In Istanbul, Producer Sona Tatoyan Is Ready for Her Close-Up

April 21, 2015, 2:36 pm

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Some thirteen years ago, Armenian-American actor and producer Sona Tatoyan embarked on a veritable odyssey to produce a feature film adaptation of Micheline Aharonian Marcom's contemporary masterpiece, Three Apples Fell From Heaven. As the colloquial expression goes, this was easier said than done. This wonderful novel, with its somewhat experimental, elliptical prose describes the events that took place in the town of Kharpert in Eastern Anatolia during the Armenian Genocide of 1915 with a rare beauty and almost cinematic imagery. Tatoyan's artistic partner Jose Rivera, an Academy Award nominee best known for having scripted the 2004 The Motorcycle Diaries, adapted the novel for the screen: his script is as enticing and heart-rending as the original it is based on. Yet it wasn't exactly the type of film that Hollywood studios and financiers were ready to embrace with open arms.

So for purposes of research and fundraising both, Tatoyan's journey has taken her all over the world, including the Der Zor desert of Syria (the Auschwitz of the Armenian Genocide) where she held the bones of Armenian Genocide victims in the palms of her hands. She travelled throughout Western Armenia to Aintep and Urfa and Kharpert--the very places her great-grandparents were from. She lived for a year between the Armenian capital of Yerevan and Istanbul, and later spent six months in India trying to recover from the exhilaration and emotional toll that she experienced. Much of the rest of her life has been spent racing across Europe piecing together an international co-production in order to bring this story to the big screen. For a decade she endured derision and condescension in Hollywood meetings where at times she was literally laughed at: "'No one wants to see a film about the Armenian Genocide, little girl,' was the attitude I experienced," Tatoyan recalls: "But something inside me knew that I had to keep going. This story is, and has always been, much larger than me."

So here we are in April 2015, the centenary of the Armenian Genocide. Tatoyan arrived to Istanbul on the night of March 31 in order to spend two weeks with the owners of the largest collection of Ottoman Armenian belongings in the world, Orlando and Gassia Calumeno. They generously offered to let Tatoyan and her team use these objects in the actual production design of her film: it is a veritable treasure trove of cultural artifacts that includes thousands of rugs, bowls, pipes, textiles, looms, pottery, copperware, watches, gramophones, postcards, and photographs. Together these objects represent the entire physical existence of the Armenians in Anatolia 100 years ago. Thanks to this unique opportunity, rugs that were actually made in Kharpert at the time will drape the floors of the homes that are being recreating to tell this story. Hand-carved silver pipes will be held by the actors in various scenes. The bootmaker's tools will be the original pieces those craftsmen used in this now-lost world.

"So, here I am in Istanbul, the month of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide," Tatoyan continues: "Walking the very same streets where those that came before me--Armenian artists, writers, intellectuals--walked days before they were arrested, tortured and massacred. This city, which elicits both joy and melancholy ... familiarity and alienation. I think of Zabel Yessayan, the great feminist writer and activist and the only woman on the Ottoman government's April 24 extermination list as she might have walked these streets. I ponder the fate of the tortured and executed jurist, writer and Ottoman parliamentarian Krikor Zohrab (whose office in Karakoy I was shown two days ago by a dear Turkish friend) and enjoy the same views of the Bosphorus that he would have had."

For Tatoyan, there is something powerful about going to the source of a trauma, back to the ground zero of the event and spending time there. As she puts it: "To not run away from the darkness, but know that by going into it, eventually the light will dawn." In over a decade of existing among these objects and people, Tatoyan has received a lifetime's education in Armenian culture. And in the desire to tell the largely untold story of her culture's near-annihilation, she has had the opportunity to immerse herself in its beauty in order to recreate it. Raised in a small Midwestern town, although Tatoyan spoke Armenian at home, she did not attend Armenian school and only recently learned to read Armenian:

"Over the last thirteen years, I have realized that this path has been about walking from darkness to light. Somehow, all the pain and rage and blame that I felt has turned into a desire to transform my feelings into something luminous and beautiful. To not be a victim any longer. As a descendant of survivors, to turn mourning into celebration. A celebration of a gorgeous culture that existed on these lands and whose energetic remnants will always exist within me. And what a gift it is to have had the opportunity to discover those places."

As April 24th comes and goes once more, let us wish Sona Tatoyan, filmmaker and cultural guardian, much luck and God's speed as she accomplishes her difficult but enlightening task.

n.b.: Shakhar Kapur of Elizabeth fame, is set to direct Three Apples Fell From Heaven.

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Great Conversations: Charlotte Rampling

April 21, 2015, 3:35 pm

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One of the joys of being an entertainment journalist is not only getting to meet some of your childhood heroes, but your earliest crushes, as well. Charlotte Rampling was, for me, one of those very crucial women who made me realize at a certain age I definitely liked girls. The movie was Orca, one of her lesser efforts, but the moment she graced the screen, it was as though I had been pulled into a vaccum. When I got to sit down with her nearly 25 years later, I had to smother the butterflies in my stomach that threatened to regress my 34 year-old manhood into that of a ten year-old boy again. Fortunately, I caught my breath. But just barely.

This article originally appeared in the June 2001 issue of Venice Magazine.

Often compared to Lauren Bacall for her cat-like beauty and femme fatale movie roles, Charlotte Rampling has been illuminating the world's movie screens (and giving its male members heart palpitations in the process) for nearly 40 years. Born in Sturmer, England February 5, 1946, the daughter of a British colonel and Olympic gold medalist who later became a NATO commander. Rampling and her older sister spent part of their childhood in France, educated at the prestigious Jeanne d'Arc Academie pour Jeunes Filles in Versailles and later at the exclusive St. Hilda's school back in England. Rampling initially entered show biz as a model, then won a small role in Richard Lester's The Knack and How to Get It (1965). The following year brought triumph and tragedy to Rampling: a star-making turn in the hit film Georgy Girl and the suicide of her older sister.

Determined from then on to do something meaningful with her life and abandon the "frivolous," Rampling turned down the dozens of "dollybird" roles offered to her and was cast as the young wife of a Nazi industrialist family in Luchino Visconti's controversial and sensational epic The Damned (1969). Her taste for provocative material continued from there, reaching its zenith with her role in The Night Porter (1974), a twisted tale of a concentration camp survivor (Rampling) reunited with her former Nazi lover ten years after the war's end. This highly controversial (and at the time, X-rated) film catapulted Rampling to international stardom, becoming a sort of thinking man's sex symbol. Her role in John Boorman's cult sci-fi film Zardoz (1974) opposite Sean Connery helped to solidify this status.

Rampling continued to work extensively in Europe, coming Stateside for memorable turns in the Philip Marlowe mystery Farewell My Lovely (1975) opposite Robert Mitchum, the Jaws rip-off Orca (1977, which she cheerfully admits "I did for the money"), Woody Allen's suicidal girlfriend in Stardust Memories (1980), and Paul Newman's whistle-blower lover in Sidney Lumet's The Verdict (1982).

Following her marriage to French composer Jean-Michel Jarre (son of legendary film composer Maurice Jarre), Rampling relocated to Paris and worked steadily in French and European productions throughout the 80s and 90s, doing an occasional part in American productions such as Angel Heart (1987) and Wings of the Dove (1997). Perhaps her most notorious, and in many circles most lauded, effort during this period was Nagisa Oshima's Max My Love (1986). Written by Luis Buñuel's frequent collaborator Jean-Claude Carierre, Max was the blackly comedic story of a woman having a passionate love affair--with a chimpanzee! Rampling got raves from all who saw the film, which got shoddy distribution on this side of the pond.

Rampling's latest effort is Under the Sand, directed by enfant terrible filmmaker François Ozon. In it, Rampling plays Marie, a woman whose husband of 25 years, Jean (Bruno Cremer), disappears during a casual swim in the ocean while on holiday. With no body present to confirm his death, Marie continues the relationship in her mind, having long talks with Jean, pouring him coffee in the morning, and so on, much to the consternation of concerned friends and a new man who wants to enter her life. A major hit in France, Under the Sand is a powerful film full of emotion and understatement, and is a breathtaking showcase for the incandescent Rampling. It is currently playing in selected theaters.

Charlotte Rampling is still every bit as beautiful today at 55, as she was when she made her screen debut 36 years ago. A refreshingly candid woman with an infectious laugh and charming sense of humor, Rampling continues to make her home in Paris, where she is currently separated from Jarre. She met up with Venice recently during a brief Los Angeles stay to promote Under the Sand.

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Rampling in Under the Sand.

The role of Marie in Under the Sand must've been a terrific part for an actress since you were able to express so much without dialogue.

Charlotte Rampling: Yeah, I was able to express a great deal through other mediums. So much of it was just "being there."

Was it difficult to go to some of those places, those lonely places?

I suppose it was, but you don't think about it at the time. It's usually afterwards that it hits you, then it goes away after a few weeks. But while it's happening you know that you have to go there and you just do it.

I saw in the notes that there was a six month break in the shooting between the film's two halves. Was it tough coming back after that long a hiatus?

No, it wasn't. When I first met François Ozon, he wanted to shoot the first part where the husband dies, then stop shooting and work on the screenplay with me for three months, and then film the second part. But, (laughs) because we had such money problems, nobody wanted to finance a film like this, it went on a bit longer. So in the end, it was all part of the process.

It sounds like you had a lot of input in the script. Is there a lot of you in this character?

Yeah, there is a lot of me. Not specific, but a lot of the way I am. There's a great deal of dichotomy in her character, and in me, and in all of us, and as actors, we bring that out. We expose what we all have lying dormant: the grief feeling, the loss feeling, the feeling of being abandoned which we all have and have had at one time or another. Those feelings can be very terrifying. In this film, we create a situation where you do actually feel that. You have this situation where a husband disappears but there's no body, but how do you make the audience feel what Marie is going through afterwards? I think that's what people think about a lot when they see this film, because it could happen. To any of us. At any time.

You now live in France and lived there as a child, as well?

Yes, my father was in the army and was posted at Fontinbleu. That's why I'm still able to speak fluent French. He put my sister and I in French school, kicking and screaming the whole way. We hated it! Nobody spoke English and we couldn't understand a thing anyone was saying. And it was a convent, and we weren't Catholic, we were Protestant. So we just sat! (laughs) Then when I married Jean-Michel I settled in France in '78.

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"Dollybird" -- mid-60s

How did you become drawn to the arts?

Completely coincidentally, in a little show in the suburbs of London where I lived. I would put on little comedy shows with my sister and other people, and we did a little thing singing in French since we just got back from France. And everybody loved it and it all got quite good! So I got carried away by it all and thought 'Well, obviously I'm going to be a cabaret singer.' Well, obviously my father said 'no way,' put me in school and that was that. Then some time later, in one of those funny stories, someone saw me on the street and put me in Richard Lester's film The Knack. From then, things just sort of took off.

You were already modeling by that point, right?

Yes, although I was a rather hopeless model. I only did it for six months. I wasn't the look at all, at that time. The look was like Jean Shrimpton, Twiggy. I have these sort of heavy, slanted eyes, more of a 1940s look that they tried to put in these 60s fashions, and it just didn't work.

With Alan Bates in Georgy Girl (1965).

Georgy Girl was the movie that put you on the map. Tell us about that.

I got the screenplay and read it and thought (my part was) just one hell of a horrible girl! (laughs) I was actually hated after that by many people for a really long time. I was very upset. I wanted to be liked, and I played this bitch with such conviction that nobody would cast me after that! (laughs) They were all convinced I was this downright, complete bitch! (laughs) I got completely typecast after that, throwing my baby away in the hospital. I mean, that was outrageous, wasn't it? "Here, take it! Free, gratis and for nothing, with none of the pain and discomfort. Instant family!" Quite a line! But I loved playing that film, because that's when I realized that I had a really wicked alter ego, and that one was the one that was more interesting to use in cinema. I always sought out roles after that which were a bit left of center.

The next big film you did was Visconti's The Damned.

