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The Kid Still Stays in the Picture (Robert Evans)
Tommywood was expecting a Hollywood moment. Publicity guru extraordinaire Michael Levine had arranged for me to meet legendary Producer Robert Evans at his longtime lair, Woodland, the former home of Greta Garbo. I turned north of Sunset Boulevard and, like William Holden, wondered what I was getting myself into. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate Evans’ accomplishments. Evans, the former head of production at Paramount, was responsible for "Love Story," "The Godfather" and "Chinatown" among many other classic films. He… -
Playing in Uketopia (Jim Beloff and the ukelele)
It’s Sunday night and a half-dozen people are onstage at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. Jumpin’ Jim Beloff and his wife, Leapin’ Liz, are leading the sold-out crowd as they strum their ukuleles and sing "Farewell." This is the climax to Uketopia, Beloff’s annual celebration of that four-stringed wonder: the ukulele. It is an evening in which almost a dozen performers, from 20s to 90s, including the self-declared "Mr. Ukulele," Charles "Soybean" Sawyer, Fred Sokolow and "King Kukulele," played… -
Most of the Best (S.J. Perelman)
Among the allergens being released this June is a remake of "Around the World in 80 Days," the Jules Verne novel that launched a thousand travel articles. Perhaps Jackie Chan will inhabit the role of Passepartout in a fashion that surpasses the achievements of Cantinflas, "the world’s greatest comedian," according to Charlie Chaplin, a person of no small ego or talent himself. That remains to be seen — or not seen, as the case may be. Although this remake gives… -
Breaking the Mold (Eric Lax's book on the discovery of penicillin)
Earlier this month I attended the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation research benefit for stem-cell research. Although James Taylor’s five-song set and Nancy Reagan’s acceptance speech were each memorable and moving, what I found myself thinking about most that evening was Eric Lax’s new book "The Mold in Dr. Florey’s Coat" (Henry Holt & Company, $25), about the story of penicillin. In the 60 years since it was first made available, penicillin has gone from miracle drug, to cure-all, to over-prescribed.… -
The End of 'Friends'
The last episode of "Friends" airs May 6, and while we may all express a collective sigh of relief at the end of more than a year of shameless hype and exploitation, it doesn’t mean that we can’t stop to reflect on this moment in American cultural history. Or that we don’t care about whether Ross and Rachel will get together. One may debate whether Marta Kauffman and David Crane’s "Friends" will join the ranks of comedy classics, but it… -
The Escapist (MIchael Chabon's "The Escapist" as metaphor)
Jewish history has tradition of escaping and escapism It’s Sunday and I’m rushing over to my local comic book store, Hi De Ho, in Santa Monica to buy issue No. 1 of “The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist.†If the name is familiar, it’s not because you used to collect “The Escapist†in your youth, as many people have told Mike Hennessy, the owner of Hi De Ho. Rather “The Escapist†is a fictional invention — I know that seems… -
Second Government (Bernard-Henri Levy)
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about French philosopher, journalist and filmmaker Bernard-Henri Levy (only in France can philosopher hyphenate with filmmaker). We had lunch about six months ago. At the time, Levy’s English-language edition of "Who Killed Daniel Pearl?"(Melville House), had just been published. The book had received a mixed response for its controversial thesis that Daniel Pearl was murdered because he was on the trail of a larger story, of connections between Pakistani security forces, Pakistan’s nuclear establishment… -
Sleep, Interrupted
I remember, as a child, trying in vain to stay up to see the ball fall on New Year’s Eve. In later years, high school brought concerts that went past midnight and college introduced all-nighters of the studying and partying kind. In the midnight hour came inspiration and revelation and dreams of new worlds to conquer. Back then, sleep was not an issue. Then sometime in my 20s, I suffered a bout of insomnia. For several weeks, I could not,… -
A Sunny Hungarian Rhapsody
As winter chill gives way to spring sun, it’s not too early to start planning a summer trip to Budapest. Budapest, Hungary’s capital, straddles the Danube, with historic old Buda on the hill, and Pest with its atmospheric 19th century and Art Nouveau architecture. In recent years, many of the Budapest’s historic sites have been restored, such as the Parliament building and St. Stephen’s Church, and their interiors are breathtaking. Part of Budapest’s appeal is that it is very much… -
Schindler's Impact (The 10th Anniversary of "Schindler's List")
In May 1995, I found myself in Lviv, Ukraine. My father died two years before, and I was there on a roots trip. I wanted to see the city where he grew up and perhaps unearth some of the information that he could never bring himself to share, such as the names and birthdates of his brothers and sisters, all murdered. I discovered his own real birthday to be a completely different day, month and year than we had always… -
Conal's the Poster Boy for 'Art Attack' (Guerrilla Poster Artist Robbie Conal)
You’ve seen them around town: a poster of a grinning, gnarly Arnold Schwarzenegger with red eyes and the words, "Achtung, Baby," scrawled in German Gothic type across his forehead. It may have made you smile; you may have felt it was in bad taste. Perhaps a bit of both. In any event, you probably thought: There goes the poster guy again. By now, even if you can’t name the artist, Robbie Conal, the style has become familiar: a black-and-white head-and-shoulders… -
Newman Cares (Randy Newman)
Are we the luckiest people in the world to live in Los Angeles, leading the lives others only dream about? Or is this the most unfair city in the nation, where the few are insulated from the harsh realities of the many? And what, you may wonder, does any of this have to do with Randy Newman? Those are among the many questions that came to mind while attending "Shock and Awe: The Songs of Randy Newman," a recent UCLA…