Celebrities can be so sparkly. As a kid, I was sure fame and money meant happiness. Ha! It means hard work for years. I’ve clawed my way to the middle. Haha.

IRL, many stars have that electric charisma and look fabulous in person. After meeting a ton of A-listers, I am happy to report that only tiny number of celebs seem – shall we say – less than humble. Once in a while, a top star can be surprisingly cranky! In their defense though, fame requires working one’s tuchas off.

This photo (below) was taken at the Tribeca Film Festival red carpet for The Quiet One, a fascinating film about ex Rolling Stone Bill Wyman. It was only a half-block from my home. One rarely sees famous far-right Republicans in my all-the-way left Manhattan neighborhood. At first, Rupert seemed awkward. Most likely because he knew that he wasn’t going to make a lot of friends in Chelsea. But he loosened up and seemed to enjoy the attention. 

Blondie in the East Village

My photo has been chosen for the soon-to-be-released paperback edition of Debbie Harry’s book, ‘Face It: A Memoir.’

I met charismatic and gorgeous Debbie Harry (Blondie) at Alan Cumming’s Club Cumming. Blondie’s appearance at the Enclave Reading Series was kept on the down low. As a member of the press, I’d been tipped off ahead of time and was quickly ushered to my seat. I sat between Thomas Manzi (Harry’s manager) and the entertaining theater director and actor, Rob Roth.

The punk icon successfully slipped into the dark club without notice and was led to her seat at our table. It was great fun when the eyes in the surprised audience popped when Blondie’s presence was announced. This was Harry’s first public reading from her debut memoir, Face It (HarperCollins). Oh, what a night!

I❤️NY

More A-List Celebs

It’s a lot of fun interviewing top celebs. Here are some of the stars I’ve interviewed and photographed here in my native New York City. My YouTube Channel stats are up to 1,746,884 views.

Check out more on my YouTube Channel

Update: As you know #Covid19 put the 3D entertainment industry on hold. We all want this nightmare to end. Wear your mask, get vaccinated, stay away from lunatics with AR-15s, and please come back soon! Love and kindness. In the meantime, here’s a virtual video with another New York City icon, Joan Jett.

A–G

Alec Baldwin, Moran Atias, Woody Allen, Angela Bassett, Kim Basinger, Jamie Bell, Mayim Bialik, Roseanne Barr, Prince Lorenzo Borghese, Kate Bosworth, Lorraine Bracco, Abigail Breslin, Jeff Bridges, Adam Brody, Albert Brooks, Zlatko Buric, Gerard Butler, Rose Byrne, Lizzy Caplan, Patricia Clarkson, Glenn Close, Laverne Cox, Billy Crudup, Penélope Cruz, Rory Culkin, Willem Dafoe, Paul Dalio, Rosario Dawson, Robert De Niro, Kirsten Dunst, Aaron Eckhart, Peter Facinelli, Michael Fassbender, Abel Ferrara, Ralph Fiennes, Isla Fisher, Jodie Foster, Ciaran Foy, James Franco, Antoine Fuqua, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Julia Garner, Paul Giamatti, Alex Gibney, Terry Gilliam, Domhnall Gleeson, Shep Gordon, Ryan Gosling, Maggie Grace, Maggie Gyllenhaal

H–N

Paul Haggis, Jerry Hall, Pooch Hall, Tom Hardy, Debbie Harry, Lucas Hedges, Katherine Heigl, Jonah Hill, Emile Hirsch, Katie Holmes, Gavin Hood, Vanessa Hudgens, Holly Hunter, Oscar Isaac, Allison Janney, Richard Jenkins, Joan Jett, Felicity Jones, Jason Katims, Zoe Kazan, Catherine Keener, Jack Kesy, Sir Ben Kingsley, Luke Kirby, Kevin Kline, Steven Knight, Shia LaBeouf, Christine Lahti, Peter Landesman, Frank Langella, Jill Larson, Juliette Lewis, Liana Liberato, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Kevin Macdonald, Eddie Marsan, Dylan McDermott, Mads Mikkelsen, Cesar Millan, Helen Mirren, Julianne Moore, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Erroll Morris, David Morse, Viggo Mortensen, Cillian Murphy, Rupert Murdoch, Kumail Nanjiani

O–Z

Edward James Olmos, Elizabeth Olsen, Ellen Page, Josh Pais, Vanessa Paradis, Nate Parker, Aaron Paul, Bernadette Peters, Oliver Platt, Carrie Preston, Richard Pryor, Jr., Kathleen Quinlan, Daniel Radcliffe, James Ransone, Jeremy Renner, Jason Ritter, Eric Roberts, Ray Romano, Paul Rudd, Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, Peter Sarsgaard, John Sayles, Liev Schreiber, Adam Scott, Kristin Scott Thomas, Michael Shannon, Alia Shawkat, Alexander Skarsgard, Stellan Skarsgard, Christian Slater, Mira Sorvino, Paul Sorvino, Steven Spielberg, Gloria Steinem, Kristen Stewart, Sir Patrick Stewart, Jerry Stiller, Julie Taymor, Juno Temple, Fred Thompson, Uma Thurman, Lily Tomlin, John Turturro, Sofia Vergara, Alicia Vikander, Sam Waterston, Naomi Watts, Forest Whitaker, Michael K. Williams, Patrick Wilson, Nicolas Winding Refn, Alex Winter, Nat Wolff, Elijah Wood, Evan Rachel Wood, Matilda Mae Wyman, Suzanne Accosta Wyman, Bob Zappa

