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Remembering Robin Williams – Director Dito Montiel opens up about Robin’s last film – Boulevard

dorriolds — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 09:38:33 +0000

In the movie “Boulevard,” Robin Williams plays Nolan Mack, a 60-year-old bank worker who spontaneously takes a dramatic U-turn — literally and figuratively — when he drives down an unfamiliar street and becomes intrigued by a young male hustler, Leo (Roberto Aguire), who asks if Nolan can give him a lift.
After forming a peculiar connection with Leo, Nolan faces the fact that he is gay and has spent his life hiding that. He’s hidden it from his wife Joy (Kathy Baker) and even from himself. Nolan’s climactic decision to confront who he really is proves the old adage: It’s never too late to change.
From director Dito Montiel and written by Douglas Soesbe, “Boulevard” also stars Bob Odenkirk (TV’s “Better Call Saul,” “Breaking Bad”) as Winston, Nolan’s supportive best friend. Montiel was drawn to “Boulevard” because of its poignant and universal themes. “When I read Douglas Soesbe’s script, I thought about how many people are in Nolan’s situation in some way or another,” Montiel told Dorri Olds. “It really is every man’s story. Nolan does not have a terrible life; his wife is not mean to him, he has a decent job and the prospect of a promotion, he lives in a nice house. But emotionally he feels empty, as if he is sleepwalking through a lonely and subdued world, devoid of all passion.”
This is the last film from the beloved Williams, who tragically hanged himself in August 2014, two weeks shy of 63. Williams struggled for years with depression and substance abuse, but what led to his suicide was the neurodegenerative disease Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) combined with Parkinson’s disease.
In November, ABC News reported:
“All people with LBD have dementia, and sometimes appear confused and disoriented and exhibit unusual behavior, said Angela Taylor, the director of programming for the Lewy Body Dementia Association. According to the coroner’s report, Williams had been acting strangely before his death. He is said to have kept several watches in a sock and was very concerned about keeping the watches safe.”
The much-missed Williams began his career as a standup comedian in the mid-1970s, then made it big as the hilarious alien Mork on the hit show, “Mork & Mindy.” Williams worked for four decades making films; my favorites include “One Hour Photo,” “The Fisher King,” “Good Morning, Vietnam” and “Good Will Hunting.” In 1998, Williams won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for “Good Will Hunting,” and during his long and magnificent career, he received two Primetime Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and four Grammy Awards.
Williams gives a gripping performance in “Boulevard,” and director Dito Montiel spoke openly about working with the late actor on his last film during this interview with Dorri Olds.
Dorri Olds: What was Robin Williams’ take on his character?
Dito Montiel: We were on the same page, which was really nice. There was one scene in particular where Robin as Nolan and Kathy as Joy are in bed together, and they both say “I love you.” It wasn’t in the script, but I said, “You love her. Why don’t you tell her you love her?” Robin said, “Yeah, I would,” and then Kathy said, “I love you, too.” I thought that scene was so touching because they’re saying so many things. They’re saying, “I love you” and “It’s over” and “Goodbye.”
Robin, Kathy and I felt strongly that this was a loving marriage, just not the right loving marriage for Nolan. Kathy had an interesting thing to say, and then Robin said it all the time. It was that their characters had an unwritten agreement, and Nolan was breaking it. That’s why Joy was so mad. They have the big blowout when they finally have this conversation. It was like a “don’t ask, don’t tell” marriage for too long.
Could you tell that Robin was feeling depressed?
That’s impossible to know. We talked all the time, but it was about his character mainly, and he was as obsessed as I was about it. We would just literally talk at crazy lengths about Nolan and walk around all night while shooting. It was impossible to tell that sort of thing. You never know with anybody, unfortunately. It’s one of those weird things. He’d joke around when I’d try to give him direction about how sad Nolan was, and he’d say, “I’ve done the research.” There’s a side to Robin that is outrageous, that goes on David Letterman. Then there’s the guy who goes home at night trying to sit by himself and think about things.
“Boulevard” available online for streaming. LGBT drama. Rated R. 88 min. RIP Robin Williams.

You were an original. One of the best talents the world has ever seen.

