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Sam Hoffman
Sam Hoffman is a producer, director and writer who has created content in film, television and on digital media. Hoffman wrote and directed the film ''Humor Me'', starring Jemaine Clement, Elliott Gould and Ingrid Michaelson. The film premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Career Hoffman produces and periodically directs the CBS drama '' Madam Secretary''. He is also developing, with producing partner Frances McDormand, an adaptation of Michael Pollan’s best-seller '' The Omnivore’s Dilemma''. Hoffman created the web series ''Old Jews Telling Jokes'', which has been viewed over 50 million times, released on DVD, and broadcast on the BBC. His book, based on the series, is now in its sixth printing and the off-Broadway play derived from the series currently tours throughout North America. Feature films he has produced include Wes Anderson’s ''Moonrise Kingdom'', John Carney’s '' Begin Again'' and Richard Loncraine’s ''5 Flights Up''. Earlier in his career, Hof ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humor Me (film)
''Humor Me'' is a 2017 American comedy film written and directed by Sam Hoffman. The film stars Jemaine Clement, Elliott Gould, Ingrid Michaelson, Annie Potts, Priscilla Lopez, Bebe Neuwirth and Maria Dizzia. The film was released on January 12, 2018, by Shout! Studios. Plot Nate Kroll is a playwright who suddenly loses his job, wife Nirit and home. With no other options, he moves in with his eccentric father, Bob, who lives in a retired people's community. After barely settling in, only 24 hours there, Nate's dad gets him a job at the home in the laundry. Soon after being hired to fold towels, his retired military boss Ellis fires him. Wandering through a community area, Nate comes across The Cranberry Bog Players, a small group of residents planning to put on The Mikado. Bob's girlfriend Connie, sharing a spliff with Nate, explains she started using to combat the effects of chemo. She met Bob when he was doing his weekly volunteering at the cancer ward, probably a habit he pick ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Groundhog Day (film)
''Groundhog Day'' is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, with a screenplay by him and Danny Rubin. It stars Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott. Murray portrays Phil Connors, a cynical television weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive February2nd repeatedly. The film also stars Stephen Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle-Murray, Marita Geraghty, Angela Paton, Rick Ducommun, Rick Overton, and Robin Duke. Rubin conceived the outline of ''Groundhog Day'' in the early 1990s. He wrote it as a spec script to gain meetings with producers for other work. It eventually came to the attention of Ramis, who worked with Rubin to make his idea less dark in tone and more palatable to a general audience by enhancing the comedy. After being cast, Murray clashed with Ramis over the script; Murray wanted to focus on the philosophical elements, whereas Ramis had concentr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Gould's Secret (film)
''Joe Gould's Secret'' is a 2000 American drama film directed by Stanley Tucci. The screenplay by Howard A. Rodman is based on the magazine article ''Professor Sea Gull'' and the book ''Joe Gould's Secret'' by Joseph Mitchell. Plot Set in Manhattan in the early 1940s, the film focuses on the relationship between Joseph Mitchell, a writer for ''The New Yorker'', and Joe Gould, an aging, bearded, disheveled bohemian and Harvard University graduate who wanders through the streets of Greenwich Village carrying a tattered portfolio and demanding donations to "The Joe Gould Fund". At times Gould is calmly sweet and perceptive, at others he's a pathological liar and an obnoxious drunk, and he frequently experiences sudden outbursts of rage. Earning occasional financial support from poet E. E. Cummings, portrait painter Alice Neel, Village Vanguard founder Max Gordon, art gallery owner Vivian Marquie, and even the sculptor Gaston Lachaise, Gould is able to secure a nightly room in flop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Center Stage (2000 Film)
''Center Stage'' is a 2000 American teen drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner about a group of young ballet dancers from various backgrounds who enroll at the fictitious American Ballet Academy in New York City. The film explores the issues and difficulties in the world of professional dance, and how each individual copes with the stresses. This movie was Zoe Saldana's and Amanda Schull's film debut. The single from the film's soundtrack " I Wanna Be with You" is performed by Mandy Moore. The song became Moore's highest charting song in the US at number 24, becoming her only top 40 song in the nation. It spent 16 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and peaked during its 9th week on the chart. Plot After a series of countrywide auditions, twelve young dancers gain entry to the American Ballet Academy (which is loosely based on the School of American Ballet), the affiliate school of the American Ballet Company (which appears to be based on either the American Ballet Theatre or the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shaft (film)
''Down'' (re-titled ''The Shaft'' on DVD) is a 2001 science fiction horror film written and directed by Dick Maas and starring James Marshall, Naomi Watts, and Eric Thal. It is a remake of the 1983 Dutch-language film '' De Lift'' (''The Elevator''), which was also directed by Maas. Watts plays the role of pushy journalist Jennifer Evans, and Marshall is Mark, an elevator repairman and former Marine. The movie was mainly filmed in the Netherlands, although the crew briefly visited New York City and the District of Columbia as well for exterior shots. The film was funded by Nederlands Fonds, and produced by First Floor Features and AVRO, with post-production by Sapex Scripts. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2001, and was released on video in the United States two years later. Plot In New York City, a stray bolt of lightning strikes the 102-floor, 73-elevator Millennium Building. The three main express elevators begin acting strangely, resulting in a guard's fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion
''The Curse of the Jade Scorpion'' is a 2001 American crime comedy film written, directed and starring Woody Allen. The cast also features Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd, Elizabeth Berkley, John Schuck, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers and Charlize Theron. The plot concerns an insurance investigator and an efficiency expert who are both hypnotized by a crooked hypnotist into stealing jewels. ''The Curse of the Jade Scorpion'' received mixed reviews from critics and was a commercial failure. Plot In 1940, C.W. Briggs is an insurance investigator in New York City who is highly successful, owing to his many connections and ability to think like a criminal. His work does not impress Betty Ann Fitzgerald, an efficiency expert who butts heads with C.W. over his old-fashioned views. Her advice is usually followed, however, because she secretly is in a relationship with her boss, Chris Magruder, who constantly reassures her that they will be free to pursue their relationship in public once h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinner With Friends (film)
