5 Literary events for October

If you are in LA for the month of October, here are 5 evenings worth of laid back entertainment/literary events. 

Oct. 2, 7 p.m.: Greg Graffin, the lead singer of Bad Religion reads from and signs his new book "Anarchy Evolution: Science, Faith, Bad Religion in a World Without God" at Book Soup. Greg surprisingly has Ph.D. in Zoology from Cornell

Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m.:  Darin Strauss and Adam Levin -- read from and discuss their very different books. At Skylight Books.
 
Oct. 12, 7 p.m.: Actor/writer/art collector Steve Martin and novelist Frederic Tuten discuss the intersection of art and their work at the Getty Center.

Oct. 28, 8 p.m.: Actor Sir Michael Caine discusses his memoir "From Elephant to Hollywood" at Live Talks Los Angeles, held this night at the Colburn School in downtown Los Angeles.

Oct. 29, 7 p.m.: Director Judd Apatow reads from and signs "I Found this Funny," an anthology of humor pieces benefiting the Dave Eggers  literacy nonprofit 826 National.

Franco options The Adderall Diaries

It is all over the internets that Spiderman alum and James Dean-esque  Franco has optioned Stephen Elliott's ADHD driven book "The Adderall Diaries". /film is reporting that he may even write the adaptation, direct and star in the final product.

As fractured as the book is, the adaption is going to be a tough write. Not sure Franco is the man to do it, but his career has had touches of genius in between the tons of commercial plebeian crap he has decided to waste his time in. That being said, 127 Hours is getting tons of good press and may be worth the time.

127 Hours Trailer

For those of you that have not experienced the madness that is "The Adderall Diaries" Scott Indrisek seems to have captured the voice perfectly.

In a single rotund paragraph, Elliott can ping-pong between webcam sex, financial anxiety, hypothetical affairs with college students and murder confessions. Everything reminds the memoirist of something else, something to do with that irrepressible “I.”

And although not really mainstream fodder, an adaptation would do well in art houses across the country....either that or Franco will have to chop up the novel and turn it into something it is not.

James Franco at IMDB
Stephen Elliot at Wiki, Amazon, Home page

Ansel Adams: up for auction

One of the greatest photographs ever taken is going on the auction block next month, and if you are interested bring your big girl panties and a fat check book. On October 9th, Christies is brokering the auction for one of famed photographer Ansel Adams' most famous photos.

Grand Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, 1942

This is one of nine mural prints of this image in existence. It is a whopping 30 5/8 x 45 1/8 inch and only six are known to exist in this size. If you are interested, the estimate is currently running 150-250K....American dollars that is.

Ansel Adams at Wiki

Bansky: Nominated for Grierson Prizes

Bansky's Exit Through the Gift Shop has picked up two nominations for the British Documentary Awards that are handed out in London....also known as the Grierson prizes. Bansky, better known for his stencil graffiti, made his directorial debut this year with Exit. It got the nod for:

Best Cinema Documentary and Most Entertaining Documentary

If you remember, Sundance went crazy for this piece that many still believe to be a mockumentry or a giant practical joke on the art community. 

Joaquin: When avant garde misses its mark

We have held off on commenting about Joaquin Phoenix's (pictured below in his Phat Jesus persona) attempt at intellectual performance art because we were waiting for a comment from an anonymous source close to the filming of I'm Still Here. That source has delivered and here it is:

"... from what I was privy to, the idea started as an experiment in mocking the modern audience's inability to distinguish art from farce. As it progressed it became much darker and more disturbing. Joaquin descended so far into character that I remember Cas came to the conclusion that Joaquin would probably not survive the production.

It went from a joke on the audience to documenting the implosion of an artist given free reign to go as far as he wanted. Cas joked that if Joaquin died in the production they would market the film as last experiment of an avant garde artist and the danger of plunging head first into character...."

That explains the Hollywood community's muted response to the film. The hushed rumors floating around are that Joaquin almost took this gag to far and that the shocking portrayal stems from the demented imagination of an artist that has hidden, a self destructive, black streak deep underneath his cool exterior.

  Joaquin Phoenix as Phat Jesus

Max's Kansas City: Exhibit

If you haven't gotten around to seeing The Steven Kasher Gallery's exhibit of photographs snapped during the heyday of Max's Kansas City, its thyme 2 gogh...... you only have about ten days left. It closes on Oct. 9th and it definitely worth popping in for.

Max's Kansas City was the scene headquarters for emerging artists in the '60s and '70s, and if you are reading this now.....you probably wouldn't have been allowed in. Only the elite of pop culture were allowed to grace the place with their presence. Andy Warhol famously said Max's  " was where pop art and pop life came together."

