Audiences recently gaped at "Crazy Love," the story of the 50-year-long relationship of a couple that stayed together even after the man deliberately blinded the woman he loved. Much of the film is told by Ron, who still is going strong and training young performers. The government fears the band's influence and sets out to destroy it by covert means. Meet the “Cats” Movie Dancers Who Also Performed in the Stage Production Margaret Fuhrer. , Wednesday, December 17, 2008. The lead nude dancer in Paris’ Follies Bergere, Ron was vigorously pursued by Siegfried from Siegfried & Roy. This HBO docu will stir up conversation when it airs on the cable network, but it also has a shot to generate healthy boxoffice business in theaters. I posted about this in Television&Cinema but I also wanted to see if any Animalicious lurkers had seen this film. Like Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," "Cat Dancers" asks us to ponder what drives people to spend their lives in close proximity to dangerous animals. Inspired in part by the moody nostalgia of “The Kid Stays in the Picture” and the observational sensitivity brought to outsider culture by the Maysles brothers with “Grey Gardens,” Fishman’s film is a stretch-velvet quilt of archival footage hot-glued together by the outlandish and sentimental storytelling of Ron Holiday, the big cat act’s lone survivor. CAT DANCERS HBO Documentary Films in association with Cactus Three and Submarine Credits: Director: Harris Fishman Producers: Amanda Micheli, Harris Fishman Discover (and save!) Cats is on HBO this weekend, and the 2019 musical with Taylor Swift is the only horror movie you need this Halloween. This was not simply a job for Ron and Joy but a consuming passion. AP It is also odd that the younger member of the polygamists threesome was passed out asleep and didn't get dressed … Watch. Check back often for new releases and additions. “Mother Superior said: ‘Go to New York and dance for God,’ ” he explains with a shrug. Katzenangel Cat Dancer im Überblick: Die etwas andere Spielangel Draht mit Pappröllchen am Ende Weckt Jagd- und Spieltrieb Made in USA; Gesamtlänge ca. TV Preview: HBO Documentaries – Cat Dancer. Cat Dancers: The Strangest HBO Documentary Ever. Includes deleted scenes, interviews, and filmmaker biography Ron Holiday narrates “Cat Dancers.” As he tells the Post, he stills remembers the two horrible incidents that changed his life – for the most part. Because Ron is the only person around to describe this three-way love affair, we wonder if we are getting the whole story. by Simon Barrett in Reviews, TV. your own Pins on Pinterest “When we were kids, she wanted to be a nun. She believed in Catholicism, and she did not believe in suicide.”But when Fishman is asked if he believes Joy killed herself, his immediate response is, “Yup.”. I only remember the cat lunging up at her, and I don’t remember anything else.”. “I knew Joy since she was 7 and I was 11. Anyone who would have asked me anything at that time, I would have said fine. It is directed by Harris Fishman. 9:00 PM PDT 6/28/2007 HBO Max October 2020 Schedule October TBA. | Do Not Sell My Personal Information © 2020 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. It took a long time.”. It was nobody’s business. Cat Dancers (HBO) This is bloody awful, I didn't know what I was getting into, I thought it was going to be fur and giggles. “As a rule, people thought that I was gay, and that Chuck was Joy’s lover. “Joy was not the kind of girl that would ever commit suicide,” says Holiday. Includes deleted scenes, interviews, and filmmaker biography “I chose not to judge them,” Fishman said. Rated PG-13. Suffering from Cats-scratch fever after watching that tantalizing trailer all weekend? Chuck tripped on chain-link fencing and fell onto the cat’s back. Soon after that, a despondent Joy also was killed by the same tiger, under circumstances that have never been fully explained. She was pining for death. Megan the Stallion’s new music video for ‘Don’t Stop’ ft. Young Thug has a freaky little CGI Cheshire Cat and we can’t tell if it’s hilarious or repulsive. This seems to be the season for documentaries that chronicle mind-boggling true romances. Like a hyperbolic tale ripped from the cover of Weekly World News, the documentary film “Cat Dancers” is steeped in exotic animal fur, nude portraits, a love triangle, spandex, headbands and rhinestones and the mauling deaths of Joy and Chuck — exotic-animal trainers who were each killed by Jupiter, a white Bengal tiger with a bad attitude. “Suicide by tiger?”