Leslie Hassler

Interview: Brad Hall and Julia Louis-Dreyfus Picture Paris

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 04.27.2012

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 Seinfeld.

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Interview: Willem Dafoe Is The Hunter

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 04.05.2012

Read More: Off Limits, Tasmanian Devil, Academy Awards, Spider-Man, Tasmanian Tiger, The Aviator, The Boondock Saints, Platoon, Leslie Hassler, The English Patient, Animal Kingdom, Abel Ferrara, Disney, Born on the Fourth of July, Daniel Nettheim, John Carter, Lochness Monster, Sam Neill, Stephen Colbert, The-Last-Temptation-of-Christ, Looney Tunes, Streets of Fire, To Live and Die in L.A., Willem Dafoe, Porchlight Films, Tasmania, The Hunter, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Julia Lee, Cynthia Ellis, Finding Nemo, Mississippi Burning, 4:44, Martin Scorsese, Entertainment News

It was one of the most wonderful and unique starts to an interview ever: Within a minute, Willem was speaking in the incomprehensible babble of the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil. And then in Italian. Two of the world's finest languages!

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Revenge of the Electric Car: Plug It In on DVD

Linda Hassler | Posted 03.26.2012

Read More: Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, Tesla Motors, Carlos Ghosn, Tesla-Roadster, Chris Paine, Tim Robbins, Greg "Gadget" Abbott, Elon Musk, Nissan Renault, Bob Lutz, Leslie Hassler, General Motors, Susan Sarandon, Who Killed the Electric Car, Silicon Valley, Entertainment News

After making his successful 2006 film, Who Killed The Electric Car, director Chris Paine was elated to learn the auto industry was finally committing to electric cars (EVs).

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In HBO's Marathon Boy, An Indian Slum Boy Runs For His Life

Linda Hassler | Posted 01.04.2012

Read More: Orissa, India, Leslie Hassler, Biranchi Das, Budhia Singh, Gemma Atwal, Entertainment News

Marathon Boy chronicles the treacherous true saga of a frail, dirt-poor four-year-old boy in India and his ambitious mentor-trainer who loves him and makes him famous for running long distance races.

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Christina Hendricks Discusses the Three Best Things in Life: Jon Hamm, Ryan Gosling, and Pie

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 11.16.2011

Read More: Nicholas Winding Refn, I Don't Know How She Does It, Christina Hendricks, Golden Globes, Rita Hayworth, Woody Allen, Paul McCartney, 9/11, Jon Hamm, Pierce Brosnan, Best Supporting Actress, Firemen, Anne of Green Gables, Roger Sterling, Vietnam War, Manhattan, Make a Wish, Clairol, Snl, Marilyn Monroe, Carey Mulligan, Mad Men, 3-D, Mattel, Paul Kinsey, Amc, Super Man, Barbie, Joan Holloway, Drive, Cannes, Best Director, Albert Brooks, Emmy Awards, Latisse, Bryan Cranston, Atticus Finch, Accordion, Matthew Weiner, Leslie Hassler, Lasic, Blu Ray, Cynthia Ellis, Chris Farley, Toronto Film Festival, John Slattery, Don Draper, Ryan Gosling, Entertainment News

Christina Hendricks has the old-world, but never old, sex appeal of our Marilyn, and is perhaps our first red-headed pin-up since Rita Hayworth. And she has major acting chops.

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Senna: Director Asif Kapadia Explores The Man Vs. The Myth

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 10.18.2011

Read More: Catholicism, James Gay-Reece, Michael Mann, Fahrenheit 9/11, Mclaren, Collateral, Grand Prix, Cats, Michael Moore, Lotus, World Championship, City of God, Sundance, Jfk Jr, Alain Prost, Asif Kapadia, Oliver Stone, Brazil, Ayrton Senna, March of the Penguins, The Crying Game, Instituto Ayrton Senna, Antonio Pinto, Formula One, James Bond, Ridley Scott, La Film Festival, Leslie Hassler, Manish Pandey, Documentary, Cynthia Ellis, Shakespeare, James Franco, Grpa, Entertainment News

You will laugh, you will cry, it is better than CATS. But most importantly, you will be moved. Senna is one of the most successful documentaries to come out of England to the States, ever.

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HBO Foodie Film A Matter of Taste Gets Three Wows

Linda Hassler | Posted 08.13.2011

Read More: Sally Rowe, Amy Foote, Paul Liebrandt, Leslie Hassler, Papillon, The New York Times, Michelin Guide, Drew Neiporent, Corton, A Matter of Taste, A Matter of Taste Review, Director Interviews, New York News

After apprenticeships beginning at age 15 in London and Paris, chef Paul Liebrandt hit New York at 22 with dreams of culinary stardom. The film follows his up and down career in NYC's treacherous restaurant business.

