Is there a single director working today with a better track record than Martin Scorsese? Ever since breaking through with his gritty, scrappy crime drama “Mean Streets,” the Italian-American’s name has been synonymous with quality, and he’s kept that train going for several years. Some films were more acclaimed than others, but from the ’70s all the way to the 2020s, Scorsese has remained a consistent top-tier filmmaker, pumping out at least one or two stone-cold classics per decade.
What’s even more impressive is how adaptable and varied the man has proven himself to be. A refrain popular among internet contrarians is that Scorsese is just a dude who makes gangster movies, but one look at the films he’s made over the years shows that only scratches the surface of his capabilities and tastes. While his mafia films like “Goodfellas” and “The Irishman” are obvious greats,...
What’s even more impressive is how adaptable and varied the man has proven himself to be. A refrain popular among internet contrarians is that Scorsese is just a dude who makes gangster movies, but one look at the films he’s made over the years shows that only scratches the surface of his capabilities and tastes. While his mafia films like “Goodfellas” and “The Irishman” are obvious greats,...
- 1/26/2024
- by Wilson Chapman and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Tuesday, April 25, Showtime hosted the FYC event for the documentary “Personality Crisis: One Night Only.” The screening, panel and reception were held at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Los Angeles. Panel participants from the film included: Director and Producer Martin Scorsese, Director and Editor David Tedeschi, the one and only David Johansen, Producer Margaret Bodde, Executive Producer Mara Hennessey, and film interviewer Leah Hennessey. The conversation was moderated by Cynthia Littleton, Variety Editor-in-Chief.
“It was shockingly good,” Johansen said of the film about him. “I especially liked the fact that I didn’t die at the end. A lot of people, when they do documentaries about music, they ask me to be in them and I normally refuse because it’s the most horrible thing to have an opinion one day and then two years later see it in a film. Because, evolution and transcendence and all that jazz, you...
“It was shockingly good,” Johansen said of the film about him. “I especially liked the fact that I didn’t die at the end. A lot of people, when they do documentaries about music, they ask me to be in them and I normally refuse because it’s the most horrible thing to have an opinion one day and then two years later see it in a film. Because, evolution and transcendence and all that jazz, you...
- 4/27/2023
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
“Inimitable storyteller” and “mythic storyteller” were a few of the superlatives sung of David Johansen, former New York Dolls frontman turned lounge act Buster Poindexter, at the Metrograph premiere of “Personality Crisis: One Night Only” in New York Tuesday.
But they could easily apply to the film’s co-director, Martin Scorsese, who made the cabaret concert documentary with David Tedeschi, the longtime editor on his past nonfiction music films like “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” and Bob Dylan’s “Rolling Thunder Revue.”
Curiously for an Oscar-winning filmmaker who has made eight music documentaries along with Fran Lebowitz portraits “Pretend It’s a City” and “Public Speaking” and other nonfiction efforts, Scorsese doesn’t exactly subscribe to the term documentary itself. Or differentiate it from his fiction features like “The Irishman” or the upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon” at all.
“For me, what I’m trying to do is...
But they could easily apply to the film’s co-director, Martin Scorsese, who made the cabaret concert documentary with David Tedeschi, the longtime editor on his past nonfiction music films like “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” and Bob Dylan’s “Rolling Thunder Revue.”
Curiously for an Oscar-winning filmmaker who has made eight music documentaries along with Fran Lebowitz portraits “Pretend It’s a City” and “Public Speaking” and other nonfiction efforts, Scorsese doesn’t exactly subscribe to the term documentary itself. Or differentiate it from his fiction features like “The Irishman” or the upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon” at all.
“For me, what I’m trying to do is...
- 4/12/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
“Pretend It’s a City,” the seven-part Netflix docu-series directed by Martin Scorsese, marks the second time that Scorsese has turned his cameras on Fran Lebowitz, the author, sardonic wit and quintessential New Yorker.
This fact makes Lebowitz very uncomfortable.
“Marty made a documentary about me, ‘Public Speaking,’ in 2010,” Lebowitz said of that film, which was broadcast on HBO and received a Gotham Independent Film Awards nomination. “And as soon as we finished, he said, ‘Let’s do another one.’ I said, ‘No, what are you talking about?’”
Her reasoning, she said, was simple: “Truthfully, if someone told me that there were going to be two documentaries about one person, and that person wasn’t George Washington, I would say, ‘That’s ridiculous.’ And I don’t want to be that ridiculous person.”
A decade after “Public Speaking,” though, Lebowitz let Scorsese film her again for “Pretend It’s a City,” an...
This fact makes Lebowitz very uncomfortable.
“Marty made a documentary about me, ‘Public Speaking,’ in 2010,” Lebowitz said of that film, which was broadcast on HBO and received a Gotham Independent Film Awards nomination. “And as soon as we finished, he said, ‘Let’s do another one.’ I said, ‘No, what are you talking about?’”
Her reasoning, she said, was simple: “Truthfully, if someone told me that there were going to be two documentaries about one person, and that person wasn’t George Washington, I would say, ‘That’s ridiculous.’ And I don’t want to be that ridiculous person.”
A decade after “Public Speaking,” though, Lebowitz let Scorsese film her again for “Pretend It’s a City,” an...
- 8/24/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Fran Lebowitz is a brilliant writer, thinker and talker. A sardonic wit in the vein of Dorothy Parker whose writer’s block has prevented her from producing new written material for the last 40 years, but who regularly churns out gems on the speaker circuit and during TV appearances, she is now, at the age of 70, as associated with the city of New York as just about anyone. She is also the subject of Pretend It’s a City, a new Netflix docuseries directed by Martin Scorsese, which comes 11 years after Public Speaking, a prior Scorsese documentary about her. During a recent episode of THR’s Awards ...
- 6/21/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Fran Lebowitz is a brilliant writer, thinker and talker. A sardonic wit in the vein of Dorothy Parker whose writer’s block has prevented her from producing new written material for the last 40 years, but who regularly churns out gems on the speaker circuit and during TV appearances, she is now, at the age of 70, as associated with the city of New York as just about anyone. She is also the subject of Pretend It’s a City, a new Netflix docuseries directed by Martin Scorsese, which comes 11 years after Public Speaking, a prior Scorsese documentary about her. During a recent episode of THR’s Awards ...
- 6/21/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” is widely regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made, but Scorsese still has a bone to pick with his masterpiece. During an interview with the Los Angeles Times (via NME), Fran Lebowitz revealed that Scorsese often griped about “Taxi Driver” during the making of their Netflix documentary series “Pretend It’s a City.” Why does “Taxi Driver” agitate Scorsese so much? The color red.
