The personal blog of filmmaker Dimitri Vorris.
3.07.2010
3.05.2010
INDIE SPIRITS....
Woody Harrelson, hailed for his performance in "The Messenger," took the first award of the evening ath the
INDIE SPIRITS...
INDIE SPIRITS...
2.27.2010
IN "VARIETY" EVERYTHING HAS A PRICE TAG.SO LONG FOR JOURNALISM AND ETHICS...
http://incontention.com/?p=23328#more-23328
The price of Variety
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:11 pm · February 26th, 2010
Ever heard of “Iron Cross?” Don’t blame yourself if you haven’t: a Nazi revenge drama from freshman director Joshua Newton, opening in theaters next week, it appears to be notable principally for being the last film of the late Roy Scheider.
Newton, however, had such high hopes for the film that he talked investors into a $400,000 ad campaign in Variety, enough to buy daily For Your Consideration ads in the trade paper from November to the end of nomination voting in January. Following this, Variety itself selected the film for its screening series aimed at Academy members, alongside far more illustrious awards contenders.
Must be good, right? Well, Variety’s own critic Robert Koehler didn’t think so in his damning review of the film, which he denounced as “preposterous” and “hackneyed,” among other choice adjectives. A slightly embarrassing result for a film the paper had previously boosted, but as Gawker’s John Cook reports, Variety solved the problem quite easily — by removing Koehler’s review from their website altogether, after “Iron Cross”’s producers complained.
The moral of the story appears to be that $400,000, plus a little nagging, can buy you a clean critical slate from one of the industry’s foremost tastemakers.
I don’t call myself a full-time critic, but as someone who takes the task of reviewing films seriously, I don’t see any way in which Variety can be excused on this incident. No individual can claim to speak for an entire organization, but when a publication approves a critic to review a certain film, they are putting their trust in that person’s point of view — whether it’s in or out of step with the critical majority, or the hopes of the film’s marketing team.
Joshua Newton is well within his rights to feel dissatisfied with Koehler’s review, but he cannot feel entitled to favorable treatment simply because of a publicity investment, as he clearly does in this stroppy email that Cook dug up — wherein he complains that the “sneaky” Koehler isn’t the “top staff journalist” originally assigned to write the Variety review, that “his actions were sneaky and he must have known that his review would compromise our Variety campaign.”
To state the obvious, reviews and advertising space are not related. They’re managed by different departments, and there’s no need for them to work in sync. “The Hurt Locker” was negatively reviewed in Variety back in September 2008, but somehow managed to cope with that and run ads in Variety to this day. One bad review doesn’t mean everyone at Variety is against your movie, just as a healthy publicity profile in the paper doesn’t automatically mean everyone is behind it. Shame on Variety for not standing by their critic in this instance.
The price of Variety
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:11 pm · February 26th, 2010
Ever heard of “Iron Cross?” Don’t blame yourself if you haven’t: a Nazi revenge drama from freshman director Joshua Newton, opening in theaters next week, it appears to be notable principally for being the last film of the late Roy Scheider.
Newton, however, had such high hopes for the film that he talked investors into a $400,000 ad campaign in Variety, enough to buy daily For Your Consideration ads in the trade paper from November to the end of nomination voting in January. Following this, Variety itself selected the film for its screening series aimed at Academy members, alongside far more illustrious awards contenders.
Must be good, right? Well, Variety’s own critic Robert Koehler didn’t think so in his damning review of the film, which he denounced as “preposterous” and “hackneyed,” among other choice adjectives. A slightly embarrassing result for a film the paper had previously boosted, but as Gawker’s John Cook reports, Variety solved the problem quite easily — by removing Koehler’s review from their website altogether, after “Iron Cross”’s producers complained.
The moral of the story appears to be that $400,000, plus a little nagging, can buy you a clean critical slate from one of the industry’s foremost tastemakers.
I don’t call myself a full-time critic, but as someone who takes the task of reviewing films seriously, I don’t see any way in which Variety can be excused on this incident. No individual can claim to speak for an entire organization, but when a publication approves a critic to review a certain film, they are putting their trust in that person’s point of view — whether it’s in or out of step with the critical majority, or the hopes of the film’s marketing team.
Joshua Newton is well within his rights to feel dissatisfied with Koehler’s review, but he cannot feel entitled to favorable treatment simply because of a publicity investment, as he clearly does in this stroppy email that Cook dug up — wherein he complains that the “sneaky” Koehler isn’t the “top staff journalist” originally assigned to write the Variety review, that “his actions were sneaky and he must have known that his review would compromise our Variety campaign.”
To state the obvious, reviews and advertising space are not related. They’re managed by different departments, and there’s no need for them to work in sync. “The Hurt Locker” was negatively reviewed in Variety back in September 2008, but somehow managed to cope with that and run ads in Variety to this day. One bad review doesn’t mean everyone at Variety is against your movie, just as a healthy publicity profile in the paper doesn’t automatically mean everyone is behind it. Shame on Variety for not standing by their critic in this instance.
2.24.2010
2.22.2010
THE FINGER TO THE GERMANS.....
For starters: Greece is the ONLY COUNTRY that never received WWII reparations from Germany.
The s(-h)ame Germans that slaughtered, abducted, imprisoned, impoverished the birtplace of democracy, medicine, drama, philosophy, poetry, architecture, fine arts and terminated the local population. Now FOCUS magazine claims that anything in EUROZONE that went wrong can be blamed on Greece, and mainly to the crooked, corrupted politicians, and an indifferent, laid back population that destroyed any and every ecosystem in the country (financially and infrastructure-wise).
Yes, of course but also to PIIGS(Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain).
The same PI(I)GS that consist the readership of FOCUS magazine.
So the FINGER is now pointed back to (you) GERMANIA UBER ALLES...
VANITY FAIR RACISM:BLACKS ARE GOOD FOR THE OSCARS NOT FOR THE COVER...
JULIA ROBERT'S NIECE MAKES THE COVER FOR THIRD TIME IN A ROW (NOBODY KNOWS WHY OR FOR WHAT FILM). MORE NOTEWORTHY ACTRESSES ARE GROSSLY OVERLOOKED. THOSE ARE THE ETHICS AND CODE OF BAR OWNER GRAYDON CARTER....
Vanity Fair's March issue came out a couple of weeks ago with a fold-out cover featuring nine young actresses to represent 'The Fresh Faces of 2010.'
Abbie Cornish, Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan, Amanda Seyfried, Rebecca Hall, Mia Wasikowska, Anna Kendrick, Emma Stone, and Evan Rachel Wood all had some sort of breakout year, some with more memorable performances than others. They are also all white and thin.
Not pictured was Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe, even though she was interviewed inside the magazine and has the most compelling breakout story of all.
