Jonathan Lethem on "Liberal Arts", Strange Days at Netflix

Author Jonathan Lethem will be one of the guests on a pilot episode for an Air America Radio show called "Liberal Arts," hosted by Katherine Lanpher. If you will be in the NYC area on Sunday, May 1st, you could be part of the audience. EN is planning on starring, producing, and directing an adaptation of Lethem's novel Motherless Brooklyn. The May 1st show will include Lethem, Eric Bogosian and Willie Nile. More info is available at Air America Radio

If you missed Strange Days on Planet Earth, you can rent it through Netflix or buy it through Amazon.com

Stange Days, Grist articles, Jack Reacher film

Don't forget Strange Days on Planet Earth concludes tonight.

Grist Magazine (4/27/05) has posted a good interview with EN with the unfortunate title of Higher Ed. Also, in an 4/22/05 Grist Q & A (Making His Mark) with Strange Days producer Mark Shelly there were some questions about working with EN.

Q.What's it like working with big-name celebrities like Ed Norton? Do you find you have to do a lot of catering to their needs?    -- Name not provided

A Edward Norton is intense and intelligent. He is extremely thoughtful about what he does and works on. I have enjoyed our interaction tremendously. He is very professional and appreciates ideas. When working with people, celebrities or not, I try to provide them with the resources they need to do their best work. In all honesty, however, that's not always possible in documentary work. We fly coach! Edward understood our constraints.

Q. Do celebrities approach you about environmental work or vice versa?    -- Name not provided

A. In this case, Edward came to us through National Geographic. He knew we would be interested in a project that his father was involved with in China. Our conversations about China led to his involvement in Strange Days on Planet Earth.

The Sydney Morning Herald (4/27/05) has an article on the casting possibilities for Killing Field, a film based on the first book of a series that features the character of Jack Reacher. "Clint Eastwood has been named, along with Liam Neeson, Clive Owen, Steven Seagal, John Travolta, Will Smith, Viggo Mortensen, Billy Zane, Dennis Quaid, Colin Firth, Harrison Ford and Edward Norton." The author Lee Child favors Hugh Jackman for the role. Here's the description of the character. Reacher role within Jackman's grasp

"Jack Reacher is a former army military investigator who lives wherever he pleases. He wanders from coast to coast in the US and picks up trouble along the way.

'He is a guy that men would like to be and women would like to be with,' Child said of the character, who he describes as tall, broad shouldered and tanned."

Scott on EN's role in KOH

Director Ridley Scott is the first person to publically comment on EN's participation in Kingdom of Heaven in the article Oops.. I killed my wife again in the Sunday Mail.

But there's an even bigger change in appearance in the movie for The Italian Job star Edward Norton. He is hidden behind a golden mask as King Baldwin IVNorton relies completely on his eyes, body language and voice for his performance as a ruler whose face is rotted away by leprosy.

It is the second time Scott has asked a top Hollywood star to play a role in which he'd be unrecognisable.

In Hannibal, he cast Gary Oldman as Mason Verger, the billionaire whose face had been stripped of skin by Hannibal the Cannibal.

'With Ed, I just picked up the phone and asked him, just as with Gary,' said Scott. 'I think Ed loved the history and the words.'

Cannes clarification

This is a weird clarification but I wanted to put it out there before I get contacted about it. The Cannes jury has been announced: Salma Hayek, Javier Bardem, Toni Morrison, John Woo, Nandita Das, Agnes Varda, Benoit Jacquot, Fatih Akin and Emir Kusturica, who will serve as president. This is the Official Jury for Feature Films and decides on the awards for the films in competition. These are the major awards you've heard of: Palme d'Or, Grand Prix, the prize for an Actor, the prize for an Actress, the Director's prize, the Screenplay prize and the Jury prize. Down in the Valley is part of the Un Certain Regard category. A different jury reviews Un Certain Regard films and "awards the Prix Un Certain Regard to the best film and can also attribute two other awards for reasons of its own choosing." Alexander Payne will head the Un Certain Regard jury, the remaining members have not yet been announced. offical Cannes Film Festival site.

