source
Aug 29, 2010
Aug 26, 2010
Rescue Paws Photo Exhibit
Photographer, Robbie Bellon and The Humane Society of the United States’ exhibit tonight at the W New York Times Square celebrates those who rescued or adopted dogs instead of purchasing them from puppy mills or pet stores.
Katherine Heigl’s adorable rescue dogs are featured. Oscar is on the left, Mojo in the middle and Piper on the right.
source
Katherine Heigl’s adorable rescue dogs are featured. Oscar is on the left, Mojo in the middle and Piper on the right.
source
Aug 25, 2010
Pup My Ride Spares the Lives of Tiny L.A. Dogs
This unique program shuttles an overabundance of Chuhuahuas and other small breeds from L.A. shelters to the Humane Society of Utah, where a long list of people wait to adopt them.
They are the "in" dogs of Los Angeles — little poodles, Yorkies, Pomeranians and Chihuahuas. We can thank their rise in popularity to Paris Hilton, aficionado of teeny weeny dogs and films such as Beverly Hills Chihuahua, which made that breed a much sought-after commodity.
So while backyard dog breeders in the area see dollar signs, every day the shelters of L.A. overflow with tons of unwanted small dogs, now facing euthanasia. "It has alot to do with Hollywood," says Robin Harmon, the adoption manager for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles. "It got so popular for people to carry purse dogs."
Meanwhile, in Utah as well as many other areas of the country, small dogs for adoption are rare, usually only for sale. "It's senseless to have dogs euthanized in one area when dogs like that are in demand in another area," says Jessica Almeida, rescue and transfer coordinator for the Humane Society of Utah, which almost never had small dogs for adoption.
That was until about two-and-a-half years ago, when Almeida and Harmon figured out what to do: create a pipeline to whisk the tiny strays of L.A. to eager small-dog adopters in Utah. Called Pup My Ride, some 3,500 of the tiny pups have been saved from a city kill shelter, making the trip north to Utah in twice-monthly van rides.
"You have these little dogs and you can't imagine why no one would want them," says Almeida. "And to imagine you can make someone's dream come true, for a dog who had no future, is amazing. It is a fantastic feeling.
Pup My Ride has attracted strong celeb support, none bigger than that of Katherine Heigl and her mother, Nancy, whose Jason Debus Heigl Foundation funds the effort. "They're awesome," says Harmon. "We were struggling before trying to get funds."
Regular volunteers Denise Richards and model Dancing with the Stars alum Joanna Kruppa and other devoted dog lovers show up for transport days. The pups are washed with sweet-smelling shampoos, then driven hundreds of miles to a half-way point in Utah. There, they are transferred to a van from the Humane Society of Utah, which brings them back to the organization's base in Murray. Soon, Pup My Ride will expands its reach, taking dogs to Montana, another area with a small dog shortage.
The work, however, overwhelms at times. Volunteers must enter the shelter — called Baldwin Park — to find their small dogs to save; all the while, they witness so many sad faces of dogs who may soon be dead.
But focusing on those that are saved is the key to continuing this kind of work. Says devoted Pup My Ride volunteer and actress Stephanie Lemelin: "They (Pup My Ride dogs) know they aren't going to die, and they would have if they stayed. To help them, it's the most rewarding thing."
source
They are the "in" dogs of Los Angeles — little poodles, Yorkies, Pomeranians and Chihuahuas. We can thank their rise in popularity to Paris Hilton, aficionado of teeny weeny dogs and films such as Beverly Hills Chihuahua, which made that breed a much sought-after commodity.
So while backyard dog breeders in the area see dollar signs, every day the shelters of L.A. overflow with tons of unwanted small dogs, now facing euthanasia. "It has alot to do with Hollywood," says Robin Harmon, the adoption manager for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles. "It got so popular for people to carry purse dogs."
Meanwhile, in Utah as well as many other areas of the country, small dogs for adoption are rare, usually only for sale. "It's senseless to have dogs euthanized in one area when dogs like that are in demand in another area," says Jessica Almeida, rescue and transfer coordinator for the Humane Society of Utah, which almost never had small dogs for adoption.
That was until about two-and-a-half years ago, when Almeida and Harmon figured out what to do: create a pipeline to whisk the tiny strays of L.A. to eager small-dog adopters in Utah. Called Pup My Ride, some 3,500 of the tiny pups have been saved from a city kill shelter, making the trip north to Utah in twice-monthly van rides.
"You have these little dogs and you can't imagine why no one would want them," says Almeida. "And to imagine you can make someone's dream come true, for a dog who had no future, is amazing. It is a fantastic feeling.
Pup My Ride has attracted strong celeb support, none bigger than that of Katherine Heigl and her mother, Nancy, whose Jason Debus Heigl Foundation funds the effort. "They're awesome," says Harmon. "We were struggling before trying to get funds."
Regular volunteers Denise Richards and model Dancing with the Stars alum Joanna Kruppa and other devoted dog lovers show up for transport days. The pups are washed with sweet-smelling shampoos, then driven hundreds of miles to a half-way point in Utah. There, they are transferred to a van from the Humane Society of Utah, which brings them back to the organization's base in Murray. Soon, Pup My Ride will expands its reach, taking dogs to Montana, another area with a small dog shortage.
