MONTREAL – Michael Sarrazin, the Canadian actor who rose to fame playing opposite big-screen legends like Paul Newman, Jane Fonda and George C. Scott, has died. He was 70 years old.
Sarrazin died Sunday in Montreal surrounded by family after a battle with cancer, said Michael Oscars, his agent and friend of 27 years, said Wednesday.
Born Jacques Michel Andre Sarrazin in Quebec City on May 22, 1940, he appeared in such films as "Sometimes a Great Notion," "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and "The Flim-Flam Man," among others.
He also starred in the popular 1973 TV miniseries "Frankenstein: The True Story."
Sarrazin was remembered by his brother Pierre for his "wicked sense of wit," but fans might recall his "soulful eyes."
Major stardom proved elusive. Sarrazin suffered a professional setback in 1969 when he had to give up the role of Joe Buck in "Midnight Cowboy."
The actor was on his way to Texas for a costume fitting when he found out his studio wouldn't release him from his contract, his brother said. He had to turn down a part that eventually went to Jon Voight.
"It was a very disappointing moment for him because the movie was wonderful," Pierre Sarrazin said. "Jon Voight's always been very gracious in mentioning that Michael had that role."
Sarrazin moved back to Montreal from Los Angeles a few years ago to be closer to his children.
Oscars, his agent, said the actor's daughters, Catherine and Michelle, were at his side when he died.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
NY opera awards show features Broadway stars
NEW YORK – Broadway 
stars Patti LuPone and Barbara Cook joined director Francis Ford Coppola and playwright John Guare on Sunday to present this year's Opera News Awards.
Five artists were recognized for their international musical achievements: German tenor Jonas Kaufmann, American soprano Patricia Racette, New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and Italian conductor Riccardo Muti.
Coppola — who directed the film "The Godfather" and its sequels — presented the award to Muti, a native of Naples, Italy, who joked, "I look like a relative of The Godfather." Muti missed leading part of this winter's Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert series because of a fractured jaw and other injuries he suffered when he fainted and fell from the podium during a Feb. 3 rehearsal. He appeared healthy on Sunday.
Coppola followed Lupone, who noted that the Hollywood director fit well into Sunday's lineup because "his `Apocalypse Now' is truly operatic."
Also attending the awards ceremony at the Plaza Hotel was a robust-looking Michael Douglas, who fought throat cancer last year and declared in January that he is cancer-free after undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.
Asked what he would say to people who claim to hate opera, the actor and opera fan said, "They never went!" He said he goes regularly because the staged performances "are so broad and big — this kind of dramatic art doesn't exist anymore."
The awards were created in 2005 by Opera News, whose circulation of more than 100,000 makes it the world's most popular magazine in the field.
Previous winner and top mezzo-soprano Susan Graham jokingly has called the magazine "our Bible, our porn" for its passionate fan following.
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Online:
Opera News: http://www.operanews.com
stars Patti LuPone and Barbara Cook joined director Francis Ford Coppola and playwright John Guare on Sunday to present this year's Opera News Awards.Five artists were recognized for their international musical achievements: German tenor Jonas Kaufmann, American soprano Patricia Racette, New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and Italian conductor Riccardo Muti.
Coppola — who directed the film "The Godfather" and its sequels — presented the award to Muti, a native of Naples, Italy, who joked, "I look like a relative of The Godfather." Muti missed leading part of this winter's Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert series because of a fractured jaw and other injuries he suffered when he fainted and fell from the podium during a Feb. 3 rehearsal. He appeared healthy on Sunday.
Coppola followed Lupone, who noted that the Hollywood director fit well into Sunday's lineup because "his `Apocalypse Now' is truly operatic."
Also attending the awards ceremony at the Plaza Hotel was a robust-looking Michael Douglas, who fought throat cancer last year and declared in January that he is cancer-free after undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.
Asked what he would say to people who claim to hate opera, the actor and opera fan said, "They never went!" He said he goes regularly because the staged performances "are so broad and big — this kind of dramatic art doesn't exist anymore."
The awards were created in 2005 by Opera News, whose circulation of more than 100,000 makes it the world's most popular magazine in the field.
