Varushka Francesca and James Cromwell (See James in the HBO Series The Young Pope) speak to us about, acting, a new movie on Fracking (Crack in the Wall) and caring about our planet. They were extraordinary!
Varushka Franceschi grew up all over the world the daugter of a foreign service officer. As a child Varushka was fascinated by the arts and her artistic temperament was nurtured by her Italian painter mother who was a direct descendant of the Renaissance painter Piero Della Francesca. After studying in Paris at L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq, and American University in Paris, Varushka continued her studies in London and worked as an actress. She worked in the theatre in London and on British TV, including an Agatha Christie series produced by the BBC. Varushka became captivated by the work of producers, and began her career in production, working as an assistant to Enzo Peri, who specialized in European co-productions. She worked with him on several productions which featured such artists as Krzysztof Zanussi, Julian Sands and Ben Gazzara. Upon her return to the United States, Varushka founded Shapeshift Dream Productions (SDP) a film and media communications company that creates artistic and persuasive issue campaigns. SDP’s mission is to influence a global vision of the future using film arts, digital and traditional media enabling a profound shift in perception as we grapple with many serious topics including the state of journalism, women’s issues, climate change, ethics and the rapidly changing state of the world. Varushka was named to the Advisory Board of the Lifeboat Foundation and is now on the Media and Arts Board and the Sustainability Board. The Lifeboat Foundation is a non-profit nongovernmental organization dedicated to encouraging scientific advancements while helping humanity survive existential risks and possible misuse of increasingly powerful technologies.
: “A Crack in Everything” is an eco-thriller narrative about the impact of hydrofracking on a community. It’s the story of two investigative journalists who enter a community ravaged by fracking & discover a massive cover up that could have an impact reaching far beyond the borders of the small town.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT: “A Crack In Everything” is my contribution to the campaign against what is popularly known as “fracking,” the extraction process of hydraulic fracturing, drilling deep into the shale rock of the earth and pumping in immense amounts of water mixed with a toxic cocktail of unregulated chemicals in order to make it easier to get to the natural gas within. This film project is a labor of love that began when I was asked for my participation on an anti-fracking ad campaign. My research brought me into the extraordinarily beautiful (though increasingly damaged) state of Pennsylvania. I was shocked and intensely moved by seeing firsthand how communities have been so severely affected by the ubiquitous drilling. I was inspired to write a story that reflects the deep fractures that have occurred not just in the geography of the land, but also in the human spirit. This is not only a very personal project for me but also about a topic that has struck a strong chord with millions of thoughtful people across the nation and the globe. It is more important than ever for each of us to be a part of an ongoing conversation about the severity of the environmental crisis we face and man’s contribution to climate change. I was inspired by the stories of real people who are having to contend with outside developers invading their communities to extract natural gas resources from their land. “A Crack In Everything” addresses how this has deeply affected these communities many of which have been designated “sacrifice zones”.
This article is about the American actor. For Doris Duke’s first husband, see James H. R. Cromwell. James in in the upcoming HBO series The Young Pope. A great actor. Paul
James Cromwell
Cromwell in March 2010
Born James Oliver Cromwell
January 27, 1940 (age 76)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Residence Warwick, New York, U.S.
Other names Jamie Cromwell
Alma mater Carnegie Mellon University
Occupation Actor, producer
Years active 1974–present
Spouse(s) • Anne Ulvestad (m. 1976; div. 1986)
• Julie Cobb (m. 1986; div. 2005)
• Anna Stuart (m. 2014)
Children 3
Parent(s) • John Cromwell (father)
• Kay Johnson (mother)
James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and producer. Some of his more notable films include Babe (1995), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), L.A. Confidential (1997), The Green Mile (1999), Space Cowboys (2000), The Sum of All Fears (2002), I, Robot (2004), The Queen (2006) and The Artist (2011), as well as the television series Six Feet Under (2003–2005), 24 (2007), American Horror Story: Asylum (2012), and Halt and Catch Fire (2015).
