Posts Tagged ‘Brad Falchuk’

Audiences first took notice of her as the Lolita-esque cheerleader in the Oscar-winning movie, American Beauty, but not many people realize that Mena Suvari is a New England girl. Suvari was born in Newport, Rhode Island, the youngest in a family of 3 older brothers. At the age of eight, Suvari’s family relocated. First to St. John’s in the Virgin Islands, and then to Charleston, South Carolina, before ending up in Los Angeles, where Suvari first began modeling, before launching her acting career.

The 33 year-old actress is currently featured in Boston Common Magazine, where she talks about her struggles with fame, her physical appearance, and the problems related to being known as pretty in Hollywood. 

She made headlines in December, when she split from her husband of 18 months, Italian concert producer Simone Sestito.

Suvari has 3 movies in post-production, including American Reunion, the third installment in the popular American Pie series, which will be released this April. She also appeared in the popular FX series, “American Horror Story,” last year. The show is about a family that moves from Boston to Los Angeles, into a restored mansion that happens to be haunted. The series was co-created by Brad Falchuk (“Glee”) of Newton.

On Thursday, July 14, the 2011 Emmy awards were announced, and more than a few New England connections were found, proving once again that Hollywood East has become a powerful force in the entertainment industry.

In the Outstanding Comedy Series category, “Glee” was once again nominated. The musical series was co-created by Newton native Brad Falchuk. The show will compete against the likes of “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation” which stars Concord’s Steve Carell and Burlington’s Amy Poehler, respectively. Each were nominated for their own individual awards for Outstanding Actor and Actress in a Comedy. Poehler will compete against Laura Linney from “The Big C”, and series that has been shooting in Connecticut. Carrell will compete against fellow Massachusetts native, Matt LeBlanc, for his role on “Episodes”. The former “Friends” star originally hails from Newton.

On the drama side, Kathy Bates was nominated for Outstanding Actress for her role in the new “Harry’s Law”, yet another lawyer-themed show from the Boston-educated David E. Kelley.

“Glee” star Jane Lynch was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy. The funnywoman got married in Massachusetts in 2010.

Connecticut resident Tom Bergeron was nominated for Outstanding Reality Host in his role “Dancing With the Stars” ringleader.

The controversial Reelz channel miniseries, “The Kennedys” racked up a number of nominations, including Greg Kinnear and Barry Pepper for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie and Tom Wilkinson for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.

Brookline’s Conan O’Brien earned himself a little redemption, getting a nomination for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series for his TBS talk show, “Conan”. The late-night funnyman found himself hoisted from a short stint as host of the “Tonight Show” only to be replaced by its former host, Jay Leno in early 2010, only to reemerge on basic cable this past November. Leno and the “Tonight Show” did not receive any nominations this year.

For a complete list of the nominations, check out the official Emmy website. The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards will air on Sunday, September 18th, at 8 p.m. on Fox.

On Sunday night, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association held the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television in the previous calendar year. Hollywood East was well-represented in the winner’s circle, with a number of made-in-New England projects walking away with prizes, as well as performers and crew with connections back east coming out with a trophy.

The biggest prize of the evening for Best Motion Picture–Drama, went to the The Social Network. The movie walked away with four awards overall, including Best Director–Motion Picture, for David Fincher, Best Screenplay–Motion Picture, for Aaron Sorkin, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won for Best Original Score–Motion Picture. The film was inspired by the real-life story of Facebook and Harvard alum Mark Zuckerberg, and filmed partially in Cambridge, MA.

The solid supporting cast of the made-in-Massachusetts flick, The Fighter did not walk away empty handed. Melissa Leo won Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for her role in The Fighter. Christian Bale won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for his role in The Fighter. The British actor even thanked the people of Lowell in his on-stage acceptance speech.

Pregnant and newly engaged Harvard grad Natalie Portman won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture–Drama for her role in Black Swan.

On the TV side of things, “Glee,” created by Newton native Brad Falchuk, won Best Television Series–Comedy or Musical for the 2nd year in a row.

Laura Linney won an award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series–Comedy, for her role on Showtime’s “The Big C,” which is filmed in Connecticut.

Claire Danes won for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for her role in HBO’s Temple Grandin, a made-for-TV movie about the real-life story of a woman with high functioning Autism who becomes a doctor of animal science and autism advocate. Danes sat with the woman and namesake of the picture, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

On Tuesday morning, the nominees for the 2011 Golden Globes were announced, and New England is well-represented once again.

Leading the pack with six nominations each were the (at least partially) made in Massachusetts flicks, The Social Network and The Fighter. Nominations for The Social Network included newcomer Jesse Eisenberg as best dramatic actor, Andrew Garfield as supporting actor, and David Fincher as director. Four of The Fighter’s nominations came in acting categories, including best actor for Dorchester, Mass. native Mark Wahlberg, and supporting honors for Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. David O. Russell was also nominated for best director.

Additionally, Harvard alum Natalie Portman was nominated for her psychosexual turn as a ballerina in Black Swan.

On the TV side, “Glee”, which is helmed by writer/producer Brad Falchuk of Newton, Massachusetts, was nominated in the comedy or musical category of Best TV Series. Concord’s Steve Carell was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, also in the comedy or musical category, for his work in his final year on “The Office”.

The 68th Annual Golden Globes will air live on NBC on Sunday, January 16th, at 8PM.

