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Monthly Archives: November 2008
Slumdog Millionaire tops British Indie Film Awards
Dev Patel and Anil Kapoor in Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ By Ray Bennett LONDON — Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire”, a tale of a young boy from Mumbai who becomes a surprise success on “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire”, was … Continue reading
Posted in Film, News
Tagged 'Slumdog Millionaire', British Independent Film Awards, Danny Boyle
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Carnaby Street puts on a show for Christmas
Carnaby Street’s Christmas decorations are among the most entertaining in London, as my photos show
A couple of reasons why I love being back in Blighty
It’s 10 years to the day that I left Los Angeles and returned to live in the United Kingdom. As much as I love L.A., here’s why I am happy to be home: the view of London from St. Paul’s … Continue reading
Posted in Places
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The glorious grand old survivor of London
You don’t need to be religious to admire the world’s cathedrals and St. Paul’s in London is the most glorious of them all. It should be on every visitor’s must-see list. The £10 admission price is well worth it in … Continue reading
Lots of awards contenders in UK January film releases
Benicio Del Toro plays Che Guevera in Steven Soderbergh’s two-part biography By Ray Bennett The January UK release schedule is chock-a-block with awards contenders including two with much-anticipated Kate Winslet performances, another with Anne Hathaway, and several films featuring potential … Continue reading
Ry Cooder at home in the California desert
Ry Cooder at El Mirage Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert There are nearly 100 Ry Cooder tracks on my iPod, just ahead of Randy Newman, including songs, film scores and his last three releases, the superb trilogy “Chávez Ravine” … Continue reading
Posted in Music, Notes, Places
Tagged Nonesuch Records, Ry Cooder, The New York Times
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Carl Morgan, a real newspaperman, dead at 77
I was sad to get a phone call last night from Trevor Wilhelm, a reporter at Canada’s Windsor Star, who said Carl Morgan, former editor of that newspaper, had died. Carl was city editor in my early years at the … Continue reading
Posted in News
Tagged Carl Morgan, Jim Bruce, Ron Base, The Los Angeles Herald Examiner, The Windsor Star
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Recalling Renee on her birthday
‘Your sweet and shiny eyes are like the stars above Laredo, like meat and potatoes to me. In my sweet dreams we are in a bar and it’s your birthday, drinking salty margaritas … ‘
Billy Elliot makes a smashing bow on Broadway
Trent Kowalik, Kiril Kulish, and David Alvarez play Billy at the Imperial Theater The musical “Billy Elliot” has opened to rave reviews on Broadway with Ben Brantley in the New York Times calling it a “seductive, smashingly realized” production perfect … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, Theatre
Tagged Billy Elliot, Broadway, Elton John, Lee Hall, Stephen Daldry
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Stoppard and Branagh make Ivanov shine
Kenneth Branagh and Andrea Riseborough at Wyndham’s thru Nov. 29 (photo J. Persson) By Ray Bennett LONDON — Anton Chekhov wrote “Ivanov” when he was a mere 27, and it shows, and so the Donmar Warehouse’s West End production benefits … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, Theatre
Tagged Chekhov, Donmar Warehouse, Ivanov, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Grandage, Tom Stoppard
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