Southern Bookman

Farewell, Ernest Gaines

Many writers look back from exile at their origins. Ernest Gaines was different. To tell the stories of the illiterate, impoverished black people he knew growing up in rural Pointe Coupee Parish, he had to return to his native Louisiana.

Gaines, who gained international recognition for his books about his small plot of earth, died in his sleep Tuesday at his childhood home. The revered Louisiana author was 86.

As a child,  he worked in the fields among people a few generations removed from slavery. From his meager schooling, he'd learned to read and write, and composed letters for his co-workers and family members.

Along with many other blacks fleeing the South's racial violence, he moved to California as a young man. For the first time, he found himself free to read in a public library, and discovered Turgenev and other 19th century Russian novelists.

Loving the bohemian life of San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State, then received a prestigious Stegner fellowship to study writing at Stanford. The voices he knew in childhood remained with him.

Struggling in California to finish a book based on the strict, wheelchair-confined aunt who raised him, Gaines returned to Louisiana at the height of the civil rights movement. Back in Louisiana, he gained a clear vision of the plantation life he knew growing up and quickly finished "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," his breakthrough novel.

Tracing how history echoed in a life of quiet dignity, the book gave the world one of its most enduring characters, a woman raised in slavery who lived to 101 and saw the changes of the 1960s. Cecily Tyson gave a memorable performance as Miss Jane Pittman in a TV movie that won nine Emmy Awards.

Gaines further drew upon his memories of the black community in "A Gathering of Old Men," "A Lesson Before Dying" and other lauded books. He received a MacArthur "genius grant," and traveled the world. He always returned to his childhood home close to a body of water known as False River that had once been part of the Mississippi.

A genial, warm-hearted man who spoke with Louisiana's French-inflected cadences, Gaines revealed how the love of family and community overcame bitterness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martin Scorsese takes on Marvel movies

Film god Martin Scorsese says Marvel superhero movies "are not cinema."

In a New York Times op-ed piece Tuesday, Scorsese expounded on comments first made to the British magazine "Empire" in which he blasted superhero movies as "theme parks" lacking the artistic depth of films like his own "Taxi Driver" and Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window."

Softening his "hey, get off my cinematic lawn" stance, Scorsese conceded that those making the comic book flicks have talent and creativity. He  just doesn't find them interesting.

Scorsese complained that his recently completed "Irishman" starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci will have a limited theater release, before heading to TV streaming service Netflix. The film is now playing at Broadway's opulent Belasco Theater, which was outfitted with a movie screen for the one-month showing. He praised Netflix for financing his film about the murder of Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, probably unknown to most millennials.

The director said that Hollywood's support of predictable superhero films has crowded out artistically challenging films like his. Movie theaters are now dominated by films loaded with special effects to appeal to younger audiences hooked on video games.

As a longtime movie goer who finds fewer films I want to see in theaters, I agree with Scorsese's comments. Yet I'm skeptical at Scorsese's claiming the power to define what's cinema. While I love fully developed characters and plots and intricate dialogue, I see cinema as a visual medium.

Marvel films are not just about visual gratification. The Marvel film "Black Panther" offered strong characters and was lauded as an artistic triumph for black filmmakers. The "Spiderman" series has examined Peter Parker's adolescent angst.

Reviewers like the Wall Street Journal's Joe Morgenstern praised "Wonder Woman.," based on a D.C. Comics character. "The Joker," based on the villain from D.C.'s "Batman" series, sounds like a challenging film.

Scorsese's complaint about being closed off from theaters also sounds off-base. While only one theater in Atlanta  is now showing "The Irishman," Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho's arty "The Parasite" is playing at three Northside theaters near my home. Alas, a movie I want to see, Noah Bombach's "Marriage Story" starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson will also have a short theater life before heading to Netflix.

While the adult movie selection is more and more limited, I find it strange that Scorsese is praising Netflix. Only last year when Alfonso Curaron won the best director Academy Award for his Netflix-backed  film "Roma," the streaming service was accused of killing movie theaters.

