Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti and writers for the website talk with the women and men making news in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world. Thanks to Ian Herman for his wonderful piano introduction.
Timing is everything, and Steven Spielberg’s The Post could not have come out at a more ideal time. While there are those who would attack the Washington Post and other news organizations with pejorative terms like “fake news,” the film dramatizes why our country needs a free and unfettered press. While the New York Times proclaims on its front page “All the news that’s fit to print,” the Washington Post doesn’t pull punches with its declaration that “Democracy dies in darkness.”
Risking everything to publish stories based on the purloined Pentagon Papers – the publisher, editors, and reporters could have been charged and jailed – the Washington Post claimed it’s rightful place as a national newspaper. Katharine Graham, who became publisher after her husband, Philip, committed suicide, allowed the paper to print, even though her board of directors warned that she could jeopardize the paper’s financial future. In making the decision to go ahead, Graham finally asserts her authority and makes the paper truly her own.
Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, and Tom Hanks
Coming on the heels of The Vietnam War, Ken Burns’ exhaustive series for PBS, the film underscores that four presidents, from Truman through Johnson, continually misled the public about U.S. operations in Vietnam. In fact, while the government insisted that the war was being won, behind the scenes those in charge had declared the war unwinnable. President Nixon, who didn’t want to be humiliated losing a war, kept up the deception.
The film opens in 1969, in the jungles of Vietnam. The war is still raging, claiming both American and Vietnamese lives. Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys), a former Marine working as a military analyst at the Rand Corporation, is sent to Vietnam as an observer and sees firsthand that things are not going well. While flying back to Washington on a government plane, Ellsberg is asked for his opinion by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood). If Ellsberg is surprised when McNamara agrees with his assessment, he’s even more surprised when McNamara faces the press after the flight and delivers an upbeat assessment that the war is being won.
Ellsburg, already disillusioned, makes the decision to photocopy 7,000 pages of confidential documents that reveal what the government has been hiding for more than four decades about the war. After failing to generate any interest from the members of Congress, Ellsberg, in 1971, contacts Neil Sheehan, who had been covering the war for the New York Times. Sheehan and his editors recognized the importance of the papers immediately. A team was put together, and for three months they holed up in a hotel, poring over the papers and deciding how best to tell the story.
Tom Hanks as Ben Bradlee
The absence of Sheehan’s byline for several months does not go unnoticed by Post editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks). Hanks plays Bradlee as the quintessential newspaper man and a fierce competitor. Even though the Times was recognized as the only truly national newspaper in the country, and one whose journalistic credentials far outweighed the Post’s, Bradlee is not about to play second fiddle. He gives an intern $40 with instructions to hop a train to New York and attempt to find out what Sheehan is working on. While the intern doesn’t learn the whole story, he does see a mock-up of the next day’s Times with practically the entire front page blocked out for Sheehan’s story. Bradlee knows the Times has something big and braces for the scoop.
Meanwhile, Katharine Graham is about to face a group of bankers, a first step in her quest to take the paper public to raise much needed cash. Meryl Streep does what she does best: transforming herself into the character, in this case a middle-aged woman plagued with self doubt who is about to take her place on the national stage. Although Graham has rehearsed with Fritz Beebe (Tracy Letts), the Post’s chairman, she’s tongue-tied when before the bankers. Streep manages to capture Graham’s insecurities in subtle ways, with facial expressions and hand gestures. During the meeting, she actually seems to shrink in size. Despite her lackluster presentation, the offering succeeds and the company will have the cash it needs to go forward.
Tom Hanks (Ben Bradlee), David Cross (Howard Simons), John Rue (Gene Patterson), Bob Odenkirk (Ben Bagdikian), Jessie Mueller (Judith Martin), and Philip Casnoff (Chalmers Roberts)
On June 13, 1971, Bradlee’s fears are realized when the Times comes out with its first story about the Pentagon Papers, making the Post’s front page feature of Tricia Nixon’s wedding seem trivial. Three days later, however, the Nixon administration, citing national security, asks a federal court for an injunction preventing the Times from publishing any further stories. Although the injunction is granted, other newspapers jump in, trying to gain access to the documents.
One of the Post’s writers, Ben Bagdikian (a terrific Bob Odenkirk), has a hunch the papers came from Ellsberg, whom he once worked with at the Rand Corporation. Ellsberg, hiding out in a Boston motel, agrees to give the papers to Bagdikian. The reporter flies back to D.C., and the team gathers at Bradlee’s Georgetown home for some heavy reading.
The Times had more than three months to digest the papers. The Post’s team has far less time. The Herculean effort results in a story, but elation is short-lived when one of the newspaper’s attorneys says that the injunction could be a big problem if the Post’s source was also the Times’ source. If the paper defies the injunction and publishes, the risk would be great. Besides possible jail time for Graham, Bradlee, and others, board member Arthur Parsons (Bradley Whitford), warns that the newspaper’s recent public offering could be in danger. This is the turning point for Kay Graham, and Streep handles this scene beautifully, allowing us first to see her hesitation, but then her determination to do the right thing.
