Puppy Night Before Christmas

Let Them Eat Pie!

"If Only Life Were As Easy As Pie" then Mrs. Lovell and Sweeney Todd may have survived happily ever after. Two of 2007's most delicious adventures in filmmaking used pie baking as a basic recipe for storytelling.

Adrienne Shelley's "Waitress" premiered at Sundance in January. Refreshing, quirky, sweet, and genuine, the late filmmaker penned her script while pregnant with daughter Sophie. A toddler by the time the film wrapped production, Sophie appears as LuLu with actress Keri Russell dressed in look-a-like bright yellow waitress uniforms at the film's end. Given Adrienne Shelley's murder, this joyful final scene becomes all the more poignant.

Take 1 part great script, 6-7 parts great characters combined with equal parts great casting, mix together with 1 part passionate and talented filmmaker and bake. "Waitress" is as easy to digest as all those pies. What a treat!

On the other end of filmdom's pie bake-off is Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd." A difficult theatrical stage production to pull-off well, Burton succeeds in bringing his adaptation to screen.

If you love Burton and Depp together, you'll appreciate Sweeney Todd. It's beautifully filmed with brilliant acting. Unfortunately, Stephen Sondheim's best compositions are lost-in-translation as Depp and Helena Bonham Carter deliver them. That said, they were great as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovell.

Watch trailers for both Waitress and Sweeney Todd below:

The Christmas Song

A most beloved holiday song transcending the 20th Century into the 21st is Mel Torme's The Christmas Song. Torme also was one of the most gifted entertainers in the industry. I remember discovering how wonderfully talented he was in about 1964 or '65 on a trip to New Orleans with my parents. We caught his dinner show high atop The Roosevelt Hotel's Blue Room--my first "nightclub" experience. Here's a real holiday treat, Mel Torme with the incomparable Judy Garland:

Queen Latifah Lights Up Symphony Hall

Queen Latifah gave fans a taste of the blues, jazz, funk, and soul Sunday night with her Trav'l'in Light tour swing through San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall. Davies proved to be a great intimate venue that worked well for Latifah's easy style, humor, nine piece band and three talented back-up singers. The only thing I wanted more of was the Queen singing more songs. And it seemed awkward to sit down rather than stand up during her more robust numbers---you know complete audience engagement?

A generous entertainer, Latifah devoted a little too much time featuring her band members and over produced a finale number with her back-ups. A good singer, not a great one, Latifah holds her own doing funk,the ballad "I Know Where I've Been" from this summer's box office hit, Hairspray, and gives an enjoyable cover of "Poetry Man" and "Georgia Rose."

Queen Latifah's career in show business reads somewhat like a fairy tale, along with hard work, talent, a keen business sense, image shaping, and marketing. There were few young people in the San Francisco audience, which reveals how her career has evolved in demographic positioning over the years. From rapper to film actress, talk show host, film producer, author, product spokesperson, and trying new muscial genres, Latifah more than once thanked us for supporting her throughout her career as she has tried a little of this and that.

She introduced an audience guest, who happened to be the daughter of the songwriter/musician who wrote Trav'lin Light for Billie Holiday. Latifah introduced her father later, he stood onstage behind huge speakers throughout the show. After a standing ovation and leaving the stage, her father reappeared coaxing us to continue applauding--- a little weird since no one needed cajoling to want an encore.

If Queen Latifah comes to your town, go see her. If it's other than a huge stadium, even better.

Photo Credit: Michael Thompson

On Pocket Change

Once upon a time, children spent a rainy day inside building castles out of pennies and other loose pocket change. We relied on our own imagination---it was a time before great dreamers made it possible for us to own a personal home computer with fabulous software to help us create something wonderful with pennies and loose pocket change.

Lessing Honored With Nobel In Literature

I was introduced to Doris Lessing's work well into my 40's when I returned to graduate school. One of my professor's was, and is, a Lessing scholar. My favorite Lessing novel remains "The Grass Is Singing," her first and rather slim novel published in 1950. It's a little daunting to write a final essay for an English Lit professor who's a well-known published scholar on Lessing--- and Woolf, for that matter.

So, when I approached writing an essay on Lessing's most widely read novel,"The Golden Notebook," I did so with a fair amount of trepidation. What could I say that had not been said before? Fortunately, my bookshelf held a fairly recent book "The Six Thinking Hats" by renowned psychologist and physiologist Dr. Edward DeBono. He associated thinking and decision making to emotion, creativity, intuition, or negativity and represented each by color. It struck me when reading "The Golden Notebook" that Lessing's protagonist Anna very much associated color with thinking--I took off on this notion with my essay. And was excited to learn that this approach really was a fresh one in studying Lessing's work!

A few years later, I read where Lessing was coming to San Francisco and had hoped to attend, I think it was to be at the Herbst Theatre. Lessing was not able to come after all due to health problems---she was well into her 80's. What a nice honor today to receive a Nobel for her prolific and audacious body of work.

Let The Sunshine In . . . HAIR Turns 40

Maybe it's me. And I don't mean 'all-about-me'---now I know how my parents felt as pivotal moments were reflected upon 25, 40, or 50 years later. It's not really about where one was when, yet more about do our hopes and dreams make a difference along the way.

