The book was raw & dirty, and did you read what that girl did with that guy on page 167? Racking up a stack of Oscar nominations, Peyton Place became one of the big hits of its year, launched the careers of several young actors, and proved that Hollywood could pasteurize most any so-called un-filmable book. Lana Turner is the nominal star but the leading actress is Diane Varsi, in her film debut.
Peyton Place
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1957 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 157 min. / Street Date March 14, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Lana Turner, Hope Lange, Arthur Kennedy, Lloyd Nolan, Lee Philips, Terry Moore, Russ Tamblyn, Betty Field, David Nelson, Leon Ames, Mildred Dunnock.
Cinematography William Mellor
Art Direction Jack Martin Smith, Lyle R. Wheeler
Film Editor David Bretherton
Original Music Franz Waxman
Written by John Michael Hayes from the book by Grace Metalious
Produced by Jerry Wald
Directed by Mark Robson
What’s this,...
Peyton Place
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1957 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 157 min. / Street Date March 14, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Lana Turner, Hope Lange, Arthur Kennedy, Lloyd Nolan, Lee Philips, Terry Moore, Russ Tamblyn, Betty Field, David Nelson, Leon Ames, Mildred Dunnock.
Cinematography William Mellor
Art Direction Jack Martin Smith, Lyle R. Wheeler
Film Editor David Bretherton
Original Music Franz Waxman
Written by John Michael Hayes from the book by Grace Metalious
Produced by Jerry Wald
Directed by Mark Robson
What’s this,...
- 3/28/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By strange and fortuitous coincidence, my meeting with Jack Garfein fell upon the nexus of several intersecting moments in history. It was Friday, January 27th — International Holocaust Remembrance Day. One week earlier, Donald J. Trump was sworn to office as forty-fifth President of the United States; and in the ensuing weekend, allegations of Trump’s unpunished sexual misconduct, callous attitudes toward women and courting of radical right-wing supporters helped bring about the Women’s March on Washington, one of the largest mass protests in the nation’s history. All around, people are anxiously reading the past with tenuous hopes and fears for the future. History, so often a thing defined after the fact, is currently in violent and furious motion.
Jack Garfein is living history, and he’s not shy about telling it. Born to Ukrainian Jews in 1930, Mr. Garfein personally witnessed as a child the rise of Nazi Germany...
Jack Garfein is living history, and he’s not shy about telling it. Born to Ukrainian Jews in 1930, Mr. Garfein personally witnessed as a child the rise of Nazi Germany...
- 3/20/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
The Carole King Musical celebrated 1,000 performances on Broadway yesterday, becoming the longest running show to play at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre formally known as the Henry Miller Theatre.
- 6/16/2016
- by Walter McBride
- BroadwayWorld.com
The Carole King Musical celebrated 1,000 performances on Broadway today, becoming the longest running show to play at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre formally known as the Henry Miller Theatre.
- 6/15/2016
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
The battle between Dr. Mehmet Oz and the medical community continued on Friday morning as Oz addressed the concerns of Columbia University faculty members on the Today show.
Unlike the 10 physicians led by Dr. Henry Miller who called for Oz's dismissal from the university at which he is a vice-chair and professor for the department of surgery, eight members of Columbia's faculty were more measured in an op-ed written in USA Today Thursday in which they suggested that, perhaps, Oz begin adding the following disclaimer to his show: "The opinions expressed on this program may not be evidence-based or part...
Unlike the 10 physicians led by Dr. Henry Miller who called for Oz's dismissal from the university at which he is a vice-chair and professor for the department of surgery, eight members of Columbia's faculty were more measured in an op-ed written in USA Today Thursday in which they suggested that, perhaps, Oz begin adding the following disclaimer to his show: "The opinions expressed on this program may not be evidence-based or part...
- 4/24/2015
- by Tara Fowler, @waterfowlerta
- People.com - TV Watch
In response to a group of physicians demanding his dismissal from the faculty of New York's Columbia University, Dr. Mehmet Oz has not only penned an op-ed defending himself but has devoted an entire episode of The Dr. Oz Show to investigating each physician and their ties to causes that allegedly present the very conflicts of interest of which Oz himself has been accused.
"I have long believed that doctors should not fight their battles – or each other – in public, but now I believe I must," says Oz, 54, in a sneak peek at Thursday's episode, adding that he is being...
"I have long believed that doctors should not fight their battles – or each other – in public, but now I believe I must," says Oz, 54, in a sneak peek at Thursday's episode, adding that he is being...
- 4/23/2015
- by Amanda Michelle Steiner, @amandamichl
- People.com - TV Watch
Under fire from physicians demanding his dismissal from New York's Columbia University, Dr. Mehmet Oz is speaking out – and seemingly taking one of his critics specifically to task.
"I bring the public information that will help them on their path to be their best selves," Oz said in a statement to People on Friday.
"We provide multiple points of view, including mine which is offered without conflict of interest. That doesn't sit well with certain agendas which distort the facts," said Oz, referring to a clash with sustainable agriculture company Monsanto over his opinions on genetically modified foods.
Continued Oz,...
"I bring the public information that will help them on their path to be their best selves," Oz said in a statement to People on Friday.
"We provide multiple points of view, including mine which is offered without conflict of interest. That doesn't sit well with certain agendas which distort the facts," said Oz, referring to a clash with sustainable agriculture company Monsanto over his opinions on genetically modified foods.
Continued Oz,...
- 4/17/2015
- by Amanda Michelle Steiner, @amandamichl
- People.com - TV Watch
Dr. Mehmet Oz has come under fire from a group of fellow doctors who want him removed from the Columbia University’s medical school board. Oz currently serves as the vice chairman of the school’s department of surgery. The group took issue with claims he has made that they say lack scientific backing. Dr. Henry Miller, the Robert Wesson Fellow in scientific philosophy and public policy at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, wrote in the letter: “He’s a fake and a quack and a charlatan.” See Photos: 11 TV Shows Canceled by Controversy — From ‘Honey Boo Boo’ to ‘Politically Incorrect...
