A series of Christmas cards and booklets containing poetry by the legendary poet Robert Frost will be on display at a Vermont college for the first time in over half a century years, reports says.
Middlebury College will host the poems, some of which were published in the cards for the first time, the Associated Press reports. The cards date back to 1929, with the first including Frost’s famous work, “Christmas Trees.”
In the poem, he wrote, “He asked if I would sell my Christmas trees / My woods — the young fir balsams like a place / Where houses all are churches and have spires.
Middlebury College will host the poems, some of which were published in the cards for the first time, the Associated Press reports. The cards date back to 1929, with the first including Frost’s famous work, “Christmas Trees.”
In the poem, he wrote, “He asked if I would sell my Christmas trees / My woods — the young fir balsams like a place / Where houses all are churches and have spires.
- 12/11/2017
- by Char Adams
- PEOPLE.com
After a breathtaking number of women (84 and counting) have spoken loudly and powerfully in recent weeks to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, the producer's empire almost undoubtedly will crumble. But how? To paraphrase Robert Frost, some say it will end in fire. Some say in ice. A fiery conclusion means prison sentences, a harried sale of assets and restitution for victims. But even if The Weinstein Co. and those associated with it avoid those fates, they still confront a war between brothers that will have nearly everyone in Hollywood freezing them out.
"I've never seen anything like...
"I've never seen anything like...
- 11/15/2017
- by Eriq Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nothing gold can stay.
Despite the persistent prominence of Robert Frost’s words, it’s doubtful anyone expected the golden age of television to turn out like this. Sexual assault, misconduct, and harassment allegations are roaring through Hollywood, and Thursday saw two more of TV’s titans charged as feminist forgeries.
In an expose in The New York Times, five women said Louis C.K. committed sexual misconduct by masturbating in front of them. He has since corroborated these claims with a statement of his own. In the original story, one of the women said that when C.K. contacted her to apologize, he regretted ”shoving her in a bathroom,” instead of what he’d actually done. The implication of this mistaken memory is as frightening, if not more so, than the allegations that have come out so far. Further acts of sexual misconduct were not addressed in C.K.’s statement.
Despite the persistent prominence of Robert Frost’s words, it’s doubtful anyone expected the golden age of television to turn out like this. Sexual assault, misconduct, and harassment allegations are roaring through Hollywood, and Thursday saw two more of TV’s titans charged as feminist forgeries.
In an expose in The New York Times, five women said Louis C.K. committed sexual misconduct by masturbating in front of them. He has since corroborated these claims with a statement of his own. In the original story, one of the women said that when C.K. contacted her to apologize, he regretted ”shoving her in a bathroom,” instead of what he’d actually done. The implication of this mistaken memory is as frightening, if not more so, than the allegations that have come out so far. Further acts of sexual misconduct were not addressed in C.K.’s statement.
- 11/10/2017
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Who knew Elon Musk was a fan of poetry? The Tesla and SpaceX boss tweeted late on Wednesday his other ambitious venture, The Boring Company, is “almost ready” to unleash its second tunnel digger, artistically named “Line-Storm” after a Robert Frost poem. “The line-storm clouds fly tattered and swift, the road is forlorn all day, where a myriad snowy quartz stones lift, and the hoof-prints vanish away,” goes the opening verse. Also Read: Silicon Valley Gets the Elon Musk Anthem it Desperately Needed From Ex-Weezer Bassist (Audio) Second boring machine almost ready. Will be called Line-Storm, after the poem by Frost.
- 10/19/2017
- by Sean Burch
- The Wrap
Editor’s Note: This article is presented in partnership with FilmStruck. Developed and managed by Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in collaboration with the Criterion Collection. FilmStruck features the largest streaming library of contemporary and classic arthouse, indie, foreign and cult films as well as extensive bonus content, filmmaker interviews and rare footage. Learn more here. Agnes Varda
At age 88, the indomitable and highly influential Varda shows zero sign of slowing down when it comes to churning out art told through continually experimental means (she’s also remained committed to supporting her work in person, recently popping up at both the French Institute Alliance Française for a career-spanning chat and this year’s Rendezvous With French Cinema series with a brand new exhibit; we should all be so lucky to be as vital and involved when we’re half Varda’s age). Varda’s contributions to cinema and feminism have been...
At age 88, the indomitable and highly influential Varda shows zero sign of slowing down when it comes to churning out art told through continually experimental means (she’s also remained committed to supporting her work in person, recently popping up at both the French Institute Alliance Française for a career-spanning chat and this year’s Rendezvous With French Cinema series with a brand new exhibit; we should all be so lucky to be as vital and involved when we’re half Varda’s age). Varda’s contributions to cinema and feminism have been...
- 4/18/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Last year marked the 15-year anniversary of Richard Kelly’s debut cult curio, Donnie Darko. On March 31st, the film will hit theaters once again in a brand-new, director-approved 4K restoration. While the film’s cult-status has elevated it into its own separate canon alongside other 21st-century indie-cult hits, Kelly’s two other films — the positively delirious and daring Southland Tales and the labyrinthine sci-fi period piece The Box — prove that he is a director deserving of much greater consideration. Sadly it’s been about eight years since a new film of his has been in theaters, but the time is surely ripe. Kelly’s visions of the end-times feel just as urgent now as they did when we were first introduced to them back in 2001. And since we’re living in a time when the formerly reclusive Terrence Malick is miraculously pumping out multiple films a year, there’s...
- 3/29/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Okay, one thing's for certain: I am not going hiking in the woods anytime soon.
Yeah, sure, the victims in Grimm Season 6 Episode 9 were all vile, nature-destroying malefactors, but what a way to go...!
This story featured not one but two flora-related beings, the kinoshimobe and the people-eating tree. It's really sort of perplexing that this sort of thing hasn't come up before, actually.
I found it a little bit frustrating that they are still throwing new world-building elements at us when there are so few episodes left in the series.
Really, this story would fit in far better with earlier episodes such as Grimm Season 1 Episode 7, "Let Your Hair Down," or even Grimm Season 2 Episode 18, "Ring of Fire."
(Wouldn't it have been awesome for Holly Clark to have made her home in a man-eating tree?)
It all feels a little wasted that we the viewers will never get to...
Yeah, sure, the victims in Grimm Season 6 Episode 9 were all vile, nature-destroying malefactors, but what a way to go...!
This story featured not one but two flora-related beings, the kinoshimobe and the people-eating tree. It's really sort of perplexing that this sort of thing hasn't come up before, actually.
I found it a little bit frustrating that they are still throwing new world-building elements at us when there are so few episodes left in the series.
Really, this story would fit in far better with earlier episodes such as Grimm Season 1 Episode 7, "Let Your Hair Down," or even Grimm Season 2 Episode 18, "Ring of Fire."
(Wouldn't it have been awesome for Holly Clark to have made her home in a man-eating tree?)
It all feels a little wasted that we the viewers will never get to...
- 3/4/2017
- by Kathleen Wiedel
- TVfanatic
A version of this article originally appeared on ew.com.
Emma Watson loves to read.
The actress has that in common with her brainy Harry Potter character Hermione as well as bookish Belle, who she plays in the much-anticipated film Beauty and the Beast, out March 17. In addition to being a bookworm, Watson is also an outspoken feminist and as well as a Un Women Goodwill Ambassador and promoter of the organization’s HeForShe movement, which is dedicated to recruiting men into the movement for gender equality. As a response to her work with the Un, she launched the feminist...
Emma Watson loves to read.
The actress has that in common with her brainy Harry Potter character Hermione as well as bookish Belle, who she plays in the much-anticipated film Beauty and the Beast, out March 17. In addition to being a bookworm, Watson is also an outspoken feminist and as well as a Un Women Goodwill Ambassador and promoter of the organization’s HeForShe movement, which is dedicated to recruiting men into the movement for gender equality. As a response to her work with the Un, she launched the feminist...
- 2/21/2017
- by Madeline Raynor
- PEOPLE.com
Milestone wraps up its ‘Project Shirley,’ an in-depth study of the independent director of The Connection and Portrait of Jason. Practically all of Shirley Clarke’s small and experimental films are here from the early 1950s forward, plus a wealth of biographical film.
The Magic Box: The films of Shirley Clarke, 1929-1987
Blu-ray
The Milestone Cinematheque
1929-1987 / B&W + Color
1:37 flat full frame / 502 min.
Street Date November 15, 2016 / 99.99
featuring Shirley Clarke
Produced by Dennis Doros & Amy Heller
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Some disc boutique companies license ready-made movie classics for home video, and some slap whatever odd-sourced items can be had into the Blu-ray format and call it a restoration. Although the general tide for quality releases is rising, only a few companies will invest time and effort in historically- and artistically- important films lacking an obvious commercial hook. Milestone Films has been consistent in its championing of abandoned ‘marginal’ films,...
