Letters to the Editor
Mister Marker
Published Letters: 198 Editor's Choice: 7
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I See the Circular Firing Squad Is Still Operational
[Read the article: How did the T get in LGBT?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]When are we on the progressive-left going to learn that the essence of politics is compromise?? Barney Frank's bill is a bold step towards ensuring that LGBs have the same rights and protections as everyone else. If including "T"s is going to scuttle the bill, then they are going to have to wait. I'm a straight, white male, so I suppose I will be told that it's "easy" for me to suggest this. It's not, actually. I have and have had LGB friends and I have seen how they suffer, and I have watched some of those friends die in agony from AIDS, including one who died on the streets. I am certain that "T"s suffer just as much.
But if LGBs are going to get a foothold in this nation of bigots, this legislation is vital. I am for it, and sadly agree that the "T"s will have to wait. But I also strongly believe that the LGB community's first order of business upon securing these rights and protections is to word damn hard to see that "T"s get them as well.
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Lenny Bruce, Folks
[Read the article: This Modern World ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"I once saw a black guy's schlong. I swear it looked a baby's arm holding an apple."
One of his classics.
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If All of This Has to Be Explained In Such Detail...
[Read the article: The presidential primary scam]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...then the teaching of civics (or as it is sometimes calle, "Government") has gone right down the tubes in the 24 years since I graduated from high school. Aside from the recent developments, most of the "FACT(s):" in this article should be common knowledge.
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Correct Me If I'm Wrong...
[Read the article: Beyond the Multiplex]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...but isn't this version of SLEUTH a remake of DEATHTRAP, which was in turn a remake (or revamping) of the original SLEUTH?? Given Caine's involvement I have to wonder.
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Where Was Katherine Bigelow, Gale Anne Hurd, etc., etc.?
[Read the article: Chicks behind the flicks]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The former has directed numerous action films (POINT BREAK, BLUE STEEL, and NEAR DARK), the latter produced action films, some truly great ones (TERMINATOR, ALIENS). Why were they not even mentioned, expcept obliquely as "things started to change in the 80s"?
I think these clucking hens need to start thinking about why those two women have stalled careers, instead of crying in their beer. And Callie Khouri???? What in the HELL was that one-hit wonder doing on that kind of panel? Because she has a uterous?? GEEEZ....
This whole conversation just struck me as a very weird excercise in futility. Only one of them made a comment that also made sense: When women writer-directors start making movies that do boffo box office things will dramatically change overnight. And DON'T point to THELMA AND LOUISE. It may have been written by a woman, but it was directed and produced by men. Most critics at the time correctly surmised that it was really just BONNIE AND CLYDETTA, except instead of getting gunned down at the end they drive off a cliff. It was a very good film, but it was not a milestone for women in the industry any more than PRETTY WOMAN was.
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And What About Christine Vachon??
[Read the article: Chicks behind the flicks]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Independent producer par excellence, and co-author of the absolutely indispensable book Shooting to Kill (if you're a fledgling filmmaker you MUST read that book!). Ms. Vachon has produced or co-produced the following films:
Infamous (2006) (producer)
The Notorious Bettie Page (2005) (producer)
The Company (2003) (producer)
Camp (2003) (producer)
Party Monster (2003) (producer)
Far from Heaven (2002) (producer)
One Hour Photo (2002) (producer)
Chelsea Walls (2001) (producer)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) (producer)
Boys Don't Cry (1999) (producer)
I'm Losing You (1998) (producer)
Velvet Goldmine (1998) (producer)
Happiness (1998) (producer)
Office Killer (1997) (producer)
I Shot Andy Warhol (1996) (producer)
Stonewall (1995) (producer)
Safe (1995) (producer)
Kids (1995) (co-producer)
Post Cards from America (1994) (producer)
Go Fish (1994) (executive producer)
Swoon (1992) (producer)
Poison (1991) (producer)
And I've left out her lesser-known films. Ms. Vachon also puts the lie to the idea that a woman can only become a powerhouse in the biz if she's orthodoxly "hot."
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@Owen
[Read the article: Chicks behind the flicks]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You're kidding, right? While I agree that your clip reel better be damned good, if there's no one there to look at it when you graduate what's the difference? USC, UCLA, NYU, Long Beach State, The Academy of Arts College (in SF, Sofia Coppola's alma mater), etc. are always swarming with agents, producers, managers, D-boys and D-girls, and studio management at their respective senior festivals. A graduate from USC is almost guaranteed to get representation and a gig right after graduation; do not pass "Go", do not work in some shit job for five years while hustling for your break. Where you go counts, however harsh the experience. If PMS is attending one of these schools, she should ignore your advice and stay right where she is.
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That Was Cool
[Read the article: I heart commuting]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for posting it.
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Terrorists Could Throw the American Economy Into Chaos Without Shedding a Drop of Blood
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks to the idiocy of the TSA.
All they need do is have one of their operatives "attempt" to get on an airplane with a bomb made from a cell phone and a laptop. The TSA would, of course, immediately ban laptops and cell phones from all domestic flights.
Pop goes the economy.
Dumbasses.
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Is It Just Me, Or Is There A Giant Hole In This Biography??
[Read the article: "I only dread one day at a time!"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In 1995 "60 Minutes" did a full 30 minutes on Charles Schulz. In the course of that interview he admitted that "the little red-haired girl" was in fact a woman he knew when he was in the Army. She was a WAC, and he fell passionatley in love with her, and she coldly rejected him. He even produced a picture of the two of them from that time, though he honorably refused to name her. This rejection colored his whole life, and probably had a lot to do with his philandering later on, not to mention his depressiveness. As a man who was likewise rejected by "the one" early on in his life, I understand how Schulz must have felt (though I don't condone his behavior).
If that rejection is missing from the biography being reviewed, then it is thin gruel indeed. That rejection was central to Schulz's life, and I'm left to wonder what else was left out, and whether this biography is even remotely trustworthy.
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It Means the Tattoo Is On His ASS
[Read the article: Opus]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]GEEZ....