Category Archives: Film

A Fan’s “National Treasure” Adventure

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Mike McCafferty isn’t the only person I know who was in National Treasure:  Book of Secrets.  I-Man fan and I-Maniac Fan Club member Melissa Cavanaugh was also in the film.  Melissa is a big fan of National Treasure.  It’s one of her favorite movies.  So when she found out that the sequel to the blockbuster hit was being filmed in her area, she wanted to be part of the experience and so she got herself a part as an extra.  Better still, she didn’t get cut! 

Read About Melissa’s Experience as an Extra on NT2

Read Melissa’s Follow-Up Blog

Catch a Glimpse of Melissa in This Short Clip From NT2

Congratulations, Melissa!  Thanks for allowing me to share your experience with my readers.

Two Movies for Mike?

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Mike McCaffertyTo get cast in a major motion picture is probably every struggling actor’s dream.  You get to rub elbows with the big guys, you get some screen time, and you get a nice paycheck too.  But what if nobody gets to see you?  What if you’re too far in the background?  What if you get cut?  That would suck, wouldn’t it?  Well, yes, and, unfortunately, this is what happened to Mike McCafferty.

Mike has parts in, not one, but two movies that were just released theatrically last Friday:  Charlie Wilson’s War and National Treasure:  Book of Secrets.  Here’s a little bit about them.

Charlie Wilson’s War

Charlie Wilson’s War stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.  It is based on the true life story of Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson.  Mike’s role in this film was more of a glorified extra.  They wanted actors with improv experience to mix in with the extras at a party.  So if you squint real hard maybe you just might catch a glimpse of Mike at the outdoor party scene…or maybe not.  

National Treasure:  Book of Secrets

National Treasure:  Book of Secrets is the sequel to the blockbuster hit National Treasure.  It stars Nicolas Cage.  This was a bigger role for Mike…a speaking role with his face projected on a huge screen right behind Nicolas Cage.  That would have been cool to see.  But, as fate would have it, he was edited right out of the film.  Perhaps you might catch a glimpse of him in the audience? 

I wish this news was better, but that’s the way things go sometimes in Hollywood.  There are no guarantees.

Better luck next time, Mike.  I’m rooting for you!

Eddie in “Act Your Age”

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Eddie JonesQuite a while back I wrote about a film called Angst that starred our own Eddie Jones.  The latest news I have is that the film is scheduled to be released in 2008.  Also, its name has been officially changed to Act Your Age.

If you happen to be in the Illinois area, you have a chance to see this film before everyone else.  Tomorrow night, November 14, at 7:00 p.m., there will be a sneak preview of Act Your Age at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois.  Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for students and senior citizens, and $4 for children.  You can purchase tickets by calling the ticket line at (217) 356-9063. 

Virginia Theatre
203 W. Park
Champaign, IL

Visit the Virginia Theatre website for more information.  And for more info on the movie and to watch the trailer, visit the official Act Your Age website.  If you’re having trouble downloading the trailer, you can also view it on actress Amanda Troop’s MySpace TV page.

 

Austin Film Festival

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Here’s a quick heads up to any fans in Texas.  Two of Paul Ben-Victor’s films are scheduled to be shown at the Austin Film Festival within the next week.

On The Doll will be shown twice.  Once on Friday, October 12, at 7:30 p.m. and again on Monday, October 15, at 9:30 p.m. 

Randy and the Mob will be shown on Saturday, October 13, at 7:30 p.m.

The Austin Film Festival starts tomorrow, October 11, and runs through October 18.  For information on passes, badges, venue locations, etc., visit the Austin Film Festival website.

“Randy and the Mob” National Film Tour (Updated)

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Paul Ben-VictorPaul Ben-Victor’s film Randy and the Mob is continuing its national tour in the southern states.  Those of you who live in the south and want to see Paul’s film, make note of the following dates and locations.  The rest of us…well, we’ll just have to wait.

October 5

  • Little Rock, AR
  • Fayetteville, AR

October 12

  • Columbia, SC
  • Charlotte, NC
  • Raleigh, NC
  • Greensboro, NC
  • Carey, NC
  • Tulsa, OK
  • Oklahoma City, OK

October 19

  • Austin, TX
  • Macon, GA
  • Athens, GA

October 26

  • Charlotte, NC
  • Greensboro, NC

November 2

  • Charlottesville, VA

November 9

  • Asheville, NC

Check out the Randy and the Mob website for a complete list of locations and times, as well as any additional listings in the future. 

Official Randy & the Mob Website

Nestor No Longer “Lost”

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Well, it looks like Nestor Carbonell, who has been playing the recurring guest role of Richard Alpert on Lost, might be taking a break from the series.  He’s landed a series regular role on the new CBS drama Cane, which premieres tomorrow night, September 25, at 10:00 p.m. on CBS.

