No, not if the play’s gone wrong. That’s its own thing. And I don’t mean the Shaun of the Dead has gone wrong. That’s as brilliant as Shaun’s plan to get to the Winchester is daft. I just needed a good image of befuddlement. But we have all watched films where we’re befuddled about how unremarkable it is, haven’t we? Well, longtime writer Mark Evanier has a theory on why some films are like that.…
Perhaps thinking of my post back in August, how to deal with our interesting times has been on my mind, so that’s one of the reasons this hit me the way it did and might be useful to you. Besides suggestions for how to get through the timeline, he also has some good words on the “scarcity mindset” with people playing “zero-sum games” and a great perspective on gatekeeping vs. “paying your dues.” Leaving you…
Longtime readers may recall I do post about theater from time to time. I’ve worked for many theater companies and started attending theater performances long before then. The Washington, DC area has close to 100 active theater companies, a fact that seems obvious when you realize how clearly Washington likes drama. Alas, pretty much all theaters were hard hit by the Pandemic. Another issue then, and definitely now, is the availability of performance spaces. Now,…
Motivation to create –and breaking out of perceived writing blocks and creative ruts– feels like an evergreen problem. In fact, there’s enough books and articles and videos about such things that I believe it’s fair to say creative folks find themselves in different shaped ruts so that one solution might not fit all. BUT, in case this video is the one that helps you today, spend 15 minutes with filmmaker Luc Forsyth as he explains…
I posted about the accuracy of The Bear on Wednesday and I’m still into these sorts of YouTube videos, possibly because I’ve been watching a number of docu-drama or other historical films of late. Here, historian Dan Snow looks at five historical films audiences give high marks to… but we all know that doesn’t mean they pass factual muster, right? I like how he can rave about the storytelling power of a give film or…
The Bear, FX’s much-lauded, frequently-awarded show is coming back for its fourth, and potentially final, season. Readers of this blog may recall I love the show for a number of reasons, none of which are dependent on it being a comedy. In fact, an arguable element to admire in the show is its depiction of the inherent drama within a restaurant kitchen. But how accurate is that portrayal? Veteran chef and restaurateur Paul Liebrandt weighs…
“Supercuts” are always fun and supercuts of a past year’s films are a fine tradition to uphold. For over a decade, I’m enjoyed the meticulously crafted montages by David Ehrlich, a film critic and, as quickly becomes apparent: wholly unrepentant cinemaniac. His tastes and judgment on films are as varied as they are unexpected, paired beautifully with a veritable mixtape of a soundtrack that grabs you as much as it startles you. Basically, one minute…
Filmmaker and singular artist David Lynch died on January 15, 2025, just days before today, what would be his 79th birthday. You can read obituaries and remembrances from: Variety also has a collection of remembrances from Steven Spielberg and others about Lynch and the Hard Times has an appropriately satirical take on Lynch’s passing. As fate would have it, the first David Lynch film I saw was his least favorite, if for no other reason…
I think I’m going to need to expand my list of usual suspects for 2026, because there’s two more public domain pieces I want to share beyond the resources shared yesterday. First is an article, with plenty of audiovisual samples, by Ellen Wexler for Smithsonian Magazine. As you might imagine, the Smithsonian is very into collections, culture, and curating. Here, Wexler relies in part on Jennifer Jenkins, and the Center for the Study of the…