- 4/17/2015
- by Joe Otterson
- The Wrap
The Musicals Collection Blu-ray set from Warner Home Video contains four Hollywood classics of the genre, at least two of them among the greatest of all time: Kiss Me Kate, Calamity Jane, The Band Wagon, and Singin’ in the Rain. And all except for Singin’ in the Rain are making their Blu-ray debut. While the films may not rank equal in terms of quality—those latter two titles are the all-time greats—each of the transfers are outstanding, the movies themselves are still nevertheless enjoyable, and the set is a terrific bargain.
Kiss Me, Kate
Written by Dorothy Kingsley
Directed by George Sidney
USA, 1953
Kiss Me, Kate is offered in 2-D and 3-D versions. Though the 3-D is certainly not the best to grace a Blu-ray, it’s still the version to watch, even with the clichéd, though occasionally amusing gimmick of characters throwing things at the camera. However, it...
Kiss Me, Kate
Written by Dorothy Kingsley
Directed by George Sidney
USA, 1953
Kiss Me, Kate is offered in 2-D and 3-D versions. Though the 3-D is certainly not the best to grace a Blu-ray, it’s still the version to watch, even with the clichéd, though occasionally amusing gimmick of characters throwing things at the camera. However, it...
- 3/17/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Today in 2009 the first Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie opened at Henry Miller's Theatre now the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, where it ran for 117 performances. Originally titled Let's Go Steady, the satire on American society is set in 1958. The story was inspired by the phenomenon of popular singer Elvis Presley and his draft notice into the Army in 1957. The original Broadway production was a Tony Award-winning success. It spawned a London production and several major revivals, a sequel, a 1963 film and a 1995 television production.
- 10/15/2014
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
TV on the Radio are offering up another taste of their forthcoming album. A week after unleashing the video for first single "Happy Idiot," the Brooklyn band has released a lyric video for "Careful You," the second track off their fifth studio LP "Seeds" (and their first since 2011's "Nine Types of Light"). With its hypnotically swirling colors, shifting landscapes and mysterious fleshy blobs, the video nicely complements the song's throbbing bassline and lyrics that scream with confused longing ("What’s the deal?/Is it real?/When’s it gonna go down?/Can we talk?/Can we not?/Well I’m here/Won’t you tell me right now?"). Watch the lyric video and check out the band's upcoming tour dates below. "Seeds" will be available for purchase on Nov. 17 (you can pre-order here). Tour dates: Fri-Oct-17: Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl (Supporting Massive Attack) Sat-Oct-18: Big Sur,...
- 10/8/2014
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
★★★☆☆The American writer Henry Miller once said that he hated writing but he loved having written, and it would seem he had a kindred spirit in the French writer Violette Leduc, who is at the centre of the eponymous new film from director Martin Provost. Leduc was a black marketeer turned celebrated novelist, her existence a series of crushing dramas, starting with an emotionally distant mother to the friends who are never there for the demanding presence. As was the case with Provost's 2008 effort Séraphine, about the outsider artist Séraphine Louis, it's refreshing to see a film that centres on a daring female creative who is just as self-indulgent and self-pitying as any male artist.
- 10/5/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
TV On The Radio singer Tunde Adebimpe had an idea for a music video, where "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" actor and icon Paul Reubens would play a race car driver losing his mind. He took the idea to Funny Or Die. Apparently, those kind of pitches work. Rope in "Doctor Who" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" star Karen Gillan, throw the formerly indie band in some smashing white suits, and you've got yourself this Danny Jelinek-directed video insanity, for song "Happy Idiot." "I got to speak with [Reubens] over the phone about doing it and, in between being blindingly nervous that I was actually talking to an actor who had shaped a Lot of my world view and trying not to freak him out by saying so, he mentioned that he's been a fan of the band for awhile," Adebimpe explained in a press release. "He liked the idea, and, somehow, here...
- 9/30/2014
- by Katie Hasty
- Hitfix
TV On The Radio is feeling a little moody. A little distraught, a little post-grunge sad. "Happy Idiot," the rock band's first single off their new album "Seeds" is super-pop, and yet bumming out in the corner of the party. Tunde Adebimpe sings about becoming that happy idiot in a blaze of teenaged feelings -- banging his head against the wall to feel nothing at all, et cetera -- as the band bounds underneath him at a health Bpm. I'm particularly keen on those drums and the tamborine, and the tight adherence to the melody. But it's simple. There's a restraint like a Nirvana verse that never quite pays off. Will the rest of "Seeds" be equally resistant to The Big Chorus? "Seeds" is due Nov. 18 via Harvest. Fans may want to pre-order the album, giving them pre-sale access to the few fall tour dates the Brooklyn crew's announced so far.
- 9/3/2014
- Hitfix
In The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel is obsessed with an Infinite Jest–like book called An Imperial Affliction, to the point where she is desperately trying to find out from its author, Peter Van Houten, what happens to the characters after the book ends abruptly mid-sentence. She even goes to Amsterdam to seek this out. What kind of books and authors inspire this level of dedication for Fault's own cast? For Shailene Woodley, it's Anaïs Nin. At the Gotham Awards, the actress told Vulture she had started reading Henry and June, the unexpurgated diary of Nin's affair with Henry Miller and his wife June. Woodley then declared, "Anaïs is like the ultimate goddess. I feel really connected to her femininity." And six months later, at last night's premiere of The Fault in Our Stars hosted by InStyle and Physicians Formula, Woodley was still in love. When asked if she...
- 6/3/2014
- by Jennifer Vineyard
- Vulture
Dan Fogler and friends will be embarking on an awesome road trip through California to promote his new film, Don Peyote.
Their road trip will make stops in numerous cities to screen the film, and to engage with fans via live Q&A’s following each screening!
Below is some more detailed information on each stop:
Fri 5/16 Los Angeles
10:00pm La opening at Arena Cinema, 1625 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood
Sun 5/18 Oakland
6:00pm screening at The New Parkway Theater, 474 24th St., Oakland
Tue 5/20 Big Sur
8:00pm screening at Henry Miller Memorial Library, 48603 Hwy 1, Big Sur
Wed 5/21 San Luis Obispo
7:00pm screening at Downtown Cinema, 888 Marsh St., San Luis Obispo
Thu 5/22 Santa Barbara
7:00pm screening at Camino Real Cinemas, 7040 Marketplace Dr., Goleta
Sat 5/24 Temecula
10:00pm Screening at Lightning in a Bottle Festival in Temecula
http://dandeentertainment.com/don-peyote-2/trippin-tour
Ticketing information for all dates (both the...
