1989: Atwt's Ellen was unhappy with her husband.
1989: Gl's Will fatally injured Rose.
1994: Gh's Bobbie and Tony said goodbye to B.J.
2012: Days' Lucas and Sami reacted to Will coming out."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1967: On Days of our Lives, Tom (Macdonald Carey) told Susan (Denise Alexander) that Dickie didn't have any fractures but had not regained consciousness.
1979: On Another World,...
1989: Gl's Will fatally injured Rose.
1994: Gh's Bobbie and Tony said goodbye to B.J.
2012: Days' Lucas and Sami reacted to Will coming out."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1967: On Days of our Lives, Tom (Macdonald Carey) told Susan (Denise Alexander) that Dickie didn't have any fractures but had not regained consciousness.
1979: On Another World,...
- 5/16/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Focus
An awkward combination of stories and characters that doesn't always result in a clear picture of its real-world subject matter, Roger Roth's debut feature, "Focus", met with mixed reactions at its world premiere screening Saturday at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Is "Focus" a cliched shoot-'em-up in the 'hood, with guns, cameras and inspirational white characters, or a from-the-heart tale of creativity giving lost and young artists a reason to believe in themselves?
Commercial prospects for the U.S. indie are similarly blurry. The tale of a frustrated white photographer who befriends a black family, "Focus" boasts several convincing performances, but its crowd-pleasing predictability -- even as it takes on such challenges as portraying gang violence and the moral dilemma of crime witnesses who feel threatened into silence -- tends to undercut Roth's sincere intentions.
Depressed and unfulfilled as an artist since his photography partner died years earlier, Robert (Brandon Karrer) lives with girlfriend Sidney (Jennifer Jostyn). While she gives him tough-love pep talks over his need to move on in art and life, the movie shifts a few times to the Walker family in South Central Los Angeles, where fatherless teen Keith (Trent Cameron) and younger brother Marcus (Gary Gray) are destined to bond with Robert in fateful ways.
When Robert isn't even assertive enough to tell his boss (Bruce Weitz) he's quitting, the gloomy shutterbug heads for the visually inspiring concrete banks and bridges of the Los Angeles River, eventually finding his way to the gangsta-plagued neighborhood where the Walkers live. Robert befriends Marcus when the latter shows an interest in taking pictures, but Mrs. Walker (Davenia MacFadden) is naturally suspicious of the soft-spoken, exceedingly courteous stranger.
FOCUS
Waterline Pictures
Screenwriter-director: Roger Roth
Producer: Echo Gaffney
Executive producer: Roger Roth
Director of photography: Mark Woods
Production designer: Brian Daniel Livesay
Editor: Roger Roth
Costume designer: Hollandia O'Hara
Music: Norman Arnold
Casting: Mark Sikes
Color/stereo
Cast:
Robert: Brandon Karrer
Keith: Trent Cameron
Marcus: Gary Gray
Sidney: Jennifer Jostyn
Mrs. Walker: Davenia MacFadden
Earl: Bruce Weitz
G-Ride: Lloyd Avery
Boo: Arvie Lowe Jr.
June Bug: Garikayi Mutambirwa
Running time -- 97 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Is "Focus" a cliched shoot-'em-up in the 'hood, with guns, cameras and inspirational white characters, or a from-the-heart tale of creativity giving lost and young artists a reason to believe in themselves?
Commercial prospects for the U.S. indie are similarly blurry. The tale of a frustrated white photographer who befriends a black family, "Focus" boasts several convincing performances, but its crowd-pleasing predictability -- even as it takes on such challenges as portraying gang violence and the moral dilemma of crime witnesses who feel threatened into silence -- tends to undercut Roth's sincere intentions.
Depressed and unfulfilled as an artist since his photography partner died years earlier, Robert (Brandon Karrer) lives with girlfriend Sidney (Jennifer Jostyn). While she gives him tough-love pep talks over his need to move on in art and life, the movie shifts a few times to the Walker family in South Central Los Angeles, where fatherless teen Keith (Trent Cameron) and younger brother Marcus (Gary Gray) are destined to bond with Robert in fateful ways.
