We know the “greed is good” speech by heart. We’ve committed enough of the dialogue from the original film to memory that, with the release of Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, the temptation might be to write off this sequel to Oliver Stone’s barbed paean to the amphetamine 80’s. But surprise: Stone has reinvented and updated Gordon Gekko, the rapacious securities trader played by Michael Douglas. The character we’ve loved to hate for 20+ years is back with what The Daily Beast’s Randall Lane calls “a winningly contemporary makeover” in a film whose verisimilitude owes much to two hedge-fund managers who helped make Gekko II — and Wall Street 2010 — all too greedily real. More in Movies>>>
For acclaimed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, the triumph of writing some of the more memorable movies and television series of the last 20 years (and the much-awaited Facebook movie The Social Network, out Oct. 1) is tempered by the pain of his battles with drug use — abuse he fights to keep in the rear-view mirror. “The hardest thing I do every day is not take cocaine. You don't get cured of addiction — you're just in remission." Excerpts from the W interview with Lynn Hirschberg. More in Movies>>>
Forty years after Jimi Hendrix’s death in London, fans and scholars alike are again re-examining his music, his persistent impact on popular culture, and his status as a trailblazer whose impact on rock culture sought to transcend the confines of racial identity. This even-numbered anniversary year of his passing has already seen a flurry of previously unreleased music and images, and there’s more to come before year’s end. More in Music>>>
Tyler Perry, the multihyphenate African American filmmaker whose work has generated as much anger as acclaim in recent years, returns to the screen with a film that promises to be a game-changer in the perception of black American women. Perry's Madea films have made him a target of opportunity of those who condemned its over-the-top comedic portrayals of black urban life. That's all set to change in November, when Lionsgate releases For Colored Girls, a screen adaptation of Ntozake Shange's celebrated stage play. The powerhouse cast includes Janet Jackson, Kimberly Elise, Thandie Newton, Whoopi Goldberg, Loretta Devine and Anika Noni Rose. If the acid, poetic, powerful trailer is a good indication of the film itself, look for Colored Girls to reawaken mainstream movie culture to the powers of black women — and the poetry and universality of the black experience — the same way Waiting to Exhale did in 1995.
It was probably inevitable: The most powerful social networking force in the world finding common ground with the most popular communal art form in the world. Social media meets the movies. More in Movies>>>
The TIFF file: In recent years, the Toronto International Film Festival has had a knack for being an early-warning system for films likely to make an impact on moviegoers. To Steven Zeitchik of the Los Angeles Times, TIFF (which started Thursday) showcases films that can be contenders in the Oscars derby.
Exhaling, years later The last time we looked in on Savannah, Robin, Bernadine and Gloria — the protagonists of Terri McMillan’s breakthrough novel Waiting to Exhale — they were facing down life’s challenges, four single black women in Phoenix, grappling with family and relationship issues and finding solace in each other. Fast forward about 15 years: In McMillan’s Getting to Happy, the best-selling author updates the lives of this quartet and the strategies each woman uses to cope with life in a new decade — the new decade of the wider world and their own new decades. Lisa Page of The Washington Post reviews. More in Word>>>
For about a dozen years as the guitarist for Led Zeppelin, his was the six-string sound of the hammer of the gods. Jimmy Page’s legendary sonic stylings — by turns blues-drenched and folky, whimsical and otherworldly — have become an indelible part of rock and roll history; at the end of the month, the guitarist (now 66 years young) publishes a 500-plus-page collection of photos tracing the Zep’s place in that history on the road and off. It’s a whole lotta book for a whole lotta cash: about 685 dollars U.S. More in Word>>>
In the months to come, Moscow will be the place to be for seeing a broad range of cutting-edge theatrical productions. With contemporary playwrights weighing in with several new works, and adventurous directors taking the helms of established plays by authors from Shakespeare to Stoppard, the 2010 fall theater season is already shaping up to be one of the best. John Freedman of the Moscow Times sorts it out. More in Stage>>>
A most un-American ‘American’ Almost from the start, you can see that The American, the moody, introspective collaboration of George Clooney and director Anton Corbijn, isn’t your usual actioner. Bill Gibron of PopMatters says it’s “a film destined to be loathed or loved by those expecting thrills … something completely different and unique.” More in Movies>>>
The landscape (or the battlefield) of television is about to get interesting: The online super-retailer Amazon is said to be at work developing a subscription service intended to bring customers TV shows and movies online, in a definite shot across the bows of Netflix and Google as they bid to dominate digital delivery of TV and movies — and steal a march on cable- and satellite-TV providers. The Wall Street Journal reports. More in Media>>>
Conan’s big reveal You’ve been asking, pleading, clamoring for the name of Conan O’Brien’s new show. Now it can be told to you. Watch as the man himself lets you in on the secret:
“Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” brought back trophies — how many times have we heard that before? — but young upstarts like “Glee” and “Modern Family” were also winners Sunday at the 62nd annual Emmy Awards. Cable programming continued its Emmy dominance, besting broadcast shows by almost 2 to 1. More in Television>>>
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We know the “greed is good” speech by heart. We’ve committed enough of the dialogue from the original film to memory that, with the release of Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, the temptation might be to write off this sequel to Oliver Stone’s barbed paean to the amphetamine 80’s. But surprise: Stone has reinvented and updated Gordon Gekko, the rapacious securities trader played by Michael Douglas. The character we’ve loved to hate for 20+ years is back with what The Daily Beast’s Randall Lane calls “a winningly contemporary makeover” in a film whose verisimilitude owes much to two hedge-fund managers who helped make Gekko II — and Wall Street 2010 — all too greedily real. .jpg)
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