1915 was an especially auspicious year in terms of celebrity births, and 2015 is shaping up to be quite the year for centennial celebrations. Frank Sinatra, Edith Piaf, Billy Holiday, Arthur Miller and Orson Welles are all having a resurgence in popularity this year, due at least in part to the flood of articles, books, films and conferences taking place around the world to commemorate their talent and achievements, and remind us of the complex and often controversial lives they led, in betwee...

SPOTLIGHT MEDIA PRODUCTIONS   It’s Poster time at the Festival de Cannes! By Adrienne Papp   By Adrienne Papp                   Based on a photograph of Ingrid Bergman by David Seymour, co-founder of Magnum Agency, Hervé Chigioni, who also created for last year’s remarkable Festival poster, was once again behind this year’s image, with his ...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent There have been backlashes against celebrity before, from Ingrid Bergman and Rita Hayworth being pilloried in Congress in 1949-1950, for Roberto Rossellini and Aly Khan, respectively, to Liz Taylor getting a media shellacking for her multiples in marriage. But these fits of pique have usually come from outside Hollywood. That all changed this past November, when the backlash against celebrity was revealed to come from inside the dream factory, s...

SPOTLIGHT MEDIA PRODUCTIONS   “Hollywood Hack” – A fascinating book by Robert Kerwin, / Pine Street Press, By Adrienne Papp       1     “Hollywood Hack” By Robert Kerwin By Adrienne Papp There’s no question that we’re living in a celebrity-obsessed culture.&nbs...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Robert Osborne: Keeper of OSCAR's secrets When the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences award show premiered in 1928, the industry was barely 31 years old. For this year's Oscar build-up, Robert Osborne will host his annual much-watched "31 Days of Oscar" on Turner Classic Movies, Feb. 1, at 10 PM (ET/USA). Known as The Official Biographer of The Academy Awards, as well as the honorary red-carpet greeter for the A...

Friday, November 24----The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the veritable New York City institution and one of the most important film archives in the world, is presenting the first comprehensive American retrospective of the work of master filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, on the anniversary of the centenary of his birth. The Retrospective will feature all of Rossellini's ground-breaking films, as well as several lesser known titles and works from his later career for film and television. The series...