Academy Award nominee Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right) will play the starring role of Joe Albany in the upcoming feature film Low Down, which he will also executive produce. Low Down will be directed by Jeff Preiss, known for his work in commercials. Preiss is a partner in Epoch Films, a multimedia production company active in such disciplines as spots, music videos, web content and features.
Producers Albert Berger & Ron Yerxa (Election, Little Children, Little Miss Sunshine) of Bona Fide Productions will team up with Epoch Films’ founder and managing partner Mindy Goldberg (Junebug, Gigantic) to produce the film. Amy Albany and Carlo Martinelli will co-produce.
Set in the colorful Los Angeles jazz scene of the late 1960s and early ’70s, Low Down explores the father-daughter relationship between legendary jazz pianist Joe Albany (who played with Charlie Parker and Charles Mingus) and his 11-year -old daughter Amy. Told from Amy’s point of view, the story poetically captures her unconventional childhood growing up with her immensely talented and charismatic but strung-out father and other eccentric characters in cocktail bars and transient hotels set amidst the faded grandeur of Hollywood.
The screenplay was written by Topper Lilien and Amy Albany, based on her memoir of the same name. Filming is scheduled to begin at the end of the year.
Ruffalo will soon begin production on Marvel’s The Avengers, in which he plays scientist Bruce Banner (a.k.a. The Hulk). Ruffalo produced Sympathy for Delicious, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010. The independent film, which also marked Ruffalo’s directorial debut, stars Orlando Bloom, Laura Linney, Juliette Lewis and Ruffalo in a story about a Los Angeles DJ who finds that he has the power to heal. The film will be released by Maya Entertainment on April 29.
This year Ruffalo has earned supporting male actor nominations for an Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA Award and Independent Spirit Award for his performance in The Kids Are All Right.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More