Latest news with #MiamiFilmFestival
The Independent
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Melanie Lynskey reveals reason she asked for ‘less money' on Two and a Half Men
Melanie Lynskey has explained why she made the surprising decision to opt out of her contract on Two and a Half Men. The Kiwi actor, 47, starred in 67 episodes of the 12-season sitcom, which aired on CBS from 2003 to 2015. It originally starred Charlie Sheen as hedonistic single Charlie, whose carefree life is upended when his brother, single father Alan (Jon Cryer), and his young nephew, Jake (Angus T. Jones), move into his Malibu beach house. Lynskey played Rose, Charlie's one-time girlfriend-turned-stalker. Speaking at the Miami Film Festival on Saturday, where she was honored with the Precious Gem Award, Lynskey recalled her Two and a Half Men audition for Rose, a character originally written to be a guest starring role. 'I went and did something kind of strange in the audition, and they were super into it,' the Yellowjackets star remembered, per Variety. While Lynskey said her character was initially written to be 'quite sexy and threatening,' she suggested something different. 'I was like, what if she just honestly doesn't know there's a problem? She's so sweet and you'd meet her in the grocery store and [say,] 'She's adorable.' And she's like, 'I'll cut you into pieces,'' The Last of Us alum recounted. The showrunners approved of Lynskey's take, so during the show's first season, she was promoted from a guest starring role to a series regular. 'Honestly, it was a hard decision because it was not what I was expecting. I had no money, and I liked everyone I worked with. I really, really liked them, and it was so fun,' Lynskey said. The role, however, kept her from pursuing other jobs. So, in 2007, she managed to get out of her contract. 'That was why I became recurring, so I could come and go. People were renegotiating to get raises, and I was like, how about I renegotiate for less money?' Lynskey said. 'Literally, someone was like, you could become a millionaire. I was like, No, I get it. I do. That sounds great, but I also saw the path that was going on… It was not, financially, the greatest choice, but for my life, it was the best choice.' By season five, her appearances became far less frequent — averaging about two episodes per season from then on. In 2008, Lynskey starred in a handful of projects, including a single episode of USA Network's comedy-drama Psych, two episodes of The L Word, the romantic drama A Show of Hands, and Mo Perkins' independent drama A Quiet Little Marriage. She has since gone on to co-lead Showtime's thriller series Yellowjackets, for which she's earned two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She earned a third for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Max's critically acclaimed video game adaptation, The Last of Us.
Axios
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Things to do in Miami: Art walk, seafood fest and more!
Second weekend of April. Let's have some fun! Quick reminder: The Miami Film Festival ends Sunday, while the O, Miami Poetry Festival runs through the end of the month. 🎵 Spring Student Art & Music Showcase features students from Miami Beach schools performing song, dance and musical acts. Tonight, 660 Lincoln Road, 5pm-7pm. Free 🏎️ The Formula E World Championship's Miami E-Prix brings electric-car racing to Homestead-Miami Speedway Friday and Saturday. The E-Prix returns to Miami for the first time since 2015. Practice sessions start Friday at 4:30pm. The race is Saturday at 2:05pm. Tickets $39+ 🌎 Celebrate Earth Day at the Miami History Museum's Family Fun Day. Learn about environmental issues and Miami's unique natural environment. Saturday, 10am-5pm. Free 🏀 Shoot three-pointers against former Miami Heat players at a South Beach pop-up event organized by Starry. Saturday, Lummus Park (between 5th and 6th St.), 11am-3pm. Free 📕 The first annual Book Club Fair invites guests to hear from speakers, browse vendors and learn about running or joining a book club. Saturday, 3pm-11:30pm. Free
CBS News
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Miami Film Festival shines spotlight on local talent in 42nd year
The Miami Film Festival has returned for its 42nd year, showcasing approximately 200 films from 45 countries during its 10-day run. This year's lineup features a strong presence of local talent, celebrating the vibrant and growing filmmaking community in South Florida. "We have 11 feature films directed by local filmmakers that were filmed right here in South Florida, and then so many local shorts," said Lauren Cohen, Director of Programming for the Miami Film Festival. "Our slogan is 'Big characters deserve big screens,' and Miami is all about big characters and big personalities. We really want to reflect the true Miami spirit." Among the local filmmakers featured this year are father-son duo Tom and Alex Musca, who co-directed Aguadilla, shot on location in Puerto Rico. Tom Musca brings impressive credentials as the producer and screenwriter of the 1988 Oscar-nominated film Stand and Deliver. He now serves as a professor at the University of Miami. "I run the MFA screenwriting track at the University of Miami. I've loved doing it for 15 years," Tom said. In a unique twist, his co-director and son Alex was once his student. "Most people ask, 'Oh, how did that work?' And I say it worked very well because UM accommodates that situation—you just can't give your child a grade," Tom explained. "So he had his