Remembering Two Pioneers of Sports Television
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Sad to see Bill Webb, epochal sports television director, passed away this week at the age of 70. Described by Gary Cohen as the “Vin Scully of directors,” Webb helmed 17 World Series for Fox and served for years in the same capacity for the New York Mets. His philosophy was to capture not just […]
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The Art of Screenplay Writing
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A few years ago, Academy Award winning screenwriter Ernest Lehman, while appearing at the Oscars, quoted: “It all starts with the written word.” In fact, that is the way movies really work: a good idea needs to be translated into a good screenplay for the final product to succeed. Truth is that screenplay writing is […]
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Farewell to Author of “The Exorcist”
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William Peter Blatty, author of the bestselling book, “The Exorcist,” died last week at the age of 89. He won an Academy Award for his 1973 screen adaptation of the novel — both book and film were, of course, mega hits, cultural milestones. A devout Catholic, whose funeral mass will be held this week at […]
Continue Reading Alfred Hitchcock in the San Francisco Bay Area
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Alfred Hitchcock definitely had an affinity for Northern California. He and his wife, Alma, purchased a home in Scots Valley, just south of San Francisco, in 1940. Part of this attraction had to do with Hitchcock’s fondness for wine: in fact, he acquired a vineyard that was adjacent to his property, a vineyard which he […]
Continue Reading Mister Hollywood Is Back
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At one time, Warren Beatty was christened Mister Hollywood. His lengthy list of achievements in the motion picture business is almost second to none. Beatty is the only person to have been twice nominated for Academy Awards for direction, writing, acting, and producing the same film – Heaven Can Wait (1978) and Reds (1981). In […]
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