Previous winner and top mezzo-soprano Susan Graham jokingly has called the magazine "our Bible, our porn" for its passionate fan following.
____
Online:
Opera News: http://www.operanews.com
Friday, April 08, 2011
Schwarzenegger may play sheriff in crime thriller
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Arnold Schwarzenegger might have found his big-screen comeback.
Sources say the actor-turned-governor-turned-returning actor is in advanced negotiations to play a bordertown sheriff in an indie crime thriller titled "The Last Stand." The talks could still fall apart over money issues.
The story is set in motion when a cartel leader breaks out of a courthouse and speeds to the Mexican border. The only thing standing in his way is the sheriff and his inexperienced staff.
The project will be directed for Lionsgate by Jee-Woon Kim, the filmmaker behind the Korean movie "The Good, The Bad, The Weird." The studio hopes to begin shooting in August.
Schwarzenegger's reps at Creative Artists Agency could not confirm the dealmaking and Lionsgate had no comment. The news of Schwarzenegger's involvement first surfaced in Poland and was followed by fan sites in the U.S.
Schwarzenegger has been courted for over a dozen projects since he officially finished his seven-year term as California governor in January. The World War II action project "With Wings Eagles" and sequels and remakes to "Predator" and "Marathon Man" are some of the titles that have surfaced.
Schwarzenegger last appeared on screen in a brief cameo in 2010's hit action film "The Expendables." His last starring gig was 2003's "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."
might have found his big-screen comeback.Sources say the actor-turned-governor-turned-returning actor is in advanced negotiations to play a bordertown sheriff in an indie crime thriller titled "The Last Stand." The talks could still fall apart over money issues.
The story is set in motion when a cartel leader breaks out of a courthouse and speeds to the Mexican border. The only thing standing in his way is the sheriff and his inexperienced staff.
The project will be directed for Lionsgate by Jee-Woon Kim, the filmmaker behind the Korean movie "The Good, The Bad, The Weird." The studio hopes to begin shooting in August.
Schwarzenegger's reps at Creative Artists Agency could not confirm the dealmaking and Lionsgate had no comment. The news of Schwarzenegger's involvement first surfaced in Poland and was followed by fan sites in the U.S.
Schwarzenegger has been courted for over a dozen projects since he officially finished his seven-year term as California governor in January. The World War II action project "With Wings Eagles" and sequels and remakes to "Predator" and "Marathon Man" are some of the titles that have surfaced.
Schwarzenegger last appeared on screen in a brief cameo in 2010's hit action film "The Expendables." His last starring gig was 2003's "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Green slime rules Kids' Choice Awards
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – They came, they saw, they got slimed!
From start to finish, the gooey green stuff poured onto fans in the front rows of the Nickelodeon television network's Kids' Choice Awards Saturday as stars ranging from Miley Cyrus to the Black Eyed Peas came away winners.
The Kids' Choice Awards annually draws some of Hollywood's biggest stars of music, movies and TV shows who are promoting upcoming films, TV shows or music to young fans.
The 2011 ceremony got off to a monstrous start as host Jack Black, whose "Kung Fu Panda 2" hits theaters in May, drove a 10 foot tall (3-meter-tall) monster truck over the top of two fancy limousines, then performed a song with the Black Eyed Peas.
The first winner was Johnny Depp, who was named favorite movie actor for his role as the Mad Hatter in "Alice In Wonderland," and after collecting his orange blimp Kids' Choice trophy, he pulled out a hose and dowsed the kids with slime.
Russell Brand got the green stuff flung at him while giving the award for favorite animated movie voice to Eddie Murphy in "Shrek Forever After." Model Heidi Klum took a face full of the stuff when she handed out the blimp for favorite TV actress to Selena Gomez of Disney show "Wizards of Waverly Place."
Two of the few performers who didn't get the slime -- widely considered an honor at the Kids' Choice -- were Miley Cyrus, who was named favorite movie actress for drama "The Last Song," and Jaden Smith, who scooped up a blimp for his film, "The Karate Kid," the remake that won best movie.
The Black Eyed Peas were named best group and Willow Smith, Jaden Smith's sister, performed her hit song, "Whip My Hair.
Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn scored a blimp for favorite female athlete, and topping off the night was the cast of Nickelodeon's "iCarly" collecting a trophy for top TV show.
