Category Archives: Directors

“I swear my next project is going to be something really simple and focused and minimal.” — Baz Luhrmann

It’s his birthday today. “I think what I’m saying is, when you get to where I am in your journey, you just have to start to accept that there’s something inside you that you’ve been trying to get out and … Continue reading

Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Meeting Elia Kazan

For Elia Kazan’s birthday I met Elia Kazan once. He showed up at a production of Clifford Odets’ Awake and Sing, which was being put on at the Actors Studio. I was involved in the production as a general Girl … Continue reading

Posted in Directors, On This Day, Personal | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

“Reach out, take a chance, get hurt even, play as well as you can.” — Hal Ashby

It’s his birthday today. One of the leading lights of the New Hollywood, bringing fresh energy into a landscape that was busy cracking-apart, and holding on tightly to old stable familiar forms. He believed in the crack-up. He helped the … Continue reading

Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged | 13 Comments

“It’s important not to indicate. People don’t try to show their feelings, they try to hide them.” — Robert De Niro

I haven’t written about the majority of his roles – not for lack of admiration (and in some cases, awestruck wonder) – but here is what I have written: I included his “you talkin’ to me” scene in my gigantic … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Happy Birthday, Martha Coolidge

It’s the birthday of director Martha Coolidge. I have always loved her work – cherished it, really – and finally got to pay tribute to her in my Film Comment column. And it’s funny how things work out. Mitchell and … Continue reading

Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged , | 2 Comments

“What are you gonna do, talk the alien to death?” — James Cameron

It’s James Cameron’s birthday today, and I haven’t written all that much about him, but I did devote an entire column at Film Comment to the sexual/romantic tension between Ripley and Hicks in Aliens – and how crucial it is … Continue reading

Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged | 4 Comments

“There’s no one ‘right’ way of making a science fiction movie; there’s no one way of making any kind of movie, really!” — Nicolas Roeg

It’s his birthday today. When he died, I wrote a tribute for the Jan/Feb 2019 issue of Film Comment.

Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

“Yeah, and I’m buddies with Alfred.” — Eminem on Alfred Hitchcock

For Alfred Hitchcock’s birthday. “It got silent, then all these voices said ‘Come follow me into the gates of Hell.’ I heard ’em yell ‘Welcome to the Norman Bates Motel!’ I ring the bell for service and I was greeted … Continue reading

Posted in Directors, Movies, Music, On This Day | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

R.I.P. William Friedkin

William Friedkin was “there” in my life before I even really put together that movies were a thing made by humans. As a kid, they were just full-immersion stories beyond my wildest dreams. I’m sure that’s true for most people. … Continue reading

Posted in Directors, Movies, RIP | Tagged | Leave a comment

“I’ve never been a guy who had more than a toe in Hollywood anyway, so my toe is more easily lopped off than most.” — Richard Linklater

Richard Linklater, at Ebertfest 2013, presenting “Bernie.” Photo by yours truly. It’s his birthday today. One of my favorite contemporary filmmakers (if not my favorite?) Here’s my essay on Movie Mezzanine: Time After Time: Looking Back at “Before Sunrise”. Here’s … Continue reading

Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged | 12 Comments