Johnny Case in Wonderland

“A man being rich is like a girl being pretty. You might...

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:09:00 -0700

“A man being rich is like a girl being pretty. You might not marry a girl just because she’s pretty, but my goodness, doesn’t it help?” Lorelei Lee (Marilyn Monore) in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Hawks 1953).

"Life has a gap in it, it just does. You don’t go crazy trying to fill it, like some lunatic."

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:54:00 -0700

“Life has a gap in it, it just does. You don’t go crazy trying to fill it, like some...

Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be introducing Eric Idle at...

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:19:03 -0700

Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be introducing Eric Idle at “From Monty Python to Spamalot,” and then moderating a subsequent Q & A. I’ve spoken to audiences of hundreds many times, but a crowd of this size will certainly be a new experience for me. That said, I can’t wait!

Sterling Hallard Bright Drake in NYC tonight, 5/15/13, @ 6:00PM!

Mon, 13 May 2013 09:14:00 -0700

Sterling Hallard Bright Drake will be playing as part of NewFilmmakers New York’s Spring...

"Is there a difference between ‘cinema’ and ‘movies?’ Yeah. If I were on Team..."

Fri, 10 May 2013 07:56:00 -0700

“Is there a difference between ‘cinema’ and ‘movies?’ Yeah. If I were...

"If nothing else, it revived my faith in the auteur theory….You cannot direct a movie without..."

Tue, 07 May 2013 07:52:00 -0700

“If nothing else, it revived my faith in the auteur theory….You cannot direct a movie...

In the dead of winter, when all the world is gray and wet and...

Sun, 05 May 2013 09:07:14 -0700

In the dead of winter, when all the world is gray and wet and I’m in a constant state of despondency, I forget how much I love living in Bedford Falls once the weather turns for the better. And then one day I notice that it finally has, and all is right in the world.

Sometimes my pre-meal appetizer looks like this, as it does...

Wed, 01 May 2013 18:06:00 -0700

Sometimes my pre-meal appetizer looks like this, as it does tonight after 10 + hours of intensive text editing and also watching the final cuts of my student filmmakers’ documentaries, which are awesome! This particularly delicious stirred Manhattan consists of 3 parts Templeton Rye, 3/4 parts Cocchi sweet vermouth, 1/4 parts Cherry Heering, a healthy dash of Fee Brothers old fashioned bitters, and an orange peel twist. Yeah, there will be food too. At some point. Probably. Maybe.

The Cold Open #8!!!

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:56:00 -0700

The Cold Open #8: In our latest Cold Open Podcast, Annie Petersen, special guest Will Witwer,...

Yesterday afternoon was spent on my mountain bike in the wilds...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:45:50 -0700

Yesterday afternoon was spent on my mountain bike in the wilds around Bedford Falls. I’ve ridden plenty this spring, but this was the first ride of the year when I wore exactly zero winter cycling gear and didn’t have on long sleeves. Nope, I wore a cotton X-men t-shirt and slathered myself with suntan lotion so I wouldn’t get burned. There were several moments during the ride in which I caught myself giggling aloud for no particular reason at all.

Valentine’s Day has long since passed, but life among the...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:14:00 -0700

Valentine’s Day has long since passed, but life among the Bedford Falls wheat fields continues apace….

"The statistics are sobering: For every female lead in a movie, there are three male leads. And in..."

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 07:51:00 -0700

“The statistics are sobering: For every female lead in a movie, there are three male leads....

It’s hard to put into words how much I normally dislike...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:35:25 -0700

It’s hard to put into words how much I normally dislike the Boston Red Sox, but I don’t ever remember rooting harder for a team than I did for the Red Sox over the last three hours. Baseball is often more than just a game, a fact that was especially true today.

"I want to sell you hard on the notion that in this age of digital video—in which there are cheap..."

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:32:00 -0700

“I want to sell you hard on the notion that in this age of digital video—in which there are...

The Cold Open, Ep. 7

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:49:09 -0700

The Cold Open, Ep. 7: In The Cold Open Podcast #7, Annie Petersen and myself start by noting our...

Then & Now Part 1: Major League Baseball, August 4th, 1978

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:24:00 -0700

Around 1980 I started collecting the ticket stubs from the events I attended, which has left me...

philnoto: “Don the Salesman,” as depicted by the...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:56:50 -0700

philnoto:

“Don the Salesman,” as depicted by the inimitable Phil Noto, who clearly wholly absorbed the point of Mad Men’s Season 06 premiere.

Finally, almost a year since Season 05 ended comes the premiere...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 08:09:00 -0700

Finally, almost a year since Season 05 ended comes the premiere of Mad Men Season 06. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve worked my way through Season 05 again for what is the third time. My feeling that it was the series’ best overall season—by far—was only strengthened by the experience. While Don Draper firmly remains the leading character, last season richly developed a myriad of other characters with what for an ensemble TV show is an astonishing level of depth. I am particularly enraptured with the Cheeveresque treatment of Pete Campbell, who I can’t even look at anymore without thinking of The Housebreaker of Shady Hill and all that goes with it, but Joan, Lane (R.I.P.), Peggy, Roger, Cosgrove, Sally, Ginsberg, Megan, hell, even Megan’s mom—all of them were fully three dimensional in a way not seen on an ensemble TV show since The Wire. That depth, coupled with the show’s experimentation with narrative and structure, made Mad Men Season 5 the only show I’ve watched as appointment TV—every week, without fail—in years. I’m still puzzled with what exactly we’re supposed to make of the cryptic “Are you alone?” ending scene of last season (the most iconic shot from which is mirrored in the above still from tonight’s premiere), which makes my anticipation for that which is to come only greater. And really, just look at Roger and Pete in that picture. Can you say sideburns? I can’t wait. Oh, and to the surprise of no one, in the next Cold Open Podcast, the Mad Men Season 06 premiere will be our primary topic of discussion!

Roger Ebert passed away today (April 4th, 2013) after a long and...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:46:00 -0700

Roger Ebert passed away today (April 4th, 2013) after a long and very public bout with cancer. As a kid growing up in the 1980s I had an insatiable appetite for movies, but I was a denizen of the pre-internet age and the child of parents who didn’t subscribe to the kind of magazines that would’ve given me a glimpse into the impassioned debates certain films inspired. But the one outlet I had was Sneak Previews, which would become Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, both of which I watched religiously. When we think of it now we think about thumbs up or thumbs down, but the fact of the matter is they were smart and serious critics who talked about all kinds of things and referenced a myriad of films and filmmakers of whom I’d never heard, which had me constantly at the video store renting stuff my friends and family couldn’t figure out why I was interested in. I had the passion, but they turned me in a direction that allowed me to hone my focus and turn that passion into something far more than merely a hobby. And I’m just one of a countless number upon whom they had the same effect. And now they’re both gone. But surely not forgotten as their influence will undoubtedly live on for many years to come.

The Austin 100 on NPR!

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 07:39:00 -0700

NPR’s Stephen Thompson (also of Pop Culture Happy Hour renown) has assembled the 2013 version...