Howard Simons (David Cross), Frederick “Fritz” Beebe (Tracy Letts), Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), Kay Graham (Meryl Streep), Arthur Parsons (Bradley Whitford), Chalmers Roberts (Philip Casnoff), Paul Ignatius (Brent Langdon), Meg Greenfield (Carrie Coon, seated).
The Post’s first story runs on June 18. Unlike in the Times’ case, the Justice Department’s request for an injunction is turned down by a federal judge in D.C. Before the case reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, several other newspapers, including the Boston Globe and the Chicago Sun-Times, also publish stories. In a 6-3 decision on June 30, the court reverses the injunction. In the decision, Justice Hugo Black writes: “In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.”
Meryl Streep as Katharine Graham
Graham is transformed by the experience. Not only has she firmly grasped the reins as the newspaper’s publisher, but she understands that she cannot allow her responsibility to be affected by the personal friendships she once enjoyed with those in power. (After reading the Pentagon Papers, she confronts McNamara about his deception regarding the war, reminding him that her son is still in Vietnam fighting.)
Graham and Bradlee are now a team. While Graham expresses the hope that the battle is now behind them, we know that an even greater challenge is ahead, one that will bring down a president.
Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise, courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
Less than a year after the largest circus folded up its tent for good, we have a film that celebrates the spectacle of what was once the greatest show on earth. And portraying the iconic showman is the multi-talented Hugh Jackman, demonstrating the versatily to go from playing the immortal mutant Wolverine to dazzling us with his skills as a song and dance man. With this role the Austrailian actor adds to his impressive musical resume, which includes: Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (Golden Globe Award); Curly McLain in Oklahoma! (West End, London, Olivier nomination); and, Broadway’s The Man from Oz (Tony Award). In The Greatest Showman, Jackman occupies center ring as P.T. Barnum, who founded the show that became the Barnum & Bailey Circus, bringing to audiences a collection of off-beat entertainment that was as shocking as it was thrilling.
The Greatest Showman is not a biopic, instead spotlighting the high – and low – points of Barnam’s life and career. But the main theme focuses on Barnum’s philiosphy: “Whatever you do, do it with all your might.” A secondary, but just as forceful theme, is one of inclusion. Barnum’s shows brought together “oddities,” people who had been shunned by society because of their deformities, but soon formed a family, found a home, and stood together to fight those who continued to villify them. In today’s political climate, those feelings are sure to resonate with many in the audience.
Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman
The film represents a labor of love by those involved. Director Laurence Mark and co-screenwriter Bill Condon (along with Jenny Bicks) first came up with the idea after working on the 2009 Acdemy Awards broadcast and being impressed with Jackman’s performance as host. “I thought, wow, this guy’s the greatest showman on earth – and that’s when I went to P.T. Barnum in my head,” Mark said, according to the film’s press notes. Shortly after, Mark approached Jackman with the idea of playing Barnum and got him on board. Michael Gracey, who views Barnum as a visionary, the Steve Jobs of his day, soon signed on as director.
The song-writing team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who had not yet gained fame for Dear Evan Hansen (2016 Tony Award for Best Original Score), or for La La Land (2017 Academy Award for Best Original Song, “City of Stars”), were hired after the team commissioned samples from dozens of songwriters. While the film is a period piece represented by the story, scenic design, and costumes, the songs (pop) and choreography (hip hop) are contemporary. The exuberant opening number, “The Greatest Show” features Barnum, dressed as the ringmaster leading the circus cast in the first of many dance numbers. (Viewers will be reminded of the energetic “Another Day of Sun” which opened La La Land.) It gets the film off to a rousing start.
Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams
Phineas Taylor Barnum was born in Bethel, Connecticut in 1810. As a young boy (played in the film by Ellis Rubin), Barnum helped his father, Philo (Will Swenson), who worked as a tailor. Although the youth caught the eye of Charity (Skylar Dunn), the daughter of one of his father’s wealthy clients, Barnum was acutely aware of the social hierarchy that placed his family on a lower rung. That rejection would fuel Barnum’s passion to succeed on a grand scale, especially after he marries Charity (Michelle Williams) and pledges to give her the life she deserves. For her part, Charity actually seems happy escaping her gilded lifestyle for a much simpler one where she cares for her two daughters, Caroline (Austyn Johnson) and Helen (Cameron Seely), cleans their small apartment, and even hangs laundry on the building’s roof. Charity, however, isn’t oblivious to what she’s signed on for with Barnum. Williams, who has a lovely although not powerful voice, conveys those conflicted feelings in “Tightrope.” But Williams’ glowing presence serves as a counterpoint to Barnum during the dark times when he suffers setbacks.
