Capture of Culture- Iris

"I love the process more than wearing them."




For decades, Iris Apfel has been a stylistic trend setter in New York and in the fashion world. Her eclectic style and vast collection of costume jewelry has made her the go to expert on how to best set up and display jewelry and fashion in museums and windows. In her younger days, Iris was an interior designer with a wide range of cliental. Her clients wanted what they couldn't find anywhere else, so Iris spent all of her time searching the globe for the most unique and eccentric pieces she could. Eventually, her design was able to find it's way into a very interesting market- the textile industry. Iris designed textiles based on old world designs each of which was one of a kind and well produced. Her talents with fabric design often lent her to working with the White House on restoration projects and the decorating of the building. Iris's collection of interesting clothing designs and jewelry continues to display all over the world. Her new interests revolve around her design company. She designs jewelry and accessories which she promotes endlessly with talks and TV appearances. She still goes to all the shows and parties and openings as New York's golden girl of fashion. Her sense of humor and grandness at her age have made her an important part of the fashion industry. She truly is the definition of the industry.




Documentaries like this are so enjoyable because they expose a point of culture while also serving as a catalogue of images of what is part of that industry. Legendary documentary maker Albert Maysles made this film just before his passing in early 2015. Iris is considered his last film and acts as a great bookend to a long career. It's fun and exciting and full of fantastical witticisms made by fashion maven herself, Iris Apfel.

Stream of the Week- Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

You've got 21 days left, and you don't want to spend it with just anyone.




Dodge spent his whole life being afraid of dying alone, but now that a 70 mile wide asteroid he's got no one to be with. His wife leaves him when she finds out that there is no hope for the planet and they've only got three weeks left to go. After a run in with the neighbor girl, Penny, Dodge decides that he's going to go find his high school sweetheart before the end. That night, however, jump starts the journey when riots break out in the city. Attempting to get out from the fray, Dodge, a stray dog named Sorry, and Penny leave the city. Penny wants to get home to her family across the pond, but she missed all the last flights out of the country, so Dodge offers to take her to a "friend" that he has that owns a plane if she'll go with him to see his sweetheart. Penny is a free spirit and a hopeless romantic which plays off of Dodge's very minimalistic life full of routine. Along the way, they meet a trucker who hires a hit squad, a very "friendly" group of waiters, an Ex of Penny's who is prepared for the end of the world, and finally Dodge's father. As the two journey across state lines, they open up to each other learning more about themselves and how they plan to spend their end of the world.




The writer and director of this film, Lorene Scafaria, also directed several New Girl episodes and was an extra on Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Her cutesy apocalyptic style gives the film a very sentimental feel while still exploring the idea of how people will act when they know the world is going to end. Shout out to the dog, Aleister, who played Sorry and was crazy adorable as a sidekick to the great chemistry between romantic Penny and quiet Dodge. Penny is so open about her whole life constantly telling stories and explaining her thoughts. Dodge, on the other hand, never explains himself or where he came from. He just listens. The two of them find that they aren't really alone after all. They have each other, and that's more than enough.

Marion Dougherty

Sometimes you have to go with your gut. Not all guts are equal.




Every movie is just a bare bones script without the addition of talent to bring to life a two dimensional role. It is the job of the actors to bring that script to life. Who picks the actors to take on this momentous task? The casting directors. Marion Dougherty grew up in a small Pennsylvania town (my hometown!!) and eventually became the best of the best in the casting world. Before there was even a market for her skill, she was casting the Kraft Theater TV show. She discovered actors like Dustin Hoffman, Glenn Close, and James Dean. Most of her career went uncredited, but Marion Dougherty is the reason that casting exists today.


Before casting, studios would bring actors on through contracts. They would take these contrasted actors and give them weekly lessons and weekly salaries. Clint Eastwood was one of these contracted actors to a studio. However, once added onto a contract it was very easy to be stuck with the same type cast over and over again. "Oh, you played the doctor last time? Yeah do that again." The entire career of a contract actor to a studio depended on their first job with that studio because that is the type of character they would play for the rest of their careers. Marion had a different approach. She was originally brought on to work at Kraft Theater by a friend who needed an assistant. She quickly came up with her own system for casting these pieces. Instead of reducing actors to one sort of role, Marion would list any ideas that would come to her mind while they were auditioning onto a note card and catalogue it. These cards would hold details about their person, the types of characters she thought they could try, and who they most looked like. Marion's system worked famously as she was able to bring in a host of great actors to star as one episode characters on her show. She also loved to discover new film talent. Most of her favorite and most successful actors came from the stages of the New York scene. Marion would go from her brownstone office to a theater to see the fresh faces in hopes of finding one that could make her hair stand up on the back of her neck. That's when she knew she had a live one. It happened with Al Pacino, so she must have done something right.