The work, however, overwhelms at times. Volunteers must enter the shelter — called Baldwin Park — to find their small dogs to save; all the while, they witness so many sad faces of dogs who may soon be dead.
But focusing on those that are saved is the key to continuing this kind of work. Says devoted Pup My Ride volunteer and actress Stephanie Lemelin: "They (Pup My Ride dogs) know they aren't going to die, and they would have if they stayed. To help them, it's the most rewarding thing."
source
'One for the Money' filiming to close Kittanning Citizens Bridge
The Kittanning Citizens Bridge and several borough blocks and parking lots will be closed from Saturday to Tuesday to accommodate movie crews filming "One for the Money."
Police chief Ed Cassesse outlined the closures and parking restrictions, adding that filming will occur on the bridge and along Market Street near the bridge.
The bridge will be closed Saturday, Monday and Tuesday from 4:30 a.m. until about 9 p.m., Cassesse said. Traffic will be restricted on the bridge on Sunday, he said.
PennDOT is asking motorists to use Route 422 across the Graff Bridge to the West Kittanning exit to cross the Allegheny River during the closures.
Market Street between Water and McKean streets will be closed to traffic and parking during the filming, Cassesse said. Sidewalks and stores will remain open as usual, he said.
Crews will be filming on the bridge and in the "100 and 200 blocks of Market Street, too," Cassesse said.
Several parking lots will be closed from Saturday to Tuesday, including ones along South McKean Street behind Citizens Bank and Dizzy Lizzie's and a municipal lot at the intersection of Jacob and South Water streets. Parking will not be permitted at the sewage plant area as it will be used as a landing zone for a helicopter shooting aerial scenes, Cassesse said.
The lot behind Citizens Bank will serve as a base camp for the crews, he said.
Parking will be prohibited in the 100 blocks of North Water Street and South Jefferson Street, but sidewalks will remain open, he said.
Turney Luke, owner of The 700 Shop on Market Street said his business will remain open on Saturday, one of his busiest days as shoppers pick up clothing for school.
"One for the Money" stars Katherine Heigl — best known for her role on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and for films "Knocked Up" and "27 Dresses." Co-stars include Daniel Sunjata of television's "Rescue Me," John Leguizamo (who provides the voice for Sid the Sloth in the "Ice Age" movie series) and Jason O'Mara, who played a role in television's "Life on Mars."
The Lionsgate film follows Stephanie Plum, an unemployed lingerie buyer who takes a job with a bail bond business as a bounty hunter. "One for the Money" is based on a series of 16 crime novels by Janet Evanovich. Its expected release date is July 8, 2011, according to The Internet Movie Database.
Scenes in "One for the Money" are being shot in the region — crews have been at a former UPMC hospital in Braddock and the former Garden Theater on Pittsburgh's North Side. Film crews visited Kittanning in June to scout the location for the movie.
Kittanning has been the backdrop of a few movies and television shows in recent years, including "The Mothman Prophecies," horror remake "My Bloody Valentine 3D" and the pilot of "Justified" on FX.
source
Police chief Ed Cassesse outlined the closures and parking restrictions, adding that filming will occur on the bridge and along Market Street near the bridge.
The bridge will be closed Saturday, Monday and Tuesday from 4:30 a.m. until about 9 p.m., Cassesse said. Traffic will be restricted on the bridge on Sunday, he said.
PennDOT is asking motorists to use Route 422 across the Graff Bridge to the West Kittanning exit to cross the Allegheny River during the closures.
Market Street between Water and McKean streets will be closed to traffic and parking during the filming, Cassesse said. Sidewalks and stores will remain open as usual, he said.
Crews will be filming on the bridge and in the "100 and 200 blocks of Market Street, too," Cassesse said.
Several parking lots will be closed from Saturday to Tuesday, including ones along South McKean Street behind Citizens Bank and Dizzy Lizzie's and a municipal lot at the intersection of Jacob and South Water streets. Parking will not be permitted at the sewage plant area as it will be used as a landing zone for a helicopter shooting aerial scenes, Cassesse said.
The lot behind Citizens Bank will serve as a base camp for the crews, he said.
Parking will be prohibited in the 100 blocks of North Water Street and South Jefferson Street, but sidewalks will remain open, he said.
Turney Luke, owner of The 700 Shop on Market Street said his business will remain open on Saturday, one of his busiest days as shoppers pick up clothing for school.
"One for the Money" stars Katherine Heigl — best known for her role on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and for films "Knocked Up" and "27 Dresses." Co-stars include Daniel Sunjata of television's "Rescue Me," John Leguizamo (who provides the voice for Sid the Sloth in the "Ice Age" movie series) and Jason O'Mara, who played a role in television's "Life on Mars."
The Lionsgate film follows Stephanie Plum, an unemployed lingerie buyer who takes a job with a bail bond business as a bounty hunter. "One for the Money" is based on a series of 16 crime novels by Janet Evanovich. Its expected release date is July 8, 2011, according to The Internet Movie Database.
