The Class: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

THE CLASS:
Jailbird BBQ Chicken Wings
Pappy O'Daniel's Buttermilk Biscuits 'n' Honey Butter
Grilled Boneless Rib Eye Steak with “Gratinated” Potatoes
Sauteed Greens & Corn
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie


First things first... Wow, what a great class. Full house. Thanks all who came and especially the staff and volunteers at Central Market for a great job in making it happen.

I'm gonna say it one more time, though I've said it in the last few posts, that if you've been following this adventure, you'll know I got myself a herniated disc at the end of February which pretty much put me out of commission for almost two months. After that, my life was pretty much focused on physical therapy and getting myself functional again. The biggest problem, and remains so, is that sitting for long periods of time is not beneficial for me (as if it ever was!). So I took a break from it all in for the sake of my health.

And as I have for the last half decade now, I hightailed it up to Montreal to get away from the Texas heat of summer. This summer, because being in Montreal affords me a lot of opportunity to walk, I decided to take a longer than usual trip. I also took on more work than I usually do which meant more sitting on my duff than I wanted, but everyone's gotta work and thankfully, so far, I haven't had any recurring issues, though I'm still not all back (in my back) yet.

Hopefully, you've been following me on either Facebook or Twitter as I've been posting some cool links, to try and keep you amused, of food and/or movie related articles, as well as some of the articles I've written over the summer. If not, here are some links to them (shameless self-promotion time) which I hope you will enjoy reading.

TV Bites: The Wanderers

THE SNACK:
City Island Clam Fritters


I'm still slowly recuperating from my herniated disc, which has kept me from doing much for the last month other than laying in bed, popping pain killers, and getting acupuncture. But now I'm off the pain killers, I'm on to physical therapy, and hoping to rejoin the human race soon.

But here we are with part two of "The 70's Looks Back at the 50's" double bill.

I initially chose this film because I've always been fond of it, and I thought it would make a good double-bill with American Graffiti. But in putting this post together, I got to watch it several times, and I've come to really fall in love with it. Also, I was quite surprised by how much they were connected. I see the movies like cousins, one from California and the other from New York. American Graffiti takes place in 1962 and Richard Price's book The Wanderers also takes place in 1962, though the Kaufmans bumped it up a year for the movie to 1963. Rolling Stone magazine said of Richard Price's book The Wanderers, from which the movie is based, that it is "the flip side of American Graffiti."

But there's more connections. Between 1973, when American Graffiti was made, and 1979, when The Wanderers was made, George Lucas and Philip Kaufman worked for a while on a screenplay together. If you follow this blog (or are just a movie fan) you'll know that movie was (previous Chef du Cinema pick) Raiders of the Lost Ark (which, like today's pick, costars Karen Allen). Also in Price's book (but didn't make it into the movie), there's a somewhat older character whom the lead character (Richie) seeks out for advice known as "The Wolfman." In American Graffiti, there's Wolfman Jack who offers up advice for Curt, the lead character.

The Class: American Graffiti

THE MEAL:
Classic California Caesar Salad
Open-Faced Meat Loaf Sandwich w/Brown Mushroom Gravy
French Fries
Homemade Ketchup
Bourbon-Root Beer & Vanilla Swirl Ice Cream w/The Great American Apple Pie


So what's been going on? Where've I been? Well.... just over a month ago I woke up with a herniated disc which basically crippled me in my right leg. But such is life. I was bedridden and on painkillers and ice packs for weeks. Got me one of them epidural steroid shots. And poco a poco I began to get better. Especially awesome has been the acupuncture treatments which have really helped get rid of the pain and inflammation. I also caught up on a bunch of films, though I had to spend almost all of South by Southwest in bed (I did manage to get out to see 5 films and highly recommend the Muscle Shoals documentary). So that's where I've been.