The Magic Box: The films of Shirley Clarke, 1929-1987
Blu-ray
The Milestone Cinematheque
1929-1987 / B&W + Color
1:37 flat full frame / 502 min.
Street Date November 15, 2016 / 99.99
featuring Shirley Clarke
Produced by Dennis Doros & Amy Heller
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Some disc boutique companies license ready-made movie classics for home video, and some slap whatever odd-sourced items can be had into the Blu-ray format and call it a restoration. Although the general tide for quality releases is rising, only a few companies will invest time and effort in historically- and artistically- important films lacking an obvious commercial hook. Milestone Films has been consistent in its championing of abandoned ‘marginal’ films,...
- 11/19/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Whether he's writing about shadowy creatures capable of shredding humans into pulp with their claws, or taking you through the skies on an adventure aboard a flying ship, author Patrick W. Marsh knows how to pull you into the imaginative worlds of his written works. With the creator of the compelling The Greenland Diaries book series attending Crypticon Minnesota once again this year, I caught up with Marsh for our latest Q&A feature.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Patrick. What sparked your passion for writing?
Patrick W. Marsh: My passion for writing sort of blossomed out of my desire to communicate with people in a method I felt most comfortable. I was an awkward and sensitive child, and writing allowed me to cut through the mundane and the distracting. There is so much clutter in life, I found it hard to tell the truth.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Patrick. What sparked your passion for writing?
Patrick W. Marsh: My passion for writing sort of blossomed out of my desire to communicate with people in a method I felt most comfortable. I was an awkward and sensitive child, and writing allowed me to cut through the mundane and the distracting. There is so much clutter in life, I found it hard to tell the truth.
- 10/14/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Illustration by Leah BravoFive years ago, a film came and went with little fanfare, except a spattering of positive reviews, making around $4 million worldwide on a budget of about $10 million: Take This Waltz. More people know it as a Leonard Cohen song, from which its title comes. More people know Leonard Cohen than the director Sarah Polley, but as of this cultural moment, more people might know the star, Michelle Williams, than Leonard Cohen, due to her other movies and a popular TV show. These jejune concerns amplify less than we know and more than we'll admit. Name recognition: these go into the common denominators decision people look for when they decide to fund a film, a book, a play. How will it sell? How will it fit? What can it capitalize on? How can we make something that will not make people think too much or depress them? We...
- 8/16/2016
- MUBI
At The Fork Emergent Order Reviewed by: Harvey Karten, Shockya Grade: A- Director: John Papola Written by: John Papola, Lisa Versaci, Cristina Colissimo Cast: Dr. Temple Grandin, Wayne Pacelle, Mark Bittman, Terry Branstad Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 6/23/16 Opens: July 8, 2016 in Cinema Village NY and Laemmle Monica in La The title of this movie, “At the Fork,” may be metaphoric but not in the sense meant by the filmmakers. I’m thinking that it could mean there are three forks in the road, i.e. one more than Robert Frost had considered. At one fork in the road, you can choose to eat everything, all meat, however raised. At [ Read More ]
The post At The Fork Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post At The Fork Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 7/31/2016
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
The new musical Lisa and Leonardo will be presented at this year's New York Musical Festival. With music by Donya Lane, lyrics by Ed McNamee and book by Donna Lane, Ed McNamee amp Michael Unger. Lisa and Leonardo will be directed by Michelle Tattenbaum with musical direction by Robert Frost and choreography by Jonathan Cerullo. The show will begin July 21 and running through July 28 at the Duke on 42nd Street, aNEW 42Nd Street project 229 W 42nd Street. Tickets are 27.50 and can be purchased by visiting nymf.org or by calling 212-352-3101.
- 6/28/2016
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Legendary American independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch has been a frequent visitor to the Cannes Film Festival ever since winning the Camera d’Or for Stranger Than Paradise in 1984. He took the Grand Jury prize in 2005 for Broken Flowers but has never managed to nab the Big One. His latest film, Paterson, which premiered last week in competition here, is the story of a bus driver (played by Adam Driver) named Paterson who lives in Paterson NJ, walks his wife’s bulldog, Marvin, and writes poems in his spare time. We sat down with the great silver-haired Son of Lee Marvin to talk hip-hop, Tilda Swinton, and the poetry of everyday things.
Some critics have called this your most personal film. How do would you respond to a statement like that?
I don’t know. With our last film, Only Lovers Left Alive, everyone said “Aha! His most personal film!” I don’t know.
Some critics have called this your most personal film. How do would you respond to a statement like that?
I don’t know. With our last film, Only Lovers Left Alive, everyone said “Aha! His most personal film!” I don’t know.
- 5/23/2016
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
The one genre Hollywood can't seem to crack is the video game adaptation.
For every "Mortal Kombat" there's, well, a landfill of truly unwatchable misfires. "Assassin's Creed" is the latest adaptation to get the big-screen treatment, and it hopes to succeed where too many have failed.
Michael Fassbender both produces and stars in the adaptation of the hit Ubisoft game, playing Callum Lynch, a troubled convict who, soon after seemingly being executed, wakes up to find himself a member of the Assassins -- a secret order of time-traveling killers (naturally) who revisit the past without the aid of a Flux Capacitor. With the even-more secret and dangerous Templars as his target, Callum must parkour and kick-punch and stab his way through history. (To say more about the plot would spoil the fun of finding it out for yourself, especially if you're unfamiliar with the incredibly popular -- and excellent -- game.
For every "Mortal Kombat" there's, well, a landfill of truly unwatchable misfires. "Assassin's Creed" is the latest adaptation to get the big-screen treatment, and it hopes to succeed where too many have failed.
Michael Fassbender both produces and stars in the adaptation of the hit Ubisoft game, playing Callum Lynch, a troubled convict who, soon after seemingly being executed, wakes up to find himself a member of the Assassins -- a secret order of time-traveling killers (naturally) who revisit the past without the aid of a Flux Capacitor. With the even-more secret and dangerous Templars as his target, Callum must parkour and kick-punch and stab his way through history. (To say more about the plot would spoil the fun of finding it out for yourself, especially if you're unfamiliar with the incredibly popular -- and excellent -- game.
- 5/12/2016
- by Phil Pirrello
- Moviefone
57 years ago today, Disney’s Sleeping Beauty premiered at the Fox Wilshire Theater in Los Angeles. It was the last film based on a fairy tale that the House of Mouse made for over 30 years, until 1989’s The Little Mermaid, since Sleeping Beauty underperformed at the box office, leading to massive layoffs at Disney. The successful release of 101 Dalmatians in 1961 ended up saving Disney Animation. Though Sleeping Beauty wasn’t a hit at its debut, the film’s become a beloved Disney classic, with Aurora in her pink dress (you win, Flora) prominent among the lineup of Disney princesses, and with Maleficent now an iconic animated villain. Maleficent got her own movie starring Angelina Jolie in 2014. Other notable January 29 happenings in pop culture history: • 1845: Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven was first published in the New York Evening Mirror. • 1942: BBC Radio first aired “Desert Island Discs.” Still on the air today,...
- 1/29/2016
- by Emily Rome
- Hitfix
Holliday Heart: Winter Reimagines the Peripheral Flotsam and Jetsam of Famed Interview
The nagging obscurity of Shirley Clarke’s famed 1967 documentary Portrait of Jason remains a notable absence on many lists noting the best examples of the format, a title only recently made available within the Us in late 2014. An unforgettable portrait of a gay black hustler named Jason Holliday interviewed by the famed documentarian (who had previously won on Oscar for Robert Frost: a Lover’s Quarrel with the World in 1963) over one twelve hour period in 1966, it’s a case study representative of the limitations humans have in being able to completely understand another’s experiences based on social demarcations of race, gender, class, etc. Director Stephen Winter reimagines what went on between takes during the famed interview that transpired in the Chelsea hotel, dramatizing some of the salacious hypotheses surrounding the source film, such as Clarke...
The nagging obscurity of Shirley Clarke’s famed 1967 documentary Portrait of Jason remains a notable absence on many lists noting the best examples of the format, a title only recently made available within the Us in late 2014. An unforgettable portrait of a gay black hustler named Jason Holliday interviewed by the famed documentarian (who had previously won on Oscar for Robert Frost: a Lover’s Quarrel with the World in 1963) over one twelve hour period in 1966, it’s a case study representative of the limitations humans have in being able to completely understand another’s experiences based on social demarcations of race, gender, class, etc. Director Stephen Winter reimagines what went on between takes during the famed interview that transpired in the Chelsea hotel, dramatizing some of the salacious hypotheses surrounding the source film, such as Clarke...
- 10/23/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Music and Sex: Scenes from a life - A novel in progress (first chapter here). Warning: more highly graphic Tmi.
