Sydney Pollack News

From the epic poetry of Ernest Lawrence Thayer's 'Casey At The Bat' to the sharp-edged vernacular of Ring Lardner's newspaper columns and the nostalgic innocence of Roger Kahn's 'The Boys of Summer,' baseball has been inspiring great literary flourishes for well over a century.

Following in the footsteps of NETWORK and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Robert Horn (book) and David Yazbek's (score) musical comedy Tootsie continues this Broadway season's welcome trend of adapting classic, decades-old source material into brand new stage pieces that examine familiar stories through a contemporary lens.

As the world premiere comedy musical Tootsie prepares to open tonight at the Marquis Theatre, we're flashing back through the photo archives of BroadwayWorld's very own Walter McBride to bring you some shots from the 1982 film shoot.

Turner Classic Movies (TCM), considered throughout the industry as the definitive home of classic film and the leading authority on the genre, will celebrate its 25th anniversary on April 14th, 2019. Over the past 25 years, the iconic network has offered movie lovers cinematic treasures that highlight the entire spectrum of film history, uncut and commercial-free. To celebrate its silver anniversary, TCM will present an extensive on-air programming salute throughout the entire month of April showcasing popular programing from the TCM vault including six TCM originally produced specials such as Robert Osborne's Best of Private Screenings and Live From The TCM Classic Film Festival: Norman Lloyd, as well as airing double features of The Best of The Essentials. Additionally, the network will air a two-week special primetime tribute with 25 of TCM's biggest fans joining TCM Host Ben Mankiewicz as guest programmers with on-air dedications of their favorite films. The network will also launch an exclusive 25thanniversary merchandise collection featuring original archival artwork reflecting the legacy of TCM as well a commemorative 25thanniversary wine through the TCM Wine Club.

The 21st Annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival, co-founded and hosted by Chaz Ebert and also known as 'Ebertfest", announced today that Alan Elliott's AMAZING GRACE will open this year's festival. AMAZING GRACE is the highly-anticipated concert film presenting Aretha Franklin's live performance at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Los Angeles in January 1972. 

The Suncoast Credit Union Gasparilla International Film Festival (GIFF) is proud to announce the dynamic 2019 Feature Film Competition Lineup. The festival includes U.S., international and documentary features, as well as other programming, to kick-off its 13th year! The 2019 Suncoast Credit Union Gasparilla Int'l Film Festival will take place from March 19th - 24th in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Showtime Networks Inc. has announced that Geoff Stier has joined the company as Senior Vice President, Original Programming. Stier will help develop and shepherd original comedies, dramas and limited series for the network. He will be based in the SHOWTIME West Coast offices. The announcement was made today by Amy Israel, Executive Vice President, Scripted Programming, Showtime Networks Inc. to whom he will report. 

Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges, whose many distinguished performances have earned him seven Academy Award nominations, will be honored with the Board of Governors Award at the 33rd Annual ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement on February 9 at Hollywood & Highland's Ray Dolby Ballroom. 

Final Draft, a Cast & Crew Company, now in its 28thyear as the industry standard for screenwriting software, today announced the honorees for the 14thAnnual Final Draft Awards. Academy Award® winning screenwriter Callie Khouri will be presented the prestigious Hall of Fame Award for her prolific contribution to the art of screenwriting and devotion to writers and the writing community. This year's New Voice Award recipient for Film is writer-director Boots Riley whose critically-acclaimed debut feature Sorry To Bother You announced the arrival of Riley as an exciting, brave new voice in cinema. The New Voice Award for Television will be presented to Tanya Saracho, the dynamic creator and executive producer of the acclaimed Starz Original series Vida. Final Draft will also announce the winners of the prestigious 2018 Big Break® Screenwriting Contest. The 14thAnnual Final Draft Awards will be held at the Paramount Theatre on the Paramount Studios lot in Hollywood, CA on Jan. 29th and will be hosted by comedy duo Randy and Jason Sklar (The Sklar Brothers).

 The 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) announced that the festival's opening night will be the screening of All is True directed by Kenneth Branagh on Friday, January 4.  The festival will close with Ladies in Black, directed by Bruce Beresford on Sunday, January 13. The Festival will screen 223 films from 78 countries, including 48 premieres (4 World, 13 North American and 31 U.S.) from January 3-14, 2019.  The line-up includes a focus on cinema from France, India and Mexico, Premieres, Talking Pictures, Book to Screen, Special Presentations, FLOS: Foreign Language Oscar Submissions, Gay!La, Local Spotlight, Modern Masters, True Stories, World Cinema Now, a 30-film retrospective of selections from past festivals (free screenings sponsored by Desert Care Network and National Endowment for the Arts), and more.   

According to Variety, Neon has bought the North American rights to Aretha Franklin's documentary Amazing Grace.

The Tank in association with The Skeleton Rep(resents) will present the World Premiere of Wendell & Pan by Katelynn Kenney (2017 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference semi-finalist for Void), directed by Ria T. DiLullo at The Tank

Trasformare in intrattenimento musicale un dramma cosi intenso come il romanzo NON SI UCCIDONO COSÌ ANCHE I CAVALLI? scritto nel 1935 da Horace Mccoy non era compito facile, ma il regista e adattatore Giancarlo Flores e riuscito a portare sulla scena della Sala Umberto uno spettacolo dallo stesso titolo, vivace e carico di tensione emotiva.

The Office of the City Council will honor Sanford Meisner and The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre will be recognized with a Proclamation in honor of their 90th Anniversary. The Proclamation will be presented by NYC Council Member Ben Kallos at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre (340 East 54th Street) on Thursday, October 18th at 2 pm.

Michael Kutza, Founder and CEO of Cinema/Chicago, the presenting organization of the Chicago International Film Festival, today announced that he will be retiring from his role at the end of 2018.

Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference (AFF), the premier film festival that champions the writers' contribution to film, television, and new media, is thrilled to announce Roger Corman as the recipient of the “Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking” Award at the 25th annual Austin Film Festival, this October 25-November 1.

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals announced the features lineup and opening night film for the 25th edition of the Film Festival, running March 9-18, 2018 in Austin, Texas. The acclaimed program draws thousands of fans, filmmakers, press, and industry leaders every year to immerse themselves in the most innovative, smart and entertaining new films of the year.

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has chosen Max von Sydow as the recipient of this year's Career Achievement award. The prize will be given at the annual awards dinner to be held Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City.

Quantum Theatre and En Garde Arts are presenting the World Premiere of Red Hills by Sean Christopher Lewis in Pittsburgh's Strip District from August 18th - September 10th.

Quantum Theatre and En Garde Arts are presenting the World Premiere of Red Hills by Sean Christopher Lewis in Pittsburgh's Strip District from August 18th - September 10th.