Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman is a new documentary series by Jennifer Fox. She asks many questions and tries to get answers by interviewing women around the world. Told in 6 chapters, you can catch all of them at the Aero in Santa Monica this month.

One of the questions: "What is this strange modern female life we are living?"

I contemplate this lazily pretty much every evening watching Sex & The City reruns and trying to figure out if I'm more Carrie than Miranda. Recently I've experimented molding myself into a more girlfriend friendly model by curbing the shoe shopping fantasies and turning to modern sitcom wives, the ones that don't complain about their fuck buddies and might even actually have to budget their paychecks to feed the kids rather than their Chrsitian Dior habit. I don't idolize them for their housewifey-ness. At first glance the little domestic scenes with a laugh track set us all back twenty years where we heteros might as well sleep in separate twin beds.

After years of mind-numbing after-school syndicated bliss I know I've always been attracted to the moxie of say a Carrie Heffernan who get away with criticizing her oafish husband just to end every night with a kiss and a content smile deep in the habit of domesticity. Even the radiating motherhood of a Jill Taylor is admirable as she still glows surrounded by sons and men who act the same age. These women know how to stand their ground in the role of the straight-woman and accept their partners for all their doofy faults. How comforting to know there are pretty women out there for the loveable fuck-ups.

Numerous papers have been written on the role of wives in television and this is not meant to start a debate, it's just where my pop-culture soaked mind goes to when a filmmaker like Fox starts to ask good questions. ..."Why are women's real lives hidden?".... "Why is female sexuality taboo?" ... "Why do Charlotte and Samantha appall and entice me all at once?" ...

That last question is mine.

Jennifer Fox will be at the screening of the first two chapters tonight to answer more questions. In Chapter 1 Fox turns the camera on herself and her two relationships, one an affair with a married South African, and the other her Swiss boyfriend, who she's mot so sure she's really attracted to. Then she glances into the lives of her girlfriends, also middle-aged women, in various significant-other stages from divorce to multiple make-up sex. Fox attempts to define a familiar condition in our modern lexicon - the "commitment-phobe". I can't wait to see the results.

Chapter 2 is all about the Biological Clock. No matter our age I think we can all identify to Fox's predicament. She's lived a life of sexual freedom and discovery but has she missed out on not conceiving, that purely unique woman thing? Not a ground-breaking feminist debate, I know. The chapters seem to simplify it all at first but it is the level of intimacy a documentary that turns the show on itself gets to explore that makes Fox's work seem so intriguing.

Chapters 3 & 4 pick up next week also in double feature mode, and then the following Wednesday concludes the series in Chapters 5 & 6. The Aero hosts more screenings throughout the next few weeks, but taking a Wednesday night off for the next three weeks feels like just the sort of workshop a middle-aged woman would take, so I'm going to try it too. Those baby boomer feminists can't hog all the spotlight nor the Swiss boyfriends.


Wednesday, Sep. 5 7:30pm
Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman
Chapter 1 - No Fear of Flying: Living the Free Life
Chapter 2 - Test Piloting: Tick Tock the Bilogical Clock

Wednesday, Sep. 12 7:30pm
Chapter 3 - Experiencing Turbulance: The Price of Sexual Freedom
Chapter 4 - Crash and Burn: The Things All Women Share

Wednesday, Sep. 19 7:30pm
Chapter 5 - Walking Away From The Wreck: The Secret of Male Power
Chapter 6 - Breaking The Sound Barrier, Female Life Backwards: New Technology for the 'New Woman'


Aero Theater
1328 Montana Ave. at 14th Street
Santa Monica, 90403
$10 general admission
check American Cinematheque for more showtimes

Labels: events, film, television

Stay tuned for all the interesting tid-bits and reviews I pick up this weekend from Comic Con 2007 in San Diego. On the personal schedule so far: face time with Fantagraphics, Beowulf the animated movie screening, Ray Bradbury and Ray Harryhausen panel, Family Guy table read, and meet the Batman66 crew.

Every day I get more excited about something new to do/see there. Right now I'm completely looking forward to the Superbad sneak peek. Michael Cera is becoming quite the comic wunderkind. If you doubted his brilliance as George Michael Bluth on Arrested Development then you must rediscover his boyish charms in his and Clark Duke's hilarious new webisodic series "Clark & Michael". Episode 10 just came out today.

