Media Morsels 8.10.12

The Newsroom
This week's episode is the pinnacle of storytelling. It was absolutely perfect, don't you agree? From the opening party, which sees John Gallagher, Jr., playing guitar and singing along with Jeff Daniels, to the team's human reactions to the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed (including Charlie Skinner (the great Sam Waterston) asking, "What's the virtue of being first?"), this was an incredible episode. (And, as Aaron Sorkin reminds viewers in "Inside the Episode" on HBO.com, Elliot, Don and Sloan were on a plane because they were coming back from the White House Correspondents Dinner, which took place the night before.) Check out the preview for the next episode, "The Black Out Part 1: Tragedy Porn" (I love a good Aaron Sorkin two-parter!), which pits news against ratings and brings some personal skeletons out of the closet (and also features more theatre vets!) And then check out a preview of what to expect in the weeks to come:




Bonuses:
  • Aaron Sorkin answered viewers' questions about "5/1" on HBO Connect

  • Thomas Sadoski answered fans' questions during another HBO Connect chat. Read the archive to learn what it's like playing the "bad guy" on TV and what Sadoski's dream role is.

  • Dev Patel also answered fans' questions during an HBO Connect chat. Read the archive to learn how he's grown as an actor and became ready to take on Sorkinese and what is relationship with John Gallagher, Jr., is like.
Speaking of the assassination of Osama bin Laden, Entertainment Weekly has an update on Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow's film about the hunt for the terrorist leader.

2012-2013 Season Update:
  • The fun and perky new musical Bring It On has extended it limited summer run. The production, originally set to conclude its run on October 7, will now play through January 20, 2013. Bring It On is currently playing at the St James Theatre, and is a great choice for the whole family. Learn more and purchase tickets at bringitonmusical.com. (And by the way, yesterday and today they recorded the original cast album! Stay tuned for details.)


  • Diner, a musical stage adaptation of the beloved 80s film, will open on Broadway April 10. Scrapping plans for a pre-Broadway, San Francisco run, the creative team, including its songwriter Sheryl Crow, are retooling the production, scaling it down to become something more intimate. The production is being directed and choreographed by Tony winner Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes). Playbill has more details.

  • Theatre favorite Norbert Leo Butz is heading back to the boards! We will join Katie Holmes in Theresa Rebeck's new play, Dead Accounts. The new play from Rebeck (Seminar) is set to play the Music Box Theatre; previews bring November 3 and opening night is November 28. Butz, though a Tony winner for his roles in musicals (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Catch Me if You Can), has often excelled in straight plays, most recently in Second Stage's production of How I Learned to Drive. Stay tuned for more information.

  • Just added to the already starry cast of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross is Scrubs star John C. McGinley. He joins the previously announced Al Pacino, Bobby Cannavale (The Motherfucker with the Hat), Richard Schiff (The West Wing), Jeremy Shamos (Clybourne Park) and David Harbour (The Newsroom). Playbill has details.

  • In other David Mamet news, his The Anarchist, which will star Patti LuPone, will now play the Golden Theatre. It was previously scheduled to play at the Lyceum. Production dates remain the same: previews being on November 13; opening night is December 2; the limited run will conclude on February 17. Playbill has details.

  • The retooled revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella now has production dates and a home. Cinderella will play at the Broadway Theatre; previews begin January 21, 2013, in anticipation of a February 21 opening. Mark Brokaw, most recently represented on the boards with The Lyons, directs and Laura Osnes (Bonnie and Clyde) and Santino Fontana (The Importance of Being Earnest) star as Cinderella and her prince, respectively. They'll be joined by a number of theatre veterans, including original Avenue Q company member Ann Harada, Harriet Harris, the dazzling Victoria Clark (Sister Act) and Peter and the Starcatcher's Greg Hildreth. Playbill has more details.

