January 30, 2006
I have this strange cold right now it seems. It’s weird because usually I can pop my ears, everything drains and I feel better. This cold is strange and more intense. It’s as if something is blocked inside my head. I will probably go to the doctor soon enough, but for now I feel like total hell. I’ve been fighting it for three days, trying to stay home and get my rest. Nothing doing, it’s not going anywhere yet.
For now, I’m updating Scenestars a lot and trying to nurse this crud out of my system. Go over and listen to some new Neko Case, Dresden Dolls, The Raconteurs, Editors, Maximo Park and Belle and Sebastian. I’d recommend staying slightly outside my area just in case I’m contagious, I don’t even know what this is yet. Anyone want to donate some serious cold-killing medications to the cause? Feel free to call or email me. Your donations of useable medicine are welcomed and accepted.
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January 26, 2006
First of all, I’m late to the game on this but condolences go out to the friends and family of Chris Penn. He was a very talented actor and, as Winona Ryder said at Sundance, “He was much more than Sean’s little brother.” His work speaks for itself, and I was saddened to hear of his passing today.
Secondly, I got a piece of celebrity gossip in my Inbox from a friend seeking validation of its truth. I read the item, and sat there shaking my head thinking, “Who in the hell dreams up this crap and why?” All in a day’s work, or lack thereof, I’m sure. But to the nincompoop who dreamed up this piece of ridiculous misinformation, what was your purpose?
TIMBERLAKE RESPONSIBLE FOR RICCI AND GOLDBERG SPLIT?
Actress CHRISTINA RICCI split with boyfriend ADAM GOLDBERG after filming
with JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE made her realise she wants a boyfriend who is as
successful as the singer.
The MONSTER actress filmed BLACK SNAKE MOAN with Timberlake in his hometown
of Memphis, Tennessee, and the two became close friends.
A set source tells US Weekly magazine, “She saw Justin doing all that he is
doing and started to really like him. When she came back from filming she
broke up with Adam and said she wanted more. Adam is furious about it.”
The co-stars didn’t become romantically involved, but the friendship caused
Ricci to re-evaluate her three-year relationship with the SAVING PRIVATE
RYAN actor.
The actress has put the Los Angeles home they shared on the market for
$3.1 million (GBP1.72 million).
For sure it’s none of my business, but I can report with certainty it’s a bunch of total malarkey. Maybe I’m naive, but I couldn’t think of one “set source” who would waste their time coming up with this nonsense. If you hear anyone repeating it elsewhere, tell them it’s bullshit and then give them a list of better things to do than talk about Christina Ricci.
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January 25, 2006
Time to get your act together and get to acting! Tell a friend, but don’t sign up and then flodge or I’ll hunt you down like the flodging dog you are.
Oddly Buoyant Productions, makers of 2004 Indie
Memphis award winner “Automusik Can Do No Wrong”, are
currently casting their new movie. All sizes, shapes,
races, and sexes needed. Saturday February 4,
10am-2pm.
Media Co-op. 1000 S. Cooper. mail@oddlybuoyant.com
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January 24, 2006
I remember when my father used to, jokingly, call our local morning paper “The Comical Appeal”. Now that I’ve seen their recent handiwork, I’ve been outraged, like many progressives in Memphis, about the Commercial Appeal’s downward spiral into a conservative rag, frequently and openly portraying itself in a way that makes it unfit even to perforate and place on a roll for appropriate usage. Autoegocrat over at The Flypaper Theory reprinted the cover of Monday’s C.A. for everyone to see, along with a fairly accurate commentary about how the paper has devolved into a candidly biased and seemingly content-deflated publication.
The GOP constantly gets reinforcement for its political frames on the front page of the only daily newspaper that serves a city that is mostly Democratic. One day not too long ago, Howie Kurtz got the front page lede. On another, Haley Barbour got some free buzz for his presidential ambitions. When not doing for the GOP what Monica did for Bill, the Commercial Appeal is usually using the front page to hawk empty consumerism and human interest stories about cute fuzzy puppies.
It should come as no surprise that this behaviour on the part of the newspaper is likely in direct response to a decline in readership of the paper and, for that matter, newspapers in general as the population continues to turn to internet sites for its news. I’m all for equal time and the like, but there comes a point at which the C.A. has stopped reporting real news and, instead, is pandering to what it interprets as its readership. There is no other daily newspaper in Memphis, not since the Memphis Press-Scimitar shut down its presses some 15 years ago. If it weren’t for the fact that newspaper revenues are down dramatically, I’d suggest someone form something new in this town. But I’d hate for them to lose their shirt over something that our town’s one daily newspaper should have enough self-worth to maintain: integrity.