Yeah, the reason I went off to Italy after that was, it was all sort of "dollybird" roles in British cinema, you know? It was all about being pretty and lighthearted, and it wasn't about grit anymore, because we were finished with kitchen sink drama by that point. I wasn't too suited to the whole "mod" thing. Doing The Damned then put me into a whole new "theater of life," so to speak. (laughs) Visconti was really like my master, or mentor. I didn't even know who he was, or what his kind of cinema was all about when I met him. I was a very young, very uneducated person. I had not wanted to study anything. I said to him "I don't think I can play this role. She's in her 30s, has kids and a family and I don't even understand this story..." Visconti says "I will dress you. I will make you up. I will turn you into this character. You will be absolutely exquisite! And you will play for me!" (laughs) "You have it. It's all here. You have to imagine that you are this woman, because you are every woman!" (laughs) So he really became my mentor.

You did John Boorman's Zardoz after that, which has a strong cult following, although many people are still baffled by it.
Some people think that Zardoz is the film. It's a cult film beyond cult films. I loved it. It was so wacky. I had no idea what we were doing. Everybody was just doing weird things in these weird costumes. Nobody knew what they were doing! (laughs) It was great.

What were Boorman and Connery like to work with?

John was wonderful, like a naive poet who's illuminated by the Grail, by this mystical journey. He's a wonderful man. I just saw him again recently. He's very sweet. And Sean, well...Sean is Sean, what can I say? (laughs) I prefer Sean on-screen to off-screen. 'Nuff said.

The next film that really established you as a serious actress was The Night Porter. That was the second film, after The Damned, that you did with Dirk Bogarde. Did you get to know him well?

Yes, very well, we remained very close friends until his death. He was the reason that I got The Night Porter. He said he wouldn't do it without me. He'd had the screenplay for some time and hadn't wanted to do it. Then one day he saw one of (director) Liliana Cavani's films on television and decided that he was ready to make it. If you ever read any of Dirk's books, then you got to know him. His books are absolutely who he was: a renaissance man, a real gentleman.

Tell us about the experience of doing The Night Porter.

What can I tell you? It was hell. I knew it was something I wanted to do, but when you're younger, you don't really think about any other implications, you know? I had just had my first son, and then suddenly three months later, I had to sort of put him in his basket, go off to Rome and make this film. We started with the concentration camps scenes because she wanted us to get right in there, and she was right. There are some films that just sort haunt you forever. The Night Porter was one of those, I think, as is Under the Sand.

Farewell My Lovely was a wonderful film. How was Mitchum to work with?

He was a fantastic man. He tried to hide everything about himself that was good, and tried to come off like this huge badie, (laughs) but was really a very sensitive, very fine man, which I saw little bits of when he wasn't fooling around too much with the actor who played Moose Malloy. (laughs) (Doing Mitchum) "I'm lookin' after Moose!" And they'd be in some bar down the beach getting drunk!

You got to work with Woody Allen in Stardust Memories, playing a character that was so different from most of your other portrayals, so fragile. Tell us about Woody.

Woody called me and offered me the part, and I'd just given birth to my other son, and I didn't think I could do it. We eventually worked something out, where I could work on and off for five months, because he was taking a very experimental approach to making this film, very impressionistic, so it was a brilliant way to work. He was in an interesting place himself personally at the time, having just broken up with Diane Keaton, and wasn't yet with Mia. So being in between, he was in a very interesting place creatively. When he cast me, he said he wanted my character to be his ideal woman, and made this whole sort of game around this fact and how do we make her Woody's ideal woman. What I learned was that for Woody, the ideal woman was someone who was absolutely nuts 27 days out of the month, and for the rest of the time, is so perfect, lovely and charming that you can't resist her. (laughs)

The Verdict. Tell us about Lumet and Newman.

We rehearsed that for two weeks in a studio in New York. Sidney likes to rehearse all his films completely, almost like a huge dance rehearsal. We all knew what we were doing, so that when we shot, we went really fast. Lumet's an amazing director, just the way he handles the job of directing. Once rehearsal was over, we were all on our own, which is fantastic. You've been through all the sort of teething problems, and you're okay, so you can just get on with your acting. It was one of the most coherent shoots I've been on in terms of the most complicated scenes just being completely there. With Newman, it was a really extraordinary role for him, and a risky role in many ways, playing this guy having to come to terms with all the demons. He was a sweetheart, absolutely sweet.

You've been working in Europe almost exclusively for the past decade.

No, I really wanted to go underground in a sense and wanted to stay close to home. There's less "business" in European show business. It's more of a community. It's not as competitive there as it is here. The stakes are much less in Europe. Here, the stakes are so high. I mean, nobody in Europe gets $20 million for doing a film! It's manageable in Europe. Nobody wants to rape, and smash and kill to make a deal there. Here, I don't know how these people manage their situations, I really don't. The other reason I've stayed close to home is that I had three kids to raise, who are now grown, and didn't want to miss out on their childhoods anymore than I already had. My son Barnaby wants to be a director and he's making shorts, directing music videos. He lives in London. My son David is a magician, who used to practice on us at home, and my daughter Emilie works as a fashion accessories designer.

What's next on your slate?

A comedy! At last, image that! Back to my roots! Michel Blanc, an actor-director, has written a film called See How We Dance, which is an ensemble piece about these characters that sort of tango in and out of each others' lives. I've also got a film called Signs and Wonders that should be coming out in the States very soon.

You obviously enjoy other things aside from acting. What is your life like in Paris?

Well, I'm very contemplative. I love to sort of be around my life. It's not all that interesting, but it's something that I need to do in order to move on and to keep going. I have to sort of go away from the bright lights so that I can actually survive and come back, and I have come back, so it's great! Otherwise you get completely emptied out, and there's nothing left in there.

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Mad Men: "The Forecast" Is Mixed

April 21, 2015, 8:57 pm

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Don Draper takes stock of the future, his own, his agency's, his family's, maybe even a bit of thought about the world.

What he finds are colleagues who have no vision beyond more of the same -- Peggy Olsen wants to be creative director, Ted Chaogh wants some more big clients like, you know, an oil company and a drug company. His daughter is more into surface blaming of her parents than of taking stock of what she is and can be. Don himself is going through the motions about selling the dream apartment he had with Megan. (And yet it sells anyway in the end, and now he needs to sort out where he wants to be.) And the future itself, well, it's big at the beginning of the 1970s and in many respects unknown.

In truth, this episode is a fairly mixed bag. A lot is going on and the through-line isn't all that clear.

But this is an epic novel for television, a novel of life, and life, especially with a panoply of characters, isn't always so clearcut.

Yet we do have clear motion, and progress, for one core character. And that is our much-liked Joan Holloway. She is suddenly in LA, and with unlamented if not loathed Lou Avery shunted there after being bested by Don's power play, it looks like she could run Sterling Cooper West, and solve her problem with the New York sexists of McCann. (Avery is working on his, heh, comic book.) Joan may even have hooked up with a good man for her to be involved with.

I know that Richard Burghoff is good because he's played by Bruce Greenwood, key to the successful reboot of Star Trek for playing impetuous young James T. Kirk's charismatic and now unfortunately late mentor, Admiral Christopher Pike.

As Richard, he looks older than the dashing admiral, but he's certainly fetching enough for our Joan. He seems substantial enough, as well. Sensing there was something she wasn't telling him, he learns that he's right. Joan hadn't mentioned that she has a son. In many circles back then, even some today, a woman who comes with a child is a deal breaker, too much baggage. But Richard, after thinking about it, seems more than fine with it.

So Roger Sterling, the real papa, may never get to play more than honorary uncle after all.

After a lot of action on the sexual if not romantic front in the last two episodes, it's Don who's relatively becalmed this time around. As expected, the waitress Diana, with whom Don ricocheted into a brief relationship after dreaming of lost love Rachel Menken only to find Rachel suddenly and definitively gone, is herself gone, at least from the picture, perhaps a victim of her own fears and insecurities. And Don has not ricocheted into something else with someone else. Which is fine, and may actually be more than fine for Don's wellbeing He needs a clear head as he contemplates his future, the future which will coincide with the end of this series.

Unfortunately, young Sally Draper, now a fully-fledged teenager girl, thinks that Don is flirting with her friend, who is actually flirting with him. He's not really, he's just friendly and polite to Sally's friend.

But sexuality is a very charged and touchy subject for Sally, especially when it concerns her highly-sexed dad, whom of course she walked in on a while back while he was screwing the sexy neighbor lady.

Sally's not the only one of the kids we've seen growing up who struggles some with sexual signals.

Yes, the notorious Glenn is back. The little neighbor kid (played by Marten Weiner, creator Matt's son) who combined his lonely boy comic book imagination with his fascination for the beauteous Betty Draper of the day into his "rescuer" half of the spookiest male-female relationship on this show.

After dallying in earlier seasons with Sally, to Betty's distinct fury, he's back and back with the Betty fixation.

He's going to ship out to Vietnam one of these days, and could, you know, die, so ... He needs to, er, "rescue" Betty. Is that what he calls it?

Well, she doesn't need rescuing from a pretty good marriage to moderate Republican pol Henry Francis and ... You know, I don't really buy this part of the show. I love Mad Men, it's Matt Weiner's great creation, and I think the Glenn character has had some memorable moments. But this fellas shoe-horned in. Of course, if Weiner wants his son back on for the show's swan song, it's certainly his right.

But in reality, it's all right. It's quite amusing that Betty can't recognize Glenn all grown up. And it's not as though she doesn't think about his pass for a moment. But she, as she points out, "is married."

Don is far less tethered than that by the end of this episode. He clearly doesn't like what he's heard from his colleagues in their thoughts for the future. He even fires a young creative he'd defended early in the episode for taking a chance, for mishearing Don's advice and slavishly quoting him with the client.

While he is on decent terms with everyone, there's not much holding him in place.

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A Planetary Perspective

April 22, 2015, 6:12 am

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We're on a planet.

We're on a planet that breathes, pulsing with water and soil and love.

We're on a planet that cradles life without demand, turn after turn.

We're on a planet that is ripe with gifts.

We're on a planet that is running out: out of water, out of air, out of time.

"We're on a planet, and we are planetary." Guy Reid tells me. Reid is the director of the documentary Planetary, a visually stunning cinematic journey that takes its audience to space and back.

The film insists that we are more than individual humans inhabiting a rock spinning through the galaxy.

It insists that we are one; inextricably linked by the stardust in our veins, a collective consciousness dependent upon the cooperation of its parts, earth to sky, mountain to sea.

It insists that this collective is a single organism, simultaneously of the planet and of the cosmos: in a word, planetary.

Its insistence delivers.

Planetary was born from the seeds of collaboration. The film was funded through Kickstarter in 2012, and its viral success on that platform reflects the appeal of its message. The short film Overview, a 19 minute prologue to Planetary and cornerstone of the campaign, amassed 1 million views by the end of its first day on Kickstarter. Without any press. At the campaign's close, Overview had 7 million views and Planetary had 1,400 backers.

Clearly, something hooked people. It sure hooked me.

I don't remember how I arrived at it, but I do remember that I watched Overview three times in a row. I was stunned by how it made me feel. Many films can bring tears to one's eyes, but not many films can bring tears to one's heart.

For the first time I not only saw the fragility our planet, I felt it.

That feeling is precisely what connects people to Planetary.

"We'd articulated something that people had always felt. Something that they'd always understood: that the earth is beautiful and fragile and precious, and that we are all connected to it," says Steve Watts Kennedy, producer, writer and editor of Planetary.

"That's not a philosophical position, it's a fact," he says. "We just wanted to share that idea. And I think that's why people have shared the film so much."

No one is better positioned to talk about the fragility of our planet than an astronaut. Viewing the earth as a tiny blue dot while floating amid the stars is an experience most humans will never have. Planetary uses the unique perspective of astronauts to illustrate the earth's vulnerability in a way that is as extraordinary as it is simple.

Ron Garan is one of them. A retired NASA astronaut, Garan has traveled 71,075,867 miles in 2,842 orbits of our planet during more than 178 days in space.

Seeing the planet for months at a time from space was an unprecedented vantage point for Garan. He spent most of his free time aboard his first mission with his face plastered to the window, looking back at earth.

