John Michael Turturro (born February 28, 1957) is an Emmy Award-winning American actor noted for his performances in To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), The Color of Money (1986), Five Corners (1987), Men of Respect (1991), Monday Night Mayhem (1999), Secret Window (2004), The Bronx is Burning (2007), and a variety of collaborations with Spike Lee and The Coen Brothers. He has appeared in over sixty movies, and is well known for his ability to change both his demeanor and physique.
Turturro was born in Brooklyn, New York to Katherine, an amateur jazz singer who worked in a Navy yard during World War II, and Nicholas Turturro, a carpenter and construction worker who immigrated from Giovinazzo, Italy at the age of six and fought as a Navy serviceman in D-Day. He was raised as a Roman Catholic and moved to the Rosedale section of Queens, New York with his family when he was six. He majored in drama at the State University of New York at New Paltz, and completed his MFA at the Yale School of...
Created by dipity on Jan 24, 2008
Last updated: 01/24/08 at 12:54 PM
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Margot at the Wedding is an upcoming film written and directed by Noah Baumbach. It is the follow-up to his critically acclaimed, Academy Award nominated film The Squid and the Whale (2005). The film has been described as an intimate, character-driven, domestic comedy-drama. It stars Nicole Kidman and Baumbach's real-life wife Jennifer Jason Leigh as sisters named Margot and Pauline, and also features Jack Black, John Turturro and Ciarán Hinds. Kidman's character, Margot, is a successful but neurotic writer who brings her 11-year-old son (played by newcomer Zane Pais) to spend a weekend visiting her free-spirited sister Pauline (Leigh) on the eve of her wedding to Black's character. Margot disapproves of Pauline's choice of fiancé, which causes tension between the two sisters. Baumbach has mentioned that the film is influenced by the style of French writer-director Eric Rohmer, who is known for his character-driven, relationship-based comic dramas like Ma nuit chez Maud, Le Genou de...,
Transformers is a 2007 live action film directed by Michael Bay and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, based on the Transformers franchise. The film stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, who has the coordinates to the location of the Allspark, an object at the center of the war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. The film also stars Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, John Turturro, and Hugo Weaving as the voice of Megatron. Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime in the 1980s cartoon, reprised the role for the film.Producers Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto developed the film, and Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman wrote the script, aiming for a realistic interpretation of the characters. Though not a Transformers fan, Bay was convinced by Spielberg to direct, and he created an intricate design aesthetic for the computer-generated robots. General Motors and the United States military lent their support during filming, to keep the budget under $150 million....,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418279
The Good Shepherd is an Academy Award-nominated 2006 film directed by Robert De Niro (his second directorial effort after A Bronx Tale) and starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, with an extensive supporting cast. The film was rated "R" for "some violence, sexuality and language" by the MPAA. Although it is a fictional film loosely based on real events, it is advertised as telling the untold story of the birth of counter-intelligence in the Central Intelligence Agency. It is a Morgan Creek Productions film distributed by Universal Pictures. The film's main character, Edward Wilson (played by Damon), is loosely based in part on James Jesus Angleton and Richard M. Bissell, Jr.. William Hurt's character, Phillip Allen is based on Allen Dulles, and General Bill Sullivan, played by Robert DeNiro, is loosely based on Major General William Joseph Donovan.
In 1961, the Bay of Pigs Invasion fails due to an informer or leak of some kind. Afterwards, a photograph and recording on reel to reel...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343737
She Hate Me (2004) is a feature film directed by Spike Lee and starring Anthony Mackie, Kerry Washington, and Ellen Barkin.
The film, as with many of Lee's, touches on comedy, drama, and politics. Unlike many of his previous films, Spike Lee does not have an acting credit in this film.
The film was shot entirely on location in New York City, including each of the city's five boroughs in one way or another. It was nominated for various awards (see below), but did not claim a win in any of the categories in which it was nominated. She Hate Me' was released in July 2004 and grossed almost half a million dollars at the box office in limited release.