“What takes long with Marty is the editing, because Marty never feels finished,” Lebowitz said. “I guarantee you if they had not taken it away from him, he would still be editing ‘Taxi Driver.’ He’s still angry. He said to me numerous times: ‘You know what ruins “Taxi Driver”? The color red. The studio wouldn’t give me enough money to correct the color red, and that’s why it’s horrible.’ I say, ‘You know what’s wrong with “Taxi Driver,...
“What takes long with Marty is the editing, because Marty never feels finished,” Lebowitz said. “I guarantee you if they had not taken it away from him, he would still be editing ‘Taxi Driver.’ He’s still angry. He said to me numerous times: ‘You know what ruins “Taxi Driver”? The color red. The studio wouldn’t give me enough money to correct the color red, and that’s why it’s horrible.’ I say, ‘You know what’s wrong with “Taxi Driver,...
- 6/15/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
If bon mots were bonbons, Fran Lebowitz would be Willie Wonka.
She has been dispensing witty observations for decades now, in her book The Fran Lebowitz Reader, as a frequent and reliably funny guest on late-night TV, and most recently in the Netflix documentary series Pretend It’s a City.
Her friend Martin Scorsese directed the Emmy-contending series, the second documentary he’s made that focused on Lebowitz, after the 2010 film Public Speaking. Pretend It’s a City consists of conversations between the two, as well as public speaking engagements Lebowitz made before Covid hit, moderated by the likes of Spike Lee, Alec Baldwin, and Olivia Wilde.
The seven-part series includes an ample supply of pithy comments, most of them springing from Lebowitz’s curmudgeonly point of view—a longtime New York resident (though originally from New Jersey) who feels constantly irked by the foibles of people with whom she shares the city.
She has been dispensing witty observations for decades now, in her book The Fran Lebowitz Reader, as a frequent and reliably funny guest on late-night TV, and most recently in the Netflix documentary series Pretend It’s a City.
Her friend Martin Scorsese directed the Emmy-contending series, the second documentary he’s made that focused on Lebowitz, after the 2010 film Public Speaking. Pretend It’s a City consists of conversations between the two, as well as public speaking engagements Lebowitz made before Covid hit, moderated by the likes of Spike Lee, Alec Baldwin, and Olivia Wilde.
The seven-part series includes an ample supply of pithy comments, most of them springing from Lebowitz’s curmudgeonly point of view—a longtime New York resident (though originally from New Jersey) who feels constantly irked by the foibles of people with whom she shares the city.
- 6/14/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Ellen Kuras had never been to the Queens Museum prior to filming “Pretend it’s a City,” but Martin Scorsese wanted to shoot at the museum’s infamous Panorama of the City of New York, a massive scale model of the city. “The whole thing about that is that it is so delicate and fragile that when we first started going out and we started filming, we couldn’t put our cameras out in the middle. We had to put them on the very end,” Kuras tells Gold Derby in our Meet the Experts: Television Documentary panel (watch the exclusive video interview above). Shooting with Scorsese and Fran Lebowitz, Kuras was unprepared for what followed. “Fran comes up through the Verrazanos and comes all the way up and as it turns out, she ended up stepping over the Manhattan Bridge and knocks over the Manhattan Bridge!”
“Pretend it’s a City” is...
“Pretend it’s a City” is...
- 6/3/2021
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Filmmaker Martin Scorsese and humourist Fran Lebowitz aren’t sure how they met. It may or may not have been at the 50th birthday party of a mutual friend, neither remembers. What they do remember is that every time they ended up at the same party, they’d spend the whole night talking. To guess from their new seven-part Netflix documentary series, it’s likely that Lebowitz did most of the talking, and Scorsese most of the laughing.
Talking is Lebowitz’s job. Her previous Scorsese collaboration, 2010 HBO film Public Speaking, followed the speaking engagements that have earned her a following, a reputation as one of America’s sharpest, funniest commentators, and, for the last forty years, a living.
Starting as a columnist and movie critic in underground NYC newspapers including the Andy Warhol-founded Interview in the 1970s, Lebowitz published her last essay collection in 1981. One children’s book and two unfinished novels later,...
Talking is Lebowitz’s job. Her previous Scorsese collaboration, 2010 HBO film Public Speaking, followed the speaking engagements that have earned her a following, a reputation as one of America’s sharpest, funniest commentators, and, for the last forty years, a living.
Starting as a columnist and movie critic in underground NYC newspapers including the Andy Warhol-founded Interview in the 1970s, Lebowitz published her last essay collection in 1981. One children’s book and two unfinished novels later,...
- 1/28/2021
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
They have been close friends for decades, shared countless meals, watched too many movies to count together, kept each other company at infinite ritzy midtown soirées. He grew up in downtown’s Little Italy neighborhood, and spent a much storied period in Los Angeles during the 1970s. She was born in New Jersey before moving to Manhattan. But Martin Scorsese and Fran Lebowitz are the kind of bona fide, card-carrying New Yorkers that characterize the best aspects of that distinction, and are virtually synonymous with the city they call home.
- 1/11/2021
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
One of the gentle touches of “Pretend It’s a City” is that there are usually other people in the room where Fran Lebowitz and Martin Scorsese are chatting. Not just the crew members who worked on the Netflix doc series to record the conversation between two of New York City’s highest profile ambassadors, but — as shown when the camera pulls back at the beginning and end of a few episodes — a handful of other patrons standing by the bar or setting up shots at a nearby pool table.
That’s the “slice of New York life” element of “Pretend It’s a City” that gives this seven-episode season its best moments. Stitching together clips from public talks and b-roll of Lebowitz making her way across the streets of Manhattan, a majority of the series is centered in talks from opposite ends of a table. It’s the most elegant form of old friend catch-up,...
That’s the “slice of New York life” element of “Pretend It’s a City” that gives this seven-episode season its best moments. Stitching together clips from public talks and b-roll of Lebowitz making her way across the streets of Manhattan, a majority of the series is centered in talks from opposite ends of a table. It’s the most elegant form of old friend catch-up,...
- 1/8/2021
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Recently, the comic essayist David Sedaris found himself in the midst of a short-lived cycle of criticism for a piece he delivered on CBS’s “Sunday Morning,” which was inelegantly premised on the idea that Sedaris wanted for himself the right to fire service industry employees at will. That this was plainly unworkable became the piece’s punchline, but the moment for this remained poorly chosen. It was easy to be annoyed with Sedaris for two minutes of blitheness, but, flipping through Sedaris’s new omnibus collection of his work over the holidays, this sense — for this reader, at least — faded. What a writer says, even in public, even on camera, lingers less than the work.
That may help explain the media career of Fran Lebowitz, the self-styled New York City landmark at the center of Netflix’s new documentary series “Pretend It’s a City.” Lebowitz’s second collaboration with director Martin Scorsese,...