After losing his boring job as a clerk (the company closes down), Barnum redoubles his efforts to follow his dream. Soon he’s operating “Barnum’s American Museum,” a solid brick building located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The attraction evolves from displays of objects to ones that feature the oddities: Lettie Lutz, the bearded lady (a terrific Keala Settle); Tom Thum (Sam Humphrey); Dog Boy (Luciano Acuna Jr.), to name a few. Director Gracey handles these characters with skill and sensitivity, allowing them to evolve from reluctant participants in Barnum’s circus to fully formed performers finding their rightful places in the show. Particularly impressive is Settle, whose solo “This Is Me” would have stopped the show on Broadway.
Barnum’s families – his personal one and his professional one – come apart when he becomes enamoured of the “Swedish Nightingale,” Jenny Lind, and convinces her to go on tour in the U.S. While Rebecca Ferguson, also Swedish, has appeared in many films, including The Girl on the Train, Florence Foster Jenkins, and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, her role as Lind will certainly bring her the attentiion of a wider audience. Still, after such a build up of Lind’s talents, Ferguson’s performance of “Never Enough” falls short. The role required a singer whose stature was equal or larger than Lind’s. A Lady Gaga perhaps.
Zac Efron and Zendaya
Kudos to Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey for casting Zac Efron and Zendaya as the miss-matched couple who finally defy the odds and come together. Philip Carlisle (Efron) leaves behind his comfortable upper class life to join Barnum’s circus and almost immediately is smitten by Zendaya’s Anne Wheeler, a trapeze artist. Efron, who has acted in musicals since he was a child, is more than up to the challenge of singing and dancing opposite Jackman. He’s lost none of the boyish charm he once displayed when he starred in the Disney Channel’s High School Musical. Zendaya, another Disney alum (she current produces and stars in the channel’s K.C. Undercover, can now add high-wire antics to her list of talents. (She apparently did some of the scenes without a net!) This gal is one to watch.
The Greatest Showman is great entertainment, but it’s also a film about the power of imagination and what an individual can achieve with inspiration, dedication, and a lot of hard work. While younger viewers may not be familiar with P.T. Barnum, they will certainly appreciate this story and see similarities with the many creatives genuises whose ideas and inventions continue to change the way we live and work. It’s a story that never grows old.
Photos by Niko Tavernise courtesy of 20th Century Fox
The holiday movie season is in full swing, but when the weather outside is frightful, you just might want to stay cozy and warm at home watching something on TV. And, let’s face it, these days there is so much to watch on TV, not only on the networks and cable, but also on the streaming services, that there’s something for everyone. And being able to binge watch means you don’t have to wait to find out how the story ends. So grab your remote and tune in to one of these.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Rachel Brosnahan shines in this Amazon Studios series as Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a Jewish housewife who tries to help her businessman husband, Joel, who dreams of becoming a comedian. Midge bribes the owner of the Gaslight, a seedy comedy club in lower Manhattan, with her brisket, landing Joel (Michael Zegen), better spots in the club’s nightly lineup. But when Joel bombs one night, he tells Midge that he’s having an affair with his secretary. Midge gets drunk, returns to the Gaslight and knocks the audience dead with her hysterically funny (and racy) perfiormance. Seems she’s the real comic in the family. The cast, which includes Tony Shaloub as her brilliant but controlling father, and Marin Hinkle as her neurotic mother, is terrific. Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has been nominated for two Golden Globes, for Best Television Musical or Comedy and for Brosnahan as Best Actress in a Television Musical or Comedy.
Shetland
This BBC Scottish crime drama is so atompsheric that you will want to book a trip to the island immediately. Largely based on the novels by Ann Cleeves, the series, which can be streamed on Netflix, stars Douglas Henshall as Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez. A standout is Alison O’Donnell who plays Detective Sergeant Alison “Tosh” MacIntosh. Also on the force is Detective Constable Sandy Wilson played by Steven Robertson. For a small area, Shetland has more than its share of crimes and the suspects usually include longtime (and certainly memorable) residents, most well known by the police. Both Henshall and the series have won BAFTA Awards. Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife) appears in season three as someone who could help Perez solve a crime. And there’s a relationship triangle: Perez shares custody of his stepdaughter, Cassie, with her biological father, Duncan Hunter (Mark Bonnar). Cassie’s mother died while married to Perez. While the Scottish accents are delightful, you will want to turn on the caption function so you don’t miss any clues.