October 17th marks the 40th Anniversary of HAIR's off-broadway premiere.

Brainstorm of James Rado and Gerome Ragno, the team created an American Tribal Rock-Love Musical which follows a group of bohemian activists living together in a NYC apartment.

A cultural shock to most people living outside NY, HAIR introduced everyone else to serious political activism and rebellion focused on the Viet Nam War and conservatism--along with the sexual revolution, free love, different strokes for different folks, be-ins, and hash.

I admit to having no clue . . .

Even as a budding theatre major listening to the original cast album in 1968, I couldn't imagine myself performing nude on stage. As for all the rest, I was still innocent though enamored with HAIR's lyrics and music. HAIR had created a furor throughout the U.S. and abroad by the time I heard the album, mostly due to the show's nudity, language, racial integration, and assorted political statements.

Rado and Ragno's creative spark igniting off-Broadway in 1967 continues to stir new generations around the world today with one musical tribute after another.

More than 35 songs tell the tribe's story:

* Aquarius
* Donna
* Hashish
* Sodomy
* Colored Spade
* Manchester England
* Manhattan
* I'm Black
* Ain't Got No
* I Believe in Love
* Ain't Got No Grass
* Dead End (cut during run and re-added)
* Air
* Initials (L.B.J)
* I Got Life
* Going Down
* Hair
* My Conviction
* Easy to Be Hard
* Don't Put It Down
* Frank Mills
* Be-In (Hare Krishna)
* Where Do I Go?
* Electric Blues
* Oh Great God of Power
* Manchester England (Reprise)
* Black Boys
* White Boys
* Walking in Space
* Abie Baby
* Three-Five-Zero-Zero
* What a Piece of Work Is Man
* Good Morning, Starshine
* The Bed
* The Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In)

A few notable "tribe" members from the original cast and other productions:

James Rado
Gerome Ragni
Melba Moore
Diane Keaton
Paul Jabara
Ted Lange
Keith Carradine
Barry McGuire
Kenny Seymour (Little Anthony & The Imperials)
Joe Butler (The Lovin' Spoonfull)
Peppy Castro (The Blues Magoos)
Heather MacRae
Ben Vereen
Meat Loaf
Ted Neeley
Jennifer Warnes
Dobie Gray
Joe Mantegna
Elaine Paige
Marsha Hunt
Donna Summer
John Waters
Harvey Fierstein
Jennifer Hudson
Rupaul
Michael McKean

Trailer of 1979 film version directed by Milos Forman and starring Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo, and John Savage:

Luciano Pavarotti . . . Great Dreamer

Torino, Italy Olympic Ceremony

Billy Bob, Chicken John, and Grasshopper Heat Up San Francisco's Mayoral Race

Only in San Francisco would citizens be given the option of voting for mayoral candidates with such diverse backgrounds--a solid record in office or similar leadership qualifications are not required. Presumably, candidates can prove they live in San Francisco County.

Maybe someone qualifies as a great dreamer--if not for mayor:

retired teacher and blogger
nudist activist
former supervisor
juvenile probation department manager
flower shop owner
taxi driver named Grasshopper
nonprofit program director
music teacher
sex club owner
showman named Chicken John
educator named Billy Bob
blogger who spent 7 months in jail (journalist right to protect sources)
incumbent mayor

Big Hair Meets Harry Potter

It's rare when a film boasts perfect casting. And it's rare when a film finds me smiling for it's entire running time, 117 minutes in Hairspray's case. What a delight!

From the first moment an adorable Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad begins her morning, you know you're going to love this movie. We soon learn that Tracy's biggest dream is to be a dancer on Baltimore's Corny Collins Show with her heartthrob, Link Larkin.

John Waters reprises his cameo appearance as the neighborhood "Flasher" during "Good Morning Baltimore." John Travolta approaching the role of Tracey's mother Edna as a shy overweight size 60--rather than camping it up as a drag queen--played great on screen. Another Travoltian touch, I love his work.

Thank goodness Michelle Pfeiffer is back. Pfeiffer really is not just another pretty face that the camera loves. She plays the essential villainess Velma Von Tussle as if the role was written for her.

Christoper Walken must have loved playing Wilbur Turnblad, when he and Edna sing "Your Timeless To Me," you see him sitting outside in the chair just cracking up as Travolta sings to him---it looked like a classic out-of-character moment.

Queen Latifah shows her stuff as Motormouth Maybelle, one of her best lines is "If we get any more white people in here, this place is gonna be a suburb."

Every cast member gets their moment or two in the lights. From Taylor Parks as Little Inez to Zac Efron as Link Larkin, to the terrific Elijah Kelley as Seaweed J. Stubbs.

Hairspray places 20th Century cultural and historical significance smack into the 21st. For that John Waters and Hairspray 2007's filmmakers should be proud. Check out the trailer below.

