Author Archives: sheila

“Reality is diabolical.” — Ingmar Bergman

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

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

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

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

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Review: Wild Diamond (2025)

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

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

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

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Happy Birthday, Bruce McGill

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

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#tbt Only connect

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

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

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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