"I launched into space on my first mission with the belief that we have all the technology and resources necessary to fix the problems facing our planet," Garan says, "...and I came to the conclusion that the primary reason we still face so many critical issues lies in our inability to effectively collaborate on a global scale."

Wanting to use his unique perspective to inspire change, Garan wrote a book called The Orbital Perspective as a first step, which Planetary draws upon.

"Planetary is also a step in that direction," he says. "We have a collaborative nature as a human species. We've lost that a little bit, and we need to get back to it."

The theme of human collaboration is a cornerstone of the film, and the idea is not unique to modern space-travelers. Planetary features tribal elders from various cultures who discuss the importance of seeing ourselves as together rather than separate.

It is vital to our continued existence. It always has been.

"I left space with this call to action not to accept the current status quo on our planet, to spread this idea that we can change things, we can change the trajectory of our global society," says Garan.

"We have the power to reduce the suffering that exists on our planet. We are in a position now," Garan insists, "where we have to collaborate to save our lives."

It's that very message which comes across so clearly in the film, and touches people in a profound way through words, imagery and sound.

"The thing about astronauts," director Guy Reid suggests, "is you can't argue with that view from space. You can't argue that the planet isn't one system. There's power in the fact that you're not even making an argument, you're just sharing a perspective."

Planetary is the brainchild of Guy Reid and Steve Watts Kennedy, lifelong friends who conceived the idea for the project as 15 year old kids sitting together on a park bench in Bristol, England; a city known more for its contribution to underground dance music than cosmic philosophy. Inspired to action by a book called The Global Brain Awakens by English physicist Peter Russell, Reid and Kennedy say they purchased dozens of copies from a secondhand shop and gave them away to friends.

"No one read them," Kennedy laughs. The guys decided a film might be more enticing.

In 2010 Reid and Kennedy, along with Planetary's director of photography Christopher Ferstad, formed Planetary Collective. The Collective is a creative organization "dedicated to worldview interruption." It uses art and technology as tools to change humanity's perspective not only of the planet, but of itself. Planetary was born from the collaborative efforts of the Collective, which connects with creatives from all walks of life who embody the ethos it represents.

So, now what? I ask them. The film leaves us with an awakened feeling that's hard to ignore, but the question of where to go from here remains.

Reid states simply, that it's time to reconsider.

"That feeling, it allows you to reconsider," he says. He points out that the etymology of the word itself fascinating: consider is from the Latin root words cum and sidera, which literally means, with the stars.

A film may not singlehandedly alter the course of human action, but if it allows us to reconsider our choices, to reconsider our connection to this planet, perhaps we'll move toward togetherness.

Perhaps we'll remember that we are already with the stars.

** Planetary is set for worldwide release on Earth Day in theaters and on Vimeo on Demand. A full list of screening locations can be found here.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Much Ado About Nothing: Affleck's Ancestor

April 22, 2015, 7:36 am

≫ Next: A Feminist Takedown of Usher's 'I Don't Mind'

≪ Previous: A Planetary Perspective

The comments beneath Ben Affleck's Facebook "mea culpa" for having his slave-owner ancestor cut from the PBS show Finding Your Roots were pretty typical.

Lots of white folks telling black people to quit grousing about things that happened over 400 years ago. A few white folks grumbling that if Affleck were a conservative he would have been tarred and feathered by the mainstream media by now.

And, inevitably, a couple of brave black folks insisting that we are still reaping what we sowed 400 years ago, and then trying to defend the angry reactions with mini history lessons and references to current events.

OH -- and one fan who offered: "Well said. Now let's talk about how badass the batman suit looks on you..."

It was all just more proof that we simply cannot discuss race in any meaningful way in this country. I don't think we'll ever get past this. I really don't.

So I had decided not to even comment on the Affleck affair until I received an email from a complete stranger asking me what I thought of all this. We're registered members of the same online writing site, and I guess my picture and HuffPo archives led her to believe I might be interested in her views on the subject.

She said Affleck was a hypocrite for "criticizing" others and then "lying" about his ancestry. I wasn't sure who she felt he'd "criticized." Or that he'd "lied" about his ancestors... per se. But I do admit that I was a wee bit chagrined, having praised him here at HuffPo awhile backfor calling out Bill Maher on his misguided and myopic views on Muslims and Islam.

But then I thought back to that heated exchange. And other statements Affleck has made. Causes he has embraced. "Good works" he has done. And I also read, in his Facebook statement, this:

I didn't want any television show about my family to include a guy who owned slaves. I was embarrassed. The very thought left a bad taste in my mouth.

Was he wrong to omit his slave-owning ancestor? Absolutely. He missed a golden opportunity to have a meaningful discussion about the horror and anger he felt as that family secret was revealed. That's the kind of real-life story that touches hearts -- and changes minds.

After some thought, though, I realized that a man who feels so strongly about bigotry would be deeply wounded and embarrassed to discover a slave-owner hidden in the branches of his family tree. He might, in fact, not even want to speak his name. Or to give him even one minute of "fame."

A man like that would post something like this on his Facebook page:

I regret my initial thoughts that the issue of slavery not be included in the story. We deserve neither credit nor blame for our ancestors and the degree of interest in this story suggests that we are, as a nation, still grappling with the terrible legacy of slavery. It is an examination well worth continuing. I am glad that my story, however indirectly, will contribute to that discussion. While I don't like that the guy is an ancestor, I am happy that aspect of our country's history is being talked about.

I have to agree with the Batman fan: well said, Ben. And you do look badass in that suit.

Photo credits: Gone Girl premiere, by aphrodite-in-nyc CC 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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A Feminist Takedown of Usher's 'I Don't Mind'

April 22, 2015, 7:45 am

≫ Next: While We're Young, Waiting for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

≪ Previous: Much Ado About Nothing: Affleck's Ancestor

Usher has brought us some classics over the years -- "U-Turn," "U Got It Bad," "Yeah" -- and I am not ashamed to admit that my sister and I took the time to learn the words and any relevant dance routines to these songs. Outside of his work, he has also gifted the world with his wisdom on the topics of appearance and a woman's role in his life: "Appearance is something you should definitely consider when you're going out. Have your girlfriend clip your nails or something like that."

So it stands to reason that I was excited to learn that he had released a new song. An artist of his calibre and track record was surely going to come up with a banger to listen to in the comfort of a private session on Spotify.

"I Don't Mind" is about Usher's girlfriend being a stripper. We've been here before -- Wyclef Jean told us back in 2000 on "Perfect Gentleman" all about how he had to call up his mama to tell her he was in love with a stripper (yo). T-Pain followed and told us in his -- er -- dulcet tones that he too had suffered the same fate and had fallen in love with a stripper.

Usher's message on his version is that he really doesn't mind about her career choice. Maybe he's been keeping an eye on the modern feminist movement, and wanted to get in on the sex positive action, or maybe confidence just isn't an issue for this guy. All just wild speculation, of course, but one thing is for sure -- he does not mind one bit. No sir-ee. Not this guy. Or does he?

Shawty, I don't mind If you dance on a pole
That don't make you a ho
Shawty, I don't mind when you work until three
If you're leaving with me
Go make that money, money, money
Your money, money, money
'Cause I know how it is, go and handle your biz
And get that money, money, money
Your money, money, money
You can take off your clothes
Long as you coming home, girl, I don't mind.

Whilst it is encouraging that Usher does know that the money his shawty is making from doing her job is in fact HER money, he feels the need to remind us three times in a space of 34 seconds that he doesn't mind. As this hook is repeated throughout the song, he actually says "I don't mind," 15 times in total. Thou doth protest too much, Usher?

The ballers in here tonight, they gon' buy a hundred bottles
As soon as you shake it, I know they gon' make it colossal in here
Cause shawty you thinkin' them tricks that you do with your body
Got all of these n*ggas, they crowding around you like they seen Beyonce in here
You want your own and you need your own, baby, who am I to judge?
'Cause how could I ever trip about it when I met you in the club?
I make enough for the both of us, but you dance anyway
You know I was raised in the A.

Of course, Usher can't judge her for the very thing that caused him to fall in love with her! That would be wrong. I'm sure the guys in the A appreciate that. It does seem a shame though, that he has to point out that despite how good (and colossal) she is at her job, he STILL makes more money than her. The struggle is real, Usher. Don't be that guy.

When you get off of work, I'll be ready to go in the 'Rari
And when we get home we'll have us our own private party in here
So I don't worry at all about the things they do or say
I love you anyway
You can twerk it while in a split, you racking up them tips
Your body rock and your booty poppin', I'm proud to call you my bitch
They be lookin', but they can't touch you, shawty, I'm the only one to get it
So just go ahead and keep doing what you do, do it.

Usher's so chivalrous, picking his girl up from work in his car. His 'Rari, actually. You know, the super expensive fancy sports car that you can only buy if you earn loads of money. That one. Anyway, after spending hours on her feet, I'm sure the only thing his bitch really wants is an after party. Usher's just a great guy, don't worry about it.

Juicy J has been desperate to chime in up until now, randomly shouting "MIND/OKAY/YOUR BODY," and now is his time to shine with his own verse:

I'm just tryna cut her up, tryna bust a nut
Tryna take somebody bitch, turn her to a slut
Tryna fill my cup, tryna live it up
Throw some hundreds on that ass, walk her out the club
(Yeah, ho) Lap dance for the first date
Bet I threw a few bands, that's third base
It's okay if you work late, we can still party like it's your birthday
We can still party hard in your birthday suit
Knock that pussy out the park like my name Babe Ruth
Shawty she just want a tip, I just want to see her strip
If you fuck me like you love me shawty, you might get rich
Have her own cake, her own place, blow her own gas, no role
When we in the bed she like to roleplay, tell her friend to join in both ways.

I just feel like Juicy's killing the vibe here. Usher's trying to show his sensitive side about his bitch's career choice, but Juicy just comes in all brash about it. Maybe it's that Juicy is also confused about Usher's position on this matter -- even though he's been told a number of times now that dancing on a pole doesn't make her a ho, Juicy goes ahead and just straight up calls her a ho. It seems unfair to demand the very thing she does for a living on the first date; but this is coming from a guy that uses a baseball player who's been dead for 66 years as a point of sexual reference.

I think it's safe to say that Usher might not be the progressive, modern feminist he once thought he was. And the worst part? You can't even dance to it.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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While We're Young, Waiting for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

April 22, 2015, 9:25 am

≫ Next: Part 2: The Real Cost of Production in the Music Industry

≪ Previous: A Feminist Takedown of Usher's 'I Don't Mind'

I am an aspiring freelance writer. I write in two different languages and I am fully aware of the kind of market I am embarking on in these days. Since I am a so-called 'Millennial,' I am also fully aware that the same market will demand from me an even more extreme Faustian bargain. A part of me, I have to admit it, would sell my soul just to have an essay published in some rapidly growing website like HelloGiggles -- which pays its contributors a reasonable sum, and even manages to maintain a consistent editorial line.

However, another part of me is trying to reach the market for entirely different reasons: not because I want to make a living doing what I think I do best, but because I want to tell some 'little yet important' stories. I want to have my say on relevant facts and opinions, to build or destroy a good, solid critique. All while trying to change the "little piece of world around us," mentioned by a young Emma Morley in David Nicholls' One Day.

Perhaps, this part of me is an incurable romantic: as such, it is intended to perish over time; you know, with the years of hunger and doubt that force Arturo Bandini to write his masterpiece, but convince the common writer to sell yet another article on the '10 best ways to promote yourself on Twitter.'

To prove that times have drastically changed, moreover, there was already the beautiful, captivating Nightcrawler by Dan Gilroy. With its sneaky, arrogant male protagonist, it framed the picture of a second Brave New World -- suggesting a clear vision of this fresh, disturbing run-gold made of envy and compromise, roughness and complacency.