"At first I thought, 'Hmm, should I be there?" she told Access Hollywood. "Then I very quickly got over it. I think if I were a part of that shoot I would have felt a little left out anyway."
She is gracious and self-effacing, and probably gives a great Oscar acceptance speech.
"I would have felt a little like... whether or not I should have been there," she said. "[It] doesn't matter, because I wasn't on it and I'm excited to be mentioned anywhere, and it doesn't matter to me where I'm not mentioned."
2.21.2010
LETTER THROUGH THE WEB: GREECE A TESTING GROUND FOR THE NEW WORLD ORDER....
We received this through our email, thanks to a NY friend. Has an interesting POV.
Greetings;
Thought you might like to read this article from a young man who lives in Greece. Some amazing parallels here of things happening in our country.
I am 26 years old and live in Greece. I am writing this letter in order to let you know about a new law in Greece announced yesterday.
The financial minister of Greece announced yesterday that from 1/1/2011 all financial transactions of sums above 1500 euros in cash, will be banned. For any transaction above 1500 euros, only credit cards and checks will be legal. The formal explanation for this law is it will combat those who do not pay taxes. But we all know this is not the case...
It seems the new world order wants to make Greece a testing ground for their new laws. For the past months, Greece have been attacked without mercy. We have been called liars, frauds, cheaters, thieves. They are threatening us constantly with banning from the euro zone and default. [These charges are] not true. ... The problem is, based on their accusations and (the virtual) bad situation of Greek finances, they will pass their experimental laws of their new world order.
The fairly new Government of the socialist party, elected 4 months ago, forgot all its promises, and is determined to pass laws giving citizenship to illegal immigrants after 5 years, without any trade-off. We are 10 million Greeks here, and almost 3 million mostly illegal immigrants, who will obtain Greek nationality and will gain the right to bring their families here too... In Pakistan there are even ads saying "for 5000 euros we get you to Greece, to study free, work, make families, and obtain EU passports"...
And now this... The previous government created a new ID card, to collect data from people since childbirth. This government will ban transactions in cash over 1500 euros, in order to make all of us have credit cards. The obvious first step is to ban all cash transactions, then merge this new ID card with the credit system, then, well.... insert this merged ID card into our bodies...
Our peoples' morale is low, society is disorganized because of immigration and propaganda, and we will not fight those laws. You people living in the Western World, be prepared because they are planning the same for you!
BACKGROUND
I will try to give you my personal view of the conditions in Greece.
First of all, there is no trust in politicians. Most people distrust them and know they are scum, but continue to vote for the same people in every election. This happens because they promise privileges in order to get votes. Most politicians are members of secret societies, and have close ties to USA and European elites. Our current prime minister is even an American citizen...
A young man living in Greece and having no connections, is hopeless. Without connections, he will have major difficulties if he wants to join a good University(or complete his studies without bribes), if he wants to find a job, or create his own. He will be forced to join the army while privileged young men with connections will illegally avoid it.
And there is no point discussing finding love... Of course pretty women will pick wealthier men, but in Greece even women of moderate appearance prefer men with deep pockets. They prefer sharing the top men than having a man only for themselves.
And the top men in Greece are all frauds. Greece, apart from some natural resources and its tourism industry, produces nothing of value. Corruption is so big, that all productive forces are drowned. So all men of power here, get their power from plundering the Greek people, or having connections with those that do it. Women (and their families) of course are not concerned about that. As long as someone is wealthy, he is desirable, and value as a person is irrelevant.
Despite poor economic condition (but not so desperate as to warrant dire measures), people in power take pleasure in attacking traditional customs, Orthodox Christianity, and traditional Greek patriots. They protect illegal immigrants, and silence their crimes. They attack Christianity, in the media, at schools etc. They are removing all Christian symbols from public places.
MEDIA
Greek media are a pile of garbage. For the biggest part of the day, most major TV networks will show shows discussing greek "vips" lifestyle, sexual relations etc. There are few "political" shows and news shows, all trying to cover the truth and turn the attention of the people at matters of trivial importance. Propaganda is blatant. The previous government was literally destroyed by TV networks. They promoted heavily the current government, so strongly that previous prime minister was forced to make new elections despite being only for 2 years in government.
Current prime minister made promises, NONE of which kept after being elected. Only a few days after election, he went on with the plans of New World Order. He created an artificially dire financial situation, in order to be able to pass whatever laws he wanted, plus giving his friends some money... He "cooked" our budget, by moving payments of 2010 in 2009 and incomes from 2009 to 2010, in order to both make our deficit bigger and be able to claim in 2010 that he "improved" our economy... This doesn't mean that our previous prime minister wasn't a puppet, just that he wasn't able to fulfill New World Order directions like the new government.
Huge economic scandals are discovered every day, and buried by Greek propaganda media. And most honest people are so concerned with working 2 and 3 jobs in order to feed their families, that cannot fight this corruption. Greek people work on average many more hours weekly than other EU countries, get much less pay, and pay more for the same products. And because of the traitors in government, EU newspapers and media call our people lazy. They say we need to work even more and receive even less... Of course this is not true. The plunder of Greek people has been made with their assistance. But this is a long subject and i wont go on with it.
CONCLUSION
In a few words... Life in Greece sucks. Since I am a computer programmer, i have many times thought about leaving for a better country and make my living there. But i do not want to abandon my home... yet. I would be willing to fight this system, but i see no point since the system is so well entrenched it cannot be tackled by a few men alone.
The reason i wrote you my previous letter is because this new law of banning cash transactions above 1500 euros is just another step towards cashless society, and is being implemented in Greece as a testing phase. I strongly believe it is a matter of time before most western nations see similar laws.
Greetings;
Thought you might like to read this article from a young man who lives in Greece. Some amazing parallels here of things happening in our country.
I am 26 years old and live in Greece. I am writing this letter in order to let you know about a new law in Greece announced yesterday.
The financial minister of Greece announced yesterday that from 1/1/2011 all financial transactions of sums above 1500 euros in cash, will be banned. For any transaction above 1500 euros, only credit cards and checks will be legal. The formal explanation for this law is it will combat those who do not pay taxes. But we all know this is not the case...
It seems the new world order wants to make Greece a testing ground for their new laws. For the past months, Greece have been attacked without mercy. We have been called liars, frauds, cheaters, thieves. They are threatening us constantly with banning from the euro zone and default. [These charges are] not true. ... The problem is, based on their accusations and (the virtual) bad situation of Greek finances, they will pass their experimental laws of their new world order.
The fairly new Government of the socialist party, elected 4 months ago, forgot all its promises, and is determined to pass laws giving citizenship to illegal immigrants after 5 years, without any trade-off. We are 10 million Greeks here, and almost 3 million mostly illegal immigrants, who will obtain Greek nationality and will gain the right to bring their families here too... In Pakistan there are even ads saying "for 5000 euros we get you to Greece, to study free, work, make families, and obtain EU passports"...
