Death of a writer 1
Jul
23
2012
From the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences: Oscar-winning screenwriter Frank Pierson died today in Los Angeles of natural causes following a short illness. He was 87. A three-time Academy Award® nominee, Pierson won an Oscar for his original screenplay of “Dog Day Afternoon.” He received nominations for “Cat Ballou” and “Cool Hand Luke.” ...
Jazz & junkies in Shirley Clarke’s “The Connection” @ New Beverly Cinema
This recco comes from arts·meme friend Ross Lipman, who was the chief restorationist for the film … Just wanted to let you know that Milestone Films is nationally releasing UCLA’s restoration of THE CONNECTION, and it will be running for a full week at the New Beverly, opening this Friday. Shirley Clarke‘s 1961 portrayal of ...
Gary Lucas’s “scary magical Jews” terrify in “Der Golem” @ Cinefamily 1
Grammy-nominated Gary Lucas, whom Rolling Stone calls “one of the best and most original guitarists in America,” performed his well-traveled and exceedingly harrowing score to “Der Golem,” the brilliant 1920 silent horror exemplar of German expressionism. The sold-out performance took place earlier this evening at The Cinefamily on Fairfax Avenue — speaking of ghostly Jewish ...
Jack Cole, the camera’s eye, and the space of the soundstage
In the photo above from “The I Don’t Care Girl,” Cole inserts a staircase so that the dancer (Mitzi Gaynor, on steps) floats (as in space) at mid-frame. Cole layers men on the ground, populating the bottom edge of the frame. He regularly dispatched men, scrambling, across the frame bottom. He even extended the viewer’s ...
I *do* care that you get tickets for “The I Don’t Care Girl” screening August 4
The Billy Wilder Theater, where UCLA Film & Television Archive will screen “The I Don’t Care Girl” on Saturday night, August 4, with Mitzi Gaynor attending, is located on the ground floor of the Hammer Museum. The Hammer Museum is the old Occidental Petroleum Building at the corner of Wilshire & Westwood Boulevard. It’s right ...
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 at the Billy Wilder Theater In Westwood on Saturday August 4, 2012. It’s sponsored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. On that night, as a community, we will view the rare and out-of-circulation Twentieth Century Fox movie ...
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.
Peter Greenaway’s “Nightwatching” to enjoy Los Angeles premiere
Los Angeles FilmForum hosts the Los Angeles premiere of a Peter Greenaway film, “Nightwatching,” from 2007, at the Egyptian Theater on June 17. It’s the sister film to Greenaway’s “J’Accuse”; one is fictional, the other a documentary interpretation of Rembrandt and the painting “The Night Watch.” “Nightwatching,” Greenaway’s fictional foray into art-history detecting, was made ...
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 ...