When RUFFIAN premiered on ABC earlier this month, it received many positive reviews with special kudos for Sam's strong performance as legendary horse trainer Frank Whiteley, Jr. Film producer Adelson summed up his respect for the playwright with "He raises them and spends most of his time with horses. That love, for me, transcended the screen. The believability comes through. I believe it because that's who he is. I think it's one of his best performances." That opinion was echoed by several critics. David Martindale of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram interviewed him:

Sam Shepard, the actor and playwright, loves horses. He owns them, breeds them, races them. "I've been breeding horses for 20 years and I've had some luck," he said. "But I'm still looking for that great champion. They come along once in a blue moon." Given his passion for the sport, he was a natural to play legendary trainer Frank Whiteley Jr. in Ruffian, an ESPN-produced movie about one of the great fillies in racing.

What drew you to this movie?

"I was very attracted to this story. Ruffian was a miraculous horse. She was a huge filly. She was more like a colt than anything. She was built like a colt and ran like a colt - always ran on the front end, a come-and-catch-me style of racing. But it was Frank Whiteley that attracted me more than anything. He was an amazing trainer who represents the old school of training."

Do you prefer old school?

"I do. Whiteley was one of those guys who paid particular attention to the individual horse. Nowadays, you've got guys who have 200 horses in their stable. For him, it was like a one-on-one relationship that he'd have with the horse, which is getting more and more rare."

What insight can casual horse racing fans gain from Ruffian?

"There's something that people not connected to horse racing don't understand: There's risk involved. It's a dangerous game. It's a huge gamble every time a horse gets on the racetrack. What happened to Ruffian, what happened to Barbaro, even though the circumstances weren't at all the same, happens all the time in horse racing. People tend to watch like it's a video game, but it's actually live animals. People forget that factor."

On Monday, May 21, 2007, The American Place Theatre hosted a once-in-a-lifetime benefit event: "Wynn, Place & Show: A Celebration of Wynn Handman’s 85th Birthday and the 45th Anniversary of The American Place Theatre." The evening took place at the historic Hudson Theatre on West 44th Street. The tribute featured a stellar cast of both Handman's students and American Place Theatre alumni, as well as a cocktail reception, dinner, dessert buffet and dancing to the music of Peter Duchin and his Orchestra. Sam was the first to take the stage to pay homage. Not known for such public appearances, he spoke for almost 20 minutes recounting hilarious tales of the novice playwright and the fledgling theater company’s run ins with the theater world’s old guard and even The Humane Society. For more photos of the event, click here.

I wish I could credit the artist here but they left no name. So awesome in the way Sam's character is etched into the canvas.

Sam participated in a tribute to Peruvian poet Cesar Vallejo on April 26th.  The event, organized by The Poetry Project & Poets House and co-sponsored by PEN World Voices and the U. of California Press, took place at Saint Mark's Church in NYC. In his book "Cruising Paradise", Sam writes that Vallejo is his favorite poet and in "Motel Chronicles", he begns with an inscription from a Vallejo poem.

Sam also participated in the Annual PEN World Voices Fest on April 28th. I found this commentary by an observer at that event: "Sam Shepard doesn't do many live readings, and I'm more eager to see him than anybody else here (I've caught a couple of his plays, 'Curse of the Working Class' and 'True West', and have always liked his sinewy, minimalist approach to drama). He comes up to the mic, tall and rangy and plain-spoken, and begins reading quietly from his 'Motel Chronicles', not attempting to compete with Saul Williams' previous theatrics. The crowd is with him, eagerly applauding prose selections that hint at social satire and political disaffection. His style is all masculine reserve (remember, this is the guy who played Chuck Yeager in 'The Right Stuff') and zen cool. He doesn't wow anybody, but Sam Shepard has never been a 'wow' kind of personality. It's simply good to hear his words in his own voice."

Patti Smith also performed that evening thanks to Sam's prodding.

Back by popular demand, Sam's latest play, KICKING A DEAD HORSE, will return to the Abbey in Dublin in the fall. There will be 12 performances running from September 12-22.

The Third Annual PEN World Voices Fest will feature the participation of Sam on Saturday, April 28th. It will be held at The Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancy St, NYC from 8 to 10 pm. Focusing on international literature, the PEN Fest's theme will be "Home and Away." Besides Sam, performers will include Guillermo Arriaga, Oliver Lake, Patti Smith, Saul Williams, Huang Xiang, and a couple surprise guests. MC for the evening will be Victoria Roberts (aka Nona Appleby). Tickets are $25/$20 PEN members. They may be purchased from Smarttix (www.smarttix.com) or by calling (212) 868-4444.

I've added some more reviews on KICKING A DEAD HORSE by posting them on the new theatre page.

In a brief interview on The Eleventh Hour on the same radio station, Sam spoke about his latest play. He was first asked about where his writing comes from and Sam responded, "It's a product of aloneness, not loneliness, but aloneness... I do feel that writing is a product of this estrangement, removed in such a way that writing becomes a desperate act. It's like this is what it's like on this side of the island and you're throwing it out there. I think it's very much like that. With writers that are very important to me like Beckett, for instance, it's very much the case. It's like a letter from another planet." When asked to describe the play, his reaction was typical Shepard, "I'd rather not. I'd rather have people come see it. Also, when I begin to explain it, it just takes all the life out of it." Sam spoke highly of Stephen Rea - "He has this performance aspect, which is very rare in a way. I think maybe actors on this side of the ocean are more prone to it. American actors are less prone to being performers as well as characters. Stephen has no problem with moving from the character to the audience and back and forth. In fact, at one point in the play, he drops the character completely and speaks to the audience from himself. You ask American actors to do that and they get very messed about it like 'what am I'm doing?' But he just does it. He steps into it..." And how did this play come about? "Through Fiach MacConghail (director at the Abbey Theatre). He approached me and said we're going to do a series of your plays at the Abbey and, historically, they had always done Irish writers. Fiach knew Stephen, and I had known him back when I worked with him at the Royal Court. Then we had a meeting with Stephen and they put this idea into my head that I should write something for him. I finally got around to doing it and I'm glad I did."
 