Their road trip will make stops in numerous cities to screen the film, and to engage with fans via live Q&A’s following each screening!
Below is some more detailed information on each stop:
Fri 5/16 Los Angeles
10:00pm La opening at Arena Cinema, 1625 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood
Sun 5/18 Oakland
6:00pm screening at The New Parkway Theater, 474 24th St., Oakland
Tue 5/20 Big Sur
8:00pm screening at Henry Miller Memorial Library, 48603 Hwy 1, Big Sur
Wed 5/21 San Luis Obispo
7:00pm screening at Downtown Cinema, 888 Marsh St., San Luis Obispo
Thu 5/22 Santa Barbara
7:00pm screening at Camino Real Cinemas, 7040 Marketplace Dr., Goleta
Sat 5/24 Temecula
10:00pm Screening at Lightning in a Bottle Festival in Temecula
http://dandeentertainment.com/don-peyote-2/trippin-tour
Ticketing information for all dates (both the...
- 5/15/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
★★★☆☆Kill Your Darlings (2013), director John Krokidas' ambitious debut feature, is about the early years of the hedonistic group of American writers who became known as the Beat Generation, as well as the violent murder that nearly derailed their literary movement in its infancy. It's autumn 1943 and the Second World War is raging, but the battlefields of Europe seem a million miles away from Columbia University where freshman Allen Ginsberg (Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe) meets sophomore Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) for the first time. Ginsberg is immediately drawn to Carr's subversive energy and his love of such unorthodox writers as Henry Miller and Arthur Rimbaud.
- 4/22/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Oki’s Movie
Written and directed by Hong Sang-soo
South Korea, 2010
Canonical directors such as Stanley Kubrick and Howard Hawks are easy to laud and credit as masterful filmmakers. Even those new to film can understand their inclusion in the pantheon by looking at the breadth of thematic material they covered, often switching from one genre to another throughout the years without much hint of waning talent. The ability for a director’s signature to stand out no matter the working material was the spark of the American auteurism debate — Kubrick, Hawks, and a legion of other legendary figures posthumously adorn themselves with the title from their thematic eclecticism. If this is a talent to be valued and pronounced as exemplified filmmaking, then what of a figure who not only works within the same genre, but seems to be remaking the same film over and over?
Hong Sang-soo’s love...
Written and directed by Hong Sang-soo
South Korea, 2010
Canonical directors such as Stanley Kubrick and Howard Hawks are easy to laud and credit as masterful filmmakers. Even those new to film can understand their inclusion in the pantheon by looking at the breadth of thematic material they covered, often switching from one genre to another throughout the years without much hint of waning talent. The ability for a director’s signature to stand out no matter the working material was the spark of the American auteurism debate — Kubrick, Hawks, and a legion of other legendary figures posthumously adorn themselves with the title from their thematic eclecticism. If this is a talent to be valued and pronounced as exemplified filmmaking, then what of a figure who not only works within the same genre, but seems to be remaking the same film over and over?
Hong Sang-soo’s love...
- 12/5/2013
- by Zach Lewis
- SoundOnSight
Today in 2009 the first Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie opened at Henry Miller's Theatre now the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, where it ran for 117 performances. Originally titled Let's Go Steady, the satire on American society is set in 1958. The story was inspired by the phenomenon of popular singer Elvis Presley and his draft notice into the Army in 1957. The original Broadway production was a Tony Award-winning success. It spawned a London production and several major revivals, a sequel, a 1963 film and a 1995 television production.
- 10/15/2013
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
After a teensy tiny 30 second teaser trailer that quite literally ended mid-sentence, and a full-length trailer that existed online last week for about an hour before being pulled down by the studio, the beatniks of yesteryear have graced us with this satisfying little clip from John Krokidas‘ Kill Your Darlings. Though still brief at 1:12 minutes, the footage is the most we’ve got to work with thus far from Krokidas and company to showcase his story of Allen Ginsberg and some of his fellow beat poets in their college years in the 1940s. In the clip, (which is a little salty, plug in your headphones) Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) tours the Columbia University library for the first time and is introduced to Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan). Carr’s colorful rendition of a Henry Miller excerpt enthralls him, and is the catalyst to their friendship and working relationship. Take a look at the clip for yourself: It’s...
- 9/2/2013
- by Samantha Wilson
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
With Sundance debut "Kill Your Darlings" now screening out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, a new clip and images from this 1944-set beat generation drama have emerged. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as poet maudit Allen Ginsberg who, as shown here, meets Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) at Columbia and is drawn into a murder mystery involving the likes of Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs. The directorial debut of John Krokidas, the film costars Elizabeth Olsen, Michael C. Hall, Ben Foster, Jennifer Jason Leigh and David Cross. Early reviews from Sundance were strong. In this short but charming clip below, Ginsberg first sets his eyes on Carr, who is reading then-salacious passages from American writer Henry Miller. The teaser is included below as well. The film plays Tiff this month before hitting theaters October 18 via Sony Pictures Classics.
- 9/2/2013
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Brian Transeau has been making music as BT for nearly two decades now, thriving and surviving the rise and fall of dance music in the United States and abroad well before today's youngest crop of electronic dance music festival attendees had heard their first four-on-the-floor beat.
He has hardly let up: In addition to having composed a number of movie scores, BT continues to release music. His latest album, "A Song Across Wires," dropped earlier this month and spent the summer traveling transversing the globe performing. The LP, which BT told HuffPost Entertainment is meant to inspire "a feeling of unbridled euphoria and joy," is his ninth and features the likes of Arty, Adam K, Nadia Ali, Tritonal and a bevy of other diverse talents.
We recently traded emails with the 41-year-old composer, producer and DJ. The results are available for your reading pleasure below.
This is hardly your first year out,...
He has hardly let up: In addition to having composed a number of movie scores, BT continues to release music. His latest album, "A Song Across Wires," dropped earlier this month and spent the summer traveling transversing the globe performing. The LP, which BT told HuffPost Entertainment is meant to inspire "a feeling of unbridled euphoria and joy," is his ninth and features the likes of Arty, Adam K, Nadia Ali, Tritonal and a bevy of other diverse talents.
