Tuesday, July 12, 2011

My most treasured book

I wrote a small piece on "My most treasured" book for the San Francisco Chronicle. It appeared in the print version of the newspaper on Sunday, and showed up on-line today. 

My most treasured book is Louise Brooks, by Barry Paris. It was difficult to express how much this book means to me, and how it changed my life, as I was given a 100 word limit. (Its a short format feature.) Nevertheless, I was flattered to be asked. Earlier contributors include novelist Isabel Allende, actor Peter Coyote, writer Mary Roach, linguist Geoffrey Nunberg and others. I hope reads check out this outstanding biography. It is the best book I have ever read. It is the best book I ever will read. 




Sunday, July 10, 2011

Remembering Theodore Roszak

Theodore Roszak, the writer who coined the term "counter culture," has died. He was 77. Roszak (1933-2011) was a social critic, cultural historian, teacher and author who first came to  prominence in the 1960s with the publication of The Making of a Counter Culture. That bestselling 1968 book chronicled the youth-movements of the time.

Roszak was also a novelist, and a fan of Louise Brooks. His singular 1991 novel, Flicker, was described by Publisher Weekly as a "magical mystery tour of the history of cinema" and "an acid satire on Hollywood." Kirkus Reviews called it a "Huge, deep-delving movie-lover's delight - and as rich a novel about the metaphysics of moviemaking as has ever been." While Booklist said Flicker was "An irresistible book . . . the perfect film buff's novel."


The publisher's description of Flicker goes like this:
"Jonathan Gates could not have anticipated that his student studies would lead him to uncover the secret history of the movies—a tale of intrigue, deception, and death that stretches back to the 14th century. But he succumbs to what will be a lifelong obsession with the mysterious Max Castle, a nearly forgotten genius of the silent screen who later became the greatest director of horror films, only to vanish in the 1940s, at the height of his talent. Now, 20 years later, as Jonathan seeks the truth behind Castle's disappearance, the innocent entertainments of his youth—the sexy sirens, the screwball comedies, the high romance—take on a sinister appearance. His tortured quest takes him from Hollywood's Poverty Row into the shadowy lore of ancient religious heresies. He encounters a cast of exotic characters, including Orson Welles and John Huston, who teach him that there's more to film than meets the eye, and journeys through the dark side of nostalgia, where the Three Stooges and Shirley Temple join company with an alien god whose purposes are anything but entertainment."

Later reviews were glowing. USA Today called Flicker "A novel of great force and originality, nearly every page of which crackles with lust for film," while Los Angeles City Beat, in reference to film critic David Thomson's book,said it was "The boldest novel about film since Suspects." 

Roszak loved movies and movie stars, especially the films and actors of his youth. He also mentioned to me that he was a fan of Louise Brooks, and had seen her surviving films including Pandora's Box. The silent film star, or at least a character modeled after the actress, plays a part in Flicker.

If Flicker sounds like it would make a good movie, you're right. At one point, Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) was backing a production of a movie version of the book with screen adaptation written by Jim Uhls (Fight Club). However, like so many worthwhile projects, this one seems to have come to a halt. Read more here.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Theodore Roszak dies at age 77

Theodore Roszak, a writer who coined the term "counter-culture," has died at age 77. Roszak was a multi-genre author best known for his seminal 1968 book, The Making of a Counter-Culture. He taught at Stanford University, the University of British Columbia, and San Francisco State University before joining CalState Hayward

Roszak first came to public prominence in 1968, with the publication of The Making of a Counter Culture which chronicled and gave explanation to the European and North American counterculture of the 1960s. His other books include include The Cult of Information, The Gendered Atom: Reflections on the Sexual Psychology of Science, The Voice of the Earth, and Ecopsychology: Healing the Mind, Restoring the Earth. Roszak was twice nominated for the National Book Award.

His fiction includes Flicker and the Tiptree award-winning Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein. His most recent novel, published in 2003, is The Devil and Daniel Silverman.

Roszak described Flicker to me as "a secret history of the movies." Louise Brooks plays a part in the story. Roszak also told me he was a big fan of the actress, and had seen many of her movies. At one point, Darren Aronofsky was backing a production of a movie version of the book.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Rolled Stockings writer turns 111

The woman whose story was the basis for the 1927 Louise Brooks’ film, Rolled Stockings, has turned 111 years old.

Today, Frederica Sagor Maas had a birthday. The La Mesa, California resident is one of the last surviving personalities from the silent film era, and perhaps the last living individual associated with one of Louise Brooks’ silent films. Maas is also thought to be the second oldest person in California. Read more about this remarkable woman on SFGate.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Louise Brooks news at paper.li

Paper.li is a "custom newspaper" aggregation utility which builds webpages from articles, blog posts, videos and photos shared on Twitter or Facebook. What results are are not curated, but rather the function of automatic functions like rss feeds and content streams.

It's kinda neat. And kinda not. Actually, its kinda random. Nevertheless, the Louise Brooks Society set up its own paper.li at http://paper.li/LB_Society/1309372490. Check it out. Or not.