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Enclave Reading Series ‘FRAYED IN NEW YORK’ at Actor Alan Cumming’s Club Cumming

dorriolds — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 23:37:26 +0000

Jason Napoli Brooks. ©DorriOlds

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

Jeremiah Moss reads from his book VANISHING NEW YORK for Enclave. Photo © Dorri Olds

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 B. Sharp sparkled onstage, all the way down to her native New Yorker feet. Photo © Dorri Olds

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.”

Barb Morrison and Lara B. Sharp. © Dorri Olds

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.”

Alissa Brianna

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.

© Lara B. Sharp. All rights reserved. Here’s an exclusive photo of Sharp, with her mother, at a sidewalk cafe (across from Club Cumming) in 1988—the year Sharp turned 18. She told me, “I was no longer a criminal. I was a legal adult! Free at last.” At the time, Sharp worked at the Cat Club for manager Don Hill (before he opened Don Hill’s).

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. Photo © Jini Sachse

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.

—

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.

—

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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When You Wake Up and Your YouTube Channel Has 888K Views!

dorriolds — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 10:57:19 +0000

UPDATE!!

YouTube Channel has 1.9 MILLION VIEWS!! Woooot.

When you wake up and your YouTube channel is up to 888,000 views and over a million minutes watched. Yeah, that.

www.youtube.com/DorriOlds

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20/20 Anchor Elizabeth Vargas Talks About Anxiety, Alcohol and Her Moving Memoir

dorriolds — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 10:39:00 +0000

Celebrity newscaster Elizabeth Vargas told me, “I was nearly fired from my job. My husband left me while I was in rehab, I hurt my kids tremendously, and I nearly lost my life.”

Written for The Fix

“A huge part of my alcoholism was anxiety,”20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas told me. “I had panic attacks since kindergarten.” During our interview and in her new book, Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction, the veteran newscaster was candid about almost losing everything.

Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction by 20/20 Anchor Elizabeth Vargas

She went to her first rehab in 2012, but denial said she only needed two weeks of treatment. It’s no surprise that didn’t work and the disease progressed. In 2014, she went to a second rehab but left prematurely. She went home and drank again. Resigned and humiliated, she returned to that second rehab. Now sober for two years, Vargas is committed to sobriety but understands we only have a daily reprieve from alcohol.

“My story is different than others I’ve heard ‘in the rooms,’” she told me. “I drank moderately for 20 years. It wasn’t until my 40s that I fell off a cliff.”

Vargas described a day in 2012 when she showed up at ABC too drunk to work. “I stepped out of the car and stumbled. That’s when I knew I was in no condition to conduct an interview. My friend took one look at me and knew.” Her first rehab was that year at Cirque Lodge in Utah. “I look back on a lot of the writing that I did,” she said. “I’m struck by the lectures and therapists there. It was a very good experience.” But after leaving the Utah rehab after only two weeks, she was not able to stay sober and her alcoholism progressed. Vargas blames a combination of factors. “Stress at work, and then being diagnosed with post-partum anxiety. My drinking was suddenly on steroids and I had huge consequences.”

“I’d had lots of brownouts,” she said, “but never a blackout.” That is until one day when she began drinking in the early afternoon after work. “The next thing I remember is waking up at four a.m. in the emergency room with zero memory of what happened. I had a blood alcohol level of .4, which is lethal. I’m told a woman saw me at Riverside Park in my work clothes and wobbling in high heels.”

Two predatory men were eyeing Vargas so the concerned passerby intervened and got the drunk newscaster home safely. But Vargas passed out in the lobby and was taken away in an ambulance. The incident scared her enough to stop drinking and she went to her second rehab.

“It was a rude awakening. I woke up in Tennessee. My husband and therapist picked that rehab. I don’t understand how anybody would’ve picked it. Even my therapist there said, ‘This is not the right place for you. I don’t know how on earth you ended up here.’ But once there, I couldn’t get out.”

In the memoir that second rehab in 2014 is referred to as The Center. But Vargas told me, “I wrote that it was in rural Tennessee so most people can figure out it’s really The Ranch. For some people I’m sure it’s a life-saving gift but it wasn’t the best place for me. Most of the patients were in their teens and twenties. We had different life experiences and different issues.”