We recently traded emails with the 41-year-old composer, producer and DJ. The results are available for your reading pleasure below.
This is hardly your first year out,...
- 8/30/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
It’s potentially a fantastic cast, and anything that aims to examine Allen Ginsberg at any time is bound to throw some monkey wrenches at you, but this Kill Your Darlings poster strikes me as out of left field. I suppose the fact that it strikes me at all means that it has managed the job it was after, but I’m not sure I’m getting a “go see this” vibe from the thing.
Interested in this one?
Kill Your Darlings is based on true events and characters.
For dutiful son Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Columbia University is Mecca—a portal to art, intellect, culture, and freedom—everything hometown Patterson, New Jersey is not. When Allen is accepted into Columbia, his father Louis (David Cross), a working-class poet, urges him to leave his emotionally ill mother Naomi (Jennifer Jason Leigh) behind and head to New York to go pursue his own creative dreams.
Interested in this one?
Kill Your Darlings is based on true events and characters.
For dutiful son Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Columbia University is Mecca—a portal to art, intellect, culture, and freedom—everything hometown Patterson, New Jersey is not. When Allen is accepted into Columbia, his father Louis (David Cross), a working-class poet, urges him to leave his emotionally ill mother Naomi (Jennifer Jason Leigh) behind and head to New York to go pursue his own creative dreams.
- 8/27/2013
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
Bettye McCartt, the longtime agent-manager for Tom Selleck and television director Tony Wharmby, has died. McCartt died Friday in Santa Barbara after a long illness, according to the Santa Barbara News-Press. She was 81. McCartt was owner of Agency For Artists and a partner in McCartt, Orck and Barrett Talent Agency, where she repped Selleck and Wharmby. Her other former clients included George Clooney, Billy D. Williams, Brian Austin Green, Louis L’Amour, Henry Miller, Maureen O Hara, and Anthony Quinn. McCartt began her career as a publicist at Twentieth Century Fox, then later became involved with the production of several movies including The Godfather and The Longest Yard.
- 8/20/2013
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
The debut novel of any author is always a monumental achievement in that writers career, and one which should be celebrated. However, when said novel features opening statements such as “I have constantly fought to control black thoughts and brutal volitions by pushing the burning resentment into a tight little carcinogenic ball in the pit of my stomach” and “here it festers and merrily digests my hopes, my self-respect, my confidence, my self-esteem and my moist, slithering intestines” you could be forgiven for having some doubts about the individual responsible.
Gary D. Morton, author of A Desperate and Pathetic Attempt at Originality, is quick to assure me, however, that (and I quote) “honestly, I’m not a nutter.”
In an exclusive interview with WhatCulture.com, Gary attempts to justify this statement.
Could you tell us a little bit about your novel “A Desperate and Pathetic Attempt at Originality”?
“It’s...
Gary D. Morton, author of A Desperate and Pathetic Attempt at Originality, is quick to assure me, however, that (and I quote) “honestly, I’m not a nutter.”
In an exclusive interview with WhatCulture.com, Gary attempts to justify this statement.
Could you tell us a little bit about your novel “A Desperate and Pathetic Attempt at Originality”?
“It’s...
- 7/26/2013
- by Simon Cassidy
- Obsessed with Film
"Simon Killer" marks the second feature by Antonio Campos, who previously wrote and directed the Cannes Un Certain Regard selection "Afterschool" (2008). "Simon Killer" is an icy exercise in troubled masculinity, and a bold pronouncement of cinematic style that's as strong an American indie as any in recent memory. (See IFC's Kubrickian poster below.) After "Simon Killer' debuted against rapturous reviews of "Beasts of the Southern Wild" at Sundance, IFC Films held back the Campos film until the fall, where it's being reintroduced in advance of its April day-and-date opening. "Simon Killer" marks a very different post-grad coming-of-age story about wanderlust and malaise than we usually see at the movies. Gone here is the fashionable existential crises of the twentysomething; in its wake is the existential nausea of someone like Henry Miller. Like some midcentury outlaw poet, Simon (Brady Corbet) arrives in Paris after the end of a long-term relationship.
- 4/4/2013
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
"The one thing we can never get enough of is love. And the one thing we never give enough is love." — Henry Miller
Today is Valentine's Day and love is in the air. And we're not talking about platonic love or brotherly love, tough love or self-love, but romantic love — the real hearts-and-flowers, butterlies-in-your-stomach type of love that sets your soul on fire and makes you feel like you're walking on air. Scientists may say that the euphoria we feel when we are in the embrace of romantic love is merely a chemical response with evolutionary advantages, but anyone who has truly experienced it knows that it feels far more like magic than science. Though romantic love is nearly impossible to define or describe to others, great filmmakers are often capable of capturing just enough of that magic feeling that we recognize it in their films and respond to it...
Today is Valentine's Day and love is in the air. And we're not talking about platonic love or brotherly love, tough love or self-love, but romantic love — the real hearts-and-flowers, butterlies-in-your-stomach type of love that sets your soul on fire and makes you feel like you're walking on air. Scientists may say that the euphoria we feel when we are in the embrace of romantic love is merely a chemical response with evolutionary advantages, but anyone who has truly experienced it knows that it feels far more like magic than science. Though romantic love is nearly impossible to define or describe to others, great filmmakers are often capable of capturing just enough of that magic feeling that we recognize it in their films and respond to it...
- 2/14/2013
- by BrentJS Sprecher
- Reelzchannel.com
"Before Midnight" isn’t just a chick flick, it’s a chick field-goal. About half way through the third Ethan Hawke-Julie Delpy love-hate-love fest, I found myself thinking two words: 'Shut up! Stop talking!! Shut the Fuck up!!!' (Okay, that’s eight words, but if these words were to come out of the mouths of this film’s characters, there would be 76,992 more of them to express the same idea, with references to Aeschylus, Henry Miller and Zinedine Zidane along the way, not to mention a few blow jobs.) Can a film be over-written and well-written at the same time? "Before Midnight" can. Can a film be over-smart, over-clever and way over-charming and still be highly watchable? "Before Midnight" can (though cynics may suffer severe abdominal cramps). Can Julie Delpy be a "fat-assed 41-year-old mom" (her words) and still be highly desirable? Why yes. ...