ONE Video

As mentioned in the April 10th update, Edward participated in a PSA for The ONE Campaign, which fights AIDS and extreme poverty. The video is now available online at ONE.org. While we're on the subject, my day job involves HIV research and we are currently recruiting for two studies: Anti-HIV Medications for People Recently Infected with HIV and Effectiveness of Interleukin-2 (IL-2) Plus Anti-HIV Therapy in HIV-Positive Patients

'Valley' Premieres at Cannes

The lineup for the Cannes Film Festival was announced earlier today. Down in the Valley will be shown out of competition in the "Un Certain Regard" category. No word as to whether EN will be able to take time off from filming to appear for the premiere. The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 11-22.

New Illusionist Pics, LA Times interview

Several new pics of EN from the set of The Illusionist have appeared on WENN, as well of one of co-star Jessica Biel. Unfortunately, they're not all that large and they contain watermarks, but they give you a taste of what to expect. Also, check out the Vue2Sewell message board and the IMDB Illusionist message board Some onlookers in Prague have been posting about the production. [Thanks to Grace from Vue2Sewell]

Today's LA Times had an interview with EN along with a pic. Environmentalism runs in his family

Strange Days interview, Signature problems, High Line Honors, Cranky

Strange Days on Planet Earth, a nature miniseries that Edward is hosting, will premiere this Wednesday, April 20 on PBS. A number of articles have come out talking about the series and Earth Day (which is Friday) with comments by EN. The most in-depth article to date in terms of EN and his rationale to get involved in the project is Zap2It's: Edward Norton Warns of 'Strange Days'. Here is a little bit

Norton is the grandson of renowned urban planner James Rouse and the son of Edward M. Norton Jr., who advises the Nature Conservancy. Norton is also partnered with his younger brother, filmmaker Jim Norton ("Yunnan Great Rivers Expedition"), in Class 5 Films.

Norton and his brother were originally planning to do a film about an area of China where the elder Norton is working through the Nature Conservancy. They approached National Geographic, which steered them toward the Sea Studios Foundation and producers Mark Shelley ("The Shape of Life") and David Elisco, who were developing a series of films with similar themes.

[Further down in the article]

Norton also sees "Strange Days" as an example of a new way to address these issues in documentary form.

"My brother and I used to talk about this," he says. "It's one of the reasons we wanted to get involved. In our youth, it was National Geographic specials and 'Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom' with Marlin Perkins. Then, in the modern landscape, you suddenly have all these specialty programming, which is great, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel.

"But a lot of that has unfortunately devolved into the hyperkinetic host. I call it 'the run and grab,' get animals to behave in a way that's scary to people. You can't deny the appeal of Steve Irwin, because at least what he seems to display is a real appreciation of what he's looking at, but he's still running and grabbing it.

"You feel like there's got to be something beyond the old behavior film, the 'National Geographic' film, the stolid nature film. You have to say, 'What's fresher and has substance but is somehow more dynamic than that style?'"

Zap2It's: Edward Norton Warns of 'Strange Days'. Also, check out A Candid Conversation with Edward Norton for more on Strange Days.

Signature Theatre Company received some bad news. The New York Times article "Towers Site Campaign to Bypass Theaters" (4/9/05) reports that the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation "campaign to raise $500 million for the memorial and two cultural buildings at ground zero will not include the performing arts center" which is to be the future home of the Signature Center. It will now be part of a "second phase" of fundraising. EN is on the Board of Trustees for Signature Theatre Company. He received an OBIE for his performance in Signature's production of Lanford Wilson's Burn This and was in the production of Edward Albee's Fragments back in 1994. EN was present at the 6/10/04 announcement that the Signature Theatre Company was chosen to be part of the new WTC site.

