The Gospel According to Abel Ferrara

About Me

This is not an official Abel Ferrara website. It is not maintained by Abel or anyone working for him. It is simply a space set up to celebrate, promote, and study the life and work of one of America's most notorious independent filmmakers. It's a labor of love and I hope that through it I can meet more fans of Ferrara's films and maybe help make some new ones.
Befriend the REAL Abel Ferrara at his official MySpace page: EVERYTHINGABEL.COM
This page is always being updated, so keep checking back for more on the films of Abel Ferrara, and watch the blog for all the latest news.
Abel Ferrara's bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , with some corrections and updated information:
Abel Ferrara (born July 19, 1951 in The Bronx) is an American movie screenwriter and director. He started out as a director by making amateur films on Super 8. In 1979, he first achieved recognition for directing and starring in The Driller Killer, a violent exploitation film about an artist who suffers a mental breakdown. His 1981 follow up, Ms. 45 was met with more positive reviews and helped to jump start his career. His theatrical releases through the rest of the decade included Fear City, China Girl, and Cat Chaser and were met with more mixed reviews while his career remained fairly stagnant despite the pictures larger budgets. The early 1990s are generally considered to be the golden period of his work. In 1990, King of New York was released to positive reaction from critics and viewers alike. He followed that up with Bad Lieutenant in 1992 to great critical praise, and although highly controversial upon its release for its unrelenting depiction of moral corruption, it is widely considered to be his finest work. After the successes of "King" and "Lieutenant", Ferrara tackled a remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Body Snatchers was met with lukewarm reviews. Also in 1993 Ferrara released Dangerous Game (aka Snake Eyes), his second outing with Keitel, which also starred Madonna and James Russo. Dangerous Game (also controversial) was met with mixed reviews. In 1995 he released The Addiction and The Funeral, both starring Christopher Walken. Since then, he has released The Blackout in 1997, and New Rose Hotel 1998 Ferrara's adaptation of the William Gibson short story. Ferrara's first film of the new millenium was 'R Xmas 2001 starring Ice-T. His latest film, Mary, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, 2005 and is being released in the US by IFC Films in 2007. He also currently has two films in production - Go Go Tales, and The Last Crew, which is to be a prequel to The King of New York, starring Michael Pitt and Jay-Z. Both are currently targeted for release in 2007.
Ferrara is noteworthy for setting the vast majority of his films in New York City. He has frequently collaborated Nicholas St. John, who has written many of his films and was a classmate of Ferrara's in highschool. His two collaborations with Zoe Lund (also known as ZoÃ« Tamerlis), who starred in Ms. 45 and wrote Bad Lieutenant (which she also appeared in), have forever linked Ferrara and Lund, who died in 1999. His work is suggested to be heavily influenced by Robert Bresson. Ferrara's films often feature religion, specifically Catholicism, as a prominent theme.
Abel Ferrara's page at The Internet Movie Database
MORE LINKS COMING SOON!

My Interests

I'd like to meet:

"Cast of characters"
(from the book Abel Ferrara, The King of New York , by Nick Johnstone, with some recent additions)
Victor Argo, actor - King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, Snake Eyes, The Funeral, 'R Xmas
Michael Barofsky, sound mixer - Bad Lieutenant, Snake Eyes, Body Snatchers
Bojan Bazelli, cinematographer - China Girl, King of New York, Body Snatchers
Paul Calderon, actor - The Home Invaders, King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, The Addiction
David Caruso, actor - Crime Story, China Girl, King of New York
Nichoas De Cegli, actor - Bad Lieutenant, The Addiction, The Funeral, The Blackout
Frank De Curtis, production designer - The Funeral, New Rose Hotel, 'R Xmas, Mary
Joe Delia, soundtrack composer/musician - Nine Lives of a Wet Pussycat, The Driller Killer, Ms. 45, Fear City, China Girl, King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, Body Snatchers, Snake Eyes, The Addiction, The Funeral, The Blackout
Nancy Ferrara, actor - Snake Eyes, The Blackout
Andrew Fiscella, actor - The Blackout, New Rose Hotel, 'R Xmas
Marla Hanson, screenwriter - Love on a Train, The Blackout
Paul Hipp, actor - China Girl, Bad Lieutenant, The Funeral
Nicholas St. John, screenwriter - The Driller Killer, Ms. 45, Fear City, China Girl, King of New York, Body Snatchers, Snake Eyes, The Addiction, The Funeral
Mary Kane, producer - Ms. 45, China Girl, King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, Snake Eyes, The Funeral
Harvey Keitel, actor - Bad Lieutenant, Snake Eyes
Ken Kelsch, cinematographer - The Driller Killer, Bad Lieutenant, Snake Eyes, The Addiction, The Funeral, The Blackout, New Rose Hotel, 'R Xmas
Simone Lageoles, script supervisor - New Rose Hotel, 'R Xmas
Charles M. Lagola, production designer - Bad Lieutenant, The Addiction, The Funeral
Zoe Lund, actor/writer (1962-1999) - Ms. 45, Bad Lieutenant
Drea de Matteo, actor - 'R Xmas, Go Go Tales
John Paul McIntyre, grip/sound technician, creative consultant - Ms. 45, China Girl, Cat Chaser, King of New York, Bad Lieutant, Body Snatchers, Snake Eyes, The Funeral, 'R Xmas
Scott Pardo, screenwriter - 'R Xmas, Mary, Go Go Tales
Edward R. Pressman, producer - Bad Lieutant, The Blackout, New Rose Hotel
Antony Redman, film editor - Fear City, China Girl, Cat Chaser, King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, Body Snatchers, Snake Eyes, The Blackout, New Rose Hotel
James Ruso, actor - China Girl, Snake Eyes
Randy Sabusawa, producer/actor/casting director - China Girls, Snake Eyes, Bad Lieutenant, The Funeral, Snake Eyes
Scholly D., rapper/composer - King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, The Blackout, New Rose Hotel, 'R Xmas
Annabella Sciorra, actor - The Addiction, The Funeral
Christopher Walken, actor - King of New York, The Addiction, New Rose Hotel
Christ Zois, screenwriter - The Blackout, New Rose Hotel
Please let me know of any additions, corrections, or ommissions, as I will be updating the above list as I get new information and as new projects emerge.

