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Any trends or popular fads may be described, whether it would be something like the hula hoop or the pet rock or simply new slang.

“24 Weeks” Examines the Issue of Late-Term Abortion(s) in Germany at Chicago International Film Festival

By Connie Wilson

On October 6, 2016

In Editorial, Movies, Pop Culture, Science and Medicine

The German film “24 Weeks” from Director Anne Zohra Berrached was screened in Chicago for 8 members of the press on Wednesday, October 5th. It is the story of a popular stand-up comedienne (think a German version of Amy Schumer) who finds herself pregnant by her live-in long-time love and manager, only to discover, several months into her pregnancy, that her unborn child will have both Down’s syndrome and a serious heart condition.

Movingly portrayed by German actress Julia Jentsch, this is not a “feel good” movie. Comedienne Astrid Lorenz (Julia Jentsch) shows every sign of being a woman on the fast track to comedy success. Onstage, she even jokes, “You can tell a decent joke and lactate,” to an adoring audience.

That is all before the couple discovers the health problems their second child will face.

Astrid’s partner, Markus Hager (Bjorne Madel) wants to go to any lengths to have this second child, who will be a younger brother to their daughter, Nele (Emilia Pieschke). The couple is preparing to accept the Down’s Syndrome baby into their lives and visit similarly afflicted youngsters, taking their young daughter. Then their housekeeper, Kati, announces that she is not prepared to stay on and help them, and they turn to Astrid’s mother, who seems to be Astrid’s last hope.

Astrid’s manager and live-in love of 8 years, Markus Hager (Bjorne Madel) is very pro-life and wants to do everything to make this second child happen. (“It feels wrong somehow to decide whether a human being lives or dies.”) Astrid (Julia Jentsch) is initially in synch with her spouse’s wishes.

But, as time goes on, she becomes more convinced that, as she explains to their young daughter, Nele (Emilia Piescke), “I don’t think he (the unborn fetus) will have a nice life.” Accusations come her way from Marcus that she is only thinking about her career and I honestly was waiting for the entire relationship to spiral out of control. (“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.” William Butler Yeats).

I was the only woman in the theater today watching “24 Weeks.”

I sensed outrage amongst the male critics present when the hospital authorities told the frustrated father of the child, “In Germany, ultimately it’s your wife’s decision. That’s the law.” Markus (the prospective father) rails against any talk of a late-term abortion, which would be achieved by injecting potassium chloride into the fetus’ heart, after which the mother would go into labor and give birth to a dead child. Markus tells Astrid, “You can’t do it. Nothing else matters.”

This is a film about life-altering decisions and the people who have to make them.

It is extremely well acted and well written (also by director Anne Zohra Berrached). The topic is still an ongoing debate in this country and will continue to be after the upcoming election. Abortion and capital punishment are always “hot button” issues; that will probably always be the case.

And, no, I won’t tell you what Astrid decides to do.

That really would be a “spoiler.”

“War Dogs” Mentions Rock Island Arsenal

By Connie Wilson

On August 21, 2016

In Local, Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics, Pop Culture, Reviews

The preview (above) shows the gun runners in “War Dogs” meeting with officials (ostensibly) at the Rock Island, Illinois Arsenal. Does the Arsenal employ twins who meet with gun providers about purchasing artillery and ammunition? No idea. Is that really the interior of the offices of the Rock Island Arsenal? Based on actually having been inside some of them, I seriously doubt the resemblance, since the “real” Arsenal is all brick and old and pretty much ancient-looking.

For years, The Quarters on Arsenal Island was the second-largest government residence, after the White House, but its antiquated kitchens and bathrooms (the place still had a recessed roof with a lever so, in the days before running water, you could heat water and then lower it for use in the 1800s) made it unsuitable for constant habitation, despite its Abraham Lincoln-era splendor. I don’t believe that it is the Commander’s official residence any more.

But what about the film “War Dogs?” I was particularly interested in seeing the film adaptation of the “Rolling Stone” article by Guy Lawson entitled “Arms and the Dude” because, reading it, I became fixated on the Rock Island (IL) connection.

So did people like Bradley Cooper, apparently, become fixated with the nearly unbelievable true piece. He plays a bit part as a shadowy arms dealer to terrorists (a part I don’t remember from the source material) and is listed as executive producer. The film is directed by Todd Phillips.

The movie outlines the more-or-less true adventures of 2 young guys who got a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to provide arms to Afghanistan. The opening date onscreen for these shenanigans is January 1, 2008. We quickly learn that it costs the U.S. government $17,500 to outfit just one American soldier. With 2 million sold and an annual bill of $4.5 billion just to provide AC for those stationed in the very, very hot Afghanistan, one savvy small-time con saw an opportunity to make money after new regulations were passed in the wake of no-bid contracts for Cheney’s boys. That led to bidding on everything and AEY (don’t ask what it stands for; it doesn’t stand for anything, and asking could get you fired) was there to provide the materials of war.

Initially, Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill), the brains behind the outfit, was bankrolled by a Jewish dry cleaning magnate, Ralph Slitsky (Kevin Pollak), who thought Efraim was sending arms to defend Israel. It will be Ralph who will fold like a cheap accordion when the questions begin flying thick and fast. Efraim involves his childhood friend David Packouz (Miles Teller).

