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Winnipeg Free Press
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
James Foley, ‘Glengarry Glen Ross' director, dies at 71
James Foley, a journeyman director best known for 'Glengarry Glen Ross,' has died. He was 71. He died earlier this week after a yearlong battle with brain cancer, his representative, Taylor Lomax, said Friday. In his long and varied career, Foley directed Madonna music videos, 12 episodes of 'House of Cards' and the two 'Fifty Shades of Grey' sequels, but it was his 1992 adaptation of David Mamet's foulmouthed Pulitzer Prize winning play that stood above the rest. Although it wasn't a hit at the time, 'Glengarry Glen Ross' wormed its way into the culture and grew into an oft-quoted cult favorite, especially Alec Baldwin's made-for-the-film 'always be closing' monologue. Critic Tim Grierson wrote 20 years after its release that it remains 'one of the quintessential modern movies about masculinity.' He added, 'while there are many fine Mamet movies, it's interesting that the best of them was this one — the one he didn't direct.' Born on Dec. 28, 1953, in Brooklyn, Foley studied film in graduate school at the University of Southern California. Legend has it that Hal Ashby once wandered into a film school party where his short happened to be playing at the time and he took a liking to him. Foley would later attribute his ability to make his first feature, 'Reckless,' a 1984 romantic drama about mismatched teenagers in love starring Daryl Hannah, Aidan Quinn and Adam Baldwin, to the Ashby stamp of approval. It was also the first screenplay credited to Chris Columbus, though there were reports of creative differences. He followed it with the Sean Penn crime drama 'At Close Range,' the Madonna and Griffin Dunne screwball comedy 'Who's That Girl' and the neo-noir thriller 'After Dark, My Sweet,' with Jason Patric. Critic Roger Ebert included 'After Dark, My Sweet' in his great movies list, calling it 'one of the purest and most uncompromising of modern film noir' despite having been 'almost forgotten.' He also directed several music videos for Madonna including 'Papa Don't Preach,' 'Live to Tell,' and 'Who's That Girl,' and an episode of 'Twin Peaks.' Foley adapted John Grisham and worked with Gene Hackman on 'The Chamber' and made the Reese Witherspoon and Mark Wahlberg teenage love-gone-scary thriller 'Fear,' as well as the largely derided Halle Berry and Bruce Willis psychological thriller 'Perfect Stranger,' which was released in 2007. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. It would be a decade before his next film was released, when he was given the reigns to the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' sequels, 'Fifty Shades Darker' and 'Fifty Shades Freed.' 'For me, what's most challenging is stuff that doesn't involve the actors, oddly enough — in three, there's a big car chase and there's different stunts and stuff and that stuff really bores me,' he told The Associated Press at the UK premiere of 'Fifty Shades Darker.' 'So when the actors aren't around, that's difficult because the actors give me so much energy and kind of engagement and a car driving by doesn't do the same thing.' Foley was not an easily definable director, but that was by design. In 2017, he told The Hollywood Reporter that he had no interest in repeating himself. 'I've always just followed my nose, for better or for worse, sometimes for worse,' Foley said. 'What's best and what's worst (about the industry) are almost the same to me. What's worst is you get pigeonholed and what's best is I haven't been. It means that I'm still making movies, despite hopping all over the place.' Foley is survived by his brother, Kevin Foley, and sisters Eileen and Jo Ann.
Associated Press
14-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
An AP photographer positions himself for a unique view of a pole vaulter's failed attempt
APELDORN, Netherlands (AP) — Peter 'Gramps' DeJong has been based in Amsterdam for The Associated since March 1989. He has covered both Gulf Wars, the fall of communism in Russia, Pakistan after the attacks of Sept. 11 and many other major news events. Here's what he had to say about this extraordinary photo. Why this photo? Norway's Sondre Guttormsen, Greece's Emmanouil Karalis and Netherlands' Menno Vloon were competing for the gold medal on the men's pole vault at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn. Any jump clearing the height or failing to clear the height decides the outcome. Although several finals of different competitions were going on simultaneously, I felt I needed to be there for the last few jumps. How I made this photo Working the infield at an indoor athletics competition for a select group of only 10 photographers is subject to very strict rules due to the restricted space. Photographers are not allowed to either stand or lie down and are not allowed to be in the line of sight of the TV cameras. They are also not allowed to disturb athletes warming up or competing. When there are several events going on at the same time, this complicates our work even more. I picked a spot under the pole vault from where you could see the athletes faces as they arch backward before falling into the mats (cushion) , and shot Guttormsen's jump a bit wider. He did not clear the height and came crashing down with the bar after letting go of his pole. I decided to shoot it with an 85mm f1.4, lower iso and higher quality for cropping, gambling on one of the athletes missing the height. It was vital to get the images out fast and, hence, a thanks to Pavel Golovkin who edited this picture off the camera - toned and cropped - and thanks to Dusan Vranic, who edited the first three days of the championship. Why this photo works