SideBar:

I saw Hairspray at the Vogue, a neighborhood single screen theatre on upper Sacramento Street in San Francisco. While waiting for the film to start, a middle-aged woman came in carrying her new Harry Potter and sat a few seats over from me. I commented on Harry Potter, she said "my husband's already ahead of me" and promptly opened the book to continue reading. Her husband came in a few minutes later with a large popcorn and his own copy of Harry Potter. He settled in and cracked open his book. On my 1 California bus ride home around 6 o'clock, a woman boarded carrying her copy of Harry Potter, found a seat, and without skipping a beat, turned once again to Harry.

Hairspray - Trailer

Live Earth Generates Global Citizen Energy

Talk about global citizen energy and culture change. Reportedly at one point during yesterday's Live Earth Day more than 10 million people were streaming the concert off MSN.com. Two billion people may have watched Live Earth across the globe.

While a staggering 21st Century way to increase awareness about our abilities to protect and give back to Mother Earth, Live Earth seems less about the global climate crisis and a whole lot more about honoring and restoring the natural order on many levels.

Don't get me wrong. Cultural, historical, industrial, political, and socioecomic choices and influences have guided us into a global inconvenient mess. We've helped destroy habitats and their inhabitants over land and resources for thousands of years.

But Live Earth sparked a more palatable convenient truth during the last 24 hours. The truth rests in the power of global citizen energy to give back, restore what we've taken, and in raising our voices to effect change.

"This could be good, Hey You!"

Independence Day . . . Born On 4th Of July

A few quotable quotes by notable Americans Born on July 4th:

“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”
--Nathaniel Hawthorne, Author

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not, nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not, unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not, the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
--Calvin Coolidge, 30th American President
“If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders.”

“Kissing power is stronger than will power: Girls need to "prove their love" like a moose needs a hat rack."

“A church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.”

--Abigail Van Buren, AKA Dear Abby, American Advice Columnist

“One out of four people in this country is mentally unbalanced. Think of your three closest friends; if they seem OK, then you're the one.”

“You need that guy like a giraffe needs strep throat.”

"Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead, that is where your future lies.”

“What the vast majority of American children needs is to stop being pampered, stop being indulged, stop being chauffeured, stop being catered to. In the final analysis it is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.”

“Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.”

“Asking a writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamp post how it feels about dogs.”

--Ann Landers, American Advice Columnist

Beverly Sills America's First Lady of Opera

Beverly Sills lost her battle with lung cancer today, she died at home in New York City. If Ms. Sills had been eligible, HRH Elizabeth R would have no doubt invested her as another Dame Commander of the British Empire.

Instead of Dame, we know Beverly Sills as Bubbles, one of the most beloved opera singers of all time who reigned as America's first lady of opera.

I first heard Sills sing during a free Opera In The Park performance at Golden Gate Park in 1976-- a glorious way to spend Sunday afternoon in San Francisco. I was lucky enough to be in town on business and went with a friend who was living here. After the performance, my friend and I made our way over to Club Fugazi on Green Street. We stood in line for the local original hit musical phenomenon, Beach Blanket Babylon.

We were seated upfront near center stage. To our great delight, Beverly Sills and a small entourage came in and sat several tables behind us. The show was fabulous, creative, and just bowled us over in hysterics---an amazing ensemble cast which to this day has a few original members. The performance included a wonderful parody of an opera singer in honor of Beverly Sills. I remember turning around to see her loving it as much as we all were--a perfect day ended with a perfect night.

I will never forget this early trip to San Francisco before I moved here--it was my first introduction to Beverly Sills singing, listening to opera, and Beach Blanket Babylon.

In January 1977, I was visiting my parents at home in Florida. Beverly Sills served as National Mothers March Chairwoman for the March of Dimes and was in town with The Northeast Florida Chapter. I enjoyed the good fortune of attending a coffee in her honor at the Epping Forest estate. Ms. Sills had recently published her memoir, "Bubbles, A Self Portrait" and was signing advance copies of her book with sales proceeds going to the March of Dimes. Of course, I still have the first edition autographed copy of her self portrait. And it was the last time I saw Beverly Sills in person.

Final Performance, New York City 1980:

Color Photo Credit: Justin Lane, New York Times

Will Best Selling Novel Find Film Audience?

“I’ve learned it’s very difficult to articulate a lot of things about experience. It’s probably why I became a writer.” __ Susan Minot

Will the film version of Minot's best selling novel Evening translate to screen as beautifully as The Hours? While Minot originally attempted to adapt Evening for screen, the task eventually went to Michael Cunningham (The Hours). Expect changes between Minot's novel and the film version.

Perhaps more importantly, will Evening find an audience today as films like say Steel Magnolias or Terms of Endearment did in the 1980's? Evening opens in theatres this week with a stellar cast.

Paul Potts Wins Britian's Got Talent!

Paul Potts triumphed tonight in final competition on Britian's Got Talent.

He won't be returning to his day job selling mobile phones in South Wales. Instead, Potts heads for the recording studio to cut his first album.

Potts wins £100,000 and the chance to sing for HRH The Queen at a Royal Variety Performance in December. He wowed the judges and audience once again with Puccini's Nessun Dorma. Bravo!

Winner Announced:

Brenda Leigh Johnson Down To Her Bones

Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson returns for a third summer season in The Closer on Monday night and I'm happy.

