Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Cable Chiefs Discuss Reality Programming, Apple Model And Rim Obsession
Ray Richmond is contributing to Payment dates TV coverage AMCs EVP original programming Joel Stillerman mentioned not to take into account the fact Mad Males might have been in the air in originals for a lot of 17 several days if this finally returns due to its fifth season on March 25. Speaking this mid-day within an HRTS Lunch within the Beverly Hilton billed just like a Cable Programming Summit, Stillerman expressed that Mad Mens audience has proven to become probably the most loyal in many of television, adding, So while its never easy to make organizing options which have a showcase the atmosphere a lot more than possibly youd like, In my opinion its potential to assist the show with time, I really do. Mad Males Jon Hamm stood a slightly different consider the problem when came out on Late Show with David Letterman the other day. When billionaires fight, it takes substantially longer to remain,” he mentioned. “So we'd some loaded people determining how extended we'd be in the air. The large event, moderated by Access Hollywoods Billy Rose rose bush, also featured Turner programming chief Michael Wright, MTV programming mind David Janollari, ABC Family programming/development EVP Kate Juergens, and Starz controlling director Carmi Zlotnik. All of the panelists agreed that nonscripted programming should be an growing part of their overall original slates. We have to come in the nonscripted space couple of years agi, Wright recognized, so were moving there very quickly now. Wright also needed the possibility at that time the ipad 3 was brought to praise the Apple model. The main one factor Ive always recognized relating to this company, he mentioned, can it be seems to own this kind of finger which people want. They are to own built a business based on products the customer would like. For television, we have to (also) create things the viewer would like. We actually should stay better attuned compared to that. A lighter moment arrived the conclusion in the discussion, when Rose rose bush asked for the panelists once they ever awaken in the heart of the evening, grab their Rim, and start to resolve emails. Yes, Zlotnck recognized, and my partner states, Put it lower. Quipped Rose rose bush: Were speaking relating to your Rim, I guess?
Friday, March 2, 2012
Jane Alexander Tackles Edward Albee's 'The Lady From Dubuque'
Jane Alexander Tackles Edward Albee's 'The Lady From Dubuque' By Simi Horwitz March 1, 2012 Photo by Joan Marcus Jane Alexander in "The Lady from Dubuque" Imagine playing an amorphous figure who may or may not represent impending doom. Not that the title character, Elizabeth, is delineated as such in Edward Albee's "The Lady From Dubuque," now running Off-Broadway at the Pershing Square Signature Center. But she's clearly on another plane, says the patrician Jane Alexander, who's tackling the part in the intense drama centering on Jo, a dying woman (Laila Robins), and her tormented relationships with her spouse and their friends. After a raucous evening, mysterious strangers Elizabeth and Oscar (Peter Francis James) arrive, seemingly out of nowhere, to soothe Jo. "Edward says you cannot play a character as a metaphor," Alexander says. "Edward won't define her, not even in private. So I play it as I feel it, as a flesh-and-blood woman, who's there as a comforter. That's what Jo needs. Edward says reality is defined by what we need."Often playing aristocratic women, Alexander has had a stellar career in theater, film, and television and garnered a shelf-ful of awards along the way. She also served as the chair of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1993 to 1997. A lifelong activistfrom civil rights to anti-Vietnam protests to feminismAlexander now focuses her attention on environmental issues, with a special interest in conserving natural habitats for wildlife.Though she never envisioned a life in government, Alexander had her sights set on acting when she was growing up in Boston. But to accommodate her father, who firmly believed everyone should have a fallback career, Alexander majored in math as well as theater at Sarah Lawrence College. Computers were beginning to appear, and Alexander thought if acting didn't pan out she could work as a programmer. Her junior year abroad at the University of Edinburgh, however, changed the course of her life. She performed with the school's drama club, and her talents were touted by the local papers. No longer open to pursuing backup gigs, she dropped out of college and forged ahead with acting. "My poor dad," Alexander recalls. "But he told me to go ahead with it and gave me two years."As it turned out, within that deadline she was working as an actor. Throughout her career, she honed her craft and played an array of parts in regional theaters. But a pivotal momentindeed, an artistic epiphanyoccurred when she was starring in "Saint Joan" at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Her future husband, Edwin Sherin, was directing. At the time she had been studying with a teacher in NY"who will remain nameless," she chortles. "Ed said to me, 'There's only one problem with your acting. You can't be seen, and you can't be