But, before all hell breaks loose, we get lines like, “I dropped out of high school before they covered international diplomacy” from Hill’s character, who plays the part with an insouciance and aplomb that would challenge many. An unusually insightful script theme appears from the “good guy” arms dealer, David Packouz (Miles Teller of “Whiplash”), who says of Efraim: “He would figure out who someone wanted him to be and he would become that person.”

Punctuated by little messages onscreen like, “When does telling the truth ever help anybody?”, the film explains how the duo gets a major contract to supply Italian barettas to U.S. troops and, ultimately, to provide 100 million rounds of AX47 ammo, The Afghan Deal.

Problems arise when the chutzpah that has carried Efraim and David this far wears thin while facing hurdles like 68,520 crates of ammunition stuck in Albania that turn out to be filled with Chinese goods, when the U.S. has an embargo on buying from China. The solution, albeit an illegal one, is to re-pack the embargoed bullets in cardboard boxes that don’t scream “China” and send them off to the front,anyway. But Efraim doesn’t pay “the box guy” in Albania and that leads to charges of 70 federal crimes and a 4-year sentence for the guiltier of the two and the mastermind, Efraim Diveroli (who could be back in business by 2020, because the government still hasn’t closed a few loopholes in their online outsourcing M.O., says the script at movie’s end.)

The friendship unravels as the deal does. “We were never best friends. You were just playing the role of my best friend,” says David to Efraim (Teller to Hill) and this, above all, struck me as a very insightful statement. It’s happened to me. Has it happened to you?

While “The New Yorker” gave the film a very sniffy review, most critics liked the film (giving Jonah Hill’s laugh high marks) and it has a high rating on IMDB from those who have actually seen it.

We liked it. How often do you get to see identical twins from the Arsenal negotiating an arms deal with a couple of doofuses from Miami who admit they are stoned at the time? (one of whom, David Packouz, is a massage therapist).

Try it. You’ll like it.

Cold Play on July 23, 2016, at Soldier Field

By Connie Wilson

On August 13, 2016

In Music, Pop Culture, Reviews

My birthday fell on a Saturday this year (July 23rd). I checked out the acts in town and Chris Martin’s Cold Play would be appearing across the street at Soldier Field.

Weather at concert-time.

Originally scheduled for 8 p.m., an e-mail moved the concert’s time up to 7 p.m. but, at 7 p.m., it was pouring down rain.

I went out on my balcony at 8:30 p.m. and I could see people in the stands at Soldier Field. “We’ve got to walk over there and see if the concert is starting!” My husband was less than thrilled, as he barely knows Cold Play. (I had seen them two times during “I Heart Radio” shows in Las Vegas).

I convinced him that going to a Cold Play concert was a bit like giving your 5-year-old a microphone, because Chris Martin falls down a lot while performing, which, in itself, is entertaining. Then, too, there was that half-time performance at the Super Bowl, but that was hardly a selling point for my Big Bright Idea after Beyonce and Bruno Mars upstaged the band.

However, there was still “If I Ruled the World,” “Paradise” and the 60 Minutes interview. I bought the cheapest seats the highest up ($50) and we were set. Until it rained.

But, now, at 8:30 p.m., the heavens parted as if on cue and we were back on! LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

As we entered, we were issued something that looked like a white plastic FitBit. It would turn out to be a bracelet-like device that was timed to light up in certain colors throughout the stadium at certain times during the show, which was a great effect! My generation only had cigarette lighters. Not the same.

As the oldest people the highest up in the stadium (35 flights of stairs, said my FitBit later), we stood throughout the concert, for 90 minutes. Until it rained. Again.

Lasers. Fireworks both inside and outside (at Navy Pier) of the stadium. Chris Martin falling down a lot.

When 90 minutes had elapsed, with Martin on his back inside the circle seen in my picture (which rotated and was a stage in the middle of Soldier Field), he was told that the stadium had to be evacuated. Martin seemed genuinely disappointed, saying, “I’ve never been in this position before (this after telling us they had just played their 40th show on the tour)! We’d like to play more for you, but they are telling me you have to leave the stadium, so this might be our last song.”

And it was.

Chris Martin did tell us we were the most enthusiastic and hardiest group they had played to, but I’ll bet he says that to ALL the girls! Nevermind. Despite the 35 floors and the standing and getting soaked (“I’m as wet as I’ve ever been in my life!”) which was worse for the spouse than for me, as I had saved an old Blue Man Group poncho and was wearing it, it was a great concert and a great way to celebrate my birthday.

“Captain Fantastic” & “The Infiltrator” Best Movies of the Summer So far

By Connie Wilson

On July 22, 2016

In Interviews, Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews

For those of you tired of the seemingly endless supply of children’s animated films and/or Marvel Comic spin-offs, two new movies for serious film buffs offer respite this summer season, and I highly recommend them both.

First (because I saw it first, in Chicago, with the director present) would be “Captain Fantastic,” and, no, it is NOT a Marvel picture. Ross even told the impressed audience who had just sat through the film, that he was unaware that there was a comic book movie of the same name, as well as an Elton John album, but that he likes “powerful titles.”

