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Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’ directorial debut My Dead Friend Zoe took the Grand Jury prize for Best Feature Narrative Saturday night as the Woodstock Film Festival presented awards for its silver jubilee edition.

The film stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, and Morgan Freeman in a tale of a female veteran of the war in Afghanistan who “comes head to head with her Vietnam vet grandfather at the family’s ancestral lake house.” The feature grew out of a short film directed by Hausmann-Stokes, himself a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq.

The jury, comprised of Oren Moverman, Roger Ross Williams, and Debra Granik, wrote, “For a standout central performance that delves into the darkness of the human psyche in the aftermath of its most extreme brutality, and for shining a light on the tragic consequences of war on those who are sent in our name to fight, we the...

The Woodstock ’99 music festival may have been an unmitigated disaster, but that town and that year brought us something far more lasting: The Woodstock Film Festival.

Fast-forward to 2024, and we’re celebrating the film fest’s 25th year. Among the slate’s highlights this fall is Paul Schrader’s latest film “Oh, Canada,” which will screen on Saturday, October 19. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Schrader, who will be further celebrated with the Honorary Maverick Award.

The 2024 festival will take place from October 15-20 at venues across the Hudson Valley towns of Woodstock, Rosendale, Kingston, and Saugerties. The centerpiece selection is Steve McQueen’s “Blitz,” with Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” closing the festival.

“On this 25th anniversary of the film festival, and at this pivotal time in our nation and the world, I’m thrilled to welcome the many talented filmmakers who will be arriving...

The 25th Woodstock Film Festival will feature a lineup of world, North American and U.S. premieres, joining acclaimed fiction and nonfiction films from Sean Baker, Steve McQueen, Alexis Bloom, Raoul Peck, Marielle Heller, Jesse Eisenberg, Jacques Audiard and many more.

The festival, which runs from October 15-20 in the Hudson Valley towns of Woodstock, Rosendale, Kingston and Saugerties, will see writer-director Paul Schrader receive the Honorary Maverick Award. His latest, Oh, Canada, starring Richard Gere, Uma Thurman and Jacob Elordi, will screen at Woodstock. Filmmaker Ira Deutchman will be presented with the Honorary Trailblazer Award; Pamela Yates and Paco de Onís will receive the inaugural Art of Activism Award. [Scroll for the full lineup]

McQueen’s Blitz, starring Oscar-nominated actress Saoirse Ronan, serves as Woodstock’s centerpiece film. Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, starring the Oscar-nominated actor and Kieran Culkin, closes the silver jubilee edition of Woodstock. Sean Baker’s Anora heads to...

Award-winning news podcast 7am is welcoming investigative reporter Ruby Jones back to the helm, as host and executive producer.

Ruby has been on maternity leave and will return to the role part-time. She is already known to audiences for her agenda-setting work on 7am. For more than three years, she has helped embed the podcast in the daily news cycle and placed it at No. 1 in the news podcast charts. Prior to this, she worked at the ABC, where she was an investigative reporter, hosting and reporting the true crime podcast Barrenjoey Road.

“I can’t wait to come back to 7am to tell the most important stories in the country, alongside such a talented team who want to tell those stories in such exciting, fresh ways,” says Jones.

“The 7am listeners are an incredible community and I’m very much looking forward to getting back to giving them the...

Jacob Moran is set to reteam with Madeleine McGraw, his co-star on the hit Blumhouse/Universal horror pic The Black Phone, on a new horror pic titled The Necklace that enters production in Atlanta in late May.

Details as to Moran’s role are under wraps. Madeleine’s sister, Violet McGraw of M3GAN fame, will also star.

Directed by Juan Pablo Arias Munoz, from a script by John Ducey, The Necklace watches as the Davis family navigates through tough times in 1960. Laura Davis has separated from her husband Frank due to his unpredictable temper, fueled by alcohol. As Laura returns to work as a nurse, her daughters, 11-year-old Ellen (Violet McGraw) and 16-year-old Judy (Madeleine McGraw), grapple with the changes in their family dynamics. The plot thickens when Frank attempts to win Laura back with a beautiful antique necklace, which turns out to be a conduit for the tormented...

Walking Dead actor Erik Jensen has opened up about his diagnosis of stage 4 colorectal cancer.

Jensen’s family announced the news in a GoFundMe post.

