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There have been plenty of fake movies within movies over the years, but only a few seem genuinely interesting enough to make fans wish they were real. Fake movies have historically been used in a variety of ways, although they're often great for parody. Movies about Hollywood can have fake movies as jokes, and some movies take this idea one step further by making fun of themselves with a fictional stand-in.

For a movie within a movie to be truly memorable, it usually has to stand out as something worth watching. This is what differentiates a fake movie that's little more than a joke from something more interesting. It helps if the filmmakers put as much care and effort into their fake movies as their real ones. Some movies within movies have their own fans, even though they don't exist and nobody will ever see them in full.

Metalstorm The...

Chris Sanders is in final talks to voice Stitch in the live-action 'Lilo and Stitch' film.The 61-year-old animator voiced the character in the 2002 animated movie and in the subsequent television series that aired between 2003 and 2006.Chris joins a cast that includes Maia Kealoha as Lila as well as Billy Magnussen, Zach Galifianakis and Courtney B. Vance.'Lilo and Stitch' tells the story of a six-year-old Hawaiian girl named Lilo Pelekai, who is raised by her 19-year-old sister Nani after their parents died in a car accident, and a blue extra-terrestrial animal-like creature called Experiment 626, who is adopted by Lilo as her dog and renamed Stitch.It is not yet known how the new flick will compare to the animated movie or the TV series.Dean Fleischer Camp is helming the project that is expected to be a major release on Disney+ and production has already started in Hawaii.

Courtney B. Vance has joined the cast of Disney's live-action 'Lilo and Stitch' movie. The 63-year-old star will take on the role of Cobra Bubbles in the forthcoming film, according to Deadline. Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen are already attached to the motion picture, and newcomer Maia Kealoha is expected to portray Lilo. It's not yet known how the upcoming film will compare to the 2002 animated science fiction comedy-drama film and the subsequent cartoon TV series.'Lilo and Stitch' tells the story of a six-year-old Hawaiian girl named Lilo Pelekai, who is raised by her 19-year-old sister Nani after their parents died in a car accident, and a blue extra-terrestrial animal-like creature called Experiment 626, who is adopted by Lilo as her dog and renamed Stitch. Bubbles was voiced by Ving Rhames in the original movie and several spin-offs, as well as TV show 'Lilo and Stitch: The Series'.

Sharon Acker, the Canadian actress who portrayed Lee Marvin’s unfaithful wife in the 1967 neo-noir classic Point Blank and the right-hand woman Della Street opposite Monte Markham on a rebooted Perry Mason in the 1970s, has died. She was 87.

Acker died March 16 in a retirement home in her native Toronto, her daughter Kim Everest, a casting director, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Star Trek fans know Acker for her January 1969 turn as Odona, a desperate woman from an overpopulated planet, on the third-season episode “The Mark of Gideon.”

She also starred on a 1976-77 CBS adaptation of Executive Suite, playing the wife of Mitchell Ryan‘s Dan Walling. (Acker and Ryan assumed the parts performed by William Holden and June Allyson in the 1954 MGM film directed by Robert Wise.)

In John Boorman’s Point Blank, Acker’s character takes up with John Vernon’s Mal Reese after he shoots Walker (Marvin...

The Lilo & Stitch movie franchise, also referred to as Stitch, was created by the Disney franchise in 2002 with the release of its animated film directed and written by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. This family-favorite movie has been delighting audiences ever since!

The series follows the escapades of two characters: Lilo Pelekai, an orphaned Hawaiian girl voiced by Daveigh Chase, and Stitch, created initially as Experiment 626, a little blue alien and adopted by Lilo. Both are mischievous beings who make for a funny duo full of eccentric adventures.

If you love comedy and animation, then the Lilo & Stitch movie series is perfect!

Here is a list of all the films in this franchise in order:

All the “Lilo and Stitch” Movies in Order of Release Date Lilo and Stitch (2002) Stitch! The Movie (2003) Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch (2005) Leroy and Stitch (2006) Lilo and Stitch (2002)

“Lilo & Stitch...

Max Woodward, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts executive and producer who oversaw the production of its theater programming for years before his retirement in 2016, died today of Alzheimer’s disease at a Washington D.C. care facility. He was 76.

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“Today, we mourn the passing of Max Woodward,” the Kennedy Center said in a statement. “Max began his career at the Center as an usher in 1971, shortly after we first opened our doors, eventually assuming his programmatic leadership role in 2002. Over the course of his 44-year career, he helped shape the identity of theater at the Center and left his mark...

