Bridge of Spies, out on DVD/Blu-Ray this week, tells the story of the tense negotiations for the exchange of a Soviet spy for an American U2 pilot and a graduate student. The pilot was Francis Gary Powers, who was flying a camera-equipped plane on a top secret reconnaissance mission for the CIA when he was …

Continue reading “Interview: Francis Gary Powers, Jr. on his Father, the Cold War, and “Bridge of Spies””

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s HitRECord project has a new initiative. He’s asking everyone to answer these questions: 1. Is today’s technology good or bad for Democracy? 2. How might the technology of the future be BAD for Democracy? 3. How might the technology of the future be GOOD for Democracy? You can give your own answer or …

Continue reading “Joseph Gordon Levitt Wants to Know Your Thoughts on Technology and Democracy”

Nicholas Sparks is one of the must successful and best-loved authors in the world. All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 100 million copies sold worldwide, in more than 50 languages, including over 65 million copies in the United States alone, and all of them have been made into movies, …

Continue reading “Interview: Nicholas Sparks on “The Choice””

Be sure to take time during Black History month to watch movies the Civil Rights movement, (“Eyes on the Prize,” “Selma,” “Boycott”), and movies that are themselves a part of black history and film history (add to that list: “Killer of Sheep,” “Nothing But a Man,” “The Learning Tree,” “Bright Road,” and “Hollywood Shuffle”).  And there …

Continue reading “Black History Month 2016”

Jessica Ritchey wrote a touching essay for Rogerebert.com about the movies she watched in the year after her father died, and how watching them helped her to keep him close. I’ve been published several times by the time I see “Crimson Peak.” I’m starting to feel like real writer at last. It haunts me, though, …

Continue reading “A Moving Tribute to a Father Through Movies”