Donald Trump to desecrate “Scotland’s Amazon rain forest”?
Donald Trump — no stranger to controversy — is at it again. American reality star Donald Trump has bought up hundreds of acres on the northeast coast of Scotland, best known to movie-lovers as the setting for the 1983 classic film “Local Hero.” And like the American oil tycoon played by Burt Lancaster, he needs to buy out a few more locals to make the deal come true. In a land swimming with golf courses, Trump is going to build two more – alongside a 450-room hotel and 1,500 luxury homes. The trouble is, the land he has purchased occupies…
Before “My Week With Marilyn”: BBC documentary on making of “The Prince and the Showgirl” (WATCH HERE)
This afternoon I saw the new film My Week with Marilyn, based on filmmaker Colin Clark’s experiences on set with Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier during the making of the 1956 film The Prince and the Showgirl. Michelle Williams turns in a convincing portrait as Monroe in a film that I found slight and not altogether satisfying–though I did enjoy Kenneth Branagh’s performance as Olivier and a charming turn by Judi Dench (who seems to be in every film made these days) as Sybil Thorndike. Previously this story was told as a quasi-documentary for the BBC, which–through the magic of…
“Not Lovin’” the “alleged” corporate cruelty, McDonald’s
McDonald’s (and Target) dropped one of the nation’s largest egg suppliers — “Sparboe Farms” — after an animal rights group released an undercover video of the egg producer’s farms in three states. Mind you, they didn’t drop the inhumane egg supplier — “Sparboe Farms” — because it was the right thing to do, but because they were caught. You know what they do to the baby chicks? They CUT THEIR BEAKS OFF so they won’t peck at each other in the hideous close quarters Sparboe Farms puts them in… I, for one, used to love the “Egg McMuffin.” Now the…
NEW “Woody Allen: A Documentary” to air this Nov. 20 on PBS
“It’s unlikely you’ll ever need to read a biography of Woody Allen after this scrupulously thorough two-part doc from former Curb Your Enthusiasm exec producer Robert Weide,” EW’s Ken Tucker reports. “Allen takes you through his old Brooklyn neighborhood, pointing out vanished-movie-theater sites and reminiscing about what a stubborn, flinty little cuss he was–and grew up to be.”
The Bouvier Beales on the iPad! “Grey Gardens” Fans Look Here
Grey Gardens News reports: The inaugural issue of HYLAND magazine, an iPad only magazine focusing on high end architecture, interiors, design, art and lifestyle, features a significant (30+ page) interiors and garden spread on Grey Gardens, the estate where Big and Little Edie Beale spent most of their lives, first in elegant splendor, then in squalor. Fans will, of course, remember the stunning Tony-Award-winning Broadway musical starring Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson. Revisit this amazing show here. Download the all new HYLAND magazine issue on iTunes!
“Miss Representation” — A Woman’s World?
When the documentary Miss Representation premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, audiences were riveted and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network acquired its broadcast rights. The film explores how the media’s misrepresentation of women has led to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence. Miss Representation 8 min. Trailer 8/23/11 from Miss Representation on Vimeo. Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics, like Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem build momentum as Miss Representation accumulates startling facts and statistics that will leave…
“Thank God for 9/11″ Mentally Ill Phelps Clan Says
Louis Theroux struggles to come to terms with the infamous Phelps family from Topeka, Kansas who picket the funerals of dead soldiers killed in Iraq as a protest against an America that tolerates homosexuality. That’s right. The Phelps Clan, mongers of all things sinister, have recruited children and others into a life of misery and ignorance wihch is featured in a doc appropriately titled, “The Most Hated Family In America.” They are heathens. They are unattractive, uneducated and by their own admission, they are the people that “everyone at their school hates.” They are “sinners,” according to the bible. They…
Relive the nineties with “Pearl Jam Twenty”
Since releasing Ten twenty years ago, Pearl Jam has ended up turning into rock’s unlikely torchbearers; the last remaining link between yesterday’s legends and today’s rock radio. Singer Eddie Vedder’s feral howl even ended up becoming the template for many of the most maligned contemporary singers. However, that’s not to the Seattle band’s discredit, they truly are a continuously inventive and creative outfit. Pearl Jam Twenty, a new documentary about the group by Oscar-winning filmmaker Cameron Crowe, follows the band from their beginnings as the light of local eyes to the band the just about defined an entire decade. With…
Oprah BTS: “In God I Move and Breathe and Have My Being” [VIDEO]
“In God I Move and Breathe and Have My Being” That’s the space Oprah was in, she said on tonight’s “Oprah Behind The Scenes,” as she was taking her final walk out on stage for “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Oprah had always wanted to be a teacher and as it turned out, she was a teacher in the biggest classroom of the world. Ms. Winfrey calls her final show a “love letter” to her fans. “Sometimes I was a teacher, and more often, you taught me…this will be our last class from this stage…start embracing the life that is calling…
Those doubting Amy Winehouse’s Brilliance Clearly Weren’t Listening
It’s easy to write off Amy Winehouse as a troubled, self indulgent drug addict. Lazy thinking, I call it. The only thing I dwell upon after Amy’s tragic death is what could have been. It’s truly heartbreaking when pondered from that state of mind. So while others are awaiting toxicology reports, and consuming the seedy details surrounding her life and death, I believe the music tells the only story worth listening to. The 2008 documentary, Amy Winehouse: The Girl Done Good is a must see, and is an excellent source for remembering Amy the artist. This DVD showcases a unique…
