Latest news with #RobertZemeckis
The Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Eighties movie star, 63, unrecognizable after being fired from hit movie and award winning role – who he is?
THIS Hollywood hot shot has stunned fans with his vastly different appearance - after finding fame in the 1980s. The Californian actor - who was once nominated for a Golden Globe - rocked a casual look as he stepped out in New York. 5 5 Wearing a cute Peanuts T-shirt, cap and jeans, Eric Stoltz looked carefree and content as he strolled through Manhattan's West Village. The 80s star accessorised with a rucksack, trainers and dark shades. Eric had originally been cast to play the lead role of Marty McFly in 1985's Back To The Future, but was replaced after five weeks by Michael J. Fox. Director Robert Zemeckis came to realise that Stoltz's serious method acting style wasn't a good fit for the movie's comedic tone. Zemeckis explained of the hard decision to axe him: "He's a magnificent actor, but his comedy sensibilities were very different from what I had written with Bob Gale. "And he and I were just never able to make that work." Director Zemeckis claimed Stoltz would insist on being called his character's name, Marty, rather than his own." Zemeckis claimed: "We almost always called him Marty. We thought it was silly, but we figured if it helped him do his job, it was harmless. "There were a few people on the crew who'd worked on Mask and they called him Rocky, the name of his character in that film." Spielberg added: "He was absolutely correct so I had to make this horrific decision which was heartbreaking for everybody." Back to the Future's 'Doc' Christopher Lloyd, 86, goes unnoticed as he catches a cab in NYC 40 years after hit film- Eric received a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the 1985 film Mask in which he starred alongside Cher and played the True Life story of Roy L. 'Rocky' Dennis - a teen with a major skull deformity. In 1994, he played drug dealer Lance in Quentin Tarantino's classic Pulp Fiction. He also starred as Keith Nelson in 1987's Some Kind of Wonderful and as Ethan Valhere in Jerry Maguire (1996). Plus small roles in The Butterfly Effect and Grey's Anatomy. The talented star dated Single White Female's Bridget Fonda and As Good As It Gets Helen Hunt. He is now married to Bernadette Moley. 5 5 5
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
'80s movie star who worked with Tom Cruise looks unrecognizable on rare outing... can you guess who it is?
This actor rose to prominence in the 1980s, and worked with Tom Cruise and Quentin Tarantino. He was also famously fired from an iconic film. On Monday, the star, now 63, looked unrecognizable while enjoying a rare outing in Manhattan's West Village neighborhood. The California native — who once dated Jackie Brown star Bridget Fonda — sported a cartoon T-shirt paired with blue jeans and sneakers. He wore a faded hat over his grown-out silver hair and carried a backpack. He also sported a pair of sunglasses. This film star, who also famously played a drug dealer in a Quentin Tarantino movie, was previously nominated for a Golden Globe. Can you guess who it is? That's right, it's Eric Stoltz! Stoltz was famously hired to play Marty McFly in the 1985 film Back to the Future. After more than a month of filming, he was fired and replaced with Michael J. Fox. Director Robert Zemeckis had determined that his serious method acting style didn't match the film's comedic tone. The film transformed Fox into one of the biggest stars of the Eighties. 'He's a magnificent actor, but his comedy sensibilities were very different from what I had written with Bob Gale,' Zemeckis said of Stoltz. 'And he and I were just never able to make that work.' Zemeckis said he showed Steven Spielberg the first five weeks of footage and told him they weren't 'getting the laughs I was hoping we would get.' Said Spielberg: 'He was absolutely correct so I had to make this horrific decision which was heartbreaking for everybody.' That's right, it's Eric Stoltz! He was famously hired to play Marty McFly in the 1985 film Back to the Future, before getting fired; Pictured (L) in a still from the film's footage Director Robert Zemeckis had determined that Stoltz's serious method acting style didn't match the film's comedic tone; Stoltz seen in a still from Some Kind Of Wonderful (1987) While Fox enjoyed a soaring career after Back to the Future, before revealing his Parkinson's diagnosis in 1998, Stoltz carved out a varied career with a series of supporting roles; (L) Stoltz pictured in 2024, (R) Fox seen in 2019 Stoltz went on to enjoy some success with the 1985 drama Mask, for which he nabbed a Golden Globe nomination; Seen in a still from the film While Michael went on to become a hugely popular star, Stoltz had to settle with a career full of bit parts. But he did enjoy some success