Scorsese's "New Hollywood" generation was blasted by old-time critics for movies like "Bonnie and Clyde," "Mean Streets," "Taxi Driver," "The Deer Hunter" and "Easy Rider."

Yet, Scorsese's right in fearing that artistically challenging movies are endangered. Younger audiences no longer go to theaters to watch those kind of films. When I saw Quentin Tarentino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," the audience was filled with gray-haired and physically challenged boomers like myself.

As Scorsese notes, watching films like Hitchcock's "Psycho" on the big screen was once a monumental experience. No matter how excellent the movie or TV series, the small screen doesn't deliver the same aesthetic punch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wendell Pierce receives accolades for Willy Loman performance in London production of "Death of a Salesman"

Wendell Pierce says playing Willy Loman is like scaling a mountain each night.

The New Orleans native is receiving accolades for his portrayal of Loman in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" at Piccadilly Theater in London's West End. The production originated at the Old Vic.

In an interview in Sunday's New York Times, Pierce called the role America's Hamlet, acknowledging the notable group of American actors who've played the part.

Pierce, known for performances in HBO's "The Wire" and "Treme," the hit TV show "Suits" and numerous movies, is an accomplished theatrical actor. During his career, he's appeared in plays by August Wilson, Shakespeare and Chekhov. Pierce hopes to add Othello and King Lear to his Loman role, he told the Times.

An all-black cast plays Loman's family in the West End production, which brings new dimensions to Miller's play, Pierce said. A black family struggling with middle-class aspirations has parallels to Loman's Jewish family.

After Hurricane Katrina destroyed Pierce's childhood home in New Orleans' Ponchartrain Park neighborhood, Pierce launched efforts to rebuild the community. He also received praise for his production of "Waiting for Godot," which brought healing to the city after Katrina's devastation.

Pierce's triumphant performance as Willy Loman brings him to the top tier of American actors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XFinity forces Turner Classic Movies to higher priced, incompatible sports package

When I switched to Turner Classic Movies Thursday night, I didn't see Ben Mankiewicz, or "Cool Hand Luke."

Instead, the screen was filled with a blue rectangle and the message, "unauthorized."

A Google search revealed that Xfinity has removed TCM from its regular cable package. For me to receive TCM's movies, like the showing the other day of Lawrence Olivier's "Hamlet," I'll have to subscribe to Xfinity's special sports package.

Well, there is a lot of sword fighting in "Hamlet." And "The Graduate" has Dustin Hoffman's famous swimming pool scene.

I didn't recall Xfinity informing me about the change, which would force me to subscribe to NFL Red Zone games and a Major League Baseball package to keep viewing TCM. But I found an announcement on the Internet.

Xfinity is forcing movie lovers who hate the NFL or major league baseball to pay extra to watch classic films. While I'll watch top NFL games on basic cable, I don't want to pay extra for the chance to watch every NFL game, especially those involving teams like Miami or Cincinnati. Nor do I care anything about the Chicago White Sox or Seattle Mariners.

While TCM recycles too often films like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "Bulliltt," it shows lesser-known classics and forgotten movies. For years, a channel change to TCM gave a sense of anticipation and discovery, like a visit to the library or bookstore.

Now, to check out if TCM is showing an interesting movie, I'll have to pay an exorbitant fee for bad football and baseball.

 

 

A big Saturday in Louisiana: LSU football and governor's election

Two big events will excite Louisiana Saturday: The LSU-Florida game at night-time Tiger Stadium and the governor's election.

In one of Louisiana's oddities, state elections are held on Saturdays, with often brings a mixture of football and politics.

Louisiana followers of both state religions still chortle at the memory of football color man Bud Wilkinson doing an LSU-Ole Miss game at Tiger Stadium on election day during the 1960s.

Wilkinson, expressing amazement that 20 or so candidates were seeking the governorship, said over the air, "must be a good job." Yes, Bud, as good as being a Latin American dictator, medieval king or Mafia boss.

