The Blog

Stewart Nusbaumer: Seeing The Tiger Next Door

2009-11-11T03:11:06Z

Afghanistan is a nasty, dangerous place. When a journalist covering that war, I'm hounded by the thought, "I could at any second be torn to shreds." Several weeks ago at the Woodstock Film Festival watching The Tiger Next Door, it occurred to me, "I could be torn to shreds any second in America."

At the center of this excellent documentary is Dennis Hill. Stringy long white hair and beard, open and engaging personality, determined and dedicated to pursue his peculiar occupation. Peculiar what? Dennis has living in his backyard 24 tigers, 3 bears, 6 leopards, 1 cougar and other assorted wild beasts. A breeder of large felines, he is especially obsessed to breed the rare white tiger, which, not incidentally, could fetch the perpetually impoverished Dennis a hefty $150,000.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources conducts a surprise inspection of his Flat Rock, Indiana backyard operation and slaps Dennis with numerous violations that range from cages not locked to stagnant water in drinking bowls. He is ordered to reduce his wild animals to only three -- and within one month! Although Dennis hopes to get some of his animals back, to keep any he must find homes for nearly all of his almost 60 wild animals.

The Tiger Next Door chronicles Dennis' desperate attempt to place his animals with other breeders while also addressing whether Dennis Hill should be allowed to breed these dangerous wild animals in his backyard. By focusing on this particular case in Indiana, the film highlights a national problem of dangerous wild animals caged on private property. A national problem that is quickly becoming worse. Even near my residence -- in the middle of New York City!

Experts estimate, according to the film, more tigers are now living in cages in the United States than are roaming wild in the world. And that's not counting the two legged ones.

Filmmaker Camilla Caloamandrei moves swiftly through a cast of people who support Dennis and those who oppose his backyard facility. This includes neighbors and government authorities, family members and animal-rights activists. While some make sense, others make less sense. Many are strongly loyal to Dennis, yet one individual appears bent on not only ending Dennis' operation, but destroying Dennis.

This tapestry of opinion moves us inside a community in conflict over an emotional issue. Caloamandrei expresses her views, without, thankfully, polemics. She's fair, yet we know where she stands.

So, is Dennis Hill a nut case for boarding people-eating cats in his backyard? Or is Dennis merely a genuine individualist doing his thing? Maybe an eccentric during a time when eccentrics are no longer tolerated?

The issue is not whether Dennis Hill loves his wild animals, since he clearly does -- although not necessarily in a healthy way. The issue is can he adequately care for these wild animals and ensure they are not a threat to the community? Or maybe the question is why should we take a risk with his backyard, underfunded operation?

Since half of the fifty States, we are told, allow residents to own tigers without any special qualifications, this Flat Rock, Indiana problem might be your problem too. So you might want to check out just who is living next door.

The Tiger Next Door is made beautifully and challenges thinking adults -- the cinematography is flawless, the narration is informative without dominating, the narrative is seamless. The Tiger Next Door is what good documentaries do: illuminate an important subject that is under the radar screen, deliver solid information and a diversity of opinions, and leave viewers informed and concerned about a serious issue.

And in this case, a serious problem that is quickly becoming a crisis. Recently in Connecticut a woman was killed by a bear when cleaning its cage ... in California ... in -- well, just read the paper to know where next the tragedy strikes.

And where this excellent film ends is where activism needs to begin. Two organizations in the thick of the battle, Born Free and Humane Society of the United States, are pressing states and the federal government to closely monitor and strictly regulate wild animal ownership. Check them out, before a tiger checks you out.

The Tiger Next Door will be shown this Friday, November 13 at 8:00 PM, in New York City at the 33rd Margret Mead Film and Video Festival, held at the American Museum of Natural History.

Jeff Rivera: Cha Cha from the Sopranos: Huffington Post Interview

2009-11-11T02:46:23Z

Jeff Rivera is an entertainment reporter who blogs about young Hollywood celebrities . He is also the author of the novel, Forever My Lady(Grand Central Publishing). For more celebrity interviews, visit: www.JeffRivera.com

Dr. Johnny Benjamin: Cal Jahvid Best's Future in Question After Spectacular Concussion

2009-11-11T02:40:58Z

Jahvid Best is the amazing running back for the University of California Golden Bears football team. He is known for his abilities both on and off the field.

On November 7^th as his team battled Oregon State University in a fierce Pac-10 battle, Best made one of his spectacular forays into the end zone for which he has become famous. Unfortunately, this dash will most likely be his most memorable for all of the wrong reasons.

As Jahvid Best leapt over a defender he was struck catapulting him higher into the air, much higher. He landed awkwardly on his upper back with tremendous force. He immediately appeared to lose consciousness and his entire body became rigid…not a good sign medically.

He spent an excruciatingly long period of time lying motionless on the field. Proper medical attention was immediately available and rushed into action. Best was immobilized and transported to an equipped medical facility.

Reports state that Jahvid is thankfully moving his arms and legs, has not suffered a spinal fracture or permanent spinal cord injury and is experiencing a concussion. Thank you, Jesus.

Unfortunately if reports are accurate, this is his second concussion in eight days. Now his future: immediate, short-term and distant has been brought into question. When or should he be allowed to return to the contact of football?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again and again. Concussions are serious brain injuries with the potential to permanently change lives and kill.

Thank God that Jahvid Best’s life was spared…this time.

David Wild: Learning To Love My Country: A Playlist to Prepare Rock Newbies Watching the CMA Awards

2009-11-11T01:42:33Z

I grew up in Northern New Jersey, which last time I looked is slightly north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Yet thanks to my late great dad -- an early and vocal proponent of Jewgrass -- my first ever concert was seeing the still brilliant Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at Carnegie Hall. Thanks to Mom and Dad, there were also a few Johnny Cash 8-tracks laying around our house for me to discover and treasure alongside those of the Beatles and Neil Diamond. So I suppose I come by my lifelong love of country music pretty naturally.

For the past seven years, I've spent a few weeks a year in Nashville writing the script for the CMA Awards, also known for good reason as Country Music's Biggest Night. And while I hate being away from home so long, I love Nashville and its music community with all my heart. Nashville is my kind of town because in the end, my life has been shaped and graced by songs. And Nashville is all about songs -- and the people who sing them, write them and play on them.

This year I had time to attend and stand onstage during the Grand Ole Opry show, thanks to Vince Gill, who performed along with Keith Urban and too many other great artists to mention. And I got a personal tour of the amazing Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum by its founder Joe Chambers. The place is a glorious labor of love that any true music fan should visit - and soon.

As I write these words, I am watching rehearsals, and making last minute changes to the script for our fantastic and lovely hosts, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, and our presenters. I'm sitting here thinking about other people like me who grew up in rock territory, but might be tempted to tune in due to the fact that Taylor Swift -- probably the biggest star in music right now -- is opening up our show.

So do yourself a favor, and check out this playlist to get a better sense of the surprisingly wide world of country music today. No, it's not your mother's and father's country, but that's okay. Times change, and so too should music. Country music radio today goes from Taylor Swift to Jamey Johnson, from Zac Brown Band to Sugarland -- and I'm right at home with that kind of range.

"Welcome To The Future" - Brad Paisley
"In Color" - Jamey Johnson
"I Run To You" - Lady Antebellum
"Toes" - Zac Brown Band
"Footsteps Of Our Father" - Pat Green
"White Liar" - Miranda Lambert
"Joey" - Sugarland
"She's Country" - Jason Aldean
"Sooner Or Later" - Michelle Branch
"Standing Right In Front Of You" - Keith Urban
"Cowboy Casanova" - Carrie Underwood
"You Had To Be There" - Tim McGraw
""Cheater, Cheater" - Jory + Rory
"Solitary Thinkin'" - Lee Ann Womack
"White Horse" - Taylor Swift

So please tune in to see Taylor Swift kick off the show Wednesday night, then kick back relax a while and see Brad and Carrie, Jamey Johnson sing with Kid Rock and Kenny Chesney sing with Dave Matthews and Vince Gill sing with Daughtry. Bless all of your liberal, Huffington Post hearts, I think you'll have a good time.

While we're talking, what country songs today speak to you?

Brad Kurtzberg: Head Hits Hurting Hockey

2009-11-10T22:58:32Z

The issue of head shots is supposed to be up for discussion this week when NHL general managers meet in Toronto. Instead of talking about it, it's high time the NHL did something about it.

You don't have to dig very deep into the headlines to see the effect these high hits are having on the NHL. Monday the league suspended Calgary's Curtis Glencross three games for a shoulder blow to the head of New York Rangers center Chris Drury in Saturday's game between the Rangers and Flames. Drury is out indefinitely and will almost certainly miss a lot more than three games. No penalty was called on the play.