In the meantime, here is a charming Louise Brooks tribute video via YouTube.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Dryden Theater in Rochester turns 60

The Dryden Theater, where Louise Brooks spent many an hour watching films, turns 60 years old. The theater is part of the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York.

Jack Garner, the noted film critic for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and a friend of the actress, penned an article about the anniversary. Garner wrote:
The Dryden opened in March 1951, thanks to the vision of James Card, the museum's first curator of motion pictures. After Eastman House opened in 1948 as a museum for photography and motion pictures, Card saw the need for an exhibition space to show off the substantial film collection. Card got George Eastman's niece, Ellen, and her husband, George Dryden, behind the project as donors and supporters of a fundraising campaign.
I had a chance to take a peek inside the Dryden Theater when I visited the George Eastman House in 2006 (as pictured right). It was thrilling to think Brooks (and many other early film stars honored at Eastman House) entered the Dryden right where I was standing. More info about the Dryden Theater and the George Eastman House can be found at http://www.eastmanhouse.org/ and on my column at examiner.com.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

A Girl in Every Port to show in Chicago

The seldom screened 1928 Louise Brooks film, A Girl in Every Port, will be shown in Chicago, Illinois on Friday, July 22. This special screening, with live organ accompaniment by Jay Warren, is being put on by the Silent Film Society of Chicago. More info on the event can be found at my Louise Brooks column on examiner.com

When the film first showed in the Windy City in February, 1928 the local newspapers praised both the film and Brooks' role in it. Arthur Sheekman, writing in the Chicago Daily Journal, declared, "Your correspondent, partial to all the McLaglen performances, had a grand time watching A Girl in Every Port, in which so much loveliness is contributed by that dark young venus, Miss Brooks." While the curiously named Mae Tinee, writing in the Chicago Tribune said, "Various damsels rage through the action, but to Louise Brooks falls, as should, the plum feminine characterization. She pulls it off in her customary deft fashion - and the enchanting bob in which she first appeared before the movie camera."

I wish I lived in Chicago. I would be there in a heartbeat!

The Silent Film Society of Chicago's "Silent Summer" Film Festival runs Fridays from July 22 through August 26 at the Portage Theater (4050 N. Milwaukee Ave.) in Chicago. More on the festival and the Silent Film Society of Chicago can be found at www.silentfilmchicago.com/

Tickets can be purchased in advance from the Portage Theater box office during event box office hours, or by calling 773.736.4050. Tickets are also on sale at City Newsstand, (4018 N. Cicero Ave.). Tickets are $12 on the day of show (excepting $17 for the special August 12 screening of Sunrise). Advance prices and student / senior discounts are also available.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

YouTube tribute to Louise Brooks

Here is a rather swell YouTube tribute to the one and only Louise Brooks. The music is by Phil Harris. The song is called "Vamp."

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Two new ebooks about Louise Brooks

Two new e-books about Louise Brooks have been published for Kindle, the amazon e-reader. I've written short reviews of each on the amazon.com website. Here are my reviews, with links to each book. 
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My Afternoon With Louise Brooks
by Tom Graves
Publisher: Rhythm Oil Publications (June 10, 2011)

I can't get enough of Louise Brooks, the legendary silent film star. That's why I was excited when I came across this new e-pub by a professional writer with articles in major newspapers and magazines as well as a couple of earlier books to his credit. (Author Tom Graves is legit, and his 1982 meeting with the actress is mentioned in Barry Paris' definitive 1989 biography, Louise Brooks.) However, I found myself disappointed by this rather slight account of a now long ago encounter with the reclusive actress. More an anecdotal essay than a book (which can be read in under 10 minutes), "My Afternoon With Louise Brooks" largely fails to deliver. It is short on detail and perspective, and except for the striking cover image, there are no illustrations. The author mentions research and interviews he conducted with Brooks' family and friends - as well as the first chapters he wrote for a planned biography - but they are nowhere to be seen. I would like to read more.  [More info here.]

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Louise Brooks: Her men, affairs, scandals and persona
by Maximillien de Lafayette
Publisher: Times Square Press (May 23, 2011)

This "book" is terrible. It is poorly written, poorly laid out, padded with extraneous material (and lots and lots of white space) and otherwise riddled with innuendo, half-truths and errors. For example, I spotted one image of a Brooks look-alike who isn't Louise Brooks! There is no bibliography or list of sources to support the author's many outrageous claims regarding the actress, but there are numerous images seemingly gleamed from the internet. Where does the author get this stuff from? Or does he make it up? To call this rather slight cut-and-paste e-pub a "hack job" would be to give it too much credit. It's not worth the paper its not printed on.  [More info here.]

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Crazy Rhythm
by Daniel Vian
Publisher: Spectrum Beacon (May 31, 2010)

There is third book out, a work of fiction, which I have purchased but haven't had time to read. It is called Crazy Rhythm: A Novel of Hollywood, by Daniel Vian. Has anyone read it?  [More info here.]

One other recently released ebook - a work of erotic fiction,  Nymph: The Singularity by J.E. Lansing, features a character based on Louise Brooks. 'Nuf said. [More info here.]
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