The Class: Singin' in the Rain

THE MEAL:
Parma Ham, Apricot Preserves and Dijon Mustard Finger Sandwiches
Tossed Green Salad w/ Donald O'Connor's French Dressing
Gene Kelly's Real Irish Lamb Stew
The Hollywood Brown Derby Grapefruit Cake



Well, it's still winter, I suppose, though we didn't get anything close to winter weather here in OSP (oh, so precious) Austin. But there's a little chill in the air, having given us a tease of rain last night, and the sky is currently all cloudy and gray. I mention this because I'm going to be nursing leftovers of Mr. Kelly's lamb stew this afternoon as I snuggle up to work on the next Chef du Cinema blog post (I'm always working for you, friends).

Class went very well again tonight. Good audience, good crew. No complaints.

Singin' in the Rain is one of those movies that just fills you with that feeling you can only get from the movies. Just pure cinematic joy. Seriously, if you are depressed and your meds aren't doing it, just watch Donald O'Connor's Make 'em Laugh sequence, and I promise you that dark mood will be gone by the time he finishes flying through the wall.

Chef du Cinema on TV... Again!!!

No, I didn't get arrested. Apparently, they put people on television for other reasons as well.



So as you'll see I'm on promoting this weekend's class on Singin' in the Rain... and all I had to do was cook, not sing nor dance, thank you.

TV Bites: To Have and Have Not

THE SNACK:
Blaff de Poisson (Martinican Lime-Poached Fish)



Well, this is part one of a Humphrey Bogart double bill, though next week I'll be posting the Singin' in the Rain class notes in between.

I know I've been kind of quiet about upcoming posts, but I wound up going pretty deep into researching this film: (a) as I mention below, there were many versions of stories (as there were many versions of the screenplay); and (b) there's just a lot of story to tell here. Legends about Hollywood legends.

I've also been busy figuring out films I want to do for the next few classes I'll be teaching, and the next few posts for the blog and the Criterion Collection site.

And all that is related to the big project. I'm starting to put together a proposal for the Chef du Cinema book. The book will have a different format, much shorter bits of info (only the pearls) and, of course, a recipe. More on this in the months to come.

Anyways, let's get to it.

the story so far..... (updated)

A year ago, because I was getting a little attention thanks to an article in USA Today, I decided that six months into this adventure I should write something for people coming to this site for the first time. And now I've decided to update that post.

If you walk up to a stranger, pretty much anywhere in the world, and ask them two questions: “Do you like food?” and “Do you like movies?” The majority of them would answer yes to both. Eating and watching movies have a lot in common. Maybe that’s why they go so well together. No matter where in the world you find a movie theater, there's someone selling some kind of food to munch on when the lights go down. And there's nothing like snuggling up with a good movie and a home-cooked meal. This is the basic concept of Chef du Cinema – pairing great movies with great food.

(shameless self-promotion time again....) New Article I wrote for Documentary Magazine

Here's a new article I did you might enjoy. You might also enjoy the film, it's worth watching for sure.

'Undefeated' Puts Producer Ed Cunningham Back in the Game
by Ron Deutsch
http://www.documentary.org/node/25946

If you typically spend your leisure time watching documentaries, you might know Ed Cunningham as the producer of films such as King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. But if you typically watch ESPN, you might know Ed Cunningham as a former offensive lineman with the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks, and for several years one of ESPN's on-air college football analysts.