Out of all the winners (and also-rans) in the 26 competitive categories at the 2022 Tony Awards, 18 results stand out as particularly noteworthy when considered in the context of history. So what were this year’s most interesting facts, records, and milestones? Check out the complete list of winners here.

1. The following productions that received multiple Tony nominations, but went home empty-handed were “American Buffalo,” “Caroline, or Change,” “Clyde’s,” “For Colored Girls,” “Flying Over Sunset,” “Hangmen,” “How I Learned to Drive,” “Macbeth,” “Mr. Saturday Night,” “The Music Man,” “Potus,” and “Trouble in Mind.”

SEESecond Stage Theater (‘Take Me Out’) earns 1st Tony Award since purchasing a Broadway house

2. The following individuals who had multiple nominations this year, but went home empty-handed were set designer Beowulf Boritt (“Flying Over Sunset” and “Potus”), director/choreographer Camille A. Brown (“For Colored Girls”), actor/book writer Billy Crystal (“Mr. Saturday Night”), director/book writer Conor McPherson...

“Thank you for this work that’s just so magic and so worth it,” expressed Mary-Louise Parker when she accepted the Tony Award from presenter Gwyneth Paltrow in 2001 for her unforgettable performance in “Proof.” This year, Parker competes for the same prize for starring in the first Broadway production of Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “How I Learned to Drive” and could take home the third trophy of her career for it. Below, see a list of all five of Mary-Louise Parker’s Tony nominations and two wins.

See Mary-Louise Parker (‘How I Learned to Drive’) poised to make Tony Awards history

Parker originated the role of Li’l Bit in the original Off-Broadway production of “How I Learned to Drive” 25 years ago. This Broadway revival reunited her with costars David Morse and Johanna Day as well as director Mark Brokaw. The drama is a haunting memory play that...

Fresh off of her second Tony Award victory last year for “The Sound Inside,” Mary-Louise Parker has earned a follow-up nomination in the same category for her work in the revival of Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “How I Learned to Drive.” Parker returned to the haunting piece 25 years after she originated the role Off-Broadway, reuniting with costars David Morse – who also reaped a bid – and Johanna Day, plus director Mark Brokaw.

This nomination not only celebrates her exemplary performance, but also moves Parker into an extremely exclusive list of performers who have earned at least five nominations in the Best Play Actress category. Her first bid dates back to 1990, when she contended for “Prelude to a Kiss.” Over a decade later, Parker earned her second nomination for “Proof” and went on to win the prize. In the following two decades, she earned another nom for “Reckless” in 2005 and last year for “The Sound Inside,...

Two decades ago Mary-Louise Parker won her first Tony Award for her enthralling performance in David Auburn’s “Proof.” Five Broadway appearances later, Parker is on the cusp of winning the second Tony of her career for her searing turn in Adam Rapp’s “The Sound Inside,” according to our exclusive Tony Awards predictions. “The Sound Inside” has six nominations, including Best Play.

Parker earned the best reviews of her stage career for “The Sound Inside,” topping even the rapturous notices she received for “Proof.” Back then, John Simon (New York Magazine) called Parker’s work in “Proof” “a performance of genius.” In his rave review of “The Sound Inside,” Jesse Green (New York Times) wrote, “Parker, never better in her 30-year stage career, has dug even deeper into Bella, treating each line as if it were an archaeological site; she builds her performance on artifacts, not theories.” Vinson Cunningham...

Exclusive: For the first time in 75 years, New York’s Theatre World Awards honoring debut performances will bypass its annual awards ceremony this year – a reflection of the city’s absence of live shows during the 15-month Covid shutdown – and instead present a one-night-only virtual event honoring Broadway’s best, including special honorees Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, and André De Shields.

The special event will be hosted virtually by BroadwayWorld.com on Sunday, July 11 at 7 pm/Et, with a free stream available at the website. All proceeds from the event will go toward presenting next year’s event – the 76th Theatre World Awards, set for June 2022 – in person.

The announcement was made today by the Theatre World Awards and producers Tom D’Angora, Michael D’Angora and Tim Guinee. Tom D’Angora and Michael D’Angora direct this year’s event, which will include appearances and performances by previous award winners.

“When the universe allows,...