Quite quickly, Marion shifted from TV shows to films with the help of George Roy Hill (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, and Slap Shot). George was a long time friend and confidant after their first jobs together casting The World of Henry Orient. After that first experience, they hardly worked without each other. Marion had an eye for who would work well together as a duo. She did so with Butch and the Kid in Butch Cassidy and she did it for the duo in Midnight Cowboy. Unfortunately, it was very difficult for casting directors to get any credit from the studios or the academy. Technically, their field didn't exist. Some directors didn't even like the title of the casting department heads. They believed that "director" should be reserved for them and them alone. Marion pushed on and eventually found herself working with a studio as their head of casting. That's how she got actors like Mel Gibson and Danny Glover to work on the screen together in Lethal Weapon. Studios didn't like how she operated though. They were moving in the direction of getting larger names, not better faces for the roles. Marion was soon booted from the company roster as they thought her job didn't help their cause.


So Marion may not have won any awards, but she did touch a ton of lives and changed the way films were made- with focus on the actors, not the type cast. That's pretty important now days. It's nice to know that a girl from my hometown could make such a difference.


For more information check out Casting By (documentary on Netflix) and My Casting Couch was too Short (book).

Stream of the Week- Leap Year

Thank goodness for superstitions and traditions.



Anna had a plan. She always had a plan. Her perfect boyfriend, Jeremy, and almost apartment were exactly what she had always wanted. But after four years, Jeremy still hadn't proposed. So while he went away to a conference in Dublin, Anna decided to take part in an old Irish tradition and propose to Jeremy on February 29th on the Leap year. Her plan was to get there in time to surprise him and be completely ready, however, mother nature had a different plan. After a storm, Anna's plan got grounded as did the ferry that was to take her to Dublin. She had no where to stay and night was fast approaching. Tired and completely soaked from the lovely weather of the countryside, Anna stops in a pub to ask for a taxi. Unfortunately, the only taxi driver around was the owner of the pub, a young man who from the start really rubbed Anna the wrong way. But she was desperate, So in the morning, Anna and the detestable Declan hopped in an old car set out for Dublin. Their trip starts out bumpy when Anna accidently gets the car stuck in a lake forcing Declan and herself to walk the highway to the nearest town. They miss the train to Dublin and end up getting stuck in a B&B where they have to act like they are a married couple in order to get a room. All in all, Anna starts to soften to Declan's opinionated and rough ways as he starts to fall for her over prepared commanding way. By the time Anna finally reaches Dublin, she's not even sure that proposing to Jeremy is the way to go.




From the writers of Maid of Honor, this romantic comedy takes the usual "hate you, like you, marry me" bit to a different location somewhat reminiscent of the Decoy Bride (a personal favorite). The Highland flair infused in the film is steeped with tradition and the simple pleasure of being content in the country. You don't always need a plan to be happy. The characters portrayed by Amy Adams and Matthew Goode appear to be complete opposites of each other which makes them perfectly suited for arguing in the beginning and well placed to change each other's lives.

Capture of Culture- Just About Famous

People think they're crazy. They're not. They're just crazy passionate.




There's such a large population of people who look like celebrities. They do parties, performances, and even funerals. Every year the Sunburst Festival is held as a place for all of these entertainers to come together and work on collecting agents as well as connect with other performers. Some of them want billboards with their act on them. Some of them just want to dance on a stage and give fans the chance to get close to their favorite performers. Either way, each year lookalikes flock to the Sunburst festival to congregate and perform. The lookalikes, or impersonators, are very adamant about one thing- they are not crazy. They take their looks and use them to start careers in which they can change the way people look at aspects at life. For the Bill Clinton and George Bush impersonating crew, their looks give them the chance to talk to college kids and real people about politics and the government. They have used their looks to become educators bringing important information to the masses in a different way. For the Madonna impersonator, it's all about performing for fans. People love Madonna, and she wants them to have the chance to have their Madonna moment. For an Obama impersonator, it's all about getting people to vote and become educated about local politics. They lookalike and use it to help spread the messages they find so relevant and important to society.




