I may no longer be recognized at a studio commissary as a frequent buyer, but at least the resillient gentleman who works the night shift at my nearby 7-11 still treats me as such. He specifically orders copies of New York-based newspapers which his neighboring stores have long since stopped carrying because, let’s face it, … Read more
As it has been since 1982, the tony ski village of Park City, Utah played home to hundreds of the world’s most brilliant and beautiful people with the mid-winter celebration of cinema called the Sundance Film Festival. This year’s edition, which began last Thursday and continues all this coming week, has already seen its share … Read more
There was once a time–and it honestly wasn’t THAT long ago–that I was in a position to give sage advice to creatives who were hell-bent on having their own way data be damned. Some of them trusted me enough to actually seek out my counsel after my superiors would direct them to make changes to … Read more
The surest sign that the holiday season is finally over came in the form of of new episodes of REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER returning to HBO last night. I for one anticipated it greatly because it’s one of the few original TV series of any ilk that still attempts to fill the void on … Read more
I’ve never known a moment of my life without being able to laugh at the works of Mel Brooks. And I dare say, that’s also true for you–or should be the case, if you’ve somehow not allowed yourself the chance to do so yet. Thankfully, through the labor of love that Judd Apatow and HBO … Read more
It’s pitch black where I am right now, and the only traffic on the road is actually moving–a good deal of it being autonomous vehicles that may or may not be carrying passengers. Those that were occupied were probably en route to the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills for a ritual that few here … Read more
By definition, we’re a species forever seeking something that we either used to have and loved or never haved and craved. That’s especially true when it comes to television, and if you happened to be one of the unfortunate ones who were hoping to see the end of yesterday’s PRICE IS RIGHT showcase only to … Read more
You may have noticed that a disproportionate number of musings of late have tended to be on the negative side, and you’re not wrong to criticize me for it. But facts are what facts are and when one sees an industry that continues to be defined by audience erosion, fractionalization and corporate contraction it’s hard … Read more
Once upon a time in Hollywood there was a winter ritual that was way more predictive of a robust summer than even Punxsutawney Phil would offer a coupla thousand miles to the East–the Television Critics Association winter tour. It would be roughly around this time of year where TV critics, especially those from far more … Read more
Back when I was a youth we took our lead from Britain for pretty much everything artistic. Were it not for them, I wouldn’t have had the privilege of experiencing The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the mini-skirt (well, looking at it). For that matter, go back a generation and you wouldn’t have had the … Read more