If Jane Tennison returned in another episode of Prime Suspect one day, I'd be thrilled.

Juicy screen roles for women with a little seasoning under their hats seem few and far between. The lead in The Closer was originally written for a male. It looks like there's a trend brewing as more talented actresses play lead and ensemble roles in cable and network television series.

Anytime we see exceptional writing for exceptional talent, we breathe a sigh of relief and relish the storytelling. While the writer brings a character to life on the page, both Kyra Sedgwick and Helen Mirren help us discover Brenda and Jane down to their bones.

Brenda and Jane could be us. We connect. We understand them. We feel their disappointment and glow with pride in their triumphs. We've been there. We enjoy watching them reveal who they are in ways which surprise us---and them.

The two remain different in personality, if not in their approach to life and career.

Take a look:

Addictions: Brenda is addicted to sweets, Jane to alcohol.

Sex & Relationships: Brenda satisfies her sexual libido with a guy from the office. Ditto for Jane. Their relationships develop into more than one-night stands.

Saying What They Mean: Brenda uses a true Southerner's affinity for meaningful metaphor when describing a situation. Jane uses the English language. Brenda and Jane never mince words.

Fashion Sense: Brenda's wears off-the-rack ensembles, perhaps Target-like vintage. Sometimes they're flowery and quirky with a classic jacket over a short dress or skirt. Jane often prefers white blouses, classic skirts and jackets, and sensible heels. She begins wearing colored blouses, a single strand of pearls and nice scarves. Fashion remains a necessary afterthought at first as both evolve their own sense of style.

Heart: Brenda often hides her heart. Jane hides hers. Both are softies who wear a suit of armor and tough-as-nails attitude. A natural survival instinct, look at their line of work.

Humor: Brenda comes with a sense of humor. Jane either lost it along the way or never had one.

Love & Family: Brenda grapples with insecurity, commitment, parental approval, and a ticking biological clock. Jane struggles with most of these same issues. And don't forget about Jane's abortion decision as her own biological clock ticked down.

Professional Reputation: Brenda's competency and skill drives her boss and the other guys a little nuts. As rivalry among department peers and her own staff develop, she deftly works around and through it. Ditto for Jane. Both face sabotage and work to restore their professional reputation.

As Helen Mirren discovered Jane Tennison, we grew to love and accept Jane along with her often self-destructive behaviors and misguided relationships between home and office. We rallied around Jane when plum assignments and promotions passed her by. We worried about Jane when she drove herself to right criminal wrong doing---she was losing herself in the process. And there were times when we didn't know if Jane would see the light of tomorrow.


During interviews promoting last year's final episode, Mirren remarked how easy it was for her to play Jane Tennison even after being away from the role several years. She said that it was as if she were meeting 'an old friend.' Mirren wore Jane well.

Kyra Sedgwick admits that after first turning down the role of Brenda Leigh Johnson, she kept hearing a voice in her head say Prime Suspect. We're happy she listened. Like Mirren wears Jane, Sedgwick wears Brenda well. Both actresses know who these characters are right down to their bones.

Photo Credits: The Closer, TNT and Prime Suspect, Granada Television

I'm Paul Potts . . . Cell Phone Salesman's Opera Dreams

Great dreams, great talent, great inspiration! Paul Potts secures semi-final win this week on Britian's Got Talent.

British Cell Phone Salesman's Opera Dreams

Paul Potts sells mobile phones in South Wales, United Kingdom and holds a great dream of singing opera. Paul's audition for Britian's Got Talent brought the audience to their feet and landed him a spot to compete. Take a listen to Paul singing one of Puccini's most famous arias Nessun Dorma (None Shall Sleep) from Turandot. Bravo, Paul!

The Sopranos Cuts To Black In Final Hour

Wow! Brilliant. Series creator David Chase wrote and directed the final episode--he does not disappoint. From scene to scene, deliberate moment to moment. As real as one could have envisioned. A needles and pins riveting finale without resolution. Hamburgers and onion rings. Made In America. Of course it would end this way, it's The Sopranos.

Photo Credit: Will Hart/HBO

Made In America . . . The Sopranos Final Hit List

OK. I called my friends in New York. Here's my friend Larry's prediction for tonight's final episode. It's worth sharing.

Tony lives. The worse thing that could happen? Hit his family. Carmella is expendable. He'll be upset, angry. Feel guilty. And return to business as usual.

Carmella hit. Why? She's a phony. Lives a double-standard. Contrary to the Soprano clan theory that family members are not targets, they do get hit sometimes.

Dr. Melfi hit. Everyone knows Tony's been seeing a shrink for years. Who knows what she knows. Another Phil's "no scraps in my scrapbox" solution.

Paulie lives. Which ever way the wind blows, you always know where he stands.

Nancy's Sidebar: If this happens, Tony will move to Las Vegas and smoke peyote the rest of his depressed life. AJ escapes the hit (remember he's with Carmella)and joins a terrorist cell because he's confused, lost, and stupid. Meadow survives and goes to law school.

