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- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
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- “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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- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
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Tag Archives: Simon Callow
Recommended: Biographies
For starters: My recommended Fiction books My recommended Non-Fiction books BIOGRAPHIES: American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, by Joseph Ellis I’ve written a lot about Joseph Ellis’ work here. While I love David McCullough’s work so much, Ellis is … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Directors, Founding Fathers, James Joyce, Theatre, writers
Tagged A. Scott Berg, Abigail Adams, Alexander Hamilton, American Sphinx, Benjamin Franklin, Biography, Bruce Springsteen, Charles Lindbergh, Charlotte Bronte, David McCullough, Dean Martin, Edie Sedgwick, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Ellen Terry, Elvis Presley, Emily Bronte, George Washington, Henry Irving, His Excellency, Howard Hawks, Howard Hughes, James Dean, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Adams, John Wayne, Joseph Cornell, Joseph Ellis, Marlon Brando, Mitford sisters, Montgomery Clift, Nick Tosches, Nureyev, Orson Welles, Oscar Wilde, Patricia Bosworth, Patricia Highsmith, Richard Ellmann, Ron Chernow, Sam Cooke, Simon Callow, Tennessee Williams, Thomas Jefferson, Truman Capote, W.B. Yeats, Zelda Fitzgerald
9 Comments
Happy Birthday, Orson Welles
Much of the Welles story is difficult to put together because he himself was such a teller of tall tales. You know, he went to Morocco when he was 16 years old and the hung out with a sheik in … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, On This Day
Tagged Citizen Kane, Micheál MacLiammóir, Orson Welles, Simon Callow, War of the Worlds
23 Comments
The Books: “Orson Welles: Volume 2: Hello Americans” (Simon Callow)
Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: Orson Welles, Volume 2: Hello Americans, by Simon Callow The second volume of Callow’s huge Orson Welles project (excerpt and discussion of the first volume here), this takes us through a chaotic (or, more so … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books
Tagged Charles Laughton, David O. Selznick, entertainment biography, Jane Eyre, Joan Fontaine, Orson Welles, Simon Callow
8 Comments
The Books: “Orson Welles: Volume 1: The Road to Xanadu” (Simon Callow)
Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: Orson Welles, Volume 1: The Road to Xanadu (Orson Welles / Simon Callow), by Simon Callow The first volume of actor/writer Simon Callow’s gigantic Orson Welles project. Volume II came out last year, and there … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Directors
Tagged Citizen Kane, entertainment biography, Orson Welles, Simon Callow
6 Comments
Culture Snapshots
— Today is finally here. I thought it would never arrive. Britney’s new album is now out. I am DYING to hear it. I am not kidding. — Still working on Bleak House. I adore it, and actually shed tears … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged Bleak House, Dean Stockwell, George Washington, Orson Welles, Simon Callow, snapshots, The Darjeeling Limited
9 Comments
5 Books
Got a cool mee-mee from 50 Books: Five most recent books you’ve bought for yourself: Grover Cleveland (The American Presidents Series) – by Henry Graff Then She Found Me – by Elinor Lipman – I used to have this book … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Atonement, By the Lake, E.B. White, Elinor Lipman, John McGahern, Orson Welles, Ryszard Kapuściński, Simon Callow
17 Comments