CBS backs the series hoping to cash in on the young Internet audiences who ad-execs don't believe have the attention span to sit through 26 minutes of regular TV programming anymore. No matter the network nor social implications, Cera and Duke have been given any young performer's dream. Consider it Curb Your Enthusiasm Jr. as the boys constantly go through new creative lengths of self-sabotage. Like another comedy-duo phenom, Flight of The Conchords, the boys play up their dorkiness as they go after unattainable women and goals, get shot down, and come home to each other. Insert the long string of awkward, homophobic moments. But that's the appeal of the buddy-buddy comedy genre. After a long day of hitting the gym (in this case, the basement workout room of the boy's Marina del Rey furnished apartment) or taking "lunch meetings", it's nice to know you've still got an ally in the industry. Don't miss the cameos by Arrested Development alumni David Cross and Andy Richter. Judd Apatow fans will also be pleased to see the camaraderie continuing with appearances by Jonah Hill (Cera's Superbad co-star), Martin Starr (aka "Martin Scorsese on coke" from Knocked Up), and John Daley (number one geek from Freaks & Geeks) . Still doubt Cera has what it takes to join the Apatow crew? Check out his video resume, "Impossible is the Opposite of Possible" originally made for an 826LA benefit last year.

Labels: comics, reviews, television, videos

One of the perks of my little day job involves advance screenings and I was fortunate enough to attend the first episode of HBO's brand new John From Cincinatti. It premieres this Sunday on HBO following The Sopranos finale. The show is about surfing, drama in a dysfunctional family, San Diego border town politics, and paranormal activity thrown in. I was anxious before to see what this show was really about and now one word sums up my feelings: Stoked.

First thing you need to know: the posters around town do not lie. That is not some sort of transcendental metaphor. Mitch Yost, paterfamilia of the legendary Yost surfing clan, based on real-life surfing family the Fletchers, really does levitate. He doesn't know why at first, and neither will you. It's a convenient hook and even more convenient is Mitch doesn't have a lot of time to investigate his new quirk when he's got his family to deal with. Mainly the madness comes from his ex-celebrity surfer son, Butchie Yost and Butchie's smack addiction. Both men feel victimized by the world of professional surfing that made them legends and then spit them out. Butchie's son, Shaun Yost, played by real-life surfing phenom Greyson Fletcher, sets the conflict in motion when he tried to go pro at 13 years old. Shaun, no longer fit to be parented by Butchie, has been adopted by his grandparents. Granny Yost, Cissy (Rebecca De Mornay) runs the local surf shop and could not be more proud or supportive of Shaun's talents. But Mitch and Butchie couldn't argue more about the matter and spend the majority of the episode forbidding Shaun from entering his first big surf contest in Huntington. And there's a slew of misfits in the supporting cast to give Shaun their two-cents including a delusional ex-cop, the family attorney who's also a surfer-groupie, Ramon the flea bag motel manager, and Vietnam Joe the border smuggler. With the eccentric characters running around Imperial Beach like it's their own nightmare-scape no wonder they easily accept the stranger who appears rather mysteriously the same day as the surf contest. That's John Monad and he might be from Cincinnati. John is the blank slate, literally. He cannot act or talk unless he learns it from someone else. Everything from opening a car door to cussing out Butchie he picks up like a trained sponge. He's come with two messages which he prophetically repeats at key moments -- "Mitch Yost has got to get back in the game" and the ever-popular "The End is Near". We assume he's here to save the Yost family and the game is surfing. How that game is played is what we're staying tuned to find out.