The post A-List Celebs Dazzling Photos appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

An Exclusive Interview with Nancy Spielberg

Dorri Olds: Have you thought about making this into a feature film?
Nancy Spielberg: Oh, I have. It’s like a cross between Catch Me If You Can, Band of Brothers and Indiana Jones. [Laughs] All those elements — the capers, the clandestine operations and the bigger story — have so many wonderful pieces to it, more than we could fit in the documentary.
Have you daydreamed about who could be in the movie?
I think Leo DiCaprio as [the pilot] Al Schwimmer would be good. I’ll ask my 26-year-old daughter, “Who do you think is hot and cool and can play swarthy, sexy pilot types?”
Does it make your job easier or harder to have a famous brother?
[Laughs] A little of both. It made it much harder to raise money, much harder. You know, like it’s hard to raise money for the Shoah Foundation because everybody thinks Steven Spielberg supports the Shoah Foundation completely. It was hard because I did have to answer that question. I would gather people together, show them a sample reel, tell them I’m raising money, it’s a 501(c)(3) not for profit, and I would get these questions, “Why can’t your brother give you the money?” Or “Where’s Jeffrey and David, his friends?” So I had to say, without being defensive, “I didn’t ask and that’s not the kind of relationship I want to have with my brother. I also think that this is project that we all need to support. This is not a one-man-show.” In that sense it was tough.
On the other hand, the benefit is that I feel like a lot of doors opened up and people listened to the story and I already knew a lot of people that I contacted to work. I’m very close with James Moll. He’s an incredible filmmaker who started off making home movies for my brother. “It’s Kate’s birthday, let’s make a movie.” Then he went on to make “Last Days” and “The Foo Fighters.” He’s won Oscars and Grammys and Emmys. He’s incredible. The joke was that I went to James first and said, “I need your help,” and he said, “OK, your brother helps me. I help you.” He had Harris Done, which was my dp [director of photographer] who I’ve known through James. James had Larry Benjamin, the guy who mixes sound who is incredible. These people were all willing to work with me.
Here is a fascinating sample reel:
Above and Beyond • Playmount Productions • Katahdin Productions.
Is it true that when you called Director Roberta Grossman that she didn’t believe it was really a Spielberg calling her?
Yes, she wouldn’t take my call and didn’t answer my email. She thought it was a prank. As she described it, “Hava Nagila” was opening up in film festivals and was getting all the awards and she was feeling very smug and secure. The big joke in her office was, “Oh, if that’s Spielberg, tell him I’ll call him back.”
She checked me out with Rachel Levin from Righteous Persons Foundation saying, “Does Stephen have a little sister named Nancy that’s making films?” So she checked me out before she would return my call. But I’ll tell you, she’s incredible. We have such a great team. I feel bad because sometimes that whole Spielberg thing tends to overshadow the people that deserve credit more than that name. She’s wonderful. The whole team was wonderful. I’m grateful she finally took my calls. [Laughs]

Click here to stream Above and Beyond

The post Nancy Spielberg Tells the Wild and Heroic Tale of a Ragtag Team of Israeli Pilots in 1948 appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

In other words, she is an original. By using her voice to help others, Blake has become a top influencer. You will find her writings in essays, articles, blog posts, and social media messages that are all over the web. In addition to top internet outlets, and her byline includes appearing in major print magazines.

As a result of her hard work – and determination to help others – Melissa Blake is a fiery activist educating the world. In addition, Blake is now the author of a memoir: Beautiful People: My Thirteen Truths About Disability. The book’s release date is March 5, 2024. However, it is available for pre-order now.

Here is one of her brilliant tweets that went viral.

During the last round of trollgate, people said that I should be banned from posting photos of myself because I’m too ugly. So I’d just like to commemorate the occasion with these 3 selfies… ???? 

— Melissa Blake @melissablake

Years ago, Blake wrote to me after seeing my New York Times essay about teen rape. Her kind words gave me comfort and she shared parts of her life with me. Although our experiences weren’t the same, we bonded over surviving trauma and a shared mission to help others.

I have experienced Blake’s kindness firsthand. We met when Blake reached out to me after reading my essay Defriending My Rapist which was published in The New York Times.

Centennial Cats

Blake said yes to an interview for my recent assignment for Centennial Animals, a sub-division of Centennial Media. Inside Your Cat’s Mind is a popular magazine series. I did a deep dive into why cats are not officially-approved service animals. Despite the myth that cats aren’t trainable, of course, they are. Just ask a cat trainer!

Cat Trainer Melissa Millet

Dr. Melissa Millet, one of Hollywood’s go-to animal trainers, rescued five cats. She then trained them to star on the silver screen. As a result, her five cats are cast members in the remake of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary.” These kitties knew nothing about acting until Millet trained them.

Her secret? Patience and kindness. The five furry critters went from non-actors to reaching the top of the crop as cat stars in a major motion picture. As a true-blue animal lover, Millet fights for the rights of animals. Her requirements include supervisors hired to be on set in order to ensure humane treatment. Trainer Millet will never have it any other way.

Back to Blake

Cat lovers like Blake don’t need a certificate to prove heroism in their felines. However, not every residence permits dogs on their premises. And, there are licensed service animals, for example, miniature-horses, that are turned away. Yet, landlords are often agreeable to four-legged feline family members. So, yeah, trained cats have not yet earned their rightful title: “Official Service Animals. Hopefully, that will change in the near future.

