This is a really great film. And the more you know about cinematic storytelling the greater you will think it is. From the aspect of craft, Assassination is beautiful in all of the aspects that matter: writing, direction, performance, score, cinematography, production design, sound design. (That is, each of its parts its whole, harmonious and radiant (ie. communicative), and then the amalgamation of the parts is harmonious.) And then from the aspect of world-view, the film radiates a powerful and... Read more

Here was a basic outline for a talk I gave tonight in Cincinnati… ——————— In his Letter to Artists (2000) Pope John Paul II called for “a renewal of that fruitful dialogue that used to exist between the Church and the Arts.” Clearly, you cannot have dialogue without a forum, a message, and without a speaker. Our investments in Hollywood as Catholics should be geared to establishing and fostering all three of these. A “forum” – The Church in Hollywood... Read more

Here’s a little blip from this week’s Daily Variety. Amy Snow, the writer here, is an Act One alumna. Kudos Amy!_____________________________________ Paramount nabs ‘Kept Men’Spec comedy penned by Fellowship scribeBy MICHAEL FLEMING Paramount Pictures has acquired the spec comedy “Kept Men,” by Amy Snow, for Double Features partners Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher. Pic revolves around three down-and-out pals looking for a shortcut to riches, who flaunt their youthful assets at a charity auction in hopes of becoming kept men.... Read more

I am off to a conference in Wichita today, but I wanted to register a thumbs up for the latest Die Hard sequel now in theaters. Live Free or Die Hard is great fun with fleshy, funny characters and a great national crisis plot. It felt all too real that terrorists might disrupt our whole societal infrastructure just clicking away on computers. The film is a fun rush – losts of visual thrills, great stunts, and good fun traveling yet... Read more

Thanks to Karen Hall’s obsession, I got to see Wicked again tonight and I got even more out of it the second time. I find it very clever and layered, although Karen and I were fighting in the inter-mission over how many of the sub-plots and characters have a deeper symbolism. (I want to know what the animals being silenced ultimately means, and Karen basically responds to that question, “Oh, will you shut up?” I guess that makes me the... Read more

I really wanted to like Rescue Dawn, a movie now in theaters. I loved the director’s Werner Hertzog’s recent documentary Grizzly Man and was looking forward to seeing the same psychological insight brought to bear in the amazing true story of Vietnam P.O.W., Dieter Dengler. But, alas, Rescue Dawn was astoundingly uninsightful, as the incredible tumble of true story details crowds out any effort to actually create a story here. A story is something that has meaning. It is communicating... Read more

Christopher Close-up producer Tony Rossi has compiled a thoughtful piece about the real source of attraction in the Harry Potter saga for contemporary young people. Tony puts together the observations of writers nancy Brown and Mike Hayes to suggest that the reason harry is a hit is not because the stories are about the occult, but because they present a vision of community, and a sense of mystery, to today’s young people who are starved for both. Here’s a snip.... Read more

Here is a copy of a letter I just sent to someone who sent me a screenplay to critique. I am putting it here because, it seems, some messages bear repeating. And repeating. And, uh, repeating. ———————————— Dear __________________, Yes, as I noted in my initial message to you, you should definitely get Chris Riley’s book so that you can rewrite your project as a screenplay. I will tear up your check as my opinion is that my advice would... Read more

Don’t have time to do a full review here – but I wanted to add my belated “thumbs up” to the pile of accolades for the musical Wicked. I saw it yesterday at the Pantages Theater here in Los Angeles and found my self marveling because it actually has a story to go with all the wonderful spectacle of it. The story is good. And the charcters too. And while the music didn’t strike me as great, it is good... Read more

I have come to think of reviewing Harry Potter movies the way I ended up feeling about reviewing the last three Star Wars movies – with a sense of duty, but little enthusiasm. I have only read the first book in the Rowling series, and so I sense that I am watching completely different movies than the folks who are walking into the theaters with 2,000 pages of supplementary story information. My experience of watching Harry Potter and the Order... Read more