Fairly recently I listened to a woman whose view about movies is this, that it's a waste of time to see any movie more than once no matter how good. Whereas my view is that some films are like a work of art. Museums such as the Louvre simply would not exist if everyone saw a work of art once, and that's it. Therefore, why would anyone even bother decorating their own house with some art, if only planning to look at it just once? That also, can be the power of film.

With the 87th Academy Awards days away, I've already seen the Imitation Game twice. Mostly taking place during World War II, one of my favorite scenes in the film is a conversation scene years after the war, between mathematician Alan Turing, acted by Benedict Cumberbatch, and a detective at a London police station. The detective asks him, "Can a machine think like a human?" Alan Turing then replies, "Of course a machine cannot think like a human only because a machine is not human. But just because a machine consists of wires and copper doesn't mean that it cannot think."

It's that scene which recalled to my mind a recent concern over A.I. (artificial intelligence). A concern that not only started by famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking fearing for the future of mankind, but also with having tech giant former Microsoft chairman Bill Gates joining him. Ms. Sonali Kohli wrote a superb January 30, 2015 web article all about this for Quartz, titled, "Bill Gates joins Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking in saying artificial intelligence is scary."

Then there's Selma and Birdman as two other Oscar nominated films that I've seen twice. And one of the scenes I still recall from Selma, is near the end after a successful third try of a 54 mile civil rights march for voting rights in March 1965, from Selma to Montgomery Alabama. British actor David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr captured that scene brilliantly as he spoke the following words within a soaring speech saying, "Our society has distorted who we are, from slavery to reconstruction, to the precipice on which we now stand."

Also of course I can't forget a very comical scene from the dark comedy Birdman, involving Michael Keaton and Edward Norton. Keaton plays known Hollywood actor Riggan Thomson, who had starred in three blockbuster superhero Birdman films, yet desperately trying to launch a Broadway play to get out of being typecast. While Norton plays talented yet mercurial Broadway actor Mike Shiner as a replacement from a less talented actor. Everything had started to go well during preview night, then Shiner's ego erupts. There's a fight between the two afterwards off stage as Shiner bellows out to Thomson after they fight, "You can't get rid of me. I mean who ya gonna get, Ryan Gosling?" Most recently it's said that Birdman is now a clear front runner for Best Picture, just after director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu took the top prize in the Directors Guild of America award, for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Feature Film.

Next there's American Sniper, and although I've only seen the film once, I still remember that light hearted scene at a bar, involving Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle while training to be a Navy SEAL, and Sienna Miller as Taya Studebaker who would later be his wife. Within that scene she later says, "Oh great, another red-neck." To which he replies, "Oh I'm no red-neck, I'm from Texas." She then follows by saying, "Where's the difference?" To which, as I guess was his way in an attempt to break the ice, he says, "We ride horses whereas they ride their cousins."

Yes American Sniper although a blockbuster has come under some heat, with some critics saying it's overly jingoistic, with others saying it's overly political. Yet if this man (Chris Kyle) had honestly felt that way about himself and his country, and who better to know that than his wife who also both consulted as well as having given director Clint Eastwood the green light, then who am I to argue? From what I saw anyway, the film was not a war story, nor a politically motivated story, but only a story about a man, simply a man, with both strengths and flaws.

Moving on, there's the sci-fi film Jupiter Ascending to which I'm glad I've only saw once. "Okay Darryl lay it out, how bad was Jupiter Ascending?" you may ask. Jupiter Ascending was so bad, that you would need to seek help from Professor Charles Xavier, a character from Marvel Comics superheroes the X-Men as the most powerful mutant telepath, to erase the experience of your having seen the film from your thoughts.

Mila Kunis plays Jupiter Jones who lives with her Russian American family in Chicago while also employed in house cleaning. Yet unbeknownst to her, she is also a living reincarnation of a queen long since dead from the planet Jupiter. This also makes her the inherited ruler of Earth. Whereas the queen's three siblings of the house of Abrasax who are ancient rulers, are each fighting to possess the Earth. Why? Because the life-force of people on Earth who are blissfully unaware, as well as inhabitants from other alien worlds, are actually like seeds which are stolen by the house of Abrasax to grant them continued immortality.

The overall story of Jupiter Ascending is so convoluted that it reminds me of a business calculus night class I took and remembered having struggled with. However there was one scene that made sense. British actress Tuppence Middleton who plays Kalique Abrasax, tells Jupiter, "On your world you all fight for oil and land as natural resources. But there is only one very precious resource that's worth having, and that's time." This was said, shortly after Jupiter had startlingly witnessed Kalique rejuvenate herself into a youthful and beguilingly beautiful state. Nevertheless, the film is visually stunning. And if that's your taste, then by all means go for it.

Then of course there's the foreign film Two Days, One Night whereas French actress Marion Cotillard gave a superb performance, and who is currently nominated for Best Actress. She plays Sandra who was recently discharged from a hospital, only to find out that her 16 fellow employees of a Solar panel company in Belgium, were all given a choice. The 16 were either to accept a bonus of 1,000 euros while also letting Sandra go, or, they may vote to keep Sandra yet decline there bonus. Two of the 16 declined from the jump, but she has to persuade the other 14.

Two Days, One Night is certainly not the first film which also is about predatory capitalism. There's Michael Douglas's Oscar winning performance as corporate raider Gordon Gekko in the film Wall Street, as he says, "You've got 90 percent of the American public out there with little or no net worth. I create nothing. I own. We make the rules pal," while speaking to Bud Fox. And although the manager had secretly coerced the 16 employees to vote Sandra out in the first round, there is one scene I remember that is very memorable, with the one employee, a man named Timur. She meets him just after he played soccer, and admits being ashamed of himself by voting against her in the first round. But he'll now support her in the second round. He tells her also, that he still remembers when she stepped up for him, as it was him when he once accidentally broke a few solar panels. In that incident she claimed it was her to the manager, to which Timur recounted what the manager had said to her, "What a fine example to set for the new guy." Sandra then walks away smiling, for Timur did stick to his guns to the end, and had supported Sandra. The Dardenne brothers from Belgium had certainly scored with this film, five stars out of five all the way.

So, can films be seen more than once, while also being works of art? Well obviously course.

In 2001, Prince William and Kate Middleton were students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. The art history majors (William would change his major to geography) started out as pals. Eventually their bond developed into something much more. "We were friends for over a year first and it just sort of blossomed from then on. We just spent more time with each other had a good giggle and realized we shared the same interests," Prince William told ITV News after the couple announced their engagement. "She's got a really naughty sense of humor, which kind of helps me because I've got a really dry sense of humor...and then things happened." And how did Kate feel about her prince? "There's no one quite like William," she reportedly once said. "He's really kind. You can just tell by looking at him."

By 2010, William proposed on vacation in Kenya with his mother's sapphire and diamond engagement ring that he had been carrying around in his rucksack. "It was very romantic," said Kate of the proposal which took place by their secluded log cabin in the foothills of a panoramic Mount Kenya. As she noted during their ITV interview, "there's a true romantic in there." One royal wedding, baby George and another on the way and the rest is history.

Over the centuries, several royals and their wild love have created an epic buzz--even for the time. So this Valentine's Day, click here to Parade.com to read about more royal couples famous for being madly in love.

The 2015 Academy Awards will be announced by Host Neil Patrick Harris. (Photo courtesy of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)

The 87th Academy Awards will be announced on February 22, 2015, and New York City, which promotes itself like crazy as a desirable location for shooting movies (the film industry brings literally billions of dollars to the city every year), has got some skin in the game. So, as former New York Mayor Ed Koch famously used to ask, How are we doin'? It's a question that Birdman himself, played by Michael Keaton in a flick that's a contender for Best Film, seemed to be wondering about as he strode half-naked through Times Square.

This year, three different films with "Made in NY" creds are up for the coveted Oscars, according to the New York City Office of Media and Entertainment. And a slew of other New York productions have recently won other awards.

2015 Awards for Movies Made in New York City

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) leads the pack in nominations for the 2015 Academy Award for Best Picture, with nominations as follows:

• Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role, Michael Keaton


• Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role, Edward Norton


• Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role, Emma Stone


• Outstanding Cinematography, Emmanuel


• Outstanding Directing, Alejandro G. Iñárritu


• Outstanding Sound Editing, Martin Hernández and Aaron Glascock


• Outstanding Sound Mixing, Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga


• Outstanding Original Screenplay, Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo

Of course, the competition for Best Picture is fierce. Other contenders for this year's award are: American Sniper, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash.

Two other Made in NY movies are up for consideration for Oscars in other categories. Begin Again (which has wonderful shots of iconic New York City sites) is on the short list for Outstanding Original Song with Lost Stars, with music and lyrics by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois. And Julianne Moore is up for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role, for her stunning performance in Still Alice, about a have-it-all New York professional woman who discovers she has early-onset Alzheimer's.

The Oscars may be the name of the game for the average audience, but the film industry finds many ways to decorate itself. Made in NY movies and TV shows that won other awards included Birdman (winner of several Golden Globes and 2015 Screen Actors Guild Awards), The Affair, The Normal Heart and Drama on TV (all Golden Globe winners in various categories), and Orange Is the New Black (honored at the annual Screen Actors Guild Awards). Finally, the 26th Annual Producers Guild Awards this January honored Birdman, Orange Is the New Black, and also The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and that stoop-sitter's delight, Sesame Street.

New York City Woos Film Industry
Since the mid-20th century Pleistocene era when New York's sophisticated mayor, John Lindsay, first realized there was money to be made by streamlining the logistics of filming in New York, the Big Apple has become increasingly savvy about working to attract filmmakers. But the competition is tough as profit margins shrink. So, New York lures filmmakers in a thousand clever ways, including with such services as a huge online catalog featuring enticing images of city-owned sites from beaches to bridges to courthouses. The logic is simple: the city can shortcut its own red tape, and after that....well, it's New York, who could resist?

Oscar night is coming up. How are we doin'? Stay tuned.

When the news broke Tuesday night that longtime Daily Show host Jon Stewart would be leaving his post in the coming months, the level of trauma on the internet was palpable. Some expected topics arose, within hours -- minutes, even -- of the announcement trickling out. Why would Stewart leave now? What's his plan? Who should replace him? Could the next Daily Show host be a woman? (Of course). Is this an elaborate ruse for Stewart to take over the NBC Nightly News? (Of course not).

The public conversation over the past two days has been so Stewart-centric that the retirement news effectively pushed NBC anchor Brian Williams's suspension off of social media's front pages. Part of that is the shock; we knew the other shoe was about to drop with (on?) Williams, but Stewart's departure was known only to Comedy Central brass before it was revealed to his studio audience. Part of it is how meme-worthy the parallels between the two hosts truly are ("fake newsman speaks truth, real newsman spins lies," some post on your Twitter timeline probably read). Breaking at the same time, it seems that Stewart's announcement was top news even in the halls of Congress:

Overheard multiple times around the House chamber during votes just now: "Jon Stewart's leaving the Daily Show?!"

— Cristina Marcos (@cimarcos) February 11, 2015

So much of the sadness and confusion associated with the loss of the great Jon Stewart is the sense that Stewart was (and is) a wry and stalwart truth-teller, breaking apart the fictions of the 24-hour cable news machine. And he's been great at that. Until his protégé Stephen Colbert perfected a character that fully embodied that machine, Stewart was the best in the business. Colbert exited for greener network pastures, safe in the knowledge that he'd accomplished his mission. And while a Stewart-hosted Daily Show could have stood as an important cultural institution for many more years, it's safe to say that Stewart finished the job as well.

At the risk of saying some vaguely negative things about Stewart (which, at one time in my life, I would have sworn never to do), I would argue that the trauma and confusion is misplaced. We don't need Jon Stewart anymore. It's going to be okay.

It's strange that this thought first dawned on me on Tuesday, mere hours before news of the retirement broke. I had caught up on this clip from Monday's show, in which Stewart issued his much-anticipated response to the Brian Williams scandal.

It's beautiful in its simplicity, and one can only admire the way in which Stewart and his writing staff pivot away from the media pile-on, focusing instead on the news media's tendency to pick and choose which truth claims are worthy of microanalysis (and often getting it wrong). Excellent point, Jon, and particularly interesting in light of its ties to the Iraq War, coverage of which has provided some of the show's richest material over the years.

