Sal rendino biography of william
John Travolta’s “Battlefield Earth” (2000) was one of the screen’s most notorious vanity projects, a big-budget bomb that represented the actor’s determination to bring the book by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of his beloved Scientology, to the screen no matter what. “Gotti,” based on the memoir by John A. Gotti, son of the mafia chieftain known as the “Teflon Don” for his ability to escape conviction time and time again (until he didn’t), is no less a vanity project, and it took Travolta nearly a decade to get it made.
In this case, however, the motivation wasn’t religious conviction, but the simple desire to sink his teeth into a juicy, eye-catching role. And as the elder Gotti, Travolta certainly doesn’t hold anything back; he preens, bellows, broods and intimidates ferociously—on the rare occasions when he must show sorrow he does so extravagantly, too. Even in the rare quiet moments when he appears to be underplaying, he’s actually over-the-top. Travolta is obviously having a grand time playing the stereotypical goombah, and since he appears in virtually every scene, you get an awful lot of him—so much, in fact, that there’s little room for the rest of the cast to get any traction. It’s far too hammy a turn to be considered remotely good acting, but like his highly mannered Robert Shapiro in “The People Vs. O.J. Simpson,” it’s hard to take your eyes off him.
A pity, then, that the movie as a whole is such a shapeless mess. The script by Lem Dobbs and Leo Rossi (who also takes a supporting role as Bart Boriello, one of Gotti’s chief lieutenants) attempts to give it some focus by structuring Gotti’s rise from hit-man to head of the Gambino family as a series of flashbacks from a conversation between the incarcerated, terminally ill John Sr. and John Jr. (Spencer Rocco Lofranco), in which the older man tries to dissuade his son and successor from accepting a plea deal from the government, fighting in court until the very end.
But the idea comes to nothing be Written By Nick Zagone Directed By Ken Sawyer David and Goliath in America is a play about William Kunstler’s reflections on his experience of the 1960s. In 1961 at 42, Jewish New York lawyer William Kunstler, stepping away from his usual law practice with his brother, began defending civil rights activists pro bono. William Kunstler – Matt Gottlieb Understudies – Soraya Andrade, Jaymes Bevard, Dean Bruggeman, Gary Collier, Dean Farrell, Patrick Faucette, Kelly Godfrey, Michael Hubbard, Carl J. Johnson, Bill Mendieta, Steve Reisberg, Roger Toussaint, and James K. Ward. Director – Ken Sawyer “The ensemble work is generally excellent, highlighted by Rendino’s magnetic portrayal…” – Daily News “Director Ken Sawyer assembled an exceptionally talented cast… a moving, ins Ned Bellamy appears in Twilight as Waylon Forge. This character was created exclusively for the film, and was not present in the novel Twilight. Bellamy's Imdb entry is here. Ned was born May 7, 1957 in Dayton, Ohio to Bill and Nelle Bellamy. He is the youngest of three children. After spending his childhood in Joplin, Missouri, the family moved to La Jolla, California. Mark, his brother, is the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya. Anne, his sister, is vice-president of African Travel in Los Angeles. After graduating from UCLA, Ned and classsmate, Tim Robbins, founded the Los Angeles based theater company, "The Actors Gang". Ned has appeared in numerous film and television productions and continues to reside in Los Angeles. Seinfeld cultists will have little or no difficulty remembering character actor Ned Bellamy; he played Eddie, the knife-obsessed, fatigue-wearing employee of the J. Peterman company, whom Elaine tries to dismiss with a promotion, in the 1996 episode "The Fatigues." That turn, with its aggressive, menacing air, was fairly typical of the roles in which Bellamy often found himself (despite the fact that he could bring those qualities to bear on comic or earnest material). A native of Dayton, OH, he grew up in Joplin, MO, and entered show business in the very late '70s, initially on television programs including The Waltons, M*A*S*H, and The Dukes of Hazzard. As time rolled on, however, Bellamy moved more squarely into filmed work, specializing in action, horror, or thriller fare. Big-screen projects that featured the actor included House IV: Home Deadly Home (1991), Universal Soldier (1992), and Carnosaur (1993). After the Seinfeld appearance, Bellamy unveiled more of a comic emphasis in his role choices, evidenced by his work in such projects as Being John Malkovich (1999), The Whole Ten Yards (2004), and Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny (2006). In 2008, Bellamy turned up as Waylon Forge in the ro The movie Gotti reveals the relationship of a father who lived and died by the mob code and a son who, while brought up to lead a life of crime, chose to leave that world behind and redeem himself and the Gotti name. Never before has there been such an inside look at the Gotti family and their world of danger, betrayal and redemption. John Gotti was head of the Gambino crime family, which in its time was the largest and most powerful crime organization in the country. Known as the “Dapper Don,” John Gotti’s flamboyant style and outspoken personality made him one of the most famous mobsters of the 20th century and he ruled the underworld until he died from cancer in 2002 while serving a life sentence. In 1988, at the age of 24, Gotti Jr. became a “made man,” and was officially inducted into the Mafia, making him the heir-apparent to head the Gambino crime family and follow in his father’s footsteps. But in 1999, Gotti Jr. paid a now-famous last visit to his imprisoned and dying father to tell him he was ending his life of crime and getting out of the family business. During the years that followed his father’s death, Gotti Jr. had a long legal battle ahead of him and served three jail sentences, totaling approximately nine years, for a variety of charges. Gotti Jr. was finally released from prison in December 2009. Check out photos from Gotti:David and Goliath in America
J. Edgar Hoover/Judge Julius Hoffman – Michael Scheer
Sandy Seagull/Secretary – Amy Buffington
Jack Young/Bobby Seale – Curtis C
Mississippi Sheriff/David Dellinger – Paul Braden
Freedom Rider/Malcolm X/Rap Brown – Jeffrey A. Yarbrough
Sulley/Marshal – Joel Mahr
Lotte Kunstler/Court Reporter – Kelly Warren
Martin Luther King/Fred Hampton – Charls Sedgwick Hall
Lenny Bruce/Jerry Rubin – Tripp Pickell
Abbie Hoffman – Sal Rendino
Michael Kunstler/Witnesses – Dennis Gersten
Richard Schultz – Paul Witten
Supervising Producers – Cynthia Ava & Marci Hill
Assistant Director – Matt Kirkwood
Set Design – Desma Murphy
Lighting Design – Robert L. Smith
Sound Design – Wav Magic
Costume Design – Mary Jane Miller & Lars
Hair & Make-Up Design – Nancee Waterhouse
Prop Design – Jennifer Bowman
Production Stage Manager – Jason Goldberg
Lead Set Construction – Shaun O’Hagan & Tripp Pickell
Assistant Stage Manager – Bill MendietaBellamy, Ned
Biography
Gotti