Adrienne Shelly
Encyclopedia
Adrienne Shelly was an American
actress, director
and screenwriter
. Making her name in independent films such as 1989's The Unbelievable Truth
and 1990's Trust, Shelly transitioned to a writing and directing career in subsequent years. She wrote, co-starred in, and directed the 2007 film Waitress
, which won five awards, including the Jury Prize at the Sarasota Film Festival for narrative feature, and the Audience and Feature Film awards at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
, New York
, to Sheldon M. Levine and Elaine Langbaum. She had two brothers, Jeff and Mark, and was raised on Long Island
. She began performing when she was about 10 at Stagedoor Manor
Performing Arts Training Center. She made her professional debut in a summer stock
production of the musical Annie
while a student at Jericho High School
in Jericho, New York
. She went on to Boston University
, majoring in film production, but dropped out after her junior year and moved to Manhattan
.
maker Hal Hartley
as the lead in The Unbelievable Truth
(1989) and Trust (1990). Trust was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival
, where Hartley's script tied for the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.
She appeared in a number of films during the 1990s, and as she segued toward a behind-the-camera career she wrote and directed others, including 1999's I'll Take You There, in which she appeared along with Ally Sheedy
. She won a U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
Film Discovery Jury Award in 2000 for direction of the film, and Prize of the City of Setúbal: Special Mention, at the Festróia (Tróia International Film Festival) held in Setúbal
, Portugal
for best director.
Shelly also guest-starred in a number of television series including Law & Order
, Oz
and Homicide: Life on the Street
. She played major roles in over two dozen off-Broadway
plays, often at Manhattan's Workhouse Theater. In 2005 she appeared in the film Factotum
starring Matt Dillon
. Her last known work was writing, directing, co-set- and costume-designing, and playing a supporting role in the film Waitress, starring Keri Russell
and Nathan Fillion
, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
. Shelley's daughter, Sophie has cameo at the end of the film.
after her late father's given name
, was married to Andrew Ostroy, the chairman and CEO of the marketing firm Belardi/Ostroy. They had a daughter, Sophie (born 2003), who was two years old at the time of her mother's death. Shelly described herself as an "optimistic agnostic."
's West Village that Shelly used as an office. It initially appeared to be a suicide. Ostroy had dropped her off at 9:30 a.m. that day, and as the building's doorman
told journalists that he had accompanied Ostroy at his behest after Ostroy had not heard from Shelley that day. Upon reaching the apartment, they found that the front door was unlocked.
An autopsy
was performed the following day. The New York City Police Department
was suspicious of sneaker prints in the bathtub that did not match Shelly's shoes (she was found wearing only socks). Shelly's husband also indicated that there was money missing from Shelly's wallet. He denied allegations that she would have committed suicide.
Press reports on November 6, 2006 stated that police had arrested construction worker
Diego Pillco, a 19-year-old Ecuador
ian undocumented immigrant
who confessed to killing Shelly after she complained about the noise he was making in the apartment below hers. Pillco said that he "was having a bad day". Police said Pillco had made a taped confession implicating himself in the murder.
Diego Pillco entered his guilty plea on February 14, 2008. He said that, contrary to his original story, Shelly had not complained about noise, but had in fact caught him stealing money from her purse after he slipped unnoticed into the apartment. When she tried to call the police, he grabbed the phone and covered her mouth as she began to scream. After Shelly fell, Pillco tied a bed sheet around her neck and decided to strangle her. Originally, Pillco claimed he didn't know Shelly was still alive when he hanged her, but in court he admitted to choking her with a sheet, tying it around her neck and stringing her up to make it look like she committed suicide. The medical examiner determined that Shelly was still alive when hanged. Pillco was sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole on March 6, 2008.
At Pillco's sentencing on March 13, 2008, Shelly's husband, along with family members said that they would never forgive him. Andy Ostroy said of Pillco "...you are nothing more than a coldblooded killer" and that he hoped he would "rot in jail".
In remembering Shelly, Ostroy said that "Adrienne was the kindest, warmest, most loving, generous person I knew. She was incredibly smart, funny and talented, a bright light with an infectious laugh and huge smile that radiated inner and outer beauty... she was my best friend, and the person with whom I was supposed to grow old".
. Ostroy is considering an appeal.
