It covers her life and career, and some of the lives her work's touched. It's especially timely in an era of renewed book bans, and the drive by some to silence anything they're uncomfortable with, all action weaponized by being framed as moves to protect children.
I'm especially happy that this got to come together now, with Judy directly involved and noting the parallels between now and the '80s, rather than being done as a tribute piece by others. Judy was 83 when this film was shot, and is 85 now. The lessons of acceptance, discovery, and the reinventions of life along the way are important ones for us all to hear and take to heart, both on behalf of ourselves and others. The tale of the journey is fascinating, and I would say that it holds one or more important messages - things to reflect on - for pretty much anyone. Live, and be open to the changes and opportunities that life brings.
The 2007-'08 strike was a November through February thing, which played especially badly for Network tv operations, with seasons in the thick of filming their back halves, along with those aiming to come in as mid-season replacements. In this streaming age one can see the impact on shows that were in play back then, with seasons that were notably shorter than the ones before and after.
Creatively, tv took a stronger hit in some ways inasmuch that while the strike halted operations on all scripted shows, it didn't impact the so-called "reality" shows. While those shows do have writers, they're not regarded the same way, and so were exempt from this action. Those shows are also much less expensive to produce, and so tend to drastically ramp up the ratings bang for the advertiser's buck. Generally speaking, I loathe them, and they're a substantial part of the reason I watch so little technically "broadcast" tv. On the other hand, I know some people who almost exclusively watch those sort of shows.
We'll have to see in the weeks ahead what's specifically being impacted, both in series and movies. The real impact of it won't begin to be felt (by audiences) for months. TV shows planned for late summer and the fall (and immediately beyond) will be early casualties, along with movies set for the end of the year and into 2024.
Already written projects, including some that were set aside for various reasons, will begin to be tapped if this goes on as long or longer than the previous strike. The entertainment landscape's so different in this heavy streaming age than it was 15 years ago, including substantial investments having been made in shows and movies made outside the U.S. Investments such as those Netflix has made in South Korea are doubtless taking on an added luster for the execs there this week.
The timing of this strike may not favor the writers as strongly as the previous one did, but regardless of the time of year many mighty entertainment giants will be inconvenienced, and will want to see this settled. However, the giants may be in a stronger bluffing position for longer, and as they'll then have to live with the new terms I doubt they'll be rushing to settle.
For now, though, from the perspective of the audience, most of that's off in the distance. The most immediate things we'll be seeing (or, more aptly, not seeing) will be the late night talk shows and the nightly/weekly new-in-review and related parody efforts, which have all immediately shut down.
There's so much already in place, waiting to be seen, and otherwise completed, merely waiting for their release dates to arrive so they're spread out sufficiently to stand out and get some attention.
His life is presented in three, broad sweeps, pre-West Berlin, his immersion in German culture, and his re-emergence. Along the way we find that he developed substantially as a graphic artist working in oils, including a focus on portraiture. Restlessly creative, the film follows him through various reinventions and shifts of attention that found him working on completing new material right up to the end, releasing what would be his final album on his 69th birthday, Blackstar, then dying two days later while fans were still wading into it. It was a whipsaw moment for many of us, going from celebrating his birthday with a new album with its distinct tones on a Friday, then hearing of his death on Sunday, including finding out that he'd worked on and completed the album knowing he was under a death sentence from liver cancer, which he'd been diagnosed with in 2014, but had managed to conceal from the public.
Authorized by Bowie's estate, Morgen had access to a reported archive of over five million items. It's Bowie: Moonage Daydream (2022 140 m)
Comedian and actor John Leguizamo has been celebrating his Latin roots, and bringing a spotlight to the cultural contributions of Spanish-speaking people to the U.S. With episodes arriving each Sunday night on MSNBC, the following Monday archived on Peacock, he's been creating an enlightening cultural travelogue of concentrations of Latin culture, city by city, here in the U.S. Three down as of this past week, he's hit New York - his own roots in the U.S. - then on to Miami, then Washington, D.C., with the stop for this coming week being Chicago. In each location he looks at the city's specific history as waves of Spanish-speaking immigrants came in from specific countries, and meets with representatives of the community, particularly artists, performers and entrepreneurs, but also political movers and shakers. Music, food, and community, also heavily in the mix as he dives into it in each city's Latin communities.
Early in the discussion he hits on the topic of labeling, and while not pushing it too forcefully, he's settled comfortably on "LatinX", as it dispenses with the "o" and "a" gender specificity of Latino and Latina.
While celebrating the rise and impact of Latin cultures on the nation, he's also very interested in seeing them suitably represented in mainstream U.S. entertainment media.