Scenes in "One for the Money" are being shot in the region — crews have been at a former UPMC hospital in Braddock and the former Garden Theater on Pittsburgh's North Side. Film crews visited Kittanning in June to scout the location for the movie.
Kittanning has been the backdrop of a few movies and television shows in recent years, including "The Mothman Prophecies," horror remake "My Bloody Valentine 3D" and the pilot of "Justified" on FX.
source
Filming of 'One for the Money' brings out onlookers, happily displaced homeowners
Debbie Reynolds, her trademark blond hair tucked under a gray wig and a long maroon scarf looped around her neck, waved at the folks on South Pacific Avenue watching Janet Evanovich's book "One for the Money" come to life.
Stray onlookers also saw both Katherine Heigl and her stand-in -- in matching short-sleeve T-shirts, jeans, sneakers and dark ponytails -- enter or exit a house in Friendship.
The former "Grey's Anatomy" star portrays Stephanie Plum, a lingerie buyer who loses her job and improbably finds herself working for her sleazy cousin's bail bonding company.
She's half-Italian and half-Hungarian and hails from Trenton, N.J., being played by such locations as Friendship-Bloomfield, the North Side, Braddock, Wilkinsburg, Shadyside, McKees Rocks, Ambridge in Beaver County and Kittanning, Armstrong County.
A stretch of South Pacific near Coral Street had been turned into a makeshift back lot on what was day 29 of a 41-day shoot expected to end Labor Day weekend. Big Blue, the ancient powder-blue Buick described in the novels as resembling a beluga whale, was parked against a temporary green screen.
"They shooting some scenes right now? Is that why everyone's standing around looking excited?" a dog-walker asked strangers across the street from the brown brick house serving as the residence of Plum's parents and irrepressible Grandma Mazur.
"Is that house empty?" the woman continued. Not at all, homeowners Tony and Carol Pizzuto piped up.
The 21/2-story home with a handy front porch has been in Tony's family since 1938, and the couple swapped it for a hotel room earlier this month so the production could use it as a key location.
"One for the Money" was shooting on the first floor and taking advantage of the front foyer, living room, dining room and kitchen. Some days the home was swaddled in black, to turn day into night, and this afternoon it occasionally was hidden from view by enormous white and black screens.
"The living room and dining room open onto each other. It's probably a 35-foot span," Mr. Pizzuto said, and that's a rare luxury for bulky lighting and camera equipment, not to mention actors and crew.
"That's why they liked it. Plus, we have I guess you'd call it 'antique' dining room furniture," his wife added of the 1937 set the elder Pizzutos brought when they moved in. "It's not real modern inside," which was part of its charm.
The production pumped in chilled air and temporarily changed the wallpaper, added some sconces to the dining room, traded the table for a smaller one and hung old-time pictures and religious decorations.
"We happen to be Catholic and we had a picture of the Last Supper, which they're using," Mrs. Pizzuto said. "I thought that would be the first thing to go."
A photo of the couple's 30-year-old daughter in her First Communion dress was copied and altered to make it appear to be a young Stephanie Plum.
It turns out everyone knows the Jersey girl, from "The View" co-host Sherri Shepherd to a Pizzuto relative who doesn't exactly fit the chick-lit demographic.
"I have an 87-year-old uncle who was a bomber pilot in World War II and I'm telling him about this movie being filmed in our house and he said, 'I read that book,' " Mr. Pizzuto said with a laugh.
So have millions of others. If all goes as planned, the movie being directed by Julie Anne Robinson ("The Last Song," some "Grey's Anatomy" episodes) will arrive in theaters in July with a PG-13 rating.
In addition to Ms. Heigl, it stars Jason O'Mara as irresistible vice cop Joe Morelli; Daniel Sunjata as Ranger, sexy bounty hunter extraordinaire; John Leguizamo as a boxing manager; Debra Monk and Louis Mustillo as Stephanie's blue-collar parents; and Ms. Reynolds as spry, eccentric Grandma Mazur.
Casting questions
Producer Wendy Finerman read "One for the Money" in galley form and optioned the novel before it was published in 1994. She was sold on Stephanie as an "everygirl, a hometown girl."
The project went through various incarnations and rumored actresses before going into production with Ms. Heigl and an adapted screenplay by "Nurse Jackie" executive producer-writer Liz Brixius. Why so long?
" 'Forrest Gump' took 10, 11 years," said Ms. Finerman, who shared the Oscar for best picture for the Tom Hanks movie. "Some of them take many years, some of them don't. ...
"One of the things with this was just finding the right tone in the script and the right actor to play it and also, at times, different kinds of movies come in and out of fashion," with women-driven pictures a bit more challenging, to say the least.
Some fans of the series have criticized the choice of Ms. Heigl but, with dark curly hair, she looks very unlike TV's Dr. Izzie Stevens or the romantically challenged heroines of "Knocked Up," "27 Dresses" or "The Ugly Truth."
"First of all, she's a really wonderful actress," Ms. Finerman said of the leading lady working across the street from the stoop where she fielded questions.
"Everyone can relate to her, and she has the same kind of psyche that Stephanie Plum does. She's smart, she's playful, she's beautiful but she does it all in a way that's very relatable."