And now this... The previous government created a new ID card, to collect data from people since childbirth. This government will ban transactions in cash over 1500 euros, in order to make all of us have credit cards. The obvious first step is to ban all cash transactions, then merge this new ID card with the credit system, then, well.... insert this merged ID card into our bodies...
Our peoples' morale is low, society is disorganized because of immigration and propaganda, and we will not fight those laws. You people living in the Western World, be prepared because they are planning the same for you!
BACKGROUND
I will try to give you my personal view of the conditions in Greece.
First of all, there is no trust in politicians. Most people distrust them and know they are scum, but continue to vote for the same people in every election. This happens because they promise privileges in order to get votes. Most politicians are members of secret societies, and have close ties to USA and European elites. Our current prime minister is even an American citizen...
A young man living in Greece and having no connections, is hopeless. Without connections, he will have major difficulties if he wants to join a good University(or complete his studies without bribes), if he wants to find a job, or create his own. He will be forced to join the army while privileged young men with connections will illegally avoid it.
And there is no point discussing finding love... Of course pretty women will pick wealthier men, but in Greece even women of moderate appearance prefer men with deep pockets. They prefer sharing the top men than having a man only for themselves.
And the top men in Greece are all frauds. Greece, apart from some natural resources and its tourism industry, produces nothing of value. Corruption is so big, that all productive forces are drowned. So all men of power here, get their power from plundering the Greek people, or having connections with those that do it. Women (and their families) of course are not concerned about that. As long as someone is wealthy, he is desirable, and value as a person is irrelevant.
Despite poor economic condition (but not so desperate as to warrant dire measures), people in power take pleasure in attacking traditional customs, Orthodox Christianity, and traditional Greek patriots. They protect illegal immigrants, and silence their crimes. They attack Christianity, in the media, at schools etc. They are removing all Christian symbols from public places.
MEDIA
Greek media are a pile of garbage. For the biggest part of the day, most major TV networks will show shows discussing greek "vips" lifestyle, sexual relations etc. There are few "political" shows and news shows, all trying to cover the truth and turn the attention of the people at matters of trivial importance. Propaganda is blatant. The previous government was literally destroyed by TV networks. They promoted heavily the current government, so strongly that previous prime minister was forced to make new elections despite being only for 2 years in government.
Current prime minister made promises, NONE of which kept after being elected. Only a few days after election, he went on with the plans of New World Order. He created an artificially dire financial situation, in order to be able to pass whatever laws he wanted, plus giving his friends some money... He "cooked" our budget, by moving payments of 2010 in 2009 and incomes from 2009 to 2010, in order to both make our deficit bigger and be able to claim in 2010 that he "improved" our economy... This doesn't mean that our previous prime minister wasn't a puppet, just that he wasn't able to fulfill New World Order directions like the new government.
Huge economic scandals are discovered every day, and buried by Greek propaganda media. And most honest people are so concerned with working 2 and 3 jobs in order to feed their families, that cannot fight this corruption. Greek people work on average many more hours weekly than other EU countries, get much less pay, and pay more for the same products. And because of the traitors in government, EU newspapers and media call our people lazy. They say we need to work even more and receive even less... Of course this is not true. The plunder of Greek people has been made with their assistance. But this is a long subject and i wont go on with it.
CONCLUSION
In a few words... Life in Greece sucks. Since I am a computer programmer, i have many times thought about leaving for a better country and make my living there. But i do not want to abandon my home... yet. I would be willing to fight this system, but i see no point since the system is so well entrenched it cannot be tackled by a few men alone.
The reason i wrote you my previous letter is because this new law of banning cash transactions above 1500 euros is just another step towards cashless society, and is being implemented in Greece as a testing phase. I strongly believe it is a matter of time before most western nations see similar laws.
2.18.2010
A SUICIDE NOTE FROM TEXAS.....
Joseph Andrew Stack was named as the pilot who crashed into the Echelon Building in Austin, Texas on February 18, 2010. According to the Austin Statesman, Stack left behind a suicide note/manifesto titled "Well Mr. Big Brother IRS man... take my pound of flesh and sleep well" on his website EmbeddedArt.com which is signed "Joe Stack (1956-2010) 02/18/2010." Stack's manifesto ended with, "The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed" at the end of the long document.
According to several reports, Stack may have set his home on fire before crashing into the office building, which housed offices of the CIA and IRS. According to FOX News, the teenage-daughter of the pilot told authorities that her father had set fire to the house and took off in a plane. Local NTSB authorities said the plane crash may have been intentional. Two people were injured when the single engine Cirrus SR22 crashed into the building, located in North West Austin.http://www.wane.com/dpps/news/national/small-plane-hits-austin-business-tower-_32435796 http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/18/texas.plane.crash/?hpt=T17
The FAA said that the plane left the Georgetown airport, located in North Austin, at approximately 9:40 a.m. The plane slammed into the building creating a huge fireball and explosion at approximately 10:00 a.m. The smoke could be seen from a mile away. The pilot, Joseph Andrew Stack, did not have a flight plan and may have stolen the plane. Two people were hospitalized with injuries and one person was unaccounted for.http://www.wane.com/dpps/news/national/small-plane-hits-austin-business-tower-_32435798
2.16.2010
MORGAN FREEMAN...
2.15.2010
SPIRIT, AMERICAN, SOUTHWEST EPITOMIZE BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE
SPIRIT AIRLINES CREW REFUSED TO GIVE PREGNANT WOMAN WATER
KEVIN SMITH KICKED OFF SOUTHWEST FLIGHT FOR BEING TOO FAT!!!!!!!
A New York doctor claims that he was booted from a Spirit Airlines flight for asking for water for his pregnant wife on Sunday.
Mitchell Roslin, the Chief of Obesity Surgery at Manhattan's Lenox Hill Hospital, says that after being grounded at LaGuardia Airport for two hours in a hot plane his attempts to get water for his 7-month pregnant wife were repeatedly refused.
Roslin informed the New York Post that flight attendants told him that it was "against corporate policy" to give him water before the plane was in the air.
The doctor was asked to leave the plane after continuing to plead for water---
HOW GOLDMAN PROFITED BY LENDING MONEY AND THEN PLACING BETS AGAINST THE LOAN...
It had worked before. In 2001, just after Greece was admitted to Europe’s monetary union, Goldman helped the government quietly borrow billions, people familiar with the transaction said. That deal, hidden from public view because it was treated as a currency trade rather than a loan, helped Athens to meet Europe’s deficit rules while continuing to spend beyond its means.
Athens did not pursue the latest Goldman proposal, but with Greece groaning under the weight of its debts and with its richer neighbors vowing to come to its aid, the deals over the last decade are raising questions about Wall Street’s role in the world’s latest financial drama.
