Leighton Meester joins Robert Downey, Vincent D'Onofrio and others in 'The Judge'

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester has joined Robert Downey Jr. in The Judge, the Warner Bros. dramedy being directed by David Dobkin.

Judge is a co-production between Team Downey and Big Kid Pictures and a Boston shoot beginning in June is being eyed.Meester joins a cast the includes Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dax Shepard, and Billy Bob Thornton.

Downey stars as a successful attorney who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral to discover that his estranged father (Robert Duvall), the town's judge, is suspected of murder. The man sets out to discover the truth, and along the way, reconnects with the family he walked away from years before.

Mester will play a character with whom Downey has a one-night and whose later revelations cause quite a bit of headaches for the man.

Judge is Meester’s first major move since wrapping Gossip Girl, which ran for six seasons on the CW. In that time, she appeared in such movies as Date Night, Country Strong, The Oranges andThat’s My Boy.

She is repped by WME, Leverage Management, and Stone Meyer. 

Garden State Film Festival boasts 163 films and events including 'The New Tenants' with Vincent D'Onofrio

INDEPENDENT

The Garden State Film Festival (GSFF) celebrates its 11th anniversary this year.

Co-founded in 2003 by film industry veteran Diane Raver and the late actor Robert Pastorelli, the festival runs April 4-7 in the Paramount Theatre/Convention Hall complex in Asbury Park and other local venues.

In addition to 163 film screenings, there will be a free screening for kids and families, a gala cocktail party, panel discussions, book signings, question-and-answer sessions and educational programs.

An open casting call, a black-tie awards ceremony and a benefit screening for victims of superstorm Sandy are also scheduled.

The GSFF kicks off at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday with a free screening of age-appropriate films for kids and families in the Paramount Theatre.

At 7 p.m., festivities continue by honoring the heroes of superstorm Sandy and supporting the residents and businesses that were affected by the storm.

“We are trying to get the word out that the Jersey Shore is open,” Raver said.

The Thursday event called “The Shore Must Go On” will be held in honor of all the heroes who assisted others during and after the storm. The GSFF is offering the public an opportunity to purchase one ticket ($12) for the fundraiser and get one free, so they can treat their “hero” to a night out.

The evening will end with the audience singing “One Light,” written by Lori Drazenovich, which will be filmed for later use to boost tourism throughout the Shore this summer.

The festival’s official kickoff on Friday includes a gala cocktail party at 7 p.m. in the Grand Arcade, followed by a screening of “A Reckless Romeo,” starring Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle.

The screening will be followed by a short film from South Africa called “Loot” and a special screening of the feature-length documentary “Icebound.”

The festival offers a large selection of films that explore a variety of diverse subjects. Highlights include:

 “Magic Camp,” the inspirational story of a group of misfit high school kids attending the real-life Hogwarts each summer in Pennsylvania;  “Crackers,” the star-studded short film featuring Brenda Vaccaro, Vincent D’Onofrio and Anthony Laciura;

 “Hava Nagila (The Movie),” directed by award-winning director Roberta Grossman; and

 “The Perfect Wedding,” a romantic comedy featuring Hollywood veterans

James Rebhorn and Kristine

Sutherland.

International films include:

 “Il Cacciatore di Anatre”

(The Duck Hunter), filmed in Emilia, Italy; and

 “Thailand Untapped:

The Global Reach of Engineers Without Borders,” which follows three Rutgers engineering students as they travel to a province in northern Thailand to bring clean, potable water to a rural village.

Celebrity honorees include:

 Diane Ladd, an actress, director and author who will host a panel discussion and a book signing of her latest work, “A Bad Afternoon for a Piece of Cake,” on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Watermark;

 Kristine Sutherland, a veteran of television, film and stage;  James Rebhorn, a well-established film and television actor; and

 Jay Seals, an actor born and raised in Hasbrouck Heights and a graduate of Ramapo College.

A live reading will be presented on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Watermark.

A panel titled “New Jersey Girls Working in Film” will be held Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Stella Marina.

The 11th anniversary awards dinner will be held on Sunday at the Crystal Point Yacht Club in Point Pleasant.