“After miraculously surviving a brain aneurysm just a year and a half ago, our beloved Erik Jensen was just diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer,” the family wrote. “The cancer has metastasized to his liver, but Erik is young and strong and his doctors think they have a shot at shrinking the tumors enough to do two very major surgeries and get them all out. He can make it through this. But Erik and his family are in for the fight of their lives, and they need your support.”

Hollywood strikes and his prior aneurysm have strained the family financially.

His wife, Jessica, and 13-year-old daughter, Sadie, are hoping to raise $300,000 to “make it through the next year, pay for treatment to fight his cancer,...

Erik Jensen is battling cancer.

According to a GoFundMe page set up last week, the 53-year-old The Walking Dead and Mr. Robot actor is being treated after being diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer.

“After miraculously surviving a brain aneurysm just a year and a half ago, our beloved Erik Jensen was just diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer,” the page reads.

Keep reading to find out more…

“The cancer has metastasized to his liver, but Erik is young and strong and his doctors have a shot at shrinking the tumors enough to do two very major surgeries and get them all out,” the page continued.

Erik shares 13-year-old daughter Sadie with wife Jessica Blank.

“He is incredibly resilient and strong; Erik is a survivor,” the page added. “We know he can make it through this, come out the other side, and continue to make great work and support his community for years to come.

Actor Erik Jensen, who’s known for roles on “The Walking Dead” and “Mr. Robot,” revealed in a recent GoFundMe page that he is battling Stage 4 cancer. The page, started Oct. 18 by Jessica Blank, asks for help with his medical bills.

“After miraculously surviving a brain aneurysm just a year and a half ago, our beloved Erik Jensen was just diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer,” the fundraiser by Blank reads.

Blank wrote,”Erik and his family are in for the fight of their lives, and they need your support,” adding that the diagnosis is not necessarily “a death sentence.”

The cancer has reportedly metastasized to the actor’s liver, but “his doctors have a shot at shrinking the tumors enough to do two very major surgeries and get them all out,” according to Blank. So far, more than $97,000 has been raised towards a goal of $300,000.

Blank wrote of the 53-year-old,...

In the aftermath of a health crisis, the power of community and shared narratives can transform a bleak situation into one filled with support and hope. Such is the case for Erik Jensen, the 53-year-old actor renowned for his role as Dr. Steven Edwards in Season 5 of The Walking Dead. Jensen, a dedicated father and husband, and a respected figure in the artistic community, is currently waging a courageous battle against Stage 4 colorectal cancer.

Just a year and a half prior to his cancer diagnosis, Jensen defied the odds by surviving a brain aneurysm, showcasing his resilience and strength. Now, he faces another formidable challenge, as his cancer has metastasized to his liver. Despite these daunting circumstances, Erik’s spirit remains unbroken. He continues to work full-time as a director and writer, even while undergoing chemotherapy and cutting a film. His relentless determination is a testament to his character and...

Erik Jensen, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Steven Edwards on The Walking Dead Season 5, has been diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer.

The actor's family revealed the news in a GoFundMe post.

"After miraculously surviving a brain aneurysm just a year and a half ago, our beloved Erik Jensen was just diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer," the message on the fundraising platform reads.

"The cancer has metastasized to his liver, but Erik is young and strong and his doctors think they have a shot at shrinking the tumors enough to do two very major surgeries and get them all out.

"He can make it through this. But Erik and his family are in for the fight of their lives, and they need your support."

"Stage IV is not a death sentence, and Erik is working incredibly hard to stay positive and fight for the shot that his doctors say he has,...

The cast and crew of The Walking Dead have rallied around former cast member Erik Jensen, who has been diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer. Scott M. Gimple, The Walking Dead‘s showrunner from Season 4 to Season 8, revealed the news on social media, directing fans to a GoFundMe page set up on the actor’s behalf. “One of Twd’s own could use a little help,” Gimple wrote on Twitter/X. “Erik Jensen, who played Dr. Steven Edwards in S5 was just diagnosed with cancer, and it’s a time of great uncertainty for him and his family.” “After miraculously surviving a brain aneurysm just a year and a half ago, our beloved Erik Jensen was just diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer,” the GoFundMe page reads. “As many of you know, Erik is a deeply devoted father to 13-year-old Sadie, who’s the light of his life [and] an incredible husband to Jessica,...

The Walking Dead alum Erik Jensen has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, his family revealed in a GoFundMe post.