A weekend of fruitless fretting almost led Walter to agree that Martial had the right idea and the show should go on with no guitarist, and with just Walter on keyboards, but really all he'd come up with for sure was a new band name -- The Living Section, for the Wednesday arts portion of The New York Times. The other guys all agreed that was an improvement. However, he couldn't bring himself to propose to them what, in his head, he had dubbed the Martial Plan.
The thing about the band was, it had to be fit in between all the stuff that going to college was actually about, such as attending classes. So on Monday, it was back to the usual schedule, which meant one of his favorite...
A weekend of fruitless fretting almost led Walter to agree that Martial had the right idea and the show should go on with no guitarist, and with just Walter on keyboards, but really all he'd come up with for sure was a new band name -- The Living Section, for the Wednesday arts portion of The New York Times. The other guys all agreed that was an improvement. However, he couldn't bring himself to propose to them what, in his head, he had dubbed the Martial Plan.
The thing about the band was, it had to be fit in between all the stuff that going to college was actually about, such as attending classes. So on Monday, it was back to the usual schedule, which meant one of his favorite...
- 9/8/2015
- by RomanAkLeff
- www.culturecatch.com
Unofficial sequel Alien Identity is set after Aliens, brings back Newt and reintroduces actors Carrie Henn and Ricco Ross...
James Cameron, like many Alien fans, was incensed by Alien 3's decision to kill off Newt and Hicks, two supporting characters that made Aliens such a perfect sequel. But a new, unofficial tribute film called Alien Identity will attempt to rewrite history, saving Newt from her grisly fate at the start of Alien 3 and sending her off on a new sci-fi adventure.
The story will pretend that the events of Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection were mere "cryo-sleep nightmares" and will catch up with Newt 14 years after the events of Aliens. This time, Elle Viane Sonnet will play the now 20-something Newt; Carrie Henn, who played Newt in Aliens, will return as her mother Anne in a flashback sequence.
Henn is joined by another returning Aliens cast member, Ricco Ross,...
James Cameron, like many Alien fans, was incensed by Alien 3's decision to kill off Newt and Hicks, two supporting characters that made Aliens such a perfect sequel. But a new, unofficial tribute film called Alien Identity will attempt to rewrite history, saving Newt from her grisly fate at the start of Alien 3 and sending her off on a new sci-fi adventure.
The story will pretend that the events of Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection were mere "cryo-sleep nightmares" and will catch up with Newt 14 years after the events of Aliens. This time, Elle Viane Sonnet will play the now 20-something Newt; Carrie Henn, who played Newt in Aliens, will return as her mother Anne in a flashback sequence.
Henn is joined by another returning Aliens cast member, Ricco Ross,...
- 7/2/2015
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Alien Identity will also see the return of Ricco Ross, who played space grunt Private Robert Frost in James Cameron’s space thriller
She ought to have been the breakout star of Aliens as the little girl, Newt, who defies all odds to escape from a remote planetoid overrun by lethal extra terrestrials, but Carrie Henn never saw her name in lights again. Now the actor is to return to the screen almost 30 years on from the release of James Cameron’s brutal space thriller in a fan film set in the Alien universe.
Henn, 39, will play Anne Jorden, young Newt’s mother, in a flashback sequence for Alien Identity, which is being directed by Adam Sonnet. Newt herself will be portrayed by the film-maker’s wife Elle Viane Sonnet.
Continue reading...
She ought to have been the breakout star of Aliens as the little girl, Newt, who defies all odds to escape from a remote planetoid overrun by lethal extra terrestrials, but Carrie Henn never saw her name in lights again. Now the actor is to return to the screen almost 30 years on from the release of James Cameron’s brutal space thriller in a fan film set in the Alien universe.
Henn, 39, will play Anne Jorden, young Newt’s mother, in a flashback sequence for Alien Identity, which is being directed by Adam Sonnet. Newt herself will be portrayed by the film-maker’s wife Elle Viane Sonnet.
Continue reading...
- 7/1/2015
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Alien Identity will also see the return of Ricco Ross, who played space grunt Private Robert Frost in James Cameron’s space thriller
She ought to have been the breakout star of Aliens as the little girl, Newt, who defies all odds to escape from a remote planetoid overrun by lethal extra terrestrials, but Carrie Henn never saw her name in lights again. Now the actor is to return to the screen almost 30 years on from the release of James Cameron’s brutal space thriller in a fan film set in the Alien universe.
Henn, 39, will play Anne Jorden, young Newt’s mother, in a flashback sequence for Alien Identity, which is being directed by Adam Sonnet. Newt herself will be portrayed by the film-maker’s wife Elle Viane Sonnet.
Continue reading...
She ought to have been the breakout star of Aliens as the little girl, Newt, who defies all odds to escape from a remote planetoid overrun by lethal extra terrestrials, but Carrie Henn never saw her name in lights again. Now the actor is to return to the screen almost 30 years on from the release of James Cameron’s brutal space thriller in a fan film set in the Alien universe.
Henn, 39, will play Anne Jorden, young Newt’s mother, in a flashback sequence for Alien Identity, which is being directed by Adam Sonnet. Newt herself will be portrayed by the film-maker’s wife Elle Viane Sonnet.
Continue reading...
- 7/1/2015
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Aliens was Carrie Henn's only movie role, dating back to 1986 when she was just a child.
Movie buffs may remember Henn as Rebecca 'Newt' Jorden, who was the only survivor of the colony on Lv-426.
Fast forward 29 years, and the actress has agreed to appear in a tribute film called Alien Identity, in which she will play Anne Jorden, young Newt's mother in a flashback. Newt will be played by Elle Viane Sonnet in the film.
"I am looking forward to working on Aliens from a different perspective," she said. "I can't wait to hear what all the fans think!"
Ricco Ross is also returning and will take up the role of Richard Frost - the brother of Private Robert Frost, who Ross portrayed in the original movie - as well as producing the project.
"When I heard of the story I thought, 'Why hasn't someone thought of this sooner?...
Movie buffs may remember Henn as Rebecca 'Newt' Jorden, who was the only survivor of the colony on Lv-426.
Fast forward 29 years, and the actress has agreed to appear in a tribute film called Alien Identity, in which she will play Anne Jorden, young Newt's mother in a flashback. Newt will be played by Elle Viane Sonnet in the film.
"I am looking forward to working on Aliens from a different perspective," she said. "I can't wait to hear what all the fans think!"
Ricco Ross is also returning and will take up the role of Richard Frost - the brother of Private Robert Frost, who Ross portrayed in the original movie - as well as producing the project.
"When I heard of the story I thought, 'Why hasn't someone thought of this sooner?...
- 7/1/2015
- Digital Spy
Milestone Film & Video is one of the finest and most well-established U.S. distributor of docs and arthouse features. They have such great films like the classic "I am Cuba" and have been working on compiling all they can on the filmmaker Shirley Clarke ("The Connection") whose film in the 60s, "The Cool World," made me one of her avid fans forever. Their film, "Portrait of Jason," also by Clarke, premiered at Idfa 2014, the premium doc festival in the world and I was lucky enough to see it at the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. Its clarity and humanity moved me so much that I feel obliged to publish this here. When Amy Heller and Dennis Doros of Milestone speak the way they do in the following blog, I listen. Since the film "Jason and Shirley" just premiered at BAMcinemaFest and Frameline Film Festival, both wonderful events, I think it is important for everyone to know what they have to say. "In 25 years, we have never weighed in on anyone else's film (except to recommend those we love), but Dennis and I felt the need to go on the record about Stephen Winter's new feature Jason and Shirley."
'Jason and Shirley': The Cruelty and Irresponsibility of 'Satire'
by Amy Heller
In the twenty-five years that we have been running Milestone Films, we have never before reviewed or commented publicly on anyone else’s film—except to recommend it. But we have now encountered a new feature film that purports to “satirize” a film and a filmmaker we represent and have spent years researching. While we are absolute believers in freedom of speech and artistic expression and do not dispute that the producers, writers and stars of Jason and Shirley have every right to make their “re-vision” of the making of Shirley Clarke’s great documentary "Portrait of Jason," we feel we must go on the record about the film’s inaccurate and simplistic portrayals of a brilliant filmmaker and her charismatic subject.
Director Stephen Winter (and co-writers Sarah Schulman and Jack Waters) have created a fictitious drama that imagines what might have happened on December 3, 1966 when Shirley Clarke spent twelve hours with Jason Holliday, Carl Lee, Jeri Sopanen, Jim Hubbard and Bob Fiore shooting "Portrait of Jason." The filmmakers claim the right to re-imagine the events that took place in that Hotel Chelsea apartment, but they fail to understand something that Shirley Clarke knew and conveyed in all her films: the need for integrity.
