city Paris, county Franklin: Last News

Rita Gardner, an original cast member of the long-running Off Broadway phenomenon The Fantasticks, died Saturday of leukemia at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. She was 87.

Ben Croll If once lured for brief visits by the panoply of iconic locations, international projects now linger in France to claim a competitive tax rebate and set down roots to benefit from an ever-expanding production infrastructure. And so, fuelled by mammoth shoots like Apple TV+’s upcoming Benjamin Franklin in Paris limited series, “Franklin,” the Christian Dior-Coco Chanel bio-series “The New Look” and AMC’s “Walking Dead” spinoff “Raise the Dead,” foreign spending hit a record high last year, filling local coffers with slightly more than $1 billion and marking a 324% increase from 2019 numbers. “This is more than a post-pandemic rebound,” says France’s National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC) digital director Vincent Florant. “[The industry has undergone] rapid acceleration and exponential growth. Nowadays, we host the totality of these massive shoots, whereas before we only received a part, or even, in the most extreme cases, just a few days of postcard shooting at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.”

Michael Douglas was the spitting image of Benjamin Franklin as he filmed scenes for new biopic series Franklin in Paris on Wednesday.The Hollywood icon, 78, looked nearly unrecognizable as he sported long locks and a period costume to film scenes for the series - which depicts the 18th century political philosopher's story - on the banks of the River Seine.The Oscar winner, who is married to Catherine Zeta Jones, was joined by The Undoing star Noah Jupe, 17, on set, who plays his grandson and diplomat, William Temple Franklin.The Fatal Attraction star wore a costume of a homespun-looking coat, vest, and breeches in the scene.  Uncanny! Michael Douglas was the spitting image of Benjamin Franklin as he filmed scenes for new biopic series Franklin in Paris on Wednesday He bundled up in historically accurate scarves and gloves.Michael's wild locks were in keeping with Franklin's history,  he famously forewent a wig in America, but when visiting Europe, would don a hairpiece. Noah sported a similarly styled, but more fitted costume. The show by Apple TV+ tells the story of 'one of the greatest gambles of Benjamin Franklin's career'.

Donald Pippin, a celebrated and prolific musical director for Broadway and New York’s Radio City Music Hall and the last living recipient of the long-discontinued Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director – which he won for 1963’s Oliver! – died June 9 at the age of 95.

Bob Kaliban, a veteran voice actor and former president of the New York branch of the Screen Actors Guild, died December 12. He was 87.