Atrag pe această cale atenţia numitelor Julia Roberts, Milla Iovovici, Anna Kurnikova şi Jodie Foster să nu încerce să mă contacteze pentru propuneri indecente, deoarece n-am în intenţie să negociez cu ele, nu sunt interesat de ofertele lor şi, în general, îmi este suficientă relaţia mea cu românii!

dirigir um filme é dar a direção. dirigir um filme é visualizar e comandar a construção de um universo, um tema, uma proposta e comandar tão claramente esta construção junto aos outros artistas que eles o transformam em algo com uma dimensão completamente nova e incontrolável.  dirigir passa portanto por dialogar com o diretor de fotografia, o diretor de arte, o produtor e, em especial, com os atores. um diretor que ignore a preparação e direção dos atores está deixando de lado uma das dimensões artísticas mais relevantes para a veracidade e beleza de uma obra cinematográfica.

dentro do método e da maneira que estudamos e ensinamos no actor studio sp brasil, atuar e dirigir atores são duas funções dentro de uma mesma equipe. é impossível atuar sem entender o ofício do diretor e vice-versa. o diretor está para o ator assim como o maestro está para a orquestra. da mesma forma que um maestro sabe perfeitamente identificar o que determinado músico deveria fazer para se alcançar o resultado desejado, ao diretor não pode  bastar simplesmente saber se a cena ‘funciona’ ou não. é preciso saber identificar em que ponto o ator está pecando e como dialogar com este ator para conseguir o que se quer sem que isto se torne algo mecânico, coreografado.  da mesma forma, um ator experiente não terá dificuldades em dialogar com outro ator orientando-o para a direção que visualiza para o filme.

em hollywood, não são poucos os atores que se aventuram, com sucesso, na direção de filmes. sean penn, clint eastwood, robert redford, denzel washington, jodie foster são só alguns dos nomes mais notórios, alguns sendo indicados ou até vencendo oscars de melhor direção.  seus filmes são quase sempre centrados na atuação, mas não por isso menos visualmente arrebatadores. talvez seja a ‘fome por participação criativa, a fome de arte’ que tommy lee jones (outro ator que se envereda pelos caminhos da direção) se referiu. talvez seja simplesmente a sensibilidade de grandes artistas, que já dominaram a técnica de atuação e que se valem da sensibilidade e experiência para interagir da mesma forma com os artistas das outras áreas.

quer ver mais filmes com diretores-atores? confira: ‘menina de ouro’ ou ’sobre meninos e lobos’, ‘gran torino’ de clint eastwood, ou ‘na natureza selvagem’ de sean penn.

My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself. I’ve told you my name: that’s the Who. The Where could most readily be described as a prison cell. But there’s a vast difference between being stuck in a tiny cell and being in prison…

– Dalton Russell

Considered Spike Lee’s most critically and commercially successful movie of his career, Inside Man is not your average bank heist movie. I own this movie on DVD for a while, but I never cracked it open and watched it. I have given it to former co-workers to watch, but I never did because it came out of a subscription I had with Columbia House a couple of years ago. Watching it now, I don’t know why I waited this long.

At first, you think that this would be a typical bank robbery, but it’s not. A masterful criminal, Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) and his crew holds up a Manhattan Trust Bank disguising themselves as painters armed with AK-47s and smoke bombs.

Det. Fraizer, (Denzel Washington), a hostage negotiator that is in some hot water over a drug dealer, check cashing and $100 thousand missing dollars is assigned to the case with his partner, Det. Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor). They rendezvous with Capt. Darius (Willem Dafoe) to let the duo know about what is going on.

The robbers usher to the hostages to the bank vault level to confiscate their keys, cell phones and clothes. The hostages are asked to change into the identical painter coveralls the robbers have on. These are not your ordinary robbers.

With all the news coverage about the robbery spreads to the news, the chairman of the bank, Mr. Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) calls a “fixer” Madeline White (Jodie Foster) to protect special items in his safety deposit box.

They all come together to try to diffuse the situation. There are more layers to the movie when Dalton strings Frazier along like a puppet. He always stays one step ahead of him. It’s a cat and mouse game.

Nothing is what it seems to be when the purpose of the robbers is not about money, but it’s about a person getting their due justice. It’s a morality play that is reminiscent of the legend of Robin Hood.

The performances were solid across the board. The dialogue is quick and biting. The action keeps you on your toes with twists and turns.

The only gripe I have about the film is that the film wrapped up to nice and neat with any loose ends are solved. Nothing is left to the imagination of the audience to think about when the end credits begin.

Judgment: A solid psychological thriller that keeps you on your toes.

Rating: ****

Les Voyeurs #88 – Des Voyeurs dans l’avion

Diffusion le : jeudi 19 novembre 2009 à 18h sur Radio Grille Ouverte
vendredi 20 novembre 2009 à 18h sur Radio 16.
Rediffusion le samedi 21 novembre 2009 à 10h sur RGO.
En téléchargement pendant une semaine ici.
Et en écoute permanente là.