. They began as ballet dancers, but when their dance careers dried up, they started an act performing with exotic animals, primarily such large cats as tigers and leopards. Sitemap | | EU Privacy Preferences. Suffice it to say, only one man, and not one animal, emerges alive. Cat Dancers on HBO. Privacy Policy | It's hard to believe his wife Joy Holiday (real name Doris Gagnon) was drunk (twice the legal limit) after not eating for weeks and walked out to visit the cats despite being suicidal. The stranger-than-fiction tale of love and tragedy that follows a husband and wife team of exotic cat entertainers as they bring a young man and an unpredictable white tiger into their act and their lives. But in 1998, Chuck was killed by a white tiger in their menagerie. Director Tom Hooper’s movie adaptation of Cats is now available for a broader audience on HBO, and it was there that I viewed it in its entirety for the first time. Another asset is the haunting musical score by String Theory and Peter Salett. Soon, they added Jupiter, an exotic white tiger, to the pack. “Cat Dancers,” an extraordinary HBO documentary, tells a tale so touching, heartbreaking and complex that it took eight years to tell. The story of the Cat Dancers, one of the world's first exotic tiger entertainment acts, and the tragic accidents that brought their tale to an end. “When it happened with Chuck, it looked like an accident. Anyone know? Just Mercy. Holiday agreed to it, but for very different reasons. I wanted to be light-handed on it, but my point of view was, if a Catholic person were to commit suicide, it would be like that. Some of us are desperately clamoring for a … Cat Dancers. Harriet drama | PG … He’s referring to Joy Holiday’s decision to wander into Jupiter’s cage five weeks and one day after the Bengal tiger attacked and killed Lizza. The film screens Saturday night at the Los Angeles Film Festival, followed by a Q&A with Fishman and Ron Holiday, and screens again Monday and July 1. Ron and Joy Holiday met in 1954 and eventually married. There are, of course, many animal lovers, but they generally stick to more domesticated pets. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines. If you don’t have HBO, wait a bit longer, and you’ll probably be able to catch Cats on Fx or a similar network. The film provokes a great many questions. Or was she trying somehow to follow Lizza’s fate? Just a thought. “We were extremely private – no one knew what was going on,” says Holiday. It is very moving. Posted on December 15th, 2008 . They’re not physically with me, but I know, with anything I do now, I’m never alone.”, If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please reach out. Tigers, leaports, jaguars ect. Cat Dancers Season 1 show reviews & Metacritic score: Performance trio Ron Holiday, Joy Holiday, and Chuck Lizza formed one of the world's first wild animal entertainment acts. FACEBOOK Given the sensational nature of the subject, the film was bound to be riveting. As well trained as jungle beasts may be, they are never entirely predictable, so the people who work with them knowingly assume a huge risk. Another question that the film stirs concerns the dynamic of the romantic relationships. Cat Dancers. Mention the words disaster, exotic big cats, and show business, the majority of people will jump to the conclusion that you are referring to the 2003 Siegfried and Roy tragedy, where a white tiger attacked and almost killed Roy Horn. Cats. The first half of “Cat Dancers” features footage from Ron and Joy’s early show business life. “I can look at my life now and see what happened, and it’s over with and I’m moving on. The other night I caught this documentary on HBO about one of the original exotic animal acts. In one of the film's fascinating footnotes, we learn that it was William Holden who helped launch their second careers by offering them a baby leopard as pet. If you thought Tiger King was the first crazy big cat documentary, I have a great read for you! EMAIL ME. Press J to jump to the feed. The couple operated out of the Cat Dancers ranch in Florida where they hired a young man named Chuck Lizza to work with their animals. “Cat Dancers,” an extraordinary HBO documentary, tells a tale so touching, heartbreaking and complex that it took eight years to tell. Their act and love life changed dramatically when handsome young circus performer Lizza joined the pair in the 1980s. Side note, to those who have seen the documentary do you feel like Chuck and Joy were killed by Ron who used Jupiter the tiger to do it? Jul 22, 2019 . Cats arrives on HBO with peculiar timing, as divisive politics and the seemingly endless coronavirus pandemic poison our brains. “I haven’t traveled anywhere since Joy and Chuck died. “I was in the process of grieving, and I had no idea where I was going or what life had in store for me. TWITTER A rivalry between big cat eccentrics takes a dark turn when Joe Exotic, a controversial animal park boss, is caught in a murder-for-hire plot. Stream Metalocalypse on HBO Max. Blockbuster films such as Downhill, Emma., and Black Christmas, join the HBO service this month alongside Cats and Dirty Dancing. First-time