Friday, December 19, 2025
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RIP Nancy Buirski, Famed Documentary Filmmaker, Director of “The Loving Story,” Founder of Full Frame Doc Fest

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It’s with great sadness that I report the sudden passing of Nancy Biurski, beloved and famed documentary filmmaker.

Nancy was a great friend and enthusiastic cheerleader of everyone’s projects but her own were quite extraordinary. She made “The Loving Story” in 2011 which became the feature film, “Loving,” in 2016. She was the founder of the Full Frame Documentary Festival in North Carolina. Her most recent film, “Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy,” was highly acclaimed and nominated for several prizes at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.

Biurski graduated from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York magna cum laude. Until the mid-1990s, she worked as a photographer and picture editor in the international department of The New York Times. She was the reason the Times won its first ever Pulitzer for feature photography. In 1994, her image selection of a photo taken by Kevin Carter, which showed a half-starved Sudanese child, resulted in the newspaper winning its first Pulitzer Prize for feature photo reporting.

Condolences to her family and her huge circle of friends and fans. Nancy was one of those people I always looked forward to seeing at screenings and events for serious filmmaking. That smile in the picture I chose is worth a thousand glowing words. We’ve really lost someone of substance, value, and great kindness. She will be sorely missed.

Telluride Film Fest Announces List, Didn’t Get Big Oscar Films “Killers of the Flower Moon” or “Maestro”

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The Telluride Film Festival has announced its list as customers and critics begin to descend on them for the traditional weekend.

Telluride has some good films but they’re missing Martin Scorsese’s great “Killers of the Flower Moon” and the potentially terrific “Maestro” from Bradley Cooper. They’re the two Oscar buzzy films of the season.

Will there be a breakout film at Telluride? There better be since the cost of being there can easily get to $10,000 including airfare, accommodations, and the press pass (nothing is free).

Many of these films will be at the Toronto Film Festival in a week, and then the New York Film Festival. And so on. I did see “Zone of Interest” in Cannes and was not excited but you will see a lot of groupthinkers raving about it. (They should show it in museums, not theaters.)

And so it all begins again!

“All of Us Strangers” (d. Andrew Haigh, U.K., 2023)
“American Symphony” (d. Matthew Heineman, U.S., 2023)
“Anatomy of a Fall” (d. Justine Triet, France, 2023)
“Anselm” (d. Wim Wenders, Germany, 2023)
“Baltimore” (d. Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy Ireland-U.K., 2023)
“Beyond Utopia” (d. Madeleine Gavin, U.S., 2023)
“The Bikeriders” (d. Jeff Nichols, U.S., 2023)
“Cassandro” (d. Roger Ross Williams, U.S., 2023)
“Daddio” (d. Christy Hall, U.S., 2023)
“El Conde” (d. Pablo Larraín, Chile, 2023)
“Fallen Leaves” (d. Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, 2023)
“The Falling Star” (d. Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, France-Belgium, 2023)
“Finally Dawn” (d. Saverio Costanzo, Italy, 2023)
“Fingernails” (d. Christos Nikou, U.S., 2023)
“Food, Inc. 2” (d. Robert Kenner, Melissa Robledo, U.S., 2023)
“High & Low-John Galliano” (d. Kevin Macdonald, U.K., 2023)
“The Holdovers” (d. Alexander Payne, U.S., 2023)
“Hollywoodgate” (d. Ibrahim Nash’at, U.S.-Germany, 2023)
“Janet Planet” (d. Annie Baker, U.S., 2023)
“La Chimera” (d. Alice Rohrwacher, Italy-France-Switzerland, 2023)
“The Mission” (d. Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss, U.S., 2023)
“The Monk and the Gun” (d. Pawo Choyning Dorji, Bhutan, 2023)
“Nyad” (d. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, U.S., 2023)
“Occupied City” (d. Steve McQueen, Netherlands-U.K.-U.S., 2023)
“Orlando, My Political Biography” (d. Paul B. Preciado, France, 2023)
“Perfect Days” (d. Wim Wenders, Japan, 2023)
“The Pigeon Tunnel” (d. Errol Morris, U.K., 2023)
“Poor Things” (d. Yorgos Lanthimos, U.S.-Ireland-U.K., 2023)
“The Promised Land” (d. Nikolaj Arcel, Denmark-Germany-Sweden, 2023)
“The Royal Hotel” (d. Kitty Green, Australia, 2023)
“Rustin” (d. George C. Wolfe, U.S., 2023)
“Saltburn” (d. Emerald Fennell, U.S., 2023)
“The Teacher’s Lounge” (d. Ilker Çatak, Germany, 2023)
“Tehachapi” (d. JR, France, 2023)
“Thank You Very Much” (d. Alex Braverman, U.S., 2023)
“Tuesday” (d. Daina O. Pusić, U.S.-U.K., 2023)
“Wildcat” (d. Ethan Hawke, U.S., 2023)
“The Zone of Interest” (d. Jonathan Glazer, U.S.-U.K.-Poland, 2023)