That may help explain the media career of Fran Lebowitz, the self-styled New York City landmark at the center of Netflix’s new documentary series “Pretend It’s a City.” Lebowitz’s second collaboration with director Martin Scorsese,...
- 1/7/2021
- by Daniel D'Addario
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix subscribers will be getting a late Christmas gift in the form of a “Pretend It’s a City,” a Martin Scorsese-directed documentary series that will premiere January 8 on the service. Netflix unveiled the trailer for the project on Monday.
Per Netflix, the limited documentary series’ synopsis reads:
Fran Lebowitz knows what she likes — and what she doesn’t like. And she won’t wait for an invitation to tell you. For decades, the critic and essayist has been expressing her opinions, sometimes grouchily, always riotously. A New Yorker to the core, Lebowitz has raised straight talk to an art form, packaging her no-nonsense observations about the city and its denizens into a punchy running commentary, one that spares nobody. Shaping Lebowitz’s thoughts into the furiously funny guidebook every New Yorker has at one point wished for, “Pretend It’s a City” checks in with a classic urban voice on subjects ranging from tourists,...
Per Netflix, the limited documentary series’ synopsis reads:
Fran Lebowitz knows what she likes — and what she doesn’t like. And she won’t wait for an invitation to tell you. For decades, the critic and essayist has been expressing her opinions, sometimes grouchily, always riotously. A New Yorker to the core, Lebowitz has raised straight talk to an art form, packaging her no-nonsense observations about the city and its denizens into a punchy running commentary, one that spares nobody. Shaping Lebowitz’s thoughts into the furiously funny guidebook every New Yorker has at one point wished for, “Pretend It’s a City” checks in with a classic urban voice on subjects ranging from tourists,...
- 12/29/2020
- by Tyler Hersko
- Indiewire
Ten years after Martin Scorsese teamed up with writer and essayist Fran Lebowitz for the HBO series Public Speaking, the filmmaker has unveiled a surprise follow-up documentary for Netflix, titled Pretend It’s a City. Lebowitz, who executive produced the documentary, appears again in her famously sardonic glory alongside Scorsese as they take on (a pre-covid) New York […]
The post ‘Pretend It’s A City’ Trailer: Martin Scorsese Presents a Surprise Documentary Featuring Writer Fran Lebowitz appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Pretend It’s A City’ Trailer: Martin Scorsese Presents a Surprise Documentary Featuring Writer Fran Lebowitz appeared first on /Film.
- 12/28/2020
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
Academy Award-winner Martin Scorsese is known for his big crime tale and humanist dramas. Still, the filmmaker also juggles it all by making personal documentaries on artistic figures he loves: Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Eli Kazan, and more. In 2010, he made, “Public Speaking,” a documentary about author, public speaker, occasional actor, and all-around raconteur Fran Lebowitz for HBO. Now, it appears he’s made a follow-up doc in semi-secret, because a sequel doc was never reported.
Continue reading ‘Pretend It’s A City’ Trailer: Martin Scorsese Directs A 7-Episode Docuseries About Humorist Fran Lebowitz at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Pretend It’s A City’ Trailer: Martin Scorsese Directs A 7-Episode Docuseries About Humorist Fran Lebowitz at The Playlist.
- 12/28/2020
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
We don’t normally report on every behind-the-scene piece of dealmaking in Hollywood when it’s not precisely tied to a new film, but a development today signals the end of the era even if the writing was on the wall.
For the last decade-plus, Martin Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions had a home at Paramount, with the studio backing The Wolf of Wall Street, Shutter Island, Hugo, Silence, and Shine a Light. Recently, while they still had a first-look option, the studio balked at backing the major budgets of The Irishman, which moved to Netflix, and the forthcoming Killers of the Flower Moon, which Paramount is still handling theatrical distribution for, but Apple TV+ will be the “creative studio,” footing the $200 million bill.
Now, the 77-year-old director has set his sights exclusively on Apple TV+ in a new first-look deal which covers both film and television and will span multiple years.
For the last decade-plus, Martin Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions had a home at Paramount, with the studio backing The Wolf of Wall Street, Shutter Island, Hugo, Silence, and Shine a Light. Recently, while they still had a first-look option, the studio balked at backing the major budgets of The Irishman, which moved to Netflix, and the forthcoming Killers of the Flower Moon, which Paramount is still handling theatrical distribution for, but Apple TV+ will be the “creative studio,” footing the $200 million bill.
Now, the 77-year-old director has set his sights exclusively on Apple TV+ in a new first-look deal which covers both film and television and will span multiple years.
- 8/11/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Two and one-half months after it stepped up to become the producers of Killers of the Flower Moon, Apple has inked a first-look deal with its director, Martin Scorsese. The master filmmaker will base his Sikelia Productions banner at Apple in a multi-year deal for film and television projects Scorsese will produce and direct for Apple TV +.
The relationship kicks off with Killers of the Flower Moon, the Eric Roth-scripted adaptation of the David Grann non-fiction book which will star Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro will star in. Apple won an auction with the $180 million + film originally optioned by Paramount came back on the market. Deadline revealed on May 27 that Apple won a deal that has Paramount releasing the film theatrically. The film’s produced by Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas at Imperative Entertainment. The film is in pre-production and expected to get underway February in Oklahoma.
The relationship kicks off with Killers of the Flower Moon, the Eric Roth-scripted adaptation of the David Grann non-fiction book which will star Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro will star in. Apple won an auction with the $180 million + film originally optioned by Paramount came back on the market. Deadline revealed on May 27 that Apple won a deal that has Paramount releasing the film theatrically. The film’s produced by Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas at Imperative Entertainment. The film is in pre-production and expected to get underway February in Oklahoma.
- 8/11/2020
- by Justin Kroll and Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Super Ltd has acquired Jack Bryan’s documentary “Active Measures,” which details the decades-long connection between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, and set an Aug. 31 release.
The film, which premiered in April at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto, includes reporting on Trump’s alleged dealings with Russian mob figures, and analysis on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 Us Presidential Election.
The release will be day and date with exclusive theatrical engagements in New York and Los Angeles and on digital platforms.
Bryan alleges in the the film that Putin has engaged for 30 years in covert political warfare devised to disrupt, influence, and ultimately control world events through cyber attacks, propaganda campaigns, and corruption. He asserts that the trail of money, real estate, mob connections, and on the record confessions lead directly back to the White House.
The film includes interviews with Senator John McCain, Hillary Clinton, former Us Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul,...
The film, which premiered in April at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto, includes reporting on Trump’s alleged dealings with Russian mob figures, and analysis on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 Us Presidential Election.
The release will be day and date with exclusive theatrical engagements in New York and Los Angeles and on digital platforms.