Photo Credits: HBO

Made In America . . . The Sopranos Family Ties Cut Chord

Tomorrow. One day.
And in less than one hour of small screen time, millions will watch a bittersweet ending to The Sopranos.

This feels alot different than anticipating the last episode of MASH, Seinfeld, or Friends.

Mastermind David Chase began picking off our closest "Family Ties" clan before Memorial Day. Tony's cold-blooded suffocation of Christopher left most of us rationalizing the act. Of course Tony would kill Christopher, he'd become more than a liability for Tony, we'd been waiting for Christopher to take a powder.

Of course Dr. Melfi cuts the chord to Tony, we figured she would. Finally. A great line in last Sunday's episode occurred as Melfi sat at a dinner table with fellow shrinks. Discussion turned to the relationship between shrinks and criminal sociopaths. Elliot offers a clue about Melfi's star patient, "the answer is: a female opera singer and gangster." As Silvio and Patsy leave the Bada Bing for Patsy's car, you know it's an ambush waiting to happen. When Bobby heads into the train shop, you know he won't come out.

Can I say this now? I've never cared for the Soprano kids. Not AJ in his meltdown, tragic and ironic as it is. Or Meadow as she matures into a respectable moral beacon of hope for Carmella and Tony. No matter what Meadow becomes, it doesn't stand up to Tony's expectation for AJ. Of course not, gender has a pecking order.



I figure Tony's done for. One day. We'll watch and see.

Photo: HBO

Sgt. Pepper Turns 40

A very cool album cover, this album's music changed music forever, and most of us spent hours in the dorm room listening for "Paul is dead" clues.

Here's a few of the most notable clues:

1) "Paul is dead" was rumored to be heard on A Day In The Life and Strawberry Fields ---a song recorded for Sgt. Pepper's but not included in the album's release

2) Lyrics which we believed referred to Paul's death in a car accident: "Wednesday morning at five o'clock," "Nothing to do to save his life," "He blew his mind out in a car, he didn't notice that the light had changed."

3) The flower arrangement on the album cover looks like one at a funeral, and

4) Paul is the only Beatle not facing the camera in a photo on the back cover.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Album Tracks:

1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
2. With A Little Help From My Friends
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
4. Getting Better
5. Fixing A Hole
6. She's Leaving Home
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
8. Within You Without You
9. When I'm Sixty-Four
10. Lovely Rita
11. Good Morning Good Morning
12. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
13. A Day In The Life

Nia Helps Launch Mary J. Blige "Reflections"

What becomes a legend most? Nia launching Mary J. Blige's latest "essential collection" CD, along with recent features on The Today Show and in the New York Daily News.

La Môme . . . No Regrets, Piaf Film Portrait Triumphs

Crippled by arthritis and alcohol, La Môme struggles onto L'Olympia's concert stage with help from a morphine shot and the sheer will to sing once more. Olivier Dahan's poignant film portrait of Edith Piaf belongs to Parisian-born actress Marion Cotillard. Cotillard must have been channeling The Little Sparrow, her performance captures Piaf as spectacularly and exhaustingly as she lived.

Opening in early June as La Vie En Rose across the U.S., Dahan's stunning tribute recently closed the 50th Anniversary San Francisco International Film Festival. Dahan alternated speaking in French and English during a Q&A exchange with SF Film Society's Executive Director, Graham Leggat and the audience.

Dahan's inspiration for making the film came from a photograph of Piaf. He then set about reading everything he could find. He chose not to interview friends or others who knew her best because he wanted to develop his own interpretation of who she was. Dahan's initial script came in at 240 pages, the final came in at 140---still 40-60 pages longer than most screenplays today.

Unlike most of us, Dahan said that he doesn't consider Piaf an icon, (no one asked him who he does consider to be one). However, when asked what it was like to make the film, Dahan replied, "It was like standing at the base of an enormous mountain."

Dahan's technique of alternating flashbacks with "present" pivotal moments of triumph and tragedy is startling and perfect. In explaining why he placed one of Piaf's little known personal tragedies near the film's end, he said it was to honor how she herself handled it, 'Piaf never spoke about it in life' and he didn't want viewers to "dwell on it" throughout the film. That Dahan revealed this issue during Piaf's final hours was another brilliant choice.

It's hard to believe that Dahan doesn't consider Piaf an icon --- he so clearly honors her in one of the most---stunning (did I say that enough already?)---character portraits ever produced on film. Dahan said he feels proud. When long-time friends of Piaf finally saw the completed film, they told him, "Yes, that's her. You got her right."

