Brittany Murphy - Early Life

 

Early life

Brittany Anne Murphy was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 10, 1977. Her parents, Sharon Kathleen Murphy and Angelo Bertolotti, divorced when she was two years old, and Murphy was raised by her mother in Edison, New Jersey, and later in Los Angeles, where they moved so Murphy could pursue an acting career. Murphy said her mother never tried to stifle her creativity, and she considered her mother a crucial factor in her later success: "When I asked my mom to move to California, she sold everything and moved out here for me. … She always believed in me." Murphy's mother is of Irish and Eastern European descent and her father is Italian American.

She was raised a Baptist and later became a non-denominational Christian. Murphy had two older half-brothers, Jeff and Tony Bertolotti, and a younger half-sister, Pia Bertolotti.

-- wiki

 

Valentine Day SMS, valentine messages, valentine sms in hindi, Valentine Day wallpapers, valentine sms, valentine greetings

Don't wait until it's too late to tell someone how much you love, how much you care. Because when they're gone, no matter how loud you shout and cry, they won't hear you anymore.
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Love isn't a decision, it's a feeling. If we could decide who to love, then, life would be much simpler, but then less magical.
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24hrs make a lovely day,
7 days make a lovely week,
52 weeks make a lovely year & knowing a
person like me will make ur life lovely.

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Wen things go wrong...
Wen sadness fills ur heart...
wen tears flow in ur eyes...
always remember 3 things
1) I'm with u...
2) Still with u...
3) Will ALWAYS b...

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Luv meanz to see someone with closed eyez,
to miss some1 in crowd,
2 find some1 in every thought,
to live 4 some1, luv some1, but sure tht sum1 is ONLY one!

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Khushi se dil ko aabad karna...
Aur gham ko dil se azad karna,
Hamari bus itni gujarish hai ke hame bhi
Din me ek baar YAAD karna...

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If Your asking if I Need U the answer is 4Ever..
If Your askin if I'll Leave U the answer is Never..
If Your askin what I value the Answer is U..
if Your askin if I love U the answer is I do.


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I dream about you evey night
I shiver when your in sight
I long to hold you close n tight
I wanna be there with all my might
I m just hoping I'm the girl whos right


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When i look at you,
i cannot deny there is God,
cause only God could have created some one
as wonderful n beautiful as you


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If i reached for your hand , will u hold it ?
If i hold out my arms, will u hug me ?
If i go for your lips, will u kiss me ?
If i capture ur heart , will u love me ??
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The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them. Forever yours...your Valentine.
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No poems no fancy words I just want the world to know that I LOVE YOU my Princess with all my heart. Happy Valentines Day.
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My eyes are blind without your eyes to see, Like a rose without color. Always be there in my life sweetheart.
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U r unique
U r caring and
U r the Best.And I am d luckiest to have U in my life!
Happy Valentine's Day my sweet heart!
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Love puts the fun in together, the sad in apart, and the joy in a heart.
Happy Valentines Day my love.
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If I could die early I would ask God if I could be your guardian angel, so I could wrap my wings around you and embrace you whenever you feel alone.
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Let's share the world
A sea is for you, and waves are for me.
The sky is for you, and stars are for me.
The sun is for you, and light is for me.
Everything is for you, and you are for me.
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Sometimes we make love with our eyes.
Sometimes we make love with our hands.
Sometimes we make love with our bodies.
Always we make love with our hearts.
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Here is my heart, it is yours so take it,
Treat it gently, please do not break it.
Its full of love thats good and true,
So please keep it always close to u.
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Love is missing someone whenever you're apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because you're close in heart. As we are, Happy Valentines Day sweetheart.

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Celebrity Grave: Lana Clarkson, Actress & Murder Victim

Clarkson's private funeral service was held on February 19, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. Her remains had been cremated and interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, in the Columbarium Rotunda attached to the Chapel in Hollywood. On February 23, 2003, her family and friends attended a memorial in her honor which was held at Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre in Hollywood, California.

-- wikiLana Jean Clarkson (April 5, 1962 – February 3, 2003) was an American actress and fashion model. Clarkson was a native of Los Angeles County. On April 13, 2009, songwriter and producer Phil Spector was convicted of second degree murder in relation to her death.

Early life

Born in Long Beach, California to Donna and James M. Clarkson, Lana Clarkson was raised in the hills of Napa Valley, California. She had a brother, Jesse J. Clarkson, and a sister Fawn. While living in Northern California, she attended Cloverdale High School and also Pacific Union College Preparatory School. During the Christmas season of 1978 and after her father's death, Clarkson's family moved back to Southern California and settled down in the Los Angeles region of San Fernando Valley. Right after Clarksons's family moved back to Los Angeles County, Lana pursued a career in entertainment industry as a performer and fashion model.