The film's story is about John Henry 'Jack' Armstrong, a financially successful and upwardly mobile whistleblower who loses his job at a biotechnology firm and is falsely accused of securities fraud by his duplicitous employers, primarily represented by the arrogant Leland Powell (played by Woody Harrelson). His assets are frozen, and...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384533
Secret Window is a 2004 thriller starring Johnny Depp and John Turturro. It was written and directed by David Koepp, based on the novella Secret Window, Secret Garden by Stephen King. The story appeared in King's collection Four Past Midnight. The film's studio is Columbia Pictures along with Sony Pictures.Johnny Depp plays successful writer Mort Rainey, who is suffering from writer's block and has retreated to an isolated lakeside cabin in the face of a divorce from his wife, Amy (Maria Bello). The source of the divorce is Mort having made the unfortunate discovery of his wife cheating on him with Ted Milner (Timothy Hutton), now her boyfriend. Living alone in the woods, Mort is confronted one day by the mysterious John Shooter (John Turturro) who accuses him of plagiarism. Shooter gives Mort a book he claims to have written.At first, Mort regards Shooter as a madman and throws away the book. But he cannot stop thinking about it, and finally reads it. It is almost exactly the same....
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363988
Anger Management is a 2003 comedy film starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson which was directed by Peter Segal and written by David S Dorfman.
David "Dave" Buznik (Sandler) is a businessman who works for a pet clothing company out of New York City. He's got an abrasive boss (Kurt Fuller) who frequently takes credit for his work and steps on him in return. He's got a loving girlfriend, Linda, (Marisa Tomei) whose best friend is her condescending college ex, Andrew (Allen Covert). But when a misunderstanding aboard an airplane goes haywire, Dave is sentenced to anger management therapy, headed by Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson), who is an unpredictable, psychopathic character. "Goosfraba" an Eskimo word is brought up in Dave's first anger management lesson to calm the group down. Buddy takes a special interest in his newest patient by virtually taking over his life - living with him, following him around, constantly tormenting and humiliating him, including embarrassing him in...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0305224
Fear X is a 2003 psychological thriller directed by Nicolas Winding Refn.When his wife is killed in a seemingly random incident, Harry (Turturro), prompted by mysterious visions, journeys to discover the true circumstances surrounding her murder.(Listed Chronologically)...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289944
Mr. Deeds is a 2002 comedy film starring Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder, and is a remake of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. The movie also features Peter Gallagher, John Turturro and Steve Buscemi, with small roles by John McEnroe and Al Sharpton and a brief, uncredited appearance by Rob Schneider.
Tagline:Don't let the fancy clothes fool you.Preston Blake started out in his career hoping to be a radio disc jockey as a young man, slowly working his way up through the ranks to found Blake Media, a corporation running hundreds of television and radio stations and with tens of thousands of employees. After Blake freezes to death at the summit of Mount Everest with a triumphant smile on his face, a search for his heir begins. When it is found that he has a living nephew named Longfellow Deeds who runs a pizzeria in New Hampshire, Deeds is contacted and brought to New York City by oily attorney Chuck Cedar (Peter Gallagher).
Plans are made for Deeds to sell his shares in the company to Cedar and...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280590
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing is a 2001 drama film directed by Jill Sprecher and starring Matthew McConaughey, Alan Arkin, Clea DuVall and John Turturro.
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing is set in New York City and consists of four briefly intersecting story threads. An ambitious young lawyer, Troy (Matthew McConaughey) is stricken with guilt after committing a hit and run. The woman he injures, Beatrice (Clea DuVall), is an idealistic housekeeper forced to reassess her attitudes after the accident. Insurance claims agent Gene (Alan Arkin) is rankled by an unrelentingly cheerful co-worker. College professor Walker (John Turturro) and his wife Patricia (Amy Irving) struggle with his infidelity and midlife crisis. Structurally, the film is divided into 13 sections, each prefaced by an aphorism.
Jill Sprecher wrote the script for Thirteen Conversations About One Thing in collaboration with her sister Karen, as with her previous film and directorial debut, Clockwatchers ...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0268690
The Luzhin Defence is a 2001 movie, directed by Dutch director Marleen Gorris. The screenplay was written by Peter Berry and based on the novel The Defense (or The Luzhin Defence) by Vladimir Nabokov. Nabokov in turn drew upon the events in the life of his friend Curt von Bardeleben who committed suicide in 1924. The movie stars John Turturro as the tormented Luzhin; Emily Watson plays the love interest, Natalia. Watson received best actress nominations at the British Independent Film Awards and the London Film Critics Circle Awards.
The chess position they play for the final between Turati and Luzhin is already a winning position for black (Luzhin), eventhough black is down on material. By playing Kg4? (as opossed to Kf2) white walks into a forced mate. After Kg4
leads to the forced mate with a rook sacrifice:
If white plays Kf2 instead of Kg4 this leads to a heavy material loss for white and an easy game for black. After Kf2:
and black is up by a rook.