, Women in Film, IFP, AFI
, Sundance Institute
, Tribeca Film Institute and the Nantucket Film Festival
. One of its grant recipients, Cynthia Wade, won an Academy Award in 2008 for Freeheld, a short subject documentary which the Foundation helped fund. As part of its annual awards, the Women Film Critics' Circle gives the Adrienne Shelly Award to the film that "most passionately opposes violence against women".
On February 16, 2007, the NBC
crime drama series Law & Order
broadcast an episode, "Melting Pot", that was a thinly-veiled dramatization of Shelly's murder. Shelly herself had guest-starred on the show in the 2000 episode "High & Low."
Shelly's film, Waitress
, had been accepted into the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
before her murder. The film, starring Keri Russell
, Nathan Fillion
, Cheryl Hines
, Jeremy Sisto
, Andy Griffith
and Shelly herself, was bought during the festival by Fox Searchlight Pictures
for an amount between $4 million and $5 million (news accounts on the actual amount vary), and the film realized a final box-office draw of more than $19 million. Waitress maintains an 89% "fresh" rating and a 97% "Top Critics" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
.
Waitress and its cast have together won five film awards and received other nominations in various categories, including a Chlotrudis Award
for best performance by an ensemble cast; Audience award for a feature film at the Newport Beach Film Festival
, where cast member Nathan Fillion
also received a Feature Film award for his role in the film; the Jury Prize at the Sarasota Film Festival
for narrative feature; the Wyatt Award by the Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards; and nominations for a Humanitas Prize
and an Independent Spirit Award for best screenplay.
Ostroy produced Serious Moonlight
, a film written by Shelly and directed by Hines. The film stars Meg Ryan
, Timothy Hutton
, Kristen Bell
and Justin Long
. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival
in April 2009 and was released later that year in December. In one scene of the film, a married couple are robbed and tied up with duct tape by a gardener.
Ostroy also spearheaded a move to establish a memorial to his wife. On August 3, 2009, the Adrienne Shelly Garden was dedicated on the Southeast side of Abingdon Square Park
in NYC at 8th and 12th. It faces 15 Abingdon Square, the building where Shelly died.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. Making her name in independent films such as 1989's The Unbelievable Truth
The Unbelievable Truth (film)
The Unbelievable Truth is a 1989 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Hal Hartley, starring Adrienne Shelly and Robert John Burke. It was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize in 1990 at the Sundance Film Festival. The region 1 DVD was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment on March 11,...
and 1990's Trust, Shelly transitioned to a writing and directing career in subsequent years. She wrote, co-starred in, and directed the 2007 film Waitress
Waitress (film)
Waitress is a 2007 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Adrienne Shelly, who also appears in a supporting role. The film debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and went into limited theatrical release in the US on May 2, 2007.-Plot:...
, which won five awards, including the Jury Prize at the Sarasota Film Festival for narrative feature, and the Audience and Feature Film awards at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
Early life
Of Russian Jewish descent, Shelly was born Adrienne Levine in QueensQueens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, to Sheldon M. Levine and Elaine Langbaum. She had two brothers, Jeff and Mark, and was raised on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. She began performing when she was about 10 at Stagedoor Manor
Stagedoor Manor
Stagedoor Manor is a performing arts summer camp located in Loch Sheldrake, New York. Over the past 36 years, it has trained thousands of young actors, many of whom have gone on to success in film, television, and theatre....
Performing Arts Training Center. She made her professional debut in a summer stock
Summer Stock
For the article about the theatre genre, see Summer stock theatre.Summer Stock is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical made in 1950. The film was directed by Charles Walters and stars Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers...
production of the musical Annie
Annie (musical)
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...
while a student at Jericho High School
Jericho High School
Jericho High School is an American high school in the hamlet of Jericho in Nassau County, New York. It is the only high school in the Jericho Union Free School District. It opened in 1959.-Academics:...
in Jericho, New York
Jericho, New York
Jericho is a hamlet in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the CDP population was 13,567. The area is served by the Jericho Union Free School District, the boundaries of which differ somewhat from those of the hamlet...
. She went on to Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, majoring in film production, but dropped out after her junior year and moved to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
Career
Shelly's career breakthrough came when she was cast by independent filmIndependent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
maker Hal Hartley
Hal Hartley
Hal Hartley is an American film director, screenwriter, producer composer, who became a key figure in the American independent film movement of the 1980s and 1990s...
as the lead in The Unbelievable Truth
The Unbelievable Truth (film)
The Unbelievable Truth is a 1989 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Hal Hartley, starring Adrienne Shelly and Robert John Burke. It was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize in 1990 at the Sundance Film Festival. The region 1 DVD was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment on March 11,...
