Posts Tagged ‘Fran Lebowitz’

CP24: WHAT MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TO WATCH TO THIS WEEKEND!

Richard and “CP24 Breakfast” host Pooja Handa have a look at some special streaming opportunities and television shows to watch over the weekend including the Netflix documentary series “Pretend It’s a City” featuring writer Fran Lebowitz’s take on New York City, the binge-able HBO series “Boardwalk Empire,” the Amazon Prime Video film “Mangrove,” part of Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” series and the Showtime special “Couples Therapy One Hour Covid Special.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

THE BOOKSELLERS: 4 STARS. “Collecting is about the hunt.”

Author Maurice Sendak said, “There’s so much more to a book than just the reading.” A new documentary, “The Booksellers,” is a Valentine to books and the people who understand that the printed word is just the beginning of our relationship to a book.

“The Booksellers” begins with some sobering facts. The New York City, the center of antiquarian bookselling, in the 1950’s had 368 book stores. Today there are less than 100. The suggestion is that changing tastes and the ease of buying a book on line has destroyed a once thriving industry but while there may be fewer shops, the passion for the business remains undiminished.

After a quick history lesson of bookselling in New York City we meet the people who form the backbone of the modern-day trade. Stephen Massey’s family has been involved in the business so long that their store is mentioned in James Joyce’s Dubliners.

Judith Lowry, Naomi Hample and Alina Cohen took over the Argosy Book Store in midtown Manhattan from their father and refuse to sell to the developers who come knocking on a weekly basis. “People would ask our father how he got all three daughters to work for him,” says Lowry, “and he would say, ‘I guess I’m just lucky.’”

Nancy Bass Wydern, is the third-generation owner of The Strand Bookstore, situated on Book Row, a once bustling area now whittled down to one lone book store.

Talking head Fran Lebowitz looks back on the Book Row of the 1970s. “One thing I remember about those guys is that they were very irritated if you wanted to buy a book,” she says. “They wanted to read all day.”

From there we get into the nitty gritty, the obsessive collecting that drives the antiquarian book market. We meet a man who spent over a million dollars to reinforce the walls of his NYC apartment so his laden bookshelves wouldn’t collapse. We learn about the collectors, including Bill Gates who paid $30,802,500 for a collection of scientific writings by Leonardo da Vinci in 1994.

We also learn how collecting has changed. “Collecting is about the hunt,” says one seller. “The internet has killed the hunt.” Another mentions how the internet changed the way collectors speak about what is rare and what is not.

The film, which also covers a collector of vintage hip hop ephemera and the millennials who inject some new life into this old field, isn’t about books. We see shelves stuffed with books and a book covered in human skin, but this is about the devotion of the collectors and sellers. They are an eccentric bunch, but director D.W. Young does a great job of showing how their devotion to books as part of our cultural DNA drives them.

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY AUGUST 23, 2019.

Richard joins CP24 to have a look at the weekend’s new movies including the bing-bam-boom of “Angel Has Fallen,” the culty thrills of “Ready or Not,” the sweetly silly “The Peanut Butter Falcon” and the documentary “Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S CTV NEWSCHANNEL WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FOR AUGUST 23.

Richard sits in on the CTV NewsChannel with news anchor Marcia MacMillan to have a look at the weekend’s big releases including the actioner “Angel Has Fallen,” the future cult classic “Ready or Not,” the sweetly silly “The Peanut Butter Falcon” and the documentary “Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES: 4 STARS. “testament to art’s enduring power.”

Somewhere in the world, right now, people are enjoying “Fiddler on the Roof.” In fact, as a new documentary on the making of the classic musical tells us, the show has been performed somewhere on earth every day since its 1964 Broadway debut. But why is it so popular? “Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles” aims to contextualize why the story of dairyman Tevye and his daughters in 1905 Imperial Russia resonates with audiences.

Director Max Lewkowicz spoke with 60 of the main players in “Fiddler on the Roof’s” creation, including lyricist Sheldon Harnick, producer Hal Prince and original cast member Austin Pendleton. Those interviews form the backbone of the early part of the film. We learn how Harnick and writer Joseph Stein collaborated with composer Jerry Bock to adapt Sholem Aleichem’s story “Tevye and his Daughters” for the stage. How when “West Side Story” choreographer Jerome Robbins came on board he introduced themes that echoed the civil rights movement in America.

It is that examination of tradition and the essence of change that deepened the show. It remained a Jewish story, a history about Eastern Europe, but now had a universal appeal to audiences. Even today the story of tradition and displacement, of uncertainties and hazards is both timeless and timely.

It’s interesting that the original production, led by the bigger-than-life Zero Mostel, was not a critical hit. But audiences loved it and interviews with fans Stephen Sondheim, Itzhak Perlman and “Hamilton’s” Lin-Manuel Miranda suggest why.

Lewkowicz also details the making of the Norman Jewison film, productions of the show ranging from an African-American high school production to stagings from all around the world, hammering home the widespread appeal of the story.

Then, of course, there is the music. Lewkowicz showcases multiple versions of hits like “Tradition,” “Matchmaker,” “If I Were A Rich Man” and “Sunrise, Sunset,” with one talking head suggesting, I think rightly, that after you hear the songs more than once they stay in your head forever.

“Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles” is a detailed history of a beloved show, with plenty of behind-the-curtain revelations—like the backstage war between Mostel and Robbins, who irked his star by testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee—but this isn’t just a Broadway origin story, it’s a testament to the enduring power of art to speak to specific situations while illuminating broader issues.

POP LIFE: Pop Life full episode for Saturday, September 22, 2018!

Watch the full episode of “Pop Life” from Saturday September 22, 2108. First up author Fran Lebowitz speaks about her love of reading, moving to New York, Andy Warhol, why she hates working and why she still writes long hand, then the Pop Life panel, Hadiya RoderiqueDalton Higgins and Rad Simonpillai speak about authenticity in art and the different shapes it takes.

Watch the whole thing HERE!

Film critic and pop culture historian Richard Crouse shares a toast with celebrity guests and entertainment pundits every week on CTV News Channel’s all-new talk show POP LIFE.

Featuring in-depth discussion and debate on pop culture and modern life, POP LIFE features sit-down interviews with celebrities from across the entertainment world, including superstar jazz musician Diana Krall, legendary rock star Meatloaf, stand-up comedian and CNN host W. Kamau Bell, actor and best-selling author Chris Colfer, celebrity chef Jeremiah Tower, and many more.

POP LIFE: Writer Fran Lebowitz on her love of reading and more.

Author Fran Lebowitz speaks about her love of reading, moving to New York, Andy Warhol, why she hates working and why she still writes long hand. “Life is something that happens when you can’t get to sleep,“ she says.
Watch the whole thing HERE!

Film critic and pop culture historian Richard Crouse shares a toast with celebrity guests and entertainment pundits every week on CTV News Channel’s all-new talk show POP LIFE.

Featuring in-depth discussion and debate on pop culture and modern life, POP LIFE features sit-down interviews with celebrities from across the entertainment world, including superstar jazz musician Diana Krall, legendary rock star Meatloaf, stand-up comedian and CNN host W. Kamau Bell, actor and best-selling author Chris Colfer, celebrity chef Jeremiah Tower, and many more.