PLOT

Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen) has removed his children from society, living a seemingly idyllic life in the woods of Oregon. (Note: Director Matt Ross, himself, attended Julliard by way of Ashland, Oregon). The main character opts to educate his children on his own, but, as Matt Ross told “CineArts” magazine: “If we’re analyzing Ben’s faults, it is that he really hasn’t prepared them in terms of socialization to the world outside. He has this idea that, in order to really teach his children his values, he needs to take control of their education and their environment. In a larger case, that is true for everyone. We send our kids to school and hope that it’s the truth that they are being told and taught.”

Q&A

After the showing of the film at the AMC Theater in Chicago (it opened July 13th), Ross answered questions for the audience, and many of them had to do with the casting process for the children and the lead, played by Viggo Mortensen.

First, let it be noted that this is a film about family and the other great film of the summer (so far), “The Infiltrator” with Bryan Cranston, is also a film about family. Said Ross: “I think all great dramas are about the family. Look at The Godfather. What is it really about? It’s about family. Tonally, it’s a very different movie, but about family.” A great line from “The Infiltrator is this one, articulated by Benjamin Bratt’s character: “Without family or friends, what kind of world would this be? There would be no reason to be alive.”

Ross—who has an impressive array of movie and television roles to his credit, including Alvy Grant in “Big Love,” as well as roles in “American Psycho” (2000), “Face/Off” (1997), and “The Aviator” (2004)—both wrote and directed “Captain Fantastic” and it won him the Best Director award at Cannes for new directors, something he admits pleased him immensely.

BACKGROUND

The writer/director was also able to draw on his own life experiences as the product of a mother who was active in the eighties in commune-type life in North Carolina and Oregon, explaining that his parents were “artisans who didn’t’ want to live in cities, but in harmony with nature. I also lived in London and some people had electricity and plumbing. Some did not. We celebrate Noam Chomsky Day (Dec. 7th) at my house.” (A recurring film point).

Ross also admits that becoming a father, himself (he has two children) was a factor in the film’s genesis, saying, “For me, personally, the reason I wanted to tell this story is because I have two kids and I was certainly thinking, ‘What are my values? What do I want to teach my children?’”

The conflict in the film comes when Matt Cash’s wife, who is bi-polar, dies. Matt (Viggo Mortensen) and his unorthodox family are not exactly welcome at the funeral being planned by her father and mother (Frank Langella and Ann Dowd). It is obvious that Claire’s father (Langella) may blame Ben for his daughter’s death, and they have no intention of honoring her wishes of having a Buddhist funeral, cremating her remains and scattering her ashes. It is this crusade on the part of her husband and children to honor her wishes in death that becomes a major plot point, as they drive to the funeral destination, cross-country, on their family bus.

CONFLICT

One reviewer dissed this plot idea, but it serves the purpose of injecting even more conflict into the plot and making Ben Cash aware of how his own viewpoint about the world might not be the only point-of-view that his young children should be exposed to. In one of the most poignant scenes of the entire movie, Viggo is simply shown driving the bus, thinking that he has sacrificed his entire family to society (i.e., giving them up to his wife’s parents to raise) for their own good.

VIGGO MORTENSEN

Mortensen displays why he is such a perfect choice for the role and what a great actor he is during that scene, which consisted of no dialogue at all, but simply his own communing with his thoughts as he drives.

Ross said, during the Q&A, that Viggo Mortensen was his first choice to play the role, and it is quite easy to understand why if you know anything about Mortensen’s somewhat unorthodox lifestyle. Aside from Gary Busey, I’ve not read more stories about a leading man who “lives off the land” and generally has unusual idiosyncrasies in his personal life. Said Ross during the Q&A of the film in Chicago: “Viggo is always very real and very simple. On paper, the main character was more of a playful father. Viggo had a bit more of a center for him. Any actor will make a part their own. With actors, you get to see their work habits. For most people, you are not cognizant of the mechanics. Great film moments are great acting moments. Some directors do not like actors, but I have acted and I don’t feel that way. The answer is that I believe that if you’re reading and playing instruments and you are intelligent, you are right for these parts.

Ross even shared that Viggo showed up early with definite ideas about Ben Cash’s character. Said Ross: “He (Mortensen) helped build the set. He came a couple of weeks early and slept in the tipi before and during the shoot. He built the garden by himself and made sure it was a functional garden that would sustain itself throughout the year. He showed up with a pick-up truck full of props and books. We had an excellent prop department on hand, but he felt very strongly about what kinds of books the characters might read. I wanted to cast someone I believed could really live in this environment an actually understands what he’s talking about.” Said Ross to “CineArts’ Frank Gonzales, “That’s a tall order. You need an actor who can portray someone who is well spoken, well read, and very intelligent. These are challenges you have to navigate with casting, but with Viggo you absolutely believe it!”

Q1: What about the children in the film? How were they cast?

A1: “It was a traditional casting process with Jean Carthy doing the casting. We cast in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States. We had an extensive call-back process. I wanted kids who were fit, who could play musical instruments. All the goods are objectively good actors, but I made judgment calls based on their spirit. For some kids, there was only one choice. I wanted them to look like Viggo’s—that they could be from the same gene pool. We were in Washington state for two weeks. Then we sent the kids to a wilderness camp: rock climbing. Rehearing music. Esperanto. Two girls actually killed a deer. Yoga. Viggo was learning to play the bagpipes. Training changed their eating habits during the time of shooting. Ultimately, we wanted them all to fall in love with Viggo. (*The children were Bo: George McKay; Rellian: Nicholas Hamilton; Kielyr:Samantha Isler; Vespyr: Annalise Basso; Zaja: Shree Crooks; Nai; Charlie Showell).