Doc Martin
Martin Ellingham, a brilliant and famous vascular surgeon, develops haemophobia (fear of blood), forcing him to leave London and open a general practice in Portwenn, a fictional village in Cornwall. (The series, available for streaming on Netflix, is so popular that the area where the show is filmed has become a tourist destination.) Despite his blood phobia, Martin is a gifted doctor, able to diagnose even the most arcance illnesses he comes across. What he possesses in smarts, however, he lacks in social skills, regularly insulting his patients and locals with his outspoken and rude comments. Yet schoolteacher Louisa Glasson (Caroline Catz), falls in love with him and their on-again, off-again romance makes for many humorous episodes. Portwenn has more than its share of unusual characters who come up with their share of illnesses needing the doctor’s help. Performances are top notch. A U.S. verison of the show is reportedly in development.
This Is Us
Although this show currently airs on NBC, you can watch the first season on Netflix. It’s no secret that the networks have had a hard time coming up with solid hits, but This Is Us is certainly one that has been a critical success. The show centers on the Pearson family – father Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and mother Rebecca (Mandy Moore), and their three children. The series jumps back and forth between the past and present time. In present time, the three Pearson children are: Kevin (Justin Hartley), an actor who rose to fame as the lead in a TV sitcom called The Manny, which he now regrets; Kate (Chrissy Metz), battling weight issues and trying to mend her relationship with her mother; and Randall (Sterling K. Brown), a Harvard graduate and successful businessman. Rebecca was pregnant with triplets, but lost one of the babies. Randall had been left by his birthfather at a fire station and ended up in the nursery alongside the two surviving Pearson babies. Jack came up with the idea to adopt the African American baby, and after some initial doubt, Rebecca agreed. The show deals with a variety of social issues without ever becoming clichéd. And jumping between the past and the present fills in the blanks about how the family relationships evolved. A great show to watch with older children.
The Good Doctor
ABC finally has a hit. The Good Doctor stars Freddie Highmore as Shaun Murphy, a young surgical resident who is autistic wtih savant syndrome. While his autism means his bedside manner isn’t always the best, his abilities soon make him a valued member of the staff at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. Richard Schiff plays Aaron Glassman, the hospital president, who rescued Shaun from an abusive childhood and saw to his education. While he’s confident of Shaun’s skills, he worries that his protege is unhappy and needs help navigating the other aspects of his life. Shaun, however, resists his intervention, creating tension between the two. The show is based on an award-winning series from South Korea that was discovered by the actor Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-O), and first shopped to CBS before landing at ABC. Highmore has been nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance.
Looking around during a preview of The Last Jedi, I had a startling thought: most of the press people in the audience hadn’t yet been born when the first Star Wars film premiered 40 years ago. Soon after that film hit screens, I stood in line on East 86th Street in New York to see what critics were already calling a cultural phenomenon. The young lead actors (Carrie Fisher was only 19), suddenly found themselves thrust into the public eye, part of a juggernaut whose full impact had yet to be felt. Even today, enthusiasm for the Star Wars films continues, bringing in new generations of theater goers. During a time when other sequels fail, this new trilogy (forget about those disappointing prequels) not only meets, but exceeds expectations.
In a May 25, 1977 review for the New York Times, Vincent Canby, then the paper’s chief film critic, said about the first Star Wars film: “Actually, I may have to see it again.” That was the same comment made to me by the guest I brought to the preview of The Last Jedi. Repeat business is what makes studio executives happy, and those at Disney will certainly seize on this moment as the best holiday gift possible.
Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia
Like the first film in this new trilogy, The Force Awakens,The Last Jedi features characters from the past alongside a new youthful contingent. Mark Hamill, no longer the fresh-faced Luke Skywalker, is now a brooding and dark presence, holed up on a remote mountain, determined to avoid future battles. While the mountain is void of people, the non-human inhabitants are a delight to behold. These include: the adorable chirpy Porgs that resemble puffins; slug-like creatures large as dinosaurs; and servants with fish heads dressed like nuns who seem to perform the island’s daily chores. Luke’s sister, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher, whose appearance is bittersweet), still hopes Luke will return to help the rebels, now called the Resistance. Han Solo (Harrison Ford), the other member of the original trio, was killed off in The Force Awakens.
Oscar Isaac as Poe
The new trio consists of Rey (Daisy Ripley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). Rather than joining together in the fight, however, each is on a separate mission. The film opens with Poe, one of the Resistance’s top pilots, leading an offensive against the First Order (formerly The Empire), which doesn’t end well.
Kelly Marie Tran as Rose and John Boyega as Finn
Finn, who has just recovered from injuries, is soon sent on a mission, along with Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), to find a code breaker on a distant planet that bears a striking resemblance to Las Vegas. (Those customers gathered around the gaming tables remind us of the creatures Luke and Alec Guinness’ Obi-Wan Kenobi once encountered in a seedy intergalactic bar.) Daisy has perhaps the most difficult assigment: convincing a reluctant Luke to train her and then leave his retreat to help the Resistance.
