When Jerry Met Barbara...
On the first of April, 1964, Jerry Lerner met Barbara Joan Fried at a singles dance at the Trump Village Apartments in Coney Island. I've lived in many apartment complexes before; I can assure you,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Orange is the New Black's Annie Golden
Orange is the New Black saved last season's biggest bombshell for its Christmas pagaent finale. And, it was Litchfield's least likely offender -- the mute inmate Norma Romano, played by Annie Golden,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Victim of Viral YouTube Video has Message for Racist Stripper in Explosive...
Narvell Benning posted a video on YouTube on June 4, 2014 called Blatant Racism in Cheektowaga NY. In the video you watch and hear Janelle Ambrosia unleash a racist verbal assault upon the videographer...
View ArticleThe Tidal Wave of Gay Portrayals of the Trans Experience
It will be interesting to learn what the impact of this continuing flurry of drag performances and awards will be. This week Neil Patrick Harris won the Tony award for Best Performance by an Actor in a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Leonard Podolak and Jessee Havey Reunite to Rebuild a Duhks Dynasty
Jessee Havey remembers the day she took the Duhk call like it was ... well ... 2011. Four years after leaving the Duhks, one of the Canadian neo-folk scene's most influential roots acts, the stunning...
View ArticleClik here to view.
For Ruby Dee, Who Made Me Believe
Ruby Dee in 1972 We used to call each other up, black folks, back in the day when "we" were almost never on TV. Or in the movies, except as servants or head scratching, eye popping foils for white...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Putting on a Show: What's Really Going on in Halt and Catch Fire
Remember when Mickey and Judy decided to put on a show? That happened in the 1939 film version of Babes in Arms, and it launched the career of an entire stock plot. The characters in these stories are...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Maxi Priest Hits His Groove at B.B. King's Blues Club
Reggae superstar Maxi Priest had three reasons to put on a lively, well-received show at B.B. Kings Blues Club & Grill Wednesday night, June 11. 1.) He was celebrating his 53rd birthday. 2.) He was...
View ArticleManaging Management in the Music Industry
Ignorance is bliss. Or so it seems. In the long road of learning the convoluted, yet at times transparently simple music industry, many roles and titles of people I've come across have been difficult...
View ArticleHenning Carlsen: A Remembrance
Henning Carlsen, the Danish film director, died on May 30 shortly before his 87th birthday. I first heard of Henning Carlsen in the early 90s when I was teaching a course on the fiction of Knut Hamsun...
View ArticleMy Father's Day Conversation With Carl and Rob Reiner
Tonight, in a first-ever joint interview, the talented father-son duo Carl Reiner and Rob Reiner joins me on PBS. The elder -- a 12-time Emmy-winning TV pioneer who counts among his creations The Dick...
View ArticleClik here to view.
For Father's Day - The 10 Best Movie Dads
Dads are sometimes manhandled in movies -- depicted as absent, neglectful, or comically inept. They can be relegated to grim portrayals in films like The Great Santini (1979) or This Boy's Life...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Belmont Stakes Fun With Miss NY, Bernie Williams and Richie Sambora
The generous folks from the New York Racing Association were kind enough to invite me to the Belmont Stakes last Saturday. It's the first year they allowed a jackass to enter the race. Nevertheless,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Project Stealth: The Future of Stealth Action Multiplayer Games (Part I)
Project Stealth may literally be just one of hundreds of indie games currently fighting for support on Kickstarter, but it stands out from the rest of the pack by virtue of its very premise. A...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Childish Gambino and the Metamodern Ennui: Why Because the Internet Is the...
Or, 8 Reasons Why Because the Internet Will Change Your Life #Clickbait This is the first in a series of four essays examining how Childish Gambino's Because the Internet functions as part of a new...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Does a Film Industry in Nigeria Still Break All the Rules?
I am a gal torn between two worlds! Literally! Last week, I was at the Sundance gala in NYC that honored Glenn Close. The theme of the gala was 'Here comes the sun!' I stood inches from her as she...
View ArticleClik here to view.
AnnaLynn McCord Debuts Film on Human Trafficking
AnnaLynn McCord wears Alice + Olivia complimented with bracelets by RUBBS to her 'I Choose' film premiere, by GenArt & powered by CÎROC - Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gen Art and CÎROC Actress...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Charlie Rose and Richard Plepler Honored at the Museum of the Moving Image...
You've got to love a guy whose ex-wife speaks well of him, and so, in crafting a speech to honor Charlie Rose, Gayle King, called her to get some anecdotes. King was not the only one at the podium. It...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Franco-American Film Festival on the Champs Elysees: From Whit Stillman to...
Whit Stillman's Metropolitan and The Last Days of Disco were two of the films that opened the Champs Elysées Film Festival this week in Paris, a festival devoted to showcasing independent American...
View ArticleHow To Train Your Dragon 2 Outdoes the Original
One of the most popular movies of 2010 was the animated movie How To Train Your Dragon. Now four years later we get the sequel How To Train Your Dragon 2. As most people know the general rule is that...
View Article