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Vera Farmiga Finds Higher Ground With Her New Film

Linda Hassler | Posted 08.01.2011

Read More: Joshua Leonard, Vera Farmiga, This Darker World, Tribeca Film Festival, Dagmara Dominczyk, Leslie Hassler, Sundance Film Festival, Carolyn S.Briggs, Screen Actors Guild, Up in the Air, Boyd Holbrook, Higher Ground, Taissa Farmiga, Renn Hawkey, Entertainment News

"Christianity per se is not the film's subject, just the setting. Doubts and questions come to people within any faith or culture. And it's the questions that are essential no matter which religion or culture we come from."

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Q&A With Jack Osbourne for God Bless Ozzy Osbourne

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 07.26.2011

Read More: Randy Rhoads, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, Leslie Hassler, The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Ozzy Osbourne, She Loves You, The Waltons, Sharon Osbourne, Jack Osbourne, The Osbournes, Black Sabbath, Prince of Darkness, Mona Lisa, Entertainment News

It was Jack Osbourne's idea to make a movie about his rock-legend father's life and career, but it was his father, Ozzy Osbourne who said, "You can't be nice."

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French Film Romantics Anonymous Woos Us With Chocolates and Laughter

Linda Hassler | Posted 07.22.2011

Read More: Les Emotifs Anonymes, Isabelle Carré, Jean-Pierre Améris, Tribeca Film Festival, Leslie Hassler, Philippe Blasband, Benoit Poelvoorde, Tribeca Film, New York News

Romantics Anonymous is a clever romantic comedy about two interested but reluctant, stymied sweethearts who can't manage hinting, flirting or even a date outside their work at a chocolate factory.

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Trifecta Interview: Michael Cuesta Directs Ron Eldard and Jill Hennessy in The Roadie: Queens, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 07.16.2011

Read More: Toronto, Bobby Cannavale, East of Eden, Jeremy Irons, Dexter, Michael Cuesta, Death of a Salesman, Broadway, Six Feet Under, Dead Ringers, Arthur Miller, Blue Oyster Cult, Biloxi Blues, Inside the Actor's Studio, Luck, Crossing Jordan, Indigo Girls, Ghost in My Mind, The Roadie, On the Waterfront, Thomas Wolfe, Lois Smith, Jill Hennessy, James Lipton, David Cronenberg, L.I.E., Doubt, Hbo, Mandy Patinkin, Leslie Hassler, Five Easy Pieces, Cynthia Ellis, True Blood, Law and Order, Dame Eileen Atkins, Lilith Fair, Claire Danes, Marlon Brando, Forrest Hills, Ron Eldard, Gerald Cuesta, Steven Spielberg, JJ Abrams, Super 8, Damian Lewis, In Plain Sight, Showtime, Entertainment News

The adage, "You can't go home again," isn't completely true. You can go home again, but it's going to involve serious heartbreak, a coke binge, multiple altercations, confronting uncomfortable truths and your own mother slapping your just-punched face.

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Tribeca 2011: Kids Get High on Acting in Shakespeare High

Linda Hassler | Posted 07.11.2011

Read More: San Fernando Valley, Richard Dreyfuss, Kevin Spacey, Leslie Hassler, Val Kilmer, Drama Teachers Association of Southern California, Mare Winnigham, Alex Rotaru, Nicolas Cage, Sally Field, Cuba Gooding, Dtasc, Tribeca Film Festival 2011, New York News

Every year, 75-85 high schools in and around LA County participate in this program. Students learn to act out scenes from Shakespeare's famous plays. And come together for one day to perform for each other.

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Tribeca Interview: Abigail Breslin and Alessandro Nivola in Janie Jones: Rock God Meets Rock Child

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 07.06.2011

Read More: Iowa, Oscar, Elizabeth Shue, Eef Barzelay, The Commodores, France, Brick House, Helen Mirren, Coco Before Chanel, Little Miss Sunshine, David M Rosenthal, Broadway, Abigail Breslin, Gemma Hayes, Alessandro Nivola, Yale, Des Moines, Laurel Canyon, Abercrombie, Jordan Creek Mall, A Month in the Country, My Sister's Keeper, Lourdes, Hot Topic, Pokemon, Hollywood, Leslie Hassler, Cynthia Ellis, New York News

For those who best remember Abigail Breslin with her tear-away pants, gyrating to "Brick House" while her grandfather cheers her on from the sidelines, well, a lot has happened since then.

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Tribeca Film Exclusive Interview: Alex Gibney's Catching Hell -- Sports: The Dark Side

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 07.05.2011

Read More: Moises Alou, The World Series, Baseball, Taxi to the Dark Side, Scott Turow, Alex Gibney, Chicago Cubs, The Giants, Yankees, Eliot Spitzer, Shirley Jackson, Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, Academy Awards, Catching Hell, Bill Buckner, National League Championship Series, J.D. Salinger, Leslie Hassler, The Mets, Cynthia Ellis, Boston Red Sox, Oscars, 1986, 2003, Lividicus, Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, Entertainment News

Can catching a ball for your favorite baseball team, in front of millions of fans, literally ruin your life? This very scenario is the subject of Alex Gibney's brilliant new documentary, Catching Hell.

