A Legend Passes

RIP Bronx-born TV legend Regis Philbin, 88. What an incredible run. From the mid 1950s to 2020, he was a constant positive presence, mostly on the small screen. I’ll always remember his shenanigans with wrestling legend Classie Freddie Blassie. He received a boatload of Emmy nominations, won nine. He wrote or co-wrote several books, including How I Got This Way, I’m Only One Man! and Who Wants To Be Me? Thank you, sir.

It will be interesting to see how the mainstream media spins this, from a nypost.com headline: “Trump unveils ‘revolutionary’ executive orders to cut drug prices.” Maybe it will lead to praise of an industry the media has always condemned. Most members of the swamp, who receive big donations from pharmaceutical companies, won’t like it.

Here’s an awesome headline from foxnews.com: “Black pro-life leaders pan Planned Parenthood’s Sanger disavowal: ‘Like changing the name of Auschwitz.’” “A Georgia congressional candidate called it a ‘blatant game of genocide-lite.’” Kudos.

My Friday night movie fix, courtesy of Netflix, was a rerun: Nocturnal Animals (2016), a thought-provoking study of a couple divorced 20 years. She grew tired of waiting for him to succeed as a writer, as her mom predicted, and turned to a go-getter who provided her material wealth and the opportunity to pursue art, and he is now having an affair. She is successful professionally but unsatisfied, deeming her work trite. She receives a manuscript from her ex, dedicated to her, and is riveted by the violent tale, which is told visually. The scenario moves back and forth in time, but is not hard to follow. The difficulty is in what is below the surface, the meaning of it all. Although I’m not good at interpreting symbolism and hidden messages, I’ll take a shot. It would have killed the author’s soul to abandon his need to write and become a go-getter. I can relate to that. Does she regret having left him? For the moment, it appears so. Is it sweet revenge for the writer? It seems as empty as the woman’s life. She seems incapable of happiness and it is unlikely this would have been different no matter whom she married. Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal are fine in the leads. One aspect that doesn’t make sense is several people commenting that it is obvious Adams’ character isn’t getting any sleep. She looks like a million dollars. Able support comes from Armie Hammer, Laura Linney and, in the fictional story line, Michael Shannon, in a role which garnered an Oscar nomination. 227,000+ users at IMDb have rated Nocturnal Animals, forging to a consensus of 7.5 on a scale of ten. Made on a budget of less than $23 million, it returned in excess of $30 million worldwide and no doubt earned substantially more in streaming and DVD sales and rentals. Fashion designer Tom Ford adapted Austin Wright’s novel and directed, his second film. Curiously, he has made only a short since. The guy is talented. Why isn’t he doing more films? Here’s one of America’s great actors, Michael Shannon, in character:

Yesterday the Lady Eve told me how much she enjoyed Class of ’67, so much that she read it twice. She wasn’t offended that I’d mentioned her in the novella. She thinks I should be writing mysteries. I disagree. I only wrote this one to have something to do during the lockdown. I don’t think I have any more books in me.

It was a pleasant stay under the tree in front of Chase, the heat mitigated by the breeze. My thanks to the woman who donated 15 Russian hardcovers in pristine condition, and to the young woman who bought five of them; and to the gentleman who purchased thrillers by Iris Johannsen and Michael Connelly for his girlfriend; and to the young mom who selected The Pearl by John Steinbeck and The Gunslinger by Stephen King; and to the middle age woman who chose Rose Madder by Stephen King.

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