Along with winners of Kids Choice Awards, who were picked through online voting, singer Justin Timberlake was given a special silver blimp called The Big Help Award for his efforts in raising money for the Shriners Hospital for Children.
The show ended with comedian Jim Carrey floating over the crowd in a hot air balloon and, of course, getting the biggest honor of them all at the Kids Choice Awards -- the slime.
From start to finish, the gooey green stuff poured onto fans in the front rows of the Nickelodeon television network's Kids' Choice Awards Saturday as stars ranging from Miley Cyrus
to the Black Eyed Peas came away winners.The Kids' Choice Awards annually draws some of Hollywood's biggest stars of music, movies and TV shows who are promoting upcoming films, TV shows or music to young fans.
The 2011 ceremony got off to a monstrous start as host Jack Black, whose "Kung Fu Panda 2" hits theaters in May, drove a 10 foot tall (3-meter-tall) monster truck over the top of two fancy limousines, then performed a song with the Black Eyed Peas.
The first winner was Johnny Depp, who was named favorite movie actor for his role as the Mad Hatter in "Alice In Wonderland," and after collecting his orange blimp Kids' Choice trophy, he pulled out a hose and dowsed the kids with slime.
Russell Brand got the green stuff flung at him while giving the award for favorite animated movie voice to Eddie Murphy in "Shrek Forever After." Model Heidi Klum took a face full of the stuff when she handed out the blimp for favorite TV actress to Selena Gomez of Disney show "Wizards of Waverly Place."
Two of the few performers who didn't get the slime -- widely considered an honor at the Kids' Choice -- were Miley Cyrus, who was named favorite movie actress for drama "The Last Song," and Jaden Smith, who scooped up a blimp for his film, "The Karate Kid," the remake that won best movie.
The Black Eyed Peas were named best group and Willow Smith, Jaden Smith's sister, performed her hit song, "Whip My Hair.
Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn scored a blimp for favorite female athlete, and topping off the night was the cast of Nickelodeon's "iCarly" collecting a trophy for top TV show.
Along with winners of Kids Choice Awards, who were picked through online voting, singer Justin Timberlake was given a special silver blimp called The Big Help Award for his efforts in raising money for the Shriners Hospital for Children.
The show ended with comedian Jim Carrey floating over the crowd in a hot air balloon and, of course, getting the biggest honor of them all at the Kids Choice Awards -- the slime.
Friday, April 01, 2011
He's back! Arnie to return as cartoon Governator
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Three months after standing down as California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger is making a comeback as a cartoon superhero version of himself, the Governator.
The former champion bodybuilder turned Hollywood star -- catchphrase "I'll be Back" -- has teamed up with Marvel comics veteran Stan Lee to create the character that will star in an animated TV show and comic book.
More details will be announced next week, but Schwarzenegger and Lee revealed the plans to Entertainment Weekly, which published details on its website this week.
"The Governator is very simple. It takes my entire career basically, if it is bodybuilding, if it is action movies, if it is the governorship," the famously Austrian-accented 63-year-old told the magazine.
"It takes all those things and combines it into one. That guy is designed to fight crime, to fight natural disasters, this guy will be jumping into action," he added in a video clip on the weekly's website.
Arnie's new persona will have a fleet of super-vehicles at his disposal in an Arnold Cave under his house and a wardrobe of "Super Suits" to help him fly and perform other stunts.
Ranged against him will be super-villains, including an evil organization called Gangsters Imposters Racketeers Liars & Irredeemable Ex-cons -- or GIRLIE Men for short, after Arnie's infamously politically incorrect phrase for wimps.
"I love the idea of a control center below my house with a path so that boats and submarines can go right into the ocean," Schwarzenegger told the weekly, in his first interview since leaving public life in January.
"In the cartoon, my house is much closer to the beach than where we live, but, you know, it's a cartoon."
The animated TV show and comic book won't be out until next year, but Lee -- co-creator of Spider Man and a raft of other comic superheros, revealed that it will be based on Schwarzenegger's personal life.
"The Governator is going to be a great superhero, but he'll also be Arnold Schwarzenegger," he said.