Adam Driver as Kylo Ren
Among all the allied fighters, Rey, whose parentage is in question, seems to be aligned with The Force, that mystical power possessed by the Jedi. While on the mountain, she keeps seeing images of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who is connected to The Force since his parents are Han Solo and Princess Leia, but has gone over to the dark side. In these dream-like sequences, Kylo tries to entice Rey to join him, disparaging his uncle, Luke, who once was his mentor. This tug of war plays out through the film, teasing us with the question of who will be turned, Rey or Kylo.
Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo
The First Order is now led by Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis, doing his computer-generated thing, turning this villain into something truly reprehensible), and General Hux, (Domhnall Gleeson), whose postering is less threatening than it is humorous. A welcome new face among the rebels is Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. Then, of course, there are the favorite droids, C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), and R2-D2 (Jimmy Vee), along with Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), truly going “solo” this time around.
Rian Johnson picks up the director’s job from J.J. Abrams, who is now executive producer. Rian, who had a cameo appearance in last year’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, makes the leap to directing big time with this film and succeeds on all fronts. From the over-the-top battles (a Star Wars trademark), to the more intimate scenes between the characters, we feel we are in capable hands. Once again, John Williams’ score soars over the action, triggering our auditory memory of Star Wars films long, long ago.
Storm Troopers
The battle between good and evil is never really over, something the Star Wars films underscore. And it’s hard not to think of our current political climate when watching The Last Jedi. Particularly unsettling are those marching storm troopers that bring to mind Kim Jong-un’s robotic army, as well as those leaders of the First Order whose black uniforms resemble those worn by the Nazis. As the second film of this trilogy, The Last Jedi closes some plot lines, but leaves many more unresolved, sure to build the anticipation for that third installment.
Photos courtesy of Disney Studios Top: Daisy Ridley as Rey and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
Kerry Lonsdale follows up her bestselling novel, Everything We Keep, with Everything We Left Behind, continuing the story of the star-crossed lovers Aimee and James. While the second book can stand on its own, you would do well to begin with Everything We Keep. Believe me, once you read the first, you will be eager to read the second.
Aimee and James were friends from childhood. No surprise that they began to date, became lovers, and planned to marry. James’ family owned the profitable Donato Enterprises and he was expected to follow his father and two brothers, Thomas and Phil, into the business. James, however, had another plan. A talented artist, he wanted to paint and one day open his own gallery. As a child, he was prevented from ever touching brush to canvas by his controlling mother, Claire. Aimee’s parents, more understanding of James’ goals, allowed him to paint at their home.
Aimee and James plan a wedding, but James has to make a trip to Mexico. What Aimee believes is a routine business trip is anything but. When James goes missing and then, according to Thomas, is found dead, Aimee finds herself attending a funeral on what was supposed to be her wedding day. (Claire reasoned that because the church was already booked, why not substitute one event for another?)
Aimee always has her doubts about James being dead. She was never allowed to see his body. And Thomas’ details about how and where he died adds to her confusion. When she’s approached by a medium after the funeral and told that James is still alive, her mistrust of the Donatos grows.
Aimee tries to get on with her life, pursuing her dream of opening her own cafe. She also attracts the attention of Ian, a photographer. When Aimee decides to travel to Mexico to see for herself whether James is still alive, Ian insists on going with her. What she discovers carries over to the next book, this one told from James’ perspective.
To give too much more away would detract from the enjoyment of these two novels. Lonsdale has created fascinating characters, an intriguing plot, and the settings in California and Mexico come alive. Buy both and head for the beach.
The Beguiled is visually beautiful. A large white Virginia mansion sits surrounded by majestic trees dripping with moss. The women who inhabit this home are outfitted in gowns that would put Scarlett O’Hara to shame. Each scene, shot in gauzy, low light is mesmerizing, giving the entire film a dreamlike quality. Yet that exceptional cinematography cannot save a film whose storyline is demeaning to women. That the director is Sofia Coppola and the cast predominantly women only adds to the disappointment.
“I think just the power between men and women, which we can all relate to, is at the heart of the story,” Coppola said on the CBS Morning Show, explaining why she decided to do a remake of the 1971 film which starred Clint Eastwood. The earlier version did poorly at the box office after being marketed as a “hothouse melodrama” – “One man…seven women…in a strange house!” That setup, a group of women competing for the attention and love of a man, never falls to draw an audience, one reason why ABC’s The Bachelor is now in its 21st (!) season. Still, whether during the Civil War or in current time, seeing women scratch and claw each other to win a man is unseemly.
Colin Farrell
Seven women, ranging in age from seven to 40, are holed up in the Farnsworth Seminary for Young Women, practicing their handwriting and studying French while trying to ignore the Civil War raging around them. The youngest girl, Amy (Oona Laurence) is gathering mushrooms in the forest when she happens upon a wounded Union soldier, Colonel McBurney (Colin Farrell). She helps him back to the mansion where he collapses. The school’s head, Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman), decides they should tend to his injuries before turning him into the Confederates. He’s placed on a bed in the music room which is kept locked. Miss Martha strips off his clothes and sponges away the dirt and blood on his body, her movements and facial expressions making it clear it’s been a long time since she’s seen a man. She also cleans out and stitches up the wound in his leg.