I hobbled over to teach class and I think some adrenalin kicked in because I was fully able to stand for the hour's worth of lecture. I was all prepared to have to sit on a stool, but I managed just fine. Great group and everything went without a hitch.

Now here we are at part one of "The 70's Looks Back at the 50's" double bill and I'm going to start out with a little rant about something Lucas has said in relation to this movie.

The Class: Once

THE MEAL:
Potato & Scallion Soup
Tomato-Cucumber Salad (Šopský salát)
Beef & Guinness Guláš (Goulash) w/Buttered Noodles
Ovocné Knedliky (Czech Fruit Dumplings) w/Irish Whiskey Butter Sauce



Wow, a sold out class tonight and a lot of new people. Everything went great except the movie froze twice (first time for everything, I guess). The food turned out quite well and most hadn't seen the movie before and it's always great to watch people seeing a movie you love for the first time.

The two characters in this film form a duet and, in real life, the two main actors/performers also formed a duet, both musically and romantically. But also this film is a duet. A few years after Once was made, a documentary was done which followed the two leads, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, on tour. The latter film, The Swell Season (also the name of Hansard and Irglova's group), shows the real life couple having both gone and going through a lot of changes since they made the former. Shot in black and white, The Swell Season plays almost like a Cassavetes movie with music. And while in some ways, I suppose, it yanks the fantasy out of Once, it also reaffirms the reality that love is something precious, often fleeting, and we must suck every ounce of joy from it while we can when it lets us take a sip from its crazy straw. And if you survive the pain of heartbreak, you might be able to enjoy how nice it was and honor its impermanent nature, which is a lot of what Once is about. And that's a sort of pragmatic Valentine's thought to offer, no? So, Happy belated Valentine's Day.

The Class: Amélie

THE MEAL:
Tartelettes d'artichauts et tomates (Artichoke & Tomato Tartlets)
Chaud Salade de Lentilles Vertes Françaises (Warm French Green Lentil Salad)
Poulet Roti avec pommes de terre (French Style Roast Chicken with Potatoes)
Endives au Gratin façon Café des Deux Moulins
Maple-Pumpkin Crème Brûlée


Okay, so if you've been following this blog at all, you'll know I recently spent 10 days in Paris. (Here are a couple of pictures I took of locations from Amélie.)

I had a great time, meeting with writer Claire Dixsaut who has written several food/movie cookbooks, including one on James Bond and food. So we went to see Skyfall together - she also took me out for some fabulous food and drinks. I also met up with a friend's cousin, the darling French-Moroccan documentary filmmaker Izza Génini, who recently had a retrospective of her films in Tel Aviv.

In addition to eating some wonderful food, hearing some real Manouche music, seeing art, I just enjoyed walking everywhere and meeting some wonderful folks who have become good friends.

So this is part one of a Paris, France film double bill; the next will be first be posted over at the Criterion website.

I have to say tonight's class was awesome. Great crowd. Everyone raved about the dessert, which is the featured recipe below. As always, I couldn't do it without the great staff at Central Market.

As you can see in the box above, the next class will be February 23rd, and I'll be covering the Oscar-winning film Once with a four-course Irish/Czech menu. Tickets will go on sale in a couple of weeks, please check back. Hope you can make it.

TV Bites: Quadrophenia

THE SNACK:
Beef Pie & Mash w/Liquor


A version of this post appears on the Criterion Collection site
On June 10, 1974, I was standing on a platform with some friends waiting for the Long Island Railroad train to arrive to take us to see The Who live at Madison Square Garden. I was a high school drop out, my father had just died, my mother's second husband had just run out on her, and nothing much made sense. In the outside world, there was Watergate, Patty Hearst, the Oil Crisis, and terrorists had recently bombed a building in New York. When the train, which may well have been the 5:15 (or close to it), pulled into the station, the trainman stepped out and announced: “Who train! Get on The Who train!” And we eagerly jumped aboard.

