By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
The scene: Tehran's Mehrabad airport, January 1980. Six U.S. diplomats, disguised as a fake sci-fi film crew, are about to fly to freedom with their CIA escorts. But suddenly there's a moment of panic in what had been a smooth trip through the airport.
The screenwriter for the movie "Lincoln" has conceded taking some liberties in its portrayal of a 19th century vote on slavery, but he said his changes adhered to widely accepted standards for the creation of historical drama.
The screenwriter for the movie "Lincoln" has conceded taking some liberties in its portrayal of a 19th century vote on slavery, but he said his changes adhered to widely accepted standards for the creation of historical drama.
The last completed book we are likely to get from Maurice Sendak remembers a man he often insisted was the real genius of the family, his brother Jack.
Hours after a surprise snub in Academy Award nominations, Ben Affleck won best director and his film "Argo" was named best picture at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards.
The New York Film Critics Circle named Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" the best film of 2012, voicing its strong support for the grimly journalistic Osama bin Laden docudrama.
The New York Film Critics Circle named Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" the best film of 2012, voicing its strong support for the grimly journalistic Osama bin Laden docudrama.
Movie versions of Abraham Lincoln typically aspire to the granite face etched into Mount Rushmore, or the gangly, youthful rail-splitter of folk tales. In Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," Daniel Day-Lewis masterfully brings to life a flesh-and blood-leader — stooped from the burdens of war and grief for his dead son, but animated by a thirst for political combat, imbued with a sense of providence and a sense of humor.
"Lincoln" _ For anyone who cringed just a little while watching the trailer and worried that this might be a near-parody of a Steven Spielberg film, with its heartfelt proclamations, sentimental tones and inspiring John Williams score, fret not. The movie itself is actually a lot more reserved than that _ more a wonky, nuts-and-bolts lesson about the way political machinery operates than a sweeping historical epic that tries to encapsulate the entirety of the revered 16th president's life. That was a smart move on the part of Spielberg and Pulitzer prize-winning screenwriter Tony Kushner. Talky and intimate but also surprisingly funny, "Lincoln" focuses on the final four months of Abraham Lincoln's life as he fought for the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, and sought to unite a nation torn apart by the Civil War. This tumultuous period provides a crucible to display everything Lincoln was made of, both his folksiness and fortitude. Totally unsurprisingly, Daniel Day-Lewis inhabits the role fully. He disappears into it with small details and grand gestures, from his carriage to the cadence of his speech, and the Academy should probably just give him the best-actor Oscar now and get it over with. Although "Lincoln" itself often feels too conservative, stagey and safe, Day-Lewis' performances is full of so many clever choices that he keeps it compelling. Of course, the film has all the top-notch technical hallmarks we've come to expect from Spielberg: It's handsomely staged and impeccable in its production design. But this is a movie that's easier to admire than love; it's impressive but not exactly moving. Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, John Hawkes and David Strathairn are among the supporting cast that might be too crammed with gifted character actors. PG-13 for an intense scene of war violence, some images of carnage and brief strong language. 150 minutes. Three stars out of four.
For anyone who cringed just a little while watching the trailer for "Lincoln" and worried that it might be a near-parody of a Steven Spielberg film, with its heartfelt proclamations, sentimental tones and inspiring John Williams score, fret not.
The task of encapsulating the essence of Abraham Lincoln in a single film took Steven Spielberg roughly three times as long as it took the 16th president to win the Civil War, abolish slavery and put the country on the course to recovery.
Colman Domingo is finishing a new play that he also stars in. That might be enough work for some. But not Colman Domingo.
A $100,000 theater award honoring the late Sen. Edward Kennedy has been established in New York.
When the playwright Tony Kushner recently grabbed a microphone and sat down for a post-screening Q&A with a filmmaker and the film's cast, he mumbled that he felt like Richard Pena.
A group of theater community heavyweights _ including Jon Robin Baitz, Stephen Sondheim, Tony Kushner, John Guare and Terrence McNally _ have signed an open letter defending a playwright whose play parodying 1970's sitcoms has been accused of copyright infringement by lawyers representing the TV show "Three's Company."
The film's Pulitzer-winning screenwriter, Tony Kushner, said he'd changed the details for dramatic effect.
In a statement, Kushner said he had "adhered to time-honored and completely legitimate standards for the creation of historical drama, which is what `Lincoln' is.