(1989) and Trust (1990). Trust was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, where Hartley's script tied for the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.
She appeared in a number of films during the 1990s, and as she segued toward a behind-the-camera career she wrote and directed others, including 1999's I'll Take You There, in which she appeared along with Ally Sheedy
Ally Sheedy
Alexandra Elizabeth "Ally" Sheedy is an American film and stage actress, as well as the author of two books. She is best known for her roles in the Brat Pack films The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire.-Early life:...
. She won a U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
The Comedy Festival, formerly known as the US Comedy Arts Festival, is a comedy festival held each year in Las Vegas, Nevada. From its 1985 inception to 2007, it was held annually at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Colorado...
Film Discovery Jury Award in 2000 for direction of the film, and Prize of the City of Setúbal: Special Mention, at the Festróia (Tróia International Film Festival) held in Setúbal
Setúbal
Setúbal is the main city in Setúbal Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 172.0 km² and a total population of 118,696 inhabitants in the municipality. The city proper has 89,303 inhabitants....
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
for best director.
Shelly also guest-starred in a number of television series including Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, Oz
Oz (TV series)
Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
and Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
. She played major roles in over two dozen off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
plays, often at Manhattan's Workhouse Theater. In 2005 she appeared in the film Factotum
Factotum (film)
Factotum is a 2005 film directed by Bent Hamer, adapted from the novel of the same name by Charles Bukowski. The script also makes use of poems published in What Matters Is How Well You Walk Through the Fire and The Days Run Aways Like Horses Over the Hill as well as some of Bukowski's notebook...
starring Matt Dillon
Matt Dillon
Matthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon is an American actor and film director. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.- Early life :...
. Her last known work was writing, directing, co-set- and costume-designing, and playing a supporting role in the film Waitress, starring Keri Russell
Keri Russell
Keri Lynn Russell is an American actress and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the series Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002, and for which she won a Golden Globe...
and Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion is a Canadian actor, currently starring as Richard Castle on the ABC series Castle. He is also known for his portrayal of the lead role of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the television series Firefly and its feature film continuation, Serenity.He has acted in traditionally distributed...
, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
2007 Sundance Film Festival
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
. Shelley's daughter, Sophie has cameo at the end of the film.
Personal life
Shelly, who took her professional surnameSurname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
after her late father's given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
, was married to Andrew Ostroy, the chairman and CEO of the marketing firm Belardi/Ostroy. They had a daughter, Sophie (born 2003), who was two years old at the time of her mother's death. Shelly described herself as an "optimistic agnostic."
Murder
The 40-year old Shelly was found dead at approximately 5:45 p.m on November 1, 2006. Her husband, Andrew Ostroy, found her hanging by a bed sheet from a shower rod in the bathtub of the Abingdon Square apartment in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's West Village that Shelly used as an office. It initially appeared to be a suicide. Ostroy had dropped her off at 9:30 a.m. that day, and as the building's doorman
Doorman (profession)
A doorman is an individual hired to provide courtesy and security services at a residential building or hotel. They are particularly common in urban luxury highrises. At a residential building, a doorman is responsible for opening doors and screening visitors and deliveries...
told journalists that he had accompanied Ostroy at his behest after Ostroy had not heard from Shelley that day. Upon reaching the apartment, they found that the front door was unlocked.
An autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
was performed the following day. The New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
was suspicious of sneaker prints in the bathtub that did not match Shelly's shoes (she was found wearing only socks). Shelly's husband also indicated that there was money missing from Shelly's wallet. He denied allegations that she would have committed suicide.
Press reports on November 6, 2006 stated that police had arrested construction worker
Construction worker
A construction worker or builder is a professional, tradesman, or labourer who directly participates in the physical construction of infrastructure.-Construction trades:...
Diego Pillco, a 19-year-old Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
ian undocumented immigrant
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
who confessed to killing Shelly after she complained about the noise he was making in the apartment below hers. Pillco said that he "was having a bad day". Police said Pillco had made a taped confession implicating himself in the murder.