filmmaker Harris Fishman, whose brother studied tiger-training with Holiday, learned of the story several months after the tragedies, and immediately sensed it would make a fascinating film. But with Joy, it was an out-and-out attack. “We grew up in a farm town,” Holiday said Tuesday during a telephone interview, his voice quivering. Barrie's Peter Pan centering on a young girl and her twin brothers transported to a mysterious island where time has stopped. Was Joy, deeply depressed over Lizza’s death, simply visiting the tiger that she refused to put down after the attack? After Lizza’s death, though, she took to her bed, stopped eating, and lost over 20 pounds in five weeks fell. Five weeks later, she got her wish. From the Oscar-nominated director of Beasts of the Southern Wild comes this inventive reimagining of J.M. And now "Cat Dancers" zeroes in on a bizarre menage a trois that ended in tragedy. Directed by Harris Fishman. The stranger-than-fiction tale of love and tragedy that follows a husband and wife team of exotic cat entertainers as they bring a young man and an unpredictable white tiger into their act and their lives. What’s Coming to HBO Max In October 2020, including ‘Cats’ and ‘A World Of Calm’ Sep 25, 2020, 7:31 AM PDT – Fern Siegel On October 1, HBO Max will debut a new 10-episode series, “A World of Calm,” which offers tranquility and peaceful imagery to combat the chaos of daily life. The cat was startled, grabbed him by the neck and killed him immediately,” he says. And then there’s Holiday’s fanciful showmanship: At one point in the 75-minute film, Ron describes how Joy, a plain Jane from Maine, ended up in New York City dancing at Radio City Music Hall after seeking advice at a Catholic school. I had no idea what I was getting into.”, For the first several years of interviews, the two men didn’t discuss the tragedies.”There were trust issues around what was gonna be my take on the story,” says Fishman, “so we just talked about his life with Joy prior to Chuck, and then slowly talked about Chuck. | California Privacy Rights “I remember that like I can see my hand in front of me. But this was a bond between the three of us. Ron had a lot of jealousy about Chuck and Joy bonding and hanging out without him. Director and producer Harris Fishman began piecing together the documentary about Chuck Lizza, the assistant-turned lover to exotic-animal entertainers Ron and Joy Holiday almost a decade ago. You can find help at a National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, USA: 18002738255 US Crisis textline: 741741 text HOME, Others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. I do believe that this documentary saved my sanity.”. After Jupiter killed Joy, the authorities shot the cat dead. In the end, Holiday is grateful to Fishman for the work he did, as “Cat Dancers” helped him get past one of the most tragic periods anyone could possibly experience. “I’m nervous … apprehensive,” Holiday said. You’d do it, but don’t tell yourself you’re going to do it,” says Fishman. In 1998, Lizza was killed in a freak accident by Jupiter, a rare white Bengal tiger who was introduced to the act despite Joy Holiday’s objections. Eager to know more about the feline-filled film? “It was complete closure, which I feel I never would have gotten [otherwise]. Coming Soon. But it happens also to be skillfully executed by director Harris Fishman and his editor, Alexis Spraic, who does wonders weaving together the preexisting footage and brand new material. “When we first met, I was borderline insane,” he says. We knew how the average public would look at it, and we did not want to be involved in any discussion.”Indicative of the story’s complexity, there is one subject that Fishman and Holiday disagree on- whether the careless way she interacted with Jupiter, turning her back on him as she left his cage, might have actually been a suicide. photo of Ron, Joy, Chuck and Jupiter the tiger. In their glory days, Ron and Joy were top adagio dancers, showered, as he says, in limos, flowers and champagne. Before long Chuck, a couple of decades their junior, became the lover of both Ron and Joy, and so their lives were even more intimately intertwined. There also is a good deal of home movie footage, along with TV news broadcasts showing the trio at various points in their lives. This story of various forms of crazy -- or at least unconventional -- love might leave us with more questions than answers, but it tantalizes long after the lights come on. Cat Dancers is a 2008 HBO documentary film about Ron Holiday (his stage name; real name Ron Guay) and his wife Joy Holiday (her stage name; married name Doris Guay; birth name Doris Gagnon) and their jaguar, panther and tiger show. It was just so tragic, the three Ron and Joy Holiday and Chuck Lizza, train wild cats to do tricks etc. Cat Dancers is at once a charming love story about bonds developed between three humans--Ron and Joy Holiday, and Chuck Lizza--and their dedication to the big cats they raised and trained for over 40 years before the whole enterprise screeched to a halt. TRAILER 0:31. I had some time the other day to watch this show - I though that it might be about hunting so it got me interested. All rights reserved. Fishman, who made the film for less than $500,000 — financed largely by HBO and Cinemax Documentary Films, which owns domestic television rights — says he prefers to let the Holidays-and-Chuck relationship speak for itself. “In documentary we’re bound by fact-based reality, but what’s interesting about them is they lived in this other world.”