sow the seeds of a possible mayoral run in New York City. Or at least to drum up enough buzz so it appeared that he was kind of serious about it, which it turns out (to few people's surprise) he's not; Baldwin said on WNYC today that he "doubts" he'll have a political career. As for the mayoral race itself:

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James Franco

NYU Professor Says He Was Fired For Giving James Franco a D

By Rosie Gray Mon., Dec. 19 2011 at 10:51 AM
Categories: Actors, James Franco, NYU

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One of James Franco's MFA professors at NYU had to give the actor a D after he missed 12 "Directing the Actor II" classes in one semester. The professor, José Angel Santana, now says that the school fired him over the D and he's suing NYU in Manhattan Supreme Court. He's also taken his story to (where else!) the Post.

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TV

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Case Is Getting A Law & Order Episode

By Rosie Gray Fri., Aug. 12 2011 at 3:03 PM
Categories: Actors, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Europe, Rosie Gray, TV

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The next season of Law & Order: SVU will feature an episode about an important European official visiting New York who is accused of rape. Remind you of anything? Franco Nero, an Italian actor and husband of Vanessa Redgrave, will play the ersatz Strauss-Kahn character.

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"Politics"

Alec Baldwin's Potential Mayoral Run: Pros and Cons

By Rosie Gray Wed., Aug. 10 2011 at 11:41 AM
Categories: "Politics", 30 Rock, Actors, New York, Rosie Gray

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Jack Donaghy Alec Baldwin is running for mayor of New York. No he's not! Just kidding. What he's actually doing is spreading rumors in the media of a possible, nebulous future mayoral run. According to this Times piece, Baldwin wants to run for mayor, but not in 2013. Just sometime in the future. Do we hate this idea? Do we love it? Inside, some pros and cons:

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R.I.P.

Tom Aldredge (1928-2011); Consummate Supporting Actor

By Michael Feingold Mon., Jul. 25 2011 at 6:05 PM
Categories: Actors, Hollywood, Michael Feingold, R.I.P., Theater

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Tom Aldredge
​I did not realize the extent to which Tom Aldredge was a hero of mine till the news of his death on Friday, July 22, of lymphoma, at age 83, made me look back on his half century of performances, Off-Broadway and on, which brought me several important realizations: I realize that, despite the wide range of roles he played, I never saw Tom Aldredge give a bad performance, or one in which he seemed miscast.

And though he was always instantly recognizable onstage, he never seemed to be playing himself, or just supplying business as usual. Each role was carefully crafted and fully inhabited for its own sake.


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Actors

John Malkovich Robbed In Prague

By Rosie Gray Sat., Jun. 4 2011 at 5:16 PM
Categories: Actors, Burglary, Crime, Europe, Rosie Gray
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​Actor John Malkovich of Being John Malkovich, among other things, has had his stuff stolen at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Prague. Malkovich was in the Czech capital to portray an Austrian serial killer in a play in the Prague Spring music festival. Now his passport and some personal belongings are gone. It's HIS PASSPORT, Schwartz! It's his passport! He will see you in court.

(What makes him think we won't be seeing what he's seeing...in court?)

[THR]

[@_rosiegray]

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Employment

Unemployed Actors Have a Future in Pest Control

By Sergio Hernandez Tue., Nov. 16 2010 at 2:15 PM
Categories: Actors, Employment, Ew, Freakin' Recession, Infestations, Sergio Hernandez, Urban Wildlife
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​Rejoice, out-of-work Law & Order extras! We know it's been hard since your favorite legal procedural/gravy train went off the air, but there's a new job on the horizon for you, and it's not playing a murder victim in Central Park or waiting tables. Actors, it seems, are the perfect personalities for ad-hoc bed bug exterminators, at least according to the Wall Street Journal who today profiles "Bed Bug Busters NY," an extermination company that specifically hires actors to chase out household pests.More »
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A-Rod

A-Rod's Big-Screen Debut Role: What Will It Be?

By Annie Werner Tue., Jul. 13 2010 at 4:50 PM
Categories: A-Rod, Actors, Annie Werner, Movies

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Variety reports that Yankees record home-run hitter Alex Rodriguez will be fielding a role in the new Justin Timberlake-Mila Kunis movie, Friends With Benefits, about two friends who take to the sheets to cope after ending disastrous relationships. Though the plot of the film may be predictable (and also potentially disastrous-sounding), A-Rod's unspecified role is not -- just what will the tabloid's favorite performance-enhancing baseball player be doing? We gander a few guesses based on previous athlete-cum-movie stars. Kazaam!

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