Philip Seymour Hoffman

Synecdoche, New York
Running time 124 minutes
Written and directed by Charlie Kaufman
Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Hope Davis

Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York, from his own screenplay, begins with its title as a curious play on words between Schenectady, N.Y., and synecdoche, a word never spoken aloud in formal or conversational speech, but still widely known for the figure of language to which it refers. The film ends in an abyss of total despair over the inevitability of death. What happens in between is often unclear, but what I do understand is the possibility that some viewers will consider the film the worst they have ever seen, while others will judge it to be one of the best of the current crop of attractions.  read more »

Synecdoche, New York
Running Time 124 minutes
Written and directed by Charlie Kaufman
Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Emily Watson, Samantha Morton, Dianne Wiest

The word of the week is contrast. Decorating the top of the cake: a new Clint Eastwood. At the bottom of the cesspool: a new Charlie Kaufman. First, the dregs. There’s always a dumpster full of crap just waiting to lower the I.Q.’s of rational men, but the pain usually wears off fast, and the brain damage is rarely permanent. (Does anybody even remember Borat, Apocalypto or anything with Adam Sandler?) Then, just when you think it’s safe to go back to the movies, the plunger sucks up something from a clogged drain like the unspeakable, unpronounceable Synecdoche, New York, and you’re forced to take back every prematurely made prophecy about “the worst movie ever made.  read more »

Good gravy! Here's another end-of-the-year biggie trailer that looks as though it could be a major contender in award season, It's Doubt, written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, who also wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning play on which the film is based. Set in 1964, the story centers on a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him of abusing a black student (which he denies). All the elements are here: Meryl Streep (looking kind of Amish and terrifying); red faced, weird eyebrow'd Philip Seymour Hoffman; and Amy Adams. Boy, this one looks intense. Scott Rudin, unsurprisingly, is the producer. Fun fact: the last movie that Mr. Shanley directed was (a personal favorite) Joe Versus The Volcano.

PS: Though the music in the trailer sure sounds like tinkly Philip Glass, apparently it is not.  read more »

Oscar-winning dame Ellen Burstyn will star in The Little Flower of East Orange, the new Off Broadway play by Stephen Adly Guirgis to be directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. According to Variety, the play is a ghost story set in an upper Manhattan charity hospital and is set to begin previews March 18.  read more »

With only one wide release—MGM’s Awake (No. 6)—the box office had a slow weekend, with few, if any, changes either here or nationally in the top five. But that didn’t keep The Savages (No. 8) from making an impression. On two screens in the city, the Tamara Jenkins family drama starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney averaged close to $40,000—a stellar opening for such a slow time.

In the wake of so many dysfunctional Thanksgiving dinners, perhaps receipts were buoyed by people’s desire to see a family more messed up than their own. The film has also certainly been helped by the skillful word-of-mouth and marketing campaign launched by Fox Searchlight—they of Sideways and Little Miss Sunshine fame. Don’t be surprised if this one meets the same Oscar fate—both good and bad.  read more »

Laura Linney--whom we think of as a certain kind of actress--says she’s the happiest she’s ever been. (Definitely a good thing; see: The Nanny Diaries, The Squid and the Whale, The Truman Show, et cetera ad infinitum.) The 43-year-old actress' new movie The Savages, directed by Tamara Jenkins and costarring Philip Seymour Hoffman, opens tomorrow. In the film, the esteemed actors do turns playing siblings who are faced with putting their father, played by Philip Bosco, in a nursing home. Ms. Linney’s character, Wendy, a down-and-out playwright fast approaching her 40th birthday, lives in the shadow of her more successful brother, a fellow writer. "For me, things are nothing but good," she said in an interview with Reuters. "For Wendy, she's living like she's 28 [years old] or even 11. She just hasn't had the opportunity to move forward."

Ms. Linney has heaped seven films on her professional plate over the last two years. "I just really enjoy it,” she said. “I find it constantly challenging. It's taken me to parts of the world I never thought I'd see and I've worked with people whom I admire and learned from. It's pretty damn good."

Director Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills) delivers that rare gift for the holidays: a meaningful movie about the ravages of age.  read more »

The supporters of The New Globe Theater--the proposed Castle Williams arts center on Governors Island--already have lots of famous friends. (Moby! Pacino! Amy Sacco! Philip Seymour Hoffman! Moby!!).

But nothing helps like bedding secretive right-wing billionaire Bruce Kovner. The Lincoln Center vice-chairman has joined the board, where he'll rub elbows with the aforementioned celebs while ogling Lord Norman Foster's pretty plans.

And there's more: Lord Ralph Voldemort Fiennes has not only "shared his enthusiasm and insights into theater design over coffee" with the New Globe folks, but has added his name to their list of supporters.  read more »

- Max Abelson

Director Martin Scorsese is asking $6.7 million for his East 62nd Street townhouse, according to the New York Post. Mr. Scorsese has owned the five-story home for close to 20 years, before listing it with Edward Lee Cave. (Not sure if the vintage Renior poster is included in the asking price).

Also, Robert De Niro--who's starred in plenty of Mr. Scorsese's films--might still be looking for an uptown place, too. His wife, Grace Hightower, was reportedly checking out the $49 million triplex apartment at 823 Park Ave.  read more »

And Philip Seymour Hoffman was seen cruising down Gay Street--checking out a townhouse.

- Michael Calderone

Welcome, suckers. Summer is here and so is Tom Cruise.  read more »

J.J.  read more »

The 78th Annual Academy Award ceremonies started off as a standoff between “niche” host  read more »

Steven Soderbergh’s Bubble, from a screenplay by Coleman Hough, extends Mr.  read more »

Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale, from his own screenplay, hits as close to home as a filmm  read more »

Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale, from his own screenplay, hits as close to home as a f  read more »

Film festivals are like funerals: As soon as one door closes, another one opens.  read more »

As You Like It    read more »

As You Like It“I am not the honoree!” protested the handsome co-president and C.O.O.  read more »

When big Broadway productions are fixed on the road before coming into town, it seems to me a good i  read more »

In the postwar lull between Iraq and tax extensions, people are understandably searching for pleasan  read more »

I've rarely loved a play as much Our Lady of 121st Street .  read more »

Howard Stern has officially ascended from the ranks of Hamptons renters.  read more »

Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love , from his own screenplay, turns out to be one of the most i  read more »

Suit up and plunge: The 27th Toronto International Film Festival is in full swing, and diversity is  read more »

Make no mistake: The major new production of Sam Shepard's True West , with Philip Seymour Hoffman a  read more »

De Niro And the Drag Queen  read more »