Extra Criticum

Welcome to Pinkplot's "Extra Criticum"

Extra Criticum is a forum for commentary and dialogue about what's on the minds of artists working in the performing arts. That includes producers, designers, actors, writers, directors... anyone who's had a hand in the creation of theatre, film, opera, dance, music, television, performance art—you name it.
(Have we forgotten something? Let us know!)

Hating on PBS

Rolando wrote: "I know at least one E.C. author who doesn't much care for PBS."

You can't possibly be referring to this, can you?

Actually, I agree with you on the value of Bill Moyers and Frontline, as well as the occasional opera and Broadway musical on Great Performances. However...

Business is Down. Let's Increase Prices! Huh?

My mornings look something like this. I drag myself out of bed, throw on a t-shirt and shorts, walk a couple blocks to the gym to start the process of waking up. I finish this process with two things: a strong cup of coffee and The New York Times.

Yesterday morning—Heavens to Betsy!—when I handed over my dollar and a quarter, my friendly newsstand proprietor held out his hand for more. Say, what? The price has gone up another 20% to $1.50. Wasn't it just last year that it went up to $1.25? This got me thinking...

Mad Men: Father issues of a different kind

For me, the high point of this week's Mad Men was Anita blabbing to Father McDreamy—er, Father Gil—about her sister Peggy's illegitimate baby in the confession booth, in an obvious fit of jealousy over Gil and Peggy's new friendship. (Or is it more than friendship?) That synopsis ought to intrigue soap opera fans, though the episode is actually as slow and deliberate as most Mad Men episodes. There is the threat of someone "putting someone through a window," but repressed rage again wins the day.

I did like that Anita comes off as pretty sympathetic because of, not despite, her transparent trick in the confession booth. One of the great things about high-brow serials like Mad Men is the attention given to minor characters. We know that Don Draper (like Tony Soprano and the Fisher family before him) isn't going to change all that much from episode to episode, despite all the epiphanies and catharses they go through. But when an "incidental" character like Anita has an emotional breakthrough, it can feel genuine and permanent.  .

Dollar by Dollar. Brick by Brick. Why I Support PBS.

Our very own Andrew Altenburg invited me to contribute the first in a series of short essays for the Channel Thirteen Facebook page entitled: "Why I Love PBS." Since I really do love PBS, I didn't find the assignment difficult at all. I figured I'd share it with y'all. See if you agree with me or not. (I know at least one E.C. author who doesn't much care for PBS, so...)

Here's what I had to say:

One man represents the best that public television can be. Without question that man is Bill Moyers. The journalistic integrity he embodies may have been possible in various corners of the American media landscape 30 years ago but today, there is only one safe haven for this brand of truth telling and that is PBS.

Harold & Kumar - Hope for the Future?

Social criticism often has the problem of the rarified air breathed by those who write it. Written for small magazines by people who quote NPR and read foreign novels in translation, it tends to make generalizations about our culture while knowing very little what most people in that culture watch or listen to.

I’m all for rarified air and small magazines (don’t even get me started on the glory that is NPR). But I think you learn more about where our country is at from mainstream movies and TV than from what’s playing at Film Forum.

All of which brings me to Harold & Kumar.

Blogworthy?

I’ve been asking myself lately, what makes me want to blog about a film? Is every new release worth blogging about? Only new releases? Nope and nope; Extra Criticum is not The New York Times, thank god. Is it enough that I think it’s interesting or should it be interesting to others as well? The latter, no doubt, but to how many others? 5? 10? 50? 1,000?

With these questions and more on my mind, I present some films I’ve seen recently but that I did not blog about and why.

One Scene from Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Spoiler Alert for those who have not yet seen Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

I thoroughly enjoyed Woody Allen's latest—I must have guffawed a dozen times—but I should preface my remarks with a disclaimer. I am a great fan of his work and although I haven't loved all of his films, I never miss a single one because I'm always curious to see what he's tried "this time." Any director who's constantly pushing boundaries (his and ours) gets my vote.

