“Vinyl” Premieres Tomorrow Night

Vinyl, Paul Ben-Victor’s long-awaited new series, is premiering tomorrow night on HBO at 9:00 p.m. to mixed reviews. Some love it; others, not so much. While the critics may not agree, one thing we can count on is a standout performance by Paul, who plays Maury Gold, a record executive. Paul’s talent shines in everything he does.

paul-vinyl-1

Vinyl was created by Mick Jagger, Martin Scorsese, Rich Cohen and Terence Winter. It’s about the rock and roll music business in 1970s New York.

While we’re waiting for tomorrow’s premiere, check out these interviews of Paul:

New York Vinyl Premiere Interview 1

New York Vinyl Premiere Interview 2

 

Mike McCafferty Announces the Return of “The Invisible Man,” Plus New Projects for Vince and Paul, and an Old One and an Interview

The Invisible Man Returns!

With all the hints and buzz that something might be happening on The Invisible Man front lately, it was very exciting to see this announcement by Mike McCafferty from the other day!

Dear Fans,
Talked to Vinny.
Talked to Paul.
Talked to Eddie.
They’re all on board.
We’re making a little something. Gonna kickstart it in a bit.
For reals this time.
Stay tuned.

What exactly is this little something?  A full-blown movie?  An I-Man short?  My guess is the latter, but we’ll eventually find out.  Even if it’s a short film, it’ll be awesome to see the guys back together again in the roles we loved them in!  And, who knows?  If it’s a short and it does well, we may get more I-Man.  One can dream, can’t one?

Paul Ben-Victor’s New Series:  Vinyl

The very talented Paul Ben-Victor has landed himself a role on another HBO series.  This one is called Vinyl and it’s helmed by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger.  It’s about the New York City rock and roll music scene of the 1970s. Paul plays the role of music executive Maury Gold.

Vinyl is due to air in 2016.

Paul Ben-Victor in Friends and Romans

Paul Ben-Victor in "Friends & Romans"

Paul Ben-Victor in “Friends and Romans”

Friends and Romans premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival last year as well as the Boston International Film Festival.  Now it is due to be released October 23 in Philadelphia and Providence, Rhode Island, before heading to New York in November. No word yet on if it will get a wider release.

What is it about?  Well, here’s what writer/producer Gregg Greenberg has to say about his film.

Paul plays Dennis Socio in the film.  Here’s a trailer.

Cooper Talk Interviews Paul Ben-Victor

Steve Cooper from Cooper Talk interviewed Paul back in March.  It’s a great hour-long interview and well worth your time.  Steve and Paul talk a little Invisible Man too!  Listen to the interview here.

Vincent Ventresca in Wicked City

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Vince regularly on our TV sets but, now, with his new recurring role on Wicked City, we’ll be seeing him on a somewhat more regular basis.

Vince plays the role of Jimmy, ex-boyfriend of Betty, one of the lead characters.

If you look closely at the following two pictures, you’ll see Vince sitting in the corner at the table read for Wicked City.  Click on the pictures for a better look.

Wicked City Table Read

Wicked City Table Read

Wicked City Table Read

Wicked City Table Read

Wicked City premieres Tuesday, October 27, on ABC.

Stakeout:  A New Webseries Starring Vincent Ventresca

stakeout

Vincent Ventresca and Erik Palladino have put together a little web series that will be coming out in November.  Erik describes the series as basically two guys in a car on a stakeout.  It sounds pretty low budget but, also, sounds like it will be a lot of fun.

Here’s a video promo for the show.

Real Life Unaired Pilot

Finally, here’s an unaired Vincent Ventresca pilot for you.  Real Life is a pilot from 1998 that was never picked up or aired.  Vince has a supporting role in it as a doctor and the husband of one of the main characters.

Maybe it’s a good thing that it didn’t get picked up, because shortly afterward, Vince landed the role of Darien Fawkes on The Invisible Man.

Enjoy!

Vincent Ventresca Co-Stars in “Break Point” and Talks “Invisible Man,” and a Dragon Con I-Man Panel This Weekend

Vincent Ventresca’s latest movie Break Point is out in theaters this weekend. Vince has a small role in it as Gary, the douchebag hair model boyfriend of Amy Smart’s character, Heather.

Hmm…I seem to remember Darien Fawkes from The Invisible Man also doing some hair modeling in his past.

Break Point stars Jeremy Sisto and David Walton.  It’s about two estranged brothers who reunite to make a run at a major tennis tournament. Here’s the trailer for the film.