This is to be a six part docu-series, each being a commercial tv hour, so as of this upcoming week it'll be two thirds of the way done. It's Leguizamo Does America
Back on April 26th, comedian and actor Carol Burnett celebrated her 90th birthday.
Aired originally on NBC on her birthday, and now sitting over on Peacock, a special tribute and retrospective on her life and career was recently added to commemorate the milestone. She appears to have managed a highly successful career without the collateral damage to others during her climb, which is a noteworthy achievement.
Someone had uploaded it to YouTube, but it was pulled by Universal, so at the moment I'd have to direct you back to Peacock - though there are several clips from it over on YouTube if you want to get a taste. It's Carol Burnett 90 years of Laughter + Love (2023 91m)
Starting this past Monday, May 1st, a biographical miniseries attempts to tell the story of Miep Gies, the Dutch citizen who hid Anne Frank, her family, and four other Dutch Jews during the Nazi occupation. It's A Small Light The series first airs on the National Geographic channel, then the following day on both Hulu and Disney+. The first two episodes arrived on the 1st, with two episodes each week to follow. As best I can tell, it will be eight episodes total.
Over on Netflix, they recently acquired three-part travelogue as a then self-described "fat, old lesbian" decided that six years after finally becoming an Australian citizen that she was overdue to explore what being Australian means to the many, many people who live outside her personal bubble. Produced for and originally airing on Australian television in 2020, the woman in question is actress and political activist Miriam Margolyes. The series is Miriam Margolyes: Almost Australian.
So far I've only watched the first episode - I only just came across it very early Thursday morning.
I don't seem to be able to find a simple trailer for the show, but here's a segment from the first episode, where she meets a woman in her fifties whose economic realities led her to life in a van converted into a tiny, tiny mobile home. As is natural, one tends to view these travelogues through compare and contrast eyes. While there are many specifics that are implicitly Australian, it's impossible to not readily see the many ways in which it is similar to the United States. The past decade in particular has repeatedly reminded me that Australia is in some ways very similar to the U.S., each having origins as colonies from imperial powers, and so a terrible history with indigenous peoples, and each having serious infections of white nationalism. Their spot on the globe has them feeling the impact of climate change sooner and more deeply than we have here, though.
As it turns out, Margoyles had made a similar journey back in 2018, but here in the U.S. Traveling across the country, especially in such a politically and culturally divisive time, had to have been a series of strong experiences. Likely her experiences here helped form a template she used two years later with this Aussie series, as the first episodes of each is framed by the question of the American/Australian Dream. A quick check seems to indicate that no one's currently streaming it, but I'll be keeping an eye open for Miriam's Big American Adventure. (Note, yes, I've seen that she's done other travelogues, too, including a trek through Scotland and a tour of Europe during the pandemic.)
Back over to HBO, this past Monday saw the arrival of the first of five episodes of a David Mandel-directed miniseries on Watergate "masterminds" who in running interference for dirty trick political operations and especially in trying to plug damaging press leaks managed to be part of the formal collapse of the Nixon Administration. It's White House Plumbers It's a mixed bag of emotions going into this.
On the one hand, there's some terrific talent involved here - including some late-to-me word that the wonderfully talented Bill Sienkiewicz provided "a ton of on-screen production art (beautifully colored by the amazing Laura Martin)" to it. On the other hand, I'm at least a little concerned in the way some people were back in the '60s about how Hogan's Heroes treated Nazis as comic foils. Apologies if such Godwinisms offend. I'm not equating the two, just likening them. I don't want to have truly bad people refashioned in collective memory as wacky, lovable misfits.
I expect it'll be entertaining given the talent on both sides of the camera, and the Sienkiewicz elements add a previously unanticipated Easter Egg hunt element to it. Ideally it'll be a starting point for many, who will then look into it in more detail to see the players beyond the level of near-cartoonish personalities.
I haven't started to wade into this yet -- I wanted to at least let it build up more than one episode, and I need to get my own head screwed back on a little tighter first, too. As a discrete, historically-based effort done for a major pay channel, there's no rush in getting to it. It's not as if early, strong streaming viewer figures are going to lead to a second season.
As ever, I'm unsure how my own week will be ending - momentary relief, or renewed and even new despair. I'm soul-weary of some things, and am in more desperate need than ever for a positive change in life, and trying in my feeble way to make it happen. I'm hoping my journey doesn't require my bottoming out first, especially as I already have far to climb.
Saturday will be seeing some tuning in to watch the coronation in the U.K., others the Kentucky Derby -- probably some will be doing both. I won't. My nerd itch instead has me expecting to get out to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 early Saturday, so I may be tacking on a non-spoilery addition sometime later that day. If I do, I'll gives a heads-up.
For now, though, take care, and I'll aim to be back next Friday with more. - Mike
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