See Also: Interviews With Women Writers: Surviving & Writing

Wild About Harry

Blake’s first cat Harry came into her life at a crucial time. It was after her father’s suicide. Sisters Melissa and Joy, and their mother, grappling with grief. “Harry gave us so much love when we needed it most,” said Blake. “We gave Harry a home, thinking that we were saving him. But instead, Harry saved us.”

Blake was born with a rare genetic bone and muscular disorder called Freeman-Sheldon syndrome. After Harry lived a long, full life, the family met two more life-saving cats named Whitney and Stella. “They are precious creatures,” says Blake. “They always remind me to slow down. When I am anxious or depressed, just petting them for even a minute calms me. They have a soothing, loving presence. It is so peaceful.”

And, Blake says, “One of the things I’ve found most interesting, is that none of our cats have been afraid of my wheelchair. Whitney loves sitting in my seat and it reminds me how accepting cats are. Cats never fail to make me smile. They lift my mood.”

Ok folks, I’ll leave you with this #WednesdayBrag

The post Melissa Blake Says ‘My Cats Are Heroes’ appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Dog pics are the best antidepressants and that’s no lie. I’m no doctor, but I know what I know. When I’m feeling exhausted — which is all the time lately — the answer is dog pics. When looping existential questions make my head loopy, the answer: more dog pics. Can’t get to sleep, or can’t get up? Look at dog pics.

Got The Blues?

Dog Pics to the Rescue!

No matter what the question, the answer is staring at more dog photos. My extra pandemic-pounds make my pants tight. The best cure I know is playing with my dogs. I play with friends’ dogs and my neighbors’ dogs. I draw dogs. I photograph dogs. Googling and staring at dog photographs is the answer. I swear it works.

Now, indulge me for a hot minute for my Parliament-Funkadelic paraphrasing. If you’ve got backaches, migraines, coronaphobia, or depression, listen up. Whatever part of your body it is, dog photos not only move you, they can remove bad news, dig? The desired effect is what you get when you improve your life with dogs.

Dogs For A Day

Take one day off. Instead of news, stare at dogs for a day. I get mad when friends say, “I can’t watch the news, it’s too depressing.” So, that’s not what I am suggesting. We need to stay informed and fight for equal rights and holding corrupt politicians, corrupt cops, cheaters and scammers accountable. Hence, let’s follow news from reputable sources six days a week. Then we’ve earned our one day off each week to google and gaze at funny dog faces.

I’m no doctor, but I know what I know. This is a guaranteed way out of a funk. The more dog pics I see, the better my moods get. So, for you and for me — for all of us — enjoy my dog art, my dog photos, and my great finds via google searches. If anybody knows the origin of some of the doggie images, please let me know. You can tag them on one of my facebook pages: Dogs, Dogs, Dogs.

The post Dog Pics Guaranteed to Cheer You Up appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

I am featured in this City University of New York (CUNY) textbook for a course on victimology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The title of the textbook is ESSENTIALS OF VICTIMOLOGY. This is the 9th book my writing is featured in and it’s my first textbook.

My 2012 New York Times essay Defriending My Rapist remains on this victimology course required reading list. Therefore, every semester, I speak to the students at CUNY’s Victimology classes. This year will be the 10th year that my essay remains on the reading list.

See also: Interview on CNN’s Dr. Drew Show

In Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), there is a saying, “No matter how far down the scale we have gone, our experience can benefit others.” Because of that, I share what my experiences keep teaching me. And that is gobs more productive than regretting my wayward past. Okay, now let’s get to the list of my writings in eight book anthologies.

Olds Book Anthologies

More book anthologies means more excitement. However, I still feel a rush that my writing has made it this far. And, I shall keep going. This week, I sent in a submission to another anthology. Of course, it depends on if my essay gets a yes or a no. Certainly, I’m crossing my fingers and toes and my ever-loyal pooch, Busta Rhymes, is crossing his four paws. Wish me luck.

Featured Author/Artisan: Dorri Olds, Writer, Journalist, Fine Artist

Creative People … and what makes them tick. There are many books about famous creative people throughout history. You can search the internet for information on Michelangelo, Picasso and also modern-day creatives like Elon Musk, J.K. Rowling or Stephen Spielberg. However, in this book anthology, Michelle Monet interviewed Dorri Olds, along with other creatives to find out what makes them tick.

Easy as A, B, C

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Positive: 101 Inspirational Stories about Changing Your Life through Positive Thinking. Attitude is everything. This is an inspirational and uplifting book with tales about the power of positive thinking. In bad times, and good, readers will be encouraged to keep a positive attitude.

Compassion and a Cannoli

Chicken Soup for the Tea Lover’s Soul: Stories Steeped in Comfort. Is enjoying a cup of tea your favorite part of the day? Is the brewing of a ‘cuppa’ a ritual that centers and calms you? Reconnect with the silent intimacy and introspection experienced while sipping tea.

Skinny Dotty and Her Chocolates

Chicken Soup for the Chocolate Lover’s Soul: Indulging in Our Sweetest Moments. If you can’t live without a daily bite of chocolate, have visions of chocolate truffles dancing in your head, you will savor the decadence of this collection of stories.

Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul by Dorri Olds

Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul: Your Personal, Portable Support Group with Stories of Healing, Hope, Love and Resilience.

Find inspiration for change and personal growth in each story as people in this dynamic community share their experiences of transformation, of lives reclaimed, of relationships renewed and futures full of promise.

