I will be on stage following I Capture the Castle today. Unfortunately, the travel delays in Europe kept Bill Nighy from attending the festival as planned, but we will have a good audience discussion. Then, we will see Vincent: a Life in Color, a documentary about a Chicago man who wears suits the color of jellybeans and entertains the crowds on the Chicago River boats by twirling. He is here at the festival and came up to me last night to make a joke about my last name (better than most!).
“When Love is Not Enough,” the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie about Lois Wilson, the wife of the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, will premiere this weekend starring Winona Ryder and Barry Pepper. Lois Wilson recognized that the friends and families of alcoholics needed a place to share their stories and find support. She had learned that those who love alcoholics could not change them but that they could find their own peace. And so she and helped to found the Al-Anon Family Groups. From the initial 48 who responded to her in 1951, it grew to over 29,000 groups worldwide and a membership of over 387,000, reaching out with a blog, podcasts, publications, and the core of their program, their in-person meetings, held all over the world. “In Al-Anon and Alateen, members share their own experience, strength, and hope with each other. You will meet others who share your feelings and frustrations, if not your exact situation. We come together to learn a better way of life, to find happiness whether the alcoholic is still drinking or not.”
The motto is, “To help them, you have to help yourself first.” They tell their members, “It is estimated that each alcoholic affects the lives of at least four other people… alcoholism is truly a family disease. No matter what relationship you have with an alcoholic, whether they are still drinking or not, all who have been affected by someone else’s drinking can find solutions that lead to serenity in the Al-Anon/Alateen fellowship.”
Here Bill and Lois Wilson tell their story.
“I believe that people are good if you give them half a chance and that good is more powerful than evil.
The world seems to me excruciatingly, almost painfully beautiful at times, and the goodness and kindness of people often exceed that which even I expect.”
I will be on stage following I Capture the Castle today. Unfortunately, the travel delays in Europe kept Bill Nighy from attending the festival as planned, but we will have a good audience discussion. Then, we will see Vincent: a Life in Color, a documentary about a Chicago man who wears suits the color of jellybeans and entertains the crowds on the Chicago River boats by twirling. He is here at the festival and came up to me last night to make a joke about my last name (better than most!).
Rotten Tomatoes picked the five best movies that take place in one night.
Some other one-night movies:
“Can’t Hardly Wait” and “Dazed and Confused” — like “American Graffiti,” both stories of the celebration of the end of school/start of the school year
“Adventures in Babysitting,” “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle,” and “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist” — like “Date Night” and “After Hours” these are stories of a night of unexpected and mostly disruptive events
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and “Conversation(s) With Other Women” — after a social gathering, the characters interact in unexpected and often disruptive ways
“The introduction of Kevin is just about keeping the world of Archie Comics current and inclusive. Archie’s hometown of Riverdale has always been a safe world for everyone. It just makes sense to have an openly gay character in Archie comic books,” stated Archie Comics Co- CEO, Jon Goldwater.
VERONICA #202 features the full-issue story, “Isn’t it Bromantic?” that introduces Kevin, Archie Comics’ first openly gay character. Kevin Keller is the new hunk in town and Veronica just has to have him. After Kevin defeats Jughead in a burger eating contest at Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe, she desperately latches onto him. Mayhem and hilarity ensue as Kevin desperately attempts to let Veronica down easy and her flirtations only become increasingly persistent.
In addition to the new ongoing achievements at Archie Comics–the #4 iPad book app and most downloaded comics on iTunes, the launch of Stan Lee Comics, Archie’s Red Circle superheroes at DC, and exciting new partnerships with Abrams, Dark Horse and IDW–the introduction of Kevin as an openly gay character is part of the commitment to keep Archie properties reflective of the current world of teens and teen media.
The gentle, sweet comedy of the Archie comics has brought important lessons about inclusion in the past about Moose’s learning disabilities. The frank but casual approach to the new gay character and to Archie’s kissing Valerie of Josie and the Pussycats shows that Archie’s hairstyle may never change but that he and his writers keep up to date and want their readers to be, too.
