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

Critics' Name Best Movies; More 'Who'?

• Critics associations around the country are naming their best movies of 2011. The consensus is... well, results tend to vary. The same names, like "The Artist" and "The Descendants," you've heard over and over this year are still receiving attention. Click over to Deadline's postings showing the votes from New York Film Critics Online and Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

• These next two bullets are for the geeks out there (I'm one of you). Two lost "Doctor Who" episodes have been recovered and will be shown sometime in the future. How were they lost initially? It was common for shows in the early days of television to tape over old episodes once their repeats rights had expired or to save storage space. No one thought people would buy whole seasons of TV series, which has become common practice in this day and age, especially at Christmas when you have no idea what to get someone.  Read the story at The Guardian.

• According to The New York Times, Hollywood is pushing for the creation of new languages -including grammatical rules, an alphabet, and basic vocabulary- to be used in their fantasy and sci-fi movies ("Avatar"), TV shows ("Game of Thrones"), and video games. This move is supposed to add believability to a project. Requiring viewers to learn a new language to understand plot certainly won't alienate them. For me, if a movie's characters don't speak any language, I won't invest them. That's why I don't care for silent films.

• There's doubt over whether Marilyn Monroe's alleged affair with Colin Clark took place. The tryst is the basis of the movie "My Week with Marilyn." Why does this matter? Did people think they were seeing a documentary? Read the story at Los Angeles Times.

Maher Joins Yahoo! Comedy; Schwartz Honored

• Comedian Bill Maher will perform a show at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts that will be streamed online for free on Feb. 23. The stand-up special will be used to introduce a new Yahoo! comedy channel that will contain other original and licensed content. Read the story at The New York Times.

• Stephen Schwartz, Oscar-winning "Wicked" and "Pippin" composer and lyricist, was honored by the ASCAP foundation for his contributions to musical theater. On Wednesday, Tony-winner Adam Guettel presented Schwartz with the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers Award. Click over to Playbill for more.

• Stephen Colbert interviewed David Hallberg, the first American dancer to join the Bolshoi Ballet, on Wednesday. Hallberg and American Ballet Theatre soloist Hee Seo later performed a pas de deux from "The Nutcracker." Colbert even showed off some of his dance moves and... legs. Check it out at The New York Times.

Pictured: Bill Maher (Photo: Getty Images)

Jackman Raises Almost $1 Million for Charity

"Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway," with its Australian star, topped the list of fundraisers in the annual “Gypsy of the Year” event, which benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Despite only being on the Great White Way for three weeks, Jackman's one-man show raised $857,740. Portions of that total came from the auctioning of Jackman's undershirts that he wore during the production. According to The Hollywood Reporter, they sold for about $10,000 each.

Verizon vs. Netflix?; Harry Morgan of 'M*A*S*H' Dies

• According to Reuters, Verizon plans to start a standalone service in 2012 that will let customers stream film and TV shows over the Internet. Such an endeavor would put the company in competition with Netflix and cable providers. If Verizon increases its number of subscribers, then it may be able to lower its fees.

• The lawsuit of a former Universal TV employee claims that behind the scenes of Fox's "House" there are sexual antics galore. The Hollywood Reporter said these allegations may soon be presented to a jury.

• Harry Morgan, prolific character actor best known for playing Colonel Potter in the television series “M*A*S*H,” died Wednesday at the age of 96. Read his obituary at The New York Times. Also, Leo Friedman, renowned stage photographer who captured the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepurn, passed away. He was 92. Check out his Times obituary and a slideshow of his photographs.

Cable/Home Security Company?; Influential CD Dies

• Cable companies, such as Time Warner Cable and Comcast, are moving into home security... seriously. According to Los Angeles Times, in the midst of losing video subscribers due to other competitors, like Netflix, and the struggling economy, cable operators believe this will be a good additional, and logical, source of revenue. The only way a burglar is going to be scared of your cable guy is if he's this guy.

• New York City Opera is seeking the aid of a federal mediator to break its current impasse with the unions representing its chorus and orchestra, reported The New York Times. Also, City Opera, said on Tuesday that it will take up office space in Lower Manhattan. 

• The upcoming sci-fi drama "Cloud Atlas" may provide a model of how films will be financed in the near future. The movie is relying heavily on international investors, namely in Asia, as well as on German subsidies. Check it out at The New York Times.

• Marion Dougherty, one of Hollywood’s most influential casting directors, died at the age of 88. Dougherty helped launched the careers of stars such as Anne Bancroft, Warren Beatty, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Bette Midler, Al Pacino, and Robert Redford. Read her obituary at Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter. 