“We’re thrilled everything has come together in such a perfect way,” Raver said, adding that during the festival weekend there will be 163 films — nearly 78 hours, 28 minutes and 41 seconds of films — to view.

A complete film listing can be found on the GSFF website at www.gsff.org.

To attend, individual screening tickets are $12, while a weekend pass to all films is $50.

Admission to the opening-night cocktail party and screening is $25, and the awards dinner is $125 per person.

To purchase tickets/passes, go to www.gsff.org/festival-info/buy-tickets.

'Iron Man coming to the Iron Bridge?'

By DIANE BRONCACCIO
Recorder Staff

Tuesday, April 2, 2013 

THE RECORDER

SHELBURNE FALLS — Filmmakers for “The Judge,” which will star Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall and Vincent D’Onofrio, are looking at Shelburne Falls, and could be filming movie scenes here this summer.

It is reportedly one of two locations in the state being considered for filming. The Warner Bros. film is drama/comedy about an attorney who returns to his hometown for his mother’s funeral, and learns that his estranged father, a judge who suffers from Alzheimer’s, is suspected of his mother’s murder. The film will also star Vera Farmiga, who was nominated for an Oscar for “Up in the Air.”

If the filmmakers select Shelburne Falls, this will be the second major Hollywood feature film to be shot here within a year.

Last June, “Labor Day,” starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, was filmed in Shelburne Falls and surrounding areas. That movie was scheduled to be released this year; however, a release date for that film has not yet been announced.

Meanwhile, town officials from Buckland and Shelburne are drafting a permit procedure for future filmmakers who are interested in shooting scenes in the village’s commercial center.

According to Buckland Town Administrator Andrea Llamas, a draft proposal of permits and procedures will be on Buckland’s selectmen’s agenda for its April 9 meeting. Shelburne Selectman Joseph Judd said the same draft will be on Shelburne’s agenda for the April 8 meeting.

Judd said the permit procedure stems from lessons that were learned during last summer’s “Labor Day” filming. It puts into place procedures for parking, street permit fees, usage areas, and what to do when fast decisions have to made by town officials. For instance, although each board of selectmen meets twice a month, extra open meetings had to be scheduled to approve an extended filming schedule on public roads, due to delays caused by weather.

Judd said the permitting process “would allow for an easier transition, if we’re faced with a similar situation. 

We have been considered (for film settings) in the past,” Judd added. “And now that we know that, we’re preparing for the future.”

Judd and Llamas both said their selectmen’s boards have not been officially approached by movie officials to shoot scenes in Shelburne Falls.

'The Judge' with Robert Downey Jr., Vincent D'Onofrio eyes Shelburne Falls, Western Massachusetts sites for filming

MASSLIVE.COM
By Ray Kelly, The Republican 

on April 01, 2013 at 3:40 PM, updated April 01, 2013 at 3:50 PM

Email

Robert Downey Jr.AP 

Producers of "The Judge," a Warner Brothers feature film starring Robert Downey Jr., are scouting out locations in Shelburne Falls and other Western Massachusetts communities for filming this summer.
"They are looking at several locations in Western Massachusetts right now. I am in touch with the location scouts," said Diane Pearlman, executive director of the Berkshire Film and Media Commission.
She confirmed that Shelburne Falls, where scenes for the upcoming "Labor Day" with Kate Winslet were filmed last June, is in the running. However, Pearlman stressed it was too soon to say exactly where the movie will be shot.
Filming in Western Massachusetts will last two to three weeks in June or July, she said.
Producers will also spend a few weeks shooting in Boston. They were attracted to the Bay State because of tax incentives, Pearlman said.
"The Judge" is a co-production between the star's Team Downey and director David Dobkin’s Big Kid Pictures.
In recent months, Shelburne Falls officials have been working with their counterparts in neighboring Buckland to determine a film permitting process and practical guidelines for studios.
Shelburne Falls Selectman Joseph J. Judd, who has been active in drafting a permit process, said it was not related to the filming of "The Judge." Rather, it was sparked by concerns raised during the filming of "Labor Day," he said.
"We learned during the filming that the town had been looked at six times for movies and no one was aware of it," Judd said.
Judd said he could not confirm or deny whether talks between the town and the producers of "The Judge" had taken place.
In "The Judge," Downey will star as a successful lawyer who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father (Robert Duvall), the town's judge, is suspected of murder.
The comedy-drama also stars Vera Farmiga ("Up in the Air"), as well as Vincent D'Onofrio ("Law & Order: Criminal Intent") and Billy Bob Thornton ("Sling Blade").
Filming in Boston is expected to commence in June, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

