Act 1. Scene 1. THE TOURNAMENT FIELD LORD FANCY and MAN are watching the tournament from the Royal Box Seats. Two armored knights fight with wooden swords; each defends with a wooden shield. On the shield of one knight is…
The Reader and the Writer
Over near the bar, THE WRITER stands alone, watching the people. He wears brown leather Topsiders with no socks, tan chinos and a Polo shirt under a navy blazer with brass buttons. His brow is furrowed behind dark glasses. He’s…
Bacon on a Doughnut
There’s a bakery around the corner where I often get doughnuts and sandwiches. It’s one of those family operations run by an Asian-American clan who have a stronger work ethic than any white Protestant I’ve ever known. They make a…
The Expendables
The movie ended. We were speechless for several minutes. “That was some messed up shit,” Dennis said. “That part with the shotgun?” I ejected the DVD and slipped it into the protective sleeve. Back to Netflix for you, you beastly…
Wonder Boys
(I originally wrote this review in 1995, long before there was a movie and the book became a bestseller. Back then I had created the first website for Chabon’s work, an archive of which can be found here.) A young…
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Three weeks into production, they let you know they need a rewrite. All the scenes in the last two weeks of filming need to be redone. The actress broke her nose and had to have surgery. “You can’t see the…
How to Eat a Banana
I’m a Hollywood monkey, so my favorite meetings are the ones with fruit. This is also why I like visiting the set: Craft Services usually has fruit, and there’s often a lot of it, because everyone else is eating donuts…
Day of the Goon
It’s a meeting. Two producers are already in the room, each of them with a manila folder of notes open on the conference table. The assistant holds the door for me. She closes the door behind me as I enter.…
Wag the Dog
Wag the Dog is a brilliantly conceived and executed satire of the relationship between media and politics. The film skewers the “politics as spectacle” that has come to dominate national politics. Conrad Brean doesn’t simply manipulate the truth – he…
Primary Colors and the 1992 Clinton Campaign
The opening sequence of Primary Colors telegraphs the central theme and concern of the film: character. Democratic Presidential candidate Jack Stanton moves slowly through a crowd, shaking hands with the people. In a medium shot that isolates his body and…
Politics as Spectacle: Cinematic Campaigns and Political Message
Lurking in the shadows throughout America are citizens who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000. I’m one of those people, proud to have voted for Nader (with the rationalization that I lived in a “safe state” – Washington – where…