Q2: Talk a little about your directing style.

A2: I went through the script, line-by-line, and talked them through it. The way I like to work is they have their lives and they could follow them and improvise. I’m not propping up a dead object, but creating a living, breathing thing. Charlie picking his nose around the fire because he forgot he was being filmed is an example of that. Film is a collaborative medium.

In this way, Ross’ words echo the sentiment expressed regarding “The Infiltrator” in Frank Gonzales’ “CineArts” summer film guide this way: “All great moments in sports, in moviemaking, and in life are not done alone and in a vacuum. Just as a pro-golfer or tennis player needs a coach to nurture and push their talents to championship levels, a great movie is usually the result of a team of actors and artists working together to reach unprecedented heights. And the coach that gets them there is the director.”

Q3: What’s the deal with the Noah Chomsky references recurring throughout the film?

A3: (*Noah Chomsky is an intellectual who is far, far left). For me, personally, I think he’s a brilliant human being, a great humanitarian. You’d have to ask him about making his birthday (December 7th) a holiday like Festivus. He’s still alive. He might be appalled.

Q4: Talk about the opening scene of the movie, shot in the wilderness and involving the death of a deer.

A4: There is a tradition of felling a deer with nothing but a knife. I think it is felt that, in that way, they honor the deer. (Masai tribesmen sent their young men out to kill a lion with just a spear.)

Q5: When you conceived the story, did you have the backstory of Viggo’s wife Claire being bi-polar?

A5:

“Captain Fantastic” director/writer Matt Ross.

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form] The short answer is yes. Because of the temporal nature of films, I outline very carefully. Things change when you’re writing it. And then there’s a long rewriting process.

Ross, when asked about how the family was able to survive in the wild (what about money?) said, “I purposely chose not to answer that. I think there are clues in the movie. She had a lucrative law career. I think they have savings and they are frugal.”

More about “The Infiltrator” momentarily.

“DePalma” Is A Dynamic Documentary About Director Brian DePalma

By Connie Wilson

On June 25, 2016

In Movies, Pop Culture

Filmmakers Jake Paltrow (Gwyneth’s brother)) and Noah Baumbach (husband of Greta Gerwig; ex-husband of Jennifer Jason Leigh) used their access to renowned filmmaker Brian DePalma to make a documentary about his life and work in 2015.
Succinctly entitled “DePalma.” the documentary features DePalma talking about his life and work, with little interference from his two friends and fellow filmmakers of the next generation (age 46 in Baumbach’s caes). (Baumbach received an Oscar nomination for original screenplay for “The Squid and the Whale).

EARLY LIFE

DePalma confesses that his home was not a happy one and relates how he once followed his father (an orthopedic surgeon) to a tryst his dad was having at his office, breaking in, confronting him with a knife, and demanding to know where “the other woman” was hiding. He tells the story humorously, but we see a snippet of a similar plot device from “Dressed to Kill” with Matthew Modine and realize that DePalma’s early life influenced his films, as it will for anyone involved in a creative endeavor.
For instance, he dismisses his fondness for gore by relating how his father used to take him to the operating theater to watch him operate. “Real blood is more brown,” he says casually, discussing the Karo syrup make-up of the bright red buckets of blood used in films like “Carrie” and “Dressed to Kill.”
DePalma was also one of the first male students to be admitted to Sarah Lawrence when it went co-ed. You get the impression that he enjoys watching beautiful women from his voyeuristic films, but you also learn he was married three times, all of them brief liaisons. He has two daughters, aged 25 and 20, while DePalma, himself, is approaching his 76th birthday on September 11th.

THE DIRECTORS’ GROUP

DePalma was one of the breed of directors who helped one another and encouraged one another and grew up together in Hollywood, fighting the system. The group included such luminaries as Stephen Spielberg, George Lucas, Paul Schrader, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Ridley Scott, John Carpenter and John Milius. Commenting on today’s filmmaking process, where the bean counters have taken over, DePalma says, “The Hollywood system we are now working in destroys any creativity. This is not working.”
Most of the documentary is about battling with the studio or with actors (Cliff Robertson, Orson Welles, Tommy Smothers) or others (Bernard Herrman). Bernard Herrman, who is known as Hitchcock’s composer for nearly all of his films, was “scary,” according to DePalma.

BERNARD HERRMAN STORY

DePalma tells a story about inviting Herrmann in to view a film he was going to score. The filmmaker had placed a temporary musical score with the film, consisting of previous compositions Benny, (as he calls him), had done for Hitchcock films. Herrmann grabbed his head, as DePalma tells it, with a laugh, and says, “Get that sound out of here! I can’t work with that going on!” The workmanlike Herrmann would then watch the film, go home, write the music, and, generally send a very usable score in a very short time. DePalma recalls that Benny was working on both “Taxi Driver” and one of his own films at the same time, around Christmas, when he went to a showing of “Taxi Driver,” directed the orchestral accompaniment for that Scorsese film, went back to his hotel and died.