Exclusive: Meryl Streep is set to star in Places, Please, a film drama that will be directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Michael Cristofer from a script by UCLA Mfa alum Elisabeth Seldes Annacone (The Changing Room). The film is a love letter to Broadway, where both Streep and Cristofer started their careers. In an interview here, they describe their start together on a Broadway performance of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, which figures in the film. Their comments on the stage, and how Broadway can reemerge from its pandemic plight, are included below.

Places, Please will shoot this summer in New York, and will be introduced to buyers for the virtual Berlin Market, with CAA Media Finance repping domestic distribution rights and Filmnation handling international sales. Streep, Steven Rogers and Jane Rosenthal (The Irishman) will produce. Berry Welsh will executive produce.

In the film, Streep will play Lillian Hall,...

Christopher Plummer, the Canadian-born Shakespearean actor who starred in films including “The Sound of Music” and “Beginners,” died on Friday morning at his home in Connecticut. He was 91.

“Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self deprecating humor and the music of words,” said Lou Pitt, his longtime friend and manager of 46 years. “He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us.”

An imposing theatrical presence with a well-cultivated, resonant voice, that critic John Simon once observed, “in its chamois mode, can polish mirrors,” Plummer was best known for playing Captain von Trapp in the Oscar-winning musical “The Sound of Music.” He also won an Oscar in 2012 for his supporting turn in the film “Beginners,...

Playwright Israel Horovitz, whose Off Broadway productions provided early stages for such soon-to-be-stars as Al Pacino, Marsha Mason, John Cazale and Richard Dreyfus but whose later career was severely damaged by repeated accusations of sexual assault, died at his Manhattan home of cancer on Nov. 9. He was 81.

His death was confirmed to The New York Times by wife Gillian Horovitz. Horovitz’s children include Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys, film producer Rachael Horovitz and TV producer Matthew Horovitz.

Horovitz’s first success came in 1968, with the Off Broadway double-bill The Indian Wants the Bronx and It’s Called the Sugar Plum, featuring casts that included Pacino, Mason and Cazale. Mason’s future Goodbye Girl costar Dreyfuss appeared, with Cazale, in Horovitz’s 1970 play Line, which was Off Off Broadway’s longest running production when it closed in 2018.

Though a prolific and acclaimed writer of works for Off Broadway and regional theaters,...

The Emmys’ In Memoriam segment Sunday left out a number of actors we lost in 2020, but the Television Academy hasn’t entirely overlooked them. Nick Cordero, Chi Chi DeVayne, Kobe Bryant, Shelley Morrison, Honor Blackman, and soap actors Roscoe Born, John Callahan, Marj Dusay and John Karlen are among the many names included in a more comprehensive roster on the Academy’s website.

Some of the names, including Morrison, actress Kelly Preston and Saturday Night Live‘s music producer Hal Willner, were represented in a not-particularly easy-to-read memorial segment during the Creative Arts ceremonies last week (see it below) but didn’t make the shorter roster on the Emmys broadcast Sunday.

The comprehensive scrolling roster includes performers whose body of work fell largely in other areas of entertainment – Cordero, Zoe Caldwell, Mark Blum and Brent Carver from the stage, Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green from music, Honor Blackman from film...

Diana Rigg, the Tony and Emmy winner who splashed into the world of television with her commanding turn as intelligence agent Emma Peel on “The Avengers” in the 1960s and played Lady Olenna Tyrell on “Game of Thrones” decades later, died Thursday at her home in England. She was 82.

Rigg was a venerable figure in Britain’s entertainment industry who worked incessantly on stage, TV and film. She famously thumbed her nose at convention in her private life and in later years seemed to enjoy her status as a grande dame.

“She was a beautiful kind and generous human being that enhanced the lives of all that knew her as well as a great actress. She leaves a great void in my heart,” said Lionel Larner, Rigg’s longtime friend and talent agent.

Having a key role in the biggest TV series of the past decade was a fitting career capper for Rigg.

Sy Sperling, the founder of Hair Club for Men who became a pop culture icon thanks to his company’s ubiquitous, charmingly awkward ads, died Wednesday following a long illness. He was 78.

Sperling was a frequent face on late night and weekend television beginning in the 1980s, with his impact on popular culture felt well into the first decade of the current century. For almost 20 years, he starred in his company’s commercials, pitching services and information for balding men with an authenticity — and awkwardness — that could never be mistaken for acting.

The ads, referenced on countless comedy and talk shows — and even inspiring a 2007 episode of “South Park” and a classic Notorious B.I.G. lyric — always concluded with the catch phrase Sperling made immortal: “And remember, I’m not only the Hair Club president, but I’m also a client.” And, as the accompanying photo proved, he wasn’t lying.

