The Oscar winner and third generation of a four-generation movie dynasty (so far) speaks very plainly about her complicated relations with her family members and romantic partners (i.e., Jack Nicholson), getting thoroughly snubbed by (an evidently jealous) Oprah Winfrey, and defends (sort of) Roman Polanski and (definitely) Woody Allen. – New York Magazine
Category: people
Portrait Of Leonardo Da Vinci, Only The Second Known, Identified In Queen Elizabeth’s Collection
“A sketch of a bearded man lost in thought, preserved for 500 years among the papers of Leonardo da Vinci, has now been identified as a rare portrait of the Renaissance master himself.” – The Art Newspaper
Phil Solomon, Experimental Maker Of ‘Visionary Cinema’, Dead At 65
“His films, usually relatively short, did not have stars or plots in any conventional sense; he was after something more cerebral.” Said one colleague, “Phil considered the film frame as a painting — a rectangle full of tensions, textures and pulls — rather than as a window through which to daydream.” – The New York Times
The Widow Of China’s Most Famous Dissident, Now In Exile, Rebuilds Her Art And Career
Liu Xiaobo was in prison when he won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, and ever since then, his wife, Liu Xia, had been under house arrest. After he died, still in custody, in 2017, she was suicidal. A friend in Berlin publicized her plight, and last year, she was released (not to say expelled) and sent to the German capital, where she’s now back at work in both literature and visual art. Nick Frisch went to meet her. – The New Yorker
The Afterlife Of ‘Jeopardy!’ Champions
“For some contestants, winning might usher in 15 minutes of fame and a small, unexpected windfall.” And then there’s Ken Jennings, who launched a couple of new careers as a result. Reporter Niraj Chokshi talked to Jennings and three other former winners about how the show (and not just the prize money) changed their lives. – The New York Times
Mavis Pusey, Who Turned Demolished Buildings Into Abstract Art, Dead At 90
“Ms. Pusey was … a painter and printmaker who drew on inspirations as varied as sunsets and scenes of urban demolition to create striking abstract works full of geometric forms.” – The New York Times
Mark Richter, Who Founded Two Opera Companies In San Antonio, Dead At 51
The former tenor founded San Antonio Pocket Opera in 1995, and over 16 years he developed the company into what is now San Antonio Opera, presenting full main-stage works. He left that company in 2011 as it began what became a financial crisis, and the following year he founded a chamber opera company now known as Alamo City Opera. – San Antonio Express-News
Michael Tilson Thomas At 74: At The Center
“I have a checklist of things I want to get done before I’m outta here,” he says. “What I don’t know is: Just how much applause do I actually need to hear?” – New York Magazine
Stanley Kubrick Was Not A Recluse, A Hoarder, Or A Crazy Man, Okay?
As a current BFI exhibition shows and his family attests, he was meticulous, determined, and thorough, but “no more obsessive than anyone else who lives by working on something they love to do and want to get it right,” as his stepdaughter says. “He had his life so sorted … he had a house he could do everything in; he could sleep in his own bed at night; the people he wanted to see came to him; he wasn’t known for his face so he could go to Marks & Spencer’s if he wanted.” – The Guardian
Filmmaker John Singleton Dead At 51 Following Stroke
“[He] was the first African American and the youngest-ever Academy Award nominee for best director [for Boyz N the Hood]. He wrote [that film’s] screenplay, which was also an Oscar contender, as a student at the University of Southern California.” His career later became more commercial, with such films as 2 Fast 2 Furious, Four Brothers, and a remake of Shaft starring Samuel L. Jackson. – The Washington Post