The newscaster confided that she already suffered with guilt. “Making my shame front and center wasn’t the best way to go. I wasn’t thinking about getting better and saving my life. I was thinking, ‘How do I get home?’ I wasn’t seeing my children and was desperate to know what was going on. I feared that my husband was hiring divorce lawyers and starting to date other people.” Frantic, she left prematurely against advice and learned her suspicions were correct.

I asked if she thought drinking caused the divorce. “My husband would say it did,” she said. “It’s easy to judge him but I didn’t walk in his shoes. I don’t know what it was like to be married to an alcoholic. I’m sure it was really difficult.”

Vargas said she would die for her sons. “I love them more than anything in the world. I would do anything for my children. But I couldn’t stop drinking for them.”

I pointed out that many interviewers still don’t seem to understand alcoholism. Vargas agreed. “They don’t. Trust me. Many people have no concept that this is a disease. To tell an alcoholic to stop drinking is like telling someone born with depression to be happy….”

* * *

Vargas said, “I asked my son last night, ‘Why do you think I’m writing this book?’ He said, ‘Because you’re brave and want to help people.’ I hope people will be kind.”

She confided, “As a child, I was shy and quiet because of my tremendous anxiety.” As an “army brat,” she moved almost every year. “I was bullied mercilessly from third grade through junior high. You’d have to learn how to fit in,” she said. “A lot of times, I didn’t.”

I asked if she thinks: Yeah, well, look at me now! Vargas said, “No, you never shed those horrible feelings. My earliest memories are infused with fear.”

Helen Mirren Talks About Kissing Stephen Colbert and Playing a Powerful ‘Eye in the Sky’

dorriolds — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 12:03:34 +0000

Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul. Photo ©Dorri Olds
On Wed., March 9, at the Waldorf Astoria, Dorri Olds sat down with Academy Award-winner Dame Helen Mirren. She stars in “Eye in the Sky,” a suspenseful thriller about techno warfare waged through computer screens, and drones disguised as beetles and birds.
Helen Mirren plays Colonel Catherine Powell, stationed in the UK. She is the military officer in command of a top-secret operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. When the mission escalates from “capture” to “kill,” Las Vegas-based pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul aka Jesse Pinkman in “Breaking Bad”) is tasked with aiming and firing a Hellfire missile at the target, which includes suicide bombers.
The stakes suddenly rise sky-high when nine-year-old Alia (Aisha Takow) sets up a table to sell bread directly outside the Kenyan compound. Colonel Powell must decide between saving one little girl or the lives of 80 to 100 innocent bystanders.
The choice is obvious to her: sacrifice the “collateral damage” of killing the child. But, she must get the okay from her commanding officer, Lt. General Frank Benson, played by the now-deceased and dearly missed Alan Rickman, best known as Professor Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” franchise.
Benson must appeal to his higher ups and the chain of command keeps going up and up, because no one wants to be the one to pull the trigger that will sacrifice the girl. For some, like pilot Watts, it is an unthinkable moral catastrophe, but for others, including Mirren’s character, the stakes are higher than just one little girl.
The film is directed by Gavin Hood and based on the screenplay by Guy Hibbert. Hood also appears in the film as a Lieutenant. Academy Award-nominee Barkhad Abdi (“Captain Phillips”) stands out as the brave operative in Kenya who sends the beetle drone into the compound and heroically tries to protect the little girl. But the movie belongs to the breathtaking performances by Mirren and Paul.

