Author Archives: Joe Nolan
Coppola Now
The name Francis Ford Coppola conjures a cinematic career crossed by contradictions: he set out to be a “European,” personal, small filmmaker, before creating some of the most popular, successful films in American cinema; he’s a star auteur whose struggles for independence nearly ended his career more than once; he helped to define the New [...]
Ferlinghetti: 100
By Elsadorfman – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link I unexpectedly found myself in New York City last week. One of the best things about a creative life is that I can grab my gear and run at an opportunity like this. I had pending writing deadlines and some design work to do, but I [...]
Jack’s Day
Today we celebrate the birthday of novelist and poet, Jack Kerouac. Kerouac didn’t give the Beat Generation its name, but his image and influence on mid-20th century literature are immeasurable, and his On the Road novel continue to inspire the imaginations of young freedom-seekers all over the world. Kerouac followed in the footsteps of heroes [...]
Mon Ami, Mekas
Filmmaker, poet, critic and philosopher Jonas Mekas passed away on January 23 at the age of 96. The wildly creative and willfully cantankerous Mekas was a champion of experimental cinema and a film critic whose taste and style was ahead of its time. Mekas is credited with getting Andy Warhol to try his hand at [...]
A Portrait of George
If George Harrison was alive he’d be 75 years old. It’d be interesting to hear what he thought of 2018, but for now all we have are our memories of the man and his music. Harrison might have been the most widely creative of all of The Beatles. Harrison was a very good songwriter, but, [...]
Gone Roeg
This week we lost the cinematic master, Nicolas Roeg. The British auteur practically defined cinematic counterculture in the 1970s and his groundbreaking filmography includes David Bowie’s turned as a lonely alien in The Man Who Fell To Earth, Donald Sutherland’s searing, anguished performance in the unforgettable Don’t Look Now, and the mysterious parable of Walkabout. [...]
Kool-Aid Cult
Rev. Jim Jones at an anti-eviction rally Sunday, January 16, 1977 in front of the International Hotel, Kearny and Jackson Streets, San Francisco Photo by Nancy Wong This weekend we observed the 40th anniversary of the mass murder/suicide tragedy at Jonestown in Guyana. The utopian cult lead by the the charismatic Jim Jones had its [...]
COLORS 30
In the 1950s and 1960s Dennis Hopper was a young actor appearing in classic films like Rebel Without a Cause, Giant and The Sons of Katie Elder. But by the late 1960s Hopper was tired of directors telling him what to do. He felt like he knew better and he’d prove it if he could [...]
Cinema de la Sandra
Over the October season of horror I was watching lots of classic monsters and murder flicks and my wife and I also binged on old YouTube videos from the various Joe Bob Briggs’ movie series which featured the eponymous Joe Bob presenting films like a 1990s version of classic horror hosts of the 1960s and [...]
Samhain 411
Devil’s Night seems like the right time to be posting one more spook-centric entry before Halloween is officially upon us. I caught up with this one over the weekend and immediately thought it would make for a great post. I love to watch and write about monsters, creatures and even real life killers and ghosts [...]
