by James Sims | August 29th, 2009
 This week marked a dark time for America as senator Edward M. Kennedy, one of its most championed political leaders, passed away. With the loss of Ted Kennedy the political legacy of Camelot might very well be dead — an American myth surrounding the storied Kennedy clan.
Camelot was an ideal for all Americans to gaze upon. John F. Kennedy held the reign as King Arthur while Bobby acted the gallant sir Lancelot. Then there was Jackie Kennedy, the lovely Guinevere. And the youngest brother was none other than Teddy. He championed for real change in America long after assassins gunned down his two admired brothers.
Family and friends gathered at a private memorial Friday evening at the JFK Library and Museum in Boston in order to bid Ted farewell. Among the guests was Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell. The actor performed “The Impossible Dream” from Broadway’s Man of La Mancha — a musical based on Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote. The song was a fitting tribute to a man that spent much of his political career following his own impossible dream — health care for all.
It was as if the “lion” of the Senate was marching towards an unbeatable foe. He refused bowing to the Republican party’s notion that health care was a privilege and not a right. No, Ted was intent on righting the unrightable wrong.
In 1969 Ted found himself in the middle of a major controversy following a car crash in Chappaquiddick. Mary Jo Kopechne, an aide to Robert Kennedy and passenger in Ted’s car, died after they careened off a bridge. Many speculated that Ted would resign — his arms too weary to carry on. Instead, he picked himself up and set out to reach the unreachable star. Health care reform was now in his sights.
Ted could almost be heard singing:
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
Leading the charge to pass the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990 proved Ted was serious about health care reform and equal rights. He promoted AIDS research and pushed the Kennedy-Kassebaum Bill through in 1996.
Ted was true to this glorious quest until the very end of his life. Roaring in support of President Obama’s latest push for health care reform, Ted refused to lie peaceful and calm until he was laid to rest. At the last Democratic convention in Denver Ted told everyone that universal health insurance was “the cause of my life.”
Diagnosed with brain cancer, the disease that would ultimately take his life at age 77, Ted was scorned and covered with scars. However, the senator still strove with his last ounce of courage to see that health care reform became a reality.
This impossible dream now falls to President Obama, a man that campaigned on hopes and dreams. Obama and all political leaders must never forget that America is a land for all people, not just those that can afford expensive medical plans. Should Ted’s dream be deemed impossible, this country runs the risk of suffering Don Quixote’s fate — dying a beaten and battered man.
Published by the Huffington Post on August 29, 2009.
by James Sims | August 21st, 2009
 If you ask Alexis Bledel whether college was a worthwhile experience, you’d discover that without her time at school she might not have become an actress. Now 27, she started out with a focus on writing and directing. “I figured out that I was interested in acting while at NYU,” she told me while discussing her new film, Post Grad.
Unlike many recent college graduates fighting unemployment Bledel has had a fairly easy go of things when it comes to work. She landed the lead role in Girlmore Girls opposite Lauren Graham in 2000. Since then she has gone on to star in the popular Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies.
In Post Grad Bledel plays Ryden, a young lady just entering the work force and hoping to make a career in book publishing. Ryden lands an interview at her dream company Happerman & Browning, a Los Angeles based publisher – think Random House. But she fails to land the job and is forced to move back in with her family, played by a star cast including Michael Keaton, Carol Burnett and Jane Lynch.
It would be easy to think of Post Grad’s screenwriter Kelly Fremon as a soothsayer seeing how her film is set for release right in the middle of an unemployment crisis. But neither Fremon nor Bledel could have seen the recent economic meltdown coming when first creating this sentimental teen comedy.
Fremon is no stranger to unemployment. She wrote Post Grad after graduating from college and spending nearly eight months without work. Her solution – write about it. Originally titled The Post-Grad Survival Guide, the plot unfolds like a self-help book.
Director Vicky Jenson, making her live-action debut following Shrek, says of the story: “In all of the funny and painful frustration we watch this character go through, we can recognize our own issues.”
