Synecdoche, New York (2008)

Synecdoche, New York is a 2008 American film written and directed by Charlie Kaufman. It premiered in competition at the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2008 and went into limited theatrical release in the U.S. on October 24, 2008.

The film marks the directorial debut of Kaufman, who is known for his screenplays for the reality-bending films Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation., and Human Nature.

Caden Cotard, a theatre director producing a version of Death of a Salesman in which he casts young actors in the roles of Willy and Linda Loman, finds his life unraveling. Suffering from numerous physical ailments, he is depressed and alienated from his wife Adele and is having an unconsummated flirtation with Hazel, the woman who works in the box office. His nadir is reached when Adele leaves him for a new life in Berlin, taking their daughter Olive with her.

At this point, Caden unexpectedly receives a MacArthur genius grant that gives him unlimited wealth to pursue his artistic interests. He is determined to use the money to create a piece of brutal realism and honesty, something into which he can pour his whole self. Gathering an ensemble cast into a large warehouse in Manhattan's theater district, he directs them in a celebration of the mundane, instructing each to live out their constructed lives. As the mockup inside the warehouse grows increasingly mimetic of the city outside, Caden continues to look for solutions to his personal crises. He is traumatized as Adele becomes a celebrated painter in Berlin, and Olive grows up under the questionable guidance of Adele's friend, Maria. Caden marries Claire, an actress in his cast, but their relationship fails to work and he continues an emotionally awkward relationship with Hazel. Meanwhile, a mysterious condition is systematically shutting down Caden's autonomic functions one by one. Caden's condition is symptomatic of a neuropsychiatric disorder called the Cotard delusion, which is almost certainly why the protagonist was given the name Caden Cotard.

As the years rapidly pass, the continually expanding warehouse is isolated from the deterioration of the city outside. Caden buries himself deeper into his masterpiece, blurring the line between the world of the play and that of his own reality by populating the cast and crew with doppelgängers. For instance, Sammy Barnathan is cast in the role of Caden in the play after Sammy reveals that he has been obsessively following Caden for twenty years. Sammy's own interest in Hazel sparks a revival of Caden's relationship with her.

As he pushes the limits of his relationships, both personally and professionally, Caden finds change by letting an actress take over his role as director while he plays her previous job as Adele's cleaning lady. He lives out his days under the replacement director's instruction, finally preparing for death as he rests his head on the shoulder of an actress in the play, seemingly the only person left alive in the warehouse. As the scene fades to white, Caden says that he has an idea for how to finish the play when the director's voice in his ear gives him his final cue: "Die."

The film is meta-referential in that it portrays a play within a play. The film title is a play on Schenectady, New York, where some of the film is set. Synecdoche itself is a figure of speech that applies to the meta-reference.

This theme has been compared to the famous quote by William Shakespeare, "All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players."

It has also been compared to the music video for Icelandic singer Björk's song Bachelorette. The music video portrays a woman who finds an autobiographical book about her which writes itself. The book is then adapted into a play, which features a play within itself. The music video was directed by Michel Gondry, who has worked with Kaufman before. In an interview Kaufman has responded to the comparison, saying "Yeah, I heard that comparison before. The reason Michel and I found each other is because we have similar sort of ideas."

Happy Birthday

Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE, CStJ (born 27 May 1922) is an English actor and singer. He initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. Other notable roles include Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man (1973), Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Count Dooku in the Star Wars series, as well as Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Lee's most important role, according to him, was his portrayal of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998), he is, at 195.6 centimetres (6 feet, 5 inches), one of the tallest leading actors of all time.

Is a step-cousin of Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond spy novels. He has been married to the Danish model Birgit Kroencke (also known as Gitte Lee) since 1961. They have a daughter named Christina Erika (b. 23 November 1963).

 He is also the uncle of the British actress Harriet Walter.

A known cigar aficionado with a love for the Cuban cigar brand Montecristo, he once said "What are these? I do not smoke cigars such as these, I only smoke Montecristo!" as an answer to an offer to smoke a different kind of cigar. His Montecristo of choice is the No 1, a Lonsdale.

Lee has a longstanding personal interest in the occult, maintaining a library of over 12,000 books which is largely devoted to the topic. This is discussed in his autobiography, Tall, Dark and Gruesome.

Christopher shares his birthday with his old friend and fellow film legend Vincent Price - and the previous day is the birthday of his frequent co-star Peter Cushing.

Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus (14 March 1923 – 26 July 1971) was one of the most original and influential American photographers of the 20th century. In 2003 she and her work were the subject of a major exhibition: Diane Arbus Revelations that was organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and traveled to other locations including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2005. In 2006 her life story was the subject of a motion picture starring Nicole Kidman as Diane Arbus.

Diane Arbus (née Nemerov) was born in New York City into a wealthy family,  the younger sister of Howard Nemerov, who served as United States Poet Laureate on two separate occasions. She attended the Fieldston School for Ethical Culture.

She married her childhood sweetheart Allan Arbus in 1941. During the 1940s she and her husband began a commercial photography business. In the 1940s Diane Arbus took classes with Berenice Abbott. Their daughter, Doon, was born in 1945 and their second daughter, Amy was born in 1954. In 1955 she studied with Alexey Brodovitch and she studied with Lisette Model in 1956-58. Diane and Allan Arbus separated in 1959, and they were divorced in 1969.

In 1963 and 1966 Diane Arbus was awarded Guggenheim Fellowships for her project American Rites, Manners and Customs. During the 1960s, Diane Arbus taught photography at the Parsons School of Design, and The Cooper Union in New York City and the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island.