We can find the same kind of attentive, intelligent portrait in the latest film by Noah Baumbach, While We're Young: a story about the passing of the torch between a couple of forty-somethings and one of twenty-somethings. Working on this premise, Baumbach's forty-somethings (Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts) are self-centered, messy and perhaps not very bright, but still -- miraculously -- good, honest, somehow 'uncontaminated.' On the contrary, his twenty-somethings (Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried) are called to deal with the mistakes and turmoil of the first couple. And these kids appear so well-adjusted, talented and confident (too much for living in an old world which misuses new technology), that it's kind of a relief when they show themselves for what they truly are: a considerable pair of cheaters.

In such market and times, it is increasingly difficult to make room for all those 'little yet important' stories I love. Nonetheless, the 87th Academy Awards ceremony was a happy revelation: for once, both 'big' stories (American Sniper, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything) and 'little' ones (Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Whiplash) dominated the awards.

Because there are little and big stories, and last year has been a year of big, biographical stories and little, original ones. Personally, all those big, biographical stories have not been so relevant to me. But in the end, I have always thought that little stories were the ones most able to change our view of the world.

For about 20 years, now, American independent movies, when at their best, have proven to be the most valid, authentic alternative to those big stories. They have often been able to tell little stories with great effort. And watching the first trailer for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon -- which was recently adapted from Jesse Andrews' novel, and will hit the screen in June -- they seem to have many other surprises.

The last indie gems which changed my perception of the world, being it for better or worse, were Short Term 12 and Detachment: two stunning examples of how real heroes of film narration are in the stories of anonymously exceptional characters, rather than in big names who made history.

In Europe, some great, little storytellers certainly are Mike Leigh and Philippe Lioret. Leigh, with Happy-Go-Lucky and Another Year, is a fine, fond yet neutral observer of all the kind-hearted souls who can exist only in his movies. Lioret, on the other hand, is a tireless ethicist; one who likes to voice his thoughts through some incorruptible and passionate character.

Well, I cannot help it: my hopelessly romantic part in me is saying that we should tend more to these stories; in film as well as in journalism. Because the smallest stories are usually the most authentic ones. And because too often, today, you would think that diversity is authenticity. But when diversity is required, forced, pulled out with little or no grace (as in the case of Adam Driver's character in While We're Young, when shooting his documentary he uses some deceitful, insincere procedures), it can and will become vulgar.

On the opposite, when diversity is obtained unexpectedly; when it is recognized at a second glance or even discovered thanks to hard work -- it is and always will be pure, delicate narrative beauty.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Part 2: The Real Cost of Production in the Music Industry

April 22, 2015, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: A-Sides With Jon Chattman: The Elle King and I

≪ Previous: While We're Young, Waiting for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

In Part 1 of this blog entry, I covered the importance of understanding the role of the multitrack recording, composer, sound design, vocal compatibility, song length, genre understanding, and filling out a track.

Let's get right back to the rest of the list of important factors to consider in the real cost of production of a project.

SOUND ENGINEER

The sound engineer is usually the person who sits behind the mixing board and twists knobs and slides levers. In today's studio, that person would be operating a mouse with software like Logic or Pro Tools open on the monitor. They understand the importance of capturing the best audio possible. They are concerned about the quality of the mic used for capturing live instruments likes drums or acoustic guitars and pianos. They also care about a $300 vocal mic versus a $20,000 vocal mic. The dynamic range of the mic can capture low or high end tones that can make a song sound like radio quality or Radio Shack mic quality. This leads to the question of what is good gear for recording. The simple fact is that software on a computer doesn't capture anything other than the audio being fed into it. The fact is that your cell phone has enough horsepower to record quality sound, but lacks the gear connected to it in order for the quality of that sound to be good. So beyond the know-how of wires and cables connecting a studio together, there is the importance of the quality of hardware and gear used before the signal ever reaches the recording device. This is what a good studio engineer can ensure so that the best possible raw audio is captured.

PRODUCER

The confusion with today's music industry and producing a song is that a producer isn't like the old days. It used to be that a producer may just observe a recording session and act as the director of the session the way a movie director would watch actors and crew play out a scene and provide guidance. While a producer still does this today, many wear multiple hats. Many are artists themselves or used to be. Many are composers. Many are skilled musicians or vocalists. Frankly, many producers are good with a computer and working with software. They can create music from a computer and then make sure it is recorded the way their mind envisioned it. The bottom line is that a good producer is definitely an expert in the genre you're recording if you expect to have a commercially viable product.

VOCAL PRODUCER

This person is a great asset to have when recording in a studio. Not only is a composer needed for finding the best sounds to use and having an understanding of a good balance of vocals in a song, a vocal producer can take a song to a whole different level. Imagine the game of basketball. A player has to transition from offense to defense and back and forth. It is imperative that the player have a good balance of playing both sides in order for a team to have success. In music production, a strong music track can be great but will come undone if the vocals aren't as strong and visa-versa. A vocal producer can often assist an artist in creating the vocals to suit the emotion and dynamics of a track. Some vocalists can be sloppy in their recording. Some can be overpowering and not understand how to back off when needed. A vocal producer can guide and help create magic moments in a recording session.

MIXING ENGINEER

A mixing engineer is a specialist in taking what the studio engineer recorded and mixing it into a pleasant song that sounds even and put together. A mixing engineer may also be the studio engineer or a producer. But in reality, the industry is full of mixing engineers that ONLY mix audio that was recorded by someone else. In fact, a large portion of a recording budget can be allocated solely to a mix engineer. This budget has nothing to do with renting a studio and studio engineer. It has nothing to do with paying session players (musicians who are paid to play in the studio for a song or project). A mixing engineer's job is to take the elements they are given, and churn out a work of art.

MASTERING ENGINEER

A mastering engineer can be completely different than a mixing engineer and studio engineer. Sometimes it's the same person, but in more situations of a major label project, a mastering house is used to master a project. Mastering is simply the process of watching the sound peaks of a song and make sure that no spots peak out too high or too low. They are the ones who spend incredible energy making sure the sound wave spectrum of low to high tones are balanced and leveled well. Imagine the audio of an A.M. radio station compared to an F.M. radio station. A tweeter speaker sounds tinty, a bass speaker sounds rumbly. A master engineer makes sure that the sound waves coming from a song are not going to distort on a speaker and that the amount of volume that comes out of a song is balanced throughout the song. If you've ever had a playlist on your phone or ipod, you sometimes notice that some songs are quieter or have more bass or treble than the previous one. This is what mastering does. If you're producing an entire album, you spend time making sure track 1 and track 2, etc. are balanced and when played consecutively, they don't require the listener to mess with their EQ or volume knob. It starts with a single track and then that track is mastered against the other tracks on a project. A good mix and master can make or break a song's production.

REPUTATION AND EXPERIENCE

Like any product creation in any industry, the more experienced the production team, the better chance at a quality product being made. Sometimes an artist cuts corners and tries to produce a song without essential people in the mix. Sometimes creative control (or power struggles depending on who is paying the bill) can make or break a song's production. Having a reputable and experienced studio and staff to work with can make a huge difference in the quality of the product being made. The artist's reputation is at stake because the impression left by the end product will make or break their image in an already highly competitive industry.

NUANCES

There are so many nuances to consider when training your ear. Sometimes a song's lyrical content can conflict with the musical content. Sometimes a song's mix can waste a good potential hit. Sometimes a song's performance quality can be attested to being rushed in a studio rental clock ticking away. Artists may just accept what they got recorded because their budget expired after 8 hours in the studio. Sometimes the all-in-one song price from some studios means that a jack of all trades is running every aspect of the project when they are probably experienced in a couple areas and novices in others. When listening to some new music from emerging artists, it's easy to tell where they spent the money on the song or project. A bad mix and master is evident when you listen on three or four types of speakers. For example, one producer I've worked with turns his studio monitor speakers to almost inaudible levels and listens. It brings out glaring mix issues at that low volume level that may go undiscovered when blaring loud in headphones or car speakers. This technique is just one aspect of the importance of an experienced mix engineer in the process. They try to replicate the various speakers that may be used to listen to the song. It's a very important nuance that can be heard if you take the time to focus your ears on the mix.

The cost of production is often calculated on where you invest your budget and time. Creativity will always be subjective to the listener, but indifference to the notes in a song and focus on what the ear is hearing is a different prospect altogether.

The worst feeling for me is to see the dedication and focus of an aspiring artist be disrespected because they didn't pay attention to the production of their music. For them, it may cost them everything.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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A-Sides With Jon Chattman: The Elle King and I

April 22, 2015, 12:56 pm

≫ Next: Robin Wright's House of Cards Style: A How-To Guide From Her Stylist

≪ Previous: Part 2: The Real Cost of Production in the Music Industry

Photo/shootmepeter.com
There are so many different ways to go with starting this blog post. I could make some lame play on words on her last name being "King." But, I won't even though what I'd come up with would be fit for a queen. I could refer to her as "the next big thing" but that term gets passed around more than a bong at a Midwestern frat party. The designation often misfires anyway. I could also point out that her dad is Rob Schneider from Saturday Night Live, but while that's cool, it really has nothing to do with who she is, what she does or why I'm talking about her. So let's just plow right in...

Elle King is one of the most buzzed artist in music today, and listen to her for a word or two, and you'll let out a big "no duh." To put it mildly, her critically acclaimed debut album Love Stuff is a gamechanger. The singer/songwriter's tone will drawn comparisons to Adele, Brenda Lee and perhaps a shot of Amy Winehouse (still too soon), but it's truly in a class of its own: sultry, smoky, sassy, edgy, twangy, Whiskey-soaked and about six other adjectives preceded by expletives more. Take her alt-and-mainstream-breaking hit "Ex's & Oh"s, for example, which is a real firecracker.

The tattooed blonde starlet (let's all start using that word again right now) performed that tune and sat down for a fun, extended chat for yours truly at Primary Wave's A-Sides Studio for this series. Obviously, she nailed both. Her personality may actually be more infectious than her music. Anyway, before the embeds, know that
King, who has already slayed on The Today Show and on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. , will be performing the National Anthem at the top of the main Klitschko vs. Jennings event from Madison Square Garden this weekend.

She will also be on the road with fellow buzzometer breaker James Bay this spring and she'll be a regular in the festival circuit - performing at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Hangout Fest and many others in coming months. Lastly, her "Catch Us If You Can" appears in the Reese Witherspoon/Sofia Vergara-starrer Hot Pursuit. OK, enough get to the videos. You're welcome.

"Ex's and Oh's"

Interview:

A-Sides "Delve Into Twelve" Countdown
Each week A-Sides unleashes its top 12 tracks of the week AKA the "Delve Into Twelve" based on the following contributing factors: songs I'm playing out that particular week no matter when they were released (think overlooked songs, unreleased tracks and old favorites), songs various publicists are trying to get me to listen to that I did and dug a bunch, posts and trends I've noticed on my friends' Facebook walls and, most importantly: what my toddler is currently enjoying thoroughly.

12. "Run" (LW-8) - COIN
11. "Black Soap" (LW-7) - Ex Cops
10. "Shots" (LW-12) - Imagine Dragons
9. "Knock Knock Knock" (debut) - Spoon
8. "What Kind of Man" (LW-6) - Florence = the Machine
7. "A Rush of Blood" (LW-4) - Coasts
6. "No Cities to Love" (LW-4) - Sleater-Kinney
5. "Destruction" (debut) - Joywabe
4. "My Type" (debut) - Saint Motel
3. "Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)" (LW-2) - AWOLNATION
2. "The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box" (LW-3) - Modest Mouse
1. "Ex's & Oh's" (LW-1) - Elle King

About A-Sides With Jon Chattman:
Jon Chattman's 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 overmanufactured, 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

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Robin Wright's House of Cards Style: A How-To Guide From Her Stylist

April 22, 2015, 1:36 pm

≫ Next: EDM: From Underground Movement to Commercial Phenomenon

≪ Previous: A-Sides With Jon Chattman: The Elle King and I

I am drawn to powerful women who prefer pearls to diamonds, dresses to pants and pencil skirts to mini skirts. Some of these women are real, such as Jackie Kennedy or my godmother Dominique. And some are fictional, such as Catherine Banning or Claire Underwood, who is my latest fashion obsession.

