Abel Ferrara

Cult independent filmmaker and director Abel Ferrara (The King of New York, the original Bad Lieutenant) is making a web series for Vice called Pizza Connection. Sound familiar? It's based loosely on the infamous "Pizza Connection" heroin ring that made Rudy Giuliani's career. In the '80s, Giuliani successfully prosecuted the smuggling operation's ringleader. Watch the video above for background on the Pizza Connection case. After the jump...  

Apocalyptic drama helps close out last day of indie-film celebration  

The Running Man: Abel Ferrara on 4:44, Staying Busy and Bad Lieutenant at 20 · Tweet · Comments: 0 || Add Yours. abel_ferrara_getty645. I met Abel Ferrara in a café on Mulberry Street. In an hour's time, he didn't once take ...  

Director Abel Ferrara doesn’t tend to hold his tongue. He’s best known for the blunt noir films King Of New York and Bad Lieutenant, but lately, his thoughts have led him elsewhere. His last film, Mulberry St., documents the feast of San Gennaro, which overtakes the block where he lives in lower Manhattan. His new film, 4:44 Last Day On Earth, delves deeper into his personal life. It stars his girlfriend of seven years (Shanyn Leigh) and...  

In his 35-year career, director Abel Ferrara has explored everything from a driller killer and a female vigilante to body snatchers and an addiction to blood. In his latest film, 4:44 THE LAST DAY ON EARTH (opening in limited release today from IFC Films), he tackles no less than the apocalypse itself—but in an intimate, rather than bombastic, manner. Fango spoke to this unique filmmaker about 4:44, what became of his take on DR. JEKYLL AND...  

Willem also has a relationship with a woman much younger than he is. She’s Italian, and her name is Giada (Colagrande). She’s an Italian director, and we’re all friends. Q: How did you get Pat Kiernan, the national newscaster, involved in the project?  

While Skye meditates and obsessively splatters paint on a giant canvas, Cisco is increasingly drawn to New York City itself, an organism apparently oblivious to its expiration date. Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town?  

Abel Ferrara is determined to vindicate Al Gore. He will have to destroy the world to do it, but surely that is a small price to pay. Armageddon indeed comes to the Lower East Side in Ferrara’s 4:44 Last Day on Earth (trailer here), which opens today in New York at the IFC Center.The details are vague (for obvious reasons), but we are told Gore was more right than even he knew. Global warming has become so severe, all life will end at 4:44...  

If the end of the world was just hours away, would New Yorkers still be able to get takeout? Yes, if Abel Ferrara’s mind-bending “4:44 Last Day on Earth’’ is any indication. In the film, the lead characters — writer Cisco (Ferrara regular Willem Dafoe) and painter Skye (Shanyn...