Philip Seymour Hoffman News

Weekend movie box office estimates: October 21-October 23, 2011.

The Hangar Theatre's Pilot Reading Series in NYC continues with In a Little Room , a new play by Pete McElligott.

The Hangar Theatre's Pilot Reading Series in NYC continues with In a Little Room , a new play by Pete McElligott.

David Berthold's acclaimed production of Brendan Cowell's Australian comedy Ruben Guthrie enters its final weeks at La Boite's Roundhouse Theatre.

Labyrinth Theater Company (Co-Artistic Directors Stephen Adly Guirgis, Mimi O'Donnell, Yul Vázquez, and Managing Director Danny Feldman), Off-Broadway's home of exhilarating and incendiary theater, presents its annual signature benefit Celebrity Charades 2011: Down and Derby on Monday, November 14th at the Highline Ballroom (431 West 16th Street).

Earlier today, prior to his appearance at Comic Con, I had the pleasure of speaking to WALKING DEAD lead actor Jon Bernthal all about his theatre background and his Ovation Award-nominated performance in SMALL ENGINE REPAIR, and, also, his critically praised work on the monster AMC hit series THE WALKING DEAD, which makes its grand return tomorrow night for the launch of its hotly-anticipated second season. I am also happy to share that I was just lucky enough to view the episode myself and I can tell you that it has certainly been worth the wait since THE WALKING DEAD was last seen on TV last year - although the pay-off certainly won't pay off completely until next week given the grisly occurrences in the premiere (and the mind-blowing cliffhanger)! Discussing all aspects of his WALKING DEAD character and what we can expect from tomorrow night's zombie apocalypse shocker - as well as the rest of Season Two - Bernthal and I shed some light on the production of the second season of the hit show so far and how the series will now fare without former show-runner Frank Darabont at the helm. Most importantly, Bernthal shares his deep understanding and passion for theatre and his devotion to his craft - musing on Brecht, Shakespeare and more - as we trace his career trajectory onstage and onscreen from his founding of the Fovea Floods theatre company and the film version of the hit Off-Broadway interactive play TONY N' TINA'S WEDDING in the early 1990s all the way up to HBO'S THE PACIFIC and Roman Polanski's THE GHOST WRITER more recently. Bernthal is also kind enough to share with us what we can look forward to coming up in the near future: RAMPARTS, co-starring fellow InDepth InterView participant Steve Buscemi! Plus, his comments on previous castmates Jason Ritter, Andrea Anders and more!

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, October 9, 2011 - Sunday, October 9, 2011.

Weekend movie box office estimates: October 7-October 9, 2011.

Today we have a super-special DVD and Blu-ray overview as we take a look at and listen to five brand new Blu-rays hitting the shelves in October, including two stunning Blu-ray debuts of two of Quentin Tarantino's seminal 90s films - PULP FICTION and JACKIE BROWN. While Tarantino won his only Oscar to date for his screenwriting work on PULP - a credit he shared with co-storywriter Roger Avery - it is his studied, mature and delicate directorial work on JACKIE BROWN that won over many film fans who may have found a bit too much flash, pop, sizzle and razzmatazz in the packed-to-the-gills PULP. Although, if all the Tarantino tough guy talk and off-the-wall soundtrack selections are not quite your speed, we also have three early Halloween selections sure to send some shivers up your spine, with MANHUNTER, HANNIBAL and the recent remake of THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. While MANHUNTER was the movie-going public's first glimpse of what became the most beloved movie villain of all-time - the cannibalistic genius himself, Hannibal Lector - it was in a very different, completely different guise: noted stage and screen actor Brian Cox plays the role that eventually was made famous (and Oscar-winning) by Anthony Hopkins in the second film of the Hannibal Lector series, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (by Jonathan Demme), just a few short years after Michael Mann's treatment of the original Thomas Harris novel, RED DRAGON. Of course, RED DRAGON was also made into a movie of the same name recently, directed by Brett Ratner and featuring an all-star cast comprising Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ralph Fiennes, Mary Louise Parker, Ed Norton, Harvey Keitel and many more. While many film fans certainly cite SILENCE as the finest Lector film - and it very well may be - my personal bias is for Ridley Scott's daring and gruesome 1999 hit, HANNIBAL, starring Hopkins alongside Julianne Moore in the role of Clarice Starling (made famous by Jodie Foster, who passed on the ultra-violent script), which is also finally getting the Blu-ray upgrade along with Mann's MANHUNTER. Then, there is the witty and disturbing remaining of one of the most scandalous and prurient torture porn films ever made - created long before that term was ever coined; in the age of Eli Roth and the SAW series - Wes Craven's harrowing horror revenge tale, THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. Recent PROMISES, PROMISES on Broadway star Tony Goldwyn was a recent InDepth InterView participant and told me about how pleased he was with this remake and while it does not have the seedy voyeuristic bent of the original, it makes an impact in a new and equally entertaining way. Whether checking out one or all of these superb new Blu-ray releases you are assured a memorable movie experience, just as the temperatures begin to cool and you yearn for nights of warmth inside away from the elements.

