Saturday, September 26, 2009

Child's
Play

These
are
some
of my
fav-
orite
child-
hood
draw-
ings.

John was our wonderful tabby.


















Pup with stuff on his head (possibly a butterfly).


















Birthday card for Mom. Love the purple whiskers.


















Another card for Mom.


















Ah, the old human-rabbit hybrid.


















I like the way the lion and the tiger are licking their chops.

Endnote: Cross-posted at Facebook.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Auto-
graphs:
Celebs
and Pens

Once up-
on a time,
I liked to
ask celeb-
rities for
their au-
tographs.
That time ended long ago, coinciding with an increase in the
number of interviews I've conducted with various entertainment
figures over the years (it seems more appropriate to ask a celeb
for their signature if you purchased a ticket to their film and/or
performance than during the course of a publicist-arranged con-
versation). Here are a few of my favorites, with more to come.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Former label guy Glenn Boothe secured Arthur Lee's autograph
for me when the musician played NYC (sometime in the late-'80s,
early-'90s). There's a reason I named my blog AndMoreAgain...


















Remember when Wire changed the line-up and dropped the "e"? I do.

















While he was in town with James Ellroy, who signed my copy of
My Dark Places, Curtis Hanson signed my copy of this CD sound-
track—in silver pen, no less. Then he told me I paid too much for it.



Endnote: Cross-posted at Facebook.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Movie of the Month, Part 10: Audience of One

I recently
reviewed
the follow-
ing film for
Video Librarian, and thought the results were worth sharing.

AUDIENCE OF ONE [***1/2]
(Michael Jacobs, US, 2007, 88 mins.)


Note: slightly revised from the original text.

The Bay Area has produced numerous filmmaking entities ov-
er the years, notably George Lucas, but Richard Grazowsky
is something else altogether. A Pentecostal pastor based in San
Francisco, he receives a message from God to make a multi-
million-dollar movie, and sets out to fulfill that mission.

As he explains, "The message of Christ was to dream big," so he
sells his house, solicits donations from parishioners, forms What
You See Is What You Get Filmworks, and embarks on an epic his
producer bills as "Star Wars meets The Ten Commandments."

With the aid of wife Sandy,
kids Sunny, Misty, and Rocki,
and dozens of other collabora-
tors, Grazowsky produces a script, a set of storyboards, a cast, and an array of outfits, but shooting proves more difficult than expected.

Though his mother, Marilyn, from whom he inherited his posi-
tion, doesn't participate, she grudgingly offers her support, ad-
ding, "He's a sweet man...very naïve." She could be describing
everyone involved with Gravity: the Shadow of Joseph, except
for the trained cinematographer, who walks out in frustration.

Using a fly-on-the-wall approach, debut helmer Michael Ja-
cobs, a fan of the Maysles Brothers' Salesman, follows Grazow-
sky from pre-production in Northern California to filming in Italy
to the point at which the money runs out—and the lawsuits roll in.

Though Grazowsky strives
to become a secular George
Lucas, his indefigatable en-
thusiasm, combined with a
neglible talent for filmmak-
ing, aligns him more closely
with Ed Wood of Plan 9
from Outer Space infamy.

Special features include deleted scenes, a clip from the still-un-
finished film, a song ("Second Wind") by Gazowky and his family,
and smart commentary from Jacobs. A strong recommendation.

Click here for Movie of the Month, Part Nine: Global Metal

Endnote: Though I'd imagine Michael Jacobs is unrelated to
Ken Jacobs (Star-Spangled to Death) and Azazel Jacobs (Mom-
ma's Man), I've added him to my list of Jacobs to Watch. Images,
including Charlton Heston as Moses and Johnny Depp as Wood,
from The New York Times, The Washington Note, and Flixter.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

September 2009 Reviews

These are the reviews
and other pieces I'm
working on this month.

Amazon DVDs:
Not Forgotten with Simon Baker and Paz Vega) and No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - the Complete First Season with Jill Scott [three-disc set]. Happy my editor assigned the latter as I recently reviewed a documentary about Botswana as seen through the eyes of Alexander McCall Smith.

Still playing: Cold Souls, Food, Inc., and Public Enemies.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Not since Oscar Micheaux had an African American film-
maker taken such complete control of the creative process.
-- MoMA on 1971's Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Seattle Film Blog: Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-Itchyfooted Mutha from Sweet Sweetback's Melvin Van Peebles. In a perfect world, I
would also review The Beaches of Agnes, Still Walking, The Baad-
er Meinhof Complex, and Somers Town, but I'm starting a new
part-time project this month, so it's unlikely I'll have time.

Video Librarian: Burning the
Future - Coal in America, Fairy-
tale of Kathmandu, Meditate and
Destroy, New Muslim Cool, The
Queen and I, Theater of War,
90210 - The First Season [six-disc
set], Big Pun - The Legacy, Dirty
Country, Endgame, Mistral's
Daughter [three-disc set], Tribute,
Brave New Voices, Desperate
Housewives - The Complete Fifth
Season [seven-disc set], Elvis - Love Me Tender, Gossip Girl -
The Complete Second Season [six-disc set], The Mama Cass
Television Program, Michael Jackson - Devotion, Who Does
She Think She Is?, and The World According to Miley Cyrus.

Endnote: Images from the NWFF and MoMA.