The “accidental racism” of Paula Deen; Curtis Mayfield as musical journalist; Stephen Fry’s ongoing struggle with depression; Rex Reed still thinks Melissa McCarthy is, oh, don’t make us repeat it, just read it; why NBC newsman David Gregory is what’s wrong with Washington; Richard Matheson at 20,000 feet; what the heck is an aspect ratio, anyway?
Peter Sobczynski eulogizes the late, great, astoundingly prolific writer Richard Matheson, “whose work in a career that would encompass seven decades influenced anyone who encountered, it regardless of the medium he was working in.” Includes appreciations of “Duel,” “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” “I Am Legend,” “Somewhere in Time” and many other works, original and adapted.
The future of affirmative action; what it means to be “Pro-Putin”; Jaws the Revenge, re-shredded; James Gandolfini, cautionary tale; Isadora Duncan’s forgotten art; getting to the bottom of that mysterious Mad Men poster; Roger and Gene rave about Star Wars on Nightline.
Table of contents for “Cut to Black,” a discussion of The Sopranos‘ ending and the future of TV drama; contains links to all six episodes, plus transcripts. Participants include RogerEbert.com editor and New York Magazine critic Matt Zoller Seitz, Huffington Post TV critic Maureen Ryan, A.V. Club TV critic Ryan McGee, and previously.tv contributor Sarah D. Bunting. And yes, they do get into whether Tony got whacked.
Part 1 of “Cut to Black,” a videotaped roundtable discussion about the end of The Sopranos and the future of television drama. This chapter talks about the shock of first seeing the Sopranos ending, and viewers’ reluctance to accept that it was meant to be ambiguous. Participants include RogerEbert.com editor and New York Magazine TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz, Huffington Post TV critic Maureen Ryan, A.V. Club TV critic Ryan McGee, and previously.tv contributor Sarah D. Bunting. Shot and edited by Dave Bunting, Jr.
Part 2 of “Cut to Black,” a videotaped roundtable discussion about the end of The Sopranos and the future of television drama. This is the “Did Tony get whacked?” episode, in case you’re wondering. Participants include RogerEbert.com editor and New York Magazine TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz, Huffington Post TV critic Maureen Ryan, A.V. Club TV critic Ryan McGee, and previously.tv contributor Sarah D. Bunting. Shot and edited by Dave Bunting, Jr.
Part 3 of “Cut to Black,” a videotaped roundtable discussion about the end of The Sopranos and the future of television drama. Participants include RogerEbert.com editor and New York Magazine TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz, Huffington Post TV critic Maureen Ryan, A.V. Club TV critic Ryan McGee, and previously.tv contributor Sarah D. Bunting. Shot and edited by Dave Bunting, Jr.
Part 4 of “Cut to Black,” a videotaped roundtable discussion about the end of The Sopranos and the future of television drama. Participants include RogerEbert.com editor and New York Magazine TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz, Huffington Post TV critic Maureen Ryan, A.V. Club TV critic Ryan McGee, and previously.tv contributor Sarah D. Bunting. Shot and edited by Dave Bunting, Jr.
Part 5 of “Cut to Black,” a videotaped roundtable discussion about the end of The Sopranos and the future of television drama. Participants include RogerEbert.com editor and New York Magazine TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz, Huffington Post TV critic Maureen Ryan, A.V. Club TV critic Ryan McGee, and previously.tv contributor Sarah D. Bunting. Shot and edited by Dave Bunting, Jr.
The four basic aspects of being a bro; the rarely-seen sic-fi film High Treason, seen in Chicago; that darned Sopranos, with its infuriating cut-to-black ending; why internships don’t lead anywhere; Mad Men sells sunny products, despairing drama.
Links to obituaries, profiles and appreciations of the late Sopranos star James Gandolfini, who died of a heart attack June 20, 2013 at 51. Cut to black, roll credits.
Simon Abrams looks at humanism in zombie films of George Romero, and how they’re carried forward in the novel “World War Z.”
Craig D. Lindsey is on the warpath against jerk cinema, in which arrogant heroes trample all over everybody and the film celebrates them as righteously awesome. Whatever happened to charm?
This summer’s Millennium Park screenings kick off with a dedication to Roger Ebert.
Suicide glamour and magazine-shaming; how American textbooks dumb down Vietnam; remembering the late investigative journalist Michael Hastings; why sex on the first date is not an inherently bad thing; the American vs. the French way of making movies; Love and Rockets covers, collected; Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street.
Roger Ebert’s birthday celebration, 2013: a Table of Contents.
Here are links to a small sampling of the thousands of tributes written about Roger Ebert since his death in April, 2013.
Asymmetrical journalism and the Rob Ford crack tape; Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring presents life as “an endless selfie”; James Lipton was once a pimp, apparently; Egypt solves the problem of how to censor “salacious” content by airing a sitcom with no women in it; Seattle’s Egyptian movie theater to close; dumbest beauty pageant contestant answer ever?
Why African-American poverty is not just another class issue; 5 myths about privacy; Samantha Power, journalist-diplomat; pot-grower to the stars; Lynda Obst on why Hollywood is “completely broken”; Google launches “Internet balloons” to ensure web access everywhere.
Sofia Coppola’s privilege problem; why “Happy Birthday to You” isn’t in the public domain; surveillance in America, and in the movies; five dictators who despise social media.
