News

Actress Suzanne Shepherd, who is known for ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘Goodfellas’ has died at the age of 89, after decades-long career in the acting industry. The death of the late actress is said to have been confirmed by a relative recently, reports Mirror.co.uk. A cause of death however hasn’t been reported.

Over the course of her career, Suzanne – who’s also credited as a theatre director and acting teacher – starred in numerous films and appeared in some TV shows. Her most recent credit is said to have been ‘The Performance’.

The Sun US reported earlier that Suzanne has died, with the news said to have been shared by her granddaughter Isabelle. The outlet stated that a cause of death was not provided and that the family didn’t detail a further statement.

As per Mirror.co.uk, Suzanne played the mother of Karen Hill (played by Lorraine Bracco...

Actress Suzanne Shepherd, who is known for ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘Goodfellas’ has died at the age of 89, after decades-long career in the acting industry. The death of the late actress is said to have been confirmed by a relative recently, reports Mirror.co.uk. A cause of death however hasn’t been reported.

Over the course of her career, Suzanne – who’s also credited as a theatre director and acting teacher – starred in numerous films and appeared in some TV shows. Her most recent credit is said to have been ‘The Performance’.

The Sun US reported earlier that Suzanne has died, with the news said to have been shared by her granddaughter Isabelle. The outlet stated that a cause of death was not provided and that the family didn’t detail a further statement.

As per Mirror.co.uk, Suzanne played the mother of Karen Hill (played by Lorraine Bracco...

Exclusive: Adrienne Warren is set as a lead in Hulu drama series Black Cake, from Women of the Movement creator Marissa Jo Cerar, Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment. Andrew Dosunmu (Where Is Kyra?) has been tapped to direct the pilot episode of the project, which landed at the Disney streamer with a straight-to-series order last fall.

Black Cake, based on the book by Charmaine Wilkerson, marks a reunion for Warren with Cerar, Kaplan and Disney following their collaboration on Women of the Movement. Warren starred as Mamie Till-Mobley in the ABC limited series, which was created by Cerar and produced by Kapital.

Hulu Pilots & Series Orders

Cerar serves as showrunner on Black Cake, a family drama wrapped in a murder mystery with a diverse cast of characters and a global setting that spans decades. The story takes place in Jamaica, Rome, Scotland, England and Southern California.

Winston Duke is in talks to star as the renowned political activist Marcus Garvey in “Marked Man,” a political actioner package that Amazon Studios has picked up, according to an individual with knowledge of the project.

Andrew Dosunmu will direct and executive produce the film. Jesse Williams and DeWanda Wise (“She’s Gotta Have It”) are also in talks to star.

“Marked Man” is partly inspired by Colin Grant’s biography, “Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey,” who was a key figure of Black nationalism in the 20th century. The studio also holds rights to the book.

Acclaimed playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah wrote the screenplay, which Esther Douglas developed with the support of the BFI Film Fund. He will also serve as an executive producer.

Set in the 1920s, “Marked Man” follows a young black man who joins J. Edgar Hoover’s Bureau of Investigation, and then...

Synonymous with Sundance as all of his works have premiered there, Andrew Dosunmu‘s could technically see his fourth feature land in the Premiere section portion of the fest and essentially follow in the footsteps of a beautiful body of work in Restless City (2011), 2013’s Mother of George (read review) and Where Is Kyra? (2017). A queer, romantic drama is based on a screenplay by the one and only Lena Waithe, Beauty features Gracie Marie Bradley and Aleyse Shannon (2019’s Black Christmas) with supporting players in Giancarlo Esposito and Sharon Stone. Production began in the fall of 2019 in New York City, and somewhere along the way, the project landed on Netflix’s doorstep.…...

In the early days of Hollywood’s adaptation of digital cinematography, there were those artists, like Michael Mann and cinematographer Dion Bebe, or David Fincher and Harris Savides, who explored the unique properties of the medium, rather than simply try to make it look like celluloid. Even in 1080 HD-shot movies like “Zodiac” we saw how in low light and a night setting we could peer into this low contrast edge of exposure. While digital couldn’t, and still doesn’t, approach the incredible dynamic range that film negative can produce in rounding out an image’s highlights, there was incredible latitude filmmakers could find in the “toe” of exposure of a digital file.

