2/1/16 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Lena Horne – Stormy Weather featuring “Katherine Dunham with her dance troupe.” (1943)

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Stormy Weather, the title song and dance sequence for the 1943 film of the same name, starred Lena Horne and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and Katherine Dunham with her “dance troupe”. Other notable performers in the movie were Cab Calloway and Fats Waller (both appearing as themselves), the Nicholas Brothers dancing duo, comedian F. E. Miller, and singer Ada Brown. Despite a running time of only 77 minutes, the film features some 20 musical numbers. This was Robinson’s final film (he died in 1949); Waller died only a few months after its release. Continue reading

1/16/17(REPOST) HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Martin: A Ballet By Gordon Parks

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Martin: a ballet by Gordon Parks, an original five-movement ballet chronicling the struggles of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Filmed in 1990 the work stars John Jones as Dr. King and Sheila Rohan as Rosa Parks, featuring choreography by Real Lamb. “Martin” (PBS, 1990),  about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. Parks served as executive producer, director, composer, keyboardist and documentary photographer for this boldly ambitious project. Continue reading

1/4/15 O&A NYC Hollywood Monday: A Time To Dance- a short film

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A Time To Dance, a short film, tells the story of two dancers who fall in love.  Written and directed by Paul Myzia, starring Israel Arellanes and  Mariah Nottke featuring choreography by Anna Duval. Continue reading

12/28/15 O&A Hollywood Monday: Late Bloomer

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Official selection at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, Late Bloomer is a compelling and humorous short film about 7th grade sex ed class gone horribly wrong. Directed by Craig Macneill and written by Clay McLeod Chapman, Late Bloomer is loosely based on the dark tales of H.P. Lovecraft. Late Bloomer received the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the Lake Placid Film Festival,

 and Best Short Film at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival
. Continue reading

12/14/15 O&A NYC Hollywood Monday: It’s a Wonderful Life

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It’s a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy comedy-drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra. The movie is based on the short story The Greatest Gift, which Philip Van Doren Stern wrote in 1939 and published privately in 1945. It’s a Wonderful Life is now considered one of the most popular films in American cinema. The numerous television showings in the 1980s helped the film become traditional viewing during the Christmas season. Continue reading

12/7/15 O&A NYC Hollywood Monday: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass Productions and distributed by DreamWorks Classics. It first aired Sunday, December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States. The special was based on the Johnny Marks song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer which was itself based on the 1939 poem Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer written by Marks’ brother-in-law, Robert L. May.  Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS.  Continue reading

11/30/15 O&A NYC Hollywood Monday: How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a children’s story by Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. In 1957 the book was published by Random House, and it also appeared in an issue of Redbook Magazine. The story criticizes the commercialization of Christmas. The 26-minute short directed by cartoon legend Chuck Jones and narrated by Boris Karloff was originally telecast on CBS on December 18, 1966.

Continue reading

11/23/15 O&A NYC Hollywood Monday: Somewhere Over The Rainbow- The Wizard Of OZ

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In 1939 MGM released the Frank Baum children’s classic The Wizard of Oz. The public wanted child star and box office powerhouse Shirley Temple to play the role of Dorothy. The studio decided to go with 17-year-old newcomer Judy Garland instead. This was one of the first scene filmed it sets the tone for the rest of the film. Continue reading