Saturday, May 30, 2026

Exclusive: Paul Bettany Directing Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Mackie in “Shelter”

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Exclusive: Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly are part of the Brooklyn acting elite (at least I think they, as well as Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola, are still in that popular borough). Now Bettany– best known for playing Russell Crowe’s imaginary friend in “A Beautiful Mind”– is making his directorial debut. He’s getting ready to film Connelly–who got an Oscar for the same film–and the great Anthony Mackie in “Shelter.” It’s a love story about two homeless people, written by Bettany. Stephen Graham (Boardwalk Empire, Parade’s End) is also cast, and the production has just sent out a notice for a variety of other players. Bettany will be filming all over the city during September, when everything looks terrific. Yes, it’s low budget. But it does sound like something we’ll see at next spring’s Tribeca Film Festival.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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