Category Archives: Personal

Substack: Writing roundup

A freebie for all subscribers: Roundup of my writing over the last couple of months, plus some thoughts on Viva Las Vegas, After Hours, Ebertfest, my time in Chicago … everything I’ve been doing. Thanks for reading!

Posted in Movies, Personal, Television | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

“Boredom is very important in life. It helps you feel when something is wrong.” — John Strasberg

It’s John Strasberg’s birthday today. I told this story before on here years ago, when I used to write like this on here, on occasion. Figured I’d re-post it. He is very very important to me. Back in the late … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Directors, On This Day, Personal, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Snapshots

It’s been a while. March and April were a whirlwind. February too. — I worked on this. It was a challenging one, and a little different for me. I loved the challenge. — Michael messaged me (you know. Michael. This … Continue reading

Posted in James Joyce, Movies, Personal | Tagged , , , , | 24 Comments

May 7: Viva Las Vegas at the Paris Theater!

^^ This promo, gigantic on the Paris Theatre website, is now my favorite thing on the planet. My name up there, my outlet, and the MASSIVE faces of Elvis and Ann-Margret. Life is a curious thing. You never know where … Continue reading

Posted in Movies, Personal | Tagged , | 6 Comments

“I wanted to deliver a work that could be read universally as the-thing-in-itself but that would also sustain those extensions of meaning that our disastrously complicated local predicament made both urgent and desirable.” — Seamus Heaney

It’s his birthday today. Jean and I went to visit Siobhan in Ireland. Siobhan was in school, so while she was in classes Jean and I rented a car and drove across the country to Galway, and other Western points. … Continue reading

Posted in Books, On This Day, Personal, writers | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Ten Years.

Me on New Years Eve, Memphis, December 31, 2012. Sitting outside of my hotel with a plastic cup of champagne. Alone. It’s been 10 years since Roger Ebert died. He emailed me to ask me to write for him on … Continue reading

Posted in Personal | 41 Comments

In Memory of Roger Ebert: His Review of Kwik Stop (2001)

Roger Ebert died 10 years ago today. One of the early series the Rogerebert.com writers participated in was something called “My Favorite Roger.” Each writer wrote an essay discussing their favorite Roger review. I chose his review of Kwik Stop, … Continue reading

Posted in Movies, On This Day, Personal | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

For International Women’s Day: Ladies I Love

These women inspire, entertain, challenge, comfort, provoke, or were “there” in my formative years as an inspiration. The list is huge. Below the jump.

Posted in Actors, Art/Photography, Directors, Personal, writers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 96 Comments

It’s Ron Eldard’s Birthday: the first famous person I interviewed

Here’s the story of the first famous person I interviewed – an actor I had admired for a long time: Mr. Ron Eldard. I saw the excellent Roadie at the Tribeca Film Festival. Eldard plays a roadie fired from his … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day, Personal | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Valentine’s Day Story #2: The Spitball Valentine

In the 6th grade, I was passionately in love with a boy named Andrew Wright. My love for him had begun to blossom tentatively in the fifth grade, but the sensation that exploded in sixth grade was real love, no … Continue reading

Posted in Personal | Tagged , | 36 Comments