For bid: Suit worn by Vincent D'Onofrio; proceeds for charity

Up for bid is this suit worn by Vincent in what is speculated to be in Season 10. The owner of the suit is Ruby and can be trusted and authentic. The proceeds will benefit the charity for David Jorgensen.
MAKE BID HERE

"For auction is this gorgeous Brioni suit worn on the TV show ”Law & Order: Criminal Intent” by Vincent D’Onofrio as Robert Goren. It was bought directly from NBC Universal and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity with hologram. This lovely blue suit is soft, lightweight 100% wool and the jacket is sized 46L. The trousers measure 44” at the waist and 33” at the inseam. The jacket lining is a beautiful embroidered blue on blue, and the sleeve linings sport light blue stripes on white. It has two buttons down the front and double vents in the back. And pockets galore, inside and out! Brioni, well-respected Italian suit makers since 1945 and acquired by PPR in 2011, have their off-the-rack suits sell for thousands of dollars! James Bond wears Brioni suits as well as many other real-life celebrities (see Wikipedia for more info). Please note that the wardrobe items contained in this listing have been previously worn during production. The size indicated in the listing is based on measuring or the label; however, wardrobe may have been altered for use in production. This includes a 5” space at the nape of the neck where the lining has come unstitched from the back of the jacket; it arrived from the studio in this condition. This, however, can be easily repaired. This, a slight alteration at the back of the waistband of the trousers, and other than needing a pressing, the suit appears to be in perfect condition. This is your chance to own a piece of television history—a suit worn by Bobby Goren, one of the most iconic detectives ever to grace the small screen! Please view all photos carefully and ask any questions you may have before you bid. I *believe* to be the suit Goren wore in Season 10 of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” Episode 8, “To the Boy in the Blue Knit Cap.” If you wish to see pictures from that episode, please contact me through eBay and I will send you photos. Flat Rate Priority Postage with Tracking: $17.00 Insurance and/or international shipping would be more. Thanks for your consideration! Good luck!"

Wishing you all...

And many blessings today and always!

'Partners at the Collective Split to Launch New Firm'

VARIETY

The Collective partners Sam Maydew and Jeff Golenberg are preparing to exit the management-production powerhouse to launch a new entity focused on repping clients in film and TV.

Michael Green will remain CEO of the Collective, overseeing its digital media operations and management departments that rep music and digital clients. Green’s side will retain what was characterized as a passive investment in the Maydew-Golenberg entity, and vice versa.

For the short term, Maydew and Golenberg will remain at the Collective’s current office space in Beverly Hills but will look for its own digs down the road. The pair are expected to take about 15 Collective staffers with them at the outset. The sides are still in the early stages of working out the separation plan.

Sources emphasized that the split was amicable and comes after a period of rapid growth for the company. The partners decided that because the skill sets and needs of the film/TV department were so different than digital/music, it made sense to divide the biz in a way that would allow each side to make their own decisions about how best to deploy manpower and resources. Sources close to the situation downplayed rumors of tensions between the camps because profits were being funneled into efforts to expand the digital biz.

Maydew and Golenberg plan to take their entire roster with them in the move.  Those clients include Emile Hirsch, Evangeline Lilly, Jai Courtney, John Leguizamo, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jason Isaacs, David Krumholtz, Cat Deeley, Chi McBride, Eliza Dushku, Josh Peck, Ashley Madekwe, Christa B. Allen, Barry Sloane, Ramon Rodriguez, David Morrissey, June Diane Raphael, Wilmer Valderrama, Max Schneider amd Derek Hough, among others.  Comedian Martin Lawrence will remain repped by both firms.

On the production side, Maydew and Golenberg will continue to work with Green as producers of a pilot for Leguizamo at ABC and the Lawrence/Kelsey Grammer comedy series collaboration for Debmar Mercury. The trio is also shepherding a pilot for a docu-series on country singer Sara Evans at A&E (and they will continue to rep Evans with the Collective).

