Sidney Lumet News

Academy Award-nominated actors Matt Dillon ('Crash') and Diane Lane ('Unfaithful') will be honored with Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Awards at the 15th annual Savannah Film Festival,Oct. 27 - Nov. 3.

Today, September 30, 2012, fourteen actors, actresses, critics, playwrights - and even an astronaut - will be inducted into the newest class of THE PLAYERS Hall of Fame, John Martello, Executive Director of THE PLAYERS, has announced. For the 5th time in its history, The PLAYERS will commemorate each of the new, 14 inductees with a fine-art portrait that will become part of THE PLAYERS' permanent collection. The unveiling is at a special fundraising dinner at the landmarked Booth mansion at 16 Gramercy Park South, (East 20th off Park Ave.) New York City.

On Sunday, September 30, 2012, fourteen actors, actresses, critics, playwrights - and even an astronaut - will be inducted into the newest class of THE PLAYERS Hall of Fame, John Martello, Executive Director of THE PLAYERS, has announced. For the 5th time in its history, The PLAYERS will commemorate each of the new, 14 inductees with a fine-art portrait that will become part of THE PLAYERS' permanent collection. The unveiling is at a special fundraising dinner at the landmarked Booth mansion at 16 Gramercy Park South, (East 20th off Park Ave.) New York City.

Today we are talking to a terrifically talented stage and screen performer who has appeared in dozens of film, TV and stage projects over the course of his forty-year career, the thoughtful and charming Treat Williams. In this all-encompassing conversation, Williams and I discuss the many stages of his career thus far, from his early roots co-starring alongside the likes of John Travolta and Marilu Henner in GREASE and OVER HERE! on Broadway in the 1970s, to leading the film adaptation of Terrence McNally's THE RITZ to headlining Milos Foreman's stirring film version of HAIR to starring in handful of other iconic films from his heydey at the top of the Hollywood heap - Steven Spielberg's 1941, Sergio Leone's ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA and Sidney Lumet's PRINCE OF THE CITY included - and even working with Woody Allen on the caustic HOLLYWOOD ENDING. In addition to sharing candid and observant behind-the-scenes stories from the sets of those landmark properties, Williams also reveals his role in the STAR WARS sequel THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and reflects on his brief time in London with Carrie Fisher, George Lucas and company. Plus, Williams shares his recollections of working with many of his most memorable theatrical collaborators, with some especially intriguing anecdotes surrounding his time spent playing Buddy in the 2001 Roundabout revival of Stephen Sondheim & James Goldman's FOLLIES - with some tales involving the man behind the musical, as well as the ghost of David Belasco - and his insights into his work with David Mamet on OLEANNA, BOBBY GOULD IN HELL, TEXAN and others. As if all of that were not enough - most pertinent of all - Williams gives us the 411 on his season-long arc on USA's hit nighttime drama WHITE COLLAR and imparts his enthusiasm for working with similarly multi-talented many-format star Matt Bomer and the rest of cast and crew while also revealing some details on where his dastardly character is headed in tonight's episode and all the way into 2013 when the show picks up after the hiatus coming up. Also, Williams sheds some light on his spate of upcoming projects. All of that and much, much more!

The Delaware Theatre Company announced today that Michael Learned, of the 'The Waltons,' will be starring in DTC's October production of The Outgoing Tide. A drama by Barrymore Award-winning playwright Bruce Graham, The Outgoing Tide runs at the Delaware Theatre Company Wednesday, October 10 through Sunday, October 28, 2012 and marks the first show of DTC's 2012-2013 season. Directed by Executive Director Bud Martin, the production will then move to 59E59 Theaters in New York for six weeks: November 8 through December 16, following its three week run in Wilmington, Delaware.

Outside Inside presents Arch Oboler's Night of the Auk at the Sixteenth Annual New York International Fringe Festival. Hugely influential in the world of science fiction, Arch Oboler's underrated and undervalued works have all but fallen into obscurity. Now, Outside Inside resurrects a lost classic of the sci-fi genre.

Victoria Theatre Association invites you to the 2012 Cool Films Series presentation of the iconic film, CLEOPATRA, tonight, July 13 through July 15, 2012, at the historic Victoria Theatre. CLEOPATRA stars the enchanting actress Elizabeth Taylor with Richard Burton and Rex Harrison.

Victoria Theatre Association's annual salute to classic Hollywood is back with the 2012 Cool Films Series at the Victoria Theatre, beginning June 29 with THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!

Victoria Theatre Association invites you to the 2012 Cool Films Series presentation of the iconic film, CLEOPATRA, July 13 - 15, 2012 at the historic Victoria Theatre. CLEOPATRA stars the enchanting actress Elizabeth Taylor with Richard Burton and Rex Harrison.

Outside Inside presents Arch Oboler's Night of the Auk at the Sixteenth Annual New York International Fringe Festival. Hugely influential in the world of science fiction, Arch Oboler's underrated and undervalued works have all but fallen into obscurity. Now, Outside Inside resurrects a lost classic of the sci-fi genre.

