Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 108
March 29, 2014
Linda and Teddy
One of the great singers, Linda Thompson, a few years back, live, with son Teddy (who wrote the song). They are doing an album now with her ex- and his dad, Richard T.
When Leonard Picked Up the Guitar
Excerpt from new book about he's-my-man Leonard Cohen alleges that the gave key talk about the need to take his poetry into song in late 1964, speaking to fellow Jews in Montreal. Author reconstructed it from notes. Concludes:
As he finished his talk, the shouting began. His words about killing God, prophets as traitors, and the soulless rich enraged many in the audience. Some catcalled. Others demanded the time to debate. It was late at night, and the event’s organizers suggested that the discussion be continued the following Saturday night. Grumbling, irate, the audience scattered. The following Saturday, the library was packed once again. On the dais, rabbis and community leaders sat gravely, ready to chastise Cohen for his impudence. But Cohen was no longer there. He was in his small white house in the Greek island of Hydra, playing his guitar outside his favorite taverna, dreaming up a new way to tell his stories, training to become a prophet.Here's that wonderful 44-minute doc from earlier that year referenced by writer.
March 28, 2014
Dylan and Willie
One of Bob's truly great songs, and perhaps you have never heard this version. Dylan naturally left it off his Infidels album.
11 Years Ago: On Return of First American Bodies from Iraq
U.S. troops were now dying every day in Iraq--the first of more than 4400 in the coming eight years--and returning home at Dover, Del. This would soon become a flashpoint as the military would not allow photos or film coverage for many years--part of a general "coverup" of graphic images of war. Here's how the NYT covered the early days eleven years ago. My new book covers what happened after that in the long struggle for media coverage of this solemn event.
Friday Cat Blogging
Yes, it's that time again, kitties.While You're 'Biden' Your Time for 'Veep," Season 3
A lengthy preview of upcoming season. More Gary Cole, oh....kay?
Why no cameos from real politicians?
They get a lot of requests, apparently, but Iannucci insists that Veep stay separate from reality. “If a living politician — a recognizable politician — turned up, you then say, ‘Well, he’s a Democrat. So, is Obama the president?’ The whole thing starts unraveling….there’s a ban on politics in the show, actually,” he said. Simons added that the politicians who want to be on the show clearly think that it’s about every other politician but them. On that, they might want to take note: According to Simons, ”we’re definitely making fun of them.”
Why Bill Clinton likes Veep
Julia Louis-Dreyfus ran into Clinton recently, she said. He told her: ”Ah, I love your show,” she said. “You know what’s so great about your part?…No term limits.”
Ricky Reviews "Noah"
As if anticipating the new Russell Crowe movie...Gevais's stand-up a bit back...
Excerpt from New Book: Wild and Wilder
My new ebook, When Hollywood Turned Left, was published this week. Derived from my earlier The Campaign of the Century (which won the Goldsmith Book Prize), with new material, it focuses on the wild response in Hollywood--then controlled by conservative Republicans--to leftwing author Upton Sinclair winning the Democratic primary for governor, leading a mass movement, in 1934. This included the creation of the first use of the screen for "attack ads"--thanks to MGM's Irving Thalberg. The rightwing attack was so outrageous it sparked liberals out there to organize and Hollywood has titled left ever since.Here's an excerpt re: one of the most notorious aspects--almost all the studio chiefs docked their employees, from low-level to top stars, one day's pay to go for the slush fund of the Republican candidate, Frank Merriam. One of those who tried to protest was the young screenwriter Billy Wilder, who had arrived in the U.S. just recently. I interviewed Wilder a couple of times for this.
*
Stars in the studio system like Hackett and Cagney enjoyed certain
privileges. The studio bosses at least asked them to donate to the Mer-
riam fund before threatening to dock them. Some writers, such as Don-
ald Ogden Stewart, went along with the request. Less established figures
were given no choice in the matter.
Take the young writer Billy Wilder over at the Fox studio, for exam-
ple. Wilder, who was still trying to salvage Raoul Walsh's “East River,”
received his latest paycheck, normally $250, only to find $50 missing.
"There's something wrong," Billy said to the studio cashier in his
heavily accented English. "There's been a mistake."
"There was no mistake," she replied. "They took fifty dollars from
everyone to give to Governor Merriam. If you have any complaints, talk
to Mr. Sheehan."
Billy didn't know what this was all about, but he knew one thing: he
desperately needed that fifty dollars to make the rent on his tiny room
at the Chateau Marmont and to pay for his English lessons. He was
behind on payments on his '28 De Soto, too. In no position to approach
Winnie Sheehan, Fox's top man, he cornered another studio exec in-
stead.
"Will you please explain?" Wilder asked. "I'm just here on a visa, I'm
not interested in politics."
"Sinclair is dangerous," the executive replied, "he must be defeated.
The Communists want to take over."
"Shouldn't I have the privilege of making the donation myself?" Billy
asked innocently.
"No, the house is burning down," the exec said, "and we need as
much water as possible to put it out. That son of a bitch bolshevik
Sinclair must be stopped."
"And my hard-earned fifty dollars is going to stop him?" Wilder
wondered.
Billy was aghast. It seemed childish, foolish, and incipiently fascist at
the same time. And he knew something about fascism. He went back
to his office and asked his colleagues, red-blooded Americans all, what
he should do. After all, he was just a hick from Austria and unwise to
the ways of American politics. This just didn't seem like the American
way, as he understood it.
They said, "It had to be done," and "There's nothing you can do."
You can't fight city hall, and all that. Some of them agreed that Sinclair
was a Communist. Wilder said he knew a little bit about Sinclair and
he was not by any means a Communist.
"Oh, you're a Communist too?" one writer replied. "You better
watch it."
Wilder was out of fifty dollars and left with two conflicting thoughts
concerning the forced donations. One was: It may not be democratic, but
it's a brilliant idea. Maybe if businessmen in Germany had deducted fifty
marks from their workers to stop Hitler, Europe would be a safer place
today.
The other was: I fled fascism for THIS?
He Got the Silver
Extended "Daily Show" interview with Nate Silver last night. Link is here. Paging Paul Krugman...Also catch the Asif Mandvi on fracking...