work evaluated by another professor." "Which was great for me," Alex added with a laugh, "because I probably would have gotten a worse grade if you had graded me." Growing up around the film industry, Alex said their collaboration thrived because of mutual respect and clear communication. "We were very honest from the beginning about where our strengths lie as directors, and we were respectful of that power dynamic." Aguadilla features actor Lou Diamond Phillips and Cuban-born actress Alina Robert, a Miami Dade College graduate who plays Alissa in what's described as a film noir-style love triangle. Tom wrote the role with Robert specifically in mind. When asked how it felt to have a role written especially for her, Robert became emotional. "I'm grateful. It makes you emotional, see, because it feels like he trusts me as an actress to perform his dreams," she said. Now presenting her third film at the Miami Film Festival, Robert sees the moment as a significant personal achievement. "This is the American dream," she said, reflecting on her journey from Cuba to becoming an established actress in the United States. Tom, celebrating his fifth film featured at the Miami Film Festival, is eager to screen Aguadilla for his hometown crowd. "We have a film that's 40% Spanish, so we know it's going to appeal to certain parts of the Hispanic culture," he said. "We're very excited to see how they react to the film." Aguadilla premieres Sunday night at the Bill Cosford Cinema. Other festival screenings will take place at venues throughout Miami. For the full schedule and ticket information, visit .
Miami Herald
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Miami and its neighborhoods star in Miami Film Festival's Made in MIA series
One of the highlights of the Miami Film Festival is the chance to see movies that were made right here in the 305. For the 42nd year for the festival, there is an impressive array of narratives and documentaries that are made in the MIA. 'I am just more and more proud of our community every single year,' says Lauren Cohen, director of programming at the Miami Film Festival. Some of the homegrown films include the world premiere of the comedy 'Ethan Bloom,' shot mostly in Coconut Grove and Coral Gables, and directed by Herschel Faber, with a screenplay by Maylen Dominguez. The East Coast premiere of Sergio Vizuete's stunning 'Becoming Vera' uses much of downtown Miami as its backdrop. And Xander Robin's documentary 'The Python Hunt,' which won a special jury award in March at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, is filmed in the Florida Everglades. Of about a dozen films made in Miami, nine are in competition for the sixth edition of the Made in MIA award. Rounding out the competition films are 'News Without a Newsroom,' directed by Oana Liana Martisa; 'A Weird Kind of Beautiful,' directed by Gabriel Mayo; 'Edge of Hope,' directed by Dudley Alexis; 'El Sonido de Miami' and 'Hablando con Chago,' both directed by Emilio Oscar Alcalde; and 'Know Me: The Untold Miami Bath Salts Phenomenon,' directed by Edson Jean, a dramatic feature film about the 2012 incident that happened when Rudy Eugene attacked a homeless man. 'What's so special about 'Know Me,' ' says Cohen, is that it's a film that's trying to put a lens on the family who had to deal with the media firestorm of creating these narratives and sensationalizing a real tragedy for his family and everyone involved. It is such a humanistic portrait in a way,' Cohen says of Jean's film. While Faber's comedy feature has some casting choices out of Hollywood — Mindy Sterling who played Frau Farbissina in the 'Austin Powers' movie series, Joshua Melina known for his role as Will Bailey on 'The West Wing' and Hank Greenspan from the television series 'The Neighborhood' as Ethan Bloom — the film is set in Coconut Grove and Coral Gables. The director says he got his first job as a production assistant when Mike Nichols was filming 'The Birdcage' in Miami Beach. 'This is where I got my start. My roots are here.' He also made his first movie in Miami. 'One of the things I love about the film and why I wanted to make it in Miami is because it explores so many different communities. There's the Jewish community, the Catholic community and the Latin community, and just all these different people that come together. This was just the place to do it,' says Faber. The comedy is about a 13-year-old Jewish kid who secretly wants to become a Catholic. Although he spent his growing years in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Farber says his childhood was spent in Miami Beach where his father grew up. 'I had a real nostalgia for the Grove and the Gables,' he says. 'This is a uniquely Miami movie and I know [screenwriter] Maylen felt the exact same way. This is a love letter to Miami.' Faber, who lived in Los Angeles for 15 years before moving back to Miami, now lives in Pinecrest. 'I think people love to see South Florida on screen and they are often our biggest selling titles. People really flock to them and this year's lineup couldn't be better,' says festival director James Woolley, mentioning Alcade's 'El Sonido de Miami' (7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 10, Miami Beach Bandshell), which traces the evolution of Miami's signature Latin music sound, which the filmmaker says 'is a fusion of cultures that could only happen in Miami. It comes from the struggle of trying to keep your culture in a new country. And the importance of being in a city that allowed for immigrants to create a home away from home.' Spanish filmmaker Vizuete's 'Becoming Vera' is full of cinematic beauty and focused on Miami. The coming-of-age film is about an 18-year-old girl who has aged out of Miami's foster system. She has a talent for playing Latin jazz piano and Vizuete's story follows the ups and downs of her journey to get her off the streets hopefully through her virtuosic talent. 