Pussy Riot Welcomed to the Russian Olympics With a Police Beating
Welcome to the Russian Olympics where beatings are the order of the day. For Pussy Riot, including Nadia Tolokonikova and Masha Alyohkina, who were poised to sing a song satirizing President Vladimir...
View ArticleMy Conversation With Filmmaker Robert Greenwald About His Film, Unmanned:...
Join me tonight on PBS for my conversation with award-winning filmmaker Robert Greenwald. He has exec-produced and/or directed more than 50 TV movies, miniseries and feature films. Through his company,...
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Movie Review: Omar
Who is the traitor? That question of loyalty, deception and betrayal haunts the Oscar-nominated film Omar by Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad, whose dark, weirdly funny Paradise Now was also an...
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Woody Allen: Still Romantic After All These Years
As Woody Allen once put it, "There is no question that there is an unseen world. The problem is, how far is it from Midtown, and how late is it open?" Woody does not leave his beloved Manhattan often,...
View ArticleWhy Do Fads Fade? The Inevitable Death of Flappy Bird
On February 8, 2014, an app called Flappy Bird held the coveted No. 1 spot in the Apple App Store. The app's 29-year-old creator, Dong Nguyen, reported earning $50,000 a day from the game. Then, the...
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Where Are All the Pretty Large Men on Pretty Little Liars?
Pretty Little Liars fans around the world can agree that this week's episode where Aria had a meltdown on a ski lift, clearly designed by the undead and Spencer, was speeded out and couldn't decide if...
View ArticleAfter 10 P.M. There Were More Stars Than Can Be Seen in the Heavens
"After 10 p.m. there were more stars than can be seen in the heavens, to quote the MGM lion!" It seems I wrote this sentence, with this emphasis, about the famous Vanity Fair magazine annual Oscar...
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On the "A" w/Souleo: Black Fashion Designers Need Help Too
In the past few years, the lack of diversity on fashion runways has garnered mainstream attention through activists such as legendary model, Bethann Hardison. But Black Dress, a new exhibition at Pratt...
View Article15 Minutes With Andie MacDowell
I'm sitting across a dinner table from Andie MacDowell, and things are not as they appear. To see me, you'd think I was a Hollywood success, a mover and shaker, a man of wealth and taste. You'd think I...
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Everyone Is a Winner at 2nd Stage Theatres 27th All Star Bowling Classic
When I think of bowling, I think, Roy Munson, cigarette smoke, beer, mullets, and "why the hell am I thinking about bowling?" What I don't think about when I think of bowling are Olympic Silver...
View ArticleAs Long as I'm Laughing With You: Sid Caesar
The Year is 1949 and this new medium of Entertainment called TV has just arrived on the scene, there's this new comic from New York named Sid Caesar, who's also making his network debut as well. Sid's...
View ArticleMy Conversation With Toni Braxton and Babyface: Love, Marriage and Divorce
Love, Marriage and Divorce, the new album from Toni Braxton and Kenneth"Babyface" Edmonds, is currently one of the top-selling albums in the U.S. The R&B duo joins me tonight on PBS to discuss...
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Ten Books To Survive Downton Abbey Withdrawal
Now that season 4 of Downton Abbey is drawing to a close, don't spend the long hiatus crying over how much you'll miss the Dowager Countess's cutting quips and Miss Patmore's savory puddings. Instead,...
View ArticleHouse of Cards Is a Republican Fantasy World
While critics praise Netflix's House of Cards, its promoting an elite, right-wing political agenda is ignored. The show glorifies union bashing and entitlement slashing within a political landscape...
View ArticleNBC to Johnny Weir: Yes to Tiaras and Mascara, No to Fur
Add animal rights to the list of issues buzzing from Sochi: NBC told Olympics correspondent Johnny Weir to dress as flamboyantly as he wants -- but to ditch his infamous furs. "Do whatever you want....
View ArticleThe Apollo Theater Before 125th Street Was the Black Main Street
George Carlin had a famous comedy routine called "White Harlem." I met him a couple of years before he died and when I told him I wrote Showtime at the Apollo, he became animated and excitedly told me...
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The Woman Who Shot Elaine Stritch
After almost 20 years in the business, Chiemi Karasawa made the move from being a script supervisor on feature films to being a producer who made documentaries. But when she started making Elaine...
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Dog Ears Music: Volume 320
Richard SkeltonLancaster, England-born avant-experimental multi-instrumentalist/composer and artist Richard Skelton (aka Heidika, A Broken Consort, Harlassen, Carousell, Riftmusic, and Clouwbeck)...
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Movie Review: In Secret
Love and murder -- are there more crucial or basic ingredients for a good story? It's like cooking and starting with chicken or beef stock: They are the building blocks from which the best recipes are...
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How Walt Disney Animation Studios Evolved Mickey Mouse Backwards for Get A...
It's the question that most animation professionals ask immediately after they've seen Get A Horse! How did Walt Disney Animation Studios actually pull that short off? How'd they first replicate the...
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