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William H. Macy Goes for Broke (and Drunk) in Showtime's Shameless

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Camel, Chicago, Jurassic Park, The Office, St Nicholas Company, House of Games, The Oscars, Desperate Housewives, Shameless, Magnolia, Fargo, David Mamet, The Cooler, Archie Bunker, Joan Cusack, Wag the Dog, William H. Macy, Seabiscuit, John Wells, Er, Showtime, Boogie Nights, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, 2011, Stuart Gordon, Atlantic Theatre Company, Paul Abbott, Goddard College, Cynthia Ellis, Marlon Brando, Felicity Huffman, The Spanish Prisoner, Leslie Hassler, John Levy, Entertainment News

William H. Macy has a voice that could sell needles to a porcupine. He can say the word "Golly" and have it be rife with unspoken meaning and depth.

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Emmy Rossum Revels in Being Shameless

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 05.25.2011

Emmy Rossum is beautiful and sexy enough to rest on her laurels, but her talent and drive are having none of that.

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Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna Stage Their Own Revolución

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: The Academy Awards, San Sebastian International Film Festival, Titanic, The Motorcycle Diaries, Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, Afi, 21 Grams, Gael Garcia Bernal, The Oscars, Casablanca, Ambulante, Abel, Pan's Labyrinth, Revolución, Will Ferrell, Casa De Mi Padre, Amores Perros, Diego Luna, John Malkovich, The Mexican Revolution, Canana, Cynthia Ellis, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Jaws, Babel, Skype, Leslie Hassler, Mr. Mudd, Entertainment News

To hear Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna talk about their lifelong friendship is unusual and exquisitely beautiful. They are tender and honest about their love for each other.

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Lands: A Poetic Film About a Mysterious Place

Linda Hassler | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Sandra Werneck, Leslie Hassler, Peru, The New Museum, Art Films, South America, Indiginous, Amazonas, Moma, Maya Da-Rin, Brazil, Indians, Amazon River, Columbia, New York News

Lands is a weird, wild and wonderful film that took me by surprise. Brazilian director Maya Da-Rin gave me a trip to a strange and interesting land.

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Stolen Dreams: An Intimate Look Inside Rio's Slums

Linda Hassler | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Catholic Church, Latino Films, Leslie Hassler, Sandra Werneck, Slums, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Prostitutes, Cineluz, New York News

New York has just played host to a unique film -- part social commentary, part an alert, part tragedy, part hopeful -- about three teenage girls in an economic and moral morass that leads to prostitution.

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Mamachas Del Ring: A Wrestler's Toughest Fight Doesn't Happen in the Ring

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Carmen Rosa, Cynthia Ellis, Leslie Hassler, New York International Latino Film Festval, 92y, Betty M Park, Mamachas Del Ring, New York News

When director Betty M Park tells people that she has made a documentary about indigenous women wrestling in Bolivia, this is the usual response: "mud wrestling?"

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Tribeca Film Festival: Juror Hope Davis' Special Relationship

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: God of Carnage, The Special Relationship, Cynthia Ellis, Tribeca Film Festival, Leslie Hassler, Mildred Pierce, Hope Davis, In Treatment, New York News

Hope Davis is instantly recognizable to New Yorkers. As soon as we are in the elevator heading downstairs to the coffee shop, we are besieged by an immaculately dressed couple.

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Tribeca Film Festival Interview: John and James Cromwell of A .45 at 50th.

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Black Panthers, Cynthia Ellis, Tribeca Film Festival, Short Films, Leslie Hassler, James Cromwell, The Cove, A.45 at 50th, Documentary, John Cromwell, Civil Rights, New York News

A .45 at 50th is a short documentary about James Cromwell's involvement with the Black Panther Party in the late 1960's. The surprise of the film is that it is darkly funny.

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Tribeca Film Festival Interview: Andy Serkis Is Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: King Kong, Leslie Hassler, Ian Dury, Cynthia Ellis, Lord of the Rings, Flushed Away, Andy Serkis, Tintin, Sex-Drugs-and-Rock-and-Roll, Paul Viragh, New York News

Whether doing Shakespeare, tragic monkey, or rock legend, Andy Serkis possesses that rare gift of true transformation.

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Tribeca Film Festival Interview: The Other City

Linda Hassler | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: The Other City, Vargas, Hiv, Leslie Hassler, HIV/AIDS Medications, Charlie Young, Washington Post, Aids, Susan Koch, The West Wing, Jose Antonio Vargas, Sheila C. Johnson, New York News

How does a film like The Other City, which gets right into the faces and homes of those afflicted with HIV/AIDS, get made?

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Tribeca Film Festival Interview: Robert Kirbyson Writes and Directs Snowmen

Cynthia Ellis | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Cynthia Ellis, Tribeca Film Festival, Christopher Lloyd, Leslie Hassler, Snowmen, Robert Kirbyson, Ray Liotta, New York News

Snowmen, writer and director Robert Kirbyson's first feature film, is based on Kirbyson's actual childhood in Winnipeg, Canada.

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