With Help From a Friend

Chicken Soup for the College Soul: Inspiring and Humorous Stories About College

A collection of stories meant to guide, inspire, support and encourage readers throughout their college experiences.

The Charleston Dancer

At Grandmother’s Table: Women Write about Food, Life and the Enduring Bond between Grandmothers and Granddaughters (2001)

What would you give for an afternoon in your grandmother’s kitchen? Leaning over the countertop, you watched as she added the flour, just a little at a time, to the bowl. It seemed like magic.

Oy, Come All Ye Faithful

The Ultimate Christmas: The Best Exp-erts’ Advice for a Memorable Season with Stories and Photos of Holiday Magic (2008). This is an entertaining, touching, and uplifting collection of true stories and awe-inspiring photographs of holiday magic, love, family — and a tad bit of stress. So, here’s to more book anthologies to come. If you’d like to know how I managed to get here, just drop me a line. I want to hear all about your writing career goals, too.

More About Books

My copy-editing, book design, book cover art, photo management, and production for print and ebook versions include:

Healers and Heroes: WWII Combat Medics and Mud and Blood from the Normandy Beaches to The Battle of the Bulge
by Thea Marshall

Good Morning, Tai Chi: The Principles of Tai Chi From the Heart of Brooklyn
by Phil Felice Catapano and Mark L. Fuerst

Frankie and Bobby: Growing Up Zappa
By Charles Robert “Bobby” Zappa

I had the pleasure of working with rock icon Frank Zappa’s younger brother Bobby Zappa on this coming of age memoir, Frankie and Bobby: Growing Up Zappa. The book is full of rich stories that will stay with me always. It would be fun to go back and tell my teenage self that in 2015 I would have this wonderful opportunity to write about one of my favorite musicians.

The post More Book Anthologies: Essays And Short Stories By Dorri Olds appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

“Enclave Reading Series, now in its 12th year, returns to Club Cumming with an absolutely stellar line-up of authors, headlined by the one and only Michael Cunningham, a true master of the craft. Essayist and author Dorri Olds, acclaimed novelist and filmmaker Brian Alessandro, and writer/comedian Eddie Sarfaty will all be taking the Club Cumming stage, comprising one powerhouse program of intellect and wit… As usual the lights will be down low, the drinks will be flowing, and admission is free.” — Jason Napoli Brooks, author (SHELTER), and co-creator, co-curator and emcee for Enclave’s monthly shows.

THANK YOU Honeysuckle Magazine!

It’s a night of wordplay, award-winning authors, treats and fun as the famous Enclave Reading Series rides again at a favorite Manhattan hotspot. On Monday, March 4, 7-9PM, join New York’s literati at Club Cumming (505 East 6th Street, Avenue A), for an evening to remember – with no cover charge. From somebody given to fill The Hours to an expert who knows laughter is the best medicine, a journalist speaking truth to power, and a novelist who can pin down the unmentionable, this is bound to be one for the books.

SEE ALSO: Enclave Reading Series was ‘FRAYED IN NEW YORK’

WHO’S READING? MEET THE AUTHORS:

Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize and PEN Faulkner Award Winner

Michael Cunningham is the author of novels A Home at the End of the World, Flesh and Blood, The Hours, By Nightfall, and The Snow Queen, and a short story collection, A Wild Swan and Other Tales, all published by Farrar Straus & Giroux. The Hours won a Pulitzer Prize and PEN Faulkner Award and was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. It was also made into a movie starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore.

Cunningham’s fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, the Paris Review, and other publications. A recipient of National Endowment for the Arts, Guggenheim and Whiting Foundation fellowships, he is a Senior Lecturer in English at Yale University.

Eddie Sarfaty (Mental: Funny in the Head)

Eddie Sarfaty, author and comedian, has appeared on The Today Show, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, Logo’s Wisecrack, The Joy Behar Show, and is a subject the documentaries, Laughing Matters and Heartfelt. He has been featured at the prestigious Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, the Toyota Comedy, and the New York Comedy Festival. Sarfaty will be reading from his new novel.

His first book, a collection of hilarious autobiographical essays entitled Mental: Funny in the Head, was the InsightOut Book Club’s selection of the month and his essays have been published in anthologies When I Knew, I’m Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship, andLove, Christopher Street. In addition to offering stand-up comedy workshops at theaters around the country, Sarfaty teaches at NYU and The Theatre Lab in Washington, DC. keeplaughing.com

Dorri Olds, Author, Essayist, Journalist

Dorri Olds is an award-winning writer — and Honeysuckle contributor — whose creative nonfiction has been published in eight book anthologies.

Before the Cosby and Weinstein scandals, and the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, Olds’ personal essay in The New York Times, “Defriending My Rapist,” went viral. It became required reading at CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice and led to frequent speaking engagements. She’s been interviewed by CNN’s Dr. Drew and on CBS, ABC and NY1; podcasts; and radio shows. She is currently working on her first full-length book. DorriOlds.com

Brian Alessandro (The Unmentionable Mann)

Brian Alessandro is the author of the novel The Unmentionable Man (Cairn Press). He wrote and directed the feature film Afghan Hound and co-founded The New Engagement, a literary journal that has published acclaimed authors. His plays were performed by the Neighborhood Playhouse, Love Creek Productions, and Monarch Theater Company. Most recently, Brian completed work on the graphic novel adaption of Edmund White’s 1982-classic A Boy’s Own Story for Top Shelf Productions, which won the National Book Award in 2016 for March.