Bryan alleges in the the film that Putin has engaged for 30 years in covert political warfare devised to disrupt, influence, and ultimately control world events through cyber attacks, propaganda campaigns, and corruption. He asserts that the trail of money, real estate, mob connections, and on the record confessions lead directly back to the White House.
The film includes interviews with Senator John McCain, Hillary Clinton, former Us Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul,...
- 8/2/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Everything you need to know about the director in one handy post.
Have a conversation with anyone, anywhere in the world about the greatest living filmmakers, and if the name “Martin Scorsese” isn’t one of the first two or three mentioned, leave that conversation immediately and never speak to that person again. Because Scorsese’s greatness isn’t up for debate, it just isn’t. For nearly a half-century now he has built film upon film into a diverse and heralded oeuvre that includes crime films (Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed), intense character studies (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Taxi Driver, The Aviator), religious epics (The Last Temptation of Christ, Kundun, Silence), documentaries (The Last Waltz, Public Speaking, A Letter to Elia), and rollicking tributes to art and artists (New York New York, Life Lessons, Hugo). There is no doubt that no matter who comes after him, Martin Scorsese...
Have a conversation with anyone, anywhere in the world about the greatest living filmmakers, and if the name “Martin Scorsese” isn’t one of the first two or three mentioned, leave that conversation immediately and never speak to that person again. Because Scorsese’s greatness isn’t up for debate, it just isn’t. For nearly a half-century now he has built film upon film into a diverse and heralded oeuvre that includes crime films (Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed), intense character studies (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Taxi Driver, The Aviator), religious epics (The Last Temptation of Christ, Kundun, Silence), documentaries (The Last Waltz, Public Speaking, A Letter to Elia), and rollicking tributes to art and artists (New York New York, Life Lessons, Hugo). There is no doubt that no matter who comes after him, Martin Scorsese...
- 3/31/2017
- by H. Perry Horton
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Tiffany & Co. in New York Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Rob Marshall, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin on Carey Mulligan's The Great Gatsby pearls, Mickey Rooney in Blake Edwards' Breakfast At Tiffany's, Truman Capote, Fran Lebowitz coming out of a Tiffany clock in Martin Scorsese's Public Speaking, a connection to Marcel Broodthaers, Woody Allen and Wes Anderson in The Carlyle and Gay Talese not after Anna Wintour's 2015 Costume Institute Met Gala (Andrew Rossi's The First Monday In May to open Tribeca), DJs Andrew & Andrew and what's next for Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf's director Matthew Miele.
The Great Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann: "I knew we could journey from Baz to China."
Who knew that the New York Yankees' logo, the interlocking N and Y, was conceived by Tiffany's, initially for a police medal? Or how much Steve Jobs loved his Tiffany lamp? Or that in 1886 Charles...
Rob Marshall, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin on Carey Mulligan's The Great Gatsby pearls, Mickey Rooney in Blake Edwards' Breakfast At Tiffany's, Truman Capote, Fran Lebowitz coming out of a Tiffany clock in Martin Scorsese's Public Speaking, a connection to Marcel Broodthaers, Woody Allen and Wes Anderson in The Carlyle and Gay Talese not after Anna Wintour's 2015 Costume Institute Met Gala (Andrew Rossi's The First Monday In May to open Tribeca), DJs Andrew & Andrew and what's next for Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf's director Matthew Miele.
The Great Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann: "I knew we could journey from Baz to China."
Who knew that the New York Yankees' logo, the interlocking N and Y, was conceived by Tiffany's, initially for a police medal? Or how much Steve Jobs loved his Tiffany lamp? Or that in 1886 Charles...
- 2/24/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
[Editor's Note: This article is presented in partnership with Comedy Central's "Review." New episodes air Thursdays at 10pm on Comedy Central and stream anytime on the Comedy Central App.] Because it's one of "Comedy Central's" most innovative series, the best way to showcase the power of "Review" is to just watch it. So check out the below clips, which illustrate the profundity of Forrest MacNeil's quest to quantify human existence. (Using big words feels appropriate, because we're talking about a critic.) Also, they're funny. Which is nice. A Six-Star Event What review request deserves A Six-star Evaluation? Good question. Forrest really made this one personal, though. Conquering the Fear of Public Speaking This is a situation we all eventually have to deal with (on some level) -- though hopefully, none of us have to deal with these specifics. A Peaceful Sojourn Maybe don't row a boat on painkillers, is all we're...
- 10/1/2015
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
“I bet the only thing more horrifying than that sound will be the moment it stops.”
Forrest MacNeil is the worst kind of faux-perpetual motion machine. He may run forever, he may in fact be incapable of ceasing to pursue his destructive path, but he needs an incredible amount of fuel to keep going, and his fuel of choice is suffering. ‘Buried Alive, 6 Star Review, Public Speaking’ takes Review‘s arbitrary structure and core of self-deceit and stretches it as far as it can go before it starts to scream. Then, naturally, it keeps going. Other shows might stagnate in the place of extremity to which Review has pushed itself, but week after week Andy Daly and co find a way to plumb new and awful depths in what is essentially a video log of one man’s protracted dissolution into sparking wreckage.
“I only told one person where I am,...
Forrest MacNeil is the worst kind of faux-perpetual motion machine. He may run forever, he may in fact be incapable of ceasing to pursue his destructive path, but he needs an incredible amount of fuel to keep going, and his fuel of choice is suffering. ‘Buried Alive, 6 Star Review, Public Speaking’ takes Review‘s arbitrary structure and core of self-deceit and stretches it as far as it can go before it starts to scream. Then, naturally, it keeps going. Other shows might stagnate in the place of extremity to which Review has pushed itself, but week after week Andy Daly and co find a way to plumb new and awful depths in what is essentially a video log of one man’s protracted dissolution into sparking wreckage.
“I only told one person where I am,...
- 9/19/2015
- by Gretchen Felker-Martin
- Nerdly
The Performer | Andy Daly
The Show | Review
The Episode | “Buried Alive/6 Star Review/Public Speaking” (Sept. 10, 2015)
The Performance | As Review life critic Forrest MacNeil, Daly is making one of TV’s biggest jackasses a lovable sad-sack with whom you can almost empathize, thanks in part to the character’s unmatched naiveté.
His work in Thursday’s episode was a thing of beauty and horror, as the willing-to-do-anything reviewer found himself buried alive and getting kicked in the nuts repeatedly — not that life itself wasn’t already kicking Forrest where it hurts.
But the moment that truly earned Daly TVLine’s...
The Show | Review
The Episode | “Buried Alive/6 Star Review/Public Speaking” (Sept. 10, 2015)
The Performance | As Review life critic Forrest MacNeil, Daly is making one of TV’s biggest jackasses a lovable sad-sack with whom you can almost empathize, thanks in part to the character’s unmatched naiveté.
