Friday, March 13, 2009

Festivus, Part X.

Slumdog Millionaire won eight Academy Awards. Eh. Call me when you hit double digits.

#10 with a hollow-point bullet is the Indie Spirit Film Festival. Thanks for the props, and for the chance to once again talk up The Beneficiary. Today, a little info on some of my costars:

John Kapelos as Roy Tidrow – I blogged about John already, so here’s something new about him: John is very politically active, and an acquaintance of the Clintons.
Interesting Beneficiary fact: John, a total trooper, kept a lit cigarette in his mouth during a very dramatic murder scene, even though he’s a non-smoker.

Julie Ann Emery as Valerie Tidrow – Julie Ann had a great role as Eva Mendes’ best friend in Hitch. And a recurring role on “Commander in Chief,” the show featuring Geena Davis as President.
Interesting Beneficiary fact: the vomit Julie Ann hurled into the toilet was a mixture of orange juice and Big Mac.

Kimberly Quinn as Margaret Williams – former Tic Tac girl, now shooting a lead role in a big new pilot written and directed by Tim Robbins.
Interesting Beneficiary fact: Kim is the wife of Beneficiary director Ted Melfi, and holding their real baby girl in the scene in which she kisses her husband goodbye.

Peter Asle Holden as Andrew Williams – Peter has a heck of an acting resumé, with roles going back to a couple of episodes of “The Wonder Years,” to more recently, “24.”
Interesting Beneficiary fact: the close-up shot of the wristwatch being taken from Peter’s bloody hand is actually my hand.

Overall interesting fact: most of the character names are tributes to my beloved New York Yankees – Roy Tidrow: Roy White and Dick Tidrow. Andrew Williams: Bernie Williams (and my big brother, Andrew.) Peter Holden: Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra, and a less-Semitic nod to Ken Holtzman. My character, Joe O’Neil: current Yankee manager Joe Girardi and my favorite all-time player, Paul O’Neill.