Actualité

Capitlism – A Love Story : Sortie au cinéma le 25 novembre 2009 du nouveau film de Michael Moore.
Spiderman 4 : Confirmation de la présence au casting de l’acteur Dylan Baker, interprétant le personnage du Dr Connors, devenant dans la BD le super-vilain Le Lézard.
Buffy, la tueuse de vampires : une web-série animée adaptant la 8ème saison des aventures en comics de la tueuse de vampires, va bientôt voir le jour, faisant donc suite à la 7ème saison de la série TV.
Delta Blues : la série créée en 2008 par Joshua Harto et produite par Georges Clooney à enfin trouvé son acteur principal en la personne de Jason Lee (le héros de “Earl”).
Prince of Persia – Les Sables du Temps :  Le prince de Perse doit combattre un Vizir rebelle désireux de s’emparer des Sables du Temps, un artefact conférant à son possesseur le contrôle du Temps. Adaptation cinéma de la célèbre licence de jeux vidéos. Réalisé par Mike Newell. Avec Jake Gyllenhaal. Sortie France 26 mai 2010. BA visible en VF pourrie ou VO HD.
L’actualité des Arcades : A l’origine ; L’Imaginarium du Dr Parnassus, Le Ruban Blanc (en VO), Away We Go, Micmacs à tire larigot, 2012, Twilight chapitre 2 : Tentation, Saw VI.
Les Beaux Gosses : Le beau coffret collector du film est disponible depuis le 12 novembre. Contient le film en édition collector 2DVD mais également le CD de la BO du film et surtout le “manuel pratique du puceau” !! Dépêchez-vous c’est pas cher !
L’actu du Sémaphore de Nîmes : L’Imaginarium du Dr Parnassus (en VO), mais aussi le film qui n’est plus à Alès et c’est dommage Panique au village !. Le Sémaphore organise également jusqu’au 26 janvier 2010 des projections des grands classiques du cinéma italien dont Affreux, sales et méchants, Les Monstres, Le Fanfaron, Hier aujourd’hui demain, L’Étranger. Plus de détails sur la programmation sur le site du cinéma ici => Sémaphore.

Dossier de la semaine : Des Voyeurs dans l’avion

La saga des “Airport”

Airport (1970) de Georges Seaton
Airport 75 (747 en péril – 1975) de Jack Smight
Airport 77 (Les Naufragés du 747 – 1977) de Jerry Jameson
Concorde : Airport 79 (Airport 80 Concorde – 1980) de David Lowell Rich

Les vols de l’extrême

L’Étoffe des Héros (The Right Stuff – 1983) de Phillip Kaufman
Des serpents dans l’avion (Snakes on a plane – 2006) de David R. Ellis
Des Zombies dans l’avion (Flight of the Living Dead : Outbreak on a plane – 2007) de Scott Thomas
Les Ailes de L’Enfer (Con-Air – 1997) de Simon West
Flight Plan (2004) de Robert Schwentke
Air Force One (1997) de Wolfgang Pertersen
Independence Day (1996) de Roland Emmerich
Die Hard 4 – retour en enfer (Die Hard 4.0 – 2007) de Len Wiseman

Les avions “cartoons” : les Z.A.Z. aux commandes

Les avions du futur

Furtif (Stealth – 2005) de Rob Cohen
D.A.R.Y.L. (1985) de Simon Wincer
Firefox, l’arme absolue (1982) de et avec Clint Eastwood

Coups de Cœur

Les Chevaliers du Ciel (2005) de Gérard Pirès
Aviator (2004) de Martin Scorsese

La bande originale de la semaine :

Papa Loves Manbo par Perry Como
Extrait de la bande originale du film Ocean’s Eleven (2001) de Steven Soderbergh

Chronique : La Carte Postale Sétoise

L’Enfer d’Henry-Georges Clouzot de Serge Bromberg et Ruxendra Medrea

Musique :
Who’s Driving Your Plane ? par The Rolling Stones

Extraits :
Airport 75 (747 en péril)
Des Serpents dans l’Avion
Firefox, l’arme absolue

Présentation : Cédric Cance, Erik Antolin, Jérôme Bauzon
Chronique : l’irremplaçable Jan Jouvert !
Technique : Jérémie Adrian

Some might say.

Update: I share a birthday with Ann Curry, Jodie Foster, Ryan Howard, Kerri Strug, Jason Scott Lee, Meg Ryan, Ahmad Rashad, and Larry King–so happy birthday to them, too!

(Taxi Driver) 

Videoteca do Beto #16

Dirigido por Martin Scorsese.

Elenco: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Sheperd, Harvey Keitel, Albert Brooks, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle, Norman Matlock, Diahnne Abbott e Martin Scorsese. 

Roteiro: Paul Schrader.

Produção: Julia Phillips e Michael Phillips.

[Antes de qualquer coisa, gostaria de pedir que só leia esta crítica se já tiver assistido o filme. Para fazer uma análise mais detalhada é necessário citar cenas importantes da trama].

O homem solitário de Deus. A solidão nas grandes metrópoles, por mais paradoxal que possa parecer, é mesmo um mal comum. Mesmo com tantas pessoas em volta, por muitas vezes podemos nos sentir deslocados e sozinhos nestas enormes selvas de pedra, como é o caso de Nova York, São Paulo e tantas outras cidades. Em 1975, ano de produção deste maravilhoso “Taxi Driver”, esta sensação já existia, ainda mais em uma Nova York suja e repleta de viciados, criminosos e prostitutas. Logo no primeiro plano – um close no olhar do solitário taxista, seguido por imagens das ruas de Nova York – a obra-prima dirigida por Martin Scorsese mostra de forma sutil que o efeito daquele ambiente na mente desta pessoa será o fio condutor da narrativa.

O veterano de guerra do Vietnã Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) decide se tornar taxista para ocupar seu tempo, já que não consegue dormir. Após se apaixonar pela bela Betsy (Cybill Sheperd), que trabalha na campanha política de um senador candidato à presidência, conhece a jovem Iris (Jodie Foster) a quem aconselha largar a prostituição e o cafetão Sport (Harvey Keitel) e retornar para a casa de seus pais. O problema é que durante este processo, Travis lentamente se revolta com o que vê à sua volta.

Scorsese gravou seu nome na história do cinema com esta direção impecável. O diretor abusa de planos criativos (a frente, o capô e o retrovisor do taxi, as ruas molhadas) sem medo de arriscar, conseguindo sucesso absoluto na firme condução da narrativa e utilizando os movimentos de câmera para traduzir sentimentos dos personagens. Repare, por exemplo, como o interessante plano do copo borbulhando pode ser considerado uma metáfora para o momento em que começam a borbulhar também idéias na cabeça de Travis. Outro exemplo é a seqüência de foras que Betsy dá no taxista por telefone, nos deixando em uma situação desconfortável. O movimento da câmera, que faz um travelling para a direita e mostra o corredor vazio enquanto ouvimos Travis, demonstra visualmente nosso embaraço com a situação. O diretor simboliza o que o espectador pensa no momento, como se dissemos: “Não quero mais ver isso…”.