The time has come for the league to act. In the future, all blows to the head should result in a penalty and a suspension and/or a fine.

Traditionalists argue that if we penalize head shots, we will be further compromising the physical aspect of hockey, which has already been reduced by the recent rule changes enacted after the lockout. The game moves too quickly, they say, and there just isn't time for players to think about preventing blows to the head.

Other sports have already proved that this argument is not true. The NFL has enacted similar legislation banning blows to the head. In fact, the powers that be in the NFL have gradually increased the number of banned actions. They started with head-to-head hits and have since made it a penalty to hit an opposing player in the head with your shoulders or forearms.

In football, the action also moves quickly. Wide receivers, for example, are very vulnerable when they go up to catch a pass, especially over the middle of the field. Defensive players have only a split second to determine whether a player caught the ball and how they should make a tackle.

Few people would argue that the NFL is not a tough league anymore because they have attempted to reduce blows to the head. The NHL would also not be any less tough if it passed similar measures.

The main concern here has to be the health of the players. Today's hockey players are bigger, heavier and skate faster than their counterparts of 20 or 30 years ago. The impact of collisions is therefore greater than it was in the old days.

Back then, little was known about the effect of concussions. But many recent studies, including one by Dr. Bennet Omalu of the University of Pittsburgh, have demonstrated a strong link between repeated concussions and significant problems later in life ranging from severe headaches and depression to early dementia and other Alzheimer's-like symptoms. Research has found that concussions are cumulative. Each successive occurrence is usually worse than the one before and leads to more and more significant damage to the brain.

Many fine NHL careers have already been shortened by concussions. Eric Lindros never had the superb career he was expected to because he was slowed by repeated concussions. He went from superstar to role player and was forced to retire early. His brother Brett, a first round pick of the Islanders in 1994, played in only 51 NHL games and was finished playing at the age of 21 due to the effects of blows to his head. Players like Nick Kypreos and Jeff Beukeboom also retired prematurely because of post-concussion syndrome.

The NHL has always been slow to take actions to protect players. Historically, it goes against the culture of the sport. Taking precautions and adding protection was initially considered un-manly in hockey circles. Eventually, however, changes arrived and were accepted.

Most goalies didn't wear masks during games until the late 60s. Now, if a goalie's mask falls off, the whistle is blown immediately and play stops.

Helmets for skaters weren't made mandatory until 1979 and even then the rule was grandfathered so that players who had signed a pro contract prior to then could continue not wearing head gear. The rule was not changed until 11 years after Minnesota's Bill Masterton died a few days after hitting his head hard on the ice in a game back in 1968.

Now, players wouldn't imagine playing without a goalie mask or a helmet, but there was resistance from the old guard when these changes first took place.

The NHL has already passed a rule saying players are responsible for their sticks. If a player's stick hits another player in the face, a penalty is assessed whether the hit was deliberate or completely accidental. This is done to protect of the players' eyes and faces. A similar standard needs to be put in place for blows to the head.

There are other things players and owners can agree on to reduce the number of concussions suffered by NHL players. Making shoulder pads softer is one thing and using improving technology in mouth guards and helmets are another. But none of that should prevent a change in the rules and the way the league hands out suspensions and fines for blows to the head.

This is a workplace-safety issue. A serious and potentially life-changing injury can be prevented, but only if the NHL's powers that be act now.

Janet Turley: Lay Off Betty Draper-Francis

2009-11-10T19:44:02Z

I feel like one of the few who cheered when Betty decided to leave Don for Henry Francis.
Some reviewers are judging Betty's decision through their own liberated glasses. Alas, the Betty Drapers of America needed to build a life raft because they were completely dependent upon the patriarch to provide for them and their children. Betty's parents are dead and it's a good guess that moving in with her brother's family is less appealing than a Henry Francis union. Sure, we'd love to see her grow a liberated backbone and strike out on her own, but as Bert Cooper said about those who love risk -- they can't imagine the consequences. Betty is not just a wife, but a mother. Beyond her wants, she has three needs to literally feed. Her new man, so far, seems to have responsibility ingrained at a molecular level. This may make Henry boring, but the dashing and exciting bad boy ended up being a sh*t husband. Good for Betty. As far as other fans speculating that Henry wants control over Betty, it's too soon to tell for me. But how many options would come to a woman in the small town of Ossining?

One of the wonderful aspects of Mad Men is the show's blunt portrayal of women as second class citizens both in the work force and at home. Most housewives were brought up to be the passive arm charms and babymakers that their husbands wanted. The very old-school husband didn't even want his wife to work because it would make him appear that he couldn't provide for his family. The wife stayed home, compromising her pride for her husband's. Should the husband divorce or die, a wife was left with little to no means of support. In the Draper residence, it's hard to imagine that Don wouldn't have eventually left home through another woman or self-destruction. What would Betty do for money? Her only marketable skill was being young and pretty -- and that modeling ship has sailed.

Sure, she could have hired a private detective to catch Don in all his sloppy liaisons, thus granting a tidy divorce with sweet alimony. But she's no divorcee. Circumstances and conditioning have led her to be a compliant wife. Opportunity knocked for Mrs. Draper to become Mrs. Francis. Not all women were on the road towards equality and Betty certainly doesn't have the mindset of an independent, liberated woman. A colleague of mine (and fellow Mad Men addict) brought up Phyllis Schlafly. As recently as 1982, the Equal Rights Amendment failed to be ratified because of Schlafly's campaign against it. Women's identities have come a longer way than a Virginia Slim.

I like that Betty has found a provider that shows her the attention and affection that Don didn't. Maybe this will finally be a laxative for her emotional constipation. Now, if only the old man could stay awake on a plane en route to their marriage.

Matt Rodigheri: New York Renames Street For "Sesame Street" (Photos)

2009-11-10T19:38:48Z

On the 40th anniversary, to the day, of the Sesame Street program, New York City declared November 10 "Sesame Street Day" with a temporary street naming near Lincoln Center.

The world's largest informal children's educator, Sesame Street can be seen in over 140 countries. "Sesame Street reaches children around the world, but without a doubt, New York City is its home," added Ms. Cooney. "It's wonderful for the city to recognize where it all began." Although the show has changed over the decades, it has remained true to it's New York City setting, having broken ground in 1969 for choosing an urban environment for a children's program. "The vibrancy of NYC served as inspiration for the creation and content of Sesame Street, it is only fitting to celebrate the program's 40th anniversary with a street-naming tribute" said George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Co.

A variety of changes have taken place in the program over the years as it has modernized to remain current and practical. In addition to the computer generated imagery which can be seen in "Elmo's World," Cookie Monster now sings a song entitled "Cookie is a Sometimes Food" and Sesame street itself has been cleaned of it's original graffitti and peeling paint, more representative of New York then than it is now. There are differences internationally as well, South Africa's version has an HIV Positive character while Israel's cast has specific Arab-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli puppets learning lessons on sharing. The particulars of the show and contemporary messages are due to an emphasis on research, which has been a key to the show's relevancy and success since its inception.

A constant which has remained throughout the years and different versions of the show has been the promotion of diversity. Guests of Sesame Street have ranged from famous musicians, actors and political figures, most often involved in situations where Jim Henson's muppets and humans interact naturally. The show's anniversary episode on November 10th will star Michelle Obama.

Jeff Biggers: Country Stars Headline Eclectic Coal Country CD to Stop Mountaintop Removal

2009-11-10T19:29:59Z

While one did sing, the other did shout,
And the angel unlocked the door.
He had the keys to the kingdom, Lord

Any CD album that begins with a haunting Uzbek-influenced trumpet and percussion backup on Ralph Stanley's gospel classic, "Keys to the Kingdom," and ends with Willie Nelson strumming a stunningly unaffected and heartfelt acoustic version of "Blowin' in the Wind," goes straight to platinum on my charts.

As a companion CD to the provocative new film, Coal Country, the wildly eclectic Coal Country Music CD hits the stores today with a blockbuster list of Nashville's alt-country scene like John Prine, Kathy Mattea, Jason and the Scorchers, folk and bluegrass legends Ralph Stanley, Jean Ritchie, Tom T. Hall and Gillian Welch, rockers like Natalie Merchant and Bonnie Raitt, and a few other surprises--as in, Grammy Award-klezmer band The Klezmatics and their beautiful rendition of Woody Guthrie's "Heaven."

Produced by Heartwood hero Andy Mahler and Grammy Award-nominated guitarist Jason Wilber, who contributes a powerful performance of "In Her Veins," the Coal Country Music CD is a breathtaking tribute to the wide range of music that has emerged out of Appalachia.