Movies:

The Last Crew (2007 - in production)
Go Go Tales (2007 - in production)
Mary (2005)
R Xmas (2001)
New Rose Hotel (1998)
The Blackout (1997)
The Funeral (1996)
The Addiction (1995)
Snake Eyes (aka Dangerous Game) (1993)
Body Snatchers (1993)
Bad Lieutenant (1992)
King of New York (1990)
Cat Chaser (1989)
China Girl (1987)
Fear City (1984)
Ms. 45 (aka Angel of Vengeance) (1981)
The Driller Killer (1979)
Not Guilty: For Keith Richards (1977 - short film, now lost)
Nine Lives of a Wet Pussycat (1976 - as Jimmy Boy L)
Could This Be Love? (1973 - short film)
The Hold Up (1972 - short film)
Nicky's Film (1971 - short film)
A Talent For Trouble (2007, actor)
Exes (2006, actor)
White Boy (2002, producer)
Odyssey In Rome (2005, Italy, dir. Alex Grazioli - documentary about the making of Mary)
There is No Direction (2005, France, dir. Sarah Bertland - documentary about filmmakers, featuring Ferrara)
Ã‰preuves d'artistes (Words in Progress) (2004, France, dir. S. Faure, G. Jacob - documentary on Cannes Film Festival, featuring Ferrara)
Buy Abel Ferrara movies at Deep Discount DVD
Search for movies at DVD Price Search
Rent his movies at Netflix
Rent his movies at Green Cine

Television:

Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty (2003, France, dir. Rafi Pitts - 85 minute episode of French tv series "CinÃ©ma, de notre temps")
SUBWAYStories: Tales from the Underground (1997 - segment, "Love on the A Train", HBO)
The Gladiator (1986, ABC)
Crime Story (1986 - pilot, NBC)
Miami Vice (1985 - two episodes, "The Dutch Oven" and "The Home Invaders", NBC)
Video for "California" by Mylene Farmer. Directed by Abel Ferrara, 1996

Books:

Abel Ferrara (Contemporary Film Directors) , by Nicole Brenez, scheduled for release January, 2007
Abell Ferrara, The Moral Vision , by Bradley Stevens, 2004
Abel Ferrara, The King of New York , by Nick Johnstone, 1999

My Blog

'Go Go Tales' website is up

No trailer yet, but the website is up,check it out. Also, befriend the Go Go Tales MySpace page and subscribe to the blog for all the latest news and reviews. ...
Posted by The Gospel According to Abel Ferrara on Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:28:00 PST

Press for 'Pericle il Nero'

..> http://www.timeout.com/film/news/1749.html Ferrara returns to 'Bad Lieutenant' Abel Ferrara will apparently 'revisit' the cult classic through new film 'Pericle il Nero'. Chris Tilly | Mar&nbs...
Posted by The Gospel According to Abel Ferrara on Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:17:00 PST

Go Go Tales is in production!

Several sources are reporting that Abel has begun production on his next feature, Go Go Tales. Here's some of the articles that have shown up online recently: www.cinematical.com: Ferrara's Go G...
Posted by The Gospel According to Abel Ferrara on Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:08:00 PST

Abel on YouTube: Interview at Sarajevo Film Festival

An interview with Abel made during the 12th Sarajevo Film Festival. From the TV show "Kuhinja", a weekly programe on the phenomena of contemporary culture, produced by pro.ba (www.pro.ba), a Sarajevo ...
Posted by The Gospel According to Abel Ferrara on Mon, 27 Nov 2006 02:17:00 PST

Pure Sleaze

For the time being at least, I have decided to call this blog "Pure Sleaze". I'm pretty sure that anyone reading this needs no explanation as to why that phrase seems appropriate in decribing th...
Posted by The Gospel According to Abel Ferrara on Sat, 23 Sep 2006 01:34:00 PST

This is an Abel Ferrara fanpage

As is stated at the top of the "About Me" section of the profile, this site is not affiliated with Abel Ferrara or any of his business interests. It is simple a fan site designed to celebrate, promote...
Posted by The Gospel According to Abel Ferrara on Sat, 23 Sep 2006 11:26:00 PST

Film Festival News: Seoul, Sarajevo

Mary has been screened at the Seoul Film Festival, which ended today. In August, Abel was honored at the Sarajevo Film Festival. From a festival press release: Under the auspices of the U.S. Emb...
Posted by The Gospel According to Abel Ferrara on Mon, 18 Sep 2006 09:00:00 PST