But there's the rub. This is a point that The Daily Show has made, consistently and expertly, for well over a decade. We get it. Is there any way this point can be made any better?

It's telling (and exciting!) that so many of Stewart's acolytes have used The Daily Show as a proving ground, apprenticed in its satirical tone, and then moved on to fascinating, often profound work. There's Colbert, of course. Larry Wilmore's The Nightly Show is surely doing Stewart proud, using his platform as a conversational springboard for all manner of issues that are frequently underrepresented. The critical response has been positive; the ratings will come. Then there's John Oliver, whose Last Week Tonight on HBO has quickly become the standard-bearer for satirical TV news. Rather than target issues of news framing and ethics (Stewart's purview), Oliver systematically deconstructs institutions the news often fails at critiquing, everything from beauty pageants to the pharmaceutical business.

While each host's focus may vary, these shows advance the fundamental mistrust The Daily Show has in the American news media, while retaining trust in their audience. These programs assume a level of intelligence and engagement that few other shows expect in their viewers. Stewart took the reins of The Daily Show as a goofy parody of local news, and turned it into something smart, influential and useful. It transcended mere entertainment. And it has done its job.

Comedy Central is surely scrambling right now, debating not just about host candidates, but about what a future Daily Show should look like. For viewers, the possibilities are tantalizing. Under a new host, the show could satirize the trappings of celebrity. It could re-assume a Colbert-like posture of political (dis)engagement. Maybe it's even time to return to something resembling Craig Kilborn's sarcastic takes on entertainment news and soft-focus human interest pieces.

No matter what, though, Stewart's retirement doesn't leave a void. He's savvy enough to see that new voices, new topics, new perspectives have arrived, and that's largely thanks to him. Stewart got the ball rolling 16 years ago; let's see where it goes.

After writing my last article about how to make it in the music industry, I received a plethora of questions. It occurred to me that I left out some vital advice that might help aspiring artists who have not yet created any recorded work. I have recorded 5 albums over the last 5 years and released a remix album this past fall. I have made a lot of mistakes, as well as a lot of successful moves, and I believe it's a time in the history of music for all of us to share our stories and help independent artists evolve beyond the competitive mentality that pervades the industry.

Please talk to me on Twitter or Facebook if you have any questions about what I am sharing. My team and I are here to help!

@kelleemaize - twitter / @kelleemaizemusic - facebook

It goes without saying that there are millions of talented musicians who already know how to make music. My intention is not to share my thoughts on composing, but instead speak to creating a finished product from start to finish.

The goal of this article is to help you create music that is as professional as possible without breaking the bank. Realize that the songs you hear on the radio often can cost up to $50,000 or more (for just one song!).

I want to share what it takes to make a professional sounding song for anywhere between $100 - $1,000 so that you can confidently share, distribute and ultimately sell your song. Your song will never sound as professional as the ones on the radio ... but it can be pretty close. 50% of people discover new music from listening to the radio. Chances are, our songs won't get on the radio, but you can still target the other 50% of people that discover new music from friends, family, youtube - so putting out high quality music is powerful.

If you are making music to express yourself, not to make a living, I respect and honor that. Self-expression is definitely what drives me as well, which is why, until recently, I didn't necessarily follow this advice I'm about to share. That's also why I am sharing this with you, because when I look back I wish I had made more music and done these things earlier, so I could have been making music full time sooner. It is an amazing job!!!

Before I start, you might wonder, "How can a song you hear on the radio honestly cost so much money?" What exactly costs so much?

Here's an awesome article that talks about how much it costs to make a hit Rihanna song.

1. Songwriting -15,000


2. Production -20,000


3. Vocalist - That was Rihanna, so in this case, it was free (kinda)


4. Mixing & Mastering -15,000

So that's $50,000 for one song.

But let's now focus on doing this for around $100 - $1,000.

... and remember the most important thing: in most cases, YOU will be the Executive Producer.

What's a producer? A producer of music can have many roles, from gathering ideas for a song, to coaching the artist, to supervising the entire recording, mixing and mastering process.

** For the sake of this article and keeping things simple, we are going to assume you are a vocalist (singer, rapper, etc) that wants to make a song over a produced beat/instrumental (as opposed to a band that has real instruments and lots of members, although bands may find a lot of this applicable and helpful! I just don't have the expertise or space to get into that as in depth - being in a band again is on my list of to do's!).

Here are the 10 steps to making professional music at a fraction of the price!

1. Listen to Music Daily


2. Find Beats


3. Write Your Music


4. Create the Scratch Track


5. Get Feedback!


6. Find a Mixing Engineer


7. Recording


8. Mixing


9. Mastering


10. Storing

1. LISTEN TO MUSIC DAILY

Make a playlist of your favorite songs and continually add to it
Listen to ALL types of music. Pop, Indie, hip hop, classical, rock, music from other countries. Save all these songs somewhere on a playlist and continually listen to them over and over again. The more diverse your playlist of songs, the more diversity you can have in your sound. At the end of the day, all of these songs you are listening to have something (or many things) that are amazing about them. Take notes about each so that when it's time to make your music, you incorporate as much as you can from proven songs that have garnered attention and appreciation. NOTE - I did not always do this, and I can see now that this would have helped me so much if I had!

If you only listen to a few artists often, you may end up sounding like them, and that isn't really fulfilling or cool! So make sure you listen to as many artists as possible, so that you can develop a unique sound. It also will be helpful to understand the psychology of each song you put on your playlist too.

You're going to need these songs handy so that you can listen to them side by side with your completed song when you do Audio QA.

What's Audio QA?
QA = quality assurance. It's a term that's used across many industries. From making software to medical devices. It's the process of testing your product to "assure quality." When I say "Audio QA" in this article, it means the following.

Listen to your "hit song playlist" across all devices.

• Headphones


• Your car


• Computer speakers


• Portable speakers


• Etc

It'll be important when your music is complete to listen to your songs next to the hit songs in your playlist across all of these devices. Although your music might not sound 100% as good as the hit songs, you should be able to hit 90% quality.








2. FIND BEATS!

Always be looking for and listening to beats (aka crate digging)
By now you should be having a lot of fun. You are listening to lots of great music that is giving you some amazing inspiration. But now you're going to have to start making some tough decisions. The first tough decision will be to find some beats you like that you can eventually record yourself over. But where on earth can you find these beats? Here's where I find them.

1. A friend. Most of us have friends that "make beats." Go listen to them! You are both aspiring artists and it's likely you won't need to pay up front. You can set up an agreement with the beatmaker that you will split profits with him/her 50/50. Also tell the beatmaker that you'll credit them in the TITLE of the song ... which is huge. I love working with people I love. Make sure they understand that profits are split AFTER you have recouped what it costs to actually create the song, market, package, etc. This is usually assumed, but helpful to explain just in case, given you are both trying to get yourselves out there, this puts you on a level playing field.



2. Soundcloud. Lots of aspiring producers post their beats on soundcloud. You can tell who's hot by the amount of followers and comments they get. If you like something, create a soundcloud account and message the producer to find out what it will take to use their beat. Sometimes, you can strike a "Friend deal" like above because they understand how hard it is, but sometimes you might have to shell out a couple of bucks. And, these folks will become your friends too!



3. Soundclick. This site is made to sell and share beats. Beats can usually be leased for around $75



4. Youtube.

Here are a few more things you NEED to know.

1. Don't worry about buying a beat as an exclusive. I still don't think I am big enough to afford this luxury.



2. Just lease the beat, but make sure you get the separated track. (leasing a beat usually just implies the beat maker/ producer can lease their beat to as many artists as he/she would like)



3. Make sure you get the separated track in your hands BEFORE you start recording anything (That means you have to love the beat). Many times I've written a song to a certain beat, only to find out the producer never had the separated tracks, or the producer sold the song as an exclusive to someone else and had to take the beat down, or in some cases, they lost or misplaced the files.



4. AUDIO QA! Play the MP3 next to the other hit songs you had on your playlist. Is it high quality? Are the sound levels comparable with the hits you have on your playlist? Try it on all devices at a softer and loud volume. Often, many of these producers will not know how to create professional beats that have an audio quality that sounds crisp, clear and static-free on all devices. That's why you'll need to AUDIO QA their beats before recording over them.

What are separated tracks?
It implies that every "track" in your song is separated out so that when it comes time to mix, the engineer can adjust the levels of each track in order to create a higher quality song. For example, the producer you choose should give you the following files.

1. mp3 of the beat so that you can easily practice over it



2. Separated tracks of the sounds in the beat, each in WAV format



3. These separated tracks are usually ready to be inserted right into any mixing software (for the mixing engineer)

I once bought an instrumental that had like 30 separated tracks in it. Every drum roll, every cool sound, was tracked out lovely. It gives the mixing engineer lots of freedom when trying to mix the instrumental with my vocals. Ask the producer to do this if they can, instead of giving them to you as stems, which can mean all drum tracks together, all synth sounds together, etc.

MP3 vs WAV (compressed vs uncompressed)
Don't ever, ever, ever record over an mp3, unless it's a practice track of some sort. Mp3's are compressed (low quality) files that were designed for easy sharing and fast downloading. Your goal will be to make sure all of the files you record over are as high quality as possible. Those types of files are usually called WAV files. WAV files are about 10 times larger than MP3 files.

Yes, your output (final product) will be an mp3 ... but in order to make sure your MP3 is the highest quality mp3, you'll need to make sure that all of your ingredients to make your song are the highest quality ... which means they need to be WAV files (uncompressed / lossless)

Achieving the best mix starts with a good recording, not only of your vocals, but your instrumentals. Strive to achieve the cleanest instrumental tracks you can, with no excess noise or distortion.

The importance of "the source" when creating a mix can make or break your completed song. Oh, and here is one of my favorite videos about making a beat. It's so funny, yet informative!










3. WRITE YOUR MUSIC

It's not just about writing, but composing and delivering
Write all the time, as much as you are able, whenever you feel inspired. I wish I would have taken this advice. For real, notebooks are cheap, pens are cheaper, put one in every place you feel inspired - the toilet, outside the shower, the car (but don't write while driving!) etc. Or if you are tech savvy then do it all on your phone. For me it's a mix, I have an old love affair with notebooks and just love going back many years to see how I wrote, but using your phone is super convenient and you probably always have it on you. Just save and save and backup and backup everything.

Record all ideas on your phone
Most phones and computers have some mechanism to record at this point. Inspiration comes at weird times, if you have a melody or a line and no paper or no way to write the melody (because you're like me and can't read musical notes)- record it. This will really come in handy and you won't kick yourself for that great idea you forgot.

At the end of the day though, the more you practicing songwriting, the better you'll get.








4. MAKE A SCRATCH TRACK!

Don't waste time going to the studio until you're 100% ready
Recording, mixing, and mastering is not cheap. And if you happen to be a band, it's not only expensive, but incredibly time consuming. This is why I suggest that you start with a scratch track. A scratch track is simply a rough version of your song. Record it on your computer, but buy a decent mic though. Here's one for $50.

Just grab the mp3 of your beat and use a software like Garageband (or something similar). You're gonna need to learn this software, which should be pretty easy, since all you will be doing is recording over your beat. Once you're done (and by done, I mean you've gotten to a point where you think you can't do any better), export it to mp3 because it's time to share it with people you trust.








5. GET FEEDBACK ON YOUR MUSIC!

Keep working on your scratch track with constructive feedback
Take that scratch track and literally let every person you know (that you trust to be truthful) listen to it. Ask your friends on Facebook, email it to people, especially "music snobs", other artists, people you know that hate the music you like, and who you imagine will be your biggest fans. Get as wide of a sample as possible. This can seem intimidating given it's obviously not mixed, and probably not how you want it to be ... but that's not the point. This is a great chance to experience what it's like to be heard. Let them know it's a scratch, a draft, unmixed, etc - but also and most importantly, let them know you are not looking for kudos, you are looking for real, honest, candid feedback.

