How Well Do You Know Carole King's Songs?
Co-authored by Janet Golden Carole King is a defining voice of our generation. We grew up singing her hits, and her influence endures to this day. (There's even a smash musical, "Beautiful," about...
View Article10 Ways the George Lucas Museum Will Re-Write Chicago History
We did it, guys! We got another museum! The George Lucas museum will open in Chicago come 2018. Who better to explain how an entire society can go from a sparkling clean hi-tech vision of the future --...
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Schrödinger's Dinner Party: Hour of the Wolf Movie Review of Coherence
There's nothing particularly wrong with employing the time-space continuum for the pure fun of the concept. Edge of Tomorrow makes good sport of it, coming up with a pretty keen action film and...
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Pretty Little Liars 503: "Surfing the Aftershocks"
Pretty Little Liars returns this week with another suspenseful (confusing?) episode and tvtag's pairing up with Jaymie Bailey, founder of All Things PLL to discuss our most burning questions. Caution:...
View Article22 Jump Street: A Sequel Done Right
We've all seen it happen: A popular film feels pressured to produce a sequel. This pressure to produce a script results in inevitable failure. I mean, who hasn't said, at one point or another, that...
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The Normal Heart's Problematic White Men
It took over 20 years for Larry Kramer to finally see his gut-punching AIDS play The Normal Heart put to film (kudos to Ryan Murphy and HBO), but only days for the movie's few critics to slam its lack...
View ArticleDiana Ross -- Still Supreme!...Sean Young -- Still a Bit Bewildering (But...
"I NEED love, love to ease my mind/And need to find time, someone to call mine/But Mama said, you can't hurry love, no you just have to wait!" •DIANA ROSS (and the Supremes) belted that one out about...
View ArticlePeople Send Me the Most Fascinating Things
"CONTROL YOUR own destiny, or someone else will," said entrepreneur Jack Welch. •PEOPLE SEND me the most fascinating things! The other day I received a wonderful photograph of Judy Garland and Marilyn...
View ArticleWhy Celebrities' Racist Rants Don't Matter So Much
The American public is quick to demonize people who are blatantly racist. When Justin Bieber was exposed for a racist jingle and joke, the public was quick to distance themselves from him. When...
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Celebrity Filmmakers Talk Movies, LGBT Equality and More (AUDIO)
In this exclusive audio montage I talk with gay and straight celebrity filmmakers at the 16th annual Provincetown International Film Festival press luncheon. First, Killer Films co-founder and...
View ArticleZaki's Review: Transformers: Age of Extinction
The last time we visited with Paramount/Hasbro's blockbuster Transformers feature franchise (based on the immortal action figure line, natch), Chicago was burning, Shia LeBouf was screaming, and Zaki...
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4 Gay-Themed Movies You May Not Know, But Should
Though the struggle to legalize gay marriage continues across the country, there's some cause for celebration. Today, in 19 states (and D.C.), same-sex couples have the freedom to marry. Advances in...
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Here's a Media Insight: the Experts Are Clueless
In 1977, a reputable media researcher speaking to a convention of theater owners predicted that competition from the then-embryonic cable TV business would wipe out U.S. cinema by the mid-1980s. The...
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9 Fictional Frenemies Who Remind Us That Relationships Are Complicated
The frenemy. Not quite a trustworthy friend, but not quite an all-out enemy. Instead, the frenemy exists in some shadowy space between, often veering back and forth between these two extremes. In my...
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Movies That Make You Want to Travel Every Time You Watch Them
By: Chloe Pantazi Credit: 20th Century Fox Movies embody escapism at its best: They transport you into another world for an hour or two, often taking you places you couldn't otherwise go. Essential to...
View ArticleWard Hall -- King of the Sideshow
Ward Hall - King of the Sideshow! is the first-ever biography of the man who has helped shape the American Circus Sideshow into what it has become today. Among other oddities, he has worked with monkey...
View ArticleJo Dee Messina's Me Will Make Your Soul Sing: New Album Wows Fans
If you've ever been told you couldn't do something, if you've ever been told no when you really wanted a yes, if you've ever had to muster up all your guts and gumption to do it anyways, then Jo Dee...
View ArticleTheater: The Lion Roars (With Pride); Tupac Doesn't Bloom on Broadway in Holler
THE LION *** out of **** HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME * 1/2 out of **** THE LION *** out of **** MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB AT NEW YORK CITY CENTER This one-man musical written by and starring Benjamin Scheuer is...
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How Big Do We Really Dare to Dream? All the Way, I Say!
To say I have been waiting some hours, weeks, months perhaps seconds to break this news is an understatement, but here goes: little missy -- a.k.a. moi -- can now reveal that I have signed a record...
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Chatting With TV/Film Composers Ah2, Toby Chu, Fantini Brothers, Tyler...
A Conversation with TV/Film Composers Jeff Lippencott & Mark Williams (Ah2), Toby Chu, Marc & Steffan Fantini (Fantini Brothers), Tyler Traband and Geoff Zanelli Mike Ragogna: You are basically...
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