Helen Mirren kisses Stephen Colbert

Dorri Olds: First, I have to ask—what prompted you to plant a kiss on Stephen Colbert during his CBS show?
Helen Mirren: The thing is I’ve been deeply in love with Stephen Colbert, for real, and I think it’s always been my dream to kiss Stephen Colbert. As I was walking out [onto the show’s set that] night, I looked and I thought, you know, ‘What if I don’t take my opportunity now? I’ll never have it again.’ So I just went for it. I kissed him.
This morning as my husband was going off to work, I thought, ‘I’ve got to tell him,’ so I said, “Darling, I kissed Stephen Colbert last night.” [Laughs]
DO: Thank you for that! Now let’s move on to the film. After choosing to detonate the bomb, do you think your character slept that night?
HM: I would say, yes. I think my character would absolutely sleep well because: Job done. Terrible was the price we had to pay, but yes, she’d sleep well.
DO: Would your character gain closure if she could speak to the other military minds involved in the decision?
HM: They might, I don’t know protocol or how they’d find themselves in the same bar at the same time at any point. I think my character would say, “Next time, Lieutenant, you do what I say, when I say to do it.” Then, maybe five vodkas later, they might get into talking about the complications of the issues. I suspect people like my character have to put that behind them and carry on with what they have to deal with next. There’s possibly many more of those situations to come.
DO: This is Alan Rickman’s last film. Did you spend time together?
HM: I hardly got to see Aaron, actually. Gavin shot all of my stuff first. Then I went away, then Aaron came. We at least crossed paths for one night. Then Aaron went away, then I think the politicians came if it was in that order. Then you shot the stuff on the ground last of all. We had a director who knew exactly what he was going to do and had it very well planned so he could talk us through. I think Alan [Rickman] would be incredibly proud of this movie. I think he is very proud of this movie, let’s put it that way. I think that if he had looked at his canon of work and it’s been great work his whole life, I think if he had the choice to say I want that to be my last movie, I’m convinced he would point to this movie. What I love about it is that the Alan that you see up on the screen is Alan. He was brilliant as Snape, brilliant. And brilliant in all his character roles, he often played, but that is Alan, the elegance, the wit, the formidable nature of him, the humanity of him. We have Alan up on the screen and I think that’s such a great thing for his last movie.
DO: Do you enjoy being type cast as a strong woman? We instantly think of you as able to take charge.
HM: I love that that’s type cast, I’m going to go for that one. I’m very happy with that, thank you very much.

Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul. Photo ©Dorri Olds

What drew you towards this film in terms of your feelings about what’s happening in the real world?
HM: It was an amazing script; the film is so true to filmmaking. If it’s on the page, it’s on the screen. With this movie, it was absolutely on the page. It was a beautifully written, constructed, and interesting issue dealt with in a very interesting and humane way. Like Aaron, I didn’t really know much about drone warfare, but we’re all on a learning curve with this one. With the research that Gavin had done, we all learned a lot.
DO: What did you learn?
HM: What the technology is. I had no idea of the technology. I had no idea that these kinds of operations are conducted in the way that they are with all of these checks and balances. You know what? That’s a good advertisement for democracy. It’s not bad that people go into these operations with consciousness and an awareness of legality and political issues. I thought that was fascinating—the way so many voices are involved in an operation and that every second counts. That’s why our film ratchets up the tension.
DO: Do you think there is a huge refugee problem in the UK?
HM: It’s a problem in many people’s minds. Whether it actually is a problem is another matter. For billions of years people have been traversing the globe and finding … that is the absolute natural human thing to do. We’re just obeying our perfectly natural, human instincts and animal instinct if you like. It seems to me that that is the history of human life. Find safety. Move to whatever it is. I’m part Viking, I’m half Russian. All of us, are mixes and that’s the brilliance of DNA isn’t it? That you can find, ‘Oh my god, I’ve got a little bit of Chinese in me, billions of years.’ I think it’s exciting. I think it’s wonderful. I know it comes out of tragedy and horror and that’s something else.
DO: Why did Gavin Hood bring in a female character for Colonel Powell?
HM: I think Gavin’s point was to become broader [by including] a woman. It’s not that he was saying, “Would a woman make those decisions?” That’s not the discussion. It’s more that we are all in this together so, us women can’t sit back and say [that’s just] typical men. I think it’s a very good device to broaden the discussion and bring us all into it.

Alan Rickman, Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul in’ Eye in the Sky’