Fellow producer Gary Lucchesi addressed the same casting concerns.
"We've taken this casting really, really seriously," with casting directors who have 100-plus credits working to assemble the puzzle. "We scoured the world for actors we thought were right to play the part and also, quite frankly, were willing to play the part."
Mr. O'Mara, known for his TV turn on "Life on Mars" as a 2008 cop transported back to 1973, is Morelli, a bad kid turned good cop and murder suspect.
"He has great chemistry with Katie [Heigl]. He has the virility of a young Mel Gibson -- Mel Gibson of 'Lethal Weapon,' which is kind of what we were hoping for. He's got a deep baritone voice and he's got dark, curly hair and he's very credible as Joe Morelli," Mr. Lucchesi says.
In fall 2011, Mr. O'Mara will help anchor TV's "Terra Nova," a fantasy-drama about a family that travels from 2149 to pre-historic, dinosaur-filled Earth to find a way to save the human race. Steven Spielberg is executive producing the series.
"With Katie, you need a guy, you need a man because she's a strong character, a strong personality," Mr. Lucchesi continued. "We had that in Gerry Butler for 'Ugly Truth,' and we feel that we really pulled that off with Jason."
Ms. Shepherd, a fan of the Evanovich books, successfully lobbied for the part of Lula. "Sherri Shepherd is absolutely spectacular as Lula and she's wearing different wigs and she's bawdy, hysterically funny. Very opposite, in some ways, from Stephanie but completely endearing."
As for Ms. Reynolds as the wacky widow who fires Stephanie's gun at the dinner table, only to declare, "That shooting gave me an appetite. Somebody pass me the potatoes," she isn't overexposed in movies.
"It certainly helps that she's an icon," Mr. Lucchesi said. "She's done her one-woman show over the years but she hasn't been in very many movies [recently] so we thought that was a very fresh way to go," with Ms. Monk as the actress who could bridge the generations.
The signing of a veteran of Ms. Reynolds' caliber meant the addition of a scene not in the book to capitalize on her appeal and talent.
Comedy collides with reality
Producers describe the tone of the movie as comedic and yet grounded in the real world. "The books are an interesting hybrid of reality," said Mr. Lucchesi, who dipped into the Plum novels after his wife faithfully added a new one each year to their shelves.
"People do get killed, Lula does get beat up, Ranger is dangerous, Joe Morelli really did shoot a guy and killed him. At the same time, you have the really broad humor of Grandma Mazur and Lula and Vinnie Plum," Stephanie's cousin who runs the bail bonding company.
Mr. Lucchesi is one of the reasons Lakeshore Entertainment returned to Western Pennsylvania where it shot "The Mothman Prophecies" with Richard Gere in Pittsburgh, Kittanning and points in between.
"I love Pittsburgh," he said last week, topping off his shorts and striped golf shirt with a Vintage Grand Prix cap (scored legitimately by attending).
"You know, the people are great, the restaurants are terrific. I'm from San Francisco originally but I come from working-class roots and I get Pittsburgh, and I have an affinity for it."
He and others have gone to Pirate games, marveled at the dinosaurs at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and soaked up the sights at Fallingwater by sunset.
As it turns out, Carol and Tony Pizzuto were thrilled by a different attraction. "We did get to meet Debbie Reynolds, she was very gracious," he said.
"You know, that was the highlight of the whole thing. She's really a classy lady. Love her," Mrs. Pizzuto added.
When she told the "Singin' in the Rain" star they were the homeowners, the 78-year-old performer told them they had "a lovely house." And one they can call their own once more.
source
Stray onlookers also saw both Katherine Heigl and her stand-in -- in matching short-sleeve T-shirts, jeans, sneakers and dark ponytails -- enter or exit a house in Friendship.
The former "Grey's Anatomy" star portrays Stephanie Plum, a lingerie buyer who loses her job and improbably finds herself working for her sleazy cousin's bail bonding company.
She's half-Italian and half-Hungarian and hails from Trenton, N.J., being played by such locations as Friendship-Bloomfield, the North Side, Braddock, Wilkinsburg, Shadyside, McKees Rocks, Ambridge in Beaver County and Kittanning, Armstrong County.
A stretch of South Pacific near Coral Street had been turned into a makeshift back lot on what was day 29 of a 41-day shoot expected to end Labor Day weekend. Big Blue, the ancient powder-blue Buick described in the novels as resembling a beluga whale, was parked against a temporary green screen.
"They shooting some scenes right now? Is that why everyone's standing around looking excited?" a dog-walker asked strangers across the street from the brown brick house serving as the residence of Plum's parents and irrepressible Grandma Mazur.
"Is that house empty?" the woman continued. Not at all, homeowners Tony and Carol Pizzuto piped up.
The 21/2-story home with a handy front porch has been in Tony's family since 1938, and the couple swapped it for a hotel room earlier this month so the production could use it as a key location.
"One for the Money" was shooting on the first floor and taking advantage of the front foyer, living room, dining room and kitchen. Some days the home was swaddled in black, to turn day into night, and this afternoon it occasionally was hidden from view by enormous white and black screens.