In this scene, Gary meets David Walton’s character, Darren.

In this interview, Vince talks about the director, the writer, and the relationship between Gary and Heather.

Here’s some behind-the-scenes footage from the film.  Look closely and you’ll see Vince in a couple of scenes.

 

Break Point is getting a limited release this weekend in these cities.  It’s also available on VOD at iTunes and Amazon.

Rama’s Screen recently did an interview with Vincent, which you can read here.  I really love this interview.  Rama starts out revealing that he is an Invisible Man fan and that makes the whole interview even more fun, especially when he comments on the shirtless scene.  Vince gives all you VVSB’rs a shout out when he mentions the Vincent Ventresca Shirtless Brigade!

Vincent Ventresca shirtless in "Break Point"

Vincent Ventresca shirtless in “Break Point.”

But the best part of Rama’s interview was by far when he asked Vince if The Invisible Man could come back. Vince replies saying that he’s been talking about it with Matt Greenberg, the series’ creator.  He doesn’t really give us much information in the interview, but Mike McCafferty has hinted that something might be going on.

Although they are being tight lipped about it, the fact that, at the very least, discussions are taking place, makes the fan girl in me squee with delight.  As some of you may know, years ago I had an entertainment lawyer approach Universal so that we could start a dialog about the rights to The Invisible Man.  I got turned down flat.

My thoughts since have been that if The Invisible Man is to have any chance of coming back, it would most likely happen if the people involved in the making of the original series worked to make it happen.  And even for them, there are a lot of hurdles to overcome.  When it comes to the movie and TV world, getting anything made is hard.  Real hard.

But the fact that there is actually some kind of effort being put toward that goal is so freaking awesome.  How cool would it be to get the cast back in both The Invisible Man and my movie too?  To my knowledge, I don’t think anything like that has ever been done before.

In the interview, Vince mentions his hope for finding a bigger audience.  And that’s going to be vital to its success.  We already have a small loyal audience for the show, but it needs to grow.  With such a huge quantity of media clamoring for the audience’s attention nowadays, it’s hard to stand out and get noticed.  So, from a strategic point of view, getting both the show and a fan-produced movie made could be enough of a tipping point to get us known to the wider audience.

I know I’ll keep working on my end to help make that happen.

I-Man at Dragon Con

Lastly, but by no means least, in commemoration of the show’s 15th anniversary, there is fan-run Invisible Man panel happening this weekend at Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia!

The panel takes place tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. in the Marriott hotel, room M303-M304.

If you’re attending Dragon Con this weekend, be sure not to miss it!

Paul Ben-Victor Guest Stars in “Castle”

If you haven’t heard already, Paul will be guest starring on Castle tomorrow night! He plays a character named Dino Scarpella, who appears to be a mobster. Paul plays those mobster roles so well.

Here’s a sneak peak:

Castle airs tomorrow (Monday) on ABC at 10/9 central.  Be sure to check your local listings for the correct time and station.

Mailing List

A quick note about the mailing list. It’s come to my attention that the sign-up form is not working correctly. It appears that nothing happens after hitting the Subscribe button. If that happens to you, go check your email inbox and see if a confirmation email was sent to you. This may take a few minutes so please be patient.

If a confirmation email doesn’t appear in your inbox, please try subscribing via the form on my Facebook page.  That form appears to be working correctly.

My apologies for the inconvenience.  Getting the form fixed is on my ever-growing to-do list.

Paul Ben-Victor to Appear In “Mob City”

Paul Ben-Victor in Mob City

Paul Ben-Victor in Mob City

Hey all, sorry I’ve been so quiet lately.  I’ve been dealing with computer problems and limited Internet access.  But I did hear from Paul tonight, so I wanted to make sure his message got out to all of you in time.

Paul wanted to let you know that he will be appearing in TNT’s Mob City tomorrow night, Wednesday, December 18!  So check the listings in your area and set your DVR to record at 9:00 p.m./8:00 p.m. Central.

I don’t know the name of the character Paul is playing, but based on the picture and the name of the show, I’d venture to say he plays a mobster.  Ya think?

So check out Paul tomorrow in Mob City and show your support for this wonderful actor!  And feel free to leave a comment below for Paul.  I’ll be sending him the link to this post.  I’m sure he’d love to hear from you!

 

Paul Ben-Victor in “Person of Interest”

Paul Ben-Victor in "Person of Interest"

Paul Ben-Victor in “Person of Interest”

Hey all, Paul Ben-Victor appeared in last night’s episode of Person of Interest.  Wonderful news you must be thinking, but it’s after the episode aired!

