Recent Stories
INDUSTRY IMPRESSIONS
Why do we watch ‘Mad Men’?
Clear and colored liquors swirl in martinis glasses. Threads of smoke lift from stiff and thin cigarettes. Men and women flirt and chatter in a crowded bar, as Don Draper (Jon Hamm), scribbles notes on a napkin. Mad Men, like […]
If there’s an afterlife, Sam Simon has everyone laughing
Before my grandmother died at the age of 102, she told me that my grandfather, great aunt and great uncle were together in an apartment waiting for her so they could finally play cards. I’ve never been a religious or […]
The forgotten audience: An open letter to Hollywood
I’ve never written an open letter to anyone. I’ve written letters on Snoopy stationery to camp penpals, and thank you notes on fancy stationery, but never an open letter. I’m not even sure what an open letter is, but it […]
Change is good for business
Change is coming. It’s that moment right at the beginning when the ground starts to swell and there is the inevitable push to stamp it down – people starting to stand up against their own fear of the consequences of […]
Ida Lupino: Why Hollywood is still ‘On Dangerous Ground’
“I used to be the poor man’s Bette Davis. Now, I’m the poor man’s Don Siegal.” In reality, she was a true original: writer, actor, director, producer, at a time when no one in Hollywood had the balls to hire […]
What’s the story, Harper Lee?
Harper Lee is one of a handful of people responsible for my becoming a writer. I remember reading To Kill a Mockingbird as a kid and thinking: Wow, I want to tell stories like that! But as is sometimes the […]