The Walking Dead Cco Scott M. Gimple pointed out the GoFundMe page to fans, hoping they can help.

“One of Twd’s own could use a little help. Erik Jensen, who played Dr. Steven Edwards in S5 was just diagnosed with cancer, and it’s a time of great uncertainty for him and his family. If you want to send something his way,” Gimple wrote on X (fka Twitter).

“After miraculously surviving a brain aneurysm just a year and a half ago, our beloved Erik Jensen was just diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer,” his GoFundMe page reads.

It goes on to say that Erik and his wife Jessica “are full-time freelance artists and live without the cushion that long-term commercial work can provide. Erik’s aneurysm, the double strikes and...

The Walking Dead family is showing up for one of their colleagues amid a serious medical crisis.

Franchise Cco Scott M. Gimple revealed Monday that Erik Jensen — who in Season 5 played Steven Edwards, the weaselly Grady Memorial doctor for whom ill-fated Beth Greene briefly worked as an assistant — has been diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer.

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Exclusive: U.S. financier Mizzel Media has backed its second movie: indie feature Rebel Girl, starring Oscar nominee Amy Madigan (Twice in a Lifetime), newcomer Sadie Jensen-Blank (#Horror) and Erik Jensen (The Walking Dead).

New York-based Mizzel, which earlier this year invested in The Girl From Köln, the next film from Holy Spider and The Tale outfit One Two Films, is overseen by producer and veteran manager Lillian Lasalle.

Rebel Girl, currently filming in Minnesota under a SAG Ia, is being helmed by co-writing-directing team Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen with a script co-written by Han Shan.

The film will chart the story of headstrong 14-year-old Maisie (Jensen Blank) and her artist dad Kurt (Jensen) who must leave the confines of their Brooklyn bubble to return to Kurt’s Minnesotan childhood home where Maisie upends old family patterns, falls in love, and forces her family to confront each other and themselves.

Andy Warhol (Paul Bettany) filming Jean-Michel Basquiat (Jeremy Pope) in Anthony McCarten’s The Collaboration, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah Photo: Jeremy Daniel

In the second instalment with Anthony McCarten we discuss A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, starring Will Swenson and Mark Jacoby as Diamond (now and then respectively), directed by Michael Mayer and The Collaboration with Jeremy Pope (terrific in Elegance Bratton’s impressive The Inspection) as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paul Bettany as Andy Warhol and Erik Jensen as Bruno Bischofberger, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah.

Michael Stewart and Defacement, Pablo Picasso’s portrait of Gertrude Stein, Ernst Lubitsch’s Heaven Can Wait, Alexander Hall’s Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of Don DeLillo’s White Noise, and an imagined production of Anthony’s play The Two Popes with Whitney Houston playing and a Warhol on the wall of the Pope’s quarters inhabiting the “same sort of eerie.

Update: The Collaboration has canceled performances through Friday, Dec. 23, with producers saying they expect the show to resume performances on Monday, Dec. 26.

Due to a case of Covid in the cast, producers canceled last night’s opening night performance. Like some other Broadway productions, the play had not been scheduled for staging on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Ticket holders should contact their point of purchase for exchanges or refunds.

Previous, Dec. 20: Tonight’s opening night performance of Broadway’s The Collaboration has been canceled due to a positive Covid case in the company.

Performances at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre will resume on a date to be announced. An official opening night will be rescheduled in the next few days, although a spokesperson for the production said critics’ reviews may be released tonight as planned.

The Collaboration, written by Anthony McCarten and directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, stars Paul Bettany...

The wig gives it away, otherwise we’d be hard-pressed to immediately – or even slowly – recognize Paul Bettany’s fast-talking, extroverted and inquisitive artist character in Anthony McCarten’s The Collaboration as that historic icon of cryptic, mumbled monosyllables Andy Warhol.

Unfortunately, Bettany isn’t the only thing that feels smudged in this ’80s-set paint-by-numbers and highly fictionalized dual bio-play about Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, opening tonight in a Manhattan Theatre Club production at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway.

Directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah and inspired by the real life 1984 painting collaboration of the aging (at least in terms of artistic relevance) Warhol and the soaring Basquiat – a project presented so much more convincingly and movingly in the 1996 film Basquiat, starring Jeffrey Wright and, in the definitive performance of Warhol, David Bowie, who haunts this play like a shadow – The Collaboration is an oddly lifeless endeavor, a failure in...

