This week: A reader in Los Angeles thinks Michael Cieply should be fired; the Armond White defender gets his own response; and a Romney fan thinks the New York Press is too foul for public consumption.
CLARIFICATION:
The caption on last week’s Mailbox photograph by Robert Ruiz, “Junky Table,” was not intended to infer that either man depicted in the photograph was a drug user. We apologize for any misunderstanding created by the caption’s imprecise wording and description of the scene.
Hollywood Hates Writers
I was sent your piece just now, Mr. Blum (“The Cieply Scenario,” Feb. 13-19), and nothing in it surprises me, except for reading what that reporter did for several months. I have nothing to do with the WGA or Hollywood, being a writer of verse and fiction and essays, as well as a man who spent 57 years teaching at high levels, including playwriting. A naif, in short.
But, I will tell you this, for your entertainment and satisfaction. While the strike was about halfway along, I sat on a certain important committee at UCLA, which does trial work for infractions of the rules of life for students. The chair is always a professor from the law school, to ensure that amateurs don’t louse up the legal aspects of prosecution and defense. This chair happened to be someone I had not met in my many decades at UCLA. Since I know a screenwriter very well who was marching daily, I asked this professor what he thought the outcome would be. And, vehemently, and most arrogantly, he replied: “They are all jerks, writers. I should know, having been for years a producer myself. Idiots. They will not only lose the strike, but they will get nothing from the producers: Nada, zilch, zip, NOTHING! Losers, all of ‘em!” To which I could only nod in astonishment. That was what the bottom line was from long before the strike, during the strike and until the end, almost.
Cieply ought to be fired forthwith from the august “newspaper of record.” But I guess, despite your long analysis, a paper that lies outright when the nation’s fate also is daily in and out of the frying pan, will not deign to do that against someone involved with movies, forsooth!
Congratulations for a pointed, point-by-point exposure of sheer rottenness. I thought the L.A. Times was pretty bad itself, but this takes the waffle!
—Jascha Kessler
Professor Emeritus of English & Modern Literature, UCLA
Stop Defending Armond White
It figures that the one person coming to Armond White’s defense (MAILBOX, “Defending Armond White,” Feb. 13-19) would use language as repetitious, pretentious and vacuous as that of his hero. Benjamin Kessler does his idol no favor by spewing forth a torrent of nonsense in a letter devoid of rational thought, argument and substance. His rambling diatribe does, however, contain an abundance of chest beating and hyperbole. Gee, what a surprise! Anyway, with fans like these who write such bilge, who needs enemies?
—Barry S. Levy, Manhattan
Armond Doesn’t Get Family
Does Mr. Kessler REALLY want to know why White drives so many of us bonkers? Though I have not see Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show, White’s review—more generous than most—makes a certain sense. But now, this week, here he is again, tossing Tamara Jenkins’ The Savages (which I have seen) into the same pot with what he calls “last year’s stampede of poisonous family movies, There Will Be Blood, Gone Baby Gone, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Atonement and Margot at the Wedding.” (“Stop Hating on the Family,” Feb. 13-19). The Savages is about an aging, debilitated father who long ago relinquished responsibility for and care of his two children. Now the kids must come to terms with how they will care for him, if at all. At first they do this haltingly and begrudgingly; but as they do it, their own lives and their connection to each other—and others—awaken.
By any standard I know, The Savages is a wonderful “family” film, though unlike the sort of pandering, feel-good twaddle that White seems to want. It’s humane but never preachy, featuring troubled characters whose victories are small but real. That White sees it as a “poisonous family movie” indicates either willful stupidity, simple ignorance of plot and character or—more likely—willful obfuscation in order to jam a nuanced, life-affirming film into his increasingly deadly theorizing. For shame. Unfortunately, I’m sure we can expect more of the same.
—James van Maanen,
Jackson Heights, NY
Indie Film Smackdown
Mr. White, after reading several of your columns, especially the most recent one [“Stop Hating on the Family”], I can only conclude that you don’t quite grasp the concept of what an “independent film” is. An indie film is made without consideration toward pleasing Hollywood, a mass audience or film critics. As such, indie film producers don’t give a flying fuck about whether a film critic considers them “anti-family” or not, and are not going to change what they do simply because a film critic tells them to. I sincerely hope that you consider my words before a successful indie film producer or director gives you a “dressing down” that you won’t soon forget afterward.
—Susan, Staten Island
New York Illicit
This Mugger article, “The Romney Curse” by Russ Smith (Feb. 13-19) is so deceiving and misleading, full of ugly curses and admission of addiction and bad habits, that I am concerned how widespread this [paper’s] website is, which can be viewed by the children or young adults that we are trying to shield [them from] garbage. I am a working mom with young kids, and this article and your website are appalling to me. You should edit your limited vocabulary of cursing words or give some warning so readers know beforehand and won’t be offended. I think that will be a more responsible and professional approach. I hope there is a way to block your website.
I supported Gov. Romney and subscribed to a Yahoo alert for anything about him. I regret that I ever opened this link about him because this is entirely the opposite of the great man that I am supporting. Your demeaning and foul language is unacceptable. I hope you got the hint. If not, I will just complain directly to the FCC. Your name NYPress is misleading and should be renamed NYIllicit or something as demeaning as your articles are.