“Love Island” host Caroline Flack’s death has been ruled a suicide by a U.K. coroner.

The television presenter died Saturday at the age of 40. On Wednesday, the Poplar Coroner’s Court confirmed to People that Flack had died of suicide by hanging.

“On Tuesday, 18th of February 2020, an autopsy was performed at Hackney Mortuary by Professor Michael Shiff who gave a provisional cause of death as one by suspension by ligature,” Coroner’s officer Sandra Polson said in a statement to People. “London Ambulance Service arrived on the scene and took over CPR from the police, however, their patient could not be revived.”

Also Read: 'Love Island' Host Caroline Flack Steps Down After Assault Charge

The British television presenter and radio host stepped down as host of the hit U.K. reality dating show after she was charged with assaulting her boyfriend, 27-year-old Lewis Burton in December.

Zoe Caldwell, a four-time Tony Award-winner, has passed away at the age of 86.

The actress died peacefully in her home in Pound Ridge, New York on Sunday from complications due to Parkinson’s disease, a spokesperson for her son, Charlie Whitehead, confirmed to People.

Born in Australia, Caldwell first started her professional career at 9 years old in a production of Peter Pan before going on to appear in productions at Melbourne’s Union Theatre Repertory Company and the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company.

She moved to London to join the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1959 and began her American acting career as...

Zoe Caldwell, a veteran stage, TV and film actress who won four Tony Awards and originated the Broadway roles of Maria Callas in Master Class and the title character in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, has died. She was 86.

Her son, Charlie Whitehead, said she died Sunday of Parkinson’s disease complications at her home in Pound Ridge, NY.

Caldwell won four lead actress Tony Awards spanning 30 years. Along with Master Class (1996) and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1968), she also scored trophies for Slapstick Tragedy (1966) and Madea (1982).

Along with her 45-year career on the Great White Way, the Australia native appeared in such films as Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo and the 2002 Disney toon Lilo & Stitch. Among her many telefilm roles were adaptations of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Her most recent credit was as Oskar’s (Thomas Horn) grandmother...

Zoe Caldwell, an esteemed stage, film and television actress who won four Tony Awards, including for her role as opera diva Maria Callas in Master Class, has died. She was 86.

Caldwell died Sunday from Parkinson's disease complications at her home in Pound Ridge, New York, her son Charlie Whitehead confirmed through a representative. 

The Australian-born actress first appeared on stage at age 9 as one of the Lost Boys in Peter Pan. She moved to London in 1959 to join the Royal Shakespeare Company, and began her American stage career as an original company member at the Tyrone Guthrie ...

Zoe Caldwell, an esteemed stage, film and television actress who won four Tony Awards, including for her role as opera diva Maria Callas in Master Class, has died. She was 86.

Caldwell died Sunday from Parkinson's disease complications at her home in Pound Ridge, New York, her son Charlie Whitehead confirmed through a representative. 

The Australian-born actress first appeared on stage at age 9 as one of the Lost Boys in Peter Pan. She moved to London in 1959 to join the Royal Shakespeare Company, and began her American stage career as an original company member at the Tyrone Guthrie ...

William Luce, who wrote the 1976 Broadway play The Belle of Amherst for Julie Harris and the 1997 drama Barrymore that starred Christopher Plummer, died Monday. He was 88.

Luce died in a senior care facility in Green Valley, Arizona, after a battle with Alzheimer's disease, his godson, Grant Hayter-Menzies, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Over a 40-year career, Luce also worked with the likes of Zoe Caldwell, George C. Scott and Claire Bloom as he wrote about the private lives of Charlotte Brontë, Lillian Hellman, Isak Dinesen, Zelda Fitzgerald and others. 

The Belle of Amherst, his portrait of the reclusive ...

Broadway newcomers Gbenga Akinnagbe, Sophia Anne Caruso, Jeremy Pope and Paddy Considine are among this year’s Theatre World Award winners. A New York theater tradition since 1945, the awards go to a dozen performers making their Broadway or Off Broadway debuts.

Also announced today by the organization’s president Dale Badway: The 7th Annual John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement will go to three-time Tony Award winner Nathan Lane, currently starring on Broadway in Gary: A Sequel To Titus Andronicus. The 75th Annual Theatre World Awards ceremony is set for Monday, June 3 at a Broadway theater to be announced.

