News

Rob Young, a Canadian sound mixer whose 40-year career in the industry included an Oscar nomination for his work on the Clint Eastwood best picture winner Unforgiven, has died. He was 76.

Young died June 11 in Albi, France, of complications from a fall in Morocco while on a food tour, his wife, Yvonne Young, announced.

Young also was nominated for BAFTA awards for Unforgiven (1992) and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996), for a Cinema Audio Society prize for Joe Johnston’s Jumanji (1995), for a Genie Award for Phillip Borsos’ The Grey Fox (1983) and for a Golden Reel Award for Bryan Singer’s X2 (2003).

The New Brunswick native mixed Roxanne (1987) and The Russia House (1990) for director Fred Schepisi, the first two First Blood films in 1982 and ’85 for Ted Kotcheff and George P. Cosmatos, respectively, and the first two Night at the Museum movies for Shawn Levy in 2006 and ’09 (not to mention The Pink Panther...

Christine Lahti has been cast as feminist icon Gloria Steinem in the previously announced Off Broadway production of Having Our Say playwright Emily Mann’s new play Gloria: A Life.

The play, to be directed by Diane Paulus (Waitress) and produced by Tony-winning producer Daryl Roth (Kinky Boots) at the Daryl Roth Theatre on Union Square in Manhattan, will begin previews Tuesday, October 2 and open Thursday, October 18.

“Gloria Steinem helped me find feminism, which has been my life jacket, a way to navigate through a world that doesn’t treat girls and women like full human beings,” Lahti said upon her casting. “For over forty years, she has worked tirelessly to enrich, empower and save women’s lives. To be able to play her and tell her remarkable story is one of the greatest thrills and honors of my life, not to mention my career.”

Said Steinem: “I’m honored to be represented by Christine,...

Patrika Darbo will host the 9th Annual ISAs on April 4.

Photo Credit: Russell BaerThe Bold and the Beautiful star Patrika Darbo will host the 9th Annual Indie Series Awards ceremony on April 4 at The Colony Theatre in Burbank. CA.

At this year's ISAs, Darbo is nominated for her work in three separate web series: Indoor Boys, The Bay and Ladies of the Lake. In an Indie Series Awards first, she will compete against herself in the Best Guest Actress - Drama category.

The ISAs celebrate the best in independently produced entertainment created for the Web.

Ladies of the Lake leads all series with 18 total nominations, followed by 16 for The Bay. Those shows will compete in the Best Drama Series category with Anacostia, Giants, L.A. Macabre, Riley Parra, Running With Violet and Teenagers.

Filth City leads all comedies with 12 nominations. The series is joined in the Best Comedy Series field by 190 Lorimer,...

By Sean O’Connell

hollywoodnews.com: The WGA plans to reveal its nominees for the top features of 2011, but before that announcement (scheduled for Thursday), the group revealed that writing partners Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick will be honored with the 2012 Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television.

Recipients of the honor are recognized for lifetime achievement in outstanding television writing, according to a release. The duo certainly qualifies, with credits that include “thirtysomething,” “Love and Other Drugs” and “Once and Again.”

They will receive the honor at the Writers Guild Awards’ West Coast ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Hollywood Palladium.

“Beginning in the 1980s, Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz were among a small group of writers who revolutionized the television drama. So much of what is on television today is a direct or indirect descendant of their seminal work, thirtysomething,” Wgaw president Christopher Keyser said. “So many writers of...

Many wouldn’t expect Love and Other Drugs from acclaimed director, Edward Zwick. It’s fair to say that anyone who comes out of Glory, Defiance, or Blood Diamond would say, “I bet this guy could make a hell of a love story,” and that’s a fair assessment. But many most likely don’t know Zwick also directed About Last Night and Leaving Normal, so he’s not a man only dedicated to the epics. Zwick is coming off Defiance here, and if you know the history of that film, then you know it wasn’t an easy one to make. Zwick seemed relieved by the idea of making a film that didn’t have both financial and shooting issues. What Zwick didn’t seem to embrace so much is Love and Other Drugs being called a “rom-com,” which it isn’t. It may be being advertised as another fluffy love piece, but...

American character actor known for his tough-guy roles in westerns and on television

With a voice that sounded as if it were strained through gravel chipped from his craggy face, James Gammon, who has died of cancer aged 70, had a memorable presence as a character actor in crime films, rural dramas and especially westerns, from A Man Called Horse (1970) to Urban Cowboy (1980), Silverado (1985), Wyatt Earp (1994), Wild Bill (1995) and Appaloosa (2008). Ed Harris, who directed and starred in Appaloosa, said of Gammon: "If he'd been born 20 years earlier he'd have been in every other western ever made."

Gammon had a perpetual squint that could be interpreted as crazy or wise – or both. His best-known role was as the unflappable baseball manager Lou Brown in the comedy Major League (1989). On television, he played Don Johnson's father in the series Nash Bridges from 1996 to 2001. Gammon's ability to reveal an essential weakness, and the...

Actor who was at his best in shadowy roles

The actor Maury Chaykin, who has died aged 61 after a heart-valve infection, was an American and a Canadian citizen, and his career reflected his dual nationality. In the Us, he was a familiar face, if not a recognisable name, playing small but telling roles in major films. His breakthrough came in Dances With Wolves (1990), playing Major Fambrough, who sends Kevin Costner on his frontier assignment and then kills himself. Chaykin's only leading role was in the cable TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001), as the titular detective who refuses to leave his house, delegating that to his assistant (Timothy Hutton).

In Canada, Chaykin was something of a national treasure. He won a Genie award for best actor for his performance as a Brian Wilson-like burned-out rock star in Whale Music (1994), gave remarkable performances in three films directed by Atom Egoyan...

James Gammon, the character actor who was a staple on TV, film and theater, has died. He was 70 years old. Gammon famously portrayed Lou Brown, manager of the Cleveland Indians in the 1989 comedy "Major League" and its 1994 sequel. He appeared in many films including "Urban Cowboy," "The Milagro Beanfield War," "Leaving Normal," "Ironweed" and "Cold Mountain." Gammon was a notable player on the smallscreen and played the father on "Nash Bridges" from 1996 to 2001. He appeared on "The Waltons," and the 1995 miniseries "Streets of Laredo" and guest appearances ranging from "Gunsmoke" and other westerns in the 1960s to "Grey's Anatomy" in 2007. Gammon was also a co-founder of the Met Theatre, and was a...

In a change of pace following the historic epic The Last Samurai, Ed Zwick and his Bedford Falls shingle are looking to Columbia Pictures to strike a lighter note. Zwick is in negotiations with the Culver City studio to direct, produce and co-write the romantic comedy Happy Endings. Details on the story line are being kept under wraps. Zwick's Bedford Falls partner Marshall Herskovitz will co-write and produce the project with Zwick. Matt Tolmach and Amy Baer will oversee for the studio. Zwick's directing credits include The Siege, Leaving Normal, Glory and About Last Night. He and Herskovitz also have a long list of producing credits, including Traffic and I Am Sam. Zwick and Herskovitz also recently received a series commitment from ABC and Touchstone TV for an ensemble drama, 1/4 Life. They are repped by CAA.