Cromwell has been nominated for four Emmy Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Babe. In 2013, he won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor for his role in Still Mine and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his role in American Horror Story: Asylum.[1]
Contents
[hide]
• 1Early life
• 2Career
• 3Personal life
o 3.1Family
o 3.2Height
o 3.3Advocacy
o 3.4Legal issues
• 4Filmography
• 5Awards and nominations
• 6References
• 7Further reading
• 8External links
Early life[edit]
Cromwell was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in Manhattan, New York. He is the son of actress Kay Johnson (1904–1975) and actor, director, and producer John Cromwell (1887–1979), who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era.[2] He has English, German, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.[3][4] He was educated at The Hill School, Middlebury College, and Carnegie Mellon University. Like his parents, he was drawn to the theater, performing in everything from Shakespeare to experimental plays.[citation needed]
Career[edit]
Cromwell’s first television performance was in a 1974 episode of The Rockford Files playing Terry,[5] a tennis instructor. A few weeks later,[6] he began a recurring role as Stretch Cunningham on All in the Family. In 1975, he took his first lead role on television as Bill Lewis in the short-lived Hot l Baltimore, appeared on M*A*S*H as Captain Leo Bardonaro, in the episode “Last Laugh” in Season 6 and a year later he made his film debut in Neil Simon’s classic detective spoof Murder by Death.[citation needed]
In 1980, Cromwell guest-starred in the two-part episode “Laura Ingalls Wilder” of the long-running television series Little House on the Prairie. He played Harve Miller, one of Almanzo Wilder’s (Dean Butler) old friends.[citation needed]
While Cromwell continued with regular television work throughout the 1980s, he made appearances in films for his supporting roles in the films Tank and Revenge of the Nerds (both 1984). He guest starred on the sitcom Night Court, playing a mental patient, along with Predator actor Kevin Peter Hall. He had starring roles in the 1990s critically acclaimed films Babe (1995), The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), L.A. Confidential (1997), The Green Mile, and Snow Falling on Cedars (both 1999). He also played Dr. Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and the Star Trek: Enterprise pilot episode “Broken Bow” (the Star Trek: Enterprise episode “In a Mirror, Darkly” later reused some of the First Contact footage).[7] Appearing in other Star Trek roles on the television series The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, though not as Cochrane (these episodes predated his role in First Contact), Cromwell guest-starred in several episodes, including “The Hunted”, “Birthright” (Part I and II) and “Starship Down”. He also voiced The Colonel in Dreamworks’ Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.[citation needed]
Cromwell has had additional successes on television throughout his career. His role as newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst in the television film RKO 281 earned him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Television Movie. The following year, he received his second Emmy Award nomination for playing Bishop Lionel Stewart on the NBC medical drama series ER. In 2004, he guest-starred as former President D. Wire Newman in the The West Wing episode “The Stormy Present”. From 2003 to 2005, Cromwell played George Sibley in the HBO drama series Six Feet Under, which earned him his third Emmy Award nomination in 2003. Along with the rest of his castmates, he was also nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2005 and 2006. The following year, Cromwell played Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in The Queen (2006), that earned Helen Mirren an Academy Award for Best Actress. He also guest starred as Phillip Bauer, father of lead character Jack, in the sixth season of the Fox thriller drama series 24.[citation needed]
In October 2007, Cromwell played the lead role of James Tyrone Sr. in the Druid Theatre Company’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night, at the Gaiety in Dublin as part of the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival’s 50th Anniversary.[8] That same year he received the King Vidor Memorial Award from the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival for his artistic achievements in film. More recently, Cromwell played George Herbert Walker Bush in Oliver Stone’s W. (2008), that chronicles the rise to power of his son up until the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In an interview, Cromwell revealed that Stone had originally offered the role to Warren Beatty and Harrison Ford.[9]
In 2015, Cromwell executive-produced Janek Ambros’s feature documentary Imminent Threat about the War on Terror’s impact on civil liberties.[citation needed]
Personal life[edit]
Family[edit]
Cromwell was married to Ann Ulvestad from 1976 to their divorce in 1986; they had three children. Cromwell married his second wife, actress Julie Cobb, on May 29, 1986; they divorced in 2005.[10] On January 1, 2014, Cromwell married actress Anna Stuart at the home of Stuart’s former Another World co-star Charles Keating.[citation needed]
Height[edit]
Cromwell is known for his tall stature; at 6 ft 6.5 in (1.99 m), he is the tallest actor nominated for an Academy Award. His son John is even taller, standing at a height of 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m).[11]
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