AltWeeklies Wire
This year's Oscar shorts, in four programsnew
There's a strong crop of Animated Short Film nominees this year, and unusually, none of the nominees are CGI. In fact, there's a welcome return of old-school animation, with hand-drawn and stop-motion animation among the candidates.
One Day is a Long Timenew
As the film checks on its characters each June 15 for 20 years, the date appears in dainty cursive font that floats, blows away and, at one point, pops up in a toaster. It's typical of the twee tone that undercuts the story's potential.
Kristen Wiig gets Apatow-ed in Bridesmaidsnew
If nothing else, Bridesmaids rebuts the criticism that Judd Apatow's films are nothing but wish-fulfillment scenarios for schlubby guys; in this one, whininess and low self-esteem are definitely gender-neutral.
Angela Davis-Gardner Talks About Her New Novel, 'Butterfly's Child'new
Puccini's classic opera Madame Butterfly ends with the title character's love agreeing to raise their child with his American wife. Raleigh resident Davis-Gardner's fourth novel asks, "What happened next?"
INDY Week |
Zack Smith |
04-05-2011 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
The Craigslist Killer and Other Scary Worlds of Lifetime Televisionnew
The world of Lifetime movies is one where if your teen only get pregnant, she's getting off easy.
Tags: The Craigslist Killer
Emma Donoghue Hits Her Stride With Roomnew
In her research for Room, Donoghue says she was intrigued by the way people tend to "personalize" kidnapping cases they read about or see in the news.
Tags: Emma Donaghue
Nicholas Sparks Discusses the Craftnew
Since the publication of The Notebook in 1996, New Bern's Nicholas Sparks has become the definition of a blockbuster writer with his tales of tragic lovers set against the Carolina coast.
INDY Week |
Zack Smith |
09-20-2010 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Nicholas Sparks
Horny Teens Get a Mockumentary in The Virginity Hitnew
The Virginity Hit depicts a cadre of semiprivileged New Orleans teens whose penchant for illicit drinking, drug use and recording every moment of their lives on camera is more or less not worth remarking upon.
In its 15th year, the N.C. Gay & Lesbian Film Festival has mainstream cloutnew
This year's screenings and events from Aug. 12–15 include high-profile potential Oscar contenders, a plethora of new and returning gay filmmakers and a show by gay icon Bruce Vilanch on Aug. 13.
INDY Week |
Zack Smith |
08-16-2010 |
Unclassified
An Interview with Larry Flynt About Free Speechnew
Larry Flynt spoke as part of a two-day symposium on the First Amendment sponsored by the First Amendment Law Review of the UNC School of Law. The Indy caught up with Flynt by telephone last week.
Michael Chabon Discusses Children and Popular Culturenew
Chabon is the jack-of-all-trades of contemporary literature. His literate, humorous, elegiac books include everything from a Pulitzer Prize winner about comic book creators to an alternate-world mystery in a Jewish free state. Now he's got a new collection of essays, Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father and Son.
INDY Week |
Zack Smith |
10-30-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
In 'The Big Rewind,' Nathan Rabin Uses His Pop-Saturated Memory as a Window into His Lifenew
Did I mention that most of this book is extremely funny? Rabin is aware that there are plenty of hard-luck stories out there, and he's just as hard on himself as he is on such targets as a video store boss, several girlfriends from hell and a Movie Club co-commentator married to the guy who wrote Soul Plane.
INDY Week |
Zack Smith |
08-28-2009 |
Nonfiction
SPARKcon Looks to Its Futurenew
For its third year, SPARKcon continues to wage the battle to help brand the Triangle as "the creative hub of the South." The three-day conference and showcase of local talent is designed to bring together the area's creative community, helping it connect with the public—and itself.
Legislature Guts Bill for North Carolina's Burgeoning Video Game Industrynew
With more than 30 video game-related companies based in the Triangle, the potential exists for the area to become the East Coast hub of game development. The question is whether the state government can develop an incentives package to help this nascent industry grow.
INDY Week |
Zack Smith |
07-18-2008 |
Video Games
Sarah Dessen, Young Adult Before It was Coolnew
"I was worried about the stigma of it, which was stupid," Dessen says.
INDY Week |
Zack Smith |
05-01-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
