‘Pacific Overtures’ Review: Rising Sondheim

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor Pictured: Casting directors Katja Zarolinski and Geoff Josselson of JZ Casting. This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Casting director Geoff Josselson just checked off a major bucket list item. When he was asked what show he dreamed of casting, he would say “Into the Woods.” And just last year, working with Telsey Casting, Josselson was part of the team that assembled the heralded Broadway revival starring Sara Bareilles, Brian D’Arcy James and Joshua Henry. Josselson is on a bit of a Stephen Sondheim spree — with Telsey he also helped cast the new production of “Sweeney Todd,” starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. And he and his partner at JZ Casting, Katja Zarolinski, just collaborated for the first time with the Pasadena Playhouse to cast “A Little Night Music,” playing at the theater April 25-May 1. 

Membranes frontman and journalist John Robb has spoken to NME about his new book detailing the origins and rise of goth.The monolithic book has taken 10 years to write and looks at artists including Bauhaus, Nick Cave and The Cure and their place in building one of music’s most important scenes.“I’ve read a lot of books about the post-punk period and goth is always just dismissively kicked away,” Robb told NME. “It’s always really annoyed me that people have been quite sniffy about bands like Bauhaus or Killing Joke, despite them being some of the best art rock bands this country has produced. They were often looked down upon, all because they had a dark side and dressed up a bit.”Robb said that he hopes his book will do for goth what Jon Savage’s book, England’s Dreaming, did for punk in getting people to take it more seriously.

Kelly Ripa and her husband Mark Consuelos recently opened up about their marriage, including a surprising deal breaker, on Kelly's new podcast, Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa. The couple, who have been together for nearly 30 years, candidly discussed their sex life and how they navigated long periods of separation during Mark’s time filming Riverdale in 2020.Mark revealed that the one "potential deal-breaker" in their marriage would be if Kelly "cut [him] off sexually," unless it was due to a medical condition.WATCH: Mark Consuelos makes his debut as Live! hostThe couple also touched on the topic of menopause and how it affected their intimacy. Mark admitted he "didn't give [Kelly] a break" during that time, emphasizing that there had "never been months [without sex] unless I was in another country".Interestingly, Mark confessed that he had only recently learned the distinction between sex and intimacy. He blamed his extensive traveling, explaining that he wanted to "get intimacy in and the sex in" during the limited time he had at home, causing the two to become "one and the same".

Keeping the spark alive! Kelly Ripa opened up about how she and husband, Mark Consuelos, managed to stay close while they were apart for work for an extended period of time.

BFI Distribution has picked up Tilda Swinton and Joanna Hogg’s latest collaboration, The Eternal Daughter, for theatrical release in the UK and Ireland.

Naman Ramachandran BFI Distribution has acquired Joanna Hogg’s gothic ghost story “The Eternal Daughter,” starring Tilda Swinton in a dual role, for theatrical release in the U.K. and Ireland and will release in cinemas this fall. In the film, an artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home, now a hotel haunted by its mysterious past. The film had its world premiere at Venice in 2022 and also screened at the London and Toronto festivals. Alongside its wider distribution, it will also screen at London’s BFI Southbank as part of a complete Hogg retrospective season, which will run alongside a program of films that have influenced her work.  The film is the BFI’s second acquisition from A24, following “God’s Creatures” earlier this year.

Stephen Sondheim’s final, long-awaited musical Here We Are will make its world premiere this September in a strictly limited Off Broadway engagement to be directed by two-time Tony winner Joe Mantello.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Stephen Sondheim’s final musical “Here We Are” is hitting the stage in the fall. The legendary musical theater figure, who composed “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Follies,” “Sweeney Todd” and countless other Broadway classics, died in 2021 at the age of 91. The musical, formerly known as “Square One,” was in the works prior to his death and took inspiration from two Luis Buñuel films, “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” and “The Exterminating Angel.” Joe Mantello, whose credits include Sondheim’s “Assassins,” as well as “Wicked” and “Take Me Out,” is directing “Here We Are.” The strictly limited engagement will begin September 2023 in The Shed’s Griffin Theater, an Off-Broadway venue near Manhattan’s Hudson Yards neighborhood. Casting will be announced soon.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Some folks have it easy, and others make life difficult for themselves. Guess which type “Problemista” is about. The perpetually unsatisfied title character, a demanding New York art critic played by Tilda Swinton as a hag with hair the color of hibiscus tea, is obsessed with archiving the life’s work of her late husband (RZA), who left behind a series of egg paintings no one seems to understand. Swinton feels like a future Halloween costume in search of a movie in writer-director Julio Torres’ overly kooky and all-too-quixotic debut — another attention-deficit comedy from the studio that made “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” except that Torres lacks the technical experience to pull off even a fraction of the ideas to which he aspires.