"The living room and dining room open onto each other. It's probably a 35-foot span," Mr. Pizzuto said, and that's a rare luxury for bulky lighting and camera equipment, not to mention actors and crew.
"That's why they liked it. Plus, we have I guess you'd call it 'antique' dining room furniture," his wife added of the 1937 set the elder Pizzutos brought when they moved in. "It's not real modern inside," which was part of its charm.
The production pumped in chilled air and temporarily changed the wallpaper, added some sconces to the dining room, traded the table for a smaller one and hung old-time pictures and religious decorations.
"We happen to be Catholic and we had a picture of the Last Supper, which they're using," Mrs. Pizzuto said. "I thought that would be the first thing to go."
A photo of the couple's 30-year-old daughter in her First Communion dress was copied and altered to make it appear to be a young Stephanie Plum.
It turns out everyone knows the Jersey girl, from "The View" co-host Sherri Shepherd to a Pizzuto relative who doesn't exactly fit the chick-lit demographic.
"I have an 87-year-old uncle who was a bomber pilot in World War II and I'm telling him about this movie being filmed in our house and he said, 'I read that book,' " Mr. Pizzuto said with a laugh.
So have millions of others. If all goes as planned, the movie being directed by Julie Anne Robinson ("The Last Song," some "Grey's Anatomy" episodes) will arrive in theaters in July with a PG-13 rating.
In addition to Ms. Heigl, it stars Jason O'Mara as irresistible vice cop Joe Morelli; Daniel Sunjata as Ranger, sexy bounty hunter extraordinaire; John Leguizamo as a boxing manager; Debra Monk and Louis Mustillo as Stephanie's blue-collar parents; and Ms. Reynolds as spry, eccentric Grandma Mazur.
Casting questions
Producer Wendy Finerman read "One for the Money" in galley form and optioned the novel before it was published in 1994. She was sold on Stephanie as an "everygirl, a hometown girl."
The project went through various incarnations and rumored actresses before going into production with Ms. Heigl and an adapted screenplay by "Nurse Jackie" executive producer-writer Liz Brixius. Why so long?
" 'Forrest Gump' took 10, 11 years," said Ms. Finerman, who shared the Oscar for best picture for the Tom Hanks movie. "Some of them take many years, some of them don't. ...
"One of the things with this was just finding the right tone in the script and the right actor to play it and also, at times, different kinds of movies come in and out of fashion," with women-driven pictures a bit more challenging, to say the least.
Some fans of the series have criticized the choice of Ms. Heigl but, with dark curly hair, she looks very unlike TV's Dr. Izzie Stevens or the romantically challenged heroines of "Knocked Up," "27 Dresses" or "The Ugly Truth."
"First of all, she's a really wonderful actress," Ms. Finerman said of the leading lady working across the street from the stoop where she fielded questions.
"Everyone can relate to her, and she has the same kind of psyche that Stephanie Plum does. She's smart, she's playful, she's beautiful but she does it all in a way that's very relatable."
Fellow producer Gary Lucchesi addressed the same casting concerns.
"We've taken this casting really, really seriously," with casting directors who have 100-plus credits working to assemble the puzzle. "We scoured the world for actors we thought were right to play the part and also, quite frankly, were willing to play the part."
Mr. O'Mara, known for his TV turn on "Life on Mars" as a 2008 cop transported back to 1973, is Morelli, a bad kid turned good cop and murder suspect.
"He has great chemistry with Katie [Heigl]. He has the virility of a young Mel Gibson -- Mel Gibson of 'Lethal Weapon,' which is kind of what we were hoping for. He's got a deep baritone voice and he's got dark, curly hair and he's very credible as Joe Morelli," Mr. Lucchesi says.
In fall 2011, Mr. O'Mara will help anchor TV's "Terra Nova," a fantasy-drama about a family that travels from 2149 to pre-historic, dinosaur-filled Earth to find a way to save the human race. Steven Spielberg is executive producing the series.
"With Katie, you need a guy, you need a man because she's a strong character, a strong personality," Mr. Lucchesi continued. "We had that in Gerry Butler for 'Ugly Truth,' and we feel that we really pulled that off with Jason."
Ms. Shepherd, a fan of the Evanovich books, successfully lobbied for the part of Lula. "Sherri Shepherd is absolutely spectacular as Lula and she's wearing different wigs and she's bawdy, hysterically funny. Very opposite, in some ways, from Stephanie but completely endearing."
As for Ms. Reynolds as the wacky widow who fires Stephanie's gun at the dinner table, only to declare, "That shooting gave me an appetite. Somebody pass me the potatoes," she isn't overexposed in movies.
"It certainly helps that she's an icon," Mr. Lucchesi said. "She's done her one-woman show over the years but she hasn't been in very many movies [recently] so we thought that was a very fresh way to go," with Ms. Monk as the actress who could bridge the generations.
The signing of a veteran of Ms. Reynolds' caliber meant the addition of a scene not in the book to capitalize on her appeal and talent.
Comedy collides with reality
Producers describe the tone of the movie as comedic and yet grounded in the real world. "The books are an interesting hybrid of reality," said Mr. Lucchesi, who dipped into the Plum novels after his wife faithfully added a new one each year to their shelves.