  • Recent Tony winner Judith Light (Other Desert Cities) will return to the boards next spring in Manhattan Theatre Club's production of Richard Greenberg's The Assembled Parties. Light will be joined by Jessica Hecht and the two will be directed by MTC artistic director Lynne Meadow. The limited engagement will begin previews March 19 and open on April 17. Visit MTC's website to learn more and subscribe.

  • Golden Boy will play the Belasco Theatre this fall. The revival of Clifford Odets's play begins previews on November 8 and opens on December 6, and stars, among others, Danny Burstein (Follies) and Seth Numrich (War Horse). Playbill has details.

Casting Update: Sesame Street
Broadway.com reports that there are tons of our favorite stars making their way to (or back to, for some) Sesame Street for its 43rd season. Among those slated to hang out with Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch are Amy Ryan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, funny lady Maya Rudolph, Don Cheadle, Halle Berry, Timothy Olyphant, Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet, Jon Hamm and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor!!! So whether or not you have a little tot by your side, tune in to catch these luminaries and all your favorite residents of Sesame Street!

Great Gatsby Pushes Release Date
Baz Luhrmann's film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, The Great Gatsby, was supposed to open on December 25, 2012. Instead, Warner Bros. is moving the release to summer 2013. While president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman says the move is being made to ensure a wider audience for the film, both The Hollywood Reporter and I theorize that it's because Gatsby star Leonardo DiCaprio already has a buzz-worthy movie coming out on Christmas Day: Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. This certainly takes care of my dilemma regarding which Leo movie to see on that day, but what do you think it means for the respective films?

Matt Taibbi on Romney's Tax Returns
Weighing in on the ongoing saga of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Rolling Stone contributing editor Matt Taibbi says that rather than focusing on the tax returns Romney refuses to release, we (and specifically President Obama) should focus on the content of the already-released returns. In his new blog post, Taibbi says, "The Romney tax returns are a prime example of our increasingly two-tiered bureaucratic system, in which there is one set of rules for poor and middle-class people, and another set of rules for people like Mitt Romney." Taibbi continues, "In Mitt’s case, the money you and I make to support ourselves is called income and is taxed up to 35 percent, but the money Mitt makes raiding companies with borrowed money and extracting draconian management fees from captive companies that have no choice but to pay them is called 'carried interest,' and taxed at a top rate of 15%." Stay tuned to Taibbi's blog and other news outlets throughout the election season, and make an informed decision on Election Day. (Visit Rock the Vote for more information about registering to vote and other Election Day miscellanea.)


This is 40
Check out the latest trailer for Judd Apatow's This is 40, starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann:



Arrested Development is Back
The Bluths and Funkes are back in the model home! Deadline reports that the entire cast—Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, Jessica Walter, Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross, Alia Shawkat and Michael Cera—has reunited and officially begun production on the "gap" season. This fourth season, ten episodes in total, will serve as a bridge to the Arrested Development movie. Each episode, according to previous reports, will follow one character to catch us up on what's been happening since the show prematurely went off the air in 2006. This new season will be available exclusively on Netflix in 2013.

Dig This
  • The fantastic Shakespeare in the Park production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods has been extended for a week. The limited summer engagement will now conclude its run at Central Park's Delacorte Theater on September 1. (Go if you can - it's an incredible production, with a dream team of a cast, bringing to life this smart, thought provoking and masterful show.) Check out opening night arrivals and after-party photos, both from Broadwayworld.com.

  • Smash scoop: theatre veteran and Tony nominee Daniel Sunjata (whom you may remember not from his theatrical roles but rather as the handsome sailor who invited Carrie to a party on Sex and the City) has landed a recurring role on the TV show's second season. Playbill has details. 

  • This week, we mourn the passing of PEGOT-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch. (PEGOT=Pulitzer, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) Hamlisch, well known for writing the score for A Chorus Line and the memorable title song for The Way We Were, died on August 6 at age 68. He will be missed but his music lives on.

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