Previous winners of the newcomers awards include Meryl Streep, Rosemary Harris, Marlon Brando, Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Anne Bancroft, James Earl Jones, Liza Minnelli, Alan Alda, Zoe Caldwell, Christopher Walken, Alec Baldwin, Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald, Al Pacino, Grace Kelly, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Cynthia Erivo, Danielle Brooks, Lupita Nyong’o and John Krasinski.

Glenda Jackson was looking to do what no one has ever done before at the Tony Awards: win Best Actress in a Play in back-to-back years. Alas, she won’t get a chance to, as the Triple Crown champ was snubbed for her performance in “King Lear” on Tuesday.

Jackson, who prevailed last year for “Three Tall Women,” had been in first place in our Tony odds, but she was Mia on the shortlist, which, adding insult to injury, has six nominees. They are Annette Bening (“All My Sons”), Olivier winner Laura Donnelly (“The Ferryman”), Elaine May (“The Waverly Gallery”), Janet McTeer (“Bernhardt/Hamlet”), Laurie Metcalf (“Hillary and Bill”) and Heidi Schreck (“What the Constitution Means to Me”).

In hindsight, maybe we should’ve seen her snub coming. While the soon-to-be 83-year-old received stellar notices for her turn as the title character, the production itself underwhelmed critics. “King Lear” wound up with only one bid,...

Last year, Glenda Jackson became the 24th performer to complete the Triple Crown of Acting when she won the Best Actress in a Play Tony Award for “Three Tall Women.” She can write another chapter in awards history this year by becoming the first person to win back-to-back Tonys in that category.

Jackson is the odds-on favorite to prevail for her performance as the titular character in “King Lear,” which opened Thursday on Broadway. She’d be the eighth person to win the category twice and the 11th to have multiple wins in the category. None of the previous multiple Best Actress in a Play champs triumphed in consecutive years.

See Tony winner Glenda Jackson on ignoring all of Edward Albee’s advice [Watch]

2 wins

Shirley Booth: “Come Back, Little Sheba” (1950); “The Time of the Cuckoo” (1953)

Helen Hayes: “Happy Birthday” (1947); “Time Remembered” (1958)

Margaret Leighton: “Separate Tables” (1957); “The Night of the Iguana...

Three-time Emmy winner Laurie Metcalf (“Roseanne”) won her first Tony Award only last year but could well add a second one to her crowded mantle this Sunday. This would be a nice makeup award for Metcalf who lost a close Supporting Actress Oscar race this year for her performance in “Lady Bird” to Allison Janney for “I, Tonya.”

See 2018 Tonys online: How to watch 72nd Tony Awards live stream without a TV

Last season Metcalf took home the Best Actress in a Play Tony Award for her bravura performance in “A Doll’s House Part 2” which told the story of what happened to Ibsen’s heroine in the years after she walked out on her husband. This season Metcalf has returned to Broadway in an acclaimed revival of Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women.” With Glenda Jackson all but certain to win her first Tony up in the lead race,...

Glenda Jackson is almost certain to win her first Tony Award on Sunday for her acclaimed performance in the first Broadway production of Edward Albee’s 1991 Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Three Tall Women.” She will become the 24th performer to win the Triple Crown of show business awards and cap off a comeback after an absence of almost a quarter of a century.

Jackson walked away from acting in 1992 to began a second career in politics, winning election to the British parliament. Yes, Ronald Reagan did the same thing but he had never reached the level of acclaim and success that Jackson had in Hollywood.

She is one of only 14 two-time Best Actress Oscar winners and she pulled off this double act in just four years. What makes that even more surprising is that she expressed a certain disdain for awards and didn’t attend any of the four Academy Awards...

Can you believe Lilo & Stitch is 15 years old? Walt Disney Feature Animation's instant classic surfed into theaters on June 21, 2002 and went on to earn $273.1 million at the global box office. Directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, the family film featured the voice talents of Zoe Caldwell, Tia Carrere, Daveigh Chase, Jason Scott Lee, Kevin McDonald, David Ogden Stiers, Ving Rhames and Kevin Michael Richardson. Lilo & Stitch was the second of three animated features produced primarily at Disney-mgm Studios in Walt Disney World near Orlando, after 1998's Mulan and before 2003's Brother Bear. The movie was so successful that a direct-to-video sequel, Stitch! The Movie, was released on...

‘Lilo & Stitch’ deserves better.