In the early 1980s, Clarkson landed bit parts in film and television. In 1982, she made her screen debut as a supporting character in director Cameron Crowe's coming-of-age comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High, as the wife of science teacher Mr. Vargas (Vincent Schiavelli). The film was her first speaking role.

Career

Clarkson's best known films may be her work with Roger Corman, appearing first in his fantasy film Deathstalker, as a female warrior/love interest to the title character played by Richard Hill. Corman oriented his films towards young male viewers, using a mix of action and female nudity. Clarkson's work in Deathstalker led to her being offered the title role in Corman's next film, Barbarian Queen, a role Corman referred to as "the original Xena" because of the parallel in featuring a strong female leading character in an action-oriented sword-swinging role.[citation needed] The film gained cult status, in part due to an infamous scene where Clarkson is bound topless to a torture rack, interrogated, and raped by an evil king.

In 1987, Clarkson appeared in the John Landis spoof Amazon Women on the Moon. Following that, Clarkson starred in Roger Corman's Barbarian Queen sequel, Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back, though the plots and characters bore no resemblance to the other film. Filmed in Mexico, the movie featured mud-wrestling Amazon women, magic sceptres, and (like its predecessor) a lengthy scene where Clarkson is tortured topless on a stretching rack by an evil king. Clarkson received star billing in the film which went directly to video. Although sales of the video were low, Corman did manage to turn a profit.

In 1990, she starred as a supporting character in the period horror film Haunting of Morella as the evil attendant to a young woman played by model/actress Nicole Eggert. In the film, Clarkson played a dominating lesbian character who tries to resurrect the spirit of a witch burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials.

Clarkson's work in the B movie sci-fi genre inspired a cult following, making her a favorite at comic book conventions, where she made some promotional appearances signing autographs for her fans.

She appeared in numerous other B movies as well as a range of television spots and appearing in commercials for Mercedes-Benz, Kmart, Nike, Mattel, and Anheuser-Busch. Her television appearances include parts on Night Court, Silk Stalkings, Riptide, Three's Company, Knight Rider and Wings, and a guest appearance as a villain on the television adaptation of Roger Corman's film Black Scorpion in what would be her final role.

During her career, Clarkson traveled around the United States and Europe while working on high fashion photo shoots. Other projects took her to Japan, Greece, Argentina, Italy, Switzerland, France, Jamaica and Mexico.

In 1980's she volunteered weekly at the AIDS charity Project Angel Food which delivers food for those in Los Angeles disabled by HIV or AIDS, at a time when the disease was greatly feared by the general public.

As she approached her thirties, Clarkson's career began to stall. No longer able to earn a living as an actress, Clarkson sought alternate routes of income, including operating her own website on which she sold autographed DVDs of her films and communicated directly with her fans on her own message board. Although she made a living by playing busty, lusty women, Lana's fondest desire was to be cast as a comic actress.

In 2001, while living on the canals in Venice, California for the last several years, Clarkson developed, wrote, produced, and directed a showcase reel entitled Lana Unleashed. To make ends meet, she took a side part-time job in early January 2003 at the House of Blues, in West Hollywood, California.

Death

On February 2, 2003, Clarkson met music producer Phil Spector at the West Hollywood House of Blues night club, while working as a hostess at VIP Foundation room. After her shift ended, Lana was invited by Spector to join him for a drink. Soon after midnight they left House of Blues and headed in his limo to his home in Alhambra, California.

In the early morning hours of February 3, 2003 Clarkson was found dead by a single gunshot to her mouth in a foyer of Spector's mansion "Pyrenees Castle" in Alhambra, California. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:25 that morning. The Alhambra Police Department responded to a shooting call shortly after 5:02 am and Phil Spector was arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of murder. Later that day he was released on $1 million bond. Spector claimed that Lana Clarkson committed suicide, however his driver and butler Adriano DeSousa stated that before police arrived, Spector declared that he thought he had just killed somebody. The Los Angeles County medical examiner Dr. Luis Pena who performed Clarkson's autopsy right after she died, ruled her death a homicide in his autopsy report. On November 20, 2003 Phil Spector was indicted for Lana Clarkson's murder, and on September 27, 2004 he was ordered to stand trial in Los Angeles.

During the subsequent trials, witnesses testified that Spector was prone to violence when drunk, and had drawn a firearm numerous times in their presence.

