Douglas Howe: September 2008 Archives

Not even in the news-crazy political season that we're in could the news of Paul Newman's passing not make the front pages. He was sort of the closest thing we've had to a legend in our generation, and he would have been more so had he not worked so hard against it.

As an actor, philanthropist, race car driver, entrepreneur and quiet political activist, he did almost all he could to lift up causes and people rather than himself. Further, he did what so few public figures do today: he cared more about his core convictions than he did building his personal brand.

He's being praised by so many of his peers, and deservedly so. This is what Russell Crowe had to say, and those who worked for his charity, and those who worked for his racing team, and Casey Davis at The Paul Page. Both the New York Times and the L.A. Times were also generous.

I was too young to really appreciate some of his oldies as I only saw them on DVD, including "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" (1958), "The Hustler" (1961), "Hud" (1963), and "Cool Hand Luke" (1967), all which garnered him Academy Award nominations. Like many, my first exposure to him was in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969). I didn't realize what a rarity it was that he and Robert Redford were "reunited" only three years later in "The Sting," my favorite movie of all time.

Paul Newman delivered dozens of great performances in films for parts of six decades, but among those great performances was the ability to deliver great lines, whether they be humorous, wise, deep, or simply surprising. Here are my twelve favorite. What are yours?

As Fast Eddie Felson in "The Hustler": "Anything can be great. I don't care, bricklaying can be great if a guy knows what he's doing and why and if he can make it come off."

As Frank Galvin in "The Verdict," giving a summation to the jury: "Today you are the law. You are the law. Not some book. Not the lawyers. Not a marble statue or the trappings of the court. See, those are just symbols of our desire to be just. They are...they are, in fact, a prayer. A fervent and a frightened prayer."

As Butch Cassidy in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid": "I don't know where I've been and I've just been there!"

As Brick Pollitt in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof": "People like to do what they used to do after they've stopped being able to do it."

Kris Rasmussen is one of the smarter people and better writers in the blogosphere, but I do have some alternative choices for my Top 5 Back to School Movies list (this is her list).

A great movie around the theme of school is one of the best ways parents can engage their kids in talking about what's going on there, since the typical "how-was-school-fine-mom-what's-for-dinner?" thing doesn't always go too far!

There are so many to choose from, and frankly I think most of the truly honorable mention flicks are older. The 50's gave us "Rebel Without a Cause," with James Dean offering a welcome change from the cleany-white nice boys of the day. "American Graffiti," "Carrie" and "The Last Picture Show" had much to say about the 70's while 1978's "Grease" is among the most enduring campus films of all time. The 80's could have been called the "campus movie decade" as it gave us "Ferris Bueller's Day Off, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," "Peggy Sue Got Married," "Lucas," "Say Anything," "Heathers," "Back to the Future" and those on my Top Five list below. The 90's brought "Clueless," "Boys N the Hood," "Election," "Dazed and Confused" and "Hoop Dreams." This decade hasn't given us much, except for maybe Kirsten Dunst's "Bring It On."

Here are my picks for the Top 5 Back to School Movies:

Two big names in the news-talk-entertainment business sent two surprising and completely different signals over the last several days. Oprah Winfrey, perhaps the foremost advocate of opportunities for women, says she will not have Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin on her show. Bill O'Reilly, perhaps one of the foremost conservative voices on television, hosted Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama on his show on the very night that John McCain was to accept his party's nomination.

What the heck is going on here?

Oprah Winfrey has never been shy about promoting agendas and people on her show. Eckhart Tolle's book sales have skyrocketed since receiving Oprah's endorsement. Oprah's Book Club has produced fame and fortune for all those fortunate enough to receive her endorsement. Few can forget how the exposure on her show launched Dr. Phil's career. She's has been an empowerer of men and women alike. Yet why no love for the decidedly most important new female personality in America?

There's a new kind of entertainment journalism emerging these days.

Or, should I say that there's a new kind of journalistic entertainment these days?
I think it's the former.

Penn Jillette--the taller, louder partner of "Penn and Teller"--has written one of the more insightful and entertaining blogs featured on CNN this week. It's topics include leadership in the world, the qualifications for a President, and some rather humorous reflections on the relative IQ of current and past Presidents compared to himself.

Hell hath no fury like the media scorned. And their all-out attack on the woman who could be the new feminist icon for a new generation of young women needs to stop. Or, there just need to be some other...

Once every four years, like the Olympics, the National Presidential Nominating Conventions are called to order. The politics is a matter for another blog, but I'd like to comment on the inspiration, entertainment, and excellence that is making this week's...

Two movies featuring major stars sharing the silver screen are coming up soon, and I'm looking forward to both of them. I may even need to make it a double feature, since they're opening on the same night! A movie...