As soon as we heard Rapper’s Delight, we were hooked and in those relatively early days of the genre, as some clubs slowly morphed from the discotheque model to a more hip hop-centered experience, it wasn’t unusual to see blacks, whites and Latinos all in the same club.

Not to digress too much into the economic and cultural makeup of New York in the early to mid-1980s, but it was certainly a different time and I found myself in a complicated social world that somehow merged my left-wing, hippy/socialist summer camp (Thoreau-in-Vermont) with the private school I attended (The United Nations International School, aka UNIS) and the NYC ska and hip hop communities. NYC was (and is) a large place, but if you were in certain high schools and of a certain mindset, your orbits were large, inclusive and on the surface or to an outsider, contradictory. Didn’t seem that way to us, though.

A meager attempt to diagram this: several NYC ska bands had members in my school, two girls in my school dated two of the Beastie Boys (you can spot them here, fighting for their right to party) and some of my friends from summer camp would, on occasion, play football and socialize with them.

To say that The Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill and Public Enemy’s Yo! Bum Rush the Show blew our minds would be an understatement and they both revolutionized hip hop. First of all, they were the first two rap albums that many of us had heard guitars on, which was no small musical feat. Granted, The PE album was far more musically ambitious, but the Beasties would catch up pretty quickly. Secondly…three white guys (who some of us actually knew) rapping and doing it well. To be honest, no one thought it was possible.

It was almost like they were two sides of the same coin. The Beastie Boys for when it was time to go out and drink, dance, party and celebrate being young and PE for when you felt a little more angry at the system and wanted to rage agains The Man. They were both NYC to the core and both made my transition that year from high school to college a little easier.

As Adam and I got older, our paths would occasionally if not cross, run parallel for a few minutes and then he started working in film, starting Oscilloscope Laboratories. Unfortunately, after a few brief meetings at parties in high school, before either of us were anywhere near who we would become, I never met him again. We clearly developed similar outlooks on things like human rights and I love the fact that he started an honest-to-goodness indie distributor in the days when most others had been gobbled up or closed. I’d like to think that we would have gotten along and I’m certain I am not alone in thinking that his death is a terrible loss to music, film and the world in general.

Adam Yauch’s death might be the first of a contemporary music idol of mine, “contemporaries” in that we sort of grew up together. Not literally of course, but we were roughly the same age, had many of the same cultural influences as kids, were from the same city and ran in some of the same circles, both then and now. I am sure part of my reaction is a reflection on my own mortality and that’s to be expected. His passing is hitting me much harder than I would have imagined but I’m ok with that.

Rest in Peace, Adam Yauch.

Up.

Down.

Today brings The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and how I love it, let me count the ways! One of my top 10 films of 2011, this is going to be a regular view of mine for a long time. Its stunning visual and sound design make it perfect for a transfer to BD and I sincerely hope they don’t fuck it up. It’s loaded with extras as well, with the press release listing almost four hours of goodies, including Commentary by Director David Fincher, character profiles, location features and some very cool sounding post-production stuff, including “Main Titles (Multi-Angle) With Commentary by Tim Miller of BLUR Studio.”

Sherlock, Season 2 (May 22nd)
While this brilliant BBC show starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and nominee for best name ever) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit) and created by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) and Mark Gatiss (Doctor Who) is packaged and marketed as having seasons, it’s really a hybrid, as each season is actually a collection of three 90 minute films with common narrative elements so yes, it’s a series but a slightly different kind. There have been six episodes so far, with a 3rd season having been commissioned by the BBC. No date has been announced for series three, however. Watch season one (4 Emmy nominations, 3 BAFTAs and a Peabody Award, among others) and season two and then wait, breath held, for season 3. Yes, it’s that good. Oh, and two words: Lara Pulver. Also recently out from BBC Home Entertainment is the 10th and oh so very sadly, final season of their superlative espionage series, Spooks (MI5, in the US). Do yourself a favor and watch the first season. If you’re not buying the DVDs or BD after that, I’ll be shocked.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in the BBC's "Sherlock."

