Philip Seymour Hoffman News

ENSEMBLE STUDIO THEATRE (William Carden, Artistic Director, Paul Alexander Slee, Executive Director) is celebrating a milestone - this spring marks their 37th Anniversary and 31st Marathon of One-Act Plays - and the occasion will be celebrated with a Benefit celebration in honor of distinguished E.S.T. member John Patrick Shanley. The celebration will be held Monday, May 4th at the Prince George Ballroom, 15 East 27th Street, with cocktails, hors d'ouevres and silent auction at 6:00 p.m., followed by dining and award presentation from 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $300 person with table and ad packages available.

The full list of winners for the British Academy of Film and Television arts were given out in London on February 8, 2009.

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced the winners of the 2009 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, and videogame writing at simultaneous ceremonies at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles and the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.

Variety is reporting that Celluloid Dreams has picked Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial debut, an adaption of the stage play 'Jack Goes Boating,' which had an award-winning Off Broadway run in 2007. The company has taken international rights to the film, which is an Overture Films release in the U.S.

Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) is proud to announce casting for ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN, by Charles Fuller and directed by Stephen McKinley Henderson. ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN is the final production of Signature's 2008-09 season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC).

Aporia Productions in association with the Coast Playhouse presents a workshop production of a world premiere play, VERONICA, written by acclaimed playwright and Academy Award-nominee John Patrick Shanley ('Doubt'), directed by Daniel Allen Nelson and starring Livia De Paolis as Veronica. VERONICA performs beginning Tuesday, February 17 at 8pm and will continue for two weeks through Saturday, February 28 at the Coast Playhouse, 8325 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood.

The Waterfront Playhouse presents 'Doubt, A Parable' by John Patrick Shanley. 'Doubt' is the most highly honored play in the last decade having been awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Play, as well as 24 major theater awards.

The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT, and 6 p.m. MT from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.

Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden will star in GOD OF CARNAGE, the new play by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton, directed by Matthew Warchus, opening on Broadway at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45 Street) on Sunday March 22. Previews will begin on February 28. Tickets which had been available for American Express cardholders only in a pre-sale special are now available to the general public, order by clicking here. The Jacobs Box Office will be open for business starting February 9th, 2009. GOD OF CARNAGE will be produced by Robert Fox, David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers, Stuart Thompson, Scott Rudin, and The Shubert Organization. The play comes to Broadway after a sold-out run in London's West End in 2008. The London critics raved about GOD OF CARNAGE: The Times called it 'tense, edgy and funny' and praised Reza's 'incisive observation, acerbic wit and shrewd humor.' The Daily Telegraph called it 'a crackling night' and The Daily Mail called the play 'terrific stuff . ' The Daily Express said it was 'a triumph' and The International Herald Tribune proclaimed 'God of Carnage' is an expert piece of stagecraft and savagely funny.' GOD OF CARNAGE reunites the creative team that staged the Tony Award-winning Best Play, Art. Designed by Mark Thompson (sets and costumes), with lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker & Chris Cronin, the play has music by Gary Yershon.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center?, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) is pleased to announce the 2009 Public LAB season line-up, featuring new works by Darrell Dennis, Ra?l Castillo, Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman, and Suzan-Lori Parks. Public LAB's second season, which began with the LAByrinth Theater Company's production of Philip Roth in Khartoum by David Bar Katz in December, will continue on February 20 with the U.S. premiere of Tales of an Urban Indian, a result of The Public Theater's Native Theater Initiative. The Public LAB season will also include the world premiere of Knives and Other Sharp Objects, the New York premiere of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, and a world premiere by The Public Theater's Master Writer Chair Suzan-Lori Parks. Tickets, priced at $10, go on-sale on Friday, January 30. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supported Public LAB with one of the largest grants ever received by The Public Theater. It will be used, in part, to allow audiences to see these important new plays for only $10, cheaper than the price of a movie ticket. Building on the success of the inaugural Public LAB season, the 2009 performance schedule has been expanded from 19 performances to 27 performances for each show. Public LAB is an annual series of new plays that lets New Yorkers see more of the work they love from The Public and LAByrinth Theater Company in stripped-down productions. Public LAB allows The Public Theater to support more artists, and gives audiences immediate access to new plays in development.