On July 26, 1971, suffering from depression, Diane Arbus took her own life, by ingesting pills and slashing herself with a razor. She was 48 years old.

Famous photographs

Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York City (1962) — A scrawny boy, with the left strap of his jumper awkwardly hanging off his shoulder, tensely holds his long, thin arms by his side. Clenching a toy grenade in his right hand and holding his left hand in a claw-like gesture, his facial expression is maniacal. Arbus captured this photograph by having the boy stand while moving around him, claiming she was trying to find the right angle. The boy became impatient and told her to "Take the picture already!" This photo was also used, without permission, on the cover of punk band SNFU's first studio album, And No One Else Wanted to Play.

Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey, 1967 — Young twin sisters are seen standing side by side in corduroy dresses. One slightly smiles and the other slightly frowns. This photo is echoed in Stanley Kubrick's film The Shining, which features twins in an identical pose.

Leonard Bernstein performs Beethoven's Ode to Joy

Work Begins On Bond 23

from MI6

James Bond producer Michael G. Wilson has given the first indication that work is underway on the 23rd adventure in the series. At the Ivor Novello Awards held at Grosvenor House hotel in London tonight, Wilson told The Sun, "“We have started work on the new film, which I can’t say anything about. Daniel Craig is very keen to get going."

Back in December, Wilson hinted that preliminary work on a screen treatment could be underway in the New Year. Very little news on the film's status has been revealed until now. Fans feared that Daniel Craig's third outing as 007 may have a longer gap than the regular two-year interval due to the handover from Sony back to MGM, but news that the creative juices are flowing at EON Productions could mean that Bond 23 is on track for a late 2010 release after all. For that release date to be met, filming would have to start in January next year.

Also during the Ivor Novello Awards, Wilson was asked about he prospective talent being eyed for the next title theme song. "I would love to get Duffy to sing the next tune. I think she is wonderful. Amy Winehouse would be good too."

Both singers were under consideration for "Quantum of Solace", before Sony secured Jack White and Alicia Keys to write and perform "Another Way To Die" - the first duet in series history.

Daniel Craig talked the The Times in January and backed up his earlier comments that the writing process on Bond 23 can start with a clean slate now the story-arc from "Casino Royale" has been wrapped up, Craig said that the tone could be completely different too. "I love the idea of putting Moneypenny in the film," he said "I’m dead keen to do it. And Q. But I work from the premise that there are millions and millions of people out there who never saw one of the earlier Bond movies. So they don’t understand the martini gag. Or the Moneypenny gag, which is a gag - it had ceased to be a character. So, let’s find out who she is. We can have fun doing that. And, don’t get me wrong, I’m up for a submarine base, as long as the gag works. The problem is that Austin Powers screwed everything up. He exploded the genre. Did I just say that? I did."

The Lady Noir Affair - Chapter One

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Sherlock Holmes is an upcoming film based on Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson. 

The film began shooting in October 2008 under Guy Ritchie's direction, and will be released on December 25, 2009.

Set in 1891, the film revolves around Holmes and Watson stopping a conspiracy to destroy Britain. The film opens with Holmes apprehending the murderous cult leader Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), who promises he will return from the dead and exact his revenge as he is being led to the gallows.

In May 2009, Warner Bros. released its official plot summary:

In a dynamic new portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous characters, Sherlock Holmes sends Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country.

Producer Lionel Wigram remarked that for around ten years, he had been thinking of new ways to depict Sherlock Holmes. "I realized the images I was seeing in my head [when reading the stories] were different to the images I’d seen in previous films." 

He imagined "a much more modern, more bohemian character, who dresses more like an artist or a poet", namely Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. 

After leaving his position as executive for Warner Bros. in 2006, Wigram sought a larger scope to the story so it could attract a large audience, and amalgamated various Holmes stories to flesh it out further. Lord Blackwood is based on Aleister Crowley, which was due to Doyle's own fascination with the occult. The producer felt he was "almost clever" pitting Holmes, who has an almost supernatural ability to solve crimes, against a supposedly supernatural villain. Wigram wrote and John Watkiss drew a 25-page comic book about Holmes in place of a spec script. Professor Moriarty's existence is hinted in the script to set up the sequels.

In March 2007, Warner Bros. chose to produce, seeing similarities in the concept with Batman Begins. Arthur Conan Doyle's estate had some involvement in sorting out legal issues, although the stories are in the public domain in the United States. Neil Marshall was set to direct, but Guy Ritchie signed on to direct in June 2008. When a child at boarding school, Ritchie and other pupils listened to the Holmes stories through dormitory loudspeakers. "Holmes used to talk me to sleep every night when I was seven years old," he said. Therefore, his image of Holmes differed from the films. He wanted to make his film more "authentic" to Doyle, explaining, "There's quite a lot of intense action sequences in the stories, [and] sometimes that hasn't been reflected in the movies." Holmes' "brilliance will percolate into the action", and the film will show that his "intellect was as much of a curse as it was a blessing". Ritchie sought to make Sherlock Holmes a "very contemporary film as far as the tone and texture", because it has been "a relatively long time since there's been a film version that people embraced".

