Richard and Mildred Loving appear to be a normal couple. They grew up and fell in love in the same Virginia town. Of course, they did have some differences. Mildred was half-black and half-Native American. Richard was white. While this might not turn many heads today, in 1958 when the couple made the decision to get married, their marriage was declared illegal by their home state.

Realizing what the couple had, they fought back and changed history in a Supreme Court case that overturned bans on interracial marriage in 16 states. This exclusive documentary will appear on HBO on Valentine’s Day. The Loving Story is an uplifting saga of two unlikely Civil Rights heroes. Tune in on February 14 at 9 PM EST.

Other HBO playdates: Feb. 14 (5:15 a.m.), 18 (3:30 p.m.), 23 (1:00 p.m.), 26 (9:00 a.m.) and 29 (12:30 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Feb. 19 (12:20 p.m.), 24 (5:15 p.m.) and 29 (8:00 p.m.)

More on the Lovings

Married in Washington, D.C. on June 2, 1958, Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter were arrested in their home state of Virginia five weeks later and subsequently convicted of the felony crime of miscegenation. To avoid a one-year jail sentence, they agreed to leave the state, and could only return to Virginia separately. But that was just the beginning of their story.

The Loving Story offers never-before-seen vintage film and stills of the family that was shot in 1965 and 1966. In addition to this footage, there are present-day interviews with the daughter of the Lovings’, Peggy, as well as neighbors, police, and the ACLU lawyers who argued the case in front of the 1967 US Supreme Court.

From HBO:

The luminous, newly discovered 16mm footage of the Lovings and their lawyers, which was shot by filmmakers Hope Ryden and Abbot Mills, and photographs by acclaimed LIFE photographer Grey Villet capture the intimate realities of the Lovings’ daily lives. The prints were given to the Loving family by the photographer 45 years ago and given to the filmmakers in 2010. (A selection of these photos is currently on view at the International Center of Photography in New York through May 6.)

When the Lovings were unable to have their convictions overturned at the state level, ACLU attorneys went to a federal level and Loving v. Virginia was heard by the US Supreme Court. On April 10, 1967 Richard Loving spoke to the justices through his attorneys by saying, “Tell the court that I love my wife, and it is unfair that I can’t live with her in Virginia.”

The decision came on June 12, 1967 and it was unanimous. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Lovings. From that moment on the prohibition of interracial marriage was stopped in 16 states. This was a decision that continues to shape America’s attitude towards marriage to this day.

The Lovings:

Neither dedicated activists nor participants in the protests of their time, the Lovings spent nine years simply trying to be able to live legally in their home state, and on their journey became little-known heroes of the Civil Rights era. They didn’t ask to be heroes. They just wanted to be happy.

About the Filmmaker:

Director and producer Nancy Buirski says the message of the film is both timeless and timely. Although depicting a universal love story, it comes at a time when, she says, “white supremacy groups are growing in the U.S. – in the very communities that perpetuated and maintained anti-miscegenation laws up to the 1967 Supreme Court ruling. While we’ve elected the first mixed-race president, we also recently witnessed a Louisiana justice of the peace refusing to marry a mixed-race couple.

“Contemporary parallels are gently embedded in the Lovings’ fight for marriage equality. Today, 45 years after Loving v. Virginia, Perry v. Schwarzenegger is making its way to the Supreme Court. This is a story not of just civil rights, but of human rights and the pursuit of happiness, regardless of religion, race or gender.”

Technorati Tags: The Lovings, The Loving Story, Richard Loving, Mildred Loving, Penny, US Supreme Court, Civil Rights, February, Valentines Day, HBO

When the Season Ended:

After fleeing his North Carolina hometown, washed-up major-league pitcher Kenny Powers spent a soul-searching season in Mexico as “La Flama Blanca” – and ended up returning to the States a changed man. Or is he?

From HBO:
Find out when the comedy series EASTBOUND & DOWN, executive produced by Will Ferrell, Chris Henchy, Adam McKay, Jody Hill and Danny McBride, kicks off its eight-episode third season SUNDAY, FEB. 19 (10:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO, just as real-life baseball spring training begins.

Synopsis:

Starring Danny McBride (“Pineapple Express,” “30 Minutes or Less”), EASTBOUND & DOWN tells the story of Kenny Powers, who used to be a star pitcher until his self-destructive behavior knocked him out of Major League Baseball. Picking up a year after season two, the third season finds Kenny in action on the “Redneck Riviera” (aka Myrtle Beach, SC), somehow resurrecting his baseball career by becoming the closer for the minor-league Myrtle Beach Mermen. Even as he tries to pass himself off as the “King of Myrtle Beach,” Kenny struggles to come to terms with growing older and accepting the responsibilities of being a new father.

Upcoming episodes:

Episode #14: “Chapter 14”
Debut: SUNDAY, FEB. 19 (10:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT)
Other HBO playdates: Feb. 19 (midnight), 21 (9:30 p.m.), 22 (midnight) and 24 (midnight)
Enjoying a new lease on his baseball career as the closer for the minor-league Myrtle Beach Mermen, Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) settles into a life of body-boarding, jet-skiing and hard-partying with his catcher, Shane (Jason Sudeikis). A detour to Shelby to attend the one-year birthday of his child reunites Kenny with April (Katy Mixon).

Episode #15: “Chapter 15”
Debut: SUNDAY, FEB. 26 (10:00-10:30 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: Feb. 26 (midnight), 28 (10:30 p.m.) and 29 (midnight), and March 2 (midnight)
With the baby in tow, a seething Kenny heads north in search of April. Getting no assistance from Dustin (John Hawkes), Maria (Elizabeth De Razzo) or Jamie (Jerry Minor), Kenny tracks down his erstwhile lackey Stevie (Steve Little), currently employed at Ashley Schaeffer’s (Will Ferrell) car dealership. Kenny crashes a perverse plantation fete the dealer is throwing in an effort to liberate Stevie.

Episode #16: “Chapter 16”
Debut: SUNDAY, MARCH 4 (10:00-10:30 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: March 4 (midnight), 6 (10:30 p.m.), 7 (midnight) and 9 (midnight)
Pro scout Roy McDaniel (Matthew McConaughey) arrives in Myrtle Beach to ask Kenny to mentor Ivan Dochenko (Ike Barinholtz), a promising young Russian pitching prospect. Stevie lays down the ground rules for his return to Kenny’s team, while grappling with Shane and Kenny’s relationship.

