The Nora Ephron-directed romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle turns 25 today. For Gary Foster, who first read the cross-country romantic comedy as a Jeff Arch spec script and fought for three years to keep its vision intact in the usual creative collisions of star-driven studio films, here provides an illuminating look at how a good spec evolved into a terrific movie.
On a hot Saturday afternoon in 1990, I sat down on a small couch in our baby daughter Kayla’s room to read a script entitled Sleepless in Seattle. Dave Warden, an agent representing a new writer named Jeff Arch, had submitted it to my company. I give most submissions 25 pages, and if I’m not in by that point, I put it down and pick up the next. That afternoon, I never noticed the 25-page mark. I zoomed right past it, drawn into this story about a widower, who...
On a hot Saturday afternoon in 1990, I sat down on a small couch in our baby daughter Kayla’s room to read a script entitled Sleepless in Seattle. Dave Warden, an agent representing a new writer named Jeff Arch, had submitted it to my company. I give most submissions 25 pages, and if I’m not in by that point, I put it down and pick up the next. That afternoon, I never noticed the 25-page mark. I zoomed right past it, drawn into this story about a widower, who...
- 6/25/2018
- by Gary Foster
- Deadline Film + TV
Meryl Streep is clarifying comments she made over 38 years ago.
Slate recently unearthed a Time magazine interview with the actress from 1979 where she recalls an incident when her Kramer vs. Kramer co-star, Dustin Hoffman, allegedly touched her breast. "He came up to me and said, 'I’m Dustin -- burp -- Hoffman,’ and he put his hand on my breast. 'What an obnoxious pig,' I thought," she says of their first meeting.
After multiple news outlets called out the decades-old quote, Streep's rep released a statement to Et, saying that the Time piece was not an "accurate rendering of that meeting."...
Slate recently unearthed a Time magazine interview with the actress from 1979 where she recalls an incident when her Kramer vs. Kramer co-star, Dustin Hoffman, allegedly touched her breast. "He came up to me and said, 'I’m Dustin -- burp -- Hoffman,’ and he put his hand on my breast. 'What an obnoxious pig,' I thought," she says of their first meeting.
After multiple news outlets called out the decades-old quote, Streep's rep released a statement to Et, saying that the Time piece was not an "accurate rendering of that meeting."...
- 11/7/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
In the past week, two women have publicly accused Dustin Hoffman of sexual harassment, allegations which have renewed interest in Meryl Streep’s nearly-four-decade-old claim that her “Kramer vs. Kramer” co-star introduced himself by grabbing her breast. Slate tracked down a Time article from 1979 — the year the film came out — in which Streep recalls auditioning for a play Hoffman was directing. “He came up to me and said, ‘I’m Dustin — burp — Hoffman,’ and he put his hand on my breast,” the actress told Time. “What an obnoxious pig, I thought.”
Read More: Dustin Hoffman Accused of Sexual Harassment by TV Producer Wendy Riss Gatsiounis
Per Jeff Lenburg’s 2001 book “Dustin Hoffman: Hollywood’s Antihero,” the play was “All Over Town,” which debuted on Broadway in late 1974, when Streep was 25. Later that decade, the actors notoriously battled on Robert Benson’s “Kramer vs. Kramer” set, where they played divorcing parents.
Read More: Dustin Hoffman Accused of Sexual Harassment by TV Producer Wendy Riss Gatsiounis
Per Jeff Lenburg’s 2001 book “Dustin Hoffman: Hollywood’s Antihero,” the play was “All Over Town,” which debuted on Broadway in late 1974, when Streep was 25. Later that decade, the actors notoriously battled on Robert Benson’s “Kramer vs. Kramer” set, where they played divorcing parents.
- 11/6/2017
- by Jenna Marotta
- Indiewire
Meryl Streep Unauthorized Biography Claims Dustin Hoffman Slapped Her Across the Face During Filming
Dustin Hoffman may have taken his method acting to another level when working with Meryl Streep on their award-winning 1979 film, Kramer vs. Kramer. In an excerpt from Michael Schulman's unauthorized biography, Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep, in Vanity Fair, Kramer vs. Kramer director Robert Benton and producer Richard Fischoff recall a tense relationship between Streep and Hoffman during the filming of the movie. Both actors earned their first Oscars for taking on the roles of husband and wife, Ted and Joanna Kramer, who find themselves in a heated custody battle over their son, Billy Kramer (Justin Henry), after getting a divorce. Watch: Oscars Red Carpet Rewind -- '80s Oprah and Pregnant Meryl Streep! The book alleges that on the second day of shooting the opening scene of the film -- when Ted follows a crying Joanna into the hallway -- Hoffman "shocked" everyone on set when he "slapped [Streep] hard across the cheek, leaving a red mark...
- 3/29/2016
- Entertainment Tonight
To film the 1979 movie, “Kramer vs. Kramer,” Dustin Hoffman used extreme methods to literally whip co-star Meryl Streep into shape, slapping Streep across the cheek while filming their first scene. In a Vanity Fair article, director Robert Benton and producer Richard Fischoff discuss the intense struggle between the two actors, where Hoffman would also taunt Streep about John Cazale, the actor whom she was dating for nearly two years before he died of advanced lung cancer. Streep wasn’t even considered for the role of Joanna, originally. But everyone was “dumbfounded” after her audition, and Hoffman credited her pain of losing Cazale for.
