An Hour With the Coen Brothers
The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s hour-long interview with Joel and Ethan Coen, the filmmakers who did Fargo, No Country For Old Men and Barton Fink:
The Who2 Blog
Frances McDormand Wins a Tony
Actress Frances McDormand has won a Tony, and you can read about it here. She won the award for her performance in the play Good People, which, judging from this …..
Two Mad Magazine Frames
Guess the actors. Guess the show.
Behind the Scenes at the Movies
Although it’s not a huge gallery, there are some terrific shots for movie lovers at this site called Best of BTS.
Like this one, from The French Connection, with Gene Hackman:
Sebastian Junger is Giving Up Front-Line Reporting
“I’m not going to do any more front-line reporting, because I don’t want to put my wife through what I went through with Tim [Hetherington]… Tim’s death made war reporting feel like a selfish endeavor.”Sebastian Junger says he’s getting out of the game.
Gabrielle Giffords: An Update, Kind Of
“We do a lot of inferring with her because her communication skills have been impacted the most… What we’ve been able to infer and what we believe is that her comprehension is very good. I don’t know about percentage-wise or not, but it’s close to normal, if not normal.”
Leona Helmsley’s Millionaire Dog, Trouble, Is Trouble No More
Leona Helmsley’s Maltese pooch Trouble has died at age 12.You may recall that Leona Helmsley left Trouble a trust fund of $12 million, which was later cut by a judge to a mere $2 million. The dog’s been living on $100,000 a year since Helmsley died in 2007.
Noah Webster’s Soop on Your Tung
Here is another great video from Merriam-Webster’s Ask The Editor feature on YouTube:
Remembering Grete Waitz
[Jack] Waitz was an accountant and part-time coach who suggested his wife try the New York City Marathon. The story is often told that she hated her first marathon so much that she threw her shoes at her husband, even though she had set a world record. A star was born.George Vecsey remembers the great marathoner Grete Waitz, who won New York an amazing nine times.
Les Paul: Stars Playing His Guitars (Photos)
Les Paul is featured on today’s Google Doodle — he was born on this day in 1915. Which gives us a chance to mention our photo essay, Stars Playing Les Paul Guitars.
Patrick Stewart’s Jaguar
Star Trek’s Patrick Stewart drives around a race track and talks about his love of cars in this video from the U.K. show Top Gear:
For the Love of Movie Posters
Here’s a delightful way to while away the hours — go visit Film On Paper, a new site from movie poster collector Eddie Shannon.
Shannon has created a gallery chockablock with a variety of promotional posters like these:
Anna Kournikova is Only 30, For Pete’s Sakes
Anna Kournikova turns 30 today. The former teen tennis sensation was born on this day in Moscow in 1981, back when it was still the Soviet Union.
James Arness Says Goodbye
Actor James Arness died Friday at the age of 88. Arness was the star of the television series Gunsmoke, a western that was on the air from 1955 to 1975. Yes, that’s right, it was the longest-running drama on American TV, and Arness was Sheriff Matt Dillon.
James Arness was also known for his roles in the science fiction classics Them! and The Thing (the original, not the Kurt Russell one).
Sarah Palin and Paul Revere
Dear Fritz:
Just a thought — should we change our biography of Paul Revere to reflect this never-before-revealed story told by presidential hopeful Sarah Palin?
According to Sarah Palin, Paul Revere rang some bells to warn the British not to take his arms (which he would need to ring the bells, I guess). Something like that. She goes on to say some other stuff that sounds a little too philosophical and intellectual for my tastes, but since it’s not specifically about Paul Revere I think we can ignore it.
Is Weinergate All About Clarence Thomas?
Angry Black Lady makes a pretty good case. The kicker, about the connection to Rep. Anthony Weiner, comes near the end. (Warning: contains naughty language plus frank talk about Clarence Thomas.){ Hat tip: The Dish }
Jack Kevorkian, “Dr. Death,” Dead Himself at 83
“Dr. Jack Kevorkian — embraced as a compassionate crusader and reviled as a murderous crank — died early this morning.”
George Lucas Strikes Back!
Finally we find out what really happened to George Lucas.
Paul McCartney’s Video Contest
Anybody can have a YouTube channel. Even singer Paul McCartney, who was once a member of the group The Beatles, and who has since been crowned a Lord High Bannister Earl of The Court Order for the Empire (by Queen Elizabeth himself). So now we call him Sir Paul McCartney.
The Nellie Taft Sesquicentennial
It happens today!