Courtesy of Netflix

For the third season of this hit Netflix show, Robin Wright asked her personal stylist Kemal Harris to style Claire Underwood. Thus, Harris enters the picture and takes over Claire's wardrobe from Tom Broecker, who was costume designer for Season 1, and Johanna Argan who styled all characters during Season 2 and continues to style the rest of the cast in Season 3.

An evolution of Claire's style makes sense at this juncture in the story. In Season 3, Claire is in a very different headspace. During the first two seasons, she was working hard, always fighting to get to the top. Her wardrobe reflected that -- mostly black, very structured pieces, Claire was always ready for battle.

Courtesy of Netflix

In Season 3, she is at the top of the ladder -- she is in the White House. Her style illustrates this slight break in her struggle: Everything is a bit softer, a bit more feminine. Instead of her usual black armor, Claire is wearing softer colors, softer fabrics and fuller skirts. Thanks to Kemal Harris, costume designer and red carpet stylist.

Now represented by The Wall Group, Harris is from Vancouver BC. She studied fashion design there, and from the start was interested in the styling aspect of fashion. Working with photographers, she eventually made her way to New York City and Robin Wright became her client. Harris styled her for the red carpet and other events. "The red carpet is very competitive, you can't wear anything that has been worn before, the focus is on trying to get exclusive looks from designers that are right off the runway" she says. Dressing a fictional character is very different. "There is so much more to consider than if anyone ever worn this dress before... the story arc, the setting, the lighting, the time of day" Harris explains.

Stylist Kemal Harris Courtesy of Kemal Harris

What if you wanted to move from fiction to reality? What are the fashion lessons we can learn from Claire Underwood in Season 3?

1. Claire's clothes fit her perfectly. Indeed, it is all about fit. Harris had a mannequin built to Wright's exact measurements so as to be able to tailor outfits to her exactly, without her having to be there for all the fittings. Harris explains: "We tailor almost every piece to her fit; not everyone can afford to do that of course, but having a great tailor makes all of the difference." Buy one less pair of shoes and instead have your pants and dresses tailored.

2. Claire is not much of a pants girl. Pencil skirts. Full skirts. Fitted dresses. More feminine, and somehow more powerful.

3. Claire is even less of a prints girl. She prefers solid colors. Harris laughs: "We did one striped blouse in Season 3. That is as far as we went. Anything beyond that is too flamboyant for Claire's character. She is so classic."

4. Claire's idea of color remains muted. Deep burgundy, hunter green, violet, light gray, oatmeal. Otherwise, her color palette is black, white and charcoal.

5. Claire is not into jewelry or accessories. If she has to choose, she chooses pearls over diamonds. A single strand of pearls as a necklace, sometimes a single strand bracelet. And of course, her Cartier watch. That has been her trademark from the start. Harris adds "the Cartier team is such a delight to work with, they let me look through their archives for inspiration."

6. Claire does not own a pair of jeans, or sweatpants. Her version of casual are pants with cuffs (when she does wear pants), and a cashmere sweater. Or a pair of black silk pajamas.

7. Claire's preferred sleeve length is three quarters. So much so that Harris often has to alter the sleeve length of the outfits to fit this rule. And oh how powerful does this look with long black leather gloves?

8. Claire only wears stilettos -- Manolos and Louboutins, specifically. You will not see her in a wedge or flats. Unless she is running of course.

9. Claire loves a statement purse. YSL Sac du Jour is her go-to, although an Hermes Kelly bag does make its appearance. As does a Ralph Lauren beaded clutch.

10. Claire likes contemporary designers. In addition to classics such as Ralph Lauren, Armani, and Burberry, she wears up and comers such as Altuzarra, Jason Wu, Derek Lam.

I ask Harris to describe Claire's style in three words: "Timeless. Decisive. Feminine."

Timeless requires no explanation.

Decisive because every look is a complete statement. There's no flip-flopping on the style direction, there is an underlying strength in the cut and fit. The message is that of a powerful woman. Nothing is superfluous, nothing is fussy. She makes bold choices like the Ralph Lauren gown for the State Dinner based on her poise and confidence.

And feminine: Not the first word that jumps to my mind when I think about Claire, yet so very accurate. Feminine, not in a "mini skirt" kind of way. More in a "my clothes fit so well you can't help but see my figure" kind of way. No one would ever mistake Claire for a man...

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

↧

EDM: From Underground Movement to Commercial Phenomenon

April 22, 2015, 2:29 pm

≫ Next: Exclusive Interview with Robert Scott, Further Future Founder

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Daft Punk at O2 Wireless Festival, July 16, 2007, by Fabio Venni via WikiMedia Commons

As the old saying goes, better late than never. That could apply to the arrival of electronic dance music or EDM to the mainstream. Compared to rock and hip hop, it took more than 30 years for this once-underground sound to finally reach its current commercial peak, thanks to such stars as Daft Punk, Skrillex and Avicii. The popular music of choice these days for millennials, EDM is reportedly a $4 billion annual business that attracts audiences to events like Ultra Music Festival and Electric Zoo. (Last year, about 400,000 people flocked to the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) festival in Las Vegas).

Now the history of EDM in the U.S. is told in a new book The Underground Is Massive: How Electronic Dance Music Conquered America by Michaelangelo Matos, who has extensively covered electronic music for Rolling Stone, NPR and Red Bull Academy. In this interview, Matos talks about the evolution of the music from its early roots to its present popularity.

Why is electronic dance music so popular now compared to the '90s when there was a crop of dance music artists such as Moby, Fatboy Slim, and the Prodigy?

The Internet. It's a fallacy to compare somebody like Skrillex to Kurt Cobain because a lot of people did, but it's also true. They're nothing alike artistically; they're a lot alike socially and they're very alike historically. It's the Sex Pistols effect. When did the Sex Pistols go gold? Fourteen years after the album [Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (1977)] was released. Why did they go gold? Because they never stopped selling records. They stayed put. People grew up thinking this was always the most popular music around, when nothing in fact could be further from the truth. And that's dance music -- specifically, that's Daft Punk. I have that quote in the book from Gerry Gerrard, their old booking agent: "They sold 3,000 copies a week, every week. It was just consistent, forever." That's what happened with dance music as a whole. It never went away. It was easier to assimilate that as a kind of pop music when you can just access it. You couldn't do that in the '90s.

Dance music also faced a lot of "Disco Sucks" rockist crap. There was a lot of resistance. And it wasn't like there was a shortage of good music outside of dance music in the first half of the '90s. If you just wanted to listen to rock in the early '90s, there was nothing wrong with that. There were loads of good rock to go around. If all you wanted to do throughout the '90s was listen to hip hop, go nuts. For Americans, there was no reason to switch. So they didn't.

The origins of the genre can be traced back to the early '80s in the Midwest with Chicago house music pioneered by the late DJ Frankie Knuckles along with the development of Detroit techno. Why did electronic dance music flourish in that particular region?

You have to make your own fun. Particularly in Chicago, this was the offshoot of disco. Frankie Knuckles came out of disco -- he was a New Yorker, and he brought to the Midwest that style of making your own edits and mixing. Before Frankie, disco was about playing records for people. It wasn't necessarily about mixing. He promulgated that.

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Frankie Knuckles, circa 1988, by Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. Image provided by Dey Street Books

Also, "disco" was a bad word. The Warehouse [where Frankie deejayed) was a gay black club for most mostly under-25s and teenagers; it was completely underground. It had a small core audience and that core group got bigger. But there was nothing like the Warehouse in Chicago prior to the Warehouse. And that's Robert Williams, the guy who opened it, as much as Frankie. He came to Chicago from New York and wanted to make his own Loft, and it set off a chain reaction. Other DJs started playing in Frankie's style. Farley "Jackmaster" Funk took his entire playlist from Frankie. They all did.

New York DJ Frankie Bones is credited for bringing rave culture to the States after his trip to U.K. in 1989 by introducing events known as storm raves.

He was one of the first people along with Todd Terry to make tracks that fused hip-hop and early house music. He was making DJ tracks with samples and drum machines and using the obvious hip-hop source material. He saw what happened in England -- he was like, "I have to do this now." You get a real sense that every party was a progression from the last party. The storm raves were just pure mayhem. People would slam dance and it was so different for anywhere else. The music is getting louder and more obnoxious. You can map the progression of the scene through those parties all through '92. And the storm raves were the bellwether in many ways.

The evolution of electronic dance music in the '90s coincided with the emergence of the Internet, in which fans talked the parties and the scene in general through the message boards.

And also to talk about drugs. No one thought anyone was going to read this stuff except each other. It took until the mid '90s for those lists to go up to 500 people. There weren't that many members because there weren't that many people online at all. It's a way to talk about the scene because there's no one else was doing it. This was a very small secretive self-selecting society, and that's what the internet was at first, too.

There is no escaping the fact that drugs -- especially Ecstasy -- drove the movement, especially the rave scene.

Obviously so. Whether the people who invented the music liked it or not -- the techno people of Detroit who disdained drugs -- that's what it became. It's very significant and it certainly fueled the music. Certain tonalities, certain sounds, and certain patterns and certain production styles lent themselves to being heard on giant systems in altered states.

With the drug factor in mind, there has always been an uneasy relationship between movement and law enforcement authorities, most notably with police raids on rave parties in Milwaukee in 1992, and in Utah in 2005.

[The Utah party raid] was like the nail in the coffin as far as a lot of people were concerned. 2005 felt like the nadir of the scene. I remember watching it [on YouTube] and be like, "Oh my God, this is horrible," and everybody started to hear the horror stories. "Grave" [the party in Milwaukee in 1992 that was raided] happened when I was a senior in high school. You heard rumors and you saw it on the news and you were like, "What? There are mass arrests at these things?" It was enticing. I talked to more than one person who was like, "I heard about "Grave"! I'm gonna go to the next one!" It made people want to do it. And [there's] these other things where it's like, "The cops are coming in and cracking skulls." It makes you not want to do it.

Yet those incidents hardly prevented people from mounting and going to these EDM parties.

They stopped calling them "raves" -- they started calling them festivals. I spoke to a friend of my sister's, who is a party habitue -- she basically started going to EDC in 2012. She was like, "These aren't raves. Raves are for losers." I would encounter that sort of thing a lot talking to younger people, and they were like, "They aren't raves because raves are old. That's not what we do." That's exactly what you do, except it's supervised.

Electric Daisy Carnival 2010 in Los Angeles. By Npatchett via Wikimedia Commons

So what event made the music industry finally take notice that EDM was a viable commercial entity?

It was Daft Punk at Coachella [in 2006]. That's it. Daft Punk at Coachella for dance music is the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. They owned the [show], no one else came close. It was the presentation, it was the music, too. They're Daft Punk. Daft Punk's genius was to just utilize the tricks of dance music as themselves but make them seem like pop songs. They were amazing at that.

With the current success of EDM how do you see its future? Has it finally staked its claim alongside the genres of rock, pop and hip-hop?

It's too big to be ignored. The numbers of people may well shrink but they won't disappear overnight, and they're the same numbers the more established genres have, or bigger. Every generalist rock festival is at pains to include some EDM, because they need the numbers. It's not really possible for more pop artists to borrow the sound because it's been saturating pop for nearly a decade.

Michaelangelo Matos' book 'The Underground is Massive: How Electronic Dance Music Conquered America,' published by Dey Street Books, will be available on April 28. For information, visit the book's Tumblr site.

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Exclusive Interview with Robert Scott, Further Future Founder

April 22, 2015, 3:08 pm

≫ Next: PART 1: The Real Cost of Production in the Music Industry

≪ Previous: EDM: From Underground Movement to Commercial Phenomenon

Music festivals have created unique offspring that take the same aesthetics, roots, and philosophies and turn them into something truly one-of-a-kind. Further Future in Las Vegas is a new kind of gathering that offers a music and art based event with a twist on the transformational music festival scene. Founder Robert Scott and his team have created a space for like-minded individuals to create, express and share. A diverse lineup is not all this event has to offer. With the usual array of festival accouterments such as yoga, workshops, and healthy living, Further Future also offers full spa services, a pop-up luxury village, hair styling, gourmet culinary programming from award winning Las Vegas chefs, mixology programming from Francis Harris, and even a pop up dinner with wine pairing on a cliff top at sunset by celebrity chef Sam Marvin. With more to come, Further Future is creating a place unlike anywhere else in the world.

