Michael O'Keefe News

The spirit of independent cinema is soaring with the NewFilmmakers LA Film Festival March 23rd 2013 program. The event brings Groundlings alumni, award-winning filmmakers, Oscar nominated actors, first time filmmakers, and more all under one roof.

This April, join The Baron's Men as they present William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice at Richard Garriott's Curtain Theater, the only Elizabethan style theater in Austin. This period-themed production embraces and explores the dark and light of the Bard's well-known tragicomedy, as much noted for its challenging and controversial themes as its entertaining plot and memorable characters.

Christine Vachon, Fred Schneider, Sofia Coppola, Todd Solondz, Barbara Kopple, Scott Foundas, John Anderson, Eric Kohn, Emily Russo, Jenny Lumet and Martin Scorsese have signed on to join the previously announced Darren Aronofsky, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Hal Hartley, Peter Saraf, Nancy Savoca and Amy Ryan at First Time Fest.

TNT has given the greenlight to a new untitled private-eye drama starring Jon Tenney (The Closer) and Rebecca Romijn (X-Men) and based on bestselling author David Baldacci's popular characters Sean King and Michelle Maxwell. TNT has ordered 10 episodes of the series, which is being produced by CBS Television Studios. Shane Brennan (NCIS: LA), who penned the pilot, and Grant Anderson (Third Watch) serve as executive producers, with Karen Spiegel (Absolute Power) as producer. Baldacci is a consultant on the series, which is slated to premiere in summer 2013.

The Bedford Hills based, much buzzed about and highly acclaimed new intergenerational rock band, JAZMO, will make its New York Premiere at the world-renown Iridium (1650 Broadway at 51st Street, NYC) tonight, January 8th at 8:00pm and 10:00pm.

Jazmo, will make its premiere at NYC's The Iridium on January 8th, 2013, with concerts at 8 and 10 p.m. The Iridium is located at 1650 Broadway (at 51st Street). Guest star Birdy is set to perform.

The Bedford Hills based, much buzzed about and highly acclaimed new intergenerational rock band, JAZMO, will make its New York Premiere at the world-renown Iridium (1650 Broadway at 51st Street, NYC) on Tuesday, January 8th at 8:00pm and 10:00pm.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of THE WALTONS, one of television's most iconic shows, a cast reunion is scheduled for Saturday, September 29, 2012, at the historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles. The creator of the series, Mr. Earl Hamner, Jr., along with the cast and many writers, directors and producers of the show, will be honored by celebrities who were guests on the show, as well as by celebrity friends who starred on other classic television shows.

The Bedford Hills based, much buzzed about and highly acclaimed new band, JAZMO, will host a concert/party at one of America's most revered schools of music to unveil their new 14-song Song List which is being readied for the recording studio. The concert will take place at 6 p.m. tonight, September 9, at The Haven Room at the Lagond Music School, 9 Haven Street, Elmsford, New York (45 minutes from Manhattan).

The Bedford Hills based, much buzzed about and highly acclaimed new band, JAZMO, will host a concert/party at one of America's most revered schools of music to unveil their new 14-song Song List which is being readied for the recording studio. The concert will take place at 6 p.m. on Sunday, September 9, at The Haven Room at the Lagond Music School, 9 Haven Street, Elmsford, New York (45 minutes from Manhattan).

The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Charles Dillingham, Interim Executive Director) announced that its 2011 - 2012 season has concluded, with the closing performance of August Wilson's JITNEY.

Actors Michael O'Keefe (Art at Pasadena Playhouse) and Gary Oldman (Oscar-nominated Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) discuss respective stage and film projects on a special combined on Arts in Review/Pacifica Performance Showcase, Thursday, February 9 (2 to 3pm), 90.7FM.

As I watched Yasmina Reza's fine play Art for the fourth time, now in an excellent production at the Pasadena Playhouse directed by David Lee, I realized that seeds for her God of Carnage were firmly planted in Art. The male friends mention the term deconstruction several times, referring to the changes in modern art, but what we witness is a deconstruction of their friendship to the very core, as they leash out at each other in a primal beastly nature as do the two couples in the laterCarnage. Reza was definitely thinking with more civility when she wroteArt, nevertheless, as the trio of friends make a supreme effort to forgive and get back to the comaraderie they once experienced. Forgiveness/togetherness in Art; savage isolation in Carnage. At present, relationships, depending on their urgency, still very much count in our daily lives, so we strive to keep them alive; others we dismiss for lack of importance or maybe because we simply do not like to be in the company of these other people, but, in spite of polite gestures, it cannot be denied that society, sadly, is little by little most assuredly approaching the state of negativity/nihilism expressed inCarnage. Reza's brilliant observations keep coming full speed as the prolific playwright shows every sign of accumulating a body of work that delves right into the depths of the human condition.

"A Thousand Cuts" is not your typical Horror Feature. Rather, it's a kind of "meta" horror film, a thinking man's psychological thriller that tells the story of Frank (played by Academy Award Nominee Michael O'Keefe), whose daughter is murdered by a killer inspired by watching a series of Lance Ross (played by Michael A. Newcomer) films, Hollywood's newest "slasher series" director.

"A Thousand Cuts" is not your typical Horror Feature. Rather, it's a kind of "meta" horror film, a thinking man's psychological thriller that tells the story of Frank (played by Academy Award Nominee Michael O'Keefe), whose daughter is murdered by a killer inspired by watching a series of Lance Ross (played by Michael A. Newcomer) films, Hollywood's newest "slasher series" director.

The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Stephen Eich, Executive Director) announced the full cast and creative team for ART at The Pasadena Playhouse. ART, by Yasmina Reza stars Bradley Whitford, Michael O'Keefe and Roger Bart and will be directed by nine-time Emmy Award-winner David Lee. The production will perform January 24 - February 19 , with the official press opening on January 29, 2012.

Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist William Kennedy was the guest of honor at a special toast at popular Theater District eatery, Trattoria Dopo Teatro. Longtime friend and noted film and theater producer Barbara Ligeti along with Trattoria Dopo Teatro owners architect Emilio Barletta & Giuseppe Manica hosted the reception to salute the author on the release of his eagerly anticipated new novel, 'Chango's Beads and Two Toned Shoes'.

HBO Films presentation TOO BIG TO FAIL will receive special encore plays this Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT) and Sunday, Aug. 21 at 10:00 a.m. (ET/PT) on the main HBO channel.

Choice Theatrical's World Premiere production of Reading Under the Influence: The 'Real' Westchester Women's Book Club will close on May 29, 2011.

Due to popular demand, Choice Theatrical's World Premiere production of Reading Under the Influence: The "Real" Westchester Women's Book Club will extend for two weeks.