When he regains consciousness, McBurney tells the women he recently arrived in America from Ireland and, being short on cash, was paid to take another man’s place in the Union Army. Fighting for a cause he knew little about and didn’t believe in made it easy for him to desert when he was wounded. He wants the women to know that he’s not their enemy. (Eastwood’s character told the women he was a pacifist.) The women soon band together to protect McBurney from being turned in when Confederate soldiers stop in to check on Miss Martha and the others.
Colin Farrell and Kirsten Dunst
Although Miss Martha keeps telling McBurney he’s not a guest, he’s soon joining them at the table for dinner. The women dress for each occasion like they are dining with a prince. McBurney doesn’t disappoint, enjoying the food, particularly Amy’s mushrooms, and flirting with each woman. Although Miss Martha tries to keep things professional, there’s no doubt she’s attracted to him, too. But the major contenders are Edwina, the school’s second in command and teacher played by Kirsten Dunst, and Alicia, one of the older students played by Elle Fanning. McBurney plays one off against the other until his manipulations backfire with disastrous consequences.
Despite the fact that the film is set during the Civil War, Coppola made the curious decision to jettison one of the characters, a slave, Hallie, played in the original by Mae Mercer, which sparked some fascinating and heated exchanges with Eastwood’s McBurney. Hallie and the women (a cast headed by Geraldine Page and Elizabeth Hartman) dressed in work clothes, not ball gowns, and toiled in the fields in order to supply their food. In Coppola’s version, not only do we wonder where all the mansion’s food comes from (aside from Amy’s mushrooms), but also ponder who spends time washing and ironing all those dresses?
Coppola’s work was recognized with a best director’s award at Cannes, which certainly is a boost to women directors battling for equity in Hollywood. And the cast (which also includes Angourie Rice, Addison Riecke, and Emma Howard) delivers strong performances. Too bad the plot didn’t present women in a better light.
After years of covering crime for a newspaper, Eleanor Harper suffers the cumulative effect of seeing so much violence and horror. Diagnosed with PTSD, she is forced to leave her job. Although her experience would land her a position at another newspaper, she wants to make a complete change. As luck would have it, the perfect opportunity lands at her doorstep. Cliffside Manor, a respected retreat for artists and writers, needs someone to replace its longtime director, Penelope Dare. Eleanor feels herself drawn to Cliffside, located on the shores of Lake Superior. Almost too easily, “Miss Penny” makes an offer that Eleanor finds hard to refuse.
While Eleanor is excited about beginning a new chapter in her life, she can’t shake the feeling of dread that overtakes her upon glimpsing the foreboding mansion through the fog.“Something wicked was indeed wending its way into my life, only I was too caught up in my circumstances to notice,” she observes. Miss Penny is there to greet her, but their time together will be brief. Even before Eleanor can settle in, Miss Penny is found dead, an apparent suicide, her face garishly painted to resemble a grotesque doll. A suicide note, clutched in Miss Penny’s hand, explains that she’s lonely and wants to join her father and sister, Chamomile. The two died in an automobile accident 20 years ago. Later that evening, Eleanor finds another note within her bed covers. Written in Miss Penny’s hand, Eleanor is told she has a mystery to solve adding, “My nightmare is over. Yours, however, is just beginning.”
In 1925, Chester Dare, Miss Penny’s father, built Cliffside as a sanatorium for TB patients. Back then, tuberculosis was a killer, a highly contagious disease with a low survival rate. The victims, many of them children, were sent to Cliffside, not only for their own comfort and treatment, but to prevent them from infecting others. In the early 1950s, the sanatorium was closed, and after being thoroughly disinfected, was soon reopened as a retreat for artists and writers.
Almost immediately, however, Eleanor senses that Cliffside has not escaped its past. Death lurks in the hallways and on the grounds. While Eleanor has never believed in ghosts, one evening she hears children laughing and running around on the mansion’s third floor, even though there are no longer children at Cliffside. On a daytime walk, she encounters an elderly man on the mansion grounds who warns her that death will come for her, too.
Despite Cliffside’s history and and the tragedy that visited the Dare family, there’s fierce competition for entry to the retreat and the responsibility for hosting those who come now falls to Eleanor. Aided by Cliffside’s staff, including the cook, Harriet, and her husband, Mr. Baines, who manages the grounds, Eleanor sets to work preparing to greet the incoming group, the last one to be chosen by Miss Penny. While they are an accomplished lot, Eleanor soon discovers that each one has a past connection to Cliffside. Was this all part of Miss Penny’s plan? Part of the mystery Eleanor’s supposed to solve? Things soon spiral out of control, however, and a violent storm makes it impossible for anyone to leave Cliffside. Evil now surrounds the mansion and Eleanor finds herself being pulled into the vortex, unable to help herself or the others.