'I wanted to show Miami from the eyes of a local. So many people think of Miami as a spring break hang out, the beaches, but there is another Miami, completely different to that and I wanted this to be a tribute of sorts to the local Miami that we know.' Some beautiful shots of Biscayne Bay and other night shots of the skyline capture the city's essence. 'I have gotten some questions a few times like, 'where did you shoot your film? Was it New York?' No, it is Miami.' 'Interstate,' a documentary by former Miami Herald reporter Oscar Corral and Miami-based filmmaker Haleem Mushin, shows a different side of Miami and other cities whose Black communities were impacted in the 1950s by the U.S. Interstate Highway System cutting through minority communities. 'We did a short film about the way that I-95 impacted Overtown in Miami and after we did that short film, Haleem and I, well, we couldn't let it go and then we found out that it happened in other places,' says Corral. Mushin grew up in Miami Gardens, but says that Overtown, Liberty City and Allapattah were his 'stomping grounds' when he was a kid. 'My father would tell me about how historic the city of Overtown was and what it meant to the African American community. In terms of business and its Hollywood appeal,' he says, mentioning that it was, at the time, the Motown of the South. Another documentary, 'Two Islands,' produced by Melissa Messulam, director of Miami Dade College's Koubek Center, got its start in Miami after a two-week residency between Afro-Cuban musicians from Miami and Aboriginal storytellers, dancers, and musicians from Australia. Miami-based Afro-Cuban multi-instrumentalist Gary Lang then traveled to Australia where he spent time with the First Nations Aboriginal artists. The film, directed by Humberto Ochoa, chronicles the two-year international cultural exchange. Spotlighting Miami filmmakers at the festival is a way to get them in front of industry movers and shakers who may be able to, as Cohen says, 'help them grow and filmmakers and maybe even help them in their careers.' She mentions some of the members of the jury, two of whom are based in New York and will be coming to Miami to judge the Made in MIA category, including Chris Mason Wells, director of distribution for MUBI, a global streaming platform, production company and film distributor, and Jasper Bash, the head of distribution for Variance Films. 'My hope is that they see something that really touches them or moves them and then maybe there's a collaboration opportunity, maybe a film gets a sale. That doesn't always mean that's going to happen but having people like this see your film is definitely a step in the right direction in being able to take these films further than our city,' says Cohen. Woolley arrived 18 months ago to the Miami Film Festival as its executive director after Jaie Laplante, who served as director for 12 years, stepped down. Woolley's most recent stint before taking the job was as the executive director of San Francisco-based Frameline, the world's longest running LGBTQ+ film festival. 'This is my first full year where I've had a full 12 months of planning and it's been wonderful. We have 120 features and 80 shorts that we are excited for people to see this year,' he says, adding that there are 'high ambitions' for the future of the festival. 'We want to be one of the largest regional film festivals.' Woolley admits there are still some challenges for film festivals post COVID-19. 'I do think festivals are in a better place right now than theaters because they are special. They often come with filmmaker talents, parties and chances for connection. But because the challenge I think all of the industry faces right now is just getting people off the couch.' The reason to get up off the couch, Woolley says, is that the festival is programmed to provide an experience. 'We believe that an experience is what will bring people out and it's an opportunity for people to see some great films they may not catch otherwise.' If you go: What: Miami Film Festival When: April 3-13; Screening times vary. See full schedule. Where: Various venues throughout Miami-Dade County Cost: Most films are $15.50, general admission; $14.50, students, military, seniors (62 and older). Special event tickets range from $34 to $130. Info at
Axios
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Miami Film Festival spotlight: "Edge of Hope" explores climate gentrification
Miami director Dudley Alexis wants audiences to see the "real Miami" and his new documentary is part-history lesson, part call to action. " Edge of Hope," which premieres April 12 at the Miami Film Festival, explores Miami's racist past and the looming threats of sea-level rise and climate gentrification. What they're saying: Alexis, whose 2020 documentary "When Liberty Burns" won the festival's Knight Made in MIA Award, tells Axios that his new film highlights how climate threats are leading developers to target Black neighborhoods that are more resilient to sea-level rise. "Not enough people are connecting how so much of the affordable housing, gentrification and displacement in Miami are connected to climate change."
