Cynthia Ellis is a New Yorker who lives in Los Angeles.
Growing up in New York City, she snuck into England's Eton School (during the summers when they let the girls in) and studied music.
After getting a double degree in English and Theatre from Barnard and Columbia University, she was chosen to study acting with Alfred Molina and Alec Baldwin.
She was a New York Stage actor, appearing at the Cherry Lane Theatre, performed in an original show with the Broadway Cast and Producers of RENT, and starred in an independent feature which appeared at the Cannes Film Festival.
She has participated in writing workshops with authors Roxana Robinson and Brad Kessler and is currently at work on her first novel.
"You're welcome to come in," says George Saunders, smiling slightly, "but I'd like to see your ID first." Sitting in Tavern restaurant in Los Angeles, Saunders is about to share a multi-prong idea...
Actor Lizzy Caplan, Writer/Director Leslye Headland, Actors Kirsten Dunst and Isla Fisher. Portrait by Leslie Hassler.
Leslye Headland's debut film, Bachelorette, starring Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher and Lizzy Caplan has audiences so virulently divided that it makes Moses look like he...
Author Mishka Shubaly. Portrait by Leslie Hassler.
Mishka Shubaly was in bed with me and my husband until two o'clock in the morning, and he utterly rocked my world. Before I face a libel suit, it should be explained that I...
Actor and Author Rob Lowe. Portrait by Leslie Hassler.
If Mother Theresa were a secret hoarder and Gandhi sniffed glue, would it make their idealism and the transformation they brought to millions any less valuable?
Filmmakers Bryn Mooser and David Darg with Producer Olivia Wilde. Portrait by Leslie Hassler.
When Olivia Wilde comes into the studio, and sits down, her light-green cat's eyes settle on you with a steady gaze and a mix of curiosity, intelligence, and...
Writer/Director Brad Hall. Actor/Producer Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Portrait by Leslie Hassler.
Talking to Brad Hall and Julia Louis-Dreyfus about their delightful new short film, Picture Paris, the conversation ranged from the intricacies of Parisian culture to the hilarious masturbation episode of...
It is a fascinating experience to see such an iconic face up close. In life, huge blue eyes twinkle with kindness and curiosity, resting on top of cheekbones higher than any mathematical equation could...
It has been said that Ernest Hemingway wrote the first six word novel: For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn.
Hemingway once described his writing as, "Getting the most from the least." Well, the same can certainly be said of Corey Stoll in the film Midnight in Paris. How else do...
Often, as a journalist, you need to ask questions about projects you have not yet seen and do not initially care about, like Peruvian goats doing ballet in the Somalian desert. But it is an entirely...
Director Asif Kapadia. Portrait by Leslie Hassler.
Documentaries are like Shakespeare and musical theater. 98% of the time they feel like an un-ending math class, but the other 2% of them change us forever.
Directors Alex Gibney and Allison Ellwood. Portrait by Leslie Hassler.
Why won't our parents shut up already about the Sixties? Here's your chance to live it for two hours and find out. Directors Alex Gibney and Allison Ellwood have resurrected,...
Actor Giancarlo Esposito. Portrait by Leslie Hassler.
Giancarlo Esposito's performance in Breaking Bad's fourth season premiere was so electrifying that, as Woody Allen once said, "All the blood went out of my face and went to my brother."
It's beginning to seem like politicians and professional athletes should come with a tag attached, a kind of disclaimer saying, "Likely to sleep with multiple prostitutes, strippers, and secretly have off-spring with the household staff. Other risks include genital photography displayed on social networking sites and a general affinity for...
The Thomas Wolfe adage, "You can't go home again," turns out not to be completely true, as Michael Cuesta's new film, The Roadie, illustrates. You can, in fact, go home again, but it is...
For those who best remember Abigail Breslin with her tear-away pants, gyrating to the Commodores' song "Brick House" while her grandfather cheers her on from the sidelines, well, a lot has happened since then.
Documentarian Alex Gibney. Portrait by Leslie Hassler.
Can catching a ball for your favorite baseball team, in front of millions of fans, literally ruin your life? An occurrence that is essentially every young boy's dream, turned into a nightmare of almost...
Thomas Dekker shows up wearing a fedora and scarf, publicist and manager in tow, instantly picks up the cat and we begin an animated discussion about Matilda, the resident feline at The Algonquin Hotel who stars...
Dennis Farina. You have to love him. You can't help yourself. And it's not just me. Michael Mann must have felt exactly the same way when Farina first came on the set as a law...
(1) Comments | Posted February 28, 2013 | 12:09 PM