- 2/11/2013
- by Tom Christie
- Thompson on Hollywood
Today in 2009 the first Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie opened at Henry Miller's Theatre now the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, where it ran for 117 performances. Originally titled Let's Go Steady, the satire on American society is set in 1958. The story was inspired by the phenomenon of popular singer Elvis Presley and his draft notice into the Army in 1957. The original Broadway production was a Tony Award-winning success. It spawned a London production and several major revivals, a sequel, a 1963 film and a 1995 television production.
- 10/15/2012
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Death Cab For Cutie frontman Benjamin “Ben” Gibbard has announced a tour around his first solo record, due this fall. Former Lives comes out Oct. 16 on Barsuk, and it now has fancy album art created by Joan Hiller. The tour in support of the record begins Oct. 14 in Toronto and will be opened by Advance Base and Damien Jurado. More Pacific Northwest dates should be announced soon. Benjamin Gibbard 2012 tour dates Sept. 26—Henry Miller Library—Big Sur, California Oct. 14—Danforth Music Hall—Toronto, Ontario Nov. 1—Assembly Hall—Minneapolis, Minnesota # Nov. 2—Athenaeum Theater—Chicago ...
- 8/14/2012
- avclub.com
It's Sunday evening, or: your last chance to read all that stuff you meant to read last week before Monday brings a new deluge of things you will want to read. Below, some of our recommendations: "Rite of Passion," by Larry Fitzmaurice (Pitchfork): A look inside the frequently troubled mind of Passion Pit front man Michael Angelakos, along with the "synth squiggles" that made his career. "Tracking the Biggest Star in the World," by John Herman (Buzzfeed): 27-year-old California writer who has kept up a two-year-long, one-sided conversation with Jay-z f is pretty sure the rapper has read all 262 of the confessional e-mails he's sent."What George Orwell, Henry Miller, and John Waters Taught Me About What to Read Next," by Maria Bustillos (Culture Desk/New Yorker): Some book recommendations are better than others. "John Oliver is still kind of baffled by America," by Steve Heisler (A.
- 7/22/2012
- by Caroline Bankoff,Andre Tartar
- Vulture
Patrick Muldoon is among those rare actors who played a character -- in this case Austin Reed on NBC's "Days of Our Lives" -- then took a long break, then returned.
In between, Muldoon starred in movies ("Starship Troopers") and TV shows ("Melrose Place") and played with his band, the Sleeping Masses.
Now Muldoon's character is being written out of the soap.
Pics: 10 Long-Running Soap Operas
"When new writers come in, they fire everybody and bring in new actors," he tells Zap2it. "As soon as they let go of all of the actors, there are already rumors of us going back."
"The writers write toward your strength," Muldoon says. "Austin, the first time I played him, was a musician and a boxer. That was the character. Then I left the show and was gone for 15 years and went back after 15 years. This time they brought the character back as an accountant.
In between, Muldoon starred in movies ("Starship Troopers") and TV shows ("Melrose Place") and played with his band, the Sleeping Masses.
Now Muldoon's character is being written out of the soap.
Pics: 10 Long-Running Soap Operas
"When new writers come in, they fire everybody and bring in new actors," he tells Zap2it. "As soon as they let go of all of the actors, there are already rumors of us going back."
"The writers write toward your strength," Muldoon says. "Austin, the first time I played him, was a musician and a boxer. That was the character. Then I left the show and was gone for 15 years and went back after 15 years. This time they brought the character back as an accountant.
- 7/16/2012
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
If any film at Cannes this year faced the most fevered anticipation, it was Walter Salles' "On The Road." Not just because the project had been over thirty years in the making, and was based on a beloved, groundbreaking novel, but also because it features an exciting young cast lead by "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart, "Tron: Legacy" lead Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley from "Control," with a strong supporting roster including Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen, Terrence Howard, and more.
And for the most part, the reviews, including our own, suggest the cast acquit themselves nicely in what must have been tricky roles to come to terms with. It must be especially satisfying for the patient actors who, as it turns out, were cast in the long-gestating project as much as three years before filming began in 2010. Not long after our discussion with director Walter Salles, Playlist contributor...
And for the most part, the reviews, including our own, suggest the cast acquit themselves nicely in what must have been tricky roles to come to terms with. It must be especially satisfying for the patient actors who, as it turns out, were cast in the long-gestating project as much as three years before filming began in 2010. Not long after our discussion with director Walter Salles, Playlist contributor...
- 5/29/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Director: Walter Salles Writers: Jose Rivera (screenplay), Jack Kerouac (book) Starring: Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Tom Sturridge, Elisabeth Moss, Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, Kirsten Dunst Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) and Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund) -- protagonists of Jack Kerouac’s acclaimed novel -- hit the road. They travel across America from the east to west coast, back and forth. They live now and here, protest against the system, kindle their emotions and indulge in a hypnotic, sensual and narcotic journey. Before my first trip to Paris, everyone told me over and over again that I would be disappointed; that the city has nothing in common with the portraits by the painters from Montparnasse, nor is it as poetic as in the bizarre novels written by Henry Miller. Maybe it was true; however, my vision of Paris was so enormously strong that when I eventually got there, I saw...
- 5/25/2012
- by Anna Bielak
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
It's no surprise that Philip Kaufman -- perhaps the most European of American filmmakers -- was drawn to the passionate story of Ernest Hemingway and war correspondent Martha Gellhorn. Kaufman is a consummate adapter of complex novels including The Unbearable Lightness of Being and The Right Stuff, as well as a portraitist of literary powerhouses like Henry Miller (Henry and June) and the Marquis de Sade (Quills).
Karen Ballard/HBO
Hemingway & Gellhorn is having a world premiere in the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival before its HBO broadcast May 28. Starring Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman as the feisty journalist who became Ernest Hemingway's third wife, it's a thematically ambitious, visually rich and superbly acted motion picture. (Kaufman is also being honored in Cannes with the invitation to give the "Master Class." Among those who have previously been accorded this prestigious presentation are Martin Scorsese, Krzysztof Kieslowski, and Stephen Frears.