"People do get killed, Lula does get beat up, Ranger is dangerous, Joe Morelli really did shoot a guy and killed him. At the same time, you have the really broad humor of Grandma Mazur and Lula and Vinnie Plum," Stephanie's cousin who runs the bail bonding company.
Mr. Lucchesi is one of the reasons Lakeshore Entertainment returned to Western Pennsylvania where it shot "The Mothman Prophecies" with Richard Gere in Pittsburgh, Kittanning and points in between.
"I love Pittsburgh," he said last week, topping off his shorts and striped golf shirt with a Vintage Grand Prix cap (scored legitimately by attending).
"You know, the people are great, the restaurants are terrific. I'm from San Francisco originally but I come from working-class roots and I get Pittsburgh, and I have an affinity for it."
He and others have gone to Pirate games, marveled at the dinosaurs at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and soaked up the sights at Fallingwater by sunset.
As it turns out, Carol and Tony Pizzuto were thrilled by a different attraction. "We did get to meet Debbie Reynolds, she was very gracious," he said.
"You know, that was the highlight of the whole thing. She's really a classy lady. Love her," Mrs. Pizzuto added.
When she told the "Singin' in the Rain" star they were the homeowners, the 78-year-old performer told them they had "a lovely house." And one they can call their own once more.
source
Heigl movie filming in Ambridge
A black Cadillac Escalade rolled slowly down barricaded Merchant Street Tuesday, stopping in front of the former K&N furniture store to drop off its passenger, actress Katherine Heigl, who took cover under a golf umbrella held by a man who shielded her as she briskly entered the building.
Lionsgate studio has strived to keep the paparazzi at bay during local filming of its action-comedy-drama “One for the Money.”
Still, dozens of spectators, mostly downtown Ambridge business owners, caught a glimpse of the normally blondish Heigl sporting a more Jerseylicious brown and bushy hairdo as required by her role as Stephanie Plum, the newly divorced, laid-off lingerie saleswoman-turned-bail-bondswoman who’s the heroine of the popular Janet Evanovich book series.
“One for the Money,” the first book in the series, is set in Trenton, N.J., which will be played in the movie by several western Pennsylvania towns, most notably Ambridge.
“This is the best thing to happen to Ambridge in a long time,” said Marlene Verigood, who a year ago bought a vacant Merchant Street storefront that’ll be used as the bail bonds office for a film that also features Debbie Reynolds, John Leguizamo and Daniel Sunjata from F/X’s “Rescue Me.”
Ambridge regulars might barely recognize the neighborhood, which has been given a Hollywood makeover.
There’s now a Stanczak’s fruit market, Bachetta Brothers Italian market, Slick Jim’s formal wear, Lucky’s Lounge and Chopstix Chinese restaurant, all of which will be gone when their phony facades are removed and the film crew packs up and leaves town.
“I’m keeping the canopy,” said Glenda Cockrum, owner of the Ambridge Theatre, which had its exterior converted to resemble the Chinese takeout joint. “I hope the stain washes out, because they put it in there on purpose.”
Similarly, the film’s art crew gave a weatherbeaten look to a large horizontal sign that says “Bernie’s” attached to the former K&N store. Heigl spent an hour inside that building Tuesday, shooting a scene after the cast and crew had dined on lunch at the rented-out Eagles Club blocks away.
Lunch included broiled fish with caviar, said Janet Caldarelli, an Ambridge resident and employee of the Beaver County clerk of courts office, who took a vacation day to appear as an extra. As requested, Caldarelli reported to work with two extra outfits, to appear in the background of street scenes possibly involving Heigl, who has starred in such movies as “27 Dresses” and “Knocked Up.”
Caldarelli figured she got the part because she previously served as an extra in the Sewickley-shot “House Guest” starring Sinbad, and the Mellon Arena-made “Sudden Death” with Jean-Claude Van Damme.
With her hair hidden in a scarf, Chippewa Township resident Jennifer Martin served as Heigl’s photo double.
“This is so much fun,” said Martin, who also was the double for Laura Linney in 2002’s “Mothman Prophecies,” likewise produced by Lionsgate.
As with “Mothman,” Lionsgate will film bridge footage in Kittanning, said unit publicist Michael Umble, who wasn’t aware until Tuesday of Ambridge’s rich bridge-making tradition.
Filming will continue today in Ambridge, a few blocks south on Merchant at a storefront that’s been overhauled to resemble a busy butcher’s shop.
And then life will return to normal in downtown Ambridge, though residents and business owners hope the movie will leave a positive impact.
“This will be a shot in the arm for Ambridge,” said former borough Councilman John Ivancik, a spectator Tuesday.
“They’re spending money here,” Ivancik said. “I spoke with the film’s construction crew, and they said they bought wood supplied by businesses around here.”
Cockrum hopes to get an autographed photo of Heigl to hang in the lobby of her one-screen independent movie theater. After 41 years of movies screening there, the last 12 under Cockrum’s watch, it would be nice to see the theater appear in a movie, she said, even if it’s disguised as a Chinese restaurant.