His work in Thursday’s episode was a thing of beauty and horror, as the willing-to-do-anything reviewer found himself buried alive and getting kicked in the nuts repeatedly — not that life itself wasn’t already kicking Forrest where it hurts.
But the moment that truly earned Daly TVLine’s...
- 9/12/2015
- TVLine.com
David Tedeschi, who's edited Martin Scorsese's documentaries Shine a Light (2008), Public Speaking (2010) and George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011), makes his… co-directorial review with The 50 Year Argument. Marking half a century of the New York Review of Books, the doc sneak-peeked as a work-in-progress at the Berlinale in February and saw its official world premiere at the Sheffield Doc/Fest. Having popped up at festivals such as Telluride and Toronto, it now comes home to the New York Film Festival, which'll be slipping three screenings in before Monday night's premiere on HBO. We gather reviews, the trailer and interviews. » - David Hudson...
- 9/28/2014
- Keyframe
David Tedeschi, who's edited Martin Scorsese's documentaries Shine a Light (2008), Public Speaking (2010) and George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011), makes his… co-directorial review with The 50 Year Argument. Marking half a century of the New York Review of Books, the doc sneak-peeked as a work-in-progress at the Berlinale in February and saw its official world premiere at the Sheffield Doc/Fest. Having popped up at festivals such as Telluride and Toronto, it now comes home to the New York Film Festival, which'll be slipping three screenings in before Monday night's premiere on HBO. We gather reviews, the trailer and interviews. » - David Hudson...
- 9/28/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
"The 50 Year Argument," their third HBO doc collaboration--after “Public Speaking” and Emmy-winner “George Harrison: Living in the Material World"-- is a must-see. The co-directors talked to me about their new movie as well as Quentin Tarantino's fight for 35 mm, "The Silence," "Sinatra" and other upcoming projects. The movie is an embarrassment of cultural riches. The semi-monthly newspaper New York Review of Books, founded 51 years ago by veteran editor Robert Silvers during a protracted 1963 newspaper strike, is based on the rare notion that smart writers can cover anything well, with freedom to explore a subject and strong editing behind them. This is not the kind of journalism so many of us have had to endure, where editors think they know the story before a writer has the chance to find out what it really is. Nyrb doesn't just publish book reviews, by the way. "No one could stop us,...
- 9/23/2014
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
“As long as we could pay the printer, we could publish anything we wanted,” says New York Review of Books co-founder Robert H. Silvers in this trailer for The 50 Year Argument, a documentary about the literary institution. It’s co-directed by Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi, the director’s editor on recent documentaries including Rolling Stones concert movie Shine a Light and the Fran Lebowitz profile Public Speaking. The film will be playing at Nyff before debuting on HBO on September 29th. It looks to be catnip for longtime readers of the publication, which in a just world would be just […]...
- 9/4/2014
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
“As long as we could pay the printer, we could publish anything we wanted,” says New York Review of Books co-founder Robert H. Silvers in this trailer for The 50 Year Argument, a documentary about the literary institution. It’s co-directed by Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi, the director’s editor on recent documentaries including Rolling Stones concert movie Shine a Light and the Fran Lebowitz profile Public Speaking. The film will be playing at Nyff before debuting on HBO on September 29th. It looks to be catnip for longtime readers of the publication, which in a just world would be just […]...
- 9/4/2014
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Martin Scorsese’s latest documentary, The 50 Year Argument, is set to premiere on HBO Sept. 29 at 9 p.m. Et.
The documentary, directed by Scorsese and David Tedeschi, looks at The New York Review of Books and its founding editor Robert Silvers. “I have learned so much over the years from The New York Review of Books—it’s given me so much that I jumped at the chance to make this film,” Scorsese said in a press release. “And and I both welcomed the challenge of making a film that reflected what is so unique about the Review, really, a...
The documentary, directed by Scorsese and David Tedeschi, looks at The New York Review of Books and its founding editor Robert Silvers. “I have learned so much over the years from The New York Review of Books—it’s given me so much that I jumped at the chance to make this film,” Scorsese said in a press release. “And and I both welcomed the challenge of making a film that reflected what is so unique about the Review, really, a...
- 8/11/2014
- by Ariana Bacle
- EW - Inside TV
HBO will debut 'The 50 Year Argument,' directed by Martin Scorsese and his longtime documentary collaborator David Tedeschi, on Monday, September 29 exclusively. The documentary profiles The New York Review of Books and founding editor Robert Silvers, who, along with his co-editor, Barbara Epstein (who died in 2006), has led the Nyrbr since its launch 50 years back. Produced by Margaret Bodde, David Tedeschi and Martin Scorsese through his Sikelia Productions, the feature doc marks the third by Scorsese to be presented on HBO. Tedeschi gains co-directing credit on this one, after collaborating on “Public Speaking” and the Emmy®-winning “George Harrison: Living in the Material World,” both directed by Scorsese. Bodde served as executive producer on “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” and producer on “Public Speaking,” while Tedeschi served as editor on both. “I have learned so much over the years from The New York Review...
- 8/11/2014
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
I would have titled this dispatch “New Movies From Martin Scorsese,” plural, but during last night’s Q&A with Steve James (which, yep, I had to fight back tears for), I learned that Scorsese’s off-screen involvement in Life Itself was in lesser capacity than I’d thought. He’s merely an executive producer in name and had no creative or editorial impact on the film. That’s okay, as his on-screen involvement is perfect, probably the most emotional you’ll ever see him. Yet I do think that even his association with the Roger Ebert doc is fitting for the current trend in his documentary work. Following his films on cinema and his films on music artists, he’s now in a period of films on writers, whether that’s intentional or not. In addition to Life Itself‘s movie critic, there’s the Fran Lebowitz doc Public Speaking and now the New York Review...
- 6/12/2014
- by Nonfics.com
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Public speaking is hard. Public speaking is even harder when discussing last year.s Best Picture Oscar winner 12 Years A Slave. It.s been very difficult talking about the movie, and even some people who like or support it can't help but put their foot in their mouths in discussing one of the year.s most-acclaimed films. And joining that group of people who end up saying dopey things about 12 Years A Slave is National Association Of Theater Owners CEO John Fithian. Making his annual speech at Cinemacon (via THR), Fithian bumblingly praised the year in movies by essentially saying he didn.t even see the best one in theaters: "Earlier, I mentioned human emotion and diversity of product. One movie that brought both of those qualities to the market was 12 Years a Slave, winner of the Best Picture Oscar. Yet it was the only movie of the nine nominated...