SF International Film Festival At 50

San Francisco International Film Festival's 50th Anniversary celebration rolls into its final week with more innovative works and events. In between premieres and engaging world cinema offerings, this week's highlights include panels, live and onstage events,the Golden Gate Awards, and a closing night celebration:

Brand Upon The Brain! May 7, 8 p.m., The Castro
Join acclaimed director Guy Maddin, a 13-piece ensemble, foley artists, a benshi-like narrator, and a castrato

Rape of Europa, May 7 6:30 p.m., Kabuki Sundance Cinema

Ad Lib Night, May 7, 9p.m, Kabuki Sundance Cinema
North American Premiere, with Korean Director Lee Yoon Ki in attendance

Five-O Stories and Images From 50 Years Of The SF International
May 8, 6:30 p.m., Kabuki Sundance Cinema

Golden Gate Awards, May 9, 6:30 p.m., Fort Mason, Cowell

La Vie En Rose, May 10, 7:00 p.m., The Castro


More Info/Buy Tickets:
Celebrate 50th Anniversary SF International Film Festival

On Angela Lansbury's Return To Broadway

Angela Lansbury opens in DEUCE May 6 after almost a 24-year absence from Broadway and her fans are thrilled. She and the venerable Marian Seldes share the stage for a full 90 minutes without intermission. No small feat for anyone to play 8 shows a week, let alone someone who's been in the spotlight for more than 60 years.

My first theatrical experience with Angela Lansbury took place at The Winter Garden Theatre on a cold Friday night in December 1966. The show was MAME. My high school friend, Pat Sousa, and I had received a weeklong theatre trip to NYC as Christmas gifts that year. We saw CACTUS FlOWER, DINNER AT EIGHT, MAME, SWEET CHARITY, and THE ODD COUPLE. If memory serves me correctly, Marian Seldes appeared in DINNER AT EIGHT.


If you're lucky enough to have seen Angela Lansbury in MAME, you've experienced the joy of musical theatre and perfect casting. Who can forget Mame sparring with Vera Charles (Beatrice Arthur), or embracing Agnes Gooch (Jane Connell) after she learns how "to live," and Lansbury standing arm-in-arm among the chorus line, all dressed in top hats and riding habits, as they sing the show's signature song.

Not only did we see the most popular theatre hits of the day, we also met the show's stars---this involved a little amateur sleuthing similar to Lansbury's own Jessica Fletcher.

Surprisingly, getting backstage at the Winter Garden proved simple. We found an unlocked door leading from the house to backstage. Pat and I stood (along with one tall wooden ladder and a stagehand) in the middle of an otherwise empty stage while trying to figure out where to find the dressing rooms. You can imagine how two starry-eyed teens with dreams of being on Broadway ourselves attempted to act as if we belonged on that hallowed stage where real magic had just taken place. And then, quite magically, Jane Connell appeared. We gushed about how much we loved her and the show, she signed our programs, and we said that we wanted to meet Angela Lansbury. It's possible that we used the explanation, "we came all the way from Florida to see the show." This innocent plea--out of the southern-laced mouths of babes with freshly scrubbed faces--had worked for us earlier in the week at The Palace Theatre. My gushing had landed us in Gwen Verdon's dressing room.

Jane Connell escorted us across the Winter Garden stage, through the wings, and let the stagedoor manager know "they're with me." As we began making our way upstairs to the dressing rooms, Angela Lansbury descended (gaily talking with her son and daughter). Jane introduced us, Pat gushed, I don't remember saying anything,(I had done most of the gushing when meeting the aforementioned Gwen Verdon). Angela Lansbury, tall, gracious, and kind, signed her picture in my MAME souvenir program. I've kept all my autographed programs from that fabulous holiday gift.

Years later, I caught Ms. Lansbury in SWEENEY TODD and watched "Murder She Wrote" off and on---a favorite television progam of my Mother's. On one of my parent's trips out to visit, I took them up the coast to Mendocino, the small picturesque seaside town we see as Cabot Cove, Maine in Murder She Wrote's opening scenes.

Bravo to Angela Lansbury for sharing her extraordinary talent with us again.

DEUCE Plays The Music Box Theatre, May 6 through August 19, 2007
Tickets: www.broadway.com

On Glory . . . Rostropovich

Master cellist, conductor, and accomplished pianist, Mstislav "Slava" Rostropovich died yesterday in Moscow. Here the master performs near Checkpoint Charlie at the Berlin Wall on November 12, 1989. . . A fierce crusader of artistic freedom during the Cold War, his many friends called him by "Slava," which means Glory in Russian.

“Explain to me, please, why in our literature and art so often people absolutely incompetent in this field have the final word . . . Every man must have the right fearlessly to think independently and express his opinion about what he knows, what he has personally thought about and experienced, and not merely to express with slightly different variations the opinion which has been inculcated in him.”
__Mstislav Rostropovich, letter to PRAVDA,Soviet State Newspaper,1970

Photo Credit: Reuters

Piano Playing Cat Nora Releases New Video

Nora, the piano playing cat, just released her new video. Nora's first video hit YouTube in January. More than 1.5 million views later, this little piano playing cutie immediately landed on television newscasts around the globe. Notable U.S. featured spots include The Ellen Degeneres Show and Good Morning America. Nora tickled the ivories on The Martha Stewart Show in March.

For more about Nora, visit: Ravenswingstudio.

Watch Nora:The Sequel

On Accomplice: New York "Taking It To The Streets"

Schedule three hours on a weekend day to take in Accomplice: New York, one of the hottest city tour adventures available.

Sunday's New York Times article, along with a previous flurry of blurbs on national television outlets, will no doubt help Accomplice founders expand their interactive tours in major cities around the globe---including Peoria, if someone there is willing to license a production, according to FAQs posted on the Accomplice web site. Does anyone know who visits Peoria?