David Milch created John along with "surf-noir" writer/Pomona native Kem Nunn. Like Milch's previous HBO success Deadwood, I tuned in first for the subject matter and then continued to get sucked in week by week by cryptic, practically biblical language, and bizarre character choices. Last time it was the Wild West, this time it's a chapter from my own history, the San Diego surfing scene. When little Shaun Yost busts out his "Sponsor Me" DVD I re-call the days of video-taping my brother shredding on his Gravity skateboard down our bougainvillea-lined street and listening for just the right NOFX song to use as the background music. Our high school AV Club was full of kids editing their surf/skate reels surrounded by success stories of the kids who were sent around the world by the sandal, sunglasses, board and wax companies. There's also plenty of typical moments thrown into John apart from the obvious surfer-lingo and locations. Milch actually shoots the exteriors in Imperial Beach which is refreshing for any coastal Californian who knows the beach breaks look different even from Silver Strand to Redondo. I was particularly moved by a moment at Butchie's squat, the Snug Harbor Motel, when Ramon Gaviota (Luis Guzman) with the help of lawyer/surfer Meyer Dickstein (Willie Garson) sells his interest to a lottery winner from Azusa. The lottery winner steps right into the middle of San Diego stereotypes: Yuppies, Mexicans and Surfers.

Then the surprises start happening at a rapid fire pace. It's ultimately comedic and you should feel free to laugh at the outlandishness of it all. John himself is awfully funny and touching at the same time, much like Johnny-5 from Short Circuit. Seeing his transformation will be especially entertaining and meaningful. The last moments of the episode include him on his new board on a curling wave with the golden sunset behind him and it's beautiful.

Second thing you need to know: TV fans will gasp "that's Dylan McKay!" in the show's first shot and then later "That's Al Bundy!". Luke Perry and Ed O'Neill both get their dramatic reckoning here. You'll also reacquaint yourself with Deadwood favorites Jim Beaver and Austin Nichols as John. I'm positive more HBO alums will step foot on Imperial Beach's shores and they will bring with them the unparallelled level of television fans have come to expect. Fans are also expecting a big hit to replace their dearly departed Sopranos and Fisher family. I predict John will be a sleeper but the sleeper hit creeping up on you is what will be the most fun to watch along with all those surfing shots. After the screening all I wanted to do was head to the beach.

Labels: reviews, television

Bravo's Top Design came to an anti-climactic finale this week. Even the judges seemed bored by the end of it all. Although, I appreciated their criticism and praise and how no one became the reality show staple bad cop a la Simon Cowell or Janice Dickenson.

Around the design blogs what became the topic of heated typing was judge Kelly Wearstler's wardrobe. I stand by the woman's choice. Her decorating choices are fierce and often off-beat. Why shouldn't her wardrobe or hair be just as playful?

Her unforgettable fashion choices for the show via Bravo TV:







What I didn't know, but was illuminated to just now on a Design*Sponge comment board thanks to anonymous, is not only is Kelly Wearstler an internationally successful designer, but she also was once a Playboy centerfold! I knew the girl modeled, but damn. According to Wikipedia:

Kelly Gallagher (also known as Kelly Wearstler, born November 21, 1967 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) is an American model and professional interior designer. She was PlayboyPlaymate of the Month for September 1994. Her centerfold was photographed by Arny Freytag and Stephen Wayda. ...Her centerfold appears very briefly in the 1995 film Welcome to the Dollhouse, affixed to the inside of a school locker.

Just let me drag my jaw back from the ground.


From Playboy - I give you Miss September 1994.

BIRTHPLACE: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina USA

BUST: 34" C

WAIST: 24"

HIPS: 35"

HEIGHT: 5' 6"

WEIGHT: 105 lbs

AMBITIONS:
To own my own marvelous design and furnishings business.

TURN-ONS:
Fabulous, intense minds, honesty, huge smiles and a man with a colossal heart.

TURNOFFS:
Lack of communication, cruelty to animals, slackers, and bad design.

ROMANCING MY MAN:
Breakfast in the boudoir, a bit of physical activity, trip to the museum for some mental and visual stimulation, a nibble for two to satisfy the palate and a trip to the beach to see the sun set and the moon rise.

I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF:
Swap meets, blended coffees, Nicholson Baker novels & good loving.

Nice to know Kelly is an L.A. woman who always had ambition.