Krysta Rodriguez and Erik Jensen will complete the cast of the upcoming Broadway production of Anthony McCarten’s The Collaboration starring the previously announced Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope.

The play, a hit in London, depicts the artistic collaboration of painters Andy Warhol (Bettany) and Jean-Michel Basquiat (Pope), will make its American premiere in a Manhattan Theatre Club production beginning previews on Tuesday, November 29 ahead of a Tuesday, December 20 opening at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

Rodriguez will play Basquiat’s girlfriend “Maya” and Jensen will portray “Bruno Bischofberger,” the art dealer and gallery owner who brings Warhol and Basquiat together. Kwame Kwei-Armah directs.

The casting announcement was made today by Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director) and Barry Grove (Executive Producer) and the Young Vic Theatre, Kwame Kwei-Armah (Artistic Director) and Lucy Davies (Executive Director) by special arrangement with Eleanor Lloyd Productions,...

Respected journalist Sarah McVeigh is joining Schwartz Media as head of its audio division. Following a period of significant growth for the publisher, McVeigh is well-positioned to build on the strong foundations Schwartz Media has established in longform journalism and audio daily news. Schwartz Media’s current audio programming includes 7am, Australia’s No. 1 news podcast, and the The Culture podcast, soon to be relaunched in partnership with LiSTNR.

“We are thrilled that a person of Sarah’s calibre and vast experience will lead our audio division,” chief executive Rebecca Costello says. “Sarah will develop new offerings and work with the teams that make our podcasts to ensure that our journalism remains excellent, particularly as we scale to do more.”

McVeigh is an award-winning producer and reporter with experience developing new shows in Australia at the ABC, and at Gimlet and Spotify in the US. Her most recent project, Resistance,...

Nominations for the 37th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were announced April 7, 2022 by Lilli Cooper and Lea DeLaria, stars of Broadway’s “Potus.” The Lortel Awards were created in 1985 to honor outstanding achievement Off-Broadway. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and Lucille Lortel Theatre, with additional support provided by Tdf. Winners will be announced at a ceremony on May 1, at NYU Skirball.

Tony Award hopeful Deirdre O’Connell is the recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She won a Lortel Award for her riveting solo performance in “Dana H.” at the Vineyard Theatre last year. That production transferred to Broadway in the fall.

Acclaimed playwright David Henry Hwang is this year’s Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee. His name will be added to a star on the sidewalk outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre on Christopher Street, a permanent monument to Off-Broadway playwrights.

New musicals...

Kimberly Akimbo, Assassins, Prayer for the French Republic and The Chinese Lady were among the Off Broadway productions receiving multiple nominations for this year’s Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off Broadway, announced today.

Among the innovations in this year’s 37th Annual Lortel Awards are the first non-gendered performance categories, and the first-ever Lortel for Outstanding Ensemble. In the new Ensemble category, the inaugural nominees are the casts of English, Oratorio For Living Things, and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992.

Kimberly Akimbo and Oratorio For Living Things scored the most nominations, with six each, while Black No More and On Sugarland received five. Assassins, Prayer for the French Republic and The Chinese Lady each have four nominations.

The awards will be handed out on Sunday, May 1, at NYU Skirball in Manhattan. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and Lucille Lortel Theatre, with additional support provided by Tdf.

Four-time Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Alfre Woodard is the latest to join the cast of Blair Underwood’s upcoming psychological thriller “Viral.”

Production on the project — directed, produced by and starring Underwood — is currently underway in New York, after filming was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The casting news also marks a reunion for Woodward and Underwood, who previously teamed up for the Netflix drama “Juanita,” Showtime’s “The Wishing Tree” and the stage show “Love Letters.” The pair of entertainers have had an equally long history offscreen. In 1989, Woodard and Underwood co-founded Artists for a New South Africa (Ansa), an organization to support the mission to end apartheid, alongside fellow actors like Danny Glover, Mary Steenburgen and Cch Pounder.

Woodard is set to play Dr. Johnetta, a psychiatrist specializing in deep trauma, in the thriller, which follows Underwood’s character Andrew as he falls into paranoia after his wife Jules goes missing.

Entertainment executives and stars across streaming sites and digital media companies took part in Variety’s virtual Entertainment Summit, a partnership event with CES hosted on Thursday.