I know.  I know.  But I found out about it too late to give all of you a heads up.

The good news is that it’s not too late to watch it.  The episode, entitled “Reasonable Doubt,” is now up on the official Person of Interest website.

So go watch it and enjoy Paul’s performance!

Cast Updates for Vince, Eddie, and Paul

Since I’ve got three updates for you today, I’m going to combine them all into one post.  Let’s get started, shall we?

Vincent Ventresca in Flying Monkeys

While Disney’s Oz: The Great and Powerful is premiering today in theaters, Syfy will be premiering its own Oz knock-off tomorrow called Flying Monkeys (originally called Flying Terror).  The story is about a girl living in Kansas whose new pet monkey turns out to be an evil, flying shapeshifter.  I’m guessing that’s the only similarity to Oz, but we’ll have to see about that.

Vincent Ventresca in "Flying Monkeys"

Vincent Ventresca and Maika Monroe in “Flying Monkeys”

Vincent plays the girl’s father, James.  I’ve got to admit that I’m not crazy about seeing him take another role in a horror creature feature.  I think he’s too talented an actor to play second fiddle to a monster (or in this case monsters).  But I get that it’s work and sometimes you have to take what you can get until a better role comes along (like the role I’ve got for him in my movie 🙂 ).  Regardless, I’m glad he’s working and that we’ll get a chance to see him on our screens again.

Flying Monkeys airs tomorrow (Saturday, March 9) on Syfy at 9:00/8:00c.  Be sure to check your local listings.

Here’s a peak at the trailer:


Eddie Jones in Benched

Eddie Jones and Matt Fowler in "Benched"

Eddie Jones and Matt Fowler in “Benched”

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Eddie performing live on stage.  It was such a treat!  He’s an amazing actor, as well as a genuinely nice person.  So I was happy to hear that Eddie is back on the stage again in a play called Benched.

The play is about a disgruntled senior citizen named Max who “makes his way to his favorite bench in Central Park to consider what choices he may have left to make his life worth living.  He discovers the bench occupied by a stranger who seems determined to disrupt and interfere with whatever plans he may have for himself.”  The LA Stage Times has a nice write up about it.

If you’re in the LA area, I highly recommend that you take some time to see this play.  Watching Eddie perform live is never a disappointment.  And his wife, Anita Khanzadian, is directing the play too, so you get the talents of both halves of this husband and wife team.

Can you tell I’m a fan?  Well, it’s not hard to be with these two.  They are not only talented, but also just the nicest, sweetest couple.

Benched is playing a limited run through March 24.  You can see it every Friday and Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. and every Sunday at 3:00 p.m.  It’s playing at the Avery Schreiber Theater, 11050 Magnolia Blvd., NoHo Arts District.  You can purchase tickets at the Interact Theatre Company’s website or call 818-765-8732.

For your convenience I’ve put Eddie’s performances as well as Vince’s movie on the Shoom Zone calendar.

Paul Ben-Victor in Vegas

Try as I may, sometimes cast appearances escape my notice until after they are over.  This is the case with Paul’s recent appearance in Vegas.  Fortunately, you can watch the entire episode on the official Vegas website.  But it may not be up for too much longer, so you might want to watch it while you can.

The episode is called “Two of a Kind” and in it Paul plays Abe Silver, a Hollywood producer.  This is the second time Paul has played a Hollywood producer; and the second time he has teamed up with fellow actor Michael Chiklis.

Here’s a little quiz:  Do you remember the name of the TV show in which Paul previously played a producer?  What TV movie has Paul appeared in with Michael Chiklis?

Paul Ben-Victor and Michael Chiklis in "Vegas"

Paul Ben-Victor and Michael Chiklis in “Vegas”

Paul has signed up for a four-episode stint on this show so we’ll get to see more of Abe Silver in the future.

Mike McCafferty in “Austin & Ally” Tonight!

Hey, Invisible Man fans, here’s a heads up that our own Mike McCafferty will be appearing in tonight’s episode of Austin & Ally! The episode is entitled “Backups & Breakups” and Mike plays the role of Mr. Conley in it.  The show airs tonight on the Disney Channel at 8:30 p.m. PT, but be sure to check your local listings for your time zone.

When I was checking out the show’s website, I was pleasantly surprised to see that actress Raini Rodriguez is in it.  She’s probably best known for Paul Bart: Mall Cop.  I met Raini a couple of years ago at a film festival and she really impressed me with her friendliness and professionalism.  She’s a very talented young lady and it’s nice to see her as a regular in a TV show.