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- “One day I hope I can write happier poems, but most of the things I think about aren’t very cheerful.” — poet Philip Larkin
- “I gave my eardrums to MGM. And it’s true: I really did.” — Esther Williams
- On This Day: August 7, 1934: “It must always be remembered that his locale was Celtic and his season Spring.”
- “These kids only want to talk about acting method and motivation. in my day all we talked about was screwing and overtime.” — Robert Mitchum
- “I wrote as much as seventy lines at one time, and used to go shouting them about the fields after dark.” — Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- Podcast: Jen Johans and I discuss Dana Andrews
- “Poets, the best of them, are a very chameleonic race.” — Percy Bysshe Shelley
- “There is one Metallica. We have many styles, it’s called Metallica.” — James Hetfield
- “The trouble with Hollywood is everybody is crazy for money.” — Ann Dvorak
- “He who has never felt, momentarily, what madness is has but a mouthful of brains.” — Herman Melville
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- Becca on Diary Friday: “OK, it wasn’t just a normal assembly. It was a CONCERT from a rock group – Freedom Jam.”
- sheila on Substack: My first press badge
- Scott Abraham on Substack: My first press badge
- sheila on Dynamic Duo #49
- Biff Dorsey on Dynamic Duo #49
- sheila on “Why can’t people take me as a regular singer without making a bogeyman out of me?” — Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
- Ken on “Why can’t people take me as a regular singer without making a bogeyman out of me?” — Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
- sheila on Physical Media Booklet Essay: Being scholarly about movies that don’t exist
- sheila on Physical Media Booklet Essay: Being scholarly about movies that don’t exist
- sheila on R.I.P. Jennifer Finch
- sheila on “I think something once broken and put back together is even stronger.” — Jared Padalecki
- Lyrie on Physical Media Booklet Essay: Being scholarly about movies that don’t exist
- Lyrie on “I think something once broken and put back together is even stronger.” — Jared Padalecki
- Lyrie on R.I.P. Jennifer Finch
- Lyrie on “I think something once broken and put back together is even stronger.” — Jared Padalecki
- sheila on “I’m not a yesterday’s woman. I’m a tomorrow’s woman.” — Barbara Stanwyck
- sheila on Happy Birthday, Chips Moman
- Ken on “I’m not a yesterday’s woman. I’m a tomorrow’s woman.” — Barbara Stanwyck
- Tony McCrorie on Happy Birthday, Chips Moman
- sheila on “Reality is diabolical.” — Ingmar Bergman
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Tag Archives: Hal Ashby
“Reach out, take a chance, get hurt even, play as well as you can.” — Hal Ashby
It’s his birthday today. One of the leading lights of the New Hollywood, bringing fresh energy into a landscape that was busy cracking-apart, and holding on tightly to old stable familiar forms. He believed in the crack-up. He helped the … Continue reading
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2018
Thanks, everyone, who hangs out here, who likes what I do, whether you’re an Elvis fan, a Supernatural fan, a general cinephile, a book-lover, or just someone who’s been checking in periodically for almost 16 years – WHAT? – I … Continue reading
Posted in James Joyce, Movies, Television
Tagged Anne V. Coates, Burt Reynolds, documentary, Doris Day, Dorothy Malone, Elvis Presley, England, Finnegans Wake, Frank Sinatra, Gena Rowlands, Germany, Gold Diggers of 1933, Grace Kelly, Hal Ashby, Howard Hughes, Ian McEwan, James Cagney, Joan Didion, Joaquin Phoenix, Julie Christie, Lynne Ramsay, Mexico, Minnie and Moskowitz, Natalie Portman, Paul Thomas Anderson, Play It As It Lays, Robert Altman, Russia, Sanaa Lathan, South Korea, Supernatural, Warren Beatty, women directors, Woody Allen, year in writing
10 Comments
For Sight & Sound magazine: The final shot of Shampoo
For the “Endings” column in the October issue of Sight & Sound magazine, I wrote about the final shot in Hal Ashby’s Shampoo. It’s one of my favorite final shots in cinema. (I pitched the piece before Criterion made its … Continue reading
July 2018 Viewing Diary
Supernatural, Season 4, episode 5 “Monster Movie” (2008; d. Robert Singer) A movie-mad feast. Plus, my favorite one-night-stand-girl. (Piper is a close tie.) Supernatural, Season 4, episode 6 “Yellow Fever” (2008; d. Philip Sgriccia) An example of what the show … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Burt Reynolds, documentary, Dorothy Malone, Douglas Sirk, England, Goldie Hawn, Hal Ashby, Hugh Grant, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Jill Clayburgh, Josef von Sternberg, Julie Christie, Marlene Dietrich, Supernatural, Warren Beatty, women directors
8 Comments
April 2017 Viewing Diary
I just dash these off. Superficial bullet-point analysis for the most part. It’s a good way to keep track of what I’ve seen, for year-end lists, of course, but also for future reference. I also always love the discussions on … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Angela Lansbury, Bette Davis, Cristian Mungiu, documentary, Dogfight, France, Hal Ashby, Humphrey Bogart, Isabelle Huppert, James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Joan Crawford, John Huston, Josephine Decker, July and Half of August, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margaret Atwood, Nancy Savoca, Paul Verhoeven, Romania, Shirley MacLaine, Supernatural, Susan Sarandon, Vincente Minnelli, women directors
50 Comments
December 2015 Viewing Diary
Christmas, Again (2015; d. Charles Poekel) So good. I reviewed for Rogerebert.com. Back Street (1932; John M. Stahl) Back Street is the story of a woman who allows herself to be a “back street” woman: a long-time mistress to a … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Belfast, dance, England, Greta Gerwig, Hal Ashby, Howard Hawks, Hungary, Ingmar Bergman, Iran, Iranian film, Ireland, Irene Dunne, Jennifer Lawrence, Joan Crawford, John Wayne, Kentucker Audley, Poland, Rocky, Star Wars, Supernatural, Sweden, Truffaut, Turkey
63 Comments
“I firmly believe in trying out your supposed opposite not only because (as they say) ‘opposites attract,’ but because you never know if you’ve actually found your twin.”
In honor of Bud Cort’s birthday, Kim Morgan has a beautiful piece up celebrating Harold and Maude. I came to Harold and Maude late (compared to other fans): I was in my mid-20s, although I do remember hearing my parents … Continue reading
Movie Poster: Shampoo
Here’s an example where I really like the “closeups of movie stars” concept for a poster, otherwise known as “big floating heads”. I like it because, unlike so many “big floating heads” posters of today – it actually does seem … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Goldie Hawn, Hal Ashby, Julie Christie, posters, Warren Beatty
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Music Box Theatre
… a big old movie theatre on Southport that was such a huge part of my life when I lived here. For a year, I lived a block away from it, and went almost every week to see whatever was … Continue reading