Develop a thick skin
Art is art and it should not matter what others think. It really doesn't. But if you want to live off of your art, it makes a difference what "they" think. If you are like me, criticism has been constant in your life as a creator. Some people love it, some hate it, and some are indifferent; but the fact is, as you grow it will only get harder as people are further removed from you, and will likely get meaner. I almost quit after my first youtube video launched and the comments became insane. But that's part of the process and you can ignore it eventually. But in the beginning, hopefully you will get constructive criticism that will actually help you grow. I didn't do this, btw. I just surprised everyone and was like, 'Here's my album and my release party and it's on!' I think I missed out on some vital tips that would have made me a lot better, and perhaps my first youtube comments a bit kinder.

Document critique
Write it all down, and note who said what. Suddenly you will notice that your bf has an incredibly tuned ear, your cousin listens to the same music you do, your biggest critic is helping you more than your piano teacher, and that rando funny friend on Facebook has a knack for describing your melodic choices. Soon there will be people you just know you have to get opinions from. And most of the time, they will love to give it! Remember them and offer to do things for them and help them in some way with their passion. A team for this type of feedback will be needed in the future. ;o)

Decide what, if anything, changes
So you heard the lovers and the haters. Did it matter? Were they right? Some of it will "feel" right, other notes will just feel unimportant. Where does this leave you, what do you need to work on?

Re-record your scratch track
Get more feedback until everyone thinks it's a "hit" and is super excited to hear a finished product or until you feel like its where you want it .... and DON'T let yourself be stopped. Promise yourself this before you begin. Perfection is silly. You were perfect already because you are you and no one else can do what you do. It's all subjective! Pleasing everyone is even sillier so promise yourself you will continue expressing and get it out there. Consider my free advice here as an agreement and promise to me too, that you will keep going and that ultimately you will not care what others say and put your heart out there!






6. FIND A MIXING ENGINEER FIRST!

Save yourself time from future technical issues that can arise
This part may seem strange to many people, but let me explain why. Traditionally, you find a studio you want to record, mix and master in - but that's actually really hard (and expensive) to accomplish. Recording is a craft in itself, mixing another, and mastering another. I like to treat the 3 of these separately, even though they are all interconnected. Here's why:

1. For Recording, you have to be physically present in a studio. This limits you to your local area if you want to keep things affordable.MOST OF ALL, you need to feel comfortable with the person recording you as you bare your soul.



2. For Mixing, you have the whole world at your disposal. Mixing is the "magic" that happens to your track. Finding a mixing engineer that you love, at an affordable price, that can work with you at your actual recording studio at the same time you are free, can be a challenge. Finding a mixing engineer somewhere around the world that has the time/ passion/ commitment to work with you at an affordable price is more likely. For Mastering, once your mix is complete, it can be sent off to a mastering house anywhere around the world, so this doesn't limit you either.

So why find a mixing engineer first?
Because you want that mixing engineer to be able to talk it out with the studio you will be recording in to make sure that files and sessions are able to be delivered in their preferred format. I've been through so many cases where the recording studio uses one version of Pro Tools, and the mixer another, a lot of time is wasted and it's stressful and potentially costly. This complication can be avoided if the recording studio simply records you and passes along a bounced pre-mixed track along with the raw files of your vocals ... but in many cases, a recording engineer might be able to add a few extra goodies onto your track before passing it over to the mixing engineer. Regardless, you're going to have to find a mixing engineer you can trust so you might as well do it now.

How do you find a mixing engineer?
Remember when you were looking for beats? A lot of beat makers actually have songs they've produced and mixed as well. Even if you passed up on different beats from producers, see if any of those producers you listened to on soundcloud, soundclick, etc have completed songs they can share with you. Find 5 - 10 solid producers with songs that are complete and play those songs next to your AUDIO QA playlist. Are they of similar professional quality? Play them across all the devices and play them loud to make sure those songs don't distort with high volume. If they passed the test, start contacting each producer and ask them how much they charge to mix/co-produce a song. Some may charge hourly and some may charge a flat fee. Find a producer / mixer you like, who responds quickly and who you can start a long time relationship with them. Become their facebook friend, follow them on twitter, etc. This person will be the most important in your music career.

Some may charge $100 a song. Some may charge $1,000. It all comes down to what you can negotiate. Perhaps you can offer them a percentage of profits of the song in exchange for a free mix? Perhaps you can offer them something else of value, like co-production credits??

Either way, once you find who you think is the right mixing engineer, you're going to want to let them know you are about to record your song and need their instructions on passing over all of the right files.

They'll need

1. Separated Tracks



2. Recording Session in their preferred format.

Put them in contact with the recording engineer once you find them. Be a liaison in that relationship, and don't be afraid to be persistent and diligent in following up with everyone. They are artists too, and are probably very busy, but show them both that you mean business.

But remember, the most important aspects of choosing the right mixing engineer are

1. Fast communication via text, phone, email, social media, etc (stay away from people that take more than 24 hours to respond) - respect that they may be in a session and can't respond immediately.



2. Finished songs that you have QA TESTED against your hit songs playlist and approve of the sound.



3. Mixing engineers that have vocal and music production (beat making experience) so that they can essentially, co-produce your song!

7. RECORDING YOUR MUSIC

Record your song. Get in and get out.
Now that you've found the right beat, wrote a catchy song over it, gotten people's approval and have practiced it inside out ... it's time to record it. Here's where you have to get VERY professional. You'll need to find a local recording studio where you want to get in and get out as quickly as possible so that you keep your costs low.

Recording studios can cost anywhere from $50-200 bucks an hour depending on where you live. Just google your city name + recording studio, call them up, and ask them how much they charge an hour. Your goal is to spend 2 hours TOPS in the studio because you know your song inside out and you know exactly what you want to do on your song. I memorize my lyrics before hand, some artists don't like doing that but for me it makes the process SO much easier. Make sure the studio you choose is professional and has samples of songs similar to the genre of the song you are creating.

Don't expect the recording engineer to give you any feedback on your song. You're not paying for that. You're paying for someone to record your vocals as clear and crisp as possible, so that you can take those files and give them to your mixing engineer. You do, however, need to feel comfortable with them. Stop by to visit them before you pay for a session. Most studios will be fine with this.

If you want real time feedback, advice, and guidance while you are recording, then bring someone with you to help you- a vocal coach, a song writer, another artist. Engineers should however, tell you when a take has an audio issue, you mess up, or they hear something strange. Good engineers often don't even explain the issue, but just ask to have you try it again, to save time. The engineer should move faster than you and be ready to record right away if you stop, mess up or need to go back. If it takes a long time for them in these instances, they may not be that experienced and I would consider finding someone else next time.

Lay down lots of tracks, if you can, of each part of your song: doubles, triples, harmonies, adlibs, etc. In some cases you may want a very raw, one vocal or acapella sound but its still good to get many takes and save them. This gives your mixing engineer more to work with if one take was not as good, or he needs to thicken your voice to achieve a particular effect.

When you're all set, you should receive WAV files of separated tracks of your vocals along with the actual session (generally Pro Tools), so that you can give it to your mixing engineer.







8. MIXING YOUR MUSIC

This is where the magic happens
Send your mixing engineer the session / files so that they can get to work. The mixing engineer's job is to not only take your vocals and instrumental and achieve a proper volume balance but also add effects and any production enhancements to the song. This is why it's so important to find a mixing engineer that you love, because this is where all the magic happens with your song. Mixing is half science, half art, so you'll want to make sure your engineer possesses both of those passions so that your song will not only sound clear, crisp and balanced, but also creative, fun and entertaining. It is awesome if this person can be local so you can work right there with them, but again, it's more important that they have the skills!

Treat your mixing engineer like gold, as he/she will probably end up being one of your best friends - even if you never meet in in person, you will be making magic together! And remember, your mixing engineer should be able to:

• analyze your style / groove


• find the most important elements of the song to emphasize and de-emphasize


• balance all of the tracks


• add effects


• fine tune the final mix

When your mix is complete, make sure you perform Audio QA on it. Although Mastering your song will take it to the next level, your mix should sound pretty good next to other hit songs.

Here's a great youtube video that really shows you what the mixing process is like. Take the time to watch this later ... it's over 40 minutes long, but you might as well know what goes into making your song so that you can have a greater appreciation and respect for the craft of it.











9. MASTERING YOUR MUSIC

This is where the polishing happens
IMO your mixing engineer usually can't master your song properly. Your mastering will have to be done by an actual mastering studio. I learned this from my good friends at Tree Lady Studios here in Pittsburgh. Garret, the owner, taught me that Mastering is the last step in the creative process, but the first step in the manufacturing process of making a song.

Mastering brings out the best parts of your music.

A professional mastering engineer is a craftsman who assembles, polishes, and puts a final sonic wrapper on your recording. It helps your song not only sound great across all devices, but also takes your song to the next level. It's so important if you want a professional sounding product that will last forever.

Mastering engineers never use near-field reference monitors (speakers) found in recording studios. Instead, they use a single pair of wide-range speakers. These speakers are usually driven with custom boutique power amps and wired with specialized cables. They let you hear things 'you didn't know were there' which is great for Audio QA.

The real reason mastering is SO necessary is because mixes done on typical studio speakers (reference monitors) often fool the mixing engineer into thinking that the mix is good enough. Better speakers, amps, acoustics, etc, reveal the flaws that need attention and the areas that can be enhanced.

When your mastering engineer is done with your song, do Audio QA on it next to your mixed song and see if you can notice the difference. Then play it next to your hit songs playlist and see if your sound quality is as good as the hits. If it is, and you're happy, then you're ready!

If you're curious about Mastering, you should watch this later.










10. STORING YOUR MUSIC

Keep every last music file safe and organized for future use
Throughout the entire process, you're going to need a reliable place to store everything. I use Dropbox for $15 a month. It may sound expensive, but it's TOTALLY worth it for me. Why? Because every last file you use needs to be in a secure place that you can always access for quick sharing. Every beat, every mix, every separated track, every master, every MP3, every Pro Tools Session. EVERY. LAST. FILE. And, if you can, buy a hard drive and save it there too!

SAVE IT! NAME IT! KEEP THEM ORGANIZED!
This is SO SO SO Important and I have learned from MANY mistakes. You'll need every thing in a very organized fashion that you can access quickly. Recently I was reminded of how important this was when I wanted to release a Remix Album of a ton of old songs with one of my fav mixing engineers/producers J.Glaze. Thank goddess we had it all saved or essentially my 6th album would have never been made!








RELEASING YOUR MUSIC
Let the games begin!
I wrote that article already. How To Make It In Music. ;o)


I hope this article helps you get started with turning your music into a finished, professional sounding product that you can share with the world forever! Much love and blessings to you in your creative process!

Please say hi, or let me know what you think on my twitter or facebook!

Photo credit: Sarah Barlow / Billboard.com

Listen to any of the songs on '1989', the new album from Taylor Swift, and you'll notice that Swift doesn't just sing those lyrics - she acts them. There are nuances and inflections that she milks with the precision of an actress.

That scope for drama, and irony, and occasional comedy tells us that there are things going on inside the words of the songs that are worth a closer look.

Swift uses metaphor and simile, as do many songwriters, but what makes her current lyrics interesting are three unusual techniques specifically designed to make things sound weird -- to mix things up.

Clashing Contexts

"'Cause darling I'm a nightmare, dressed like a day-dream"

It's my favorite line from 'Blank Space'. How often do you see the words nightmare and daydream so close together. They're a clash. They don't belong in the same sentence.

Here's another one, this time from 'I Wish You Would':

"Band-aids don't fix bullet-holes"

Little tiny band-aids -- good for covering a paper-cut, but worthless when set against a bullet-hole!

And finally, another personal favorite, once again from 'Blank Space':

We'll take this way too far,
It will leave you breathless,
Or with a nasty scar.

Those first two lines contain gushing, emotional language - 'way too far' and 'breathless'. When she describes that scar, we expect Swift to use similarly rushing words such as 'livid' or 'vicious' or 'lethal'. But no - it's a 'nasty' scar.

That's how you'd describe an injury to a small boy! "Ohhhh... what a nasty cut. Where's that bandaid?"

Mixing-up phrases like this creates surprise in your audience, and surprises always grab attention.

Flipping Cliches

Cliches are tired, over-used old phrases. Pop songs are packed with them. You can tell it's a cliche when people can complete the entire phrase having heard only the first few words.

For example, complete the two following cliches: 'Built to.......' and 'Fade.........'.