This film catalogues a few of the performer's journeys as they prepare for Sunburst and take their characters to the next level. Directors Jason Kovacsey and Matt Mamula expanded Just About Famous from a short documentary they made in 2010. They mix the stories that people have being lookalikes with festival preparation and footage showing the true life of an impersonator.

Stream of the Week- My Best Friend's Wedding

Maybe there won't be marriage, maybe there won't be sex, but by God there will be dancing.




After nine years of friendship and constantly putting Michael in the friend zone, Julianne must confront her actual feelings when she finds out Michael is engaged to the lovely Kim. It's all rushing pretty fast at her, and Julianne only has four days to fly to his wedding and break them up because she can't stand to have him love another woman more than he ever loved her. With her gay best friend on speed dial, Julianne rushes to Chicago only to meet Kim and realize that she's perfect. She has no flaws, and the one's she does have Michael thinks are cute. After multiple attempts to break them up through manipulation, Julianne thinks she has the perfect plot. She uses Kim's father's huge business as a chance to take a stab at what Michael loves- his job. She thinks that if she impersonates Kim's father in an email to Michael's current employer telling him that his job is in the way of Kim's happiness, Michael will see how manipulative Kim can be. But, the manipulation is all on Julianne's part. She confesses her love for Michael with a kiss that Kim sees, and she is forced to come to terms with the truth, Michael loves Kim, and she was just playing the bad guy.




This film directed by P.J. Hogan (Muriel's Wedding, Confessions of a Shopaholic) was one of the highest grossing films in 1997 as well as one of Julia Robert's most famous films (after Pretty Woman of course). The film was well praised by critics for it's spin on the genre by turning the main character into the "bad guy" until she learns her lesson. On top of that, there are spectacular performances by the charming Rupert Everett (great name) and Julia Roberts.




Personally, I can watch rom com's all day, but what I really enjoy about this film is how it doesn't exactly end the romantic way that we think it should. The resolution isn't ideal, but that is true to life, and that is all I can ask a film to be.

M. Night. Shyamalan

Signs


Reverend Graham Hess has recently lost his wife and his faith. His life was turned upside down when his beloved wife Colleen was hit by the local vet when he fell asleep driving. Her final words to Graham were "See. Tell Merrill to swing away." At the time it seemed as if Colleen was flashing back to the baseball games they used to watch to support Graham's brother Merrill. Merrill, no longer a baseball player due to an arm injury, has moved back home to help his brother Graham raise his two children, Bo and Morgan, now that Colleen is gone. Graham is busying himself with his morning routine when he hears his daughter Bo screaming outside in the family's cornfield. Alarmed, both Graham and Merrill run to the sounds of Bo and Morgan to find that in the center of their field, crop circles have been drawn in the corn. Hundreds of stalks of corn have been bent over, not broken, creating elaborate patterns in the corn from above. At first, Graham assumes that the crop circles are the product of a prank pulled by some of the teenage hooligans around the area, but the next night Graham sees what he thinks to be one of those boys on his roof. Graham and Merrill go outside to chase the perpetrator off only to find that the figure is twice as fast as them and can jump from the ground to their roof with no trouble. The manage to run him off their roof and into the cornfield. The authorities are called the next morning. Officer Paski comes to the Hess home to take down a description of the perp and explains that other strange things have been happening around the area. Animals are acting up; they get edgy and defensive as if they are being chased by a predator. Strangers have been seen in the shadows lurking around homes in the town. Similar crop circles to the ones in the Hess field start showing up all over the world causing wide spread panic. Many scientists start to theorize as to where they are coming from. Their conclusion? Aliens. Fascinated by the idea of aliens, Graham's children Bo and Morgan begin to read up on the topic drawing the conclusion that either the aliens are just making contact or they're hostile. Graham is still not a believer. Lights appear in the sky above major cities, and Morgan beings to pick up weird signals on Bo's old baby monitor which he believes is the aliens talking to each other. One afternoon, Graham receives a panicked phone call from the vet who killed Colleen. When arriving at the house, Graham discovers that this vet has found and trapped one of the creatures in his cupboard. Still not convinced, Graham attempts to observe the creature from under the crack of the door. The alien reaches out it's hand and tries to hurt Graham who responds by cutting the fingers off of the exposed hand. Graham returns to his home and tries to convince his family to leave the area, but they are unwilling to move, so instead they decide to fortify their home to survive the invasion. On the outside, people are battling the aliens trying to find their weakness. After a tense night hiding in the basement while the aliens try to find a way in, the Hess family thinks the coast is clear. It is not.