Lilo & Stitch is the “Barb” of Disney movies. Yes, Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet exist. However, neither of those films have seen as much success and then sunk back into Disney-relative obscurity quite like Lilo & Stitch. The film was a full-fledged franchise in its heyday spawning multiple television series, two direct-to-video sequels, a Kingdom Hearts cameo, and its own video game. To be fair, Disney did have a reference to Lilo & Stitch in Moana — early on, Moana helps a baby turtle make its way into the ocean by obscuring it from birds under a palm frond. A solid “save the cat” moment that creates a presumption of goodness and a sly reference to Lilo & Stitch. Stitch, in a post-credit image, is seen shadowing a turtle and its child in the same way. It’s a fun little throwback to Disney’s first foray into depicting Polynesian culture.

Lilo...

Today in 2011, the first Broadway revival of Master Class opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, where it ran for 67 performances. Master Class is a play by Terrence McNally, which opened on Broadway on November 15, 1995 at the John Golden Theatre, where it ran for 598 performances. The original cast included Zoe Caldwell, Audra McDonald, Karen Kay Cody, David Loud, and Jay Hunter Morris. Caldwell and McDonald won Tony Awards for their performances in 1996. Tyne Daly starred as Callas in a summer 2011 revival of the play at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

Today in 2011, the first Broadway revival of Master Class opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, where it ran for 67 performances. Master Class is a play by Terrence McNally, which opened on Broadway on November 15, 1995 at the John Golden Theatre, where it ran for 598 performances. The original cast included Zoe Caldwell, Audra McDonald, Karen Kay Cody, David Loud, and Jay Hunter Morris. Caldwell and McDonald won Tony Awards for their performances in 1996. Tyne Daly starred as Callas in a summer 2011 revival of the play at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

Oscar winner Mike Nichols (The Graduate, HBO's Angels in America) will direct Academy Award winner Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady, Sophie's Choice) in Master Class, HBO Films' adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play of the same name by Terrence McNally, who will adapt his work for the screen, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO programming, who issued the following statement.

"We are delighted to welcome back the incomparable Mike Nichols and the gifted Meryl Streep, whose collective brilliance shone on HBO with Angels in America almost ten years ago. Terrence McNally's riveting play about the iconic Maria Callas is the perfect platform for these two consummate talents."

Director Mike Nichols also offered his own statement.

"It is a terrific play written with awareness of a great artist's process, and it will be one great artist playing another."

Master Class will begin production in early 2015, with Nichols,...

Today in 2011, the first Broadway revival of Master Class opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, where it ran for 67 performances. Master Class is a play by Terrence McNally, which opened on Broadway on November 15, 1995 at the John Golden Theatre, where it ran for 598 performances. The original cast included Zoe Caldwell, Audra McDonald, Karen Kay Cody, David Loud, and Jay Hunter Morris. Caldwell and McDonald won Tony Awards for their performances in 1996. Tyne Daly starred as Callas in a summer 2011 revival of the play at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

Columnist Liz Smith gets to the bottom of the rumors that Meryl Streep will play the legendary opera singer Maria Callas. She spoke with director Mike Nichols, who is in charge of the upcoming HBO production "Master Class," and he confirms the story from Streep's press agent Leslee Dart. The Terrence McNally play is about the late-in-life diva as she now is a teacher following the death of her lover, Aristotle Onassis. Various Broadway versions has seen Zoe Caldwell, Patti LuPone, Dixie Carter, and Tyne Daly in the lead role (with Caldwell winning a Tony Award in 1996). Will Streep and Nichols add yet another Emmy Award to their awards mantels? Huffington Post. -Break- Longtime character actor Eli Wallach dies at age 98. His lengthy feature film resume included "The Magnificent Seven," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," "Baby Doll," "The Misfits," "Cinderella Liberty," and "The Godfather: Part III." He...'...

Tyne Daly played the role on BroadwayYou've undoubtedly heard the news by now that Meryl Streep will be playing opera diva Maria Callas in the film adaptation of the play Master Class, about Callas teaching a voice class at Juilliard. Well, telefilm adaptation I guess... so ink Streep down for the Emmy whenever that arrives since Hollywood is all about over-rewarding the winners. On stage the role has been played by Fanny Ardant, Zoe Caldwell, Faye Dunaway and Tyne Daly. Master Class is, in a way, a distant cousin to The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie as each involve an imperious older woman teaching students while also basically monologuing about her own glory days.

Terence McNally's play has been around since 1995 and as recently as last Winter Faye Dunaway, who played the role in a Los Angeles production, was still being interviewed about her struggle to get it on film.