Just four years earlier, I had been unwillingly replanted from Manhattan to a small suburb on the southwestern tip of Long Island. We lived a block from the ocean, and since I was a stranger in that strange land, it was there on the beach where I spent much of my time.

I'm sure we could find a more perfect poster boy for teenage angst and alienation, but if we could all go back in time and observe me in my shoddy parka, standing on the edge of a jetty, alone, on a cold and misty twilight, asking big questions to the sea and sand, wondering why nothing ever went as planned, I would definitely be a likely candidate.

TV Bites: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

THE SNACK:
The Formosa Cafe Sticky Ribs


One more Chinese food recipe! Who knew?

First off, let me get this off my chest.... This was going to be part one of the "Hollywood Celebrity in a Fictional Story" double bill with the second feature to be JCVD. I had seen JCVD at Fantastic Fest before it opened and really, really liked it. But I hadn't seen it since. When I rented to view, I discovered that when it was theatrically released (and on the DVD) they had "Tarantino-ed" it, i.e., they jumbled the timeline of the movie in such a rotten way that I think they completely ruined it. The version I saw was linear, beginning to end. So I decided to pass. It's a real shame. I kind of understand why they probably did it - some idiot told them to move the action sequences forward. But they should have trusted their initial instincts. Sorry, Claude. And what really pisses me off is that I really wanted to make Mussels in Belgian Ale to pair with it. You can do it, but I ain't.

Alright then. Let's move on.... When I was like 10 years old, there was only one thing I wanted to be when I grew up.... a secret agent. I was obsessed with James Bond, Derek Flint, (all one day coming to Chef du Cinema!) and The Man from UNCLE. A life of intrigue, danger, espionage, and mysterious women. Sign me up. I guess that's why I relate to this movie so much.

The Class: Chinatown

THE MENU:
Shrimp & Watercress Steamed Wontons w/Orange-Soy Dipping Sauce
Chinese Seaweed & Pork Soup
Soy, Honey & Coriander Grilled Tuna w/Jasmine Rice
Orange-Ginger Chinese Broccoli
Chinese Toffee Apples w/Ice Cream



Well, I'm back from Montreal and having a great time with my 4-month old kitten, Miles. And this is part one of a Chinese dim sum double bill.

When I was living in Los Angeles - over 15 years ago now - almost any wannabe or successful screenwriter (and more significantly any screenwriting teacher) would say without hesitation that Chinatown was the perfect screenplay. In fact, the Writers Guild of America named it the third greatest screenplay ever in a survey in 2005 of its members. (And two of those top three - Chinatown and The Godfather were produced by Robert Evans And, just to keep it all connected, Chinatown scribe Robert Towne also did some polishing on the script of The Godfather.) Even today, almost 35 years since its release, Chinatown is still considered to be one of the great screenplays ever.

But what usually isn't mentioned in these praises is that the screenplay went through a very difficult birth process. Even though Towne gets full credit as the author of the script, director Roman Polanski's incredible input is rarely considered by writers and their teachers. Yes, it suits our writers' egos (which is the butt of many jokes - "How many screenwriters does it take to screw in a light bulb?" Answer: "Why does it 'have' to be changed?"), but I wish they'd teach this to writers on the first day of school. That's just the way it is, kids. Hopefully I'll not mangle this quote too much (because it was in one of several Charlie Rose interviews he did and I'm not going to listen to all of them to find it), but I once heard writer Richard Price describe what being a Hollywood screenwriter is like: "Screenwriting is like the Pony Express and the screenwriter is the horse. If the horse goes lame, you shoot it and get another one. Because the idea is to get the thing out to Los Angeles." Even Towne himself, who has script doctored many others' work, has said, "'Doctoring' is kind of misleading because all scripts are rewritten. Every script has to be rewritten;, it's just a question of whether or not it's going to be rewritten well."