Oscar-winning actress is set to film a new project in Ireland in the coming months, but has insisted against wearing a mask because she is “full of antibodies and very healthy”, having contracted the virus a number of times.Speaking as part of her keynote speech at the SXSW Film and TV Festival on Monday (March 13), she said (via Vanity Fair): “I’m about to shoot a picture in Ireland, and I was told to wear a mask at all times, and I’m not.“I’m sure this is being recorded. I’ve had COVID-19 multiple times so I’m full of antibodies and very healthy.”Last year, Swinton explained that while she had got off “relatively lightly” with the virus, she suffered with memory problems and vertigo as a result.She told The Guardian: “I was coughing like an old gentleman who smoked a pipe for 70 years, and had nasty vertigo.

Whimsy gets a bad rap in Hollywood. In the hands of some filmmakers, a fantastical approach can be a sign of emptiness — an attempt to obscure a simplistic or pandering narrative through layers of artifice.

When I saw the poster for Problemista, I wondered why Tilda Swinton–who stars in the film–was on the poster. After seeing this, I now understand. Written and directed by Julio Torres, the movie tackles issues of immigration, and isolation, all packaged in a sweet surrealist bow. Alongside Torres, the film stars Tilda Swinton, Rza, Isabella Rossellini, Catalina Saaverdra, and James Scully. 

British actress Tilda Swinton is adamant she will not wear a mask on the set of her new project, despite being asked to do so. "I'm actually just about to start shooting a picture in Ireland. And I was told, full disclosure, and I'm sure this is being recorded – people in Ireland might hear it – to wear a mask at all times," she revealed while giving the keynote address at the 2023 South by Southwest Festival (SXSW).

No one questioned why Tilda Swinton was chosen to give a keynote speech at this year’s SXSW. She’s one of the most respected actors in the entire world, and on top of that, Swinton always seems to have something interesting to say.

Selome Hailu Half of the jokes in “Problemista” fell on deaf ears at the film’s SXSW world premiere, but not because the audience didn’t want to hear them. Rather, the Austin crowd covered up several lines of dialogue with howling laughter seemingly every other time writer-director-star Julio Torres opened his mouth as Alejandro, an aspiring toy designer in New York City doing his best not to get deported back to El Salvador. Catalina Saavedra, who played Alejandro’s mother, Dolores, pointed out the uproar during the post-screening Q&A. When asked if it felt good to hear the reactions to the film, she joked that she didn’t get anything from it. Speaking in Spanish, she said that American audiences react that way to everything they see.

Saturday Night Live” monologue, Tilda Swinton became the latest actor to speak out against such measures, saying at an SXSW panel that she did not intend to wear a mask on the set of her next film. At the start of the panel ahead of the premiere of her new film “Problemista” in Austin, Swinton reflected on how much had changed in the world since her last SXSW appearance in 2014, noting that she didn’t see anyone in the audience wearing masks and how that didn’t seem possible during the more severe stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tilda Swinton is making it clear that she is done with the pandemic.

David Muir and Kelly Ripa both have celebrated careers having worked in the television industry for decades. But when it comes to their net worths, the 20/20 host and Live with Kelly and Ryan star are vastly different. While according to CelebrityNetWorth.com, David has amassed an impressive $20 million net worth, Kelly's is $100 million more than his. WATCH: Kelly Ripa and David Muir's friendship - everything we know Add to that, her husband, Mark Conseulos', $40 million and they are sitting on a very pretty nest egg. Not that David appears to be struggling by any means. The hardworking news anchor and journalist is passionate about his work on World News Tonight, and 20/20.TRENDING NOW: Lara Spencer's husband's eye-watering net worth is 30x hersRELATED: GMA hosts' net worths revealed - Michael Strahan, Lara Spencer, Robin Roberts and more While his salary hasn't been publicly declared by ABC, he is reported to be receiving a salary of between $5-$7million per year.  David and Kelly have a close friendship Kelly's show is also on ABC, but she's made her fortune from more than morning TV show and from hosting the Generation Gap. The star has also made her money through partnerships with various companies over the years, including Pantene and TD Bank, and in 2007, she set up a production company with Mark, Milojo, which is named after their three children – Michael, Lola, and Joaquin. MORE: David Muir's very handsome photo sends fans into a tailspinKelly started out her career in the 1990s on the soap All My Children, where she met her husband of over 25 years.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have found a new home. The couple’s new mansion is located in the Pacific Palisades, and it’s a stunning home with a pool, a large yard, and numerous bedrooms and entertainment rooms, valued at 64$ million.

Independent TV and film studio MRC has named Jenna Santoianni its president of television.MRC CEO Scott Tenley made the announcement Tuesday morning. Santoianni will oversee MRC’s current programming, its development slate, joint ventures, production partnerships, operational unites, business, legal affairs and production finance.