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Ok, so I haven’t been updating. Sue me. I’ve been resting and catching up on movies from the past year that I missed so forgive me if I haven’t just been sitting breathlessly at the internet waiting to type. Quality versus quantity is my motto, and with that in mind I want to tantalize you about a new film that sounds totally amazing. TV Junkie is a gripping and painfully honest documentary about Rick Kirkham, the former “Inside Edition” reporter who meticulously collected thousands of hours of video footage from his own life starting at the tender age of 14. The camera never flinches as Kirkham allows his camera to delve openly into his addiction to cocaine and crack, the insuffulation of and smoking of he also captured on video tape. Grib over at Aint It Cool News reported this tidbit today:
In addition to its raw emotional power, this film is a marvel of editing. Kirkham’s tapes were largely unlabeled and not chronological; the filmmakers never knew what they would see when they started watching a tape. Some of the most chilling footage comes when Kirkham addresses the camera alone, telling himself that he knows that crack is controlling him but knows he can’t stop using it. In one scene, he leaves his son’s first birthday party to go score some drugs; in another he admits to his wife that he is rolling loose change to pay off drug debts. One of the film’s biggest surprises comes at the beginning, when the filmmakers tell us via onscreen titles that Kirkham never looked at a second of his own footage. When one tape was done, he just popped in a new one and plowed ahead.
This documentary ultimately sounds both fascinating and disturbing. Here’s to seeing it some time in 2006.
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January 16, 2006
…..in Cookie’s living room. Geena Davis just told a funny story, she is wearing red. I laughed. We are eating pizza, Cookie and I are trying to keep our eyes open after the most torturous commercial ever filmed in the history of commercials. Sandra Oh gave a touching accceptance speech for her role on Grey’s Anatomy, I even teared up a bit. Reese Witherspoon’s dress makes the thing Bjork wore at the Academy awards four years ago look more like true high fashion, ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. Lackawanna Blues got stiffed for the star-studded but not that wonderful Empire Falls. Our pizza tonight was provided by Pizza Hut, beverages sponsored by Pepsi. Cigarettes provided courtesy of American Spirit.
Nashville is extremely busy, but I’m not sure how long I could hold out here. I love the work and the people, but there seems to be a mild mirror image of the seediness of Los Angeles throughout. I mean, Nashville the city is really amazing. They have real shopping in many parts of the city, they understand organic produce at reasonable prices and the people are immensely friendly. However, there seems to be a great deal of looking-over-your-shoulder type activity afoot — everyone is doing things and wondering if anyone has noticed what they are doing yet. It’s what I love about Memphis, the fact that in our city people seem to just do things as they please and they really don’t give a crap whether anyone notices or not. In Nashville, it’s a lot of art for commerce. In Memphis, it’s art for the sake of art.
Reese Witherspoon just won Best Actress in a Motion Picture for Walk The Line. Mary-Louise Parker just kicked the crap out of all four Desperate Housewives by winning Best Actress in a TV Comedy or Musical for her role in Weeds. I have my fifteenth glass of Pepsi and sit here muddling over the fact that this has become my life. I need cigarettes, should I go to the store? Did I mention that Steve Carrell won something?
In the most telling event of the night, Kinsey (Cookie’s cat) was sitting in the living room watching the show as it began. Kinsey made a face and walked out of the room. I went in the bedroom to look for smokes, I noticed that she had puked on the floor.
Emma Thompson just came out and slandered Pride & Prejudice. Thank goodness. Now I realize that Cookie has TiVO which, unbeknownst to me, allows us to pause the show in mid-show. We are now sitting here talking about the show we just finished. I’m always scared to talk about work on my blog because I’m sure someone will Google me and find this site eventually. Then they can sit around and read about themselves on my blog and go, “Wow, E.J. is a total asshole,” or, “When did I say that to him?” I guess that’s part of writing about one’s self. I mean, yes, this is my life but living it is one thing and writing about it is an entirely other. Everything is open to interpretation and if, as I’m sure it does, this blog entry seems like some discombobulated jumbled LiveJournal entry then that is, in fact, what it must be. I am so physically exhausted I can’t pull it together to gather my thoughts. Every part of my body hurts. I can’t breathe. I’m on glass seventeen of Pepsi for the evening and I still can’t wake up.
This morning on my way home (I worked 18.5 hours on wrap day) I fell asleep at the wheel four times. Twice I nearly had an accident while driving on the interstate. I could not even find a place to pull over and nap for a while, scared that someone from the job I just finished would notice and ask if I was okay. I watched trucks and cars racing around a track, I got to spend time with Darrell Waltrop (a NASCAR legend and one of the nicest guys ever), I watched a car racing up a ramp, jump through an explosion and land in a mass of cardboard boxes. I watched as a construction site got set up and driven through at high speeds, and I watched the work of a brilliant Emmy-winning commercial director, Director of Photography, a lovely group of people from the commercial agency, and a great group of PA’s.