Tweet Seats Are The Latest Trend for the Arts Beat

Just when you thought this generation wasn’t brainwashed by technology enough, wait until you hear about the latest trend for theaters – "tweet seats." Inspired by the popularity of the social network, Twitter, "tweet seats" are in-house seats set aside for people who agree to live "tweet" about what is happening during a performance.

A Real-Life Walter White; Carol Channing Documentary

• A 75-year-old college professor has been accused of cooking drugs. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Boston professor Irina Kristy had been running a meth lab out of her home with her son. For those not familiar with the television  show “Breaking Bad,” the protagonist Walter White (Bryan Cranston) does something very similar with his former student. It seems like some people can’t tell the difference between fiction and reality. She is to be arraigned on Dec. 21. Check out Back Stage's interview with the cast of "Breaking Bad," in which Cranston reveals he shadowed a chemistry professor to research his role.

• Carol Channing will release a documentary centering around her career on Jan. 20, 2012. The film, "Carol Channing: Larger Than Life," will address the actresses lifetime accomplishments, as well as talk to those closest to the star. Read more at Playbill.com.

• Minorities may make up one-third of the U.S. population, but according to research conducted by several civil rights organizations, they only own 7.2 percent of all U.S. radio and TV stations. Read more about these findings at The Wrap.

• Actor Bill McKinney, who was featured in the 1972 "Deliverance," passed away. He was 80 years old. See his obituary at CBS News.

Pictured: Carol Channing (Photo: Getty Images)

YouTube Emulating TV; Daytime President Leaving

• YouTube has given itself a redesign. The makeover includes categorized channels, similar to those on TV, and the website plans to include more original content from big names, like Jay-Z and Madonna. Check it out at CNN.

• Brian Frons, ABC daytime president who played an instrumental part in the decision to cancel "All My Children" and "One Life to Live," is leaving the alphabet network in January. In light of Fron's departure, ABC has decided to merge its daytime and syndicated development into one unit named Times Square Studio. Read the story at Deadline.

• Hulu will make available all the seasons and most recent episodes of  "Community" on Hulu Plus, according to The Wrap. The NBC comedy has been receiving some attention due to its upcoming absence from the network's mid-season schedule. Though NBC has said it has no plans to cancel the comedy, Hulu may be thinking ahead and setting up a core audience of people who come to Hulu for its "Community" fix. More non-TV networks are seeking to have original content. Netflix just agreed to air new episodes of the cancelled Fox series "Arrested Development."

• Edwin Judd Woldin, a musical composer best known for working on the Tony Award-winning musical "Raisin," an adaptation of "A Raisin in the Sun," passed away. He was 86 years old. Read his obituary at Playbill.

New EP for 'General Hospital'; Web Killed the TV Star

• Jill Farren Phelps, Emmy Award-winning executive producer of "General Hospital," has been replaced with Frank Valentini, former showrunner of the cancelled soap "One Life to Live," reported Vulture. The soap opera business has not exactly been booming, especially given the recent cancellations of "All My Children" and "One Life to Live." Still, ABC is apparently trying to give "General Hospital" a chance to stay on the air by hiring Valentini. He was able to boost the ratings of "One Life," albeit not enough, before its demise. Vulture also cites that Valentini has been known for keeping his shows under budget, which definitely appeals to ABC. Much of the reasoning behind replacing soaps with alternative daytime programming, such as the cooking and talk show "The Chew," is that the latter is cheaper to produce.

• For the first time in Nielsen's 41-year survey history, the number of households with a TV set will decline. The decrease is likely related to the struggling economy and more people using the Internet to view content. Entertainment Weekly and Yidio sound off on Nielsen's findings.

• Broadway's "The Mountaintop" will allow people 30 years old or younger to purchase $30 tickets to the December 7 show at 8 pm. The production, which stars Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Basset, is the third show to take part in 30 for $30, a special intitivative from NY1 and Playbill.

• Judy Lewis, former actress who penned a memoir about her life as the illegitimate daughter of Hollywood legends Clark Gable and Loretta Young, passed away. She was 76 years old. Read her obituary at The New York Times.

Pictured: Jill Farren Phelps (Photo: Getty Images)

Playwright Voices Complaint Over Regional Casting

Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis has complained  - via Facebook post  - about the Hartford regional production of his Tony Award-nominated play, "The Motherf**ker With the Hat."

The New York Times reported that Guirgus chastised the theater, TheaterWorks, and the production's director, Tazewell Thompson, for casting white actors to portray the play’s two Puerto Rican leading characters.