And all for an amazing cause: Proceeds from the CD sales will go to non-profit citizens organizations working to stop the ravages of mountaintop removal and to launch a clean energy future for Appalachia--the birthplace of country music, and an important crossroads for blues, jazz and rock.

The release of the CD also coincides with the nationwide house parties this week for the Coal Country film, which will air on Planet Green on November 14th.

The CD album includes liner notes from Ashley Judd and Woody Harrelson, along with the producers' message:

We would like to thank the artists, producers, engineers, publishers, songwriters, record labels, managers, and all of the other creative and dedicated professionals who made this project possible. They freely and generously contributed their time, talent, recordings, and compositions without remuneration, knowing that the proceeds from this CD will help bring national attention to the devastation of Mountaintop Removal coal-mining and to the central role the Appalachian Mountains have played in American history, music, and culture. We also acknowledge the dependence on electricity we all share in our private and professional lives. Our intention in producing this musical compilation is not just to help stop Mountaintop Removal, but also to help promote renewable and sustainable energy alternatives and the green jobs they create.

Along with classics from John Prine--whose "Paradise" remains a haunting soundtrack for today's strip mining impact on families and heritage--and the beloved Grammy-Award singer Kathy Mattea, Coal Country Music includes some of the finest singer-songwriters working today on Nashville's better half. With an unaffected ease, singer Celeste Krenz performs a wonderful version of "Big Coal River," yearning for the days of "feeling free and running clean." Alt-country legends Jason and the Scorchers rock the album with "Beat on the Mountain," a new release forthcoming in 2010, that recounts a coal miner's dilemma, "caught between the mountain and the mine." With the hip sway of a young Rickie Lee Jones, Schuyler Fisk (Sissey Spacek's daughter) combines country riffs with a folk pop ease on "It's a Long Walk Home."

Backed by her amazingly tight band, pop star Natalie Merchant contributes a chilling version of the labor classic, "Which Side Are You On?" which previously appeared on the breakthrough "Music of Coal" album.

Popular Appalachian activists Public Outcry, along with traditional Appalachian singers and Coal Country filmmaker Philis Geller, round off the album with several ballads and topical songs.

A special program on the Coal Country Music CD will take place on November 14th, on Jason Wilber's In Search of a Song program.

In a previously unrecorded version of "Blowin' in the Wind," Willie Nelson concludes the album with a reminder of the tragedy of mountaintop removal that continues to ravage Appalachia, and the hope of clean energy--and wind farms--at risk today on Coal River Mountain in West Virginia.

And how many times can a man turn his head

and pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind,

the answer is blowing in the wind.

Barry Levinson: The Delusions of Alessandra Stanley

2009-11-10T19:14:18Z

As I write this, I realize I am about to do something that, for the most part, is never done. I am going to criticize a critic. Filmmakers are never supposed to respond to a critic about their work. It's an unspoken rule of engagement. But in this case, I feel compelled.

I am going to criticize Alessandra Stanley, the TV critic for the New York Times. I am not going to criticize her on the basis of what she may not like about my recent film essay Poliwood, but I am going to take her to task for her blatant inaccuracies. For her inability to view the piece for what it was.

It may be true that I am overly sensitive to her critical writings ever since reading a review she wrote some time ago about a Walter Cronkite documentary that was part of PBS's American Masters series. I had nothing to do with that project other than to see it and to read her review, which began, "There will never be an anchorman like Walter Cronkite. And thank heaven for that." It was a shocking opening line -- an assessment that I would certainly disagree with -- but nevertheless, she is allowed to express her own opinion. However, the line that really caught my ire for its blatant inaccuracy was what she said about Cronkite informing the nation about the assassination of President John Kennedy: "He informed and consoled the nation with stoic grace. But it's hard to imagine that anyone in that chair at that moment, wouldn't have been just as memorable, simply because he was there."

Anyone in that chair! Anyone? The impression you get from Ms. Stanley is that there was only one network and one person reporting this event back then. Is she suggesting that Walter Cronkite was the only reporter informing us about this assassination? The reality is there were three networks and they were all reporting the event, and Walter Cronkite is the only one we remember. Why do we remember Cronkite as he took off his glasses on that tragic day and reported that the young president had just been assassinated? According to Ms. Stanley, it had nothing to do with Cronkite's unique ability as a newsman or his special ability to connect with an audience. It was because he was the only one there, reporting. To defend her thesis she had to carefully eliminate two networks from history -- and two chairs. Yet this is what Ms. Stanley does: she alters reality to fit her thesis. It is blatantly inaccurate and deceitful. It is a bogus sentence, illogical, and fraudulent. That is not valid criticism, and should have no place in such a respected paper as the New York Times. But it was written, and it was printed.

Now I come back to Poliwood.

Ms. Stanley states, "In politics, the only thing worse than no access, is too much access." She goes on to say, "At its core the film is a screed about everything that was wrong with politics and media during the 2004 election, carried over and misapplied to the 2008 campaign."

For the record, the film essay has nothing to do with the 2008 campaign. That's why there is no footage of the candidates leading up to the conventions, and no footage of them campaigning on the road, leading up to the election. There is also no footage of the candidates stating political positions. No footage of strategy sessions. No discussions with the political operatives of either side. No footage of the fears or anxieties, the second-guessing, and the tiresome campaign trail. I only cover the two conventions and the inauguration merely as the backdrop for the intersection of politics, media, and entertainment as the cameras followed the journey of the Creative Coalition through these events.

It was not a case of too much access, as Ms. Stanley suggests. I had no access to either campaign. I never asked for, nor was refused any such request for the one simple reason: I wasn't filming a campaign. It was not the point of the piece. I don't wish to cherry-pick a critical line of hers from within her overall review, but it is the opening sentence.

At another point, Ms. Stanley goes on to state that my observations about the media were incorrect because the media did not determine the outcome of the 2008 election. Like her previous comment, the fact that Obama won was not the point of the piece. That's for other filmmakers to make. But, Poliwood does address the importance of telegenic (TV friendly) political figures, of which Obama is one of them. Is Ms. Stanley suggesting that Obama's attractive appearance, his ability as a great speaker, his youth and vibrancy, and his story of rising from poverty as shown on television had absolutely no effect on him becoming President of United States? The film is much more of a sociological look at the cause and effects of television, the good and the bad and the sometimes ugly as it applies to the political dialogue. Not the 2008 election. But Ms. Stanley writes, "Poliwood gets on the bus with a group of politically minded movie stars, and forgets to get off and on to the campaign." We didn't forget. It was not the point of the film essay. There can only be two reasons for her fraudulent statement: one is that her arrogance is only exceeded by her ignorance, or two, since she was also reviewing By The People, a documentary that did follow the campaign, she needed to blend the two pieces to fit her own critical agenda.

Ms. Stanley can be as critical as she wants of Poliwood, but I find it very disconcerting to be criticized for what wasn't presented so she can fuel her own false premises.

To reiterate, criticism is a part of a filmmaker's journey. Any time you attempt to tackle a subject that is complicated, one is open to criticism. It comes with the territory. A WARNING: to any thin-skinned filmmaker, get out of this line of work quickly or you'll die a hemophiliac. But when one's work is used as fodder for a critic such as Ms. Stanley, then I feel I must speak up... and throw caution to the wind. I know the old adage, "Never get into a battle with someone who orders ink by the gallon," but I can't help myself.

The New York Times is known throughout the world as one of the leading newspapers in this country. It has excellent film criticism and book reviews. And a very strong op-ed page. Where Ms. Stanley fits into this strong lineup is questionable at best.

As a filmmaker, all you can expect is for your work to be examined for what it is. I keep thinking of Walter Cronkite at the end of his life, reading Ms. Stanley's quote. "There will never be an anchor like Walter Cronkite. And thank heaven for that." And I wonder after reading that devastating comment, whether he thought to himself: 'Ms. Stanley, what exactly did I do that was so wrong?'

And just for clarification, Walter Cronkite did not say that. I just made it up. Clarity is important.

Poliwood airs on Showtime this month.

Scott Mendelson: HuffPost Review: Precious (2009)

2009-11-10T17:56:26Z

Precious
2009
109 minutes
Rated R

Precious, based on Sapphire's novel Push, is a uniquely singular story. Although it tells a tale of an abused and impoverished inner-city sixteen-year old girl, it does not claim to represent all who fall under that category. It does not aim to be the urban-plight drama to end all urban-plight dramas, but instead it focuses on one person and the people around her who shape her past and her probable future. It occasionally tracks in cliché, but its unassuming nature redeems its notable storytelling flaws. Director Lee Daniels, writer Geoffrey Fletcher, and star Gabourey Sidibe pull of a delicate balancing act, filling their dark and brutal narrative with honest humor and occasional lights of kindness, while never letting it overpower the tragedy at play. It is marvelously acted and sharply insightful, but its greatest strength is its lack of pretension.