''Dinner with Friends'' is a 2001 HBO comedy-drama film directed by Norman Jewison. It is an adaptation of the 1998 play of the same name by Donald Margulies. Plot Gabe, Karen, Tom, and Beth have been friends for years. Gabe and Karen, expecting the other couple for a dinner party, receive only Beth, who initially states Tom is away for business. As the dinner winds down, Beth tearfully admits Tom is leaving her for a flight attendant (actually a travel agent) as he is not happy in their marriage. Beth paints Tom as solely wanting sex from her, pointing to an incident at a movie theatre where he attempted to initiate intercourse. During this, Gabe and Karen demonstrate different approaches to the news, with Karen prompting questions out of Beth while Gabe simply listened. After Beth leaves, Gabe and Karen discuss the news, with Karen immediately taking it at face value and disparaging Tom while Gabe defends him. Karen declares he is no longer her friend. Gabe takes offence to le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
''The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'' is a 2004 American adventure comedy-drama film written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach and directed by Anderson. It is Anderson's fourth feature-length film and was released in the United States on December 25, 2004. The film stars Bill Murray as Steve Zissou, an eccentric oceanographer who sets out to exact revenge on the "jaguar shark" that ate his partner Esteban. Zissou is both a parody of and homage to French diving pioneer Jacques Cousteau, to whom the film is dedicated. The film also features Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, Jeff Goldblum, Anjelica Huston and Bud Cort. Seu Jorge has a minor part, but contributes heavily to the film's soundtrack. It was filmed in and around Naples, Ponza, and the Italian Riviera. The film was released to mixed reviews and was a box office flop. In the decade following its release it has garnered a cult following, and is now viewed more positively by both critics and fans. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Producers (2005 Film)
''The Producers'' is a 2005 American musical comedy film directed by Susan Stroman and written by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan based on the eponymous 2001 Broadway musical, which in turn was based on Brooks's 1967 film of the same name. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Will Ferrell, Gary Beach, Roger Bart, and Jon Lovitz. Creature effects were provided by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The film was released in the United States by Universal Pictures in a limited release on December 16, 2005, followed by a wide release on December 25. It garnered generally mixed reviews from critics and was a commercial failure, earning $38 million worldwide from a $45 million budget. Plot In 1959, following the flop of the theatrical musical ''Funny Boy'' (based on William Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'') ("Opening Night"), the show's washed-up producer, Max Bialystock, hires the neurotic Leo Bloom as his accountant. While studying Max's books, Leo no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wedding Daze
''Wedding Daze'' (also known as ''The Pleasure of Your Company'' and ''The Next Girl I See'') is a 2006 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Michael Ian Black and starring Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher. Plot Against the advice of his best friend Ted, Anderson proposes in a crowded restaurant to his girlfriend Vanessa, while dressed in a cupid costume. The shock of the unexpected proposal leads to her fatal heart attack. Utterly devastated and distraught, Anderson quits his job and goes into mourning. A year later, he is still obsessed with his ''perfect'' (and deceased) former girlfriend. While Ted and Anderson are having lunch together in a diner, Ted points out he's been in mourning for longer than they were actually together. To help him move on, Ted persuades him to give romance one more try. To placate his friend, Anderson agrees, looks around, and asks attractive waitress Katie to marry him. To both men's utter astonishment, she accepts his proposal. Kati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Darjeeling Limited
''The Darjeeling Limited'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson, which he co-produced with Scott Rudin, Roman Coppola, and Lydia Dean Pilcher, and co-wrote with Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman. The film stars Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Schwartzman as three estranged brothers who agree to meet in India a year after their father's funeral for a "spiritual journey" aboard a luxury train. The cast also includes Waris Ahluwalia, Amara Karan, Barbet Schroeder, and Anjelica Huston, with Natalie Portman, Camilla Rutherford, Irrfan Khan, and Bill Murray in cameo roles. The film was released on October 26, 2007 by Fox Searchlight Pictures. The film received generally favorable reviews from critics and earned $35 million on a $17.5 million budget. The film premiered at the 64th Venice International Film Festival in competition for the Golden Lion and was named among the Top Films of the Year at the 2007 NYFCO Awards. Anderson's ''Hotel Chevalier'', s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenderness (2009 Film)
''Tenderness'' is a 2009 crime film directed by John Polson and written by Emil Stern, based on the novel of the same name by Robert Cormier. Starring Russell Crowe, Jon Foster, Sophie Traub, and Laura Dern, the film follows the intersecting lives of three people - a young man just released from jail, a girl looking for escape who becomes fascinated with him and the police detective who is sure the boy will kill again. The film received mixed reviews, with some critics highlighting the formulaic nature of the story as a problem. Plot Lori is an unhappy 15/16-year-old girl who lives with her single mother. She receives sexual attention from men, including her boss at a retail store and her mother's boyfriend Gary. Eric Komenko is an 18-year-old boy who has killed his parents. Incarcerated, Komenko frequently gets visits from Lt. Cristofuoro, the detective who arrested him. Lt. Cristofuoro is convinced Komenko is a psychopath, that he killed two teenage girls previously, and that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
