Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

"The Great Gatsby" - Fitzgerald knew the danger of dreams

A soldier's dream had hardened into a fantasy he couldn't shake.  That in a nutshell is what "The Great Gatsby" is about. 

Tonight, the latest interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's book was shown at the Madison Art Cinema, here in Connecticut.  There were no empty seats and when the film ended no one got out of those seats.  The pain Gatsby brought upon himself and his one friend Nick bore witness to and cracked up because of it seemed like something we could all identify with.

Dreams are or were encouraged in America.  If we mature normally we ditch most or all of them for what we can realistically achieve.  But, so many of us get stuck in them.  That's where we identified with Gatsby.  In that emotional hole, like Gatsby, our judgment is way off.  He couldn't see Daisy for the weak, materialistic creature she was.  In addition, he did not understand the rites and rituals of old money. Tragedy was inevitable.

As English majors know, Fitzgerald got caught in some of the same traps as Gatsby such as assuming that money would cure his inner pain.  When that didn't work out the way he had fantasized, he drank himself to death.

Madison Art Cinema, Madison, CT - Thrives against all odds

In Orange, Connecticut, the cineplex closed down. In North Haven, CT, the cineplex is often empty during the afternoons during the week. 

But in Madison, CT, the stand-alone movie house the Madison Art Cinema is usually crowded, no matter what day or time.  One Tuesday I took a break from speechwriting to catch "42."  There were few seats vacant.  And most of those seated had purchased something from the concession stand, which we all know is how movie houses make the real money.

What is the Madison's formula for success?  Well, as they say in real estate, location location, location. It's in a genteel upscale community in which people treasure culture and have the time to consume it. The tony shops surrounding it can make going to the movie a whole day or night out.  Across the street is iconic bookstore R.J. Julia which has outlasted Border's and might outlast Barnes and Noble.  Its formula for making it seems to be its special events.  Celebrity authors actually come to this small New England town to talk about their messages.

The treats available at the Madison are not the usual fare.  The counter seems more like a small-town bake shop than what is common in the cineplexes.  However, behind the counter is the traditional popcorn machine.  To the right of the counter is an old-world sitting area where those waiting for the movie can read or talk. 

Then there's the special attention.  For those such as myself who sign up for the e-newsletter the Madison remembers our birthdate with a free pass and bag of popcorn.  I plan to see "Gatsby" on May 10th, on the Madison.

 

"Renoir" - The artist as an old and young man

The film "Renoir" shows how art happens - and how artists make the shift from being simple craftspeople.  It's almost a how-to for us who want to transcend how we use our talent to make a living.

Famous impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir started out hand-painting plates.  Then a machine took that over.  That's when he discovered his talent for capturing on canvas the essence of shapes, be they of a fruit or the contours of the female body. 

To produce his art, Renoir has be to totally self-centered.  He hasn't been a father to his three sons and never had told his dead wife he loves her.  He rules his compound in France as a benevolent dictator.  He gains a few more years painting when an off-beat model Andree enters the compound. His art shields him from the ugliness of the outside world, including World War I.  In fact, that's why he paints: To transcend the unpleasantness of ordinary reality.  That's one way to be an artist.

His son Jean emerges as a film-maker, the one who produced the famous "Rules of the Game," in a different way.  Andree, who falls in love with Jean, awakens in him an interest in the new medium of moving pictures.  Before navigating to becoming an artist he selflessly returns to the battle field.  He had been back at the compound recovering from a battle wound. Unlike his father, he is not self-involved and can look at the ugly underbelly of life.

This film about the artist as old and young man also chronicles the universal conflict between father and son.  In this version, love triumphs over the need for one set of values to dominate.

Roger Ebert: He lost the fight against cancer which he began in 2002

Like Christopher Hitchens, film critic Roger Ebert chronicled his battle with cancer.  Today he lost that battle, reports THE NEW YORK TIMES which quotes him as telling ESQUIRE, "When I'm writing, my problems become invisible."

His taste and mine in film were perfectly aligned so I always found his reviews brilliant.  How I will miss him.  We have lost yet another giant in communications.

The Cowardly Lion: James Comisar could fundraise for Museum of Television by mass producing this meme

In this era of economic turbulence and sustained uncertainty, who isn't afraid?  Therefore, the market for inspirational lessons based on the tale of the Cowardly Lion from "The Wizard of Oz" could be strong. 