Technorati Tags: Eastbound and Down, HBO, Television, Baseball, Comedy, Will Farrell, Matthew McConaughey, Jason Sudeikis, Danny McBride

The Birth of a Nation (1915) – Directed by D.W. Griffith
One of the most challenging of all film masterpieces, D.W. Griffith’s first great feature demonstrates filmmaking innovations and a shocking example of the medium’s potential for cultural impact. Griffith wanted to make a film that would rival the feature-length epics coming out of Europe. With his innovative use of panoramic long shots, iris effects and panning shots, among other techniques, the film was a marvel, and its Civil War battle scenes, staged with the help of West Point, are among the most effective ever put on film. He almost single-handedly established the American film as an art form. The story of two families split by the Civil War and the combination of historical and fictional materials would become Hollywood mainstays. But Griffith’s material – two novels and a play written by Thomas Dixon in a personal campaign to maintain laws against racial intermarriage – triggered massive protests and violence around the nation. The political message so tarnished Griffith’s reputation he made Intolerance (1916) the next year to counter charges of racism. The racist depiction of freed slaves and the glorification of the Ku Klux Klan in The Birth of a Nation inspired both the Klan’s modern resurgence (it would use the film in recruiting drives into the 1970s) and a series of protests that thrust the still young NAACP into national prominence. It also further encouraged black businessmen to finance films of their own, leading to the “race film movement” that flourished into the 1950s.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) – Directed by Rex Ingram
This early anti-war drama, the sixth-highest grossing of all silent films, is a testament to the medium’s cultural impact, particularly when manipulated by master artists like writer June Mathis and director Rex Ingram. Mathis was one of the industry’s first female executives, heading Metro Pictures’ scenario department. Her interest in spiritism drew her to the Blasco Ibañez best seller, which used biblical imagery to depict an Argentine family torn apart by World War I, even though most studios had deemed it unfilmable. When she came up with a script that worked, studio head Louis B. Mayer was so impressed he gave her director and star approval. Hiring Ingram to direct was no issue as he had been rising steadily in the industry, but her choice of Rudolph Valentino to play a key role was controversial. Not only was he a bit player at the time, but Hollywood had never promoted such an ethnic leading man (the dark-skinned sex symbol was of Italian and French lineage). One look at the rushes, though, and Mathis and Ingram not only expanded his role but added the tango sequence to show off his dancing abilities. The result was a national craze for the tango and the gaucho pants Valentino wore in that scene. The role of a society playboy shamed into military service made Valentino a star and turned the “Latin lover” into one of the screen’s most bankable commodities.

Nanook of the North (1922) – Directed by Robert Flaherty
Although Robert Flaherty is often hailed as the father of the documentary and Nanook of the North often called the first feature in that genre, his work is far from what filmmakers would consider documentary today. The director readily admitted that some of his sequences were staged, which would become a common practice for early documentarians. Among other things, Flaherty changed his subject’s name from Allakariallak to “Nanook” and cast his own common law wives to play Nanook’s two mates. He also had Nanook and his fellow Inuit hunt walrus and seal with spears, even though they had recently begun using guns, because he wanted to capture the way they had lived before European influences took hold. Since the only cameras available to the director were large and bulky, his crew even had to construct a special three-walled igloo so they could shoot interiors. The director also may have invented the story that Nanook was dying of starvation as the film premiered. Allakariallak died at home two years later, reportedly of tuberculosis. The filming, however, was the real thing, shot in the remote locale when many so-called documentaries would be made in film studios with actors. With funding from a French fur company, Flaherty brought cameras, a generator and a portable lab halfway to the North Pole with him. When he showed the film’s participants the footage of the walrus hunt, it was the first film any of them had ever seen.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) – Directed by Wallace Worsley
After years of character work, Lon Chaney shot to stardom and started his reign as the “Man of 1,000 Faces” with this lavish adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic tale of the deformed bell ringer in love with a beautiful gypsy. Although most fans know the 1939 Charles Laughton version better, connoisseurs like Orson Welles have hailed this as the story’s and character’s definitive screen version. Chaney fought for three years to get this film made. Nothing came of his efforts until he shared his dream with Irving Thalberg, recently named head of production at Universal Studios. Thalberg helped spearhead a lavish production that established Universal as a major studio, and the film proved to be their most successful silent. The sets covered 19 acres, while the production required a crew of 750, particularly during two months of night shooting – an unprecedented undertaking at the time. Chaney put himself through the wringer for the role, wearing a 15-pound plaster hump and false chest that made it almost impossible for him to stand up straight, while the contact lenses he wore for the role caused permanent vision problems. But the makeup was so convincing at the time that many patrons thought the studio had hired a real hunchback for the role. Beyond his physical transformation, the star delivered a sympathetic, deeply felt performance that set the standard for “human monsters,” to be followed by the likes of Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee and Chaney’s own son, Lon Chaney, Jr.

The Ten Commandments (1923) – Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Today, the biblical epic is viewed as a product of the 1950s, when filmmakers used spectacular tales like The Robe (1953) to lure audiences away from their TV sets and back into theatres. The roots of the genre, however, lie in such silent spectacles as the Italian Quo Vadis? (1913), D.W. Griffith’s Judith of Bethulia (1914) and Cecil B. DeMille’s original tale of Moses and the exodus. Always aware of his audience, DeMille had already popularized the risqué society comedy with films like Old Wives for New (1918) and would anticipate the return of the Western with The Plainsman (1936). He brought back the epic twice, first with the lavish The Ten Commandments, then with Samson and Delilah (1949). He hedged his bets somewhat with The Ten Commandments; the biblical story comprises only a third of the film’s running time, followed by a modern morality tale illustrating the importance of Christian values. But that first section was as eye-popping as DeMille could make it, even including 2-strip Technicolor sequences. Sixteen hundred workers created the Egyptian sets, which featured 36 foot tall statues of the Pharaohs, 21 sphinxes and 110-foot-tall gates. The parting of the Red Sea was created with miniature shots of Jell-O, which jiggled to approximate the surging waters. Even the modern sequence featured the spectacular collapse of a church built with shoddy materials, a visual comment on defying the commandments. The only director who could top such grandeur was DeMille himself, when he remade The Ten Commandments three decades later.

The Gold Rush (1925) – Directed by Charlie Chaplin
When Amy Adams is left on her own in The Muppets (2011), she sits in a restaurant, sticks two forks into a pair of dinner rolls and makes them do a little dance. The scene is a loving tribute to one of the great sight gags in film history, Charlie Chaplin doing the Ocarina Roll in The Gold Rush. Often hailed as “The Little Tramp’s,” and even the silent screen’s, greatest comedy, the film is a treasure trove of brilliant comic routines and heart-rending pathos. The plot, about Chaplin’s involvement in the Klondike Gold Rush, had an unlikely inspiration – the fate of the Donner Party. That may explain the prevalence of food jokes, as the starving Chaplin cooks and eats his own shoe, is chased around a snow-bound cabin after equally ravenous partner Mack Swain imagines him a chicken, or dreams of entertaining the woman of his dreams (dance hall hostess Georgia Hale) by making the dinner rolls dance. That sequence, possibly inspired by a Fatty Arbuckle routine in 1917′s The Rough House, would be echoed by everyone from Curly Howard in the short “Pardon My Scotch” to Johnny Depp in Benny and Joon. The Gold Rush was Chaplin’s first successful film at United Artists, the studio he co-founded with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith. At the time, it was the longest comedy every made and would become the highest grossing of all silent screen comedies. It was also the film by which Chaplin said he would most want to be remembered.