heard.' So I jettisoned the method I had been working on and listened to Ed. I learned how to put more emphasis on the vocal and took ownership of my roles."Her professional watershed was starring opposite James Earl Jones in "The Great White Hope," playing a black boxer's white mistress. It was launched at the Arena Stage and moved on to Broadway in 1968 before becoming a major film. The production established the careers of both actors. "We both got Tony Awards, Academy Award nominations, and were off and sailing in all three mediums," she remarks, sounding thrilled even in retrospect. " 'The Great White Hope' was remarkable especially during the height of the civil rights movement. There were 63 actors in the cast, playing over 200 roles, and more than half of them were African-American. The audience was diverse. It was incredible to be part of that."A Proactive CareerNever one to rest on her laurels, Alexander decidedafter close to 20 years of working steadilyshe needed to become proactive and produce her own work. It was not simply to give herself choice roles: "I felt there were stories I wanted to tell," she says. The projects she produced and starred in included "Calamity Jane" for CBS and "A Marriage: Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz" for PBS.But mounting self-generated work was not easy, and Alexander soon tired of the relentless struggle. "Being in Hollywood when you're a woman in your late 40s was very tough, especially then," she points out. "There was a lot of pressure and humiliation. Many of the producers didn't know who I was."Interestingly, for mature screenwriters, she felt there was far more discrimination than for female actors of a certain age. "Producers were known to have said, 'Don't send me scripts written by writers over 35' or some other young age," she recalls. "The only discrimination I felt as an actor is that there have always been more roles for mature men than mature women in film." A major shift in Alexander's life took place when she was tapped by President Bill Clinton to helm the NEA. It was the capstone of a lifetime dedicated to progressive movements. Still, she was not fully prepared for what came with her new post."I became the focus of media attention," she says. "It was during the time of the NEA Four, Andres Serrano, and Robert Mapplethorpe." This was a brouhaha surrounding the public funding of four controversial performance artists and two equally provocative visual artists. "I became the target during the Newt Gingrich Congress," she continues. "During those four years I was shifted into a political arena."Alexander does not regret her role at the NEA. Indeed, she met fascinating artists and politicians who never would have crossed her path otherwise, she says. "And I have wonderful stories to tell about Newt Gingrich." Still, it took her close to seven years to be viewed as an actor again and make the transition back to the stage. She likens acting to riding a bike. "You never forget it," she says. Alexander has indeed had a fortunate career. There are no roles she's dying to do. She concludes, "I made that list when I was 16, and I've now done most of them.""The Lady From Dubuque" will play through March 25 at the Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 W. 42nd St., NYC. (212) 244-7529 or www.signaturetheatre.org. Outtakes Mother of Jace Alexander, an actor, a director, and a co-founder of the NY theater company Naked AngelsAppeared on Broadway in 13 plays, was nominated for six Tony Awards, and won a Tony for "The Great White Hope"Has more than 55 film and TV credits, earning four Academy Award nominations, six Emmy nominations, and Emmy Awards for her performances in "Warm Springs" and "Playing for Time"Wrote a memoir, "Command Performance: An Actress in the Theater of Politics," and co-wrote "The Blue Fish Cookbook" Jane Alexander Tackles Edward Albee's 'The Lady From Dubuque' By Simi Horwitz March 1, 2012 Jane Alexander in "The Lady from Dubuque" PHOTO CREDIT Joan Marcus Imagine playing an amorphous figure who may or may not represent impending doom. Not that the title character, Elizabeth, is delineated as such in Edward Albee's "The Lady From Dubuque," now running Off-Broadway at the Pershing Square Signature Center. But she's clearly on another plane, says the patrician Jane Alexander, who's tackling the part in the intense drama centering on Jo, a dying woman (Laila Robins), and her tormented relationships with her spouse and their friends. After a raucous evening, mysterious strangers Elizabeth and Oscar (Peter Francis James) arrive, seemingly out of nowhere, to soothe Jo. "Edward says you cannot play a character as a metaphor," Alexander says. "Edward won't define her, not even in private. So I play it as I feel it, as a flesh-and-blood woman, who's there as a comforter. That's what Jo needs. Edward says reality is defined by what we need."Often playing aristocratic women, Alexander has had a stellar career in theater, film, and television and garnered a shelf-ful of awards along the way. She also served as the chair of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1993 to 1997. A lifelong activistfrom civil rights to anti-Vietnam protests to feminismAlexander now focuses her attention on environmental issues, with a