NEWS (February 7th, 2009):

I KNEW IT WAS YOU is Richard Shepard's new documentary about actor John Cazale, who performed in only five films before he passed away from cancer at age 42. Those films were The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II (as Fredo), The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter, all of which were nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The documentary features interviews with many Cazale friends, fans, and collaborators, including Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Gene Hackman, Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Rockwell, and Steve Buscemi. HBO has picked up the rights to the doc, and it made its official debut at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival!

Here are links to some choice press on the film:

  • eFilmCritic - Fredo Lives (January 21, 2009)

  • 2009 Sundance Film Festival - Short Shot: The Labor of Love Behind I Knew It Was You (January 15, 2009)

  • Los Angeles Times - Sundance Buzz: A documentary about an actor's actor (January 13, 2009)

  • Realscreen - Sundance short reveals little known icon (January 21, 2009)

  • Movie City News - Talking future now with Richard Shepard (January 19, 2009)

    THE HUNTING PARTY is now available on DVD. The film, written and directed by Richard Shepard, is a dark comedy about a team of journalists that attempt to hunt down an alleged Bosnian war criminal. The cast includes Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Diane Kruger, Joy Bryant, Jesse Eisenberg, Dylan Baker, James Brolin, and many Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian actors. The film made its premiere at the prestigious Venice International Film Festival prior to its regular release. Watch the trailer on YouTube or at Yahoo! Movies.

    Richard recently wrapped up directing duties on the pilot episode of IN THE MOTHERHOOD for ABC. Cheryl Hines and Megan Mullally star on the show, which is adapted from the successful web series of the same name. Richard previously directed the pilot for THE BAD MOTHER'S HANDBOOK, with the same creative team (Jennifer Konner and Alexandra Rushfield), and featuring Alicia Silverstone, Megan Mullally, and Alia Shawkat.

    Richard directed Episode 210 of NBC's 30 ROCK that aired on January 10th. Americans, you can watch the episode online at NBC's website. The entire second season of 30 ROCK is now available on DVD and well worth checking out.

    Congratulations to Richard Shepard, recipient of this year's Emmy Award for Best Directing for a Comedy Series! Shepard received the award for his work on the pilot episode of UGLY BETTY.

    Richard Shepard has won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Comedy Series for his direction of the pilot episode of UGLY BETTY.

    THE MATADOR is now available on DVD, so order the Widescreen DVD or Fullscreen DVD today. Richard Shepard's latest writing and directing effort stars Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Philip Baker Hall, Adam Scott, and Dylan Baker. The film was shot over 40 days in Mexico City and was produced by Pierce Brosnan & Beau St. Clair (Irish Dreamtime) and Sean & Bryan Furst (Furst Films). Pierce Brosnan's official website has some behind-the-scenes photos from the shoot. (For anybody wondering about all the mustaches, many of the gentlemen working on the movie decided to grow them in solidarity with Mr. Brosnan, whose character sports a mustache.) THE MATADOR premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and walked away with great reviews and a $7.5 million deal with Miramax Films and The Weinstein Company, which picked up the North American distribution rights to the movie. The film's festival travels also garnered Richard an award for Best Director at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Visit the official website for THE MATADOR and read Richard Shepard's notes on the film's soundtrack release.

    Richard Shepard: "Congrats are in order to Silvio, Teri, Ben, Salma, Pepe and the entire cast and crew of Ugly Betty, that got picked up by ABC for the fall schedule. Success could not happen to a nicer group of people!" Richard directed the pilot of Ugly Betty, the hit hourlong comedy/drama starring America Fererra (of Real Women Have Curves and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) as a plain young woman who is hired on at a fashion magazine. The show, written by Silvio Horta, is based on a Columbian soap opera and is being executive produced by Horta, Ben Silverman, Jose Tamez, and Salma Hayek. Ugly Betty airs on Thursdays on ABC and has been picked up for a full season.

    Check out a video interview that Richard did with ThinkTalk.com at the time of the release of THE MATADOR.

    Richard has written a great article for the Fall 2005 issue of Filmmaker Magazine titled Escape From Movie Jail. Click on the title to read it online, or pick up a copy of the publication at a newsstand near you.

    A Bill Clinton interview in The American Prospect offers an interesting mention of OXYGEN:

    When Sylvia Plachy and I walked into Bill Clinton's Harlem office around 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 8, the former president was courteous to me, but he was more interested in telling Sylvia -- who, aside from being a world-renowned photographer, is the mother of Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody -- that he'd enjoyed The Pianist, but he'd also recently rented and loved Oxygen, a 1999 thriller in which Brody played a kidnapper. How Clinton pulled that one out we didn't ask; we just took it as a quick reminder that there is such a thing as a president with broad intellectual and cultural interests, and got down to business. - Michael Tomasky

    An interview with Richard Shepard (at JackassCritics.com). Well worth the read.

    Website-related questions, comments, and additions can be directed to: webmaster (at) richardshepard.com

    E-mail for Richard Shepard can be sent to this address: SaltyShep (at) aol.com