O bom roteiro de Paul Schrader trabalha nos detalhes para demonstrar o sentimento crescente de revolta em Travis (“Só se é saudável quando se sente saudável”), além de fornecer a base para as ótimas atuações do elenco. A montagem de Thelma Schoonmaker abusa do estilo, como na caminhada de Travis após conseguir o emprego ou quando repete três vezes seguidas um semáforo verde, demonstrando a rotina que o sufoca e atenua sua solidão (os mesmos lugares, os mesmos problemas). Finalmente, temos transições que significam muito, como o salto do plano de Iris e Sport dançando para Travis treinando tiro ao alvo, demonstrando visualmente o embate que ocorreria depois entre os dois homens. A trilha sonora clássica de Bernard Herrmann tem muito da cara de Nova York e funciona bem como tema do solitário taxista. Na cena da chacina, por exemplo, o tema de Travis é corretamente alterado para um tom mais sombrio. O apartamento bagunçado, com a parede suja e decorado com panfletos de Palantine, diz muito sobre a personalidade atormentada de Travis, mostrando o bom trabalho de Direção de Arte de Charles Rosen. Finalmente, a fotografia granulada (Direção de Michael Chapman) reflete a mente conturbada dele, destacando o festival de cores e luzes da noite de Nova York. Chapman é sábio também ao destacar, por exemplo, a cor vermelha na dança entre Iris e Sport, refletindo a vida infernal da garota ali dentro.

Além da competente direção, Taxi Driver conta também com uma atuação antológica de Robert De Niro. Encarnando com perfeição o taxista solitário, ele é competente ao transmitir o aumento lento e gradual da revolta no personagem. Em seu primeiro diálogo, quando consegue o emprego de taxista, responde as perguntas com um sorriso debochado no rosto, pois a alegria ainda estava presente em sua vida. Travis, porém, é alguém com enorme dificuldade para conviver em sociedade, como podemos perceber no diálogo com a atendente do cinema pornográfico. Ele não sabe seguir as “regras” criadas para se comportar em público, chegando a ser ingênuo. Mas uma pequena esperança floresce quando conhece a bela Betsy. Seu modo direto de falar encanta a garota, que topa sair com ele (De Niro faz um gesto com o braço quando diz que vai protegê-la). Quando Betsy, por razões óbvias, o abandona na porta do cinema pornô, a desilusão se torna o estopim de sua eminente revolta (“Ei, imundos, aqui tem alguém que não agüenta mais. Sou um revoltado!”), já sinalizada anteriormente. Observe, por exemplo, como ele encara um viciado na rua sem piscar os olhos, mostrando seu desprezo por aquele mundo sujo e sua enorme vontade de tomar uma atitude (quando pôde, não hesitou em matar um assaltante). Também demonstra, em um diálogo com seu amigo taxista, que está se sentindo deprimido, tentando contar seus planos (“Estou tendo algumas idéias ruins”), mas o amigo não entende o que ele quer dizer, até mesmo pela sua enorme dificuldade em se expressar. Quando finalmente decide agir (a queima das flores simboliza sua decisão de eliminar de sua vida tudo que lhe incomoda), seu primeiro alvo é o senador, com quem teve uma conversa em seu taxi, causando espanto pela sua franqueza. É então que Travis compra quatro armas, entre elas a Magnum 44 citada por um passageiro (Scorsese, fazendo uma ponta na cena em que ameaça matar a mulher, em frente ao apartamento do amante), decide fazer musculação e não comer mais comidas “ruins”. Essa virada radical na vida simboliza também que ele está determinado a agir (“O germe de uma idéia está crescendo em mim”). O momento sublime da atuação de De Niro acontece aqui, na sensacional cena em que fala sozinho a famosa frase “Está falando comigo?”. Repare como ele olha pra trás quando fala “estou sozinho aqui”, mudando a feição e dando a sensação de que realmente está falando com alguém. Em seguida, Travis diz que descobriu “o único objetivo de sua vida”, e Scorsese, de forma inteligente, corta para o discurso de Palantine, dando a dica de sua intenção de matar o candidato. Na conversa com o agente do Serviço Secreto, De Niro para de falar enquanto dois rapazes passam, e seu sorriso sarcástico faz o homem se preocupar. A bela cena em que olha fixo para a televisão, com uma música triste ao fundo, simboliza muito bem sua solidão. Ao destruí-la, o taxista sinaliza que está enlouquecendo com aquelas idéias na cabeça. Finalmente, quando fala pela primeira vez com Sport, seu olhar fixo para o cafetão nos faz pressentir qual é sua vontade naquele momento (“É a pior escória do mundo”, diz para Iris). O problema com Betsy, a convivência com Iris e sua vivência nos guetos de Nova York criam um sentimento paranóico, dando um nó na cabeça de Travis.

Completando o elenco, podemos destacar Cybill Sheperd, como a bela Betsy. Repare como ela olha pra baixo quando Travis diz que “é a mulher mais linda que ele conheceu na vida”. Seu sorriso incontido e seu brilho no olhar demonstram sua satisfação ao ouvir aquilo. Betsy, porém, não consegue compreender Travis e, com razão, fica indignada ao sair do cinema, enquanto Travis não entende a ofensa que aquilo significa pra ela. Jodie Foster está muito bem como a garota revoltada que vende o corpo, solta, sorrindo e fazendo brincadeiras, em seu diálogo com Travis no café. Em sua primeira aparição, somos ambientados ao mundo sujo em que vive (repare que Travis guarda os 20 dólares amassados, mostrando a importância que a garota teve pra ele desde aquele momento). Harvey Keitel interpreta o cafetão que explora todas aquelas garotas e que curiosamente demonstra algum carinho por Iris quando dança com ela no quarto. Mesmo assim, não hesita em vender o corpo dela, como podemos observar em sua conversa com Travis.

