James Gandolfini the talented actor who became an Icon playing  Tony Soprano in the HBO hit series The Soprano’s died in  Italy  today of an apparent heart attack  He was 51 years old.

Born James J. Gandolfini Jr. on September 18, 1961 in Westwood, New Jersey  Gandolfini became best known for his  role as the troubled, family tormented  Don in the Soprano’s.

Gandolfini had an impressive body of work as an actor dating back to 1987 when he first  played an  orderly in a movie entitled Shock, Shock, Shock.

He debuted on Broadway in  “A Street Car Named Desire in the 1992 revival with actors Jessica Lange and Alex Baldwin.

Gandolfini’s breakthrough role was that of Virgil the gay hitman in Tony Scott’s True Romance (1993)

He since went on to a illustrious career and starred in movies : Angie (1994) Get Shorty (1995) The Last Castle (2001) The Mexican (2001) All the King’s Men (2006) 12 Angry Men (TV movie 1999) and other memorable movies and plays.

Tributes on twitter from famous celebrities all seem to have a common message about Gandolfini that he was a good guy and a marvelous talent that will be sorely missed.

In a interview with James Lipton on Bravo TV’s Actor Studio, Gandolfini  when asked by Lipton  ” What do you want to hear God say when you get to the pearly gates?” Gandolfini answered “Take over for a while , I’ll be right back.”

James Gandolfini leaves a wife- Amanda Lin  and  a one year old son, and a son Michael from a previous marriage .

The post Actor’s Actor James Gandolfini Dies at 51 While on Vacation in Italy first appeared on River View Observer.

On Sunday June 12th the 65th Annual Tony Awards were held at the Beacon Theater and our Photographer Steve Mack was there to capture all the excitement.
Hudson County Nominee Tammy Blanchard arrived at the Red Carpet as did Al Puccino, Christie Brinkley, Lynn Redgrave, Kelsey Grammer, Brooke Shields, John Legusiamo, and others.

See all the photo’s by Steveamack.com

 

 

More photo’s to come

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Elizabeth Taylor, beautiful, talented two time Academy Award winner has died at 79 years old of congestive heart failure.
Ms. Taylor was pronounced dead at L.A.’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with her children by her side. Her son Michael Wilding best summed up his mother’s life by saying, “My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world.”

The sultry, talented actress had made over 60 films, was married eight times (twice to Richard Burton) and had 4 children.
In her later years she championed the cause to find a cure for AIDs.
She became Michael Jackson’s closet friend, and although personal trajedy and health issues plagued her most of her adult life she carried her self with dignity and strength.
She was part of an era of hollywood that produced many showbiz icons like Frank Sinatra, Henry Fonda, Rosalind Russel, Marilyn Monroe,
Rock Hudson,Cary Grant and others.
Below is a tribute by Turner Classic Television narrated by Paul Neuman on the extraordinary career and acting ability of Elizabeth Taylor.

Source Gossip Cop, You Tube, River View Observer Staff writer

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Actress Tammy Blanchard  seen here in a Yahoo.com news photo at the premiere Dec. 2nd for the Nicole Kidman film production of David Lindsay Albaire’s play Rabbit Hole. Ms. Blanchard plays “Izzie” in the film.

Ms. Blanchard can be seen next in How to Succeed in Business Without Out Really Trying on Broadway with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe in March 2011. 

She has also finished filming “Union Square with Mira Sorvino due out in 2012 and two other films.

The premire for Rabbit Hole was held at the Paris Theater in NYC

Source: Yahoo.com news

The post Actress Tammy Blanchard at the December 2nd Premiere of “RABBIT HOLE”at Paris Theater in NYC first appeared on River View Observer.

Hudson County Actress Tammy Blanchard Co-Stars Along side Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart and Diane Wiest in Nicole Kidman’s “Rabbit Hole.”

 

Emmy award wining actress Tammy Blanchard (2nd from left) pictured here at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival press confrence  at the Hyatt Regency on September 14, 2010 in Toronto, Canada. Ms. Blanchard a Hudson County resident   co-stars in the movie  “Rabbit Hole.” Standing to the right of Ms. Blanchard is writer David Lindsay-Abaire, also to her left is  actor Miles Teller, actor Aaron Eckhart, actress Nicole Kidman and director John Cameron Mitchell 

September 13, 2010 – Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images North America)

The post Nicole Kidman Movie “Rabbit Hole” Cast at Press Conference at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival first appeared on River View Observer.