You probably came up with some variant on 'Built to last' and 'Fade away'. Taylor's versions though give us '....built to fall apart.' and 'Fade into view.' She's taking cliches and giving them unexpected endings. Those endings, spike our interest.

It's a simple technique to copy. Find a list of cliches online, and play with the endings.

For example, could a lazy person be described as 'Up at the crack of lunchtime'? Or how about describing a tight-fisted person as having 'Both feet planted firmly on their wallet'?

People born to extreme privilege are described as having been 'born with a silver spoon in their mouths'. When you get used to playing with cliches, you soon realise that maybe the mouth isn't the only location where that spoon could have been planted, and a whole new descriptive option suddenly becomes available to you.

Cliches delivered straight, are boring. Cliches modified are fun!


Confusing Senses

Swift's final musical twist takes our senses and churns them up. It has us hearing colors, or seeing sounds, as in:

'....screaming color' and 'Kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats'.

It's called synesthesia, and takes a little getting used but is well worth the effort. The next time you want to describe a sound for example, ask yourself what color the sound might have been. If you want to describe a smell, ask what yourself texture it had. If describing a texture, wonder what flavor you would associate with it. When you start to play with your senses in this way then your descriptive power increases tremendously.

Over the months to come as tracks from '1989' continue to be released, you're guaranteed to hear people humming the tunes. If you enjoy playing with words and wonderful ways to arrange them though, then spend some time with Taylor Swift's lyrics as well.

On Saturday, January 31st, at 11:00, I tucked into the Lobero Theatre for the sold-out Writer's Panel featuring Oscar nominees, Graham Moore ("The Imitation Game"), Anthony McCarten ("The Theory of Everything"), Jason Hall ("American Sniper"), Dan Gilroy ("Nightcrawler"), Max Frye ("Foxcatcher"), Alex Dinelaris ("Birdman"), and Damien Chazelle ("Whiplash"). Anne Thompson of IndieWIRE moderated. She started by asking "Why are there so few women?" Thankfully, Graham Moore jumped in with the much needed balm to the awkwardness of the panel of all men (and audience included) with "I don't think anyone here is qualified to answer that question. We are all a bunch of dudes!" Laughter broke out and the conversation was in swing! Phew!


Ms. Thompson ran a perfect panel that moved swiftly with every writer being heard from. It almost felt like the panelists had been coached beforehand as it was seamless. It was an amazing group to assemble, all nominated for an Academy Award! Bravo SBIFF! Moore, Chazelle, Hall and McCarten are nominated in the Writing Adapted Screenplay category, and Dinelaris, Frye and Gilroy in the Writing Original Screenplay category. Five of the films are nominated for Best Picture, "The Imitation Game," "The Theory of Everything," "American Sniper," "Birdman," and "Whiplash."




Alex Dinelaris speaking about how "Birdman" came into being, said, "It all began with Alejandro telling me 'I want to do a film in one take, a play shot in a theatre.' The first image Alejandro had was a guy in his underwear floating in the air." Alex went on,"Alejandro wanted to explore where he was as an artist, the war that he was having with his ego." When they weren't in the same town, Alex and Alejandro would Skype one another until the time came when they "were laid out in Los Angeles for weeks. Everything was meticulously rehearsed."

Max Frye on "Foxcatcher," described sitting down with Bennett Miller (director), "I started in '07 and worked for 3 months. Bennett had collected masses of information. The bulk of my time was figuring out what the story was. We had a road map that we were following. It wasn't until we were well into it that we realized the story was about Dave Shultz."

Dan Gilroy, "I do a lot of studio jobs and feel constrained by that. I sat down to write a script wanting to break all these conventions." Gilroy spoke of his obsession with local nightly news. "It is like Kabuki theater." On his wife, Rene Russo, being in the film, "Rene brought a vulnerability to the work that was not in the script."

Jason Hall on "American Sniper" said that when he went down to Texas to meet Chris Kyle for the first time he did not immediately feel a connection. He had spent the day with Chris and had experienced him as emotionally shut-off, not unlike those with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). It wasn't until Chris' children entered the room, and "he spread his arms out to his kids" that Jason saw a different side to Kyle than he had over the 24 hours prior. "There was a softer side." Jason recognized that "in creating a soldier, these people have to do something else, to take another man's life." In developing the story so that it would be true to him, "Chris helped me work on the first draft of the screenplay." Jason described the film by saying, "This is a movie about a soldier, what the cost is to a soldier and what the cost is to his family."

Graham Moore on describing how he came to write, "The Imitation Game," said it all began with his childhood and that he "was an incredible computer nerd. Alan Turing had always been a tremendous influence on me." A coincidental meeting put Moore at a party with one of the producers of the film in development. "I totally lost my shit. I would have been a PA on this movie. I was so lucky to write the screenplay."


It was really fun to hear how the writers approached their writing.

Damien commented, "how little a part the actual writing is. 90% is me sitting on couches, feeling really shitty about myself, putting it off. I realize that's where the writing happens. I need enough will power and shame."

Alex said his process is, "incredibly similar. I spend 8-9 months structuring something in my mind. When I am cooking dinner that's where my subconscious builds up. Until I get to the point where I want to kill myself. Then I go to this place in Puerto Rico (with no phones and internet) and commit to writing a draft before I come back."

Dan, "when I find one (an idea), I become passionate. My subconscious is always working on it, it's thinking about it, watching tv, reading newspapers."

Jason, "I have 3 kids. I am that guy that sits in a coffee shop for 13 hours. I have a song that goes with each thing. I listen to Moby piano. I've never been to war so (when writing "American Sniper") I listened to what they listened to, Aerosmith, Ozzy, Metalica, Hate Breed. I found a very dark song and let it pollute my mind. I tried to create as much conflict through my ears."

Anthony, "I use noise, radio, tv, a vacuum cleaner. I wrote a lot on a train and in a coffee shop."





In the afternoon, there was a Producer's Panel moderated by Glenn Whipp of the Los Angeles Times that included Cathleen Sutherland ("Boyhood"), Teddy Schwarzman ("The Imitation Game"), Robert Lorenz ("American Sniper"), John Lesher ("Birdman"), John Kilik ("The Foxcatcher"), Jeremy Dawson ("The Grand Budapest Hotel"), and Lisa Bruce ("The Theory of Everything"). Again, bravo SBIFF! What a lineup!







"It took 12 years to make 'Boyhood.'" said Cathleen Sutherland, who started off as the Production Manager. "We couldn't afford to hire a Producer so I ended up doing it. Every year we submitted a synopsis and a budget to IFC to get 200k a year. We were the last film on their books."

Lisa Bruce said that "it took a decade to put 'The Theory of Everything,' together." A big part of that process was "getting Jane, until she could trust" the team to make the film. Anthony McCarten, who adapted the screenplay from Jane Hawking's autobiography, Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen Hawking, "had been on it 3 years before" Lisa came on. "It took us so long to get the rights. It was daunting for Jane to think of putting her personal life on film." With film, the goal is to "try and tell the truth of your emotional world. We were putting 28 years into a 2 hour film. We were going for the truth of their journey on an emotional level, like poetry. After she (Jane) signed, it was one year of shooting."




Jon Kilik said that for "Foxcatcher," he and Bennett Miller "sat down in an apartment and talked about making a movie. There was an article that we had read that we had been given" about John Eleuthere du Pont and the brothers, Mark and Dave Shultz, that they became fascinated with." Although the lives are real, the film becomes the Director's version of the story. It is important to remember that. It is a very delicate process. 'Foxcatcher' took many years of development." Finally, "Megan Ellison made it happen. In her, we found a partner."

Robert Lorenz has worked with Clint Eastwood producing his films for 20 years. "He kept asking me to do more and more." When Spielberg dropped out of the deal, Clint came on for Warner Bros. "We made 'American Sniper' in a year. We shot in Morocco."




John Lesher was Alejandro's agent for 15 years. "Everyone wanted to work with Alejandro. He is a 'force of nature!' You have to trust his instincts. You ride the wave. Every day is it's own journey. It is great to really know someone because if we fight, we know there is trust and love." Lesher affectionately described Inarritu's enthusiasm to create, "a Mexican guacamole cappuccino sushi." "For the scene with Michael Keaton in his underwear, on that day it was raining and we did not have enough extras. We used a marching band that they found to distract the people in Times Square. The line item was 0 for music. Alejandro said, 'it's going to be drums!' We rehearsed the movie for weeks and we shot in 29 days."




Jeremy Dawson describes working on "The Grand Budapest Hotel," with Wes Anderson directing, "Here is a guy who can get things done. We worked together on 'The Darjeeling Limited,' and have worked together ever since. Part of the reason people use the same people is they have a sense of how they work. We used stop motion animation and storyboarded it. We use a location that is no more than 10 minutes away, so it doesn't make it hard to go back and forth 17 times. The screenplay was so ambitious! It was terrifying."

Teddy Schwarzman, commented that "quality scripts can be at a studio or independently. With a good script, like 'The Imitation Game,' there is a lot of hype. Leo DiCaprio wanted to do it. You have to recognize what is organic about the story. We wanted a British director. With so many different tones, platonic love, love of knowledge, hype of WWII, race against time, we wanted a director who could bring all of that together. Benedict Cumberbatch came to us. With other films you can have the experience where you are 'begging, borrowing and stealing' but for this one, it was the opposite." On the process of creating a film, Schwarzman said, "All of us make these films because we care. Everyone wants to find a way to achieve that."




Lisa Bruce, "With every movie, exhaustion gives way. The director was having 6-7 cappuccinos! There is that rhythm and it is really important to have an understanding about timing, knowing when and how to say things. Documentary film is riding your own bike. Feature film is like getting on a bus with a lot of people."

When you "tell a true story," it is clear that the film is always a version of the story as interpreted by the director. There are elements that are created for the sake of the film in telling the story. There are "creative licenses taken." As Teddy Schwartzman said, "It's a balance. If it was an actual event, we want to be accurate. We've taken flack because everyone had called it, 'The Bomb.' We named the machine 'Christopher' because it embodies something that we wanted to express in the film, an emotional truth." Christopher Morton was Alan Turing's lover and a very important person in his life.

Lisa Bruce, "Everyone in a family has a different experience of the same event. As we get older, it keeps morphing." Lisa told us that Stephen Hawking's 30 year old son was on the set watching filming and that it was moving for him to see his father (Benedict Cumberbatch playing him) as a young man before his body had given in to ALS. "I never knew my father as a well-bodied man."

Teddy, "Even if it is inspired by real events, it is an interpretation. Echoing what John has said, films should be viewed as on their own. We all pour ourselves in to these films and you have to accept the criticism."

Jon Kilik, "When you make a film, the Director's story gets into it. It is a very personal process. It is an art form."







Photo credits: Sally Fay

Whether you're an aspiring songwriter trying to get in the game, or a seasoned pro trying to stay in the game, or for that matter, any hopeful fill-in-the-blank with an eye on a prize, it helps to have a passion on the side. Something to do while we're aspiring. Waiting for our big break. Or a little break. Something peripheral (or not so peripheral) that keeps us from being hyper-focused and obsessed. Something that makes us want to put eggs in other baskets. Perhaps that one basket could use some relief.


For creative types, giving it some space helps us gain perspective and return with fresh ideas and interesting words. It helps us avoid defaulting to our own redundant settings.


With all the modern gadgets that compete for our attention we have become so adept at multitasking. Why can't we take on more than one joy?


Dan and Leah (aka Dreamlab) were just starting out as writer/producers when we first met and collaborated in 2006. They were married, child-free and busy. We were thrilled to get an album cut (remember those?) with Vanessa Hudgens. I remember Dan taking pride serving up the most excellent coffee with an impressive espresso machine in their kitchen during writing breaks. I remember the two of them talking about having a kids. And hits. When would it all happen? How would they juggle?


Now, almost ten years later, with some big singles to their name, they're in the studio pretty regularly with Selena Gomez and they have expanded their family: Rooney is toddling about and Goldie is a bun in Leah's oven. They're juggling just fine. Between producing records and being parents you'd think there would be no time for anything else. But this weekend, Dan and Leah are opening their passion on the side: Red Window Coffee...a tiny specialty coffee bar on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. For many years it was a fantasy. Now it's real. Perhaps their passion on the side allowed freedom for other dreams with minds of their own (especially when we try to control them) to come to fruition.


