Dance Against Cancer

Posted on May 18, 2013 by wschultz

All Stars Take the Stage in Dance Against Cancer

I normally do feel just a bit sheepish attending a charity benefit with a press comp. I mean, all of these other folks are laying out big bucks to go toward whatever good cause it happens to be. I’m freeloading. But that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the drinks and canapes. This time i felt especially sheepish because the cause was one with which i have had a personal encounter: cancer.

But enough about me, and enough about the food. The main event was the dance performance and it was amazing. It was like an All Star Game of dance. Dancers from all the major New York companies took the stage. And each performed with energy, passion, and precision.

Dance Against Cancer

For the Love of Ivy

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Lauren

Yum yum gimme some…..more Ivy restaurant! What a feast I just had. Lobster tacos layered shrimp and avocado sautéed Brussels sprouts with bacon and onion covered in cheese. Generous appetizer portions with fair prices. It’s mostly bar food but a bit more upscale than most. My friend had a pomegranate drink and was feeling no pain. I highly recommend this restaurant on 56 and 8th if you are ever in the hood!

A Late Quartet

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Lauren

Philip Seymour Hoffman Leads a Great Cast

I hope my husband’s not reading this but, Wow! How much do I love Phillip Seymour Hoffman? More than I can say! In his new movie, “A Late Quartet” he gives a bravura performance. He, Christopher Walken, Katherine Keener and Mark Ivanir, make up a string quartet called Fugue. They actually become as close as a family with all the rivalries and dysfunction that normal families endure. Over the course of the film, resentments build and tempers flair. It’s a kind of Woody Allen New York love story combined with some anally retentive musicians. if you want to see awesome performances see Yaron zilberman’s new movie.

“A Late Quartet”

Citizen Hearst

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Lauren

Lauren Thinks Something is Fishy with Citizen Hearst

The third flick I went to see at the 2012 HIFF was “Citizen Hearst”. So, I’m sitting in the theatre thinking this is great… well good… but then I begin to wonder “hmmmm is this an ad for the Hearst Publishing Company? . Leslie Iwerks’ new movie “Citizen Hearst” starts off great, with old footage of Hearst, his San Simeon castle lifestyle, and his magazines. But it turns into one big promotion for all current Hearst TV channels and magazines. Academy-award-nominated Iwerks answered audience questions at the end of the flick in East Hampton and revealed that Hearst was a sponsor of her movie. Yup, I knew something was fishy. The best thing about the movie for me was sitting next to the fab China Machado, who was the first women of color featured in the Hearst magazine Harpers Bazaar

William Macy narrates this documentary about the larger-than-life William Randolph Hearst

Love, Marilyn

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Lauren

Lauren Loves the New Film “Love, Marilyn” at the HIFF.

Another film tries to solve the mystery that was Marilyn Monroe—and does it very well.

Just when you thought there was nothing more to learn about Marilyn Monroe comes Liz Garbus, revealing new documentary, “Love, Marilyn”. A treasure trove of recently found letters, poems diary entries, and other correspondence provides a new and intimate look at the film icon. Archival footage traces the beginning of the legend to her untimely death. Featuring a host of famous actors reading parts of this new-found resource just gives you another peek into someone whose story you thought you knew but really didn’t. I thought the film was very well done.

One Day After Peace

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Lauren

Lauren Ezersky Goes to the Hamptons International Film Festival

Lauren Ezersky gives high marks to this Israeli film at the Hamptons International Film Festival

One of my favorite things to do all year is attend the Hamptons International Film Festival. I know before i go that I am going to see some extraordinary films. My first movie this season was no exception. “One Day After Peace” It is an Israeli film written and directed by brother and sister Erez and Miri Laufer. It is the moving saga of one woman’s attempt to find the answers to why her son was killed by a sniper while serving in the Israeli Army. Amazingly, mother Robi Damelin hopes to start a dialogue with the shooter so she can come to terms with her loss and have closure. She looks to South Africa, her birth country, to learn how the horror of apartheid was dealt with over the years with the instigation of a program called Truth and Reconciliation. There is amazing footage of some of these actual committee hearings where perpetrators of these violent and murderous acts met the actual family members of those they killed. This amazing and moving story is one of forgiveness in some cases. You get to see the humanity in both the victims’ relatives and the men who actually killed them or gave the orders. I feel if everyone on the planet could see this maybe just maybe there would be less horror in the world. Don’t miss this one.

Hats Off to Jack!

Posted on September 6, 2012 by wschultz

Friends Salute Jack Lenore Larson on his 85th Birthday

When you get to be an octogenarian, I imagine you like to think you’ve made a contribution to the world. Well, there’s no question Jack Lenore Larson has. In more than one field. Jack has made a name for himself as a one of the world’s preeminent textile designers. His books are masterworks on the art and craft of textile design. But that’s not enough for him.

Jack has made it his mission to share his good fortune with the world in general, and the East End of Long Island in particular, though his spectacular public garden: Longhouse Reserve.

Jack used the occasion of this 85th birthday party to unveil two new art installations:three new pyramids in the Ginko Allee and Chinese Contemporary Warriors, 2005 by Yu Minjun. this is a fascinating display of 25 bronze lifesize sculptures.

25 bronze lifesize sculptures at Longhouse Gardens

Lauren Ezersky congratulates Jack Lenore Larsen at his 85th birthday celebration

“About Cherry” Lays Bare the Porn Industry

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Lauren

About Cherry is a titillating look at the San Francisco porn industry

Lauren Ezersky Likes this Flick

Well, call me wacky, but I loved this crazy movie! In it, newcomer Ashley Hinshaw plays Angelina, a teen living in a broken home. Her mom, played by the fab Lilly Taylor, is an alcoholic and unable to take care of her and her sister. She lets her sleazy boyfriend talk her into taking some nude photos. Skipping town with her best friend (played by Dev Patel) she becomes a cocktail waitress in a strip club then meets a flush lawyer James Franco and starts to live large . Wanting to earn her own money she begins working in the porn industry with ex porn star turned producer Heather Graham. What I loved about this movie is that it’s not judgmental. The porn business is portrayed as just that— a business, .actually big business. There is a lot of money to be made. This flick reveals the everyday and realistically unsexy side. You feel like you are there watching how the movie is made. Opens in theaters Sept 21. VOD and digital platforms on August 9.