The Other Side of the River Productions.

The Fallen Faithful is Leonard’s second movie  he has produced and his largest film undertaking to date.

The post PJ LEONARD AT THE PREMIER OF THE FALLEN FAITHFUL first appeared on River View Observer.

 

The Fallen Faithful is Leonards’ second feature length film having also made: “The Immaculate Conception” and  also adding in 2007 and 2008   two short films to his credits: The Hit and Waiting.

The Fallen Faithful stars Sonny Marinelli, who  has appeared in many high profile television productions including  recurring roles on ER, NYPD Blue, and most recently Raising the Bar. The movie also stars Tony Award -nominated actor Obba  Babatunde’ and Mark Margolis.   Obba Babatunde’ and Mark Margolis are faces everyone recognizes instantly having both been in hundreds of televison productions and movies. Margolis in Scarface with Al Pacino for one.

The movie explores the clash between good and evil please  see the link for a closer examination of the film.

THE FALLEN FAITHFUL

 The Fallen Faithful was shot in Tampa Florida at a cost of $1 million dollars and it’s Leonard’s largest undertaking in film to date.  A film he looks forward to selling to a major studio after the premiere on Monday.The script was written by Elizabeth Regen an actress in her own right. 

The Fallen Faithful also stars local Jersey City actors and friends of PJ Leonard; Paul Dunleavy, Ed Moran and Jersey City Police Officer; Vito La Bruno.

PJ Leonard as I know him has always been a  stand-up guy. There is nothing phony about him and he is exstremely  loyal to his roots , if you look closely at the logo for  – The Other Side Of the River Productions, its a picture of the downtown Jersey City skyline.  That’s PJ Leonard.

I am certain in the near future the movie going public will see many more movies from PJ Leonard and get as familiar with the skyline of Jersey City in the Other Side of the River Productions logo as they have come to know the Lion in the MGM Logo.

The post The Fallen Faithful Hollywood Premiere Monday June 21st -Jersey City’s PJ Leonard Executive Producer first appeared on River View Observer.

Hoboken International Film Festival Shines Kliegs on Teaneck!

By Sally Deering

 First Cannes, then Sundance, now Teaneck? Yes folks, Cedar Lane Cinemas in Teaneck rolls out the red carpet for the fifth annual Hoboken International Film Festival, which used to be held in Hoboken, but because of some snafu, will now wow film-lovers a few miles north of Sinatra’s hometown.

The indie film fest promises to be a feast for the eyes, 115 feature-length films, documentaries, shorts and TV pilots presented on the silver screen with in-person appearances by Oscar-winning movie stars, Emmy-winning TV stars and the writers and directors who nurtured their films from their first baby-steps.

Some films were made by accomplished writers and directors; others by up-and-comers who likely financed their flicks with credit cards while staying afloat on a diet of peanut butter sandwiches. But these filmmakers all share the same passion: to create their film, their way, with the freedom to uphold the integrity of their script and sustain creative control over every frame without big studio interference.  And since many festival entries get picked up by big studio distributors, film festivals are a great way for an independent filmmaker to get their foot in the door. It’s like when an Olympian goes pro. All the hard work earns the gold medal which leads to the deal for the Wheaties box.

“The main reason a filmmaker wants to put his film in a festival is distribution,” Festival Chairman Kenneth DelVecchio says. “We pride ourselves in being able to show the edgiest and hottest filmmaking and to give these films a shot at getting distribution. The Grand Prize this year, the film that receives the Best Feature Film Award will get an automatic distribution contract from Light Year Entertainment. As a filmmaker you can have your dream made and get a distribution contract.”