- 3/26/2014
- cinemablend.com
Today’s the day! And you know it’s serious because Will does this …
But can it possibly be as romantic as …
Oh Nicole, I am always on your side (especially when your claws came out on Jennifer), but you are f*cking this up big time. Get a grip, girl.
Will is running around making last minute preparations, and calls Gabi to tell her to take her freak outs somewhere else for the the time being. Meanwhile, new bartender Terry give Son … wait a minute! Who is this Terry? He’s tall, blond, and fairly screams “snicks!” Or at least he will by the time I’m through with him. (h.t Blanche Deveraux).
He hands Sonny a big package … oh c’mon … and when Sonny unwraps it, it’s a photo album titled “Will and Sonny: A Love Story Told In Pictures”. Wha-wha-wha-what???? Wait A Minute. What? Who?...
But can it possibly be as romantic as …
Oh Nicole, I am always on your side (especially when your claws came out on Jennifer), but you are f*cking this up big time. Get a grip, girl.
Will is running around making last minute preparations, and calls Gabi to tell her to take her freak outs somewhere else for the the time being. Meanwhile, new bartender Terry give Son … wait a minute! Who is this Terry? He’s tall, blond, and fairly screams “snicks!” Or at least he will by the time I’m through with him. (h.t Blanche Deveraux).
He hands Sonny a big package … oh c’mon … and when Sonny unwraps it, it’s a photo album titled “Will and Sonny: A Love Story Told In Pictures”. Wha-wha-wha-what???? Wait A Minute. What? Who?...
- 2/14/2014
- by snicks
- The Backlot
Simon Pegg has been a busy man lately. He co-wrote and starred in one of 2013′s best comedies, The World’s End, and he’ll be spending 2014 filming the Terry Jones-directed Almost Anything, the Christopher McQuarrie-directed Mission Impossible 5, and hopefully the who-knows-who-will-be-directing-it next Star Trek movie if all goes well. Lest anyone should forget about him in the meantime, though, he is also starring in A Fantastic Fear of Everything, a smaller-profile British comedy about a guy who’s afraid of a thing or two.
In the film, Pegg plays the lead role of Jack, a children’s book author turned crime novelist whose professional obsession with Victorian-era serial killers has made him just a wee bit paranoid about things. And of course, as the saying goes, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean that they’re not after you. In this case, it turns out Jack...
In the film, Pegg plays the lead role of Jack, a children’s book author turned crime novelist whose professional obsession with Victorian-era serial killers has made him just a wee bit paranoid about things. And of course, as the saying goes, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean that they’re not after you. In this case, it turns out Jack...
- 12/14/2013
- by Jeremy Clymer
- We Got This Covered
With Halloween in the air, we thought it would be fun to reach out to the horror genre's biggest and brightest stars - both legends in the industry and up-and-coming superstars - to ask them two quick questions: What's your biggest fear, and what's your favorite scary movie? Read on for the results!
Some of the results will make you laugh. Some will make you shiver... and some, well some are just too funny for words. Sit back and get ready to hear from the likes of Anne Rice, John Carpenter, Robert Englund, the "Ghost Adventures" crew, cast members from "The Walking Dead," George A. Romero, and many - Many - more. Who knows? You may even find some new movies you should check out or at least revisit.
Let the scares begin!
A
Jace Anderson
Writer - The Toolbox Murders (2004), Schism, Night of the Demons (2009), Mother of Tears
1) I...
Some of the results will make you laugh. Some will make you shiver... and some, well some are just too funny for words. Sit back and get ready to hear from the likes of Anne Rice, John Carpenter, Robert Englund, the "Ghost Adventures" crew, cast members from "The Walking Dead," George A. Romero, and many - Many - more. Who knows? You may even find some new movies you should check out or at least revisit.
Let the scares begin!
A
Jace Anderson
Writer - The Toolbox Murders (2004), Schism, Night of the Demons (2009), Mother of Tears
1) I...
- 10/30/2013
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Rob was definitely off his game when he presented an award at the Australians in Film Awards on Oct. 24, flubbing his speech and making things quite awkward. Has he lost his touch because of Kristen Stewart’s absence? Watch the video below and tell us what You think!
Robert Pattinson might’ve looked James Bond-smooth in his Gucci suit at the Australians in Film Awards on Oct. 24, but he definitely didn’t act like it. After botching his presentation at the event you have to wonder: was he not himself because he misses Kristen Stewart so much?
Robert Pattinson Flops At The Australians In Film Awards
Public speaking is never an easy thing, as R-Patz — a guy who does it for a living — proved while presenting a Fox Studios Australia Orry-Kelly International Award to Blue-Tongue Films.
“He was nervous and totally messed up his speech,” an attendee told HollywoodLife.com exclusively.
Robert Pattinson might’ve looked James Bond-smooth in his Gucci suit at the Australians in Film Awards on Oct. 24, but he definitely didn’t act like it. After botching his presentation at the event you have to wonder: was he not himself because he misses Kristen Stewart so much?
Robert Pattinson Flops At The Australians In Film Awards
Public speaking is never an easy thing, as R-Patz — a guy who does it for a living — proved while presenting a Fox Studios Australia Orry-Kelly International Award to Blue-Tongue Films.
“He was nervous and totally messed up his speech,” an attendee told HollywoodLife.com exclusively.
- 10/25/2013
- by Andrew Gruttadaro
- HollywoodLife
An arsonist, a snitch and a sketchy man walk into a bar.
It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but "Prove It" told a much bigger story: it was all about the men and women who hide behind their masks.
The arsonist continued his ring of fire – even going so far as to burn down Mills’ family’s restaurant – and it became obvious that a firefighter was committing the crimes. It makes complete sense when it’s placed in the context of Severide’s car being torched: only a firefighter could really get away with that in front of a firehouse.
Severide’s baby drama was resolved as well after getting slapped and later acknowledged by Renee. Her one night stand with a man in Europe was a quick resolution and it makes me wonder if things might have turned out differently had Sarah Shahi not gotten a...
It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but "Prove It" told a much bigger story: it was all about the men and women who hide behind their masks.
The arsonist continued his ring of fire – even going so far as to burn down Mills’ family’s restaurant – and it became obvious that a firefighter was committing the crimes. It makes complete sense when it’s placed in the context of Severide’s car being torched: only a firefighter could really get away with that in front of a firehouse.
Severide’s baby drama was resolved as well after getting slapped and later acknowledged by Renee. Her one night stand with a man in Europe was a quick resolution and it makes me wonder if things might have turned out differently had Sarah Shahi not gotten a...