A token amount of plot: Clareece 'Precious' Jones is a morbidly-obese sixteen-year old illiterate living in Harlem. Currently pregnant with her second child conceived by her father's incestuous abuses, she faces the constant physical and emotional violence of her mother, who blames Clareece for stealing her boyfriend's affections. Having been brought up to believe that she is ugly, stupid, and destined for nothing other than a slow death, Precious has pretty much shut down outside of her own daydreams. But a glimmer of hope asserts itself, as an invitation to an 'alternative school' and the attentions of a compassionate social worker brings the brutalized teen into an environment where she is at last being treated as something resembling a human being.

Above all else, the film is an acting powerhouse from all involved. Comedian Mo'Nique goes all in as Mary, the somewhat monstrous matriarch. While her vicious tirades and brutal abuse threaten to become almost cartoonish, Mo'Nique always reminds us that this is a human being who has given up on life, someone who once too had dreams, hopes, and the capacity for love. The story of Mary is as much a tragedy as Precious's journey, as reflected in the sad eyes of Mary's own mother (stuck raising her down-syndrome-stricken great-granddaughter, her every moment portrays the sadness of failure at having raised a true monster). In fact, Mary's final scene is a such a powerful one that it threatens to overpower the climax, which should be about the choices that Precious has made and what she does with the life she still has left to live. As the representative of goodness and decency, Paula Patton gives a nicely shaded portrait of pure goodness as Precious's teacher and savior, Ms. Rain. But even she is allowed to have conflicted thoughts and a specific point of view, as the weariness of caring for someone so in need eventually takes a toll.

The rest of the supporting cast makes the most of small roles. Mariah Carrey has a few choice scenes, as her seemingly seen-it-all social worker slowly becomes overwhelmed by her client's grim backstory. Lenny Kravitz has fun as a witty and kindhearted nurse's aide. And the girls who make up Precious's alternative school class make the most of their limited screentime, and their every act of kindness and acceptance is another ray of light to a young girl not used to being tolerated, let alone liked. But it is newcomer Gabourey Sidibe who rightfully owns the film. Sidibe is the real deal. This is a refreshingly subtle and physical performance, as Sidibe does much with little dialogue. The camera loves her face, and it is her eyes that don't dare to light up or the mouth that cannot even muster up the energy to frown that commands our attention. She gets no big scenes and no major monologues and it's a remarkably un-showy performance.

So while the film succeeds as a powerful acting treat and a potent character study, there are some major narrative issues that prevent the film from being an accidental masterpiece. First of all, the timeline of the film is hopelessly skewed. The film begins with an already pregnant Precious entering the alternative school in 1987. Yet the 1989 Tian'anmen Square massacre apparently occurs before Precious gives birth to her second child. Frankly, I don't know why the film is a period piece at all, except perhaps t0 enhance the bitterness of a third-act plot twist. Furthermore, the whole film skips huge chunks of time and lets major moments go forward without consequence. For example, Precious eventually opens up to her social worker about the welfare fraud that her mother is committing, yet we never discover what happens in the household as a result of that confession.

More importantly, we never find out what happens to her incestuous father, as there is not even a hint of any kind of consequences for his multiple rapes even after the secret is out in the open. That leads into the film's most glaring problem, which involves the treatment of Precious's father as a character. While the mother is portrayed as a flesh and blood human being, the centerpiece antagonist of the film, the father is seen only in shadows during the flashbacks to the various sexual assaults. As a perhaps unintentional result, most of the audience's fury is directed at Mary, the mother who allowed her daughter to be raped and then blamed her child for stealing her man. Fair enough, but that basically lets the actual rapist (and originator of the cycle of despair) off the moral hook.

These glaring issues aside, the film still works as a potent character study and a glimpse inside a world we'd rather pretend does not exist in America. It will be interesting to see how people jump over themselves to find hope and optimism in a story that ends with little. This is a dark, sad, and mournful picture, which makes the occasional rays of kindness (a birthday card with a $20 bill from a kind nurse, classmates showing up to support one of their own in times of need and in times of triumph) all that much more potent. But while the film does not pretend that there are not countless children living lives similar to that of Clareece 'Precious' Jones, the filmmakers do not burden themselves with representing all of them. This is a singular film about a single human being. And on that simple level, Precious works as an acting tour de force and a powerful slice of life.

Grade: B+

Alex Remington: Interview with Christy Marx, Creator of Jem and Author of Comic Books, Computer Games, and Television

2009-11-10T17:25:06Z

Christy Marx isn't a household name, but she's a writer who's had success in nearly every medium. Among her more popular works were the 1980s television show Jem & the Holograms and two point-and-click adventure games for Sierra On-Line in the early 1990s, but a glance at her IMDB and Amazon authors pages give a better sense of what she's been doing since then: writing for everything from Babylon 5 to X-Men: Evolution.

You're a professional writer with a more varied resume than most: you've written prose books, comic books and graphic novels, scripts for movies and television, live action and animation, and computer games. Is there a medium you like best?

No, there honestly isn't. It's more about what I'm writing, the genre and nature of the material, and the amount of freedom I have to create than it is about the medium itself. What I enjoy the most is writing my own original material where I have creative control (and hopefully ownership), regardless of what format it appears in.

Of all your projects, solo works and collaborations, do you have a favorite, or one of which you're most proud? Is there anything that you've always wanted to do but haven't yet?

The ones that stand out for me are Jem and the Holograms in animation, The Sisterhood of Steel in comics, and my two adventure games for Sierra On-Line [1990's Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail and 1992's Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood].

I have scripts and ideas I've wanted to see realized for many years. You have to keep plugging away at them. Maybe it will happen, maybe it won't, but I can guarantee that nothing will happen unless you keep trying.

You started out in comics, and the past decade has been a relative boom -- it seems like every hero Hollywood could get its hands on seemed to get the blockbuster treatment, until Disney finally bought Marvel. (As a recent Tom the Dancing Bug strip put it, "Isn't there any fekakta cartoon character that hasn't been optioned for a movie yet?") What's your perception of the comic industry now, compared to when you started out?

The people working in comics (the writers, artists, etc.) continue to do it for the love of comics, I believe. But overall, big business now has its hands in things and have changed the medium radically because of that. To the business executives types, it's more about using comics as a cheap and easy platform to launch something that can adapted to more profitable media. This is cynical, but smart. Disney didn't buy Marvel because they just happen to love Spider-Man. They bought it because of the staggering money potential of a zillion licensed characters. Unfortunately, as long as a character is a franchise, the creative potential will be impacted. I wrote about this in an essay about Jean Grey in The Unauthorized X-Men: SF and Comic Writers on Mutants, Prejudice, and Adamantium from Benbella Books.

Look at Platinum Studios for a classic example of people who understood the connection between launching something in comic book format for the end goal of the big bucks of a movie deal. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with that approach as long as the people making the books themselves still care about what they're doing. But we can't pretend that the art and craft of making comics hasn't been affected.

A few dog years ago, Sierra was an industry leader both commercially and creatively in computer games. Their biggest games were inevitably serialized, including King's Quest, Police Quest, Quest for Glory... and the Conquest series that you developed, Conquests of Camelot and Conquests of the Longbow. (I understand your latest computer game project fell through.) How do you feel about the way computer games have evolved since then, and your place in that industry?

I feel that while games continue to relentlessly advance in technological quality, they haven't advanced nearly as well in terms of writing and storytelling potential. Games are already falling into restrictive niches. Most game designers don't see a need for professional quality writing. The budgets on many games have become so high that publishers become afraid to take chances on anything truly new. Writing/storytelling has never been considered a significant part of game development, often viewed as an afterthought, something to be tacked on like a veneer when a game is partway or mostly done.

I'm happy to see some positive changes in that regards. Some notable companies, such as Bioware, Ubisoft and Valve, are incorporating game storytellers (using such titles as Narrative Designer, Story Designer, writer/designer, etc.) at the beginning of development and integrating them into the design teams. That is the way it should be done. All the same, finding my kind of a job in the business is damned hard.

I would love to be making adventure games again. I wish someone would give me that opportunity.

You were head writer on the beloved mid-80's show Jem, which every girl I knew back then used to watch. In it, you created a girl superhero, complete with an alter-ego, futuristic technology, and plenty of Hasbro merchandising tie-ins. Looking back on it two decades later, what are your memories of working on the show? What were your favorite themes that you got to explore? And how does the landscape for heroic women look these days?