San Franciscans and out-of-towners have embraced audience interactive events for years---from Tony 'n Tina's Wedding to cult classic sing-along movie musical revivals. Accomplice takes reality theatre to the streets---where better to showcase the next Accomplice production than in The Streets of San Francisco!

Watch Accomplice Trailer and Order Tickets: www.accomplicenewyork.com

Check out Sunday NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/theater/22zino.html

On Get A Mac Advertising

Brilliant, elegant, funny, simple.
Great brand. Great dreamers. Extraordinary vision.

On Bada Bing! Bada Boom! The Sopranos Final Season

The Sopranos eases into it's final nine episodes as fans across the globe speculate how America's best loved home-grown Mafia family completes Season 7. When the doorbell rings, Carmela's opening line to Tony in bed, "Is this it?" sets the episode in motion. It's only fitting that Tony leaves the house in a terry cloth bathrobe after his arrest on lame gun charges. Released on bail, Tony and Carmela end up at his brother-in-law's lake house in upstate NY to celebrate Tony's 47th birthday."No risk, No Reward," Tony muses during a conversation sitting in a motor boat fishing with Bobby.

Music plays as much a character as the family members do. There's karoke singing with Carmela appropriately crooning, "Love Hurts." Jazz fans will enjoy hearing Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" throughout a game of monopoly and during Bobby and Tony's drunken fist fight. Bobby feels compelled to defend Janice's honor after Tony insults her.

"We're family, these things happen," says Janice the next morning, everyone is hung-over. Another great scene follows this one with Tony sitting alone on the dock lamenting to Carmela, "I'm old Carm, my body has suffered a trauma it will probably never recover from." Tony continues to brood over last year's life-changing shooting and heart attack.

Episode 78 ends with Bobby taking care of business. He blows away some skinny long-haired chump in a laundromat and returns to the lake house where his children are having a tea party out by the lake. As Bobby's young daughter runs toward him, "This Magic Moment" begins to play. We watch Bobby embrace his daughter---the one pure good thing in his life.

Photo Credits: HBO

On HOLLYWOOD Fires & Broken Dreams

Two teens set fire to 160 acres of the Hollywood Hills yesterday while lighting fireworks. As the fire raged across land, smoke billowed over the most recognized symbol of moviedom and great dreams, the HOLLYWOOD sign.

The original HOLLYWOODLAND sign was dedicated on July 13, 1923 as a (temporary) advertisement for new homes being built in the Hollywood Hills. Over the years, it became a permanent fixture and literally fell in disrepair. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce stepped in around 1949--even though maintenance on the sign continued to be a problem for decades. Donors rallied and the Chamber dedicated a new sign in 1978.

As hopes and dreams grow brighter for some, others end in Hollywood's heart of darkness. The HOLLYWOOD sign became the final stop for The Black Dahlia in 1947 and--another Hollywood hopeful--actress Peg Entwistle in 1932.

Peg Entwistle made her way from New York to Hollywood in spring 1932 seeking film stardom. She landed a job working with Billie Burke and Humphrey Bogart in a short-run stage play. Not long after the play closed, Entwistle signed with RKO Studios to appear in a film called Thirteen Women. After test screenings, the studio cut the film time and her onscreen role diminished. RKO also decided not to renew Entwistle's contract. She continued to go on casting calls without success. Six months after arriving in the land of Hollywood dreams, Peg Entwistle walked from her Uncle's home located near the Hollywood sign, climbed the 50-foot tall letter "H," and jumped to her death.

The story goes that Entwistle's uncle received a letter addressed to Peg two days after her death. The letter was sent from the Beverly Hills Playhouse and postmarked the day before she took her life. They offered Peg the lead role in an upcoming production and explained that her character would commit suicide during the final act.

More information: Hollywood Sign

On San Francisco International Film Festival Celebrates 50 Years

The San Francisco Film Society just announced more key events and awards night honorees for the upcoming San Francisco International Film Festival's 50th Anniversary celebration beginning April 26-May 10.





Here's a line-up of not-to-be-missed celebrations:

50th Anniversary Awards Night - Black-Tie Celebration held at the St.Francis Hotel. An array of awards will be presented including a special one-time only Irving M. Levin Award named for SF Film Festival founder "Bud" Levin. The award goes to Bay Area film Maverick, GEORGE LUCAS.

April 26

GOLDENDOOR (NUOVOMONDO) by Italian director Emanuele Crialese
Opening Night Film, 7:00pm
Castro Theatre

After-Party Celebration
City Hall, 9:30pm




April 29

FOG CITY MAVERICKS, by director Gary Leva
World Premiere
Castro Theatre,7:30pm

Mavericks expected to attend: Dominic Angerame, Peter Coyote, Peter Docter, Phil Kaufman, John Korty, George Lucas, Andrew Stanton, Matthew Robbins, Saul Zaentz.

