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4 By Rex Reed 1/04 11:21am

Curtain Call

One-Shot Liz, more widely known as Elizabeth Taylor.

Come on 2011, Why Don’t You Kick Off Your Shoes?

Politically, economically, culturally, globally—except for the elimination of a few unlamented dictators and calling an end to the war in Iraq—2011 had little to offer, and delivered even less. Definitely time to say adios and begin again, with renewed optimism. But before we draw the curtain on the old man with the scythe and welcome the new kid in diapers with his brand-new year to grow, let’s lift a glass in a proper, permanent farewell toast to the folks who filed out through the exit doors in the year just ended. From no-nonsense First Lady Betty Ford, 93, to self-destructive goth singer Amy Winehouse, 27, death played no favorites in age or character. From Elizabeth Taylor, once the world’s most beautiful woman, to Cheetah, always the world’s most beloved chimp, 2011 ran the gamut in important departures. Read More

8 By Rex Reed 9:00pm

movies

Gosling.

Canada, Not Cannes: Rex Reed Reports From the Toronto International Film Festival

When fall begins, so does the new movie season, and it all happens at the 36th Toronto International Film Festival, a.k.a. TIFF. This is the biggest, friendliest, most organized film fete in the world and a launching pad for both Hollywood Oscar contenders and small low-budget independents, which in the downturn of today’s economic meltdown amounts to the same thing. The crowds seem larger than ever this year as 300,000 people beg, fight and grovel for tickets to see in seven days 336 movies made by everyone from Madonna to Francis Ford Coppola. Politely, of course. This is Canada, not Cannes. For one whole week, you say goodbye to sleep and nutrition and learn to live on pizza and Dove bars. The Scotiabank Theatre, where most of the press screenings grind out from 8 a.m. to midnight, has even installed a Burger King. Nobody says you come to TIFF to get healthy. Read More

By Meredith Bryan 3/16/10 11:07pm

The Floppy-Haired Fellows

The most striking thing about this year’s Oscars, other than that a female director finally won? The guys’ hair. There was George Clooney, whose longish (for him) do had a distinctly feathered quality in the front. Then there was James Cameron, whose soft, elongated bowl cut channeled ABBA, and was possibly blow-dried. But Mark Boal, Read More

By Steve Cohen 12/10/08 7:36pm

The Greening of Film Making: From Coast to Coast

While New York often looks to California for innovative, environmental ideas, the movie-making business that is centered in Southern California is not known for being frugal or conscious of resource constraints. The creative process dominates, and entertainment is known for excess. "A lot of waste takes place on production sites," said Zahava Stroud, President and Read More

By Hillary Frey 2/22/08 5:56pm

A Brand New Reason to Hate L.A.

MY LIAR By Rachel Cline Random House, 252 pages, $23

In my experience, New Yorkers tend to be bipolar when it comes to Los Angeles: Either they love it—love it!—after visiting once or twice, and quietly nurse dreams of living there at some point, or they hate it—really hate it—and look with disdain on Read More

By Staff 4/16/07 12:00am

New York World

It Takes a Pillage, Part V The U.S. Senate building, Washington, D.C. Late night. An office, dark except for a pool of light from a knockoff Tiffany lamp. Rain slashing against windows. THE AIDE: Edwards continues to climb, I’m afraid. He’s at 21 percent in New Hampshire to your 27 percent. He’s getting a real Read More

By Staff 4/11/07 8:29am

In This Week’s [em]Observer[/em]…

Hell's Kitchen Is Too Pretty For Reality TV Hollywood screenwriter Bobby Moresco spoke in Dickensian terms about growing up Irish in Hell's Kitchen, back in the mob-ruled pre-condo era. "For me, it was the greatest life on the face of the earth," he told The Observer. "It turned into the worst life on the face Read More

By Rex Reed 4/09/07 12:00am

Dutch Treat! I Can’t Get Over Verhoeven’s Black Book

Fasten the safety belts: After standing ovations on the festival circuit, cult director Paul Verhoeven’s eagerly awaited Black Book is finally here. The Dutch filmmaker’s dazzling and spectacular new cinematic triumph about World War II is his first movie in six years, and it marks his first return since the 1983 thriller The 4th Man Read More

By Sara Vilkomerson 4/02/07 12:00am

Ari vs. Mata Hari

The night of April 8 is going be a big, big, BIG one for HBO. The Sopranos return (finally) for the beginning of the end of the eight-year-old series; parties will be given, volumes will be written, and hand-wringing will ensue over the prospect of a David Chase–free television future. But before we fall to Read More

By Staff 4/02/07 12:00am

Off the Record

L.A. Times May Have Dumped Grazer, But It Could Have Been Rummy One evening in November of last year, Andrés Martinez, the editorial-page editor of the Los Angeles Times, found himself sitting on Dean Baquet’s back porch, smoking a cigar and contemplating his future. Mr. Baquet’s 16-month tenure as editor of the newspaper had just Read More