HITCHCOCK INFLUENCE

Over the years, DePalma was always compared to Hitchcock, and admits that seeing “Vertigo” at Radio City Music Hall when he was 18 in 1958 set the template for his filmmaking career. While he would do documentaries at times and sometimes turn out films that did not seem to be “Hitchcock Light,” he is the single director most associated with using a Hitchcockian style. As film critic Roger Ebert once said, “It is not just that he sometimes works in the style of Hitchcock, but that he has the nerve to.” You could add to that, “and the talent to pull it off.”

When DePalma was good, he was very, very good. I watched the end of “Carlito’s Way” on the big screen at the Music Box Theater in Chicago before the documentary began. I had just watched the entire film on video while vacationing in Cancun, start to finish. The extremely long shot of Al attempting to get on the escalator at Grand Central Station is a masterpiece. The scene where Pacino runs through a subway car on his way to the train station to meet his love and flee to Miami was highlighted by this story from the director.

“We were shooting on a subway train next to the one Al was running through. The trains had to be moving and we had to keep the speed of one train the same as the other, so as to keep the shot framed. It was difficult and it was made more difficult by the fact that it was about 110 degrees in New York City in summer and Al was wearing a long, heavy leather coat in this tremendous heat as he ran through the subway car. We shot the thing over and over until it was about 4 in the morning, when, suddenly Al’s train just left and pulled away. I said to the A.D. (assistant director), ‘What just happened?’ He said, ‘Al took the train home.’ I had to go to him in his trailer and, when I got there, he was all red and hot and sweaty and yelled at me, ‘What are you doing?” DePalma laughs.

CLIFF ROBERTSON STORY

His stories about Cliff Robertson’s performance in “Obsession” opposite Genevieve Bujold centered on Robertson’s appearance. He insisted on being extremely tan to the point that cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond dragged the actor over to a wainscoted tan wall and screamed, “I can’t light you! You’re the same color as the wall.” DePalma also mentioned Robertson would fade and lean out of frame so that the camera would have to follow him, leaving poor Bujold to try to find a spot to focus on.

EARLY FILMS

Interspersed with DePalma’s amusing storytelling style are shots of the films that influenced him and shots of his own work. Watching a 1963 film with a very young Robert DeNiro (billed as Denero), then only 20 years old, acting in “The Wedding Party” which wasn’t released until 1969) is a hoot!

Even re-watching the end of “Carlito’s Way” brought with it the new realization that fellow University of Iowa classmate Nicholas Meyer (director of “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan” and “Time After Time”) was the music supervisor for the film. Given the fact that Viggo Mortensen has just appeared in another film I loved (“Captain Fantastic,” from the Sundance Film Festival and winner of a first director award at Cannes), I was reminded that he had a role as a crippled man in this 1993 film shot 23 years ago.

TECHNIQUE

DePalma is a firm believer in using unusual camera angles to make things interesting and says, “It is the run-up that is interesting…The waiting is very important so you can ground yourself.” He also talked about the writers he had worked with, such as David Rabe, saying, “I came up in the era that you went down with the writer,” meaning that the firing of a writer would mean you walked as the director. He had some unkind words for Oliver Stone, who came onto his set and began distracting the actors by giving them conflicting directions so that he had him removed. At the time, Stone’s credit was for 1981’s “The Hand.” It was only 3 years later that DePalma would direct the now iconic video for Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark,” which gave Courtney Cox her chance to dance her way to stardom onstage with The Boss.

After Bernard Herrman no longer was around to score his films, DePalma worked with Ennio Morricone, as well, who has been an influence on Quentin Tarantino, as has DePalma himself.

Said DePalma of directing: “Being a director is being a watcher…You have a lot of egos in the room.” He also talked about his many budget and rating battles with the studios, saying, “You can lose yourself trying to make compromises.” He talked about haggling over a certain film that, he said, was going to cost $1.8 million (a pittance in today’s dollars). The studio made noises about letting him go if he couldn’t bring the film in for $1.6 million, so he went in the next day, talking a good game and saying that, if he cut this or that, perhaps he could do it for $1.6 million. And, said the self-confident director, “Then I shot it the way I had always intended to and it cost $1.8 million.” He also told an amusing story about cutting one of his films numerous times to avoid the “X” rating that was considered the Box Office Kiss of Death. After submitting it three times to the review board and getting an “X” rating three times for “Body Double,” he said, “I said. Okay, so it’s an ‘X’. And then I put back in everything I had previously cut out.”

If you are as big a Hitchcock fan as I was, you’d expect that there’d be at least 20 imitators lined up behind DePalma to carry on the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock, but, alas, we have the Marvel World of Filmmaking now and there is no one who will pick up the torch after DePalma—who is soon going to be 76—hangs it up.