with 1985 drama Mask, for which he nabbed a Golden Globe nomination, the same year that back to the Future became one of the highest grossing blockbusters of all time. He also starred as Keith Nelson in Some Kind of Wonderful (1987). In 1994, he played a drug dealer named Lance in Tarantino's iconic film, Pulp Fiction. He also appeared as Ethan Valhere in the 1996 hit film Jerry Maguire, which starred Tom Cruise. He has since had small roles in The Butterfly Effect and hit TV show Grey's Anatomy where he played a serial killer. Though he is now married to Bernadette Moley, Stoltz once dated daughter of actor Peter Fonda, Bridget. She was a prominent figure in Hollywood during the late 1980s and 1990s, starring in films like The Godfather Part III, Single White Female, and Jackie Brown. The two met in 1986, and started dating in 1990. In 1997 they attended the premiere of Jackie Brown together at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City. Their relationship ended in 1998. Eric went on to marry Bernadette in 2005.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
How Christopher Gattelli crafted Broadway's 'Death Becomes Her' and made it a Tonys powerhouse
NEW YORK (AP) — When he was first asked to helm the Broadway hit musical 'Death Becomes Her,' director and choreographer Christopher Gattelli loved it, but refused to work on the big, splashy opening number. It was just too delicious. 'When they sent it to me, I was cooking and I burnt dinner because my mind was spinning,' he says. 'I was, like, 'This is a gift. I will never get an opening number like this again.'' So Gattelli worked out everything else about how to put Robert Zemeckis' 1992 comic cult classic onto a stage and only then turned to the big, brassy song, 'For the Gaze,' a winking valentine to gay men, punning along the way. 'I was able to do the show and then have my full brain on that number because I knew the potential of what it could be,' he says. What Gattelli crafted is an opening number for the ages, led by Megan Hilty: There are mid-song costume changes, dance breaks, chorus boys hoisting Hilty, spangly jumpsuits and tuxedos, high-kicking Vegas showgirls with feather headdresses, a body double doing somersaults, a rainbow flag of top-hatted dancers, and Hilty doing a Liza Minnelli cameo, all ending with the grand finale of Hilty as Judy Garland's Dorothy from 'The Wizard of Oz,' complete with a little stuffed dog. 'I heard the pocket in that song, and I was like, 'I know there's a giant laugh there. I can hear giant laughs, what's that giant laugh?'' says Gattelli. 'What's the biggest gay reference? Then I literally I just worked backwards.' That number telegraphs to the audience exactly what to expect for the rest of the night — a perfectly rehearsed, lushly costumed, silly, self-aware comedy. 'Once we hit 'For the Gaze,' the audience knows exactly what the show is,' he says. 'And then I think they're in for the ride.' A wheelbarrow of Tony nods The work on 'For the Gaze' has helped Gattelli see his show earn 10 Tony Award nominations, including one for his Broadway debut as a director and another for his choreography. The musical is based on the film, which starred Meryl Streep as a self-centered actor and Goldie Hawn as her suffering-in-the-shadows writer friend. Their mutual desperate measures for achieving eternal youth turn comically grotesque. Hilty plays the Streep role, while Jennifer Simard plays the Hawn one. 'It felt like just the perfect fit for what I do and what I love to do,' Gattelli says. 'I love comedy and I love to direct comedy and I love to do these big splashy numbers. It felt like everything I've been itching to do.' Gattelli — who was a dancer in the original 'Cats' — has been a mainstay on Broadway of late, able to choreograph such venerable works as 'The King and I' and 'My Fair Lady' but also irreverent musicals as 'SpongeBob SquarePants' and the jukebox variety, like 'The Cher Show.' He made his directing debut off-Broadway in 2011 with 'Silence!' a parody musical of 'The Silence of the Lambs,' complete with a chorus of dancing lambs running across the stage. Lowe Cunningham, lead producer of 'Death Becomes Her,' saw it in Los Angeles and later asked Gattelli about the experience, how he collaborated and his approach to the work. She was impressed by his openness to all ideas and his caring. 'I think first and foremost, his talent is clear and it's been out there in the world of choreography for a long time. He is innovative, he does things other people aren't doing, but the other thing is that he's renowned as being an incredibly kind human being,' she says. Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony for choreographing 'Newsies the Musical' — one of his show-stopping moments was dancers sliding on newspapers — was brought in relatively late to 'Death Becomes Her,' only a year and half before opening on Broadway. 