Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth Interview with Illeana Douglas, Acclaimed Actress, Producer, Director, Author, “Connecticut in the Movies”.
Illeana Douglas is a highly acclaimed actress, writer, producer, and director, who has brought us some of the most memorable performances in classic films including “Goodfellas”, “Guilty By Suspicion”, “Cape Fear”, “Alive”, “Search and Destroy”, “To Die For”, “Happy, Texas”, “Message in a Bottle” and many more.
And yes, all of those blood curdling screams in “The Last Temptation of Christ” are hers, and yes, she’s the girl who got her face bitten off by Robert De Niro in “Cape Fear”.
On television you’ve seen her in dozens of movies, miniseries and TV shows including “Weapons of Mass Distraction”, “Bella Mafia”, “Lansky”, “Action”, “Law & Order: SVU”, “The Skinny”, “Goliath” and “Six Feet Under”, for which she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. She also created, wrote and frequently directed the world’s first-ever branded web series, “Easy to Assemble”.
In addition to winning a whole slew of prestigious awards including 6 Webbies, Illeana Douglas also achieved the impossible: she actually made it COOL to shop at IKEA. Our guest is also a great lover of classic films, which comes as no surprise, given that she’s the granddaughter of the legendary actor Melvyn Douglas. She can often be seen on the Turner Classic Movies network, interviewing cinematic giants and hosting the Spotlight Series, including “Funny Ladies”, “Second Looks”, and “Trailblazing Women”.
Illeana Douglas has participated in scores of documentaries about film history, and she produced and hosted the highly popular podcast, “The Film Scene”, in which she interviews celebrities about classic movies. Her first book, entitled, “I Blame Dennis Hopper, And Other Stories from a Life Lived In and Out of the Movies”, was named “one of the best books of 2015” by Entertainment Weekly.
Her latest book is a real gem for film buffs. It’s called “Connecticut in the Movies: From Dream Houses to Dark Suburbia”, and it explains how the cinematic perception of Connecticut, originally created in Hollywood movies like “Bringing Up Baby” and “Christmas in Connecticut”, has shifted in recent years. The book offers some surprising conclusions about just what it means to be a “Connecticut movie.”
Harvey Brownstone is a retired judge of the Ontario Court of Justice and was the first openly gay judge in Canada. He is also the bestselling author of “Tug of War: A Judge’s Verdict on Separation, Custody Battles and the Bitter Realities of Family Court” and hosted “Family Matters with Justice Harvey Brownstone,” a television talk show on matters involving the family justice system.
After a distinguished legal career, Harvey was appointed a judge at the age of 38 in 1995. He has presided in family and criminal courts. He has been a trailblazer in several ways. He was the first openly gay judge in Canada. He was the first sitting judge in the world to write a national best seller and to host a TV talk show.
Harvey has been a role model and icon in the LGBTQ community. When same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada in 2003, he was the only judge to make himself publicly available to officiate at weddings for lesbian and gay couples travelling to Toronto from all over the world to get married. In 2007, he officiated at the wedding of Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer, the American couple whose marriage triggered the 2013 United States Supreme Court decision overturning the definition of “spouse” in the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
In February 2021, Harvey launched his online talk show “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” on his own YouTube channel. He saw this as an interesting hobby. Within several months, the show attracted hundreds of thousands – and then eventually, millions – of viewers. Because of the overwhelming success of the show, Harvey decided to retire from the judiciary on December 31, 2021 after having presided as a full-time judge for 26 1/2 years. Free from the constraints imposed upon judges regarding the expression of opinions and the endorsement of private enterprise, Harvey now happily devotes his full-time attention to hosting “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” as a regular member of the public – albeit one with a rather illustrious and unique career history.
Watch Illeana Douglas on Harvey Brownstone Interviews on Youtube here:
https://youtu.be/ZB_TtJMTeVA?si=JNMFnWiM8uvmFLuY
The official website for Harvey Brownstone Interviews may be found at https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com
Get “The Talk Show Blend” – Coffee For The Modern Day Trailblazer! By Harvey Brownstone from Breakfast At Dominique’s available at https://www.HollywoodBlends.com
For more information about Harvey Brownstone, here’s his Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Brownstone