When Robert isn't even assertive enough to tell his boss (Bruce Weitz) he's quitting, the gloomy shutterbug heads for the visually inspiring concrete banks and bridges of the Los Angeles River, eventually finding his way to the gangsta-plagued neighborhood where the Walkers live. Robert befriends Marcus when the latter shows an interest in taking pictures, but Mrs. Walker (Davenia MacFadden) is naturally suspicious of the soft-spoken, exceedingly courteous stranger.
FOCUS
Waterline Pictures
Screenwriter-director: Roger Roth
Producer: Echo Gaffney
Executive producer: Roger Roth
Director of photography: Mark Woods
Production designer: Brian Daniel Livesay
Editor: Roger Roth
Costume designer: Hollandia O'Hara
Music: Norman Arnold
Casting: Mark Sikes
Color/stereo
Cast:
Robert: Brandon Karrer
Keith: Trent Cameron
Marcus: Gary Gray
Sidney: Jennifer Jostyn
Mrs. Walker: Davenia MacFadden
Earl: Bruce Weitz
G-Ride: Lloyd Avery
Boo: Arvie Lowe Jr.
June Bug: Garikayi Mutambirwa
Running time -- 97 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 7/8/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dutton sworn in for 'Beltway'
Charles S. Dutton has been tapped to portray Montgomery County, Md., police chief Charles Moose in The Beltway, USA Network's original movie about last year's sniper killings in the Washington area. Meanwhile, Showtime has rounded out President Bush's cabinet for DC 9/11, the small-screen telling of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Beltway, written by David Erickson and directed by Tom McLoughlin, centers on the Moose-headed multiforce police hunt for the sharpshooters who terrorized the capital area for three weeks in the fall, leaving 19 dead. Bobby Hosea (Independence Day) and Trent Cameron (NBC's American Dreams) have been cast to play accused snipers John Muhammed and John Lee Malvo, respectively. Also cast in the project are Jay O. Sanders (Kiss the Girls) as Montgomery County executive Doug Duncan and Charlayne Woodard (Unbreakable) as Muhammed's former wife Mildred.
- 4/9/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Focus
An awkward combination of stories and characters that doesn't always result in a clear picture of its real-world subject matter, Roger Roth's debut feature, "Focus", met with mixed reactions at its world premiere screening Saturday at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Is "Focus" a cliched shoot-'em-up in the 'hood, with guns, cameras and inspirational white characters, or a from-the-heart tale of creativity giving lost and young artists a reason to believe in themselves?
Commercial prospects for the U.S. indie are similarly blurry. The tale of a frustrated white photographer who befriends a black family, "Focus" boasts several convincing performances, but its crowd-pleasing predictability -- even as it takes on such challenges as portraying gang violence and the moral dilemma of crime witnesses who feel threatened into silence -- tends to undercut Roth's sincere intentions.
Depressed and unfulfilled as an artist since his photography partner died years earlier, Robert (Brandon Karrer) lives with girlfriend Sidney (Jennifer Jostyn). While she gives him tough-love pep talks over his need to move on in art and life, the movie shifts a few times to the Walker family in South Central Los Angeles, where fatherless teen Keith (Trent Cameron) and younger brother Marcus (Gary Gray) are destined to bond with Robert in fateful ways.
When Robert isn't even assertive enough to tell his boss (Bruce Weitz) he's quitting, the gloomy shutterbug heads for the visually inspiring concrete banks and bridges of the Los Angeles River, eventually finding his way to the gangsta-plagued neighborhood where the Walkers live. Robert befriends Marcus when the latter shows an interest in taking pictures, but Mrs. Walker (Davenia MacFadden) is naturally suspicious of the soft-spoken, exceedingly courteous stranger.
FOCUS
Waterline Pictures
Screenwriter-director: Roger Roth
Producer: Echo Gaffney
Executive producer: Roger Roth
Director of photography: Mark Woods
Production designer: Brian Daniel Livesay
Editor: Roger Roth
Costume designer: Hollandia O'Hara
Music: Norman Arnold
Casting: Mark Sikes
Color/stereo
Cast:
Robert: Brandon Karrer
Keith: Trent Cameron
Marcus: Gary Gray
Sidney: Jennifer Jostyn
Mrs. Walker: Davenia MacFadden
Earl: Bruce Weitz
G-Ride: Lloyd Avery
Boo: Arvie Lowe Jr.