Clarke’s first feature, "The Connection," a fiction film based partly on real people, has enormous respect for all its characters, an understanding of humanity, and a love for cinema. Shirley knew that a genuine artist values inner truth, whether the film is a documentary or a dramatic feature. And of course, Shirley did not use real names. She knew that when you use real people’s names and identities, you need to seek and explore the truth in all its complexities. Ornette: Made in America, a film that she and Ornette Coleman were very proud to create, is an example of Clarke’s quest for meaning and authenticity.
We at Milestone are now in the seventh year of “Project Shirley,” our ongoing commitment to learn everything about Clarke as a director, an artist and a person. With the cooperation of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater and the Clarke estate, we have digitized nearly one hundred of her features, short films, outtakes, unfinished projects, home movies, and experimental films and videos. We have gone through thousands of pages of letters, contracts, and Shirley’s diaries. We have interviewed and talked to dozens of people who knew and worked with her.
We have heard wonderful stories, tragic stories, and stories of such real pain that they are almost unbearable. Shirley Clarke was a sister, wife, mother, dancer, lover, filmmaker, editor, teacher, and yes, for a sad period, a junkie. It wasn’t intended, but along the way we fell in love with Shirley and came to feel that we owed it to her to create a portrait of a real woman and an artist. Shirley’s daughter Wendy Clarke and her extended family have supported our efforts every step of the way, encouraging us to reveal what is true, for better or worse. We have shared our discoveries with the world in theaters, on television, on DVD and Blu-Ray, in lectures — and in our exhaustive press kits (available on our website, free for everyone).
We have strived for the highest levels of accuracy, knowing that critics, academics, bloggers, and the general public deserve and depend on our research. We corroborated all the oral histories we conducted using primary sources, including original letters, interviews, and contracts. Finally, we asked people who knew Shirley to check and proof all our work. We have shared this research with every filmmaker, scholar and critic who has asked us for information.
So it was truly agonizing for us to watch Stephen Winter’s "Jason and Shirley," a film that is bad cinema and worse ethics—that cynically appropriates and parodies the identities of real people, stereotyping and humiliating them and doing disservice to their memory. The filmmakers may call it an homage, but their complete lack of research and their numerous factual errors and falsehoods have betrayed everyone who was involved in making "Portrait of Jason."
Winter and his team call their film an “imagination” of the night (although they stage the filming during the day) of December 3, when Shirley Clarke shot "Portrait of Jason." But interestingly, they only use the real names of those participants who have died: Clarke, Jason Holliday and Carl Lee (perhaps because you cannot libel the dead). They did not interview the people who were on the set that long night and who are still around—filmmakers Bob Fiore and Jim Hubbard.
They also chose not to work with Shirley’s daughter, artist and filmmaker Wendy Clarke, whom they never bothered to contact (and go out of their way to mock in the film). Jason and Shirley even features a title card in the closing credits thanking Wendy, implying that she has given her approval for the film. In truth, Wendy’s response, when she finally saw Jason and Shirley, was: “I don’t want people seeing this film to think there is any truth to it. This film tells nasty lies and is a parasitic attempt to gain prominence from true genius.”
Similarly, the filmmakers never asked us at Milestone for access to the reams of documents we have discovered from the making of "Portrait of Jason." Instead, they preferred to pretend to know what happened, to create their own “Shirley Clarke,” “Carl Lee,” and “Jason Holliday,” rather than try to create honest and respectful portraits of these very real people.
Lazy filmmakers make bad movies and "Jason and Shirley" is false, flaccid, and boring—unforgivable cinematic sins. Perhaps its most egregious and painful crime is taking the strong, brilliant woman that Shirley Clarke truly was and portraying her as a lumpy, platitude-spouting Jewish hausfrau—an inept cineaste who doesn’t know what she is doing and eventually needs her boyfriend to “save” the film for her. In service of their alleged investigation into race relations (a topic Shirley explored far better with her powerful and intelligent films "The Connection," "The Cool World," "Portrait of Jason" and "Ornette: Made in America"), they reduced her to a sexist cliché—the little woman—and a tedious cliché at that.
Shirley Clarke was wild, creative, brilliant, graceful, challenging, incredibly stylish, vibrant, and alive with the possibilities of life. At home at the center of many creative circles in New York City and around the world, she was adored by countless admirers—despite (or sometimes because of) her faults and failings. And Shirley is still loved by those who remember her—the people who worked on her films, her friends, her family, and the audiences who are rediscovering her great films. She was incredibly special. The misshapen caricature of Clarke in Jason and Shirley insults and trivializes a great artist and pioneer.
We also find “Jason” in Winter’s film to be a one-dimensional and disrespectful distortion of the very complicated man who was born Aaron Payne in 1924. Jason Holliday’s life was difficult in many ways—as a gay black man he experienced police harassment, poverty, family rejection, imprisonment, painful self-doubt, and innumerable varieties of personal and institutional racism. But he was also vibrantly an original, a self-invented diva, a survivor, and a raconteur of the first order who was the inspiration for his own cinematic Portrait. Shirley decided to make her film in order to explore this extraordinary Scheherazade’s 1001 stories—and the fragile line between his reminiscences and his inventions.
And truly, it is not easy to tell what was real and what was not in Jason’s life. In his “Autobiography” (reprinted in Milestone’s press kit), Holliday talked about appearing on Broadway in “Carmen Jones,” “Finian’s Rainbow,” and “Green Pastures” and about performing his nightclub act in Greenwich Village. And while much of his narrative may seem improbable, the Trenton Historical Society found newspaper articles from the 1950s corroborating Jason’s claim that he was a performer at New York’s Salle de Champagne. So did he study acting with Charles Laughton and dance with Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham? We may never know. But the man who spun those marvelous yarns was not the alternately maniacal and weepy loser in "Jason and Shirley."
Here are just a few of the other things that are obviously, carelessly and offensively wrong in "Jason and Shirley":
In the very beginning, there is a title card stating that the filmmakers were denied access to the outtakes of "Portrait of Jason." These recordings were available for all to hear at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, where all of Shirley’s archives can be found—or by contacting Milestone. In fact, all the outtakes (30 minutes of audio) were released on November 11, 2014 as a bonus features on Milestone’s DVD and Blu-Ray of the film. That was six months before "Jason and Shirley" was completed.
In "Jason and Shirley," “Jason” has never previously visited “Shirley’s” apartment and knows nothing about her. In reality, they had been friends for many years and Jason would often visit her apartment. The film states that the cinematographer on Portrait of Jason had worked on Clarke’s other two features. Actually, the film was Jeri Sopanen’s first job with her. Further, absolutely no crew member had an issue about working on "Portrait of Jason," as the new film portrays.
In the film “Shirley” says, “See that horrible painting on the wall? My daughter painted that… I have a daughter who is a terrible artist.” Fact: in several video interviews with Shirley (including one released as a bonus feature on Ornette: Made In America, which also came out last November) and in many of her letters and diaries, Clarke talked about how extremely proud she was of her daughter Wendy and her art. Mother and daughter worked happily together for years on many projects including the legendary Tee Pee Video Space Troupe. Wendy’s fine art, textiles, and video work have received critical praise for nearly 50 years. It was needlessly and maliciously hurtful for the filmmakers to include a line that is so obviously false and unkind.
In the film, “Shirley” says her maiden name was Bermberg. She was born Shirley Brimberg.
There is an Academy Award® statue for "Robert Frost: A Lover’s Quarrel With the World" in “Shirley’s” apartment and the other characters repeatedly mock her for it. The film did win an Oscar®, but although she received directing credit, Shirley had been fired from the final edit and producer Robert Hughes picked up the award. (You can see this on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOS70Tqsz7U)
“Shirley” asks “Jason” to go up on the roof of the Hotel Chelsea with her to talk. In reality, her apartment was famously on the roof.
In the film, “Shirley” is unable to finish Portrait of Jason and tells everybody to go home and “Carl Lee” comes in to take over the film and save it. This is ludicrous, wrong and misogynistic. Clarke was a consummate film professional and all her collaborators attest to her skill and drive.
The film ends with a title card stating that Shirley died in New York (which is simply incorrect) and that Carl Lee died of a heroin overdose. Tragically, Lee died of AIDS and this information is in the Milestone press kit.
Another title card indicates that when Jason Holliday died that there were no friends or family listed in his one obituary. In truth, the Trentonian on July 31, 1998 wrote that two sisters, six nieces and two nephews survived him. We found the relatives when doing our research.
The filmmakers have labeled "Jason and Shirley" a satirical work of fiction. We are just not sure who or what they claim to be satirizing. The film is not ironic, humorous, sardonic or tongue-in-cheek. We can only surmise that they are deliberately parodying the idea of cinematic integrity.