DO: How did you prepare for playing a female colonel?
HM: I didn’t meet up with an actual female colonel, but we had a [male] military advisor on the set. He was with us all the time and he was absolutely invaluable. The thing that surprised me the most was how obsessed they are with what they’re wearing. Your belt buckle has to be here, not here. Your cap has to folded exactly like this. They’re absolutely obsessed with the things they wear.
DO: Did your initial reaction to the moral dilemma change throughout the filming process?
HM: Not change, but became deeper. It did become a deeper understanding of it, definitely. I think when I first read it it was a bit, ‘Oh, that’s tough.’ When I first read it, I kind of saw the colonel as the villain of the piece and she may be, but not from her point of view. As I got deeper into it, and started really understanding the issues and the more global understanding of it, my attitude changed. I think now, I would say that she did the right thing. It’s a terrible thing to say. The appalling decisions that have to be made, but I’m talking about the world.
In many ways this film reminded me of a courtroom drama, only the audience acts as the jury. You are all the jury sitting in the audience, then when you come out of the cinema, hopefully, you go and have dinner or you go to a bar and discuss it. You talk about strategy, “Is it correct? Is it incorrect? Should we? Shouldn’t we?” The film throws it out to the audience. What I love about the film is that it makes no decisions for you. It puts decisions in your lap.
DO: Did anything surprise you when you saw the final cut of the film?
HM: The thing that surprised me was the wit, the funniness. I thought it was brilliant of Gavin, that is also what makes the film ultimately palatable, watchable, because it’s tough [and] difficult subject. It’s very tense and that also makes it watchable, but the wit in it and the funniness is fantastic. In terms of motivation, I never really think of motivation, honestly. I’m not a motivated sort of person. It’s, like, if it’s on the page, I do it.

“Eye in the Sky” is a thrilling political drama. Rated R. 102 min.

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2015 – A Year in Review

dorriolds — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 11:45:44 +0000

We all need a little brag time now and then so here is a smattering of my 2015 accomplishments. I feel giddy and grateful that I published way too many articles this year to list them all. I have selected just a few that I’m most proud of:

The Forward

Say No to the ‘C’
Interview with author Jennifer Margulis about the risks of Caesarean sections.

A Tour of Jewish China
Interview with Israeli entrepreneur Yael Farjun who runs a travel company in China.

A Journey of Recovery From Eating Disorders
Interview with comedian-actress Stacey Prussman who does outreach at campuses to help those suffering with eating disorders.

The Fix

Directing Sarah Silverman as an Addict
Interview with Adam Salky about the comedian-turned-dramatic-actress Sarah Silverman and his movie “I Smile Back” based on the novel by Amy Koppelman.

Sarah Silverman

Rape, Trauma, PTSD and Bill Cosby
A personal essay about my own experience with rape and why women are terrified to tell.

Bob Zappa on Frank, Smokes and Addiction
An interview with Frank Zappa’s younger brother about Frank’s addiction to cigarettes, which led to designing the cover and copyediting his memoir “Frankie and Bobby: Growing Up Zappa.” and becoming dear friends with Bob and his wife Diane.

Bob Zappa with a poster of his book cover

Meet the Remarkable Woman Who Is Saving Afghanistan’s Heroin Addicts
Since the fall of the Taliban, the production of opium has skyrocketed. Afghanistan produces 90 percent of the world’s supply and 11 percent of the population there are addicts. Laila Haidari, a former child bride, runs two addiction treatment centers and offers hope and healing to addicts in Kabul.

More 2015 Olds News

My New York Times Essay “Defriending My Rapist” became required reading for a course on Victimology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

ASJA

I spoke on two panels at the 2015 American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) annual writing conference. The sessions included “Secrets of Interviewing Famous People” and “Use Social Media to Land Writing Gigs and Make Money.” And I have been asked back for 2016! So excited. My panel will be on Sat., May 21, 2016 2-3:30 pm at the Roosevelt Hotel. For more info visit the website: ASJA.org.

Book Expo

Spoke for Susannah Greenberg on a UPublishU panel a BEA about writers promoting themselves on social media.

Some stars I’ve chatted with. Dorri Olds

Celebrity Interviews and Photo Ops

And, of course, I interviewed a ton of celebrities, attended press events, and screened a gazillion movies during 2015. Some of the standouts were Robert de Niro, Julianne Moore, Glenn Close, Lily Tomlin, Laverne Cox, Kristen Stewart, Ben Kingsley, Sam Waterston, Lorraine Bracco, Kim Basinger, Patricia Clarkson, Alex Gibney, Edward James Olmos, Nancy Spielberg, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac, Peter Sarsgaard, Amy Koppelman, Tim Blake Nelson, Shia LaBeouf, Nat Wolff, Paul Sorvino, Debi Mazar.