 DelVecchio started this East Coast happening with a nod to his roots. A Hudson County native, DelVecchio grew up in Kearny, attended St. Peter’s Preparatory School in Jersey City, graduated law school and served as a New Jersey judge. An accomplished writer who wrote his first book while still in law school, Del Vecchio has numerous writing and producing credits under his belt, including the hit Rules for Men. His new comedy, O.B.A.M.A.Nude is being shown at the festival, along with the controversial courtroom drama he wrote and produced about gay marriage called An Affirmative Act. But DelVecchio is not a contender in the festival he’s producing. Although his films will be screened, they’re not part of the competition, assuring the integrity of the awards given out to the winning films at the end of the 7-day event.

 Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling of The Howard Stern Show, who took on a part in Rules for Men and An Affirmative Act, which also stars Academy-Award winning actor Charles Durning, will host major events at the festival including the opening reception on June 4^th and the Awards Gala on the 10^th.

 Of the 1500 submissions, 115 films were chosen by a 15-member screening committee that helps determine the final entries. Of those 115 entered in the festival, some interesting local entries include Asbury Park and The Pope of Jersey City – both made by New Jersey filmmakers; Venus to Vegas by Luis Moro of Union City and Santorini Blue a film written and directed by Matthew Panepinto, starring Panepinto and Deirdre Lorenz who also serves as Executive Producer. Lorenz describes the five-years it took to make the film a labor of love. One that also came with labor pains from raising the financing. Lorenz says she reached out to everyone she knew to get the bucks and even received a check by a stranger in a scene that sounds straight out of a Hollywood movie.

 “I met a guy in a diner, he saw me talking and asked me what I was so passionate about,” Lorenz says, “and the next thing you know he’s writing me a check.”

 Father vs. Son, also in the feature-length category, is a comedy directed by screenwriter Joe Ballarini who has written for big studios like Warner Bros, Disney and Miramax. Ballarini co-wrote the script with Paul Wolff, his screenwriting teacher and mentor at the University of Southern California. Wolff’s writing resume is also impressive with TV credits that include Little House on the Prairie and Life Goes On.

 “I wanted to make a movie about dating in your 60s,” Ballarini says. “And I mentioned my idea to Paul. I’m 30, and I was talking about how difficult it is on the dating scene and he’s 60, and he was talking about how difficult it is on the dating scene. Not much changes from thirty to sixty and we shared some hilarious stories about different dates we’d been on. So we wrote it together. I’d been writing for studios for about seven years at that point.  I love being a screenwriter, but I wanted to make a film I can call my own and direct.”

 When working on an indie, what you lack in budget, you get back in creative control, Ballarini says. He shot Father vs. Son in 21 days with a crew of friends and classmates at USC. It premiered at the Houston International Film Festival a couple weeks ago and won the Critics Choice Award from the Houston Film Critics Association.

 Like all indie festivals, outstanding films at the Hoboken International Film Festival will be awarded prizes for Best Narrative Feature Film, Best Screenplay, Best Documentary and other achievements at the Gala Award Ceremony on June 10^th where DelVecchio will present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Robert Loggia, star of TV and films including Scarface, Independence Day and Big. But not all film festivals are equal, DelVecchio says. The Big Kahunas like Cannes, Sundance and the Tribecca Film Festival are more like film markets, because they provide venues for big studios to premiere blockbusters.

“They’re showcasing big films, studio films and not independent films,” DelVecchio says. “As a filmmaker making movies, I saw all these film festivals and decided to start my own. We started in 2005 and now we’re in the top ten-to-fifteen percent in the whole world. My film festival is a true film festival. ”

 It’s also big for Cedar Lane Cinemas, a 1930s movie house that shows big blockbuster hits, art and foreign films, says General Manager Diane Walker. There are two pipe organs, too, which will be played between shows and because they expect a huge attendance, they’ll be hiring extra ushers and popcorn-poppers to pop fresh corn before every screening.

The Hoboken International Film Festival turns on the kliegs at the Cedar Lane Cinemas where tickets are still available for film-lovers hankering for fresh popcorn, independent films and some Hollywood glam. And for one week only, Teaneck’s got the hottest tickets in town.

The Hoboken International Film Festival runs from June 4 through June 10. For ticket information and a list of the films and screening times, go to www.hobokeninternationalfilmfestival.com.

 

Cedar Lane Cinemas

503 Cedar Lane

Teaneck, NJ

201-836-3334

 

 

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