“Eddie Muller—host of TCM’s Noir Alley, one of the world’s leading authorities on film noir, and cocktail connoisseur—takes film buffs and drinks enthusiasts alike on a spirited tour through the “dark city” of film noir in this stylish book packed with equal parts great cocktail recipes and noir lore.”
Photo courtesy of Tim Millard and “A Sip of Noir” podcast interviewing Eddie Muller.
An Interview with Director Julie Rubio
by Geneva Anderson
Tamara de Łempicka, the Russian-born 20th century painter known for her cosmopolitan Art Deco portraits and arresting nudes, is front and center in the Bay Area with two major Bay Area venues showcasing her: the Mill Valley Film Festival and the de Young Museum.
Orinda filmmaker Julie Rubio’s years-in-the-making documentary, “The True Story of Tamara de Łempicka & The Art of Survival,” had its world premiere at the 47th MVFF with two sold out screenings and more to come. Simultaneously the de Young Museum opened “Tamara de Łempicka,” the first major museum retrospective of the artist in the U.S. It runs through February 9, 2025. (Details at the end of the article.)
Director Julie Rubio and Tamara de Łempicka
By Noma Faingold
“Each of my paintings is a self-portrait.”
Tamara de Łempicka, artist
Group of Four Nudes (1925). © 2023 Tamara de Łempicka Estate, LLC
by Dianne Boate
(Updated November 23, 2024)
Several years ago, I watched apprehensively as eleven people took forks in hand to try their first bite of my new Pecan Pie. Then, silence. Not one word. Color was coming and going on my face as they sat silently, chewing. My brain was bursting with all the arguments against making pie in the first place, and wishing fervently I could disappear on the spot. Continue reading
“The Man You Love to Hate” Takes Charge As The French Had A Name For It Takes A Final Bow
by Owen Field
A GALLERY OF FRENCH ’24 Part Two POSTERS, PHOTOS AND TRAILERS
A collection of rare images and evocative movie art. Continue reading
Compiled by Gary Meyer (updated November 21, 2024)
The Internet can be a dangerous place to find the good, the bad and the ugly. Thanksgiving as a search subject is especially rewarding. We present a sampling, mostly from the past. We found vintage greeting cards, Hollywood stars, ads for disgusting sounding foods, awkward family photos and all around nostalgia. You won’t believe what turkeys have been put through but we hope you will laugh and be astonished.
An Interview with Producer Paul Zaentz
By Gary Meyer
(updated November 21, 2024)
34 Oscar nominations.
22 Wins including 3 Best Pictures.
That is only a fraction of the awards the Bay Area ‘s Saul Zaentz won for the terrific movies he brought to the international big screen.
The Berkeley FILM Foundation and the California Film Institute presented the Saul Zaentz Film Celebration, an event honoring the legacy of the legendary independent film producer, November 15-17, 2024, at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, California.
The San Francisco Bay Area has long played an important part in the history of movies.
A brief history compiled by Gary Meyer
(November 14, 2024)
By Gerald Peary
(Nov. 10, 2024)
A seven-part podcast, The Rabbis Go South, produced and hosted by Amy Geller and me, has launched! It tells the story of 16 Reform rabbis answering the call of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1964 to help desegregate St. Augustine, Florida. The rabbis were arrested and jailed, the largest incarceration to that time of rabbis in American history. A very compelling story. But like most of you, we’d never heard about this incident before we began. 
By Gary Meyer
(updated from the archives November 15, 2024)
This is a dessert cake!
Are you ready for candy that offers the flavors of the traditional American Thanksgiving dinner spread: Roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green beans, ginger glazed carrots, and, for dessert, sweet potato pie?
