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Chris Evans to Lead Kassen Flick 'Puncture'

Broadway World - Found 17 hours ago
Also starring in the film are Vinessa Shaw, Mark Kassen, Brett Cullen, Jesse L. Martin, Michael Biehn, Kate Burton, Tess Parker, and Marshall...
Chris Evans to lead 'Puncture' - Digital Spy
Chris Evans feels a 'Puncture' - Monsters and Critics
Chris Evans Set for Puncture - MovieWeb
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Posted on March 17, 2010, 6:47 am

Casting Tidbits: Rose McGowan, Emma Stone & Many More

FirstShowing.net - Found Mar. 17, 2010
Chris Lopta wrote the film which also stars Vinessa Shaw , Mark Kassen (one half of the directing duo), Brett Cullen , Jesse L. Martin...

Posted on March 17, 2010, 4:43 am

'Bad' has been good for Bryan Cranston

Toledoblade.com - Found Mar. 10, 2010
... s Taylor Hackford's drama Love Ranch, with Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci, and the thriller Leave, which co-stars Ron Livingston and Vinessa Shaw.
Cranston celebrates its 100th birthday as a city - Providence Journal
EXCLUSIVE: Brian Cranston Talks Red Tails and John Carter of Mars - MovieWeb
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Posted on March 10, 2010, 7:01 am

50% Off Kinosmith DVDs

Bombippy - Found Feb. 3, 2010
Kinosmith also has L.A. Without A Map , directed by Mika Kaurismäki and starring avid Tennant, Vinessa Shaw, Julie Delpy, Vincent Gallo and...

Posted on February 3, 2010, 3:00 am

THE MOVIES OF 2009: PERSONAL BEST

Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule - Found Feb. 4, 2010
... young man (Joaquin Phoenix) makes emotional trade-offs between the likable and lovely daughter (Vinessa Shaw) of his father?s business...

Posted on February 4, 2010, 7:12 am

Only Two Lovers? I Call That A Slow Night

Big Thoughts From A Small Mind - Found Jan. 26, 2010
It is at this dinner where Leonard meets Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), the daughter of the man who wants to buy the dry cleaning business from...

Posted on January 26, 2010, 5:55 am

Turn down the lights for these stay-at-home Valentine's flicks

Metronews - Found Feb. 9, 2010
... loner (Joaquin Phoenix) sets his sights on a blonde goddess (Gwyneth Paltrow) while dismissing the affections of a family friend (Vinessa Shaw).

Posted on February 9, 2010, 10:58 am

If I Had a Ballot

MCN - Found Feb. 1, 2010
Penelope Cruz (Broken Embraces) Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) Vinessa Shaw (Two Lovers) Meryl Streep...

Posted on February 1, 2010, 4:31 am

My Top 21 Films of 2009 (OK, only #1 - 5 for now)

Nictate - Found Jan. 5, 2010
... musical underlining (from fado to Mancini), as well as terrific, unaffected performances by Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw.

Posted on January 5, 2010, 6:17 am

Two Lovers

New Zealand Herald - Found Jan. 13, 2010
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Isabella Rossellini, Elias Koteas, Moni Moshonov Director: James Gray Running time: 110...

Posted on January 13, 2010, 5:06 am

Vinessa Shaw Biography

Vinessa Shaw
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Vinessa Shaw
Born Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw
July 19, 1976 (1976-07-19) (age 33)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actress/Model
Years active 1981; 1991—present

Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw (born July 19, 1976) is an American actress and model. Shaw has starred in numerous motion pictures since the early 1990s, and is probably most well-known for her performances in Disney's 1993 Halloween film Hocus Pocus, the 2006 remake of Wes Craven's horror picture The Hills Have Eyes, as well as the 2008 romance film Two Lovers, in which she starred alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Contents

Childhood and early career

Shaw was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Larry Shaw and actress Susan Damante-Shaw (née Susan Jean Damante).12 Her family's original surname was "Schwartz".3 Her name, Vinessa, spelled with an "i" rather than the common "a', was a variation of her grandfather's name, Vincent.4 Shaw made her first formal performance in a UCLA acting camp short at age 10, and subsequently toured with children's folk singer Peter Alsop at age 11. She also signed on with the Elite Models agency in 1989 at the age of 13 before beginning her acting career,5 and did a few modeling jobs and commercial work throughout her earlier career.

Film career

Shaw made her film debut in a little-known-of 1981 slasher film called Home Sweet Home, which dealt with a serial killer at Thanksgiving time. She then landed parts in a handful of television roles. She played a considerably large role in Walt Disney's 1993 Halloween family film Hocus Pocus alongside Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, and a young Thora Birch. Shaw completed roles in various independent films for the remainder of the 1990s.

In 1999, she was cast in a small yet significant role by the legendary Stanley Kubrick in his final film Eyes Wide Shut, playing an HIV-positive prostitute who is encountered by Tom Cruise. In a 2008 interview, Shaw stated that director Kubrick was "very influential" to her and that he "was the first person who encouraged her to continue acting".6 Following her role in Eyes Wide Shut, Vinessa played parts in a handful of films including the independent 2000 mystery-drama The Weight of Water with Sarah Polley and Sean Penn; the slapstick comedy Corky Romano alongside Chris Kattan; the romantic comedy 40 Days and 40 Nights, playing the fiesty ex-girlfriend of Josh Hartnett; and a very small role in Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda.