I, Claudius (March 27th)

From Acorn Media (who are also releasing the BBC miniseries of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) comes a landmark 1976 television miniseries named “one of the 100 best TV shows of all time” by Time Magazine in 2007 and I remember my parents and their friends being totally obsessed by it when I was a kid. It starred a huge list of British acting talent, many of whom have gone on to stardom, including many recognizable roles here in the US, including Derek Jacobi (Henry V, The Borgias) as Claudius, Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: TNG, X-Men), Siân Phillips (Goodbye Mr. Chips, Dune), John Hurt (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Midnight Express), Brian Blessed (Henry V), John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones trilogies) and Simon MacCorkindale (Manimal…I had to get Manimal in there!). It’s 12 episodes over 4 discs and is loaded with extras, including: extended original versions of episodes 1 and 2; “I, Claudius”: A Television Epic, a behind-the-scenes look at the series; The Epic That Never Was, a feature-length documentary recounting the failed 1937 film adaptation; Derek Jacobi interview; favorite scenes of the cast and director; and an 8-page booklet with an article about the series’ historical accuracy and a Julio-Claudian family tree. Wow.

Also on March 27th is another film I loved from 2011, A Dangerous Method. Not only do I think it’s an exceptional film, but it enabled me to spend 15 minutes in a room with Keira Knightly and that’s something, no? I’ll bet the commentary by Cronenberg is worth the price alone.

Treme: Season 2 (April 17th)
The second season of one of what I like to refer to as “yet another reason HBO is indispensable.” The set is loaded with extras, too, dig it:
“Down in the Treme: A Look at the Music and Culture of New Orleans” (BD only) – Learn more about New Orleans’ unique culture including its music, cuisine and landmarks with this in-episode viewing mode.
“The Music of Treme” - Discover more about the songs featured throughout the series with this in-episode viewing mode. The BD features an enhanced, interactive version of this feature.
“Behind Treme: Food For Thought” – New Orleans chefs and restaurateurs John Besh and Alon Shaya discuss local cuisine and its importance to the cultural tradition of the city.
“Behind Treme: Clarke Peters & the Mardi Gras Indians” – Actor Clarke Peters (Albert Lambreaux) and Mardi Gradi Indian Chief Otto DeJean (George Cotrell) discuss the rich tradition of the Mardi Gras Indian in New Orleans.
“The Art of Treme“ – A Tulane University symposium dedicated to Treme featuring David Simon, Eric Overmyer and Clarke Peters.
Music commentaries - Every episode features commentary by WBGO’s Josh Jackson and NPR Music’s Patrick Jarenwattananon on select music performances.
Audio commentaries – Four commentaries with David Simon, executive producer Nina Kostroff Noble, supervising producer/director Anthony Hemingway, director Brad Anderson, writer George Pelecanos, music supervisor Blake Leyh and cast members Clarke Peters, Rob Brown, Kim Dickens, Lucia Micarelli and Wendell Pierce.

On May 8th, MPI Home Video is releasing a pretty nifty set for the Dark Shadows fans out there. It’s the complete series on, get this, 131 DVDs, featuring 1, 225 episodes! To be honest, I have never seen an episode, but do remember seeing a few minutes here and there in syndication, when I was a kid. It wasn’t my cuppa then, but I bet I’d dig it now, if only for the camp value. Yeah, that’s just what I need, another TV show to obsess over. At any rate, the set looks amazing and at $600 retail, it damn well better be, but considering the rabid fan base this show has, I’m sure it’ll do fine. Also being released on the same day are two smaller collections at a more reasonable $14.98: Dark Shadows: Fan Favorites and Dark Shadows: The Best of Barnabas.

Opening three days later is the Tim Burton-Johnny Depp feature film and the trailer has drawn some serious criticism from the die hards due to the somewhat absurdist and comedic take on the source material. Burton and Depp are on record as being big fans of the original, but I think both know that playing it straight would probably fail as a feature film (and be too similar to some of the existing vampire-on-film-oeuvre) hence the Beetlejuice-like comedy. Not only that, but Burton’s not exactly a master at directing romance. Based on the trailer, I am cautiously optimistic.

I mean, would you really want to see a Buffy/Twilight crossover? Not unless it was just so Buffy could kick Edward’s scrawny, gitter-covered arse. Harry Potter teaming up with the Halliwell sisters? Pass. Kirk and O’Neill, fighting the Goa’uld and Klingons? I think not.

Just look at the ways the two shows treat time travel. In Star Trek, it’s a rare and dangerous occasion. In Doctor Who, well, it’s what he does. All the time. With ease. Imagine how annoyed Picard will get with The Doctor running around the bridge in a fez! I mean, if it’s going to be funny….