I wouldn't call Jem a superhero. It's true that she used technology to have an alter-ego, but that technology did nothing but change her appearance. It didn't grant her special powers or abilities. Whatever she had, came from the person she was inside, and I think that's an important aspect of the character.

I loved working on Jem. I had nearly total freedom to create the characters and the relationships and set the direction of the show. I was able to write a lot of episodes and truly have fun with the soap opera aspects: the love triangle, friendships, competition, jealousy, insecurity, trust, betrayal, parental issues, etc.

There's been a growth in roles for heroic women. Look at Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) in Alien all the way back in 1979. That was a turning point for women being seen as heroic characters. There were things that led up to that, of course, but rarely did you see a woman in that kind of tough, ass-kicking role. The trend has continued in all pop media. It will fluctuate and we'll see such roles come and go, but I do believe the notion of a woman being a strong heroic lead is here to stay.

How many cats do you have now?

The Moggy Horde currently consists of six cats, to whom I am the Servant of Bast.

Chris Kelly: 2012 Offends Catholics, Dimwits, Ex-Cons

2009-11-10T17:09:46Z

The huge new disaster movie 2012 opens this Friday. Everyone but HuffPost blogger John Cusack drowns, but not before a statue of Jesus crumbles, a crack opens in the Sistine Chapel roof -- right between the fingers of God and Adam -- and St. Peter's Basilica falls over on a lot of Italians. These images have offended the usual people in the I'm Offended Industry, but not for the reason you'd think.

The offense takers are offended because 2012 forgot to offend any Muslims.

Here's Greg Gutfeld, who used to be a HuffPost blogger and now has a public access TV show:

But there was one thing missing among

He means "amid."

the carnage: an Islamic target...

In an interview, the director (Roland Emmerich) said he hoped to destroy the Kaaba, an Islamic holy site, but his fellow screenwriter Harald Kloser persuaded him not to.

Here's what the hack had to say about crushing the Kaaba:

"Well, I wanted to do that... but my co-writer Harald said I will not have a fatwa on my head because of a movie..."

Hollywood screws with Christians because Christians don't behead people. But tweak Islam, and you could end up like director Theo van Gogh -- dead on a street with a flag impaled on your chest.

Not what "impaled" means. But a frightening image, anyway. A man lying dead, with his chest sticking through a flag.

If there's one thing Greg Gutfeld hates more than anti-Christianity, it's hacks, with their bad writing.

Bill Donohue, a divorced shakedown artist with no professional ties to any church, frequently appears on television as "president and CEO" of the "Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights." He's also available for parties and boycotts. He says:

Emmerich is more than a coward -- he is a liar who has it out for Catholics. Last year, he was quoted saying, "I would like to erase all nations and religions." Not true. He is quite content to live with Islam, even though he readily admits it is a religion of terror...

Every time I say Hollywood hates Christianity, especially Catholicism, my critics cringe. But they never offer evidence that I'm wrong.

I'll bet that's not the only time Bill Donahue gets the cringing thing.

I'm sorry Bill Donahue's having such a bad time on Earth. Wait till he gets to Hell. Simonists are ever less comfortable there.

In a column for The Christian Post, Chuck Colson, an elderly jailbird, says the deeper problem with 2012 is that "Western culture might have lost its faith, but folks have not lost their anxieties." That's why we turn to "new-age versions of these faiths." Like "the environment" and "global warming."

And there you were, thinking the worst thing about 2012 was going to be that Adam Lambert song.

They're missing the point, of course. The reason Roland Emmerich chose Catholic icons to destroy is out of respect for Catholicism. Because even a guy who could ruin the Godzilla franchise knows that Catholicism means real religion, and everything else is sort of silly.

Chesterton asks us to imagine blaspheming Odin. You can't. You'd just sound like a dope.

Or as Lenny Bruce said:

The only "The" religion, actually, is Catholicism. I mean, as far as strength. Paramhansa Yogananda's cute, but The Church, that's it.

Here's the really tasteful hidden imagery in 2012:

Oh fun. The plane's about to crash into those twin skyscrapers.

And look over on the right. First there's the Library Tower. (Or as George Bush, America's Greg Gutfeld called it, "The Liberty Tower.") It was destroyed by Ronald Emmerich in Independence Day and was identified by the Kean Commission as the fifth target on 9/11.

Now look at the building to the far right. The earthquake is the least of its problems. See the three explosions blowing out the windows of its lower floors? Oh my God! It's being imploded by a controlled demolition!

Mike McCready: Melting Pop? Latin Music in America Is Sounding More Like Pop

2009-11-10T15:34:22Z

Spanish language music in the US has typically been heavily influenced by Latin American beats, tropical grooves and sounds from south of the border. That's natural since this country's Latin heritage comes from those regions.

However, I've noticed a minor trend in Spanish language music becoming more influenced by American and British Pop. It is creating some very interesting fusion sounds and styles. I think we're going to hear more of it in the near future.

There's a huge Spanish speaking market in this country comprised of people who have been here for a long time and who have come to love anglo pop sounds. Deliver it in Spanish and you've got a winning strategy.

Americans grew up understanding the lyrics of almost every song on the radio with only a few exceptions throughout the years. But most countries around the world have been importing US and British Pop and Rock since the 50's but they maintained a healthy local music flavor and in the 90's they sold it right back to us. Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and Marc Anthony put English lyrics to Latin beats and it worked. Now, some Spanish speaking artists are putting Spanish lyrics to Pop music and serving it up in the US market and at home.

Bands from Spain have an advantage. In Spain, Spanish language pop is the order of the day and while artists like David Bisbal and Alejandro Sans have made it big here, their music is more Latin-like (at least in terms of how we think of it) than is typical in the land of Cervantes. A lot of what you hear on Spain's top 40 could be played on Z100 or any other mainstream pop station in the US or Britian if only it were in English.

Here's an example. This is a Barcelona-based group called La Puerta de los Sueños doing some pretty impressive pop.

Algo Entre Nosotros

On the other hand, there are pop groups in Spain that have been importing American Pop songs, translating them and using them to get recording deals in Madrid. Here's a great pop song by Nashville-based Jag Star called Does Anybody Know.

Does Anybody Know

And here's the same song adapted by Spanish Pop group Luces De Neon:

Que Diablos

Recently, a Puerto Rico-based musician I discovered online named Javier Villar recorded a killer song called Sin Bling Bling. While he's a very skilled songwriter, musician and live performer, he recorded this masterpiece as a one-off under the artistic name, El Tarot.

He combines the emerging Latin-influenced pop sound with elements of Urban references and artful hooks. He peppers the Spanish with phrases and words in English creating the melting pot mix that every language has evolved into in today's connected world. In my opinion, while this song is still more Latin than Pop it hints at where this market is going. Someone should sign him up to a deal.

Marshall Fine: Movie review: The Messenger delivers

2009-11-10T12:27:58Z

Films about the folly of the Iraq War have been such box-office poison that it's tempting to automatically upgrade any film that shows the toll this pointless, seemingly endless conflict for what it is - as a waste of life and a burden on survivors - just for daring to tell the truth.

Not that it would make a difference. With the exception of this year's The Hurt Locker, which had to go out of its way not to seem like a movie about Iraq, virtually every film about Iraq - good, bad, fiction and documentary - has died a miserable death in theaters. I tend to think it has less to do the movies' flaws or merits and more to do with a national sense of shame and denial - at allowing ourselves to be suckered by George W. Bush and his ruthless shills into supporting the quagmire/fiasco.

It will be too bad if that same fate awaits Oren Moverman's The Messenger, as powerful and restrained a drama as you could wish for. Iraq is a presence but it's never shown. Indeed, this is a drama that could have used any war as its context and made the same point: that all war ends tragically for too many, no matter what the objective or outcome.

Ben Foster plays Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery, decorated and shipped home after being wounded in Iraq. Assigned to the motor pool, he also has drawn a special duty: as a casualty notification officer, tasked with informing the next-of-kin of soldiers who have been killed in action.

His new partner is the feisty Capt. Tony Stony (Woody Harrelson), a veteran of the detail who quickly briefs Will on the job. They have to get to the family as quickly as possible, so the family won't hear about it from the media or someone else. They cannot engage emotionally with those they are notifying. They don't hug or otherwise touch them. And they don't react if they are touched. Get in, do the job with honor, get out. Follow the script.

The job, however, is as emotionally draining in its way as combat. Given the opportunity, the people to whom they deliver this grim news would gladly kill these messengers, if it meant bringing their loved one back. Or if it could muffle the sudden searing pain they are feeling, by projecting it on to someone else. Continued...

For the rest of this review, click HERE to reach my website: www.hollywoodandfine.com.