More low budget and independent films consumed Shaw's time until 2006, where she returned to the big screen in Alexandre Aja's remake of Wes Craven's exploitation-horror film The Hills Have Eyes, playing a young mother on a camping trip with her family who is attacked by bloodthirsty mutants in the new mexico desert. Director Aja had wanted to cast her in the film after seeing her performance in Eyes Wide Shut. Asked why she wanted to act in a horror film, Shaw responded "Well, I guess I could be good in it since I'm so frightened of those kinds of concepts. But this one in particular really attracted me because of the filmmakers. I really thought that they had a great stance on it. Like it's very different, very heartfelt, and heartbreaking because of the characters involved. So that's kind of what made the difference. It was more of an actor's piece, if you can believe that, in a horror movie."7 Shaw was featured on the official one sheet promotion poster for the film,8 which was a box-office success.

Most recently, Vinessa has been seen in the 2007 remake of the classic Western film 3:10 to Yuma with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, the indie drama film Garden Party, as well as a leading role in Two Lovers alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008 and was released theatrically in February 2009.

Personal life

Shaw dated late actor Jonathan Brandis whom she met while filming Ladybugs in 1992, and later dated actor Oliver Hudson, brother of Kate Hudson and son of Goldie Hawn. She attended the famed Barnard College in New York, but dropped out to pursue acting. Shaw was attending the college when she was approached by Stanley Kubrick for her role in Eyes Wide Shut.

She is a practicing Nichiren Buddhist, she chants Nam Myoho Renge Kyo daily,9 and is a facilitator of the SGI-USA Buddhist Association for Peace, Culture, and Education.10 Shaw mentioned her practicing of the religion in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in February 2009. Shaw has been engaged to behind-the-scenes film artist Kristopher Gifford since 2008.4

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Other notes
1981 Home Sweet Home Angel Alternative title: Slasher in the House
1992 Ladybugs Kimberly Mullen
1993 Hocus Pocus Allison
1996 Coyote Summer Callie Carpenter
1998 L.A. Without a Map Barbara
1999 Eyes Wide Shut Domino
Wayward Son Cordelia
2000 The Weight of Water Anethe Christenson
2001 Corky Romano Agent Kate Russo
2002 40 Days and 40 Nights Nicole
2004 Melinda and Melinda Stacey
2004 Along came Polly
2006 The Hills Have Eyes Lynn Carter
2007 3:10 to Yuma Emmy
Badland Nora Rice
2008 Two Lovers Sandra Cohen
Garden Party Sally St. Claire
2009 Stag Night Brita
2010 Leave Amy post-production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1991 Long Road Home Clara Tarpin TV-Movie
1992 The Torkelsons Meredith Reed Episode: Sweat Not by the Moon
Great Scott! Carolyn Cole
1993 Fallen Angels Jeannie Streeter Episode: The Quiet Room
Country Estates Heather Calhoun TV-Pilot
1994 McKenna Cassidy McKenna Episode: Pilot
Murder, She Wrote Gloria Bryce Episode: Murder by Twos
1995 New York Undercover Teen Covergirl Episode: Young, Beautiful and Dead
2000 The '70s Eileen Wells Miniseries
2004 Bereft Molly TV-Movie
2005 Fathers and Sons Nell TV-Pilot
World of Trouble TV-Pilot

Awards and nominations

Screen Actors Guild Awards

  • 2008: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture" - 3:10 to Yuma

Young Artist Award

  • 1993: Nominated, "Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture" - Ladybugs
  • 1993: Nominated, "Best Young Actress Recurring in a Television Series" - Great Scott!
  • 1993: Nominated, "Best Young Actress Co-starring in a Motion Picture" - Ladybugs
  • 1994: Nominated, "Best Youth Actress Leading Role in a Motion Picture Comedy" - Hocus Pocus
  • 1995: Nominated, "Best Performance by a Youth Actress in a Drama Series" - McKenna
  • 1995: Nominated, "Best Performance By a Youth Actress as a Guest Star" - Murder, She Wrote

References

  1. ^ Vinessa Shaw Biography (1976-)
  2. ^ Vinessa Shaw Biography - Yahoo! Movies
  3. ^ "The Vanities Girls". Vanity Fair. 2009-01-12. http://www.vanityfair.com/fame/features/2007/05/vanities_portfolio200705?slide=1#globalNav. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
  4. ^ a b IMDB Bio- Vinessa Shaw
  5. ^ Yahoo! Movies Biography: Vinessa Shaw
  6. ^ Combustible Celluloid interview: Vinessa Shaw by Jeffrey M. Anderson. (retrieved 30 June 2009).
  7. ^ Radio Free.com interview with Vinessa Shaw and Dan Byrd of The Hills Have Eyes. 7 March 2006. (retrieved 29 June 2009)
  8. ^ IMP Awards Posters, 2006: The Hills Have Eyes
  9. ^ Vinessa Shaw talks Two Lovers; originally posted 6 February 2009
  10. ^ SGI-USA Members Resources (retrieved 30 June 2009)

External links