It's not TV, it's Meryl Streep. The acting legend will play opera legend Maria Callas in director Mike Nichols’ HBO adaptation of Terrence McNally's play “Master Class,” TheWrap has confirmed, bringing her two Oscars to the small screen. The play first opened in 1995 on Broadway, with Zoe Caldwell in the role of Callas, who tells stories about her life. She lived a dramatic life with a difficult family, great fame, an affair with Aristotle Onassis (who left her for Jackie Kennedy), and plenty of physical transformations.

Meryl Streep has signed up to play opera singer Maria Callas in an upcoming HBO film.

The August: Osage County star will feature in Master Class, an adaptation of Terrence McNally's Broadway play of the same name, reports Page Six.

The project will be directed by Mike Nichols, who previously worked with Streep on Angels in America and Silkwood.

Master Class follows Callas in the 1970s as she takes charge of a number of lessons at Juilliard School in New York City. The singer then begins to reminisce about her career and personal life.

Callas was played by Zoe Caldwell in the original award-winning 1995 Broadway production, with Audra McDonald also starring.

Filming on the HBO movie will reportedly begin in January.

Streep will also star opposite her daughter Mamie Gummer in an upcoming rock comedy titled Ricki and the Flash, written by Juno's Diablo Cody.

Last night, the League of Professional Theatre Women Lptw, a not-for-profit organization committed to promoting visibility and increasing opportunities for women in the professional theatre, recognized the talents of six outstanding women Zoe Caldwell, Judith Dolan, Joanna Sherman, Sondra Gorney, Meiyin Wang and Katherine Kovner. The awards were presented at the League's 2014 Awards Celebration amp Big Mingle Reception to be held at The Irene Diamond Stage The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street featuring emcee Tamara Tunie. BroadwayWorld was there for the special night and you can check out photos from the celebration below...

On Monday, March 10, 2014, the League of Professional Theatre Women Lptw, a not-for-profit organization committed to promoting visibility and increasing opportunities for women in the professional theatre, is pleased to recognize the talents of six outstanding women Zoe Caldwell, Judith Dolan, Joanna Sherman, Sondra Gorney, Meiyin Wang and Katherine Kovner. The awards will be presented at the League's 2014 Awards Celebration amp Big Mingle Reception to be held at 630 pm on Monday, March 10 at The Irene Diamond Stage The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street featuring emcee Tamara Tunie.

Today in 2011, the first Broadway revival of Master Clas opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, where it ran for 67 performances. Master Class is a play by Terrence McNally, which opened on Broadway on November 15, 1995 at the John Golden Theatre, where it ran for 598 performances. The original cast included Zoe Caldwell, Audra McDonald, Karen Kay Cody, David Loud, and Jay Hunter Morris. Caldwell and McDonald won Tony Awards for their performances in 1996. Tyne Daly starred as Callas in a summer 2011 revival of the play at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

The Guthrie today announced that eight artists who have graced the Guthrie's stages during its 50-year history, from the first season in 1963 to the theater's current season, are slated to participate in the Guthrie's 50th anniversary on June 22, 2013. Exclusive interviews with the legendary Zoe Caldwell and Christopher Plummer will be unveiled as part of a poignant and celebratory multi-media tribute, while stage veterans Barbara Bryne, Peter Michael Goetz and Stephen Yoakam two graduates of the University of MinnesotaGuthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program, Matthew Amendt and Valeri Mudek and an alum of A Guthrie Experience for Actors in Training, Erik Heger will perform live for the one-night-only event.

Hot on the heels of Plummer’s Best Supporting Actor Oscar™ for Beginners last year, the octogenarian star of stage and screen delivers his most affecting performance yet. Barrymore was released theatrically by By Experience and Image Entertainment in New York and Los Angeles in November of 2012. The Los Angeles Times then enthused, “Christopher Plummer is a mischievous delight as the great John Barrymore, intent on a stage comeback.” Barrymore was also recently nominated for two Prism Awards including Performance in a Feature Film. The screen version of the William Luce play by the same name, Barrymore had its world premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. It was adapted by writer-director Érik Canuel from the 1996 Broadway production for which Plummer won a Tony™ Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in 1997. Plummer, 82, has long had a fascination with the title character, and it shows. The Village Voice exclaimed,...