There is one cinematographer, in particular, who has not only continued to explore the dark edges of the digital image, but used it as a canvas to paint. Bradford Young’s remarkable body of work this decade started off shooting on film,...

Don't call it a comeback! When Michelle Pfeiffer appeared on NBC's Today Thursday to promote her new film, Murder on the Orient Express (in theaters Friday), the 59-year-old actress chalked up her career revival to good timing. This year alone, Pfeiffer also appeared in Darren Aronofsky's mother! and Andrew Dosunmu's Where Is Kyra?, in addition to earning an Emmy nomination for her role as Ruth Mader in HBO's made-for-tv movie Wizard of Lies. Pfeiffer will next play Janet Van Dyne in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp, and she shows no signs of slowing down after that. But the actress, who has previously said she put her career on hold to raise her kids with husband David E. Kelley, seems uncomfortable with...

Michelle Pfeiffer has added her voice to the chorus of women speaking out about sexual harassment in the film industry. The actress, who was at Sundance this year with “Where Is Kyra?” and also appears in Darren Aronofsky’s “mother!” and Kenneth Branagh’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” calls the problem “systemic” while clarifying that she never had an experience with Harvey Weinstein herself.

Read More:‘mother!’ First Clip: Michelle Pfeiffer is Going to Be Jennifer Lawrence’s Worst Nightmare — Watch

“I have never worked with Harvey,” the actress tells the BBC in a new interview. “I have had some experiences, and I have to say, since this has all come out there really hasn’t been one woman that I’ve talked to who hasn’t had an experience. And it just really goes to show you how systemic the problem is.”

Read More:‘Where Is Kyra?’ Review:...

No, not WASPy though perhaps she is that, too. As you've undoubtedly heard by now -- especially if you eagerly listened to the latest podcast -- Michelle Pfeiffer will co-star with Michael Douglas in Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). While Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly are playing the title characters, so are Douglas and Pfeiffer in a way since their characters Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne were the original heroes that went by those names. Douglas was introduced in the first movie if you'll recall and we were supposed to believe that Janet was dead.

Whether this means CGI-youngered flashbacks or merely exposition scenes with famous faces we won't know for some time but it's a nice treat for pfans and Pfeiffer's first superhero movie since her legendary work in Batman Returns (1992). If we have to hear about superhero movies every minute of every day now, it goes down so...

by Murtada

The year of Michelle Pfeiffer continues. We’ve seen the trailer and pictures from Murder on the Orient Express. We've seen the poster for mother! (sacrilege she’s not on it). We’ve seen her on HBO as Ruth Madoff. And now her Sundance film, Where is Kyra?, made its way to Brooklyn and played at BAMCinemaFest last weekend.

Andrew Dosunmu (Mother of George) collaborates once again with Bradford Young to gorgeous results. This time Pfeiffer’s transfixing visage supplements their beautiful frames with movie star magic...

If one wants to experience the best independent cinema the year has to offer this summer, one of your best bets is the well-curated line-up at Brooklyn’s BAMcinémaFest. They’ve now unveiled this year’s slate for the festival running from June 14-25, including some of of my favorite films of the year thus far (A Ghost Story, Golden Exits, Columbus, Marjorie Prime, and Landline) as well as highly-anticipated others (the SXSW hit Gemini and Stephen Cone‘s Princess Cyd come to mind).

“I’m incredibly proud of the program our team has put together,” says Gina Duncan, Associate Vice President, Cinema. “From the endearing comedy The Big Sick to the micro-budget Princess Cyd and Lemon, the audacious first feature from Janicza Bravo, the line-up truly reflects the breadth of American independent cinema today. Other highlights include the world premiere of Jim McKay’s, En el Séptimo Día an...

Important dates in the RePfeiffal of 2017...

Michelle Pfeiffer as Ruth Madoff in "Wizard of Lies"

April 29th Michelle Pfeiffer's birthday. She turns 59

May 20th The HBO premiere of Wizard of Lies starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro in a TV movie about the Madoff scandal

June 19th 25th anniversary of Batman Returns (1992)

And Every Saturday ...new episodes of Pfandom

Sept 17th Emmy Night - will she be a nominee for Wizard of Lies? It premieres just before the Emmy eligibility cutoff

Oct 13th Darren Aronofsky's Mother opens in movie theaters starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, and Domnhall Gleeson

Nov 22nd The all star remake of Murder on the Orient Express opens in movie theaters starring Michelle Pfeiffer (in the Lauren Bacall role), Kenneth Branagh (in the Albert Finney role), Judi Dench (in the Wendy Hiller role), Daisy Ridley (in the Vanessa Redgrave role), Olivia Colman...