Cane Trailer

There’s been a lot of concern among Lost fans as to the fate of Nestor’s character and even Cane creator Cynthia Cidre gets asked if Nestor will be available to guest star in Lost in the following interview.

Exclusive Interview: ‘Cane’ Creator Cynthia Cidre

And she’s not the only one getting asked that question.  Lost Executive Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse also touch on that question in the Official Lost Podcast.

However, the Star Ledger takes it right to the top.  CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler was asked whether she’d let Carbonell do a guest spot on Lost.  “‘Probably not,’ she said, arguing that they’re trying to establish a new show and a new character, and she felt it would confuse the audience to see Carbonell playing roles on two different series at once.”

I think Nina may be underestimating the TV audience a bit, don’t you?

So there you have it.  When and if Richard Alpert ever appears on Lost again remains to be seen.  In the meantime, Nestor is in the enviable position of being in demand on two TV shows…an actor’s dream.

Batman

And just when you think things couldn’t get any better for Nestor, Variety reports that Nestor has been cast as the mayor of Gotham City in the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight.   

The Dark Knight Movie Teaser

Official Dark Knight Site

The Dark Knight is scheduled to be released July 18, 2008.

Anybody else find it ironic that Batmanuel will appear on Batman?

Paul, Paul, and More Paul

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Paul Ben-VictorOkay, I’ve got a whole gaggle of Paul Ben-Victor news to share with you, so let’s get started.

First, let’s get the bad news out the way.  I’m sorry to report that, after only nine episodes, John from Cincinnati has been cancelled.  Even though Paul’s character, Palaka, has been praised, the show itself hasn’t been getting many good reviews and it just couldn’t seem to find its audience.

Now for some good news.  The Foxhole site has a really great podcast interview with Paul.  In it they cover a whole range of topics from John from Cincinnati to The Wire to how Paul got his start in show biz and more.  The podcast is an hour long and I should warn you that there are a couple of swear words in this interview. 

In addition, there are a couple of links given during the course of the interview.  One is to Paul’s old Atari video game commercial (You might remember that one from when I posted the link on The Invisible Man Online back in September of last year.) and the other is to Paul’s father’s photography website.  Note:  If you click on those links during the podcast, you’ll have to restart the podcast from the very beginning each time.  It doesn’t pick up where it left off.  So for your convenience, I’ve included the links below.  Now you can listen to the podcast without interruption and then come here to click on the links or vice versa.

Foxhole Podcast Interview with Paul Ben-Victor

Young Paul Ben-Victor

Here’s the link to the Atari video game commercial that Paul did many years ago (note the hair).  His costar is a very young Elisabeth Shue.

Atari Video Game Commercial

Paul’s father, Victor Friedman, has been a photographer for over 40 years.  You can view his work at the link below.  Warning:  There is some nudity.

Victor Friedman Photography

Paul’s Upcoming Projects

In the above podcast interview Paul mentions that he will be back in season five of The Wire in his role as Vondas.  He will be in at least three episodes, possibly four.  No word yet on when season five will start or which episodes Paul will appear in.

While one series ends for Paul, another series is getting underway.  In Plain Sight is a USA original series being shot in New Mexico.  It’s the story of a no-nonsense federal marshal who masquerades as a parking attendent, but really works in the witness protection branch of the FBI.  It is purported to possibly start after the new year.  Here are a couple of articles about the filming of the pilot:

Albuquerque Journal:  TV Pilot to be Filmed Here

Valencia County News-Bulletin:  Highland Meadows Gets Visit From Hollywood Crew

In the feature film arena, Paul appears in the movie Randy and the Mob, which is scheduled to be released in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 21, 2007.  According to the official website, which is still under construction, there will be a national tour to promote the film.  In the meantime, go check out the trailer that is up at the official site. 

Official Randy & the Mob Website

Paul’s Website

Last, but certainly not least, if you haven’t been to Paul’s website in a while, go on over and pay it a visit.  While still under construction, Paul’s website has been given a whole new look.  Do some exploring and you’ll find some really great info about Paul’s character Bobby Hobbes.  I’ve found that the site can be extremely slow sometimes in loading the links, but if you click one of the small pictures under Paul’s demo reel, you can get into the rest of the site.

Paul Ben-Victor’s Official Website

Okay, that’s it for now.  When I hear more, I’ll pass it along.

 

Universal to Make “Invisible Man” Movie

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If you haven’t heard about this yet, don’t get too excited.  This is not our Invisible Man.  Instead, this will be a sequel to H.G. Wells’ original story that focuses on the British nephew of the original Invisible Man.  The story is to be set during World War II.  David Goyer will write and direct the film.

Well, I don’t think I need to tell you that I think Universal totally missed the boat on this one.  They own the rights to our Invisible Man and yet they choose to ignore it and make a film that is a sequel of the original.  What a shame.

Variety:  Goyer eyes U’s new ‘Invisible’ film

Cinematical:  David Goyer Will Write and Direct ‘The Invisible Man’