Honestly, sometimes I think most things won't happen until we look away. (Dreams don't like to be stared at.) But we must look away with authenticity. We can't pretend to. You can't fool the Universe.


Last week, I was a guest on That'll Play, a podcast hosted by two young men (relative to me) from my home turf of Long Island. Respectively, they are a graphic designer and a Christmas tree wholesaler by trade. That's how they make their living. But the podcast is their mistress. Their playground away from real life. They love having conversations with friends and strangers about film, music, sports, technology and the entertainment industry. I don't know what they look like behind the desks of their day jobs but with headphones on through a Skype screen they appeared pretty fired up. We had a pre-Grammy conversation about the changing music business while my homemade (via Silver Palate) chili stewed. I was having company for the telecast later that evening.


Have a listen to our conversation:



Things happen mysteriously when we're not trying so hard to make them happen. Rain falls. Hits go up charts. Babies are born. Podcast get syndicated. Why does it feel like water boils so much faster when we're not tapping our foot and holding a tea bag. Truth is it doesn't. It's just that if we are occupied and engaged in something while those molecules are doing their thing the waiting doesn't feel so much like...well...waiting.


And if it's not happening fast enough, or if it never happens at all, at least we're not sitting around milking our angst. I am no expert. I have to remind myself of these things every day as I navigate the wacky terrain of the songwriting business.



One day, maybe I'll get nominated for another grammy. Maybe one day I'll win one. That remains to be seen. In the meantime, I'm going to keep on blogging, making chili, spending time with friends and supporting good people's endeavors. Because, thank you John Lennon, life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.





Please visit me at ShellyPeiken.com and on my Serial Songwriter Facebook Page.

I was informed of Jon Stewart's retirement from The Daily Show by an NPR news alert, which was swiftly followed by a deluge of texts, emails, and Facebook messages from friends. They were concerned about how I was coping with the news.

I responded: "Don't worry I'm in denial! Check back tomorrow when I'm in depression."

I always say that my number one life goal is to do something meaningful enough to be interviewed by Jon on The Daily Show. It sounds like a joke or logic from a misguided value system (because the meaningful accomplishment should be the goal itself, not the means to the goal, duh). However the aspiration is genuine and principled: I consider being worthy of an interview on The Daily Show to be the most honorific validation of one's social, political, cultural, and/or scientific impact within American intellectual-pop culture.

Sure getting a Nobel Prize would be an honor, but being interviewed by Jon because I received a Nobel--that's when I'd pause and think, "oh yeah, I've done something with my life." Now that he's retiring my goal is dead. I guess I'll just become a degenerate.

No, no. I will miss Jon, but I'm confident that the show will carry on with the same character due to its incredible team of writers and correspondents. I've progressed through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance--and now I just want to express my gratitude and nostalgia for the sixteen years that Jon has given us.



Caption: Watching The Daily Show at my parent's lake house in 2010.



Caption: Watching The Daily Show at the Marriott Hotel in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia in 2014.



Caption: Watching The Daily Show in Istanbul this January.

This is why I am emphatically grateful for Jon and The Daily Show:

First, in terms of political and social consciousness, The Daily Show has raised me from ignorant apathetic to smart-ass, concerned citizen. In part I used to ignore the news because it was boring: it was Dan Rather constipatedly delivering headlines to my dad, who sat in a lazy boy, eating dinner off a tray in our TV room. When dad got fed up about "the stinking Republicans" etc., we were allowed change the channel to Simpsons reruns. Yay cartoons! Boo news!

But more deterring was the fact that most news is depressing, without prospect of clear and positive resolution. Conventional news shows buffer the devastating nature of their content by ending with uplifting fluff: A football team sang the Frozen song! A potbelly pig and a kitten are snuggling! That's swell, but I haven't forgotten that ISIS and Boko Haram are massacring thousands, gun violence in America is rampant, and Congress is willfully impotent.

The Daily Show, however, provides the right form of comfort: caustic camaraderie. It helps me cope with the disheartening and infuriating problems of our world by reminding me that there are other reasonable people, just as disheartened and infuriated as me. Rather than becoming paralyzed by the absurdity, hypocrisy, and tragedy that dominate current events, we can first of all laugh, and then see what we can do to improve things. Through humor Jon has eased my anxieties and galvanized my activist spirit. It's a cynical and often lazy activist spirit, but it's in there and he knows how to talk to it.

Thank you Jon for making me an informed and caring citizen through your gift of intelligent humor.



Caption: Watching The Daily Show in Amman, Jordan in 2013. So I have a weird habit of taking pictures of watching The Daily Show while traveling.

The art of film directing has been revered since the days of the Lumière Brothers, before the title of director had even been bestowed. Now, the director has achieved a level of celebrity that is only growing exponentially. Some directors are considered auteurs, where their name is directly correlated with a distinct style or aesthetic. Other directors are visionaries who have the power to resurrect extinct animals or create mythical landscapes so real that even Mother Nature herself would approve. There are also those who are risk takers, continually pushing boundaries, challenging their audiences and bending genres. No matter what style or method a director uses, none of them could achieve success without the dedication of their assistant directors.

For the first time, filmmaker Leonardo Corbucci is capturing the stories of some of cinema's most accomplished assistant directors. With only a trailer and a 60 minute preview available for press and distribution, the full length feature is due to release in March of 2015. "The AD is the oil which makes the engine work," Steve Lanning poignantly states in the film. Legendary AD explores the amount of energy and creative work behind the first assistant director. They not only play a huge role in the production of major motion pictures, but have their own visions, inputs, concepts, stories and personalities that often go unseen. Blood, sweat, and tears are not just a part of their job, but a part of their lifestyle. In this documentary, the organism that is the film crew is compared to the structure of an atom, where the director, director of photography and assistant director are the nucleus with protons and electrons whizzing around them. While they each serve their own purpose, the organism could not function successfully without all of these elements intact. A truly collaborative form of art.

Legendary AD features prolific ADs such as Nilo Otero (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Seven, Blood Diamond), Burt Bluestein (The Godfather II, Point Break, Bloodsport), Henry J. Lange Jr. (Happy Days, My Name is Earl, Raising Hope, The Godfather II, Sleeper), Steve Lanning (Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back, Gandhi, Superman, The Omen), William Paul Clark (Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained, Kill Bill, Jackie Brown, Rambo, The Rules of Attraction), and David H. Venghaus Jr. (Forrest Gump, Pirates of the Carribean, Minority Report, Natural Born Killers, Tropic Thunder, Catch Me if You Can), just to name a few. In private interviews, they each share insights about their experiences on the rollercoaster ride of filmmaking. Going behind the screens of some of film history's most beloved movies, we are transported into a world where the magic is real and so are the actors. Burt Bluestein recounts his personal experience with the great Robert DeNiro and his meticulous work ethic, Steve Lanning tells a comical story of Marlon Brando's off-camera antics and William Paul Clark discusses what it was like to work with Quentin Tarantino. "I think the biggest thing is you've gotta have no ego," according to Henry J. Lange who often works in live television. A cinephile's fantasy, we are given a glimpse into the Technicolor dream of Hollywood from the perspective of the assistant director.

Beyond storytelling, this documentary serves an even deeper purpose. While the assistant director is essentially the "circus ringmaster," as jested by Nilo Otero, their work no longer has the opportunity to be recognized at the Academy Awards. There have been many discontinued Academy Award categories such as Best Dance Direction and Best Title Writing. Best Dance Direction disintegrated with the golden era of Hollywood in the 1960s and Best Title Writing died with the birth of sound. The category for Best Assistant Director, however, only lasted between 1934-1938 and unlike its defunct counterparts, has actually become a much larger and more involved position. Not even categorized to be able to vote on the films, they are shuffled into the "uncategorized" section giving them no voice and no recognition. Leonardo Corbucci's ambition is to bring awareness to the eyes of not just the Academy, but to those who want nothing more than to gain knowledge about the movies they love. A strong, yet eloquent, way of sending a message, the inspiring stories told straight from the minds of these legendary assistant directors speak for themselves.

The first of his Legendary Series, Leonardo Corbucci endeavors to tell the story of the stories untold. Concentrating on those in the film industry who have accomplished epic achievements with little to no recognition, the goal of this series is to reveal how extraordinary these people truly are. To be human is to forever move forward in this raging river of life with the hopes of swimming hard enough to make a ripple. Some human's ripples reach across space and time, while others make no ripples at all. But what of those ripples that no one sees? It does not mean they were not made. Legendary AD is full of charismatic humans who have dedicated their lives to the creation of an art form that is loved by the world. Because of Leonardo Corbucci's vision, their achievements will not only be seen, but immortalized.



Legendary AD Trailer: https://vimeo.com/78977715
Website: http://www.legendaryad.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LegendaryAd
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2850318/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

As empowering as it is to feel oh-so-scandalous and a little bit naughty...as charming as it seems to be the star of someone else's fantasy...pull the wool off your eyes for a second, and think before you go buying a ticket to 50 Shades of Grey.

Forget your boyfriends, forget your husbands, forget any affects that idealizing a relationship like that of Anastasia Steele & Christian Grey could have on any of your future relationships. FORGET ABOUT THAT.

Focus on YOU for a minute. Focus on you as a woman, a sister, a mother, a mom to-be, a father, a man, a brother, a son. What message are we sending when we choose to glorify a deceptively misogynistic depiction of what being wanted, often confused with love, looks like?

I can not bear the thought of a world in which this is acceptable. I can't imagine young girls believing it's okay for someone to boss them around in the bedroom, where their bodies and emotions are the most vulnerable, and control them beyond. It's one thing to allow yourself to be "taken", and another to feel that's how it should be, in order to be loved (herein lies the problem). While naivety and submission often look coy, while it FEELS attractive and playful - it is eternally deceiving. What was once glorified now turns into yet another sad, devastating story and cycle of abuse, confusion, abuse.

IF YOU MUST watch 50 Shades of Grey, stream it on some illegal streaming site out there. Don't give Hollywood $$$ for this. DON'T.

I know it's not exactly fun to sit amongst friends and not be able to join in the latest convos, I've been there, a lot. But why not consider this an opportunity to strum up conversation about people in the public eye who are working their ass off to push us forward, not backwards? Women with strong voices like Sheryl Sandberg and her movement with Lean In, funny and intelligent no-bullshit women like Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler.

If you want to put up the argument that this movie/book series is just for fun and fantasy, good luck telling your 12-year-old that. When she comes home from school because everyone has seen 50 Shades of Grey (which they streamed online for free by the way), and notices the book on your nightstand which you tried to hide (first sign), or found the digital copy in your password-protected iPad (that unbeknownst to you she hacked the second day you bought it). Then try to explain the deeply emotional and complicated issue of control, self-respect, and what exactly is crossing the line between the sheets (aka rape culture)...and finish it off with my personal favorite, "Do as I say not as I do."

Do not even get me started on what message it's sending to the boys of the world...I can't. Even.

We have to hold ourselves accountable amongst one another. It's not just about you, it's about women and men everywhere. If you think this film is an expression of women exercising freedom of speech or liberating their sexuality, you are sadly mistaken. Pull the wool off of your eyes and let this TREND (keyword), pass by in the night, as if it was a dark cloud in the sky covering the moonlight, only for a moment. Then hopefully Susan B. Anthony can stop rolling over in her grave.

Looking for a Valentine's Day card in the supermarket, I instead snapped up the new Time/Life magazine's glossy anniversary edition of "The Sound of Music: 50 Years Later, the Hills Are Still Alive." I've been intimate with this enduring musical longer than any romance. Its music accompanies every stage of my life like a soundtrack--or a faithful partner.

When the film version of The Sound of Music catapulted Julie Andrews from dissed Broadway star to Hollywood diva, it was 1965 and America was roiled with racial tensions. What better time for Rodgers and Hammerstein to echo songs that defied and defeated Hitler's dark pursuit of racial purity? When I first saw the musical, I was living in the South; and my Virginia high school was finally being integrated.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 changed everything, including our music. On buses, our transistor radios played hit anthems, with James Brown shouting, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" or Sam Cooke promising, "A Change is Gonna Come." With Motown's Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, the Temptations and the Supremes--blacks and whites sang the same songs. And so many of us mobbed the same movies, that it made The Sound of Music a musical juggernaut.