Websites

Created a bunch of new websites. Here are my faves:

Holly Rizzuto Palker
Juliana Neiman
Cheryl Morrison’s Docuclear

DOGS, DOGS, DOGS!
And let’s not forget the fantastic doggie fundraising events I photographed this year!!

Enjoy!!

And write to me on Facebook and tell me about your high points this year.

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In ‘You’ve Been Trumped’ Donald Trump bullies Scottish village and destroys land

dorriolds — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 17:07:34 +0000

Scotland is the birthplace of golf. In this documentary by filmmaker Anthony Baxter, a small Scottish village, steeped in history, is dissed and trampled by Donald Trump who charges in to build a golf course and destroys the natural environment including breathtaking sand dunes.

Trump sneers, shrugs his shoulders, name calls, then levels the dunes with bulldozers into a flat, muddy, ugly mess. He stomps on dignified and proud simple folks in the local fishing village like cockroaches.

Humorous, heartbreaking and inspiring, “You’ve Been Trumped” is a powerful award-winning movie. “This isn’t just a local Scottish story,” said director Baxter, “it’s an international tale that resonates with people all over the world. Government officials who should be protecting their residents are lying to them and rich tycoons have way too much power.”

Like the Occupy movement, this small village proves that people can join together and fight for their rights. This film demonstrates the courage it takes for people at a lower socio-economic level to stand up to über-rich bullies like Trump.
When asked who funded his documentary, Baxter said, “Nobody. I remortgaged my house. It’s been a battle from start to finish.”

Baxter felt this story needed to be told. Trump lied and convinced the Scottish government that he would be creating 6,000 jobs by building his golf course but, said Baxter, “The numbers didn’t add up. How many jobs could you possibly need for a golf course? People to serve drinks in a clubhouse, caddies, and grounds-keepers. That is not 6,000 jobs.”

Local villager Michael Forbes has a working farm. Trump mocked him, calling him a “pig” and labeling his property “a slum.” Susan Monroe is a local resident who has lived her entire life amidst the natural environment of the beloved sand dunes. She was also tormented by Trump. Her water and electricity was shut off and she was told to obtain a security pass to access her own home.

Magnate Trump, as a real-life unscrupulous Gordon Gekko, not only bullied the villagers but also threatened to have the government eject them. He found them irritating obstacles on land that he wanted to decimate.

“People in Scotland didn’t really know what was happening,” said Baxter. “Scottish government officials refused to see the film. It’s a disgrace. They even refused to go to public screenings. It was so disrespectful to the people in their constituency. Government officials never once visited the local homes that were being destroyed.”

Baxter wants to see more action. He hopes many people will see the film and remember how important it is to fight for their rights. “We cannot let ourselves continue to be trampled by the Trumps of the world.”

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Patrick Wilson Has a ‘Zipper’ Problem — He’s Addicted to Call Girls

dorriolds — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 20:52:41 +0000

In the drama Zipper, Sam Ellis (Patrick Wilson) is a successful federal prosecutor on the cusp of a bright political future. He has a happy home and a hot sex life with his smart and beautiful wife Jeannie (Lena Headey). Sam is a moral guy who takes fatherhood and upholding the law seriously. Then, a gorgeous intern (Dianna Agron) kisses him passionately after a work party. Sam had a little too much to drink. He fights temptation and dutifully goes home to his wife. But, his “zipper problem”—a phrase coined during the Bill Clinton presidency—has been teased and awakened.

The next titillation for Sam occurs while he deposes a sexy witness (Elena Satine) who worked for a high-class escort service named Executive Privilege. Sam already pleasures himself at home with online porn while his unknowing wife sleeps. One weekend his wife and son (Kelton DuMont) go out of town and Sam’s nagging curiosity leads him to call Executive Privilege on a disposable cellphone and inquire about an escort. Mona Fortuna, real-life escort booker and consultant on the film, voices the booker on the phone. She preys on Sam’s ambivalence and easily manipulates him into making an appointment.