TV Bites: The Hit

THE SNACK:
Terence Stamp's Scotch Pancakes w/Bramble Jelly


A version of this post appears at the Criterion Collection website

This is the fourth movie I've featured that was released in 1984, which like previous multi-film posts, I have no idea why this year is rearing its head so often. And it's my second Criterion post of films from 1984. The four are: Broadway Danny Rose, Paris, Texas, Blood Simple, and now The Hit. I'll leave this to my biographers to work out someday.

I have enjoyed this movie so much over the years. It not only grows, but continues to blossom, with every viewing. It's all so very Zen.

Since I first saw The Hit, I have been convinced that it was a third version of Ernest Hemingway's The Killers. (The first two versions - are availabe in a lovely box set by Criterion, hint hint.) In the first version (starring Burt Lancaster), the killers are in and out, and the story of why the man died without a fight is left to an investigator. In the second (starring Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes & Ronald Reagan), the killers go on an adventure to figure out why the man they just shot didn't put up a fight. This would be the third, in which the killers explore the subject with the victim before they kill him. In researching the film for this post, I found several other folks who feel the same way. (One fellow noted: "If Jean-Paul Sartre had adapted Hemingway’s The Killers, [such a movie] might play like this."

Now, about a decade ago, a dear friend of mine in London happened to mention to me he was going to interview Stephen Frears the following day. I begged him to ask Frears the one question I'd always wanted answered - was The Hit inspired by The Killers? The next day, I got my answer. Frears told my friend "Absolutely not." But, I still don't believe it and you won't convince me otherwise. But even if it wasn't conscious, even if Frears and Prince were unaware of, nor seen either version of the The Killers, it is still in my mind a further exploration of that story.

TV Bites: Citizen Kane

THE SNACK:
Hearst Castle Rich Biscuits w/Pear Honey



This is the third movie I've written about released in 1941. The first being The Lady Eve, then The Maltese Falcon, and now Citizen Kane. What an amazing year for movies, no?

And this is part one of my breakfast double bill. Not because you should watch these films in the morning, but that I've paired them both with two breakfast dishes. Though, feel free to snack on them at any time of day.

When I was at vocational film school (what we used to call it - not much on theory, but a lot of practicality), my film history teacher used to do "Citizen Kane Day." What that entailed was coming in at 10am watching the film from beginning to end. Take a lunch break. Watch the film again as she paused during each sequence, pointing out and discussing details, then take a dinner break, come back and watch the whole thing again with no pauses. A very memorable and educating experience it was.

So, let's just dive into it. I'm not trying to be lazy or anything here, but as has been remarked by many - there is probably no other film which has had so much written about it, analyzed, dissected, deconstructed, poured through, and poured over, no more so than Citizen Kane. You want analysis? Here you go.... pages and pages of it!

Maybe you want to hear from experts? Martin Scorsese? Steven Spielberg? Peter Bogdanovich? Francois Truffaut? How about Eric von Stroheim ranting?

Maybe you want to hear from some big time film critics? Pauline Kael? Andrew Sarris's rebuttal to Pauline Kael? Would you prefer Roger Ebert? AO Scott? How about Bowsley Crowther's original 1941 NY Times review?

Is that not enough? How about ex-presidential candidate Donald Trump (interviewed by Errol Morris!) speaking about the film?

TV Bites: Roma, città aperta (Rome: Open City)

THE SNACK:
Minestra di cavolo (Italian Cabbage Soup)


A shorter version of this post appears at the Criterion Collection Website

So, welcome to la seconda parte of my Italian double bill. Part one, Cinema Paradiso, was set in Sicily where I concluded by trip back in January. And now we are in Rome, where I began my trip. The idea for these came in planning the trip when I decided to rewatch some classic Italian films.

While in Rome I rewarded myself by stopping at the spot where Federico Fellini used to set up his little caricature drawing booth - and where Rossellini first met with him and invited him to co-write Rome: Open City. I also took a tour of Cinecittà studio (where they have on display Anita Ekberg's outfit from La Dolce Vita amongst other items). But I did not get a chance to go to the street and see the apartment building used in Rome: Open City. (Gotta have an excuse to return, don't I?).