As in the American subprime crisis and the implosion of the American International Group, financial derivatives played a role in the run-up of Greek debt. Instruments developed by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and a wide range of other banks enabled politicians to mask additional borrowing in Greece, Italy and possibly elsewhere.
In dozens of deals across the Continent, banks provided cash upfront in return for government payments in the future, with those liabilities then left off the books. Greece, for example, traded away the rights to airport fees and lottery proceeds in years to come.
Critics say that such deals, because they are not recorded as loans, mislead investors and regulators about the depth of a country’s liabilities.
Some of the Greek deals were named after figures in Greek mythology. One of them, for instance, was called Aeolos, after the god of the winds.
2.13.2010
GREECE'S TOTALITARIAN "SOCIALIST" REGIME ARRESTS JOURNALIST...
Silence from Greece's mass media on journalist's arrest.
See Giloia's statement below:
Μετά την ολοκλήρωση της «φιέστας» και του τζούφιου "εντυπωσιακού σκηνικού" που «έστησαν» ο Μάκης Τριανταφυλλόπουλος με τον Γιώργο Ψαρρά και την καταφανή κατάρρευση οποιασδήποτε κατηγορίας που μου προσάπτουν θα ήθελα να τονίσω κάποια πράγματα:
Α). Ο νόμος που υποχρεώνει την αστυνομία να μπαίνει σε σπίτια και γραφεία πολιτών για πλημμελήματα θυμίζει απολυταρχικά καθεστώτα. Ένας ξεπερασμένος νόμος που εκθέτει μια χώρα που έχει γεννήσει την δημοκρατία και τον πολιτισμό. Αλήθεια αν μηνύσω κάποιο δημόσιο πρόσωπο επειδή έχω την υποψία ή την πληροφορία ότι κρύβεται πίσω από κάποιο blog θα γίνουν έφοδοι στο γραφείο και το σπίτι του;
Όλα αυτά χωρίς να έχει αποδειχθεί ΠΟΤΕ κάποιο ηλεκτρονικό ίχνος που να παραπέμπει στο συγκεκριμένο πρόσωπο;...
Β). Τα blogs δεν είναι αυτά που πρέπει να απασχολήσουν τις αρχές αλλά οι αθλιότητες και οι συκοφαντίες ανθρώπων που έχουν portal και sites τα οποία το κράτος επιδοτεί με διαφημίσεις για να στοχοποιούν και να διασύρουν πολίτες (όταν οι ίδιοι φυλάσσονται με αστυνομικούς που πληρώνει το Ελληνικό κράτος).
Γ). Τόσο ο Μάκης Τριανταφυλλόπουλος - με τις συχνές αθλιότητες που διαπράττει - όσο και ο Γιώργος Ψαρράς ως σύμβουλος διοίκησης που στηρίζει - χωρίς μισθό - την προσπάθεια που κάνει ο πρώτος να σπιλώνει κόσμο, έχουν κριθεί από την δικαιοσύνη για προσωπικές τους υποθέσεις.
Δ). Την ίδια ώρα που γίνονται έφοδοι σε σπίτια για πλημμελήματα το πολιτικό σύστημα συγκαλύπτει όσους οφείλουν στο δημόσιο τεράστια ποσά ή εμπλέκονται σε σκάνδαλα με εικονικά τιμολόγια.
Γνωρίζοντας την πραγματικότητα σε όσα μου καταμαρτυρά ο κ.Γ.Ψαρράς ζητώ να γίνει δεκτό το αίτημα της άμεσης εξέτασης των υπολογιστών που μου κατασχέθηκαν για να μπορέσει η δικαιοσύνη να αποδώσει το δίκαιο το συντομότερο δυνατό.
Η πολιτεία και η Ελληνική Αστυνομία έχουν χρέος να το κάνουν απέναντι σε έναν πολίτη που προσβάλλεται βάναυσα από τον φασιστικό νόμο που επιτρέπει την νόμιμη "εισβολή" αστυνομικών σε σπίτια και γραφεία σαν να πρόκειται για εξάρθρωση μέλους τρομοκρατικής οργάνωσης ή εμπόρων ναρκωτικών (ή και άλλων σοβαρών κακουργημάτων).
Υ.Γ.1: Δυστυχώς για τον Μάκη και τον Ψαρρά θα κάνω κούλουμα στο σπίτι μου…
Υ.Γ2: Θα παρακαλούσα όλους τους επώνυμους δημοσιογράφους να μην επικοινωνήσουν ξανά μαζί μου για οποιαδήποτε μεσολάβηση μου σε θέματα που τους αφορούν. Η σιωπή τους σε αυτό το μείζον θέμα δείχνει την κουλτούρα και την ποιότητα τους.
2.11.2010
EUROLAND....
FROM YANNIS IOANNOU, GREECE'S TOP CARTOONIST, COMIC CREATOR....
2.10.2010
EXTREME RIGHT WING AND ANTI-SEMITIC PROFESSOR KONSTANTINOS PLEURIS ON THE PAYROLL...
2.09.2010
"THE COVE"
"The Cove" has been selected as the next motion picture to be screened in the "Kat Kramer's Films That Changed the World" series.
The screening, set for Feb. 28 at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood, is aimed at focusing attention on two organizations that were instrumental in the pic's production: the Oceanic Preservation Society, which is operated by "Cove" director Louie Psihoyos, and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Kramer selected "Cove" for inclusion because the film has heightened awareness about the killing of dolphins, particularly in the Japanese news media.
"The horrifying practice is so entrenched that it is not going to be stopped overnight, but I believe 'The Cove' will make a significant impact," said actress and producer Kat Kramer, founder of the series.
Written by Mark Monroe, "Cove" was produced by Fisher Stevens and associate produced by Charles Hambleton. The film has received numerous awards and is nominated for the feature documentary Oscar.
The screening, set for Feb. 28 at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood, is aimed at focusing attention on two organizations that were instrumental in the pic's production: the Oceanic Preservation Society, which is operated by "Cove" director Louie Psihoyos, and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Kramer selected "Cove" for inclusion because the film has heightened awareness about the killing of dolphins, particularly in the Japanese news media.
"The horrifying practice is so entrenched that it is not going to be stopped overnight, but I believe 'The Cove' will make a significant impact," said actress and producer Kat Kramer, founder of the series.
Written by Mark Monroe, "Cove" was produced by Fisher Stevens and associate produced by Charles Hambleton. The film has received numerous awards and is nominated for the feature documentary Oscar.
2.08.2010
NIKKI FINKE EXCLUSIVE: TERMINATOR RIGHTS ARE SOLD TO DEBT-OWNER PACIFICOR...