Morena: You began with a career in law and finance, what inspired you to transition into the music festival world?

Robert: I have always been very involved with the music and events industry, and my legal practice encompassed a great deal of entertainment and artist related work. This led to opportunities to work with many of the Further Future team, including our creative director Jason Swamy and other amazing people like George and Gary Mueller, Michael Calabrese, Benjamin Alexander and Walter Smith. Swamy and I have been working together on various projects for nearly 15 years and Further Future is in many ways the culmination of much of that work.

Morena: Music festivals come in many different varieties, sizes and philosophies. What are some of your favorite music festivals that you have attended?

Robert: As a group we really strive to spend our energies exploring the tip of the spear when it comes to festivals. You are more likely to spot us at Wonderfruit in Thailand than Coachella. What the mega-festivals like Coachella and EDC continue to produce is pretty staggering and very impressive, but personally I am most excited by what is on the fringes. I do of course love and revere Burning Man, although it is hardly a "music" festival and other favorite events are Sonar in Barcelona and ADE in Amsterdam.

Morena: How do you incorporate your background in law with Further Future gathering?

Robert: It can be very useful to have a background in legal structuring, risk management and running complex transactions when working on an event as complex as Further Future.

Morena: Tell me about the inception of Further Future. Who's the core team? How did it come about and what inspired the name?

Robert: The main members of the core team with whom the public and industry will generally interact are Jason Swamy, Michael Calabrese and Benjamin Alexander and I. As individuals our team members generally prefer to remain somewhat in the background, with our focus being on benefiting the development of the endeavor and the community over our own personal status, if that makes sense. The Further Future concept is something that we have been talking about and evolving for several years. A Further Future event aspires to be a gathering of people with the common goal to spend time together celebrating the infinite possibilities of the future, without necessarily being shackled to the dictates of the past or the cycles of present-day society. We want to combine the connective power of music and art to bring people together in a place where they can shed their anxieties and fears, and touch a natural state of happiness. This, while immersing ourselves together in a culture of open thought and inquiry sharing ideas and aspirations with leading minds in the fields of art, business, science, technology and thought.

We feel there is a yearning in our world for a mindful and directed optimism, the sort of self-belief that empowers a society to transcend its flaws and scars and make great leaps into the future. We have also in our own lives been drawn to and awed by great thinkers and dreamers, artists, scientists and entrepreneurs, who can see past the future and beyond the horizon (into the Further Future). If we could bring such minds together in that environment, just think what amazing conversations and ideas we might witness and what new possibilities might be born.

Morena: Is the goal for Further Future gathering to expand or do you want it to remain small and intimate?

Robert: We have quite a few ideas for what we will do next with Further Future, although it's not our intention to ever build this into an enormous event. We definitely value the intimacy and community that comes from a smaller event comprised of people who are truly invested in what we are all trying to do.

Website: http://www.furtherfuture.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FurtherFuture

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PART 1: The Real Cost of Production in the Music Industry

April 22, 2015, 3:28 pm

≫ Next: Aisle View: All the World's a (Musical Comedy!) Stage

≪ Previous: Exclusive Interview with Robert Scott, Further Future Founder

In 1985, Austrian artist Falco released his eventual number one Billboard single Rock Me Amadeus and introduced me to a technology in the music industry that hadn't really been exposed to the masses at that level. The song featured a cool stuttering vocal lead that, at the time, was mesmerizing to hear in the midst of a funky beat and catchy gang vocal of men yelling the song title. It was a large commercially successful use of a vocal sampler. The idea that a person could record their voice and digitally reproduce it in different note values was just mind boggling to me.

So after blood letting my ears from the 12 speaker sound system in my 77 red Chevette from listening to that tune over and over, I wandered into my local music store at the mall. A new portable keyboard, small enough to tuck under your shirt, called the Casio SK1 was prominently displayed. Because I worked at a department store in that mall, each time I entered the doors the staff smiled knowing where I was headed. I'd gazingly stare at the compact piece of musical engineering and experiment with the on-board microphone. It was amazing to record a burp which could then be reproduced like the bellow of an eery giant or quaint chipmunk. It only cost $99. It had to be mine.

This little gem was my first gateway item to recording my very own music. I went to a friend's studio which had an 8-track reel to reel machine after spending nearly two weeks perfecting my 32 key maneuvering. I recorded my first official original song using that keyboard.

I was bit by the music production bug. I snuck my first peek behind the curtain to see the Great and Powerful Oz that day.

Thirty years later, I'm still enamored by the production process and how technology can make a song come alive. More than just the technical cool factor of computerized production is the rude awakening I received the more I delved into working with Spencer on his career. There are costs in music production that aren't just financial and time. There is also the cost of being educated on how to listen to a recorded song. I don't mean feeling a song or allowing the beat to move your feet. I mean the ability to discern the layering of each piece of a composition and how it's fit together (or not) like a complete puzzle in a recording. Understanding all the elements and steps in that process is a cost that must be factored into every project.

There is more to music production than just a clever lyric or hook. I often listen to other new emerging artists and their recorded releases and am saddened by the fact they probably spent a lot of money on cool packaging for the CD, renting studio space, invested a lot of emotion into the lyrics and music, but left a lot of quality out of the project because they didn't understand some fundamentals about how to assemble a good production. In conversations I sometimes just say it is or isn't radio quality. I say this not to belittle an artist's ability or skill, but music production is an art that must be respected and if executed well, can truly earn an artist credibility among industry peers, executives and fans alike.

I decided to write this from my viewpoint as a 30-year music enthusiast who has had a college level education the past few years with Grammy and Dove winning producers and industry veterans to guide my understanding. There are roles and processes in music production that I want to share for those learning how to get the best out of their music production projects. Namely, emerging artists. I'm certain that I could go into minutia detail about this topic, but I'm going to give a highlight of what aspects should really be focused upon. Consider this a loose checklist of what to think about before spending money on a recording. Each of these will make an impact on the quality of the end recording.

THE MULTI TRACK RECORDING
- Many new artists begin their career by singing along to a karaoke track and then proceed to record their vocal with that karaoke track. The industry slang term for singing along to a karaoke track is called a two-track or two-mix recording. Simply, there is one track of music that has already been mixed and mastered and there is one or more of the vocals. This is easy to detect when listening to the mix and is a quick indicator of an amateur production versus a professional production. Many artists buy pre-made tracks and do a two-track recording because it's less expensive than a full studio project which creates the song one instrument or element at a time.
- A true multi-track recording is when every instrument, vocal and sound effect are all layered on top of one another in the software. It's called a session and in order to get the best possible sounding production, this is the best and only method used by professional industry artists and labels.

THE COMPOSER
- The composer is the person who creates the music/instrumental arrangement of the song. Often times this person may be the artist, but many times it involves a person or persons who are proficient in music theory and understanding industry related facts that will affect a song's success. Some of them are
  - SONG LENGTH
    - A mistake often made by new artists who write their own music is to create a song that is more like a novel and less like a newspaper column. Not to say that long songs aren't nice works of creativity, but if the artist intends to make their music commercially viable, song length is imperative. Things like how long it takes before the chorus starts, which ideally should be within the first 45 seconds of a track, can affect listener attention span or industry executive attitude. Song length of under 4 minutes make it a likely candidate for radio stations to consider for rotation. The term "radio edit" is reserved for a few reasons, but mostly because of song length. Often times when you buy an artist's album the song may be longer or have more creative instrumental parts than what was made popular on the radio. Let's face it, radio is a business and the more songs they can pack in an hour, the more money there is to be made.
  - VOCAL COMPATIBILITY
    - Again, if it's the artist also composing the music, this may not be as concerning, but in cases where a song is created for an artist, knowing the vocal capabilities like octave range and whether the vocalist is capable of technically handling the style or required skill for the vocal part is paramount. Often times there is a deficit in the song composition and vocalist capability. Some songs are too big for a singer. Some songs are too minimal for a singer. So having experienced composers who also know the vocalist on the song can help make sure the song is created in a way that suits the ability and image of the artist singing or band members playing.
  - FILLING OUT A TRACK
    - Composers are often able to envision ways to fill out a track with other instrumentation including vocals. Often times a track may have emptiness or clutter simply because the arranger of the song doesn't understand the complexity of sound space. If I can refer back to the art metaphor, imagine an empty canvas that is unpainted. The artist can clutter the canvas with so much color and detail that it can be overwhelming to the viewer. Sometimes the best art is very simple and easy to discern. The same goes with music composition. Understanding the delicate balance between the music and the vocals is where experienced composers can be spotted by industry executives and music aficionados. Knowing where a vocal part can fill that sound space or where an instrument is needed requires a trained ear.
  - GENRE KNOWLEDGE
    - It's easy to replicate the current sound and make a similar riff or chord progression of what's hot on the radio. This is evident in a lot of emerging artist's production. A lot of bands or artists are heard as similar to so-and-so because their production wasn't scrutinized by experienced composers who know the genre and are highly skilled in avoiding replication, but also skilled in including elements within the composition that a consumer likes. A simple thing like a kick bass in the percussion and the way it's tuned can make a huge difference in the composition of a song. Knowing what the A level artists are using is very important to know before finishing a track's composition.
  - SOUND DESIGN
    - A good composer also understands the importance of unique sound design. Sound design is simply the ability to create a sound that is unique. All too often, a song uses default sounds from software. Most of the very successful songs use unique and original sounds. Early in the electronic infusion of music in the 60's, cutting edge production included the use of unique sounds within a composition. It may be the odd, but appropriate inclusion of an orchestral instrument in the midst of a hard rock song. It may be the odd computer glitch squeals that are arranged in a rhythmic pattern that sets a song apart. Sound design is very much an important element of a well produced track. In contrast, a well executed natural instrument like an acoustic guitar can equally make or break a song depending how it's mic'd and recorded. That falls more into the studio engineer's world, but a composer should have an understanding of how to capture the sound that will make the music illuminate the melody to please the listeners' ears.

In part 2 of this blog entry, I will cover the rest of the areas of importance in music production for the beginning artist to consider. These include understanding the role of the sound engineer, recording engineer, producer, vocal producer, mixing engineer, mastering engineer and a few tips on how to vet them properly.

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Aisle View: All the World's a (Musical Comedy!) Stage

April 22, 2015, 6:28 pm

≫ Next: I of the Storm - Controlled Chaos

≪ Previous: PART 1: The Real Cost of Production in the Music Industry

Brian d'Arcy James in Something Rotten! Photo: Joan Marcus
Something's rotten on the stage of the St. James, and it smells like a hit. The birthplace of Oklahoma!, The King and I and Hello, Dolly! -- and latterly the filming location for the Oscar-winning "Birdman" -- now has a self-styled Renaissance musical, taking place in the '90s. The 1590s, that is. Something Rotten! is larded with overripe performances, layer upon layer of schmaltz, and everything in the kitchen sink except a battle of flying cream pies.

Even so, it seems likely that the purveyors of Something Rotten! set their sights on the current-day Broadway champ, The Book of Mormon -- and Something Rotten! does not approach that musical's levels of irrepressible hilarity. Consider it closer to Spamalot, which isn't half bad. Something Rotten! hits the target again and again, but as the evening progresses they serve up fewer and fewer bull's eyes.

The conceit of songwriting brothers Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick (who conceived the idea) and John O'Farrell (who wrote the book with Karey) is to place their story in Elizabethan London, where sexy slimy backstabbing rock star Will Shakespeare (Christian Borle) is not "a" bard but the bard of all bards. This doesn't sit well with jealous competitor Nick Bottom (Brian d'Arcy James), especially since his younger brother Nigel (John Cariani) -- who does most of the actual writing for the Bottom Brothers -- idolizes Will.

Nick Bottom -- and yes, that's the name of the Midsummer Night's Dream character who is transformed into a donkey -- sets out to out-Shakespeare Shakespeare. Due to the cloudy prognostications of Nostrodamus (Brad Oscar), though, he ends up puzzling 16th century London with a 21st century musical comedy. And not just any musical comedy, mind you; in trying to forecast Shakespeare's biggest hit, Nostrodamus conjurs something called "Omelette." This results in a scrambled musical comedy version of "Hamlet," with tap dancing eggs. You can just imagine the hilarious possibilities, can't you?