Battleship Potemkin (1925) – Directed by Sergei Eisenstein
The image of an untended baby carriage relentlessly rolling down a flight of stairs is one of the most iconic in film history. Brian De Palma used it to dramatic effect in The Untouchables (1987), while Woody Allen lampooned it in Bananas (1971). But the legacy of using montage as a tool to move the audience emotionally goes beyond that one masterful image. Drawing on early work by D.W. Griffith, Abel Gance and fellow Soviet Lev Kuleshov, director Sergei Eisenstein used montage to engage viewers, particularly to generate sympathy for the revolutionary sailors on the Potemkin and their sympathizers. By combining rhythmic cutting and recurring images – the czarist soldiers descending the steps, a nurse wearing pince-nez and the legendary baby carriage – he created a powerful narrative entirely out of images. Battleship Potemkin was not an instant hit, even in the Soviet Union. Initially it was banned in some countries because of its shocking violence. Later, countries would ban it for its revolutionary message. Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels declared it off-limits for Germany’s military personnel. But as prints circulated around the world, filmmakers gathered in small groups to view it with admiration. When David O. Selznick saw the film in 1926, he wired his boss (later to be his father-in-law), Louis B. Mayer, advising him to screen it at MGM to teach studio employees how to edit. Filmmakers, and film students, have now been learning from Battleship Potemkin for more than three quarters of a century.

Metropolis (1927) – Directed by Fritz Lang
Without Metropolis, there would be no Star Wars, no Alien no Blade Runner. Fritz Lang’s science-fiction masterpiece was one of the first films to create an entire world convincingly on screen. Working with cinematographer Karl Freund, special effects supervisor Eugen Schüfftan rose to new heights with this film, supervising dazzling miniature sets, mounting a camera on a swing for one sequence and creating the Schüfftan Process, a system using mirrors to combine actors with the miniatures almost seamlessly. That particular effect would become a mainstay of filmmaking around the world, while the sleek, modernistic design of the mad scientist’s laboratory would set the standard for science fiction for decades to come. Beyond that, Lang’s dystopian vision of a future dominated by unbridled capitalism until a workers’ revolt forces some kind of détente represented one of the screen’s first and still most effective uses of science fiction as social commentary. Even the performances – particularly Rudolf Klein-Rogge as the mad scientist Rotwang and Brigitte Helm as the noble Maria, who inspires the workers, and her evil robot doppelgänger – have been echoed in other films. In later years, Lang dismissed the film, partly because of its popularity with the Nazi Party, but even he could not deny its influence and, in many ways, its prescience, particularly when he saw the first manned space flights of the 1960s.

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) – Directed by F.W. Murnau
Oscar lore labels Wings (1927) the first film to win Best Picture, but the same year it won, in a category then called “Best Picture, Production,” Sunrise won for “Best Picture, Unique and Artistic Production.” Even such an overstated award title ultimately understated the importance of this film, which first brought German Expressionism to Hollywood thanks to the work of director F.W. Murnau. The German filmmaker had developed his craft with such international classics as Nosferatu (1922) and The Last Laugh (1924), but arguably reached his highest level of achievement with this film. Murnau chose a simple story so like a fable the characters don’t even have names. Farmer George O’Brien is tempted to kill wife Janet Gaynor for love of The Woman from the City (Margaret Livingston). In other hands, it might have been old-fashioned melodrama, but Murnau raised it to a level of dreamlike poetry by inventing new ways of telling the story visually. Where most films of the time made only limited use of camera movement, he suspended a camera platform from above the sound stage so the camera could glide, even as it followed his characters through rough marshlands. He also created compositions of depth by having cameraman Karl Struss shoot multiple superimpositions before the invention of the optical printer. It all creates a dreamlike effect that would influence filmmakers as different as John Ford and Orson Welles for years after Murnau’s tragic death, just four years later in an auto accident.

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) – Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
It was this film from Danish pioneer Carl Theodor Dreyer that played the largest role in convincing critics the cinema was an art form. Dreyer threw out the elaborate script his French producers had prepared, instead basing his film almost entirely on transcripts of Joan of Arc’s trial. Then he made the amazing choice to cast a popular stage comedienne, Falconetti, to star. Though he had only seen her in a light comedy on the Parisian stage, he could tell even then that she had a spiritual side he could exploit, which is exactly what he did. To get just the right facial expressions, Dreyer forbade Falconetti and the other actors to wear makeup and moved his camera in as close as possible, using newly developed panchromatic film to capture even minute variations in skin tones. At times he forced his cast to work under extreme duress. Falconetti had to kneel for hours on bare stones, forbidden to show any expression on her face as Dreyer shot repeated takes to capture every nuance of her inner pain. And just to make things more grueling, he shot the entire film in sequence. Her suffering, captured in a film shot entirely in close ups and medium shots, makes the film a profoundly spiritual experience and has been hailed by many as the greatest piece of acting in film history.

Technorati Tags: Movies, Classic Movies, Silent Films, Turner Classic Movies, TV, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Fritz Lang, The Birth of a Nation

HBO’s Golden Globe nominations this year include:

4 nominations for Mildred Pierce:
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Kate Winslet)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Evan Rachel Wood)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Guy Pearce)

3 nominations for Boardwalk Empire including:
Best Television Series – Drama
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama (Steve Buscemi)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Kelly Macdonald)

3 nominations for Cinema Verite including:
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Diane Lane)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Tim Robbins)

3 nominations for Too Big to Fail including:
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (William Hurt)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Paul Giamatti)

2 nominations for Enlightened including:
Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical (Laura Dern).

2 nominations for Game of Thrones including:
Best Television Series – Drama
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Peter Dinklage)

1 nomination for Hung:
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical (Thomas Jane).

Technorati Tags: HBO, Golden Globes, Hung, Game of Thrones, Cinema Verite, Mildred Pierce, Boardwalk Empire, Enlightened, Too Big to Fail, Nominations, Television

While we wait for the new season to begin, we will be posting season 4 spoilers and screenshots as we receive them. For now, check out some screenshots, including the official Season 4 poster.

Technorati Tags: Merlin, Season 4, SyFy Network, Television, Fantasy Show, King Arthur, Screenshots

9:01 – The chefs walk in to Padre Stadium. The mission is to heighten the level of ball park food. It’s transformation time. They have 15 minutes to gather food to cook two classics. The winners of last week, Beau MacMillan and Geoffrey Zakarian get an extra five minutes of shopping time.

