Picked by Variety as one of the hottest shows at MipTV, the Zdf Studios-sold comedy drama “The ‘Zweiflers” about a colourful, dysfunctional yet loving Jewish family in contemporary Germany, had a rapturous reception April 7 at its world screening in Canneseries.
“It was a profound experience to see how much [the Cannes] audience loved it, not only because of the way it was done but because of the subject matter,” said Aaron Altaras (“Unorthodox”), cast as Samuel, grandson of the patriarch Symcha Zweifler (Mike Burstyn), torn between his Jewish origins and his love for his British Caribbean girlfriend and mum-to-be (Saffron Coomber).
“We were so surprised – people were laughing-out-loud,” adds Sunnyi Melles (“Triangle of Sadness”), who plays the glue in the family and Samuel’s mum Mimi. “The series is about a family across three generations, with all its problems, whatever they are. It happens to be a Jewish family, but it...
“It was a profound experience to see how much [the Cannes] audience loved it, not only because of the way it was done but because of the subject matter,” said Aaron Altaras (“Unorthodox”), cast as Samuel, grandson of the patriarch Symcha Zweifler (Mike Burstyn), torn between his Jewish origins and his love for his British Caribbean girlfriend and mum-to-be (Saffron Coomber).
“We were so surprised – people were laughing-out-loud,” adds Sunnyi Melles (“Triangle of Sadness”), who plays the glue in the family and Samuel’s mum Mimi. “The series is about a family across three generations, with all its problems, whatever they are. It happens to be a Jewish family, but it...
- 4/9/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Berlin — In a bellwether deal on one of the cutting edges of European TV, Zdf Studios has taken distribution worldwide on drama series “The Zweiflers,” produced by Turbokultur for Ard Degeto Film and Hessischer Rundfunk (Hr).
Created and showrun by David Hadda, the six-part series will premiere in Germany on Ard’s Mediathek streaming service in the spring and also be shown on Das Erste, Ard’s main linear channel, in the near future.
In an age of spiraling costs and a large need to cut through a still immensely crowded market, Europe’s public broadcasters –Zdf Studios, not Zdf in this case – are looking to partner. The most obvious partners are other state TV networks, even in their own country if the co-operation works.
“We have already added Ard Degeto Film projects to our portfolio before. And there will be more in the future. There are no limits to our choice of partners,...
Created and showrun by David Hadda, the six-part series will premiere in Germany on Ard’s Mediathek streaming service in the spring and also be shown on Das Erste, Ard’s main linear channel, in the near future.
In an age of spiraling costs and a large need to cut through a still immensely crowded market, Europe’s public broadcasters –Zdf Studios, not Zdf in this case – are looking to partner. The most obvious partners are other state TV networks, even in their own country if the co-operation works.
“We have already added Ard Degeto Film projects to our portfolio before. And there will be more in the future. There are no limits to our choice of partners,...
- 2/16/2024
- by John Hopewell and Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety”…
We’re just a couple days away from Liza Minnelli’s birthday, which is March 12. As I first told you, the Hollywood legend — and Variety cover star — will be feted that night with “Love Letter to Liza: A 75th Birthday Tribute Celebration,” a virtual extravaganza benefiting The Actors Fund. Close to 50 celebs are taking part, including Joel Grey, Lea DeLaria, Kristin Chenoweth, Melissa Manchester, Ben Vereen, Sandra Bernhard, Jonathan Groff, Michael Feinstein, Ute Lemper, Tony Hale, Nathan Lane, Neil Meron, Kathy Griffin and Minnelli’s sister Lorna Luft.
“The best email you’re ever going to get in your lifetime is Lily Tomlin sending you a video of her doing all her characters,” producer Daniel Nardicio says of the pre-recorded tributes. “She did all of them congratulating Liza.” Also on the bill is former “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander, who appeared with Minnelli...
We’re just a couple days away from Liza Minnelli’s birthday, which is March 12. As I first told you, the Hollywood legend — and Variety cover star — will be feted that night with “Love Letter to Liza: A 75th Birthday Tribute Celebration,” a virtual extravaganza benefiting The Actors Fund. Close to 50 celebs are taking part, including Joel Grey, Lea DeLaria, Kristin Chenoweth, Melissa Manchester, Ben Vereen, Sandra Bernhard, Jonathan Groff, Michael Feinstein, Ute Lemper, Tony Hale, Nathan Lane, Neil Meron, Kathy Griffin and Minnelli’s sister Lorna Luft.