Maydew and Golenberg were part of the triumvirate that founded Collective in 2005 along with Green, who came from another management powerhouse, the Firm.

The changes reflects the growth of digital at the company, which is led by partner Reza Izad.

The rationale for getting aggressive outside the traditional realms of the entertainment business was that even though there was little immediate earnings potential, the direct-to-consumer nature of the Internet–where gatekeepers like networks and studios have yet to fully assert themselves–allowed for a greater share in long-term profits.

Collective’s growing interest in digital could also be seen as an impatience with the limitations many companies have with the traditional representation business; even talent agencies from CAA to UTA to WME are branching out into venture capital, making investments in start-ups with hopes of a payoff down the road that could ease the unpredictability of their core enterprise.

How Collective does its digital business is a twist on the traditional management model of taking a percentage of a client’s earnings. Instead, the company partners with clients on productions in exchange for offering a variety of essential services including deficit financing, technology and advertising sales.

Collective has figured out a low-cost formula for whetting consumer appetites for intellectual property online, then retaining control to that IP for a bigger payday on the more traditional platforms that are willing to relinquish rights to an already proven attraction. The company has also grown expert in exploiting that IP via touring and merchandising.

But it’s YouTube that has provided the foundation for Collective’s model, although there’s been some off-site exploitation across other platforms and apps as well.

Collective boasts a multichannel network business that generates 200 million viewers per month. While that’s still a far cry from the billion-view level that separates them from leaders in the MCN space like Maker Studios, Machinima and Fullscreen, it’s quite possible the company is looking to participate in the same rush of investment activity that has enveloped the sector in recent months.

Time Warner, Bertlesmann and Chernin Ventures are among the heavyweights that have plunked down coin for these properties with the intent of building brands that have the potential to scale to global TV networks.

Among the top properties on the Collective Digital Network include the Annoying Orange, Epic Meal Time, FreddieW and My Drunk Kitchen. While not mainstream phenomena in the conventional sense of the word, they are household names among the millennials that are increasingly slipping through the fingers of TV network yet still very much in demand to advertisers.

Madison Avenue has been getting over its traditional reluctance to associate its brands on YouTube with more and more experimentation with customized sponsorship integrations with YouTube personalities who have been aggressive about incorporating products directly into their programs in a way that hearkens back to the origins of TV.

Collective has brokered plenty of deals between these two factions including an upcoming Dodge branded integration for “Video Game High School 2,” a sequel to a hit YouTube sensation starring the firm’s client FreddieW.

Collective has scored a number of hits by taking a nontraditional path. Its first success came with comedian Katt Williams, who rose to prominence on the strength of a comedy special and DVD that was largely marketed off his website. 

Then came Lucas Cruikshank, a teenager known to the YouTube crowd as the helium-voiced Fred. After exploding on YouTube, Fred transitioned to Nickelodeon where he generated several high-rated TV movies and a series.

The most recent example of Collective’s migration strategy is The Annoying Orange, an animated fruit that has gone from a viral phenomenon to its own series on Cartoon Network. However, the cable channel simply licenses the series from Collective, which is able to sell the IP overseas as well.

Collective’s digital work isn’t restricted to amateur talent either; the firm partnered with “CSI” producer Anthony Zuiker on his own YouTube franchise, BlackboxTV.

Updated info on Vincent D'Onofrio appearance in Utah

THANX TO CHRIS AT THEREELBLOG FOR THE UPDATED POSTER AND INFO! TICKETS ARE 10 DOLLARS IN ADVANCE AND 15 AT THE DOOR...

TICKETS

More photos of Vincent D'Onofrio teaching Master Class at Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute

LEE STRASBERG THEATRE AND FILM INSTITUTE FACEBOOK PAGE

Vera Farmiga cast in 'The Judge' with Vincent D'Onofrio

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Getty

Vera Farmiga

David Dobkin is directing the dramedy, which counts Robert Duvall and Vincent D'Onofrio in its cast.

Vera Farmiga, hot off her debut in A&E’sBates Motel, has been cast as the female lead opposite Robert Downey Jr. in The Judge, the Warner Bros. dramedy whichDavid Dobkin is directing.

