Bob Fosse’s “From This Moment On” from Kiss Me, Kate
Thirty years of looking at dance critically has led me to this — high-impact “commercial” dance of stage and screen. It fits my mood to see dancers hustle at high energy levels and entertain. The number features Carol Haney, a Jack Cole dancer and rehearsal assistant to Gene Kelly. What a great, great dancer. And ...
Jack Cole, the camera’s eye, and the space of the soundstage
Cole was adept at using SPACE captured by the camera…he was able to push perspective further than any choreographer of his day, without 3-D glasses. So wrote Professor-Emerita Emma Lewis Thomas, in an email, concerning “The I Don’t Care Girl.” Lew, who knew Jack Cole as a fellow UCLA dance instructor, puts into words what ...
Jack Cole’s magic for Mitzi Gaynor on view in rare screening of “The I Don’t Care Girl” by UCLA Film & Television Archive August 4. Gaynor to appear in-person. 7
I am very pleased to announce my participation in a truly wonderful celebration of dance on film. The event will take place at the Billy Wilder Theater of the Hammer Museum in Westwood on Saturday August 4, 2012. It’s sponsored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. On that night, as a community, we will ...
Awake in a dream
I am very sorry this lovely video clip starts with a terrible commercial. I hope it is worth the wait for you.
The Barn’s ready for its close-up, Mr. DeMille!
The events presented under the “Evenings @ the Barn” series are among my favorite in town — friendly, intimate and full of gossipy tidbits and info about Hollywood history. Here’s an event that focuses on the hugely historic building where the events take place — the Hollywood Heritage Museum on Highland Avenue across from the ...
Oh la la! Jack Cole’s “Les Girls” from “Les Girls” (1957) 1
The (by then) hugely experienced dance-on-film man Jack Cole choreographed the brilliant dance sequences in “Les Girls,” a movie musical directed by George Cukor in 1957. “Les Girls” is included in the upcoming TCM broadcast “Choreography by Jack Cole” on Turner Classic Movies September 10, 2012. I will co-host the evening with Robert Osborne. “Les ...
Tatum O’Neal’s face in “Paper Moon” (1973) 1
Jun
1
2012
Peter Bogdanovich’s rhapsody to the American Middle West, “Paper Moon,” is graced by the Oscar-winning performance of an 8-year-old actress who pulls one bratty expression after another at her real-life father Ryan. We saw the film the other night on the big screen of the Los Angeles Theatre. Bogdanovich, characteristic with fun stories and imitations ...
Heavy hitting architectural duo to reconfigure iconic May Company building into Academy film museum 2
Award-winning architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali will design the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science announced today. The new museum will occupy the former May Company building, a beloved Los Angeles icon that sits at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, the dead center of ...
Gene from Pittsburgh 1
May
21
2012
I’ve been spending a lot of time with Gene Kelly for the past week. It’s a good feeling. We’re from the same home town. Kelly was a huge movie star. The only other dancer to reach that level was Fred — not from Pittsburgh. Read my story on The Huffington Post.
Happy 100th Gene Kelly! Love, Oscar 2
A parade of Technicolor-tinged dance sequences enchanted a full house at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater Thursday night. “A Centennial Tribute to Gene Kelly,” the first of a two-part event hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored the beloved dancer-choreographer-director in this most effective manner — by screening his sensational dance clips. ...