5th January 2011
Hard Core
“When a 13-year-old girl can sit in math class, hide her Hello Kitty smart phone behind her textbook, and pull up such an extreme video in less time than it would take her to text a vote for her favorite American Idol contestant, we’ve certainly reached some kind of new societal landmark. It’s important, however, to distinguish between what has changed and what hasn’t.
Citizen Kubrick
“Stanley Kubrick’s films were landmark events - majestic, memorable and richly researched. But, as the years went by, the time between films grew longer and longer, and less and less was seen of the director. What on earth was he doing
19th December 2010
The Day Comedy Won
“In 2006, 30 Rock wasn’t the only NBC show focusing on the off-camera lives of the people who run a live sketch comedy show. The bigger, more highly anticipated, and frankly more popular show was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, from power-screenwriter Aaron Sorkin
17th December 2010
Winona Forever
“Winona Ryder has this problem, and as problems go it’s pretty solidly in the first-world category, she knows, but it’s a problem, still: She’ll be having a conversation with somebody—an interesting conversation, the kind two regular people have when they discover a mutual admiration for, like, Philip Roth’s American Pastoral or something. And then suddenly the person she’s having the conversation with will say something to her that reminds her that (a) she is Winona Ryder, the famous actress, and (b) nearly everyone she meets already has “this whole idea” of who she is, already thinks they know everything there is to know about her, more or less.
14th December 2010
Master of Play
“Whatever the interface, a great game invites and rewards obsession, and Miyamoto’s games are widely considered to be among the greatest. He has been called the father of modern video games. The best known, and most influential, is Super Mario Bros., which débuted a quarter of a century ago and, depending on your point of view, created an industry or resuscitated a comatose one.
8th December 2010
Danny Boyle: 'As soon as you think you can do whatever you want... then you're sunk'
“How do you follow a film that sweeps the Oscars and wins universal acclaim? If you’re Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle, you switch genre, downsize, work harder… As well as directing 127 Hours, a film that tells the true story of stricken climber Aron Ralston, Boyle is taking a production of Frankenstein to the National and overseeing the Olympics opening ceremony. And what drives such relentless energy and enthusiasm? A fear of mediocrity…
5th November 2010
Everyone Hates Ticketmaster — But No One Can Take It Down
“Started as an experiment, Ticketmaster has since developed a near lock on the multibillion-dollar ticketing industry. And the company is only getting bigger. Last winter it merged with Live Nation, the largest concert promoter in the country, which means that in effect Ticketmaster now also controls access to acts like U2 and Jay-Z and owns many of the amphitheaters in the US, including the Irvine Meadows/Verizon Amphitheater in California and the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York.
28th October 2010
Marilyn and Her Monsters
“With exclusive excerpts from the book, Fragments, the author enters the mind of a legend: the scars of sexual abuse; the pain of psychotherapy; the betrayal by her third husband, Arthur Miller; the constant specter of hereditary madness; and the fierce determination to master her art.
26th October 2010
Hollywood's Little Secret: Movie Purgatory
“Sometimes, studios change their minds about releasing a movie, even if it has already been completed. Films with big stars such as Matt Damon, John Cusack, Eddie Murphy and Mel Gibson have all been there.
