Page 29 - Aruba Today

PEOPLE & ARTS A29
Dennis Quaid stars in auction-house drama ‘Art of More’
This image released by Sony Pictures Television shows Christian they always do.
Cooke, left, and Dennis Quaid in a scene from “The Art of
More,” a 10-episode series from the streaming video network
Crackle, premiering on Thursday. Associated Press
FRAZIER MOORE
AP Television Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP)
— Beautiful, rare and cost-
ly things can really get the
juices flowing. And never
more so than when offered
by a high-end auction
house, whose mission is to
trigger bloodlust among its
rival bidders.
“The Art of More” trades on
the glamour and greed that
drives this cut-throat world.
Starring Dennis Quaid and
Christian Cooke, it’s the first appetites and addictions
original drama series from
streaming network Crack-
le, where its full 10-episode
season, co-starring Kate
Bosworth and Cary Elwes,
premieres Thursday.
Quaid deploys his ras-
cally swagger in full force
as Samuel Brukner, a self-
made billionaire for whom
collecting is a game he re-
fuses to lose.
Bebe Neuwirth to join faculty
of Manhattan School of Music
MARK KENNEDY
AP Drama Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Bebe
Neuwirth is going back to
school — the Emmy and
Tony winner will be artistic
adviser at the Manhat-
tan School of Music’s new
bachelor’s degree pro-
gram in musical theater.
The program is only the
second musical theater
degree program in the U.S.
to be offered at an inde-
pendent conservatory. It
launches in fall 2016.
“He appreciates art,” says
Quaid, “but along with
collecting art, he collects
people. He accrues pow-
er. He can do anything he
wants, so he’s fun to play.”
Cooke plays Graham Con-
nor, a scrappy opportun-
ist who in the 1950s might
have been labeled a
Sammy Glick. Relentless in
his push to rise in the posh
auction world, Connor is
a charmer and a hustler
as he plays on collectors’
while struggling to hide his
rough-and-tumble past.
Cooke, who played a
squeaky-clean prosecu-
tor in Starz’ Miami Beach
drama “Magic City,” here
is quite the opposite: His
genuine love of art en-
compasses the art of steal-
ing it and bilking anyone
who gets in his way.
“All the characters are us-
Neuwirth won the Tony in
1997 for her portrayal of
jazz-age killer Velma Kelly
in “Chicago.” She returned
10 years later as merry mur-
deress Roxie Hart. She also
played Matron “Mama”
Morton, making history
as the first actress to play
all three female principal
parts.
Her other Broadway credits
include “The Addams Fam-
ily,” ‘’Fosse,” ‘’A Chorus
Line,” ‘’Sweet Charity” and
“Damn Yankees.” She also
Wednesday 18 November
ing each other to get what by Amedeo Modigliani report that, behind the
they want,” Cooke sums fetched $170 million. scenes, they get along
up. “They use one another “And there’s so much more great.
to get ahead.” than the money and the “I took him under my wing,”
Quaid, a veteran film theater of the auction,” says Quaid.
star, recently headlined says Cooke. “Our story is “Dennis has been great,”
CBS’ “Vegas” as crusty, about the smuggling of ille- Cooke declares.
upstanding Sheriff Ralph gal pieces from the Middle “The only advice I gave
Lamb. East, the trip down a rabbit you was ‘Keep out of my
Asked how it feels to move hole of corruption.” way,’” says Quaid, again
from a legacy broadcast As the story unfolds, Brukner flashing his saucy smile.
network to a digital outlet and Connor will by turns “And I also told you: ‘Nev-
for this new series, he says, clash and work in cahoots. er, never go outside with-
“The actual making of the But Quaid and Cooke out looking your best.’”q
show feels the same as
“But I love being part of
something new,” he adds.
“This is where everything is
going to go. There is where
the networks are going to
have to go, eventually. This
is what people want.”
Cooke observes that,
whatever the risk borne by
a startup series on a niche
network, “If the show is
good, it finds a voice and
an audience. In many
ways, doing an indepen-
dent film is more risky: You
make the film without a
distribution deal, without
knowing if it’s going into
festivals. With this series,
you know you’ve got the
platform.”
Asked if he was a habitue
of auctions, Quaid smiled:
“I went to a cattle auc-
tion one time. But I thought
this was a really interesting
world that I had never seen
in a drama before.”
It’s a world of high-stakes,
big-money action that,
Cooke notes, saw a Picas-
so sell a few months ago
for $179 million. Just last
week a painting of a nude
In this Oct. 7, 2015 file photo,
Bebe Neuwirth attends a
special screening of “Truth” at
The Museum of Modern Art in
New York. Associated Press
played Dr. Lilith Sternin in
“Cheers” and “Frasier.”q