Sam is vulnerable. He’s shaky with stress as his wife and coworkers push him toward running for political office. His foray into the sex industry comes across as surprisingly empathetic. Who knew that a husband cheating on his loving wife could be sympathetic? But, in Zipper, it is.
The booker baits the hook and the hooker reels him in. Alexandra Breckenridge as Sam’s first $1,000 per hour escort was a brilliant choice of casting. She works him like a pro while also remaining likable. One of the strengths of this film is how few judgments are made. Instead, it is a realistic portrayal of addiction and how a man with so much to lose, gets hooked on hookers.
Sam’s remorse over his indulgence in forbidden fruit is palpable yet it can’t quell his compulsions. What could’ve been a one-time thing morphs into a monkey on his back. It’s like watching the hijacked brain of a cokehead who knows he should stop but can’t.
The Fix caught up with writer/director Mora Stephens.
Have you studied the addict’s brain?
Yes, I’ve long been fascinated by this subject. I’m the daughter of two artists. My father is a writer and recovering alcoholic. He writes eloquently about it so I can talk about it. When I was 12, I went to classes at Smithers rehab with him. I was struck by how addiction changes the brain and how it affects your child’s brain. That was the origin of my approach to this story; looking at a politician like Sam and wondering where it all began and trying to put myself in his shoes.
Here’s this guy who has the potential for addiction; his mother was an alcoholic and he has this porn addiction bubbling under the surface. He’s been afraid of it and repressing it without getting any help for it.
At Sundance, I spoke on a panel called Addiction Fiction, which was sponsored by the Norlien Foundation. The panel was myself with another filmmaker, Jen Newsom, and neuroscientists, psychologists and anthropologists all studying addiction and how it is portrayed in movies. It gave me a whole new perspective looking at the movie from the science of addiction and learning that ritual is very important. I learned even more hearing the scientists talk about how repeating a behavior strengthens connections and circuitry in the brain.
Read more…

Available on DVD, Blu-ray & On Demand September 29, 2015. Drama thriller. Rated R. 117 min.

Watch the trailer:

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ASJA Writers Conference: Secrets of Interviewing Famous People

dorriolds — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 12:36:19 +0000

ASJA PANEL • Saturday, May 2, 2015 • 2:00–3:30PM

Editors love to get exclusive interviews with top people in the field their publication covers. Writers who can deliver interesting Q&As or profiles continue to get assignments. The challenge is that the bigger the name, the harder it is to get to the celebrity/leader. The panel will explain how to get assignments to cover the famous, convince their gatekeepers to give you access, get fascinating answers, and write a sizzling profile.

SCOTT S. SMITH, ASJA
Scott S. Smith has had been published 1,300 times in 175 media, including interviews with high-achievers such as Bill Gates, Stan Lee, Meg Whitman, Quincy Jones, Kathy Ireland, Lee Iacocca, and Dean Koontz. His Extraordinary People: Real Life Lessons on What It Takes to Achieve Success was published in 2014.

DORRI OLDS, ASJA
Dorri Olds writes movie reviews and interviews celebrities for many outlets, including The Forward and TheBlot Magazine. Her Q&As have been with such notables as Steven Spielberg, Susan Sarandon, Julianne Moore, Angela Bassett, Daniel Radcliffe, Ryan Gosling, Patrick Stewart, James Franco, Evan Rachel Wood, and Kirsten Dunst. She has also been published in The New York Times.

BEVERLY GRAY, BOARD MEMBER, ASJA

Beverly Gray writes the popular showbiz blog “Beverly in Movieland” and has written extensively on theater for The Los Angeles Times and on movies for The Hollywood Reporter. Among her many interviewees have been Gwyneth Paltrow, George Cukor, Charlton Heston, and Beau Bridges. Her books include Roger Corman: Blood-Sucking Vampires, Flesh-Eating Cockroaches, and Driller Killers and Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon…and Beyond.

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What Would Howard Cosell Say?

dorriolds — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 22:08:41 +0000

Guest post by sportswriter Richard Kagan

With Ray Rice’s appeal hearing now underway on his indefinite suspension by the NFL for domestic violence, I remembered how sports commentators stumbled and fumbled a few weeks ago when a video surfaced of the Baltimore Ravens running back punching out his then-fiancée in an Atlantic City casino elevator.

Immediately, I heard a distinctive staccato voice in my head, saying, “Hello everyone, this is Ho-ward Co-sell, speaking of sports.”