Labels: design, fashion, television

The Academy Awards are a second Christmas around these parts. I'm one of those hopeless movie lovers who will sit through the entire grueling pace of a show and ooh and aw through the pre-show even. ABC's pre-show lacked that certain panache - mainly showing any piece of the red carpet. Did everyone show up late this year? Were the cameras blocked by cameras from other networks? It didn't make any sense to keep cutting back to Randolph Duke talking about the gowns and never actually see the gowns. Even Seacrest over at E! had a hard time getting some face time with the nominees. Personally, I liked J-Hud's get-up when no one else seemed to. J-Lo's Marchesa goddess/60s throwback frock was my favorite. Helen Mirren proves actresses over a certain age are still hot. Ellen was a hilarious host but a safe host. The gospel number at the beginning could have been a page from her talk show but the myspace shots with Spielberg and Eastwood were incredibly charming. It would truly be incredible if the producers of the Super Bowls ever got their hands on the Oscar telecast. I don't think the country will sit through another yawnfest of poorly picked clip montages. The antics of modern dance troupe Pilobolus were ingenious. Please give an Emmy to the writers behind the song sung by Will Ferrel, Jack Black and John C. Reilly. Rhyming "Ralph Nader" with "gay coal mining movie with James Spader"? Genius.

The gallery.




Some more trivial trivia to impress the water cooler crowd:

- The Departed is a remake of the film Infernal Affairs, a Chinese film, not Japanese as mis-announced over the crowd when the best screenplay winner accepted his trophy.

- Peter O'Toole is now the most nominated actor to not win a trophy with 8 attempts. He did however receive a lifetime achievement statuette in 2002.

- Kate Winslet is the youngest most nominated actress at 31 with 5 to her name.

- You are more likely to win a best actor/actress award if you play someone famous. (Idi Amin, Ghandi, The Queen, June Carter Cash, Aileen Wuornos, etc..)

Trivial trivia gathered from the Academy Awards database.

Labels: film, reviews, television, videos

In the same vein as Project Runway, Bravo TV starts its new reality-contestant show tonight, Top Design. Like the fashionistas and Top Chefs before, a group of talented interior designers will compete for title of Top Designer. The judging panel promises to catch that watchable blend of critique and cattiness with home designer Jonathan Adler heading and Todd Oldham hosting. LA Times insinuated the first challenge is not the most visually interesting. A bunch of self-proclaimed fabulous people sit around sketching and talking leading up to the big end of show reveal when they have to decorate a "sanctuary room". And the folks over at TLC are probably wondering what took Bravo so long to jump on the home decorating bandwagon. But one can expect talented individuals amidst the bitchy backstabbing that seems to be a staple on all reality shows as much as claws to the face fights were on Jerry Springer.
So after Top Chef crowns its latest drama king with the big floppy hat, stick around for more drama, more design, and water cooler talk the next morning.

Top Design
Bravo (Channel 57 for the Time Warner cable folks)
11:00pm PST

Labels: design, reviews, television

Hola Top Design! That's right. A new reality shows abounds thanks to the success of Project Runway. How amazing was it last night to see those designers in the main tent at Bryant Park? I was incredibly happy for each of them. And big props to Echo Park Jeffrey for the win! He was truly the most innovative out of the top four. But how dare those producers toy with our emotions by gushing on an on about Uli. You knew as soon as Koors and Garcia gave Uli nothing but praise right before commercial break she wasn't gonna make #1.
Anyways, shooting is under way for a reality/elimination show this time about interior designers with Todd Oldham in the host role and Elle magazine judging/promoting. I've loved Todd ever since he made diy projects on MTV's House of Style. Remember that? Remember Cindy Crawford? Radar Online reports shooting's already begun here in L.A. and will be airing on Bravo next year. But if the show doesn't have the heart of Tim Gunn it might come in third to Top Chef, already sucking up the water cooler gossip in the absence of beloved Project Runway.

Labels: design, fashion, television

Have you survived the oversaturation of billboards, magazine pop-outs, and internet pop-ups otherwise known as ads for the new fall TV schedule!? With my TiVo, I don't even know when the new shows are on anymore, but I have been scheduling the season pass manager carefully to make sure I don't miss a minute. After the first two weeks of premieres I've awarded the highlights.

Most Anticipated guilty pleasure: Nip/Tuck
The first three episodes already have the set-up for the beautiful gone ugly paradox I love to see unfold. Christian's up to his old tricks and the whole he could be totally gay thing is wonderful - When I was watching reruns I kept wondering why the two Docs didn't make out with each other. And they've got the best guest stars I've seen on TV lately - Peter Dinklage (Station Agent) as the wetnurse to Julia's baby and Mario Lopez as a younger, vainer fellow plastic surgeon - y'all might recognize Lopez is A.C. Slater (!)