The summit covered new and emerging technologies and innovation techniques that are changing the landscape of film, TV, gaming and more. Topics included the rising importance of streaming content, fan-first media and an increased focus on consumer culture amid the coronavirus pandemic. Below are 10 takeaways pulled from some of the event’s conversations.

Resiliency is key when pivoting brand messages due to the pandemic

At the Brands – Culture Leaders Across Media conversation, Megan Wahtera, senior vice president of content marketing and media at Fox Entertainment, said the network’s marketing team learned early on that its audience was a “moving target,” with shorter attention spans and greater disruption as a result of the pandemic.

While the team had to throw out its early marketing plans,...

As if sensing that the election would provide enough nail-biting excitement to last Americans for days, distributors have largely backed off the first weekend in November.

Focus Features is releasing a solid Kevin Costner-Diane Lane thriller with serious Red State appeal in “Let Him Go,” for those with access to theaters, and there are a number of backlogged festival movies picking this weekend to open: the best of them is “Proxima,” featuring Eva Green as a French astronaut preparing to leave her son behind for her first trip to space, though Toronto 2019 premiere “Jungleland” and Sundance oddity “Koko-di Koko-da” are solid options as well.

Genre fans have a few options, ranging from “Triggered” (a “Battle Royale”-esque survival game in which old friends must kill one another to survive) to “The Informer,” a movie that opened in theaters abroad way back in 2019, but brings some excitement to a tame frame.

"The art world caused this..." Dark Star has released an official trailer for Acute Misfortune, a fictional adaptation of Erik Jensen's award-winning biography of the tortured Australian artist Adam Cullen. This originally premiered at the Melbourne and Adelaide Film Festivals back in 2018, and also played at the Edinburgh Film Festival last year. The film is an examination of the connection between the biographer and his subject, following this particular story as it descends into a dependent and abusive relationship. Toby Wallace (who won the "Best Young Actor" award at the 2019 Venice Film Festival for Babyteeth) stars as biographer Erik Jensen, and Daniel Henshall co-stars as bipolar artist Adam Cullen (who passed away in 2012). It also stars Gillian Jones, Geneviève Lemon, and Max Cullen. This does indeed look like a very striking film, boasting some stunning images accenting a complicated story about two very different people. Here's the official trailer...

Everything’s changing for Australian artist Adam Cullen and journalist Erik Jensen in the upcoming biopic, ‘Acute Misfortune.’ The writer’s chronicle of the Archibald Prize-winning painter, who’s known for his controversial subjects and distinctive style, is showcased in the film adaptation of Jensen’s award-winning biography of Cullen. Dark Star Pictures is set to distribute the acclaimed […]

The post Everything Changes For Painter Adam Cullen in Acute Misfortune Exclusive Trailer Premiere appeared first on Shockya.com.

Monica Zanetti’s screenplay of Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt), Ben Lawrence and Beatrix Christian’s Hearts and Bones and Ally Burnham’s Unsound have been nominated for best original feature in the 53rd annual Awgie Awards.

The contenders for the feature film adaptation prize are Thomas M. Wright and Erik Jensen’s Acute Misfortune, Lisa Hoppe’s H is for Happiness, Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps’ Penguin Bloom and C.S. McMullen’s The Other Lamb.

The TV series prize promises to be a close race between episodes of Glen Dolman’s Bloom, Michael Petroni’s Messiah for Netflix, Belinda Chayko’s Stateless, Samantha Strauss’ The End and Pip Karmel’s Total Control.

Timothy Hobart, John Ridley, Jeremy Nguyen, Alan Nguyen and Michele Lee’s Hungry Ghosts will square off against Matthew Cormack and Niki Aken’s The Hunting for best miniseries.

In the TV serial category it must...

Diane Rodriguez, whose career was immersed in the Los Angeles theater community, died Friday of cancer at age 58, according to her representative.

Rodriguez was an actress, director, playwright and producer, and later the book writer for the Broadway style musical Barbie Live!, creative and cultural consultant for the Disney Television Animation series Elena of Avalor.

Her career began in 1973 when she joined Luis Valdez’s El Teatro Campesino. She went on to become associate artistic director for Center Theatre Group, and worked with theatres and artists across the country, as well as internationally; president of the Theatre Communications Group Board.

Rodriguez...