Word is, however, that it’s not going to be in the least bit funny. From the IDW press release:

Launching in May, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION/DOCTOR WHO: ASSIMILATION² will feature fan-favorite villains the Borg and the Cybermen as they create an unholy alliance resulting in potential disaster for all humanity. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise find themselves joining forces with the Doctor and his companions, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance.

My point is, teaming up characters in the same “universe” is fine but this one feels forced and seems like it has the potential to be a disaster. But I don’t wanna be a Scrooge and since I love both of these shows, if they can pull this off, I would be a happy geek. Lord knows, the Cybermen and the Borg have a lot in common and I bet The Doctor would get a real kick out of experimenting with the replicators to find the optimal recipe for fish fingers and custard…

The series hits stores in May.

With a superlative cast of Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch (don’t get me started on how brilliant Sherlock is…), David Dencik, Tom Hardy, Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt, Toby Jones, and Mark Strong, TTSS easily made my top ten of 2011 [CNN.com and indieWIRE.com] and while I love (Oscar winner) The Descendants, I wouldn’t have complained if writers Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan had picked up an little gold man last month.

TTSS has got some pretty cool extras, too, including (BD-only): Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: First Look, deleted scenes, an interview with John le Carré, all the usual BD-LIVEmishegoss (apps, mobile bells and whistles, promos for other titles, etc.) plus one REALLY cool feature for those of you who, like me, occasionally miss lines of dialog. It’s called uHEAR and apparently allows you to instantly skip back a few seconds on your Blu-ray disc and turns on the subtitles to highlight what you missed. Not having a copy (yet), I can’t speak to how well it works.

Both BD and DVD have assorted interviews with Oldman, Firth, Hardy, Alfredson and Straughan (Bridget O’Connor, his wife and co-screenwriter tragically passed away from cancer in late 2010) as well as commentary with Alfredson and Oldman. Yeah, I am gonna have to listen to that one.

BBC Mini Series Hits Blu-ray
When I moved to LA last year, I sold my DVD version of the 1979 BBC mini-series of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in the hopes that the film would spark a BD version and (of course) it did. It’s a fantastic adaptation of a great novel and I am looking forward to checking it out and letting you all know how great it is.

Release date is April 24th and will include some new bonus features, like deleted scenes and a 29-minute new interview with director John Irvin. Also included among the extras is a 27-minute interview with le Carré, production notes, a glossary of main characters and terms, and a bio of le Carré.

They’re both exceptional and very different versions of the same source material (which you should read!) and I for one am looking forward to a week of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on Blu-ray!

Ooooh. six whole times, eh? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. There, that’s 8. You gonna rate my blog post ‘R’ now, too? Does the MPAA realize that kids hear far worse than that before they get off the bus in the morning and bullied kids would love it if all they got was the occasional swearing at. These kids are being abused, mentally and physically until they kill themselves or others. What kind of a society do we live in where a film that has the potential to help stop this epidemic but is given a “restricted” rating because the word “fuck” is uttered 6 times?

“We’ve got the MPAA’s attention, and with nearly 300,000 signatures and support from celebrities and politicians, there’s now a national movement of people calling on the MPAA to drop the ‘R’ rating for Bully,” Butler said. “As someone who lived through bullying day in and day out in school, including having my finger broken by bullies, this film is too important to silence with an ‘R’ rating. Everyone should have a chance to see Bully.”

Let me get this straight, a bullied 17 year-old who has had bones broken by bullies is doing what basically every right-thinking person in America should be doing. 285,000 signatures is all fine and good, but why aren’t there 3,000,000? Where are all the celebrity parents supporting this petition? 20 members of Congress is great, but what about the other 515? Surely they can’t condone bullying and surely they can’t believe that a few utterances of the word “fuck” trumps the good that can be done by kids seeing this film.

The film is set to be released on March 30th, so there’s not a lot of time to get the MPAA to re-thing their dunderheaded vote. Go here to sign the petition.

Read the sign-on letter Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) wrote to his congressional colleagues and their letter to the MPAA insupport of Bully, here. See Ellen DeGeneres’ segment on the film, here.

Here’s the trailer for Bully. I can’t seem to get it to embed.

In my wrap of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival I wrote of the film: “A heart-breaking and shocking look at rape in the military, Dick’s film details the pain, shame, horror and lasting damage caused by the attacks as well as the shocking hypocrisy and cover-ups endorsed by the military establishment.”

