Culver City was once home to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, old Hollywood style successes and has had its share of controversy, including the young actress who turned her back on Hollywood to join a convent. Dolores Hart, the first to kiss Elvis Presley on the screen and the top-billing actress in MGM’s highest grossing 1960 movie Where the Boys Are has come back to town, 50 years after her last movie. The former starlet left behind the glitz and stardom to... Read more
1961 – 2013 David Chase’s eulogy for James Gandolfini June 28, 2013 Earlier this morning, friends, family, and hundreds of fans gathered to pay their respects to James Gandolfini at Manhattan’s Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. Four mourners — Gandolfini’s wife, Deborah Lin Gandolfini; his assistant, Thomas Richardson; his acting coach, Susan Aston; and his old boss, Sopranos creator David Chase — delivered eulogies at the service. A transcript of Chase’s speech, which he structured as a letter to... Read more
I was very pleased and grateful to discover that my column (three pieces) had received a first place award from the Catholic Press Association last night in Denver for contributions in 2012. My pieces appear in Arts & Opinion in the National Catholic Reporter in print and online Media’s part in the Culture of Guns Bows, Arrows and a Sword: Girls rock this year in film Summer’s Independent Summer Road Trip National Newspapers/ Regular Column First Place National Catholic... Read more
What is Cortos Y Fuertes/Short and Strong? We want young people to tell their stories about immigration, how it has affected communities and lives, highlighting immigrant families, pride, hard work and dreams. This short student film contest is for everyone – we have all age categories and want you be creative and resourceful, even filming on a smartphone. This is an opportunity to not only have your voice heard and your work highlighted, but also have a chance at... Read more
Everyone is asking me if all the good parts of the new Superman movie, “Man of Steel” are in the trailer as so often happens these days. Let me assure you, there’s no way you can put all the best parts of “Man of Steel” in a trailer! A young man (Henry Cavell) works on a crab boat in the icy ocean waters of the North Pacific. He seems like a loner but gets the attention of everyone when an... Read more
The Daughters of St. Paul in Culver City and Catholics in Media are sponsoring a book signing event with Mother Dolores Hart, OSB, on Saturday, June 29, 2013 at their bookstore, 3908 Sepulveda Blvd, 90230. The event is open to the public, 1:00PM-4:00PM. Dolores Hart stunned Hollywood in 1963, when after ten highly successful feature films, she chose to enter a contemplative monastery. Now, fifty years later, Mother Dolores gives this fascinating account of her life in her book,... Read more
At the press day at Warner Bros. last Friday, May 31 It was a grand gathering of press, domestic and international at Warner Bros. in Burbank. The sound stage was set up with costumes and artifacts from the movie. I was only able to have a one on one interview with producer Deborah Snyder, wife of director Zach Snyder. It will be included in my review that will come out next week in The Tidings. Here are more photos of... Read more
Beginning in 1912 the UK began exporting children between the ages of five and fourteen to Canada, Australia, Zimbabwe and other former colonies. Their reasoning ran like this: the territories need white children to shore up the countries, there are too many children in institutions in the UK and they will have opportunities in these countries, and after World War II in particular, Australia had too many empty beds in their institutions so why not send children at risk,... Read more
I’d like to recommend my friend Dr. Pat McNamera’s Blog and his special series on Catholics in the Movies. So far he has posted bios about Nita Naldi and Maurice Costello who appeared in 280 movies. Fascinating stuff from my favorite historian of all things Catholic. Read more
A thousand year’s after human activity has destroyed the earth, humans have made a home for themselves on Nova Prime, a planet outside our solar system. Kitai (Jaden Smith) is in training to be a member of the Ranger Corps like his father, General Cypher Raige (real life dad Will Smith). Kitai, who bucks authority, lives with his mother, Faia (Sophie Okonedo) as they wait for the General to return from his many journeys. Kitai wants to earn his father’s... Read more
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