After unpausing the TiVO I was thrilled to learn that one of my favorite people in the world, S. Epatha Merkerson, just won the Golden Globe for her role in Lackawanna Blues. Her acceptance speech is one of the most touching things I’ve ever seen on an awards show. She is the real deal.
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January 11, 2006
The Smoking Gun yesterday blew the lid off another literary scandal. Apparently fictionalizing your entire life story into something worse than what it is has become the new chic, completely unbeknownst to me. James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces is, according to TSG, fabricating or wildly overstating large portions of his life story. The book has sold over 3.5 million copies since Oprah Winfrey included it as an official selection of “Oprah’s Book Club”. Hell, even my roommate Jen told me just the other day what an incredible book it was, and that story can be repeated by almost everyone reading this I’d imagine.
Police reports, court records, interviews with law enforcement personnel, and other sources have put the lie to many key sections of Frey’s book. The 36-year-old author, these documents and interviews show, wholly fabricated or wildly embellished details of his purported criminal career, jail terms, and status as an outlaw “wanted in three states.”
In additon to these rap sheet creations, Frey also invented a role for himself in a deadly train accident that cost the lives of two female high school students. In what may be his book’s most crass flight from reality, Frey remarkably appropriates and manipulates details of the incident so he can falsely portray himself as the tragedy’s third victim. It’s a cynical and offensive ploy that has left one of the victims’ parents bewildered. “As far as I know, he had nothing to do with the accident,” said the mother of one of the dead girls. “I figured he was taking license…he’s a writer, you know, they don’t tell everything that’s factual and true.”
I think we can safely say how that last bit is true about nearly everyone we know. The problem for people like me, who have unfortunately actually lived out some sembleance of the horrific tales told by Mr. Frey, is that it makes us look bad when he starts telling our stories. It’s almost as if he overheard me talking to a friend in a diner somewhere ten years ago or happened to sneak into one of those anonymous 12-step meetings. I feel fairly violated all around right now. Best you should go read The Smoking Gun’s six-week investigation report and expose. I gotta go to work.
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January 9, 2006
For many years, I was understandably allured by the, by all accounts, fictional and mystical novel Sarah, a story about a boy who grows up living the life of a “lot lizard” working the truck stops of West Virginia. I was equally disturbed and touched by The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, a story of an abusive relationship between mother and child that goes beyond explanation here. There was the Yahoo! group called Terminator2 which I joined in hopes to learn more about the author. There were two films, one of which was finished and one of which was not. Thousands of people came into contact with JT Leroy, and I have to wonder how many of them actually knew JT so well. Tonight, I sit here horrified as I read the tale of the real JT Leroy. As with JT’s stories, the tale of JT himself does not end well.
JT Leroy, former prostitute, H.I.V. victim, literary author and recluse has become even more astonishing. Why? It turns out that JT Leroy is none of these things at all. JT Leroy isn’t even a man. JT Leroy does not exist and, I hate to say it, is one of the most clever hoaxes ever laid on the literary world. JT Leroy is the fictional, completely fictional, creation of a woman named Savannah Knoop who, according to several people close to the story, played the part so accurately and completely that nobody knew.
But the young man in the wig and sunglasses, it turns out, is not a man at all. The public role of JT Leroy is played by Savannah Knoop, Geoffrey Knoop’s half sister, who is in her mid-20’s.
A photograph of Ms. Knoop at a 2003 opening for a clothing store in San Francisco was discovered online. Five intimates of Mr. Leroy’s, including his literary agent, his business manager and the producer of a forthcoming movie based on one of his books, were shown the photograph and identified Ms. Knoop as the person they have known as JT Leroy.
“That’s JT Leroy,” said Ira Silverberg, Mr. Leroy’s literary agent, upon seeing the photograph. Mr. Silverberg said he had met Mr. Leroy a number of times in person. Lilly Bright, a producer of “The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things,” a 2004 film based on Mr. Leroy’s 2001 collection of stories, was no less certain. “It’s JT Leroy,” she said, adding that she had worked with Mr. Leroy extensively on the production.
The article closes with the most telling of quotes, and I think this might explain how I’m feeling right now.
But perhaps those most affected by the revelation that Ms. Knoop has been playing the public role of JT Leroy are those who went out of their way to help someone they thought was a troubled young man.
“To present yourself as a person who is dying of AIDS in a culture which has lost so many writers and voices of great meaning, to take advantage of that sympathy and empathy, is the most unfortunate part of all of this,” Mr. Silverberg said. “A lot of people believed they were supporting not only a good and innovative and adventurous voice, but that we were supporting a person.”
Take a few minutes to peruse this article. I want to make note that I am ashamed to have ever been duped by this hoax, that the numerous secretive moves and inconsistent public appearances of JT Leroy should have tipped me off. I will have more when I cool down. For now, go steam and tell me what you think.
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