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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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- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
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- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
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- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
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- sheila on March 2026 Snapshots
- sheila on “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
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- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Maddy on “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
- sheila on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
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- sheila on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- P Nickel on “The realization of ignorance is the first act of knowing.” — Jean Toomer
- Melissa Sutherland on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
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Tag Archives: Viva Las Vegas
“I don’t cook and I don’t care.” — Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret entertaining US troops in Vietnam, 1966 Today is Ann-Margret’s birthday. Her autobiography, Ann-Margret: My Story is wonderful. What a career. And it’s still unfolding. There are so many classic scenes. Tommy. Carnal Knowledge. Of course, too, there is the … Continue reading
Criterion Channel: Coming in July
7 Elvis movies! More to come.
Posted in Movies
Tagged Elvis Presley, King Creole, Love Me Tender, Viva Las Vegas, Wild in the Country
2 Comments
Writing roundup
A freebie for all subscribers: Roundup of my writing over the last couple of months, plus some thoughts on Viva Las Vegas, After Hours, Ebertfest, my time in Chicago … everything I’ve been doing. Thanks for reading!
Posted in Movies, Personal, Television
Tagged After Hours, Elvis Presley, Martin Scorsese, newsletter, Viva Las Vegas
5 Comments
Snapshots
It’s been a while. March and April were a whirlwind. February too. — I worked on this. It was a challenging one, and a little different for me. I loved the challenge. — Michael messaged me (you know. Michael. This … Continue reading
Posted in James Joyce, Movies, Personal
Tagged After Hours, Elvis Presley, friends, Martin Scorsese, Raging Bull, snapshots, Viva Las Vegas
24 Comments
Elvis’ Back-ting
This story is developing …
She’s got legs. And she knows how to use them.
The Crowd Roars (1932) Viva Las Vegas (1964) Joan Blondell – whose legs we see in the first grab – lived long enough to appear – very entertainingly – in an Elvis movie (Stay Away Joe, 1968). She and Elvis … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged Ann Dvorak, Ann-Margret, Elvis Presley, Howard Hawks, James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Pre-Code, Viva Las Vegas
5 Comments
For Film Comment: Elvis, Actor
I am so happy to sing the praises for Film Comment‘s TCM Diary of an acting career that has been ignored, dismissed, scorned, from the jump. I’ve written about Elvis’ acting a lot here on my site, but rarely anywhere … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, Music
Tagged Elvis Presley, Errol Flynn, Hal Wallis, King Creole, Live a Little Love a Little, Love Me Tender, Mildred Dunnock, reviews, Viva Las Vegas
10 Comments