Filming began in October 2008. The crew shot at Freemasons' Hall and St Paul's Cathedral. Filming was done in Manchester's Northern Quarter, while the Town Hall was used for a fight scene (which required smashing stained glass windows). They shot the opening scene for three days at St Bartholomew-the-Great church in London, and shot on the river Thames at Wapping for a scene involving a steamboat on 7 November. Filming continued at Stanley Dock and Clarence Dock in Liverpool. In late November 2008, stunt man Robert Maillet was filming a fight scene at Chatham Dockyard in Kent, and accidentally punched Robert Downey, Jr. in the face, causing Downey to be bloodied and knocked down, but not knocked unconscious as originally reported. The Sun reported that on November 28, a tank truck caught fire, forcing filming to stop for two hours. When filming at St John's Street in December, the schedule had to be shortened from 13 to nine days because locals complained about how they would have always have to park cars elsewhere during the shoot. In January 2009, filming moved to Brooklyn.

Ritchie wanted his Holmes' costume to play against the popular image of the character, joking "there is only one person in history who ever wore" a deerstalker. Downey selected the character's fedora. The director kept to the tradition of making Holmes and Watson's apartment quite messy, and had it decorated with artifacts and scientific objects from the continents they would have visited.

The Most Dangerous Game (1932)

The Most Dangerous Game is a 1932 adaptation of the 1924 short story of the same name by Richard Connell, the first film version of that story. The plot concerns a big game hunter on an island who chooses to hunt humans for sport. 

The film stars Joel McCrea, Leslie Banks, and King Kong leads Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong, and was made by a team including Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper, the co-directors of King Kong (1933).

Famous big game hunter and author Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea) swims to a small, lush island, the sole survivor of a shipwreck. There, he becomes the guest of Russian Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks), a fellow hunting enthusiast. Zaroff remarks that Bob's misfortune is not uncommon; in fact, four people from the previous sinking are still staying with him: Eve Trowbridge (Fay Wray), her brother Martin (Robert Armstrong), and two sailors.

That night, Zaroff introduces Bob to the Trowbridges and reveals his obsession with hunting. During one of his hunts, a Cape buffalo inflicted a head wound on him. He eventually became bored of the sport, to his great consternation, until he discovered "the most dangerous game" on his island. Bob asks if he means tigers, but Zaroff denies it. Later, Eve shares her suspicions of Zaroff's intentions with the newcomer. The count took each sailor to see his trophy room, on different days, and both have mysteriously disappeared. She believes their host is responsible, but Bob is unconvinced.

Then Martin vanishes as well. In their search for him, Bob and Eve end up in Zaroff's trophy room, where they find a man's head mounted on the wall. Then, Zaroff and his men appear, carrying Martin's body. Zaroff expects Bob to view the matter like him and is gravely disappointed when Bob calls him a madman.

He decides that, as Bob refuses to be a fellow hunter, he must be the next prey. If Bob can stay alive until sunrise, Zaroff promises him and Eve their freedom. However, he has never lost the game of what he calls "outdoor chess". Eve decides to go with Bob.

Eventually, they are trapped by a waterfall. While Bob is being attacked by a hunting dog, Zaroff shoots, and the young man falls into the water. Zaroff takes Eve back to his fortress, to enjoy his prize. However, the dog was shot, not Bob. Bob fights first Zaroff, then his henchmen, killing them. As Bob and Eve sail away, a not-quite-dead Zaroff tries to shoot them, but succumbs to his wounds.

All That Jazz (1979)

All That Jazz is a 1979 American musical film directed by Bob Fosse. The screenplay by Robert Alan Aurthur and Fosse is a semi-autobiographical fantasy based on aspects of the dancer, choreographer, and director's life and career. The film was inspired by Fosse's manic effort to edit his film Lenny while simultaneously staging his 1975 Broadway musical Chicago. It borrows its title from a Kander and Ebb tune in that production.

Choreographing and casting for dancers for his next Broadway show, while editing his severely over-budget and over-schedule Hollywood production about a standup comic is getting to Joe Gideon. He is a workaholic choreographer and theater director who chain-smokes and chain-sleeps with all of his dancers. Without a daily dose of Vivaldi, Visine, Alka-Seltzer, Dexedrine and sex, he wouldn't have the energy to keep up the biggest show of them all — his life. His girlfriend Katie Jagger, his ex-wife Audrey Paris and daughter Michelle try to pull him back from the brink, but it is too late for his exhausted body and stress-ravaged heart. Decades of overworking and constant tremendous stress have gotten to Gideon. In his imagination, he already flirts with an angel of death named Angelique.

Gideon's condition gets worse, as after a particularly stressful script rehearsal with the penny-pinching backers, he is taken to a hospital with chest pains and admitted with severe attacks of angina. Joe tries to take it in his stride and walk straight back to the rehearsal, but is ordered to stay for three to four weeks to rest his heart and recover from his exhaustion. The show is postponed, but Gideon continues his antics from the hospital bed. Champagne flows, endless string of women frolic around and the cigarettes are always lit. Cardiogram readings don't show any improvement - Gideon is playing with death. As the paltry reviews for his feature film (which has been released without him) come in, Gideon has a massive coronary and is taken straight to coronary artery bypass surgery.

The backers for the Broadway show must decide now whether it's time to pack up or replace Gideon as the director. Their matter-of-fact money-oriented negotiations with the insurers are juxtaposed with graphic scenes of open heart surgery. They realize the best way to recoup their money, even make a profit, is to bet on Gideon dying — which would bring in a profit of over USD$500,000 — not bad in the crazy unpredictable world of showbiz. Meanwhile, elements from Gideon's past life are staged into a dazzling sequence of set-ups — himself directing from the hospital bed, while on life support. Realizing his death is imminent, his mortality unconquerable, Gideon has another heart attack. In glittery musical numbers, he goes through the five phases of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. As death closes in on Gideon, the fantasy episodes become more hallucinatory and extravagant and in a final epilogue that is set up as a truly monumental live variety show featuring everyone from his past, Gideon himself takes center stage.