The Sixth Sense


Once a great child psychologist, Dr. Malcolm Crowe is attacked in his home by a former patient. Several months after the attack, Malcolm is recovered and shifts his focus onto a new subject who has similar traits and issues as the former patient who attempted to kill him. Cole, a young boy living with his single mother, is an outcast in his age group due to his odd behaviors. He draws pictures of violent scenes and wakes up with scratches on his arms. Cole is reluctant to talk to Malcolm, but after so tired of being scared and alone and having multiple episodes which take him to the hospital, Cole let's Malcolm in on his secret- he sees dead people. It doesn't matter how they died or where they are from, Cole is able to see them as they attempt to communicate with him. Cole is frightened, and rightly so. He doesn't know how to handle their menacing nature except to keep it to himself and hide. Meanwhile, Malcolm is dealing with his own demons at home because his once loving wife, Anna, has been ignoring him since the day of the attack. She spends her time alone and unhappy while the two of them pass like ships in the night. Malcolm is unsure of what he has done or how to handle the situation. Malcolm suggests to Cole that he listen to the ghosts that come and visit them. His theory is that they want to communicate a message and will leave him alone once their final wishes are completed. Cole is frightened, but attempts it. He is able to help some of the ghosts that come to visit him. Their problems make them less frightening to Cole, but their presence is still unsettling and will remain to haunt him forever. Now comfortable facing his own issues, Cole discovers something about Malcolm that explains his odd predicament with both Anna and the physical world in general.


Unbreakable


Elijah Price has been plagued with a type of disease that makes his bones very brittle and able to break all his life. His medical conditions have limited in him in every way, but his obsession with comic books and super heroes have been an escape from his person issues. After every disaster, Elijah looks for some sort of sign to prove that superheroes are real- one survivor in a deadly accident. Hotel fires and train wrecks have all been extensively researched by Elijah in hopes of finding a survivor. That survivor is David. David is the lone survivor of a massive train accident and he leaves without a scratch. Now on his radar, Elijah attempts to contact David to see if he is the real McCoy. At first, David doesn't believe Elijah's crackpot theories about him being a superhero, but soon David realizes that he's never taken a sick day at work and has never had an injury except for one that he fabricated in order to stop playing football and be with his high sweetheart. Elijah also get the idea of David being a superhero into the head of David's son, Joseph. Joseph becomes convinced that David is a superhero and attempts to prove it by pulling a gun on his dad. David is not convinced and has to talk David down from shooting him. But in the back of David's mind, the idea of being a superhuman is even more pronounced. People brush past him and he is able to see what they have just done, like visions in his mind. David goes to a crowded station in order to test his strengths. A man brushes past him that puts a vision of a family in trouble in his mind, so David follows him. David fights both the assailant and his greatest weakness- his inability to swim, in order to save the family. His triumph does not go unnoticed. He visits Elijah to speak over his work, but quickly finds that Elijah's attempts to find someone like David were not entirely research only. Elijah himself caused many of the accidents he looked through in order to find David.