- 10/2/2013
- by snickrz@gmail.com (Nick McHatton)
- TVfanatic
I watch American Idol for one thing and one thing only, and that's the sight of arrogant young men crying near Ryan Seacrest. I basically got a Trainspotting-sized injection of that sweet fix during Thursday night's solo round show, because there were tears, sniffles, anxieties, and sobs galore. Some were crocodile tears, as the astute barrister Nicki Minaj noted, but every salty drop was nonetheless a spectacle of drama king camp. Mmmmm. My absolute favorite.
The judges pared down the list of competing dudes to 28, and these five contestants were my five top selections of the evening. Grab your hanky, wave it in the air, and then cry into it, because this quintet is one weepy bunch of winners. Miss America-style.
5. Charlie Askew, "Somebody That I Used to Know"
First of all, I'm pretty sure that "Charlie Askew" is the cabaret name of Fran Lebowitz, because I'm getting major Public Speaking vibes from this child.
- 2/8/2013
- by virtel
- The Backlot
The Oscar-nominated documentary "How to Survive a Plague" is the movie David France was born to make. He was the first journalist to write about Act Up, the chaotic yet fiercely effective New York-based group that forced the U.S. government to get serious about finding an effective treatment against AIDS. But France didn't just report on the crusade -- he lived it, attending every Act Up meeting, his anxious face appearing again and again in the footage an older France would assiduously collect all these years later. The story France tells has ramifications far beyond the place and time where the action takes place -- for American drug policy, global health, and gay culture (which, in France's view, may not be sufficiently appreciative of its own history). The Huffington Post caught up with France at the Sundance Film Festival, where the film premiered a year ago.
The Huffington Post: In the documentary "Public Speaking,...
The Huffington Post: In the documentary "Public Speaking,...
- 1/30/2013
- by Michael Hogan
- Huffington Post
I’ve got Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino on my mind these days. It’s a product of the end-of-year hurrahs for Scorsese’s Hugo. The film goes into the Academy Award ceremonies with 11 Oscar nominations – the most of any film this year – including a Best Director nod for Scorsese. Win or lose, Marty’s on a roll having already taken a Golden Globe for his work on the film, and selection as Best Director by the National Board of Review (the Board also named Hugo Best Picture). And that doesn’t include the film’s placing on any number of critic’s Year’s Best lists.
What does all this have to do with Tarantino? It brings to mind a statement the younger filmmaker had made about Scorsese some years ago.
They’ve always been linked, these two. Tarantino had been anointed by more than a few as “the...
What does all this have to do with Tarantino? It brings to mind a statement the younger filmmaker had made about Scorsese some years ago.
They’ve always been linked, these two. Tarantino had been anointed by more than a few as “the...
- 12/18/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Cable network announces Scorsese at the helm for authorised TV documentary on 'towering and transcendent figure'
The most recent TV documentary about former Us president Bill Clinton was hardly flattering.
Part of E!'s True Hollywood Story strand, All the President's Women examined the events surrounding his famous phrase: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman," and focused primarily on his experiences with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
So Clinton will no doubt be considerably happier to be the subject of a new, authorised, documentary by Martin Scorsese.
HBO announced Monday that Scorsese will produce and direct a film on a somewhat broader span of the 42nd Us president's life – from his Arkansas childhood to his current campaigning work.
"A towering figure who remains a major voice in world issues, President Clinton continues to shape the political dialogue both here and around the world," Scorsese said in a statement.
The most recent TV documentary about former Us president Bill Clinton was hardly flattering.
Part of E!'s True Hollywood Story strand, All the President's Women examined the events surrounding his famous phrase: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman," and focused primarily on his experiences with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
So Clinton will no doubt be considerably happier to be the subject of a new, authorised, documentary by Martin Scorsese.
HBO announced Monday that Scorsese will produce and direct a film on a somewhat broader span of the 42nd Us president's life – from his Arkansas childhood to his current campaigning work.
"A towering figure who remains a major voice in world issues, President Clinton continues to shape the political dialogue both here and around the world," Scorsese said in a statement.
- 12/17/2012
- by Amanda Holpuch
- The Guardian - Film News
Martin Scorsese might be 70, a time when a good many men decide to quit and rest on their laurels – and no one would blame him, now would they? Instead, though, Uncle Marty keeps on working at a breakneck speed. We have The Wolf of Wall Street coming up, that Sinatra biopic we keep hearing about, Scandinavian thriller The Snowman, reteaming with Robert DeNiro for I Heard You Paint Horses, not to mention several documentaries and a Garth Brooks concert movie. That makes me tired just thinking about it.
Now today we learn that Scorsese will produce and direct a documentary about Bill Clinton for HBO. The full press release says it best, so here we go:
New York, Dec. 17, 2012 – HBO and Martin Scorsese will partner for a documentary spotlighting William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, it was announced today by Richard Plepler, recently named CEO, HBO and Michael Lombardo,...
Now today we learn that Scorsese will produce and direct a documentary about Bill Clinton for HBO. The full press release says it best, so here we go:
New York, Dec. 17, 2012 – HBO and Martin Scorsese will partner for a documentary spotlighting William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, it was announced today by Richard Plepler, recently named CEO, HBO and Michael Lombardo,...
- 12/17/2012
- by Lauren Humphries-Brooks
- We Got This Covered
Bill Clinton and Martin Scorsese will team for a new documentary about the 42nd President of the United States.
The film, which will air on HBO, was announced via press release on Monday.
"A towering figure who remains a major voice in world issues, President Clinton continues to shape the political dialogue both here and around the world," Scorsese said in statement. "Through intimate conversations, I hope to provide greater insight into this transcendent figure."
The film will have the cooperation of Clinton, who said he was "pleased" to work with Scorsese and HBO.
"I look forward to sharing my perspective on my years as President, and my work in the years since, with HBO's audience," Clinton said.
This isn't the first time HBO has produced a film about a former president. This year, the network aired "41," a documentary about the life of George H.W. Bush.
"This is not a political documentary,...
The film, which will air on HBO, was announced via press release on Monday.
"A towering figure who remains a major voice in world issues, President Clinton continues to shape the political dialogue both here and around the world," Scorsese said in statement. "Through intimate conversations, I hope to provide greater insight into this transcendent figure."
The film will have the cooperation of Clinton, who said he was "pleased" to work with Scorsese and HBO.
"I look forward to sharing my perspective on my years as President, and my work in the years since, with HBO's audience," Clinton said.
This isn't the first time HBO has produced a film about a former president. This year, the network aired "41," a documentary about the life of George H.W. Bush.
"This is not a political documentary,...
- 12/17/2012
- by Christopher Rosen
- Huffington Post
HBO and Martin Scorsese are partnering on a documentary about Bill Clinton, with the full cooperation of the 42nd president, the network announced Monday. "I am pleased that legendary director Martin Scorsese and HBO have agreed to do this film," Clinton said. "I look forward to sharing my perspective on my years as president, and my work in the years since, with HBO's audience." The documentary, to be produced by Steve Bing, is Scorsese's fourth collaboration with HBO, following the documentaries "Public Speaking," the Emmy-winning "George Harrison: Living in the Material World"...