Here is a partial list of his film from IMDB, not counting his documentaries or short films…or the one he’s working on now:
Feature films[edit]
Year Film Director Producer Writer Editor Subject Award
1968 Murder a la Mod
Greetings Silver Berlin BearNominated—Gold Berlin Bear
1969 The Wedding Party
1970 Hi, Mom!
Dionysus in ’69 Nominated—Gold Berlin Bear
1972 Get to Know Your Rabbit
1973 Sisters
1974 Phantom of the Paradise Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival — Grand PrizeFrench Syndicate of Cinema Critics Award for Best DVD Single DiscNominated—Hugo Award for Best Dramatic PresentationNominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Comedy Screenplay
1976 Obsession
Carrie Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival — Grand PrizeNominated—Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
1978 The Fury
1980 Home Movies
Dressed to Kill Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst DirectorNominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best DirectorNominated—Saturn Award for Best Director
1981 Blow Out
1983 Scarface Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director
1984 Body Double
1986 Wise Guys
1987 The Untouchables Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Foreign FilmNominated—César Award for Best Foreign Film
1989 Casualties of War 2nd place—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director
1990 The Bonfire of the Vanities Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst PictureNominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst PictureNominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director
1992 Raising Cain Nominated—Venice Film Festival — Golden Lion
1993 Carlito’s Way
1996 Mission: Impossible
1998 Snake Eyes
2000 Mission to Mars Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director
2002 Femme Fatale Nominated—Sitges Film Festival Award for Best Film
2006 The Black Dahlia Nominated—Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Sense of DirectionNominated—Venice Film Festival — Golden Lion
2007 Redacted Amnesty International Film Festival — Youth Jury AwardVenice Film Festival — Silver LionVenice Film Festival — Future Film Festival Digital AwardNominated—Venice Film Festival — Golden Lion
2012 Passion Nominated—Venice Film Festival — Golden Lion
2015 De Palma

Buzzfeed Buzzes Trump Campaign by Rejecting $1.3 Mill Buy

By Connie Wilson

On June 6, 2016

In Editorial, Politics, Pop Culture

Buzzfeed Axes $1.3 Million Ad Deal With RNC Over Trump
Image: Buzzfeed Axes $1.3 Million Ad Deal With RNC Over Trump
[By Cathy Burke | Monday, 06 Jun 2016 01:45 PM]

So read the headline that outlined how Buzzfeed has refused a deal to run ads designed to elect Donald Trump President in the upcoming presidential campaign, for the same reason that they don’t run cigarette ads, “which can also be hazardous to your health.”

It is becoming clearer and clearer in the lead-up to the actual presidential campaign that Donald Trump is someone who can dish it out, but can’t take it, when it comes to criticism. Perhaps this is because he was born a child of privilege and has lived, literally, in a gilded tower.

But whatever the source of his brash, obnoxious, misogynistic, narcissistic, blowhard personality, the thrice-married Donald is not getting an “A” in “works and plays well with others” nor is he winning any Mr. Congeniality contests, nor is he likely to pick up the votes of Latinos as he continues to go after the Hispanic Federal Judge who is overseeing his Trump University case.

The appearances on television (one with Jake Tapper this past Sunday was particularly revealing) show a man who continually interrupted his questioner to pivot to the topic of how wronged he had been because the judge handling his case was Mexican, (even though he was born in Indiana to immigrant parents). Trump is like a small grade-schooler who, not having gotten his way, says he is going to “take my ball and go home.” The level of maturity from a man approaching 70 is disturbing and terribly offputting for the average voter.

There are few people who like a braggart. Humble is the goal if you’re running for office. There are fewer still who like a con man, a liar and a huckster whose chief response to being called out is to whine, like the child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. Even Newt Gingrich, Trump’s staunch ally and a name bandied about as a vice presidential running mate, knows enough to flee a burning building, and has denounced Trump’s recent racist remarks. Right now, Donald Trump is a burning building.

Former opponents whom Trump bested in the primaries (Marco Rubio, for one) are coming out of the woodwork to proclaim that they saw this melt-down coming. Others, like Paul Ryan, are trying as hard as they can to tap dance away from the onus of anti-Hispanic sentiment that their presumptive nominee is spreading like grass seed on arid soil.(So much for the “autopsy” report the GOP commissioned after their last big loss that said they should try to be more inclusive and court the Hispanic vote.)

But can the old white male vote carry The Donald to victory, anyway? Well, when George W. Bush won, he carried 58% of the old, white male vote. When McCain lost, he had 55% of this segment of the electorate. Romney got 59% of the white male vote. Right now, in exit polls, Donald Trump is polling 52% of the white male vote. And let’s not forget that Romney’s loss in ’12 was a BIG loss. Onlookers can only hope that Trump’s loss will be even bigger, thereby giving Mitt Romney his “I told you so” moment.(Romney openly denounced Trump in no uncertain terms months ago in winter.)

As far as the GOP is concerned, it is just too bad that Mitt Romney, a decent (rich) human being without the common man touch, didn’t wait until this year to run against Hillary Clinton. She is eking out a win over a 74-year-old opponent not on charismatic leadership and likability, but because the Grand Old Party nominated an orange millionaire who won’t release his taxes (Did he PAY his taxes? Clinton has released her tax returns for the past 33 years.), makes no sense, has offered no real solutions for the problems he points out, and has vilified the press, this is likely to be a drubbing of historic proportions.

The State of Texas is seeking $5.4 million from Trump University to pay back the defrauded students. “And you know this case was turned down by almost every attorney general, from Texas to….” said Trump to Jake Tapper on television on June 5th.

