Blog Stage - Acting in Film, TV, Theatre - Backstage

Hulu Scoops Movie Debut

Mattoid Entertainment’s “In The Darkness” premiered via the commercially supported video-streamer yesterday making it the first feature length narrative to appear on the site, according to Variety. The script’s writer and founder of Mattoid, Andrew Robinson, named greater exposure and cost concerns as the reasons behind the decision. The flick focuses on two men who disappear in a fire ravaged mountain range.

Read the story at Variety (Subscription required)

IFP Adds New Resources for Filmmakers

The nonprofit organization will add a new lab to provide filmmakers with strategies to make, advertise, and distribute their films, said Variety. Jon Reiss director and author of “Think Outside the Box Office” is working with Ted Hope, co-founder of Good Machine ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), an independent film production and distribution project. The organization is also working on selecting 10 narratives and 10 documentaries for future Labs.

Read the story at Variety (Subscription required).

Pictured: Jon Reiss (Photo: Getty Images)

Entertainment Industry Opportunities - 3/30/10

Every week Back Stage posts hundreds of casting notices and entertainment-industry opportunities in the BackStage.com Casting/Jobs Database. Check out the following sampling of new notices -- film festivals calling for entries, staff/tech/crew jobs, casting workshops, and more:

1. Savannah College of Art and Design: SAVANNAH FILM FESTIVAL, GA : Seeking submissions for the 13th annual Savannah Film Festival. The festival offers a series of morning workshops and evening screenings.  More

2. PUMA: PUMA LOL SCHOLARSHIP and the Second City Outreach and Diversity program is seeking actors to apply for a one-year scholarship to train at Second City in L.A. Winners will attend training at Second City s... More

3. Ted Kociolek: MUSICAL THR. TECHNIQUE WORKSHOP: The composer of Abyssinia and The Age of Innocence is seeking students for the Spring 2010 session of his Musical Theater Audition/Performance Technique Workshop...  More

4. Headshots for a Cause: 'HEADSHOTS FOR A CAUSE': A group of photographers that believe something necessary for actors could become something that saves the world, is seeking actors needing headshots for an upcoming event. Caitie McCabe, prod.... More

James Franco on Funny or Die

James Franco curses up a storm on Funny or Die when he finds out a horrible actor will be playing him in a new movie. As they read lines together, he gets fed up and launches into a Christian Bale-like tirade about being a worthy and serious actor. It’s hilarious.

James Franco Videos from Funny or Die

There’s something about James Franco that’s just so likeable. If I were him, I’d be the most conceited person in the world. I’d be on my way to Yale in the fall to pursue my Ph.D., would have a masters of fine arts from Columbia and a bachelors from UCLA. I’d have a published article in Esquire and a collection of short stories set to be released in October. Not to mention the acting stuff. Thank goodness for everyone that I’m not him.

Will all his accomplishments, he seems pretty grounded and humble. During his two-month stint on General Hospital, he went on SNL and said that everyone, including the actors on the show, thought that his appearance was a "major step backward" in his career and that he made most of his life choices by randomly picking slips with ideas written on them out of a bin. When he cancelled a commencement speech at UCLA due to scheduling conflicts, he went on Funny or Die to showcase his “rejected” speech.

What’s not to love about this guy? 

--Roselle Chen

Stewart to Take On Mamet

Sir Patrick Stewart will return to Broadway this fall in David Mamet's "A Life in the Theatre." Stewart will reprise his starring role in the play's Broadway premiere, a part he played during the show's 2005 run at London's Apollo Theatre. Stewart last appeared on Broadway in 2008, in Rupert Goold's production of "Macbeth," which earned him a Tony Award nomination for best actor in a play.

Read the story at BackStage.com

Pictured: Patrick Stewart (Photo: Getty Images)

SAGE to Honor Sondheim

Tony Award-winning lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim will be presented with a lifetime achievement award on behalf of Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders. SAGE will present Sondheim with the award during a ceremony on April 14 at Brasserie Cognac on Broadway and 55th Street in Manhattan. The reception will be followed by a performance of “Sondheim on Sondheim,” which features a collection of Sondheim’s songs as well as interviews discussing the composer’s career. 

Read the story at Playbill.

Pictured: Stephen Sondheim (Photo: Getty Images)

The TRU Combined Audition Event: A Golden Opportunity

"Treat the actors like gold" may not be something you hear everyday, but at the annual TRU Audition Event this weekend, it was more than just an ideal -- it was a mission. And as one of the hundreds who auditioned, I must say: Mission accomplished.

The event was run like most combined audition events throughout the country, except this one had the unique advantage of being a New York native. About 270 aspiring and established actors each earned two-minute audition slots to pull out all the stops for a theater full of nearly 60 industry professionals, producers, casting directors, and agents from the New York City area. But what made this combined audition different from all the others out there? They "treat the actors like gold."

According to Bob Ost, co-founder and president of TRU, the organization's mission statement makes the difference. The event was run by actors, for actors, with nearly 50 volunteers/actors helping throughout the weekend. From the first moment when I signed in, it was clear I was among fellow actors who not only understood me, but were rooting for me. As Gail Reiser, headshot coordinator and an actor/volunteer, said, "I'm an actor. I want to treat the actors the way I would want to be treated."

Heder Exits Comedy Central Series

A new sitcom produced by Will Ferrell for Comedy Central has hit a major roadblock. Jon Heder, star of “Napoleon Dynamite,” dropped out of the project just two days before the start of production, Variety reported. Comedy Central has already ordered ten episodes of the series, produced by Will Ferrell’s Gary Sanchez Productions, with an option for 90 more. Heder released a statement citing “creative differences” as the cause of the split, saying it was a mutual decision between himself, Comedy Central and Gary Sanchez.

Read the story at Variety (subscription required.)

Pictured: Jon Heder (Photo: Getty Images)

A Sassy Gay Friend Could Have Saved Othello's Desdemona

Watch and learn how a Sassy Gay Friend could have saved another of Shakespeare's tragic heroines (by convincing Desdemona to flee before a jealous Othello could murder her with that pillow he ordered from Bed Bath and Beyond):

Residuals: Now in Color!

Like most actors, you no doubt often find yourself wondering, “Why doesn’t somebody make a color-coded, exhaustively researched chart that explains my residuals and looks kind of like a periodic table of elements on mushrooms?” Well, wonder no more, left-brain impaired performers. Jonathan Handel—attorney, law professor, and Hollywood union oracle—has just unveiled a labor of love (and insanity): a one-page document that summarizes how all residuals for members of AFTRA, SAG, the WGA, the DGA, and IATSE are calculated.