EXCLUSIVE: I've learned that the auction for the Terminator movie rights just ended after a marathon bidding session today that streched from 3 PM this afternoon until 8 PM tonight. Both Sony Pictures and Lionsgate separately were bidding for the franchise, and then joined up after the first round was completed. But the studios didn't come away the winners -- which, I'm told, prompted a furious Sony Pictures exec Peter Schlessel to "storm out" of the Downtown LA offices of FTI Capital Advisors which was holding the auction. Instead, Halcyon accepted the $29.5 million bid from, of all parties, the debtholder which pushed it into bankruptcy, Santa Barbara-based hedge fund Pacificor. "Sony and Lionsgate dropped out at just under $29.5 million when it became clear that Pacificor was willing to pay almost any amount of money for Terminator," an insider tells me. Halcyon will receive $5 million for every Terminator movie made from now on, as well as keeps the revenue streams from the movies Terminator 3 and 4. An arrangement also was made that the sale now wipes out the debt Halcyon owed Pacificor. MORE
2.06.2010
UNFAIR TREATMENT...
...Zoe Saldana was exceptional in "AVATAR" and Sam Worthington, Wes Studi and the rest of the stellar cast were very good-to say the least. It's surprising that their perfomances are not recognized because. Motion-capture or not, films without actors and directors don't exist.
In "DISTRICT 9" the fabulous Sharlto Copley, as Wikus Van De Merwe, the main human/alien-hybrid protagonist, a mild-mannered manager at the MNU Department for Relations with Extraterrestrial Civilizations, also pulled a fabulous perfomance that tremendously helped the plausubility of the script and he was also overlooked.
2.04.2010
FRAUD CHARGES AGAINST BANK OF AMERICA....
www.huffingtonpost.com
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed fraud charges against Bank of America and its former top executives this morning, alleging the bank manipulated the company's shareholders and the federal government in order to carry out a merger with Merrill Lynch.
According to the lawsuit, former CEO Ken Lewis and former CFO Joe Price hid more than $16 billion worth of losses at Merrill from shareholders in order to ensure their approval of the merger. But after shareholders voted to buy the ailing firm, the bank approached the government to demand an infusion of taxpayer cash. Without bailout funds, they told regulators, BofA would be unable to complete the merger. The government capitulated and funneled $20 billion of TARP money into the bank.
Attorney General Cuomo called Bank of America's conduct "a classic example of how the actions of our nation's largest financial institutions led to the near-collapse of our financial system":
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed fraud charges against Bank of America and its former top executives this morning, alleging the bank manipulated the company's shareholders and the federal government in order to carry out a merger with Merrill Lynch.
According to the lawsuit, former CEO Ken Lewis and former CFO Joe Price hid more than $16 billion worth of losses at Merrill from shareholders in order to ensure their approval of the merger. But after shareholders voted to buy the ailing firm, the bank approached the government to demand an infusion of taxpayer cash. Without bailout funds, they told regulators, BofA would be unable to complete the merger. The government capitulated and funneled $20 billion of TARP money into the bank.
Attorney General Cuomo called Bank of America's conduct "a classic example of how the actions of our nation's largest financial institutions led to the near-collapse of our financial system":
2.02.2010
ACADEMY NOMINATIONS...
(Pictured: "THE COVE" directed by Louie Psychogios is up for Best Documentary).Here is the scorecard by film: “Avatar” 9, “The Hurt Locker” 9, “Inglourious Basterds” 8, “Precious" 6, “Up in the Air” 6, “Up” 5, “District 9” 4, “Nine” 4, “Star Trek” 4, “Crazy Heart” 3, “An Education” 3, “The Princess and the Frog” 3, “The Young Victoria” 3, “The Blind Side” 2, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” 2, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” 2, “Invictus” 2, “The Last Station” 2, “The Messenger” 2, “A Serious Man” 2, “Sherlock Holmes” 2, “The White Ribbon” 2.
FOLLOW THE LINK FOR MORE:
http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/nominations-for-82nd-academy-awards/
FOLLOW THE LINK FOR MORE:
http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/nominations-for-82nd-academy-awards/
1.31.2010
BIGELOW FIRST FEMALE FILM DIRECTOR TO WIN DGA AWARD
Women ruled at the DGA tonight for top honors in both film and TV drama direction. The DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally been one of the Industry's most accurate barometers for the Best Director Academy Award. Only 6 times since the DGA Awards began in 1948 has the Feature Film winner not gone on to win the Oscar.
But tonight's honor for The Hurt Locker's helmer Kathryn Bigelow is the first DGA win not just for her but the first for any female film director. Her team on the 2009 Summit Entertainment consisted of Unit Production Manager Tony Mark, First Assistant Director David Ticotin, and First Assistant Director (Canadian Unit) Lee Cleary. Bigelow beat out Precious' Lee Daniels, Up In The Air's Jason Reitman, Inglourious Basterds' Quentin Tarantino, and, most surprising of all, her ex, Avatar's James Cameron. Bigelow, who was only the 7th female to be nominated for the DGA award, was quoted as saying, "This is the most incredible moment of my life."
Norman Jewison received the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award, while Disney's Bob Iger and Warner Bros' Barry Meyer were given the 2010 Honorary Life Membership Awards.
Norman Jewison received the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award, while Disney's Bob Iger and Warner Bros' Barry Meyer were given the 2010 Honorary Life Membership Awards.
Other DGA winners were:
Documentary: Louie Psihoyos for The Cove (Oceanic Preservation Societyand Roadside Attractions)
TV drama series: Lesli Linka Glatter for "Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency" episode of Mad Men (AMC). Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager Dwayne Shattuck, First Assistant Director Adam Ben Frank, Second Assistant Director Jessica L. Lowrey, Second Second Assistant Director Elion S. Olson.
TV movie: Ross Katz for Taking Chance (HBO). Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager Lori Keith Douglas, First Assistant Director Robert C. Albertell, Second Assistant Director Vanessa Hoffman, Assistant Unit Production Manager Carla Raij, Second Second Assistant Director Brendan Walsh
TV comedy series: Jason Winer for the pilot of Modern Family (ABC). Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager Howard Griffith, First Assistant Director Lisa Statman, Second Assistant Director Helena Lamb, Second Second Assistant Director Shannon Speaker.
