Andre Gregory
Biography: Gregory was born in Paris, France, in 1934 to Russian Jewish parents. He studied at Harvard University, where he was affiliated with Adams House. During the 1960s and 1970s, Gregory directed a number of avant-garde productions developed through ensemble collaboration, the most famous of which was Alice in Wonderland (1970), based on Lewis Carroll's two classic Alice books. He founded his own theatrical company, The Manhattan Project, in 1968. In 1975 he directed Our Late Night, the first produced play by Wallace Shawn, which began a long working relationship between the two men. Shortly afterward, Gregory's growing misgivings about the role of theatre in modern life, and what he felt was a trend toward fascism in the United States, led him to abruptly abandon theatre and leave the country. As described in the film My Dinner with Andre (1981), he traveled to Poland at director Jerzy Grotowski's invitation, where he developed a number of experimental theatrical events for private audiences. He spent several years in a variety of esoteric spiritual communities (such as Findhorn) developing an interest and practice in what could be called New Age beliefs. Although Gregory left the theatre in 1975, he has returned several times to direct small productions, usually for invited audiences. These included a long-running workshop of Uncle Vanya (adapted by David Mamet), which was developed from 1990 to 1994 and featured Shawn and Julianne Moore. Though never publicly performed, it was released as the film Vanya on 42nd Street by Gregory and Louis Malle. He appeared as himself, directing the play featured within the film. Gregory also directed a radio production of Shawn's play, The Designated Mourner, in 2002. He has had occasional film roles as a character actor, including John the Baptist in The Last Temptation of Christ and Reverend Spellgood in The Mosquito Coast, and as Dante, a restaurateur, alongside Rosanna Arquette, David Bowie, and Buck Henry in The Linguini Incident. His best-known film performance was as the title character in My Dinner with Andre (1981), directed by Louis Malle, in which he and Wallace Shawn, playing characters based on themselves, have a long conversation over dinner. They discuss Gregory's spiritual sojourn in Europe and his doubts about the future of theatre and of Western civilization in general. He appeared with Goldie Hawn in Protocol (1984). In 1988 he played the father in Some Girls, with Jennifer Connelly and Patrick Dempsey. In 1993, he performed in the movie Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone. Returning to theatre, Gregory directed Shawn's play Grasses of a Thousand Colors, which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in May 2009. He next worked with Shawn on a new version of Ibsen's The Master Builder. This resulted in the film Fear of Falling (2013), directed by Jonathan Demme. The film was retitled A Master Builder at its opening in New York in June 2014. In 2013, he directed Grasses of a Thousand Colors and The Designated Mourner, starring Shawn in a co-production between Theatre for a New Audience and The Public Theater in New York. A 2013 documentary about Gregory's life, Andre Gregory: Before and After Dinner, was directed by his wife, Cindy Kleine. He and Kleine discussed it on the May 3, 2013, episode of Charlie Rose.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: May 11, 1934
Deathday: N/A
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Known For
The Mosquito Coast
1986-11-26
The Mosquito Coast
Overview: Allie Fox, an American inventor exhausted by the perceived danger and degradation of modern society, decides to escape with his wife and children to Belize. In the jungle, he tries with mad determination to create a utopian community with disastrous results.
Genres: Drama Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-11-26
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Some Girls
1988-09-09
Some Girls
Overview: While on Christmas break, college student Michael journeys to Quebec City to spend time with his attractive girlfriend, Gabriella. Not long after he arrives, Gabriella breaks up with him, but her two equally gorgeous sisters waste no time showing romantic interest. In the meantime, Michael is left to deal with Gabriella's eccentric grandmother and offbeat father, an academic who spends most of his time naked.
Genres: Comedy Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-09-09
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My Dinner with Andre
1981-10-11
My Dinner with Andre
Overview: Wally, a struggling playwright and actor, reluctantly agrees to catch up with his old friend Andre, a theater director who disappeared several years prior in order to travel the world. Meeting at a posh Manhattan restaurant, the two share life stories, anecdotes and philosophical musings over the course of an evening meal.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1981-10-11
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Celebrity
1998-09-07
Celebrity
Overview: The career and personal life of writer Lee are at a standstill, so he divorces his bashful wife, Robin, and dives into a new job as an entertainment journalist. His assignments take him to the swankiest corners of Manhattan, but as he jumps from one lavish party to another and engages in numerous empty romances, he starts to doubt the worth of his work. Meanwhile, top TV producer Tony falls for Robin and introduces her to the world of celebrity.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1998-09-07
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The Linguini Incident
1991-05-01
The Linguini Incident
Overview: A waitress, a barman and an underwear designer try to rob the New York restaurant where two of them work.
Genres: Comedy Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-05-01
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The Soldier's Tale
1984-01-01
The Soldier's Tale
Overview: A soldier, returning home from war, chances upon a stranger who offers to buy his violin. The stranger is none other than the devil.