Cockrum said, “I just hope the movie is a success, and they come back to film the second book.”
source
Lionsgate studio has strived to keep the paparazzi at bay during local filming of its action-comedy-drama “One for the Money.”
Still, dozens of spectators, mostly downtown Ambridge business owners, caught a glimpse of the normally blondish Heigl sporting a more Jerseylicious brown and bushy hairdo as required by her role as Stephanie Plum, the newly divorced, laid-off lingerie saleswoman-turned-bail-bondswoman who’s the heroine of the popular Janet Evanovich book series.
“One for the Money,” the first book in the series, is set in Trenton, N.J., which will be played in the movie by several western Pennsylvania towns, most notably Ambridge.
“This is the best thing to happen to Ambridge in a long time,” said Marlene Verigood, who a year ago bought a vacant Merchant Street storefront that’ll be used as the bail bonds office for a film that also features Debbie Reynolds, John Leguizamo and Daniel Sunjata from F/X’s “Rescue Me.”
Ambridge regulars might barely recognize the neighborhood, which has been given a Hollywood makeover.
There’s now a Stanczak’s fruit market, Bachetta Brothers Italian market, Slick Jim’s formal wear, Lucky’s Lounge and Chopstix Chinese restaurant, all of which will be gone when their phony facades are removed and the film crew packs up and leaves town.
“I’m keeping the canopy,” said Glenda Cockrum, owner of the Ambridge Theatre, which had its exterior converted to resemble the Chinese takeout joint. “I hope the stain washes out, because they put it in there on purpose.”
Similarly, the film’s art crew gave a weatherbeaten look to a large horizontal sign that says “Bernie’s” attached to the former K&N store. Heigl spent an hour inside that building Tuesday, shooting a scene after the cast and crew had dined on lunch at the rented-out Eagles Club blocks away.
Lunch included broiled fish with caviar, said Janet Caldarelli, an Ambridge resident and employee of the Beaver County clerk of courts office, who took a vacation day to appear as an extra. As requested, Caldarelli reported to work with two extra outfits, to appear in the background of street scenes possibly involving Heigl, who has starred in such movies as “27 Dresses” and “Knocked Up.”
Caldarelli figured she got the part because she previously served as an extra in the Sewickley-shot “House Guest” starring Sinbad, and the Mellon Arena-made “Sudden Death” with Jean-Claude Van Damme.
With her hair hidden in a scarf, Chippewa Township resident Jennifer Martin served as Heigl’s photo double.
“This is so much fun,” said Martin, who also was the double for Laura Linney in 2002’s “Mothman Prophecies,” likewise produced by Lionsgate.
As with “Mothman,” Lionsgate will film bridge footage in Kittanning, said unit publicist Michael Umble, who wasn’t aware until Tuesday of Ambridge’s rich bridge-making tradition.
Filming will continue today in Ambridge, a few blocks south on Merchant at a storefront that’s been overhauled to resemble a busy butcher’s shop.
And then life will return to normal in downtown Ambridge, though residents and business owners hope the movie will leave a positive impact.
“This will be a shot in the arm for Ambridge,” said former borough Councilman John Ivancik, a spectator Tuesday.
“They’re spending money here,” Ivancik said. “I spoke with the film’s construction crew, and they said they bought wood supplied by businesses around here.”
Cockrum hopes to get an autographed photo of Heigl to hang in the lobby of her one-screen independent movie theater. After 41 years of movies screening there, the last 12 under Cockrum’s watch, it would be nice to see the theater appear in a movie, she said, even if it’s disguised as a Chinese restaurant.
Cockrum said, “I just hope the movie is a success, and they come back to film the second book.”
source
Aug 24, 2010
Aug 23, 2010
Closure for Alex and Izzie
Few can forget the moment in last May’s killer Grey’s Anatomy finale when Alex—fighting for his life after being shot in the chest by that crazed gunman—screams for his MIA ex, Izzie, and not his current lover, Lexie. The takeaway message was obvious: Despite Katherine Heigl’s abrupt departure last spring, her character’s arc—specifically her love story with Alex—is far from over.
Grey’s boss Shonda Rhimes tells me that finding closure for Alex is one of her top priorities as she heads into season 7. “We’re talking about it [in the writers' room] obsessively and trying to figure it out,” she says. “We’re approaching it pretty carefully.
“I want how ever we deal with Alex growing up and moving on and moving past that relationship to feel authentic,” Rhimes continues, “and not to feel like something that’s patched together.”
One thing Rhimes can say for certain is that the story line will not take “the expected form.” Hmm… What could be more unexpected than a reappearance by Heigl herself? When I spoke to the actress last spring, she admitted she’d “love to come back” at some point. So how ’bout it?
Rhimes hesitates before letting out a somewhat suspicious “I don’t know.”
source
Grey’s boss Shonda Rhimes tells me that finding closure for Alex is one of her top priorities as she heads into season 7. “We’re talking about it [in the writers' room] obsessively and trying to figure it out,” she says. “We’re approaching it pretty carefully.
“I want how ever we deal with Alex growing up and moving on and moving past that relationship to feel authentic,” Rhimes continues, “and not to feel like something that’s patched together.”