Clarkson's private funeral service was held on February 19, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. Her remains had been cremated and interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, in the Columbarium Rotunda attached to the Chapel in Hollywood. On February 23, 2003, her family and friends attended a memorial in her honor which was held at Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre in Hollywood, California.

On April 13, 2009, after two trials, Phil Spector was convicted of second degree murder at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California. Spector was sentenced to 19 years to life (15 years for second degree murder plus 4 years for the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime) on May 29, 2009 making him eligible for parole in 2028.

-- wiki
West Hollywood House of Blues - Where Phil Met Lana
On February 2, 2003, Clarkson met music producer Phil Spector at the West Hollywood House of Blues, while working as a hostess at VIP Foundation room. After her shift ended, Lana was invited by Spector to go home with him for a drink. Soon after midnight they left House of Blues and headed in his limo to his home in Alhambra, California.

-- wikiPhil Spector's Castle of Blood
In the early morning hours of February 3, 2003 Clarkson was found dead by a single gunshot to her mouth in a foyer of Spector's mansion "Pyrenees Castle" in Alhambra, California. She was pronounced dead at 6:25 am. The Alhambra Police Department received the call shortly after 5:02 am and Mr. Spector was arrested on suspicion of murder. Later that day he was released on $1 million bail. Spector claimed that Lana Clarkson committed suicide, however his driver and butler Adriano DeSousa stated that before police arrived, Spector declared that he thought he had just killed somebody. The Los Angeles County medical examiner Dr. Luis Pena who performed Clarkson's autopsy, ruled her death a homicide. On November 20, 2003 Phil Spector was indicted for Lana Clarkson's murder, and on September 27, 2004 he was ordered to stand trial in Los Angeles. On April 13, 2009, Phil Spector was convicted of second degree murder at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California. Spector was sentenced to 19 years to life (15 years for second degree murder plus 4 years for the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime) on May 29, 2009 making him eligible for parole in 2028.
-- wiki Lana Clarkson Lived on the Venice Grand Canal Actress Lana Clarkson enjoyed living the dream, even when times got tough. She lived in an apartment on the Grand Canal in Venice just off Washington Boulevard. Her career suffered, but she still looked good. She still had a shot a greatness. She took a job working at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip, hoping to make some new connections that could help her career. Then, one night she went home with Phil Spector and you know the rest.

-- LAKompany.com

Deathday: Yvette Guilbert, French Cabaret Singer

Yvette Guilbert (20 January 1865 in Paris – 3 February 1944 in Aix-en-Provence) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque.

Biography

Born into a poor family as Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, Guilbert began singing as a child but at age sixteen worked as a model at the Printemps department store in Paris. She was discovered by a journalist. She took voice and acting lessons on the side that by 1886 led to appearances on stage at smaller venues. Guilbert debuted at the Variette Theatre in 1888. She eventually sang at the popular Eldorado club, then at the Jardin de Paris before headlining in Montmartre at the Moulin Rouge in 1890. The English painter William Rothenstein described this performance in his first volume of memoirs:

"One evening Lautrec came up to the rue Ravignan to tell us about a new singer, a friend of Xanrof, who was to appear at the Moulin Rouge for the first time... We went; a young girl appeared, of virginal aspect, slender, pale, without rouge. Her songs were not virginal - on the contrary; but the frequenters of the Moulin were not easily frightened; they stared bewildered at this novel association of innocence with Xanrof's horrific double entente; stared, stayed and broke into delighted applause."

For her act, she was usually dressed in bright yellow with long black gloves and stood almost perfectly still, gesturing with her long arms as she sang. An innovator, she performed raunchy songs of tragedy and lost love about the Parisian poverty from which she had come. Guilbert broke and rewrote all the rules with her audacious lyrics, and the audiences loved her. She was noted in France, England, and the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century for her songs and imitations of the common people of France.

She was a favorite subject of artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who made many portraits and caricatures of Guilbert and dedicated his second album of sketches to her.

Guilbert made successful tours of England and Germany, and the United States in 1895-1896. She performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Even in her fifties, her name still had drawing power and she appeared in several silent films (including a star turn in Murnau's Faust). She also appeared in talkies, including a role with friend, Sacha Guitry. Her recordings for Le Voix de Son Maitre include the famous "Le Fiacre" as well as some of her own compositions such as "Madame Arthur." She accompanied herself on piano for some numbers.

She once gave a performance for King Edward VII, the Prince of Wales at a private party on the French Riviera. Hostesses vied to have her at their parties.

In later years, Guilbert turned to writing about the Belle Époque and in 1902 two of her novels were published. In the 1920's there appeared her instructional book L'art de chanter une chanson (How to Sing a Song). She also conducted schools for young girls in New York and Paris.