- 12/17/2012
- by Tim Molloy
- The Wrap
Martin Scorsese is jumping onto the presidential profile bandwagon. The director and HBO are partnering on an official documentary of the 42nd president of the U.S., Bill Clinton, whose popularity has soared since his grandstanding speech at the Democratic National Convention. Clinton is cooperating on the doc, which will "explore his perspectives on history, politics, culture and the world," stated HBO in a release. His wife Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State, is expected to run for president. Scorsese is directing and producing with Steve Bing. This doc will be Scorsese’s fourth collaboration with HBO; he also directed the documentaries “Public Speaking” (2010), “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” (2011), as well as executive producing the hit series “Boardwalk Empire,” which won a directing Emmy last year. Scorsese stated: “A towering figure who remains a major voice in world issues,...
- 12/17/2012
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
She's the fighter.
“I wanted to jump thought the TV set and say, 'Mr. President, move over, I got this,'” Fran Lebowitz says, recalling the frustration she felt watching Barack Obama fumble during his first debate with Mitt Romney. "These are not wily people who are beating us."
He's the philosopher.
“Romney’s old-fashioned conservatism is on its way out," Frank Rich says, referring to the rise of Paul Ryan and the Tea Party. "The next election will be more interesting than this one, in terms of the future of the country.”
Together, they're the stars of "State of the Union," a live, election-season conversation that comes to New York City's Town Hall on October 20, amid a multi-city tour with stops in Las Vegas, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Bethesda, and New York, as well as a post-election engagement at the University of Texas at Austin.
Lebowitz, a contributing editor...
“I wanted to jump thought the TV set and say, 'Mr. President, move over, I got this,'” Fran Lebowitz says, recalling the frustration she felt watching Barack Obama fumble during his first debate with Mitt Romney. "These are not wily people who are beating us."
He's the philosopher.
“Romney’s old-fashioned conservatism is on its way out," Frank Rich says, referring to the rise of Paul Ryan and the Tea Party. "The next election will be more interesting than this one, in terms of the future of the country.”
Together, they're the stars of "State of the Union," a live, election-season conversation that comes to New York City's Town Hall on October 20, amid a multi-city tour with stops in Las Vegas, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Bethesda, and New York, as well as a post-election engagement at the University of Texas at Austin.
Lebowitz, a contributing editor...
- 10/19/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Fran Lebowitz's opinions are often pointed, witty, and even a little incendiary, but her physical presence is often as theatrical as her message: In a blazer and jeans, she convulses with smirks and disbelieving winces, just as she did in the late '70s when her book of essays Metropolitan Life became a sensation.
From the balcony at the University of Southern California's Bovard Auditorium, it was clear to me that the 61-year-old commentator's style of speechifying qualified as seated vaudeville. Of course, this is already apparent to anyone who saw Martin Scorsese's 2010 HBO documentary about Lebowitz, the indispensable Public Speaking.
Lebowitz's onstage chat with New York magazine columnist Frank Rich, open to the public at USC, focused mainly on predictions for tonight's second presidential debate (or as Lebowitz is calling it, "the first presidential debate," dismissing Obama's sluggish performance at the earlier debate). As an amuse bouche before tonight's event,...
From the balcony at the University of Southern California's Bovard Auditorium, it was clear to me that the 61-year-old commentator's style of speechifying qualified as seated vaudeville. Of course, this is already apparent to anyone who saw Martin Scorsese's 2010 HBO documentary about Lebowitz, the indispensable Public Speaking.
Lebowitz's onstage chat with New York magazine columnist Frank Rich, open to the public at USC, focused mainly on predictions for tonight's second presidential debate (or as Lebowitz is calling it, "the first presidential debate," dismissing Obama's sluggish performance at the earlier debate). As an amuse bouche before tonight's event,...
- 10/16/2012
- by virtel
- The Backlot
DVD Release Date: Sept. 18, 2012
Price: DVD $24.95
Studio: Tumbleweed Entertainment
Lashunda Rundles (l.) becomes the World Champion of Public Speaking as seen in Speak.
The 2011 documentary film Speak explores the fear of public speaking and chronicles the experiences of six individuals as they compete in the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking.
Over a nearly two-year period, first-time feature filmmakers Paul Galichia and Brian Weidling conducted hundreds of interviews about public speaking and its accompanying anxiety, while also capturing the goings-on at the highly competitive World Championship of Public Speaking in Calgary, Alberta. The competition (and movie) culminates in one person being crowned “World Champion of Public Speaking.”
Speak has been exhibited around the world over the past year at screenings hosted by various Toastmaster International clubs. The movie opened for a week-long run in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Aug. 17, 2012.
Bonus materials on the DVD include 20-plus...
Price: DVD $24.95
Studio: Tumbleweed Entertainment
Lashunda Rundles (l.) becomes the World Champion of Public Speaking as seen in Speak.
The 2011 documentary film Speak explores the fear of public speaking and chronicles the experiences of six individuals as they compete in the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking.
Over a nearly two-year period, first-time feature filmmakers Paul Galichia and Brian Weidling conducted hundreds of interviews about public speaking and its accompanying anxiety, while also capturing the goings-on at the highly competitive World Championship of Public Speaking in Calgary, Alberta. The competition (and movie) culminates in one person being crowned “World Champion of Public Speaking.”
Speak has been exhibited around the world over the past year at screenings hosted by various Toastmaster International clubs. The movie opened for a week-long run in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Aug. 17, 2012.
Bonus materials on the DVD include 20-plus...
- 8/22/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Usually there are several layers to Best Movie Ever? candidacy: acting, cinematography, direction, screenwriting, the way Madeline Kahn squawks, fist fights with Elizabeth Taylor, etc. But in the case of today's candidate Public Speaking, the 2010 HBO documentary about longtime wit Fran Lebowitz, there's only one criterion I care about: priceless quotations. Director Martin Scorsese closes in on Lebowitz's unamused mug at her signature booth in Manhattan's Waverly Inn, allows her to crank out commentary and witticisms on any number of topics for 82 minutes, and lets her salty confidence stand for itself. There's no moral. No rebuttal. Public Speaking is just a good talker talking, then stopping when she's done. Also interspersed are wonderful archive clips of James Baldwin debating with William F. Buckley Jr., Cole Porter trilling "You're the Top," and of course Dorothy Parker -- Lebowitz's natural forebear -- deadpanning one of her wittiest and most dour poems. There've been plenty of deified wits,...
- 8/14/2012
- by virtel
- The Backlot
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