On behalf of Milestone, Wendy Clarke, and Shirley Clarke’s extended family and friends, we respectfully ask film fans not to base their appraisal of Clarke and her filmmaking on the unkind depictions in "Jason and Shirley."
Yours in cinema,
Amy Heller and Dennis Doros
Milestone Films...
'Jason and Shirley': The Cruelty and Irresponsibility of 'Satire'
by Amy Heller
In the twenty-five years that we have been running Milestone Films, we have never before reviewed or commented publicly on anyone else’s film—except to recommend it. But we have now encountered a new feature film that purports to “satirize” a film and a filmmaker we represent and have spent years researching. While we are absolute believers in freedom of speech and artistic expression and do not dispute that the producers, writers and stars of Jason and Shirley have every right to make their “re-vision” of the making of Shirley Clarke’s great documentary "Portrait of Jason," we feel we must go on the record about the film’s inaccurate and simplistic portrayals of a brilliant filmmaker and her charismatic subject.
Director Stephen Winter (and co-writers Sarah Schulman and Jack Waters) have created a fictitious drama that imagines what might have happened on December 3, 1966 when Shirley Clarke spent twelve hours with Jason Holliday, Carl Lee, Jeri Sopanen, Jim Hubbard and Bob Fiore shooting "Portrait of Jason." The filmmakers claim the right to re-imagine the events that took place in that Hotel Chelsea apartment, but they fail to understand something that Shirley Clarke knew and conveyed in all her films: the need for integrity.
Clarke’s first feature, "The Connection," a fiction film based partly on real people, has enormous respect for all its characters, an understanding of humanity, and a love for cinema. Shirley knew that a genuine artist values inner truth, whether the film is a documentary or a dramatic feature. And of course, Shirley did not use real names. She knew that when you use real people’s names and identities, you need to seek and explore the truth in all its complexities. Ornette: Made in America, a film that she and Ornette Coleman were very proud to create, is an example of Clarke’s quest for meaning and authenticity.
We at Milestone are now in the seventh year of “Project Shirley,” our ongoing commitment to learn everything about Clarke as a director, an artist and a person. With the cooperation of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater and the Clarke estate, we have digitized nearly one hundred of her features, short films, outtakes, unfinished projects, home movies, and experimental films and videos. We have gone through thousands of pages of letters, contracts, and Shirley’s diaries. We have interviewed and talked to dozens of people who knew and worked with her.
We have heard wonderful stories, tragic stories, and stories of such real pain that they are almost unbearable. Shirley Clarke was a sister, wife, mother, dancer, lover, filmmaker, editor, teacher, and yes, for a sad period, a junkie. It wasn’t intended, but along the way we fell in love with Shirley and came to feel that we owed it to her to create a portrait of a real woman and an artist. Shirley’s daughter Wendy Clarke and her extended family have supported our efforts every step of the way, encouraging us to reveal what is true, for better or worse. We have shared our discoveries with the world in theaters, on television, on DVD and Blu-Ray, in lectures — and in our exhaustive press kits (available on our website, free for everyone).
We have strived for the highest levels of accuracy, knowing that critics, academics, bloggers, and the general public deserve and depend on our research. We corroborated all the oral histories we conducted using primary sources, including original letters, interviews, and contracts. Finally, we asked people who knew Shirley to check and proof all our work. We have shared this research with every filmmaker, scholar and critic who has asked us for information.
So it was truly agonizing for us to watch Stephen Winter’s "Jason and Shirley," a film that is bad cinema and worse ethics—that cynically appropriates and parodies the identities of real people, stereotyping and humiliating them and doing disservice to their memory. The filmmakers may call it an homage, but their complete lack of research and their numerous factual errors and falsehoods have betrayed everyone who was involved in making "Portrait of Jason."
Winter and his team call their film an “imagination” of the night (although they stage the filming during the day) of December 3, when Shirley Clarke shot "Portrait of Jason." But interestingly, they only use the real names of those participants who have died: Clarke, Jason Holliday and Carl Lee (perhaps because you cannot libel the dead). They did not interview the people who were on the set that long night and who are still around—filmmakers Bob Fiore and Jim Hubbard.
They also chose not to work with Shirley’s daughter, artist and filmmaker Wendy Clarke, whom they never bothered to contact (and go out of their way to mock in the film). Jason and Shirley even features a title card in the closing credits thanking Wendy, implying that she has given her approval for the film. In truth, Wendy’s response, when she finally saw Jason and Shirley, was: “I don’t want people seeing this film to think there is any truth to it. This film tells nasty lies and is a parasitic attempt to gain prominence from true genius.”
Similarly, the filmmakers never asked us at Milestone for access to the reams of documents we have discovered from the making of "Portrait of Jason." Instead, they preferred to pretend to know what happened, to create their own “Shirley Clarke,” “Carl Lee,” and “Jason Holliday,” rather than try to create honest and respectful portraits of these very real people.
Lazy filmmakers make bad movies and "Jason and Shirley" is false, flaccid, and boring—unforgivable cinematic sins. Perhaps its most egregious and painful crime is taking the strong, brilliant woman that Shirley Clarke truly was and portraying her as a lumpy, platitude-spouting Jewish hausfrau—an inept cineaste who doesn’t know what she is doing and eventually needs her boyfriend to “save” the film for her. In service of their alleged investigation into race relations (a topic Shirley explored far better with her powerful and intelligent films "The Connection," "The Cool World," "Portrait of Jason" and "Ornette: Made in America"), they reduced her to a sexist cliché—the little woman—and a tedious cliché at that.
Shirley Clarke was wild, creative, brilliant, graceful, challenging, incredibly stylish, vibrant, and alive with the possibilities of life. At home at the center of many creative circles in New York City and around the world, she was adored by countless admirers—despite (or sometimes because of) her faults and failings. And Shirley is still loved by those who remember her—the people who worked on her films, her friends, her family, and the audiences who are rediscovering her great films. She was incredibly special. The misshapen caricature of Clarke in Jason and Shirley insults and trivializes a great artist and pioneer.
We also find “Jason” in Winter’s film to be a one-dimensional and disrespectful distortion of the very complicated man who was born Aaron Payne in 1924. Jason Holliday’s life was difficult in many ways—as a gay black man he experienced police harassment, poverty, family rejection, imprisonment, painful self-doubt, and innumerable varieties of personal and institutional racism. But he was also vibrantly an original, a self-invented diva, a survivor, and a raconteur of the first order who was the inspiration for his own cinematic Portrait. Shirley decided to make her film in order to explore this extraordinary Scheherazade’s 1001 stories—and the fragile line between his reminiscences and his inventions.
And truly, it is not easy to tell what was real and what was not in Jason’s life. In his “Autobiography” (reprinted in Milestone’s press kit), Holliday talked about appearing on Broadway in “Carmen Jones,” “Finian’s Rainbow,” and “Green Pastures” and about performing his nightclub act in Greenwich Village. And while much of his narrative may seem improbable, the Trenton Historical Society found newspaper articles from the 1950s corroborating Jason’s claim that he was a performer at New York’s Salle de Champagne. So did he study acting with Charles Laughton and dance with Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham? We may never know. But the man who spun those marvelous yarns was not the alternately maniacal and weepy loser in "Jason and Shirley."
Here are just a few of the other things that are obviously, carelessly and offensively wrong in "Jason and Shirley":
In the very beginning, there is a title card stating that the filmmakers were denied access to the outtakes of "Portrait of Jason." These recordings were available for all to hear at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, where all of Shirley’s archives can be found—or by contacting Milestone. In fact, all the outtakes (30 minutes of audio) were released on November 11, 2014 as a bonus features on Milestone’s DVD and Blu-Ray of the film. That was six months before "Jason and Shirley" was completed.
In "Jason and Shirley," “Jason” has never previously visited “Shirley’s” apartment and knows nothing about her. In reality, they had been friends for many years and Jason would often visit her apartment. The film states that the cinematographer on Portrait of Jason had worked on Clarke’s other two features. Actually, the film was Jeri Sopanen’s first job with her. Further, absolutely no crew member had an issue about working on "Portrait of Jason," as the new film portrays.
In the film “Shirley” says, “See that horrible painting on the wall? My daughter painted that… I have a daughter who is a terrible artist.” Fact: in several video interviews with Shirley (including one released as a bonus feature on Ornette: Made In America, which also came out last November) and in many of her letters and diaries, Clarke talked about how extremely proud she was of her daughter Wendy and her art. Mother and daughter worked happily together for years on many projects including the legendary Tee Pee Video Space Troupe. Wendy’s fine art, textiles, and video work have received critical praise for nearly 50 years. It was needlessly and maliciously hurtful for the filmmakers to include a line that is so obviously false and unkind.
In the film, “Shirley” says her maiden name was Bermberg. She was born Shirley Brimberg.
