The producers of Broadway’s “The Addams Family” announced Thursday that Nathan Lane, whose contract is up, will be replaced by Tony Award-winner Roger Rees. Lane, who will deliver his final performance on Mar. 6, helped drive spring and summer sales of the production, which saw lower grosses during his August vacation. Bebe Neuwirth will retain her role as Morticia Addams, acting alongside Rees as Gomez’s wife. Understudies will take on the role of Gomez until Mar. 22, due to Rees’ co-directing work on “Peter and the Starcatcher.”
Phylicia Rashad will direct a Los Angeles production of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.” Rashad starred in the Broadway revival of the play, for which she won a Tony Award as lead actress. The L.A. production will begin previews at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center on Mar. 23, with an official opening set for Mar. 25. Full casting has yet to be announced.
“Hobbit” actors can take a major step forward thanks to a new labor bill passed by the New Zealand government on Friday, Reuters reported. The bill states that those working on Peter Jackson’s film series are independent contractors, and cannot bargain collectively under New Zealand law. Warner Bros. recently agreed to keep the film in New Zealand, bringing weeks of location disputes to an end. “We are grateful to the government for introducing legislation which shall give everyone in the film industry certainty as to their employment status,” said Jackson in a statement.
Actor and Oscar-winning filmmaker Lisa Blount, 53, was found dead on Wednesday by her mother in her Arkansas home. Pulaski County Coroner Garland Camper said that Blount likely died on Monday and that no signs of foul play were found. The “Officer and a Gentleman” star most recently filmed the pilot for FX’s Outlaw Country.
Actor James MacArthur, who played Danny "Danno" Williams on the original "Hawaii Five-O" television series, died today in Florida. He was 72. MacArthur was a member of the cast of the police drama for the show's entire run, from 1968 to 1979. CBS had planned for MacArthur to appear in an episode of the network's new reboot of the series. MacArthur's film credits include "Third Man on the Mountain," "Swiss Family Robinson," and "The Untouchables."
When "Black Swan" first began screening for industry, I was hearing mixed things. One prominent movie critic I asked about it gave a typical respone: he sat back, bugged out his eyes, and said: "Well...it's out there." I figured it was going to be a divisive movie, like most of Darren Aronofsky's work, and probably have some passionate fans and detractors. Then I actually saw the film, and I'm a little confused.
Actor Julie Andrews will be honored at the VH1 Save the Music Foundation's 2010 gala Nov. 8 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York. Tony- and Emmy-winner Kristin Chenoweth will perform a musical tribute to Andrews at the event. VH1 will also recognize the work of musicians John Legend and John Mayer, as well as the ASCAP foundation, at the event, to be hosted by Cheyenne Jackson. An online auction to benefit the Save the Music Foundation will be held Nov. 3-23.
Syfy has canceled "Caprica," the prequel spinoff of its critically acclaimed space-opera series "Battlestar Galactica." The cable network announced that the remaining five episodes of the series, starring Eric Stoltz, will be removed from the schedule and aired at a later date. Syfy recently announced that it had ordered a pilot for a second "Battlestar" spinoff titled "Blood & Chrome."
In response to the recent epidemic of suicides among LGBT youth, actors from Broadway, Hollywood, and across the country have joined the "It Gets Better Project" viral video campaign to tell young people who are the victims of bullying and discrimination that, eventually, "it gets better."
Many LGBT youth can't picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can't imagine a future for themselves. So let's show them what our lives are like, let's show them what the future may hold in store for them.
Watch inspirational video testimonials from the stars of Modern Family, the Broadway casts of Chicago, Memphis, and Rock of Ages, the touring companies of Wicked, Jersey Boys, and Mary Poppins, actors Neil Patrick Harris, Chris Colfer, Zachary Quinto, Kyle Dean Massey, and more below:
The Screen Actors Guild’s pension and health funds revealed this week that their ills have not yet been miraculously cured. Addressing SAG’s national membership meeting Sunday, pension and health CEO Bruce Dow announced, according to Variety, that the funds are expected to pull in $26 million less this year than they did in 2007. In other shocking news, Sandra Bullock is well-liked by women over 40 and a lot of Democrats will be drinking heavily come Nov. 2.