Karen Ballard/HBO
Hemingway & Gellhorn is having a world premiere in the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival before its HBO broadcast May 28. Starring Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman as the feisty journalist who became Ernest Hemingway's third wife, it's a thematically ambitious, visually rich and superbly acted motion picture. (Kaufman is also being honored in Cannes with the invitation to give the "Master Class." Among those who have previously been accorded this prestigious presentation are Martin Scorsese, Krzysztof Kieslowski, and Stephen Frears.
- 5/24/2012
- by Annette Insdorf
- Aol TV.
Being that everybody is occupying something nowadays, it's only fitting that something would occupy something in the horror genre. Namely the Occupant.
From director Henry Miller Occupant stars Van Hansis, Cody Horn and Thorsten Kaye. Check out the goods on the flick below.
Synopsis
Danny Hill's grandmother just died, giving the 25-year-old the chance to move into her enormous rent controlled apartment in Manhattan. Danny must lock himself in for twelve days before he can take over the lease. There's just one problem - he may not be the only occupant.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Occupy the comments section below!
From director Henry Miller Occupant stars Van Hansis, Cody Horn and Thorsten Kaye. Check out the goods on the flick below.
Synopsis
Danny Hill's grandmother just died, giving the 25-year-old the chance to move into her enormous rent controlled apartment in Manhattan. Danny must lock himself in for twelve days before he can take over the lease. There's just one problem - he may not be the only occupant.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Occupy the comments section below!
- 1/28/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Getty People at the entrance of the bookshop Shakespeare & Co. on December 14, 2011 in Paris.
On my way home from Germany last month I stopped in Paris for a day and after checking out the booksellers kiosks along the Seine I found myself inside Shakespeare & Co., the fabled bookshop on the Left Bank.
Up some narrow rickety stairs on the second floor there was a warren of little rooms crammed with even more books than the store below; these were almost all hard bound,...
On my way home from Germany last month I stopped in Paris for a day and after checking out the booksellers kiosks along the Seine I found myself inside Shakespeare & Co., the fabled bookshop on the Left Bank.
Up some narrow rickety stairs on the second floor there was a warren of little rooms crammed with even more books than the store below; these were almost all hard bound,...
- 12/16/2011
- by Steven Dougherty
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Tonight at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York: The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (1968), featuring the Stones, of course, but also The Who, John and Yoko, Jethro Tull, Marianne Faithfull and Taj Mahal. Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg will be on hand "for a post-screening discussion and book signing of his captivating new memoir Luck and Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York, and Points Beyond. Lindsay-Hogg takes us through an extraordinary life including boyhood encounters with Marion Davies, William Randolph Hearst, Olivia De Havilland, Humphrey Bogart, Henry Miller, and a prolific career in the worlds of film, television, and music."
Through February 12, the Whitney Museum is presenting Three Landscapes, "a little-known triple screen film installation by Roy Lichtenstein, unseen since its showing at the Los Angeles County Museum in 1971 as part of the groundbreaking exhibition Art and Technology. The result of a short residency at Universal Studios in Hollywood,...
Through February 12, the Whitney Museum is presenting Three Landscapes, "a little-known triple screen film installation by Roy Lichtenstein, unseen since its showing at the Los Angeles County Museum in 1971 as part of the groundbreaking exhibition Art and Technology. The result of a short residency at Universal Studios in Hollywood,...
- 10/26/2011
- MUBI
Interview
I recently sat down with Canadian rocker John O., an interesting guy who only came out two years ago at the embarkment of a new persona. You might know him as Diamond Rings, an androgynous character who wears rainbow themed make-up all-the-while making some of the coolest Depeche Mode quality alt-rock on the scene right now. And with a baritone voice as deep as The National’s Matt Berninger.
In his latest video for “It’s Not My Party” John is seen walking down the street in a dress singing in one of the deepest voices that would put your granddad to shame. I’m digging his whole package and I loved talking with him.
Going into my meeting with John, I found out he’s quite tall, towering over me at 6’4. He’s incredibly intelligent and has these striking blue eyes that I would have never noticed if...
I recently sat down with Canadian rocker John O., an interesting guy who only came out two years ago at the embarkment of a new persona. You might know him as Diamond Rings, an androgynous character who wears rainbow themed make-up all-the-while making some of the coolest Depeche Mode quality alt-rock on the scene right now. And with a baritone voice as deep as The National’s Matt Berninger.
In his latest video for “It’s Not My Party” John is seen walking down the street in a dress singing in one of the deepest voices that would put your granddad to shame. I’m digging his whole package and I loved talking with him.
Going into my meeting with John, I found out he’s quite tall, towering over me at 6’4. He’s incredibly intelligent and has these striking blue eyes that I would have never noticed if...
- 7/13/2011
- by Davis Mallory
- The Backlot
Jd Salinger, Saul Bellow and Norman Mailer were all devotees of the orgone energy accumulator, nicknamed by Woody Allen the 'Orgasmatron'. Its inventor, Wilhelm Reich, claimed that better orgasms could cure society's ills
When Wilhelm Reich, the most brilliant of the second generation of psychoanalysts who had been Freud's pupils, arrived in New York in August 1939, only a few days before the outbreak of war, he was optimistic that his ideas fusing sex and politics would be better received there than they had been in fascist Europe. Despite its veneer of puritanism, America was a country already much preoccupied with sex – as Alfred Kinsey's renowned investigations, which he had begun the year before, were to show. However, it was only after the second world war that the idea of sexual liberation would permeate the culture at large. Reich could be said to have invented this "sexual revolution"; a Marxist analyst,...
When Wilhelm Reich, the most brilliant of the second generation of psychoanalysts who had been Freud's pupils, arrived in New York in August 1939, only a few days before the outbreak of war, he was optimistic that his ideas fusing sex and politics would be better received there than they had been in fascist Europe. Despite its veneer of puritanism, America was a country already much preoccupied with sex – as Alfred Kinsey's renowned investigations, which he had begun the year before, were to show. However, it was only after the second world war that the idea of sexual liberation would permeate the culture at large. Reich could be said to have invented this "sexual revolution"; a Marxist analyst,...