Today in 2011, the first Broadway revival of Master Clas opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, where it ran for 67 performances. Master Class is a play by Terrence McNally, which opened on Broadway on November 15, 1995 at the John Golden Theatre, where it ran for 598 performances. The original cast included Zoe Caldwell, Audra McDonald, Karen Kay Cody, David Loud, and Jay Hunter Morris. Caldwell and McDonald won Tony Awards for their performances in 1996. Tyne Daly starred as Callas in a summer 2011 revival of the play at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

The truth is, there are some movies that don’t translate honestly from their source novels, and I have a feeling that Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is one of them. I may be giving the novel the benefit of the doubt there, but I’ve seen a lot of films, and it’s the impression that I get. There is a believability, and ultimately an honesty, that is traded in here in favor of the attempt toward crushing emotional blows, and untenable flights of fancy.

The story is that of Oskar Shell, a young boy who lost his father (Tom Hanks) in 9/11. The particular spin outside of that plot realm alone is that Oskar is not an absolutely average boy. He has some strange mannerisms, is prone to outbursts and withdrawal, and tells us that his parents had him tested for Asperger’s. He has a long list of fears and/or dislikes,...

Chicago – So there I was at a packed awards consideration screening for Stephen Daldry’s latest prestige-filled tearjerker. Though a few of my fellow colleagues were grumbling about the grim task of sitting through more Daldry Oscar bait, my heart was filled with goodwill. I loved Daldry’s feature debut, “Billy Elliot,” and had plenty of favorable things to say about “The Hours” and “The Reader.”

Yet it was only 10 minutes into “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” that I began to wonder if the projectionist was playing a practical joke on us. Surely this picture couldn’t have been the work of a three-time Oscar nominee. On the occasions when it became too painful to keep my eyes focused on the screen, I glanced at the expressions of my peers, which looked like outtakes from the “Springtime for Hitler” sequence in “The Producers.” When the horrible reality sunk in that the...

High-Profile Releases Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Warner Bros.) Release Date: Dec 25, 2011  Director: Stephen Daldry Cast: Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Zoe Caldwell, Paul Klementowicz, John Goodman. Full cast + crew Verdict: Rent Me Available On: Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray, DVD Special Features: Making Of, Finding Oscar, Ten Year's Later, Max Von Sydow: Dialogues with the Renter (directed by Von Sydow's own son) Additional Thoughts: If you've feared that Stephen Daldry's film about an eleven-year-old boy's somewhat wondrous attempt to keep his father's, who died on 9/11, spirit alive by adventuring around New York on a wild goose chase is nothing but Oscar bait, well, the movie's...

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Patti LuPone will be celebrated in an all-star evening of song and memories on Monday, March 12. The Acting Company will salute a founding member and board director with the help of two other founding members, Kevin Kline and David Schramm, joined by Kristin Chenoweth, Sutton Foster, Harvey Fierstein, Zoe Caldwell, Laura Benanti, Boyd Gaines, Michael Urie, Melissa Errico, Howard McGillin, Steven Pasquale, Anthony Dean Griffey, Manoel Feliciano, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Tickets range from 75 to 175 from httpwww.brownpapertickets.comevent226559 or at The Kaye Playhouse Box Office 212-772-4448. Benefit tickets, which include dinner with Patti LuPone and the cast, are available from 212-258-3111.

We at TheMoviePool got the chance to check out Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close over the weekend to see if this anticipated 9/11 themed drama was worth the box office buzz, or if our fantastic readers should wait for a Redbox discount on this one.

The Basics

The storyline centers around a nine-year-old boy named Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), a timid and bright young amateur inventor and explorer. He fears everything yet is interested in everything, making expeditions set up by his father (Tom Hanks) particularly difficult. However, after his father’s death in the 9/11 attacks, there is one last quest. This will be a journey not only to find the origin of a mysterious key, but the beginning of his healing process.

Directed by: Stephen Daldry

Written by: Eric Roth, Jonathan Safran Foer

Cast: Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, Zoe Caldwell

The Good

The absolute best feature of this...

Some of my favorite movies happen to feature wonderful child actors, such as A Little Princess (the Cuarón version), About a Boy, Mostly Martha and Little Miss Sunshine. I say that to preface this statement: I can't recall the last time I've been so annoyed by a child actor as I was during the preview screening of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. This is a problem, as precocious Oskar Schell (played by newbie Thomas Horn) is in most of the film. And it may have been the character as much as (if not more than) the actor that made me want to walk out of the theatre halfway through.

Oskar is a very troubled child. His father Thomas (Tom Hanks) was killed on 9/11, and they had an extremely close relationship. Thomas had told his son about a lost sixth borough of New York, and Oskar began investigating what had happened to it.