EN's father Ed Norton will be one of the honorees at the Friends of the High Line summer benefit on Wednesday, July 13. Mr. Norton is the Founding Chairman of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. EN is one of the event's co-chairs. Also worth mentioning: "The High Line" Exhibition at MoMA

Last week was a long week. Back from vacation, gastrointestinal illness from vacation (I'm sure you really wanted to know about that), little sleep, piles of work, Intrigue in the Pyrenees at the Spy Museum, and a trek to the Bailey's Crossing Borders for a booksigning by Queen Noor. I got a little cranky in my earlier post over that email. I think a lot of my frustration has been long wait for a film release. With no film release, there are few interviews and pictures and not a lot for me to work with. And now, with an on-set pic of EN emerging just after the start of filming, maybe there's a lot more up the road.

World's Worst Secret, Conspiracy

The World's Worst Secret Kept Secret has hit the mainstream: EN is in Kingdom of Heaven. Premiere magazine's May 2005 issue mentions EN's name in the article Kingdom Come (their originality is just staggering) and includes a picture of EN in costume. He plays King Baldwin IV, who has Hansen's disease (leprosy) and wears a mask. This has been all over the internet (including the major sites such as Yahoo and IMDB) since EN filmed his scenes in Feb 2004, yet it's been purposely kept off of the official website, mainstream press and trades. I'm not sure whether Premiere wanted to break the news, or whether they didn't realize it was supposed to be a secret. I've known about Kingdom of Heaven, I haven't said anything definitive about it since I was asked not to do so even though it was common knowledge on the internet (although I was pissed off enough about this whole thing to post a pic of EN going to the set). The reason I'm posting the info now is that with the publication in Premiere, no one in their right mind could still consider this information secret especially when they have a pic of EN in costume. The other reason is that I'm including the Premiere info is because I'm tired of the emails and I figure that they are just going to increase after this article. I've received endless amounts of emails about this damn film to the point where I had to create this page so that people would stop emailing me "the scoop" of EN in this film. This film has been nothing but a major pain for me. I want nothing more to do with it.

Here's a story, kinda related. I went down to Miami on vacation and then went on a cruise to Key West and Cozumel. And when I got back, I was going through my emails and there was one conspiracy theory type email. Here it is, in it's entirety except for the name:

I like this website, very informative.

Its interesting that you're trip away coincides with Edward's going away to Prague to film The Illusionist.

I think you DO work for EN, as an assistant. Its just a hunch, I could be wrong but everything about this website has EN's personal approval/direction written all over it. That's a good thing but really, why lie about whether you're an employee or not?

Geez, lets not get too precious, as much as I love the actor, he's just an actor - a person! No need for cloak and daggers approach here! If he doesn't want people to contact him through the website then he/you could just say so! Why pretend? Get over yourselves.

My two cents. Have a nice day.

I read this and thought of the mess of the Kingdom of Heaven. I started this website seven years ago (April 1998). I've met Edward Norton only once in seven years: it was a minute long conversation at the Red Dragon benefit premiere in NYC. It took me $250 to get through the door and a lot of pushing to get up to him. I started the website for many reasons and one of the main ones was I thought I might get an inside view of acting and filmmaking through a talented up and coming actor. Instead, I became aware of what it is to be an outsider trying to get information. I rarely hear from his people unless they want something. And only occasionally do I get anything useful out of them. How fricken hard can it be to let me know about his scheduled TV appearances when he's promoting a movie? It's not like I'm asking about his sex life, I leave that to the legitimate journalists. I found out he was getting an award from the Environmental Media Association and when I looked into the reasons, it had something to do with solar energy. That's how I found out about his solar energy program. I would think that would be something he would want to promote (what's with this EMA shit about giving an award before the person's program is off the ground -- it sounds like kindergarten). EN, Cynthia Nixon, Stanley Tucci, Philip Seymour Hoffman all participated in a panel discussion "Acting: onstage and onscreen" this past October. Would you have liked to know what they said? So would I - I would love to post it. I guess we're out of luck. When I first asked about Kingdom of Heaven, all I got was a nondenial denial and stupid me, I believed it. I expected more respect after tirelessly doing this site for years. When I found out the truth that he was in it, I should have plastered it all over this site and on every Edward Norton message board. I didn't. I knew they were trying to keep it a secret and I felt it was better to preserve the relationship with his people than screw it up while making a point. That was a mistake and I've regretted it ever since. It's not worth it. You'd think that since EN's last movie was 111 minute commercial for the Mini Cooper that he was forced into doing, his people would be shouting from the rooftops that his next film was coming out. How do you cover an actor who hasn't had a film come out in two years, does few interviews and stays out of the spotlight for months? It's excruciating. I'm just amazed that anyone could think I was working for EN. I started the site thinking I would be able to post the kind of stuff about Edward Norton's work that the general media has no interest and/or space to cover. And I end up recycling filler from half-assed interviews. So if anything on this site seems new and fresh and straight from Edward Norton's mouth, then I truly am The Illusionist.