June Bug: Garikayi Mutambirwa
Running time -- 97 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Is "Focus" a cliched shoot-'em-up in the 'hood, with guns, cameras and inspirational white characters, or a from-the-heart tale of creativity giving lost and young artists a reason to believe in themselves?
Commercial prospects for the U.S. indie are similarly blurry. The tale of a frustrated white photographer who befriends a black family, "Focus" boasts several convincing performances, but its crowd-pleasing predictability -- even as it takes on such challenges as portraying gang violence and the moral dilemma of crime witnesses who feel threatened into silence -- tends to undercut Roth's sincere intentions.
Depressed and unfulfilled as an artist since his photography partner died years earlier, Robert (Brandon Karrer) lives with girlfriend Sidney (Jennifer Jostyn). While she gives him tough-love pep talks over his need to move on in art and life, the movie shifts a few times to the Walker family in South Central Los Angeles, where fatherless teen Keith (Trent Cameron) and younger brother Marcus (Gary Gray) are destined to bond with Robert in fateful ways.
When Robert isn't even assertive enough to tell his boss (Bruce Weitz) he's quitting, the gloomy shutterbug heads for the visually inspiring concrete banks and bridges of the Los Angeles River, eventually finding his way to the gangsta-plagued neighborhood where the Walkers live. Robert befriends Marcus when the latter shows an interest in taking pictures, but Mrs. Walker (Davenia MacFadden) is naturally suspicious of the soft-spoken, exceedingly courteous stranger.
FOCUS
Waterline Pictures
Screenwriter-director: Roger Roth
Producer: Echo Gaffney
Executive producer: Roger Roth
Director of photography: Mark Woods
Production designer: Brian Daniel Livesay
Editor: Roger Roth
Costume designer: Hollandia O'Hara
Music: Norman Arnold
Casting: Mark Sikes
Color/stereo
Cast:
Robert: Brandon Karrer
Keith: Trent Cameron
Marcus: Gary Gray
Sidney: Jennifer Jostyn
Mrs. Walker: Davenia MacFadden
Earl: Bruce Weitz
G-Ride: Lloyd Avery
Boo: Arvie Lowe Jr.
June Bug: Garikayi Mutambirwa
Running time -- 97 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 3/8/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film review: 'The Wood'
Writer-director Rick Famuyiwa makes a promising feature debut with "The Wood", a warm rite-of-passage comedy.
Nurtured at the Sundance Institute's screenwriters and directors lab, the ensemble piece is something of a hip-hop "Stand by Me" peppered with a little "Wedding Singer" 1980s nostalgia and "American Pie" raunch.
While the picture's shaping and pacing would have benefited from a more seasoned hand, Famuyiwa's richly written, exceptionally well-cast characters strike a pleasant chord.
"The Wood" should do well by its targeted young urban audience, although any significant crossover seems unlikely.
Set in Inglewood, Calif., (the "Wood" in question), the story concerns a trio of best friends from childhood who are experiencing some delayed emotional growing pains.
Just hours before his wedding, Roland (Taye Diggs) has gone AWOL with a bad case of prenuptial jitters, sending buddies Mike (Omar Epps) and Slim (Richard T. Jones) on his trail.
They track him down having a panic attack at the home of an old high school sweetheart (Tamala Jones), and while doing their best to get him sobered up, they begin to reminisce about their carefree lives back in the day when jheri curls, K-Swiss tennis shoes and Guess USA jackets reigned supreme.
Past shares screen time with the present as Young Roland (Trent Cameron), Young Mike (Sean Nelson) and Young Slim (Duane Finley) do impressive renderings of their hormonally driven, teenaged selves.
In fact, all the film's characters are credibly conveyed by the talented cast. In addition to Diggs, Epps and Jones and their younger counterparts, Malinda Williams does effective work as Alicia, the fine but fiery object of Mike's guarded affections, while De'Aundre Bonds is comically on the money as her delinquent big brother.
Writer-director Famuyiwa certainly has a lot of room to grow, as evidenced by the constant shifts back and forth in time, signaled by a close-up of a needle landing on a spinning record, don't always flow smoothly and can get a little old after a while. But he adeptly captures the camaraderie and has a gentle, unforced way with humor.
