Film Premieres in Bayonne at Frank Theatres, Friday, May 12

 â€œSometimes life is like a movie; sometimes its better,” – Chuck Wepner as portrayed by Liev Schreiber in the new film, CHUCK

By Sally Deering

Like the Rocky character Sylvester Stallone created based on Chuck Wepnerâ€s 1976 loss in the ring to Muhammad Ali, Chuck Wepnerâ€s match with Ali has been a huge part of his life. Five years ago, the documentary The Real Rocky aired on PBS and coming up on Fri, May 12, CHUCK starring Liev Schreiber premieres at the Frank Theatres at South Cove Commons in Bayonne. Directed by Philippe Falardeau, the film follows Wepnerâ€s life before and after his March 24, 1975 fight with Muhammad Ali. MAD MEN star Elizabeth Moss, Naomi Watts, and Ron Perlman co-star; and according to IMDB, CHUCKâ€s writing credits go to Jeff Feuerzeig, Jerry Stahl, Michael Cristofer and Liev Schreiber.

Live Schreiber as Chuck Wepner in the new

film CHUCK

Bruce Dillin, Wepnerâ€s PR man and owner of Dillinâ€s Tires in Bayonne, where he installed a museum of memorabilia from Wepnerâ€s career, and where Wepner sometimes gives press conferences, says the upcoming film premiere on May 12 is going to rock Bayonneâ€s world.

“Itâ€s the biggest thing to happen to Bayonne, ever,” Dillin says. “Over the years, Chuck was known as the real Rocky, but he never got the acknowledgement for that. He went to court and was given his acknowledgement from Warner Brothers studios that he is the real life Rocky. People were interested in the story, it eventually developed into a documentary, then a movie.”

These days, Wepner is swept away in TV appearances and speaking engagements to promote the show, Dillin says. He has done several talk shows with star Live Schreiber, director Faiardeau, and other members of the cast. Dillin attended the North American Premiere of CHUCK in Toronto, in September, and last Friday, Dillin, Wepner and Wepnerâ€s wife Linda attended the Tribeca Film Festival where the movie was premiering in New York. Meanwhile, Wepner, at 77, continues to stay in shape, especially for the filmâ€s busy PR campaign.

“He works out every day,” Dillin says.

Wepner had a 35-14-2 lifetime record in a 14-year career that ended in 1978. It was March 24, 1975, when Wepner boxed 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali and lost with a broken nose, cuts over his eyes and a bruised ego. But what the Bayonne boxer didnâ€t know was that an unknown named Sylvester Stallone was watching the fight on his TV set and three days later would write the screenplay to ROCKY based on Wepner. The film would become a major hit in 1976 and win three Academy Awards, earning Stallone fame and fortune. Yo! Letâ€s not forget the sequels, too.

More than 20 years later, Wepner sued Stallone over the use of his life story, and the case was settled out-of-court for an undisclosed sum. Since then, the boxer and the actor have been on good terms, Wepner said.

In 2011, Wepnerâ€s life was the subject of The Real Rocky an ESPN documentary on Wepnerâ€s championship boxing career and the backstory behind his bout with Ali. The one-hour documentary was directed by CHUCK screenwriter Jeff Feuerzeig, an award-winning director whose feature film The Devil and Daniel Johnston won top documentary directing honors at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.  On ESPN.go.com, Feuerzeig, who grew up in New Jersey, explained his inspiration for making the Wepner documentary.

“Iâ€ve been a Chuck Wepner fan ever since 1975, when I was 10 years old and my father took my brother and me to Sports Night at the Raritan High School gymnasium in Hazlet to see Chuck, aka ‘The Bayonne Bleeder,†just months before he was set to go up against Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title,” Feuerzeig told ESPN. “There were no figures who loomed larger in this 10 year-oldâ€s imagination than Evel Knievel, Andre the Giant and, especially, Muhammad Ali – “The Greatest” – and here was a 6-foot-5 behemoth (Wepner) in a full-length fur coat…and a ridiculous amount of jewelry leading us in a chant of ‘Whoâ€s gonna beat Ali? WEPNER!†And in that instant, Chuck Wepner became a real-life mythological figure — as real to me as the Jersey Devil that haunted the local Pine Barrens.”