“The best email you’re ever going to get in your lifetime is Lily Tomlin sending you a video of her doing all her characters,” producer Daniel Nardicio says of the pre-recorded tributes. “She did all of them congratulating Liza.” Also on the bill is former “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander, who appeared with Minnelli...
- 3/10/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Ring them bells! Liza Minnelli will be celebrating her 75th birthday on March 12 with a dancing and singing streaming shindig.
The virtual “Love Letter to Liza: A 75th Birthday Tribute Celebration” will include appearances and performances by Joel Grey, Lily Tomlin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chita Rivera, Joan Collins, Harry Connick, Jr., Ben Vereen and the dancers from the Verdon-Fosse Legacy, Ute Lemper, Billy Stritch, Charles Busch, Kathie Lee Gifford, Lea Delaria, Jim Caruso, Jonathan Groff, Sandra Bernhard, Andrew Rannells, Nathan Lane, Mario Cantone, Tony Hale, Coco Peru, John Cameron Mitchell, Michele Lee, Andrea Martin, Seth Sikes and Neil Meron.
“Liza is a total entertainer, a show person the likes of which is hard to find these days. Liza’s talents have known no bounds, and her contribution to Broadway, film and even a hilarious stint on television’s ‘Arrested Development,’ make her so deserving of this, a glorious celebration of her 75 years on earth,...
The virtual “Love Letter to Liza: A 75th Birthday Tribute Celebration” will include appearances and performances by Joel Grey, Lily Tomlin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chita Rivera, Joan Collins, Harry Connick, Jr., Ben Vereen and the dancers from the Verdon-Fosse Legacy, Ute Lemper, Billy Stritch, Charles Busch, Kathie Lee Gifford, Lea Delaria, Jim Caruso, Jonathan Groff, Sandra Bernhard, Andrew Rannells, Nathan Lane, Mario Cantone, Tony Hale, Coco Peru, John Cameron Mitchell, Michele Lee, Andrea Martin, Seth Sikes and Neil Meron.
“Liza is a total entertainer, a show person the likes of which is hard to find these days. Liza’s talents have known no bounds, and her contribution to Broadway, film and even a hilarious stint on television’s ‘Arrested Development,’ make her so deserving of this, a glorious celebration of her 75 years on earth,...
- 2/18/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Roger Waters’ massive, star-studded production of The Wall in Berlin in 1990, just eight months after the wall was torn down, remains one of the most surreal odysseys into the nexus of music, theater, and charity. Perhaps the greatest highlight during the show, which raised money for victims of natural disasters, was “Comfortably Numb,” which found Van Morrison and the Band joining Waters for the album’s climactic showstopper.
Waters sang his verses dressed in a doctor’s overcoat (a stagehand even hands him a stethoscope), and he faced the 60-by-600–foot Styrofoam-brick wall,...
Waters sang his verses dressed in a doctor’s overcoat (a stagehand even hands him a stethoscope), and he faced the 60-by-600–foot Styrofoam-brick wall,...
- 7/21/2020
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
In this episode, Ben and Daniel talk to Tony-winning lyricist and director Scott Wittman about Frank Sinatra's 1966 live album, 'Sinatra at the Sands.' They also discuss Bette Midler, Patti LuPone, Sammy Davis Jr, Edie Beale, Christine Ebersole, Count Basie, Barbara Cook, Dusty Springfield, Ute Lemper, and Bridget Everett. Scott talks about playing 'cocktail lounge' growing up, and how his love for live albums influenced his career in theater and cabaret. Scott has worked on a number of successful Broadway shows such as 'Hairspray,' 'Catch Me If You Can,' and 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,' as well as the TV show 'Smash' and the movie 'Mary Poppins Returns.'...
- 12/2/2019
- by Ben Rimalower
- BroadwayWorld.com
With all due respect to Lauren Bacall, there’s always been a bit more to whistling than putting your lips together and blowing. Certainly for Cristi (Vlad Ivanov), the corrupt Bucharest policeman embroiled in a comically complex plot to get a local gangster off the hook in Corneliu Porumboiu’s Cannes competition title “The Whistlers,” it is a matter of life and death. It requires practise, training and a bent forefinger, angled between pursed lips, like it’s holding a gun and the bullet will exit the opposite ear.
