Results tagged “toddsolondz”

Raphie Frank,
Interview Retrospective

Spalding Gray, who committed suicide in 2004, was a beloved fixture of the downtown theatre scene. He cofounded the Wooster Group in 1977 and turned extraordinarily personal monologue performances into a hypnotizing experience for audiences. One of these, Swimming to Cambodia, became a movie filmed by Jonathan Demme and released in 1987, and it propelled his fame beyond the experimental off-Broadway scene (it’s also just been reissued as a book). But it was his friends and fans from that world who have missed him most, and they’re giving a tribute to him tonight at the Union Square Barnes & Noble, at 7pm. Eric Bogosian, Bob Holman, Reno, Roger Rosenblatt and Kate Valk will read from Gray’s work in this free event. If you ever saw Gray perform, or if you just have enjoyed the innovative avant-garde theatre that he nurtured and refined, you should definitely catch what will undoubtedly be both a sad and loving appreciation.

- And possibly the best weather post ever.

While we know you’re probably anxiously waiting for Mel Gibson’s Pope: The Movie or for your Mr. Skin’s Skinclylopedia to arrive, you might want to check out some great new and revived movies this weekend:

Todd Solondz, Filmmaker

And The Aviator crew: What is it they say about the sum of the parts? You bore us with your "prestige picture with ensemble cast" glow. All the nominations bore us. Sure, there are interesting bits (the strong showing for Hotel Rwanda and Vera Drake; a screenplay nomination for Brad Bird and the Incredibles, Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and the Before Sunset team, though who knew that Ethan Hawke would ever get two, let alone one, nominations; nominations for Born Into Brothels and Super Size Me in the documentary category), but overall, meh. Where's Peter Sarsgaard for Kinsey?