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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Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart and Kate Bosworth Talk About ‘Still Alice’

dorriolds — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 16:35:31 +0000

photo by Dorri Olds
When I first received the invite to screen “Still Alice,” I thought, “Oh, no. Too depressing.” I went anyway because I knew this cast can pick and choose their roles, so there must be something here of value. Boy, is there!
Julianne Moore playing Alice elevates this film to a level that makes it a no-brainer why Moore just won Best Actress at the Golden Globes. The Oscar nominations were just announced, and she gets a chance to win there also. She deserves it.
Alice is a Columbia linguistics professor. She’s happily married to John (Alec Baldwin), and they have three grown children. The youngest is daughter Lydia (Kristen Stewart), a willful creative type who wants to find her own way. Anna (Kate Bosworth) is the responsible older and married sister. Their son, Tom (Hunter Parrish), is more of a background character, but he seems just fine — a healthy, happy son.
The first signs of mental illness show while Alice is lecturing a class and freezes. She cannot remember a word. But doesn’t that happen to everyone? Yes, but what about when you begin forgetting conversations you just had? In one powerful scene, Alice becomes confused in her own home. She begins opening all the doors in the house because she can’t remember where the bathroom is.
Alice gets the devastating diagnosis: It’s early onset Alzheimer’s. Moore is so believable in the role, it’s chilling. She communicates through the slightest of movements in her face. We see things from her perspective. She is strong, she has even more stubborn drive than Lydia. “Still Alice” is a movie that shows how valuable our lives are when we stay in the moment and don’t take anything for granted.
Thanks to the strong and sensitive screenplay by Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer (who suffers from ALS, by the way), the movie does not feel like a Lifetime channel tearjerker. Lisa Genova also deserves loads of credit for writing the book the script is based on.
It was a thrill to have the opportunity to speak with the actresses from the film for TheBlot Magazine.

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