Cristi has been sent to the island of La Gomera in The Canaries, where he is to learn the ancient whistling language originally, well, whistled by the Guanches, an aboriginal tribe native to the region. This is because, by the slightly lunatic logic of Porumboiu’s screenplay, in these days of easily hackable cellphones and widespread surveillance, whistling has the advantage...
Cristi has been sent to the island of La Gomera in The Canaries, where he is to learn the ancient whistling language originally, well, whistled by the Guanches, an aboriginal tribe native to the region. This is because, by the slightly lunatic logic of Porumboiu’s screenplay, in these days of easily hackable cellphones and widespread surveillance, whistling has the advantage...
- 5/19/2019
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
After heading back to America for Blue Jasmine, Woody Allen is now continuing his European phase with the romantic comedy drama Magic In The Moonlight. We saw the first trailer a month or so ago, and now here's a slew of new stills, showcasing stars Colin Firth and Emma Stone.Firth stars as stage magician Stanley (check out the Chung Ling Soo garb!) dispatched to the south of France to help his family with an intriguing puzzle. A young woman named Sophie (Stone), who claims to be a psychic, is bewitching, bewildering and bothersome in equal measure. Firth is convinced he can help, but then he meets her and discovers that she might not be as fake as some suspect.Allen is back exploring themes of duplicity, charm and romance, all couched in the beautiful French countryside. Alongside Firth and Stone, he’s recruited Marcia Gay Harden, Jacki Weaver, Eileen Atkins,...
- 7/8/2014
- EmpireOnline
He returned home to the States for Blue Jasmine, but Woody Allen has flitted once more to Europe – and the past – with his latest romantic comedy drama, Magic In The Moonlight. The first trailer has appeared and can be watched below.Colin Firth stars as a stage magician dispatched to the south of France to help his family with an intriguing puzzle. A young woman named Sophie, who claims to be a psychic, is bewitching, bewildering and bothering them in equal measure (the fact that she looks like Emma Stone is certainly helping her ingratiate herself among them). Firth is convinced he can help, but then he meets her – and discovers that she might not be as fake as some suspect.Allen is back exploring themes of duplicity, charm and romance, all couched in the beautiful French countryside. Alongside Firth and Stone, he’s recruited Marcia Hay Harden, Jacki Weaver,...
- 5/21/2014
- EmpireOnline
Symphony Space's free signature event, Wall to Wall, took up the theme with Wall to Wall Cabaret on Saturday, May 3. The lineup of nearly 50 performers was a veritable roll call of cabaret icons and rising stars, including Kate Baldwin,Klea Blackhurst, Barbara Carroll, Bill Charlap Sandy Stewart, Barbara Cook, Judy Gold, Julie Halston, Ute Lemper, Lypsinka, Taylor Mac, Andrea Marcovicci, Marilyn Maye,Andrea McArdle, Jane Monheit, Steve Ross, Billy Stritch, and many more. James Naughton served as the evening's Master of Ceremonies. The distinguished house band for the evening was Russ Kassoff on piano, John Arbo on bass, and John Redsecker on drums.
- 5/4/2014
- by Stephen Sorokoff
- BroadwayWorld.com
The 55th Grammy Awards have arrived, and music's biggest night promises a ton of trophies, and hopefully some great live performances by today's hottest acts. Who has the best record of 2012? How about the year's best new artist? Stick with Zap2it throughout the night, as we continue updating the list of this year's winners!
All of the award categories are below, with the winners in bold.
Record of the Year"Lonely Boy" by The Black Keys"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson"We Are Young" by Fun., featuring Janelle Monáe"Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye, featuring Kimbra"Thinkin Bout You" by Frank Ocean"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift
Album of the Year"El Camino" by The Black Keys"Some Nights" by Fun."Babel" by Mumford & Sons"Channel Orange" by Frank Ocean"Blunderbuss" by Jack White
Song of the Year...
All of the award categories are below, with the winners in bold.
Record of the Year"Lonely Boy" by The Black Keys"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson"We Are Young" by Fun., featuring Janelle Monáe"Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye, featuring Kimbra"Thinkin Bout You" by Frank Ocean"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift
Album of the Year"El Camino" by The Black Keys"Some Nights" by Fun."Babel" by Mumford & Sons"Channel Orange" by Frank Ocean"Blunderbuss" by Jack White
Song of the Year...