...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0211492
O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a dark comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, set in Mississippi during the Great Depression (specifically, 1937). It was released in 2000.
The film stars George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning. The movie is loosely based on the Odyssey by Homer. The film's American roots music soundtrack (see above) won a Grammy for Album of the Year.
The hero of the film is a dapper, smooth-talking con man named Ulysses Everett McGill (Clooney). Everett (as he is referred to in the film) escapes from a chain gang and brings along the two fellow prisoners chained to him, Pete (Turturro) and Delmar (Nelson) with the promise of recovering buried treasure from a heist. In truth, this is just a lie he tells them to get them to come along with him back to his wife and their seven daughters before she marries another man.
The movie's titles acknowledge that the work is "Based upon Homer's Odyssey." The...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190590
He Got Game is a 1998 drama-sports film directed by Spike Lee starring Denzel Washington and Ray Allen as a father and son trying to reconcile on the eve of the son's graduation from a Coney Island high school, and under pressure to decide which college basketball scholarship offer he will accept.
Allen's character, named Jesus Shuttlesworth, is an extremely talented basketball player being pursued by the top college programs in the nation. Washington's character is a convicted felon serving time at Attica State Prison for accidentally killing his wife (his son's mother) by pushing her while arguing with his son. The father is therefore temporarily released by the governor, an influential alum of one of the colleges Jesus is considering, so that he might direct his son to sign with the governor's college.
He Got Game offers emotional looks into the varied topics of basketball (including urban dreams of professional success), the dynamics of the father-son relationship, the effects...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124718
The Big Lebowski, a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, chronicles a few days in the life of a burned out, unemployed California slacker after he is mistaken for a millionaire with the same name. While not directly based on Raymond Chandler's novel The Big Sleep, Joel Coen has said that "[we] wanted to do a Chandler kind of story – how it moves episodically, and deals with the characters trying to unravel a mystery. As well as having a hopelessly complex plot that's ultimately unimportant."The film, known for its idiosyncratic characters, surreal dream sequences, unconventional dialogue and eclectic soundtrack, has become a cult classic and called "the first cult film of the internet era."Two thugs surprise Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski (Bridges) in his home in Venice, California, attempting to collect a debt Lebowski's supposed wife owes to Jackie Treehorn (Ben Gazzara). After roughing The Dude up, one of the thugs urinates on his rug, until The Dude convinces...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118715
Grace of My Heart is a 1996 film from writer-director Allison Anders. The story is set in the pop-music world of the 1960s, and the personal life and career trajectory of its protagonist, Denise Waverly (played by Illeana Douglas), strongly parallel those of singer-songwriter Carole King. The soundtrack features a variety of songs, by such artists as Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell and Jill Sobule, which replicate the musical style that emerged from the Brill Building, New York's legendary music factory during the heyday of girl groups and "pre-fab" acts like The Monkees.Douglas's "Denise Waverly" is the stage name dreamed up for one Edna Buxton, an heiress from a prominent Philadelphia family, by her agent Joel Millner (played by John Turturro) in order to give Buxton credibility. Prior to meeting Millner, and reworking one of her ballads for an all male doo-wop group, Edna wins a talent contest that turns out to be more publicity stunt than viable career opportunity....
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116442
Clockers is a 1995 film directed by Spike Lee, based on the novel by Richard Price. The film stars Mekhi Phifer in his first role.
The movie begins with a disturbing look of dead citizens on the ground, while the credits are rolling. When the credits are over, we see a young man walk up to sit on a step, drinking chocolate milk. This is Strike (Mekhi Phifer), who is a low-level drug dealer, which is a clocker. We then also see Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel), and Larry Mazilli (John Turturro), police homicide detectives, riding around eyeing the neighborhood. Just then we are back to the clockers, who talk about what rappers are the hardest. Just then, when detectives see that there may possibly be drugs being sold at the moment, they run up to the clockers, and check them everywhere. Just then, Rodney Little (Delroy Lindo) drives up, and just looks at all of them. Rodney Little is Strike's drug boss, as the clockers work for him. After the detectives are gone, Strike's stomach starts...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112688
Quiz Show is a 1994 film which tells the true story of the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s. It stars John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes, Paul Scofield, David Paymer, Hank Azaria, and Christopher McDonald.