special interest in conserving natural habitats for wildlife.Though she never envisioned a life in government, Alexander had her sights set on acting when she was growing up in Boston. But to accommodate her father, who firmly believed everyone should have a fallback career, Alexander majored in math as well as theater at Sarah Lawrence College. Computers were beginning to appear, and Alexander thought if acting didn't pan out she could work as a programmer. Her junior year abroad at the University of Edinburgh, however, changed the course of her life. She performed with the school's drama club, and her talents were touted by the local papers. No longer open to pursuing backup gigs, she dropped out of college and forged ahead with acting. "My poor dad," Alexander recalls. "But he told me to go ahead with it and gave me two years."As it turned out, within that deadline she was working as an actor. Throughout her career, she honed her craft and played an array of parts in regional theaters. But a pivotal momentindeed, an artistic epiphanyoccurred when she was starring in "Saint Joan" at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Her future husband, Edwin Sherin, was directing. At the time she had been studying with a teacher in NY"who will remain nameless," she chortles. "Ed said to me, 'There's only one problem with your acting. You can't be seen, and you can't be heard.' So I jettisoned the method I had been working on and listened to Ed. I learned how to put more emphasis on the vocal and took ownership of my roles."Her professional watershed was starring opposite James Earl Jones in "The Great White Hope," playing a black boxer's white mistress. It was launched at the Arena Stage and moved on to Broadway in 1968 before becoming a major film. The production established the careers of both actors. "We both got Tony Awards, Academy Award nominations, and were off and sailing in all three mediums," she remarks, sounding thrilled even in retrospect. " 'The Great White Hope' was remarkable especially during the height of the civil rights movement. There were 63 actors in the cast, playing over 200 roles, and more than half of them were African-American. The audience was diverse. It was incredible to be part of that."A Proactive CareerNever one to rest on her laurels, Alexander decidedafter close to 20 years of working steadilyshe needed to become proactive and produce her own work. It was not simply to give herself choice roles: "I felt there were stories I wanted to tell," she says. The projects she produced and starred in included "Calamity Jane" for CBS and "A Marriage: Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz" for PBS.But mounting self-generated work was not easy, and Alexander soon tired of the relentless struggle. "Being in Hollywood when you're a woman in your late 40s was very tough, especially then," she points out. "There was a lot of pressure and humiliation. Many of the producers didn't know who I was."Interestingly, for mature screenwriters, she felt there was far more discrimination than for female actors of a certain age. "Producers were known to have said, 'Don't send me scripts written by writers over 35' or some other young age," she recalls. "The only discrimination I felt as an actor is that there have always been more roles for mature men than mature women in film." A major shift in Alexander's life took place when she was tapped by President Bill Clinton to helm the NEA. It was the capstone of a lifetime dedicated to progressive movements. Still, she was not fully prepared for what came with her new post."I became the focus of media attention," she says. "It was during the time of the NEA Four, Andres Serrano, and Robert Mapplethorpe." This was a brouhaha surrounding the public funding of four controversial performance artists and two equally provocative visual artists. "I became the target during the Newt Gingrich Congress," she continues. "During those four years I was shifted into a political arena."Alexander does not regret her role at the NEA. Indeed, she met fascinating artists and politicians who never would have crossed her path otherwise, she says. "And I have wonderful stories to tell about Newt Gingrich." Still, it took her close to seven years to be viewed as an actor again and make the transition back to the stage. She likens acting to riding a bike. "You never forget it," she says. Alexander has indeed had a fortunate career. There are no roles she's dying to do. She concludes, "I made that list when I was 16, and I've now done most of them.""The Lady From Dubuque" will play through March 25 at the Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 W. 42nd St., NYC. (212) 244-7529 or www.signaturetheatre.org. Outtakes Mother of Jace Alexander, an actor, a director, and a co-founder of the NY theater company Naked AngelsAppeared on Broadway in 13 plays, was nominated for six Tony Awards, and won a Tony for "The Great White Hope"Has more than 55 film and TV credits, earning four Academy Award nominations, six Emmy nominations, and Emmy Awards for her performances in "Warm Springs" and "Playing for Time"Wrote a memoir, "Command Performance: An Actress in the Theater of Politics," and co-wrote "The Blue Fish Cookbook"
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