These days, Wepner, the former New Jersey State Heavyweight Boxing Champion who was christened “The Bayonne Bleeder” for the hits he took boxing Sonny Liston, and Linda, Wepnerâ€s wife of more than 20 years, are riding high from the renewed interest in Wepnerâ€s career and the anticipated success of the film.  

One reviewer on IMDB.com, wrote: “Director Falardeau exquisitely turns what might easily have been another boxing movie into a relationship piece illuminating Wepner’s most difficult moments outside the ring. He depicts the 1970’s much like Martin Scorcese’s Taxi Driver – seedy, wild women, drugs, booze – along with exceptional highs and disastrous lows.”

On Sunday, May 7, Wepner and his wife Linda will enjoy another great success for the heavyweight champ. Thatâ€s the day he will be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame at the historic Convention Center in Asbury Park. A milestone in the champâ€s career and another opportunity for Wepner to get the recognition he deserves.

If you go

Fri, May 12

NJ Premiere of the film CHUCK

Frank Theaters

South Cove Commons

191 LeFante Way, BAY

(201) 437-6600

Fri, May 7, 7 pm

Chuck Wepner is Inducted into

The NJ Hall of Fame

For Tix: www.njhalloffame.org

The post ROCKY STAR Former Heavyweight Champ Chuck Wepner’s Life Now a Major Motion Picture first appeared on River View Observer.

Directed by CHRISTINE DALZELL   Featuring:

JAMIE EFFROS
J MICHAEL POLICASTRO
PAULINE WALSH
BRANAN WHITEHEAD
 

  Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sunday matinees at 3 pm and Thursday September 30th at 7 pm.

In this American classic, sons of a desert dwelling alcoholic and a suburban wanderer clash over a film script. Austin, the achiever, is working on a script he has already sold when Lee, his demented petty thief brother, drops in. “A masterwork – tells us a truth, as glimpsed by a genius.” -New York Post
This play contains adult themes and language.

$20.00 general admission, $15 students and seniors. Group rates are also available.

The Attic Ensemble is located just two blocks from the Grove Street PATH Station, in the Historic Barrow Mansion, 83 Wayne Street, Jersey City. There is free parking after 7 p.m. in the parking lot 1 ½ blocks away on Christopher Columbus Drive. For reservations, directions and further information: www.atticensemble.org; phone (201) 413-9200, e-mail: info@atticensemble.org.

Tickets can be charged online at

Cash and checks are accepted at the box office. Jersey Arts Cards are accepted for discounted ticket pricing. The Barrow Mansion is handicapped accessible and barrier free. Large print program available upon request; please call one week in advance to arrange for a large print program. Assisted listening devices will be available for the Thursday September 30th 7 p.m. performance. Please call one week in advance to request a device.

The post Sam Shephard’s “True West” presented by Jersey City’s Attic Ensemble first appeared on River View Observer.

Fans have waited a long time to buy a boxed set of Clint Eastwood’s early spaghetti westerns by Sergio Leone. featuring Clint as the iconic loner with no name. The wait is over. The boxed set, officially titled Clint, available June 1, 2010, Eastwood in The Man With No Name Trilogy hits a bullseye.

This collection belongs in every home film library. Leone’s trilogy of lowbudget, high-impact films, set in the American West (but filmed in Spain and directed by an Italian), made Eastwood a major movie star with a following that forced Hollywood to sit up and take notice. Up until that time he was known only for his roles on TV, most notably as Rowdy Yates in the series, Rawhide.

I interviewed Eastwood before the Academy Awards in 2005 when he had been nominated for Best Director and Best Picture for Million Dollar.  I asked how important to his films was the music in each. “Very Baby important,” he told me, holding me with that famous Eastwood gaze that says, “Nothing matters right now except our conversation.” He went on to explain that he wrote the music himself. “I was very careful not to allow the music to overwhelm the visuals but to support them,” he said, adding, “I learned that from Ennio Morricone.”