Quando hesita em aceitar o convite de Iris para tomar café, podemos pensar que é efeito do trauma do último encontro com Betsy, mas na verdade Travis já tinha outro plano para o dia seguinte (matar o presidente). Ele não tinha intenções amorosas com Iris, como fica claro quando vai com a garota para o quarto apenas para conversar. O que Travis queria era tirá-la daquele lugar que ele tanto odiava. De Niro expõe a raiva de Travis ao pagar o homem na porta do quarto, dizendo que “voltará com certeza”. Mas apesar de sua atitude final, a conversa com Iris no café demonstra que Travis era uma boa pessoa.

O grande clímax do filme vai sendo construído lentamente. Observe como Scorsese gasta alguns segundos antes de finalmente mostrar o taxista com cabelo moicano, simbolizando sua mudança de atitude. A tensa seqüência em que tenta assassinar Palantine, sem sucesso, mostra que a diferença entre um herói e um monstro muitas vezes pode ser bem pequena. Se tivesse conseguido seu objetivo, Travis seria retratado perante a sociedade como um assassino cruel e lunático, e não como o herói que se transformou após “salvar” Iris. Quando o vemos em casa agitado e, posteriormente, saindo com o taxi sem parar pra ninguém, sabemos que está decidido a resolver seus “problemas”. Após a impressionante e realista seqüência em que mata Sport e entra atirando no prédio, Scorsese faz um excelente travelling, com a cena congelada, desde o quarto onde Travis termina sua chacina, passando pelos mortos e armas, até chegar à barulhenta rua cheia de pessoas curiosas. Este refinado visual do filme é fantástico e colabora para o impacto causado em nossas mentes.

Scorsese acertou em cheio neste maravilhoso estudo da solidão e do isolamento, nos oferecendo uma direção impecável, recheado com atuações maravilhosas e imagens de grande impacto. Taxi Driver se aprofunda na complicada questão do deslocamento social com sucesso absoluto. Diversas pessoas já se sentiram desta forma na vida (eu inclusive) e ao ver a emocionante história do taxista solitário na tela é inevitável a nossa identificação. O mecanismo da solidão é simples, porém perigoso. Gostamos do que não podemos ter, e não gostamos de nada que temos. Desta forma, a pessoa jamais está satisfeita, e a solidão funciona como um escudo, uma proteção contra tudo aquilo que julga estar errado. Todos nós temos momentos em que chegamos perto do nosso limite. A grande questão é como lidar com este sentimento. Travis escolheu a forma mais perigosa e por sorte saiu-se bem.

Texto publicado em 18 de Novembro de 2009 por Roberto Siqueira

On November 19:

1600  King Charles I of England was born.

1805  Ferdinand de Lesseps, French diplomat and Suez Canal engineer, was born.

1816  Warsaw University was established.

1863 U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the military cemetery ceremony at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

1905  Tommy Dorsey, American bandleader, was born.

1916  Samuel Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn established Goldwyn Pictures.

1917  Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India was born.

1933  Larry King, American TV personality, was born.

1942  Calvin Klein, American clothing designer, was born.

1942  Battle of Stalingrad – Soviet Union forces under General Georgy Zhukov launched the Operation Uranus counterattacks at Stalingrad, turning the tide of the battle in the USSR’s favor.

1961  Meg Ryan, American actress, was born.

1962  Jodie Foster, American actress, was born.

1969  Football player Pelé scored his 1,000th goal.

1977 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat

became the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel.

1984 A series of explosions at the PEMEX petroleum storage facility at San Juan Ixhuatepec in Mexico City starts a major fire and kills about 500 people.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. He is the founder of the World Cinema Foundation, a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema and has won awards from the Oscars, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Directors Guild of America. Scorsese is president of the Film Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to film preservation and the prevention of the decaying of motion picture film stock.

Scorsese’s body of work addresses such themes as Italian American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, machismo, and violence. Scorsese is widely considered to be one of the most significant and influential American filmmakers of his era, directing landmark films such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas; all of which he collaborated on with actor Robert De Niro. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed and earned an MFA in film directing from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

Trivia:

Listed as one of 50 people barred from entering Tibet. Disney clashed with Chinese officials over the film Kundun (1997), which Scorsese directed. [19 December 1996]

Awarded third annual John Huston Award for Artists Rights by the Artists Rights Foundation. [1995]

Presented with a special tribute at the 1976 Telluride Film Festival. It was presented by Michael Powell. [1976]

He is a longtime friend and was once a housemate of The Band’s Robbie Robertson. He directed The Last Waltz (1978), the documentary of their supposedly last gig which Robertson produced. Robertson later produced the soundtrack for Scorsese’s The Color of Money (1986).

Good friends with editor Thelma Schoonmaker & cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. Scorsese introduced Thelma to her husband Michael Powell and he often quotes Powell as an influence.

His name is pronounced “Scor-sez-see”.

He directed Michael Jackson’s Bad (1987) (V) music video. The full length video runs 16 minutes and is in both black & white and color. It is usually shortened down to just the color segment for television.

He appears as attached to his pet white Bichon Frise Zoe as he was to his beloved parents – except Zoe is right beside Marty every day in the office.

Daughter Francesca Scorsese born. [16 November 1999]

John Woo dedicated his action film Dip huet seung hung (1989) (“The Killer”) to Scorsese on a commentary he did for the movie’s DVD.

Daughter Domenica Cameron-Scorsese with Julia Cameron.

Taught both Oliver Stone and Spike Lee at NYU.

Was at one point going to make a movie about the life of comedian Richard Pryor.

He was an altar boy at Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which was used in his early films I Call First (1967) and Mean Streets (1973). Old St. Patrick’s is also where the baptism scene in The Godfather (1972) took place.