- 7/8/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
Jd Salinger, Saul Bellow and Norman Mailer were all devotees of the orgone energy accumulator, nicknamed by Woody Allen the 'Orgasmatron'. Its inventor, Wilhelm Reich, claimed that better orgasms could cure society's ills
When Wilhelm Reich, the most brilliant of the second generation of psychoanalysts who had been Freud's pupils, arrived in New York in August 1939, only a few days before the outbreak of war, he was optimistic that his ideas fusing sex and politics would be better received there than they had been in fascist Europe. Despite its veneer of puritanism, America was a country already much preoccupied with sex – as Alfred Kinsey's renowned investigations, which he had begun the year before, were to show. However, it was only after the second world war that the idea of sexual liberation would permeate the culture at large. Reich could be said to have invented this "sexual revolution"; a Marxist analyst,...
When Wilhelm Reich, the most brilliant of the second generation of psychoanalysts who had been Freud's pupils, arrived in New York in August 1939, only a few days before the outbreak of war, he was optimistic that his ideas fusing sex and politics would be better received there than they had been in fascist Europe. Despite its veneer of puritanism, America was a country already much preoccupied with sex – as Alfred Kinsey's renowned investigations, which he had begun the year before, were to show. However, it was only after the second world war that the idea of sexual liberation would permeate the culture at large. Reich could be said to have invented this "sexual revolution"; a Marxist analyst,...
- 7/7/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s easy to see why Philip Kaufman’s 1990 film, Henry & June, which chronicle’s Anaïs Nin’s love triangle with writer Henry Miller and his wife June, sparked so much controversy. The fear of sex, especially gay sex, was written all over the MPAA’s decision to rate the film “X.” The film’s only major crime, however, was the exploitation of actress Maria de Medeiros’ large, oval eyes and the overuse of prolonged, meaningful looks between her and everyone she came across. Many in the film industry agreed that Henry & June didn’t deserve such a harsh rating, so, hot on the heels of Tie me Up! Tie Me Down! and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, the film proved to be the last straw.
The ratings battle earlier that year over Tie Me Up! had instigated an open letter to the president of the MPAA,...
The ratings battle earlier that year over Tie Me Up! had instigated an open letter to the president of the MPAA,...
- 6/15/2011
- by Alice Gray
- SoundOnSight
Wow, it's been a while, but I'm back! And thanks to FanGirlTastic, I was able to not only do my very first book review, but also my very first phone interview with the author, Oriana Small, otherwise known as Ashley Blue, gonzo porn star pervert extraordinaire.
I must admit, I was a little apprehensive at first - all I knew of Small before reading the book was her infamous "choke out" scene for Khan Tusion, her trademark of shoving her hand down her throat, and some dubious racial remarks on a Howard Stern show. That and some terrifyingly rough porn. I was reassured on watching the Stern show that the dubious racial remarks turned out to be out-of-context banter where she gave as good as she got in the sarcastic joke department, and…well, I didn't watch the Khan Tusion scene. Reading about it was distressing enough, and as I told Small,...
I must admit, I was a little apprehensive at first - all I knew of Small before reading the book was her infamous "choke out" scene for Khan Tusion, her trademark of shoving her hand down her throat, and some dubious racial remarks on a Howard Stern show. That and some terrifyingly rough porn. I was reassured on watching the Stern show that the dubious racial remarks turned out to be out-of-context banter where she gave as good as she got in the sarcastic joke department, and…well, I didn't watch the Khan Tusion scene. Reading about it was distressing enough, and as I told Small,...
- 6/3/2011
- by Gore Gore Girl
- Planet Fury
Author James Frey faces Oprah Winfrey for the first time in five years as one of her most memorable guests during a two part appearance this week.
Frey was targeted by Oprah back in 2006, when it became clear that his memoir titled "A Million Little Pieces," which she had chosen for her book club, was based more on fiction than fact. At the time, Oprah had said "I feel duped. But more importantly, I feel that you betrayed millions of readers."
Frey is sitting down with the talk show maven on Monday (May 16) and Tuesday to defend himself and come clean about the mistruths portrayed in his novel.
"I was dishonest in promoting the book," he admits.
"We originally shopped the book as a novel," Frey explains. "When I sat down to write the book, I didn't think of it as a memoir, I didn't think of it as an novel even.
Frey was targeted by Oprah back in 2006, when it became clear that his memoir titled "A Million Little Pieces," which she had chosen for her book club, was based more on fiction than fact. At the time, Oprah had said "I feel duped. But more importantly, I feel that you betrayed millions of readers."
Frey is sitting down with the talk show maven on Monday (May 16) and Tuesday to defend himself and come clean about the mistruths portrayed in his novel.
"I was dishonest in promoting the book," he admits.
"We originally shopped the book as a novel," Frey explains. "When I sat down to write the book, I didn't think of it as a memoir, I didn't think of it as an novel even.
- 5/17/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
As the publisher's website explains, New Directions was founded in 1936, when James Laughlin (1914-1997), then a twenty-two-year-old Harvard sophomore, issued the first of the New Directions anthologies. "I asked Ezra Pound for 'career advice,'" James Laughlin recalled. "He had been seeing my poems for months and had ruled them hopeless. He urged me to finish Harvard and then do 'something' useful."
Few American publishers have been more useful to the cause of poetry. Yes, Nd has published much great prose as well, both original (notably a huge number of Henry Miller essay collections), and in translation (Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, the success of which funded many other projects; Jean-Paul Sartre's Nausea) or reprinted/collected (Delmore Schwartz's In Dreams Begin Responsibilities and Other Stories), but poetry -- less often supported by the major presses, especially early in a poet’s career -- is where the press has made its biggest impact.
Few American publishers have been more useful to the cause of poetry. Yes, Nd has published much great prose as well, both original (notably a huge number of Henry Miller essay collections), and in translation (Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, the success of which funded many other projects; Jean-Paul Sartre's Nausea) or reprinted/collected (Delmore Schwartz's In Dreams Begin Responsibilities and Other Stories), but poetry -- less often supported by the major presses, especially early in a poet’s career -- is where the press has made its biggest impact.