The film chronicles the rise and fall of the popular contestant Charles Van Doren (played by Fiennes) after the rigged loss of Herb Stempel (played by Turturro) to Van Doren and Congressional investigator Richard N. (Dick) Goodwin's probe of Twenty-One's game fixing. Goodwin, portrayed by Morrow, is also one of the co-producers of the film. Mira Sorvino also appears in the film, as Goodwin's wife Sandra.
The movie was adapted by Paul Attanasio from Goodwin's book Remembering America. It was produced and directed by Robert Redford.
Quiz Show was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Paul Scofield), Best Director, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay Paul Attanasio.
The movie follows the events surrounding the Quiz show scandals of the...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110932
Being Human is a 1993 film starring Robin Williams.
The film portrays the experience of a single human soul (portrayed by Williams) through various incarnations. Williams is the only common actor throughout the stories that span man's history on the earth.
The film was written and directed by Bill Forsyth for David Puttnam while he was in control of Columbia Studios in 1989. When Putnam was ousted Being Human was pulled from the distribution schedule and was given a limited release in 1993.
This is Ewan McGregor's screen debut.
...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106379
Fearless is a 1993 film directed by Peter Weir and written by Rafael Yglesias from his novel of the same name.Rosie Perez was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Carla Rodrigo. She lost to Anna Paquin. The film's soundtrack features part of the first movement of Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3, subtitled Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.Max Klein is a survivor of a plane crash. Many die, including his business partner. The trauma transforms his entire life. He enters an altered state of consciousness; soon after the crash he even thinks he is dead, and begins rethinking life, death, God, and the afterlife. Existential questions start to preoccupy his life. He moves away from his wife, son, and friends but, encouraged by an aircraft company psychiatrist, he tries to break the depression and apathy of another survivor, Carla Rodrigo, who lost her baby son during the flight. Eventually Max's increasingly dramatic attempts at pushing the boundaries...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106881
Brain Donors (1992) is an American comedy movie released by Paramount Pictures, loosely based on the Marx Brothers comedy, A Night at the Opera. The film co-stars John Turturro, Mel Smith, and Bob Nelson in the approximations of the Groucho, Chico, and Harpo roles, with Nancy Marchand in the Margaret Dumont dowager role.The film received very little play in theaters but, contrary to popular belief, it was not a box-office failure. The project was filmed as Lame Ducks, and Paramount was ready to promote it as the outstanding comedy of the year. However, when the film's producers (David and Jerry Zucker of Airplane! and The Naked Gun fame) left for another studio, Paramount scrapped the publicity campaign, changed the title, and withdrew the film after its initial screenings. Brain Donors, with its carefully stylized, fast-paced comedy and witty dialogue, made enough of a critical splash during its limited run to attract attention on the home video market, which has resulted in a cult...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103872
Barton Fink is a 1991 film by Joel and Ethan Coen. It tells the story of Barton Fink (John Turturro), a young, intense, and rather awkward writer of social realist plays in the early 1940s whose raison d'être is to "create a theatre of the common man", but who is suffering from writer's block and no ability to relate to "the common man".
The film's enigmatic story has been interpreted as an examination of the creative act, a satire on Hollywood, a Joseph Campbell-like heroic quest, or even an allegory for the rise of Nazism.The Coen brothers themselves remain characteristically tight-lipped on the subject.
Barton Fink won the Palme d'Or at Cannes by a unanimous vote, as well as the awards for Best Director and Best Actor. It was the only film in the history of that festival to sweep those three honors. Michael Lerner's portrayal of the egotistic film producer Jack Lipnick was hailed by critics and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Barton Fink...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101410
Jungle Fever is a 1991 film directed by Spike Lee, starring Wesley Snipes and Annabella Sciorra. It is Lee's fifth feature length film.
The plot centers on the interracial romance between a successful married African American architect, Flipper Purify (played by Snipes), and an Italian-American woman, Angie Tucci (played by Sciorra). The two meet at their workplace in New York, an architectural firm where Purify works and Tucci is hired as a temporary secretary. The lovers come under intense pressure from their friends and family as a result of their relationship. The title of the film refers to the sexual attraction between two different races.
A subplot considers the problems of drug abuse, with Flipper's brother Gator (played by Samuel L. Jackson) a suffering crack addict.