Lunacy: Tucker Carlson Interviews Hungarian Dictator Orban, Who Says Donald Trump “Can Save the Western World and Probably the Human Beings in the World as Well”

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Maybe we’re living in an alternate universe after all.

It’s only in such a place that a former US president would be endorsed by an Eastern European dictator in a video interview conducted by a fired former talking head of a bogus right wing TV network.

And that’s how we come to Tucker Carlson’s sit down with Hungarian authoritarian Viktor Orban. In this clip, which was shown on Twitter X, Orban says Donald Trump can save the western world, and praises his foreign policy.

And Trump himself is thrilled. He thanks Orban when presenting the clip on his social media.

We’re in a backwards world. How could this be happening? It’s not just insanity, it’s lunacy. If you voted for this man or intend to in the future, you need a wellness check.

The whole incredible interview is here:

Monday Cable Ratings: Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell Take Hannity, Gutfeld in MSNBC-Fox Rivalry

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Monday cable ratings were not unlike every Monday.

At 9pm MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow easily beat Hannity by 400,000 viewers. At 10pm, Lawrence O’Donnell took Greg Gutfeld.

The Maddow-O’Donnell combo on Monday continues to play a winning hand. They also sweep when there’s a big actual news story.

The rest of prime went to Fox News over MSNBC. I hate to say it but Chris Hayes and Joy Reid have have the weakest numbers even if their shows are eminently watchable.

Jesse Watters on Fox had th highest key demo numbers of the night. I guess his audience dug it when he declared last week that Trump looked “hard” in his mugshot. Watters admonished his fans that was also straight. I just read these things, I have no idea what is going on there.

MSNBC needs Maddow more and more. Next week I’m sure we’ll see her on September 6th for the group arraignment in Atlanta.

Watch Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Introduce Their All Star Podcast

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The five late night all stars of TV have gotten together for a podcast on Spotify.

Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers hit the streaming platform tomorrow with a daily show. All proceeds will go to funding their respective writers who are now on strike.

I’ll be listening. Everyone will be. What a great idea!

Trump Declares Victory in Georgia Despite Upcoming Arraignment for Four Felony Counts of 2020 Election Interference

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Honestly, I don’t get this.

Donald Trump has declared victory in Georgia.

This, despite facing arraignment in Atlanta on September 6 after his arrest and indictment on election interference charges. There are four felony counts against him.

Trump and 17 other co-defendants — some of whose lives he’s destroyed — will be arraigned together.

Nevertheless, he writes on social media: “Big win in Georgia for President Trump! Georgia, which is absolutely a Republican State, is showing up BIG. They demand accountability, and demand it now. So sad what has happened to one of the greatest places on Earth—But we will win in 2024, Georgia will lead the way, and we will Make America Great Again!”

He calls himself President Trump. He lost the 2020 election and is not president. Joe Biden is President of the United States. That is, in the real world.

Are his people stupid enough and gullible enough to believe that he’s had a Big Win? Is Trump demented? He calls Georgia a Republican state, also. They have two Democratic US Senators.

Broadway: Lea Michelle Misses Yet Another “Funny Girl” Performance Just Days Before the Troubled Revival Closes

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Lea Michelle doesn’t mind raining on the parade of her fans.

Less than a week before “Funny Girl” closes, Michelle is out of the show tonight. She’s “under the weather,” her usual excuse. Except, of the course the weather is pretty good right now.

In the year of Michelle’s run as Fanny Brice, she’s missed dozens of performances despite already having Thursday nights off. Julie Benko, the busiest understudy in history, will fill in tonight. She already does Thursdays and filled in dozens more times when Beanie Feldstein was playing Fanny Brice.