There is an Academy Award® statue for "Robert Frost: A Lover’s Quarrel With the World" in “Shirley’s” apartment and the other characters repeatedly mock her for it. The film did win an Oscar®, but although she received directing credit, Shirley had been fired from the final edit and producer Robert Hughes picked up the award. (You can see this on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOS70Tqsz7U)
“Shirley” asks “Jason” to go up on the roof of the Hotel Chelsea with her to talk. In reality, her apartment was famously on the roof.
In the film, “Shirley” is unable to finish Portrait of Jason and tells everybody to go home and “Carl Lee” comes in to take over the film and save it. This is ludicrous, wrong and misogynistic. Clarke was a consummate film professional and all her collaborators attest to her skill and drive.
The film ends with a title card stating that Shirley died in New York (which is simply incorrect) and that Carl Lee died of a heroin overdose. Tragically, Lee died of AIDS and this information is in the Milestone press kit.
Another title card indicates that when Jason Holliday died that there were no friends or family listed in his one obituary. In truth, the Trentonian on July 31, 1998 wrote that two sisters, six nieces and two nephews survived him. We found the relatives when doing our research.
The filmmakers have labeled "Jason and Shirley" a satirical work of fiction. We are just not sure who or what they claim to be satirizing. The film is not ironic, humorous, sardonic or tongue-in-cheek. We can only surmise that they are deliberately parodying the idea of cinematic integrity.
On behalf of Milestone, Wendy Clarke, and Shirley Clarke’s extended family and friends, we respectfully ask film fans not to base their appraisal of Clarke and her filmmaking on the unkind depictions in "Jason and Shirley."
Yours in cinema,
Amy Heller and Dennis Doros
Milestone Films...
- 6/23/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Floyd Mayweather's father is Firing More Shots at Manny Pacquiao's camp ... calling him a loser with a pathetic trainer ... and he's doing it all through the majesty of poetry. Turns out, Floyd Sr. has been dabbling in the rhyming arts for a while -- and has even been putting together a book of his best work. And after Saturday's mega-fight, Papa Mayweather felt the inspiration to tap into his inner Robert Frost ... to...
- 5/8/2015
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Yet another indie comedy seemingly inspired by Robert Frost’s verse from “The Death of the Hired Man” about how “home is the place where, when you go there, they have to take you in,” “Adult Beginners” has everything going for it aside from a reason to exist. Starring Nick Kroll (“Kroll Show,” “The League”), the film begins with the financial ruin of its lead, Jake, who forgot to dot the i‘s and cross the t‘s at an essential moment in his entrepreneurial journey, bankrupting himself and harming his investors. Also Read: Rose Byrne-Nick Kroll Dramedy...
- 4/20/2015
- by James Rocchi
- The Wrap
The best and most telling scene in tonight’s episode of The Americans is the one following the moment that gives “I Am Abassin Zadran” its namesake. Gabriel and Claudia (Margo Martindale, returning the only way she can: triumphantly) meet in a restaurant to discuss how operation Turn the Paige is proceeding. “14 types of omelettes, 20 kinds of hamburgers. How does one choose?” Gabriel wonders, a dilemma Claudia dubs “the paradox of being American.” “Isn’t this a Greek diner?” he continues, a little tilt of his head saying more than he has to about how well they’ve adjusted to their adopted home. Claudia and Gabriel have been doing this job for decades, but the land of too many opportunities is still foreign to them.
The burden of choice was something Alvin Toffler wrote about in 1970’s Future Shock. Toffler theorized that there may one day come a point where...
The burden of choice was something Alvin Toffler wrote about in 1970’s Future Shock. Toffler theorized that there may one day come a point where...
- 4/16/2015
- by Sam Woolf
- We Got This Covered
Grossing just under forty million domestically and scoring two Academy Award nominations (for its actresses Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern), Wild arrives on Blu-ray on it’s cushion of critical acclaim. French-Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee’s follow-up to the 2013 The Dallas Buyers Club is less problematic in its examination of a notable real life personality, but follows his verve to chart descent and ascent as juxtaposition on a linear, clearly defined timeline. Though Witherspoon’s sometimes showy performance tends to feel a bit too glossy, even if just for its ability to seem like predictable awards consideration fodder, the film succeeds in surprising ways both in how it tries to address the realities of sexual addiction to mask emotional pain and as an excellent showcase for the too often underrated Dern.
Arriving at the end of star Witherspoon’s auteur binge is one of her most rewarding turns in years.
Arriving at the end of star Witherspoon’s auteur binge is one of her most rewarding turns in years.
- 3/31/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice • Robert Frost
All you climate change doubters may now put on your dunce caps and leave. Don’t forget to shovel the walk on your way out.
…But where were we? Ah yes, where we often are, on opposite sides of a time gap. I’m writing here, you’re reading there. I suppose we can deal with it.
We’re looking ahead, you and I, to the forthcoming Daredevil television presentation, to be streamed on the increasingly diverse and interesting Netflix. Might be interesting. Might surpass the Ben Affleck movie Daredevil of a few years back, which may not have been everyone’s favorite entertainment. (I don’t have an opinion about it. Really, I don’t!) I see that Vincent D’Onofrio has gotten the job of being veteran Dd baddie, The Kingpin, which seems to...
All you climate change doubters may now put on your dunce caps and leave. Don’t forget to shovel the walk on your way out.
…But where were we? Ah yes, where we often are, on opposite sides of a time gap. I’m writing here, you’re reading there. I suppose we can deal with it.
We’re looking ahead, you and I, to the forthcoming Daredevil television presentation, to be streamed on the increasingly diverse and interesting Netflix. Might be interesting. Might surpass the Ben Affleck movie Daredevil of a few years back, which may not have been everyone’s favorite entertainment. (I don’t have an opinion about it. Really, I don’t!) I see that Vincent D’Onofrio has gotten the job of being veteran Dd baddie, The Kingpin, which seems to...
- 3/5/2015
- by Dennis O'Neil
- Comicmix.com
It only took five seasons, but someone finally said the words "The Walking Dead" during an episode of the series. Unfortunately for Rick, who had the dubious distinction of uttering that phrase during this week's installment, it's been painfully obvious for quite some time that the characters inhabiting the show's universe have been embodying that title more prominently than the zombies they're trying to avoid. (A point I made way back in my season premiere recap.)
Rick's moment of clarity (also known as a "duh" moment for anyone watching the show) came as the group found itself holed up in an abandoned barn in the middle of Nowheresville, Virginia, hiding from a mighty thunderstorm and an oncoming horde of walkers.
"We do what we need to do, and then we get to live," Rick tells the group of how to cope through the onslaught of tragedy, pretending that real life...
Rick's moment of clarity (also known as a "duh" moment for anyone watching the show) came as the group found itself holed up in an abandoned barn in the middle of Nowheresville, Virginia, hiding from a mighty thunderstorm and an oncoming horde of walkers.
"We do what we need to do, and then we get to live," Rick tells the group of how to cope through the onslaught of tragedy, pretending that real life...
- 2/15/2015
- by Katie Roberts
- Moviefone
It’s been a real drag not having any cinematic output from David Lynch since 2006’s meta-movie freakout “Inland Empire." Renaissance man that he is, Lynch has dabbled in a slew of creative pursuits since his last two feature films —the other being “Mulholland Drive,” arguably the most potent distillation of his gifts as a storyteller— which include transcendental meditation, painting, landscape photography and music that sounds like being dragged kicking and screaming into the crimson-red vortex of your darkest nightmares. And yet, in spite of his dilettante proclivities, Lynch is first and foremost a filmmaker, which is to say he’s a fashioner of dreams. No filmmaker since Luis Bunuel has plumbed the murky depths of the human subconscious to such illuminating and disturbing effect. He’s also given us some of the most haunting and unforgettable screen imagery of the last half-century —we all love the dreadlocked dumpster monster from “Mulholland Drive,...
- 12/3/2014
- by Nicholas Laskin
- The Playlist
A Prayer for the Wild at Heart: Vallee Continues Reinvention of Lost Souls
Arriving at the end of star Reese Witherspoon’s auteur binge is one of her most rewarding turns in years with Jean-Marc Vallee’s Wild, based on Cheryl Strayed’s bestselling memoir. As Vallee’s follow-up to the crowd pleasing and hopelessly problematic The Dallas Buyers Club, this ‘based’ on a true story is a much safer bet as far as lack of exaggeration and blatant use of liberties taken to enhance the dramatic effectiveness (in other words, many of the characterizations here might actually be based on real people). Frank in its portrayals of both sexual content and drug situations of its protagonist without ever demonizing or labeling her predicament as anything more than a loss of control born out of abject grief and longing, it’s clearly a genuine portrayal of a woman undergoing...