The film also features John Turturro, Halle Berry, Charlie Murphy, Queen Latifah, Anthony Quinn, Ossie Davis, Tim Robbins, Ruby Dee and a then-unknown Michael Imperioli.
The film is notable as the screen debut...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102175
Miller's Crossing (1990) is a gangster film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and stars Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney and John Turturro. The film's plot depicts a power struggle between two rival gangs and how the protagonist (played by Byrne) plays both sides off each other. In 2005, Time magazine chose Miller's Crossing as one of the best 100 movies made since the inception of the periodical. Time movie critic Richard Corliss said that the movie is a "noir with a touch so light, the film seems to float on the breeze like the Frisbee of a fedora sailing through the forest".
The film is set during the Prohibition era in an unnamed northeastern US city (most of the exteriors were shot in New Orleans, taking advantage of that city's vintage architecture and streetcar line) where two warring gangs face off. Leo O’Bannon (Finney), a headstrong Irishman, controls the town, but his power is in danger of being usurped by a rival gang headed by the ambitiously violent Italian, Giovanni Gasparo,...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100150
State of Grace is an American neo-noir crime film released in 1990. It was directed by Phil Joanou and written by Dennis McIntyre.The film was executive produced by Ned Dowd, Randy Ostrow, and Ron Rotholz and features original music by Ennio Morricone.
The motion picture was shot on location in New York City.
In the film "the Westies" are Irish-American gangsters operating in the section of New York City, west of Times Square, known as Hell's Kitchen. When their territory is threatened by gentrification, the boss, Frankie Flannery (Ed Harris) tries to arrange an alliance with the Italian Mafia, their long-time rivals.
Frankie welcomes back Terry Noonan (Sean Penn) to the neighborhood and into his organization after a long absence. Unknown to the gang, however, during his time away, Terry has become a police officer in Boston. He's been brought back to New York specifically to go undercover in his old neighborhood and bring down the Irish gangsters before they strike a deal with the...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100685
Do the Right Thing is a 1989 motion picture produced, written, directed by and starring Spike Lee and released by Universal Pictures. The film tells a tale of bigotry and racial conflict in a multi-ethnic community in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, on the hottest day of the year. It stars Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, and John Turturro. Do the Right Thing marks the feature film debuts of both Martin Lawrence and Rosie Perez. It is the second film role ever for Samuel L. Jackson, who plays DJ Mister Señor Love Daddy, an alternative voice of the author to Spike Lee's character.
In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. A Criterion Collection DVD of Do the Right Thing has been released: it is no. 97 in the Criterion series. In 2007, the American Film Institute listed the film as the...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097216
The Color of Money is a 1984 novel by American writer Walter Tevis, continuing the story of Edward "Fast Eddie" Felson from The Hustler (1959). The book was very loosely adapted into a 1986 film of the same name, with Paul Newman reprising his role from the movie version of The Hustler (1961). The film also stars Tom Cruise as Vincent, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Carmen, Helen Shaver as Janelle and John Turturro as Julian. The screenplay was written by Richard Price, and the film was directed by Martin Scorsese, featuring an original score by Robbie Robertson. It was given an "R" rating by the MPAA.Many top pool players of the 1980s have cameos, including Steve Mizerak, Jimmy Mataya, Grady Mathews and Keith McCready (meanwhile both Mike Sigel and Ewa Mataya Laurance also served as a technical consultants and shot-performers on the film). Another notable cameo is that of Iggy Pop, who plays one of the many contenders on the road. A young Forest Whitaker makes an extended...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090863
This article is about the 1985 film. For other uses of the title, see To Live and Die in L.A. (disambiguation).To Live and Die in L.A. is a neo-noir American film released in 1985 and directed by William Friedkin.The movie is based on the novel written by former Secret Service Agent Gerald Petievich, who co-wrote the screenplay with Friedkin.The picture stars William L. Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Turturro, John Pankow, and others. Wang Chung composed and performed the soundtrack.The film tells the story of how two U.S. Secret Service agents set out to arrest a counterfeiter, using any means necessary. The agents don't let the law stand in their way.Richard Chance (William Petersen) is a Secret Service agent for the U.S. Treasury with a reputation for reckless behavior.His partner, Jimmy Hart (Michael Greene) is days away from retirement, but takes on one last mission to investigate counterfeiter Rick Masters (Willem Dafoe). After Hart is killed by a Masters associate, Chance is...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090180
John Turturro was born
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