Silent Movie Matinee

I have been captivated by the silent movie series curated by Ken Gordon presented at the Brooklyn library. This is my fourth season of attending and we kicked off this 11 th edition with Harold LLoyd's Safety Last. I first heard about this series from a flyer i picked up at the library. The first film i viewed, back in 2011, was Chicago and i was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was based on a 1926 play written by a female journalist Maurine Watkins covering the crime beat in Chicago. I did not know that. I was excited. The play was inspired by 2 murderesses and their trials and subsequently wrote the characters of Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly based upon those trials. In 1927, Cecil B Demille produced the silent version and later in the 60's, it was adapted into the musical we know today. The 1927 silent version was very funny and smart. Something really amazing about this series is that each film is accompanied by live piano which really enhances the movie experience. This season, Peter Mintun ( his piano playing can be heard on Boardwalk Empire)is the pianist. ... Harold Lloyd dangling in Safety Last

My Molly Ringwald Moment

I stopped by the reading of When It Happens to You by Molly Ringwald at McNally Jackson's. After the q & a, in a bold move, i grabbed the mic and said "I'm a fan of Molly Ringwald". To which she replied, "She's crazy". We made mic-a magic. I'll cherish that moment.

Pitchapalooza

Pitchapalooza was a blast last week at Word in Greenpoint. I almost got up in front of a crowd and a mic and pitched a story in 1 minute. But i did not. It is however a great idea (pitchapalooza, that is) and is inspiring me to prepare for the next one. It is led by a husband and wife team calling themselves the Book Doctors along with an editor and a publisher. The winner gets to meet with the editor and the publisher. The object is to make your pitch better. I heard some good ones. Some were funny. They gave pointers. Here are a few examples: wiseguy bridge (card game) guy, a character with sexual skeletons in the closet... Some things to think about when pitching: good sense of plotting, word count,arc.