Musical variety: Don Mischer for We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial (HBO). Directorial Team: Associate Directors Gregg M. Gelfand, Lori Margules; Stage Managers Arthur E. Lewis, Dency L. Nelson, Douglas P. Smith, Tammy Raab, Douglas M. Fogel, Jeffrey Pearl, Lauren Schneider, Karen T. Weiss, Chris Hines, Elise Reaves
Daytime serials: Christopher Goutman for the now cancelled As The World Turns (CBS). Directorial Team: Associate Directors Michael Kerner, Carol Sedwick; Stage Managers Nancy Barron, Jennifer Blood; Production Associates Brett Hellman, Alexandra Von Roalsvig, Jared Lynch
Reality TV: Craig Borders for Build It Bigger Season 3: Hong Kong Bridge (Discovery Science)
Children's programming: Allison Liddi-Brown for Princess Protection Program (Disney Channel). Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager Carlos Anibal Vázquez; First Assistant Director José Gilberto Molinari-Rosaly; Second Assistant Director Colleen Comer
Commercials: Tom Kuntz of MJZ UK
Documentary: Louie Psihoyos for The Cove (Oceanic Preservation Societyand Roadside Attractions)
TV drama series: Lesli Linka Glatter for "Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency" episode of Mad Men (AMC). Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager Dwayne Shattuck, First Assistant Director Adam Ben Frank, Second Assistant Director Jessica L. Lowrey, Second Second Assistant Director Elion S. Olson.
TV movie: Ross Katz for Taking Chance (HBO). Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager Lori Keith Douglas, First Assistant Director Robert C. Albertell, Second Assistant Director Vanessa Hoffman, Assistant Unit Production Manager Carla Raij, Second Second Assistant Director Brendan Walsh
TV comedy series: Jason Winer for the pilot of Modern Family (ABC). Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager Howard Griffith, First Assistant Director Lisa Statman, Second Assistant Director Helena Lamb, Second Second Assistant Director Shannon Speaker.
Musical variety: Don Mischer for We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial (HBO). Directorial Team: Associate Directors Gregg M. Gelfand, Lori Margules; Stage Managers Arthur E. Lewis, Dency L. Nelson, Douglas P. Smith, Tammy Raab, Douglas M. Fogel, Jeffrey Pearl, Lauren Schneider, Karen T. Weiss, Chris Hines, Elise Reaves
Daytime serials: Christopher Goutman for the now cancelled As The World Turns (CBS). Directorial Team: Associate Directors Michael Kerner, Carol Sedwick; Stage Managers Nancy Barron, Jennifer Blood; Production Associates Brett Hellman, Alexandra Von Roalsvig, Jared Lynch
Reality TV: Craig Borders for Build It Bigger Season 3: Hong Kong Bridge (Discovery Science)
Children's programming: Allison Liddi-Brown for Princess Protection Program (Disney Channel). Directorial Team: Unit Production Manager Carlos Anibal Vázquez; First Assistant Director José Gilberto Molinari-Rosaly; Second Assistant Director Colleen Comer
Commercials: Tom Kuntz of MJZ UK
1.28.2010
J.D.SALINGER LEFT BEHIND A WORLD OF PHONIES...
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK -- J.D. Salinger, the legendary author, youth hero and fugitive from fame whose "The Catcher in the Rye" shocked and inspired a world he increasingly shunned, has died. He was 91.Salinger died of natural causes at his home on Wednesday, the author's son said in a statement from Salinger's literary representative. He had lived for decades in self-imposed isolation in the small, remote house in Cornish, N.H."The Catcher in the Rye," with its immortal teenage protagonist, the twisted, rebellious Holden Caulfield, came out in 1951, a time of anxious, Cold War conformity and the dawn of modern adolescence. The Book-of-the-Month Club, which made "Catcher" a featured selection, advised that for "anyone who has ever brought up a son" the novel will be "a source of wonder and delight -- and concern."Enraged by all the "phonies" who make "me so depressed I go crazy," Holden soon became American literature's most famous anti-hero since Huckleberry Finn. The novel's sales are astonishing -- more than 60 million copies worldwide -- and its impact incalculable. Decades after publication, the book remains a defining expression of that most American of dreams -- to never grow up.Salinger was writing for adults, but teenagers from all over identified with the novel's themes of alienation, innocence and fantasy, not to mention the luck of having the last word. "Catcher" presents the world as an ever-so-unfair struggle between the goodness of young people and the corruption of elders, a message that only intensified with the oncoming generation gap.Novels from Evan Hunter's "The Blackboard Jungle" to Curtis Sittenfeld's "Prep," movies from "Rebel Without a Cause" to "The Breakfast Club," and countless rock 'n' roll songs echoed Salinger's message of kids under siege. One of the great anti-heroes of the 1960s, Benjamin Braddock of "The Graduate," was but a blander version of Salinger's narrator.The cult of "Catcher" turned tragic in 1980 when crazed Beatles fan Mark David Chapman shot and killed John Lennon, citing Salinger's novel as an inspiration and stating that "this extraordinary book holds many answers."By the 21st century, Holden himself seemed relatively mild, but Salinger's book remained a standard in school curriculums and was discussed on countless Web sites and a fan page on Facebook.Salinger's other books don't equal the influence or sales of "Catcher," but they are still read, again and again, with great affection and intensity. Critics, at least briefly, rated Salinger as a more accomplished and daring short story writer than John Cheever.The collection "Nine Stories" features the classic "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," the deadpan account of a suicidal Army veteran and the little girl he hopes, in vain, will save him. The novel "Franny and Zooey," like "Catcher," is a youthful, obsessively articulated quest for redemption, featuring a memorable argument between Zooey and his mother as he attempts to read in the bathtub."Catcher," narrated from a mental facility, begins with Holden recalling his expulsion from a Pennsylvania boarding school for failing four classes and for general apathy.He returns home to Manhattan, where his wanderings take him everywhere from a Times Square hotel to a rainy carousel ride with his kid sister, Phoebe, in Central Park. He decides he wants to escape to a cabin out West, but scorns questions about his future as just so much phoniness."I mean how do you know what you're going to do till you do it?" he reasons. "The answer is, you don't. I think I am, but how do I know? I swear it's a stupid question.""The Catcher in the Rye" became both required and restricted reading, periodically banned by a school board or challenged by parents worried by its frank language and the irresistible chip on Holden's shoulder."I'm aware that a number of my friends will be saddened, or shocked, or shocked-saddened, over some of the chapters of 'The Catcher in the Rye.' Some of my best friends are children. In fact, all of my best friends are children," Salinger wrote in 1955, in a short note for "20th Century Authors.""It's almost unbearable to me to realize that my book will be kept on a shelf out of their reach," he added.Salinger also wrote the novellas "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters" and "Seymour -- An Introduction," both featuring the neurotic, fictional Glass family which appeared in much of his work.His last published story, "Hapworth 16, 1928," ran in The New Yorker in 1965. By then he was increasingly viewed like a precocious child whose manner had soured from cute to insufferable. "Salinger was the greatest mind ever to stay in prep school," Norman Mailer once commented.In 1997, it was announced that "Hapworth" would be reissued as a book -- prompting a (negative) New York Times review. The book, in typical Salinger style, didn't appear. In 1999, New Hampshire neighbor Jerry Burt said the author had told him years earlier that he had written at least 15 unpublished books kept locked in a safe at his home."I love to write and I assure you I write regularly," Salinger said in a brief interview with the Baton Rouge (La.) Advocate in 1980. "But I write for myself, for my own pleasure. And I want to be left alone to do it." (...)