While Bledel and Post Grad co-star Zach Gilford, star of NBC’s Friday Night Lights, won’t be interviewing for a corporate job anytime soon they are familiar with Ryden’s situation. “We both definitely relate to the stress of an interview,” Gilford said after I asked him about the comparison between auditioning and interviewing. He thinks both situations are “a bit of a guessing game” when it comes to feeling sure of yourself.
“I went to this one audition where the casting director was from my hometown,” Gilford said. “We had some of the same friends.” It seemed like the old adage, “it’s who you know” was playing in his favor. But, like Ryden, he didn’t land the job. “Sometimes you just never know,” he said.
With Post Grad sure to pull in a young female audience Bledel and Gilford have some advice for those in a less than comfortable post-grad situation. “Go with the flow,” said Bledel with Gilford agreeing. “You’re not going to be able to plan out the future.”
Published by the Huffington Post on August 21, 2009
by James Sims | August 21st, 2009
| Project Runway Goes Viral
 Lifetime is finally dipping its toe in the online video pool as it offers up full-length episodes of its newest acquisition, “Project Runway.” The women-friendly network has not offered complete episodes in the past. If you forgot to set your DVR to record last night’s premiere of the greatest fashion-based reality show make sure to check out Lifetime.com. Mediaweek.
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| Jackson Doc Pushed Up
 Sony Pictures Entertainment will release its Michael Jackson documentary earlier than expected but with a limited two week run. “Michael Jackson THIS IS IT” is set to open October 28 with tickets going on sale September 27. The film is made up of Jackson’s most recent rehearsal footage. Arts Beat Blog.
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| Excalibur Gets New Life
 Director Bryan Singer is in the early stages of remaking the 1981 film “Excalibur.” Warner Bros. has secured the rights to the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable, originally starring Nigel Terry and Cherie Lunghi. Singer is also developing a big-screen adaptation of “Battlestar Galactica.” The Hollywood Reporter.
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| Watch Michael Moore
 The trailer for Michael Moore’s latest documentary, “Capitalism: A Love Story” has hit the web after debuting on CNN. The film looks at the recent economic disaster, or as Moore calls it, “the biggest robbery in the history of this country.” Watch the trailer at Deadline Hollywood Daily.
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| Catherine Zeta-Jones Broadway Bound
 Might Hollywood A-lister Catherine Zeta-Jones be Broadway bound? Michael Riedel reports that both Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury will star in the upcoming revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music.” The production is set to open at the Walter Kerr theater in December. New York Post.
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by James Sims | August 19th, 2009
by James Sims | August 19th, 2009
| Hatch Thrown in the Hole
 Shamed reality television star Richard Hatch — an redundant statement — went back to jail following his interview with NBC’s Today Show host Matt Lauer. Hatch won the first season of “Survivor” back in 2000 and is still known for little else. Except an IRS scandal involving unpaid taxes for his $1 million prize. New York’s Daily News.
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| MGM Shifts Gears
 Hollywood reacts to the MGM restructuring that hit the news yesterday. Harry Sloan was booted as CEO of the film company although he will retain the title of chairman. “MGM doesn’t need a new CEO — it needs someone to write a check for a couple of billion dollars,” said a rival CEO. Variety.
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| Academy Gets New Prez
 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences elected Tom Sherak as its new president. The film exec will replace Sid Ganis — who reigned from 2005-2009. Sherak’s immediate duties include fundraising for the Academy’s new museum and lining up a producer for the 82nd Academy Awards. His previous work includes stints at Marvel Studios, Revolution Studios and 20th Century Fox Domestic Film Group. The Hollywood Reporter.
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| West Side Story is Lazy
 Michael Riedel has taken aim on Broadway’s current revival of “West Side Story,” reporting on the frequent absences amongst lead cast members. The gossip columnist calls out actress Karen Olivio, who won the Tony Award for her portrayal of Anita, as the “worst offender.” The show’s director, Arthur Laurents “read his cast the riot act.” New York Post.