9:03 – Chef MacMillan really needs the extra time because he hurt his ankle during last weeks challenge. Chef Zakarian isn’t a ballpark boy, so he’s looking for anything that isn’t reminiscent of ballpark food, which could work in a positive or negative way depending on what he comes up with.

9:05 – The other chefs finally get to go and grab everything, and they are fighting for all they can get. The strategy seems to be to grab everything you can and figure it out later. Once shopping is done, the chefs run to the top of the hill and they receive 60 minutes to cook two dishes.

9:06 – The chefs waste no time in getting started. Alex Guarnaschelli goes for Sausage and Peppers with some crispy Onion rings for her first dish. Elizabeth Falkner is doing a reconstructed corn dog as one of her dishes.

9:12 – Chef Samuelsson is doing four dishes! This could be a mistake because if some of them are good and some suck, he still can end up at the bottom. Chef Zakarian went for a gazpacho and a spicy shrimp toast, among other things. Chef Chiarello is doing a fish cake and a grilled sausage with slow cooked peppers and onions.

9:13 – Chef Hughes is doing a Tilapia Corn dog as one of his dishes. Chef Burrell is doing a stuffed Brisket and some kicked up Sloppy Joes. With seven minutes left, everyone is cooking like crazy!

9:14 – Chef Irvine took two classic ballpark foods and made them into one. He’s making Hotburgs (that’s right…hamburger meets hotdog!)

9:15 – Cooking is done it’s time to show off some food for better or for worse! The chefs seem elated!

9:21 – It’s judging time and if it’s anything like last week they aren’t going to pull any punches. Guarnaschelli is up first. The judges enjoyed the Sausage and Peppers. The Lemon Sherbet was also popular because they felt it worked perfectly as a palette cleanser. The judges loved it.

9:22 – Chef Zakarian’s food was popular, but it had nothing to do with the challenge, so he could be in trouble. According to the judges, it was the best food they’ve ever tasted. The chef did not seem too worried. Chef MacMillan had some big flavors with his Deconstructed Cheesesteak and his other dish, though heaviness seemed to be an issue.

9:23 – Chef Burrell isn’t big into sports, but she loves beer! She made a Brisket Lettuce Wrap, which needed to be spicier according to the judges. The Spicy Joe was good, but they didn’t love it.

9:24 - Chef Faulkner went with a Remodeled Cheesesteak with a Bleu Cheese Ice Cream. It’s a playful dish and the Judges loved the use of the Ice cream. Next up was a Remodeled Corn Dog – the mustard didn’t work for the judges. Chef Chiarello’s fish cake was refined and the use of various seafood made the judges happy. For the second dish, the judges weren’t fond of the use of the raw egg on top. Chef Chiarello was hurt to find that the judges didn’t like his food and compared criticism of his food to criticizing one of his kids.

9:30 – Chef Samuelsson is up with four dishes! Shrimp Toastadas and a second seafood dish was flavorful and popular due to the handheld nature. Fries and a pork sandwich were also cooked. The judges recommended, doing two dishes well instead of overcooking and having a few less than popular dishes.

9:31 – Chef Hughes did a Shrimp and Pork Meatball Sub. The judges didn’t enjoy the shrimp and some had issues with the bun. The Tilapia Corn Dog was more popular. In fact, some praised it as being the best of the day.

9:32 – Chef Irvine starts with his HotBurg, which was incredibly popular. The second dish was a Deconstructed Fish Taco, but the judges felt the seasoning was off. It had a little too much acid for their tastes. Chef Irvine left not being sure what to expect.

9:33 – The results are coming in. Three of the Chefs were safe off the bat. Chef Hughes (the Tilapia), Chef Faulkner (the Ice Cream/Cheesesteak), Chef Guarnaschelli (everything was perfect. Chef Guarnaschelli takes home the win!

9:35 – Three of the chefs that performed in the middle were Chef Burrell (she played it too safe), Chef MacMillan (food was okay, but not great), and Chef Samuelsson (he cooks too much and from now on will be required to make what is required and nothing more).

9:36 - This leaves Chefs Chiarello, Irvine, and Zakarian. For Chef Zakarian the problem was that he didn’t follow the rules. The judges felt he blew off the challenge. Chef Irvine’s Deconstructed Fish Taco was his downfall. Chef Chiarello was dubbed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, for having one dish so good and another so bad.

9:37 – Chef Zakarian is dismissed and survives, leaving Chefs Chiarello and Irvine to have to cook for their lives in the Secret Ingredient Showdown. I can’t wait to see the ingredient since the preview shows the reactions of Chef Irvine to be “OMG” and Chef Chiarello to be “Crap!”

9:42 – Chef Chiarello is ready to whip Irvine and Chef Irvine recognizes that the mission of beating him will be tough. The rules are simple. One single secret ingredient, one dish, 30 minutes. The secret ingredient is peanuts. Apparently, they never left the ballpark.

9:43 – While peanuts are fabulous, they can be hard to put into food and that is the problem both chefs see ahead of them. The other chefs are incredibly supportive.

9:44 – Chef Irvine decides to go Asian (which is where Chef Chiarello wants him to go!). Meanwhile, Chef Chiarello decides to make pasta! Handmade Fettuccine with Peanut Pesto! It’s crazy and a huge risk!

9:46 – With ten minutes left, Chef Irvine has a lot of parts cooking, but nothing officially done. With four minutes left, Irvine is beginning to plate and Chef Chiarello has dropped his pasta.

9:47 – Plating is going on. Chef Chiarello comments on how fast the time went! Still. he managed to pull off fresh pasta in 30 minutes (assuming it turned out). Both chefs are elated and hug at the end of the battle.

9:49 – Chef Irvine made Peanut Crusted Halibut with Peanut Hummus. The judges enjoy the multiple use of the peanuts and the correct cooking of the fish. Although, some of the judges (Symon in particular) felt their was too much Hummus.

9:50 – Chef Chiarello made a Peanut Pesto Fettuccine with a Fresh Tomato Mozzarella Salad. The judges enjoy the technique used. The peanuts came through and the palette cleanser of the salad was a big hit. Both dishes for both chefs ended up being successful. The question now is who is going home?

9:56 – The chefs are cooking their best, but someone has to go home. Some of the judges felt that Irvine showed more skill, but Chef Symon was gunning for Chef Chiarello, whose dish he clearly liked more!

9:57 – As the chefs come out, Alton Brown announces the non-unanimous decision that Chef Irvine will be going home. Chef Chiarello wins the battle, but with a small margin and Chef Irvine is forced to go home.

9:58 – Alton Brown calls in the Chefs to announce that Irvine went home due to the thickness of his hummus. The point being that the smallest mistake can send any of them home.

Next week: Desserts seem to be on tap and things seem to head in the wrong direction for a number of them!