Downey stars as a successful attorney who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father (Robert Duvall), the town's judge, is the murder suspect. The man sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before.

Farmiga will play a waitress in the hometown, portraying a woman who never left the small-town life and who has a history with Downey’s character.

Judge is a co-production between Team Downey and Big Kid Pictures. A Boston shoot beginning in June is being eyed.

Farmiga, who was nominated for an Oscar for her work in 2009’s Up in the Air, is receiving raves for her performance as Norman Bates’ mother in Bates Motel. The show premiered Monday, grabbing 3 million viewers and becoming A&E’s highest rated premiere with the coveted adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 demo.

The actress, repped by CAA, Authentic Talent and Peikoff Mahan, will next be seen starring in New Line’s horror thriller The Conjuring, which opens July 19.

VERA FARMIGA WAS IN THE FILM, 'THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS' THAT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Happy Spring!

Happy 21ST Birthday, Leila!

Wishing Vincent's daughter, Leila, a very happy 21ST birthday. First, a video I made with some photos and below that a clip from musical theatre at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute where Leila is currently a student.

Photos: Vincent D'Onofrio teaching Master Class at Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute

LEE STRASBERG THEATRE AND FILM INSTITUTE

'Robert Downey, Jr.’s 'The Judge' Casts A-List Stars: Will it Be Downey, Jr.’s Road to Oscar Glory?'

YAHOO! MOVIES

By Greg Brian | Yahoo! Contributor Network

You don't see a movie often that courts several Oscar-winning actors to join the cast, unless you're a Scorsese, Spielberg, or Hooper. When you're Robert Downey, Jr., it's a compounded event considering he's never won an Oscar after two acting nominations. And you can be sure that with his financial security being mostly in the "Iron Man" and "Marvel's The Avengers" wheelhouses of late, he likely knows the risk is there of losing more award-worthy human dramas if the superhero franchises go on too long.

Downey, Jr. may have found his human drama in his upcoming film project "The Judge." There, he plays a lawyer who goes home after his mother dies, only to find his ailing judge father may be to blame for the death. It could have been a project nearly existing in a dream had Jack Nicholson almost joined the cast as Downey's father. But with Robert Duvall replacing Nicholson, plus a cast of Vincent D'Onofrio and Billy Bob Thornton in tow, it looks like a project from the last days of the studio system.

Even Duvall must see that casting as something not usually seen since the 1970s when the last of the truly great movies with large casts were done. Yes, we saw many big stars in the recently dreadful "Movie 43", despite almost all of them being snookered into doing the project. Even Martin Scorsese hasn't employed this diverse of an Oscar-winning cast when you consider he's been recently re-using the same bank of actors.

It's possible Downey, Jr. will help bring back this element to movies that compete for Oscars. His only competition may be George Clooney who has his World War II epic "The Monuments Men" out at the end of this year with a surprisingly large A-list cast. Over the next decade, it could be only Downey, Jr. and Clooney being the two biggest movie stars in the world who can assemble myriad Oscar winners in a cast without trepidation by a single actor.

With celebrity egos seemingly getting larger by the minute, that's a refreshing way for Downey, Jr. and Clooney to use their powers. Regardless, compiling such huge casts might seem overly obvious as pandering for awards. That's why it seems top actors mostly prefer acting in projects where they can be the focus, or in smaller, independent productions not requiring equal acting time.

There's nothing worse than several legendary actors from one movie having to endure analysis of how much time they put into the movie for an Oscar nomination. We've seen our share of those, with some winning awards for being in no more than 10 minutes of scenes. The same potential is there should Downey, Jr.'s "The Judge" become a multi-Oscar nominee in a couple of years.

The real question is whether the film will reignite Downey, Jr.'s Oscar chances as a producer and actor. Any answer seems in the affirmative when we know how expansive he can be as an actor when not being stuck in the pit of his sarcastic Tony Stark persona. Because we haven't seen him in an intense family drama before, seeing a raw and emotional Downey act next to today's finest actors seems a setup as an eventual exit from the superhero genre.

That is, unless he's somehow Oscar-nominated for "Iron Man 3" after a raw and emotional performance surviving at the nefarious hand of The Mandarin.