Guilbert became a respected authority on her country's medieval folklore and on 9 July 1932 was awarded the Legion of Honor as the Ambassadress of French Song.

Yvette Guilbert died in 1944, aged 79. She was interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

-- wiki

Celebrity Grave: John Cassavetes 1929-1989 RIP

John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He appeared in many Hollywood films. He is most notable as an influential pioneer of independent film. He used handheld cameras and cinema-vérité style techniques in his films, but they were based on actors and screenplays and were fiction.

Cassavetes was born in New York City, the son of Katherine Cassavetes (who was to feature in some of his films) and Nicholas John Cassavetes, Greek immigrants to the U.S. His early years were spent with his family in Greece; when he returned, at the age of seven, he spoke no English. He grew up on Long Island, New York. He attended Port Washington High School from 1945 to 1947, participating in Port Weekly (the school paper), Red Domino (interclass play), football, and the Port Light (yearbook). Next to his photo on page 55 of his 1947 year book is written: "'Cassy' is always ready with a wisecrack, but he does have a serious side. A 'sensational' personality. Drives his 'heap' all over." Cassavetes also attended high school at Blair Academy in New Jersey before moving to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After graduating in 1950, he continued acting in the theater, took small parts in films and began working on television in anthology series such as Alcoa Theatre.

During this time, he met and married actress Gena Rowlands.

By 1956, Cassavetes had begun teaching method acting in workshops in New York City. An improvisation exercise in one workshop inspired the idea for his writing and directorial debut, Shadows (1959; first version 1957). Cassavetes raised the funds for production from friends and family, as well as listeners to Jean Shepherd's late-night radio talk show Night People. His stated purpose was to make a film about little people, different from Hollywood studio productions.

Cassavetes was unable to gain American distribution of Shadows, but it won the Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival. European distributors later released the movie in the United States as an import. Although the box office of Shadows in the United States was slight, it did gain attention from the Hollywood studios. Cassavetes directed two movies for Hollywood in the early 1960s — Too Late Blues and A Child is Waiting.

His next film as a director (and his second independent film) was Faces (1968), starring his wife Rowlands as well as John Marley, Seymour Cassel and Val Avery. It depicts the slow disintegration of a contemporary marriage. Faces was nominated for three Academy Awards (Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress). Around this time, Cassavetes formed "Faces International" as a distribution company to handle all of his films.

He directed and acted in Husbands (1970), with actors Peter Falk and Ben Gazzara. They played a trio of married men on a spree in New York and London after the funeral of one of their best friends.

Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), about two unlikely lovers, had Rowlands with Seymour Cassel.

Cassavetes played Johnny Staccato in a late 1950s television series about a jazz pianist who also worked as a detective. It was broadcast on NBC between September 1959 and March 1960, when it was acquired by ABC. Although critically acclaimed, the series was cancelled in September 1960. Cassavetes also appeared on the NBC interview program Here's Hollywood.

In the 1962-1963 season, Cassavetes guest-starred on the CBS anthology series, The Lloyd Bridges Show, and directed two episodes, including "A Pair of Boots", in which his friend Seymour Cassel guest starred. In the 1963-1964 season, Cassavetes appeared in Jason Evers's ABC drama about college life, Channing. That same season, he appeared in the ABC medical drama about psychiatry, Breaking Point. In 1965, he appeared on ABC's western series, The Legend of Jesse James.

Cassavetes acted in Devil's Angels (1967), the second of American International Pictures motorcycle gang movies; The Dirty Dozen (1967), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as an impudent, insubordinate condemned soldier; and in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (1968) as a two-faced actor. Other notable appearances included the role of the victim in Don Siegel's The Killers, and as a vicious government nemesis to Kirk Douglas in The Fury (1978).

In 1972, Cassavetes played opposite Peter Falk again and Blythe Danner in the Columbo episode Etude in Black, playing the symphony conductor and murderer Alex Benedict.

He directed five films in the 1970s, each independently produced. A Woman Under the Influence (1974) stars Rowlands as an increasingly troubled housewife named Mabel. Rowlands received a Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, while Cassavetes was nominated for Best Director.

In The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976), Ben Gazzara plays Cosmo Vitelli, a small-time strip-club owner with an out-of-control gambling habit, pressured by mobsters to commit a murder to pay off his debt.

