Tag Archives: Marlon Brando

My new column at Liberties magazine: First up: acting and film criticism and how the twain meet

I have some exciting (to me) news. I’ll be writing a regular column for Liberties – the website for the quarterly magazine – host to a daunting lineup of writers! I launched my column with a piece about being a … Continue reading

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“The only thing an actor owes his public is not to bore them.” — Marlon Brando

“Sending Marlon Brando to acting class was like sending a tiger to jungle school.” – Stella Adler It’s his birthday today. Let’s start off with this, a piece I had long wanted to write: Revelations about Marlon Brando in about … Continue reading

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“Make voyages! — Attempt them! — there’s nothing else …” Happy Birthday, Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams (Thomas Lanier Williams) was born on this day in Columbus, Mississippi in 1911. I love this early note from Tennessee Williams because it already incorporates his most famous line, from Streetcar Named Desire. Will you do a total … Continue reading

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“Really good fiction could have as dark a worldview as it wished, but it’d find a way both to depict this world and to illuminate the possibilities for being alive and human in it.” — David Foster Wallace

It’s his birthday today. David Foster Wallace is hard to talk about. It’s painful. I say this as someone who did not know him, or have him in my life even in a peripheral way. I know someone who worked … Continue reading

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“Acting is like letting your pants down; you’re exposed.” — Paul Newman

It’s his birthday today. I am so glad I grew up in a time when Paul Newman was still a leading man (and he was a leading man up until the end). So I got to experience the pleasure of … Continue reading

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Talking 1953 movies with Jason Bailey and Mike Hull: A Very Good Year podcast

My pal Jason Bailey and his pal Mike Hull host a fascinating podcast called A Very Good Year, which they describe as: “Each week we invite a guest (filmmakers and actors, critics and historians, comedians and musicians) who loves movies, … Continue reading

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June 2023 Viewing Diary

Succession (2018-2023) I finally watched, having somehow resisted the DEAFENING buzz over the last couple of years. I like Jeremy Strong, liked his small moment in Zero Dark Thirty, he totally stood out in The Big Short (directed by one … Continue reading

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Bikers back-ting

Well, one is back-ting and one is just living. Marlon Brando as Johnny in “The Wild One” (1953) Croatian biker on the boat in the Adriatic, taken by yours truly

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Brando Back-ting

On the Waterfront

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Substack: 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

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