But you also might wonder: won't they run into trouble when they run out of Shakespearean twists, musical comedy references and all those egg jokes? It doesn't take Nostrodamus to foresee that this is precisely what happens. After a dazzling production number midway through the first act -- "A Musical," which builds and builds until it has more or less the same effect as "Hasa Diga Eebowai" in The Book of Mormon -- the show loses its freshness, and you know what happens to a chafing dish of breakfast eggs after they've been sitting out on the buffet too long.

Brian d'Arcy James in Something Rotten! Photo: Joan Marcus

That this entertainment is inspired by Mormon is obvious from the outset; the show proscenium, from Mormon-designer Scott Pask, is an Elizabethan counterpart of the temple of Moroni over at the O'Neill. More to the point, director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw -- that staging wizard who helped turn Mormon into an uproarious laff-fest -- does a protean job at the St. James.

As with Mormon, the authors are non-Broadway types. Wayne Kirkpatrick is a Nashville songwriter who collaborated on "Change the World," winner of the 1996 Grammy Song of the Year; Karey Kirkpatrick is a Hollywood screenwriter ("Chicken Run"); and O'Farrell is a best-selling British humorist. Unlike on Mormon, though, there is no theatre-savvy genius like Bobby Lopez to keep things on musical theatre track. One imagines that if Mormon had only one point of satirical attack, it would be very funny but not quite a world-conquering blockbuster.

What Something Rotten! does have, to its great benefit, is Nicholaw's sharply-etched comedy blocking, his high-powered musical comedy dancing, and a talented cast of comic actors. D'Arcy James, who has lately been entertaining us in dramatic musicals like Next to Normal and Giant, here displays his outsized comic talents. Upon his first entrance, he has the same dangerously glassy and very funny glare that he brought to King George in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton. He quickly and understandably vacated that small-but-showy role in favor of the top-billed slot in Something Rotten!

Cariani, who was a memorable Motel the Tailor in the Alfred Molina Fiddler on the Roof -- and who wrote the popular Almost, Maine -- makes a fine counterpart as the poetic Bottom brother. Several times, he falls into what you might call an "arrested flinch take," and it's lovely. Mr. Borle, a superb clown who can chew the scenery with the best of them, somewhat surprisingly appears here as the third lead. He makes the most of the smarmy Will (as in "Will Power"), although the authors have given him more of a sketch than a fully-rounded role.

Mr. Oscar, who committed all sorts of larceny as Franz Liebkind in The Producers and later graduated to the role of Max Bialystock, doesn't have much to do other than stand around like a demented forest creature and sing that musical comedy song -- which allows him to make the hit of the evening. Heidi Blickenstaff ([title of show]) makes a very good showing in the very underwritten role of Nick's wife, while Kate Reinders (Into the Woods) is a delight as Nigel's girl, Portia. She and Cariani have a naively innocent first act duet that brings to mind Hero and Philia in Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and a second heavily-entendred one patterned on Mormon's "Baptize Me."

Something Rotten! is heavy on double entendres, to the point of diminishing returns. The gifted farceur Brooks Ashmanskas, as a straight-laced and apparently closeted Puritan, has little to do other than grimace and smirk as he delivers or avoids delivering variations of the same joke (i.e.: "I will see you tied to a post begging for mercy while I give you the rod.") Gerry Vicchi is droll as Shylock, a merchant of London who -- logically enough -- turns musical comedy producer.

Christian Borle in Something Rotten! Photo: Joan Marcus
Something Rotten! is a very funny show indeed, and should please audiences although one wonders how non-theatre savvy houses will respond to all those musical comedy jokes. "How do you solve a problem like Ophelia?" Speaking as someone for whom constant musical comedy references are catnip -- they need only start the "Wells Fargo Wagon" vamp from The Music Man to get a laugh from me -- I must say that I eventually had too much. Although I will admit that I got a kick when Marisha Wallace, as an egg about to be cracked, held her ground by belting out "and I am telling you, I'm not going -- to be an omelette."

I laughed a lot, yes; but it's like being served a sumptuously stocked breakfast buffet -- fruit, waffles, smoked salmon and (yes) omelettes -- for dinner. Tasty, filling, and if you partake of the all-you-can-drink Mimosas, bubbly. But not quite so satisfying as steak & potatoes.
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Something Rotten! opened April 22, 2015 at the St. James Theatre

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I of the Storm - Controlled Chaos

April 22, 2015, 8:01 pm

≫ Next: Movie Review: Ex Machina - Mechanical

≪ Previous: Aisle View: All the World's a (Musical Comedy!) Stage

I of the Storm is a one man play that is chaotic, but in a way that embodies the commotion of living in the concrete jungle. There is no place like NYC. The Big Apple is frantic, exhilarating, surreal, beautiful, philanthropic and dehumanizing. I of the Storm addresses these idiosyncrasies of living in NYC post the 2008 economic meltdown through the eyes of a disgraced trader who hits rock bottom homeless in Central Park. Throughout the play you get elements of poet John Greenleaf Whittier. It turns vaudeville like Ziegfeld Follies. Then you feel thrust in the middle of O. Henry's The Cop and the Anthem.

Do not be dismayed. Richard Hoehler is a seasoned actor who navigates you through the turmoil of life, love and the pursuit of happiness effortlessly. Like Robert Redford's character in Barefoot in the Park, sometimes one must go insane to find sanity and humanity. We are so busy being busy that enjoying the moment is forsaken in search of the next trending topic. I of the Storm reminds us to slow down, if only for a New York minute.

I of the Storm is at the Playroom Theater until April 29th.

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Movie Review: Ex Machina - Mechanical

April 23, 2015, 5:21 am

≫ Next: Cure Cancer. Cure Education.

≪ Previous: I of the Storm - Controlled Chaos

Ex Machina is both tastily minimal and frustratingly simplistic.

Alex Garland's directing debut (he wrote 28 Days Later and Sunshine) is, in essence, a three-hander about three people in a house. OK, a high-tech mansion, but you get the point.

Yet, after tantalizing us with increasingly imaginative developments and the promise of catharsis, Garland lets it all dribble away at the end.

Domhnall Gleeson plays Caleb, a programmer at an unnamed tech company who wins a prize as the film begins. He will get to spend a week with the company's founder and head genius, Nathan (Oscar Isaac, who, with a shaved head and big beard, could double for the late Shel Silverstein).

Think Bill Gates or Steve Jobs - except this guy is a muscular, hard-drinking alpha with a bit of a god complex. But he's a benevolent god, at least to Caleb. Nathan overwhelms him with hospitality, then announces that what he's won is the chance to conduct a Turing test on a new bit of artificial intelligence he's invented.

Specifically, he will meet and speak with Ava (Alicia Vikander), an astonishingly human robot with realistically humanoid face, hands and feet attached to her bio-technic frame. When she puts on a wig and clothes, she looks like a woman.

This review continues on my website.

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Cure Cancer. Cure Education.

April 23, 2015, 6:00 am

≫ Next: New French Films Tackle Barbarism

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In Danny Collins, an aging rock star makes a donation to send his granddaughter to the best (fictional) school in New York City.

Movie night with a handsome date promised to be the perfect cure for my weary soul. Both our souls, actually, as we were reeling from the death of a good friend just four days before. And, though I love my job, some work-related anxieties had landed squarely on a branch in my mind, unwilling to fly off despite my efforts to shoo them away. We had planned to see something else, but when I arrived, he said "How about Danny Collins? Basically Al Pacino as an aging rock singer?" Music, star power, popcorn and hand-holding escapism in a dark theater? Sold.

Our escape didn't last long as several unexpected personal connections creeped into the storyline. The first was John Lennon, as our protagonist receives a long lost letter from the icon encouraging him to stay true to his artistry, signing it, "What do you think of that Danny Collins?" Less than 24 hours after losing our friend Jim to cancer, I recorded a slightly re-written version of Elton John's tribute to John Lennon, "Empty Garden," for his family.

"What happened here, as the Easter Sunset disappeared,

I found an empty garden, among the Violet's there...

And I've been calling

Hey, hey Jimmy -- can't you come out to play?"

I was not emotionally prepared for John Lennon's presence to be so prominent in the movie. I haven't even been able to share the song with Jim's family yet, so intimate and haunting. That, too, is a theme which resurfaces in the film -- sharing your true self without fear.

The second, more welcome connection was JiJi, the beloved penguin mascot of MIND Research Institute, the nonprofit where I work. Movie etiquette went out the window as I realized students in a critical classroom scene were playing ST Math. "That's JiJi -- that's our program!" I said loudly. "No wonder they are calling this (fictional) school the best school in New York!" Sorry, fellow movie-goers! It was so great to feel that excitement and pride in our work, featured unexpectedly on screen, that the crow of anxiety finally left its branch.

Finally, cancer crashed into the storyline, specifically leukemia. The same damn cancer that took Jim. My date and I both sunk into our seats, looked at one another as if to say "Must it follow us everywhere, even here? Can't we just escape its grasp for a few short hours?"

At its core, Danny Collins is about lost potential, missed chances, redemption, family amends, finding one's true voice and sharing it -- no matter the fear you must overcome to do so. All of those things resonate with me. I am a work in progress, especially on that last point.

My entire professional career has been working in nonprofit, social benefit organizations. I started in the education field with learning-disabled youth, and eventually transitioned to helping homeless youth focus on their education while trying to secure stable housing for their families. I couldn't imagine feeling more passionate about any other issue -- until I found myself singing at my best friend's funeral six months after she was diagnosed with lung cancer. I was angry, hurt and obsessed with understanding how someone so seemingly healthy could simply die in such a short time. Within a year of her death, I found myself leading a non-profit dedicated to funding cancer research.

Danny Colllins blended three core aspects of my life -- cancer, education and music -- to the point that one simple word kept repeating in my mind as I was left the theater: cure.

Cure Cancer. Cure Education.

I have spent 25 years in social benefit work trying to find cures. The number of cancer deaths and diagnoses among my group of friends alone is staggering, not to mention the national statistics. More than 1.6 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and more than 589,000 will not survive their diagnosis according to the American Cancer Society. I spent years working to fund cancer research. I am proud of my work and what we accomplished as a team, yet a cure feels a Million. Miles. Away.. I couldn't be in it every day anymore. The cloak was too heavy, but I am so proud of my old colleagues across the country who continue the work.

The number of casualties lost in our country's education system is shameful. In the movie, Danny Collins' granddaughter will get the educational services she needs because Grandpa makes a big, fat donation to an excellent charter school. Everyone in the theater feels great -- except me. Because I know that of the nearly 50 million kids in K-12 schools across the country, millions of them deserve a better education than what they are given.

In reality, millions of students don't have the opportunities afforded to Hope, the granddaughter in the Al Pacino film Danny Collins.

I work with an amazing team to cure education. It is a long arduous road ahead to reach that goal, but I know we are part of the solution. Our program works, we have the research to prove it. Our learning philosophy impacts children's lives beyond just math: as a kid from an underperforming school in Santa Ana who now attends Georgetown, reminds me.

Early math skills are the number one predictor of later academic success, according to researcher Greg Duncan at the University of California, Irvine. Yet as early as 4^th grade, only 42 percent of students are proficient in math -- and it's even lower for Hispanics (26 percent) and blacks (18 percent), a frightful disparity. We reach students at high-performing charter schools like the one in Danny Collins, where sometimes, yes, a wealthy parent helps make the program available. But close to 70 percent of the students using ST Math are from traditionally underserved backgrounds. We rely on donors and community supporters to help reach students in these impoverished neighborhoods, and are so thankful for the support we receive from some of the largest companies in the nation.

The cure for cancer and the cure for education seem inextricably linked. A fairly significant number of the 8 million science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) jobs expected to be created in the US by 2018 will impact the medical field: cancer researchers, chemists, biologists, medical technicians, radiologists and oncologists. Hopefully, this is where the knowledge, determination and breakthroughs will come from to finally end, or at least better manage and treat cancer.