Opening Night (1977) has Gena Rowlands as lead actress with Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, and Joan Blondell. Rowlands portrays an aging film star named Myrtle Gordon working in the theater and suffering a personal crisis. Alone and unloved by her colleagues, in fear of age and always at a remove from others on account of her stardom, she succumbs to alcohol and hallucinations after witnessing the accidental death of a young fan. Ultimately, she fights through this, delivering the performance of her life in a play.

Cassavetes directed the film Gloria (1980), featuring Rowlands as a Mob moll who tries to protect an orphan boy whom the Mob wants to kill. She earned another best-actress nomination for it. Love Streams (1984) featured Cassavetes as an aging swain who suffers the overbearing affection of his recently divorced sister. His last film, Big Trouble (1986), was taken over during filming from Andrew Bergman, who wrote the original screenplay.

An alcoholic, Cassavetes died from cirrhosis of the liver in 1989 at the age of 59. He was survived by Rowlands and three children (Nick, Alexandra and Zoe).

His son, Nick Cassavetes, followed in his father's footsteps as an actor (Face/Off, Life) and director. In 1997 he made the film She's So Lovely from a screenplay written by his father. He also directed 2002's John Q and 2004's The Notebook, which also starred Rowlands. Alexandra Cassavetes directed the documentary, Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession in 2004 and served as 2nd Unit Director on her brother's film Alpha Dog in 2006.

His younger daughter, Zoe Cassavetes both wrote and directed the 2007 film, Broken English, featuring Rowlands and Parker Posey.

Many of John Cassavetes' films are now owned by Faces Distribution, a company overseen by Gena Rowlands and Julian Schlossberg, with Castle Hill Productions distributing.

How Cassavetes used improvisation in films is frequently misunderstood. With the exception of the original version of Shadows, his films were heavily scripted. Confusion arises in part because Cassavetes allowed actors to bring their own interpretations of characters to their performances. Dialog and action were scripted, but delivery was not.

Aside from presenting difficult characters whose inner desires were not easily understood, Cassavetes paid little attention to the “impressionistic cinematography, linear editing, and star-centred scene making ” that are fashionable in both Hollywood and art films. Instead, he chose to shoot mostly hand held with general lighting, or documentary style, to accommodate the spontaneity of his actors.

Cassavetes was never interested in working with actors or actresses who were more concerned with their own personal images than with that of the characters whom they were portraying, which is why he rarely, if ever, had actors or actresses of note (other than Gena Rowlands who was his wife) in his films. As Cassavetes himself said, he strove “to put [actors] in a position where they may make asses of themselves without feeling they’re revealing things that will eventually be used against them.”

Cassavetes's unorthodox characters reflected his similarly unconventional methodology in the making of his films. He employed mostly his friends as actors and on-set personnel, generally for little or no money guarantee and a share in the profits, if any, of the film. Both Shadows and Faces, two of his earliest films, were shot over a four-year period on week-ends and whenever funds became available.

Cassavetes once said: “The hardest thing for a film-maker, or a person like me, is to find people…who really want to do something…They’ve got to work on a project that’s theirs.” This on-set methodology differs greatly from the 'director run' sets of big-budget Hollywood productions.

In Accidental Genius, Marshall Fine writes that “Cassavetes, who provided the impetus of what would become the independent film movement in America…spent the majority of his career making his films ‘off the grid’ so to speak…unfettered by the commercial concerns of Hollywood.” To make the kind of films he wanted to make, it was essential to work in this ‘communal,’ ‘off the grid’ atmosphere because Hollywood’s “basis is economic rather than political or philosophical,” and no Hollywood executives were interested in Cassavete’s in-depth study of human behaviour. Indeed, he mortgaged his house to acquire the funds to shoot A Woman Under the Influence, instead of seeking money from an investor who might try to change the script so as to make the film more marketable.

In September 2004, The Criterion Collection produced a Region 1 DVD box set of his five independent films: Shadows, Faces, A Woman Under The Influence, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and Opening Night. Also featured in the set is a documentary about the life and works of Cassavetes called A Constant Forge, a booklet featuring critical assessments of the director's work, and tributes by old friends. In 2005, a box set of the same five films was released in Region 2 by Optimum Releasing. The Optimum DVD of Shadows has a voice-over commentary by Seymour Cassel. Mistakes about the first and second versions of the film are documented on Ray Carney's web site.

Cassavetes is the subject of several books about the actor/filmmakers life. Cassavetes on Cassavetes is a collection of interviews collected or conducted by Boston University film scholar Ray Carney, in which the late filmmaker recalls his experiences, influences and outlook in the film industry. In the Oscar 2005 edition of Vanity Fair magazine, one article features a tribute to Cassavetes by three members of his stock company: Rowlands, and actors Ben Gazzara and Peter Falk.

