Categories
Archives
-

-
Recent Posts
- Review: Sound of Falling (2026)
- “In France, I’m an auteur; in Germany, a filmmaker; in Britain; a genre film director; and, in the USA, a bum.” — John Carpenter
- NYFCC essay: “My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow”
- December 2025 Viewing Diary
- Solidarity, or: The boy in the green bandana
- “Precision and accuracy are necessary for both white and black writers. ‘A black aesthetic’ should not be an excuse for sloppy writing.” — poet and publisher Dudley Randall
- “To me, survival is the game – that’s the hardest part. I just wanna play music.” — Dave Grohl
- “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- “As long as they pay me my salary, they can give me a broom and I’ll sweep the stage. I don’t give a damn. I want the money.” – Kay Francis
- “I look back on my life and draw one great generalization: IT WAS MY REFUSAL TO TAKE CAUTIOUS ADVICE THAT MADE ME.” — Jack London
Recent Comments
- Lyrie on December 2025 Viewing Diary
- mutecypher on December 2025 Viewing Diary
- mutecypher on December 2025 Viewing Diary
- Norm Anderson on “Carelessness on the part of revolutionaries has always been the best aid the police have.” — Victor Serge
- mutecypher on Solidarity, or: The boy in the green bandana
- Gemstone on Solidarity, or: The boy in the green bandana
- sheila on “It’s a situation I’ve never been able to fathom. One minute, it seemed I had more movie offers than I could handle, the next — no one wanted me.” — Sal Mineo
- Gemstone on “It’s a situation I’ve never been able to fathom. One minute, it seemed I had more movie offers than I could handle, the next — no one wanted me.” — Sal Mineo
- sheila on Talking with Rachel Dratch: Frankenstein is woo-woo adjacent.
- sheila on Talking with Rachel Dratch: Frankenstein is woo-woo adjacent.
- Ian on Talking with Rachel Dratch: Frankenstein is woo-woo adjacent.
- Gemstone on “Well, if I can’t be happy, I can be useful, perhaps.” — Louisa May Alcott
- sheila on December 2025 Snapshots
- Gemstone on December 2025 Snapshots
- Regina Bartkoff on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- sheila on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- sheila on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- Regina Bartkoff on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- sheila on November 2023 Viewing Diary
- sheila on November 2023 Viewing Diary
-
Tag Archives: Memphis
Today, the Sheila Variations turns 23.
I don’t even know what to say. And now I will proceed to say some shit. The above pic of me – taken by Michael – graced the top of my original blog, when I set it up 23 years … Continue reading
Posted in On This Day, Personal
Tagged Block Island, Cary Grant, Croatia, Dean Stockwell, Elvis Presley, family, friends, Hope, Humphrey Bogart, Iran, Ireland, Jafar Panahi, Joanna Hogg, July and Half of August, Martin Scorsese, Memphis, politics, Raging Bull, September 11, Supernatural, Tilda Swinton, war
127 Comments
September 2025 Snapshots
Attended some of the press screenings at the New York Film Festival. I haven’t been in a couple of years, for various reasons, and it’s been so sad for me. I loved getting up in the morning and heading to … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged Alexander Hamilton, Elvis Presley, family, Frankenstein, friends, Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Memphis, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sam Shaw, snapshots
2 Comments
Memphis Madness
I had a big crackup in 2012 – which everyone who knows me already knows, and which was completely obvious from the increasingly crazy things I was posting here. (I left them up because it is an accurate record of … Continue reading
October 2021 Viewing Diary
I really didn’t watch all that much, numerically, during October, for various reasons. 1. I was on the move. I think I spent, all told, about 7 days at home over the course of the month. Including one unexpected stay … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged comedy, documentary, drama, England, Joanna Hogg, Memphis, Peter Bogdanovich, Poland, screwball comedy, short films, thrillers, Wes Anderson
5 Comments
Indie Memphis 2021 Winners
This past week the winners of the 2021 Indie Memphis Film Festival were announced. Yoshi James, Annie Berman, and I made up the jury for the Hometowners category (films produced in Memphis). We deliberated via Zoom on Monday. We had … Continue reading
Photo of the Day: Memphis morning
I’ve taken a lot of pictures in Memphis. This is one of my favorites. If I’m remembering correctly, this was during an hours-long morning walk through the city in early 2013. I had to have walked 6 or 7 miles, … Continue reading
Photo of the Day: Where it all began
The Overton Park shell in Memphis is where Elvis first stepped before a large live audience, on July 30, 1954. Earlier that month, he cut his first real track, “That’s All Right”, which made major waves in Memphis. He stepped … Continue reading
Congratulations to Laura Jean Hocking, recipient of the Indie Memphis Women’s Short Film Grant
I was honored to be on the jury – alongside the talented Diana Peralta and Molly Veh – to select the recipient of Indie Memphis’ Women’s Short Film Grant. The criteria for this grant was pretty strict: You had to … Continue reading
Photo of the Day: Bates Motel
In Memphis. I am drawn to this building. I have visited it every time I go. Look at the front steps, overrun with creeping vines. And the lit-up neon sign. Mixed messages and I am totally here for it.