Director Andrew Dosunmu made a splash at Sundance in 2013 with his film Mother of George, a Brooklyn-set story concerning a Nigerian couple trying to have a child. Four years later, the man is still in New York City with Where Is Kyra?, this time exploring how a metropolis can swallow up its older members whole, without a second thought. We spoke with Dosunmu about where this idea came from, how he collaborates with his great cinematographer Bradford Young and if his top-notch lead actors were aware of how often the camera was not focused on them at all.

The Film Stage: How did the project come together?

Andrew Dosunmu: After I finished my last film Mother of George, I wanted to do something different. And I live in the city (New York City), and people are out there. And for me, it’s like, there’s this guy on...

Jon Hamm plays a hologram in director Michael Almereyda’s “Marjorie Prime,” but he seems less-than enthused about the technological breakthroughs that are digitizing performers like Carrie Fisher in “Rogue One,” in some cases from beyond the grave. “Technology tends to only move in one direction,” the actor told TheWrap CEO Sharon Waxman at the Sundance Film Festival. “It’s not like they go, ‘Oh, this hologram idea was a great idea but, eh, never mind.'” Also Read: 'Where Is Kyra?' Director on Casting Michelle Pfeiffer, Keifer Sutherland as Destitute New Yorkers (Video) “There always has to be...

Nigerian-born director Andrew Dosunmu (“Mother of George”) said that even though his new film, “Where Is Kyra?” stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Kiefer Sutherland, the inspiration was anything but glamorous. “Living in New York, walking by people every day, homeless people, I just wanted to document that,” Dosunmu told TheWrap’s Matt Donnelly at the Sundance Film Festival. “I wanted to tell a story about these people that are disenfranchised that we see every day. We don’t ask ourselves the question, ‘Why are they here?'” Also Read: 'Water & Power' Director Talks Threat to Us Water Supply (Exclusive Video) Pfeiffer plays Kyra,...

So much of so many film festivals — Sundance especially — feel enormously focused on metropolitan life, New York City in particular. In Where Is Kyra?, director Andrew Dosunmu finds fertile ground in this well-worn location. Starring an against-type and utterly fascinating Michelle Pfeiffer as the titular Kyra, the film narrows in on the tragedy of getting old in America.

Written by Darci Picoult and lensed by the great (and recently Oscar-nominated) Bradford Young, this film lives in the shadows, both visually and conversationally. Kyra is an unemployed, middle-aged woman looking after her elderly mother (Suzanne Shepherd). After her mother’s death, she finds herself alone in a big, noisy city with no money and a sufficient lack of job prospects. When her credit card is declined trying to buy a drink at a local bar, a handsome neighbor named Doug (Kiefer Sutherland) enters the picture.

In handling her mother’s affairs,...

It’s been years since we’ve been treated to a great Michelle Pfeiffer performance, and “Where Is Kyra” finally gives her that platform. The tragic, understated character study from “Mother of George” director Andrew Dosunmu constructs a hypnotic portrait of despair out of Pfeiffer’s sullen expression; opposite Kiefer Sutherland as her romantic interest, Pfieffer anchors this shadowy New York mood piece about a despondent middle-aged woman wrestling to find a modicum of stability.

Dosunmu’s atmospheric approach, which derives much of its style from long takes and lengthier pauses, provides both actors with the most experimental cinematic challenge of their resumes to date, and they tackle the assignment with palpable depth. “Where Is Kyra” falls short of channeling their performances into a fully satisfying whole, but it nevertheless fuses the talent of an ambitious filmmaker with actors eager to operate on his wavelength. “Mother of George” and “Restless City...

True story: I started our new "Pfandom" series specifically for two reasons. The second was to cheer myself up in these awful democracy-losing times. The first though was to welcome our pfavorite, Michelle Pfeiffer, back. The twitter debate rages on what we shall call this year ("The Pfeiffersance? Michellaisance?" any other suggestions?). The first of her pfour roles this year is the title character in Where is Kyra?, which just premiered at Sundance. I will not be reading any reviews as I'd like to experience it pfresh but my understanding is that it's Oscar nominated cinematographer Bradford Young (Arrival) and Michelle herself winning the raves while people are less jazzed about the movie itself? Regardless, Tfe's official stance is that it's very unfortunate that Pfeiffer did not show to support her movie. Director Andrew Dosunmu (Mother of George) had to go it alone. If she doesn't leave home to promote her movies this year,...