The Class: Cinema Paradiso

THE MEAL:
Polpette di Melanzane (Eggplant, Mint & Cheese Fritters)
Pesce Spada Marinato Agli Agrumi (Citrus Marinated Swordfish w/ Arugula & Orange Segments)
Quick French Bread
Cozze Marinara (Steamed Mussels w/Tomato, Garlic, Shallot & Basil) with Linguine
Torta Arancione dell'Olio di Oliva (Orange-Scented Olive Oil Cake) w/Amaretto Gelato



If you read this blog regularly, you'll know I was in Italy over the Xmas/New Year holiday. While the entire trip was quite wonderful, Sicily especially got to me, especially because of the wonderful couple I was staying with. I really want to go back and spend some serious time visiting the rest of the island. And, of course, I ate really well the whole trip. So, even before I left, I was planning this class and thinking about what amazing meals I would eat there and serve in the class here.

But I couldn't just do one movie/meal, so this is part one of an Italian double feature. So stay tuned for more....

Meanwhile, class went really well tonight - and I have to say this might have been the best meal yet! Anyways, as usual, thanks to the wonderful staff and volunteers at Central Market Cooking School for making it all smooth and fun for me.

This is my second film to feature the great Phillipe Noiret, and I promise you it won't the last.

TV Bites: The Station Agent

THE SNACK:
Chuletas con Cebolla (Cuban Pork Chops & Onion)



Howdy. Hope all is well by you. Not too much going on here, though I'm in New York this week and so we have a movie made by a group of New York actors and set just over the river in New Jersey.

If you're in Austin and have been thinking of taking my upcoming Cinema Paradiso class, if you buy your tickets before April 6th and use the code "BLOOM" you'll save 10 dollars. Not a bad deal at all. Hope to see you there!

I'm not sure where to start with this film. I feel strangely at a loss for words. Perhaps it's because this is a film whose characters seem to often have a loss for words themselves. I know this for sure: The Station Agent is nearly a perfect movie. It's not a kid's movie. It's a movie for grown-ups. It's about trying to negotiate your way through life, struggling to get out of your comfort zone, struggling to be a grown-up, and struggling to create friendships while you're struggling to be a grown-up. It's almost never about what people are saying but rather revealed through subtext and what's not said. And none of that would work if not for its amazing, fantastic cast. And it makes you smile. You get to spend some time with some people, watch them bounce off each other like electrons through a microscope, and in the end they come together to form something greater than their individual properties. And it does all that in only 88 minutes.

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 Class: The Royal Tenenbaums

THE MEAL:
Anjelica Huston's Rustic Irish Soda Bread w/Smoked Salmon & Crème Fraiche
Mixed Green Salad w/Gwyneth Paltrow's Vinaigrette
Gwyneth Paltrow's Sea Bass w/Salsa Verde
Alec Baldwin's Red Beans & Garlic (& Rice)
Danny Glover's Sweet Potato Pie


A version of this post appears at the Criterion Collection website.

Class went really smoothly tonight. I don't like to make judgments, but I think this may have been the best class yet. Over half the attendees had been to a previous class and I was really happy to see people making this something to look forward to on their calendars.

But let's get to it. This is the seventh movie I've written about here that is set in New York, and for sure not the last. But is it because I grew up in New York? If I had grown up in Oklahoma, would I be writing about Midwestern movies? I don't know.

TV Bites: Mean Streets

THE SNACK:
Zeppole



Got some crazy chest cold/flu thing the last few days which hit me hard. Lots of sleeping, eating lots of Thai soups, catching up on work, and planning my schedule for Fantastic Fest next week. The best part of Fantastic Fest is that my buddy and director Eugenio Mira will be my house guest for the duration. If you're unfamiliar with Eugenio's work, one of the coolest things he's ever done is actually in front of the camera. In the upcoming film, Red Lights, he got to play a young Robert De Niro! Check it out! That's mighty awesome, in my book. So how appropriate and coincidental that this is the film I chose for this edition....