The film's structure is often compared to Federico Fellini's 8½, another thinly-veiled autobiographical film with fantastical elements.

Cliff Gorman's role of a difficult and self-obsessed actor portraying a real-life notorious stand-up comic was seen by many as a personal rebuke to Dustin Hoffman, the star of Lenny. Gorman had originated the title role of Lenny Bruce on Broadway, winning a Tony Award for his performance. He had been considered a favorite to reprise the role in the film adaptation but was passed over for a "name" actor, Hoffman.

Gideon's rivalry with Lucas Sergeant is said to closely resemble Fosse's rivalry with Hal Prince, director of Follies and Company.

Gideon's rough handling of chorus girl Victoria Porter closely resembles Fosse's own treatment of Jennifer Nairn-Smith during rehearsals for Pippin.

Nairn-Smith herself appears in the film as Jennifer, one of the NY/LA dancers.

Jerry's back!

Jerry Lewis will star in the independent drama "Max Rose" for Lightstream Pictures. It marks his first leading role in over 25 years.

Lightstream is headed by producer Lawrence Inglee and co-founder Paul Currie. Inglee is a former executive with Mark Gordon with producing credits including "The Day After Tomorrow." 

"Max Rose" tells the story of a widower who revisits key moments in his life to unlock the mysteries of his marriage and family.

According to Variety, the film will be directed by Daniel Noah from his own script, and is set to go into production in Los Angeles this fall.

In Variety, Lewis stated: "We're going to show an old man who is driven by love and optimism, and by his love for his young daughter." 

Lewis last headlined a film in Martin Scorsese's 1983 film, "The King of Comedy," alongside Robert DeNiro. Lewis had supporting roles in 1994's "Arizona Dream" with Johnny Depp and 1995's "Funny Bones."

The Persuaders!

The Persuaders! is a 1971 crime series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most expensive of Sir Lew Grade's international action adventure series".

It starred Tony Curtis, as Danny Wilde, and Roger Moore, as Lord Brett Sinclair, two international playboys. Much of the humor of the show derived from playful observations about the differences between American and British customs. 

The show ended after one season for failing to make an impact on US TV, thus allowing Roger Moore to star in the popular James Bond movie series.

Despite the focus on the British and American markets, the show was popular elsewhere. It won its highest awards from Australia and Spain, while Moore and Curtis were decorated in Germany and France for their acting. It persists in the memory of European filmmakers and audiences, having been casually referenced in 21st century productions from Sweden, France, Britain and Germany.

The Persuaders! are two equally-matched men from different backgrounds who reluctantly team together to solve cases the courts cannot.

Danny Wilde (Tony Curtis) is a rough diamond educated and moulded in the back slums of New York City who escaped by enlisting in the U.S. Navy. He later became an oil business millionaire.

Lord Brett Sinclair (Roger Moore) is a polished Harrow- and Oxford-educated English aristocrat. He is an ex-racing car driver who addresses his comrade-in-arms as "Daniel".

(Curtis himself suffered a tough childhood in the Bronx, and served in the US Navy. He was 46 when he made The Persuaders, but performed all his own stunts and fight sequences.)

Now globe-trotting playboys, the men meet on holiday in the French Riviera, instantly disliking each other and destroying a hotel bar with their fistfight. Arrested, they are delivered to retired Judge Fulton (Laurence Naismith) who offers them the choice of ninety days in jail or help him right errors of impunity. 

Funny Face (1957)

Funny Face is an American musical film released in 1957 in VistaVision Technicolor, with assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. The film was written by Leonard Gershe and directed by Stanley Donen. It stars Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, and Kay Thompson. Richard Avedon designed the opening title sequence and consulted on the film, and Bill Avery was the still photographer. Contrary to common belief, only four of the songs are from 1927 Broadway musical production of the same name.

The plot of the film version is drastically different from that of the Broadway musical, and only four of the songs remain. Astaire also starred in the stage version alongside his sister, Adele Astaire. The choreography is by Eugene Loring. The movie plot is actually adapted from another Broadway musical, Wedding Bells, by Leonard Gershe. The original title for the film was Wedding Day.

Unlike her later film My Fair Lady, Hepburn sings the songs herself in this, her first musical. She performs one solo, "How Long Has This Been Going On?"; a duet with Astaire, "'S Wonderful"; a duet with Kay Thompson called "On How to be Lovely"; and takes part in an ensemble performance of "Bonjour, Paris." Her previous dance training is also called into play, not only in the two dance numbers she performs with Astaire but also for a Bohemian-style solo dance in a nightclub, which has since often been replayed in retrospectives of her career.

As was the case with many of her leading men, Astaire was much older than Hepburn. At 58, 30 years Hepburn's senior, he was approaching

the end of his musical film career, in this, the second in a consecutive series of three French-themed musicals he made in the 1950s. He performs a song and dance solo with umbrella and cape to Gershwin's "Let's Kiss and Make Up."

According to Hepburn, she insisted on Astaire as a precondition for her participation. Thompson, who usually worked behind the scenes as a musical director for films, makes a rare appearance on camera as Maggie Prescott, a fashion magazine editor. Besides her duet with Hepburn, she performs the solo number "Think Pink!" in the presence of a dance chorus, and Thompson and Astaire perform a comic dance duet to "Clap Yo' Hands." Thompson is perhaps best known today as the author of the popular series of books concerning the spoiled rich girl, "Eloise".