Technorati Tags: Live blogging, The Next Iron Chef, Food, Reality TV, Alex Guarnaschelli, Elizabeth Falkner, Beau MacMillan, Anne Burrell, Michael Chiarello, Chuck Hughes, Robert Irvine, Marcus Samuelsson, Geoffrey Zakarian

So, here are TCMs favorite Marilyn moments. Do you see yours on the list?

Marilyn looks up at “Uncle Lon” when he sees her laying on the couch in The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Hollywood’s censors, the Production Code Administration, won a lot of concessions from director John Huston as he filmed this realistic crime drama (the first big studio crime picture filmed in almost documentary detail): leading lady Jean Hagen was never referred to as a prostitute, and criminal mastermind Sam Jaffe’s fascination with young women was depicted as nostalgia rather than perversion. But the bluenoses were helpless in the face of Marilyn Monroe’s smoldering glances. Although crooked judge Louis Calhern introduced her character Angela as his “niece,” every time she looked up at him, usually from a reclining position, the audience knew exactly what kind of uncle he was. Huston had pretty much settled on casting Lola Albright in the role, but as a favor to agent Johnny Hyde, he agreed to read Monroe. Her audition was terrible, and he was prepared to dismiss her when she asked to read again, something unheard of in Hollywood. When she finished, he watched her walk away and got a look at the “Marilyn wiggle.” Huston was hooked and convinced the MGM brass to let him cast the untried actress. Her success in the role and the power of her final dramatic moment, when she rats out her “uncle” to the police, convinced 20th Century-Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck to start giving her better parts.

Marilyn works on her “punctuation” in Monkey Business (1952)
For his fifth (and last) film with Cary Grant, director Howard Hawks gave the debonair actor one of his sexiest co-stars, Marilyn Monroe. The blonde bombshell more than held her own as a farceur opposite Grant, Ginger Rogers (cast as Grant’s wife), Charles Coburn and a mischievous chimp. Even before the comic business really gets rolling, she proves her talents with one of her best “dumb blonde” one-liners ever: “Mr. Oxley’s been complaining about my punctuation, so I’m careful to get here before nine.” When the chimp accidentally perfects the fountain of youth formula chemist Grant has been working on, it gradually turns the rest of the cast into overgrown, hyperactive adolescents, leaving Monroe the one person unaffected. At that point, she proves herself the perfect straight woman, accompanying the now impetuous Grant on a madcap day on the town as he buys a new sports car and takes her swimming. Hawks, who would help Monroe perfect the dim-witted beauty act in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), had originally tried to cast Ava Gardner as Grant’s wife. Instead, studio executives forced him to cast Rogers, with whom he did not get along. Years later, film critic turned director Peter Bogdanovich would praise the chemistry between Grant and Monroe and suggest the one thing that would have made Monkey Business the perfect film would have been casting her as the wife.

Marilyn establishes her trademark walk on the way to a bus station in Niagara (1953)
Sex, murder and spectacular scenery were the selling points for this Technicolor film noir – with Marilyn Monroe providing all three. Rose, the dissatisfied wife out to lure jealous husband Joseph Cotten to his death, was her most evil character ever, but Monroe was so beautiful she seemed worth dying for. From the moment she wakes up, staring at the camera as she lounges in bed, her performance offers the promise of forbidden pleasures. The film exploits her beauty in a series of low-cut, bright dresses and a surprisingly provocative shower scene, with Monroe’s figure clearly outlined against the translucent shower curtain. And her sultry walk from the camera, the longest in cinema history, established the “Marilyn walk” as one of her trademarks. Niagara was originally planned as a vehicle for Anne Baxter, cast as a young wife caught up in the sexual tension between Rose and her husband. When she withdrew, 20th Century Fox beefed up Marilyn’s role and bumped her to star billing. She paid them back with a surprisingly powerful performance, particularly in her death scene, expertly paced by Monroe, Cotten and director Henry Hathaway to build both tension and a surprising level of sympathy for Rose. Although Niagara Falls was supposed to be the film’s focus, Marilyn demanded equal attention, making an impact that still holds audiences. When Andy Warhol created his famous silk screen Marilyn Diptych the week after she died, the image he used was a close-up from Niagara.

Marilyn sings “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Although she was second-billed to established sex symbol Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe – in the role of ultimate gold digger Lorelei Lee – came out of this film a first-rate star by proving that as a dumb blonde, “I can be smart when I need to be.” Belting “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” and trilling, “I just love finding new places to wear diamonds,” she created one of the screen’s most endearing images of greed. But her character went far beyond that; Lorelei had the smarts to know that any man with “and valet” after his name in the ship’s register had a bankroll that made him worth pursuing. And she had the warmth to attract women as well as men. Her friendship with fellow showgirl Dorothy Shaw (Russell) is one of the best buddy relationships ever put on screen by director Howard Hawks – an expert on that type of dynamic. In the midst of her big ode to diamonds, she takes a moment to share her wisdom with a group of chorus girls, adding a surprising level of humanity to her glittering performance. Even though some of her vocals were dubbed (by Marni Nixon), the timing was all Marilyn, giving her the chance to prove she had the smarts to sell a great comic role. Years later, her performance of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” would inspire the video for Madonna’s “Material Girl,” but the original performance remained unmatched.

Marilyn takes her glasses off in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
Marilyn Monroe has one moment in this early CinemaScope film (the first to finish production using the process but the second released, after The Robe) that cemented her star appeal. As nearsighted fashion model Pola Debevoise, she lives by the rule “Men aren’t attentive to girls who wear glasses,” a hilarious mangling of Dorothy Parker’s famous poem. At one point, she sneaks on her glasses to check herself out in a ladies’ room mirror. Then the sumptuously gowned Marilyn hides the glasses, prepares to make a grand entrance and walks right into a wall. Like her big-screen predecessor Jean Harlow, Monroe became a star by adding a touch of humanity to her sex appeal. She plays one of three down-on-their-luck models (the other two are Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall) who pool their resources to rent a luxury penthouse in hopes of snaring rich husbands. Do they get what they want? Not completely, but each finds her true love. Monroe’s pairing with the very normal David Wayne, rather than some big-screen hunk who would rival her beauty, further humanizes her. When he convinces her to put on her glasses and face the world, it’s one of the silliest and also most romantic moments in her career. Industry insiders expected fireworks when 20th Century Fox teamed Monroe with blonde bombshell Grable, but the two became friends, and Grable was happy to end her studio contract with a hit.