William Bradley: Mad Men's Sensational Season Finale -- HuffPost Review

2009-11-10T00:25:57Z

What a terrific finale to the outstanding third season of Mad Men! "Shut The Door, Have A Seat" is aptly titled, as that is what happens throughout the episode. It's action-packed, and not just for Mad Men, a show whose pace can sometimes be exceedingly deliberate. And it's fun, especially in contrast to the two great, shattering episodes which precede it, in which we see the reveal of Don Draper's darkest secrets, the collapse of the Draper marriage, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Now, with the seismic shocks of the Kennedy assassination reverberating throughout society, what's commonly called "The Sixties" is really about to begin. It's the middle of December, and four lads from Liverpool will start exploding across American radio in a matter of days.

The Beatles start exploding for the first time across American radio days after the events in this season finale.

As always with these extensive reviews, there be spoilers ahead, so you've been warned.

Put simply, the band is back together. With a few big changes.

Paradoxically, series creator Matthew Weiner, who directed and co-wrote the season finale, has flipped the series by returning it to its core.

But this time it's a core that has a new focus.

Sterling Cooper has always been something of an anachronism. A old-style partnership steeped in old ways of advertising.

Now it is shaping up as something else.

And just in time. It's mid-December. President Kennedy was assassinated less than four weeks ago. The Beatles are finally jumping the pond and are going to start breaking big time on American radio in less than two weeks. They arrive in New York for the Ed Sullivan Show, and the even more virulent American version of Beatlemania, in less than two months. What we think of as "the '60s" is kicking swiftly into gear.

The shocking assassination of President Kennedy was covered in Episode 12.

Don has taken the big existential step of kicking out on his own, prodded into it by Connie Hilton, who actually set the entire sequence in motion. And I suspect quite intentionally.

Don is talking with an entrepreneurial fervor we've never heard from him before. He's been happy to stay where he is, growing where he is in stature. Even as the agency is being overtaken by events.

He could either remain in place, and become a cog in a much bigger machine, answering to high-level bureaucrats. Or he could make a break.

It's been frustrating at times this season to see favorite characters, especially Joan Holloway, doing relatively little within the action of the show. But that's the way life can be, if not conventional television.

This show is far more novelistic than a conventional TV series. In a sprawling, epic novel, key characters can disappear for long stretches.

Weiner moved the pieces on his game board in such a way that very popular characters like Joan Holloway (my favorite next to Don) and Roger Sterling were absent from the action for long stretches of time. Leaving them free to reemerge as their world, and the bigger world, shifts in dramatic ways.

Betty discovers Don's little box of big secrets in Episode 11.

And now to the sequence of things ...

Don is sleeping in Grandpa Gene's old room, banished by Betty. Awakening, looking rather the worse for wear, he fiddles with the alarm clock.

He is, as fate has it, late for a meeting with Connie Hilton. Hilton doesn't waste any time to inform Don that his world has just changed.

"I'm afraid I have some serious business to discuss," Hilton says with little ceremony. "McCann Erickson is buying Putnam, Powell, and Lowe. That means I'm going to have to move my New York properties elsewhere." McCann already has a lot of Hilton business and Hilton is trying to diversify his advertising portfolio, though he does not explain this outright to Don, or the viewer.

Don is stunned. "That means we're all gone." he says.

Hilton's assessment is rather different: "Sterling I don't know. Cooper will be put on an ice flow. You're a prize pig."

He tells Don this is business and happens all the time.

Since Don turned down a heavy and manipulative pitch from McCann Erickson -- which included dangling a renewed modeling career before Betty -- earlier in the series, he doesn't like this news a bit.

The knowledge that Hilton has just dropped him settles in, though, and he starts squirming about the loss of yet another constant in his life.

Hilton is studying Don throughout this. I think he's waiting to hear something. Don, however, is becoming bitter. He's also clearly tired of Hilton's incessant midnight calls and gamesmanship.

"You come and go as you please," Don tells Connie, accusatorily. An amusing thing to say coming from Don Draper. Don starts venting: "My future is tied up in this mess because of you (referring to the agency contract Hilton made him sign). ... All this talk, calling me your son. ... You want to play with me. I get it now, Connie, it's business."

Don isn't reading Hilton. And hasn't read him well throughout their relationship. Connie was impressed by Don when they met by chance at that silly Derby Day early in the season. He sensed a kindred spirit. Don, however, has been thinking like a conventional ad man. (Recall how disappointed Connie seemed when he summoned Don to the Waldorf Astoria the first time, revealing that they really had met. Don's response was that he wanted Hilton as a client. And Connie told him he was thinking small.)

Don Draper was on top of the world in Episode 10.

So Hilton gives it to him straight, as a wake-up call: "I got everything on my own. It's made me immune to those who complain and cry because they can't. I didn't take you for one of them, Don. Are you?"

Don doesn't blow up at this. And Hilton tells him they will try working together again.

Don walks into Sterling Cooper, seeing it in a new light, as something passing, no one else there knowing their lives are about to change, again.

He has a brief vision recalling his father Archie pulling out of a wheat cooperative becase the price was too low.

Whereupon Don all but bursts into Bert Cooper's office and delivers the news. Conrad Hilton says that McCann Erickson has acquired PPL, and Sterling Coo with it. Robert Morse is so good as Bert in this episode. What seemed at first as a possible piece of stunt casting -- he was the classic J. Pierepont Finch in the '60s hit, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying -- has proved to be far more than that.

Don says he wants to act, he wants to know what Bert is going to do, as he is about to lose the business he started 40 years ago.

Bert says there's nothing to do. "I lost my business last year," he says. Besides, we all have contracts.

Don is having none of it. Prodded by Connie Hilton into action, he wants to buy the agency from PPL.

Bert doesn't want to do that. Why put his fortune on the line? He doesn't have another 40 years to make it again.

Don is doing his own prodding now. "I understand, I'll let you go back to sleep. I want to work. I want to build something."

Don Draper's amigo and uber-client, Connie Hilton, was disappointed in Episode 9 when surrogate son Don didn't give him the Moon. But he's still a big fan, hosting the 40th anniversary party for Sterling Cooper at the Waldorf Astoria.

Bert has a good parry: ''Young men love risks because they can't imagine consequences." Again, Don is having none of his complacency. ''And you old men love building golden tombs and sealing the rest of us in with you."

Intrigued by a Don Draper who is suddenly more interested in building a business than playing hookie at French films, Cooper tells him, appraisingly: "I'm not sure you have the stomach for the realities." He also doesn't look sure that he doesn't.

"Try me," Don shoots back.

Bert tells him they will need accounts to make this work. That means Roger Sterling. Don doesn't look pleased at the prospect of dealing with his ex-pal.

If we're going to do this, declares Cooper, "We have to talk to Roger now." Don is a little sulky. "You talk to him." Now Cooper is having none of it. "Do you want to do this or not?"

The two burst into Roger's office. He's on the phone, talking to Jane, who is obsessed with the Kennedy assassination. Sensing their urgency, he says something about how someone unnamed would naturally be upset about the assassination, as "it happened on his watch," tells her to stop reading all the newspapers, and hangs up the phone.

"It's the most interest that girl's ever had in a book depository," he quips.

Bert tells him that Don and he have been discussing the idea of buying the company back.

"Really, why,?" Roger asks, deadpan. He has other fish to fry. Or so he thinks.

Informed that he'll be out under the latest new regime, Roger seems unconcerned. "Somewhere there's a deck chair with my name on it," he says.

Some great fast-paced dialogue ensues, with each of the three revealing important opinions they've held back.

Roger to Don: "I want to see what you look like with your tail between your legs." ... "So you've decided you want to be in the advertising business." ... "You don't value relationships."

Don to Roger: "I value my relationship with you." To which Roger replies: "You do, now."

Bert to Roger : "You sold your birthright to marry that trollop." ... "You're right not to do it. If you've lost your appetite ... "I've seen this." And proceeds to talk about guys who retire to their clubs and die in three years.

Roger to Bert: "Join or die. That's your pitch? He was doing better," as he points at Don.

"We have to try," Don insists, and they agree to give it a shot.

Here's a quick recap of Episode 8.

Don's now back at Chez Draper. As soon as he comes in, Betty sends the kids upstairs. "You want me to go, too," Don quips. Betty is not bantering. She tells Don to have a seat. Then she hits him with it: "I made an appointment with a divorce attorney and I suggest you do the same."

Don is having a hard day's night. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

He tells Betty that she hasn't been herself since the Kennedy assassination. That she needs to see a doctor. "A good one, this time." As distinguished, say, from the shrink Don sent to her to who provided Don with detailed reports on their confidential sessions.