Wendy Webb, who like Eleanor once worked as a journalist, is building quite a reputation for her ability to craft stories of suspense and terror. Part mystery, part supernatural thriller, The End of Temperance Dare is best read on a sunny beach day, not on a dark and stormy night. Unless you don’t believe in evil ghosts.
During the 2007 National Book Festival, Shelia Moses took the stage at the Library of Congress. Before she read from one of her books, The Baptism, Shelia reflected on the long journey that had brought her to that moment. “My load is heavy because I brought my ancestors with me,” she said. “It took us 300 years to get here.” She honored two important women in her life, her grandmother and her mother. As Shelia’s rich voice resonated throughout the hall, those in the audience, including President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, were clearly moved by her words. It turned out that President Bush was familiar with Shelia’s books. At a private reception, he told her: “I love Luke and Leon.” That comment still amazes and pleases Shelia. “Did the president of the United States just name the characters in my book?” Shelia says with a laugh. “He liked the book! So he wasn’t just laughing because he thought it was funny. He really liked the book.”
Shelia reading at the Library of Congress
The Baptism is just one of Shelia’s books that have earned her a diverse and loyal following. Drawing from the many stories from relatives and friends that she heard growing up, Shelia has become an impressive and influential narrator of the black experience. She began her writing career as the co-author of comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory’s memoir, Callus on My Soul, and her most recent book, The Dick Gregory Story, published this February, is aimed at a young adult audience. With Bill Duke, she wrote Dark Girls, the companion volume to the acclaimed documentary. And she has written and is producing two plays based on her books, I, Dred Scott and The Legend of Billy Bush. When she’s not writing, Shelia keeps a busy schedule speaking and teaching workshops for writers.
Shelia, the ninth of ten children, was born and raised in Rich Square, North Carolina. “It’s peanut country, cotton country,” she says. “I grew up, not on a farm, but we grew up farming, working for the farmers in the area.” Shelia’s maternal grandfather, Braxton Jones, was a farmer, but he refused to sharecrop for white landowners, an arrangement that would have required his children also to work on those farms. “My mother loves to tell the story of how people would come to the house and say, `Braxton, can the children work?’ and he would leave it up to them,” says Shelia. “If they wanted to work and make money, then that was their decision. I thought that was incredible.”
The Jones property, where Shelia and her siblings were raised and where her mother continues to live, was purchased by Braxton for $3,000 in 1956. “He was smart enough to deed the land out to the heirs of the Jones family, so that means the land can never be sold,” she says. “He was ahead of his time.” Shelia was only about five years-old when Braxton died. “The only thing I remember was the funeral because there was so much sadness.” She learned about him through the many stories told by others. “Even now, people can still tell you a great Braxton Jones story,” she says. “My grandfather was a hell of a man. He’s really like a legend to me.” Her company, Braxton Publishing, honors his memory.
Braxton’s wife, Babe, outlived him and was a formidable woman in her own right. “She was something,” says Shelia. “She would go to the grocery store and take a chair and sit and the store owner would have to bring her the meats and have her look at them. And she’d let him know if she wanted them. My grandmother was different from the other African-Americans on Rehoboth Road. People at home, including my family, were very poor. She had her Braxton Jones stash.” She also was one of the few blacks to have a phone and neighbors often showed up to use it.
When Shelia was 14, she began spending summers in New Jersey where her brother, Daniel, and sister, Barbara, lived. “He would take us to New York,” Shelia says. “I’ll never forget seeing New York and the lights – it was just like magic. I had never been in a movie theater before and I saw this movie, Sparkle, about these three black girls who wanted more.” The seed was planted.
“Back then I was tall and thin so I wanted to be a model,” Shelia says. One of her friends, Tina, wanted to be a designer, so they came up with a plan that Tina would design the clothes and Shelia would model them. “But my mom said, `you are not going to modeling school. You are going to college like the rest of these children.’” (Six out of ten of the Moses children went to college and Shelia credits her older sister, who made many sacrifices for that to happen.) “My mother probably saved my life,” Shelia says, noting that she attended Shaw University in Raleigh on a Migrant Seasonal Farmer Scholarship. “I loved Shaw,” she says. “The principal of my high school, and most of the people in that area, went to Shaw. So Shaw meant something to us other than just as a university.”
Shelia’s degree is in psychology, but she has always been a writer. “I was writing poems in first grade, and in second grade, plays,” she says. After graduation, she went to John Marshall Law School for one year – “definitely not for me” – and then launched her own business as an agent. Dick Gregory was one of her first clients. Others included Danny Glover, the actor, Willie Stargell, of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Edwin Moses, the Olympic track star. “I was the liaison between the colleges and universities to book their speaking engagements,” she explains. Gregory, who had already written his autobiography, Nigger, was due to write another book. When the search for a co-author proved futile, Gregory finally said to Sheila, “Every time I call you, you are writing. Write the damn book and call me when you finish.” For Callus on My Soul, they received a $25,000 advance from Longstreet Press, a small publishing company in Atlanta. “That’s how I became a professional writer,” Shelia says.