One thing Rhimes can say for certain is that the story line will not take “the expected form.” Hmm… What could be more unexpected than a reappearance by Heigl herself? When I spoke to the actress last spring, she admitted she’d “love to come back” at some point. So how ’bout it?
Rhimes hesitates before letting out a somewhat suspicious “I don’t know.”
source
Aug 18, 2010
Katherine talks about her Co-star Josh Duhamel
Josh Duhamel will finally be staring as the leading man in the film, Life As We Know It, and will also be tackling the role of a dad.
The new issue of Elle magazine features Josh as the leading man Hollywood has been waiting for and his Life As We Know It co-star, Katherine Heigl, agree!
“Before he even opens his mouth, you see this guy, and he’s so good-looking that it puts you back on your heels a little bit,” Katherine says of her co-star. “It’s hard to overlook completely.”
Katherine even pushed for Josh to be cast in his first leading-man movie role, Life As We Know It.
“He’s like the perfect leading man, and there absolutely are really beautiful leading men out there who have found their way to the Oscars,” she says. “Like George Clooney. “It does happen.”
In the film, Josh and Katherine play two single people whose best friends are married to each other. Their friends set them up on a date that Katherine says, “Crashes and burns before they even get out of the driveway.” But when the friends are killed in a car accident, Josh and Katherine learned their one-year-daughter was willed to them to raise.
source
The new issue of Elle magazine features Josh as the leading man Hollywood has been waiting for and his Life As We Know It co-star, Katherine Heigl, agree!
“Before he even opens his mouth, you see this guy, and he’s so good-looking that it puts you back on your heels a little bit,” Katherine says of her co-star. “It’s hard to overlook completely.”
Katherine even pushed for Josh to be cast in his first leading-man movie role, Life As We Know It.
“He’s like the perfect leading man, and there absolutely are really beautiful leading men out there who have found their way to the Oscars,” she says. “Like George Clooney. “It does happen.”
In the film, Josh and Katherine play two single people whose best friends are married to each other. Their friends set them up on a date that Katherine says, “Crashes and burns before they even get out of the driveway.” But when the friends are killed in a car accident, Josh and Katherine learned their one-year-daughter was willed to them to raise.
source
Aug 11, 2010
Katherine Heigl: Josh and I Are "Obnoxious Parents"
Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley were anxious when adopted daughter Naleigh wasn’t walking at 17 months.
"I think Josh and I started to get like those obnoxious parents that are a little, like, 'What's wrong with her? Why isn't she walking yet? What are we doing wrong?'" Heigl, 31, told UsMagazine.com of her adopted daughter, now 20 months. "Now we're, like, pushing her all day: start walking! But I figured we're probably fine. She'll start walking."
But there perks to having Naleigh -- who underwent open heart surgery as an infant due to a congenital heart defect -- not running around yet.
"[Then] I'll be like, 'Why can't she sit down and play quietly in the corner?'" laughs Heigl.
Her latest milestone: "She is starting to talk a little bit more," Heigl says. "She says Dada all the time. Of course that was her first word... She points at me and says 'Dada' too. She thinks anyone she loves is Dada. I will her to say Mama!"
Another fave phrase: "She goes, 'Oh yeah' all the time.. I think Josh and I do that a lot when we talk about things and she picked it up."
source
"I think Josh and I started to get like those obnoxious parents that are a little, like, 'What's wrong with her? Why isn't she walking yet? What are we doing wrong?'" Heigl, 31, told UsMagazine.com of her adopted daughter, now 20 months. "Now we're, like, pushing her all day: start walking! But I figured we're probably fine. She'll start walking."
But there perks to having Naleigh -- who underwent open heart surgery as an infant due to a congenital heart defect -- not running around yet.
"[Then] I'll be like, 'Why can't she sit down and play quietly in the corner?'" laughs Heigl.
Her latest milestone: "She is starting to talk a little bit more," Heigl says. "She says Dada all the time. Of course that was her first word... She points at me and says 'Dada' too. She thinks anyone she loves is Dada. I will her to say Mama!"
Another fave phrase: "She goes, 'Oh yeah' all the time.. I think Josh and I do that a lot when we talk about things and she picked it up."
source
Aug 7, 2010
My Sister’s Got Style
In the new issue of Glamour, Katherine talks about her older sister Meg and that she is always there for her and her baby. "I used to say this poem to Meg, ‘Not born under my heart, but in it.’ Now [my daughter] Naleigh has her as someone to talk to about the intimate experience of being adopted.”
source
One For The Money Release Date
Lionsgate has announced that action comedy crime thriller "One For The Money" will be released in theaters on July 8th, 2011. The film, which is based on the best selling novel by Janet Evanovich, sees Katherine take on the leading role of former lingerie buyer turned bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum.
The movie, which is currently shooting in the Pittsburgh area, also stars Jason O'Mara, Daniel Sunjata, John Leguizamo, Sherri Shepherd and the most recently announced cast member, Hollywood screen legend Debbie Reynolds.
source
The movie, which is currently shooting in the Pittsburgh area, also stars Jason O'Mara, Daniel Sunjata, John Leguizamo, Sherri Shepherd and the most recently announced cast member, Hollywood screen legend Debbie Reynolds.
source
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)