Frank J. Avella on Muck Rack

Frank J. Avella

New Jersey, New York
As seen in: Edge Media Network, Tec+Ciencia Podcast, BroadwayWorld, Awards Daily, EMN Chicago IL, Baltimore Edge Media Network, Pittsburgh, PA - EDGE Media Network, The Contending, OUTSFL
Covers:  Film, theatre, TV, entertainment.
Award-winning screenwriter/playwright" Lured, Vatican Falls, Consent, Fig Jam, Froci. RT critic. GALECA. NYCFO. Senior Staff Writer: The Contending

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Frank J. Avella’s Biography

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Frank J. Avella is a film journalist for Edge Media Network and The Contending as well as the Industry Liaison for GALECA (The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics) and a member of New York Film Critics Online.

Frank J. Avella is the recipient of a 2023 and 2019 International Writers Retreat Residency at Arte Studio Ginestrelle (Assisi, Italy) and a 2018 Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship.

VATICAN FALLS, his play about the Catholic sex abuse scandal, was a 2021 semifinalist for the O’Neill Nati…

Frank J. Avella’s Journalist Portfolio

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'Leviticus' Lead Joe Bird Making Unconventional Gay Horror Film

'Leviticus' Lead Joe Bird Making Unconventional Gay Horror Film

Leviticus Lead Joe Bird On Queer Horror Film - 'Talk To Me'-- Actor Impresses In Adrian Chiarella's Tantalizi…

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Tribeca 2026 Recs In Memoriam, The Leader, Caity, Never Change

Tribeca 2026 Recs In Memoriam, The Leader, Caity, Never Change

Tribeca 2026: Best Of Fest -- Part Two In Memoriam, The Leader, Caity, Never Change!, Zejtune, Time Warp, Ico…

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Sentimental Value & Charade: 2 Stunning Criterion 4K-UHD/Blu-ray

Sentimental Value & Charade: 2 Stunning Criterion 4K-UHD/Blu-ray

Criterion has released two very different 4K-UHDs, an instant classic and an enduring classic. Sentimental Va…

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Tribeca 2026: Killing Castro Taut Film With Al Pacino Killing It

Tribeca 2026: Killing Castro Taut Film With Al Pacino Killing It

"Inspired by true events." Eif Rivera's feature debut, Killing Castro, is being sold as a reimagine version o…

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Mr. Scorsese: Rebecca Miller's Emmy-Worthy 5-part Documentary

Mr. Scorsese: Rebecca Miller's Emmy-Worthy 5-part Documentary

Filmmaker Rebecca Miller has gifted cinephiles with an extraordinary, Emmy-worthy, "film portrait," which is …

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Nobody Wants This: Justine Lupe Emmy Talk Icing On The Cake

Nobody Wants This: Justine Lupe Emmy Talk Icing On The Cake

'Nobody Wants This:' Justine Lupe On Emmy Talk Being 'The Icing On The Cake' and enjoying filming Season 3 th…

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Articles

‘Leviticus’ Lead Joe Bird On Making An Unconventional Queer Horror Film [VIDEO]

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By Frank J. Avella
| The Contending
Relative newcomer Joe Bird delivers a sucker punch of an impressive performance as the closeted gay teen Niam, in Adrian Chiarella’s tantalizing and fabulously clever queer horror movie Leviticus. The actor had a significant role in Danny & Michael Phillippou’s horror hit Talk to Me in 2022, which he filmed when he was 14. He’s had a few TV and film credits including the period feature, Wolfram, but this is his first leading role.
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Tribeca 2026: ‘Killing Castro,’ Dizzyingly Entertaining Conjecture With Al Pacino Killing It

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By Frank J. Avella
| The Contending
“Inspired by true events.” Eif Rivera’s feature debut, Killing Castro, is being sold as a reimagine version of history blending Cold War historical drama with political intrigue. So as long as you don’t mind your history with some speculative  bells and whistles added, you will have a blast. Rest assured this is no JFK, where Oliver Stone put forth a perspicacious theory behind the Kennedy assassination.
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‘Sentimental Value’ & ‘Charade:’ Two Stunning 4K-UHD/Blu-rays From Criterion

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By Frank J. Avella
| The Contending
Criterion has released two very different 4K-UHDs, an instant classic and an enduring classic. Courtesy of Criterion Anyone who has followed my work here at The Contending is aware that I believe Sentimental Value is a filmmaking masterpiece. It justly won the International Feature Oscar and should have won a host more of the nine it was nominated for. The pic is emotionally searing and jarringly funny and, ultimately, transcendent.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

At University, I covered film.

Have you ever used a typewriter?

Yes. When I was a kid.

How is social media changing news?

Everyone is in a rush to scoop--to report ASAP--and to keep it short. The good news is that we are getting news as it happens.

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