Miramax's Doubt, which stars Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Viola Davis continues a solid run at the box office. BoxOfficeMojo.com reports that Doubt has now taken in more than $25 million domestically. John Patrick Shanley's film adaptaion of his Tony winning play has gotten excellent word of mouth and reviews and is being discussed as a possible Oscar contender for the upcoming Academy Awards. Set at a Catholic school in the Bronx, Doubt centers on a nun who grows suspicious when a priest begins taking too much interest in a young black student. Is she being overly protective or not protective enough? And can she work within the system to discover the truth? A charismatic priest, Father Flynn, is trying to upend the schools' strict customs, which have long been fiercely guarded by Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the iron-gloved Principal who believes in the power of fear and discipline. T

Variety reports that Philip Seymour Hoffman has picked the film he'll be doing for his directorial debut, Overture Films' 'Jack Goes Boating,' an adaptation of Bob Glaudini's Off Broadway play in which he'll also star. 'Gone Baby Gone' star Amy Ryan will co-star opposite Hoffman, while John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega will reprise their roles from the stage production. 'Jack Goes Boating' premiered at Hoffman and Ortiz's LAByrinth Theater Co. in 2007. Press notes described the play as 'laced with cooking classes, swimming lessons and a smorgasbord of illegal drugs, 'Jack Goes Boating' is a story of date panic, marital meltdown, betrayal and the prevailing grace of the human spirit'.

The full list of nominations for the British Academy of Film and Television arts was announced this morning. FROST/NIXON received 6 nominations and DOUBT 3 amongst other theatre-related nominees. The awards will be given out on February 8, 2009 in London.

Westport Country Playhouse incoming artistic director Mark Lamos and managing director Michael Ross announce a new look to the 2009 season. The Playhouse will open its 79th season in April with 'Around the World in 80 Days' directed by Michael Evan Haney. 'Around the World in 80 Days' was original scheduled for a September run, but will now open the 2009 season. 'Around the World in 80 Days,' an adventure tale adapted from the book by Jules Verne and written by Mark Brown, will play April 21 through May 9. Hailed by the New Yorker as 'a riveting testament to the ingeniousness of the human imagination,' and heralded by Associated Press as 'a clever, action-packed production skillfully directed by Michael Evan Haney,' 'Around the World in 80 Days' is a wild, global adventure for the whole family about Phileas Fogg and his ever loyal man-servant Passepartout---complete with elephants, steamboats and trains. Following 'Around the World in 80 Days,' the season's second play will be 'Children,' a timeless and touching family drama by A.R. Gurney, the playwright who penned 'The Dining Room,' 'Sylvia' and 'Love Letters.' It will run May 26 through June 13. When their mysterious brother, Pokey, returns to the family's beachside vacation home, all the family plans crumble as love affairs and family secrets explode. Westport favorite John Tillinger will direct.

Oprah Winfrey may have earned the title of the 'most influential woman in the world' but that honor didn't impress John Patrick Shanley enough for him to give her the role of 'Mrs. Miller' in the film version of DOUBT.

Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden will star in GOD OF CARNAGE, the new play by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton, directed by Matthew Warchus, opening on Broadway at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45 Street) on Sunday March 22. Previews will begin on February 28.

Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden will star in GOD OF CARNAGE, the new play by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton, directed by Matthew Warchus, opening on Broadway at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45 Street) on Sunday March 22. Previews will begin on February 28.

The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards took place Sunday, January 11 2009 at The Beverly Hilton with a live telecast that aired on NBC at 8 PM (EST) and produced by Dick Clark Productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place Sunday, January 11, 2009 at The Beverly Hilton with a live telecast airing on NBC at 8 PM (EST) and produced by Dick Clark Productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.