In the British comic 2000AD (prog 627, created by Alan Grant and Colin MacNeil), the death of Cassavetes was the trigger (albeit hundreds of years in the future) for Judge Dredd's disillusionment with Mega City One's fascistic social repression, and his subsequent resignation, as told in 1989's The Dead Man story arc.

In the Robert Crais books The Monkey's Raincoat and Stalking the Angel, the main character Elvis Cole is noted to look like John Cassavetes '20 years ago'. He also uses the name Johhny Staccato when giving his details to an apartment guard.

Washington D.C. band Fugazi recorded a tribute on 1993 record In on the Kill Taker called "Cassavetes".

Jem Cohen's film about Fugazi, 'Instrument' is dedicated to Cassavetes, as well as D. Boon of the 1980s punk rock band the Minutemen.

New York City band Le Tigre released 'What's Yr Take On Cassavetes?', on their self-titled album, featuring a debate between two individuals on the actor.

On the album The Gap (2000) by Chicago band Joan of Arc, is a song titled "John Cassavetes, Assata Shakur, and Guy Debord Walk Into a Bar.."

The season finale of Moral Orel entitled "Nature, Part 2" on July 15, 2007 was dedicated to John Cassavetes.

Elaine May's Mikey and Nicky (1976), featuring Falk and Cassavetes, was an overt homage to Cassavetes in cultural / thematic scope, cinematography, and the improvisational nature of the acting.

In the 1993 Denis Leary song "Asshole", Leary states he is going to get "The Duke" (John Wayne), John Cassavetes, Lee Marvin, Sam Peckinpah and a case of whiskey and drive down to Texas -- just for some toughness.

The Hold Steady's 2008 album Stay Positive makes various allusions to Cassavetes's Opening Night.

The lyrics to the song "Opening Night" by Motion City Soundtrack also contain references to the film. This song can be found on their Back to the Beat EP.

The novel Name Your Poison: A Max Mitchum Mystery, by Lucas Stensland, employs a Cassavetes-esque narrative, and one character is named Cass as a tribute to the director.

Deathday: Belle Star, Western Outlaw?

Saying Belle Starr was an outlaw is like saying Pamela Des Barres was a rock musician. Belle Starr liked to have sex with outlaws. She was an outlaw groupie.

Myra Belle Shirley was born in Cathage, Missouri on February 5, 1848 to town businessman "Judge" John Shirley and his third wife Elizabeth. She grew up living the life of a spoiled rich girl until the Civil War destroyed her world.

The Judge's business failed. Her beloved brother Bud was killed during the war, riding with Quantrill's Raiders, a guerilla militia group. Myra Belle began to find herself in the company of outlaw types.

The family moved to Texas. After the war in November 1866, she got married to Jim Reed, a guerilla soldier she had known in Missouri. In September 1868, they had a daughter they named Pearl.

Soon after, her other brother Ed was shot and killed for stealing horses. When Belle and Jim had their second child in February 1871, they named the boy after dead Ed.

Jim Reed began to engage in robbery and became involved with the Tom Starr rustling gang. Reed participated in the 1873 torture and murder robbery of Watt Grayson and his wife. Soon, Reed had a price on his head.

Reed turned out to be all scum. When Belle learned of his affair with Rosa McCommas, she moved home to her parents.

In August of 1874, Deputy Sheriff John T. Morris of Collin County, Texas identified and killed Jim Reed. Bell denied that the dead man was her husband in order to keep Morris from receiving the reward money.

Afterwards, Belle operated a livery stable in Dallas where she dealt in stolen horses. The "Judge" died in 1876. Belle had a string of lovers including her first love, Cole Younger, his uncle Bruce, and a mysterious outlaw figure with the alias of Blue Duck. Finally in 1870, she married Sam Starr, the handsome, half-Cherokee son of outlaw gang leader Tom Starr.

Belle and Sam settled into a cabin in Indian Territory, at a location they called "Younger's Bend," about 70 miles southwest of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Charges were brought against them for horse stealing in 1883. "Hanging Judge" Judge Parker found them guilty, but treated them with leniency. Sam was sentenced to a year in prison and Belle received only 6 months.

By this time, Belle had become a celebrity. Richard Fox's Police Gazette had turned her into a western folk hero, "a female Robin Hood and a Jesse James." She was dubbed the "Bandit Queen." After she left prison, Belle briefly worked in a Wild West show playing the part of an outlaw bandit who held up a stagecoach.