—

Don’t miss out on this night for the ages! Enclave Reading Series will present Monday, March 4th, 7-9PM at Club Cumming (505 East 6th Street, Avenue A).

To learn more about The Enclave Reading Series, visit theenclavereadingseries.tumblr.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram.

For more info on events at Club Cumming, visit clubcummingnyc.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The post Club Cumming • MARCH 4 • Let Enclave Entertain You • No Cover Charge appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

“This Sunday, January 27, UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, and over 350 venues in 55 countries, will host an unprecedented screening of the award-winning documentary, “Who Will Write Our History” and concurrent Facebook Live events. The international screening events and Facebook Live, orchestrated by Abramorama, and with the support of UNESCO, the World Jewish Congress’ #WeRemember initiative and multiple major partner organizations, takes place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and comes at a time of rising anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic attacks, and increasing concerns that the lessons of the Holocaust are quickly being forgotten.”

I feel a personal connection to this film by Spielberg and Grossman due to my family’s horrific past in Europe where they died in the Nazi concentration camps. My father’s cousin meticulously researched what happened to our family. Many were killed in the camps. The most frightening was the family members who died in Auschwitz. We will never know if they were experimented on by the demonic Dr. Josef Mengele.
Watch the Trailer
Synopsis: This film is about a courageous group of resistance fighters imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto in World War II. In November 1940, days after the Nazis sealed 450,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, a secret band of journalists, scholars and community leaders decided to fight back. Led by historian Emanuel Ringelblum and known by the code name Oyneg Shabes, this clandestine group vowed to defeat Nazi lies and propaganda not with guns or fists but with pen and paper. Now, for the first time, their story is told as a feature documentary.
The New York Times calls it, “A vital Holocaust documentary…Heartbreaking.”
Writter and director Roberta Grossman and executive producer Spielberg teamed up once again to create Who Will Write Our History which the writings of the Oyneg Shabes archive with new interviews, rarely seen footage, and stunning dramatizations that transport us inside the Ghetto and the lives of these courageous resistance fighters. They defied their murderous enemy with the ultimate weapon—the truth—and risked everything so that their archive would survive the war, even if they did not.

Now playing at the Quad Cinema in Manhattan

Showtimes & Tickets

Wed January 23

• 11.05am
• 1.00pm
• 3.05pm
• 5.10pm
• 7.15pm
• 9.20pm

Thu January 24

• 11.05am
• 1.00pm
• 3.05pm
• 5.10pm
• 7.15pm
• 9.20pm

Fri January 25

• 11.00am
• 1.00pm
• 3.40pm
• 6.30pm

Sat January 26

• 11.00am
• 1.00pm
• 3.40pm
• 6.30pm

Sun January 27

• 11.00am
• 1.00pm
• 3.40pm
• 6.30pm

Mon January 28

• 11.00am
• 1.00pm
• 3.40pm
• 6.30pm

Tue January 29

• 11.00am
• 1.00pm
• 3.40pm
• 6.30pm

Wed January 30

• 11.00am
• 1.00pm
• 3.40pm
• 6.30pm

Thu January 31

• 11.00am
• 1.00pm
• 3.40pm
• 6.30pm

The post Spielberg Movie ‘Who Will Write Our History’ Gives the Facts vs #FakeNews appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Breathe In

The actress has continued to hone her craft since then. Jones nailed it as Ruth Bader Ginsburg in “On the Basis of Sex,” released on Christmas. This film illustrates how and why the U.S. Supreme Court Justice has earned her nickname: Notorius RGB (check out the 2018 documentary “RBG” starring RBG).

On The Basis of Sex

1
Before I screened “Breathe In,” I loved Jones in “Hysteria.” Since then, I was wowed by her role in “The Theory of Everything.”

Hysteria

The Theory of Everything

“Breathe In” is a beautiful film, directed by Drake Doremus. I walked in for the exclusive interview and Jones looked even more stunning in person. But more importantly than her looks, she was warm, kind, open, and smiled a lot.
 