NEW YORK -- J.D. Salinger, the legendary author, youth hero and fugitive from fame whose "The Catcher in the Rye" shocked and inspired a world he increasingly shunned, has died. He was 91.Salinger died of natural causes at his home on Wednesday, the author's son said in a statement from Salinger's literary representative. He had lived for decades in self-imposed isolation in the small, remote house in Cornish, N.H."The Catcher in the Rye," with its immortal teenage protagonist, the twisted, rebellious Holden Caulfield, came out in 1951, a time of anxious, Cold War conformity and the dawn of modern adolescence. The Book-of-the-Month Club, which made "Catcher" a featured selection, advised that for "anyone who has ever brought up a son" the novel will be "a source of wonder and delight -- and concern."Enraged by all the "phonies" who make "me so depressed I go crazy," Holden soon became American literature's most famous anti-hero since Huckleberry Finn. The novel's sales are astonishing -- more than 60 million copies worldwide -- and its impact incalculable. Decades after publication, the book remains a defining expression of that most American of dreams -- to never grow up.Salinger was writing for adults, but teenagers from all over identified with the novel's themes of alienation, innocence and fantasy, not to mention the luck of having the last word. "Catcher" presents the world as an ever-so-unfair struggle between the goodness of young people and the corruption of elders, a message that only intensified with the oncoming generation gap.Novels from Evan Hunter's "The Blackboard Jungle" to Curtis Sittenfeld's "Prep," movies from "Rebel Without a Cause" to "The Breakfast Club," and countless rock 'n' roll songs echoed Salinger's message of kids under siege. One of the great anti-heroes of the 1960s, Benjamin Braddock of "The Graduate," was but a blander version of Salinger's narrator.The cult of "Catcher" turned tragic in 1980 when crazed Beatles fan Mark David Chapman shot and killed John Lennon, citing Salinger's novel as an inspiration and stating that "this extraordinary book holds many answers."By the 21st century, Holden himself seemed relatively mild, but Salinger's book remained a standard in school curriculums and was discussed on countless Web sites and a fan page on Facebook.Salinger's other books don't equal the influence or sales of "Catcher," but they are still read, again and again, with great affection and intensity. Critics, at least briefly, rated Salinger as a more accomplished and daring short story writer than John Cheever.The collection "Nine Stories" features the classic "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," the deadpan account of a suicidal Army veteran and the little girl he hopes, in vain, will save him. The novel "Franny and Zooey," like "Catcher," is a youthful, obsessively articulated quest for redemption, featuring a memorable argument between Zooey and his mother as he attempts to read in the bathtub."Catcher," narrated from a mental facility, begins with Holden recalling his expulsion from a Pennsylvania boarding school for failing four classes and for general apathy.He returns home to Manhattan, where his wanderings take him everywhere from a Times Square hotel to a rainy carousel ride with his kid sister, Phoebe, in Central Park. He decides he wants to escape to a cabin out West, but scorns questions about his future as just so much phoniness."I mean how do you know what you're going to do till you do it?" he reasons. "The answer is, you don't. I think I am, but how do I know? I swear it's a stupid question.""The Catcher in the Rye" became both required and restricted reading, periodically banned by a school board or challenged by parents worried by its frank language and the irresistible chip on Holden's shoulder."I'm aware that a number of my friends will be saddened, or shocked, or shocked-saddened, over some of the chapters of 'The Catcher in the Rye.' Some of my best friends are children. In fact, all of my best friends are children," Salinger wrote in 1955, in a short note for "20th Century Authors.""It's almost unbearable to me to realize that my book will be kept on a shelf out of their reach," he added.Salinger also wrote the novellas "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters" and "Seymour -- An Introduction," both featuring the neurotic, fictional Glass family which appeared in much of his work.His last published story, "Hapworth 16, 1928," ran in The New Yorker in 1965. By then he was increasingly viewed like a precocious child whose manner had soured from cute to insufferable. "Salinger was the greatest mind ever to stay in prep school," Norman Mailer once commented.In 1997, it was announced that "Hapworth" would be reissued as a book -- prompting a (negative) New York Times review. The book, in typical Salinger style, didn't appear. In 1999, New Hampshire neighbor Jerry Burt said the author had told him years earlier that he had written at least 15 unpublished books kept locked in a safe at his home."I love to write and I assure you I write regularly," Salinger said in a brief interview with the Baton Rouge (La.) Advocate in 1980. "But I write for myself, for my own pleasure. And I want to be left alone to do it." (...)
J.D.SALINGER LEFT BEHIND A WORLD OF PHNOIE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK -- J.D. Salinger, the legendary author, youth hero and fugitive from fame whose "The Catcher in the Rye" shocked and inspired a world he increasingly shunned, has died. He was 91.Salinger died of natural causes at his home on Wednesday, the author's son said in a statement from Salinger's literary representative. He had lived for decades in self-imposed isolation in the small, remote house in Cornish, N.H."The Catcher in the Rye," with its immortal teenage protagonist, the twisted, rebellious Holden Caulfield, came out in 1951, a time of anxious, Cold War conformity and the dawn of modern adolescence. The Book-of-the-Month Club, which made "Catcher" a featured selection, advised that for "anyone who has ever brought up a son" the novel will be "a source of wonder and delight -- and concern."Enraged by all the "phonies" who make "me so depressed I go crazy," Holden soon became American literature's most famous anti-hero since Huckleberry Finn. The novel's sales are astonishing -- more than 60 million copies worldwide -- and its impact incalculable. Decades after publication, the book remains a defining expression of that most American of dreams -- to never grow up.Salinger was writing for adults, but teenagers from all over identified with the novel's themes of alienation, innocence and fantasy, not to mention the luck of having the last word. "Catcher" presents the world as an ever-so-unfair struggle between the goodness of young people and the corruption of elders, a message that only intensified with the oncoming generation gap.Novels from Evan Hunter's "The Blackboard Jungle" to Curtis Sittenfeld's "Prep," movies from "Rebel Without a Cause" to "The Breakfast Club," and countless rock 'n' roll songs echoed Salinger's message of kids under siege. One of the great anti-heroes of the 1960s, Benjamin Braddock of "The Graduate," was but a blander version of Salinger's narrator.The cult of "Catcher" turned tragic in 1980 when crazed Beatles fan Mark David Chapman shot and killed John Lennon, citing Salinger's novel as an inspiration and stating that "this extraordinary book holds many answers."By the 21st century, Holden himself seemed relatively mild, but Salinger's book remained a standard in school curriculums and was discussed on countless Web sites and a fan page on Facebook.Salinger's other books don't equal the influence or sales of "Catcher," but they are still read, again and again, with great affection and intensity. Critics, at least briefly, rated Salinger as a more accomplished and daring short story writer than John Cheever.The collection "Nine Stories" features