Project Runway Replacement (aka the only reality TV worth watching): America's Next Top Model
Thank goodness Tyra is back so I can stop wondering what the water cooler gossip will be about once Heidi Aufs the last Auf Wiedersehen. But doesn't it feel like Tyra is just one season away from pulling a DUI on PCH moment? The megalomania she learned from Oprah isn't that attractive. Though I will watch to see what happens long after those hopeful twin models self-destruct.

Highest Expectations: Studio 60
West Wing - but for Hollywood! What could be a better behind the scenes melodrama, besides the white house, than a high-profile TV network? If they can keep the snarky dialogue sparse and the funny one-liners plentiful it will be absolutely, utterly, enjoyable. Second episode was funnier than the pilot but watch out for creator Aaron Sorkin's soapbox he likes to pedestal any given character at will. Sorkin may not have had a political background but still got politics preachy on West Wing. The man does know show business - careful! I appreciate that Studio 60 is fictionally set in the old Palladium on Sunset Blvd (not the strip by any means, but the home of many variety shows).

Curious as a carcrash: The Class & How I Met Your Mother
I don't want to get sucked in to the Friends wannabes but like a carcrash, I can't not slow down to look. Horrible? Maybe. But the kids are so pretty and the sets so shiny. How I Met Your Mother has the trifecta of crushes from popular shows of the past (Doogie Howser, Freaks & Geeks, Buffy). The Class has crushes in training and it's amazing how effective that will they or won't they story works even after all these seasons.

Surprise, you got my attention: Heroes
To say the least, I was suspicious about an hour long drama from NBC that plays like a comic book, full of superhero origin stories, but not actually based on any existing comic book. There's enough characters in the Marvel universe to keep TV writers employed for the next millennium. But there's an intriguing dark side - heroin use, pornography, mysterious serious acts of violence - all in the pilot! Dubious as I was about a Smallville meets Lost pitch, it's the best editing I've seen this year. There's flying and time-traveling without that cheesy wormhole or halo effect that's everywhere. Can they keep it up past the pilot or will test audiences yearn for the visual fx? Time will tell.

Labels: reviews, television

#1 Sunset Junction
The annual celebration of Silver Lake neighborhoods with three stages of music all day, greasy food, voter registration booths, and the usual street fair wares. Get the parasols out and don't forget the sunscreen. Park at a friend's house or bus it -- the streets become incredibly unfriendly to cars especially after dark.
Saturday 8/26 & Sunday 8/27 10:00am - 11:00pm
Full Lineup
map

#2 Revenge of The Book-Eaters
UCLA Royce Hall
Jenny Lewis, Aimee Mann, Dave Eggers, Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifh Vowell, The Mountain Goats and Jake Gyllenhaal battle out an age old question: What's better - Words or Music? Hosted by Andy Richter. The price is steep and it's probably sold out, but ticket sales benefit 826LA, a charity devoted to providing kids with writing classes, tutoring and creative outlets.
Saturday 8/26 8:00pm

#3 Roller Derby "Jail Break"
Industry Hills Expo Center
Tough Cookies v. Sirens on the banked track. This is not your mother's roller derby. These ladies mean business and the business gets mean. $15 door charge includes a classic car show - still accepting entries btw.
Saturday 8/26 8:00pm, 5:00pm Doors
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#4 Cannibal Flower 6 Year Anniversary
828 Main Street, Downtown LA
Live art. Live music. Bunch of young local talent take over downtown warehouse with live music provided by the flan loving Ninja Academy. Plus DJs. Plus Body Suspension - yow!
Saturday 8/26 9:30pm - 2:00am
map

#5 Primetime Emmy Awards
NBC Channel 4
Ooh and aw at the pomp and circumstance as the television community applauds itself. Thank goodness there are no desperate housewives to root for this year.
Sundy 8/27 8:00pm
Nominations

Labels: books, events, music, television

I'm getting a little pissed off at my favorite reality show. How can the Project Runway judges (or sneaky producers) be so foolish to let a bright talent like Alison go? Insanity (Vincent) and lack of taste (Kayne and Angela) win over sizing?!? I'm shocked. On the bright side, Michael will take this contest and thank heavens for that.

Labels: fashion, television