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The view of women in film has shifted over its more than 100-year history. In 1905, the name of the actress was not printed on movie posters. Charlie Chaplin said that women were not important in his films. He had only met one or two actresses who were his equal, he said. The names of…
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The history of blacks in film can be defined by the evolution of the characters. In 1903, blacks were played by whites in black face. By the roaring 20’s, the movie industry had shifted allowing blacks to appear in movies – but only as comic relief. In the 30’s, black actors appeared as field hands…
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The Learning Tree, 1969, semi-autographical, was written and directed by Gordon Parks, African-American. The film was among the first 25 films selected by the US Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry in 1989. Shot in rural Kansas in the 20’s, the film reflects Parks view growing up in a poor…
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In Movies and Circuses: This is based on a article by Fred D. Pfening, Jr, former president of the Circus Historical Society. I have expanded upon the original article, adding more information where I felt it was needed and tried to explain further what was not covered. Information about horses was added because of their…
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Laws of Attraction (1995), a comedy, at least on the surface, is worth viewing. The movie almost blew apart 15 times before it ever premiered. Like The Passion, no one wanted to put money into it, saying people wouldn’t go to see a movie without special effects The movie is somewhat in the Katherine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy (for example, Adam’s…
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One of the main rules in Hollywood is not to finance your own films. And, only six out of ten movies ever make a profit. Filmmaking is, in many ways, a brutal business. When Mel Gibson first looked for financing for The Passion of the Christ, no one would underwrite his movie. Gibson’s purpose for making the…
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Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell’s PC game hero needs hi-tech gadgetry to find secret documents hidden in an embassy. In a moment of crisis he turns to his Sony smart phone. Actually the real tension was between the video game publisher and Sony negotiating a deal to get the phone-camera used in the video game. Paul Hyman, Hollywood News wrote…
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The following is excerpts from a talk given by Spike Lee at the Imagination Conference in San Francisco, June 8, 1996, speaking of his early years as an independent filmmaker and some of the efforts to release the movie Malcolm X. Growing up in Brooklyn, we went to the matinees regularly and sat through the…