Diego Pillco entered his guilty plea on February 14, 2008. He said that, contrary to his original story, Shelly had not complained about noise, but had in fact caught him stealing money from her purse after he slipped unnoticed into the apartment. When she tried to call the police, he grabbed the phone and covered her mouth as she began to scream. After Shelly fell, Pillco tied a bed sheet around her neck and decided to strangle her. Originally, Pillco claimed he didn't know Shelly was still alive when he hanged her, but in court he admitted to choking her with a sheet, tying it around her neck and stringing her up to make it look like she committed suicide. The medical examiner determined that Shelly was still alive when hanged. Pillco was sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole on March 6, 2008.
At Pillco's sentencing on March 13, 2008, Shelly's husband, along with family members said that they would never forgive him. Andy Ostroy said of Pillco "...you are nothing more than a coldblooded killer" and that he hoped he would "rot in jail".
In remembering Shelly, Ostroy said that "Adrienne was the kindest, warmest, most loving, generous person I knew. She was incredibly smart, funny and talented, a bright light with an infectious laugh and huge smile that radiated inner and outer beauty... she was my best friend, and the person with whom I was supposed to grow old".
Suit against construction company
Shelly's husband sued contractor, Bradford General Contractors, which had hired Pillco. The complaint alleged that Shelly would still be alive if the contracting firm had not hired Pillco. Ostroy also sought to hold the owners and management of the building liable for Shelley's murder. According to a New York Post article, among other allegations, the complaint stated that Pillco was an undocumented immigrant...' as were his co-workers, and that "it was in Bradford General Contractors' interest not to have 'police and immigration officials [called] to the job site' because that would have ground their work to a halt". On July 7, 2011, the lawsuit was dismissed by Judge Louis York. The court determined that Ostroy had not established legal grounds to hold the contractor liable, writing "While this court sympathizes with [Ostroy's] loss, plaintiffs have not presented sufficient legal grounds upon which to hold Bradford ... liable for Pillco's vicious crime", and that there was likewise insufficient evidence presented to find that either the building's management agents or its owners "had reason to believe that Pillco was a dangerous person who should not have been allowed to work at the premises" in order to find them vicariously liableVicarious liability
Vicarious liability is a form of strict, secondary liability that arises under the common law doctrine of agency – respondeat superior – the responsibility of the superior for the acts of their subordinate, or, in a broader sense, the responsibility of any third party that had the "right, ability...
. Ostroy is considering an appeal.
Legacy
Following his wife's death, Ostroy established the Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization that awards scholarships, production grants, finishing funds and living stipends through its partnerships with academic and filmmaking institutions NYU, Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Women in Film, IFP, AFI
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
, Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 that actively advances the work of filmmakers and storytellers worldwide...
, Tribeca Film Institute and the Nantucket Film Festival
Nantucket Film Festival
The Nantucket Film Festival is a film festival founded in 1996 to promote the cultural awareness and appreciation of the art of screenwriting in the world of cinema. Nantucket Film Festival screens a world-class program of independent, studio-produced, foreign, documentary, and short films in every...
. One of its grant recipients, Cynthia Wade, won an Academy Award in 2008 for Freeheld, a short subject documentary which the Foundation helped fund. As part of its annual awards, the Women Film Critics' Circle gives the Adrienne Shelly Award to the film that "most passionately opposes violence against women".
On February 16, 2007, the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
crime drama series Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
broadcast an episode, "Melting Pot", that was a thinly-veiled dramatization of Shelly's murder. Shelly herself had guest-starred on the show in the 2000 episode "High & Low."
Shelly's film, Waitress
Waitress (film)
Waitress is a 2007 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Adrienne Shelly, who also appears in a supporting role. The film debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and went into limited theatrical release in the US on May 2, 2007.-Plot:...
, had been accepted into the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
2007 Sundance Film Festival
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
before her murder. The film, starring Keri Russell
Keri Russell
Keri Lynn Russell is an American actress and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the series Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002, and for which she won a Golden Globe...
, Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion is a Canadian actor, currently starring as Richard Castle on the ABC series Castle. He is also known for his portrayal of the lead role of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the television series Firefly and its feature film continuation, Serenity.He has acted in traditionally distributed...
, Cheryl Hines
Cheryl Hines
Cheryl Ruth Hines is an American actress and director, known for her role as Larry David's wife Cheryl on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. She currently appears on the ABC sitcom Suburgatory...
, Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Merton Sisto is an American actor. Sisto has had recurring roles as Billy Chenowith on the HBO series Six Feet Under and Detective Cyrus Lupo on Law & Order on television and also starred in the films Jesus, Clueless and Thirteen.-Early life:Sisto was born in Grass Valley, California, the...
, Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
and Shelly herself, was bought during the festival by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight Pictures, established in 1998, is a film division of Fox Filmed Entertainment alongside the larger Fox studio 20th Century Fox...
for an amount between $4 million and $5 million (news accounts on the actual amount vary), and the film realized a final box-office draw of more than $19 million. Waitress maintains an 89% "fresh" rating and a 97% "Top Critics" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
Waitress and its cast have together won five film awards and received other nominations in various categories, including a Chlotrudis Award
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film
The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film is a Boston-area non-profit organization that teaches audiences to view films actively through discussion, formal and informal education, discourse, film festivals, special screenings and collaboration. Their focus is on international and independent film...
for best performance by an ensemble cast; Audience award for a feature film at the Newport Beach Film Festival
Newport Beach Film Festival
The Newport Beach Film Festival is a film festival in the United States held in Newport Beach, California, that showcases more than 350 films to more than 30,000 attendees annually....
, where cast member Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion is a Canadian actor, currently starring as Richard Castle on the ABC series Castle. He is also known for his portrayal of the lead role of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the television series Firefly and its feature film continuation, Serenity.He has acted in traditionally distributed...
also received a Feature Film award for his role in the film; the Jury Prize at the Sarasota Film Festival
Sarasota Film Festival
The Sarasota Film Festival has been held annually since 1999 in Sarasota, Florida. The festival is held in April and has become one of the top ten independent festivals in North America...
for narrative feature; the Wyatt Award by the Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards; and nominations for a Humanitas Prize
Humanitas Prize
The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
and an Independent Spirit Award for best screenplay.
Ostroy produced Serious Moonlight
Serious Moonlight (2009 film)
Serious Moonlight is a 2009 black comedy film directed by Cheryl Hines. It stars Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Bell, and Justin Long. It was released by Magnolia Pictures on 4 December 2009.-Plot:...
, a film written by Shelly and directed by Hines. The film stars Meg Ryan
Meg Ryan
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra , professionally known as Meg Ryan, is an American actress and producer. Raised in Bethel, Connecticut, Ryan began her acting career in 1981 in minor roles, before joining the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982...
, Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
, Kristen Bell
Kristen Bell
Kristen Anne Bell is an American actress. Although her first film role was an uncredited appearance in Polish Wedding, Bell previously acted in stage and musical productions. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer...
and Justin Long
Justin Long
Justin Jacob Long is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard, He's Just Not That into You, Drag Me to Hell, and Youth in Revolt, and his personification of a Mac in Apple's "Get a...
. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
in April 2009 and was released later that year in December. In one scene of the film, a married couple are robbed and tied up with duct tape by a gardener.
Ostroy also spearheaded a move to establish a memorial to his wife. On August 3, 2009, the Adrienne Shelly Garden was dedicated on the Southeast side of Abingdon Square Park
Abingdon Square Park
Abingdon Square Park is located in the New York City borough of Manhattan in Greenwich Village. The park is bordered by Eighth Avenue, Bank Street, Hudson Street and West 12th Street....