Today we are concluding our two-part look at the life and career of legendary stage and screen icon Christopher Plummer by focusing on some of the finest films, television and filmed stage performances of his career thus far, as we anticipate the nationwide release of his newest stage and screen venture, the cinematic presentation of his recent turn as Prospero at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Des McAnuff's THE TEMPEST, presented by Fathom-equipped movie theaters on June 13, followed by a Q&A with Plummer. From his stage debut in the late-1940s through to his spectacular screen career begun with Sidney Lumet's STAGE STRUCK in 1958, in this career-spanning clip collection we will be sampling many of the most memorable and most notable projects from a rich resume ranging from almost every major male role in the canon of Shakespeare - AS YOU LIKE IT to THE WINTER'S TALE - to the work of Lilian Hellman, Bertolt Brecht, Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov and Peter Shaffer to Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE SOUND OF MUSIC on film to the Tony Award-winning Anthony Burgess musical adaptation of CYRANO onstage, to TV's THE THORN BIRDS and ON GOLDEN POND all the way to last year's double-header of brilliance in both David Fincher's THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGTON TATTOO and BEGINNERS, the latter being the part for which Plummer finally received a Best Actor Academy Award. Of course, besides his well-earned Oscar, Plummer has amassed many other top honors over the course of his sixty-year-career, as well - two Tony Awards (for CYRANO, a musical, and BARRYMORE, a two-person mostly monologue); a Golden Globe; two Emmy Awards; a SAG Award; a Genie; the list goes on and on… as does Christopher Plummer's reputable and riveting career.

Today we are shining a light on one of the most respected and revered stage and screen stars of the last several decades who is known the world over for not only his stirring and commanding dramatic performances and touching and rib-tickling comedies on film, but also for his iconic roles on the stage playing Shakespeare, and, perhaps most of all, for his essaying of Captain Von Trapp in the celebrated Robert Wise film adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Tony Award-winning THE SOUND OF MUSIC - the elegant, graceful and eminently gifted Christopher Plummer. Looking back at a career spanning nearly seven decades, today we will focus on Plummer's most important and most fondly remembered roles to date - ranging from Sidney Lumet's STAGE STRUCK in 1958 to his Shakespeare stage work, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, THE RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER, TV's THE THORN BIRDS, and, of course, his Academy Award-winning turn in last year's BEGINNERS - with a look ahead to the exceptionally enticing new Fathom in-cinema presentation of Des McAnuff's Stratford Shakespeare Festival production of THE TEMPEST starring Plummer as Prospero, in movie theaters nationwide on June 14 - what the 83-year-old actor has promised will be his final Shakespeare performance onstage. So, if there were ever a time to take a look back at one of the most remarkable Broadway/Hollywood crossover stars of the last century or the current one as he reaches yet another peek in a career populated with many highs, now is certainly the time! After all, as the oldest Oscar-winner to date, a midsummer night's dream has evidently quite quickly turned to a winter's tale - but with sound and fury signifying much, as we will see.

McCarter Theatre Center has announced that the 2012 Sallie B. Goodman Artists' Retreat will take place from June 7through June 16.

Cynthia Nixon and Christine Marinoni got married in New York this Sunday, May 27, three years after their enguagement.

Last night The Stella Adler Studio of Acting held its Seventh Annual Stella by Starlight Benefit Gala at The Players Club in New York City. This year's honorees included Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones, Daryl Roth, Ed Schultz and Masa Tanaka. Notable attendees included co-chair of the evening, Kate Mulgrew, and Broadway director George C. Wolfe who presented producer Daryl Roth with her award. Check out photos from the event below!

On the occasion of the Group Theatre's 80th anniversary, the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center (Frank Hentschker, Executive Director) presents a day of readings, panels, rarely-heard recordings and screenings of unseen footage all dedicated to understanding "The Group Theatre and How it Changed American Culture." All events are free, first-come-first-served, and take place in the Elebash Recital Hall at the Graduate Center, CUNY, at 34th Street and 5th Avenue.

Today, we bring you Judd Hirsch circa 1985. For his performance in Taxi, in 1981 and again in 1983, Judd Hirsch won the Emmy Award for Lead Actor In a Comedy Series. Hirsch went on to play the title character on the modestly successful sitcom Dear John and in 1989 won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series in a Comedy or Musical for this role. He later teamed with Bob Newhart in the short-lived comedy George and Leo. He had also previously starred for one season in the series Delvecchio, playing a police detective (1976-1977).In film, Hirsch received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the drama film Ordinary People (1980). Other films in the 1980s include the 1983 drama Without a Trace, the 1984 dramedies Teachers and The Goodbye People, and the 1988 drama Running on Empty directed by Sidney Lumet and co-starring River Phoenix.

The Stella Adler Studio of Acting announced today that the Seventh Annual Stella by Starlight Benefit Gala will be held May 20th at the Players Club in New York City. This year's honorees include Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones, Daryl Roth, Ed Schultz and Masa Tanaka.

Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award-winning actress Cynthia Nixon will join soprano Lisa Delan and pianist Kristin Pankonin in an evening that features Gordon Getty's The White Election, a song cycle based on the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Ms. Nixon will read selections from Emily Dickinson's letters. The event will take place on Thursday, April 19, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. at The Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse (Samuel B. & David Rose Building, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 165 West 65th Street, Manhattan).

New Hampshire native Juston McKinney brings his stand-up show to Concord NH's Capitol Center for the Arts on Saturday April 7 at 8pm. Tickets start at $20.