Why in such a tumultuous time did a non-hip musical take hold? In my Northern Virginia theater, I sat with a trio of black girls from my basketball team, which was now almost all African-American. On the court, these girls defended me like bodyguards from the athletic race riots that often broke out. Riots also flared up in classrooms, the cafeteria, and parking lots. Sometimes going to school was navigating a war zone. (Like today's teens, but without the automatic weapons.) In the Sixties we had safer and more sophisticated weapons: fists and sports, protest marches and songs.

Sitting with my basketball teammates, I also watched The Sound of Music through their eyes and ears. When wayward, singing nun, Maria propels herself into her first frightening interview with the von Trapp family by declaring, "I have confidence . . . in confidence alone . . ." we all found ourselves humming along. This was a song that could accompany our next anti-Vietnam protest or civil rights march. The lyrics were sunny and hopeful; but the subtext was conquering our worst fears.

By the time we got to the reprise of "Climb Every Mountain" the mother superior was a mother to us all. Weren't we also young and trying to climb out of a history of hurt, of injustice, of a Civil War that was still very much the walking bass of the South? Weren't we, like the von Trapp singers, escaping the trap of racism? At the end of the musical, we walked out of the theater arm-in-arm with more determination to sing our way as strong women to a better world.

Years went by in my long relationship with the Sound of Music when it was simply in the background of my own personal history. I'd sing a rousing chorus of "My Favorite Things" with my own siblings at family reunions. My local singing group would perform "How do You Solve A problem Like Maria?" in four-part harmonies; I'd teach my niece how to hear harmonies with the elegant thirds of "Do Re-Mi." I'd create CD compilations called "Life is a Musical" and often include a cut from Sound of Music. And I'd hum the "Edelweiss" waltz like a mantra when I was feeling blue or stuck in Seattle commuter traffic.

In my office, one of my co-workers, Roy, confided in me that he was very troubled by his daughter's new boyfriend. The kid was a punk rocker whose leather, tattoos, and cruel piercings practically shouted his immoral intentions. One night when the scary boyfriend came calling, the couple shut themselves into the basement rec room. Roy expected the worst: date rape or maybe even murder. Roy protectively grabbed a baseball bat and stormed down the stairs to save his daughter. Kicking open the door, baseball bat raised above his head, Roy heard:

"The hills are alive . . . with the sound of music . . ." and saw his daughter sitting demurely holding hands with the punk rocker, as they both sang along with Julie.

My own lifelong romance with The Sound of Music also includes a sing-along. Recently I watched the film in the traditional New Year's sing-along at Seattle's Fifth Avenue Theater. I attended the nostalgic gala with a new lover, feeling a little silly and shy about my much longer love affair with the film and its music. I well knew The New York Times mocked the film as "cosy cum-corny."

Nervously I waited for the dreaded dismissal of my musical taste. Instead, during the very first scene when the nuns sing their stirring "Alleluias," my date took my hand and held it during the entire film. Quite cozy.

I'm not the only one married to The Sound of Music for decades. A recent NBC live revival of the musical attracted "colossal numbers" of 18.47 million, making it one of the network's biggest non-sports events. Interestingly, it wasn't just those of us who grew up with the songs; the coveted 18-49 demographic was NBC's largest since the 2009 "ER" finale. The best thing about this revival was Moyer's Captain von Trapp role with just a hint of his "True Blood" eternal vampire lover. And of course, Audra McDonald hit it out-of-the-park with her soaring "Climb Every Mountain"--now on my personal iTunes playlist.

This year in many of my Valentine's Day cards to family and friends, I'll include a gift certificate for The Sound of Music's 50th Anniversary edition. I'll inscribe my cards with what Christopher Plummer said in the Time/Life tribute about singing with his life-long friend, Julie Andrews--like "being hit over the head with a big Valentine's Day card, every day." Is life really a musical? My long love affair with The Sound of Music suggests that it is. For better or worse, this music will always be one of my favorite things.~

Brenda Peterson is the author of 18 books, including the recent I Want to Be Left Behind, which independent booksellers chose as a "Great Read" and "Indie Next." Your Life is a Book: How to Craft and Publish Your Memoir is just out and featured on Oprah.com. For more: www.BrendaPetersonBooks.com

On Saturday, January 31st, in the afternoon, I attended the World Premiere of an independent film called, "The Truth About Lies," by first time director, Phil Allocco. The film, somewhat autobiographical, centers around a twenty something guy named Gilby, who loses his job, apt. and girlfriend and has to go live with his swinging, booze-loving, man-izer mother, May. Gilby tries lying as a way to get his life back to a desirable place. We see how all that works for him! The film is an entertaining "Rom-Com" that moves right along.


(Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Sharon, Fran Kranz as Gilby Smalls)


In the Q&A afterwards the Director/Writer/Producer Phil Allocco, Cast members Odette Annable, Colleen Camp (also a producer), Adam David Thompson, Zebedee Row and Producer Steve Carr were on hand to talk about the movie.




Allocco says, "It was a crazy adventure being a first-time director. There was chemistry on set. We really had fun. Everyone brought ideas." One of the actors added, "Phil wrote a fantastic script. It all works from the top down. Phil fenced off the playground and we brought the toys! We ran with it and adlibbed. Thanks Phil for letting us have fun!" Odette Annable said, "Phil made a stress free zone!"

How did he strike that balance? Phil replied, "We talked a lot and in rehearsals. The actors helped by having insight for the vision of the script. I would say, 'okay, let's have fun and go with it.' I really wanted to make the actors feel comfortable. Fran, who plays Gilby, was always there to play and try things. For example, the Job Interview scene, he went off the rails adlibbing. Fran is in a Broadway show so couldn't be here now." As for the selection process of the cast, "We had a lot of auditions and a great casting director!"



My next stop was the Arlington Theatre for the sold-out Gala honoring Michael Keaton to receive the Modern Master Award, the highest honor presented by SBIFF!






The Modern Master Award was created in 1995 as a way to pay tribute to an individual who has enriched our culture through his or her multifaceted accomplishments in the motion picture industry. Michael's stand-out performance in "Birdman" is a great example of "showing the range of decades-long experience" as Roger Durling put it.




Legendary Leonard Maltin moderated the talk with Michael. "Did you have a game plan?" Michael answered, "employment."





Michael talked about the early days, "I loved to write. I would go to clubs and do stand-up. I was in New York going to The Improv and Catch A Rising Star around the same time as Larry David was, too. It was as exciting a time as I can remember. I love comedy. It is such artful form. I love moviemaking. I just love being a part of it."





"I got a gig and was told, 'hey, you can't use your real name because there already is a Michael Douglas in Actor's Equity and Screen Actor's Guild.' My real name is Michael John Douglas. I picked my name randomly when I became Michael Keaton."


Andie MacDowell came by to congratulate her "Multiplicity" co-star and fellow Montana friend, Michael. She commented "and at 63, he was brave enough to run through Times Square in his underwear!" She spoke about how he is such a dear friend and what "a generous and great heart" he has.


Michael on working with different directors, "John Schlesinger was into really dark, creepy stuff. Quentin is really high energy, a bit like Alejandro. He sits very close."





Michael on getting the call about 'Birdman," Michael said, "My agent said I think you should. I flew back to meet Alejandro. I didn't spend that much time. It was so fundamental. It was so human. I would have done anything with this guy. It would have had to be so bad to turn it down. Alejandro is such a powerful personality. You see someone working that hard, you need to be working that hard. Alejandro said to me, 'You are going to go deeper than you ever have!' I was exposed, warts and all. I want to be good at what I do. We are here for a millisecond. Courage, moral courage. You've got to have guts."





There was a taped statement of Alejandro speaking to Michael that was so moving, artist to artist. Alejandro, "It is all in the small things. I felt so connected to you. I, also, got a friend in you. Your trust in us. You got naked physically and emotionally. You did it truthfully, powerfully and compassionately. You have to know how to touch people's souls. You are a wonderful soul."


Then Roger Durling came up to congratulate Michael and to introduce Danny DeVito who then presented the Modern Master Award to Michael.










The tribute made me well up because it all was so touching what everyone was saying about Michael that I can't imagine what it must have been like for him! It had been two hours of film clips of his work, taped appearances from friends like Jeff Bridges (who was hilarious), Winona Ryder and Robert Duvall. So much love and affection was pouring out to him. When he came up to the podium to say thank you for his Award, he was brief but clearly so moved and very, very grateful.




I think everyone in the room left with a deeper appreciation for Michael Keaton and for the profound depths that he puts his heart into his life and work, inspiring his fellow actors, directors, and all of us.

Photo credits: Sally Fay

As Fifty Shades of Grey hits the theatres, critics on the right and left have already lifted their poisoned pens to dis the film adaptation of this massively popular BDSM novel.

Detractors on every side are predictable and miss the point. On the right, Fifty Shades confirms that we are further along on the path to hell than previously assessed. On the left, stigmatized communities that engage in the story's "shocking" sexual practices - bondage and discipline, domination and submission, sadism and masochism - cry foul in that the foundation for these activities: mutual respect, communication, and ensuring consent - are absent from the relationship between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. While among feminists, the film is yet another example of violence against women being glorified and sold as sexy.

None of this gets at why the book was so wildly popular in the first place: we live in a culture that thrives on power grabs, power imbalances, and violence. Recent work in epigenetics confirms that we are not only living with the current theatre of power exploits, but that our grandparents' experiences of slavery, displacement, rape and war have actually been passed on to us in our very cells. All of this, while our conscious life demands more and more attention to a moral imperative toward "equality."

Which is why nobody is having the sex we want. Fifty Shades tears the lid off our biggest sexual secret: there is a gap between our values -- who we say we are -- and what we want to do in bed. Being unwilling or unable to explore that gap is a recipe for bed death.

As a sex coach, I have spent decades listening to clients talk about their desire a certain socially acceptable way, only to discover through the coaching process that their true desires are something else altogether. For example, some of the women in my practice have confessed -- despite a life-long commitment to equality in their daily lives -- an overwhelming desire to dominate in the bedroom. Football heroes have admitted a desire to submit or be penetrated. Gay people have revealed their love of straight sex. Voyeurs have outed their inner exhibitionists. Pacifists have whispered a yearning to hurt or constrain.

Over time, I developed a process called Desire Mapping to help my clients abandon their false sexual veneers for sexual truths that would enliven their libidos and lead them to the sex and partners they long for. Like Anastasia, my clients often find this a confusing, but ultimately thrilling path.

The simple fact is that because our society is so steeped in power struggles, our sexualities have often been shaped by moments of humiliation and powerlessness. In our shame, we lock these stories - whether they are big, life-changing moments of degradation and loss, or tiny childhood slights - far into the back of our memory file cabinets. And while my clients consciously avoid any possible collision with their shame, they often unconsciously yearn to provoke or encounter shame with a sexual partner. Finding ourselves in self-hating, helpless territory with someone we love can be an extremely liberating place on our sexual and intimate journeys. Through Desire Mapping, we take a deep breath, and dive back into those forgotten or banished territories.

The gift of Fifty Shades is that it has brought a widespread, largely hidden longing to play with power in our sexualities out from under the porn stash, and onto the kitchen table. So let's make a few important distinctions as we move on from here. First off, in the real world, dominant/submissive relationships are created by all kinds of people, those who have survived childhood abuse (like Christian Grey), and those who have not.

And second: it is possible to pursue the desires described in Fifty Shades in consensual, equitable, and mutually satisfying sexual encounters or relationships, whatever your gender or childhood experiences. Many, many people do, whether in brief encounters or long-term marriages.

So, as we hit the movie theaters, let's figure out what is interesting about Fifty Shades for us - not based on whether it is real, but on whether it has anything to tell us about the gap between our authentic desires and who we say we are. Let's consider whether we are willing to unlock that file cabinet, and shake out what's useful and compelling in our sex stories and our psyches, so that we can have the sex we actually want.

Oh yeah...I went there. All the fuss over 50 Shades of Grey simply got the best of me and I somehow found myself at an 8pm prescreening Thursday night at the Arclight. (Whatever, don't judge me.)