Marilyn sings and dances to “Heat Wave” in There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954)
As the chorus warns, “hot and humid nights can be expected” – especially when Marilyn Monroe tackles the Irving Berlin classic “Heat Wave” in this all-star musical extravaganza. Ostensibly about a family of vaudevillians headed by Ethel Merman and Dan Dailey, the film becomes all about sex when Monroe takes the stage as determined rising star Vicky – a performance that puts her character on the road to the top. Off screen, Marilyn was already big enough that she could hold out on making the film (20th Century Fox almost cast Sheree North) until studio head Darryl F. Zanuck promised her the lead in The Seven Year Itch (1955). He also agreed to give Monroe the “Heat Wave” number originally assigned to Merman, who had performed it almost 20 years earlier in Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938). Though some critics carped about Monroe’s sexier, slowed-down version of the standard, fans consider it one of the film’s highlights. Choreographer Jack Cole had learned how to set her famous “wiggle” to music when working on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). He had no problem convincing audiences that Monroe’s performance could indeed raise temperatures, particularly when she started moving her hips. This and two of her other numbers, the teasing “After You Get What You Want (You Don’t Want It)” and “Lazy,” show just how witty a performer she could be. At the end of “Heat Wave,” she even makes fun of herself, over-enunciating the lyrics in imitation of her own overdeveloped diction.

A subway breeze blows Marilyn’s white dress in The Seven Year Itch (1955)
With one scene, Billy Wilder and Marilyn Monroe created an innocent image of sensuality that would become indelibly linked with her name, and also inadvertently contributed to the end of her marriage to Joe DiMaggio. As every married man’s dream, she combined sexiness and naïveté, moving effortlessly between reality and neighbor Tom Ewell’s fantasies. But she also brought a surprising depth and maturity to her “dumb blonde” role, helping Ewell realize how much he still loves and needs his family. Her performance proved she was more than just a pinup queen, while at the same time establishing that image forever when she stops over a subway grating in the midst of a hot New York summer to let the breeze from a passing train lift her skirts and cool her off. Wilder originally shot the scene on location at 52nd and Lexington, but the wolf calls and other crowd noises as Monroe flubbed her lines through 40 takes made that footage unusable. They also made DiMaggio, who had accompanied her on location, furious. Wilder had to redo the scene on the 20th Century Fox backlot, as Monroe continued to blow her lines. The extra takes were worth it, however, when the film, spurred by an ad campaign prominently featuring that particular scene, became a big hit with everybody except her husband. By the time they finished The Seven Year Itch, the Monroe-DiMaggio marriage was over.

Marilyn sings “That Old Black Magic” in Bus Stop (1956)
Fans saw a new Marilyn Monroe when she starred as Cherie, the movie-star wannabe kidnapped by an amorous cowboy in this adaptation of William Inge’s hit play. Determined to prove herself as a dramatic actress, she had taken a year off from the movies to study at the Actors Studio. She returned to Hollywood as head of her own production company and with a new studio contract. Then she broke from her glamorous image to create the right look for Cherie, wearing pasty white makeup to play a woman who never got outdoors, the tackiest clothes the costumer could find and a tousled hair style. She even insisted on playing a bedroom scene naked (under the sheets, of course). From the very beginning of the film, she branded this as a different kind of performance. When Cherie sings “That Old Black Magic” in a seedy Phoenix bar, the number is a far cry from Monroe’s more polished performances of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” and “Heat Wave” in earlier films. Cherie may insist that she’s a “chanteuse,” but her singing is irritatingly off-key, her staging is pure amateur and the costumes are tattered and threadbare. Where on-screen audiences in the past had responded with rapturous applause, the crowd at the Phoenix dive laughs derisively. It was a huge gamble, but it paid off with glowing reviews, strong box office and one of the most memorable moments in Monroe’s career.

Marilyn talks to Tony Curtis about always getting “the fuzzy end of the lollipop” in Some Like It Hot (1959)
If there’s a role most fans think should have brought the never-nominated Marilyn Monroe an Oscar®, it’s Sugar, the softhearted singer in this comedy classic. It’s not just that she’s funny, though her attempt to seduce a backwards millionaire (Tony Curtis in disguise) is one of the sexiest and funniest scenes ever filmed, and her reaction when he claims to be heir to Shell Oil is comic perfection. Rather, it’s the sensitive heart she gives the character. Instead of playing her big confessional (in which she complains about always getting “the fuzzy end of the lollipop”) for laughs, she captures a lifetime of heartache behind the sexy exterior. Originally director Billy Wilder had wanted Mitzi Gaynor as his female lead, but he needed a bigger marquee name than Curtis or Jack Lemmon, so he signed Monroe for 10 percent of the gross. Though her personal issues, particularly her problems remembering lines, are estimated to have cost the film as much as half a million, the results were so good that nobody watching could have noticed or would have cared. Her three musical numbers, which represent the full range of her talents, are a special treat. The raucous “Runnin’ Wild” carries her trademark wiggle to new heights. “I Wanna Be Loved by You” is about as sweet as her sexuality ever got. And the final “I’m Through with Love” provides the perfect moment of heart in the midst of the comic chaos, helping make this one of the screen’s greatest performances.

Marilyn gets into a fight with Clark Gable in the desert in The Misfits (1961)
In her last performance, Marilyn Monroe went fully dramatic. Working for the only time with a script written by then-husband Arthur Miller, she captures the soul of a woman who has no trouble attracting men but can never get them to look beyond her face and body. The Monroe sizzle is still there, particularly in a kinetic scene in which she plays Ping-Pong wearing a tight, white, polka-dotted dress. But it’s the raw passion of her performance that drives the film, whether rejecting the husband (Kevin McCarthy) she’s come to Reno to divorce, suddenly giving all her money to a religious fanatic, comforting a brain-damaged rodeo rider (Montgomery Clift) or, in one of her most searing dramatic scenes, telling off lover Clark Gable (also in his last film) for taking on a job capturing wild horses for a dog food company. Her work at that moment suggests the kinds of powerhouse dramatic performances she might have delivered had she lived longer, while also helping provide an emotional grounding for a film that never quite makes up its mind what it’s about. Monroe caused the usual delays on the set, but instead of carrying her problems to new levels when she shot her scene with the equally troubled Clift, the two bolstered each other, creating a simple, touching scene that’s among the film’s best. It’s matched by the final moment, as she and Gable drive off to “that big star straight on” – a poetic coda to two dazzling careers.

Technorati Tags: TCM, Turner Classic Movies, Favorite Moments, Marilyn Monroe, TV, Battle of the Blondes, Classic

Episode #38: “You Smell Like Dinner”
Debut: SUNDAY, JULY 3 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)

Other HBO playdates: July 3 (11:30 p.m.), 5 (11:30 p.m.), 6 (10:00 p.m.), 9 (12:15 a.m.) and 14 (9:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: July 4 (9:00 p.m.), 7 (10:00 p.m.), 8 (12:30 a.m.) and 10 (2:00 p.m.)

Sookie (Anna Paquin) adjusts to Bon Temps’ new realities; Bill (Stephen Moyer) reveals pieces of his past; Eric (Alexander Skarsgård) crashes a witches’ meeting; Jason (Ryan Kwanten) gets his wounds licked; Andy (Chris Bauer) struggles with his addiction; Sam (Sam Trammell) learns of Luna’s (Janina Gavankar) special talents; Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) satisfies her blood cravings; and Arlene (Carrie Preston) witnesses strange behavior from her family.