With Halloween just around the corner, TV shows and cable networks are gearing up for the spooktacular holiday by airing special haunted episodes and movie marathons. Current pop culture hit, “Glee”, helmed by writer/producer Brad Falchuk, who originally hails from Newton, Massachusetts, debuted a special Rocky Horror Picture Show themed episode. This episode paid tribute to the 1975 musical, starring Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, and Tim Curry.

The campy cult classic, which has earned fans around the world through its midnight showings at locally owned theaters where actors often dress up and perform the show as the film is being played, has its own following here in Cambridge. The Harvard Square Full Body Cast performances of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, have brought the fun, fright, and freakishness of this one-of-a-kind film to locals, particularly college students, since 1993.

Despite the area’s Puritanical roots, this ensemble doesn’t hold back, encouraging fans to come dressed in their most provocative outfits, bring props to throw during various parts of the film, and scream and yell throughout the entire show. Those new to the scene may discover they get labeled “Virgin of the Evening”, and marked with a red lipstick “V” across the forehead, and actually getting to participate in the opening parts of the show. With such antics, its no surprise that Halloween is the cast’s favorite holiday, and shows get super-sized, incorporating more skits, props, decorations, and surprises.

Check out the show on their biggest nights of the year, Friday and Saturday, Oct 29 and 30, at midnight and Sunday, Oct 31 at 10pm.

On Sunday evening, the 62nd annual primetime Emmy awards were hosted by Jimmy Fallon. Before the music-laden presentation even got underway, the Hollywood East Connections were commencing on the red carpet, as Medford, MA’s Maria Menounos helped host the pre-show with her fellow “Access Hollywood” co-anchor, Billy Bush.

Once the designer-dressed ladies and gentlemen took their seats inside the Nokia Theatre in downtown L.A., Brookline’s John Hodgeman, also known as the “PC” guy from the infamous Apple ads, played narrator. “Mad Men”s John Hamm, who is about to star in the soon to be released The Town appeared in the pre-taped opening number. Speaking of The Town, which HEC readers are already well-aware of the fact that it was filmed in Boston, commercials and promos for the movie ran throughout the 3 hour long broadcast.

Other New England connections came sprinkled throughout the evening. Newton’s Brad Falchuk, co-creator of the comedy hit, “Glee” appeared on a clip montage for best comedy writing, though the show did not win. Star Jane Lynch did walk away with a trophy of her own for best supporting actress. Though not from the area, the openly gay actress got married in Massachusetts earlier this year.

Burlington’s Amy Poehler lost for lead actress in a comedy series, as did Concord’s Steve Carell for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series. Newton’s John Krasinski and Boston’s Maura Tierney both helped present awards during the show. Though not a native of New England, “Cheers” alum Ted Danson made his way to the stage amidst the familiar theme song jingle to present the award for Best Comedy series to “Modern Family”.

A bearded Conan O’Brien (who originally hails from Brookline, MA) gave a strained smile in the audience as the butt of one of Fallon’s opening jokes, and also lost the Emmy for best variety show for the short-lived “Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien”.

Early Thursday morning, the nominations for the 2010 Emmy Awards were announced in California, and Hollywood East was left far from being out of the running. A number of TV shows and actors with connections to the New England area were nominated this year.

In the Outstanding Comedy category, “Glee” was nominated. The series is helmed by Newton, Massachusetts bred creator, Brad Falchuk. In the Outstanding Actress in a Drama category, Glenn Close, from TNT’s “Damages”, was nominated. The critically acclaimed actress was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, and first cultivated her acting chops at Choate Rosemary Hall High School in Wallingford, Connecticut.

For Outstanding Actress in a Comedy, Burlington, Massachusetts native Amy Poehler was nominated for her hilarious role in “Parks and Recreation”. Another Massachusetts resident, Steve Carell, was nominated for his role in “The Office”. Carell just recently announced he’ll be leaving the hit comedy on NBC after season 7.

In the Outstanding Reality Show (Competition) category, “American Idol”, “Project Runway”, and “Top Chef” have all been nominated, which have all featured contestants from New England this past season.

Double nominee Jane Lynch, up for Emmys in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy category for “Glee” and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy for her guest stint on “Two and a Half Men”, recently celebrated her marriage to her partner in a ceremony in Massachusetts.

In its first season, the hit FOX TV show, “Glee” has consistently pulled in millions of viewers, week after week, proving that musicals are definitely back in style. Combined with its impressive first-time Golden Globe for Best Television Series at this year’s Golden Globes, “Glee” has proven to be both a commercial and critical success. Created in part by Newton, MA native Brad Falchuk, the show features a combination of show tunes and pop favorites, sung by the musically talented main cast, and a host of talented extras that help deliver chipper production numbers, set amidst the backdrop of your average American high school.

While the show is currently on a 4 month hiatus, it will be returning on April 13, with 9 brand new episodes until the season finale.  The producers are also on a nation-wide hunt for additional talent.  On Friday, April 16, at 10AM at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, producers will be holding a casting call for background talent for the second season of “Glee”. If you are between the ages of 16 and 26, and know how to hit all the right notes, go here to fill out a registration form. One hundred and fifty people will be randomly selected to sing at the Fox Theater at Foxwoods, and one lucky winner will get a $200 gift card to the casino, plus their video performance seen by a Glee Casting Producer. Those entrants not selected to perform are still encouraged to attend to watch the event.