When I recalled that Eastwood had made a name for himself with the Sergio Leone films, Eastwood brightened. “It was Morricone who wrote the music for the three spaghetti westerns,” Eastwood said. “If you’ve seen them you know the music.”

The first in the series, A Fistful of Dollars, hit U.S. movie houses in 1964. The stage was set for the former television actor to become an international sensation as the rough-hewn, silent Man with No Name.

The footloose renegade with a wacky sense of humor, a cheroot clenched in his teeth, and a squint that made villains squirm, caught the fancy of moviegoers and they became his fans for life. Those fans are now graybeards, and they’re still loyal. They, and anybody else who likes movies with Clint Eastwood, are in for a treat.

writer/director Akiro Kurosawa’s film, Yojimbo.” That cynical samurai tale, in the hands of Sergio Leone, gets a different setting, the American West. The tale, which maintains the inner stuff of legend and iconic characters, works on a visceral level.

The follow-up film, For a Few Dollars More, teams Eastwood with Lee, who played the villain opposite Gary Cooper in High Noon.

In Dollars, Leone’s classic tale of revenge, Van Cleef again plays the villain to perfection.

The third film, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, is set in the American Civil War where violence is a given. Added to that conflict is buried gold, and classic criminals in a conspiracy that involves double-crosses and trayals that play out in a tension-filled finale with enough gun fights to satisfy any action fan.

(Catalog # M121526)

● The Christopher Frayling Archives: A Fistful of Dollars

● Commentary by Film Historian Christopher Frayling

● A New Kind of Hero

● A Few Weeks in Spain: Clint Eastwood on the Experience of Making the Film ● Tre Voci: A Fistful of Dollars

● Not Ready for Primetime: Renowned Filmmaker Monte Hellman discusses the Television Broadcast ● The Network Prologue with Actor Harry Dean Stanton

● Location Comparisons: Then to Now ● 10 Radio Spots ● Double Bill Trailer ● Theatrical Trailer

(Catalog # M121528)

● The Christopher Frayling Archives: For A Few Dollars More

● Commentary by Film Historian Christopher Frayling

● A New Standard: Frayling on For A Few Dollars More

● Back for More: Clint Eastwood Remembers For A Few Dollars More

● Tre Voci: For A Few Dollars More

● For A Few Dollars More: The Original American Release Version

● Location Comparisons

● 12 Radio Spots

● Theatrical Trailer 1

● Theatrical Trailer 2

(Catalog # M121527)

● Commentary by Film Historian Richard Schickel

● Commentary by Film Historian Christopher Frayling

● Leone’s West

● The Leone Style

● The Man Who Lost the Civil War

● Reconstructing The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

● IL Maestro: Ennio Morricone and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly – Part One

● IL Maestro: Part Two

● Deleted Scenes

â—‹ Extended Tuco Torture Scene

â—‹ The Socorro Sequence: A Reconstruction

● Easter Egg #1 Uno, Due, Tre

● Easter Egg #2 Italian Lunch

● Easter Egg #3 New York Actor

● Easter Egg #4 Gun in Holster

● Theatrical Trailer

● French Trailer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., through its operating subsidiaries, is actively

engaged in the worldwide production and distribution of motion pictures,

television programming, home video, interactive media, music and

licensed merchandise. The company owns the world’s largest library of

modern films, comprising around 4,100 titles. Operating units include

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.,

United Artists Films Inc., MGM Television Entertainment Inc., MGM

Networks Inc., MGM Domestic Networks LLC, MGM Distribution Co, MGM

International Television Distribution Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home

Entertainment LLC, MGM ON STAGE, MGM Music, MGM Worldwide Digital

Media, MGM Consumer Products and MGM Interactive. In addition, MGM

has ownership interests in international TV channels reaching nearly 120

countries. MGM ownership is as follows: Providence Equity Partners (29%),

TPG (21%), Sony Corporation of America (20%), Comcast (20%), DLJ

Merchant Banking Partners (7%) and Quadrangle Group (3%). For more

information, visit www.mgm.com.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray Disc Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The company also releases all products globaly for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and ecommerce throughout the world.

