Michael's Musings

April 5, 2017

I'm just checking in here for a moment to let you all know that I'm two weeks out of surgery and seem to be improving every day.

Swallowing is still an issue, as is energy.  It will probably be several more weeks before I am back to 100%.

The good news is that I do go onto the computer every day, though I have to limit my time there.  However, I am able to work and just finished editing the proof for my next book, HOLLYWOOD SNAPSHOTS, which I will tell you more about later.

Chat with you soon,

Michael

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March 13, 2017

So, I'm having my surgery at the end of this month  Not looking forward to it, but I have to do what I have to do.  No idea how long I'll be out of touch on the Internet.

Aside from the snafu at the end, what did you think of the Oscars?

I thought the Best Picture choice was the worst since 1952 when THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH beat out HIGH NOON, THE QUIET MAN, MOULIN ROUGE and IVANHOE.  Not even nominated that year were VIVA ZAPATA, THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL and, get this, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN.

MOONLIGHT has some wonderful performances, but for the Academy to vote it Best Picture was ridiculous; a totally politically correct decision. 

If you haven't seen the film, and the only reason I would recommend it is because of the performances, it's about a poor black gay kid who grows up to be a drug dealer.  Very uplifting, right?

BTW: MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, which won Best Actor, is just as depressing in other ways.

I've yet to see LA LA LAND, which was favored to win, but I certainly think that HACKSAW RIDGE and, especially, HELL OR HIGH WATER are much better and enduring films than MOONLIGHT.

And, I believe, that the Best Picture of the Year should be "enduring".  I may not always have agreed with the Academy's choices over the years, but most of the choices are movies that I could watch again...and again.

MOONLIGHT (and MANCHESTER BY THE SEA) are films that I would definitely not watch again.  Indeed, even after MOONLIGHT won the award, I know people who still have no interest in seeing it at all.  Not sure, but I believe it is one of the lowest grossing movies to have ever won the Oscar.

Did I tell you that I hate "politically correct"?

Finally, there are a couple of new reviews on the Best Bets on DVD site, accessible via the link in the Introduction section of this page.  They are NOCTURNAL ANIMALS and the new Criterion edition of BEING THERE.  So, please take a look.

Also, please think positive thought for me on the 23rd.

Have a creative week,

Michael

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February 3, 2017

I know.  I've been away for awhile, but I really didn't realize how long I'd been away.

So, Happy New Year!

Actually, I really haven't had much to talk about.  I've been working on a new play in THE HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS series.  It's finished now, and should be available in both paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon sometime early next week.

The name of the four-person play (with music) is AVA & HER GUYS, and the characters are Ava Gardner, Frank Sinatra, Mickey Rooney and Artie Shaw.  I'm rather pleased with it, and I hope you will be, too.  Performance rights are available.

I have two other books coming out later this year.  One is a collection of interviews that I did for Coronet magazine back in the 1970s with various movie stars, plus outtakes from interviews I did with various film folk for the show business books I wrote back in that decade.

The other book is a new novel, which I will tell you about later.

I'm looking at some major surgery around the end of this month, so I may or may not be posting again for awhile.  The doctor assures me that it's no big deal and, in fact, my wife had a similar surgery about a year and a half ago, and she's very happy with the result.  Please think positive thoughts.

There are a couple of new reviews on the Best Bets on DVD site, which you can access by clicking on the link in the Introduction section of this page.  They are:  LOVING and MILDRED PIERCE, so please take a look.

You have a creative week.

Michael

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