Author Archives: sheila

“Reality is diabolical.” — Ingmar Bergman

Posted on July 14, 2025 by sheila

It’s Ingmar Bergman’s birthday today. I saw Persona in college – while studying acting – and was so intimidated by it I thought, “Okay. I can’t ever watch this again.” I needed courage to feel like I still could give … Continue reading →

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“He’s one of those actors who knows that his face IS the story.” – Sam Shepard on Harry Dean Stanton

Posted on July 14, 2025 by sheila

It’s Harry Dean Stanton’s birthday today. I’m pretty sure my introduction to Harry Dean Stanton – whose birthday it is today – was as Molly Ringwald’s sad dad in Pretty in Pink (he made a huge impression on me). It … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day, Television | Tagged | 12 Comments

“I think there is a little of Beckett in everything I have done.” — Monte Hellman

Posted on July 12, 2025 by sheila

Today is the birthday of the one-of-a-kind American-B-movie-but-also-French-existentialist film director Monte Hellman, who died last year. For a really good roundup-overview of this iconoclastic American director, check out David Hudson’s “Monte Hellman’s Sly Humor and Existential Dread” over on Criterion … Continue reading →

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

Review: Wild Diamond (2025)

Posted on July 11, 2025 by sheila

Liane wants to be “the French Kim Kardashian”, perhaps (most definitely) a dubious goal, but understandable in the context of Wild Diamond. This isn’t your normal cautionary tale about social media and/or influencer culture. There’s something else going on – … Continue reading →

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“Nothing can prevent me from making films.” — Jafar Panahi

Posted on July 11, 2025 by sheila

It’s his birthday today. Jafar Panahi should need no introduction, but just in case… Jafar Panahi is an Iranian director with an international reputation, and a daunting list of films, many of which were made under terrible conditions (The White … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday, Thomas Mitchell

Posted on July 11, 2025 by sheila

Interesting that Thomas Mitchell and Bruce McGill were born on the same day (scroll down). I said in the piece about Bruce McGill that McGill is in “the Thomas Mitchell tradition” and the “Thomas Mitchell tradition” is quickly vanishing from … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged | 6 Comments

Happy Birthday, Bruce McGill

Posted on July 11, 2025 by sheila

Bruce McGill is one of those actors who would have fit in perfectly with the old studio system: a first-rate support player, a guy who can do anything: drama, comedy, farce, who can fit into any context. He’s in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day, Television | Tagged , , | 28 Comments

#tbt Only connect

Posted on July 10, 2025 by sheila

I wrote a little bit about this in the recent snapshots. I recently got together with my first boyfriend, Antonio. Our relationship was such ancient history it’s hard to feel its relevance to my every day world, but it is … Continue reading →

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“When liberty is taken away by force it can be restored by force. When it is relinquished voluntarily by default it can never be recovered.” — Dorothy Thompson

Posted on July 9, 2025 by sheila

Dorothy Thompson, 1939: testifying in Congress to repeal the Neutrality Act. “They are holding every Jew in Germany as a hostage. Therefore, we who are not Jews must speak, speak our sorrow and indignation and disgust in so many voices … Continue reading →

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“Art is theft, art is armed robbery, art is not pleasing your mother.” — Janet Malcolm

Posted on July 8, 2025 by sheila

It’s her birthday today. She died in 2021. I started out with The Silent Woman, many years ago, her book on the challenges of writing about Sylvia Plath, particularly in lieu of the draconian Plath estate, run – Shakespearean-ly – … Continue reading →

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