“Really, really ... I’m the other guy. The other one,” a perturbed Samuel L. Jackson shouted to a Los Angeles TV entertainment reporter who confused him with actor Laurence Fishburne. Was Jackson’s righteous indignation really justified? The embarrassed reporter did…
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With wealth and fame come awareness: of new and more of everything -- possessions, pleasures, pretentions. On rare occasions, though, there’s another, more profound sense of awareness: of self. The kind of awareness that can be humbling when internalized and…
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This is an old story with a new plot twist: Add to Hollywood’s well-documented biases against woman and minorities a new category: older adults. More confirmation than revelation, ageism exists in the entertainment industry, according to a comprehensive study of…
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Incongruence is a beautiful thing. “I Love To Love (But My Baby Loves To Dance)” was just another cheesy disco tune – liked or disliked by people for that reason. Until the Tina Charles song was used – had a…
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In an industry and town where humility is the most obscure of virtues, it was refreshing this September 18 to hear EMMY winner Rami Malek’s humble, gracious acceptance speech. The 35-year-old American actor earned the 2016 award for Outstanding Lead…
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Filmmakers are incredibly creative, except for when it comes to bad remakes, lazy sequels and incredulous clichés. Regarding the latter, here are a dozen lame things we see way too often. A character enters or exits a house and doesn’t…
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The film “Youth,” currently in theatrical release, is a hiccup in the otherwise promising trend in filmmaking of authentic depiction of older adults and the aging process. To make this miscue more disappointing, the film’s previews showed such potential: two…
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The characters in “Grace and Frankie” are not supposed to be the geriatric odd couple, but rather and simply, “very real people.” This is the goal, according to Marta Kauffman, co-creator of “Friends” and the new Netflix show starring Jane…
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“Hey, isn’t that ... oh crap, you know from that old show ... damn, what’s his name ... Alan Thicke?” “Nope,” your friend declares, and thinks, “Welcome to Hollywood, you rube.” There is a phenomenon that occurs with remarkable regularity…
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Season 2 of “Derek,” the extraordinary Netflix series created by and starring Ricky Gervais, reminds us again that comedy and compassion are not mutually exclusive. An especially poignant scene in the finale featuring Broad Hill Care Home manager Hannah, played…
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