- 2/11/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Joe's Pub at the Public has announced its Broadway and cabaret events for today, December 14-February 3, featuring performances by Sasha Allen amp Rob Lewis Christmas Time Is Here, Lady Rizo, Taylor Mac, Our Hit Parade, Starsky Cox, Joey Arias, Wau Wau Sisters, A Scream Along with Billy Christmas, Drew Gasparini, Bridget Everett, Justin VivIan Bond, Amy Lynn amp Tituss Burgess, Motherlodge, Rated Rso Mt-17, Zack Zadek, Living For Today Back to the Drawing Board, Ute Lemper and Once Upon a Time in NYC Second Edition.
- 12/14/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Tituss Burgess, Living For Today and More Set for Joe's Pub's Broadway and Cabaret Lineup, 12/14-2/3
Joe's Pub at the Public has announced its Broadway and cabaret events for December 14-February 3, featuring performances by Sasha Allen amp Rob Lewis Christmas Time Is Here, Lady Rizo, Taylor Mac, Our Hit Parade, Starsky Cox, Joey Arias, Wau Wau Sisters, A Scream Along with Billy Christmas, Drew Gasparini, Bridget Everett, Justin Vivian Bond, Amy Lynn amp Tituss Burgess, Motherlodge, Rated Rso Mt-17, Zack Zadek, Living For Today Back to the Drawing Board, Ute Lemper and Once Upon a Time in NYC Second Edition.
- 12/12/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Multilingual chanteuse Ute Lemper (Broadway's "Chicago") has always shown an affinity for the dark and mysterious, particularly the songs of Kurt Weill. She'll sing selections from her new album "Berlin Nights/Paris Days" March 29, accompanied by Berlin's Vogler Quartet and pianist-clarinetist Stefan Malzew. Lemper's latest album is an examination of chansons through a filter of jazz and tango; tonight's performance promises to be just as eclectic, veering from Edith Piaf to Erwin Schulhoff to Lemper's beloved Weill. Royce Hall, 340 Royce Dr., L.A. 8 p.m. $20. www.uclalive.org.
- 3/28/2012
- by help@backstage.com ()
- backstage.com
"The longing that there should be something, but maybe the knowledge that there is not, and then the looking for the sensitivity and sensibility wherever -- in nature, or in words, or in writing, or in poetry. Or in music, of course."
Ute Lemper (born 4 July 1963), German chanteuse and actress renowned for her interpretation of the work of Kurt Weill.
read more...
Ute Lemper (born 4 July 1963), German chanteuse and actress renowned for her interpretation of the work of Kurt Weill.
read more...
- 8/29/2010
- by shifra007
- www.culturecatch.com
It's the voice -- a sexy contralto that can bring you to tears in a single note. If you've heard chanteuse Ute Lemper, you cannot forget her. Though her musical identity was forged by the songs of the Weimar, the dark genius of Brecht and Weill, she is equally adept at heartbreak -- from alt-rock king Tom Waits to Jacques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas." The woman defines torch, which is why she boasts an international following. Although she plays massive concert halls abroad, most New Yorkers meet her on the cabaret turf -- from the swanky Allen Room to Joe's Pub, where she's performing Dec. 10-13 in Last Tango in Berlin, a sassy artistic voyage that marries Berlin cabaret and the lush soulful tango of Buenos Aires. "German songs of the 1920s and '30s fit perfectly with tango music," she...
- 12/10/2009
- by Fern Siegel
- Huffington Post
Ute Lemper, the internationally renowned multi-faceted singer-songwriter, actress, will perform songs from her new self-penned album Between Yesterday and Tomorrow with her full band on board in a one night only CD release concert June 9 at 7pm and 9pm at Le Poisson Rouge in New York. Ute will also sign copies of her new CD at Barnes and Noble on June 8 at 7:30.
- 6/8/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
When the music documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man made its North American premiere in Austin in 2007, I interviewed its out filmmaker Stephen Kijak (Cinemania). As a full-fledged proselytizing Scott Walker freak, I would have liked the fact that Stephen has the gay to be enough to get our readers to give it a click, but let's get real. The audience for documentary films about obscure ex-pat musical geniuses is neither large nor disproportionately well-represented on our site.