Dorri Olds: How was it working with Guy Pearce?
Felicity Jones: Fantastic.! I’ve always admired his work I think he always chooses really interesting directors. He’s always about the acting. He’d never done a film where he was improvising before and I could see him relishing the challenge. He’s an actor who always pushing himself. He really loved the process of making it.
Was there a lot of improvisation?
Yeah, a lot. Some things were scripted but most of it was how we made “Like Crazy.” We had an outline and then there’d be thoughts about a character and what happens in the scene and then we’d bring dialogue in on the day.
How did you become involved with film?
This was really unusual, it never usually happens, Drake asked me to do it because we had worked together on “Like Crazy” and he had this idea. In many ways this film is like a twin to “Like Crazy.” He said, “Do you want to come back and see what we can do this time?” So, that was quite nice that I didn’t have to audition. Auditions are really, really frightening. After a while you get used to them but they can be really quite intimidating.
What type of research and preparation did you do for this role?
I felt like Sophie was a very troubled young woman. There was a play called “Master Builder” by Henrik Ibsen and there is a character in that called Hilda and she was a real inspiration. I felt like she was a good foundation for understanding Sophie. There was a French film, “Le Casse” that had a similar kind of thriller mood. With any part you look at other films. There is a fairytale quality to Sophie. She was coming into a family that was heightened by her and her presence. I think that the main thing to me is the back-story for both Anna and Sophie. What was she like? What was her house like? What did her parents do? Having a really sure understanding of the character’s background is so important.
After playing beside Hugh Dancy in the light comedy, “Hysteria,” is it strange to see him playing such a dark character in “Hannibal”?
I think that’s what we always want as actors, to be able to move between different characters and take on different personalities. For me, that’s part of the joy of doing it and I imagine he loves that too.
Do you have a favorite role?
I did a play called, “The Chalk Garden,” which is an amazing play by Enid Bagnon. I played a 16-year-old who was obsessed with fire, a pyromaniac. She was a very troubled young girl and I absolutely loved the play. I was with two fantastic British actresses.
Did you ever forget your line?
Sometimes you do and you panic and look to the audience and hope for the best. That’s why it’s so brilliant to do it. You literally freeze onstage and think, ‘Why the hell am I doing this to myself?’ But it’s really exciting as well.
What’s it like watching yourself on film?
Less fun than being onstage. It’s an odd experience. I think we humans tend to be quite critical of ourselves and it can be a hard process. You watch yourself and think, ‘I could’ve done that differently.’
Did you always know you were beautiful growing up?
[Laughs] Oh, that’s a nice compliment! I guess I don’t think in those terms. I try not to think too much about what how you’re perceived on the outside. That’s not good.
Have you ever had any bad experiences with fans?
Do you know what? I’ve been really lucky. I have really nice fans. They come up and they’re always really, really respectful and I’ve never had any aggression. They’ve always been really polite and nice.
Do you Facebook and Twitter?
No, I don’t.
Do you have staff that does that for you?
No, I don’t. It’s not something I engage in. I like to see other people doing it but no, it’s not really my thing.
Do you have a favorite movie you’ve done — “Like Crazy,” “Hysteria,” “The Invisible Woman”?
I like doing them all. My focus is always the character. That’s always my way into something and I try not to patronize the character depending on when they lived. I feel like as human beings we all have the same emotions, feelings we’ve had for hundreds of years. The forces upon us are slightly different. I love period dramas as well as more contemporary films. I grew up watching “Howard’s End” and “Room with a View,” so I do like doing period work but the hook is always the character and the director.
Was Ralph Fiennes a controlling director in “The Invisible Woman”? Did you have to stick to the script?
It was a very different process from “Like Crazy” and “Breath In.” He was always just wanting to explore and he pushed me. It was always just about trying to get to something truthful about that about my character.
What’s next for you?
I have a film coming out late this year called “Theory of Everything,” which James Marsh directed. It’s about Stephen Hawking and Jane Hawking and their relationship, first meeting and falling in love and then Stephen being diagnosed with motor neuron disease, and it spans their meeting when they were in their early 20s to when they split up in their 40s. Also “True Story” with Jonah Hill and James Franco and I was in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.”
“Breathe In” opens in New York City on March 28, 2014. It is available now On Demand. Rated R. 98 minutes.
Trailer:

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Enclave Reading series on Saturday night was standing room only. Held at Alan Cumming’s Club Cumming in Manhattan’s East Village, the joint was full of hot bodies and talent. As I looked around, it gave me a feeling “down there.” Okay, so I just shamelessly lifted that phrase from Joan Jett, which fits the Enclave’s theme—FRAYED IN NEW YORK—with a focus on the 70s, 80s and 90s. It’s a time I remember oh so well.

The Enclave Opener

“I was so fucking depressed last night,” emcee Brooks said, referring to another hell week with the GOP’s spoiled toddler. Not The Orange Swamp Thing, the other entitled white baby in a suit, Brett Kavanaugh, the sobbing, blubbering, self-pitying Supreme Court nominee.

Brooks got huge laughs with a funny bit about the Unabomber, and talked about the night before the Enclave reading.

“Friday night…I decided to drown my tears and indulge myself in a twink…the magic of an iPhone app is this guy shows up, 22, cute as fuck, and, you know, huge. He had a reckless quality which I find attractive in a twink.”

Unfortunately, the young hottie ruined the action in the middle of it by calling out, Daddy!

“Being called Daddy during sex,” said Brooks, “is the gay equivalent of finding a fly in your soup at a fancy restaurant. You go from, this is gonna be good, right? — to what the fuck?”

I laughed so hard I nearly choked on my seltzer.

Frayed in New York

Jeremiah Moss, the man behind the award-winning blog and book, VANISHING NEW YORK read about what’s gone. It was apt for me. As I’d ambled past Tompkins Square Park on the way to the club, the recurring stab of sadness got me in the gut. My native Manhattan looks nothing like it did and often feels like an empty town filled with ghosts

In the 80s, whenever I was hit with an emergency need for drugs at 3am, it was that park that beckoned, luring me toward Alphabet City. It was a suicide mission back then. Being an ex-junkie, though, it’s not surprising that my wasted ideas always made perfect sense. The coils of my head kick off a Pavlov’s dog-inspired rush of endorphins that leaves me drooling at memories from years of debauchery.

Moss at the Mic

Moss at the mic lamented his arrival to what he refers to as the end of New York City: 1993. He was 22 then. Moss read, “I was Harold and New York, my Maude.” He openly admits his bias and lack of objectivity in his signature prose. Self-deprecating words inspired laughs from the audience but the biggest howl came when he quoted reviewers: “The New York Times called me a curmudgeon with a penchant for apocalyptic bombast” and “The Daily News dubbed me a fetishist for filth.”

