"doubt"

In the realm of feature films today, I think it’s awfully hard to find a good comedy. Of course, everyone has their own tastes, but personally I tire fast of today’s coarse, sophomoric movies that seem to be straining really hard for a laugh.

“England and America are two countries divided by a common language.” That famous quote is most often attributed to gifted playwright George Bernard Shaw, who was actually Irish. It’s not just witty but wise, containing a core truth. We’ve always had an innate curiosity about our cousins across the pond, because though we do share a language, we are different in so many other ways.

I’ll admit it: I’m old enough to remember when the late Walter Cronkite delivered America its news every night at 7PM (if you were on the East Coast). I always loved him, and more important, I always believed him.

I’ve always loved Italy and most all things Italian: the country, the language, the food, and most of all, the people.  I’ve always perceived the Italian national character as refreshingly open, romantic and passionate, with all human contradictions and frailties laid right out in the open. To me the Italians seem fabulously, enviably, alive.

In our divine gathering of movies that tackle the big question of what happens when we die—or when we don’t die as planned, we immerse ourselves in fantasy. Or perhaps not. Do angels exist, and is there a heaven? If so, where do all the evil folks go? Of course, nobody knows, but visitations from angels or other spirits counter the notion that death brings only oblivion. And that's a comforting thought indeed.

Once again, I hear Alice Cooper in my head screaming out that anthem of freedom: “School’s out for summer!” I was actually on the cusp of high school when that song became a hit, and I took the lyrics very much to heart. Back then, summer seemed like a time of endless possibility- parties to attend, girls to meet, and um, everything else associated with that.

A great screenwriting professor once told me, “A screenplay is like a chalk drawing – it’s a beautiful thing until they stomp all over it like a bunch of circus ponies.” Many writers can be precious with their work, but to the typewriter-jamming chagrin of some Hollywood screenwriters, a movie is a living thing, and sometimes changes have to happen at the very last split-second – even as film is rolling.

When birthday time rolls around for the good ol’ U. S. of A, tradition dictates we set something alight and watch it go boom. Useful tip: just make sure the thing that explodes has left your hand in time; don’t dampen the festivities by losing a digit (or two). And if you really want to play it safe, eschew launching those rockets yourself, and get your fireworks on film instead.

What happens after an actor or actress wins an Academy Award?   The assumption is that the performer’s career skyrockets. Offers come pouring in. The thespian’s price tag certainly rises. What had been the usual “on-and-off” career of the struggling working actor suddenly gets a lot more hectic; members of the paparazzi who may not have known him or her from Adam (or Eve) are suddenly camped out on their doorstep.  This is what often occurs when one of these statuettes ends up in your hands. But not always.