Five different Texas codes were violated, according to the state of Texas. Texas state investigators went undercover inside Trump University to make these claims. Huckster. Fraud. Liar. Bait-and-switch. Infomercials for the 3-day $1,495 course used more high-pressure tactics to get customers to pay $35,000 for more classes. The only business tip? Prey on foreclosure victims. And yet Trump’s attorney says that Donald Trump had his finger involved in every aspect of Trump University. The Texas Attorney General then is the Texas Governor (Greg Abbott) now, so the case was dropped when Trump said he’d leave the state never to return. “No one else,” according to Texas officials, “was going to be scammed.”

Yeah…this is the kind of guy you want leading the Free World—-NOT!

Radio Interviews on June 1st & June 2nd

By Connie Wilson

On May 31, 2016

In Books, Editorial, Interviews, Local, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics, Pop Culture

“Obama’s Odyssey” continues its national radio tour with 3 stops tomorrow and some special pricing.

The stops will be: 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., CT in Centralia, Illinois on WILY-AM with Tootie Cooksey’s “Hotline.”

11 to 11:30 a.m. on WAMV-AM with Bob Langstaff’s “We the People” in Amherst, Virginia.

Noon to 12:16 on KPCL-FM in Albuquerque, New Mexico with Annette Ayoub’s “Day Brightener.”

In conjunction with the radio tour, Volume II of “Obama’s Odyssey” is FREE for June 1 and June 2. Volume I is only 99 cents in e-book format from Amazon. The easiest way to “click through” and get to the special offers (which will expire on June 2nd) is to go to ConnieCWilson.com and click through, although you can also opt to go directly to Amazon and type in the book’s titles (Obama’s Odyssey: The 2008 Race for the White House) and/or my author name, Connie Corcoran Wilson).

Paperback “Goodreads” Giveaway Ends in 8 hours

By Connie Wilson

On May 28, 2016

In Books, Local, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics, Pop Culture

I’m giving away 5 autographed copies of “Obama’s Odyssey, Volume I” through Goodreads, to end tonight at midnight (May 28th). I’ve been mentioning it on the national radio tour I’m on, which will continue on June 1st and June 2nd.

If you don’t mind reading the book as an e-book, on those 2 dates you’ll be able to get an E-book copy of Volume II FREE and a copy of Volume for 99 cents, in conjunction with the radio tour, so that is $30 of paperback books in e-book (Kindle) format for under a $1. (Sweet)

Also, I’ll be at the IWPA (Illinois Women’s Press Association) tent from 10 to 2 on the first day (Saturday, June 11th) of Printers’ Row and from 2 to 6 on Sunday, June 12th. Stop by and pick up the nonfiction or fiction books (30 at last count) for special pricing and have them autographed.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Obama's Odyssey

by Connie Corcoran Wilson

Giveaway ends May 28, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

“Obama’s Odyssey” (Vols. I & II) on Radio & Specially Priced

By Connie Wilson

On May 16, 2016

In Books, Interviews, Local, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics, Pop Culture

For all of you who, like me, are watching this year’s presidential race with mouth agog, I thought I would remind you that my book about Hillary Clinton’s last run for the presidency, [when she was soundly beaten by the upstart Barack Obama], is going to be on a national radio tour of 18 major markets, starting tomorrow, May 18th.

In honor of my dragging myself out of bed and speaking to morning drive talk show people from coast to coast (list to follow), I’ve lowered the price of Volume I of “Obama’s Odyssey” (e-book only) to 99 cents for the dates May 18, 19, 20, June 1 and 2 and we are giving Volume II away absolutely FREE during those same dates. (Normal price: $4.99 in e-book; $14.99 per book in paperback).

If you don’t know much about either book, you can see me explaining my light-hearted approach to political coverage in a YouTube video that was shown on Chicago television. Simply go to YouTube and type in Connie Corcoran Wilson. You’ll see a picture of Joe Biden, one of the many politicians I tracked through the snowy wastelands of Iowa (and elsewhere) for close to 24 months in 2008.

My 1,000 articles were “hit” over 3 million times by Yahoo readers, and I was named Yahoo Content Producer of the Year for Politics. The books came later—not until after July 14 of 2014, when the Content Contributor Network I served for 10 years was dissolved to employ Katie Couric, instead. ($10 million for Katie; $0 for us).

The company informed us they were not going to maintain the servers to keep the thousands of articles from those of us in the Content Contributors’ Network up on the Internet.

So began MY Odyssey of hiring public school teachers who were off work in the summer to assist me in getting my articles down off the Internet before they would be trashed. And, once down, it seemed as though there were too many pictures–especially unused ones still in my pictures file— for just one book, so I divided the campaign up into 2 parts: 1) The run-up to the conventions, when various candidates jockeyed for position to be their party’s nominee and,
2) The campaign itself, right up to and through the Inauguration.

Volume I has 67 blog posts from the field, with only 27 photos. Volume II has 60 (sixty) previously unpublished historic photographs taken all over the country and within the DNC and RNC, town hall meetings and the Ron Paul Rally for the Republic, with 27 accompanying articles.

