Author Archive

“I don’t think it’s cruel to say this, because John himself would undoubtedly have turned it into a gleeful anecdote: When he had the stroke that killed him, he was at a local dinner theater. Hell of a review.”

Tuesday, November 26th, 2019

“I don’t think it’s cruel to say this, because John himself would undoubtedly have turned it into a gleeful anecdote: When he had the stroke that killed him, he was at a local dinner theater. Hell of a review.”

“I am inclined to aver that every activity needs its critics, from narcissists bloviating in Washington to exhibitors of knee holes in their blue jeans by way of following a fad. So, too, tennis players and others wearing their caps backward. There is, to be sure, only fairly innocuous folly in puncturing pants or reversing caps, but for political or artistic or religious twisting of thought or harboring holes in the head there is rather less excuse. I have always inveighed against the bleary journalism practiced by newspaper reviewers, as opposed to the real criticism performed by, well, critics.”

Tuesday, November 26th, 2019

“I am inclined to aver that every activity needs its critics, from narcissists bloviating in Washington to exhibitors of knee holes in their blue jeans by way of following a fad. So, too, tennis players and others wearing their caps backward. There is, to be sure, only fairly innocuous folly in puncturing pants or reversing caps, but for political or artistic or religious twisting of thought or harboring holes in the head there is rather less excuse. I have always inveighed against the bleary journalism practiced by newspaper reviewers, as opposed to the real criticism performed by, well, critics.”

“I often felt a twinge of grief at the idea that John Simon had devoted his life to a method of work that could only make him increasingly unhappy. Here was a man, elegant, articulate, and vastly knowledgeable, fluent in at least half a dozen languages, whose gifts of mind gave nothing back to the arts he wrote about except a few unkind remarks that made fun of someone’s performance, ethnicity, physical attributes, or, with a pun, on his target’s name. (“If this is Norman Wisdom, I’ll take Saxon folly.”) Other theatre critics keep such darts in their rucksacks for occasional use; John lived by them.”

Tuesday, November 26th, 2019

“I often felt a twinge of grief at the idea that John Simon had devoted his life to a method of work that could only make him increasingly unhappy. Here was a man, elegant, articulate, and vastly knowledgeable, fluent in at least half a dozen languages, whose gifts of mind gave nothing back to the arts he wrote about except a few unkind remarks that made fun of someone’s performance, ethnicity, physical attributes, or, with a pun, on his target’s name. (“If this is Norman Wisdom, I’ll take Saxon folly.”) Other theatre critics keep such darts in their rucksacks for occasional use; John lived by them.”

“One person’s critic is another person’s crackpot. That they are not united in their opinions is ascribable to the Latin saying: quot homines, tot sententiae. I myself prefer being considered a creep, but that is what you get for having what Vladimir Nabokov called ‘Strong Opinions.’ It is odd that in a country so wallowing in negativity, starting with mass shootings and climaxing with Trump, such an unimportant matter as theater criticism should generate so much hostility. The only target patently more important is lead in the drinking water.”

Tuesday, November 26th, 2019

“One person’s critic is another person’s crackpot. That they are not united in their opinions is ascribable to the Latin saying: quot homines, tot sententiae. I myself prefer being considered a creep, but that is what you get for having what Vladimir Nabokov called ‘Strong Opinions.’ It is odd that in a country so wallowing in negativity, starting with mass shootings and climaxing with Trump, such an unimportant matter as theater criticism should generate so much hostility. The only target patently more important is lead in the drinking water.”

E. Scott Weinberg On Youthful Fangoria Encounters

Saturday, November 23rd, 2019

“Then one day I came home from school and discovered that every single issue of Fangoria that I owned had been shredded and dumped onto my bed. But first, here’s a little bit about my parents.”
E. Scott Weinberg On Youthful Fangoria Encounters

Rome Bookstore Closes

Saturday, November 23rd, 2019

With a Grauniad-Alleged $300 Million Budget, Could The Yet-Unseen But Surely Weird Cats Pass A Billion Dollars at The Box Office?

Saturday, November 23rd, 2019

With a Grauniad-Alleged $300 Million Budget, Could The Yet-Unseen But Surely Weird Cats Pass A Billion Dollars at The Box Office?

WEEKEND READS ON MEDIAQUAKE

Saturday, November 23rd, 2019

WEEKEND READS ON MEDIAQUAKE

Tribune Trolley Problem

Saturday, November 23rd, 2019

Tribune Prospects

Saturday, November 23rd, 2019

McClatchy Prospects

Saturday, November 23rd, 2019

On The Report

Saturday, November 23rd, 2019

Canadian Documentarian John Kastner Was 73

Saturday, November 23rd, 2019

Canadian Documentarian John Kastner Was 73

TorStar Leaving Print in Canada

Saturday, November 23rd, 2019

Marriage Story Vs. Kramer

Friday, November 22nd, 2019

Sacha Baron Cohen ADL in full

Friday, November 22nd, 2019

Martin Scorsese’s “Late Style” By Scout Tafoya

Friday, November 22nd, 2019

Martin Scorsese’s “Late Style” By Scout Tafoya

“I’ve been talking to Charlie about this novel for almost eight years and watching it change and recalibrate and grow. ‘Antkind’ is a hilarious, devastating, epic mindfuck. I’ve never read anything else like it.”

Friday, November 22nd, 2019

“I’ve been talking to Charlie about this novel for almost eight years and watching it change and recalibrate and grow. ‘Antkind’ is a hilarious, devastating, epic mindfuck. I’ve never read anything else like it.”

Writing Uncut Gems Across A Decade, With the Safdies And Ronald Bronstein

Friday, November 22nd, 2019

Writing Uncut Gems Across A Decade, With the Safdies And Ronald Bronstein

“The sidewalks of 47th are alive, bustling with hustlers, and everyone is watching everyone. The cops and security guards are watching. The hawks are watching. Men, and it’s almost all men, stand around drinking cheap coffees and smoking cigarettes. They take out loupes, right on the sidewalk, to inspect the rocks in their hands. They are dealers, appraisers, polishers, hustlers, talking about carats and khazeray, the Yiddish word for junk. Which is what I’m wearing on my finger, a ring left by my father.”

Friday, November 22nd, 2019

“The sidewalks of 47th are alive, bustling with hustlers, and everyone is watching everyone. The cops and security guards are watching. The hawks are watching. Men, and it’s almost all men, stand around drinking cheap coffees and smoking cigarettes. They take out loupes, right on the sidewalk, to inspect the rocks in their hands. They are dealers, appraisers, polishers, hustlers, talking about carats and khazeray, the Yiddish word for junk. Which is what I’m wearing on my finger, a ring left by my father.”