Astaire's character was loosely based on the career of Richard Avedon, who provided a number of the photographs seen in the film, including the stills for the opening credits, which were also used in the halls of Quality magazine. Probably the most famous single image from the film is the intentionally overexposed close-up of Hepburn's face in which only her facial features—her eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth—are visible. This image is seen briefly in black-and-white at the very beginning of the opening title sequence, during the "Funny Face" musical number which takes place in a darkroom, and when Dick (Astaire) presents it to Maggie (Thompson).

Nine (2009)

Nine is a 2009 American musical film directed by Rob Marshall. The screenplay, by the late Anthony Minghella and Michael Tolkin (although Minghella receives sole credit), is based on Arthur Kopit's book for the 1982 Tony Award-winning musical of the same name, which was derived from an Italian play by Mario Fratti inspired by Federico Fellini's autobiographical film 8½.

Maury Yeston composed the music and wrote the lyrics for the songs. The film is scheduled to be released in the US on November 25, 2009.

The principal cast consists of Academy Award winners Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, and Sophia Loren with Kate Hudson and Stacy Ferguson in supporting roles.

Sarah Vaughan - Day In Day Out

Barnett Plotkin's James Bond Covers

from MI6

In the early 1980's, American publisher Jove (now owned by Penguin) issued new paperback editions of Ian Fleming's James Bond adventures.

With the new publisher for the US market also came new cover designs from illustrator Barnett Plotkin.

Born and raised in Valley Stream, New York, Barnett Plotkin studied at Pratt Institute in New York City, graduating in 1952 with a major in illustration and two years post-graduate study in figure painting. He has worked in the field of commercial illustration for the past 50 years; this has included medical illustration.

Experimentation with varied media and styles has often inspired some of his most eclectic and satisfying work, without the constrictions associated with the commercial field. Among his many other clients have been Wrangler Jeans, Citibank, Prudential, IBM, Swingline, Hunts Foods, US Steel, P. Lorillard, Medical Economics, The Franklin Library, and Bantam, Fawcett., Harlequin and NAL paperbacks.

His James Bond covers were first released by Jove in February 1980, starting with "Goldfinger". Oddly, Jove published the titles out of sequence and only released the first eight Bond novels by Ian Fleming, ending their run a with "Moonraker" in July 1981.

Barnett Plotkin is a life member of the Society of Illustrators and the 1984 past chairman of their internationally-acclaimed Annual Show. His work was included in "The Art and Culture of the American Labor Movement," which opened in 1983 in the Staatliche Kunsthalle, Berlin, and traveled throughout the major capitals of Western Europe for several years. The artwork was originally inspired for a division of Wrangler Jeans and was most recently seen in a group show at the Smithtown Arts Council, Smithtown, New York and at a retrospective at the Society of Illustrators, New York City. It was described by the NY Times as "the embodiment of power without the need for words." Newsday wrote,"appealing in its very overtness." Many of his portraits, landscapes, and drawings are in private collections.

In 1997, Barnett Plotkin was honored by Nassau County, New York along with William Baldwin and Susan Isaacs as their favorite artists, actors and writers of the year. He has been a member of the US Air Force Art Program since 1968, and his work has been exhibited at the Society of Illustrators in New York, The Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C., The Pentagon, Andrews Air Force Base, and Dayton Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. In September 1999, The Society of Illustrators elected him Chairman of Government Services, with the Air Force Art Program being the major contributor.

Going out of my Head/Ye me-là

The Seduction of Claude Debussy (1999)

This album is, in my ever-so-humble opinion, the best album of 1999, and ranks in my Top 10 albums of the all times.

The Seduction of Claude Debussy is an ambitious 1999 concept album by Art of Noise, featuring a lineup of Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley, Paul Morley, and Lol Creme. Also appearing on the album are John Hurt, Sally Bradshaw, Rakim, and Donna Lewis. The group blended the music of groundbreaking French impressionist composer Claude Debussy with drum and bass, opera, hip hop, jazz, and narration, and described the album as "the soundtrack to a film that wasn't made about the life of Claude Debussy."

The continuity of Debussy's compositions is readily evident, yet the Art Of Noise has not held-back showcasing their own talents. The sound of the album is exquisite. Actor John Hurt narrarates throughout and the voices of the female singers used are near-perfect. Music and voice blend together wonderfully.

Only one song, "Metaforce", jarred me at first, for its style is markedly different from the rest of the CD. But even that track eventually sounds as though it fits in, a weird sort of way. It simply adds to the diverse, yet cohesive tone of the CD.

It is important that this work be listened to as a 'complete album'. It is not of the typical 'pop/single market' today, where one can skip to any track they choose. Do that, and this album will lose much of its beauty.

"The Seduction of Claude Debussy" is, quite simply, a complete, modern masterpiece. You will not find another one like it.

Maggie taks!

The Simpsons' baby Maggie has finally talked - and turns out she sounds a lot like Jodie Foster.

The actress guest-starred in the latest instalment of the long-running animated show and provided the voice for the yellow family's youngest member.

In an episode made up of various fairy tale-style stories, Maggie removes her famous pacifier to deliver an eloquent speech about babies' rights.

Maggie had spoken in a previous episode, when Elizabeth Taylor provided her voice as she said 'Daddy'.

Horace Walpole

Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), more commonly known as Horace Walpole, was an art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and politician. 

He is now largely remembered for Strawberry Hill, the home he built in Twickenham, south-west London where he revived the Gothic style some decades before his Victorian successors, and for his Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto. As well as the book, his literary reputation rests on his Letters, which are of significant social and political interest.