Was at one point slated to direct Clockers (1995), but for reasons that are not entirely clear, handed the directing chores to his onetime NYU student Spike Lee, while staying on as producer. He was also at one point going to direct Little Shop of Horrors (1986) for David Geffen, with Steven Spielberg as the executive producer. He was ultimately uninvolved, but claims that he wanted to shoot the movie in 3-D. It no doubt would have been a loving homage to Roger Corman, for whom he directed Boxcar Bertha (1972).

He took a cameo in his film Taxi Driver (1976) (as a man about to kill his wife) only because the actor who was supposed to play the role was sick on the day the scene was to be shot. Says he is generally uncomfortable in front of the camera.

Has a dog named Silas.

Is the subject of the song “Martin Scorsese” by alternative band King Missile.

Father of actress Cathy Scorsese from his first marriage.

Is of Italian-Sicilian descent.

Has asthma.

Of the three films he’s been trying to make since the mid-1970s, he has done two: The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Gangs of New York (2002). The third film, a biopic of Dean Martin called “Dino”, has been on hiatus at Warner Brothers since the late 1990s. Scorsese has a very specific all A-list cast in mind, probably why it has yet to be produced. He wants Tom Hanks to star as Martin, Jim Carrey to play Jerry Lewis, John Travolta to play Frank Sinatra, Hugh Grant to play Peter Lawford, and Adam Sandler to play Joey Bishop.

Was voted the 4th greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly, making him the only living person in the top 5 and the only working film director in the top 10 (Ingmar Bergman being retired as a filmmaker).

Appeared on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (2000) as a shrill version of himself who comes to regret his decision to cast Larry David as a violent gangster in a movie after David repeatedly ruins the suit he needs to wear as the character.

Several characters in his films refer to the legendary (noir) actor John Garfield, star of the original The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), which is also mentioned.

He was one of three major directors to have been offered the opportunity to direct Schindler’s List (1993) by producer Steven Spielberg, the other two being Roman Polanski and Billy Wilder. Scorsese thought a Jewish filmmaker should direct it; Polanski wasn’t yet ready to deal with the painful subject (having lost his mother in the Holocaust); and Wilder (who was retired and who lost his mother and grandmother in the Holocaust) finally told Spielberg that he should do it himself.

Because so many of his actors win or are nominated for awards, actors are dying to work with him. The film With Friends Like These… (1998) pokes fun at this very real desire.

Both The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Gangs of New York (2002) were personal passions of his that he had wanted to make since the 1970s. When he first starting considering them, Robert De Niro was in his mind to play the lead characters in both (Jesus Christ in “Temptation” and Bill Cutting in “Gangs”). De Niro ultimately turned down the part in “Temptation” and it was decided he was too old to play Cutting by the time that “Gangs” finally went into production.

He has famously collaborated with Robert De Niro in 8 films. Scorsese has said that his creative collaboration with De Niro is very deep and that they can often understand each other without even talking. Their collaboration has had many dry spells (including recently), but Scorsese says he shows almost every script he writes or considers directing to De Niro to see what the actor’s thoughts on them are even when De Niro ultimately has no involvement the film.

Appeared in an “American Express” ad where he goes to pick up photos of his nephew’s birthday party at a drug store, and then proceeds to nervously pick through what’s wrong with each picture while trying to get the clueless photo-lab clerk’s opinion on them. He proceeds to buy more film with an American Express card and calls the people on the pictures saying they need to reshoot. Scorsese says this funny ad is probably the closest he’s come to accurately “playing” himself.

Apart from his legendary work as a filmmaker, he has been a vocal supporter of film preservation for almost three decades. His efforts to create a strong public awareness for the work of film archives include The Film Foundation, a non-profit organisation which he started together with other filmmakers. The Film Foundation regularly partners with the American film archives on the restoration of “lost” or endangered films. With this background he has agreed to serve as Honorary President of the Austrian Film Museum in Vienna.

Personally spurns the notion of the “director’s cut” feeling that once a film has been completed, it should not be further altered in any way.

He lost three best director – and best picture – Oscars to leading-man actors turned directors: Robert Redford, Kevin Costner, and Clint Eastwood (Raging Bull (1980) lost to Redford’s Ordinary People (1980); Goodfellas (1990) to Costner’s Dances with Wolves (1990); The Aviator (2004) to Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby (2004)). On the only two occasions when he was Oscar-nominated as Best Director in years ending in zero, he was beaten by actors making their directorial debuts (Redford and Costner).

In 1975, he accepted the Oscar for “Best Actress in a Leading Role” on behalf of Ellen Burstyn, who wasn’t present at the awards ceremony. She won for her performance in Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)

President of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998.

Has mentioned that he thought Robert De Niro’s best performance under his direction was as Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy (1982).

Ranked #3 in Empire (UK) magazine’s “The Greatest directors ever!” [2005]

His favorite films include: Citizen Kane (1941), The Red Shoes (1948) and Il gattopardo (1963) (“The Leopard”).

Was friend, protégé, and employee of actor-director John Cassavetes.

When asked where audiences would find the next Martin Scorsese, he said to look to Wes Anderson, the young director of Rushmore (1998).

Has directed, as of 2008, 6 biopics: Raging Bull (1980), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), Kundun (1997) and The Aviator (2004).

He received a Degree ad honorem in “Cinema, TV and Multimedia Production” from the University of Bologna on 26 November 2005.

Served as mentor to Georgia Lee and invited her to apprentice for Gangs of New York (2002) in Europe.

The 1912 American Mutoscope & Biograph Company short The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) heavily influenced Scorsese in the making of his own gangster films Goodfellas (1990), and Gangs of New York (2002). The film was picked by Scorcese for his 2005 tribute at Beaubourg, centre d’art et de culture Georges Pompidou (1977) in Paris, France. Biograph is the oldest movie company in America and in existence today, headed by producer/director Thomas R. Bond II.

Scorsese and Taxi Driver (1976) are, among others, named as inspiration for the Massive Attack debut “Blue Lines”.