Lara IS Sharp

DO THE HUSTLE is Lara B. Sharp’s memoir-in progress. It’s about being raised in New York City’s foster care system and her exploits as a crustie and grifter. She chose a chapter that is set in 1984 and appropriately titled Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves. “A crustie,” Sharp explained, “is a homeless runaway, living on the streets of downtown Manhattan.”

Sharp as a Whipped Crustie

The author opens by telling the audience a little background info.

“I was 14 years old and I ran away from foster care. I’m just kind of living in Washington Square Park because that was a done thing then…My mom was an alcoholic and a drug addict…but [she was] awesome because she taught me everything I needed to know. She taught me how to lie, cheat, and steal.”

In addition to writing, Sharp has performed in a number of theater productions, including Penny Arcade’s original production of the Sex and Censorship Show, BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! Sharp’s author reading was a performance piece because she’s charismatic and naturally theatrical.

She nailed the accents for the scene’s two characters. One voice is Sharp at age 14. The other is “Gay Cher.” He is her new kinda-sorta mentor who tells the young Sharp that he can easily make her look 18 if she steals beauty products from Duane Reade. The motivation behind wanting to look older, was practical. She wanted to find a job.

Sharp reads in Gay Cher’s midwestern accent: “I’m the most beautiful, half-Mexican faggot boy ever to escape Kansas. I looked like a fat old milk cow, but not no more. And, honey, I can fix you up. I mean, you’re a mess. But, I have talents. No offense but your white eyelashes are disgusting.”

Huge laughs from the crowd.

Then, narrating in her younger self’s voice: “He scratches his left arm making the needle sores bleed. He rubs the blood into his stone wash cut-offs…. He yanks my scrunchie and runs his dirty fingernails through my long blonde hair, pulling at the matted sections.”

I quit drinking, drugging and smoking, but I can’t get enough of Sharp’s writing. Saturday night’s performance proved that I’m addicted to her prose.

Barb Morrison

I chatted with Barb Morrison. Yes, THE Barb Morrison—recording artist, hit songwriter, platinum and gold records producer. Morrison has played with Blondie, The Runaways, Johnny Thunders and plenty more biggies. Morrison’s pronoun is they. They told me they grew up in the East Village and Chelsea after arriving here at 17. They came to the city after a childhood in Albany.

“Did you runaway?” I asked (spontaneously) because I had. At 15, I moved into the Hotel Earle on Waverly (now, Washington Square Hotel). It was only one block from the park I’d fallen in love with. I found it romantic that Joan Baez sang about Bob Dylan smiling out of the window of that crummy hotel over Washington Square.

“Yeah, I ran away many times,” Morrison said. They laughed. “I disappeared into the city. You’ll hear all about it when I read.”

Reading from a memoir-in-progress, Morrison talked about being a squatter and a musician on her way up and joining a band called The Loveless. “I tried out a few bands but none of them fit the way this gang of misfit rebels fit me…. I wanted to get in bar brawls with my guys and wake up the next morning not knowing which bruise was for what reason.”

The band had their first show at the underground Lismar Lounge. “You had to enter through one of those gates in the sidewalk that went down into a basement. Most of the bands on the Lower East Side couldn’t play worth shit and we actually had some good songs, so we instantly gained a following the night of our first gig. I remember pushing our amps up First Avenue after that show. Someone rode past in a cab and yelled “LUHHHHHVVVV LESSSSSSSSSS!” at us. We were too broke to take a cab but we felt like the most famous rockstars on the planet that night.”

Christopher Stoddard

Author Christopher Stoddard read from his new book (AT NIGHT ONLY). His words were about the universal feeling of yearning for an ex to come back and convincing yourself that just by wanting it, you can make it so. Max, his dog, is also an important character in the chapter.

“I’m wondering what he’s doing right now….He didn’t text from Montreal to let me know he landed safely—like he did when we were still in a relationship.” Then he describes pulling out his iPhone to contact his ex. The foreshadowing makes it clear that is always a bad, bad, bad idea. Stoddard’s voice is easy to listen to and, yes, his was one of the hot bodies I had referred to in my second sentence of this recap.

Pedro J. Rosado, Jr., actor, dancer and stage manager. He stage-managed Penny Arcade’s BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! at Performance Space New York. He can be seen in Joan Moossy’s MISS MOOSSY’S NEIGHBORHOOD MYSTERIES on YouTube singing “It’s Important to be Friendly.”

Despite a packed room, Alissa Brianna, the solo bartender for the evening, breezed through the night and looked calm and poised amidst the madness. She banged out those drinks—which I was told were fantastique!

Also in Attendance:

Elizabeth Wurtzel, celebrated author of  PROZAC NATION and BITCH: IN PRAISE OF DIFFICULT WOMEN
(the lyrics are awesome!)
He may be a middle-aged white heterosexual man/But he’s friendly/He’s not an ageist, sexist, racist, homophobic pig/He’s friendly.
Be like him/ Be friendly.

Lauren Pine, downtown debutante and horse lover, as in horse trainer and horseback rider, not to be confused with old slang for heroin. Glad we cleared that up. Pine, Morrison and Sharp are alumnae of the Don Hill’s Thursday night Squeezebox Parties and have known each other for 30 years.

Melody Jane, danced in Penny Arcade‘s 2018 BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! at Performance Space New York

Elizabeth Collins, writer and comedian (RAISED BY GAYS AND TURNED OUT OK!)

Clayre Saxon Morrison, British fashion stylist and photographer

Steve Zehentner, stage designer and sound designer who has collaborated with theater artist, writer and performer Penny Arcade for 30 years. One of their collaborations was the Lower East Side Biography Project. If you’ve never experienced it, I recommend clicking on that link.