Strawberry Hill had its own printing press which supported Horace Walpole's intensive literary activity.

In 1764, he anonymously published his Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, and claimed that it was a translation "from the Original Italian of Onuphirio Muralto" on its title page. 

The second edition's preface, according to James Watt, "has often been regarded as a manifesto for the modern Gothic romance, stating that his work, now subtitled 'A Gothic Story', sought to restore the qualities of imagination and invention to contemporary fiction". 

However, there is a playfulness in the prefaces to both editions and in the narration within the text itself. The novel opens with the son of Manfred (the Prince of Otranto) being crushed under a massive helmet that appears via supernatural causes. However, that moment, along with the rest of the unfolding plot, includes a mixture of both ridiculous and sublime supernatural elements.

 The plot finally reveals how Manfred's family is tainted in a way that served as a model for successive Gothic plots. From 1762 on, he published his Anecdotes of Painting in England, based on George Vertue's manuscript notes. His memoirs of the Georgian social and political scene, though heavily biased, are a useful primary source for historians.

In one of the numerous letters, from 28 January 1754, he coined the word serendipity which he said was derived from a "silly fairy tale" he had read, The Three Princes of Serendip. The oft-quoted epigram, "This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel," is from a letter of Walpole's to Anne, Countess of Ossory, on 16 August 1776. The original, fuller version was in what he wrote to Sir Horace Mann on 31 December 1769: "I have often said, and oftener think, that this world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel – a solution of why Democritus laughed and Heraclitus wept."

In Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard III (1768), Walpole defended Richard III against the common belief that he murdered the Princes in the Tower. In this he has been followed by other writers, such as Josephine Tey and Valerie Anand. This work, according to Emile Legouis, shows that Walpole was "capable of critical initiative".

The Eye of the Beholder (1999)

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye." 
— Miss Piggy

Eye of the Beholder is a thriller movie starring Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd, based on the novel of the same name by Marc Behm. It was written and directed by Stephan Elliott, who directed "The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert" in 1994.

The film is a remake of Deadly Circuit (Mortelle randonnée) by Claude Miller (1983), with Isabelle Adjani.

The Eye (McGregor) is an intelligence agent whose current assignment is to track down the rich socialite son of his boss and find out what trouble he has gotten himself into. This leads him to Joanna Eris (Judd), a serial killer who is in a relationship with the son, whom she murders. The Eye is a witness to the crime.

At the Pittsburgh train station, where she commits another murder, he finally corners her and is about to call for backup. Instead of turning her in, The Eye, having gone through a messy divorce in which he lost custody of his daughter, follows her in an effort to save her. He hallucinates constantly that his daughter is with him, and comes to think of Eris as a vulnerable, lost child.

The Eye follows her across the country and through several murders. He soon discovers that Eris and her father were homeless and that he abandoned her, explaining her pathological hatred of men. When Eris helps a rich blind man (Patrick Bergin) in an airport, the two become involved, fall in love and become engaged, and it looks like they might even live a happy life. The Eye, who has witnessed all of this, can not bear to let her go, and is willing to do anything to stop her from having a relationship with another man. While the couple is on the way to the chapel for the wedding, The Eye shoots a bullet in one of their tires and the car crashes, killing Eris' fiancé. After a stranger (Jason Priestly) forces Eris to inject heroin when her car dies in the desert, Eris loses her unborn baby before fleeing to Alaska, with the Eye on her trail.

In Alaska, The Eye gains the courage to ask Eris out, as he is a frequent patron of the diner at which she waitresses. They have a few drinks in the evening, both getting emotional, and Eris mentions where she would like to be buried when she dies. She then says she has nothing to give him, that she is empty, and that he should leave her alone. The next day the police, as well as Eris' psychiatrist (Genevieve Bujold), come to the diner to arrest her. The Eye tries to save her, taking her to his trailer. There she is horrified to find out that he has been following her. She shoots him, although only with a blank cartridge. She flees and he follows her on a motorcycle, where he catches up to her, and she realizes he is the "Angel" who has saved her from every tight situation she has gotten into. At this revelation she crashes the car. She tells him she knows him as her "Angel". The fact he also survived being "shot" drives home the idea that he is her angel.

The Grass is Greener (1960)

The Grass Is Greener is a 1960 comedy film featuring an ensemble cast consisting of screen veterans Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Jean Simmons,directed by Stanley Donen. The film was adapted by Hugh Williams and Margaret Vyner from the play of the same name which they had written and found success with in London's West End.

Members of British aristocracy, Victor and Hilary Rhyall (Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr), are facing financial troubles and are forced to have guided tours of their House. When obnoxious oil tycoon Charles Delacro (Robert Mitchum) and an equally grating ex-girlfriend of Rhyall, Hattie Durant (Jean Simmons), visit, a love triangle (or quadrangle) develops and kicks off a tale of love, jealousy and other strong emotions.

The Grass Is Greener is a winning, sophisticated little comedy that, while no classic, is quite easy to enjoy. Donen sets things right immediately afterward, and delivers a stylish, elegant comedy that looks at marriage and infidelity in a manner that is both amusing and adult. Grass is serious about its characters and their predicament, but Donen expertly blends the serious and the comic to very good effect. Of course, he's helped enormously by a top-notch quartet of stars. That Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr can carry off this material with wit and charm is certainly no surprise. What's a bit surprising is how easily Robert Mitchum fits into the proceedings, and how alarmingly funny Jean Simmons is in a role that calls on her to be a bit of an exuberant minx.