in NYC at 8th and 12th. It faces 15 Abingdon Square, the building where Shelly died.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Unbelievable Truth The Unbelievable Truth (film) The Unbelievable Truth is a 1989 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Hal Hartley, starring Adrienne Shelly and Robert John Burke. It was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize in 1990 at the Sundance Film Festival. The region 1 DVD was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment on March 11,... |
Audry | |
| 1990 | Trust | Maria Coughlin | |
| 1990 | Lonely in America | Woman in Laundromat | |
| 1992 | Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even Big Girls Don't Cry...They Get Even - originally titled Stepkids in early promotional trailers - is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Joan Micklin Silver.-Plot:... |
Stephanie | |
| 1992 | Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (film) Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me is a 1992 American comedy film starring Adrienne Shelly, Timothy Leary, Sean Young, Max Parrish, Diane Ladd, Andrea Naschak and written and directed by Joel Hershman.-Plot:... |
Dannie | |
| 1993 | Hexed Hexed Hexed is a 1993 comedy film, starring Arye Gross, Claudia Christian, Adrienne Shelly, and R. Lee Ermey, and written and directed by Alan Spencer, best known as the creator of the satirical TV series Sledge Hammer!. The dark-humored plot centers on a nebbishy clerk who gets picked up by a... |
Gloria O'Connor | |
| 1994 | Opera No. 1 | Fairy #2 | |
| 1994 | Sleeping with Strangers Sleeping with Strangers Sleeping with Strangers is a 1994 romantic comedy. It was directed by William T. Bolson and the writer was Joan Carr-Wiggin. The movie stars the late Adrienne Shelly, Alastair Duncan , Kim Huffman, Shawn Thompson, and Scott McNeil... |
Jenny | |
| 1994 | Homicide: Life on the Street Homicide: Life on the Street Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale... |
Tanya Quinn | Episode: "A Many Splendored Thing A Many Splendored Thing (Homicide: Life on the Street) "A Many Splendored Thing" is the second season finale of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street, and the thirteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 27, 1994... " |
| 1994 | Teresa's Tattoo Teresa's Tattoo Teresa's Tattoo is a 1994 action–comedy–crime film directed by Julie Cypher and John E. Vohlers. The film is also known as Natural Selection. The film stars C. Thomas Howell, Lou Diamond Phillips, Melissa Etheridge, who also performed songs for the film, K.D. Lang, and Kiefer Sutherland... |
Teresa / Gloria | |
| 1994 | The Road Killers | Red | |
| 1994 | Sleep with Me Sleep with Me Sleep With Me is a 1994 film starring Meg Tilly, Eric Stoltz and Craig Sheffer who play good friends who become involved in a love triangle, a relationship complicated by the marriage of Tilly's and Stoltz'es characters... |
Pamela | |
| 1995 | Kalamazoo | ||
| 1997 | The Regulars | ||
| 1997 | Sudden Manhattan | Donna | |
| 1997 | Grind | Janey | |
| 1997 | Early Edition Early Edition Early Edition is an American television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996 to May 27, 2000. Set in the city of Chicago, Illinois, it follows the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each Chicago Sun-Times newspaper the day before it is actually published, and who uses this... |
Emma Shaw | Episode: "Phantom at the Opera" |
| 1998 | Oz Oz (TV series) Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons... |
Sarah | Episode: "Ancient Tribes" |
| 1998 | Wrestling with Alligators | Mary | |
| 1999 | I'll Take You There | Lucy | |
| 2000 | Dead Dog | Mrs. Marquet | |
| 2000 | Law & Order Law & Order Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,... |
Wendy Alston | Episode: "High & Low" |
| 2000 | The Shadows of Bob and Zelda | Zelda | |
| 2001 | The Atlantis Conspiracy | Samantha | TV movie |
| 2001 | Revolution #9 | Kim Kelly | |
| 2004 | Tiger: His Fall & Rise | Terry | |
| 2005 | Factotum Factotum (film) Factotum is a 2005 film directed by Bent Hamer, adapted from the novel of the same name by Charles Bukowski. The script also makes use of poems published in What Matters Is How Well You Walk Through the Fire and The Days Run Aways Like Horses Over the Hill as well as some of Bukowski's notebook... |
Jerry | |
| 2007 | Waitress Waitress (film) Waitress is a 2007 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Adrienne Shelly, who also appears in a supporting role. The film debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and went into limited theatrical release in the US on May 2, 2007.-Plot:... |
Dawn |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Urban Legend | Writer & Director | 26-minute short film |
| 1997 | Lois Lives a Little | Writer & Director | |
| 1997 | Sudden Manhattan | Writer & Director | |
| 1999 | I'll Take You There | Writer & Director | |
| 2000 | The Shadows of Bob and Zelda | Writer & Director | |
| 2007 | Waitress Waitress (film) Waitress is a 2007 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Adrienne Shelly, who also appears in a supporting role. The film debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and went into limited theatrical release in the US on May 2, 2007.-Plot:... |
Writer & Director | |
| 2009 | Serious Moonlight Serious Moonlight (2009 film) Serious Moonlight is a 2009 black comedy film directed by Cheryl Hines. It stars Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Bell, and Justin Long. It was released by Magnolia Pictures on 4 December 2009.-Plot:... |
Writer |
External links
- The Adrienne Shelly Foundation
- Biography for Adrienne Shelly at Yahoo! UK & Ireland
- Jones, Malcolm; "An ‘Unbelievable’ Talent"; NewsweekNewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
; November 10, 2006. - Beyond Belief (TCM Movie Morlocks)