Long story short, the greatly anticipated 50 Shades of Grey which opens this weekend is just about as "decent" as the mediocre E L James novel of the same name that's sold over 100+ (YES THAT MANY) million copies. With popcorn in hand, I'd say the sex scenes gave just enough anticipated flesh to stay true to the far-fetched novel while consciously avoiding an NC-17 rating. And contrary to several reviews circulating, Jamie Dornan as the handsomely hard-bodied "Dominant" billionaire Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson as the doe-eyed perfectly inexperienced "Submissive" Anastasia Steele have just enough chemistry to hold the attention of the audience at least until the next "smack" down.

But c'mon, were we really looking for much more?

Now before die-hards get their undies in bunch over the spoilers and dismal reviews this film is receiving, I will offer one advisory to those preheating with anticipation. 50 Shades of Grey is Part I of a trilogy, so two additional films are still approaching development. Yes ladies, that means this first film is going to end by leaving you hanging, -- so be prepared for a fade to black just when you'd like a bit more to be revealed.

The internet will be saturated with reviews and chatter over the next few weeks or so, from people boycotting the film for being "misogynistic" and abusive toward women, to uber-packs of book club fans (also female) purchasing yet another round of tickets for an encore performance. Either way, anyone headed to this movie expecting award-winning performances, dialogue or plot line should reset their expectations. However, Beyoncé's song Haunted from the 50 Shades of Grey soundtrack will most likely score the highest approval ratings in comparison with the film:



As for me, I'm a survivor and have no regrets. Flesh-fest aside, I've been a Jamie Dornan fan long before he was cast as Christian Grey (he also headlines The Fall opposite Gillian Anderson on BBC Two), and found Dakota Johnson easily fitting the omni-flustered shoes of Anastasia Steele in nearly every scene.

So check it out anyway in the event you're still sitting on the fence. The next time we'll meet Christian and Anna will be in 50 Shades Darker, with undoubtedly just the right amount of additional fuss and relevant backlash forthcoming as well.

Originally published on Literatigurl.com

Photo Credit: Deborah Lopez Lynch

Karen Pittman is a star. Not a star like Viola Davis, Meryl Streep or Julia Roberts yet, but a star in the making. Pittman is currently co-starring in Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced. Like Akhtar's celebrated novel American Dervish, Disgraced takes on complicated issues like religion, race, gender and identity construction in a world that claims these things no longer matter.

Pittman plays the role of Jory, a powerful lawyer, married to Isaac (Josh Radnor), a Jewish art dealer, caught in a quagmire that threatens to unhinge Amir (Hari Dhillon), a tightly wound Muslim American lawyer married to Emily (Gretchen Mol), a naïve, yet calculating, white American artist. Pittman steals the show from her more famous leads, delivering a powerful and impassioned performance that literally takes the air out of the Lyceum Theatre. You can literally hear a pin drop as Pittman becomes Jory, navigating her way through the precarious world of being a black woman in places that don't welcome them, despite their best efforts.

The character of Jory has completely disappeared when Pittman arrives for the interview dressed down. The actress, who has a recurring role on FX's The Americans, speaks softly and thoughtfully about the character of Jory. It becomes readily apparent that the Northwestern and NYU graduate has studied the craft of acting, and takes preparation very seriously.

As an artist, this play is the most true reflection of what I wanted to do as an actor. I feel like (Ayad) has a brush stroke for what this human being (Jory) should look. I don't think that it was a coincidence that we were sort of thinking about what this woman should look like and what she represents in the play in a similar fashion, which is why in many ways it has continued to come together for audiences.

Audiences are continuing to flock to the play that asks them to consider their role in the story. Who are these characters and who are you in relation to these characters? Pittman has an idea.

"Jory comes out of my 8-year-old imagination. I have to be a very mature person, but for a good part of my day, I get to be my 8-year-old self. Jory came right into the room and sat down next to me as I was reading. By the time I finished reading the story, she was a full-grown human being," says Pittman, which attracted her to the role.


Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

I read the story and thought that the story was a conversation that everyone needs to listen to, and then I went back through and read specifically who Jory was and what people were saying about Jory. That's when she sort of just sprung to life and sat down next to me and started reading lines with me. This sort of... personality disorder thing that actors have -- that was my process with her.

Like Pittman, her process to becoming a character is cerebral. Like Pittman and Jory, the reality of race and gender are never far away, despite what some may see as a privileged life.

"I'm thinking that we're lucky that we're living in the 21st Century," says Pittman as she delicately sips her tea.

My mother had to have that same level of resilience and focus as Jory. She was the daughter of a sharecropper and picked cotton in Mississippi. She had six other siblings. Her parents maybe got their education up to the sixth grade. But she lived during Jim Crow and during those times in America where women didn't have the kind of freedoms that we have now. There's a whole generation of African-American women who had to stay, had to you know just make choices that we don't have to make anymore. Jory has choices.

Pittman has choices in where she wants to live, the roles that she chooses and the extent to which she's willing to compromise her most important role, mother. Pittman speaks of her two children fondly and often. It is clear that they are the stars of her show and that her professional decisions are always made with them and her life's journey in mind.

"How I came to N.Y.C. is I that I have a mother who insisted on overachieving. I had a father who very much instilled in me that you can do anything. Not so much that you can do anything, but I just love you no matter what you do," offers Pittman. The child of educators, Pittman educates herself about her characters, potential roles and performances.

Pittman states, "I am not one of those actors who cannot afford to know where I am in the world. I am one of those actors who reads a review. I am one of those actors that when my agent is telling me they really want you for this role, I say lets really look at this," she offers. When asked if she would be willing to star in Soul Plane 3 in order to become ridiculously famous, Pittman answers honestly, thoughtfully.

I'm not as apt to explore every avenue to put myself out there because I have two children. If someone says you've got to up and move to L.A., we'll send a plane for you, I'm thinking where are my kids going to sit on that plane. By the pure fact that I'm a mom and I have two kids, I can't really do everything or anything. That kind of keeps me grounded cause I think in some way I might lose myself without them.

Pittman admits that at one point in her adult life, she indeed had lost herself and was chasing pavements in pursuit of superficial reasons.

"My reasons for being an actor were very superficial, very selfish. I want to be on the red carpet, I want to be cute. I want to have so many people like me. I want the director to think I'm good. I want my actor friends to think I'm good -- that entire getting more and more thing" says Pittman.

I sort of settled down and meditated and came to a space where I realized that you can't feed two children on a juvenile, immature desire to be seen. If you're going to keep acting, then what is your greater calling? What are you called to do? If you feel like this is your vocation -- God has called you to do this, what is your greater responsibility to this talent or gift or whatever.

Through a lot of "work," meditation and a shift in her thinking, Pittman came to the conclusion that she wanted to be of greater service to audiences through her acting. She decided to dig deep and to "hand herself over to the collaborative process as an artist," and this is when doors opened up and things began to happen. Realizing her gift as an actress and treating it as a gift has led to many opportunities, and Pittman is acutely aware of this factor.

"Once you start to get more fully connected to the life that you want, the stuff that you really desire, then what you need will keep manifesting itself," she offers.

Pittman prepares for life in the same way that she prepares for her film, television and stage roles -- paying careful attention to the details that make up who she is and aspires to be.

"For me, it's just getting a cup of coffee, taking quiet time, working out, picking up my kids, seeing them, looking in their faces -- just that thing where you are fully present in your life every single day, every moment for yourself. It's a real challenge," says the triple threat.

It's the eating right, doing the stuff that you have to do in order to be connected. Oddly, once you put it out in the universe that you're ready for whatever the world will bring and you start accepting it, you can't stop it when it starts.

Pittman is definitely an actress whose rising star has started and can't be stopped.

Disgraced runs at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City through March 1.

This article was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder and editor-in-chief of the award-winning news site The Burton Wire.

Every time I watch Scandal I wanna move to DC and work for the White House or just be Olivia Pope

— Kelly Cobb (@kellycobbb) November 9, 2014

Kerry Washington's InStyle cover is set to hit stores Friday, but the yet to be released issue has already generated quite a bit of debate. Washington's visibly lighter appearance on the cover has upset a number of super fans, even prompting a response from the magazine and Washington herself.

But in the pages behind the controversial cover, Washington gives her take on her character's influence on women.

In the issue, the 38-year-old actress explains to InStyle the differences between her personal red-carpet fashion choices to that of Olivia Pope's. Over the years, Washington's award-show wardrobe has consisted of daring colors, patterns and cuts. Most notably a crop top ensemble she donned while pregnant for the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards. As for Pope, Washington said, she "sticks to a more neutral palette in pastels by designers like Dior, Ferragamo and Escada." Fashion choices, which have become the inspiration for The Limited's 'Scandal' collection.

"Olivia's had a huge influence" Washington continued. In fact, she explained, "After the first couple of episodes aired, people started posting on Twitter things like 'I have a job interview today, and I'm trying to dress like Olivia Pope.'" And why wouldn't women want to channel Olivia Pope's fierce style to help land that prospective job? Pope is known for her attention commanding designer power suits, classic cardigans and detailed blouses. Her wardrobe has become the subject of articles, Pinterest boards, and blogs viewed by women who want to duplicate her flawless style in their line of work.

Went to work today feeling like Olivia Pope #aandalifestyle pic.twitter.com/VEMXA1Q0CT

— Stephanie Alcantara (@StephanieAandA) November 7, 2014

The considerable amount of interest shown by fans in Pope's wardrobe continues as Washington once again teams up with The Limited for the Spring "Scandal" collection. But it's not just her ensembles the young women, who tune in every Thursday with their glass of wine in hand, admire. It's the confidence, assertiveness and strength she projects.

"The Olivia Pope Affect"

Scandal's creator Shonda Rhimes has been credited for "breaking barriers" for casting the first black female to play a lead role on network television in 40 years. Washington plays a well-educated, complex, career-driven political fixer that defies race and gender stereotypes.

Some question if the show's success is an indicator that we are in a post-racial television era. But the "Olivia Pope Affect" doesn't stop there. The character has become a cultural icon and role model for women of all color. In a time where women are the breadwinners in nearly half of American households and 61% of millennial women aspire to one day hold a managerial position, Pope has become the quintessential career women.

Women want to dress like her, have her job and "handle" life's everyday challenges just like her. And it wasn't limited to the first couple of episodes either. Young women regularly post on social media their desires to channel Pope for prospective job interviews or in their current roles.

Channeling my inner Olivia Pope at work today #itshandled

— Marcie Hunter (@marciehunter) February 10, 2015

Pope's impeccable problem solving skills, assertiveness and unapologetic demeanor are traits that attribute to her success as a fixer. However, these qualities are typically not viewed positively when displayed by women. Yet, she is revered by those around her. The absence of the stigmas, associated with women in leadership, from the show allows ambitious female viewers to embrace their own leadership traits without the fear of sacrificing their likeability.

Over the years, women have made considerable progress in the workplace but they still don't compare when it comes to holding top managerial positions. Yes she is fictional, but for 60-minutes out of the week Pope inspires millions, who admire her ability to take command and yield fast result all while remaining composed, to do the same in their careers.

The character Olivia Pope is not without flaws. Her affair with a married man who happens to be the President of the United States is questionable at the least. But when it comes to her career, the show's protagonist is driven, efficient and powerful with achievements ranging from CEO of Pope & Associates to being a former White House advisor. So despite the moral gray area that is her love life, Pope is a transformative character that has played a significant role in defying traditional depictions of women on network television.

The characters in the films nominated for Best Picture this year are compelling, inspirational characters that evoke a powerful emotional response. These characters struggle against a harsh society that constantly attempts to repel that which is different. There are scientists who revolutionize their fields as we know it, but are oppressed by physical ailments and homophobia. A legendary reverend fights against racial oppression and leads a non-violent protest, sparking the Civil Rights movement. The theme is obvious, these characters are enigmatic heroes, and yet, not one is a woman.

What does that message portray?

In the documentary Miss Representation (2011) Marie Wilson the Founding President of the White House Project states "you don't have that many women really in leadership so the way that it gets done, to a certain extent, and the way problems get solved often have to do with Hollywood and the films that get made, the documentaries, the television shows."

Due to this, how a woman is portrayed in the media shapes how women are perceived in every day life. The women nominated this year for leading actresses are mostly supporting leads to the male protagonist. Fortunately, there seems to be an increase in the strong female characters represented in Hollywood, but these women still don't have leading roles in films. Wild and Still Alice are refreshing because these storylines actually feature women on their own journey as the main protagonist, and yet these films didn't make it to the Best Picture category.

