Follow up re "Time Stands Still"

The play Time Stands Still tackles - among other things - the question of whether taking photographs of war and other tragedies really makes a difference. This NY Times article about a similarly injured photographer suggests that - in at least some cases - it does.

http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/courage-recognized-joao-silva-in-combat/?hp

A Terrific "Time," and More Lousy Restrooms

I had been wanting to see Time Stands Still (http://www.theatermania.com/broadway/time-stands-still_168028/) for quite a while, and finally did last night. This is exactly the kind of play that I like best: an interesting and intelligent story (a photo-journalist wounded in Iraq returns home to face questions about both her relationship with her long-time boyfriend and the relevance of her work); terrific writing by Donald Margulies; and great actors.

Our seats were in the front row, which is risky at best, but I wanted to see the actors' faces up close and was willing to sacrifice a better perspective on the stage. It was the right choice (for me, although maybe not for others). Laura Linney, Brian D'Arcy James, Eric Bogosian, and Christina Ricci were worth it - and Ricci's eyes were as big on stage as they look on screen, which I didn't think was possible.

I've been a fan of Laura Linney since You Can Count on Me with Mark Ruffalo (another of my favorites), and my husband & I are among probably 100 New Yorkers who saw James in a one man show called The Good Thief by Conor McPherson back in 2001. That play - more of a monologue even than a play - featured a memorable story about a guy who takes a bath while robbing a house, and we still talk about it fondly. Add renaissance man Bogosian and Broadway newcomer Ricci to the mix, and it's truly an outstanding cast.

Now on to my pet peeve of the year: Cort Theater management should realize that women DON'T lounge on safas and easy chairs when we go to a theater restroom - we just want to pee! Maybe 50 years ago things were different, but these guys (and I'm assuming they're guys) need to get to the 21st century. Three stalls, a VERY long line, and a large room of wasted space that could easily fit 3 more stalls: not smart at all.

One other point: my husband said that the men's rooms were ridiculously cramped as well, although there were no sofas for them.

Lyceum Theater: Worst Women's Room on Broadway?

We saw The Scottsboro Boys on Friday night at the Lyceum Theater on Broadway. First, let me say that the show itself is terrific. As the NY Times said in an article over the weekend (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/theater/17scottsboro.html?hpw), a notorious 1930s Alabama rape trial is a daunting subject for a musical. The fact that it succeeds - and isn't insanely depressing - is amazing.

But this isn't about the play. It's about the ridiculous women's restroom at the Lyceum Theater. Four stalls. FOUR STALLS at a Broadway theater. To say that the line before this show was long (it's almost 2 hours long and has no intermission)...major understatement.

What makes it all the more annoying (that's my polite version!) is the sheer amount of wasted space. We don't need a long make-up table and a chair. And the water fountain should be upstairs near the seats. With a few changes, they could certainly fit 3 more stalls without enlarging the room.

According to a recent Bloomberg.com article on the new play Lombardi (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-28/nfl-green-bay-packers-fans-boost-broadway-s-3-million-lombardi-drama.html), 2/3 of Broadway ticket-buyers are women. So I think we deserve a decent restroom.

"Foreclosed" and foreclosures

I started writing my short thriller Foreclosed last May. It's a story of love, loss, and revenge by a man who lost both his wife to cancer and his house to foreclosure.



As I always tell film festival audiences, I had just bought a small house - my first real estate - in Pennsylvania, in the Pocono Mountains. It wasn't a foreclosure, but I looked at many of them before I bought. I was always struck by the sadness of them - the lives interrupted, the families displaced.


We shot Foreclosed in July and August of 2009. The final editing - with music and sound effects - wasn't finished until April of this year. As our self-imposed December deadline slipped away, I found myself wondering if the movie would be dated by the time anyone had a chance to see it. Would the housing market be booming again? Would festival programmers wonder what they could do with such a movie?


We're having a terrific festival run, with screenings this coming weekend in Flint, MI followed by Philadelphia the following weekend, and Tennessee right after that.


As glad as I am that people like the movie - and I really am proud of it - I find myself wishing it were just a bit less timely.



http://www.foreclosedthemovie.us/

Vincent Pastore receives award & film fest wrap-up

Last weekend was the 4th annual GIAA Festival of Short Films and Videos (http://www.giaafilmfest.com/). It's taken me most of this week to catch my breath and take a (semi-objective) look back, but it was truly a success, and even better than I had hoped.

Friday and Saturday nights were near-capacity crowds, and the afternoon sessions weren't far behind. I'll be posting photos on the festival website over the next few days, but I thought this one of me with GIAA President Carlo Fiorletta (aka my husband) and our Best Actor award winner Vincent Pastore would be a great way to start.

I went over the photos last night, and we have at least 20 of Vince. I don't think he smiled in a single one of them. But in person, he was a (slightly nervous) delightful and engaging presence, and clearly delighted to win the award. He did a terrific job in Alienated, a sci-fi comedy directed by GIAA President Emeritus Paul Borghese, and I'd love to see him do more comedy in the future.

Other festival highlights included the presentation of the Best Movie award to Tick Tock,

a tale of forbidden love starring Tracey Birdsall-Smith and Stuart Smith; I'll have photos of that soon as well.

Viewers took their job of picking the Audience Favorite awards very seriously (one at each screening), and the winners were:

Friday night: Vinny Vino, directed by Bill Sorice

Saturday afternoon: Soundlabs People, directed by Raffaele Passerini

Saturday night: Alienated, directed by Paul Borghese

Sunday afternoon: With Anchovies....Without Mamma, directed by Thomas Justino

Onward to year 5...

"Foreclosed" nominated for 2 awards at Terror Film Fest

I'm delighted that Foreclosed is nominated for two Claw Awards at the Terror Film Festival (http://www.terrorfilmfest.net/) in Philadelphia: Best Thriller Short and Best Supporting Actor (Christopher Alan Weaver, who played Jason).

I would love to have seen the other actors, as well as director Jeff Bellantine, get some nods, but I'm really psyched for this fest!

Carlo and I were there a few years ago with our first short Albert and Mandy - it takes place in the Ethical Society Building in Rittenhouse Square, which is a great building. And maybe we'll fit in a trip to a museum or 2 while we're in Philly!

Of course if we were to win one of those awards....nah....I'm not gonna think about that....