Good Oscars and Bad Oscars
Once again it's the Oscars' time to be in the world spotlight. In my youth I worked in Hollywood's motion picture industry and was a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. We...
View ArticleIn Defense of Alec Baldwin
Several months ago I was scrolling down my Facebook newsfeed when I saw a venomous post about Alec Baldwin. Apparently he'd used an anti-gay slur, and it wasn't the first time. I did a little research...
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Once Upon a TV: "Tell A Fairy Tale Day" Starring Our Favorite Characters
It's here! Today is the 11th most magical day of the year! Today is Tell A Fairy Tale Day (no, really, Google it) where everyone must stop at some point in their day and tell the person next to them a...
View ArticleLive and Dangerous: SXSW 2014 (Part 2)
Just in time for SXSW's March 7th kickoff, here is Part II of the Live & Dangerous feature -- featuring 3 more essential emerging acts to catch at this year's highly anticipated festival. WHO:...
View ArticleSia Inspires Me to Be a Healthier Trans Person
There's something oddly intimate about a person's exercise playlist. If you're like me and hear the same songs every day for 30 minutes to an hour of sweating, the playlist takes on its own life....
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Archaeology Professor Sarah Yeomans Discusses the Reality of Ancient Pompeii
These days, more people are probably pondering the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the resulting devastation of ancient Pompeii than when it actually happened, in 79 A.D. The eponymous movie (Pompeii)...
View ArticleAcademy Awards 2014: Foreign Language Films
A record 75 countries entered the foreign language category this year, and a record 16 submitted films directed by women. (A 76th country, Pakistan, was disqualified for failing to submit a subtitled...
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21 Oscar 'Firsts' And Other Trivia You May Be Surprised To Learn
We tend to recognize firsts on every playing field in pop culture. Recently we learned that NBC's Meredith Vieira was the first woman to host a prime-time Olympics broadcast (because her colleague Bob...
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Movie Review: Non-Stop
If you crossed a disaster film from the 1970s with a low-budget action-thriller from the last five years, you'd get something that looks like Non-Stop. It's no wonder that Liam Neeson looked so...
View ArticleThe 'New Yorker' Doesn't Like 'True Detective,' But I Do
Emily Nussbaum's dismissal of the "shallow deep talk" in True Detective (New Yorker, March) reminded me of something I struggled with as a rock critic at the Chicago Sun Times. My old friend Roger...
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Mississippi Burning, Reconsidered
Mississippi Burning, written by Chris Gerolmo, was nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1989. Every year or two there's an important movie that gets into trouble between its release and the Academy...
View ArticleSon of God Is the Anti-Gibson
Ten years ago, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ film was released amid a swirl of controversy and after a relentless public relations campaign playing up the director's celebrity status and his...
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Like a Rolling Stone
During the 1980's there were two things I was completely obsessed with: 1. Writing in my "Hello Kitty Friendly Diary" and, 2. Mick Jagger. I was introduced to The Rolling Stones at a young age by my...
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"Flattered" by Old Flames
The old flame. Most everyone has them. The nature of dating is that we learn about ourselves and learn about others and either decide to start dating, keep dating or stop dating. The problem comes when...
View ArticleStrong Enough -- A New Book About Cher's Ill-Fated Solo TV Series...This n'...
"I KNOW there's a huge Cher black market out there. But that's just the way it is. There's a black market for just about everyone in show business -- the difference with Cher is that there is so much...
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Oscar Winners: We Crave Genuine Gratitude
Oscar speeches and spirituality? Confession is good for the soul. At the annual awards, five little words set my teeth on edge, "And I want to thank," followed by the long, obligatory list of industry...
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt Loves How Hayao Miyazaki's 'The Wind Rises' Celebrates...
He's helped Batman battle Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. Not to mention going toe-to-toe with the G.I. Joes in The Rise of Cobra. He's even braved multiple levels of the human subconscious in...
View Article'The Americans' Season 2, Episode 1 Recap: 'Comrades'
Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 2, Episode 1 of FX's "The Americans," titled "Comrades." We all better get it together, because it feels like "The Americans" has found its rhythm and a...
View ArticleThe Real Wolf of Wall Street
I have seen the movie The Wolf of Wall Street and enjoyed it quite a lot, though that loud brash generation is more muted these days. But it made me wonder, have we seen the last of the scam artist...
View ArticleShakespeare, Meet My Daughter
My daughter is turning 11 and showing more interest in the classics. She's been reading the original Grimm fairy tales, and recently watched The Wizard Of Oz while listening to "Dark Side of the Moon."...
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