Eric Stoltz news, films, TV, theatre & other work
A couple of new reviews of Fort McCoy showed up on the web in the last couple of days. The first one is pretty short, but good, from Examiner.com:
The story’s the star of this period piece that captures the human drama on the homefront as few films ever have. It’s written by Kate Connor (who plays her real-life grandmother in the film and co-directs with Michael Worth) and you can catch it at the Newport Beach Film Festival, where it screens Apr. 30 and May 5.
The second review is at MovingPicturesNetwork.com. It’s mostly good.
Stoltz’s barber figure battles both internally with his German heritage and externally with protecting a beautiful wife in the midst of both servicemen and prisoners, and Connor does well to create additional points of conflict in the subplots of the film that provide key insight into the politics and the prejudices of the day. (…)
All told, Connor manages the multitude of her tasks with an effective enchantment, and there’s a strong heartbeat at the center of this film. An undeniable sincerity coupled with a solid cast list should help the film find fans on the festival circuit, and a smart distributor might see some solid VOD and home-entertainment returns from an acquisition of this title.
And the first promotional stills from Glee are out (embedded from Spoiler TV):
“Prom Queen” airs two weeks from now (Tuesday, May 10 at 8 pm).
The Orange County Register has a new article about the films that will be shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival and it includes a short interview with Eric.
One spotlight film, titled “Fort McCoy,” is based on the little-known, true story of 425,000 German soldiers who were brought to the United States as prisoners of war during World War II.
The movie stars Eric Stoltz and Kate Connor, and screens at Triangle Square at 7:15 p.m. April 30 and 7 p.m. May 5.
For Stoltz, a veteran actor who has recently directed TV shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Glee,” “Fort McCoy” has been an opportunity to exercise a different muscle – producing.
“I read the script and I thought it was a very well-written and interesting and compelling true story,” said Stoltz, 49. “I enjoy playing roles based on real people. As a producer, I suggest things to the directors – cuts, shots, casting, notes. We got permission from the Department of Defense to shoot at an authentic Army base. I thought that was pretty cool, because they don’t always do that.”
Stoltz plans to attend the screening on April 30 and stick around for the question-and-answer session afterward. “I love film festivals, because the people who come to them are the people interested in supporting the arts, and that’s my tribe.”
You can read the whole article here.
Fox has released the schedule for May. The full press release is on Spoiler TV. Here is what happens in Eric’s episode:
Tuesday, May 10
GLEE (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) – “Prom Queen”
When the entertainment for prom falls through, Principal Figgins (guest star Iqbal Theba) asks New Directions to perform at the dance much to prom coordinator Sue’s dismay. Things get heated as the competition for prom king and queen draws closer, and Jessie St. James (guest star Jonathan Groff) returns.
Unrelated to Glee, MF Magazine did an interview with Kate Connor and Andy Hirsch at the Sonoma Film Festival, where Fort McCoy was screened 10 days ago. The clip is on YouTube. Also on YouTube, there is a short clip from the Grace of My Heart Q&A. Looks like Eric wasn’t there after all. Fun clip, though.
Eric is still working on Glee and several people have tweeted that he is directing the prom episode (see tweets from this guy, for instance). If that’s the case, it’s episode 2.20 and it will air on May 10.
Cory Monteith has posted another pic from the set (embedded):
Meanwhile, there aren’t any reports from the Fort McCoy screenings in Houston, but there is a new interview with Kate Connor on the Houston Public Radio site. The film was shown there last Friday and there is another screening tomorrow, so if you’re in the area, you can still catch it.
Last not least, Allison Anders tweets that Eric will be at the Grace of My Heart Q&A/screening on Saturday.
The Cinefamily (a Los Angeles based “organization of movie lovers devoted to finding and presenting interesting and unusual programs of exceptional, distinctive, weird and wonderful films”) will host an event, An Evening with Allison Anders, on April 16 and they tweet that Eric might show up too.
The event will include a Q&A with Allison Anders and a screening of Grace of My Heart, which she wrote and directed. (She also wrote and directed Things Behind the Sun.) According to Cinefamily’s twitter feed, Illeana Douglas is also expected to be there. Whether or not Eric shows up, sounds like a fun way to spend an evening, if you’re in L.A.
The reason why Eric might not attend is also pretty interesting: Cinefamily tweets that he is shooting a movie. But let’s wait for THR/Variety/other trade publication to confirm.
Some DVD/Blu-ray news for April:
The Rules of Attraction was released on Blu-ray in region 1 a couple of days ago (April 5) and The Prophecy is getting a DVD re-release later this month (April 26). Links to Amazon:
Fort McCoy will be shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival on April 30 and May 5 and Eric is expected to attend.
From The Orange County Register:
Other festival highlights include the West Coast premiere April 29 of “Lucky,” a film written and directed by Gil Cates Jr. and starring Jeffrey Tambor, Colin Hanks and Mimi Rogers; “Balls to the Wall” (April 30), a comedy about a male stripper directed by Penelope Spheeris; “California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown” (April 30), a documentary executive produced by the former governor’s niece, Hilary Armstrong; “Project Nim” (April 30), a documentary directed by James Marsh, who won the 2008 Oscar for best documentary for “Man on Wire”; “Fort McCoy” (April 30), a drama starring Eric Stoltz; and “PressPausePlay” (May 1), a documentary about the digital revolution’s effects on art, culture and music. (…)
Special guests expected to attend include actors Hall, Fonda, Tambor, Colin Hanks, Stoltz and more. Emmy and Oscar-winning writer Aaron Sorkin is scheduled to lead a screenwriting discussion on Saturday, April 30 at the Lido Theater.
For the complete program and tickets, see: program.newportbeachfilmfest.com.