the classic "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," the deadpan account of a suicidal Army veteran and the little girl he hopes, in vain, will save him. The novel "Franny and Zooey," like "Catcher," is a youthful, obsessively articulated quest for redemption, featuring a memorable argument between Zooey and his mother as he attempts to read in the bathtub."Catcher," narrated from a mental facility, begins with Holden recalling his expulsion from a Pennsylvania boarding school for failing four classes and for general apathy.He returns home to Manhattan, where his wanderings take him everywhere from a Times Square hotel to a rainy carousel ride with his kid sister, Phoebe, in Central Park. He decides he wants to escape to a cabin out West, but scorns questions about his future as just so much phoniness."I mean how do you know what you're going to do till you do it?" he reasons. "The answer is, you don't. I think I am, but how do I know? I swear it's a stupid question.""The Catcher in the Rye" became both required and restricted reading, periodically banned by a school board or challenged by parents worried by its frank language and the irresistible chip on Holden's shoulder."I'm aware that a number of my friends will be saddened, or shocked, or shocked-saddened, over some of the chapters of 'The Catcher in the Rye.' Some of my best friends are children. In fact, all of my best friends are children," Salinger wrote in 1955, in a short note for "20th Century Authors.""It's almost unbearable to me to realize that my book will be kept on a shelf out of their reach," he added.Salinger also wrote the novellas "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters" and "Seymour -- An Introduction," both featuring the neurotic, fictional Glass family which appeared in much of his work.His last published story, "Hapworth 16, 1928," ran in The New Yorker in 1965. By then he was increasingly viewed like a precocious child whose manner had soured from cute to insufferable. "Salinger was the greatest mind ever to stay in prep school," Norman Mailer once commented.In 1997, it was announced that "Hapworth" would be reissued as a book -- prompting a (negative) New York Times review. The book, in typical Salinger style, didn't appear. In 1999, New Hampshire neighbor Jerry Burt said the author had told him years earlier that he had written at least 15 unpublished books kept locked in a safe at his home."I love to write and I assure you I write regularly," Salinger said in a brief interview with the Baton Rouge (La.) Advocate in 1980. "But I write for myself, for my own pleasure. And I want to be left alone to do it."
NEW YORK -- J.D. Salinger, the legendary author, youth hero and fugitive from fame whose "The Catcher in the Rye" shocked and inspired a world he increasingly shunned, has died. He was 91.Salinger died of natural causes at his home on Wednesday, the author's son said in a statement from Salinger's literary representative. He had lived for decades in self-imposed isolation in the small, remote house in Cornish, N.H."The Catcher in the Rye," with its immortal teenage protagonist, the twisted, rebellious Holden Caulfield, came out in 1951, a time of anxious, Cold War conformity and the dawn of modern adolescence. The Book-of-the-Month Club, which made "Catcher" a featured selection, advised that for "anyone who has ever brought up a son" the novel will be "a source of wonder and delight -- and concern."Enraged by all the "phonies" who make "me so depressed I go crazy," Holden soon became American literature's most famous anti-hero since Huckleberry Finn. The novel's sales are astonishing -- more than 60 million copies worldwide -- and its impact incalculable. Decades after publication, the book remains a defining expression of that most American of dreams -- to never grow up.Salinger was writing for adults, but teenagers from all over identified with the novel's themes of alienation, innocence and fantasy, not to mention the luck of having the last word. "Catcher" presents the world as an ever-so-unfair struggle between the goodness of young people and the corruption of elders, a message that only intensified with the oncoming generation gap.Novels from Evan Hunter's "The Blackboard Jungle" to Curtis Sittenfeld's "Prep," movies from "Rebel Without a Cause" to "The Breakfast Club," and countless rock 'n' roll songs echoed Salinger's message of kids under siege. One of the great anti-heroes of the 1960s, Benjamin Braddock of "The Graduate," was but a blander version of Salinger's narrator.The cult of "Catcher" turned tragic in 1980 when crazed Beatles fan Mark David Chapman shot and killed John Lennon, citing Salinger's novel as an inspiration and stating that "this extraordinary book holds many answers."By the 21st century, Holden himself seemed relatively mild, but Salinger's book remained a standard in school curriculums and was discussed on countless Web sites and a fan page on Facebook.Salinger's other books don't equal the influence or sales of "Catcher," but they are still read, again and again, with great affection and intensity. Critics, at least briefly, rated Salinger as a more accomplished and daring short story writer than John Cheever.The collection "Nine Stories" features the classic "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," the deadpan account of a suicidal Army veteran and the little girl he hopes, in vain, will save him. The novel "Franny and Zooey," like "Catcher," is a youthful, obsessively articulated quest for redemption, featuring a memorable argument between Zooey and his mother as he attempts to read in the bathtub."Catcher," narrated from a mental facility, begins with Holden recalling his expulsion from a Pennsylvania boarding school for failing four classes and for general apathy.He returns home to Manhattan, where his wanderings take him everywhere from a Times Square hotel to a rainy carousel ride with his kid sister, Phoebe, in Central Park. He decides he wants to escape to a cabin out West, but scorns questions about his future as just so much phoniness."I mean how do you know what you're going to do till you do it?" he reasons. "The answer is, you don't. I think I am, but how do I know? I swear it's a stupid question.""The Catcher in the Rye" became both required and restricted reading, periodically banned by a school board or challenged by parents worried by its frank language and the irresistible chip on Holden's shoulder."I'm aware that a number of my friends will be saddened, or shocked, or shocked-saddened, over some of the chapters of 'The Catcher in the Rye.' Some of my best friends are children. In fact, all of my best friends are children," Salinger wrote in 1955, in a short note for "20th Century Authors.""It's almost unbearable to me to realize that my book will be kept on a shelf out of their reach," he added.Salinger also wrote the novellas "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters" and "Seymour -- An Introduction," both featuring the neurotic, fictional Glass family which appeared in much of his work.His last published story, "Hapworth 16, 1928," ran in The New Yorker in 1965. By then he was increasingly viewed like a precocious child whose manner had soured from cute to insufferable. "Salinger was the greatest mind ever to stay in prep school," Norman Mailer once commented.In 1997, it was announced that "Hapworth" would be reissued as a book -- prompting a (negative) New York Times review. The book, in typical Salinger style, didn't appear. In 1999, New Hampshire neighbor Jerry Burt said the author had told him years earlier that he had written at least 15 unpublished books kept locked in a safe at his home."I love to write and I assure you I write regularly," Salinger said in a brief interview with the Baton Rouge (La.) Advocate in 1980. "But I write for myself, for my own pleasure. And I want to be left alone to do it."
1.24.2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)