First Illusionist Pics, EN helps Bono fight AIDS

Super.cz has posted the first pic of EN in costume on the set of The Illusionist in Prague. I'm very relieved to see his costume does not include a cape nor a turban. There are also two other photos of Paul Giamatti. [Thanks to Luke, Kara, and Grace for the info!!!]

MuchMusic.com reports that EN along with Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz and Benicio Del Toro have joined Bono's AIDS awareness campaign by participating in a PSA [public service announcement]. The article does not provide any additional information. ONE.org, the official site of the campaign, states that the PSA will be shown on ABC and MTV on TONIGHT April 10 at 8:59 PM. However, I cannot find any mention on ONE.org of EN's involvement: he is not in the press releases, nor is he in the preview video. I guess we'll have to tune in to see. "The One Spot" press release

Just back from vacation and I am exhausted, so I hope everything looks better in the morning

Unavailable and Unfiltered

I'll be away from the website for the next few days, therefore I expect a lot of news to be coming out right as I'm gone.

Also, I just have to lament the loss of a staple of my daily living. Air America Radio's Unfiltered had its last show today. I had been listening to Lizz Winstead, Rachel Maddow, and Chuck D almost nonstop since the show premiered on April 1, 2004. It's being replaced by Jerry Springer (I wish I was kidding about that). It was funny, it had great interviews and I'm really going to miss it. LizzWinstead.com, RachelMaddow.com, Chuck D at Rapstation.com

Illusionist Casting, the other Fear Itself

Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Jessica Biel and Rufus Sewell have joined the cast of The Illusionist. In 1900 Vienna, "a streetwise magician (Norton) uses his dark arts to win Princess Sophie (Biel) away from Crown Prince Leopold (Sewell)." No word on what role Paul Giamatti will play. Filming is now set to start April 4 in Prague. Ricky Jay is consulting on the film. Useless trivia: Edward used to volunteer to usher at Jay's off-Broadway show "Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants" (source: Premiere Oct 1998.) Biel, Sewell Appear in 'Illusionist'. The World Wide Website of Ricky Jay [Thanks to Kara for the casting info!]

EN may have to find a title other than Fear Itself for his upcoming remake of "Straw Dogs". "Fear Itself" is the name of a "supernatural thriller" that is currently filming. Tom Sizemore is in the cast and the film has been coming up in news stories due to his recent legal problems. [Thanks to Elizabeth for the info!]

Strange Days On Planet Earth Interviews

Today's USA Today includes a few paragraphs on Strange Days On Planet Earth with some interesting comments by EN. USA Today: Coming Attractions

As a narrator, Norton would seem to be a natural fit. He's well known as an environmental activist. When he got the call for the job, though, he thought the producer had the wrong number.

"I said, 'Don't you want me to call Morgan Freeman for you, or one of those great voices?' "

Still, he took the job, in part because he's a supporter of conservation efforts. When it comes to acting, however, he tends to keep his personal preferences out of the picture. Which means while he wouldn't eat an endangered species, he wouldn't turn down a role just because the character did so. "I can't think of the purpose that would serve."

