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- “[My ambition is to] give something to our literature which will be our own.” — Walt Whitman
- “I don’t want to show things, but to give people the desire to see.” — Agnès Varda
- “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- “If I am going to be a poet at all, I am going to be POET and not NEGRO POET.” — poet Countee Cullen
- Reviews: Currents (2026)
- Reviews: Forge (2026)
- “Only the bad directors tell you how to read a line, how to define your character. The good ones let you do your job.” — Carroll Baker
- “I never heard the term ‘rockabilly’ back then. Nobody did…When people asked what music we played, we were rock ’n’ rollers.” — Sonny Burgess
- “I am in a prison: one wall is the avant-garde, the other wall is the past, and I want to escape.” — György Ligeti
- An Acting Lesson: John Wayne and the “Reality of the Doing”
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- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- Bryan Summers on “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- Lyrie on “I just love telling stories. That’s what we do and it’s a good business to be in, especially if you know you have talent.” –Jensen Ackles
- Kendra Williams on Josh White, singer of “the fighting blues”
- sheila on “I dont want to just do just country type stuff the rest of my life. I want to do some different things.” — Charlie Rich
- sheila on The Books: “Awake and Sing” (Clifford Odets)
- Jincy Willett on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- Bill Wolfe on “I dont want to just do just country type stuff the rest of my life. I want to do some different things.” — Charlie Rich
- Donn Harris on The Books: “Awake and Sing” (Clifford Odets)
- sheila on “Listen, I never meant to make money. I never wanted it. I’m a singer, man.” — Gene Vincent
- Pat on “Listen, I never meant to make money. I never wanted it. I’m a singer, man.” — Gene Vincent
- sheila on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- Jincy Willett on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- Biff Dorsey on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- Dave on Review: The Chronology of Water (2025)
- Biff Dorsey on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- sheila on “I just love telling stories. That’s what we do and it’s a good business to be in, especially if you know you have talent.” –Jensen Ackles
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Category Archives: Television
Jerry Lee Lewis’ 1957 television debut shatters the foundation of civilization
I know so much ink has been spilled on this three minutes of television but that doesn’t mean I can’t (at least try) to write about it too. Jerry Lee Lewis made his TV debut in July 1957 on the … Continue reading
September 2022 Viewing Diary
The Deep End (2022; d. Jon Kasbe) I’m into cults but I actively avoid woo-woo, so somehow Teal Swan escaped my radar. Well, she’s on my radar NOW. This Netflix doc is extraordinary because Teal Swan participated in it, she … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Baz Luhrmann, comedy, documentary, drama, Elvis Presley, England, film noir, Hal Wallis, Ida Lupino, James Cagney, John Garfield, Marilyn Monroe, musicals, New Zealand, Olivia de Havilland, Raoul Walsh, Rita Hayworth, Thomas Mitchell, true crime, westerns, women directors
29 Comments
Sheryl Lee Ralph: I have never seen anything like this.
“It” begins at the 4 minute mark, but it’s worth it to watch the rest, for context, if you are not aware. I’ve been a fan of Sheryl Lee Ralph ever since the Dreamgirls Broadway soundtrack album swept my college … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Music, Television
3 Comments
August 2022 Viewing Diary
It took me a while to get this up. Shit’s BUSY. Here’s what I watched and saw in August. What Josiah Saw (2022; d. Vincent Grashaw) Pretty grim watch. I reviewed for Ebert. Married at First Sight, Seasons 10 and … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Ann-Margret, Aubrey Plaza, comedy, documentary, drama, Elvis Presley, Kurt Russell, musicals, Myrna Loy, screwball comedy, thrillers, true crime, William Powell
8 Comments
There once was a girl who lived in a lodge …
Make that two girls. Joan Blackman as Rose – who lives in her brother’s lodge – in “Kid Galahad” (1962) Sherilyn Fenn as Audrey – who lives in her father’s lodge – in “Twin Peaks” (1990) Coincidence? David Lynch is … Continue reading
July 2022 Viewing Diary
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019; d. Quentin Tarantino) I like it more every time I see it. I’ve seen it maybe 7 or 8 times. Desert Fury (1947; d. Lewis Allen) I adore this messed-up homoerotic Technicolor fever-dream. … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Australia, Baz Luhrmann, Brad Pitt, comedy, documentary, drama, Elvis Presley, film noir, France, Georgia, Juliette Binoche, Kurt Russell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mary Astor, Peter Bogdanovich, Quentin Tarantino, Rebecca Hall, Robert Altman, romantic drama, Supernatural, What's Up Doc, women directors
65 Comments
“And I knew, then – I didn’t want to know it … – but I knew that I was something else. That the world was not the same.”
I had heard this story before – how Martin Luther King, Jr. convinced Nichelle Nichols not to leave Star Trek – but there’s nothing like her telling it.
Posted in Actors, RIP, Television
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R.I.P. Nichelle Nichols
“I’m speaking to the whole family of humankind, minorities and women alike. If you qualify and would like to be an astronaut, now is the time. This is your NASA, a space agency embarked on a mission to improve the … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, RIP, Television
1 Comment
R.I.P. Bob Rafelson
In 1965, television producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider placed an ad in the Hollywood Reporter: MADNESS!! AUDITIONS Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series. Running parts for 4 insane boys, age 17-21” Many are called, … Continue reading