The Village
For years, the inhabitants of Covington Woods had been undisturbed by those who were not talked about. These who were not discussed were creatures who lived in the woods striking fear into the hearts of the inhabitants of the village. Without modern technology, the people in the village are susceptible to illness. After the death of a young village boy, Lucius Hunt a council member's son offers, to go through the woods to a "town" in order to collect medicine that could save lives in the future. The Council members, however, deny him permission. The village members know that Lucius would go to the woods and be attacked and never return if he were to come across one of those who are not talked about. His request is forgotten and life continues. The creatures, however, start to creep into the village leaving behind dead and skinned animals as warnings to the members of the village not to venture into the woods. It appears as if there are many secrets surrounding these killings. Meanwhile, Ivy Walker, a blind daughter of another council member, grows close to Lucius. She knows that he loves her, but is too shy to say so. Ivy knows that no matter what Lucius will protect her. So when the creatures invade the village one night, Ivy waits patiently in the open with her hand outstretched hoping that Lucius will be there to take it. She is almost attacked by a creature, but her instincts are right and Lucius saves her in the nick of time. Ivy is a kind soul with no fear. She takes care of everyone, including Noah, a young man who has a developmental disability and often gets himself in trouble. It is Ivy's close friendship that leads to an issue with Lucius. After Lucius and Ivy announce their engagement, Noah is confused and outraged. He goes to the home of Lucius and stabs him in anger. Lucius could die without proper medication prompting Ivy to ask her father for permission to go out into the woods to find a town with medication that can save Lucius. Before he can send her on her way, Ivy's father tells her the deepest secret of the Village. It's all a farce. The creatures are a fabrication of suits and sound effects created by the council members. The creatures are the only things keeping all those inhabiting the village within the village limits. Outside of this controlled area, all the world is in turmoil. Every day, dozens of people die due to violence and human angst. The Walkers as well as all the other council members were plagued with heartache before the inception of the village. Their hardships in the real world made them decide to fabricate a simpler one in which their children and grandchildren would be safe to grow. Armed with the knowledge that all she fears is a lie, Ivy takes her journey through the woods. It is Ivy's bravery and love that make her able to venture into a totally different world, get the needed medicines, and return to Covington to keep all of the fellow village members safe from the violence of the outside world.


Lady in the Water
Maintenance man of a condominium Cleveland has never felt important. He does not feel as though he has a purpose. One night when prowling around the pool looking for anyone breaking the rules of being in after dark, Cleveland falls into the pool. When he wakes up, he's been dragged into his home just off the pool by a strange girl who is now wearing one of his dress shirts. She is obviously distressed and does not want to talk about who she is or where she came from, but she is frightened so Cleveland lets her stay a bit longer. After some time has passed, Cleveland decides he needs to get her home that night. He attempts to take her outside, but when he gets near the water, a large dog like beast covered in grass tries to attack him and the girl, whose name Cleveland soon discovers is Story. Story says that she is a narf, but Cleveland doesn't know what that means so he asks one of his tenants about the word, and she tells him it is part of an ancient bed time story.  Over the next few days Cleveland tries to get the rest of the story about the narfs, who are sea nymphs, out of the mother of his tenant. He learns that Story has been sent to the human world by her people to give inspiration to an important person, known as the vessel, in order to spark change in the world. Story knows that her vessel is a writer who will write a very important book that will one day inspire a great leader. Armed with this knowledge, Cleveland sets out to find Story's vessel in his apartment buildings. After several tries, he finds out that one of his tenants, Vick, is writing a political book that story tells him will change the course of history. Now that Story has met and inspired Vick to continue writing, it is time for her to return home. However, the beast in the grass is constantly prowling the area making it impossible for Story to get picked up by the "great eagle" that is to carry her back to her world. Other characters in the bed time story are defined in roles that will help a narf get home. Story's group of people are all tenants in the building that do mundane things as defined by society, but make them perfect for helping Story make it back to her home.


The character of Mr. Farber is a film critic. It is his commentary on the simplistic and unoriginal plot of modern day films that leads to Cleveland's finding of the people that help Story. His end, though hilarious, appears to be a stab at the critics of Shyamalan's work, as if he can kill of their words by killing off their character. The character is cynical and monotone. His opinions are generic as he talks about the unoriginality of films because they appear to be the same as many modern day critics. However, Shyamalan gives them an entirely original script such as this one, and they still won't be satisfied.