Production values are strong, particularly Steven Bernstein's ("The Waterboy") energetic camera work and some frighteningly familiar '80s touches from production designers Roger Fortune and Maxine Shepard, not to mention some of costume designer Darryle Johnson's cringe-inducing "period" finds.
Also making his feature debut here is jazz bassist Robert Hurst, who delivers a mellow, unobtrusive score that blends in well with those vintage Luther and Levert slow jams.
THE WOOD
Paramount
An MTV Films production
in association with Bona Fide Prods.
Director-screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa
Story: Rick Famuyiwa and Todd Boyd
Producers: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, David Gale
Executive producer: Van Toffler
Director of photography: Steven Bernstein
Production designers: Roger Fortune and Maxine Shepard
Editor: John Carter
Costume designer: Darryle Johnson
Music supervisor: Pilar McCurry
Music: Robert Hurst
Casting: Mali Finn and Emily Schweber
Color/stereo
Cast:
Mike: Omar Epps
Roland: Taye Diggs
Slim: Richard T. Jones
Young Mike: Sean Nelson
Young Roland: Trent Cameron
Young Slim: Duane Finley
Young Alicia: Malinda Williams
Stacey: De'Aundre Bonds
Tanya: Tamala Jones
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Nurtured at the Sundance Institute's screenwriters and directors lab, the ensemble piece is something of a hip-hop "Stand by Me" peppered with a little "Wedding Singer" 1980s nostalgia and "American Pie" raunch.
While the picture's shaping and pacing would have benefited from a more seasoned hand, Famuyiwa's richly written, exceptionally well-cast characters strike a pleasant chord.
"The Wood" should do well by its targeted young urban audience, although any significant crossover seems unlikely.
Set in Inglewood, Calif., (the "Wood" in question), the story concerns a trio of best friends from childhood who are experiencing some delayed emotional growing pains.
Just hours before his wedding, Roland (Taye Diggs) has gone AWOL with a bad case of prenuptial jitters, sending buddies Mike (Omar Epps) and Slim (Richard T. Jones) on his trail.
They track him down having a panic attack at the home of an old high school sweetheart (Tamala Jones), and while doing their best to get him sobered up, they begin to reminisce about their carefree lives back in the day when jheri curls, K-Swiss tennis shoes and Guess USA jackets reigned supreme.
Past shares screen time with the present as Young Roland (Trent Cameron), Young Mike (Sean Nelson) and Young Slim (Duane Finley) do impressive renderings of their hormonally driven, teenaged selves.
In fact, all the film's characters are credibly conveyed by the talented cast. In addition to Diggs, Epps and Jones and their younger counterparts, Malinda Williams does effective work as Alicia, the fine but fiery object of Mike's guarded affections, while De'Aundre Bonds is comically on the money as her delinquent big brother.
Writer-director Famuyiwa certainly has a lot of room to grow, as evidenced by the constant shifts back and forth in time, signaled by a close-up of a needle landing on a spinning record, don't always flow smoothly and can get a little old after a while. But he adeptly captures the camaraderie and has a gentle, unforced way with humor.
Production values are strong, particularly Steven Bernstein's ("The Waterboy") energetic camera work and some frighteningly familiar '80s touches from production designers Roger Fortune and Maxine Shepard, not to mention some of costume designer Darryle Johnson's cringe-inducing "period" finds.
Also making his feature debut here is jazz bassist Robert Hurst, who delivers a mellow, unobtrusive score that blends in well with those vintage Luther and Levert slow jams.
THE WOOD
Paramount
An MTV Films production
in association with Bona Fide Prods.
Director-screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa
Story: Rick Famuyiwa and Todd Boyd
Producers: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, David Gale
Executive producer: Van Toffler
Director of photography: Steven Bernstein
Production designers: Roger Fortune and Maxine Shepard
Editor: John Carter
Costume designer: Darryle Johnson
Music supervisor: Pilar McCurry
Music: Robert Hurst
Casting: Mali Finn and Emily Schweber
Color/stereo
Cast:
Mike: Omar Epps
Roland: Taye Diggs
Slim: Richard T. Jones
Young Mike: Sean Nelson
Young Roland: Trent Cameron
Young Slim: Duane Finley
Young Alicia: Malinda Williams
Stacey: De'Aundre Bonds
Tanya: Tamala Jones
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 7/12/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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