Guest film critic Steve Vineberg reviews "Nadja" a vampire movie set in contemporary New York City. David Lynch was executive producer, and has a cameo role.
British writer Nick Hornby. His autobiographical memoir about being an obsessed soccer fan, Fever Pitch (1992, now in paperback, Penguin) achieved cult status. With his second book, and his first novel High-Fidelity one reviewer writes that Hornby has "established himself in England as a maestro of the male confessional." High-Fidelity (Riverhead Books, div. of Putnam) is about 36-year old Rob Fleming, an obsessed record-collector, who's just lost his girlfriend, a casualty of his devotion to music.
Rock writer and critic Robert Palmer. He was the New York Times's first full-time rock writer and chief pop critic, and he's a contributing editor at Rolling Stones. He's written several books on blues and rock and roll, and was the writer and music director for the award-winning documentary films, "The World According to John Coltrane," and "Deep Blues." His latest work is chief advisor to the ten-part PBS documentary, "Rock & Roll: An Unruly History," currently airing on PBS. He's also a companion book (Harmony Books).
Pop star Boy George. In 1982, he and his band Culture Club first hit the charts with, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" He has a new autobiography in which he says he got "trapped" in the image he created. His band feel apart, his relationship, and he developed a drug addiction. He's now recovered. He has a new autobiography, Take It Like a Man: The Autobiography of Boy George. (written with George O'Dowd, published by HarperCollins.) He also has a new release, "Cheapness & Beauty," (Virgin).
TV Producer Michael Berk for the show "Baywatch." The show, which is filmed in Malibu, California, is about a group of lifeguards who patrol the beach. It's been called the "number one show on earth." It has one billion viewers in more than 110 countries.
Guitarist Danny Amis from the band, "Los Straitjackets." The group hails from Nashville. They perform in Mexican wrestling masks, and play instrumental surf-rock with a "dark vibe lurking in the mix." (Guitar Player). They have a new CD, "The Utterly fantastic and totally unbelievable sound of. . . Los Straitjackets." (Upstart records 617-354-0700).
Editor of The New Republic Andrew Sullivan. He's the first openly gay editor of a national political magazine. His new book, Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality, (Knopf), examines how our society deals with homosexuality, and looks at the different viewpoints on it.
Tattoo artist and tattoo historian Don Ed Hardy. He came to tattooing by way of a Fine Arts degree in printmaking, and he studied in Japan with a traditional tattoo master. He was the first non Asian to gain access to that world. HARDY also publishes colorfully illustrated books of tattoo art. (Hardy Marks Publications, P.O. Box 90520, Honolulu, Hawaii 96835). And he's curated the exhibition, "Pierced Hearts & True Love," which is at The Drawing Center in New York City (Sept. 16-Nov. 11). The exhibit then travels to Williamstown, Mass., Miami, and San Francisco.
Actor/comic Kevin Pollack. He got his start in standup. It was his performance in Barry Levinson's "Avalon," as Izzy the TV salesman, that catapulted his acting career. Since then he's appeared in "A Few Good Men," "Miami Rhapsody" and "Grumpy Old Men." He's currently starring in "The Usual Suspects." Later this Fall you can see him in the new Martin Scorsese film, "Casino."
World music critic Milo Miles reviews "Grayfolded" by the Canadian avant-gardist John Oswald which is two extended versions of the Grateful Dead song "Dark Star." Using a technique called "plunderphonics" Oswald took recordings from the Dead and manipulated them electronically. (If you can't find the album in your record store, it can be ordered from Swell Productions, 253 College St., #295, Toronto, Canada, M5T 1R5. Phone: 416-531-33330.)
Composer Philip Glass. His latest work is a new score for the 1946 Jean Cocteau film adaptation of "La Belle et la BĂȘte" ("Beauty and the Beast"). Glass's score includes four voices who sing a libretto, based on the screenplay. Glass has toured the live music-film event in Europe and the United States. One reviewer called it "a beautiful, superbly integrated work." (Time, Dec. 19, 1994). (The score is available on Nonesuch Records.)
Jonathan Katz is another comic who has broadened his horizons. He went into animation. His "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist" is a half-hour animated sitcom on Comedy Central (Sundays at 10:30 PM and Tuesdays at 8:30 PM). Katz is the voice of the psychiatrist, and fellow comics supply the voice of the patients, and the routines on therapy. (Also: Tonight Jonathan Katz will be doing standup on HBO's Comedy Half-Hour)
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new reissue of the original soundtrack for The Wizard of Oz, a 2-CD set that includes some music never used in the film. (Rhino)
Correspondent for The New York Times Roger Cohen who is covering the war in Bosnia. He'll discuss the recent offensive by Bosnian Muslims and Croats around Banja Luka in northwestern Bosnia, and he'll talk about the history of Serbs, and the betrayal many Serbs feel by Serbian nationals.