Like many of Shyamalan's films, this story presents the idea that everyone of us is destined to do something. Nothing is an accident. This film was nominated (and won) quite a few "worst" awards for actors, direction, screenplay etc. as did Signs and The Village. Shyamalan's direction with these films came across as confusing to audiences and critics, but they didn't see the bigger picture. All of Shyamalan's scripts were all ways to tell us the same thing- there is a path that we are on predetermined for us, and none of us can survive if those around us are not on their paths. For example, in Signs, the character of Merrill is noted as a baseball player. He holds the records for the most strikeouts in the minor league, but in his defense he said "it felt wrong not to swing". As the Reverend's wife is dying, she tells her husband that Merrill is to swing away. At the time, Graham doesn't see anything in it except maybe a memory that is resurfacing in her mind. But it is that phrase that prompts him to tell Merrill to swing away and eventually take down the alien that is still in the house. In The Village, Ivy's character is blind. This may appear as a handicap to others, but in truth it makes her stronger because she cannot be afraid of what she sees. This makes her the only person who can successfully go to the towns and retrieve the proper medicine. Each trait held by these people is part of the path that takes them to where they need to be in order to reach "enlightenment" or the end of the film. It comes across as social commentary to me.


Shyamalan is consistent in some of the ways he writes and shoots his films. For starters, he's in all of them as a minor character, which some attribute to an admiration for director Alfred Hitchcock (Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds) who did the same. Shyamalan also uses a technique in Signs, The Village, and Lady in the Water that connects the three. This is his use of reflections to show information that surprises the audience. In Signs, the TV is brought into the room after the attack to reflect an alien in the living room (a jump scare for sure, I'm still terrified that one day it will happen to me). In The Village, Shyamalan's character is revealed using the reflection of his face in the glass door of the medicine cabinet. In Lady in the Water, the eyes of a snark, or the grass dog, are reflected in the door of a washing machine.
His new direction is not something I am looking forward to, but the track record of Shyamalan is better than most would assume. There was a time when he could make gold.

Stream of the Week- Bandslam

Dear David Bowie,




If Manhattan and Annie Hall are love letters to New York, then Bandslam is a love letter to the power of music. Will Burton has been bullied by all the kids in his school since his dad got a DWI and hit a kid walking home from school with his car. In his solitude, Will has become an expert in all things music. His mom gets a new job in New Jersey which takes Will to a new school. On his first day, Will hears about an event called Bandslam which is a yearly contest between high school bands around the area all competing for a record deal. Early on in his first week, Will meets senior Charlotte. She asks him to help her with an after school day care program, and, once she hears he knows about music, she asks Will to listen to her band which is trying to go up against the school favorite band Glory Dogs in Bandslam. Will thinks the passion is great, but the band is in rough shape considering they don't have a drummer or even a useable name. Will begins to work his managerial magic and finds the band a drummer. He also wants a fuller sound, so he brings in some side players to bring a brassy, mellow sound to the group which he has aptly named I Can't Go On, I'll Go On. As Will becomes more comfortable in his new school, he begins to spend some time with a girl in his human studies course, Sa5m (the 5 is silent). The two become close, but Sa5m tells Will about Charlotte's strange past. The year before, she was a cheerleading captain and jr. prom queen. It doesn't really make sense for her to have given all that up so suddenly to start working at a day care and hang out with weirdo musicians like Will and the band. Right before Bandslam, Charlotte's dad dies exposing her real reasons for her life change- her dad hated the way she was when she was popular. He didn't like the way she treated kids like Will before, so she changed her lifestyle to appease him. With him gone, though, she has no reason to continue with the band so she drops out. This leaves I Can't Go On, I'll Go On without a singer for Bandslam. There's no telling how they'll pull it off.




From the screenwriter of D.U.F.F., Bandslam is like an updated version of School of Rock for high school kids. There is a clear connection of transcending all stereotypes and music. No matter what issues the kids have before, they can all be equals when they go out on that stage. Sa5m is played by Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical, Beastly) and plays the opposite of Charlotte played by Aly Michalka (Cowbells, Easy A). Sa5m is the gothic former stutterer who is an unlikely match to Charlotte's super up front demeanor. The two play off each other when it comes to getting the attention of Will. He is fascinated by the sheer coolness of Charlotte and the fact that she is a senior talking to him, the new kid. But when he realizes that Charlotte is playing him for her dad's sake, his alliances swing pretty quickly to what he knows is real- Sa5m's steady personality. It's a great story about growing up and becoming who you are through the power of music (as cliché as that sounds).