I found a way to get around that little problem when the publicist for the film sent out a note that one of its associate producers was also available for press events in Austin: actor and AfterElton.com hot 100 listee Gale Harold (Queer as Folk, Desperate Housewives). I interviewed him; the article did well, so my editor was happy; I got to write about one of my musical obsessions, so I was,...
I found a way to get around that little problem when the publicist for the film sent out a note that one of its associate producers was also available for press events in Austin: actor and AfterElton.com hot 100 listee Gale Harold (Queer as Folk, Desperate Housewives). I interviewed him; the article did well, so my editor was happy; I got to write about one of my musical obsessions, so I was,...
- 1/24/2009
- by christiekeith
- The Backlot
James Merendino's drama about a former male hustler and his dying ex-lover is a stylishly made melodrama that is perhaps a little too stylish.
Ultra-serious and attempting a near-operatic level of intensity, the film comes perilously close to camp. Theatrical prospects look limited, although the film looks too good to be seen on anything but the big screen.
Another plus is a very effective performance by Richard Chamberlain, playing a dandyish homosexual dying of AIDS. The film recently received its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival
Michael Imperioli, providing further evidence after "Sweet Nothing" that he has the makings of a major career, plays Allen, a struggling Los Angeles artist who is attempting to forget his past occupation "working the streets." His girlfriend, Eva (singer Ute Lemper) is a beautiful gallery owner who supports his career. One day, Thaddeus (Chamberlain), a former client of Allen's, shows up looking for a place to stay. Promising great financial rewards, he implores Allen to find Jamie (James Duval), another hustler, although he won't explain why.
Michael, torn between his feelings of compassion for Thaddeus and his revulsion at re-entering his old world, tries to comply and gets caught up in more than he bargained for. Ultimately, he must face a choice between his past and present lives, while Thaddeus makes a dramatic decision about his own condition.
Paul Marius' script leans a little heavily toward the baroque, which director Merendino emphasizes through his use of such stylistic devices as multiple dissolves, cross-cutting and extensive use of classical, especially choral, music. One gets the feeling that everyone involved is trying too hard -- except for Chamberlain, who wisely underplays his flamboyant character's mannerisms. His performance, which is quite moving, is one of the bigger rewards in a film that ultimately becomes undone by its pretensions.
RIVER MADE TO DROWN IN
Island Park Films
Director James Merendino
Screenplay Paul Marius
Producer Jon Powell
Director of photography Thomas Callaway
Editor Esther P. Russell
Color/stereo
Cast:
Thaddeus Richard Chamberlain
Allen Michael Imperioli
Eva Ute Lemper
Jaime James Duval
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Ultra-serious and attempting a near-operatic level of intensity, the film comes perilously close to camp. Theatrical prospects look limited, although the film looks too good to be seen on anything but the big screen.
Another plus is a very effective performance by Richard Chamberlain, playing a dandyish homosexual dying of AIDS. The film recently received its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival
Michael Imperioli, providing further evidence after "Sweet Nothing" that he has the makings of a major career, plays Allen, a struggling Los Angeles artist who is attempting to forget his past occupation "working the streets." His girlfriend, Eva (singer Ute Lemper) is a beautiful gallery owner who supports his career. One day, Thaddeus (Chamberlain), a former client of Allen's, shows up looking for a place to stay. Promising great financial rewards, he implores Allen to find Jamie (James Duval), another hustler, although he won't explain why.
Michael, torn between his feelings of compassion for Thaddeus and his revulsion at re-entering his old world, tries to comply and gets caught up in more than he bargained for. Ultimately, he must face a choice between his past and present lives, while Thaddeus makes a dramatic decision about his own condition.
Paul Marius' script leans a little heavily toward the baroque, which director Merendino emphasizes through his use of such stylistic devices as multiple dissolves, cross-cutting and extensive use of classical, especially choral, music. One gets the feeling that everyone involved is trying too hard -- except for Chamberlain, who wisely underplays his flamboyant character's mannerisms. His performance, which is quite moving, is one of the bigger rewards in a film that ultimately becomes undone by its pretensions.
RIVER MADE TO DROWN IN
Island Park Films
Director James Merendino
Screenplay Paul Marius
Producer Jon Powell
Director of photography Thomas Callaway
Editor Esther P. Russell
Color/stereo
Cast:
Thaddeus Richard Chamberlain
Allen Michael Imperioli
Eva Ute Lemper
Jaime James Duval
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/23/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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