Granted, I'm not saying these films deserve to be nominated for Best Picture simply because they star women, I'm pointing out the abundant lack of female representation in recognized, high-caliber films. Jessica Chastain a great example, but is it enough? The media-makers are the ones who control what is shown, and therefore control how women are represented themselves.

Let's take a look at the women who MAKE the media. Women nominated by the Academy for Directing: 0. Women nominated by the Academy for Cinematography: 0. Women nominated for Screenplay: 0. After a depressing run through the nominations, it's very clear; Hollywood is not the woman's game. Women are stereotyped as sex objects, wives, mothers, sisters, girlfriends, assistants, the femme fatale, but rarely the hero. This is because women are not in the position to change these views. They aren't given the opportunity based simply on prior experience and history within the industry. The few celebrated women filmmakers rarely achieve their status based solely on their work. Often they work with small films, or if they are A-listers, they're related to a celebrity male, or made their way in other facets of the industry (i.e. Kathryn Bigelow and Angelina Jolie).

Put simply, this phenomenon is BS. There seems to be this inexcusable assumption that women cannot create films about men, because they aren't men and will skew the view. Yet, male directors and filmmakers can make films about women. In the end, we're all people endowed with this ability known as perception, and despite the successful career of one director, there's always a different view of the story by another. Women and men will differ in viewpoints, but isn't that the point of filmmaking, to have creative expression? Both the directors for Wild and Still Alice are male. If Hollywood can trust a male to truthfully portray women in film, why can't women themselves be trusted to do the same? Hollywood is basically telling women filmmakers they can't make films about men because they don't understand men, and they can't make films about women because they don't understand themselves, so the women must be kept where they belong, behind the scenes and out of the limelight.

Personally, I think the Hollywood hypocrite's run has gone on long enough. Women as actresses have always been a fundamental aspect of Hollywood itself. They represent the glamour and beauty that made Hollywood what it is today, but this is a new age. Beauty can exist with power, and dominance should not be defined by one's gender.

From left to right, Raymond Santana Jr., State Sen. Bill Perkins, Joe Assadourian, Yusef Salaam, Kevin Richardson, and producer Eric Krebs (credit: Ben Mann).

Saturday, Feb. 7, was the third time I saw The Bullpen by Joe Assadourian. Assadourian is one of those break-out stars in the vein of Keenan and Damon Wayans and John Leguizamo. Like them, he draws from his New York experiences to bring characters to life. On this occasion, three of the Central Park Five were in attendance. They participated in a panel discussion with Assadourian after the show. The Bullpen addresses Assadourian's encounter with the New York criminal justice system after a nightclub scuffle left one man wounded in the buttocks and Assadourian charged with assault. He offers a humorous glimpse into the flaws of the justice system. However, as Mr. Assadourian aptly states, "It is hard enough doing time when you're guilty, but when you are innocent?!" That statement summed up my curiosity about the attendance of the Central Park Five. Would they find humor in Assadourian's performance after being villified by the media and unjustly incarcerated? But the laughter of the Central Park Five was like medicine to the heart. Raymond Santana Jr., Yusef Salaam, and Kevin Richardson exuded a power of forgiveness, graciousness, and resilience that I cannot begin to understand after their horrific ordeal.

In 1989, a woman was brutally beaten and raped while jogging in Central Park. The police rounded up five teenage boys between the ages of 14 and 16, all African-American and Hispanic, and accused them. A media firestorm ensued, with the boys being vilified as the worst of humanity, deserving of death by electric chair. Donald Trump led the charge in assigning them guilt before the trial had even taken place, taking out full-page ads in several New York newspapers. Although none of the DNA or physical evidence supported the charges, they were convicted of the beating and rape of the Central Park jogger, who later was identified as Trisha Meili. The teenagers spent seven to 13 years in prison until another inmate, Matias Reyes, confessed. Reyes' DNA matched the semen from the rape of Trisha Meili and other rapes during that time. Despite DNA evidence exonerating the Central Park Five of wrongdoing, Donald Trump and others within the justice system continue to disparage them, alleging that they must be guilty of something, scientific evidence be damned!

New York State Sen. Bill Perkins, Joe Assadourian, Raymond Santana Jr., Yusef Salaam, Kevin Richardson, and show producer Eric Krebs were part of the discussion panel.

Joe Assadourian saw the Central Park Five documentary while serving time at Otisville Correctional Facility. He commented on how surreal it was that, just a year ago, he was in prison watching their story, and now Raymond, Yusef, and Kevin were here watching him perform. His pivotal statement: "It is hard enough doing time when you're guilty, but when you are innocent?!" Joe credited his director, Richard Hoehler, for providing writing workshops at Otisville as therapy and a tool to make him productive after his release. Richard Hoehler has provided writing and acting workshops at Otisville -- unfunded -- for the past two years.

Raymond Santana Jr. said that watching Assadourian perform was "bullpen therapy." He could relate to every character portrayed, particularly because he was not released on bail. He spent 17 months in the bullpen before being convicted and transferred to a juvenile detention center and later prison. Exonerated in 2002, after spending their youth and young adulthood in prison falsely, they were simply released as if nothing had ever happened. Not until the 2012 documentary, Central Park Five, were their voices and story finally heard. Attending Assadourian's show was part-therapy. Santana stated that being in prison is lonely, and that without support from family, anything is liable to happen to you. "Prison can kill your spirit, a social death," he said. The documentary gave them a platform. When I asked Raymond about his impressions of the controversies surrounding Ferguson, Eric Garner, and Trayvon Martin, he replied that the Central Park Five were the original "stop and frisk." Like Michael Brown, they were demonized in the media. There was no "innocent until proven guilty," because the media had already convicted them.

Assadourian responded that until his experience in the bullpen, he always wondered: How could a confession be coerced? He equated being in the bullpen to torture. You are awakened at 4 a.m. for trial and not returned to the bullpen until 11:30 p.m., and awakened again at 4 a.m. the next day, and the cycle continues. He noted that it causes such a state of delirium that you would confess to anything just to stop it. It reminds me of a similar situation in Chicago in the 1980s. Under Police Commander Jon Burge, police used torture tactics, electric shock to genitals and plastic-bag suffocation to make people arrested for traffic violations confess to heinous crimes. Over 100 African-American men were convicted during Jon Burge's reign. The torture scandal was a well-known secret within the police department and to State Attorney Richard Daley, who later became the mayor. While State Attorney, Daley prosecuted and requested the death penalty in cases where police torture was utilized. Some people continue to believe that the men had to be guilty of something or they would not have confessed. For such people, to believe otherwise is an acknowledgement that the police and state attorney conspired to convict innocent men to build their careers and political profile. We all know that that sort of thing does not happen in America.

Yusef Salaam commented that Assadourian's show was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. He too was able to relate to the characters. The Bullpen was helpful because they received no therapy or counseling after they were exonerated. Even now, he cannot take the subway because being too close to people brings back memories from time in prison, where closeness meant danger. He wished programs like the one available to Assadourian at Otisville were at more prisons. He used poetry as a way to release his feelings. At his sentencing hearing, he rapped his statement to the judge in lyrical verse later used in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, which the media slammed as Salaam bologna.

Kevin Richardson called Assadourian's performance hilarious and raw. He was in the ninth grade when they were arrested. He recalled walking down the street and people pointing, saying, "That's the rapist." Those words hurt, because he was raised by women and around his sisters.

Assadourian stated that prison is all about punishment, not rehabilitation. Yet something must be done to help those coming out of prison so that they have options. Richard Hoehler's writing program at Otisville gave him options such that when he was released, he immediately started performing The Bullpen. What started as a nine-minute piece for a writing workshop evolved into the 70-minute performance. Assadourian has been auditioning for other roles. None of these opportunities would have existed but for Richard Hoehler's programs at Otisville.

I asked Raymond Santana Jr. why he agreed to do a panel discussion with Assadourian. He said that it was right up his alley and there was an immediate connection. Although the media, city, police, and district attorney never apologized for their part in this miscarriage of justice, he has forgiveness. He channels that energy into speaking to kids and getting their story out.

Aesop said it best: "No plea from the innocent will save him from an unjust judge." While the city and Donald Trump railed against the Central Park Five as despicable monsters, they instead have chosen to show forgiveness toward a system that is terribly flawed and in need of repair. Until we acknowledge that our criminal justice system is broken, miscarriages of justice on behalf of prosecutors abusing discretion and law enforcement acting without impunity will continue.

To experience The Bullpen, be sure to catch Joe Assadourian's performance at the Playroom Theater by March 21.

The following is taken from the soon-to-be published (hopefully anyway) humor book Ho Ho Hoax! written by Jon Chattman and Rich Tarantino.

It all started in mid-1800s Great Britain and it hasn't let up since: the flowers, the bottomless chocolates, and the diamonds (or cubic zirconia depending on your budget.) It's a "holiday" for cheesy cards that either say what you want to say but can't or say what you think your significant other wants to hear, jacked-up restaurant prices, and excruciating movie marathons that usually star Kate Hudson. Oh, and don't get me started on that star-studded turd of a movie directed by Garry Marshall. Yep, it's Valentine's Day, a fake holiday arguably created for saps to make their spouses feel guilty. Sans a Victoria's Secret purchase or two, it's hell for most men. But it doesn't have to be. I've crunched the numbers (whatever that means), and it is actually quite possible for both genders to enjoy the pink, red, candy-soaked day. Think of the following as an example of holiday counter programming (hey, it works in Hollywood).

Dudes, send your arm candy to see 50 Shades of Grey with their gal pals, and stay home running miles on the WWE Network or YouTube. That's right, you're about to celebrate the man-cave equivalent of the Hallmark holiday by staying home watching endless clips of a true original with a mullet from the Gods and a bod from the booze. Yep, today is the inaugural Greg "The Hammer" Valentine's Day. (I should note this holiday isn't simply for the heteros - it can be enjoyed by any gender who simply want a breather from the real V-Day.)

The 1980s were peppered with dynamic grapplers who could win our hearts with a simple leg drop or a "cheap pop" on the mic but one star, in particular, got our mojo rising. GV was the epitome of cool and looked like one of us. He didn't care so much about his hair (well, not until he partnered later with The Honky Tonk Man), his body (his potbelly was a thing of beauty), and simply just seemed like a cool dude to take on a bar crawl. While the WWE Hall of Famer never reached World Wrestling Federation ice cream bar status, the Seattle native held more gold than Mr. T's neck including the coveted WWF Intercontinental Championship and the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. So let's celebrate his accomplishments today...

On GHV-Day, men are allowed to lounge around on their couch with a foam finger of their choosing (Valentine never had one), and essentially take the afternoon off before they share the real V-Day later that night with their loved one and said pricey restaurant. So take a load off, fellas. Watch some killer footage, impersonate your favorite wrestler from back in the day and hey, maybe cut your hair a la former Valentine tag-team mate Brutus Beefcake. Pamper yourself with Slim Jims like Randy Savage used to whore out back in the day, and make this afternoon all about you and the squared circle. And hey, who knows maybe all the respective alone time will ignite fireworks for you and your loved ones come nighttime. Does absence make the heart grow fonder? Did Greg Valentine drop the perfect elbow? Yes and yes.

And who knows, with the afternoon off from each other, maybe Cupid will strike each of you all night long after a romantic evening of lovey-dovey festivities. Or, at the very least, introducing the figure-four leg lock in the bedroom tonight will at least have some context. Hugs, kisses, and hammer time! xoxo

About A-Sides with Jon Chattman:
Jon Chattman's pop and music series features celebrities and artists (established or not) from all genres of music performing a track, and discussing what it means to them. This informal series focuses on the artist making art in a low-threatening, extremely informal (sometime humorous) way. No bells, no whistles -- just the music performed in a random, low-key setting followed by an unrehearsed chat. In an industry where everything often gets overblown and over manufactured, Jon strives for a refreshing change. Artists have included fun., Charli XCX, Imagine Dragons, Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, Gary Clark Jr., American Authors, Echosmith,and many, many more!

Stay Connected:
http://asidesmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thisisasides
https://twitter.com/ThisIsAsides