Steve Earle examines the physical strength and life-risking bravery of Appalachian miners in “Devil Put the Coal in the Ground,” the first preview of the singer’s new album, Ghosts of West Virginia. The follow-up to the Texas-born singer-songwriter’s 2019 Guy Clark tribute album, Guy, Earle and his band the Dukes’ Ghosts of West Virginia has roots in the New York theater community.

Earle was approached by playwrights Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, with whom he’d worked on The Exonerated, to collaborate on a play about the 2010 Upper Big Branch disaster in West Virginia,...

Kevin Conway has died. He was 77.

The beloved actor died on Wednesday of a heart attack, multiple outlets, including Deadline, reported.

A rep for the late star did not immediately respond to People’s request for comment.

Conway is best known for his roles in the 1993 film Gettysburg, Thirteen Days, Stark Trek and Invincible.

Born in New York City in 1942, Conway’s big break came in 1972 when he starred in Slaughterhouse Five as Roland Weary.

The film tells the story, based on the iconic novel of the same name by Kurt Vonnegut, of a World War II soldier who is abducted by aliens.

"This is the story of the girl who saved me." Vertical has released an official trailer for an indie homeless drama titled Almost Home, which first premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival last year finally getting a release. The film is about a young girl who runs away from home and joins a group of other young kids living homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. This is the feature directorial debut of husband-wife actors Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen, adapting from Blank's own novel of the same name. Starring Rachel Zimmermann, Hannah Marks, Niko Guardado, and Max Burkholder. As heartfelt as this story seems, it's so cheesy I was cringing at times watching this trailer. "You're stronger than you think." Of course. Check it out anyway. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen's Almost Home, from YouTube: A teenage girl named Elly (Rachel Zimmermann) flees abuse...

When Ben Stiller set out to direct his first dramatic series with Escape at Dannemora, he was intent on telling an unbelievable true story with as much authenticity as possible, capturing every minor detail of life within New York’s Clinton Correctional Facility, while diving deep into the psychology of the men who escaped it only four short years ago.

At Stiller’s right hand throughout a long and laborious shoot was production designer Mark Ricker, who was instrumental in bringing the series to fruition, and returns to the Emmys race this year in his second go-round.

Excited by the material and the prospect of working on his first “water cooler limited series,” Ricker had plenty of resources to turn to, in his recreation of Clinton Correctional. Combing through the New York State inspector general’s 150-page report on the escape, Ricker also examined the handful of photos of the...

Thomas M. Wright.

Thomas M. Wright cheerfully acknowledges he is far better known in the Us and the UK than in his native Australia.

That’s because the character actor, who made his feature writing and directing debut on Acute Misfortune, has worked predominantly in international TV series and movies in the past six years.

Wright flies to Quebec next month for his next acting gig, a recurring role in Barskins, a National Geographic drama series based on the Annie Proulx novel about a group of outcasts living in New France — the part of North America controlled by the French — in the 16th century.

That will be his third Us series following Wgn America’s Outsiders and FX network’s The Bridge, and his first acting gig since he played racist station owner Mick Kennedy in Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country.

Wright is not complaining about his relatively low profile...

Writer Erik Jensen and film-maker Thomas M Wright fought ‘tooth and nail’ on the adaptation – and called in Christos Tsiolkas to mediate

Among the many accomplishments of the director Thomas M Wright’s riveting feature film debut, Acute Misfortune, is the rare sight of a real-life Australian journalist being portrayed on screen.

The film is an adaptation of Erik Jensen’s biography of the artist Adam Cullen, who the author – formerly a journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, then the editor of the Saturday Paper, and now editor-in-chief of its publisher, Schwartz Media – was first assigned to write about when he was 19.

Toby Wallace in ‘Acute Misfortune.’

Robert Connolly’s strategy of staging event screenings around the country is paying off for Acute Misfortune, first-time director Thomas M. Wright’s biopic of troubled Sydney painter Adam Cullen.

Meanwhile producer-director-writer Alex Lykos launched his comedy Me & My Left Brain on five screens last weekend, self-distributed by his company Panoramic Pictures.

Wright hosted sell-out Q&A screenings in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Hobart.

Daniel Henshall, who plays the gun-toting, abusive and alcohol and drug-addled Cullen, returned from the Us to participate in four of those Q&As.

Erik Jensen, who penned the source novel Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen and co-wrote the screenplay with Wright, also attended four.