He signed a four-year, first-look deal to develop projects with studio executives of Paramount. [November 2006]

The Departed (2006) is the highest-grossing movie of his 40-year career ($132,373,442 (USA)).

The Aviator (2004) was his first movie to gross over $100 million in the U.S.

He has worked with big names of music business: Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, ‘Michael Jackson (I)’ and David Bowie.

Directed 17 different actors in Oscar nominated performances: Jodie Foster, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis , Cate Blanchett, Winona Ryder, Ellen Burstyn, Sharon Stone, Diane Ladd,Cathy Moriarty, Juliette Lewis, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Newman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Alan Alda and Mark Wahlberg. (Burstyn, De Niro, Newman, Pesci and Blanchett won Oscars for their roles in one of Scorsese’s movies).

When he won his Best Director Oscar for The Departed (2006), he received the award from legendary directors, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and Steven Spielberg. The four were part of the “New Hollywood” movement of the 1970s and combined have 9 Academy Awards and 38 Nominations.

As a teenager in the Bronx, Scorsese frequently rented Michael Powell’s The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) from a store that only had one copy of the reels. When it wasn’t available the owner told him, “that Romero kid has it,” referring to George A. Romero who was also a big fan of the film. Today, both directors cite the film as a major influence.

Says he was happy with the fact that it took so long for him to win Best Director, because if he had won it earlier, it would have affected his directing and films.

Recipient of the 2007 Kennedy Center Honors. Other recipients that year were Leon Fleisher, Steve Martin, Diana Ross, and Brian Wilson.

Says the only thing he regrets in his career is that he was only able to make The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) on a small budget although he imagined it to be a grand version.

Was originally going to direct The Honeymoon Killers (1969), but was replaced after a week of shooting.

Served as a guest critic on “Siskel & Ebert & the Movies” (1986) following the death of ‘Gene Siskel’. The episode was “The Best Films of the 90s” in which Roger Ebert cited Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) as one of the best films of the 90s (#3). Scorsese’s full list of his favorite films of the 1990s: 10.) Tie: Malcolm X (1992) and Heat (1995), 9.) Fargo (1996), 8.) Crash (1996), 7.) Bottle Rocket (1994), 6.) Breaking the Waves (1996), 5.) Bad Lieutenant (1992), 4.) Eyes Wide Shut (1999), 3.) Duo sang (1994) (“A Borrowed Life”), 2.) The Thin Red Line (1998), 1.) Dao ma zei (1986) (“Horse Thief”).

He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture.

Resides in New York City. His production offices are located on W. 57th Street in Manhattan.

Attended Cardinal Hayes high school in the Bronx as a young man. Fellow alumni included George Carlin, George Dzundza, Regis Philbin and Jamal Mashburn.

Is a fan of the British Hammer Films series.

A huge fan of Fawlty Towers (1975). He describes the episode “The Germans” as “so tasteless, its hilarious.”.

In the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), 7 of Scorsese’s films are listed: Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1982), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995) and The Departed (2006).

Haig Manoogian was Scorsese’s mentor at NYU. He eventually produced Scorsese’s first film (I Call First (1967)) and when he died in 1980, Scorsese dedicated Raging Bull (1980) to Manoogian.

Roger Ebert is a great admirer of Scorsese’s work. 14 of Scorsese’s films were given four stars by Ebert (Mean Streets (1973), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), After Hours (1985), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), The Age of Innocence (1993), Casino (1995), Kundun (1997), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006), Shine a Light (2008)), seven of his films are in Ebert’s Great Movies list (“Mean Streets”, “Taxi Driver”, “Raging Bull”, “After Hours”, “The Last Temptation Of Christ”, “Goodfellas”, and “The Age of Innocence”), and Ebert has written an entire book of his reviews, interviews and essays on Scorsese’s work simply titled “Scorsese By Ebert”.

As of November 10th 2009, five of his films are on the IMDb’s Top 250 Films list: Goodfellas (1990), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The Departed (2006), and Casino (1995).

Amazon Specials!

Alla ricerca dell’isola di Nim è un film del 2008 diretto da Jennifer Flackett e Mark Levin. Il film è interpretato da Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster e Gerard Butler.Una ragazza, Nim, cerca aiuto da parte dell’autore della sua serie di avventura preferita, quando suo padre, uno scienziato, scompare. Nim, però, vive su un’isola nel Sud del Pacifico.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Jennifer Flackett | Mark Levin | Abigail Breslin | Jodie Foster | Gerard Butler

I Want a Justice System to Protect ME, not the Perverts 

Dear Honourable Judge Low,

A Very Long Engagement (2004)

Mathilde (Tautou) in the lighthouse.

The 2004 Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie, The City of Lost Children, Delicatessen) film A Very Long Engagement (Un long dimanche de fiançailles) is one of those rare movies I’m urged to consume myself with annually. In fact it was my favorite film of that year and Jeunet, were it not for the terrible Alien Resurrection, has a nearly flawless list of films he has directed, at least in my opinion. Here, Jeunet once again gets to work with the quirky, lovable, and brilliant Audrey Tautou, who were it not for her humble choice of roles outside of The Da Vinci Code, would probably be a Hollywood icon. They clearly compliment each other, as in A Very Long Engagement Jeunet recaptures everything that makes Tautou so wonderful in Amélie. But that’s not all. Jeunet has an outstanding international ensemble in this movie. Jeunet regular Dominique Pinon is back once again. 2007 Oscar winner Marion Cotillard (La Môme a.k.a. La Vie en rose) is absolutely perfect as the tragic anti-hero and clever revenge connoisseur, Tina Lombardi. Gaspard Ulliel, who plays the infamous title character in 2007’s Hannibal Rising, co-stars opposite Tautou, and is as equally engaging for his pure boyish innocence in the role. Even Jodie Foster appears in a supporting role and is as compelling as ever. On the technical side Bruno Delbonnel (unquestionably among the best cinematographers in the world) collaborates again with Jeunet to make a great story also a visually dazzling film. Frequent David Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti scores the film effectively as well. But enough about who made the movie.

