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Paula Devicq finds quality work in new AE seriesBY JEAN PRESCOTTKNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERStNo one’s going to mistake 100 Centre Street for Harry Anderson’s ‘80s sitcom, even though they both spend lots of time in night court.The latter was a comic romp; “ 100 Centre Street is the AE network’s first original drama series, and the premiere (8 p.m. tonight) is compelling enough to make you care about a jumble of finely drawn characters including Alan Arkin’s ultraliberal Judge Joe Rifkind, Joseph Lyle Thylor’s beleaguered assistant district attorney Bobby Esposito and ADA Cynthia Bennington, played by Paula Devicq, late of “Party of Five.Devicq says she intended, when her “Party of Five stint ended, to build a New York nest to balance the one she has in L.A. and just “be ready to do whatever I was meant to do.”“I told everyone I’d be right here (in Manhattan), but 1 was taking a mental vacation, Devicq says.Then came Sidney Lumet, the man who directed such films as “A Stranger Among Us (1992) and “The Verdict (1982) and TV dramas such as “The Iceman Cometh,” “All the King’s Men” and “12 Angry Men” during the medium’s Golden Age in the ‘50s.Devicq says her goal always has been to do quality work in any medium, and when she heard about the series, a Lumet creation, and the Bennington role and that Lumet would direct, there was no question but she readfor him.“I’m always a little nervouswbefore anything like that, but he was so sweet, ... and he knows how to get exactly what he wants.What he apparently wants with 100 Centre Street is grittiness with a bit of style Characters might easily become cliches, but Lumet keeps things moving by shooting the entire project with high definition cameras “so he’s cutting as he shoots,” say Devicq. We’re getting shots usually in one take, and I can tell you that most often, the first take is the best.The premiere episode, a two-hour intro on Mondav night, mostly sets,the scene, introduces the characters and, in the case of this TV junkie, hooks the audience.Taylor’s Esposito is righteous but flawed. Arkiq's Judge Rifkind has an act of humanity blow up in his face. Rifkind’s colleague Judge Attallah Sims — played with glorious attitude by Latanva Richardson — is a hanging judge with a heart. And Devicq’s Bennington, a poor little rich girl curious about the gutter, has blue blood and a mass of mixed emotions.Mel Gibson Helen Huntwhatwomcrwantmovit com4 |lH» II . 0k1:104:057:05 9:55
Newspaper Details
Brownsville Herald
Brownsville, Texas, US
Mon, Jan 15, 2001
Page 18
Full Page
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AL, USA 08 Apr 2021
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