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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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Tag Archives: Gene Wilder
“What good is a character who’s always winking at the audience to let them in on the secret?” –Gene Wilder
It’s his birthday today. Where does the humor lie? Can this moment be broken down to discover its secret? Is it the eye pan to the right? Is it the delayed eyebrow raise? Is it what’s happening with his mouth? … Continue reading
“To match the shoes with the jacket is fey. To match the shoes with the hat is taste.” – Gene Wilder on the Willy Wonka costume sketches
In Gene Wilder’s book Kiss Me Like a Stranger, he describes his first meeting with the director Mel Stuart, before he had decided to do it. He had reservations. He had an idea for what would dispel those reservations. Listen, … Continue reading
The Mystery That Was Gene Wilder’s Gift
Is it the eye pan to the right? Is it the delayed eyebrow raise? Is it what he’s doing with his mouth? Is it that it’s one of his specialties – the comedic pause? Is it all of that together? … Continue reading
R.I.P. Gene Wilder
I said what I needed to say on Twitter. Humphrey Bogart said that good acting was “6 feet back” in the eyes. Gene Wilder exemplified that. For example this: Actors watch a moment like that and have the same reaction … Continue reading
Jennifer McCabe on Acting: “Bring Yourself.”
Jennifer McCabe I met Jennifer McCabe in 1995 when we both were grad students at the Actors’ Studio MFA Program in Manhattan. We became friends, of a sort, during our 9 a.m. dance classes at the Alvin Ailey Dance Studio … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Archie Leach
I first saw the light of day — or rather the dark of night — around 1:00 a.m. on a cold January morning, in a suburban stone house which, lacking modern heating conveniences, kept only one step ahead of freezing … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, On This Day
Tagged Cary Grant, Gene Wilder, Howard Hawks, Irene Dunne, Katharine Hepburn, Peter Bogdanovich, Rosalind Russell
23 Comments
R.I.P. Arthur Penn
Obituary here. Bonnie and Clyde, a landmark in so many ways. I am right now tearing through Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America, Peter Biskind’s biography of Warren Beatty, so it’s all very close to the surface for me. In … Continue reading
Movie Poster: Young Frankenstein
J’adore (one).
The Books: “Kiss Me Like A Stranger: My Search for Love and Art” (Gene Wilder)
Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: Kiss Me Like A Stranger: My Search for Love and Art, by Gene Wilder There’s a magic about Gene Wilder. It is hard to describe or pin down, and maybe that’s the biggest part of … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books
Tagged Bonnie and Clyde, Cary Grant, Charlie Chaplin, entertainment biography, Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks
8 Comments