#TFF2015 Archives - Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer

Laverne Cox on the Red Carpet for the Movie ‘Grandma’

dorriolds — Sun, 17 May 2015 16:04:33 +0000

Photos by Dorri Olds
Laverne Cox (“Orange is the New Black”) was radiant in red as she worked her way down the red carpet in New York City. Click on the accompanying slideshow to view some never-before-seen photos of Cox. These photos are just being made available now and show Cox on the carpet in lower Manhattan on April 20, 2015 at the Tribeca Film Festival movie premiere of “Grandma,” by writer director Paul Weitz (“American Pie,” “About a Boy”). “Grandma” stars Lily Tomlin, Julia Garner and Nat Wolff.

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Yay for a Female-Driven, Pro-LGBT, Pro-Choice Comedy Drama That Delivers and Stars Icon Lily Tomlin

dorriolds — Sun, 17 May 2015 15:55:56 +0000

Photos by Dorri Olds
“Grandma” is Lily Tomlin’s movie. She is in top form in a role created just for her. Writer director Paul Weitz (“American Pie,” “About a Boy”) confirmed that he had written the part for Tomlin after the two had worked together on 2013’s “Admission.”
Yay for a female-driven, pro-LGBT, pro-choice comedy drama that delivers. “Grandma” is Lily Tomlin’s movie. She is in top form in a role created just for her. Writer director Paul Weitz (“American Pie,” “About a Boy”) confirmed that he had written the part for Tomlin after the two had worked together on 2013’s “Admission.”

Paul Weitz. Photo © Dorri Olds.

On the red carpet at the film’s Tribeca Film Festival premiere last month, Weitz smiled as he referred to Tomlin as “so punk rock” and added that she was great as Tina Fey’s mom in “Admission.”
“She was so hardcore, funny and smart that I wanted to do a whole movie with her as the lead.” said Weitz. Before “Admission,” he hadn’t known Tomlin well, “But her intelligence rang like a clear bell,” he said. “It made me think of a character and how much that character would have to offer a young woman under duress.”
Tomlin’s smile lit up the red carpet — corny-sounding, I know, but it did — and she exuded a natural air of hippitude. As I stood next to her on the carpet, she seemed tickled by the grin plastered on my face. I’ve adored her since “One ringy-dingy” and loved her decades later on FX’s “Damages.”

Julia Garner costars with Lily Tomlin in ‘Grandma’

Nat Wolff. Photo © Dorri Olds.

Julia Garner Nat Wolff joking around at the movie premiere. Photo © Dorri Olds.

Laverne Cox. Photo © Dorri Olds.

Watch a hilarious clip from the “Grandma” here:
Watch one of my YouTube channel’s most popular videos with Nat Wolff:

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Let’s Talk About the Red Carpet

dorriolds — Tue, 12 May 2015 08:42:56 +0000

Views from the Red Carpet and Beyond…

Covering a red carpet takes a certain kind of journalist: a masochist. Why? Because they’re jam-packed with paparazzi — mostly from Getty and other agencies — and a few rogue freelancers like me. There’s a ton of pushing and shoving from the photographers. I’m still recuperating from last month.
Doing press for Tribeca Film Festival in New York City every year is incredibly fun … and exhausting. Red carpets are intense. The 6-feet-tall guys from Getty try to shove me out of the way. I’m 5’2″ but manage to stand my ground. Then all of the Screenings! Interviews! Articles! It is always worth every second. Indies are a treat. They’re original, artistic and written for smart people, unlike your typical blockbuster. I’ve always been so impressed by co-founder Jane Rosenthal. She’s championed female filmmakers since the festival began.
At the end of each festival is an anniversary of a classic movie. This year it was the testosterone-heavy mob movie but what a classic film.

The 25th Anniversary of ‘Goodfellas’

Goodfellas Cast Reunion (l to r) Ray Liotta, Lorraine Bracco, Robert De Niro, Paul Sorvino – photo © Dorri Olds

This was the biggest thrill of the entire festival. It was also a cornucopia of stars, character actors, crew members and guests. Robert De Niro was there with his wife Grace Hightower, Lorraine Bracco with her daughter Margaux Guerard, Ray Liotta, Paul Sorvino with wife Dee Dee Benkie, Debi Mazar with musician Gabriele Corcos, actress Rachel Harris with musician Christian Hebel, Hank Azaria, Queen Noor of Jordan, actress Kelly LeBrock, actors Mike Starr, Kevin Corrigan, Pete Santora, Tony Darrow, Michael Rapaport, Federico Castelluccio and his wife Yvonne Maria Schaefer and Chuck Low, who is best known for playing wig man Morris “Morrie” Kessler in the film.
More highlights of the evening came from the stage. De Niro opened with, “Joe Pesci couldn’t be here, but he sent this e-mail: ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck, fuck.’ I’ll translate. ‘Dear Bob, sorry I can’t be there. Love to all. Best, Joe.’” I laughed so loud I startled myself.

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Tribeca Film Festival 2015 — Going Great So Far

dorriolds — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 21:59:37 +0000

I’ve been previewing films for a week and continue to attend press & industry screenings. Tonight was a fun walk to the red carpet where I took this photo of Shia LaBeouf. Articles to come soon. Gotta run down to Tribeca now for another red carpet. Ciao!
Here’s an excerpt of his interview with Variety titled “Shia LaBeouf on Fame: Celebrities are ‘Enslaved.'”

In 2014, you tweeted that you’re retiring from public life. Can you explain what you meant by that? Are you still retired?

I turned to performance art, as I couldn’t find another container/platform/discipline for individual expression, self-presentation. I couldn’t contact the audience. Performance art tightens the space of relations and allows me to work in real time, as opposed to only synthetic time. It liberated me from the old constraints of genre and taxonomic systems (drama, thriller, comedy, mystery). It liberates me and allows me to work in broad complexities.

Would you be interested in a career as a director?

I’m a performer.

You’ve been in the spotlight a lot, and you’ve talked about how it’s been hard to maintain your integrity as an artist. Why does the spotlight make it difficult to create art? Do you feel like you’re in a better place now as an artist?

The craft of acting for film is terribly exclusive and comes with the baggage of celebrity, which robs you of your individuality and separates you.

The performance work is democratized and far more inclusive. As a celebrity/star I am not an individual — I am a spectacular representation of a living human being, the opposite of an individual. The enemy of the individual, in myself as well as in others. The celebrity/star is the object of identification, with the shallow seeming life that has to compensate for the fragmented productive specializations which are actually lived. The requirements to being a star/celebrity are namely, you must become an enslaved body. Just flesh — a commodity, and renounce all autonomous qualities in order to identify with the general law of obedience to the course of things. The star is a byproduct of the machine age, a relic of modernist ideals. It’s outmoded.

I started acting as a child. It has been a long time since I’ve known another way. I think our work, for me, is my adult self putting another room on the house to gain perspective on the house.

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