"We're using all the personal elements of Arnold's life. We're using his wife (Maria Shriver). We're using his kids. We're using the fact that he used to be governor.
"Only after he leaves the governor's office, Arnold decides to become a crime fighter and builds a secret high-tech crime-fighting center under his house in Brentwood," he added.
Schwarzenegger came to the United States as a penniless 21-year-old in 1968, but became a millionaire and won the Mr Universe title four more times. He then shrugged off barbs about his thick accent as he turned to acting.
Joining Hollywood's royalty, his ominous "Terminator" catchphrases "I'll be back" and "Hasta la vista, baby" have now entered the English lexicon -- and he still uses them frequently as a politician.
Along the way, he married into a political dynasty, in taking as his wife Maria Shriver, a niece of former president John F. Kennedy, before becoming California governor in 2003.
Arnie had remained tight-lipped about his future plans in the run-up to handing power to veteran Democrat politician Jerry Brown at the start of year, and had mostly dodged the question until now.
While reportedly hitting the lecture circuit, he is said to be in talks for a sequel to 1994 blockbuster "True Lies" -- fueled by recent photos of him with director James Cameron.
He is expected to reveal more about his plans early next week in Cannes, France, according to a spokeswoman for California-based A Squared Entertainment, one of the companies involved in the Governator project.
is making a comeback as a cartoon superhero version of himself, the Governator.The former champion bodybuilder turned Hollywood star -- catchphrase "I'll be Back" -- has teamed up with Marvel comics veteran Stan Lee to create the character that will star in an animated TV show and comic book.
More details will be announced next week, but Schwarzenegger and Lee revealed the plans to Entertainment Weekly, which published details on its website this week.
"The Governator is very simple. It takes my entire career basically, if it is bodybuilding, if it is action movies, if it is the governorship," the famously Austrian-accented 63-year-old told the magazine.
"It takes all those things and combines it into one. That guy is designed to fight crime, to fight natural disasters, this guy will be jumping into action," he added in a video clip on the weekly's website.
Arnie's new persona will have a fleet of super-vehicles at his disposal in an Arnold Cave under his house and a wardrobe of "Super Suits" to help him fly and perform other stunts.
Ranged against him will be super-villains, including an evil organization called Gangsters Imposters Racketeers Liars & Irredeemable Ex-cons -- or GIRLIE Men for short, after Arnie's infamously politically incorrect phrase for wimps.
"I love the idea of a control center below my house with a path so that boats and submarines can go right into the ocean," Schwarzenegger told the weekly, in his first interview since leaving public life in January.
"In the cartoon, my house is much closer to the beach than where we live, but, you know, it's a cartoon."
The animated TV show and comic book won't be out until next year, but Lee -- co-creator of Spider Man and a raft of other comic superheros, revealed that it will be based on Schwarzenegger's personal life.
"The Governator is going to be a great superhero, but he'll also be Arnold Schwarzenegger," he said.
"We're using all the personal elements of Arnold's life. We're using his wife (Maria Shriver). We're using his kids. We're using the fact that he used to be governor.
"Only after he leaves the governor's office, Arnold decides to become a crime fighter and builds a secret high-tech crime-fighting center under his house in Brentwood," he added.
Schwarzenegger came to the United States as a penniless 21-year-old in 1968, but became a millionaire and won the Mr Universe title four more times. He then shrugged off barbs about his thick accent as he turned to acting.
Joining Hollywood's royalty, his ominous "Terminator" catchphrases "I'll be back" and "Hasta la vista, baby" have now entered the English lexicon -- and he still uses them frequently as a politician.
Along the way, he married into a political dynasty, in taking as his wife Maria Shriver, a niece of former president John F. Kennedy, before becoming California governor in 2003.
Arnie had remained tight-lipped about his future plans in the run-up to handing power to veteran Democrat politician Jerry Brown at the start of year, and had mostly dodged the question until now.
While reportedly hitting the lecture circuit, he is said to be in talks for a sequel to 1994 blockbuster "True Lies" -- fueled by recent photos of him with director James Cameron.
He is expected to reveal more about his plans early next week in Cannes, France, according to a spokeswoman for California-based A Squared Entertainment, one of the companies involved in the Governator project.
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