Written by Brian Buckner; directed by Scott Winant.

Episode #39: “If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin’?”
Debut: SUNDAY, JULY 10 (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Other HBO playdates: July 10 (11:05 p.m.), 12 (11:00 p.m.), 13 (10:30 p.m.), 14 (10:00 p.m.) and 16 (10:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: July 11 (9:00 p.m.), 15 (10:00 p.m.) and 17 (4:00 p.m.)

Sookie makes a deal with Eric, and reconnects with Alcide (Joe Manganiello); Bill punishes an errant vampire and counsels a guilt-ridden Jessica; Jason is cast as a reluctant savior; Tommy (Marshall Allman) eyes a scam and alienates Sam; Marnie (Fiona Shaw) flexes her newfound powers; Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten) delivers an ultimatum to Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), Tara (Rutina Wesley) and Jesus (Kevin Alejandro); Eric spoils Sookie’s faerie reunion.

Written by Alan Ball; directed by David Petrarca.

Episode #40: “I’m Alive and on Fire”
Debut: SUNDAY, JULY 17 (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Other HBO playdates: July 17 (11:05 p.m.), 19 (11:00 p.m.), 20 (10:00 p.m.) and 23 (11:30 p.m. ET/10:30 p.m. PT), and Aug. 3 (8:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: July 18 (9:00 p.m.), 21 (10:00 p.m.), 22 (11:00 p.m.), and 24 (4:00 p.m.)

Alcide helps Sookie hunt for Eric; Marnie searches for guidance to break a spell; Bill discovers a common bond with the Bellefleurs; Jason begs for liberation from Hotshot; Sam penetrates Luna’s inner circle; Arlene sees the writing on the wall; Tommy returns to his roots.

Written by Nancy Oliver; directed by Michael Lehmann.

Episode #41: “I Hate You, I Love You”
Debut: SUNDAY, JULY 24 (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

HBO playdates: July 24 (11:05 p.m.), 26 (11:35 p.m.), 27 (10:00 p.m.) and 30 (10:15 p.m.), and Aug. 3 (9:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: July 25 (9:00 p.m.), 28 (10:00 p.m.), 29 (11:00 p.m.) and 31 (4:00 p.m.)

Sookie nurtures Eric; Bill gets involved personally in the necromancy crisis; Pam takes the veil; Sam becomes Tommy’s accomplice; Arlene and Terry look to religion to solve their problem; Jesus and Lafayette head to Mexico to harness a shaman’s power; Jason convalesces.

Written by Mark Hudis; directed by Daniel Minahan.

Episode #42: “I Wish I Was the Moon”
Debut: SUNDAY, JULY 31 (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Other HBO playdates: July 31 (11:00 p.m.) and Aug. 2 (11:30 p.m.), 3 (10:00 p.m.) and 6 (12:15 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Aug. 1 (9:00 p.m.), 4 (10:00 p.m.), 5 (12:05 a.m.) and 7 (6:00 p.m.)

Sookie searches for Jason under a full moon; Marnie connects with spirits of the past; Arlene and Terry cope with a suspicious inferno; Debbie (Brit Morgan) urges Alcide to join a new werewolf community; Tommy trades places with Sam; Lafayette feels the spirit in Mexico; Eric surrenders to his King’s will.

Written by Raelle Tucker; directed by Jeremy Podeswa.

TRUE BLOOD was created by Alan Ball; based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris; executive producers, Alan Ball and Gregg Fienberg; co-executive producers, Brian Buckner, Mark Hudis, Nancy Oliver, Raelle Tucker and Alexander Woo; co-producer, Christina Jokanovich.

Technorati Tags: HBO, True Blood, Vampire, Television, Anna Paquin, Charlaine Harris, Sookie Stackhouse, Alan Ball, July, Episodes, TV, Teaser, Episode, Stephen Moyer

To celebrate the big 20, a repackaging of all eight fantastic seasons will be available in a collectible red toolbox, on May 10!

Season 6 Bloopers (Bonus)

According to the Press release:

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of one of ABC TV’s highest rated family comedy series of the 1990’s, Walt Disney Studios unveils the complete DVD collection of Home Improvement on May 10th, 2011. Just in time for Father’s Day, this incredible limited edition collection is packaged as a stunning red toolbox that includes all eight seasons on 25 discs, an exclusive Binford ‘all-in-one’ tool as well as hours of entertaining bonus features for viewers of all ages to enjoy at the suggested retail price of $129.99 in the U.S./$149.99 in Canada.

Home Improvement, a top-rated and beloved TV series that aired from 1991-1999, stars Tim Allen (Toy Story 1, 2 & 3, Wild Hogs) as Tim Taylor the accident-prone TV host of a do-it-yourself home projects program called “Tool Time,” Richard Karn (The Pooch and the Pauper, Air Bud) as Al Borland the trusty, flannel-wearing sidekick and co-host of “Tool Time”, Patricia Richardson (TV’s “The West Wing,” “Strong Medicine”) as the wonderfully supportive wife Jill, who is always by her husband’s side as they undertake the challenge of raising three mischievous sons – Zachery Ty Bryan (First Kid, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) as Brad, Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Tom and Huck, Man of the House) as Randy and Taran Noah Smith (Little Bigfoot 2: The Journey Home) as Mark. And whenever Tim Taylor finds himself at a loss, next-door neighbor Wilson, played by Earl Hindman (TV’s “Ryan’s Hope”), never fully seen, but always heard, can be counted on to dole out home-spun advice from behind his fence.

Co-creators and executive producers Carmen Finestra (TV’s “The Cosby Show,” “Punky Brewster”) and David McFadzean (What Women Want, Where the Heart Is) provide the final word on the series in their insightful audio commentary. Besides the live reunion special, additional bonus content includes a collection of funniest moments presented by “Tool Time” girl Debbe Dunning, a two-part featurette entitled “Loose Screws” highlighting a compilation of some of the biggest laughs in the show’s history, and of course, the legacy of fantastic bloopers that occurred over the years.

Call of the Wild (Film)

More from the release:

Tim Allen’s character Tim Taylor has been ranked #20 in TV Guide’s “50 Greatest TV Dads Of All Time” list, and Tim Allen won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor In A TV Series, 1995. The show won seven Emmy® Awards for lighting and photography direction (1992-1996, 1998-1999) and was nominated for eight Emmy® Awards (for outstanding comedy series 1992-1994; Patricia Richardson Outstanding Lead Actress 1994, 1996-1998; Tim Allen Outstanding Lead Actor 1993).