“Funny Girl” made $2.1 million last week — the highest in its year long history — based on fans rushing in to see Lea Michelle at the last minute. What a drag if she’s out during the final week.

Apple Gets Serious About “Killers of the Flower Moon” Taking on “Oppenheimer” with Wide Theatrical Release, No Streaming to Start

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Apple Studios already has a Best Picture Oscar for “CODA.”

They obviously want another one. They have a chance with Martin Scorsese’s spectacular drama, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” So now they’ve changed their game plan.

Seeing that “Oppenheimer” has made $300 million for Universal, Apple will go for it big time with “Killers.” They’ve scrapped plans for an October 6th limited theatrical release. Instead they will go wide to theaters on October 20th, worldwide, and make a big deal of this one. There is no streaming date set yet. Kudos to them.

“Killers” premiered at Cannes, and now it’s being seen at press screenings. The response is huge. I told you in May in the movie’s first review that Scorsese had a Best Picture here. My guess is the Oscar race will be between these two movies, with some other action from “Maestro” and a couple of others.

“Killers” stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone, all of whom will be nominated for Oscars, not to mention Scorsese as Best Director and all the below the line categories as well.

Huge New Bob Dylan Book of Photos, Essays, Plus Updated Greatest Hits to Get Sneak Preview Friday in Hamptons

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The massive new epic Bob Dylan project called “Mixing Up the Medicine” is getting a preview this Friday in the Hamptons.

No one has yet seen the 608 book coming from Callaway Editions so the Friday event has taken on an air of excitement.

Nicholas Callaway says the book — approved and encouraged by Dylan’s offices — spans the poet-singer-Nobel Prize winner’s entire career with 1,000 pictures from photographers and filmmakers, many previously unseen. It also boasts 30 essays from esteemed writers like Douglas Brinkley and Sean Wilentz.

Very astutely, Callaway tells me he acquired world print, eBook and audio rights for a portion of the archival materials from the Bob Dylan Center (BDC) in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The book, which is selling on amazon at a discounted $90, was put together by Mark Davidson, Curator and Director of the Bob Dylan Archive, who wrote and edited the book along with archivist Parker Fishel. Among the essayists are Peter Carey, John Doe, Raymond Foye, Joy Harjo, Richard Hell, Clinton Heylin, Alan Licht,Greil Marcus, Allison Moorer, Michael and Griffin Ondaatje, Gregory Pardlo, Amanda Petrusich, TomPiazza, Lee Ranaldo, Alex Ross, Robert Rubin, Ed Ruscha, Lucy Sante, Jeff Slate, Greg Tate.

There’s also a newly updated Greatest Hits coming from Sony Legacy that includes songs like “Make You Feel My Love,” “Forever Young,”Hurricane,” and “Things Have Changed.” For most of the last 50 years, Dylan’s greatest hits didn’t go beyond 1972. Now “Tangled Up in Blue” finally gets the proper status. I feel they should have included a couple more, but no one asked me!

PS What does the title mean? It’s from the famous opening line of “Subterranean Homesick Blues” — Johnny’s in the basement/mixing up the medicine — made even more famous by DA Pennebaker’s immortal card throwing video of the song from his movie, “Don’t Look Back.” There have been countless knock offs since then, but there’s only one original!

Fun Fact for Last Minute Emmy Voters: Queen’s Brian May Plays Guitar on Nominated “Ted Lasso” Song

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Emmy voting ends in a few hours, so here’s a fun fact: legendary Queen guitarist Brian May plays on the Emmy nominated song from “Ted Lasso.”

British music artist Sam Ryder is nominated for Best Music and Lyrics. He co-wrote, with Jamie Hartman and Tom Howe, the Emmy Nominated song “Fought and Lost” from Apple TV+’s mega hit “Ted Lasso.”

No less than Brian May from “Queen” plays guitar on the track. Sam has been known for a while over the pond; he’s a Eurovision winner, TikTok sensation, played at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and at tribute concert for Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins at Wembley Stadium. Now people here are discovering him in a big way, songwriters Diane Warren and Carroll Connors welcomed Sam at a recent event in Hollywood. Sam has said that the most important attributes for him to maintain as an artist is “my gratitude and enthusiasm.”

When you meet Sam, and hear him sing, rest assured, he has both.