There's one particular 30 sec. bit toward the end of the film that (to me) encapsulates one aspect of what makes him unique... and not just unique but also wonderfully so.

Chasing After That Ever-Elusive Premiere...

Chris Jones' Chicago blog, The Theater Loop has an interesting post about the ever-frustrating business of theatres and world premieres with a new twist. Steppenwolf, in an apparent attempt to protect the interests of a playwright, asked Mr. Jones to remove the label from a recent review of their developmental slate, called First Look Repertory.

If you ask me, this business of theatres arguing over world premiere claims has gotten entirely out of hand, and in my recent E.C. piece, I encouraged playwrights to rebel against it. See: How Full is Full?

The Bottom Feeders: Tolerate or Legislate?

There's an entire industry out there feeding off the hopes and dreams of naive young creative types and it makes me sick when I think about how much money these bottom feeders are raking in year after year.

In the old days this sleaze pit was less sophisticated. Mimeographed notices tacked to bulletin boards in high schools and public libraries, laundromats: "Become a Model. World-class modeling agency seeks new faces. Open call." Then droves of eager pretty young things would show up to hear an elaborate sales pitch. "To break into the biz, you need a composite shot by a top-notch fashion photographer. Lucky for you, we happen to have connections to a few who just might be willing to take your pictures for a few hundred bucks."

Today the con takes various forms, most of which are far more insidious.

Dip Your Toe into Classical Music

A friend just referred me to this wonderful lecture given by Benjamin Zander, conductor of the superb Boston Philharmonic, the oft-overlooked Cinderella to the more high-profile Boston Symphony Orchestra. His lecture borrows liberally from the teaching style (and content) of one of my favorite teachers of all time, Luise Vosgerchian, who was a concert pianist who went on to become the first female tenured professor at Harvard. She was one of my greatest music teachers and I may write more about her here some other day.

But in the meantime, here is Benjamin Zander's wonderful lecture, for which he owes a great debt to Luise Vosgerchian.  Click here for video.

Mad Men: Calm down and have some potato chips

Another sign that Mad Men is the successor to The Sopranos: Ratings for the AMC drama dropped sharply for the second episode of this season, suggesting that the massive ad campaign for the show could get people to sample it but not to become loyal fans. Mad Men, like The Sopranos, is more about mood than plot, and its habit of suggesting violence without ever delivering it must frustrate casual viewers.

Answers: Indie Film Lover Quiz

Here are the answers to the Indie Film Lover Quiz. Calculate your total to determine just how much of an "educated consumer" of indie film you really are.

Are you a Maverick, Smarty Pants, Optimist or a Drone?

"Swingtown" misses

Ginia Bellafante of the New York Times wants to know:

Someday I may better understand the mechanics of the millennial mind. Until then I will wonder how shows like “Ghost Whisperer” keep going and a series like “Swingtown” fails to catch on. A period piece on CBS, “Swingtown” nears the end of its summer run with a dwindling audience despite all the elements that seemed to point to its potential for popularity.

The answer is "a period piece on CBS."

"Intellectually disabled"?

From the New York Times:

LOS ANGELES — A coalition of disabilities groups is expected as early as Monday to call for a national boycott of the film “Tropic Thunder” because of what the groups consider the movie’s open ridicule of the intellectually disabled.

What was wrong with "mentally disabled"? It doesn't have enough syllables, I guess. Must be the same syndrome that, as George Carlin explained, turned "shell shock" into "post-traumatic stress disorder."

"An Educated Consumer is Our Best Customer" Take The Indie Film Lover Quiz

Most film lovers don't pay much attention to which company is distributing which film. But given the current climate for truly independent feature films in this marketplace, I'd like to suggest that they start paying attention. And fast.

To illustrate the point, I've put together a few multiple-choice questions about some of the current crop of films on screens right now. Take this simple quiz, tally up your score and see whether you qualify as a Maverick or a Drone.