Arriving at the end of star Reese Witherspoon’s auteur binge is one of her most rewarding turns in years with Jean-Marc Vallee’s Wild, based on Cheryl Strayed’s bestselling memoir. As Vallee’s follow-up to the crowd pleasing and hopelessly problematic The Dallas Buyers Club, this ‘based’ on a true story is a much safer bet as far as lack of exaggeration and blatant use of liberties taken to enhance the dramatic effectiveness (in other words, many of the characterizations here might actually be based on real people). Frank in its portrayals of both sexual content and drug situations of its protagonist without ever demonizing or labeling her predicament as anything more than a loss of control born out of abject grief and longing, it’s clearly a genuine portrayal of a woman undergoing...
- 12/1/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Conan & Max Weinberg reunite after nearly 5 years Weinberg, who was Conan O'Brien's bandleader from 1993 until Conan's "Tonight Show" ended in January 2010, made his first appearance on the "Conan" TBS show, helping fill in on drums. Neil Patrick Harris: “In a perfect world, in five years I’m Ed Sullivan” Harris talked about his variety show dreams with Charlie Rose: "Once a week I’d get to, like, show everyone amazing performances on Broadway, amazing magicians, this great restaurant that we went to — to be a bit of a tastemaker. I’d get to be P.T. Barnum.” Plus: Will Harris save variety — or bury it? This is how the “Game of Thrones” Iron Throne is supposed to look Martin has said the show got the Iron Throne wrong: "I said repeatedly the Iron Throne is huge. It towers over the room like a great beast. And it's ugly.
- 10/29/2014
- by Norman Weiss
- Hitfix
Sarah Hyland appeared on The Meredith Vieira Show on Monday, where she broke her silence about her experience getting through an abusive relationship.
Sarah Hyland On Abusive Relationship
Following the release of the video of Ray Rice attacking his now-fiancée Janay Plamer, domestic violence became a hot topic in the media. At that time, Meredith Vieira detailed her experience dealing with an abusive partner, revealing how she finally gained the courage to leave the relationship. Stating how important it is to share such experiences, she asked Hyland how she’s come through her own adversity.
"There are two quotes that I want to say," Hyland began. "One is a Dylan Thomas poem: ‘Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light,’ which is one of my favorite poems. It just strikes a chord in me; and also Robert Frost: 'The only way out is through.
Sarah Hyland On Abusive Relationship
Following the release of the video of Ray Rice attacking his now-fiancée Janay Plamer, domestic violence became a hot topic in the media. At that time, Meredith Vieira detailed her experience dealing with an abusive partner, revealing how she finally gained the courage to leave the relationship. Stating how important it is to share such experiences, she asked Hyland how she’s come through her own adversity.
"There are two quotes that I want to say," Hyland began. "One is a Dylan Thomas poem: ‘Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light,’ which is one of my favorite poems. It just strikes a chord in me; and also Robert Frost: 'The only way out is through.
- 10/28/2014
- Uinterview
Sarah Hyland is finally speaking out about her abusive relationship. The "Modern Family" star stops by Monday's "Meredith Viera Show" where she opens up about her relationship troubles. Check out the sneak peek above to see what she had to say about the whole ordeal. Until now, Hyland has kept quiet about her troubled relationship since getting a restraining order on her ex Matthew Prokop earlier this year. In the restraining order documents, Sarah says that the actor pinned her against a car and choked her during an argument. "His grip was so tight that I could not breathe or speak. I was scared and in fear for my life," the document explains. Viera shared with the audience that she too went through something similar when she was Sarah's age and asked the brunette beauty how she's overcome her "adversity." "There are two quotes that I want to say. One is a Dylan Thomas poem,...
- 10/27/2014
- by tooFab Staff
- TooFab
Thanks to titles such as Ftl: Faster Than Light and Rogue Legacy, the “roguelike” game genre has seen a major upswing in popularity over the past few years. Known for attributes such as permadeath and randomly generated levels, the genre has been championed by those who wish games were just a little bit more challenging. Looking to make their own mark on the genre, Spry Fox has combined elements of roguelikes and mechanics from puzzle games, in order to make Road Not Taken.
Although Road Not Taken takes its name from a classic Robert Frost poem, this game does not focus on the life of the iconic American poet. Rather, the it centers around a lonely and mysterious ranger who wanders into a small town one winter. In order to be able to live in the town, though, the ranger must venture out into the wilderness in order to rescue stranded children.
Although Road Not Taken takes its name from a classic Robert Frost poem, this game does not focus on the life of the iconic American poet. Rather, the it centers around a lonely and mysterious ranger who wanders into a small town one winter. In order to be able to live in the town, though, the ranger must venture out into the wilderness in order to rescue stranded children.
- 8/11/2014
- by Eric Hall
- We Got This Covered
Maya Angelou died last night at the age of 86. Many tributes to the poet and author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will be forthcoming — her career was a long one, a diverse one, and a titanic one. For readers of a particular age, one of their first encounters with Angelou was seeing her read a poem, "On the Pulse of Morning," at President Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration ceremony. She was only the second poet to present at an inauguration, the first being Robert Frost, who read "The Gift Outright" for John F. Kennedy in 1961. Watch her read below (courtesy, William J. Clinton Presidential Library):...
- 5/28/2014
- by Gilbert Cruz
- Vulture
Here’s one thing I figured I’d never do when talking about Game of Thrones: reference Robert Frost. But how else to begin a discussion about last night’s episode than with the Pulitzer Prize–winning poet’s two roads diverging in a yellow wood/Haunted Forest north of the Wall? Up to this point, those of us who have read George R. R. Martin’s "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series have had an “I’m so smart” grin on our faces heading into each new episode. But as the plot veered deliriously away from the path set out by the source text — more than it had in any other single hour to date on the program — the stark differences (pun intended!) wiped that cookie-eating grin away and made us wonder quite a few things. Will showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss continue to move...
- 4/28/2014
- by John Sellers
- Vulture
Kathak exponent and actress Ranjana Bhattacharya who recently performed at the Bhavans Mumbai Kathak festival and the Taj Mahotsav was honored with the Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar award at a Shiv Jayanti function by a prominent social organisation – the Global Citizens Action Forum in Mumbai today. Ranjana Bhattacharya has been studying Kathak for the last 10 years under Kathak gurus Jayantimala and Sitara Devi. Jayantimala is the daughter of the legendary Padma Shree awardee Sitara Devi. Speaking to content agency Newz66.com, Ranjana Bhattacharya said, “I am honored to be presented with the Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar award for my contribution to dance, art and culture. It’s a long way and the woods and lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep,” she said quoting Robert Frost.
Ranjana Bhattacharya will also perform at the Maharashtra Cultural Festival to be held in Mumbai during April this year.
Ranjana Bhattacharya will also perform at the Maharashtra Cultural Festival to be held in Mumbai during April this year.
- 3/20/2014
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
Good fences, Robert Frost once wrote, make good neighbours. But when the new arrivals next door are a bunch of horny, booze-loving frat boys, you’re probably going to need more than that. Force field technology would be good. For new parents Mac and Kelly Radner, their first tactic is to try to win over the frat with charm and the power of a cute baby. Check out the clip from Bad Neighbours below. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne star as Mac and Kelly, a married couple dealing with the transition from their carefree younger days to the responsibilities that arrive with a child. Their domestic bliss is nonetheless shattered when the fraternity begins to hold massive, noisy parties into the wee hours of the night.Though the couple tries to be cool with their young newcomers, eventually things descend into all-out prank war as Teddy (Zac Efron), the frat president,...
- 3/14/2014
- EmpireOnline
In a piece over at Vanity Fair, Skyfall director Sam Mendes takes a break from preparing for Bond 24 to offer up 25 Rules for Directors in his acceptance speech as the Roundabout Theatre Company paid the director tribute at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. Here are my favorites: 1. Always choose good collaborators. It seems so obvious, but the best collaborators are the ones who disagree with you. It means they're passionate, they have opinions, and they'll only ever say yes if they mean it. 4. Learn to say, "I don't know the answer." It could be the beginning of a very good day's rehearsal. 8. Confidence is essential, but ego is not. 10. Buy a good set of blinkers. Do not read reviews. It's enough to know whether they're good or they're bad. When I started, artists vastly outnumbered commentators, and now, there are a thousand published public opinions for every work of art.
- 3/11/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The first 300 was an uncompromising paean to glorious graphic-novel imagery, infused with music-video sensibility and CGI magic. Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Frank Miller’s bloody tale, which chronicles the Spartans’ noble defeat at Thermopylae in 480 B.C., splattered the box office in 2007, grossing $201.6 million and making Gerard Butler’s abs more famous than Gerard Butler. 300: Rise of the Empire is a prequel, sequel, and side-quel to that tale.