Fred Astaire : 10051899

Richard III

Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 1483 until his death. He was the last king from the House of York, and his defeat at the Battle of Bosworth marked the culmination of the Wars of the Roses and the end of the Plantagenet dynasty. After the death of his brother King Edward IV, Richard briefly took responsibility for the safety of Edward's son King Edward V, with the title of Lord Protector. Later, he is alleged to have placed Edward and his brother Richard in the Tower (see Princes in the Tower) and seized the throne for himself, being crowned on 6 July 1483.

Two large-scale rebellions rose against Richard. The first, in 1483, was led by staunch opponents of Edward IV and, most notably, Richard's own 'kingmaker', Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. The revolt collapsed and Buckingham was executed at Salisbury, near the Bull's Head Inn. However, in 1485, another rebellion arose against Richard, headed by Henry Tudor, 2nd Earl of Richmond (later King Henry VII) and his uncle Jasper. The rebels landed troops and Richard fell in the Battle of Bosworth Field, then known as Redemore or Dadlington Field, as the last Plantagenet king and the last English king to lead his troops in battle on English soil.

Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591, depicting the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified as such. Occasionally, however, as in the quarto edition, it is termed a tragedy. Richard III concludes Shakespeare's first tetralogy.

Richard III is a 1955 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's historical play Richard III, including elements of Henry VI, Part 3. It was directed and produced by Laurence Olivier, who also played the lead role. 

The cast includes many noted Shakespearean actors, including a quartet of acting knights. The film depicts Richard plotting and conspiring to grasp the throne from his brother King Edward IV, played by Cedric Hardwicke. 

In the process, many are killed and betrayed, with Richard's evil leading to his own downfall. The prologue of the film states that history without its legends would be "a dry matter indeed", implicitly admitting to taking artistic licence with the events of the time. The film, as the play did before it, has contributed to considerable debate among historians who alternately praise or vilify the actual Richard III. 

Critics note that Richard's life and times were much richer and more interesting than the one-dimensional villain Shakespeare and Olivier portrayed.

Of the three Shakespearean films directed by Olivier, Richard III received the least critical praise at the time, although it was still acclaimed, and it was the only one not to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, though Olivier's acting performance was nominated. 

The film gained popularity through a re-release in 1966, which broke box office records in many cities. Many critics now consider Olivier's Richard III his best screen adaptation of Shakespeare. The British Film Institute has pointed out that given the enormous TV audiences it received in 1955, the film "may have done more to popularize Shakespeare than any other single work".

Richard III is a 1995 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, starring Sir Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., Nigel Hawthorne, Kristin Scott Thomas, Dame Maggie Smith, John Wood and Dominic West.

The film relocates the play's events to a fictional version of England in what appears to be a fascist-inspired 1930s. Albeit including many historical anachronisms, the film's timing is easily recognizable to viewers.

The film's concept was based on a stage production directed by Richard Eyre for the Royal National Theatre, which also starred McKellen. The production was adapted for the screen by McKellen and directed by Richard Loncraine.

The film is notable for its unconventional use of famous English landmarks, often using special effects to move them to new locations. 

Perhaps the play's most famous line—"A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"—was recontextualised by the new setting; during the climactic battle, Richard's scout car becomes stuck, and his lament is cast as a plea for a mode of transport with legs rather than wheels.

In a surprising ending, where Richard refuses to be captured and leaps down to his death with the "wrong" closing line "Let us to't pell-mell; if not to heaven, then hand-in-hand to hell", his falling into the inferno is followed by the eerily upbeat tune I'm Sitting On The Top Of The World (Ray Henderson, Joe Young and Sam Lewis) in the classic version sung by Al Jolson.

The film enlarges the role of the Duchess of York considerably by combining her character with that of Queen Margaret.The roles of Rivers, Grey and Vaughan are combined into Rivers. The death scenes are shown rather then implied as in the play, and changed to suit the time (Hastings is hanged rather than beheaded) or historical accuracy (Clarence is drowned in a bath instead of a wine barrel). Each character's pre-death monologues is also removed, except that of Clarence.

Novelists Horace Walpole, Josephine Tey and Valerie Anand are among writers who have argued that Richard III was innocent of death of the Princes. Sharon Kay Penman, in her historical novel The Sunne in Splendour, also portrays Richard III as a just and honest ruler and attributes the death of the Princes to the Duke of Buckingham. In the mystery novel The Murders of Richard III by Elizabeth Peters (1974) the central plot revolves around the debate whether Richard III was guilty of these as well as other crimes. A sympathetic portrayal of Richard III is given in The Founding, the first volume in The Morland Dynasty, a series of historical novels by author Cynthia Harrod-Eagles.

In spite of having died at the ago of 32, Richard is often depicted as being considerably older. Basil Rathbone and Peter Cook were both 46 when they played him, Laurence Olivier was 48, Vincent Price was 51, Ian McKellen was 56, and Pacino also 56 (in the 1996 film version, although he was just 39 when he played him on Broadway in 1979).

In a play within a play in Neil Simon's 1977 film The Goodbye Girl, Richard Dreyfuss reluctantly portrays Richard as overtly homosexual at the insistence of an avant-garde director. Dreyfuss' performance won him the 1978 Academy Award for Best Actor.

In the television comedy series The Black Adder, Richard III is portrayed by Peter Cook in an alternative version of history as a doting, kindly man who treats the princes in the tower with affection. He is unintentionally killed by Edmund, the titular "Black Adder" (Rowan Atkinson). His death leads, not to the crowning of Henry Tudor, but to the rule of Richard IV, who in the television series has grown up to be Edmund's father.