There's an entire interview with EN about Strange Days On Planet Earth that was included in the PBS press materials. A CANDID CONVERSATION WITH EDWARD NORTON

Edward at Signature Theatre Gala(?)

Playbill has details on the upcoming Signature Theatre Annual Gala honoring playwright Paula Vogel on April 4 at the Ritz-Carlton New York. It will include a tribute by Edward Norton, which is kind of odd since filming on The Illusionist starts April 1 in Prague (could it be prerecorded?). Maureen McGovern (Marmee in Little Women) will perform, and there will be tributes by Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, Mark Brokaw, J. Smith-Cameron, John Guare, Cherry Jones, Romulus Linney, Kenneth Lonergan, Joe Mantello, David Morse, Mary Louise Parker, Molly Ringwald and Basil Twist. If you're thinking of going to the gala specifically to see EN, make sure you ask if he's going to be present . Playbill: Little Women's McGovern to Sing at Signature Theatre Gala

GQ Top Ten

Yesterday, GQ magazine set out a press release of their top ten list of the "Best Actors of Our Generation". Edward was not included. GQ named Johnny Depp, Clive Owen, Don Cheadle, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Nicolas Cage, Benicio Del Toro, John C. Reilly, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Jim Carrey as their top ten. Also missing is Sean Penn, who was excellent in The Assassination of Richard Nixon

Giamatti joins the Illusionist

Today's Variety reports that Paul Giamatti will join EN in The Illusionist. EN and Giamatti aren't strangers. "Giamatti himself attended Yale; he wrote his senior thesis on Herman Melville and spent lots of time acting in collegiate plays, including a production of The Coarse Acting Show, where he and future star Edward Norton moved furniture and did shtick between scenes." (Rolling Stone article Lord of the Losers: Is Paul Giamatti America's greatest actor? 1/13/05)

Painted Veil moving forward, OT: Spy Museum

Today's Variety reports that John Curran will direct and Naomi Watts is in negotiations to star in The Painted Veil. Filming is set to start in September.

Off topic: I attended the two part event America Held Hostage: 444 Days to Freedom at the International Spy Museum which examined the Iranian hostage crisis during the Carter administration. I was just amazed, not only by the topic. There was an impressive list of speakers: former CIA director Admiral Stansfield Turner; two of the Canadian Houseguests; the former CIA Chief of Disguise, who led the Canadian Caper; a former Delta Team member who was involved in Operation Eagle Claw; former Embassy hostage William Daugherty; and a former Navel Intelligence Officer who was aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz when Operation Eagle Claw was launched. Since each of the speakers were involved in different aspects of the events, it was a unique opportunity to hear all of their comments. Between the speakers, there were clips of news footage and interviews to set the scene. Along with Q&A, there was a discussion of the situation in Iran today. It was the first time I've ever been to one of Spy Museum's special events and I would have to say it was one of the best organized events I've ever attended.

Dreamcatcher's Auction, Actor's Studio

The Dreamcatchers Foundation is currently holding a charity auction to "help to raise funds for college students that are struggling to stay in school." One of the items available is Edward Norton's wardrobe from the film Keeping the Faith. Ed Norton Original Keeping the Faith Priest Wardrobe. Hurry, this item ends on Feb 10th! [Thanks to Ashley for the info!]

Bravo is reruning EN's appearance on Inside the Actor's Studio on February 11, 2005 at 6 AM (double check your local listings). Unfortunately, Bravo has rarely rerun EN's appearance (while ones with other actors seem to rerun repeatedly) so try to catch it because it might be a while before it's shown again. Inside the Actors Studio schedule [Thanks to Beth Ann for the info!]

Guessing Game: Fear Itself

Since I'm not in the film business, it's hard to gauge the progress of a film project when it's not written about in the trade papers (no news = you're f**ked). In that case, all I can do is notice who is not talking about the film. An interview with Hide and Seek director John Polson is posted on Dark Horizons. Polson was attached to direct Fear Itself back in 2002, but nothing else was reported on the film after that announcement. When asked about future projects, there is nothing said about Fear Itself. If he was still actively involved with trying to get the film off the ground, I'm surprised he wouldn't say anything about it. Another thing to note is that Fear Itself was set up at Miramax Films in 2002 which is going through it's own difficulties with Disney, which owns the company. I don't know whether it's in limbo at Miramax or if Class 5 Films (EN's production company) is trying to take it somewhere else.

More Strange Days, Valley update

Today's Hartford Courant had a small section on Strange Days on Planet Earth which included background on why EN chose to become involved in this type of project. Alda And Norton Have It Down To A Science

"My father was one of the leading environmental advocates in the country for the last 30 years. He was head of public policy for the Wilderness Society. He founded the Grand Canyon Trust, helped found the Rails to Trails Conservancy. He's been the director and founder of the Nature Conservancy's China program for the last six years and been living and working on the first large-scale conservation management project in China," he said. "So I grew up very steeped in all of that."

PBS has set up a section on Strange Days on Planet Earth on it's website which includes a trailer on the series. PBS website

Useless Correction: The Hartford Courant states that this is EN's "public television debut" which is incorrect. EN participated in American Experience: War Letters and Out of the Past (a documentary that was shown on PBS) and has been a guest on The Charlie Rose Show four times.

Down in the Valley update. Composer Nathan Larson reported the following on his website nathanlarson.com (updated Jan 2)

"I’ve begun work on a project called DOWN IN THE VALLEY, directed by David Jacobson, produced by and starring Mr. Ed Norton. I suspect this will turn out well. It's got kind of a lyrical, existential modern Western"

EN at Winter Press Tour

Yesterday, EN was present at the PBS section of the Winter Press Tour held by the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles.

Today's Star Telegram has an article about EN promoting PBS' Strange Days on Planet Earth (he serves as host) and Cameron Diaz promoting her environmentally conscious series for MTV Trippin' . Okay, well the article is sort of about that. Even though the article is by the TV critic, the names and descriptions of the programs aren't mentioned until the fifth and sixth paragraph (the term "Hollywood liberal" makes it into paragraph 1). In the article, EN and Diaz each talk about how their views aren't taken seriously because of their profession. It makes me wonder why they would think the press would write about them seriously. Each member of the press at this event would probably have received press materials with bios on EN and Diaz which would have included previous work on environmentally friendly projects (such as EN's Solar Neighbors Program). Those aren't mentioned, but the TV critic does manage to sneak in that Diaz posed for a magazine sitting on a toilet seat (I know Jenny McCarthy posed for a Candie's shoes ad on a toilet- I wasn't aware of Diaz toilet pics). A few of their views on the environment make it in, but they each probably had a lot more to say that didn't make it into print. Diaz, Norton push Earth-friendly fare

New EN project: The Illusionist

Today's Variety reports that Edward has signed on to play the lead in helmer Neil Burger's supernatural movie The Illusionist, based on Steven Millhauser's short story "Eisenheim the Illusionist." Filming will begin in April in Prague. [Thanks to Olive for the info!] . I guess this pushes back The Painted Veil, which was supposed to start filming in Spring 2004 in China.

Norton plays a magician in turn-of-the-century Vienna who falls in love with a woman well above his social standing. When she becomes engaged to a prince, the magician uses his powers to win her back and undermine the stability of the royal house of Vienna

Lord of the Losers

A Rolling Stone article (1/13/05) on actor Paul Giamatti (Sideways, American Splendor) entitled Lord of the Losers: Is Paul Giamatti America's greatest actor? also includes a brief mention of Edward (see below).

Giamatti himself attended Yale; he wrote his senior thesis on Herman Melville and spent lots of time acting in collegiate plays, including a production of The Coarse Acting Show, where he and future star Edward Norton moved furniture and did shtick between scenes. But what he really wanted was to be an animator. He did a comic book of a Gothic western and collaborated with a pal on a cartoon called Flip the Chimp: "It was about two monkeys fucking and bouncing all over -- as much crazy violence and drug-and-sex humor as possible for five minutes."