'It was a great lesson in trusting your instincts,' he says. 'They said, 'We want a lush, opulent, sexy, magical sparkling evening.' And we just started taking big swings.' It started with — of all things — the curtain. The audience filing into the theater is greeted by a purple, royal fabric. 'When people walk in, they immediately feel like that it's lush and sexy and mysterious.' The challenge of one scene The musical is filled with very funny special effects that are decidedly low-tech. At one point, the two leading ladies are replaced by two men duking it out in dresses and wigs. The audience roars at the deception and Gattelli even advised one of the male combatants not to shave his arm hair. 'The audience is in on the joke,' he says. 'I love that they go on that ride with us. They're laughing with us. We're all laughing together and it feels good.' One scene from the movie needed a lot of planning to make it on stage: The tumble down the elegant mansion stairs by Hilty's character. Hollywood CGI magic would have to be replicated by Broadway ingenuity. 'The people that know the movie and the fans especially are going to go, 'How are they going to do it?' It was keeping me up at night forever because we tried everything,' says Gattelli. The creative team — which also included set designer Derek McLane, lighting designer Justin Townsend and sound designer Peter Hylenski — decided to make it a dance punctuated by sound effects. Warren Yang — an actor with a gymnastics background — wears Hilty's outfit and a wig as he tumbles slowly, acrobatically and theatrically down the stairs, somersaulting as thunder sounds crash and we hear what seems like bones cracking. (The stairs were made of the rubber Neoprene for safety.) 'There are very simple techniques that make a big impact,' says Gattelli. 'I just went back to it's a beautiful, lush, gorgeous show, but, at the core, it's just theatrical magic and stagecraft.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
How Christopher Gattelli crafted Broadway's 'Death Becomes Her' and made it a Tonys powerhouse
When he was first asked to helm the Broadway hit musical 'Death Becomes Her,' director and choreographer Christopher Gattelli loved it, but refused to work on the big, splashy opening number. It was just too delicious. 'When they sent it to me, I was cooking and I burnt dinner because my mind was spinning," he says. "I was, like, 'This is a gift. I will never get an opening number like this again.'' So Gattelli worked out everything else about how to put Robert Zemeckis' 1992 comic cult classic onto a stage and only then turned to the big, brassy song, 'For the Gaze,' a winking valentine to gay men, punning along the way. 'I was able to do the show and then have my full brain on that number because I knew the potential of what it could be,' he says. What Gattelli crafted is an opening number for the ages, led by Megan Hilty: There are mid-song costume changes, dance breaks, chorus boys hoisting Hilty, spangly jumpsuits and tuxedos, high-kicking Vegas showgirls with feather headdresses, a body double doing somersaults, a rainbow flag of top-hatted dancers, and Hilty doing a Liza Minnelli cameo, all ending with the grand finale of Hilty as Judy Garland 's Dorothy from 'The Wizard of Oz,' complete with a little stuffed dog. 'I heard the pocket in that song, and I was like, 'I know there's a giant laugh there. I can hear giant laughs, what's that giant laugh?'' says Gattelli. 'What's the biggest gay reference? Then I literally I just worked backwards.' That number telegraphs to the audience exactly what to expect for the rest of the night — a perfectly rehearsed, lushly costumed, silly, self-aware comedy. 'Once we hit 'For the Gaze,' the audience knows exactly what the show is," he says. "And then I think they're in for the ride.' A wheelbarrow of Tony nods The work on 'For the Gaze' has helped Gattelli see his show earn 10 Tony Award nominations, including one for his Broadway debut as a director and another for his choreography. The musical is based on the film, which starred Meryl Streep as a self-centered actor and Goldie Hawn as her suffering-in-the-shadows writer friend. Their mutual desperate measures for achieving eternal youth turn comically grotesque. Hilty plays the Streep role, while Jennifer Simard plays the Hawn one. 'It felt like just the perfect fit for what I do and what I love to do," Gattelli says. "I love comedy and I love to direct comedy and I love to do these big splashy numbers. It felt like everything I've been itching to do.' Gattelli — who was a dancer in the original 'Cats' — has been a mainstay on Broadway of late, able to choreograph such venerable works as 'The King and I' and 'My Fair Lady' but also irreverent musicals as 'SpongeBob SquarePants' and the jukebox variety, like 'The Cher Show.' He made his directing debut off-Broadway in 2011 with 'Silence!' a parody musical of 'The Silence of the Lambs,' complete with a chorus of dancing lambs running across the stage. Lowe Cunningham, lead producer of 'Death Becomes Her,' saw it in Los Angeles and later asked Gattelli about the experience, how he collaborated and his approach to the work. She was impressed by his openness to all ideas and his caring. 