Technorati Tags: Home Improvement, 20th Anniversary, Eight Seasons, Sitcom, Comedy, ABC, Tim the Toolman Taylor, Tim Allen, DVD Box Set

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Presentations Include Bobby Fischer Against The World, Sex Crimes Unit, Citizen U.S.A.: A 50-State Road Trip, Gloria: In Her Own Words And Koran By Heart

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NEW YORK, April 20, 2011 – HBO Documentary Films heats up the summer with provocative and compelling films every Monday night, kicking off a new 11-week series MONDAY, JUNE 6 at 9:00 pm. (ET/PT). From a portrait of maverick chess genius Bobby Fischer to a gripping undercover visit to a Manhattan sex crimes unit, from the story of feminist icon Gloria Steinem to a road trip to meet newly naturalized U.S. citizens, HBO documentaries take subscribers to worlds others rarely see. This year’s summer series features the work of a wide a range of directors, from award winners such as Greg Barker, Liz Garbus, Lisa F. Jackson, Peter Kunhardt and Alexandra Pelosi, to exciting emerging filmmakers.

Upcoming documentaries include (in chronological order):

BOBBY FISCHER AGAINST THE WORLD (debuting June 6), directed by Oscar® nominee and Emmy® winner Liz Garbus (HBO’s “Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech”), explores the complex life of the troubled genius whose charisma and talent spurred a worldwide fascination with chess. Fischer’s evolution from isolated child to chess prodigy, global superstar, angry recluse and, finally, fugitive from the law is a spellbinding story of the making and unmaking of an American icon. A selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

A MATTER OF TASTE: SERVING UP PAUL LIEBRANDT (June 13) documents the career of the acclaimed chef – and the cutthroat world of haute cuisine – over eight years. The film follows Liebrandt as he matures from young renegade to one of New York City’s most celebrated chefs with the opening of his renowned Michelin two-star restaurant Corton in Tribeca. Directed by Sally Rowe in her documentary directorial debut. A selection of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.

SEX CRIMES UNIT (June 20) takes an unprecedented look inside the Manhattan District Attorney’s famed Sex Crimes Unit, the first unit dedicated to the prosecution of sexual assault to be established in the U.S. The film follows the day-to-day work of prosecutors as they deal with investigations, trials and plea bargains. Among other cases, it tracks The People v. Kevin Rios, in which a prostitute makes an accusation of rape, and follows one woman’s experience with the Cold Case Unit when her accused assailant, originally indicted on the basis of his DNA profile, is finally identified and brought to justice 16 years after the crime. Directed by Emmy® winner Lisa F. Jackson (HBO’s “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo”).

HOT COFFEE (June 27) examines the dangers of so-called tort reform and its threat to the civil justice system. Using the now-infamous legal battle over a spilled cup of McDonald’s coffee as a springboard, the film follows four people, including McDonald’s plaintiff Stella Liebeck, whose lives have been affected by their inability to access the courts, as well as caps on punitive damages, and examines the role of corporations and a complicit media in promoting tort reform. Directed by former trial lawyer and first-time filmmaker Susan Saladoff. A selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

CITIZEN U.S.A.: A 50-STATE ROAD TRIP (July 4) follows director Alexandra Pelosi (HBO’s Emmy®-winning “Journeys with George”) as she travels across the U.S. to attend naturalization ceremonies in all 50 states and meets brand-new citizens to find out why they chose America as their home. Commemorating the Fourth of July, the documentary intersperses stories of newly naturalized citizens and interviews with notable first-generation Americans, including Madeleine Albright, Arianna Huffington, Henry Kissinger and Gene Simmons.

THE PIRATE TAPES (July 11) tells the story of Canadian-Somali college student Mohammed Asherah, who returns to Somalia under the guise of a wealthy entrepreneur, hires a pirate cell and lives undercover with it for three months. Using a hidden camera to capture the pirates’ lives, he learns the jarring truth about piracy’s causes and effects on the world, and finds himself duped by the very people he thinks he’s deceiving. Directed by first-time documentary filmmakers Mohammed Asherah, Rock Baijnauth, Andrew Moniz, Roger Singh and Matvei Zhivov.

MANN V. FORD (July 18) follows members of the Ramapo Indian tribe in Upper Ringwood, NJ in their eight-year search for justice through a major class-action lawsuit. From the middle ‘50s through the late ‘70s, the Ford Motor Company operated an assembly plant in Mahwah, NJ that produced millions of cars each year, dumping what has been described as “thousands of tons of paint sludge and other waste” into abandoned mine shafts and residential land. Working-class residents of the area have been suffering from a range of ailments, including skin problems, bleeding disorders and increased rates of cancer and miscarriage, ever since. The film charts their uphill battle to secure a healthy future for their children. Directed by Maro Chermayeff (HBO’s “The Kindness of Strangers”) and Micah Fink (“Frontline”).

THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH AUNT DIANE (July 25) revisits the mysterious tragedy of Diane Schuler, who, on July 26, 2009, drove the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway in New York for nearly two miles and then smashed into an oncoming SUV, killing herself, her daughter, her three nieces and all three people in the other car. Her autopsy revealed that Schuler had consumed the equivalent of ten shots of vodka and smoked marijuana shortly before the accident. The film investigates the circumstances behind the enduring mysteries of the incident in an effort to understand what went wrong. Directed by Liz Garbus (the Oscar®-nominated “The Farm: Angola, USA”; HBO’s “The Execution of Wanda Jean”).

KORAN BY HEART (Aug. 1) visits the world’s oldest Koran memorization contest, which takes place each year in Cairo, drawing Muslim children from as far as the Maldives and Tajikistan to perform before a panel of prominent judges. This inspirational film follows these talented youngsters from intense preparation through the rigorous rounds of the tournament, offering an engaging look at the unique experiences and aspirations of Muslim children throughout the world. Directed by Greg Barker (HBO’s “Sergio”). A selection of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.

SUPERHEROES (Aug. goes inside the world of real-life caped crusaders. From all over America, these everyday citizens don masks, homemade costumes and elaborate utility belts in an attempt to bring justice to evildoers everywhere. Directed by first-time filmmaker Michael Barnett. A 2011 Slamdance Film Festival award winner.

GLORIA: IN HER OWN WORDS (Aug. 15) recounts how Gloria Steinem became one of the driving forces of feminism. Beginning as a reporter writing an exposé on the working conditions of Playboy Bunnies, she was transformed by learning about women’s horrifying experiences while covering a New York abortion hearing in 1969. The film includes archival footage and interviews showcasing Steinem’s sharp sense of humor, love of life and compassion for humankind. Today, she remains a feminist icon, ever-present on the frontlines of social and political activism. Filmmakers, Peter Kunhardt and Dyllan McGee (HBO’s Emmy®-winning “Teddy: In His Own Words”).

Technorati Tags: HBO, Documentary, Summer Series, June 6, Bobby Fischer, Gloria Steinem, Superheroes, Diane Schuler, Koran, Mann vs. Ford