. AdChoices I’m finally enjoying my life,” says Holiday. It is about three people who live together and who are lovers who raise these big cats. Ron and Joy Holiday were childhood friends in Maine who bonded through ballet, and later, as a married couple, went on to showbiz success with an exotic tiger act that began when actor William Holden gave them a black leopard cub from his African animal preserve. With Joy Holiday, Ron Holiday, Chuck Lizza. 90 cm Hinweis zur Nutzung: Nehmen Sie den "Katzentänzer" aus der Verpackung und ziehen Sie einfach ein wenig an ihm, bis er gerade ist. Sep 26, 2013 - This Pin was discovered by Katy. and train them and show them. This salacious doc tells the story of famed dance duo Ron and Joy Holiday, who used wild jungle cats in their act until a horrifying event changed everything. Or did he put them to sleep? After making their names as a classically-trained ballet pair in New York City, Ron and Joy received a black leopard cub as a gift from a close friend and soon after began to train their first exotic cats. And are also in a unorthodox sexual but apparently very happy relationship with one another. Stephen Farber Terms of Use | CAT DANCERSHBO Documentary Films in association with Cactus Three and SubmarineCredits:Director: Harris FishmanProducers: Amanda Micheli, Harris FishmanExecutive producers: Josh Braun, Julie Goldman, Krysanne Katsoolis, Caroline Stevens, Silas Weir MitchellExecutive Producer for HBO:  Sheila NevinsSenior Producer for HBO: Nancy AbrahamCo-executive producers: Chris Keenan, Michael CashDirector of photography: Amanda MicheliMusic: String Theory, Peter SalettCo-producers: Alexis Spraic, Christina Ferreira, Scott KaplanEditor: Alexis SpraicRunning time -- 75 minutesNo MPAA rating. Has anyone sen the documentary Cat Dancers on HBO? At that point the story goes dark and lonely. Stream new movie releases and classic favorites on HBO.com or on your device with an HBO app. “It’s ludicrous, right?” Fishman said, driving through downtown Los Angeles rush hour traffic Monday night. Wendy . Critics' Picks. THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER is a registered trademark of The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Later, after their dance careers faded, they became one of the world’s first exotic-cat acts in the 1960s and aspired to fame a la Siegfried and Roy. We have no reason to doubt Ron's veracity, but we do miss hearing from the other two parties to the triangle. Cat Dancers is a 2008 HBO documentary film about It implied that he still had them but at one point it says, after a 1999 date, "3 months later he had to put the cats to sleep when evicted." Deemed sociopaths for tossing hot coffee at their concert attendees, two of the band members are alcoholics, and they all have self-esteem issues. The Holidays' act thrived, and in 1988 they decided to expand by bringing into the show a handsome young circus performer, Chuck Lizza. Would Chuck or Joy offer a different perspective? Popular films such as Downhill, Emma, and Black Christmas, join the HBO service this month alongside Cats and Dirty Dancing. Holiday plans to leave Florida for the first time in eight years to attend the premiere Saturday night. Lizza joined the act and eventually became a lover to the middle-aged Holidays. We were married for 41 years.” That’s the genuine sentiment. Performance trio Ron Holiday, Joy Holiday, and Chuck Lizza formed one of the world's first wild animal entertainment acts. (28) IMDb 7.2 1h 15min 2008 NR. PREMIERES DECEMBER 19 at 8 pm. This HBO documentary tells their bizarre story. If you like TV programs about Ebola, chimeras, comets, tsunamis and wild animals that bite, you might consider giving Cat Dancers(HBO) a gander. Death-metal band Dethklok has a lingering effect on its fans, who take the words seriously and do anything Dethklok lyrics say. Yet, somehow — after spending seven years poring over personal photos, newspaper clippings and some 160 hours of 8-millimeter films and videos — the filmmaker still marvels over their larger-than-life lifestyles and the tragic 1998 deaths. 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