In 1995, the Internet was in its infancy, so Shelia had to research her subject firsthand. “I was following him around, talking to his family, and neighbors,” she says. “I would go with him on trips and we would just talk all night. I had the big tape recorder and the whole nine yards. It took two years to get that information.” Those she interviewed for the book included Congressman John Lewis and Melvin Van Peoples. “But the greatest interview of all, other than Dick Gregory himself, was walking down the street with Ozzie Davis,” pausing in front of the Apollo Theater, she remembers, regretful that she didn’t record the moment in a photo.
Shelia at one of the many events for young people
Gregory is now 84 years-old and, thanks to the Internet, is seeing a resurgence in popularity with young people “You have this old gray-haired guy who is saying the same things they are saying,” she says. “He says it in a different way, but to them they probably think he’s the hippest cat on the Internet. He still speaks their language.”
Gregory remains relevant because, besides still doing comedy, he is a real civil rights leader. “He’s not afraid to die,” says Shelia. “He was never afraid to die. He would still lay his life down for what is right. When things go wrong in this country, you still see Dick Gregory. His head is as white as snow now, but he’s still on the front line. And he’s still not afraid to die. He’s still willing to get his tail whipped.”
The Internet has also raised the visibility of other civil rights leaders. “Twenty years ago, if a teacher said write a story about a civil rights leader, students went to the media center to get a book and saw Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, and Malcolm X,” Shelia says. Now if a student types in “civil rights leader,” many other names pop up including, besides Gregory, Andrew Young and C.T. Vivian.
As a child, Shelia never tired of hearing her grandmother’s stories which continue to spark ideas for her books. “Babe Jones couldn’t read or write, but she could tell a grand story,” Shelia says. “She would sit on the front porch and tell all these different things that happened in her past.” One story was about Buddy Bush, a 24 year-old black man who came home after fighting in World War II. “Walking down the street, he passed a white woman, touched her by accident at the shoulder and somehow that turned into attempted rape,” she says. Klan members, broke Buddy out of jail, plotting to kill him. He escaped and ran into the swamp. After hiding out for two days, the black masons took him to Virginia. “It was a big story,” says Shelia. “The London Times came to our little town, writing about him. The governor got involved. He became legendary.”
While she was collecting information about Buddy Bush, Shelia was also working on her own coming-of-age story, growing up in a small southern town surrounded by racial segregation and tension. She ended up combining the two. “I made him my uncle and I told the story through the eyes of a little girl, Pattie Mae,” Shelia says. The Legend of Buddy Bush won a Coretta Scott King Honor Award.
Shelia’s book, Dark Girls, came about after she saw the documentary of the same name directed by Bill Duke. The subject matter, racial discrimination among black women based on the darkness of their skin, struck a chord with Shelia. “A lot of the women say to me that they receive more racism from their own community,” she says. “I just think that goes back to slavery, that white people let those light-skinned people in the house and the black people in the field and that was where that divide started.”
Shelia called Duke and the two of them collaborated on the book which features a radiant Lupita Nyong’o on the cover and interviews with women of all ages, as well as celebrities like Vanessa Williams, Sheryl Underwood, Judge Mablean, and Loretta Devine. “It was a great experience,” says Shelia, whose narrative runs alongside photography by Barron Claiborne. “I have a sister who is a light girl, so she’s probably never thought about color. Then I have brown sisters and dark sisters and I’m a brown girl. To hear people say, `well, she’s cute, but she’s dark,’ I did not have that experience. So it was a lesson for me as a black woman. I was really hurt by some of those stories.”
The topic so engaged Shelia that she is working on a new book about black men titled Chocolate, African American Men Who Made A Difference. “It’s a collection of stories about dark-skinned men and their journey, not just because their skin is dark, but from being a black man in America period,” she says.
While most of Shelia’s books have been published by traditional houses, she will publish Chocolate under her own imprint, Braxton Publishing. Besides The Dick Gregory Story, other Braxton Jones titles include a 10th anniversary edition of Sallie Gal and the Wall-a-kee Man, a YA novel first published by Scholastic, about a young girl growing up in North Carolina enthralled with hair ribbons. Shelia also is working on her two plays. I, Dred Scott, a one-man show, will first be staged in St. Louis. “That was where Dred Scott walked the streets,” she says. The Legend of Buddy Bush will first be seen in North Carolina. “When you’re doing these things, you need to go back to where they belong,” she says, but adds, “If Hamilton can go to Broadway, then Dred Scott can go to Broadway.”