A great landscape shot from the movie.

Marion Cotillard as resourceful assassin Tina Lombardi.

A Very Long Engagement follows Mathilde (Tautou), an orphan partially paralyzed from polio, as she undertakes a desperate journey to find her fiancé, a French soldier in World War I named Manech (Ulliel). Their love for one another is portrayed as remarkably profound and that really is what this movie is built on. Jeunet has a unique way of introducing characters to us. He makes it almost impossible to not relate in some way to them. The characters in his films are far more charming than most, especially here. Manech was one of five soldiers convicted of self-mutilation. He did this so he would no longer have to serve. All five soldiers faced a death sentence by being forced to enter No Man’s Land between the French and German trenches. All are assumed to have not survived but Mathilde’s faith in Manech’s survival cannot be shaken. A Very Long Engagement is seen through the perspective of both primary characters, but mostly focuses on Mathilde. I won’t give away the end but suffice to say it is among the most beautiful bittersweet movie moments in many years.

A horrifying but equally outstanding landscape shot from the film.

Although brief, Audrey Tautou's bum is in this movie, and that might earn 5 stars by itself.

In such a passionate story that never loses my attention I sometimes forget how amazing this film is visually. You can plainly see that Jeunet is delighted to tell his story with a big budget, and believe me he uses it wisely. The war scenes do not for one second turn away. Even with all I’ve heard, read about, or seen visual interpretations of; nothing could prepare me for Jeunet’s seemingly spot-on depiction of World War I trench warfare brutality. What’s amazing is he contrasts these fragmented horrific visuals with mostly gorgeous countryside shots of north western France and gazing shots of the beautiful and delicate Mathilde. Seems so appropriate, as the world I see today might need these contrasts as a reminder of how very beautiful life has the potential to be. A Very Long Engagement to me is the total package. It really is what movies should be about and I very highly recommend it to anyone.

My rating is 5 out of 5 stars.

It dawned on me after I posted the previous installment of this series that I failed to write a pithy little introduction. My apologies. It is difficult when one takes into consideration that by the time I’m finished with this project I will have written about 20 such intros. What makes it even harder is that my taste in movies tends to be so eclectic, something that is really being driven home to me as I write these little dittiess, that usually there’s nothing to tie any 5 of these movies together. Today’s entry is a perfect example. There are virtually no similarities between any of these five films. I suppose the good thing is that with such a wide variety of things that I like I am bound to touch on atleast one thing or another that’ll be of interest to everyone.

65 Airplane!

If anyone were ever to build a Mount Rushmore of parody films, the first and foremost honoree would have to be Airplane!. Made in 1980, the film is meant to spoof a plethora of 70’s airline disaster flicks. It’s cast is a brilliant collection of heretofore tough guy types known for their dramatic roles, most notably Robert Stack, Leslie Nielsen, Loyd Bridges, and Peter Graves, who are very much cast against type. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar makes a super fun cameo as himself apparently trying to live a double life as an airline pilot under an assumed name. The plot involves many of the passengers and nearly the entire crew, including the pilot and co-pilot, becoming ill because of food poisoning and a passenger who just happens to be a pilot with post traumatic stress disorder being called into action to fly and land the plane. But this is another rare case where the story takes a back seat. This time though the centerpiece of hilarity are sight gags and side-splitting word play. One has to watch Airplane! a few times to take in all the visual and verbal gags. There’s Barbara Billingsley, the mother on Leave It to Beaver, speaking ebonics. The emergency autopilot is a blowup doll. A guy who thinks he’s Ethel Merman (played, in her final appearance on film, by Ethel Merman). Co-pilots named Roger and Captain Oveur (think about it). And the great thing is, it never gets old. After over a quarter century those of us who love this movie still laugh when we watch.

64 Raging Bull

Robert Deniro is such a brilliant actor that he could take the worst story imaginable and make it halfway compelling. Fortunately as real life boxer Jake Lamotta, in a film directed by the legendary Martin Scorcese, Deniro has a good story with which to work. He also has capable support from Joe Pesci in what was his first major film. I’m not a big boxing fan, but the acting and Scorcese’s style make this a modern classic. Maybe if I’d have been born a few years earlier or if I loved boxing as much as I do other sports Raging Bull would rank higher, as it does on most lists of this ilk. However, I must remain true to my own tastes and preferences, and this is where it falls on my spectrum.

63 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Readers of this series know by now of my affection for Jimmy Stewart. I’m also a bit of a political aficionado and an unabashed patriot, so Mr. Smith falls right into my wheelhouse. The story revolves around a small town yokel (a role Stewart showed many times he could play perfectly) who is handpicked to fill an open seat in the U.S. Senate. He is chosen by a corrupt political machine who believes he can be easily manipulated so they can achieve their selfish goals. The villain in this complex web of deceit is the elder senator from Stewart’s state, played by Claud Rains, who is probably better known for playing the corrupt police official in Casablanca. Rains played the role of conflicted slimeball several times and was apparently quite good at it. I’m not sure how a Frenchman snagged the role of a United States Senator, and the fact that he doesn’t really make much of an effort to hide the accent is somewhat distracting. Adding support as a caustic adminstrative aide is Jean Arthur. She is assigned the task of babysitting the doe-eyed new Senator and gradually falls for him. The plotline specifics, in which Stewart’s character wants to build a “national boys’ camp” on land that, unbeknownst to him, Rains’ character has more nefarious and profitable plans in store, are not necessarily all that crucial. The film is about political corruption, and in its time it was groundbreaking. We’ve become a much more cynical nation now. But 70 years ago a movie that took such a dark view of the inner workings of our government was quite controversial. Stewart’s performance show’s his range. Over the course of his career, from lighthearted comedies like Harvey and The Philadelphia Story through Hitchcockian fare such as Vertigo and Rear Window to hardscrabble westerns including Shenandoah and The Rare Breed Stewart did a bit of everything and proved himself to be a fine actor. With Mr. Smith he gives a small sampling of that range within one movie, goofy and fun in some scenes and dark and solemn in others. Because of the access the masses now have through things like CSPAN, the internet, and talk radio there’s not a whole lot that goes on in Washington DC that’s unknown or all that shocking. To some degree that hurts the legacy of Mr. Smith because we don’t see what the big deal is outside of Stewart’s winning charm. However, taken within the context of its time it’s quite a cinematic achievement.