Did you know there's another writer in the family? Jesse Shepard is Sam's 36-year-old son by his marriage to O-lan Jones. Back in 2003, he had his first book of short stories published. JUBILEE KING received some noteworthy reviews. Jesse writes about an old car that only goes forward, horses reduced to mere movie props, beautiful rolling hills leveled for housing developments and golf courses, men and women in close proximity, unable to connect or give each other comfort. He spins a series of small but momentous occurrences into a spirited and assured debut. I thought it was about time I added a special page for Jesse.

On March 1, Sam was a guest speaker at the Irish Film Institute where he spoke about PARIS, TEXAS, the film that brought director Wim Wenders international acclaim with Sam's brilliant screenplay. The photo shows Sam with IFI director Mark Mulqueen. Sam also attended the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival in February with a screening of "Jindabyne" starring Gabriel Byrne, who was there in person to introduce the film and open the festival. After the screening, Sam joined a smattering of celebrities, smoking a huge cigar, for a night of carousing at the newly opened Floridita bar on Middle Abbey Street in Dublin. Here's a photo from that evening:

Previews for KICKING A DEAD HORSE will begin tomorrow night at Dublin's Peacock Theatre with the official premiere on Thursday evening. Stephen Rea plays Hobart Struther, a man alone in the desert of the American west with only his dead horse for company. Sam's relationship with music is more germane to his plays, and like much of his work, this play is partly shaped by a piece of music; in this case the ballad "Didn't He Ramble," which he remembers his father singing. According to a recent interview, Rea says he is very pleased to work with his old friend, who allegedly wrote the play with him in mind. Sam once described Rea as a "extraordinary actor." Weeks before Sam arrived to direct the play, Rea said his focus was on being "in possession of the material." He continued, "I know it won't work if I'm working on the material. You have to allow the material to work on you."

Very little has been publicized about Sam's upcoming KICKING A DEAD HORSE, opening in Dublin's Abbey Theatre next month. The theatre has now posted this short description - "Hobart Struther (played by Stephen Rea) is a man with nothing to prove. So how come he's miles from nowhere with a dead horse? Sam Shepard's striking new play tells the story of one man's search for authenticity." Previews begin March 12 with the play running through April 14. On Thursday, March 8, the Abbey will also feature Sam reading from one of his works of fiction from 6:30 to 7:15 pm.

Columbia Records will release TWELVE, the eagerly-anticipated album of "cover" versions of classic popular songs newly interpreted by Patti Smith, on April 24. This is her first-ever full-length collection of songs originally created by other performers. Patti Smith and her band - Lenny Kaye (guitar), Jay Dee Daugherty (drums) and Tony Shanahan (bass, keyboards) - work their magic on a surprising selection of classic songs and overlooked treasures from the rock & roll canon. An assortment of guest artists appear with Patti including Sam, who plays banjo on her version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," accompanied by his son, Walker.

BANDIDAS will be released on DVD in the US tomorrow. The two sexiest and most powerful Latina actresses in the world - Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek - join forces to make a turn-of-the-century Western comedy about greedy gringos and the women who thwart them. Sam plays a retired bank robber who plays mentor to the girls. The DVD includes a commentary by Hayek and Cruz as well as a featurette called "Burning up the Set with Salma and Penelope". Both widescreen and full screen versions are available on the same disc with English and Spanish subtitles.

Universal Home Video will release THE RETURN on DVD on February 27th. The Asif Kapadia-directed horror flick, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, premiered in theatres just two months ago to disappointing reviews. Extras will include: a "Creation of a Nightmare: The Making of The Return featurette," "Deleted scenes," and an "Alternate ending."

Beginning January 15th, theatre tickets will be available online for Sam's new play, KICKING A DEAD HORSE. The play will have its premiere in Dublin on March 12th and will run through April 14th. Tickets will be very limited as the Peacock Theatre, the smaller stage at the Abbey Theatre, only has 157 seats. No further information has yet been given about the play except that Sam is directing and Stephen Rea will star.

It was a pleasant surprise to learn that Sam narrates E.B White's classic children's story, CHARLOTTE'S WEB, now playing at your local theatre. Here and there, he received some well-deserved praise.

"Best of all may be the narration, by Sam Shepard: His voice, the kind of voice God might have if he'd ever smoked Camels, frames this gentle but potent little story with good-natured authority, making it feel modern and ageless at once."  ...Stephanie Zacharek, Salon

"Sam Shepard's narration keeps everything easy and unpretentious, in sync with White's prose."  ...Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Last month filming continued on THE ACCIDENTAL HUSBAND, starring Uma Thurman and Colin Firth. On December 12th, the production shifted to Greenwich, CT where wedding scenes were filmed at the First Church of Round Hill as well as at a private home on Meadowcroft Lane.