'I think first and foremost, his talent is clear and it's been out there in the world of choreography for a long time. He is innovative, he does things other people aren't doing, but the other thing is that he's renowned as being an incredibly kind human being,' she says. Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony for choreographing 'Newsies the Musical' — one of his show-stopping moments was dancers sliding on newspapers — was brought in relatively late to 'Death Becomes Her,' only a year and half before opening on Broadway. 'It was a great lesson in trusting your instincts,' he says. 'They said, 'We want a lush, opulent, sexy, magical sparkling evening.' And we just started taking big swings.' It started with — of all things — the curtain. The audience filing into the theater is greeted by a purple, royal fabric. 'When people walk in, they immediately feel like that it's lush and sexy and mysterious.' The challenge of one scene The musical is filled with very funny special effects that are decidedly low-tech. At one point, the two leading ladies are replaced by two men duking it out in dresses and wigs. The audience roars at the deception and Gattelli even advised one of the male combatants not to shave his arm hair. 'The audience is in on the joke,' he says. 'I love that they go on that ride with us. They're laughing with us. We're all laughing together and it feels good.' One scene from the movie needed a lot of planning to make it on stage: The tumble down the elegant mansion stairs by Hilty's character. Hollywood CGI magic would have to be replicated by Broadway ingenuity. 'The people that know the movie and the fans especially are going to go, 'How are they going to do it?' It was keeping me up at night forever because we tried everything,' says Gattelli. The creative team — which also included set designer Derek McLane, lighting designer Justin Townsend and sound designer Peter Hylenski — decided to make it a dance punctuated by sound effects. Warren Yang — an actor with a gymnastics background — wears Hilty's outfit and a wig as he tumbles slowly, acrobatically and theatrically down the stairs, somersaulting as thunder sounds crash and we hear what seems like bones cracking. (The stairs were made of the rubber Neoprene for safety.) 'There are very simple techniques that make a big impact,' says Gattelli. 'I just went back to it's a beautiful, lush, gorgeous show, but, at the core, it's just theatrical magic and stagecraft.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jennifer Lopez Unveils New Las Vegas Residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
Jennifer Lopez is returning to Las Vegas with her new residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Her show, entitled 'Jennifer Lopez: Up All Night Live in Las Vegas,' opens the week of New Year's Eve with four shows on Dec. 30, Dec. 31, Jan. 2 and Jan. 3. There will be an additional eight performances in March 2026. More from Variety Jennifer Lopez to Star in Netflix's 'The Last Mrs. Parrish' Movie From Director Robert Zemeckis Jennifer Lopez to Host American Music Awards in May Jennifer Lopez Remembers Hairstylist Jesus Guerrero, Kylie Jenner Covering Funeral Expenses Lopez shared the news via social media shortly after her American Music Awards performance. She wrote, 'We're back! I'm doing a residency in Las Vegas! Join me for Up All Night Live In Las Vegas At The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.' As part of a sponsorship promotion, Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets starting Monday, June 2, at 10 a.m. PT through the Citi Entertainment program. Fan club tickets will be available starting Tuesday, June 3, at 10 a.m. PT. Presale tickets for general audiences will go on sale Wednesday, June 4, at 10 a.m. PT. All access to presale tickets ends Thursday, June 5, at 10 p.m. PT. Starting Friday, June 6 at 10 a.m. PT, tickets go on sale for the following performance dates: Dec. 30, Dec. 31, Jan. 2, Jan. 3, March 6, March 7, March 13, March 14, March 20, March 27 and March 28. This marks the second time the Grammy-nominated artist landed a Las Vegas residency. Her first, entitled 'Jennifer Lopez: All I Have,' ran for 120 shows from 2016 to 2018 at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The residency grossed over $100 million. Lopez returned to host the AMAs for the first time in a decade, opening the evening with a dance medley of 23 of the biggest hits from the past year. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