Skidoo (1968)

Skidoo is a 1968 comedy film directed by Otto Preminger, written by Doran William Cannon and released by Paramount Pictures. It satirizes the modern world and its creature comforts, technology, anti-technology, hippies and free love, and features the use of LSD.

The movie featured a cast of stars and veteran character actors, including Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Cesar Romero, Frankie Avalon, Michael Constantine, Frank Gorshin, Richard Kiel, Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith, Slim Pickens, George Raft, Mickey Rooney, Arnold Stang, and Groucho Marx in his final speaking movie role. It has a score by singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, who also appeared briefly in the movie.

The movie missed the mark with both critics and audiences, and bombed at the box-office. A soundtrack album by Nilsson was issued, along with a single, "I Will Take You There," but neither became a hit. The movie received some belated attention in the 1980s when it was shown on cable television, and the soundtrack was lauded when it was reissued on compact disc in 2000 (in the UK) and 2003 (in the US). Nonetheless, no official home video release has ever been made, and the movie is presumed locked away in the Preminger archives, as was Bunny Lake Is Missing for several years. 

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City periodically exhibits a 35mm print of the movie, and it was also shown in Los Angeles in 2007. Skidoo appeared most recently on cable, on January 5, 2008, on Turner Classic Movies as part of its TCM Underground movie series.

Writer Paul Krassner published a story in the February 1981 issue of High Times, relating how Groucho Marx "prepared" for his role in an LSD-related movie by taking a dose of the drug in Krassner's company, and had a moving, largely pleasant experience. (In his 1976 book The Groucho Phile, Marx commented that both the movie and his performance as the mobster boss God were "God-awful!") Most of the rest of the cast and crew, though, apparently had no familiarity with the drug; Nilsson (who reportedly did use LSD years later) confessed he'd simply pretended to be drunk for his role.

Dressed to Kill (1980)

Dressed to Kill is a 1980 suspense thriller/horror film written and directed by Brian de Palma. It stars Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson and Nancy Allen. 

The original music score is composed by Pino Donaggio. The film is marketed with the tagline "Brian de Palma, master of the macabre, invites you to a showing of the latest fashion... in murder." It centers on the murder of a housewife, and the investigation headed by the witness to the murder, a young prostitute, and the housewife’s teenaged son.

The film was the target of some backlash from the gay and transgender communities, who felt that its portrayal of transgender people was misguided and homophobic. The film is rated R by the MPAA and runs at 105 minutes.

Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) is a sexually frustrated housewife and mother, living in the suburbs of New York, who is in therapy with New York City psychiatrist Dr. Robert Elliott (Michael Caine). During an appointment with Dr. Elliott, Kate attempts to seduce him, at which point Elliott rejects her advances. Later that day, Kate goes to the Metropolitan Museum and for ten minutes without any dialog has an unexpected flirtation with a mysterious stranger. Kate and the stranger "stalk" each other through the museum until they finally wind up outside, where Kate joins him in a taxicab. They immediately begin to have sex in the back of the cab, and their experience continues at his apartment.

Later, Kate awakens and discreetly leaves while the man is asleep, but not before she rifles through some of his papers and discovers that he has a sexually transmitted disease. Mortified, Kate leaves the apartment and gets in the elevator, but on the way down she realizes that she's left her wedding ring on the stranger's nightstand. She rides back up to retrieve it, but the elevator doors open on the figure of a large, imposing blonde woman in dark sunglasses wielding a straight razor. She slashes Kate to death in the elevator.

Prostitute Liz Blake (Nancy Allen) happens upon the body and catches a glimpse of the killer, therefore becoming both the prime suspect and the killer's next target. Dr. Elliott receives a bizarre answering machine message from "Bobbi", a transsexual he is treating. Bobbi taunts Dr. Elliott for breaking off their therapy sessions, apparently because Dr. Elliott refuses to sign the necessary papers for Bobbi to get a sex change operation. Elliott eventually becomes desperate, visiting Bobbi's new psychiatrist and trying to convince him that Bobbi is a danger to herself and others.

Meanwhile, the police are less than willing to believe Liz's story, and she joins forces with Kate's son Peter (Keith Gordon) to expose the killer. Peter is an inventor, and he uses a series of homemade listening devices and time-lapse cameras to track patients from Elliott's office. They catch Bobbi on camera leaving Elliott's office, but Liz is being stalked by a tall blonde figure in a wig and sunglasses. Bobbi makes several attempts on her life, one of them being thwarted by Peter, who rescues Liz in the nick of time by spraying Bobbi in the New York City Subway with some homemade mace.

Finally Liz and Peter scheme to get into Elliott's office to look at his appointment book and get Bobbi's name. Liz baits Dr. Elliott by coming on to him, and distracts him long enough to make a brief exit and rifle through his appointment book. When she returns, Bobbi rather than Elliott confronts her; they are the same person. Elliott/Bobbi is shot and wounded by the female police officer who looks like Bobbi and has been trailing Liz. Liz recognizes the female cop as the tall blonde figure who was tracking her all along. Elliott is arrested by the police and placed in an insane asylum.

 It is explained by a psychiatrist that Elliott wanted to be a woman, but his "male" side wouldn't allow him to go through with the operation. Whenever a woman sexually aroused Elliott, "Bobbi", who represents the female side of the doctor's personality, became threatened and killed the source of contention. In the film's final sequence, Elliott escapes from the asylum and slashes Liz in the throat in a bloody act of vengeance, and she wakes up screaming, realizing that Elliot's attack was just a dream.