Once again, the national spotlight will shine on Louisiana on election Saturday. ESPN's College Game Day is coming to the LSU campus, and ESPN's Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will broadcast the clash between the No. 5 LSU Tigers and No. 7 Florida Gators. National political observers will watch the election as a prelude to the national 2020 vote.

The nation's college football fans are waiting to see if the Gators' defense that throttled Auburn last weekend can stop LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and the high-powered LSU offense. LSU's pass-happy spread resembles the old Lakers fast break, although coach Ed Orgeron dialed it back a bit against Utah State last week. For long-suffering LSU fans, the new high-octane attack is like switching to color TV after years of black and white.

In the governor's race, incumbent John Bel Edwards, the deep South's only Democratic governor, is seeking re-election against a bevy of Republican candidates. Trump lapdog U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham and businessman Eddie Rispone are the GOP front-runners.

Just to show his power, President Donald Trump is seeking to influence the race. Vice President Mike Pence appeared at a GOP rally recently, and Trump himself will travel to Lake Charles Friday. The embattled president will find a friendlier crowd than the House Democrats. While Trump will mention Abraham and Rispone, he'll make the event a rally for his 2020 re-election.

The conservative Edwards signed a restrictive abortion bill, but accepted the Medicaid expansion under Obamacare. He has also restored the devastating budget cuts engendered by former Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal. In Trump-loving Louisiana, he touts his good relationship with the president.

Ex-pharmacist Abraham, who represents an ultra-conservative North Louisiana District, recently introduced a resolution for the House to expel Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the impeachment inquiry against Trump. He's also been linked to the opioid scandal. Rispone, running as a Trump-style or Russ Perot-style business maven, has been attacking Abraham in his campaign ads more than Edwards.

In another oddity of Louisiana politics, Edwards could end up in a runoff against one of the Republicans. The state's "jungle primary" puts all candidates together, regardless of party. Edwards hopes to win a majority without heading to a runoff.

Excellent Advocate-Times Picayune columnist Stephanie Grace, who's been following the race like the old Atlanta Journal covered Dixie like the Dew, says the election could bring an even more conservative state Legislature. I didn't think that was possible, unless the state reverted back to the days of the old Confederacy. If Edwards wins, he will find it even more difficult to work with the Legislature, which reluctantly agreed to his spending requests.

A momentous Saturday in "the gret state of Louisiana," as state politicians like to say. SEC football at Death Valley as the fog rolls in from the Mississippi River. A full day of tailgating after a series of 11 a.m. kickoffs. College Game Day. A governor's election.

Ol Bud would be amazed.

Who dat? Another referee calling holding

I've tried to quit the NFL.

But I can't give up on the New Orleans Saints, the team I've followed since childhood. I have a visceral connection to the team almost as intense as my love for the LSU Tigers.

Watching the Saints-Cowboys game Sunday night tested my commitment. The Saints defense played well, but the Teddy Bridgewater-led offense kept getting stymied by the referees calling penalties.

Running back Alvin Kamara was special as usual. But the Saints managed four field goals. That was enough the beat the Cowboys, a dynamic offense in previous games but a broken down junker in the Superdome.

The meager highlights shown at halftime made we wonder whether the highlights will soon be the refs throwing flags.

Holding calls have skyrocketed this year. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady complained after he found a  TV game unbearable. For one week, the holding calls fell. But the refs called holding on nearly every other play in the Saints-Cowboys game.

Perhaps the NFL wants to celebrate its 100th season by makjng the games look like something from 1919. The referee who annnounced penalties got more air time than the Cowboys' Dak Prescott or Kamara.

I should be happy. The Saints won, with aging star quarterback Drew Brees on the sideline massaging his injured thumb.

But a 12-10 game doesn't match the NFL's claim to excitement.

 

Farewell, Leigh Harris, "Li'l Queenie"

Tipitina's opened just before I left Louisiana as a young man.

