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- “I think there is a little of Beckett in everything I have done.” — Monte Hellman
- “Nothing can prevent me from making films.” — Jafar Panahi
- Happy Birthday, Thomas Mitchell
- Happy Birthday, Bruce McGill
- “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
- “Art is theft, art is armed robbery, art is not pleasing your mother.” — Janet Malcolm
- “I’m one of those people who thinks you can have a happy life and still be an artist.” — Shelley Duvall
- “There’s a difference between writing about something and living through it. I did both.” — poet/novelist Margaret Walker
- “I believe what Camus says. When the curtain rings down, your job is done.” — Warren Oates
- Physical Media Booklet Essay podcast interview
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Category Archives: Actors
East of Eden Screentest
James Dean: “Kiss me.” Paul Newman: “Can’t here.” Paul Newman screentested for the role of Aron, James Dean’s goody-two-shoes older brother in East of Eden. Dean was already cast. Newman was up-and-coming, trying to find his spot in the increasingly … Continue reading
Newlyweds
20 some-odd years ago, I ripped a page out of some magazine which had a photo of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward on it. It’s a photo of them when they were newlyweds. I think I was sitting in a … Continue reading Continue reading
Mickey Rourke: The Vagaries of Genius
Yeah: I always thought Mickey Rourke was a genius – in the truest purest sense of the word – from the first time I saw Angel Heart. Or – let’s say: I’m not into the whole “next Brando” thing because … Continue reading
The Books: “Kate Remembered” (A. Scott Berg)
Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: Kate Remembered, by A. Scott Berg The publication of this book was an event. It appeared only 13 days after Miss Hepburn’s death, so it seemed a bit iffy to me at first, like: Was … Continue reading
The Books: “The Making of the African Queen: Or How I Went to Africa With Bogart, Bacall and Huston and Almost Lost My Mind” (Katharine Hepburn)
Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: The Making of the African Queen: Or How I Went to Africa With Bogart, Bacall and Huston and Almost Lost My Mind, by Katharine Hepburn This isn’t strictly a biography and really should be catalogued … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books
Tagged entertainment biography, Humphrey Bogart, John Huston, Katharine Hepburn, Lauren Bacall
8 Comments
The Books: “Me: Stories Of My Life” (Katharine Hepburn)
Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: Me : Stories of My Life, by Katharine Hepburn If there was an editor within a 10-mile radius of Katharine Hepburn’s manuscript for this book, you would never know it. It’s full of dashes, interruptions … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books
Tagged entertainment biography, George Cukor, Group Theatre, Harold Clurman, John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Philadelphia Story
4 Comments
The Books: “Katharine Hepburn” (Barbara Leaming)
Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: Katharine Hepburn, by Barbara Leaming Barbara Leaming churns them out, man! This biography of Katharine Hepburn is so detailed it practically begins with the pilgrims in the Mayflower. Leaming saw (apparently) that one of the … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books
Tagged entertainment biography, John Ford, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy
18 Comments
The Books: “A Lotus Grows In the Mud” (Goldie Hawn)
Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: A Lotus Grows in the Mud, by Goldie Hawn I have Annika to thank for making me pick up this lovely book. I want to give it to all my friends – mainly my women … Continue reading
Marilyn Monroe’s Filing Cabinets
(Photo of Marilyn Monroe performing for the troops in Korea – on my fridge) To those of you out there steeped in Marilyn Monroe lore, you will know about her two filing cabinets . If you say to a Marilyn … Continue reading
The Books: “My Name Escapes Me: The Diary of a Retiring Actor” (Alec Guinness)
Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: My Name Escapes Me, by Alec Guinness I know some people were disappointed by this book because there doesn’t seem to be much in it. It’s just a year in the life of Alec Guinness, … Continue reading