After Sam's release, they returned to Younger's Bend where Sam continued rustling and robbing. Around Christmas 1884, fugitive outlaw John Middleton began to hide out at the Starr cabin. While Starr was out robbing the west, Belle entertained Middleton. After an argument between Belle and Middleton, his horse was found riderless and later his drowned body was located. During a friend's Christmas party in December 17, 1886, Sam Starr got into a gunfight with an old nemesis Frank West. Both men hit their marks and both men died of their wounds.

The widow Starr returned to Younger's Bend and jumped into bed with notorious outlaw Jack Spaniard, who was shortly after arrested, tried for murder, found guilty and hanged.

In 1887, Belle took up with 24-year-old Bill July (alias Jim Starr, alias Jim July), a Creek Indian and an adopted son of Tom Starr, Sam's father. During this year, Belle's daughter Pearl became pregnant by a man Belle disapproved of. Belle didn't care too much about becoming a grandmother, as she demanded Pearl get an abortion. But Pearl moved in with her grandmother, Belle's mother, and gave birth to Flossie in April 1887.

Jim July was charged with larceny. Belle pointed out the case against him was rather weak and advised him to turn himself in to Judge Parker in Fort Smith. He listened to her. July was arrested, indicted and released on bail for horse stealing. In July 1888, her son Ed was arrested for horse theft and by December 1888, he had moved out.

Settlers were moving into the area near Younger's Bend. Belle agreed to rent some property to Edgar A. Watson and his wife. Later, Belle learned that Watson was wanted for murder in Florida. When she tried to back out of the lease agreement, Watson strongly objected. Belle threatened him with exposure to the authorities. This silenced Watson and he settled on another farm in the vicinity.

On Saturday morning, February 2, 1889, Belle and July left Younger's Bend. They spent the night with friends in San Bois before parting on Sunday morning. July headed to Fort Smith for his horse-stealing hearing. Belle went shopping in Eufaula, a small community nearby.

Afterwards, Belle stopped at the house of some neighbors, the Rowes, on Sunday afternoon, February 3, 1889. Jackson Rowe's home was a popular Sunday gathering place for members of the community. She had hoped to see her son Eddie, who had been staying there, but he had left before she arrived. There were a number of other visitors, one of whom was Edgar Watson. Soon after Belle's arrival, Watson left.

Belle ate and chatted with her friends. Eventually, she headed for Younger's Bend. The road home passed within several hundred yards of the Watson place. As Belle turned onto the river lane, a shotgun blast blew her from the saddle. She attempted to raise herself from the roadway, but a second shot boomed out, striking her in the face and shoulder. Her horse bolted and galloped home. Pearl, alarmed when Belle's horse showed up riderless, set out at once. Meanwhile, Belle had been discovered by a youth returning home.

Pearl and neighbors arrived at Belle's side before she died, but she was unable to utter any last words.

Investigations of the scene revealed tracks leading toward the Watson cabin, but the trail petered out within a hundred yards or so of the building. The footprints were Watson's size, and Watson owned a double-barreled shotgun. Several neighbors had heard the shots, but no one had seen anything. Neighbors and friends, including the Watsons, gathered at Belle's home to pay their last respects.
Belle was laid to rest on February 6, 1889 in front of the cabin at Younger's Bend.
July and Ed accused Watson of the slaying. Watson was arrested, but the charges were subsequently dropped, since all the evidence against him was circumstantial.

Other potential suspects included her husband July, her son Ed, and even her daughter Pearl.

Apparently, Belle had caught July fooling around with a young Cherokee girl. He could have killed Belle before resuming his trip to Fort Smith.

Belle was estranged from her son Ed. Rumors speculated Belle had an incestuous relationship with her son and routinely beat him with a bullwhip.

Even Pearl might have killed her mother. Belle had interfered with Pearl's marriage to the father of her child and tried to get Flossie put up for adoption.

Just a few weeks after Belle's death, a deputy who was on July's trail mortally wounded him.

Watson returned to Florida, where he was killed in a shootout with a posse.

Belle Starr's gravesite is near Eufair Lake, southeast of Porum, Oklahoma.

A horse was engraved on her tombstone, along with these words:

"Shed not for her the bitter tear,
Nor give the heart to vain regret,
'Tis but the casket that lies here,
The gem that fills it sparkles yet."
"I regard myself as a woman who has seen much of life."

- Belle Starr, The Fort Smith Elevator

DVD Release Update, 2 February

As it dawned on me that the season premiere of Lost was tonight an hour too late, I decided to avoid the social networking sites and put together a DVD Release Update; speaking of Lost, the final season (as well as a series box set) will become available on DVD and Blu-ray on 24 August.