My appearances on various radio stations began with a small station in Brownwood, Texas at 7:10 a.m. Tomorrow, 9 stations will speak with me, as follows:

1) Harrogate, TN, WCXZ-AM, Tom Amis in the Morning
2) Willmer, MN, KWLM-AM, Bill Dean’s the Morning Brew
3) Minneapolis, MN, KBEM-FM, Ed Jones
4) Charleston, SC, WTMA-AM, Charlie James
5) Charlotte, NC, WSAT-AM, Buddy Poole
6) Lexington, KY, WMST-AM, Dan Manley, “Mid Mornings on Main”
7) Hartford, CT, WJJF-FM, Lee Elci, “The Lee Elci Show”
8) Ocala, FL, WOCA-AM, Larry Whitler’s “The Source”
9) Festus, MO, KJFF-AM, Matt West’s “The Morning Magazine

On May 19th, Thursday, I’ll be chatting with:
10) Burlington, IA, KBUR-AM, the Steve Hexom Show
11) West Chester, PA, WCHE-AM, Geoff Harris
12) Seattle, WA, KORE-FM, Ken Johannessen
13) Minneapolis, MN, KLTF-AM, Ron Specker’s “Party Line”
14) Yuba City, CA, KUBA-AM, Moe Howard

Then, I’ll be silent (and sleeping in) until June 1st, when I’ll be heard on:
15) Centralia, IL, WILY-AM, Tootie Cooksey
16) Amherst, VA, WAMV-AM, Bob Langstaff’s “We, the People”
17) Albuquerque, NM, KPCL-FM, Annette Ayoub’s “Day Brightener”

If you’re anywhere within listening distance of these stations, tune in. If you’re not, I recommend the YouTube video, which I may post here momentarily.

And, regardless, please consider downloading (or is it uploading?) a FREE copy of Volume II of “Obama’s Odyssey” on the days it is free (May 18, 19, 20 and June 1, June 2) and a 99 cent copy of Volume I on those same days.

Anyone who knows my aversion to early mornings knows I won’t be doing THIS again any time soon, so get them while you can!

“The Maltese Falcon:” Hollywood Collectors Gone Wild

By Connie Wilson

On March 20, 2016

In Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews

The Maltese Falcon (1941).

The 3 most iconic bits of movie memorabilia are often said to be Dorothy’s ruby red slippers from “The Wizard of Oz,” the Maltese Falcon from the 1941 film, and Rosebud, the sled that burns at the end of “Citizen Kane.” Of course, we could admit that many other costumes and props have taken on mythic proportions as the years have passed, whether Harrison Ford’s whip from “Indiana Jones” or Marilyn Monroe’s dress from “The Seven-Year Itch.”

THE RUBY SLIPPERS FROM THE WIZARD OF OZ

Recently, I reviewed “The Slippers,” a film by Morgan White that premiered at SXSW.

THE MALTESE FALCON

Another interesting story revolves around the Maltese Falcon (or, I should more accurately say, the Maltese Falcons) and where they all are now. It was reported in the Hollywood 2016 edition of “Vanity Fair” that Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas hotel magnate, paid $4.5 million for a Maltese Falcon at Bonham’s Madison Avenue showroom on November 25, 2013.

THE ORIGINAL BATMOBILE

Prior to that time, the most expensive item from a movie set to be sold were cars, the original Batmobile and the Aston Martin that Sean Connery drove in “Goldfinger.”

AUTHENTICATING THE STATUES OF THE FALCON

What makes authenticating Maltese Falcons even more difficult is the fact that a 1975 film starring George Segal, a satire called “The Black Bird” caused even more of the falcon statues to be created.

A Beverly Hills oral surgeon, Gary Milan, owned a falcon thought for years to be the legitimate one by the public, although those in the know felt it was not the real statuette used in the movie, since it was made of lead and weighed 45 pounds. Most experts from the studio days felt the falcon used in the film would have been made of lightweight material like plaster of paris, not lead.

HANK RISAN: COLLECTOR

A collector of rare guitars named Hank Risan owned some of the more lightweight falcons and, in a freaky coincidence, Risan became convinced, after the publication of a book by Steve Hodel in 2003 called “Black Dahlia Avenger,” that his own father had murdered Elizabeth Short (the infamous “Black Dahlia” found cut in half in Los Angeles’ Leimert Park neighborhood in January of 1947.)

The article comes to few conclusions about who owns what and what can or cannot be authenticated, although, ultimately. Although Risan has been unable to prove it or profit from it to the extent of others, it is thought that Hank Risan owns falcons #2 and #2, and sold #4 to an unidentified buyer. One more plaster falcon has been eyeballed in the Warner Brothers warehouse, and it came to light that the studio had cast a heavy lead falcon and it was given to William Conrad (star of the television series “Cannon”) back in the sixties by studio head Jack Warner. That one only came to light with Conrad’s death in 1994.

The consortium of Leonardo DeCaprio, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and other unnamed onvestors paid $300,000 for one Maltese Falcon at auction, and Morgan White, in his film “The Slippers” about Dorothy’s red shoes, said that the one thing he was disappointed about was that the pair of ruby slippers that this group of investors bought on behalf of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences wouldn’t let him film the slippers for his documentary on how that other fabled movie prop was saved for posterity (a film I wrote about from SXSW in an earlier entry).