Van Cleef

The post CLINT EASTWOOD -Hollywood Behind-The-Scenes first appeared on River View Observer.

 Opening Reception: Friday, January 15, 2010. 6-8 p.m. Free.

 

Off-site Location:
The Majestic Theatre Condominiums
222 Montgomery St.
Jersey City, NJ 07302
Phone: 201.435.8000

www.majesticjerseycity.com

 

“Jersey City-the places, the stuff, the subject matter-is expanding like helicopters that fly a little too low, could be nothing or big trouble, a spectacle along with the everyday sublime.” – Tim Daly

 

Jersey City Museum and The Majestic Theatre Condominiums are pleased to present Tim Daly: Here and Away, an exhibition featuring a new series of paintings and drawings by renowned New Jersey artist Tim Daly. Daly is in known for painting Jersey City, the Meadowlands, and its immediate environs. He says, “The oddness of the New Jersey landscape has been what draws me.” However, in this exhibition, he expands his range of vision to include areas around Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Southern California.

 

An opening reception for Here and Now will take place on Friday, January 15, 6-8 p.m. Wine and light refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the public. The exhibition will be on view by appointment at The Majestic Theater Condominiums through April 1, 2010. To view, please contact The Majestic management office at 201.435.8023.  Here and Away is guest curated by Brendan Carroll. More information about the artist’s work can be found at www.timdalypainting.com.

 

JCM @ features selected artworks and exhibitions curated by the Jersey City Museum and on view throughout the community.

 

Founded in 1901, the Jersey City Museum is the major presenter of contemporary art serving the people of Jersey City, Hudson County and the region.  The museum organizes many group and solo exhibitions every year, featuring works by culturally diverse, contemporary artists and from its 10,000-piece collection of regional significant art and historical objects. Through exhibitions, educational initiatives and programs, the museum welcomes over 25,000 visitors each year, including 11,000 school-aged children and youth.

 

Jersey City Museum’s gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday from 11am to 5pm and Saturdays from 12pm to 5pm. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and students, and free for children under 12 and museum members. Admission is free for all on Saturdays at part of Target Free Saturdays. Jersey City Museum is located at 350 Montgomery Street at Monmouth in the Historic Downtown District of Jersey City, within walking distance of the Grove Street PATH and Jersey Avenue Light Rail stations.  For more information, visit www.jerseycitymuseum.org or call 201-413-0303.

 

The post Jersey City Museum @ The Majestic presents Tim Daly: Here and Now first appeared on River View Observer.

But in Hudson County-He’s it!!    

Although Frank Sinatra died over 11 years ago, his legend, and music and escapades as an entertainer on and off the stage and screen live on. Especially in Hudson County where stories about the boy from Hoboken are passed down from parents to children. In Hudson County we love Frank Sinatra .Everyone has a Sinatra story – it really is -Six degrees of Frank Sinatra here. You hear things like “Frank was at my mother’s wedding,” or “they say he use to ride the streets of Hoboken late at night in his limo, remembering the good old days. And   there isn’t a restaurant in Hudson County that doesn’t have  some kind of photo of Frank. Yep, In Hudson County we love Frank- here is a bio on Hudson County’s favorite son.       

Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Frank Sinatraâ€s father was a firefighter and amateur boxer named Martin Anthony Sinatra while his mother, Natalie Sinatra had political aspirations. Over the next eighty years Frank Sinatra was a singer, actor, director and producer who entertained generation after generation all over the world.Maybe it was due to the fact that his father was an amateur pugilist, but Sinatra wanted to become a sportswriter when he was young. Frank Sinatraâ€s first job was as an office boy in the Hudson Observer. It was supposed to be his apprenticeship where he picks up the tricks of the trade. But once he heard the voice of Bing Crosby on radio, he changed his mind and decided that he would become a singer. Along with a few pals he formed the Hoboken Four.