May 2

SPIKE LEE
SFIFF50 Directing Award
Castro Theatre, 7:30pm
Film clip retrospective & onstage interview
Screening Acts 2 & 3: When The Levees Broke:A Requiem In Four Acts

May 4

ROBIN WILLIAMS
SFIFF50 PETER J. OWENS AWARD for Acting
Castro Theatre, 7:30pm
Onstage Interview
Screening of THE FISHER KING, another academy award nominated role

May 5

PETER MORGAN, my favorite award-winning screenwriter
SFIFF50 KANBAR Award for Excellence in Screenwriting
Sundance Cinema Kabuki Theatre, 1pm
Onstage Interview
Screening of THE DEAL

More Info/Buy Tickets:
Celebrate 50th Anniversary SF International Film Festival

On Larry "Bud" Melman: David Letterman Sidekick

Here's a funny clip of the late beloved Calvert DeForest, best known for his character work as Larry "Bud" Melman on David Letterman's Late Night show. DeForest died Monday in New York after a long illness. News reports said the show's producers first saw DeForest in a New York University film student's video. They later found him working as a file clerk in a drug rehab center and hired him.

Larry "Bud" Melman introduced television audiences to the first Late Night show on February 1, 1982. DeForest once said his first appearance "was the greatest thing that had happened in my life."

On The Oscars

Yawn. Year after year, the Academy Awards Show continues to bore. Seems like the producers should be able to deliver a simple ceremony where nominees are honored and awards are presented. I don't know what the Academy should do except stop doing what they're doing, it's not working. I'd offer another solution but I don't have one.

Thank heaven for Helen Mirren's gracious tribute to HRH:


"For 50 years and more, Elizabeth Windsor has maintained her dignity, her sense of duty, and her hairstyle. And I thank her because if it wasn't for her, I most, most certainly would not be here. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Queen!"

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Gary Hershorn

On Cool Hand Luke

It's Oscar day and I was sitting here sorting thru a stack of mail while half-watching (for the zillionth time) Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke. One in a string of very cool Newman films, this one delivers that all-time classic line:

"What we've got he'ah is(a) fail-yah to communicate!"

Cool Hand Luke boasts a stellar chain gang: Harry Dean Stanton, George Kennedy, J.D. Cannon, Wayne Rogers, Dennis Hopper, James Gammon, Ralph Waites, Anthony Zerbe, and Joe Don Baker. The late great award-winning actress Jo Van Fleet plays Luke's mother.

I can remember my own mother talking about Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward's romance and subsequent marriage around 1958 because I paid attention to conversations about movies and movie stars. So, I'm happy that Newman's still around and has received recognition in recent years for his contribution to film and for his "Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good" with Newman's Own. Enjoy watching the trailer from Cool Hand Luke:

On Peter Pan Peanut Butter

Since I grew up on Peter Pan Peanut Butter and the magic of Peter Pan, I feel a sense of responsibility to blog on this particular peanut butter lover alert for the many great dreamers out there:

There's a health contamination problem with Peter Pan Peanut Butter on the market since May 2006 and manufactured out of a ConAgra plant in Sylvester, Georgia. According to the FDA,the company voluntarily recalled all varieties of Peter Pan Peanut Butter and Great Value Peanut Butter beginning with product code 2111 as well as individual packets of Peter Pan Peanut Butter found in foodservice venues. Subsequent information released says that the products which may be contaminated include 3/4 ounce and 1.1 ounce single serving packs of Peter Pan Peanut Butter. Consumers with questions or concerns about the recall can call the 24-hour toll-free hotline at 866-344-6970. For more information, please visit: www.conagrafoods.com/brands/peter_pan/index.jsp.

On Oscar Night - 79th Academy Awards

What a night for great dreams! And what a pleasure to see several amazing stories brought to our attention this year! A few favorites include Little Miss Sunshine, a small independent film with a large heart, fabulous cast, and a refreshing look at dysfunction. Several favorite films weave a common thread through them about what it means to stay together as a family today.

Babel left the theatre with me, four stories across four continents in 24 hours, snapshots of people trying to live their lives in a complex world. Screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga said that he'd "been obsessed through all my life with what is the particular day, the special day that makes you different, (so) that you will never be the same from that point." Babel captures "the last day of innocence," "the last day of a sense of loss," "the last day of substitution," and "the last day of resentment." Babel manages to bring our microcosms together, at the end of the day, each story reveals it's about communication.

I reviewed The Queen months ago, mostly about Helen Mirren's performance. Peter Morgan should win for his exceptional original The Queen screenplay. Forest Whitaker has had my attention for years. Best supporting actor category proves a bit tougher, it could go to Wahlberg or Murphy. I'll pick one and be happy with either. Best supporting actress nominees share really good performances though Jennifer Hudson deserves this year's statue.

Here's my Oscar picks in a few categories:

Best Picture:

Best Actor:




Best Supporting Actor:
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls (I'd be happy with Mark Wahlberg)

Best Director:
Alejandro González Iñárritu - Babel

Best Original Screenplay:
Peter Morgan - The Queen

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Best Animated Feature:
Happy Feet (It will probably go to Cars)

Best Foreign Film:
The Lives of Others

Best Documentary:
An Inconvenient Truth (will win whether it should or not)