Toby Wallace plays Jensen, who was an ambitious 19-year-old journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald when he was commissioned to write a profile of Cullen. He spent four years...

Let me put this simply: Thomas Wright's Acute Misfortune is very likely the strongest directorial debut that I have encountered over the past year. Transitioning to directing from a successful career as an actor - likely best known around these parts for his key roles in Top Of The Lake, Everest, Van Diemen's Land and the Us version of The Bridge - Wright tackles here the true life story of artist Adam Cullen and his complex relationship with youthful biographer Erik Jensen and it is an absolute knockout. A winner at the Melbourne International Film Festival - where it premiered to huge critical response - Acute Misfortune is yet to be seen internationally (because, hey: biopic of an artist that most audiences will be unfamiliar...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Daniel Henshall and Toby Wallace in ‘Acute Misfortune’

Daniel Henshall plays one of the most challenging roles of his career as gun-toting, manipulative and alcohol and drug-fueled painter Adam Cullen in Acute Misfortune.

Yet when the director Thomas M. Wright sent the actor the source material – Erik Jensen’s book Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen – four years ago, initially he had his doubts.

“I feared the film would sensationalise Adam and his poor behaviour,” Henshall tells If from New York, where he now lives with his wife. “He could be very charming but I did not particularly like the character.”

Wright, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jensen, quickly convinced him otherwise, explaining the film would look at issues such as acclaim and identity, toxic masculinity and how deeply troubled people can create great art.

Romper Stomper’s Toby Wallace plays Jensen, who was an ambitious 19-year-old...

Coming-of-age thriller stars Sofia Hublitz from Ozark, Madelyn Cline of Stranger Things, Boy Erased.

Saboteur Media will handle worldwide sales rights to Afm-bound What Breaks The Ice, a thriller mentored by Richard Linklater that features rising stars from hit shows like Ozark, Glow, and Stranger Things.

The coming-of-age thriller centres on two 15-year-old girls whose summer takes an unexpected turn when they become accidental accomplices in a fatal crime.

Sofia Hublitz (Ozark), Madelyn Cline, Joel Allen (Never Goin’ Back), Shakira Barrera (Glow), Erik Jensen (Messengers), Catherine Curtin and Aimee Mullins (Stranger Things) star.

Rebecca Eskreis makes her feature directorial debut,...

The world premiere of Thomas M. Wright's debut feature film Acute Misfortune, an adaptation of Erik Jensen's biography by the same name, is just around the corner. Set to premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August, Acute Misfortune explores the relationship between the prodigious, young journalist Jensen and controversial member of the Australian art community, Archibald Prize-winning artist Adam Cullen. A teaser has begun circulation ahead of the premiere. You will find it below. When 19-year-old wunderkind journalist Erik Jensen (now editor of The Saturday Paper) was invited by bad-boy Australian painter Adam Cullen to write his biography, Jensen jumped at the chance. Despite a turbulent relationship, the two formed a unique bond that lasted until Cullen’s...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Be careful about expressing your admiration for certain artists during Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's hard-edged solo play, How To Be A Rock Critic. Though the audience is encouraged to engage in some give and take with Jensen as he impersonates the legendary writer Lester Bangs, fans of Jethro Tull, Herb Alpert, Styx and others may find their tastes abruptly dismissed as the gonzo journalist flings the LPs of musicians he can't abide by across the room.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency co-star Hannah Marks is set to play the lead role in indie drama Almost Home. The film, which is based on a novel by Jessica Blank, is co-written and directed by Blank and Erik Jensen. It follows a group of homeless youth on the streets of Los Angeles that are part of the “gutter punk” subculture. They form an unlikely family while trying to survive the harsh, unforgiving realities of the city. Marks plays a complex and damaged…...

*Updated 5/12 with new events and guests* There are dozens of horror and comic events every year, and that gives fans plenty of opportunities to meet Robert Kirkman or one of the many cast members from The Walking Dead. Although it's a bit early for some of the bigger conventions to announce their full guest lists, we put together an initial list of stops so you can start making your travel plans.

New to the The Walking Dead convention circuit in 2015 are Tyler James Williams, Alexandra Breckenridge, and Seth Gilliam, along with some of the other new cast members we've seen in Season 5. If you're looking to catch most of The Walking Dead cast together at once, your best chance will be at the San Diego Comic-Con in July and the New York Comic Con in October. Those looking to meet Norman Reedus will have plenty of opportunities, as he is...

