Arts: Cinema Arts SWAN of the Day

Beanie Feldstein Performs with Courage and Charisma

Four years ago today, Booksmart was released in theaters. It is a wildly funny film about two high school seniors who are given one last chance to have fun before they graduate. Arguably, Booksmart’s main appeal is the charm of its two main characters who are not only funny but brilliant and big-hearted. Beanie Feldstein, who plays Molly, absolutely shines in this role. read more.

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Arts: Performing Arts SWAN of the Day

Feisty Country Chicks: Celebrating ‘Taking the Long Way’

Today, as I was driving in the car with my best friend, we listened to The Chicks. We drive together to a lake in north east Alabama multiple times each year, and every time we go we listen to “Goodbye Earl,” “Wide Open Spaces,” “Cowboy Take Me Away,” and “Travelin’ Soldier.” Together, we sang along to the music while winding our way through cow pastures and up into the mountains of lower Appalachia.read more.

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Arts: Performing Arts Features

Constructing a ‘Record’: On Ma délire: Songs of love, lost and found

One of the most distinctly human tendencies might be the cataloging of things: making lists, records, organizing them by shape, color, alphabetical order. For as long as I can personally remember, I have been obsessed with collecting and keeping artifacts from places I’ve been: movie tickets, plane tickets, museum tickets.… read more.

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Arts: Cinema Arts SWAN of the Day

Happy Birthday to Nora Ephron, Architect of Her Own New York City

On this day in 1941, Nora Ephron was born in New York City. Though she was raised in Beverly Hills, over the course of her lifetime—right up until her death in 2012—Nora’s name would grow synonymous with that of the town in which she was born. As a filmmaker, writer, and journalist, Nora’s most lasting success was her ability to bring New York City to life.read more.

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Arts: Cinema Arts Features

‘Creamerie’: Speculative Fiction That Hits Close to Home

JJ Fong, Perlina Lau, and Ally Xue pose by a fence as their characters from 'Creamerie'.

I was having a bad Saturday, and I couldn’t pinpoint why. A dream about an ex that lingered all day? A hubristic attempt at a knitting project well above my skill level? Yet another atmospheric river drowning my hopes for a Nor-Cal hike?

Whatever the reason, I decided to self-soothe with a TV binge. Creamerie is (currently) one short, six-episode season of speculative fiction, released in 2021.read more.

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Arts: Cinema Arts SWAN of the Day

‘Ask for Jane’ director Rachel Carey: A Socially-Conscious Storyteller

Ask for Jane was released five years ago today! It is a moving period film about Chicago’s Jane Collective. Telling the story of the group of women who set out to provide safe abortions in a pre-Roe v. Wade era in a way that is both emotionally resonant and informative was a big challenge. It was a challenge which filmmaker Rachel Carey accepted and knocked out of the park. read more.

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