Currently, reports the LA TIMES, archivist James Comisar has put on sale the lion costume worn in that film by Bert Lahr.  He is attempting to raise money for the Museum of Television in Phoenix.  However, he could broaden his fundraising if he extended this symbol of embracing courage to other formats.

Those could include online videos of reflections on courage, Cowardly Lion good luck pieces which could be carried in one's pocket to job interviews and presentations to the board, and lion-themed fashions for next winter's coats and sweaters.  On Monday I start a new job in lower Manhattan.  Although it's primarily telecommuting, I still have to be in the office about once a week.  I could use a Cowardly Lion miniature to put in my attache case to reinforce the courage I need to speedread and comply with the organizational culture.

"Amour" - A kind of "Romeo and Juliet" for the aging

"Amour" starts out as a grand love story for a refined couple in their 80s in France.  They are tender with each other in a way that almost brings tears to our eyes.  And their love shuts out others such as their grown daughter who, like most young adults, is rather self-absorbed and shallow. So are her husband and son.  The family business is music.

Then the wife Anne has a stroke.  Soon after she has another stroke. Those set in motion an almost "Romeo and Juliet" inevitability.  We sense that the husband Georges will have to kill her, then himself. 

Until that happens he becomes unglued by her suffering and she by watching him take on the burden of caring for her.  She had made him promise he wouldn't put her in a hospital. 

When it's all over, the daughter returns to roam around the apartment.  One is doubtful if she will ever take on the depth her parents had.

Michelle Obama: The stuff of a Jackie Kennedy

From her high-Tweet rated speech at the Democratic National Convention to her participation in the Academy Awards, Michelle Obama has dazzled.  The wattage is equal to or eventually may exceed the electric current generated by Jackie Kennedy. 

Our era will have to find its version of Andy Warhol to record how this icon dominates the culture.

Will Michelle run for president?  She doesn't have to.  She already has all the influence and power she could ever want.

Daniel Day-Lewis: We're awed by such talent

When we heard that Daniel Day-Lewis was depicting Abraham Lincoln we knew the portrayal would be a brand of Lincoln we hadn't encountered before.  And sure enough it was.  Lewis's Lincoln, for which he won an academy award, was as complex and enigmatic as Ronald Reagan.  All the myths about this leader as a selfless earnest creature blow up in the first 20 minutes of watching the film "Lincoln."

In body language, facial gestures, rhetorical tone and the content of conversations, the president we met was a brilliant politico, never out of his role of the man who had to save the nation.  Totally manipulative, Lincoln used every tactic to get what he wanted.  Those ranged from distracting his audience with funny stories to lying (unlike the boy who grew up to be President George Washington, he did tell a lie).  He had a lawyer's cunning.

The challenge for the film industry is to find the next right role for Day-Lewis which is large enough for his talent.

"2016: Obama's America" Passed Over for Academy Award Nomination - Conservatives can't catch a break

A well-done documentary, the film "2016: Obama's America" predicted a bankrupt America if a liberal administration was re-elected.  Conservative Dinesh D'Souza narrated it.  As POLITICO reports, box office receipts were excellent, given that it was a documentary, not pure entertainment like the film "Lincoln."

But, in these times of more liberal values, it is no surprise that "2016" was not nominated for an Academy Award.  Also, Hollywood tends to tip toward the left.

POLITICO notes that D'Souza is philosophical about being ignored.  I wonder when it will be that conservatives are taken seriously again.  With their chief strategist Karl Rove getting pounded, both by his own party and by liberals, the situation could get worse before it even stabilizes.

Speechwriters: Politics isn't the only career path

Political speechwriters might be getting a lot of media attention.  The latest is that Millennial Jon Favreau who had been writing for President Obama forever is leaving on March 1 and could be headed to Hollywood to pen screenplays.  Nice work if you can get it and most of us scriptwriters can't.

But there is growing demand for our skill in call centers.  Check the help-wanted and more and more companies are crying out for manpower for call centers to explain health insurance, complete orders for flowers or candy, and connect the aging with the best community resources. 

Our expertise, ranging from understanding the nature of oral communication to putting together scripts, is what they need.  No, it ain't part of the world of glam.  But it is steady work that pays reasonably well.