I saw Gatemouth Brown, Professor Longhair and Asleep at the Wheel at the club at the corner of Napoleon Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans' warehouse district. No act matched the excitement of Lil' Queenie and the Pecolators.

Leigh Harris, the diminutive woman with a big, raucous, New Orleans voice, died Saturday at age 65 from breast cancer. Performing as Li'l Queenie with her high-octane band, she blasted out soul, funk, rhythm and blues, and jazz, the city's musical gumbo. Dying her hair orange and pink, she created a stage persona as New Orleans-marinated as Dr. John's.

Leaving New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Harris found a serene life in rural North Carolina with her husband, musician Rick Ledbetter. She kept making music, recently releasing the album "Purple Heart." In February, she was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

Her New Orleans anthem, "My Darling New Orleans," was one of the songs featured on the soundtrack of "Treme," David Simon's HBO show about the corruption and resilience that surrounded the city's recovery from Katrina's devastating flooding.

That recognition was welcome; Li'l Queenie and the Percolators' sound was too New Orleans-flavored to gain widespread national success.

She was magical in her hometown, commanding the stage's light, true New Orleans royalty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farewell, Cokie Roberts and Sander Vanocur

Cokie Roberts and Sander Vanocur represented different eras of Washington TV journalism.

Roberts died Tuesday in Washington at age 75 and Vanocur Monday night in California at 91.

Vanocur, best known for reporting on the Kennedy administration for NBC News, personified the male-dominated news business of the 1960s. Roberts was among a generation of women journalists who demolished those gender barriers in the 1970s and 1980s.

Roberts, like Vanocur, was a Washington insider. Her father, Hale Boggs, for years represented New Orleans in the U.S. House and was House speaker when he died in a plane crash in Alaska. Her mother, Lindy Boggs, took her husband's place after his death and served as U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. Roberts grew up breathing politics, giving her an empathy for politicians unusual for a journalist.

A glamorous correspondent in the days when TV overcame newspapers as Americans' dominant news source, Vanocur was a prominent persona during John F. Kennedy's ground-breaking administration. He was the last of a four-member panel of reporters who questioned Kennedy and Richard Nixon in their 1960 debate, which changed the course of news and politics.

Reporting on Kennedy's witty and sophisticated news conferences and his trips and speeches. Vanocur with his haughty air and polished sentences was the TV counterpart of the "Best and Brightest" who served in Kennedy's cabinet. One of my most vivid childhood memories is watching a choked-up Vanocur report on Kennedy's assassination. He was one of the last journalists who interviewed Robert F. Kennedy.

A solid, insightful reporter, Roberts excelled as one of the first of a new era of TV pundits, giving insider commentary about Washington. During her career, opinion grew as prevalent as objective news reporting.

Sophisticated and knowledgeable, she presented a folksy yet informed personality. Her gossipy, gently humorous commentaries brought comfort as partisan politics grew more hostile.

Starting out at NPR before a superstar career at ABC, Roberts was also a noted author of books detailing women's contributions to American history. While at ABC, she continued to do commentaries for NPR, and wrote a newspaper column.

Vanocur thrived when the three TV networks dominated the airwaves. Roberts rose to prominence during the last years of that dominance. She witnessed the rise of cable news and the Internet and the decline of network news.

They spanned a time when Americans' trust in the news and government receded. Roberts flourished as a believable voice as Americans' political unity frayed. Now, the country is fractured into political tribes believing their own realities.

 

 

 

 

Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood" a fractured fairy tale

Like many others, I went searching for the shards of my youth in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood."

I wasn't alone: "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood" generated a national box office of $40 million, Tarantino's best opening weekend ever. Only Disney's  recycled"The Lion King" did better.

Tarantino packs a barrage of cultural and historical references in his flashback to 1969 Los Angeles. Old TV and movie Westerns. Hopalong Cassidy coffee mugs and childhood lunch boxes. Kid Colt comics. Sharon Tate. Charles Manson. Steve McQueen.  Roman Polanksi. James Farentino. White miniskirts and go-go boots. Dean Martin as Matt Helm.