Jill Scott has landed a co-starring role in the CBS drama pilot Second Sight, from Homeland's Michael Cuesta. Ms Scott joins Derek Luke, Kim Dickens, Erik Jensen, Madison Moellers and Jason Lee, who stars in the project that's based on the UK series of the same name by Paula Milne, as a Det. Ross Tanner, who is suddenly afflicted with an autoimmune virus that causes hallucinations that reflect his subconscious, and which interferes with/informs his investigations. While Luke will play Det. Paul Giroux, described as a new member of Tanner's team, who's full of himself, overly-eager, and is after Tanner's job, Jill Scott will play a Dr. Callier, the specialist who tends to...

Derek Luke has joined the cast of the CBS drama pilot Second Sight, from Homeland's Michael Cuesta. He joins Kim Dickens, Erik Jensen, Madison Moellers and Jason Lee, who stars in the project that's based on the U.K. series of the same name by Paula Milne, as a Det. Ross Tanner, who is suddenly afflicted with an autoimmune virus that causes hallucinations that reflect his subconscious, and which interferes with/informs his investigations. Luke will play Det. Paul Giroux, described as a new member of Tanner's team, who's full of himself, overly-eager, and is after Tanner's job.  CSI's Carol Mendelsohn will also executive produce the drama alongside Julie Weitz, Nick Reed, Phil...

Culture Project Allan Buchman, Founder amp Artistic Director, in association with Innocence Project, Marc amp Steven Kaplan, and Cheryl Wiesenfeld, welcomes Broadway veteran Kathleen Chalfant Angels in America and musical, singer-songwriter, composer Roger Waters Pink Floyd to the rotating cast of the 10th anniversary production of the hit award-winning play, The Exonerated, written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, for the final week of performances through December 2nd at Culture Project 45 Bleecker Street at Lafayette Street where performances began September 15th .

Culture Project will welcome Broadway veteran Kathleen Chalfant Angels in America and musical, singer-songwriter, composer Roger Waters Pink Floyd to the rotating cast of the 10th anniversary production of the hit award-winning play, The Exonerated, written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, for the final week of performances through December 2nd at Culture Project 45 Bleecker Street at Lafayette Street where performances began September 15th.

Culture Project presents the 10th anniversary production of the hit, award-winning play, The Exonerated, written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, presented in special association with The Innocence Project. The show just welcomed Martin Short, Trudie Styler, Joe Morton, Steve Earle, Jim Bracchitta, Amelia Campbell, Bruce Kronenberg, Curtis McClarin, April Yvette Thompson, Jd Williams, and you can check out photos of them in action below...

Culture Project Allan Buchman, Founder amp Artistic Director, in association with Innocence Project, Marc amp Steven Kaplan, and Cheryl Wiesenfeld, has announced a 4-week extension of the acclaimed 10th anniversary production of the hit award-winning play, The Exonerated, written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen. New block of tickets now on sale through December 2nd at Culture Project 45 Bleecker Street at Lafayette Street where performances began September 15th.

Culture Project Allan Buchman, Founder amp Artistic Director, in association with Innocence Project, Marc amp Steven Kaplan, and Cheryl Wiesenfeld, welcomes Steve Earle The Revolution StartsNow, Grammy Award, John Fort The Score, Grammy nominee, Kathryn Grody Scapino, Marg Helgenberger CSI, Christine Lahti God of Carnage, Richard Masur This is Fiction, Joe Morton Raisin, Martin Short The Goodbye Girl, Danton Stone Ivan in Art, Frank Whaley Blue Bloods, and exoneree Kerry Max Cook, whose story is shared in the play, to the rotating cast of the 10th anniversary production of the hit award-winning play, The Exonerated, written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, now in performance at Culture Project 45 Bleecker Street at Lafayette Street where performances began September 15th for a limited seven-week engagement through November 4th.

Culture Project Allan Buchman, Founder amp Artistic Director, in association with Innocence Project, Marc amp Steven Kaplan, and Cheryl Wiesenfeld, will welcome Michael McKean Gore Vidals The Best Man and Brooke Shields The Addams Family to the rotating cast of the 10th anniversary production of the hit, award-winning play, The Exonerated, written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, beginning October 2nd through October 7th at Culture Project 45 Bleecker Street at Lafayette Street where performances began September 15th for a limited seven-week engagement through November 4th.