The Sundance Festival reveals the state of the indie film market, and 2017 will be remembered as the year of Amazon Studios and Netflix. And given the festival’s robust TV and Vr programs, which were dominated by Google and Facebook/Oculus, there’s further digital disruption ahead.

According to one indie distributor, Sundance 2017’s valuations and sales are almost a third higher than last year. Put the same titles into the Sundance market two years ago, and they would have sold for far less. That’s because Netflix and Amazon Studios on the narrative side are dramatically driving up prices. “It’s just ridiculous what the digital guys are doing to the marketplace,” said one veteran indie CEO. “‘The Big Sick’ is a great little movie but it’s a $4 million -$6 million buy. There’s no logic to this model.”

However, Sundance has always been about the haves and the have-nots.

The Horizon Award Co-Founders — Christine Vachon, Lynette Howell Tayler, Cassian Elwes, and CEO of ShivHans Pictures — Shivani Rawat

(Photo by: Dan Campbell / Horizon Award)The Horizon Award heads back to Sundance Film Festival for its third year and cofounders Cassien Elwes, Lynette Howell Taylor and Christine Vachon bring new and returning sponsors.

The Wme Lounge in Park City, Utah during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival hosted the crowded celebratory event where everyone freely mixed and met each other.

Six directors judged the final 53 films to select the two winners. Catherine Hardwicke (“Thirteen”, “Twilight”), Kimberly Peirce (“Boys Don’t Cry”, “Carrie”), Jamie Babbit (“But I’m a Cheerleader”, “Addicted to Fresno”), Karyn Kusama (“Jennifer’s Body”, “Æon Flux”), Tina Mabry (“Mississippi Damned”, “Queen Sugar”), and Vicky Jenson (“Shrek”, “Shark Tale”) chose. Brittany “B Monét” Fennell and Andy Villanueva whose self-directed short films of two minutes or less were submitted through the website (www.

Park City – Bradford Young earned his first Oscar nomination today for “Arrival,” Denis Villeneuve’s moving sci-fi drama, the night before his second collaboration with director Andrew Dosunmu, “Where Is Kyra?,” debuted at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Both films are examples of his expert cinematography skills, as there are few people on this planet that can light a room like it’s the canvas of a 17th-century Vermeer.

Continue reading ‘Where Is Kyra?’ With Michelle Pfeiffer And Kiefer Sutherland Is Beautifully Lit But An Inert Slog [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.

Poverty and destitution never looked as gorgeous as they do in the moody arthouse drama Where is Kyra? The third fiction feature from Sundance regular Andrew Dosunmu, after Mother of George and Restless City, casts Michelle Pfeiffer as an unemployed New Yorker whose money troubles grow exponentially after the death of her mother, who received a disability pension. This leads Kyra to do something rather radical that her sort-of boyfriend, played by Kiefer Sutherland, does not approve of.

Shot by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Bradford Young (Arrival) in what is arguably his career-best work in terms of the camerawork’s sheer breathtaking beauty,...

On Friday in Park City, the bidding wars opened for business. Fox Searchlight co-president Nancy Utley began and ended her day at the Eccles Theatre, where the Sundance premieres culminated with the big acquisition title, “The Big Sick,” directed by Michael Showalter and produced by Judd Apatow. Appetites remain high for Sundance titles, but last year proved to be a teachable moment for indie distribution: There’s a big difference between being able to compete for a title, and successfully gauging what will work in the marketplace.

“The marketplace is always changing, but now it is changing more rapidly, both on the production and consumer side,” said Searchlight co-president Stephen Gilula. “The bar for theatrical viability keeps going up. While we are talking about other models, Searchlight is still a global, theatrically driven company, trying to make money on each individual title. We haven’t changed our acquisition calculus, but...

On Friday in Park City, the bidding wars opened for business. Fox Searchlight co-president Nancy Utley began and ended her day at the Eccles Theatre, where the Sundance premieres culminated with the big acquisition title, “The Big Sick,” directed by Michael Showalter and produced by Judd Apatow. Appetites remain high for Sundance titles, but last year proved to be a teachable moment for indie distribution: There’s a big difference between being able to compete for a title, and successfully gauging what will work in the marketplace.