Betty isn't having it. So Don becomes adamant, telling her to forget it. "I won't let you break up this family." Betty counters that she isn't the one who broke the family.

This is not the sort of conversation that goes well. It's interesting to note that Don's legendary persuasive powers are nowhere in evidence.

Back at Sterling Coo the next day, Bert, Roger and Don bring Lane Pryce in and confront him with the story, not identifying Hilton as the source. Lane denies it. So Roger tells him, hey, "Don't act like a stranger. We've got tea."

At which point Lane tells them he's under orders to say nothing and that the story is only partly true. Sterling Coo is being sold, but not PPL. It's not his idea, he says. In fact, "I've quite enjoyed it here."

Bert says that the three of them want to buy the agency back at the price they received plus 12 percent. But it's not enough. Lane can't say what they're going for this time, but it's more.

Now we see Betty with a lawyer. And another person, one Henry Francis, senior advisor to Governor Nelson Rockefeller. It seems he knows this lawyer, who talks about the woeful state of divorce law in New York. Quizzing Betty, he establishes that Don only meets one of the grounds for a divorce -- adultery, of course -- and that that would have to be proved. While Betty thinks that is do-able, there is a bigger problem, says the lawyer. When both parties have committed adultery.

At which point Henry makes it clear whose lawyer this is, saying: "Ken, do you think the governor needs another scandal on the ticket?" He and Betty have not had sex. They merely plan to get married. I feel very confident about this marriage.

A quick recap of Episode 7.

So Ken tells her that she should establish residence in Reno, Nevada for six weeks for an uncontested divorce. And then says it's time to talk about how much money she wants from Don.

Now Henry tells Betty not to take Don's money, even though she has three kids. "I'll take care of them. And I'll take care of you. I don't want you owing him anything."

Right, Henry, you simply want Betty to owe you everything. This is starting to come into focus.

"We want to get this done as soon as possible," he tells the lawyer.

Over in the city, Lane calls that smoothie St. John Powell in London to report that the top guns at Sterling Coo are on to the sale. But they had it off a little, thinking that PPL as a whole was being sold.

After some attempted misdirection, Powell finally tells Lane that PPL is being sold. Lane, the loyal company man, is hurt and outraged.

"Why wasn't I told?" "It didn't seem pertinent," Powell airily explains. And after all, it had to be kept secret inside PPL, too.

Lane wants to know what his role will be going forward.

What is Lane's role? Lane's a tootsie roll.

"Lane, they know you're essential to the transition," Powell replies. And then what? "You'll prove irreplaceable. You always do." Powell allows as how he will "put in a good word for you."

"Well thank you," Lane replies. Powell, thinking of his coming mega-payday, says: "Thank you," and hangs up. Lane then slams down his phone.

Don is back at Chez Draper, trudging upstairs alone. He looks in at an angelic Sally, sleeping peacefully. And thinks back again to his childhood. Archie is drinking moonshine in the kitchen, arguing with his wife about his decision. "Fine," he finally says, "fine, I'll sell the crop for nothing. I'll drive it to Chicago tonight." He goes out to the stable, barely able to stand, his wife sending little Dick Whitman after him. In the stable, with thunder and lightning crashing outside, Archie and Dick take some pulls on the moonshine as Archie laughs. Archie starts fiddling with some tack and drops it. He bends over to retrieve it, there's another thunderclap, and the already skittish horse in front of him, now thoroughly spooked, kicks Archie in the face and kills him. Little Dick is horrified.

Back in the moment, Don lies down on Sally's bed next to her.

The next day, Don is taking charge of things at Sterling Coo. Bert and Roger enter his office and we see that Lane is already there. He tells them that their intelligence was correct, and his was not. They start talking about torpedoing the deal and taking over the agency. Though Lane is angry with Powell, he is still a loyal company man. "I should sack the lot of you," he tells them.

Don shoots back: "Go ahead, fire us. It's the only thing you did well here." Taken aback, Lane replies: "I did a great many things here."

And Don has his brainstorm. "Yes, that's right. You have absolute authority to fire anyone. Fire us. Sever our contracts." Then they'll go out on their own. And take the best of the old agency with them.

Lane is resistant, but not very as he sees where things are going, and where they can go.

"Once this sale goes through," Don reminds him, "you'll be a corpse knocking against their hull."

Lane delivers a stock, and rather rote, Britishism: "Nothing good ever came of seeking revenge." "Nonsense," Bert replies. "We'll make you a partner."

Really? Would Lane's name be on the door? Now, you're negotiating, Don notes wryly.

Roger is less than thrilled with another name partner. But Don asks him: "Do you know how to do what he does? I don't." Neither does Roger, or Bert.

So Lane immediately becomes a key conspirator, figuring which accounts they can get right away.

Roger brings Lucky Strike, the client whose absence, incidentally, "can close Sterling Cooper's doors," as Don told Sal Romano when he was fired at the behest of the closeted son of the owner.

Hilton? Don says no. He's not in the mood to deal with Hilton now, and in any event, he wants this new agency put together without Connie's help. Without Connie's help, that is, aside from setting the whole thing in motion.

They'll need some more accounts "for cash flow," Lane says.

Which seems a bit fishy as a plot point, since their overhead is about to vanish.

Lane, checking his watch, says he'll send a telex to London at the end of the day revealing that he has fired Bert Cooper, Roger Sterling, and Don Draper. Which, in these now quaint days of leisurely communication and five-day work weeks, won't be seen till Monday morning. That gives them all of Friday and the weekend to get organized.

"Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency" is a consequential episode.

Anyone who is approached now, Lane notes, must be a certainty. "If news spreads, they'll lock us out."

Don asks, sheepishly: "Do we vote or something." Roger and then the others raise their hands. Lane: "Well, gentlemen, I suppose you've all been fired."

Now they are in scramble mode. They decide to get ahold of Pete Campbell. Why Pete? He's talented. And he's already disgruntled, having been passed over by Lane for head of accounts. Beware yon Cassius, he has a lean and hungry look ...

Don calls Peggy in and essentially tells her that she's leaving with him to work for a new agency.

Peggy balks. "You just assume I'll do what ever you say, just follow you like some nervous poodle."

Don, highly officious, says he won't beg her. Beg? "You haven't even asked. I've had other offers. With sales pitches. Everybody thinks you do my work, even you. I don't want to make a career out of being there for you to kick when you fail."

Don says he guesses he'll have to talk to Curt and Schmitty, notably not mentioning Paul Kinsey. Peggy guesses he's right about that, and leaves his office.

The essential milieu of Mad Men is not all that admirable.

Now we're at Pete and Trudy Campbell's apartment. She laying out stuff, as if for guests, and Pete is wondering where the hell his pajamas are. After all, he has to look sick, since he called in sick in order to interview with Ogilvy.

It's Roger and Don at the door. They've been calling all day, and have decided to come by. Trudy excuses herself and goes in to the bedroom, the better to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Pete asks if everything is okay and they give it to him straight. McCann bought PPL. They're not firing Pete, in fact, they want him as part of a new agency.

"Am I getting a few more adjectives added to my title?" Pete is a tad bitter. After all, he skipped the fantastic wedding the day after the Kennedy assassination.

Hilariously, a voice calls out from the bedroom: "Peter, may I speak to you for a moment?" Pete calms back down.

Roger and Don tell him they're starting a new agency. "We need what's in your saddle bag."

Pete wants to know why they need him, aside from accounts he can bring. Roger replies: "You'll do what it takes."

But that's not what Pete wants to hear, and he doesn't want to hear it from Roger.

So we have the remarkable turnaround of Don Draper singing the praises of the man who tried to blackmail him in season one for the position he's now being offered outright.

Don's fine with it. He's not only politic, but truthful. "It's not hard for me to say. You saw this coming and we didn't. In fact, you've been ahead on a lot of things: Aeronautics, teenagers, the Negro market. We need you to keep us looking forward. I do, anyway."

Pete Campbell, harbinger of the future.

Here's a quick recap of Episode 5.

Pete wants to be a partner. Okay. He wants his name in the lobby. There's not going to be a lobby. Not at first. Later on, they'll see. As Don points out, he's best when he has a goal to work toward.

Pete shows that he has accounts worth $8 million a year in billings. He tries to negotiate some more. Don tells him he doesn't get conditions. They strike the deal, so long as Pete comes through. And shake hands, as Pete explains that he's not really sick after all. Yes, Pete.

Trudy's thrilled, and they whirl about before setting to work. They've turned out to be a very good couple.

Now we see Don and Roger in a darkened bar. It's like season one. They grouse a bit about the temerity of Pete preparing to leave Sterling Coo before they asked him to. Roger notes that the bar still has a picture of Kennedy up. (Get used to that, Roger!) "What are they gonna do, put up Lyndon Johnson?"