For the first time in 2010, there are a bunch of exciting Blu-rays lined up, which includes some of the best (The Maltese Falcon, Happy Together, Battleship Potemkin) and worst (Armageddon, Lost in Space) films of all time. Warner provided something of a blueprint (I'm resisting that stupid pun) for their 2010 High-Def releases. The DVDs are in descending order of release and the ones in italics are for date changes.

- Harlem Aria, 1999, d. William Jennings, Magnolia, 6 April
- Comrades in Dreams, 2006, d. Uli Gaulke, Pathfinder, 13 April
- Defendor, 2009, d. Peter Stebbings, Sony Pictures, 13 April, w. Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Elias Koteas, Sandra Oh
- 35 Shots of Rum [35 rhums], 2008, d. Claire Denis, Cinema Guild, 20 April
- Cloud 9 [Wolke Neun], 2008, d. Andreas Dresen, Music Box Films, 20 April
- K-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces, 2008, d. Shimako Sato, Viz Media, 20 April, w. Takeshi Kaneshiro
- The Young Victoria, 2009, d. Jean-Marc Vallée, also on Blu-ray, Sony Pictures, 20 April
- Dinah East, 1970, d. Gene Nash, VCI, 27 April
- District 13 Ultimatum [Banlieue 13: Ultimatum], 2009, d. Patrick Alessandrin, also on Blu-ray, Magnet Releasing/Magnolia, 27 April
- Homecoming, 2009, d. Morgan J. Freeman, Paramount, 27 April, w. Mischa Barton
- Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, 1969, d. Chang Cheh, Dragon Dynasty, 4 May
- The Blind Menace, 1960, d. Kazuo Mori, AnimEigo, 11 May
- Tell-Tale, 2009, d. Michael Cuesta, Weinstein Company, 18 May, w. Josh Lucas, Lena Headey, Brian Cox, Dallas Roberts, Ulrich Thomsen, Pablo Schreiber, Jamie Harrold, Michael K. Williams
- Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis, 2006, d. Mary Jordan, New Video, 25 May
- Joy, 1983, d. Sergio Bergonzelli, Severin, 25 May
- Joy & Joan, 1985, d. Jacques Saurel, Severin, 25 May, w. Brigitte Lahaie
- The Messenger, 2009, d. Oren Moverman, Oscilloscope, 25 May
- Obscene, 2007, d. Daniel O'Connor, Neil Ortenberg, Arthouse Films, 25 May
- Owl and the Sparrow, 2007, d. Stephane Gauger, Image, 25 May
- Submission of a Woman [Al calar della sera], 1992, d. Alessandro Lucidi, MYA Communications, 25 May
- Mary and Max, 2009, d. Adam Elliot, IFC Films, 15 June
- Starcrash [Scontri stellari oltre la terza dimensione], 1979, d. Luigi Cozzi, Shout! Factory, 10 August

Blu-ray

- The Protector, 2005, d. Prachya Pinkaew, Dragon Dynasty, 5 April
- Battleship Potemkin, 1925, d. Sergei Eisenstein, Kino, 20 April
- Tombstone, 1993, d. George P. Cosmatos, Buena Vista, 27 April
- Armageddon, 1998, d. Michael Bay, Buena Vista, 4 May
- Happy Together, 1997, d. Wong Kar-wai, Kino, 4 May
- Seven Swords, 2005, d. Tsui Hark, Dragon Dynasty, 4 May
- 9 Songs, 2004, d. Michael Winterbottom, Palisades Tartan, 18 May
- Outlander, 2008, d. Howard McCain, Weinstein Company, 18 May
- City of the Living Dead [Paura nella città dei morti viventi], 1980, d. Lucio Fulci, Blue Underground, 25 May
- Django, 1966, d. Sergio Corbucci, Blue Underground, 25 May
- Deep Blue Sea, 1999, d. Renny Harlin, Warner, 3 August
- National Lampoon's Vacation, 1985, d. Amy Heckerling, Warner, 10 August
- Forbidden Planet, 1956, d. Fred M. Wilcox, Warner, 7 September
- Lost in Space, 1998, d. Stephen Hopkins, New Line/Warner, 7 September
- Mars Attacks!, 1996, d. Tim Burton, Warner, 7 September
- THX 1138, 1971, d. George Lucas, Warner, 7 September
- The Maltese Falcon, 1941, d. John Huston, Warner, 5 October
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948, d. John Huston, Warner, 5 October
- Three Kings, 1999, d. David O. Russell, Warner, 12 October
- The Goonies, 1985, d. Richard Donner, Warner, 2 November
- Ben-Hur, 1959, d. William Wyler, Warner, 16 November