The film also evokes a film released in 1969 a month before Sharon Tate and several house guests were murdered in Tate and Polanski's Los Angeles home by members of the Manson cult.

Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper's "Easy Rider," which made Jack Nicholson a star, opened in July 1969, presenting a brutal vision of violence against a benevolent hippie culture.

In contrast, Tarantino in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" views hippie culture as malign. Echoing vintage Clint Eastwood movies, the film justifies violence against the counterculture.

But Tarantino's movie also shares "Easy Rider's" spirit of disappearing freedom. His main characters, like the questing motorcycle knights payed by Hopper, Fonda and Nicholson, embark upon a quest for the lost American dream.

Leonardo DiCaprio as a fading TV western star and Brad Pitt as his hard-luck body double represent the end of the cowboy lifestyle. Once the star of a popular TV Western similar to  McQueen's "Wanted, Dead or Alive," DiCaprio's Rick Dalton scrounges for guest roles playing the villain in TV Westerns, reaching the end of their heyday.

Pitt's Cliff Booth is the classic movie anti-hero, following his own code of honor while violating the norms of society.Pitt turns into the true western hero that Dalton can only portray on TV. In the end, Dalton revives himself through acts of violence. The movie exults in the irony that two of Hollywood's last box office attractions play characters on the movie industry's margins.

The film touches upon other themes: the end of the American frontier, the art of acting, the resonance of popular music. As in Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe novels and countless other books, movies and TV shows, Los Angeles' vintage restaurants, freeways and architectural oddities are like temples of a pagan god. 

Margot Robbie gives a memorable portrait of a sensuous, childlike Sharon Tate. Tarantino has been criticized for not giving her enough lines of dialogue, but he is a master of film as a visual medium. Robbie expresses her character fully through gestures, facial expressions and changes in her walk. Her relatively few lines of speech carry weight.

The film's montage of disjointed vignettes sink into incoherence after the thrilling start, but Tarantino keeps putting his magic bus back on the highway. The controversial ending's excessive violence doesn't overcome a shortfall of suspense.

Not matching the promise of its opening, the film is a valiant near miss. Tarantino succeeds in giving old movie fans a glimpse of the provocative, edgy, imaginative movies made Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

 

 

After Home Run Derby, on to All-Star Game

Like other curmudgeon baseball traditionalists, I'm supposed to loathe the home run derby. I confess that I found the event entertaining Monday night.

Watching Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crush home runs like a kid playing with a wiffle ball in the back yard was fun. So was Atlanta favorite Ronald Acuna Jr. swatting dingers to all fields. Sweet to see Braves manager Brian Snitker congratulate his young star on his thrilling performance.

Joc Pederson's interactions with his brother Champ were touching, as was the Paul Bunyan perseverance of the Mets' Pete Alonso, the eventual winner.

Now, the All-Star game, an anachronism in today's sports environment. I never watch the entire All-Star Game anymore, but my heart always stirs when the teams are announced at the start of the game and line up on the baselines.

When I was a kid, players like Willie Mays, Henry Aaron and Mickey Mantle tipped their hats to the crowd. The lineups changed, generation by generation. Over the years, I've witnessed the baseball life cycle spin out over and over.

Although the game's popularity has plummeted, it has a new infusion of young talent. Tonight, kids like Acuna and Alonso will take the field with established stars like Christian Yelich, Freddie Freeman and Mike Trout. Players heading toward the end of their careers, like American League starter Justin Verlander, and Clayton Kershaw, will also appear.

The All-Star game has fewer older players these days. Hunter Pence would have been the type, but he's injured, replaced by the Red Sox' s Xander Bogaerts.

Too bad guys like the Braves' Brian McCann aren't having good enough years to be playing. I'd like to see a few more veterans, along with the youngsters. The baseball life cycle is turning faster these days.