Don confides that he needs a lawyer. And Roger reveals that he knows about Henry Francis.

Who?! Don has no idea. He demands that Roger tell him who he is and what he knows about him. Which is not all that, but it's enough. Roger is sorry he said it. "I was gonna tell you. No, I wasn't. I thought you knew. I'm sorry I told you, believe me." He seems sincere. And pleased that they're pals again.

Don is still shocked, shaking his head.

Now Don is back at Chez Draper. It's late, he's drunk, and he's being a rather scary asshole. Jon Hamm, to his credit, doesn't stint on this side of Don when it's called for.

Don roughly wakes Betty, sleeping in the baby's room. "Who the hell is Henry Francis,?" he demands. "No one," she says. Wrong answer.

It gets worse from there.

''Now I'm not good enough for some spoiled Main Line brat!'' ''You're right!'' she fires back.

He manhandles her, roughly pulling her by her nightgown, playing the hulk. It's an ugly scene.

"You're so good and everyone else is bad. You're so hurt. So brave with your little white nose in the air. All along you've been building a life raft. You never forgave me. Forgave that I'm not good enough. You won't get a nickle and I'll take the kids."

"I'm going to Reno," Betty tells him. "You'll consent. Don't threaten me. I know all about you." Don grabs her and calls her a whore. The baby wakes, crying. Betty orders Don out of the house.

Now Pete is in the elevator at Sterling Cooper, holding a box, looking pensive and not a little worried. The elevator door opens. It's Harry Crane. Pete says he's a little scared. Harry wonders why. Pete asks why he's here. "I don't know. Cooper called me. First they're cleaning carpets, now they're not."

As they walk into the office, Pete calls out ahead of them, "Look, Harry Crane is here." Yes, it's Harry Crane, the luckiest character on the show.

Lane tells Pete to relax, as he is expected. Pete bristles a bit and wonders why Lane, who passed him over for accounts chief, is here.

Bert explains what they are doing to Harry, and that they want him to be head of the media department. As he not infrequently is, Harry is dumbfounded: "You're kidding." "Yes we are," says Roger, "Happy birthday."

A quick recap of Episode 4.

Harry wants to call his wife. Since it's all a big secret, that, however, is not an option. Bert tells Harry that if he turns them down and elects to be "a mid-level cog" in a big corporation, they'll have to lock him inside the storeroom.

He's in!

ThIngs are humming along. The caper is working. But there's one big snag. They don't actually know how the agency's internal management system works, not even Pete or Lane. Roger says he'll make a discreet call and take care of it. Guess who he's calling.

Back at Chez Draper, Don and Betty have a painful talk with their kids in the living room. Bobby asks: "What'd we do?" Nothing. "Then why are we in the living room?"

Betty reveals that Don is moving out, but he'll be back to visit. Bobby wants to know if it's because he lost Don's cuff links.

"Is it like when you lived in the hotel?" Yes, says Don. No, says Betty.

"I'm not going," says Don. "I'm just living elsewhere." I see.

Sally sees through this: "That's going, you say things and don't mean it." She's catching on.

Then she asks Betty if she's making Don leave. She says no, they both decided it. Well, not really, Betty. Sally doesn't buy it. As Don tries to reassure her, she storms off. Bobby is holding on to Don, begging him not to leave.

Here's a quick recap of Episode 3.

Betty tears up, face in hands. It's done. And it's over, at last.

Of course, the truth is that Don does leave his kids. Even when he's around.

Now he drops by to see Peggy, who tells him he looks awful.

He sits, but Peggy remains standing and asks if he wants anything. Why, yes, he does.

"You were right," he tells her. He tells her he's taken her for granted and been hard on her because he's seen her as an extension of himself. Which she is not.

It's good, but not good enough, and Peggy thanks him for stopping by.

Still seated, he asks her to sit down.

Why can't he work at McCann Erickson? "Because you can't work for anyone else?" No, he says.

"Because there are people out there who buy things and something happened, something terrible, and the way they saw themselves is gone. Nobody understands that. But you do. And that's very valuable."

Don is referring both to the Kennedy assassination and Peggy's own secret, as well as his own. They are a lot alike.

A quick recap of Episode 2.

Now Don is delivering the sort of pitch that might have worked with Betty. Had he only thought, or cared enough, to spin it up.

"With you or not I'm moving on. I don't know if I can do it alone. Will you help me?"

Peggy chokes up: "What if I say no? You'll never speak to me again."

"No," he says, "I will spend the rest of my life trying to hire you."

Now a great moment for the fans arrives, along with one Joan Holloway as she makes a grand entrance, her last at the old Sterling Cooper. By the time they're done, there won't be much left besides the facade. Which is saying a lot for an advertising agency.

Roger, naturally, called her and she is already all over the case. She's made a list, called the movers, and figured out how to get everything they need to run their new agency.

Don arrives with Peggy. "Joan, what a good idea," he notes with a big smile.

Pete, incidentally, has come through with flying colors. In addition to the promised accounts, he's retrieved -- evidently with Trudy's help -- his father-in-law's Clearasil account. Don is impressed.

They have to get into the art department. They don't have keys. Sadly, Sal Romano has not been hired back, as the client that is the key to their new agency is the reason he was fired. Don kicks the door in. Problem solved.

Roger, Joan and Peggy are working, Roger mock complaining that he can't read Joan's handwriting as she corrects him. "Peggy, can you get me some coffee?" Two beats. "No."

Now they are ready to leave. Don tells Joan that he needs her to get him an apartment. She's not surprised.

Mad Men's third season opener set a strong stage for things to come.

Everyone else has left now. The movers take the stuff out and we're left with Don and Roger -- Butch and Sundance once again -- looking at that great Sterling Cooper set, the latest in mid-century moderne.

Roger wonders: "How long will it take us to be in a place like this again?" Don says he never saw himself in a place like this.

They close the door. Don is about to lock it when Roger tells him not to bother and walks off, leaving Don looking for a last time at the old Sterling Cooper.

It's Monday morning. Don's secretary walks into his office and does a double-take. "We've been robbed!," she cries.

Lane is there, as it happens. He does not want to miss this. After all, he has to be properly informed.

His smarmy assistant, "Moneypenny," gives the phone to Lane. It's St. John Powell in London, his third call already of the morning for Lane.

"What in God's name is going on over there?," he asks. Lane notes that, at this point, it should be very clear.

Now Powell is screaming. "You're fired. You're fired for costing this company millions of pounds. You're fired for insubordination. You're fired for lack of character!"

"Very good," says Lane. "Happy Christmas!" He slams the phone down on his treacherous ex-boss.

All but Lane and Harry are now on site in their new office, a room at the Pierre Hotel. The phone rings, and Joan answers. Look, business already.

"Good morning, Sterling Cooper Draper Price ... Yes, Harry, it's room 435."

Back at the erstwhile Sterling Coo, Ken Cosgrove says that Pete tried to poach the John Deere account over the weekend. Paul Kinsey looks around, sees that Peggy is gone. And he is not. "Damn it."

Trudy brings lunch for the Sterling Cooper Draper Price gang. She's totally into it.

Don shoos Harry out of the bedroom with the promise of food and calls Betty.

He tells her he's not sure where he's going to be staying but he's working out of the Pierre. She receives this news with neutrality.

"Listen, Betts," he tells her, "I want you to know I'm not going to fight you."

Her face does a little moue.

"I hope you get what you always wanted," he tells her.

"You will always be their father," she tells him. They say their goodbyes.

Don comes out of the bedroom. And walks into a rather festive atmosphere. Roger is telling Bert that if you leave your shoes outside the door here -- Cooper's famous requirement for entry into his office -- somebody takes them away and polishes them.

Don may have lost his family, or at least his trophy wife. But he seems to have formed another family, of a sort.

Lane has arrived. Don asks how his morning was. "Very productive," he replies, with a cheshire grin.

And now closing images ...

Betty is on a plane, baby Gene on her lap and Henry by her side, flying to Reno, Nevada. It's "The Biggest Little City in the World," you know.

Sally and Bobby are with Carla at Chez Draper, watching TV on the sofa together. Television, the true hearth in their home, is already dominating the Draper children's lives, as it will kids throughout America from now on.

Don gets out of a cab, grabs his bags, and walks toward what looks like an apartment building.

And Roy Orbison sings while Don heads into his new apartment, "The future is much better than the past."

It's been a tremendous season of this amazing show. I'll actually have more to say about the season, the show, and what may lie ahead, next week.

You can check things during the day on my site, New West Notes ... www.newwestnotes.com.