Gavin Van Vlack, guitar, bass and vocals and member of the bands Canonized and Burn

Liza Béar, artist, photographer, writer, filmmaker

Albie Mitchell, well-known downtown photographer who documented the East Village for over 40 years, and worked for the Village Voice and for the original production of Penny Arcade’s BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! at PS122 and the Village Gate.

Jenny Gorman, practicing fine art and photography in New York City and the Hamptons for over 25 years.

Cid Scantlebury artist and musician. Cid was an original Bitch from the Don Hill’s ‘ladies metal’ night of that name, a Loser’s Lounge singer, and she sings at F*Bomb NYC shows several times a year.

Sean Harris, artist, whose works in paper collage and mixed media can be viewed on Instagram @seansheengram.

AUTHOR BIOS

JEREMIAH MOSS, creator of the award-winning blog Vanishing New York, is the pen name of Griffin Hansbury. His writing on the city has appeared in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, and online for The New Yorker and The Paris Review. As Hansbury, he is the author of THE NOSTALGIST a novel, and works as a psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City

LARA B. SHARP‘s writing has appeared in various print and online publications, including Longreads and Teen Vogue. A native New Yorker, she has also written for and performed in a number of national and international theatre productions and live storytelling events in New York City, London, and Philadelphia. She was an original member of Penny Arcade’s BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! in the early 90s and toured with Penny Arcade. Sharp earned her BA from Smith College, where she was an Ada Comstock fellow, and is working on a memoir about her childhood in the New York foster care system.

BARB MORRISON is a musician and producer who uses music as a platform of advocacy for the transgender community. A regular performer at The Ritz and CBGB’s, they were the saxophonist, guitarist and singer for the bands Gutterboy and Itchy Trigger Finger, which were signed to Mecury Records and toured with Lollapalooza in 1999. Barb has co-written and produced songs for artists such as Blondie, Rufus Wainwright, LP, and Franz Ferdinand. They also wrote the scores for films, including The Safety of Objects (2000), which starred Glenn Close. Their writing has appeared in various publications, such as the New York Times and The Good Men Project. Currently, they are at work on their memoir.

CHRISTOPHER STODDARD’s new novel At Night Only from Itna Press released this June, which has been praised by The Paris Review, Kirkus, Slate, Lambda Literary, and authors Edmund White and Gary Indiana. Featured in OUT Magazine’s “Tastemakers” issue in 2015 for his contributions to literature and publishing, he’s written two other novels: Limiters (Itna Press, 2014), and White, Christian (Spuyten Duyvil, 2010). He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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To learn more about The Enclave Reading Series, visit theenclavereadingseries.tumblr.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram.

For more info on events at Club Cumming, visit clubcummingnyc.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Dorri Olds is an award-winning freelance writer whose work has appeared in book anthologies, and publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Woman’s Day, Time Out New York, The Fix, The Forward, Yahoo, and Tablet. Visit her YouTube channel and see other works she’s done for Honeysuckle here.

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In the searing new documentary The Sentence, we discover that the casualties of the “War on Drugs” extend beyond the millions of Americans harshly punished with prison time—their families suffer the brunt.

About the Filmmaker

Director Rudy Valdez, an American of Mexican descent, began filming his three nieces for his sister Cindy Shank. Why? Because she’d been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Her loving brother, the youngest sibling, wanted Cindy to be able to see the girls grow up. The even greater tragedy is her family’s suffering the pain of living without her. The worst crime is Cindy’s children doing time, also—they grew up without their Mom.
As Valdez began fighting to reduce his sister’s draconian sentence, he discovered that the problem of over-sentencing was much larger than his family’s painful tale. Due to the failed “War on Drugs,” nonviolent first-time offenders, like Cindy, received ghastly punishments because the judge had to adhere to the mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

The Girlfriend Problem

Cops and lawyers have a nickname for Cindy’s all-too-common scenario: The Girlfriend Problem. Cindy’s crime was falling in love with the wrong man.

Although it is not shown in the film, we learn that Cindy lived with Alex Humphrey until 2002, when he was murdered by gunshot right outside their home in Lansing, Michigan. When police searched their home for clues to the murder—which is still unsolved—they found more than 40 pounds of cocaine.
Cindy had attempted to leave Humphrey, but he had threatened her. After his death she was free to move on and straighten out her life. She fell in love with a good man, married him and the couple had three children.

The Arrest

Without giving too much away, the police knocked on the door six years later and arrested Cindy. She was charged as a conspirator because she had known about Humphrey’s drug dealing.
At SVA Theatre this past Wednesday, after a pre-screening of the documentary, filmmaker Valdez said, “We can no longer sit around and be okay with people profiting off the backs of the disenfranchised.”
“It’s the rhetoric we hear: hard on crime or you’re soft on crime…. we need to get rid of that crap. You’re either smart on crime or you’re not,” Valdez said. “This film is apolitical on purpose; it doesn’t go into the history, the right or the left, or who started this, or who’s perpetuating this. It’s a hearts and minds film that transcends voting…. There’s a cultural shift that needs to happen in this country.”

Sundance Film Festival to HBO

The film won the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. HBO purchased the film and will air it Monday, October 15. I suggest putting a box of tissues nearby.

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THE SENTENCE premieres on HBO Monday, October 15, 2018 at 8PM EST. Click here for additional screening times.

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