That was Cosell’s signature sign-on, delivered in his striking technique, whether before a big fight, the Wide World of Sports show, or his five-minute commentaries on ABC Radio.

At a moment like this, I miss Cosell. Unlike the Rice commentators, he would have said what needed to be said. Cosell was outspoken. Few sports commentators are today. Bill Simmons, an exception, was recently suspended by ESPN for disparaging NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on his podcast. (Goodell was the first witness on Wednesday to testify at the Rice hearing. What he said is as yet unknown because of a gag order in the case. Rice attended, accompanied by his now-wife, Janay.)

Cosell, who died at age 77 in 1995, was a special, entertaining mix of lawyer and man on the street. He left the law profession to work in sports media. He first wrote sports columns, then found his way to ABC radio with his own show. It soon became apparent, Howard could not be stopped.

He drew you in with his prosecutorial tone and his “tell it like it is” approach. He surely wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But he was a lightning rod in sports media for more than two pivotal decades, as NFL football grew and pro boxing declined.

Back in 1974, I said to myself, “I’ve got to meet him.” I was doing my master’s thesis in communications at Ohio State University, and my topic was viewer perception of Cosell and his broadcasting message. I could have done this study without interviewing him; there was plenty of material and he had co-written three books about his style, opinions, and approach to sports broadcasting.

But something urged me to talk to him, despite my student anxiety. I wanted to meet the man who could get serious about constitutional law, as when Muhammad Ali objected to fighting in the Vietnam War on religious grounds. He could also be the comedy straight man while Ali glared at Cosell’s head and said, “Howard, I want to take off your toupee.” Everyone at that taping laughed and I did too, as I watched on TV.

When I flew to New York to visit friends and relatives, I summoned the courage to call the man who by then was synonomous with sports in America.

To my surprise, I was put through to Cosell. I asked for an interview, and Cosell said, “Be ready to come back when I can fit you in.” He sounded like he did on TV.

I put down the phone and screamed, jumping up and down. Cosell said yes!

I began impersonating Cosell’s irresistible voice, “I can fit you in, young man.” My cousin, from whose office I had called, said she had never seen me so joyous. For months I walked around repeating, “Hello everyone, this is Ho-ward Co-sell, speaking of sports.”

When the time for the interview came, I flew to New York, my tape recorder and microphone packed, with plenty of tapes and batteries, and a slew of papers and notepads. As I entered the lobby of the ABC-TV building on Avenue of the Americas, the first person I saw was legendary boxing promoter Don King, his hallmark hairstyle standing tall. By the time I stood in the elevator, nothing could quiet my jumpy nerves.

Walking into Cosell’s office I heard him bellow, “Let me know if Frank calls.” He might have meant Frank Gifford, his broadcasting partner, or Frank Sinatra, the Chairman of the Board. I fantasized that he meant Sinatra. Then “Sammy” called and I guessed he was talking to Sammy Davis, Jr. If you’re rich and famous, you talk to the rich and famous.

“Well, young man, what is this all about?” Cosell said as soon as I stood before him, like the Tin Man standing before the great and powerful Oz.

“Just ask me questions,” he said, “and I’ll tell you what you need to know.”

So I asked him a question. He grabbed the microphone from my hand and answered like he was on location. He gave long answers and pontificated. But he also had sharp insights.

After just over an hour, my time was up. I packed my stuff and said my thanks. After I left that day, Cosell’s hallmark phrase never left me: “Sports is a microcosm of society.” Forty years later, it’s still with me.

Has that notion ever been truer than it is today? The professionalization of college sports. Steroids. Violence in football. The Ray Rice controversy, including whether Goodell and other NFL officials knew in advance about the video. No wonder Cosell’s voice came into my head. I’d love to hear his take on Donald Sterling, Adrian Peterson and what is the NFL’s responsibility versus law enforcement?

Cosell’s mission was to reveal the inequity of a situation and question the established culture that permitted it to go unchecked, usually because money was at stake. He would have decried the violence of Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, and the racism of Donald Sterling. He used English like an oversized, but effective cudgel. One might not have liked it, but when Cosell told it like it was, he wasn’t worried about currying favor or only raising his ratings. His training was founded in the law and as self-parodying as he could seem, his ambition was to serve justice—in sports and in the flawed world it reflected.

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