Movie choice so far this weekend.....'Drive'

It was a toss up until the last minute, 'Drive or Moneyball?' For some reason I picked 'Drive.' Ryan Gosling is busy these days, isn't he? I just saw him in 'Crazy, Stupid, Love.' Not enough of him in that for sure. As a matter of fact, he's the reason I went to see that movie. Well, he's on screen all the time in 'Drive.' wa hoo. He's a quiet character in this film. Not a big talker. I like that characteristic. As I sat watching the look on his face as he drove the car, I was thinking about what another character in the movie said about him as a driver. He said, There's something special about him. I've never seen anyone drive like that. I'm not putting that in quotes because I'm sure I'm paraphrasing. You get the gist. But the look on Ryan's face when he was driving was so focused that it so easy for me to believe that he was the best. Anyone who can focus that intently on anything, has to excel at it. And he drives a lot in it.

The movie also has Carey Mulligan as Irene. Irene? That's a new one for a young person. Last time I saw her was with Shia Lebeouf in 'Wall Street Money Never Sleeps.' Lucky girl.

Stay tuned....I'm still going to see Moneyball.....but if you're in the mood for a bit of nail biting, some violence (ugh) and an interesting story that keeps you very interested, take a gander at 'Drive.' You'll like it!

A night at the movies. Met Ellen Barkin and saw 'Shit Year'

It was a very good night here in NYC. I went downtown to the IFC to see the film, 'Shit Year.' It stars Ellen Barkin and she was there to
do a Q and A afterward.

The movie is black and white and artsy. I liked it. The black and white
suited it perfectly. I can't even imagine it in color. It's very poetic. It was directed by Cam Archer.

It is about an actress retiring from the business and going into isolation. Ellen said that she related to that. She said that when you
get to be a certain age you think of what it would be like to walk away.
I told her that I hoped she did not ever decide to do that because she just keeps getting better and better. And I honestly mean that. She is
fabulous. The audience agreed. There was loud applause. :)

As a writer I hope that I can create wonderful characters for talented
actresses like Ellen. Someone needs to......

Contagion the movie of the weekend

My movie this weekend was Contagion. I saw it on IMAX, but don't think that was necessary. It's rather documentary style with a lot of people in it and a it
moves very quickly. If you're going to see a movie with Matt Damon or Gwyneth or Jude Law or Kate Winslet, you don't see so much of them. Lawrence Fishburne flashes in and out as well. Jude has some really funky teeth in it, but he's still beautiful in spite of that effect. If you're grossed out by icky things, there are some eye shutting parts. Ugh.. It's entertaining and it didn't make me anymore germ guarded than I already was (which is quite a bit). :) Made me glad I'm not a meat eater.....

9/11 A benefit performance 110 Stories a play by Sarah Tuft

On Thursday and Friday night there was a benefit performance at the NYU Skirball Center. 110 Stories. A play by Sarah Tuft and peformed by a marvelous cast of well known actors and actresses.

I'm not sure what happened on Friday night when I went, but the tickets were not ready. Huh? How can a box office not have tickets ready? I heard one possiblity was that trucks and other vehichles coming in and out of NYC were
being held up. Maybe that had something to do with it. I know there are a lot of men in blue out in the city all day.

This line formed outside of the Skirball Center that went around the corner. The Friday night performance began late and I was all set to cry once I began to hear the stories, being the wuss that I am. I did cry but the stories which were first hand accounts by a nurse, K9 handler, chiropractor, photojournalist, doctor, iroworker, chaplain, and many others  released emotions in me that stretched far beyond just sadness.

There was a row of chairs that stretched across the stage. In front of the chairs were stands where they stepped up and told their stories, sat back down, rose again, interacted with other stories, and so on. The huge screen behind them showed pictures from 9/11.

Cynthia Nixon began the play and Kathleen Turner ended it with a story from a regular New Yorker. In between telling these heart felt tales were:
Samuel L Jackson, Ralph Macchio, Stephen Baldwin, Mario Cantone, Billy Crudup, John Doman, Noah Emmerich, Jessica Hecht, Katie Holmes, Ben Vereen, Jeremy Priven, and others.

It reminded me of how beautifully everyone behaved in the days that followed 9/11. People on the roads were kind. Actually kind. No one raced to get in front of you. One of the story tellers brought that up. I was in Florida then so it must have been across the nation. Everyone behaved. How marvelhous. Maybe we could take a moment each day to remember how wonderful it is to feel that inward happiness that comes from truly wanting to be kind to others and actually doing it.

I took this one picture as I headed home. It's Katie Holmes leaving the center.

On Broadway.....'Love, Loss, and What I Wore

For an hour and a half of great laughs, see "Love, Loss and What I Wore." The play was written by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron and based on the book by Ilene Beckerman.

Clothes are the thread (tee hee) that tie their memories together.

All women can relate to the tales spun in this play. The words touch

your heart and your funny bone.

The cast rotates, but when I saw it the other night it was:
Marylouise Burke, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Ann Harada, Roslyn Ruff,
and Yeardley Smith aka the voice of Lisa Simpson.

It's showing at the Westside Theatre, 407 West 43rd.