Frank Sinatra was known as Ol†Blue Eyes to his fans. One of the first entertainment superstars the world has known. Frank Sinatraâ€s songs have a timeless beauty to them. Sinatraâ€s hit songs include “Strangers in the Night”, “The Lady is a Tramp”, “New York, New York” and “Chicago.” He was the first ever star to have teenage girl fans scream at him in public. The word bobbysoxer was coined around this time.

Frank Sinatra, the actor refused to be typecast or slotted into any particular category. He acted in serious movies such as “The Manchurian Candidate,” “From here to Eternity” capers such as Oceanâ€s Eleven and outrageous musicals such as “Guys and Dolls” and “Pal Joey.” He went on to act in more than fifty films.

Frank Sinatra is a ten time Grammy award winner, two time Golden Globe winner and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for “From Here to Eternity.” He also won an honorary Oscar for his work on “The House I Live In” which was a short film advocating racial equality and secularism. Apart from these he also won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award and Cecil B DeMille Award. National achievements included Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award, Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Another legacy of Frank Sinatra was the legendary Rat Pack. It comprised his close friends in the entertainment business. The Rat Pack included Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Milton Berle and Tony Curtis.

It will be an understatement to say that Sinatra had a busy love life. At various points in time he was married to Ava Gardner, Mia Farrow and Barbara Marx. When Frank Sinatra married Mia Farrow, he was thirty years older than her. His lovers included Lauren Bacall, Juliet Prowse and Dorothy Provine. Sinatra was to be married to Bacall but he called it off when he realized that the press had heard of their engagement.

But it was not only milk and honey for Sinatra. The Frank Sinatra file in the FBI is in excess of two thousand pages. He was plagued with mob affiliations throughout his career. It is rumored that the character of Johnny Fontane in the book “Godfather” was inspired by Sinatra. Frank Sinatra lost his gambling license in Nevada after he was seen in the company of Sam Giancana. Giancana was at the time accused of ordering the killing of more than two hundred people.

Another Sinatra fan was the infamous Lucky Luciano. Frank Sinatra, Jr. was kidnapped in 1963. It was only on the payment of ransom money by his father that he was released. For his part Frank Sinatra has steadfastly denied his alleged mob links throughout his life.

Frank Sinatraâ€s children have all done work that keeps their illustrious fatherâ€s legacy intact. His daughter Nancy Sinatra was an actress and she wrote two books about Frank. His son Frank Sinatra Jr, was the conductor in his fatherâ€s orchestra. Frank Sinatraâ€s youngest daughter, Christina Sinatra produced a mini series on the life of her father.

Though Frank Sinatra announced his retirement in 1971, there was no way that his fans would let him stop. He appeared in numerous television serials and movies throughout the 1980â€s. In 1993 and 1994 he released two albums called Duets I and Duets II which comprised his songs with other artists over the years. These turned out to be his highest ever selling albums. He even went on to the win the Grammy for Duets II. Frank Sinatra died on May 14, 1998.

Anish Chandy

The post Hudson County’s Favorite Son-Frank Sinatra first appeared on River View Observer.

Jersey City’s Mike Marino Back in Town

By Evelyn Bonilla 

Mike Marino, as a comedian, actor, and writer has learned his craft well. Born in Jersey City, and raised in the Marion section; Marino, entered the world of theatre at an early age, and is a graduate of the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Marino has appeared in over 200 national television commercials, and has received a Best Actor Clio Award Nomination. He has acted in many Prime Time soaps and television shows including: As the World Turns, One Life to Live, Becker, Nikki, Frasier and Party of Five. His film credits include Crooks, Steven Kingâ€s Lucky Quarter, Volaré, Walking on the Sky, Three Tables and Hangin†in Hedo.After great success in film, theatre, commercials and soaps, Mike began touring the nation performing at countless comedy clubs. His stand-up material ranges from cutting edge to his Italian family roots. His comedic style has landed him guest spots on many shows including: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

