One of the highlights of the Hamptons International Film Festival, which opened on Wednesday October 15th was when the international film star Jacqueline Bisset, who in 1977 appeared on the cover of both Newsweek and Time in the same week, sat down with Steven Gaines for an intimate chat about her illustrious career before a live audience at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor. Bisset, who is renowned as one the world’s great beauties, stars in the Hallmark Channel’s new film, An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving, one of the festivals upcoming Spotlight films, which will be shown in East Hampton at 6 pm following the interview.

Jaye Sears, Kathleen BattleThe luminous voice of the Grammy Award winning soprano Kathleen Battle has been heralded throughout the world. After witnessing the major milestones in her illustrious career, critics have been unified in singing her praises. Words like spellbinding, magical, mesmerizing have been used to describe her performances from the stages of the world’s leading opera houses and major concert halls. She has scanned the heights of the classical musical world with her unmistakable sound performing with leading orchestras world wide.

Princess Yasmin Aga Khan
Yasmin Aga Khan, a Southampton summer resident since the early 1960’s, is a real princess, but her life is not the stuff of fairytales. Real life rarely is and nothing is quite what it seems. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland Yasmin is a modern day Princess, the second child of the American film icon Rita Hayworth and Prince Aly Khan of Pakistan, a United Nations ambassador from that country. Her father, once the Vice President of the UN general assembly, died in an automobile accident when Yasmin was just 11.

Photo: Barry GordinThe illustrious actress/humanitarian Vanessa Redgrave is the embodiment of an extraordinary life well lived. Her name conjures up vivid images and memories that span five decades of film and her Theater work is even more encompassing taking in an extra decade of diversely challenging roles. The world renowned actor, who Tennessee Williams called “The greatest actress of our time,” will be honored at this year’s Hamptons International Film Festival with the Golden Starfish Award for career achievement in acting, and she will be making her first visit to our stunning shores as well. Part of the festivities will include the World Premiere engagement of “The Shell Seekers,” a two hour Hallmark Channel original film she made opposite Maximilian Schell that will premiere at the festival, prior to its U.S. television  network showing next summer.

In a Suspense Thriller at Bay Street

The legend Charles Busch is bringing his particular form of zany theatrical magic to the Bay Street Theater MainStage in a revival of his much acclaimed 1989 satire The Lady in Question, which begins previews on August 14 and will run through September 2.

By Ellis Nassour

Boyd Gaines, the Tony and DD-winner for Contact and Tony winner for Roundabout’s 1993 revival of She Loves Me, has starred in such musicals as the 1995 revival of Company [as Bobby] and the Lincoln Center Theatre revival of Anything Goes.
However, he's proved himself equally adept in heavy dramas, such as Roundabout’s recent Twelve Angry Men revival and The Heidi Chronicles, for which he won his first Tony. Now, he’s doing it again in the revival of Journey’s End, which started previews last night. It’s one of the most dramatic and provocative roles he’s played in a drama that has a fascinating past.