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Hal Salwen is a Director and Scriptwriter American
Hal Salwen is an American film director, producer and writer.
"'Denise Calls Up' came to me during a time when I was frantically writing screenplays on spec - and anybody who has ever done it knows how tough and how isolating it is to be a freelancer. Now and then, I would call and talk to an old friend of mine over the phone as a break when my fingers would get tired. We'd talk about everything that had been going on in his life -- he'd been in love, out of love, he'd changed careers, gone back to school -- and then one day I was invited to a party in Brooklyn. When we finally met, I realized I hadn't actually seen him in three years. I went home and started playing with the idea of what it would be like if all the major events in a particular group of friend's lives happened between people who never met."
At the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, Salwen was named by Daily Variety as one of its "Top Ten Filmmakers To Watch" along with Mary Harron, Wes Anderson and Alfonso Cuaron, among others. Salwen's films have received numerous awards and nominations, with DENISE CALLS UP notable for being the only American film to win an award at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.
Source : Wikidata
Hal Salwen
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Biography
Based on a short film he made while attending NYU Film School, Salwen was accepted into the AFI Director's Internship Program where he was placed to observe Sylvester Stallone direct "STAYING ALIVE". Following that experience, he began a career in television commercials, working in various capacities, from production assistant to producer, while simultaneously writing several screenplays. Eventually, two of those screenplays—DEADLY SURVEILLANCE and PROBABLE CAUSE—found their way into production as made-for-cable movies for the Showtime Network. After subsequently having several of his spec scripts optioned by Hollywood studios, but never made, as well as working as an uncredited writer on several films, Salwen began work on smaller projects with the hope of directing. The first in that effort lead to his directorial debut, the film DENISE CALLS UP. He explains:"'Denise Calls Up' came to me during a time when I was frantically writing screenplays on spec - and anybody who has ever done it knows how tough and how isolating it is to be a freelancer. Now and then, I would call and talk to an old friend of mine over the phone as a break when my fingers would get tired. We'd talk about everything that had been going on in his life -- he'd been in love, out of love, he'd changed careers, gone back to school -- and then one day I was invited to a party in Brooklyn. When we finally met, I realized I hadn't actually seen him in three years. I went home and started playing with the idea of what it would be like if all the major events in a particular group of friend's lives happened between people who never met."
At the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, Salwen was named by Daily Variety as one of its "Top Ten Filmmakers To Watch" along with Mary Harron, Wes Anderson and Alfonso Cuaron, among others. Salwen's films have received numerous awards and nominations, with DENISE CALLS UP notable for being the only American film to win an award at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.
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Filmography of Hal Salwen (2 films)
Director
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His and Hers (1997)
, 1h22Directed by Hal Salwen
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Liev Schreiber, Michael Rispoli, Cynthia Watros, Danny Hoch, N'Bushe Wright, John Callahan
Rating53%
While chopping carrots in her suburban kitchen, a nervous housewife, Carol (Caroleen Feeney), accidentally chops off her husband Glenn's (Liev Schreiber) pinky, causing the detached finger to fly out the window and into the backyard. After chasing down the neighbor's dog, which has absconded with the errant digit, Carol eventually recovers it, But as the couple races to the hospital to have the finger reattached, Carol discovers that Glenn has been unfaithful. Indignant, she decides that she is not giving it back until Glenn confesses to the identity of his affair. After much hemming and hawing, Glenn eventually acknowledges that it is Pam (Cynthia Watros), who also just happens to be Carol's best friend. Incensed, Carol drives to Pam's house to confront her, only to raise the ire of Pam's husband, Nick (Michael Rispoli), who grabs the finger and runs off, planning to put it into a bank deposit machine.
Denise Calls Up (1995)
, 1h20Directed by Hal Salwen
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Timothy Daly, Liev Schreiber, Aida Turturro, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Sylvia Miles, Alanna Ubach
Rating65%
Linda (Aida Turturro) wakes up one morning to her ringing phone. Her friend, Gale (Dana Wheeler Nicholson) wants to know how her party went last night. To her dismay, Linda tells her that no one showed up. "Not a one." Thus begins Denise Calls Up, the story of seven friends living in New York City who no longer find it necessary to actually meet face to face due to the new age of the internet and wireless phones. But Gale is less upset about the absolute absenteeism, than about the fact that her friend Barbara (Caroleen Feeney) never got to meet Jerry (Liev Schreiber). Gale has been trying to set them up. So she calls Barbara, chastising her for not making it to Linda's and goading her into meeting Jerry. After protesting that she's just been too busy, Barbara eventually acquieces. Meanwhile, Denise (Alanna Ubach), who has gotten pregnant by an anonymous sperm insemination, locates the donor, Martin (Dan Gunther) and decides to call him. And so it goes, as the characters, via phone and fax, duck and miss each other time after time, using one excuse after the other to avoid meetings, births, and even a funeral until, finally, Frank (Tim Daly) determined to finally get everyone together, plans a New Year's Eve party. All swear that they will be there.
Scriptwriter
His and Hers (1997)
, 1h22Directed by Hal Salwen
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Liev Schreiber, Michael Rispoli, Cynthia Watros, Danny Hoch, N'Bushe Wright, John Callahan
Roles Writer
Rating53%
While chopping carrots in her suburban kitchen, a nervous housewife, Carol (Caroleen Feeney), accidentally chops off her husband Glenn's (Liev Schreiber) pinky, causing the detached finger to fly out the window and into the backyard. After chasing down the neighbor's dog, which has absconded with the errant digit, Carol eventually recovers it, But as the couple races to the hospital to have the finger reattached, Carol discovers that Glenn has been unfaithful. Indignant, she decides that she is not giving it back until Glenn confesses to the identity of his affair. After much hemming and hawing, Glenn eventually acknowledges that it is Pam (Cynthia Watros), who also just happens to be Carol's best friend. Incensed, Carol drives to Pam's house to confront her, only to raise the ire of Pam's husband, Nick (Michael Rispoli), who grabs the finger and runs off, planning to put it into a bank deposit machine.
Denise Calls Up (1995)
, 1h20Directed by Hal Salwen
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Timothy Daly, Liev Schreiber, Aida Turturro, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Sylvia Miles, Alanna Ubach
Roles Writer
Rating65%
Linda (Aida Turturro) wakes up one morning to her ringing phone. Her friend, Gale (Dana Wheeler Nicholson) wants to know how her party went last night. To her dismay, Linda tells her that no one showed up. "Not a one." Thus begins Denise Calls Up, the story of seven friends living in New York City who no longer find it necessary to actually meet face to face due to the new age of the internet and wireless phones. But Gale is less upset about the absolute absenteeism, than about the fact that her friend Barbara (Caroleen Feeney) never got to meet Jerry (Liev Schreiber). Gale has been trying to set them up. So she calls Barbara, chastising her for not making it to Linda's and goading her into meeting Jerry. After protesting that she's just been too busy, Barbara eventually acquieces. Meanwhile, Denise (Alanna Ubach), who has gotten pregnant by an anonymous sperm insemination, locates the donor, Martin (Dan Gunther) and decides to call him. And so it goes, as the characters, via phone and fax, duck and miss each other time after time, using one excuse after the other to avoid meetings, births, and even a funeral until, finally, Frank (Tim Daly) determined to finally get everyone together, plans a New Year's Eve party. All swear that they will be there.