Connie Corleone to tell-all at ‘The Godfather’ 50th-anniv screening

Film
The Godfather: Part II (1974) directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the novel ‘The Godfather’ by Mario Puzo. Talia Shire as Connie Corleone. Paramount Pictures. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images) She was a member of la famiglia. So hewing to the family code, she was tight-lipped. Like Michael. (And unlike the blowhard, Sonny). ...

Donald Trump’s ‘perfect call’ taps Mario Puzo playbook

Film · Ideas & Opinion
From the Zelensky call transcript: July 2019 telcon Donald Trump to President Zelensky of Ukraine

At Zardi’s in Hollywood … with Ella Fitzgerald 1

Music
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Ed. note: Universal Music continues to mine the Verve catalog for Ella Fitzgerald material. arts·meme jazz writer Kirk Silsbee excerpts his liner notes to ‘Ella at Zardi’s.’ ♣               ♣               ♣               ♣ In his enviable career as a jazz entrepreneur, Norman Granz (1918-2001) balanced far-reaching vision and a social change agenda with shrewd business acumen. His ...

Buy me! Marlon Brando’s 1969 Harley Davidson

Film
Shopping for a chopper with a pedigree? Buy one from the guy who starred in “The Wild One” (1953). On Saturday, June 27, 2015, collectors and the transportation-challenged will have a chance to bid on Marlon Brando’s personally owned Harley Davidson FLH Electra-Glide at Julien’s Auctions Beverly Hills (Lot #791, Estimate: $200,000-$400,000). Hollywood Legends Auction  ...

Backstage intimacy from Phil Stern’s camera 1

Film · Music · Visual arts
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Hollywood photographers have always had to walk a fine line. Their work is contingent on access to the celebrated, but entree hinges on trust and following implicit rules of privacy. Movie studios have always wanted their actors and directors depicted in the best possible light and they’ve rewarded those whose images flatter most. But good ...

Brando’s bead on jazz in “The Wild One” @ L.A. Jazz Institute festival

Film · Music
We so enjoyed the opening-night  concert of “Jazz Themes from Hollywood: West Coast Jazz at the Movies,” a four-day festival sponsored by the LA Jazz Institute now going on in a big subterranean ballroom at the LAX Marriott hotel. The concert paid tribute to the film music of Shorty Rogers and Leith Stevens, alternately composers ...