Stephen Adly-Guirgis Movies

Synecdoche, New York marked the directorial debut of iconoclastic, cerebral screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as Caden Cotard, an eccentric playwright who lives with artist Adele Lack (Catherine Keener) and their daughter Olive in Schenectady, upstate New York. Prone to neuroses, misgivings and enormous self-doubt, Caden also begins suffering from accelerated physical deterioration - from blood in his stools to disfigured skin. Upon receiving a prestigious MacArthur grant, Caden decides to use the money to concoct one gigantic play as an analogue of his own life; he builds massive sets amid a New York City warehouse, casts others as his friends, family and acquaintances, and casts others to play the ones he’s casting. After Adele whisks Olive off to Europe but demonstrates no sign of returning soon, Caden drifts into a series of relationships with lovers - first with box office employee Hazel (Samantha Morton), who purchases and moves into a house that is perpetually on fire; then with Tammy (Emily Watson), an actress assigned to play Hazel in the theatrical project; and subsequently with others. Unfortunately, the play itself grows so big and unwieldy - and rehearsals go on for so long, taking literally decades - that it becomes unclear if the production itself will ever launch.

~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Devastated after being fired by director Woody Allen, actress Annabelle Gurwitch sets out on a soul-searching journey to discover whether getting the axe was the best or worst thing ever to happen in her professional career. Anyone who has been in the workforce for an extended amount of time has likely been there -- one minute you've got a good-paying job that you love, and the next minute you're standing in the unemployment line. When Annabelle Gurwitch got fired by the legendary director of such classics as Annie Hall and The Purple Rose of Cairo, she thought her career was over. Upon turning to her many showbiz pals for advice, however, Gurwitch quickly discovered that she was not alone. In this documentary, Gurwitch enlists the aid of filmmakers Chris Bradley and Kyle La Brache in traveling the country to interview such celebrities as Tim Allen, David Cross, Sarah Silverman, and Jeff Garlin to find out exactly how they dealt with the heavy hand of rejection. Additional interviews with GM workers in Lansing, MI, who were handed their pink slips offer some tales that are tragically comedic and others that seems to reinforce the old adage about one door closing and another door opening, while a visit to job fairs and "outplacement services" show just what the jobless endure on a day-to-day basis. Conversations with the downsizers as well as the downsized offer viewers a chance to explore the topic from both sides as host Gurwitch reminds viewers that sometimes the greatest success stories are born of failure. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Palindromes opens with the dedication, "In loving memory of Dawn Wiener," a reference to the lead character in writer/director Todd Solondz' early feature, Welcome to the Dollhouse. Aviva has just attended Dawn's funeral. Dismayed by her older cousin's untimely death, Aviva asks her mother (Ellen Barkin) for assurance that she won't grow up to be like Dawn. Aviva only dreams of one thing -- having babies. Lots and lots of babies. As a teen, while Aviva has no interest in sex, she eagerly loses her virginity to Judah (Robert Agri), the son of a family friend in hopes of getting pregnant. She does, but her mother insists that she have an abortion. Worse yet, due to a complication during the procedure, the doctor is forced to perform a hysterectomy. Unaware of her medical condition, Aviva runs away from home and is picked up by a truck driver (Stephen Adly Guirgis) who has his way with her and then abandons her at a roadside motel. She wanders in the wilderness until she meets up with Jiminy (Tyler Maynard), a friendly boy who lives with the "Sunshine Family," a group of disabled kids cared for by the cheerful Mama Sunshine (Debra Monk). The kids are also a Christian singing group. Aviva is happy until she learns that Mama Sunshine and her husband are virulently anti-abortion and that they are planning to murder a doctor. Solondz cast eight different actors in the lead role, each of whom play Aviva at different points in the story. Matthew Faber reprises the role of Mark Wiener from Welcome to the Dollhouse. Palindromes was shot at Bard College in upstate New York, using many film students as crew. It was selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center for inclusion in the 2004 New York Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

One of several government-espionage series unveiled during the 2001-2002 TV season, UC: Undercover detailed the exploits of the Special Operations Group, an elite five-person team answerable only to the Justice Department. Using up-to-date technology and advanced martial arts skills, the Group was dedicated to tracking down and capturing supercriminals and terrorists (though several episodes dealing with the latter were toned down in the wake of the World Trade Center tragedy). Described by several observers as the Wiseguy of the early 21st century, the series found its regulars adopting all manner of disguises and new identities in order to infiltrate the illicit organizations which they'd targeted for extinction. Originally cast as group leader John Keller, Grant Show was replaced in the second episode by new leader Frank Donovan (Oded Fehr); other regulars included Jon Seda as Jake, Vera Farmiga as Alex, Bruklin Harris as Monica, and Jarrad Paul as Cody. Executive produced by Steve Salerno (one of the writers of the movie hit Armageddon), UC: Undercover began its weekly, 60-minute NBC run on September 30, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide