Abel Ferrara

Abel Ferrara

Abel Ferrara at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival
Born July 19, 1951
The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Other names Jimmy Laine
Occupation director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor, cinematographer
Years active 1971–present
Spouse(s) Nancy Ferrara[1]
Partner(s) Shanyn Leigh[2]
Website
www.abelferrara.com

Abel Ferrara (born July 19, 1951) is an American film screenwriter and director. He is best known as an independent filmmaker of such films as The Driller Killer (1979), Ms. 45 (1981), King of New York (1990), Bad Lieutenant (1992) and The Funeral (1996).

Early life

Ferrara was born in the Bronx of Italian and Irish descent.[3] He was raised Catholic, which had a later effect on much of his work.[4] At 15 he moved to Peekskill in Westchester, New York. He attended the film conservatory at SUNY Purchase, where he directed several movies, which are all available on "The Short Films of Abel Ferrara" collection. Soon finding himself out of work, he directed a pornographic film titled "9 Lives of a Wet Pussy Cat" in 1976,[5] which starred his then-girlfriend. Interviewed by The Guardian in 2010, he recalled having to step in front of the camera: "It's bad enough paying a guy $200 to fuck your girlfriend, then he can't get it up."[6]

Early career

Ferrara first drew a cult audience with his grindhouse movie The Driller Killer (1979), an urban slasher in the mold of Taxi Driver (1976), about an artist (played by Ferrara himself under the alias Jimmy Laine) who goes on a killing spree with a drill in hand. He followed it with Ms. 45 (1981), a "rape revenge" film starring Zoë Tamerlis, who later scripted Bad Lieutenant. Ferrara was next hired to direct Fear City (1984), starring Tom Berenger, Melanie Griffith, Billy Dee Williams, Rae Dawn Chong and María Conchita Alonso. True to form, it depicted a seedy Times Square strip club, where a "kung fu slasher" stalks and murders the girls after work. Berenger portrayed a disgraced boxer who has to use his fighting skills to defeat the killer.

Ferrara then worked on two Michael Mann-produced television series, directing the two-hour pilot for Crime Story (aired 18 September 1986), starring Dennis Farina, along with two episodes of the series Miami Vice: "The Home Invaders" (aired 15 March 1985, in season 1) and "The Dutch Oven" (aired 25 October 1985, in season 2).

Following his television work, Ferrara directed several feature films: China Girl (1987), a modern retelling of West Side Story as a gang war between the Chinese tong and the Italian Mafia; the made-for-television vigilante action thriller The Gladiator (1987) with Nancy Allen; and Cat Chaser (1989), starring Peter Weller.

Next, Ferrara created one of his most well-known films, King of New York (1990), starring Christopher Walken as gangster Frank White, who runs a group of black drug dealers, including one played by Laurence Fishburne. The cast included Wesley Snipes and David Caruso. As with most of Ferrara's films, the screenplay was written by Nicholas St. John.

Ferrara next directed Harvey Keitel in an acclaimed performance as the titular Bad Lieutenant (1992). Keitel plays a foul-mouthed, sex-addicted drug-using cop who wrestles with guilt and eventually seeks redemption in a Catholic church. The script was co-written by Ms. 45 star Zoë Tamerlis. Both Ferrara and Keitel were nominated for Spirit Awards and, despite its controversial content, the film was lauded by critics. Director Martin Scorsese also named it one of his top 10 films of the 1990s.[7]

Ferrara was then hired for two Hollywood studio films: a second remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, titled Body Snatchers (1993), for Warner Bros.; and Dangerous Game (1993), starring Keitel and Madonna, for MGM.

In the mid-1990s Ferrara returned to independent filmmaking, directing two well-received movies: The Addiction (1995)[8] and The Funeral (1996).[9] The Addiction, photographed in black-and-white, starred Lili Taylor as a New York University philosophy student who succumbs to a vampire as she studies the problem of evil and philosophical pedagogy, represented by the most violent events of the 20th century. The film also features Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, Paul Calderon, Kathryn Erbe and Michael Imperioli. It was also co-produced by Russell Simmons. The Funeral starred Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Isabella Rossellini, Benicio del Toro, Vincent Gallo and others.

In 1996 he produced the song California for the French singer Mylène Farmer.

Later career

After making The Blackout (1997) with Matthew Modine and Dennis Hopper, he contributed to the omnibus HBO–television movie Subway Stories. Ferrara then made New Rose Hotel (1998), which reunited him with Christopher Walken.

Ferrara in 2008.

Ferrara returned three years later with 'R Xmas (2001), which starred Drea de Matteo and Ice-T. After recording two commentaries for Driller Killer and King of New York, he made Mary (2005), the religious-themed film starring Forest Whitaker, Marion Cotillard, Juliette Binoche, Heather Graham, Stefania Rocca and Matthew Modine. The multi-plot film concerns an actress (Binoche) who stars in a Passion of the Christ-like movie about Jesus, where she plays Mary Magdalene, with whom she subsequently becomes obsessed. Matthew Modine portrays the director of the film, who bears striking similarities to Mel Gibson. Mary premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2005. It swept the awards ceremony, garnering the Grand Jury Prize, SIGNIS Award and two others. It was also seen at the Toronto Film Festival and the Glasgow Film Festival. In 2007, he directed a comedy with Modine, Bob Hoskins and Willem Dafoe, Go Go Tales. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was either highly acclaimed or vehemently disliked. Ferrara began preparations for Jekyll and Hyde in 2009, which was to star Forest Whitaker and 50 Cent. After disagreements with Warner Bros. the film was indefinitely shelved in 2010.

A Ferrara film, the docudrama called Napoli Napoli Napoli, is scheduled to premiere at the Rome Film Festival. Ferrara plays a small role as a mugger in the independent film Daddy Longlegs (2010). Also in 2010, Ferrara teamed up with Film Annex, an online film distribution platform and Web Television Network, to launch www.abelferrara.com. In a press release about the new web channel, Ferrara said, “We have been looking for a place, a home to express what we are doing and to avoid the misinformation found when we are not active on a website. With Francesco Rulli, the Founder of Film Annex, we hope to create a distribution platform for the work, both past and present, while actively interacting with our audience, collaborators and other filmmakers."[10]

In April 2011, Ferrara began shooting his first feature in four years, 4:44 - Last Day on Earth, starring Willem Dafoe and Ferrara's longtime companion Shanyn Leigh. This is Dafoe's third collaboration with Ferrara after 1998's New Rose Hotel and his last feature film, 2007's Go Go Tales. The film was shot in one location, an apartment, set during the course of the last 24 hours before the biblical apocalypse. Ferrara's longtime cinematographer Ken Kelsch shot the film. 4:44 - Last Day on Earth competed at the 68th Venice International Film Festival in September 2011 and released in theatres in March 2012.[11] In April 2013, Ferrara began shooting a fictionalized version of the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case titled Welcome to New York. It stars Gérard Depardieu in the role of Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Jacqueline Bisset as Anne Sinclair.[12] It was released on May 17th, 2014 on VOD because the film failed to be picked up for theatrical distribution.[13]

He recently finished shooting a biographical film titled Pasolini about the acclaimed Italian director, poet, journalist and intellectual who was murdered in 1975. The film stars Willem Dafoe in the title role.[14]

Personal life

Ferrara lives in Rome. Originally raised as a Roman Catholic, Ferrara has converted to Buddhism. Ferrara is also about to become the father of a girl with a Russian woman he identified only as Christina.[15] Ferrara also implied in a 2012 interview that he has other children of his own who lived with him and have seen his films. He also revealed in that same interview about his alcoholism and drug addiction.[16]

Ferrara was married to Nancy Ferrara and has also had a relationship with Shanyn Leigh.[1][2]

Filmography

Recurring collaborators

Ferrara has recast many of the same actors in his films, most notably Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel and Willem Dafoe.[18] Other actors he has recast include Annabella Sciorra and Matthew Modine as well as character actors such as Victor Argo, Paul Calderón and Giancarlo Esposito.[19] David Caruso is another one of Ferrara’s frequent film collaborators.[20] Ms. 45 (1981) star Zoë Lund collaborated with Ferrara again on Bad Lieutenant (1992), which she co-wrote.[21] Gretchen Mol has worked with Ferrara twice.[22] Forest Whitaker starred in Ferrara's films Mary (2005) and Body Snatchers (1993).[23]

Actor The Driller Killer
(1979) 		Ms. 45
(1981) 		Crime Story
(1986) 		China Girl
(1987) 		King of New York
(1990) 		Bad Lieutenant
(1992) 		Body Snatchers
(1993) 		Dangerous Game
(1993) 		The Addiction
(1995) 		The Funeral
(1996) 		The Blackout
(1997) 		New Rose Hotel
(1998) 		'R Xmas
(2001) 		Mary
(2005) 		Go Go Tales
(2007) 		Chelsea on the Rocks
(2008) 		Napoli Napoli Napoli
(2009) 		4:44 Last Day on Earth
(2011) 		Welcome to New York
(2014) 		Pasolini
(2014)
Asia Argento No No
Victor Argo No No No No No No
Paul Calderón No No No No
David Caruso No No No
Willem Dafoe No No No No
Giancarlo Esposito No No
Abel Ferrara No No No
Paul Hipp No No No No No
Dennis Hopper No No
Harvey Keitel No No
Shanyn Leigh No No No No No
Zoë Lund No No
Matthew Modine No No No
Gretchen Mol No No
Riccardo Scamarcio No No
Annabella Sciorra No No No
Christopher Walken No No No No
Forest Whitaker No No

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Maslin, Janet (19 November 1993). "Dangerous Game (1993) Review/Film; A Movie Within a Movie, With a Demure Madonna". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Longworth, Karina (21 March 2012). "New York Is Over. (But First, Weather on the 1s in Abel Ferrara's Last Day on Earth)". The Village Voice. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Goldstein, Patrick (1990-10-28). "MOVIES The Prince of Darkness Director Abel Ferrara practices a kind of gonzo filmmaking, and his violent vision isn't a particularly popular one in Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
  4. ↑ Lim, Dennis (2008-10-12). "Struggling With Faith and Gentrification". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  5. ↑ Paszylk, Bartlomiej. "The Driller Killer". The Pleasure and Pain of Cult Horror Films: An Historical Survey. McFarland. p. 153. ISBN 0-7864-3695-6.
  6. ↑ Abel Ferrara: 'I made Scarface look like Mary Poppins'. interview, 5 August 2010, Guardian. Retrieved on 2012-04-15.
  7. ↑ Roger Ebert & The Movies (show #1426), 26 February 2000. Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-15.
  8. ↑ "The Addiction (1995): Awards". Allmovie. Retrieved Feb 9, 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Funeral (1996)". Allmovie. Retrieved Feb 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Film Annex and Abel Ferrara Create Web TV Channel". May 26, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Venezia 68: International competition of feature films". Venice. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
  12. ↑ Child, Ben (February 6, 2012). "Gerard Depardieu to star in film inspired by Dominique Strauss-Kahn". The Guardian. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Cannes Film Festival: Strauss-Kahn Film Under Fire". The New York Times. May 18, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Director Abel Ferrara on Mysterious 1975 Death of Pier Paolo Pasolini: 'I Know Who Killed Him'". The Hollywood Reporter. March 28, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  15. ↑ Johnson, Richard (8 October 2014). "‘Pasolini’ director Abel Ferrara turns to Buddhism". Page Six. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  16. ↑ Walker, Luke (15 March 2012). "Breaking Bad: The Second Coming of Abel Ferrara". Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  17. ↑ "Ferrara, Dafoe Re-team for ‘Pasolini’". Variety. August 16, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  18. ↑ RUILOVA, AÏDA. "ABEL FERRARA". Interview.
  19. ↑ Dee, Jake (7 January 2014). "DISSECTING DIRECTOR ABEL FERRARA!".
  20. ↑ "Indie Filmmaker Abel Ferrara Will Bring Short Eyes Back to Broadway". 24 February 2010.
  21. ↑ Vestby, Ethan (9 December 2013). "Abel Ferrara On Artistic Freedom, Collaboration, ‘Ms. 45,’ Pier Paolo Pasolini & More".
  22. ↑ Hillis, Aaron (26 February 2009). "GRETCHEN MOL INDULGES IN “AN AMERICAN AFFAIR”". Ifc.com.
  23. ↑ Nastasi, Alison (19 November 2009). "Abel Ferrara's 'Jekyll and Hyde' Coming Soon From Warner Bros.". Moviefone.

External links