Fortunately for the rest of us, photographers Ebet Roberts, Anton Perich, and others were allowed in and some of their great iconic pictures have survived. If you are in New York next week, do yourself a favor and catch this. If you are elsewhere, view the exhibit online and get in touch with your inner pop culture punk.

Bruce at Max's - 1977 by Lily Hou

Devo at Max's - 1977 by Ebet Roberts

Iggy Pop at Max's - 1970 by Anton Perich

Max's Kansas City at: Wiki

Ets Bernard Luggage

With the fall social and travel season quickly approaching, its time to address the issue of luggage. We know most of you out there are going to go with your gut and settle for the tried and true Louis Vuitton. That is, by all means, a safe and acceptable choice. It is also easy to procure.
However, we have always found LV to be a bit kitschy as evidenced by the numerous celebrities and sports stars lugging around matching sets.

If you truly want a fine set of heirloom luggage, you need to see Ets Bernard out of Paris. These are absolutely the finest "made to measure luggage" and "luxury travel trunks". The wait is substantial and the price is worth it. Recently, at Rolland Garros, we were privileged to be guests aboard two yachts that solely used Bernard's pieces in their guest quarters.


With a history that stretches back to 1876, Ets Bernard is the best of the best.

80/84 rue de Paris
93100 MONTREUIL
France
Tel: +33(0)1 43 63 28 63
Fax: +33(0)1 49 93 07 04
Email info@bernard-malle.fr

The King's Speech - Oscar Radar

If The King's Speech is not nominated for Best picture it will be a complete shocker. Even if it gets snubbed, which is a long shot, it is worth a few hours of your time. Colin Firth stars as the stammering King George VI and his performance is one of his best. Of course Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter play their usual typecast characters, but Rush seems to give a little more bite to the character. We can see them both getting a nod.

It is worth noting that Oscar Winning Jenny Beaven did the costume design for this film and it is beautiful. With costume credits that include Sherlock Holmes, Gosford Park, Anna and The King, etc... It is almost a sure thing that she gets nominated......again....for this one.




The King's Speech at Netflix, IMDB

Jonathan Lethem bids farwell

As many of you have heard, author Jonathan Lethem is leaving Brooklyn to take his appointed position as the Roy Edward Disney Professor in Creative Writing at Pomona College in California.

Jonathan Lethem is a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship and the author of seven novels, including "The Fortress of Solitude"..... Which, by the way, is currently being adapted to film by director Joshua Marston, of Maria Full of Grace fame. Lethem's most recent book is "Chronic City".

This interview runs about 1.5 hours, but is filled with great stuff. Enjoy it on your next flight while everyone else is stuck watching a five year old Julia Roberts movie.








Jonathan Lethem at Wiki, NYTimes, Amazon

Polanski's The Ghost Writer

OK this film should definitely make your 2010 list and it really should be nominated for an Academy Award. Is the film really this good? After all it only took Silver at the Berlin IFF?

While it is a classic cerebral thrill ride directed by the great Roman Polanski, and the cast is overflowing with talent, the real highlight here is the cinematography. This riveting thriller is one of the best looking films of 2010.

Pawel Edelman is the man Polanski chose to polish this gem, and Edelman's genius can be seen in every frame. Pawel's earlier work has included Ray and The Pianist, both of which were nominated for a variety of awards in cinematography.....including an Oscar nod for his work on The Pianist.

Don't miss this one.



This film is adapted from the novel The Ghost by Robert Harris.
The Ghost Writer at Netflix, IMDB, Wiki

Sean Harris in Harry Brown

While the film Harry Brown is nothing more than another forgettable vigilante movie, there is a gem of a performance by little known actor Sean Harris. His short appearance is the most haunting portrayal of a smacked out druggie since Trainspotting. Amazing stuff.

Mr. Harris trained at Drama Centre, London and is currently working on a little thriller called
A Lonely Place to Die. Reports are that the plot involves several friends hiking in the Scottish Highlands that happen upon a body of a young Serbian girl.

Harry Brown at Netflix, IMDB.

Gabriel Josipovici almost takes on Postmodernism

Eric Ormsby has a great piece in the WSJ on the new book by Gabriel Josipovici titled "What Ever Happened to Modernism?"

In Mr. Josipovici's view, Modernism is something at once vast and intimate, encompassing "nothing less than life itself." Modernism isn't a style, he says, but "the coming into awareness by art of its precarious status and responsibilities." Even more portentously, Modernism is a kind of anguished repudiation—"a response to the simplifications of the self and of life that Protestantism and the Enlightenment brought with them."

This book on its surface is a wonderful and painful plea to reclaim modernism from the rise of the postmodernist culture, but when you dig deeper the bite just isn't there. While it is eloquent and an insightful, it does not draw the blood many of us are looking for.

That said, in the years to come it will be hard to discuss postmodernist literature thumping of modernism without mentioning this book. So read it.

at Amazon