Butler’s King Leonidas is dead, but Athens’ general Themistokles (Strike Back’s Sullivan Stapleton) rallies the fractured Greeks at sea against the invading Persian armada, led by Artemisia, a...
Butler’s King Leonidas is dead, but Athens’ general Themistokles (Strike Back’s Sullivan Stapleton) rallies the fractured Greeks at sea against the invading Persian armada, led by Artemisia, a...
- 3/7/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
Snow and ice is hitting multiple parts of the country and your favorite celebs are taking to Twitter to reveal whether they love it or totally hate it!
Snow, snow, go away, come again … never! This is what most celebrities are saying on Twitter, and we can’t blame them. The sleet, snow and icy roads are pummeling the East Coast and it’s keeping everyone indoors. Celebs are tweeting about missed flights, but others like reality star Kim Zolciak, are out playing in it!
Celebrities Tweet About The Snow
Celebs are not remaining quiet when it comes to the snow, in fact, they’re letting the world know exactly how they feel about it. Kendall Jenner even retweeted a tweet that said: “Wow NYC,” most likely referring to the snowy conditions!
Here we go again. Where’s Robert Frost when you need him? #Snowywoods pic.twitter.com/6w4Az...
Snow, snow, go away, come again … never! This is what most celebrities are saying on Twitter, and we can’t blame them. The sleet, snow and icy roads are pummeling the East Coast and it’s keeping everyone indoors. Celebs are tweeting about missed flights, but others like reality star Kim Zolciak, are out playing in it!
Celebrities Tweet About The Snow
Celebs are not remaining quiet when it comes to the snow, in fact, they’re letting the world know exactly how they feel about it. Kendall Jenner even retweeted a tweet that said: “Wow NYC,” most likely referring to the snowy conditions!
Here we go again. Where’s Robert Frost when you need him? #Snowywoods pic.twitter.com/6w4Az...
- 2/13/2014
- by Chloe Melas
- HollywoodLife
Putting the "ab" in Abercrombie."The Vampire Diaries" star Steven R. McQueen and "Arrow" stud Colton Haynes are two of the new faces for Abercrombie & Fitch -- looking hotter than ever in the Bruce Weber-shot photos.The two visually-appealing actors star in Abercrombie & Fitch’s Spring 2014 Campaign, "The Making of a Star," showing off the company's clothes and their own bods in various states of undress.Fyi, Steven is legendary film star Steve McQueen's grandson -- and he says his films inspired him to become an actor."As a kid growing up in Detroit I longed to be a Superhero," he said while promoting A&F. "Later on I started watching movies my grandpa (Steve McQueen) did, and I saw what an impact they made on the world. That's when I said, “Hey, I want to do that too.'"I go to the gym, do some martial arts,...
- 1/31/2014
- by tooFab Staff
- TooFab
Winners Of The Week: Fire and Ice. "Some say the world will end in fire/Some say in ice," wrote Robert Frost. But at the multiplex, moviegoers found both were nice and would suffice. To no one's surprise, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire remained on top for a second straight week, with an estimated $74.5 million from Friday to Sunday (and a total of $296.5 million in 10 days), but Disney's cartoon Frozen gave it a run for its money. The snowy tale, which showed great promise on just one screen last week,...
- 12/1/2013
- Rollingstone.com
The first amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research) Indian Gala was held on Sunday night. amfAR is one of the world’s leading non-profit organisations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment, education and sound AIDS-related public policy. Their fund-raising events range from small cocktail parties to art auctions to full-blown international galas and are always graced by the biggest of names from the film, music and fashion industries.
Hosted by Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachhan, the Indian Gala was attended by several international figures including Sharon Stone, Kenneth Cole, Hilary Swank, Kevin Robert Frost and Cyrus Poonawalla. The evening featured a cocktail reception, dinner, gold-themed fashion show and concluded with a performance by K$sha. Held at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, the black-tie event was nothing short of glamorous and we thought we’d capture the best dressed of the night. Aishwarya, who chose to wear something traditional,...
Hosted by Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachhan, the Indian Gala was attended by several international figures including Sharon Stone, Kenneth Cole, Hilary Swank, Kevin Robert Frost and Cyrus Poonawalla. The evening featured a cocktail reception, dinner, gold-themed fashion show and concluded with a performance by K$sha. Held at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, the black-tie event was nothing short of glamorous and we thought we’d capture the best dressed of the night. Aishwarya, who chose to wear something traditional,...
- 11/24/2013
- by Natalie Rout
- Bollyspice
The unknown solo performer often gets an unfairly bad rap, but not so at the United Solo Theatre Festival, where actors get to prove that they can hold your attention alone. Dedicated to the solo genre, the festival collects shows from across the world and puts them up at Theatre Row on West 42nd Street Oct. 3–Nov. 24. With 121 shows to choose from, Backstage looks at some of the latest trends in one-person works. As in film, the lives of famous people are fertile ground for actors, offering them the chance both to show their range (no one ever chooses a boring famous person to portray) and impress with their ownership of the star’s mannerisms. Among the celebrities being reanimated onstage this fall are Montgomery Clift (“Monty Clift, the Rarest of Birds”), Victorian actor Fanny Kemble (“Mrs. Kemble’s Tempest”), Oscar Levant (“At Wit’s End”), Grace Kelly (“Longing for...
- 10/2/2013
- backstage.com
Fences make better "Neighbors" than heartily partying frat dudes in this upcoming comedy directed by Nicholas Stoller.
In a surprising twist for those of you who haven't seen "Take This Waltz," Seth Rogen plays a mild-mannered suburban husband and dad named Mac Radner who welcomes his new neighbors, young and fratty though they may be. He and his wife Kelly (Rose Byrne) try and ingratiate themselves with Teddy (Zac Efron) and his crew with very mixed results, until the Radners get sick and tired of the shenanigans next door -- perhaps because their new baby finds a particularly unsanitary "toy" on their front lawn.
Things escalate to the sort of all-out war that would make Robert Frost rethink his position on walls. Did any of his neighbors turn his airbags into high-powered whoopee cushions? Of course not!
If "The Paperboy" didn't scrub off any residual "High School Musical"-ness from Efron,...
In a surprising twist for those of you who haven't seen "Take This Waltz," Seth Rogen plays a mild-mannered suburban husband and dad named Mac Radner who welcomes his new neighbors, young and fratty though they may be. He and his wife Kelly (Rose Byrne) try and ingratiate themselves with Teddy (Zac Efron) and his crew with very mixed results, until the Radners get sick and tired of the shenanigans next door -- perhaps because their new baby finds a particularly unsanitary "toy" on their front lawn.
Things escalate to the sort of all-out war that would make Robert Frost rethink his position on walls. Did any of his neighbors turn his airbags into high-powered whoopee cushions? Of course not!
If "The Paperboy" didn't scrub off any residual "High School Musical"-ness from Efron,...
- 9/3/2013
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
Indie developer Spry Fox has announced that their newest title, Road Not Taken, will launch for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in early 2014. Spry Fox previously developed the PC and mobile titles Steambirds, Triple Town and Realm of the Mad God.
In a Playstation Blog post, Spry Fox co-founder David Edery discusses what Road Not Taken is all about and how Robert Frost’s poem of the same name comes into play:
“Road Not Taken is a game about life’s surprises, both positive and negative. In our take on Robert Frost’s poem of the same name, you wander through a mysterious forest in the aftermath of a large snowstorm. As you explore, you’ll come across wild animals, impassable barriers, and lost children. Road Not Taken explores the question: “What happens when life’s events throw you off the path you expected to take?””
Although Edery describes Road...
In a Playstation Blog post, Spry Fox co-founder David Edery discusses what Road Not Taken is all about and how Robert Frost’s poem of the same name comes into play:
“Road Not Taken is a game about life’s surprises, both positive and negative. In our take on Robert Frost’s poem of the same name, you wander through a mysterious forest in the aftermath of a large snowstorm. As you explore, you’ll come across wild animals, impassable barriers, and lost children. Road Not Taken explores the question: “What happens when life’s events throw you off the path you expected to take?””
Although Edery describes Road...
- 9/2/2013
- by Eric Hall
- We Got This Covered
As I was saying…
One of the most imaginative uses of time travel as a story platform was Don Bellasario’s Quantum Leap, which starred Scott Bakula as quantum physicist (among other things) Dr. Sam Beckett and Dean Stockwell as Rear Admiral Al Calavicci:
“Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Doctor Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished…
“He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Doctor Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.
One of the most imaginative uses of time travel as a story platform was Don Bellasario’s Quantum Leap, which starred Scott Bakula as quantum physicist (among other things) Dr. Sam Beckett and Dean Stockwell as Rear Admiral Al Calavicci:
“Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Doctor Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished…
“He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Doctor Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.
- 9/2/2013
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
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