where he was made a regular sketch player. Mike has hosted some of the most prestigious award shows including: The Beverly Hills Film Festival, the Montreal Film Festival and the Feast of San Gennaro – Los Angeles. He has also headlined several USO Comedy Tours and The Just For Laugh Comedy Festival in Montreal, Canada.His comedic material is unique, and his delivery is direct, and hilarious! Fans across the country are in awe at this former Jersey City boy’s ability to keep them laughing off their seats. Thatâ€s why His smash comedy DVD, “Mike Marino, New Jersey’s Bad Boy of Comedy” is one of the hottest comedic DVD’s on the market and that keeps this very talented performer on the road all the time.

Although Marino calls the West coast his home, the East coast just can’t get enough of him where he performs at many venues throughout the year.

But after this month; Marino, might be spending a lot more time right back here in Hudson County. If only in character for a new sitcom called “Marinoâ€s”

March 23rd – 27th Mike Marino will be in Hudson County shooting a Pilot for “Marinoâ€s” which is the creation of comedic sitcom writer, Sarit Catz (Full House, Coach) we hear “Marinoâ€s” is original as it is hilarious! Based on an Italian American family who owns a traditional deli in Hoboken, NJ and resides above the deli, Sarit Catz wants the pilot to explore the ins and outs of a real Italian family and their New Jersey roots.

Catz explains, “This sitcom was developed and created around Mike Marino.” On our first meeting, I noticed his unique character voice and I instantly saw the show.” “Marino has great persona and an instinct point of view.”

The Pilot will feature some very talented actors. Among the cast will be Mike Marino, as the owner of the deli. Concetta Tomei will play Mike’s mother, Joe Grifasi (Uncle Leo), Carolyn Morrison (Mike’s sitcom sister “Val”), Kevin Kash (an Irish ex-husband to Val and Mike’s best friend in the sitcom). The children will be played by young actors Bridget Megan Clark (Angie-teenage daughter) and Carmen LoPorto (Angie’s little brother Tommy.) Now added to that will be fashion boutique owner Wendell played by actor (Carman Lacivita), who happens to have a business right next door to the deli and lovable guy “Sammy the Ham” (who works at the deli), played by actor David Brown.

The Pilot which is set in Hoboken, NJ will actually be filmed in Jersey City, NJ in the well-known eatery, “Matarazzo’s Deli. This will serve as the actual sitcoms backdrop.

With an excellent writer and an amazing cast “Marinoâ€s” the Pilot has a great chance of being picked up and elevated to sitcom status. This would have Marino following in the footsteps of some very funny and talented comedians like; Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, George Lopez, The late Bernie Mac and others.

If you havenâ€t seen  one of Mike Marinoâ€s shows; on May 16, 2009 Marino will be performing at the Rahway Theater, in Rahway, NJ.
Bob Gonzo, Marino’s agent explains, “Mike will be appearing at the Rahway Theater and across the country this year.” “Look to his website for dates and times of his upcoming performances.” Jersey Cityâ€s Mike Marino is definitely taking the country by storm, not only does he have a new sitcom in the works and a country wide comedic tour, he also was recently inducted into “New Jersey Comedy Hall of Fame for 2008. The Comedy Hall of Fame features some of New Jersey’s most talent comedians such as Jerry Lewis and Joe Piscopo just to name a few.

Talented, versatile and definitely hilarious, Mike Marino is without a doubt, one of New Jersey’s “hottest” comic’s working the country right now!
 
To view comedian Mike Marino” upcoming scheduled visit his website at www.mikemarino.net.Also view Marino induction into the New Jersey Comedy Hall of Fame at www.newjerseycomedyhalloffame.com

The post Comedian Mike Marino – Back in Jersey City to Shoot TV Pilot – ” Marino’s” first appeared on River View Observer.