But first we need to cure education and we need to do it together.

On a night when life felt hard and cures seem impossible, a little penguin waddled across a movie screen and reminded me that we are on our way to curing education, one small step at a time.

What do you think of that, Danny Collins?

Mind Research Institute is a partner of Cisco CSR. Cisco sponsors The Huffington Post's ImpactX section.

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New French Films Tackle Barbarism

April 23, 2015, 7:36 am

≫ Next: Doctor Zhivago's Sound

≪ Previous: Cure Cancer. Cure Education.

It seems more than coincidental that two powerful French films opening Friday deal with anti-Semitism, albeit in radically different ways. 24 Days dramatizes the 2006 kidnapping of a young Jewish man in Paris; Because I Was a Painter is a documentary about art created by inmates of Nazi camps. In addressing both the recent past and that of World War II, these films attest to the ongoing tensions of Jewish identity in Europe, especially France.

Because I Was a Painter, a co-production of France and Germany, explores the representation of concentration camp life through images. Director Christophe Cognet juxtaposes interviews of artist-survivors with drawings that are striking and haunting.

Photo Courtesy of Cinema Guild

Some of the sketches have been considered as evidence, especially vis-a-vis Sobibor, as no photographs exist from this camp. But to what extent is a drawing an interpretation rather than a historical document? Or must we distinguish between a sketch made in front of the object, versus an image recalled from memory? For example, Yehuda Bacon says," He was like a camera," about Joseph Richter, a member of the Polish Resistance who drew and wrote captions to explain the content of his drawings.

Bacon was a privileged eyewitness in Auschwitz-Birkenau, one of the adolescents chosen to haul objects and corpses in carts throughout the camp. Given his mobility, he captured images that were later used in trials. The most gripping drawing is entitled "I Witness My Father's Death": the camera rises from chimney smoke to reveal a man's grave face.

One of the questions the film raises is whether beauty can coexist with images of horror. After the artist Jose Fosty--a survivor of Buchenwald--calls a sketch of corpses "a symphony of grays," an Israeli survivor insists that there is no beauty to be found in the camps. But later, a survivor-painter says in French that he was inspired by Goya's combination of "tragedy and beauty."

Because I Was a Painter includes shots of Treblinka today, verdant and peaceful as opposed to the bloody landscape of wartime. And a slow circular pan of a camp ends at the entrance of Auschwitz, with the freedom of a mobile gaze in contrast to the individual sketches made there in the past.

Another question the film poses is to whom these drawings belong. To the artists or their descendants? About Dina Gottliebova's portraits of Gypsies commissioned by the Nazi physican Josef Mengele--which now hang in the Auschwitz Museum--its Director says they belong to the historical archive about Mengele.

As Seen Through These Eyes, Hilary Helstein's fine documentary of 2008, already introduced some of the artists, as its focus was the work created by child inmates of the Nazi camps. Gottliebova, a Czech Jew, says Mengele forced her to paint Gypsies because he thought photographs didn't capture the right visual tone. And Yehuda Bacon, who was a 13-year-old inmate of Terezin, recalls how art offered a shelter to young inmates.

As in Alain Resnais' groundbreaking Night and Fog, the focus of Because I Was a Painter is not on Jewish experience (some of the artists were victims of anti-Semitism, others were targeted by Nazis for different reasons), but representation of the camps.

24 Days, on the other hand, is a wrenching drama based on the true story of Ilan Halimi--kidnapped and tortured for three weeks simply because he was Jewish--and the noble but botched efforts of the French police to save him. With a focus on his mother Ruth (played by Zabou Breitman), director Alexandre Arcady creates a tension that mounts in every scene.

Photo Copyright 2015 Menemsha Films: Ilan Halimi (Syrus Shahidi) kisses his mother (Zabou Breitman) in 24 Days.

The members of the multi-racial "Gang of Barbarians" who abducted Ilan--led by a thug from the Ivory Coast--are ill prepared for ransom negotiations: the police secretly coach Ilan's father during the more than 650 abusive phone calls he receives, which demand conflicting sums and means of delivery. When three days drag into three weeks, the young abductors begin to crack: their sole motive for taking the 23-year-old mobile phone vendor had been a vague assumption that all Jews were wealthy--hardly the case for the Halimi family.

Lisa Nesselson's laudatory review in Screen Daily makes a strong case: "What was done to this one young man--at that time the first French Jew since WWII to have been deprived of his dignity and human rights simply for being Jewish--is unspeakable."

When 24 Days opened in France almost a year ago, it engendered public discourse, and the French Ministry of Education had the film shown in schools. Nevertheless, by early 2015, the fatal attack on a Kosher supermarket in Paris suggested that living safely might still be a challenge for Jews in France.

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Columbia University Film Professor Annette Insdorf is the author of books including Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust.

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Doctor Zhivago's Sound

April 23, 2015, 8:12 am

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The musical based on that Russian classic Doctor Zhivago inevitably evokes comparisons with the Omar Shariff-Julie Christie, David Lean 1965 movie, from Boris Pasternak's 1957 novel. A Broadway show with name recognition, Doctor Zhivago has played in Australia and South Korea--in Korean--and was much loved. Given its politics, that's a coup. Les Miserables Russian style, under Des McAnuff's direction, Doctor Zhivago has The Broadway Theater exploding with war, unexpected petards from the rafters, casting the stage in smoke and fire, and jarring the audience with attention commanding noise. By contrast, Lucy Simon's score with lyrics by Michael Korie and Amy Powers features memorable songs: "Now" and "Love Finds You" are standouts.

The familiar lovers, Tam Mutu as the doctor/poet Zhivago, and Kelli Barrett as Lara give the story its force beginning with his wedding, to Tonya (a fine Lora Lee Gayer), to Lara's wild attempt at shooting Viktor Komarovsky (a very good Tom Hewitt). Traveling the stark and violent terrain, Zhivago takes his family from Moscow, where their home has been overtaken, to what he thinks will be a safe haven in the countryside. More bloodshed and random cruelty ensue. But there, he finds Lara again, working in a library, while her high-minded revolutionary husband Pasha (the excellent Paul Alexander Nolan) has transformed himself into a tyrant.

On opening night, many in the audience remarked on a scrim made of interlocking chairs. (Michael Scott-Mitchell did the set design.) The image brought to mind Marius' song in Les Miserables as he laments his fallen comrades in arms: history may be imagined as a continuum in which the players go missing, their seats empty. As in musicals of such epic sweep, the romance of love intertwined with lofty political ideals makes this Doctor Zhivago completely compelling, as its music is sure to be honored at the coming Tony Awards.

A version of this post also appears on Gossip Central.

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The Passion of Crowe: The Water Diviner Marks Russell Crowe's Directorial Debut

April 23, 2015, 8:28 am

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Russell Crowe may be the most misunderstood artist working today. The common perception of the hot-tempered Oscar winner "fightin' 'round the world" continues to unfairly overshadow the actor's impressive body of work (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, American Gangster, Robin Hood, Noah, the list goes on). It's a damn shame, because people who subscribe to this line of thought are completely missing the fact that Crowe is at heart a craftsman with a singular, intense appreciation for the creative process. Lucky for those of us paying attention that Crowe's passions are able to come alive in full force through his debut directorial feature, The Water Diviner.

In this epic journey about a father who travels to Turkey seeking news of his lost sons, Crowe stars as Joshua Connor, an Australian farmer with a special gift for intuiting -- "divining" -- water hidden underground in the dusty Outback. It's 1919, four years after the bloody battle at Gallipoli, and Joshua's three boys have never returned from combat. Arriving in Istanbul intent on discovering what happened to his children, the bereaved father encounters an unusual cast of characters all dealing with their own hardships in the World War's aftermath: Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko), an attractive hotelier widowed by the conflict; her young son Orhan (Dylan Georgiades), who quickly bonds with Joshua; and Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdoğan), a Turkish officer who fought at Gallipoli and may hold the key to Joshua's quest. Surprising in its complexity and compassion, The Water Diviner's intricate story transcends Joshua's ordeal to explore how the gunshots of modernity shattered an entire world -- and how the power of love can spur the most ordinary people to extraordinary adventures.

This would be an ambitious project for any director to undertake successfully, but what makes The Water Diviner fascinating is how Crowe imbues the movie with his own unique alpha-maleness. While testosterone-fueled action swings hard and heavy (Sandstorm rescues! Steam train escapes! High-stakes horseback rides!), it's layered in with such empathic filmmaking that the result is both visually arresting and emotionally affecting.

An opening sequence that finds Joshua in the wilderness, divining rods in hand and alone save for the loyal dog at his side, perfectly illustrates how Crowe combines the awesome with the intimate. Viewers are treated first to some exotic shots of the Australian Outback, then a quiet close-up of our hero at one with the elements, rods swaying in the breeze until he identifies the perfect spot to dig a well. A montage follows that lovingly details the construction -- its depths and reinforcements -- and when the water at last flows free, the camera lingers on Crowe's eyes alight with victory and relief. "Hope is a necessity where I come from," he will say later in the film, and this introduction to his character explains why -- it takes superhuman effort to survive in the heat and desolation of his homeland.

And speaking of superhuman effort, well, here's where that total devotion to process comes in. Crowe often professes his excitement about researching a role, but wearing the director's hat enabled him to plunge The Water Diviner's cast and crew headfirst into "a very concentrated tertiary education in what it is to prepare for cinema." This meant a full-on boot camp conducted at Crowe's farm in New South Wales, where the Water Diviner team underwent rigorous physical training (50-kilometer bike rides, hikes through bush terrain, archery lessons and training in weapons appropriate to the movie's setting) and nightly lessons about the social and political history of the Ottoman Empire.

Crowe says:

"To a man, the day that we were ready to shoot, [the cast] walked in the door and it's like everything about them is the character... There's a mile deep behind their eyes of all the things they know about the time period, the subject matter, who their character is."

It's evident in watching The Water Diviner that Crowe's immersive method worked like magic. Not one second of anachronistic footage exists in the final cut. (Credit must also go to Crowe's innate ability to get inside the head of historical characters, as those familiar with his songs like "Queen Jane" and "Land of the Second Chance" will recognize.)

The actors playing Joshua's boys (Ryan Corr, Ben O'Toole, and James Fraser) seem particularly connected to their roles, probably because their boot camp experience began before they were even cast. Realizing he needed special personalities to inhabit these pivotal characters, Crowe gathered a dozen candidates for a grueling marathon audition to see who would be able to maintain creativity over a strenuous workday. (This was inspired by an audition technique Crowe learned early in his career from director George Ogilvie.)

"You don't want to be working with someone who can give you a great five-minute audition, but can't keep up with a 12-hour day... And oddly enough, the ones I thought were going to be my guys going into the day didn't end up getting the roles. It was the actors who... showed themselves to be the type of workers I needed around me, who would listen to direction and still be coming up with things when they were tired... Not for a second did Ryan, Ben or James ever let me down."

Male bonding in life certainly translates well to the screen. Much of The Water Diviner exudes a primal physicality (see Joshua's outburst at the Gallipoli graveyard), but this becomes doubly effective when juxtaposed with tender moments of intimacy, seen most poignantly in the movie's father-son relationships. Despite Olga Kurylenko's beauty and excellent performance as the complicated Ayshe, the real love stories here revolve around Joshua's ties to his sons and his growing connection with the young Orhan. The surrogate father-son friendship with the little boy reinvigorates our grieving protagonist, indicating that the waters of love can, often from innocence, spring anew.

"Innocence" is not a word most people would likely associate with a Russell Crowe movie, but after The Water Diviner, "inspiring" will be. Aside from the film's gorgeous cinematography thanks to Oscar winner Andrew Lesnie (The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King), this is a story that allows audiences to believe in miracles. As actor, musician, and producer Crowe has proven over and over again that impossibilities can be made possible with a little instinct and a lot of focus. Maybe now that he's a director people will actually focus in on him the way he deserves.

Top photo: Russell Crowe as Joshua Connor in THE WATER DIVINER

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