Robert Redford, Stanley Tucci, Brit Marling & Jackie Evancho Learning About Life and History From The Company They Keep by Jay S. Jacobs About the time that the Weather Underground was forming and gaining infamy for their sometimes violent protests, Robert Redford was well on his way to becoming one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Butch Cassidy & the … Continue reading
Marjane Satrapi Cooks Up A Tasty Chicken With Plums by Brad Balfour Iranian-born director and artist Marjane Satrapi lives in Paris, France, and has never lived in post-revolutionary Persia throughout her adult life. Yet her home country has shaped and influenced her creative work whether it be her written and drawn graphic novels or her feature films. In 2000, an independent … Continue reading
Robert Duvall Takes the High Road to Get Low by Brad Balfour When Get Low hit the festival circuit earlier this year, veteran actor Robert Duvall came to town and did a few interview sessions to discuss this film, his career, and playing roles like the irascible Felix Bush. The grungy, ill-kempt Bush is this mysterious hermit … Continue reading
Duncan Sheik Bringing Down the Whisper House by Jay S. Jacobs It’s not a straight line to go from pop star to respected Broadway composer, but Duncan Sheik never believed in doing things the normal way. Sheik first exploded onto the pop culture radar in 1996, when his Gold-certified self-titled debut album yielded the mega-hit … Continue reading
Charlie Gracie What More Could You Ask? By Ronald Sklar Usually, it’s the other way around for Paul McCartney, but in this instance, it was Sir Paul who had always wanted to meet a certain musician who had influenced him in his early years. The year: 2000. Philadelphia native Charlie Gracie, the influence in question, was scheduled … Continue reading
Lesley Gore Out There on Her Own by Ronald Sklar Lesley Gore was scoring monster hits long before the age of Britney, Lindsay and Jessica. Her signature song, “It’s My Party (And I’ll Cry If I Want To)” is one for the ages, enduring longer – and remaining more recognizable and beloved – than any … Continue reading
Joe Franklin The Man Who Invented Talk by Ronald Sklar Joe Franklin, from his infamously nostalgia-cluttered midtown office, claims that he hosted television’s very first talk show. In fact, he insists that it was he who developed the very idea of the eternal genre. “I was hosting a radio show called ‘Vaudeville Isn’t Dead,’” says the Bronx-born … Continue reading
Phoebe Snow Make Things All Right by Ronald Sklar The way Phoebe Snow can manipulate her vocal chords to achieve intense highs and duck-for-cover lows matches only the highs and lows of her own personal wild ride. Her voice, most well known for her 1974 hit, “Poetry Man,” is nothing short of a gift; however, … Continue reading
Once Around Dublin’s Streets with Glen Hansard & John Carney by Brad Balfour Fashioning a hybrid from two cinematic genres can either pay off or be a profound failure. In the case of John Carney’s debut feature, Once, he succeeds handily. Maybe that’s because he enlisted his longtime pal and former band member, Glen Hansard, lead … Continue reading
Philip Seymour Hoffman Channels Capote by Brad Balfour Though the actor is almost a head taller than the late author and social figure Truman Capote, Philip Seymour Hoffman brilliantly recreates the writer for the film about his life during the creation of his literary masterpiece, In Cold Blood – the story of two killers who massacre a … Continue reading