Weekend movie box office estimates: September 30-October 2, 2011.

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced the full cast of the New York premiere of Stephen Karam's new play Sons of the Prophet, directed by Peter DuBois. The cast will feature Yusef Bulos (Bill), Jonathan Louis Dent (Vin), Santino Fontana (Joseph), Joanna Gleason (Gloria), Lizbeth Mackay (Mrs. McAndrew), Dee Nelson (Dr. Manor), Chris Perfetti (Charles), Charles Socarides (Timothy).

Weekend movie box office estimates: September 23-25, 2011.

Academy, Tony and four-time Emmy Award nominee Bob Balaban; acclaimed 'White Collar' television star Matt Bomer; Emmy Award-winning journalist Campbell Brown; celebrated playwright and gay rights activist Larry Kramer; two-time Academy Award-nominated, multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning, two-time Tony Award-winning actor John Lithgow; Tony Award nominee and Broadway Impact Co-Founder Rory O'Malley; and Emmy Award winner and three-time Golden Globe Award nominee Bradley Whitford will appear in the world premiere of '8' on Broadway, joining the previously announced Anthony Edwards, Morgan Freeman, Cheyenne Jackson, Christine Lahti, Rob Reiner, Yeardley Smith and Marisa Tomei. The production is an unprecedented account of the Federal District Court trial in Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Perry v. Brown), the case filed by AFER to overturn Proposition 8, which eliminated the right to marry for gay and lesbian couples in California.

Today we are closing out our first season of interviews with the star players of USA's breakout hit series NECESSARY ROUGHNESS with the show's star, the endearing and scrappy Callie Thorne. In addition to all about the first season of the freshman smash - which has just this week has been greenlit for Season Two - Thorne illustrates what makes the show work so well and what initially drew her to her complex character and the show itself, as well as describing what working with show creator Craig Shapiro is like and how she has collaborated with him and her costars to help further shape her role on the sports themed dramedy. In addition to all of that, we touch on her assortment of cast-mates and the previous participants in this column - Marc Blucas, Scott Cohen, Mehcad Brooks and Andrea Anders included - as well as what she thinks the themes and ideas the show presents mean to men, women and the world at large in 2011. We also touch on her stage roots, having appeared alongside Sam Rockwell and Eric Bognosian in THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT, directed by InDepth InterView participant Philip Seymour Hoffmann, as well as her extensive theatre training (at the Lee Strasberg Institute, no less) and how that background informs all of her work, on NECESSARY ROUGHNESS and beyond - and how to endure big game-time injuries, as a result. Plus, comments on HOMICIDE, the final season of RESCUE ME, her new film MEET MY BOYFRIEND and more!

Labyrinth Theater Company has announced final casting for the World Premiere Production of The Atmosphere of Memory by David Bar Katz. Performances begin Saturday, October 15th with Opening Night scheduled for October 30th at Labyrinth's new home, the Bank Street Theater for a limited engagement through Sunday, November 13th.

Academy, Tony and four-time Emmy Award nominee Bob Balaban; acclaimed 'White Collar' television star Matt Bomer; Emmy Award-winning journalist Campbell Brown; celebrated playwright and gay rights activist Larry Kramer; two-time Academy Award-nominated, multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning, two-time Tony Award-winning actor John Lithgow; Tony Award nominee and Broadway Impact Co-Founder Rory O'Malley; and Emmy Award winner and three-time Golden Globe Award nominee Bradley Whitford will appear in the world premiere of '8' on Broadway, joining the previously announced Anthony Edwards, Morgan Freeman, Cheyenne Jackson, Christine Lahti, Rob Reiner, Yeardley Smith and Marisa Tomei. The production is an unprecedented account of the Federal District Court trial in Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Perry v. Brown), the case filed by AFER to overturn Proposition 8, which eliminated the right to marry for gay and lesbian couples in California.

LAByrinth Theater Company has announced that stage and screen star, and LAByrinth Theater Company member, Ellen Burstyn (Tony Award, Emmy Award, and Academy Award-winner) will lead the cast of the World Premiere Production of The Atmosphere of Memory by David Bar Katz. Burstyn was last seen on the LAByrinth stage in Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Little Flower of East Orange. Performances begin Saturday, October 15th with Opening Night scheduled for October 30th at LAByrinth's new home, the Bank Street Theater (155 Bank Street) for a limited engagement through Sunday, November 13th.

Located right in the heart of Williamsburg, a few steps (literally) from the Bedford Ave subway stop, Spike Hill is a spot for live music, parties, film screenings and whatever other shenanigans you can dream up.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater has announced the cast and creative team for the world premiere of The Wood, a new play written by award-winning filmmaker Dan Klores.

Bowling, nihilists, a stolen rug and the occasional acid flashback have never been funnier when one of the most popular cult classics in history, The Big Lebowski Limited Edition, debuts on Blu-ray™ August 16, 2011 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.