- 5/11/2011
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Actor whose 1940s heyday featured two films as co-star to James Mason
The 1940s was a ripe period for women in British films, when stars such as Margaret Lockwood, Phyllis Calvert, Valerie Hobson and Jean Simmons had a chance to shine. Although Joyce Howard, who has died aged 88, was never in their league, she had her moments of glory in a relatively short career which lasted from 1941 to 1950. Howard's high spots were the two films in which she co-starred with the up-and-coming matinee idol James Mason: The Night Has Eyes (1942) and They Met in the Dark (1943).
Howard was the ideal foil for the saturnine Mason. In the former film, she is the vulnerable, repressed heroine whose passions are aroused by Mason's brooding, secretive composer, the kind of relationship so beloved of wartime British melodramas. The film, directed by Leslie Arliss, creates a pervasive sense of danger, with the characters...
The 1940s was a ripe period for women in British films, when stars such as Margaret Lockwood, Phyllis Calvert, Valerie Hobson and Jean Simmons had a chance to shine. Although Joyce Howard, who has died aged 88, was never in their league, she had her moments of glory in a relatively short career which lasted from 1941 to 1950. Howard's high spots were the two films in which she co-starred with the up-and-coming matinee idol James Mason: The Night Has Eyes (1942) and They Met in the Dark (1943).
Howard was the ideal foil for the saturnine Mason. In the former film, she is the vulnerable, repressed heroine whose passions are aroused by Mason's brooding, secretive composer, the kind of relationship so beloved of wartime British melodramas. The film, directed by Leslie Arliss, creates a pervasive sense of danger, with the characters...
- 12/30/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Hi, Zoners! It’s a deliciously musical week on the Report, with a rocker, a Broadway legend, and a classic folkie on the roster. There should certainly be lots for our Emilyoo to write about! And of course, on Thursday, comes the gal we’ve all been waiting breathlessly for: Amy Sedaris!!!! If we must have a holiday break, then this is going to send us off on the highest note. Joy to the Zoners!
Monday, December 14th: Patti Smith
The week is off to a rockin’ start with poet, painter, performance artist, and “godmother of punk,” the one and only Patti Smith. Best known for her recording of Because the Night (co-written with Bruce Springsteen), Smith had her own, eponymously named band before briefly retiring into motherhood. She later returned to the stage after her husband’s death, and Rolling Stone magazine included her in their list of “The...
Monday, December 14th: Patti Smith
The week is off to a rockin’ start with poet, painter, performance artist, and “godmother of punk,” the one and only Patti Smith. Best known for her recording of Because the Night (co-written with Bruce Springsteen), Smith had her own, eponymously named band before briefly retiring into motherhood. She later returned to the stage after her husband’s death, and Rolling Stone magazine included her in their list of “The...
- 12/13/2010
- by Karenatasha
- No Fact Zone
In last night's installment of Bored to Death, Jonathan Ames, your hipster P.I. hero, agreed to a three-way only after being convinced that Charles Bukowski and Henry Miller would do the same. Meanwhile, one character read the New Yorker while getting a prostate exam and the real Jonathan Ames enjoyed an ironic bare-ass cameo so gratuitous that viewers probably began to wonder if HBO was legally required to fill an Ames posterior-shot quota. (Just me?) To see how those components (and more!) affected this week's Bored to Death Hipster Quotient, proceed ahead and remember that this week's units of measure are corn cob pipes.
- 10/4/2010
- Movieline - TVline
Stephen Sondheim was moved to tears on Wednesday evening after a Broadway theatre was officially named after the star to celebrate his 80th birthday year.
The musical legend turned 80 in March and to mark the milestone age, executives at the Henry Miller theatre in New York changed the venue's name to honour him.
Sondheim was visibly moved by the tribute as he was joined by his longtime collaborators Patti LuPone, Nathan Lane and John Weidman for the unveiling.
He says, "I'm deeply embarrassed. I'm thrilled, but deeply embarrassed. I've always hated my last name. It just doesn't sing."
And Lane paid tribute to his pal, adding, "He is a true gentleman of the theater, a theatrical legend."...
The musical legend turned 80 in March and to mark the milestone age, executives at the Henry Miller theatre in New York changed the venue's name to honour him.
Sondheim was visibly moved by the tribute as he was joined by his longtime collaborators Patti LuPone, Nathan Lane and John Weidman for the unveiling.
He says, "I'm deeply embarrassed. I'm thrilled, but deeply embarrassed. I've always hated my last name. It just doesn't sing."
And Lane paid tribute to his pal, adding, "He is a true gentleman of the theater, a theatrical legend."...
- 9/16/2010
- WENN
Comic book writer who penned the autobiographical American Splendor
Harvey Pekar, who has died aged 70, was the writer of American Splendor, an autobiographical comic in which he wrote about the everyday, often mundane, aspects of his life. Pekar experimented with the narrative form and used a shifting roster of artists on his comics, but it was the sheer ordinariness of the stories that slowly earned him a strong following, critical acclaim and comparisons with Chekhov and Dostoevsky.
Set in the rundown neighbourhoods of Cleveland, Ohio, American Splendor's world was revealed without exaggeration or self-aggrandisement. Pekar, opinionated and curmudgeonly, was often the most frustrating and aggravating character to appear in his books. The writer became a regular guest on the talkshow Late Night With David Letterman, but his confrontational style led to him being banned from it.
In 1990, Pekar was diagnosed with lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy. Heavy medication led to hallucinations and occasional paralysis,...
Harvey Pekar, who has died aged 70, was the writer of American Splendor, an autobiographical comic in which he wrote about the everyday, often mundane, aspects of his life. Pekar experimented with the narrative form and used a shifting roster of artists on his comics, but it was the sheer ordinariness of the stories that slowly earned him a strong following, critical acclaim and comparisons with Chekhov and Dostoevsky.
Set in the rundown neighbourhoods of Cleveland, Ohio, American Splendor's world was revealed without exaggeration or self-aggrandisement. Pekar, opinionated and curmudgeonly, was often the most frustrating and aggravating character to appear in his books. The writer became a regular guest on the talkshow Late Night With David Letterman, but his confrontational style led to him being banned from it.
In 1990, Pekar was diagnosed with lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy. Heavy medication led to hallucinations and occasional paralysis,...
- 7/13/2010
- by Steve Holland
- The Guardian - Film News
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