Some stats from the US Department of Defense:
20% of ALL servicewomen have been sexually assaulted while serving.
Women who have been raped in the military have a PTSD rate higher than men in combat.
An estimated 500,000 women have been sexually assaulted in the US military.
In 2010, according to the Department of Defense, there were 3,158 case of sexual assault within the U.S. military. It is estimated that more than 80% of those who are sexually assaulted don’t report it.

The film presents many more statistics, equally as disturbing.

While the subject matter is grim and at times the film is emotionally tough to watch, I will categorically say that this is a film everyone must see, especially educators. It’s a film that could potentially cause a sea change not only in the halls of Congress but in the high schools of America.

At the Q&A following the Sundance world premiere, a 17 year-old young woman in the audience stood up and said that while she had never been physically assaulted, verbal abuse was the norm in her school and she felt that every high school student needed to see the film because boys were not being raised to respect women. It was another poignant moment in the most emotional Q&A I have ever witnessed.

Yet Another Assault on Women
Rush Limbaugh (I find it hard to even write that pig’s name) and the recent contraception farce in Congress are only the latest in what seems a renewed assault on women’s rights in the US (and around the world) both passively (through a lack of equal pay statutes) and actively (new laws attacking women’s heath rights, archaic new alimony laws). Add to that the almost instant, near-universal forgiveness of celebrities who beat women (I’m looking at you, Chris Brown) and John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1972 call to arms seems ever more relevant. [Video below]

I find it shocking that in 2012, 92 years after the ratification of the 19th amendment to the Constitution (if you don’t know what that is, look it up) women are still getting paid less than men for the same work.

According to Time Magazine and the US Census, in 2008, U.S. Women earned only 77 cents on the dollar as compared to men. These numbers are even true in traditionally female-dominated professions, such as secretaries (83.4%). According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, the number “rose” to 77.4% in 2010. Different sources cite different numbers, but all range between roughly 77% and 82%. The numbers for African American women and Latinas are even worse, at 67.7% and 58.7%, respectively, when compared to all men.

Am I the only one who thinks this is barbaric? And whither responsible journalists? When Liz Trotta recently appeared on Fox News and basically said that when men and women serve in close contact in the military, a rise in violent sexual assault should be expected, where were the editorials by every other news organization? Where was the mass public outcry? Why wasn’t she instantly fired or at the very least, given a healthy suspension? She might as well have said the same thing about rapes on co-ed college campuses. Shit, man! Of course women are going to be raped if you let them sit at a desk next to a man and live in the same dorm!

Trotta went on to decry the system of victim support groups set up to, in her words, “support women in the military who are now being raped too much.” [Emphasis mine] Really, Liz? There’s a “too much” level in rape? Please, do tell me what amount of rape is just right? Trotta goes on to “blame” the “feminists” (as if there’s some sort of organized group) for the military finally taking steps to address the horrendous situation for women in the armed forces, referring to the rise in the budget of the Defense Department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office from $5 million to $23 million as “extreme feminism.” I realize Ms. Trotta has a regular slot and that it’s labeled as a “commentary,” but how did the editor of the show not vet this?

Let’s try a little wordplay (leaving aside for the moment that men are also sexually assaulted by men in the military and that you can’t really compare types of assaults like this): Replace the word “women” with “African Americans” and the phrase “sexual assault” with “racially motivated attack.” As in “in 2010, as many as 10,000 African American soldiers were the victim of brutal, racially-motivated beatings by white soldiers.”

Can you tell me that if someone went on TV and said that racially motivated crime should be expected in an integrated military and that setting up racial sensitivity classes for white soldiers was basically a plot by the NAACP and victims support groups for black soldiers that were “beaten too much” were a waste of money, that said person wouldn’t be out on their ass the next day?

You think Rush Limbaugh would still have his job if he referred to a black man who wanted to testify about affirmative action in the workplace as a lazy nigger? Can you imagine if instead of reportedly saying “At least I don’t plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt” to his wife, McCain had been rumored to have said “At least my hair doesn’t look like a bird’s nest, you coon” to someone on his campaign?

I guess what it comes down to, what I am getting at, is that while all discrimination is bad and some is illegal, discrimination against women seems to be the most universally accepted by society and more specifically, by male society (not that there aren’t a disturbing amount of women like Liz Trotta out there).