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| Explosive ‘Big Brother’
 Last night’s episode of “Big Brother” on CBS turned out to be explosive following one contestant getting booted from the reality show. Chima threw a fit, tossing her microphone into a pool and refusing to comply with “house rules.” After her exit a fellow contestant, Lydia, terrorized her housemates and threatened to make their lives a living hell. Give Me My Remote.
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by James Sims | August 18th, 2009
 Passing Strange has seen various incarnations since its initial development at the Sundance Institute in 2004. From an out-of-town run in Berkeley to its Off-Broadway then Broadway premiere, the rock and soul stage musical has now made its way to the silver screen.
For any New Yorker that caught Passing Strange on Broadway there should be no doubt that this unique production, with a book and lyrics by Stew, is more than deserving of a big screen presentation. While I still hold that Passing Strange deserved to win for best musical at last year’s Tony Awards ceremony — it lost to the by-the-book show In the Heights — it will now live on thanks to director Spike Lee.
Lee documented the final performances of Passing Strange on Broadway using his filmmaker’s eye to create a documentary that could easily be pegged as a concert film. Passing Strange the Movie can best be described as a modern day The Last Waltz, full of the same innovation that Martin Scorsese brought to The Band. Fans of film, music and Broadway will all find something to love about Lee’s Passing Strange the Movie. Prepare to be moved all over again.
Passing Strange tells the story of a teenage black musician preparing to take a wild ride, from his home in South Central Los Angeles to Amsterdam and Berlin. It’s a soul-finding mission. Along the way he comes across a wildly artistic bunch of fellow youths, all searching for the “real.” Stew appears as the narrator while his fellow cast members, including Daniel Breaker in the lead, spice up this all-singing tale.
A mix of rock, soul and experimental sounds, Passing Strange is the quintessential sound of Stew — from The Negro Problem and a respectable solo career — a staple of the downtown New York music scene. Heidi Rodewald, Stew’s creative partner, cowrote the music.
The film debuted back where it all started — at Sundance — in January and is now set to return to New York City in a limited release on Friday. Passing Strange the Movie will then go nationwide On Demand starting August 26. This is a can’t miss experience. Go see Passing Strange the Movie — especially if you failed to catch it live on stage.
by James Sims | August 18th, 2009
| Don’t Forget About Peoria
Nobody puts Peoria, Ill. in the corner — just don’t ask me to find it on a map. After making snide comments about the Central Illinois locale Rocco Landesman, the new chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, is taking up an offer to check out its theatre scene. Landesman was quoted in the New York Times as saying “I don’t know if there’s a theater in Peoria, but I would bet that it’s not as good as Steppenwolf or the Goodman.” New York Times.
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Steve Harvey Laughs At Newsmakers
Sorry aspiring journalists. It turns out that the necessary qualifications for working on ABC’s “Good Morning America” is that you can make middle aged ladies laugh. Hack comedian Steve Harvey will join the morning program acting as a correspondent for family and relationship topics. Sigh. Variety.
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Robert Redford Assassinates Lincoln
Watch out, Stephen Spielberg. Robert Redford is moving in on the subject of Abraham Lincoln — a project Spielberg has been toying around with for quite some time. “The Conspirator” will tell the story of a supposed partner of John Wilkes Booth. Industry buzz is pegging actor James McAvoy as a possible lead in the Redford directed film. Might this push Spielberg to push out his own “Lincoln” project? Risky Business Blog.
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NBC Keeps It Gay
“Will & Grace” fans can rejoice, slightly, as its showrunner Gary Janetti is developing a new gay-straight friendship comedy for NBC. Still untitled, it will deal with the relationship between a gay man and a straight man who are best friends. The new show currently has a script commitment. The Hollywood Reporter.
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Time Traveling on ABC
If you enjoyed this weekend’s film “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” ABC is hoping you will tune in for a television series adaptation. ABC and “Friends” creator Marta Kauffman are moving forward on the project — with a pilot commitment — and will most likely focus on self-contained storylines. The Wrap.
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by James Sims | August 17th, 2009
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