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- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- “I don’t represent anything.” — Liz Phair
- “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- “Some syllables are swords.” — Metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan
- “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- “All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.” — Charlie Chaplin
- “As a cinematographer, I was always attracted to stories that have the potential to be told with as few words as possible.” — Reed Morano
- “Even though I’m writing about very dark material, it still feels like an escape hatch.” — Olivia Laing
- “It’s just one of the mysteries of filmmaking that sometimes you do something that you don’t even think it’s important, then it turns out to be.” — Lili Horvát
- “Ballet taught me to stay close to style and tone. Literature taught me to be concerned about the moral life.” — Joan Acocella
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- sheila on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
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- sheila on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- P Nickel on “The realization of ignorance is the first act of knowing.” — Jean Toomer
- Melissa Sutherland on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
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Tag Archives: Gena Rowlands
Goodbye, Gena Rowlands
Gathered myself together, and wrote a tribute – yet another one, really – to Gena Rowlands for Ebert. I did my best. It won’t be the last time I write about her. We’ll be dealing with this career, trying to … Continue reading
July 2024 Viewing Diary
Anyone But You (2023; d. Will Gluck) The fascination with Glen Powell continues. I’ve seen this maybe four times now? The NY Times did a whole ROUNDTABLE about Glen Powell, like: what is going on with this guy? It’s like … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged action movies, Ben Gazzara, coming of age, documentary, drama, England, France, Gena Rowlands, Glen Powell, historical drama, horror, Ireland, Italy, Joan Blondell, John Cassavetes, Mary Shelley, Opening Night, romantic comedy, sci-fi
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For Liberties: John Cassavetes, Tennessee Williams, and Beautiful Insanity
My next article for my Movies Before Breakfast column at Liberties Journal is one I’ve wanted to write for years: how John Cassavetes’ Opening Night and Tennessee Williams’ The Two-Character Play are the same work of art to me – … Continue reading
Posted in Movies, Theatre
Tagged Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Liberties, Opening Night, Tennessee Williams, Two-Character Play
2 Comments
Adult Film Podcast: Let’s talk about acting!!
I was a guest on Ryan Czerwonko and David Garelik’s fabulous new podcast, part of their ongoing Adult Film NYC project (I interviewed Ryan about the work Adult Film is doing for my Substack) and had so much fun talking … Continue reading
On John Cassavetes’ Minnie and Moskowitz
This is a re-vamped post I resurrected for my Substack. A freebie for all subscribers. I saw it again recently and elaborated on my original thoughts. Outside-Inside: John Cassavetes’ “Minnie and Moskowitz” Thank you so much for stopping … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies
Tagged Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Minnie and Moskowitz, newsletter, Seymour Cassel
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Interview with actor/director/teacher Ryan Czerwonko
I’ve written about Adult Film before here, and had been wanting for a while to sit down and interview one of the founders, Ryan Czerwonko, about what he and his group are up to. Finally, we carved out some space … Continue reading
For John Wayne’s Birthday: Hondo (1953) at MoMA: John Wayne in 3D
In real life John Wayne was huge, 6’3″, with broad shoulders, a lean waist, and long ambling legs. He towered over everybody. And yet, he was always graceful. His athleticism is extraordinary, his physicality smooth and controlled. So he was … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Dennis Hopper, Gary Cooper, Gena Rowlands, Geraldine Page, James Dean, John Wayne, Sanford Meisner, Supernatural, westerns
45 Comments
R.I.P. Ian Holm
Ian Holm, “The Sweet Hereafter” I was very sad to hear the news of the death of exquisite actor Ian Holm. Probably most well-known to a large audience for playing Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings movies. But … Continue reading
Mirrors #5: For Oscilloscope: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
Here it is, a piece I have wanted to write for years, and finally got around to it. For Oscilloscope: Mirror, Mirror: When Movie Characters Look Back at Themselves
Posted in Movies
Tagged Alain Delon, Faye Dunaway, Francis Ford Coppola, Fritz Lang, Gena Rowlands, John Travolta, Johnny Handsome, M, Marlon Brando, Martin Scorsese, Martin Sheen, Mickey Rourke, mirrors, Paul Schrader, Peter Lorre, Richard Gere, Robert De Niro, Rocky, Saturday Night Fever, Sylvester Stallone, Taxi Driver, William Shakespeare
19 Comments
R.I.P. Seymour Cassel
Seymour Cassel has died. A John Cassavetes regular, an essential member of that merry band of actor misfits, who followed their own sense of truth with an improvisatory and free-flowing jazz-riff style so impossible to replicate (even though so many … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, RIP
Tagged Faces, Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Love Streams, Minnie and Moskowitz, Seymour Cassel
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