gene hackman
Alec Baldwin announces his retirement one more time
"Hello, my name is Alec and I'm a retirement-holic. ...I don't know why, but I have this insatiable need to announce to the world again and again that I'm quitting the acting business. I don't know what I'm going to do."Okay, that's not a real scene from the life of Alec Baldwin, but it might as well be. About a year and a half ago, Alec was kvetching about turning 50 years old and how he only cared about the Emmys honoring 30 Rock, and his plans to quit the business.
And now he's done it again. In an interview with Men's Journal, promoting his new movie with Meryl Streep and Steve Martin called It's Complicated, Alec Baldwin says he will quit acting in 2012 when his 30 Rock contract comes to an end.
Coppola's The Conversation to become AMC series
In 1974, in between creating The Godfather and The Godfather, Part 2, Oscar-winning writer-director Francis Ford Coppola made a film that was just as seminal as the Mafia dramas: The Conversation. It was in many ways a small picture, starring Gene Hackman (in a brilliant performance), and including some people on the brink of stardom, Cindy Williams (pre-Laverne & Shirley), Teri Garr (pre-Young Frankenstein) and Harrison Ford (pre-Star Wars and Raiders). The Conversation won the top prize as the Cannes Film Festival.
Now, AMC has given Tony Krantz (24), the go ahead to produce a pilot based on the film. It'll be set in the early 1970s and remain true to the film's premise: the story of Harry Caul, a professional sound man, a guy who can plant bugs and catch conversations using tape recorder and surveillance equipment, but is isolated and uncomfortable with human contact. In the film, Harry hears a conversation between a young couple and is unsure whether the information he's heard -- or thinks he's heard -- should be handed over to his client.
Coppola's The Conversation becoming TV series
Francis Ford Coppola's small scale masterpiece The Conversation may soon be an ABC series with Coppola himself serving as executive producer. The series will take place in the present day and center on surveillance expert Harry Caul, played in the original film by Gene Hackman. The series will reflect on advances in surveillance technology, including digital spying. Christopher McQuarrie, screenwriter of The Usual Suspects and director of The Way of the Gun is writing the pilot along with Band of Brothers writer Erik Jendresen. Tony Krantz (24) is on board as a producer. The plan is to have a specific story for each episode, with an over-arching storyline centering on the various government agencies tracking Caul. The men behind the new series are currently attempting to close a deal with Touchstone Pictures and Krantz's Flame Ventures to serve as studios for the new show. Given the talent behind this, I could see it really taking off. It'll be interesting to see who they get to play Caul.
In the Limelight: Scott Grimes
Scott Grimes is actually one of the few famous people I
can say I knew somewhat well at one time. Back sometime around 5th grade or so, Scott was in my class in a small
grammar school in Dracut, Massachusetts. I remember his first forays into the acting world, as he sang and performed
well beyond a young kid's talents in school plays, then public television talent shows and eventually commercials. I
remember at one point, he'd gotten a gig with a popular (at the time) toy car company, and how jealous we were that
they gave him a bunch of the cars for doing the commercial. Times sure have changed for Mr. Grimes since those days.TV Squad Hot Topics
Most Popular Articles
From Our Partners
- Zap2it Awards shipper face-off: 'The Vampire Diaries' and 'Gossip Girl' plus more triangle trouble
- 'Game of Thrones': 'Blackwater' will blow your mind
- 'Mad Men' Season 5 - 'The Other Woman': Peggy and Joan get offers they can't refuse
- 'Girls': It might have been the crack
- 'American Idol' to 'The Vampire Diaries': The top-rated TV shows on each network for 2011-12
- More From Zap2it
- Eye on Emmy: Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam on Jax's Evolution and His Real Stance on Awards
- What to Watch: The TVLine-Up for Monday
- Mad Men Recap: A Woman's Worth
- The Idol (Less) Rich: For Jessica Sanchez, No Guaranteed Album Deal, Likely Smaller Payday
- What to Watch: The TVLine-Up for Sunday
- More From TVLine