Genres: Animation
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-01-01
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Andre Gregory: Before and After Dinner
2013-04-03
Andre Gregory: Before and After Dinner
Overview: BEFORE AND AFTER DINNER is an exploration of the life and work of Andre Gregory, groundbreaking director, actor, artist, and raconteur, filmed by prize-winning documentarian Cindy Kleine, his wife. Through her close-up lens, Cindy introduces us to this cultural icon and master storyteller, and tells the unusual story of a good marriage that thrives in collaboration, art, and humor, celebrating the great vitality of the later years in life. The film touches on universal questions. Where does art come from? What experiences shape the life, the preoccupations, and the work of an artist? Drawing on the work Andre has created over a lifetime, and exploring the nature of the life that underlies the work, BEFORE AND AFTER DINNER is about how and why artists create.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-04-03
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Last Summer in the Hamptons
1995-11-22
Last Summer in the Hamptons
Overview: Helena Mora, the head of an eccentric theatrical family, has decided to sell her large estate in the Hamptons because of her recent money troubles. Before she completes the sale, she wants to have one last gathering of family and friends, with dramatic performances. Bringing everyone together, though, creates rivalries and tension, especially for Oona, a temperamental but successful movie actress who seeks the approval of her creative peers.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-11-22
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A Master Builder
2014-07-23
A Master Builder
Overview: A successful, ego-maniacal architect who has spent a lifetime bullying his wife, employees and mistresses wants to make peace as his life approaches its final act.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2014-07-23
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André Gregory and Wallace Shawn
2009-03-02
André Gregory and Wallace Shawn
Overview: In this hour-long piece, recorded in 2009, filmmaker Noah Baumbach talks with his friends the writer-actors André Gregory and Wallace Shawn about their experiences making My Dinner with Andre. Baumbach speaks first with Gregory, and then with Shawn.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-03-02
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Alice in Wonderland
1983-10-03
Alice in Wonderland
Overview: From the elaborate Broadway revival of the 1932 Eva Le Gallienne/Florida Friebus production comes a whimsical retelling of the Lewis Carroll classic.
Genres: Fantasy Adventure Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1983-10-03
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Vanya on 42nd Street
1994-10-19
Vanya on 42nd Street
Overview: An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 1899 play "Uncle Vanya" played out by a company of actors. The setting is their run down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest of breaks to move props or for refreshments. The lack of costumes, real props and scenery is soon forgotten.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1994-10-19
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Demolition Man
1993-10-08
Demolition Man
Overview: Simon Phoenix, a violent criminal cryogenically frozen in 1996, escapes during a parole hearing in 2032 in the utopia of San Angeles. Police are incapable of dealing with his violent ways and turn to his captor, who had also been cryogenically frozen after being wrongfully accused of killing 30 innocent people while apprehending Phoenix.
Genres: Crime Action Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1993-10-08
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The Shadow
1994-07-01
The Shadow
Overview: Based on the 1930's comic strip, puts the hero up against his arch enemy, Shiwan Khan, who plans to take over the world by holding a city to ransom using an atom bomb. Using his powers of invisibility and "The power to cloud men's minds", the Shadow comes blazing to the city's rescue with explosive results.
Genres: Fantasy Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1994-07-01
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Protocol
1984-12-21
Protocol
Overview: A Washington waitress saves the Emir of Ohtar's life, launching her diplomatic career and a scandal.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-12-21
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Street Smart
1987-03-20
Street Smart
Overview: A New York journalist lies when his fake story about a pimp describes a real pimp up for murder.
Genres: Thriller Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-03-20
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Goodbye Lover
1999-04-16
Goodbye Lover
Overview: Police investigate when a man having an affair with his brother's wife disappears suddenly.
Genres: Thriller Comedy Crime Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1999-04-16
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The Last Temptation of Christ
1988-05-28
The Last Temptation of Christ
Overview: Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter beginning to see that he is the son of God, is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas -- despite his protestations that love, not violence, is the path to salvation. The burden of being the savior of mankind torments Jesus throughout his life, leading him to doubt.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-05-28
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The Bonfire of the Vanities
1990-12-21
The Bonfire of the Vanities
Overview: After his mistress runs over a black teen, a Wall Street hotshot sees his life unravel in the spotlight; A down-and-out reporter breaks the story and opportunists clamber to use it to their advantage.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-12-21
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Follies: In Concert
1986-03-14
Follies: In Concert
Overview: A backstage documentary film including footage from the legendary 1985 concert performance of Stephen Sondheim's classic musical at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. The plot of the musical centers around a reunion of showgirls who appeared in an annual Follies extravaganza when it was staged between the wars.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-03-14
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Location Production Footage: The Last Temptation of the Christ
1988-10-07
Location Production Footage: The Last Temptation of the Christ
Overview: Behind the scenes of 'The Last Temptation of the Christ'
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-10-07
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Author! Author!
1982-06-18
Author! Author!
Overview: A broadway playwright is burning the candle at both ends. He is dealing with pressure from a production nearing premiere, a wife who is leaving him, and 5 children 4 of which belong to her.
Genres: Comedy Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-06-18
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Who Is Henry Jaglom?
1997-07-08
Who Is Henry Jaglom?
Overview: Hailed by some as a cinematic genius, a feminist voice and a true maverick of American cinema, dismissed by others as a voyeuristic fraud and the "world's worst director," Henry Jaglom obsessively confuses and abuses the line between life and art. Featuring scores of interviews (including Orson Welles, Dennis Hopper, Milos Forman and Peter Bogdanovich) and rare behind-the-scenes footage, this hilarious documentary explores the fascinating question of Who Is Henry Jaglom?
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-07-08
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Always … But Not Forever
1985-10-04
Always … But Not Forever
Overview: A middle-aged couple, on the verge of proceeding with a divorce, find themselves questioning their decision to separate when fellow friends and neighbors, oblivious to their marital troubles, assemble at their house for a 4th of July Weekend party.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-10-04
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Hudson River Blues
1997-12-12
Hudson River Blues
Overview: Hoping to help their marriage, a Manhattan lawyer (Rya Kihlstedt) brings her burned-out husband (Robert Stanton) to her mother's home upstate.
Genres: Romance Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-12-12
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