- 3/29/2016
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Long before she became the most nominated actress in Academy Awards history, Meryl Streep was just a rising star, pushing boundaries in what would become one of her most memorable roles. In an adaptation from Michael Schulman's upcoming biography Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep published by Vanity Fair, the behind-the-scenes struggle between Streep and Kramer vs. Kramer costar Dustin Hoffman is revealed. Only 29 during the 1978 filming of the divorce drama, Streep hadn't even been considered for the part of Joanna - a mother who decides to leave her husband and son behind in search for more - but managed...
- 3/29/2016
- by Lindsay Kimble, @lekimble
- PEOPLE.com
Exclusive: Steve Carell is replacing Zach Galifianakis in Freeheld, the Peter Sollett-directed film based on the 2007 documentary about Laurel Hester and Stacie Andree. They fought to amend the Domestic Partnership Act, which grants pension benefits to domestic partners of all New Jersey public employees. The film stars Julianne Moore and Ellen Page. It’s produced by Page, Kelly Bush, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, James D. Stern, Richard Fischoff, Duncan Montgomery, Jack Selby, Duncan Montgomery, and Cynthia Wade. Ron Nyswaner wrote the script.
Related: Hot Trailer: Channing Tatum & Steve Carell In ‘Foxcatcher’
Galifianakis has dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Carell will play the supporting role of Steven Goldstein, a passionate advocate for Garden State Equality. Carell, who starred with Moore in Crazy, Stupid, Love, found a spot of availability in his schedule between the time he’ll spend promoting his starring roles in Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No...
Related: Hot Trailer: Channing Tatum & Steve Carell In ‘Foxcatcher’
Galifianakis has dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Carell will play the supporting role of Steven Goldstein, a passionate advocate for Garden State Equality. Carell, who starred with Moore in Crazy, Stupid, Love, found a spot of availability in his schedule between the time he’ll spend promoting his starring roles in Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No...
- 8/27/2014
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline
In a ceremony held last night, the Tribeca Film Festival announced this year's winners of its competition categories. The top prizes went to Iranian drama About Elly for Best Narrative Feature and audience fave Racing Dreams for Best Documentary Feature.
About Elly, written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, revolves around a group of "old college pals" who reunite for a weekend by the sea, a friendly outing that turns serious when one of the women disappears. The jury (Bradley Cooper, Richard Fischoff, Todd Haynes, Meg Ryan, and Uma Thurman) called the Iranian movie "a seamless piece of ensemble filmmaking." Racing Dreams, directed by Marshall Curry, follows three go-kart racers, ranging in age from 11 to 13, who are competing for a national champiomship that's considered "a huge stepping stone to auto racing's big show-nascar." The jury (Liz Garbus, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Spurlock, and Brian Williams) declared it to be "a completely compelling,...
About Elly, written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, revolves around a group of "old college pals" who reunite for a weekend by the sea, a friendly outing that turns serious when one of the women disappears. The jury (Bradley Cooper, Richard Fischoff, Todd Haynes, Meg Ryan, and Uma Thurman) called the Iranian movie "a seamless piece of ensemble filmmaking." Racing Dreams, directed by Marshall Curry, follows three go-kart racers, ranging in age from 11 to 13, who are competing for a national champiomship that's considered "a huge stepping stone to auto racing's big show-nascar." The jury (Liz Garbus, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Spurlock, and Brian Williams) declared it to be "a completely compelling,...
- 5/1/2009
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
By Wrap Staff
The winners were announced on Thursday for the eighth Tribeca Film Festival .
The jurors for the 2009 World Narrative Competition were Bradley Cooper, Richard Fischoff, Todd Haynes, Meg Ryan and Uma Thurman.
The jurors for the 2009 World Documentary Competition were Liz Garbus, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Spurlock and Brian Williams.
Here were the winners:
The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature – About Elly (Darbareye Elly), directed and written by Asghar Farhadi...
The winners were announced on Thursday for the eighth Tribeca Film Festival .
The jurors for the 2009 World Narrative Competition were Bradley Cooper, Richard Fischoff, Todd Haynes, Meg Ryan and Uma Thurman.
The jurors for the 2009 World Documentary Competition were Liz Garbus, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Spurlock and Brian Williams.
Here were the winners:
The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature – About Elly (Darbareye Elly), directed and written by Asghar Farhadi...
- 5/1/2009
- by Sharon Waxman
- The Wrap
ABC has greenlighted a three-hour biopic about Natalie Wood with Oscar-nominated director Peter Bogdanovich on board to direct and British actress Justine Waddell set to portray the late Hollywood star. The yet-untitled film, which will air during the 2003-04 season, is based on Suzanne Finstads' book Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood. Elizabeth Egloff wrote the small-screen adaptation, which is set to start production in the winter in Australia. Gerald W. Abrams (TNT's Nuremberg), Bob Sertner, Frank von Zerneck (We Were the Mulvaneys) and Finstad are executive producing, with Richard Fischoff and Randy Sutter producing. Wood's sister, Lana Wood, will co-produce. The movie will focus on Wood's deep inner conflict between her real self -- Natasha Zakharenko, born to Russian immigrants in San Francisco -- and the glamorous Natalie Wood persona created by her ambitious mother and shaped by the powerful studio system.
- 10/29/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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