While men of color are quick to point out the racism that runs rampant though society (and so we should) what’s our excuse for black women being victims of intimate partner violence at a rate 35% higher than white women (according to the US Department of Justice)? How about the biggest killer of African-American women ages 15 to 34 being homicide at the hands of a current or former intimate partner (Africana Voices Against Violence, Tufts University, Statistics, 2002)?

Those are absolutely terrifying numbers, no matter how you look at them and there are dozens more and statistics out there, covering all aspects of society.

Unfortunately, I could go on like this for pages and pages. The bottom line is this: As a planet, we are failing in our treatment of 50% of the population. Physical, economic and psychological violence against women takes place every minute of every hour of every day in every village, town, city and country on this planet, much of it fully sanctioned by the male-dominated government and population. When does it stop?

Invisible War trailer:

Saturday I found myself in the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, having a cocktail and wondering who everyone was. Considering I know an awful lot of people in the film biz, one might wonder as to why I was so confused. Well….I was at the ACE Eddie Awards. Now I love editors, respect their craft and knew several personally but they aren’t the most up-front, recognizable members of the film community to the general public.

So it was that I and writer/producer Darren Dean (Kinyarwanda, Prince of Broadway) found ourselves in a position to which we were not accustomed: wallflowers. Well, not exactly, but the pre-awards cocktail hour was like being the only 2 hockey players at a rhythmic gymnastics competition. We didn’t know who they were and they certainly didn’t know us.

The celebs in attendance were likely in the green room, so until we all started taking our seats for the show, there was no sign of ACE Golden Eddie recipient Alexander Payne, awards host Patton Oswalt or presenters Kyle Chandler, Robert Forster, Donald Faison, Reese Witherspoon or Clint Eastwood.

As for the ceremony, it was short, often funny and occasionally rather touching. The love these men and women have for their craft (and each other) was apparent and unlike other, more celebrated (and televised) shows, this one really was all about the work. Like the Golden Globes, the Eddies nominate feature films in categories and as a result, it was possible for two favored Oscar nominees (The Descendants and The Artist) to both win and… both did. As a result, the Eddies didn’t give much of a hint as to which film is going to take home a little gold man on Sunday, but best guess is The Artist. I am leaning towards predicting The Artist. The little French, (mostly) silent film is looking poised to make a major haul on Oscar night, having racked up a rather impressive tally to date. That said, The Descendants remains my favorite film of the year and I am rooting for it!

Best Edited Feature Film Comedy or Musical Winners Michel Hazanavicius and Anne-Sophie Bion who edited THE ARTIST flank winner of Best Edited Feature Film Drama Kevin Tent, A.C.E. who won for THE DESCENDANTS. (LINDA TREYDTE / TILT PHOTO)

Oswalt lived up to his reputation as one of the funniest people out there and at times was significantly edgier than Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais (“I haven’t seen this many cutters in one room since the Teen Choice Awards”). He also praised the tenacity and toughness of an editor, remarking that anyone who “sits through Chipwrecked 1,000 times” was someone to be respected.

One of the interesting (odd?) things about the night was that whenever a nominee or presenter was a member of the American Cinema Editors (not all were) their names were announced, followed by “A.C.E.” as if it were some honorific bestowed upon them by Queen (Thelma) Schoonmaker or King (Michael) Kahn. As a result, it became a running gag, with Oswalt opening the evening with: “Good evening. I am your host Patton Oswalt, F.A.T.” and Payne really  beating it to death, proving that if you repeat a gag enough, eventually it becomes funny again.

A mini-baked Alaska? Seriously?

The speeches themselves were mostly short, sweet and often funny (Michael Hazanavicius: “Thanks to Harvey (Weinstein) for not recutting” The Artist). Below is a rather lengthy but often funny excerpt of Payne’s acceptance speech, including a look into his process with longtime editor Kevin Tent A.C.E.

One of Patton’s running gags was about how he was working his way through a bottle of single malt Scotch during the awards with was rather ironic, because each table of 12 in the ballroom was allotted a scant single bottle each of red and white wine for the 2 hour ceremony and when the table asked for more, we were informed that we’d have to pay for it. Far be it for me to tell someone how to run their awards show (yeah…right) but my only note to the ACE Eddies organizing committee is that black tie events generally come with an open bar. I’m just sayin’….

All in all, a fun night and I hope that next year my dance card is a little more full!

NOTE: If a 404 error appears in the video window below, click on “Use original player.”