Tomorrow, the 15th of September is the first day of the Feast of San Gennaro. And there's only ONE movie to watch, and only ONE food to eat to celebrate. So let's get to it....

TV Bites: Cul-de-Sac

THE SNACK:
Donald Pleasence's Fillet of Sole Bonne Femme


A shorter version of this post was originally published on the Criterion Collection website.

I'm going mad, I tell you! Mad! I dream of a bed made of ice. And snow. All the trees are covered in snow. And sweaters. I dream of wearing a scarf. A parka, even. Because it's cold. So very cold outside. I yearn to be only one place. And that place is.... ICE STATION ZEBRA!

Seriously, I finally understand the meaning of the word "hellacious." It is ungodly hot here in Texas. And all I'm going to say in reference to our esteemed governor, is that every time the weatherman says it looks like rain, the governor prays for rain, and then it doesn't rain. I'm just saying. Maybe his god is trying to tell him something?

The Class: The Harder They Come

THE CLASS:
Hot Pepper Shrimp
Jerk Chicken
Baked Yams with Sweet Onions & Ginger
Caribbean Cole Slaw
Gizzada (Spiced Sweet Coconut Tart)



When I was a teenager, there was this weird little theater in the quiet suburb of Uniondale, New York called the Uniondale Mini-Cinema. Before the "midnight movie" craze hit the mainstream, this was one of those first experiments in letting young people, especially young people who were influenced by what was then known as "the counter-culture," and certainly those who had a love and reverence for movies, be allowed to program an actual movie theater.

Now remember this was before there were videotapes, or even cable TV. This was the only place where you could stay up all night and watch Marx Brothers movies, the new "concert" films like Woodstock or Jimi Plays Berkeley, and was a home for "outsider" filmmakers such as Robert Downey Sr. and John Waters. Later, after I had gone to seek my fortunes on the West Coast, it was one of the first theaters to do the whole Rocky Horror Picture Show thing. But it was also one of the first theaters to run The Harder They Come.

The Class: Slumdog Millionaire

THE CLASS:
Pear-Apple Chutney w/Goat Cheese on Toasted Naan
Karahi Chicken w/ Tomatoes and Chiles
Shrimp Biryani
Coconut-Chai Sorbet



Once again, a great class. I'd like to thank everyone who came out and the staff at Central Market for their awesome work. After three classes in a row, I'm taking a litte summer break - though I'll be continuing to post on the blog. Next class will be on August 11 - The Harder They Come with a Jamaican menu. Stay tuned for tickets.

I feel very lucky to have gotten to see this film shortly before it was released at a screening during the Austin Film Festival. This was before all the hype, all the nominations, and all the pundits got to it. I was sitting with an old friend who teaches screenwriting at USC. I hadn't seen him for about 15 years and we didn't have much time to catch up before the movie began other than the usual recounting of our successes and missteps and in general being slightly wistful about our lives.

TV Bites: Paris, Texas

THE SNACK:
Chile avec Fromage (Chile con Queso)



A shorter version of this post was originally published on the Criterion Collection website.

In April, a new arthouse theater opened here in Austin, the Violet Crown Cinema. (Our city has several pet names and one of them is the “City of the Violet Crown.” Why it’s called that has been completely lost to history.) Local film director and cinephile Richard Linklater pick eight films from the Criterion Collection as a test run of their facility (and as a benefit for the Austin Film Society). Of the films he chose, the one I was most attracted to seeing was Paris, Texas. First, I couldn’t remember the last time I saw the film but always remembered how much I liked it; and second, I needed to pick something for my post here and was hoping to be inspired by something in the film. And I was.