“The marketplace is always changing, but now it is changing more rapidly, both on the production and consumer side,” said Searchlight co-president Stephen Gilula. “The bar for theatrical viability keeps going up. While we are talking about other models, Searchlight is still a global, theatrically driven company, trying to make money on each individual title. We haven’t changed our acquisition calculus, but...

Robert Pattinson western, Michael Douglas-exec’d drama among 10-15 strong slate.

UK fund manager Great Point Media is launching its most ambitious film sales slate to date with more than ten films debuting at the Afm.

Having previously invested in a number of films to have secured Us deals this year, including Rachel Weisz drama Complete Unknown [pictured] which went to Amazon, and Christine Vachon-produced The Goat, which was sold to Paramount for the world, the three-year-old company is now going hard at the international film sales space on projects it has invested in at an early stage.

Owned by former Rhi Entertainment president Robert Halmi Jr and former Ingenious executive Jim Reeves, Great Point’s Afm slate includes Alicia Vikander and Eva Green drama Euphoria, Sally Potter’s The Party; William H Macy-directed Krystal; Christine Vachon-produced Where Is Kyra? with Michelle Pfeiffer and Kiefer Sutherland; Ansel Elgort-Suki Waterhouse drama Jonathan; Katie Holmes comedy...

Chris here. Remember what fun we had awhile back fantasy casting Kenneth Branagh's upcoming Murder on the Orient Express remake? Well, now some official names have been added to the cast and it should be just as much of a delight.

The two biggest names come as something of an unexpected Dark Shadows reunion (sorry for the reminder about that Tim Burton misfire): Michelle Pfeiffer and Johnny Depp will be the headliners to Branagh's own Poirot. Pfeiffer becomes the natural successor to Lauren Bacall as Mrs. Hubbard, a casting coup that feels both inspired and accurate. With Beat-Up Little Seagull and Darren Aronofsky's next film which is also probably coming in 2017, we'll be grateful to be seeing quite a bit of her. Depp will be playing Ratchett, the victim of the titular murder.

But they weren't the only names signing up, and the others make for quite an exciting assemblage: Daisy Ridley,...

Things we forgot to talk about but it's never too late.

Do You Love She Loves Me?

Did any of you manage to catch the Broadway livestream of She Loves Me June 30th? It was the first ever of its kind though I've heard no details on how well it performed (i.e. if we'll see more of them). They've extended the availability to rent it until July 10th on Broadway HD.

The Hours 2: The Return of Virginia Woof

Okay not really. Basically everybody committed suicide or got old in The Hours. But recently we got word that Virginia Woolf is coming back to the big screen in the adaptation of the play Vita & Virginia which is about Woolf's friendship and affair with another female writer. The most delightful part of this news may be that the play and its screenplay adaptation were both written by the actress Dame Eileen Atkins...

We'll begin awardable speculations all over again starting April 1st as we do. Don't hate us because we're Ocd. So I'm prepping a cheat sheet list of releases that could factor in in ways very minor or major. Let me know if I've missed any juicy titles you're awaiting after the jump.

January through April

Which ones will people still care about in 10 months when top ten lists / awards season begins

10 Cloverfield Lane, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Boss, Demolition, Everybody Wants Some, Hail Caesar!, Hello My Name is Doris, A Hologram for the King, The Huntsman: Winter's War, Krisha, The Meddler, Midnight Special, Miles Ahead, Sing Street, Tale of Tales, The Witch, and Zootopia

Popcorn Season (May-August)

Some Oscar nominees always emerge in the summer. But the question is in which categories?

Alice Through the Looking Glass, Ben-Hur, The Bfg, A Bigger Splash, Captain America: Civil War,...

Happy Thanksgiving. Guys,It's really happening! The happiest news of this holiday is that the elusive movie goddess Michelle Pfeiffer actually went before cameras again for her first feature film since The Family. The superstar was spotted, with dark hair (no bueno Michelle. You're the blonde!), and extremely colorful ensemble on the set of the intriguing sounding Killer Films production Beat-up Little Seagull.

In other just started production news something called Doctor Strange (sp?) also started shooting this week. Anyone heard of it ;) ...