—Caroline Armstrong,
Redlands, Calif.
CLARIFICATION:
The caption on last week’s Mailbox photograph by Robert Ruiz, “Junky Table,” was not intended to infer that either man depicted in the photograph was a drug user. We apologize for any misunderstanding created by the caption’s imprecise wording and description of the scene.
Hollywood Hates Writers
I was sent your piece just now, Mr. Blum (“The Cieply Scenario,” Feb. 13-19), and nothing in it surprises me, except for reading what that reporter did for several months. I have nothing to do with the WGA or Hollywood, being a writer of verse and fiction and essays, as well as a man who spent 57 years teaching at high levels, including playwriting. A naif, in short.
But, I will tell you this, for your entertainment and satisfaction. While the strike was about halfway along, I sat on a certain important committee at UCLA, which does trial work for infractions of the rules of life for students. The chair is always a professor from the law school, to ensure that amateurs don’t louse up the legal aspects of prosecution and defense. This chair happened to be someone I had not met in my many decades at UCLA. Since I know a screenwriter very well who was marching daily, I asked this professor what he thought the outcome would be. And, vehemently, and most arrogantly, he replied: “They are all jerks, writers. I should know, having been for years a producer myself. Idiots. They will not only lose the strike, but they will get nothing from the producers: Nada, zilch, zip, NOTHING! Losers, all of ‘em!” To which I could only nod in astonishment. That was what the bottom line was from long before the strike, during the strike and until the end, almost.
Cieply ought to be fired forthwith from the august “newspaper of record.” But I guess, despite your long analysis, a paper that lies outright when the nation’s fate also is daily in and out of the frying pan, will not deign to do that against someone involved with movies, forsooth!
Congratulations for a pointed, point-by-point exposure of sheer rottenness. I thought the L.A. Times was pretty bad itself, but this takes the waffle!
—Jascha Kessler
Professor Emeritus of English & Modern Literature, UCLA
Stop Defending Armond White
It figures that the one person coming to Armond White’s defense (MAILBOX, “Defending Armond White,” Feb. 13-19) would use language as repetitious, pretentious and vacuous as that of his hero. Benjamin Kessler does his idol no favor by spewing forth a torrent of nonsense in a letter devoid of rational thought, argument and substance. His rambling diatribe does, however, contain an abundance of chest beating and hyperbole. Gee, what a surprise! Anyway, with fans like these who write such bilge, who needs enemies?
—Barry S. Levy, Manhattan
Armond Doesn’t Get Family
Does Mr. Kessler REALLY want to know why White drives so many of us bonkers? Though I have not see Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show, White’s review—more generous than most—makes a certain sense. But now, this week, here he is again, tossing Tamara Jenkins’ The Savages (which I have seen) into the same pot with what he calls “last year’s stampede of poisonous family movies, There Will Be Blood, Gone Baby Gone, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Atonement and Margot at the Wedding.” (“Stop Hating on the Family,” Feb. 13-19). The Savages is about an aging, debilitated father who long ago relinquished responsibility for and care of his two children. Now the kids must come to terms with how they will care for him, if at all. At first they do this haltingly and begrudgingly; but as they do it, their own lives and their connection to each other—and others—awaken.
By any standard I know, The Savages is a wonderful “family” film, though unlike the sort of pandering, feel-good twaddle that White seems to want. It’s humane but never preachy, featuring troubled characters whose victories are small but real. That White sees it as a “poisonous family movie” indicates either willful stupidity, simple ignorance of plot and character or—more likely—willful obfuscation in order to jam a nuanced, life-affirming film into his increasingly deadly theorizing. For shame. Unfortunately, I’m sure we can expect more of the same.
—James van Maanen,
Jackson Heights, NY
Indie Film Smackdown
Mr. White, after reading several of your columns, especially the most recent one [“Stop Hating on the Family”], I can only conclude that you don’t quite grasp the concept of what an “independent film” is. An indie film is made without consideration toward pleasing Hollywood, a mass audience or film critics. As such, indie film producers don’t give a flying fuck about whether a film critic considers them “anti-family” or not, and are not going to change what they do simply because a film critic tells them to. I sincerely hope that you consider my words before a successful indie film producer or director gives you a “dressing down” that you won’t soon forget afterward.
—Susan, Staten Island
New York Illicit
This Mugger article, “The Romney Curse” by Russ Smith (Feb. 13-19) is so deceiving and misleading, full of ugly curses and admission of addiction and bad habits, that I am concerned how widespread this [paper’s] website is, which can be viewed by the children or young adults that we are trying to shield [them from] garbage. I am a working mom with young kids, and this article and your website are appalling to me. You should edit your limited vocabulary of cursing words or give some warning so readers know beforehand and won’t be offended. I think that will be a more responsible and professional approach. I hope there is a way to block your website.
I supported Gov. Romney and subscribed to a Yahoo alert for anything about him. I regret that I ever opened this link about him because this is entirely the opposite of the great man that I am supporting. Your demeaning and foul language is unacceptable. I hope you got the hint. If not, I will just complain directly to the FCC. Your name NYPress is misleading and should be renamed NYIllicit or something as demeaning as your articles are.
—Caroline Armstrong,
Redlands, Calif.