62 Meet the Parents

DeNiro makes a second appearance in today’s group, so I guess I was wrong…there is a common thread after all. This time however, he’s doing comedy…and doing it surprisingly well. Meet the Parents stars Ben Stiller as a male nurse who goes home for the weekend with his girlfriend (who he is planning to make his fiancee) to…you guessed it…meet her parents. Unfortunately for Stiller, things get off on the wrong foot and get worse from there. Hilarity ensues. This is one of those movies that has more than its fair share of memorable scenes and lines, which is its main charm. Stiller has never been funnier in my opinion, and Owen Wilson has an hysterical cameo as the girlfriend’s former boyfriend. After watching this film water volleyball, Puff the Magic Dragon, airports, and cats can never be thought of like they were before…trust me. A sequel was made a few years later called Meet the Fockers. It was okay, but as with most sequels it failed to rise to the high level of the original.

61 Silence of the Lambs

Is it a horror film?? I suppose. I’m not necessarily sure how the experts categorize it. If it is officially a horror film it is most certainly on the high end…..sort of like how Dom Perrignon and Andre Extra Dry are both technically champagne but one is $150/bottle and the other is available at 7/11. Silence of the Lambs is based on a really great book about a young FBI agent who enlists the aid of a jailed, psychotic cannibal to track down a fellow serial killer. The psychotic cannibal is Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lechter and he is one of the creepiest yet most sublime creations in cinematic history as portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins. Unlike most maniacal killers in stereotypical gorefests (think Jason from Friday the 13^th, Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street), Hannibal doesn’t need knives or chainsaws, doesn’t wear a mask, and doesn’t have any kind of otherworldly nonsensical powers. He’s actually pretty realistic…almost like a normal person you or I may know, may work with, or who might live down the street…except for the fact that he likes to eat humans. Jodie Foster is fantastic as Clarice Starling, the agent who looks to be in way over her head. The whodunit part of the movie is secondary to the interactions involving Hannibal and Clarice, but it’s also what separates Silence of the Lambs from the rest of the cliched mass of blood-n-guts. Sure there is some violence, but there is also a compelling story and extraordinary performances. I won’t go so far as to say the movie is better than the book, but let’s call it a tie.

It’s always strange meeting someone for the first time when they are dressed as a monster covered in tiny pieces of green crepe. At a Halloween party in an unmarked loft apartment in Los Angeles, I saw a young woman getting beer out of the refrigerator.
“Are you a roller girl?”
“I’m one of the girls from Whip It, I don’t know which one, Drew Barrymore I guess?”
The girl was carrying six cans of Bud Light, and fell to the floor in a great crash, sending beer in all directions.
“Fucking skates,” she said, crawling to her feet, unfazed. “Who are you supposed to be? Are you Blossom?” I was wearing a floppy hat, a filmy pink nightgown shirt, and platform shoes.
“No! I’m Jodie Foster from the movie Taxi Driver.”
“Oh.” She looked confused.
“I’m a baby prostitute from the 70’s.”
The problem is, I know nothing at all about Jodie Foster’s character in Taxi Driver besides the fact that she was a baby prostitute in the 1970’s.
“Was your name Jodie?”
“I don’t know! I was a prostitute. I was twelve.”
“Oh.” She looked confused, and skated away.

Meanwhile, a monster sat on a nearby couch, looking melancholy.
“Who are you supposed to be?” I asked him.
“A monster,” he said.
“What kind of monster? Does your monster have a story?”
“No. I’m just a monster.”
“Halloween parties are so weird,” I said.
“Why?”
“There are just so many random people. Like those people. Who the fuck are they?” I motioned over to the stairwell, where two girls in eurotrash hiking boots and a man wearing white tights with his leg hair showing through were making their entrance.
“Those are my really good friends,” the monster said, looking even more melancholy.
“Oh. Oh no. I didn’t mean that. They look really cool. Um. So, what do you do?”
“Are we really going to have one of those LA conversations right now?”
“Oh. Not if you don’t want to.”
The monster looked at my tiny shorts, platforms and filmy shirt. “What are you supposed to be?”
“Jodie Foster. A prostitute. I don’t know. I have to go to the bathroom.”
I wandered over to the food table to eat a chocolate donut. “Do these chocolate doughnuts have weed in them?” I asked the resident of the house, who was dressed as David Carradine, complete with a gray wig, a rope around his neck, and a black dildo. About five people knew who he was supposed to be.
“The doughnuts are from Smart and Final,” he said. I stood next to a girl in a headdress, who was eating hummus and tortilla chips.
“Who are you supposed to be?” I asked.
“I’m Smokahontas,” she said, squinting.
I had a sudden craving for carne asada tacos. “Do you know where to get a burrito around here?”
She squinted again and rubbed her eyes, thinking very hard about Mexican food in some deep recess of her brain. Finally she said, “Oh, like Chipotle?”
“Um, sure.”
Smokahontas wiped some hummus from her cheek. “Dude, I don’t even know where I am right now. Sorry.”

I spent the rest of the party dozing on the couch next to my roommate, who was dressed either as a band geek or a majorette, depending on her proximity to anything that resembled a baton.
“What’s a majorette, anyway?” she asked.
“A hot girl in front of the marching band who throws a baton in the air.”
“I don’t have a baton,” she said.
“What about a drumstick?”
“Look, here’s a walking stick!”
“That walking stick cost $25 at Walgreens,” my other roommate said.
“Never mind, then. I’ll just be a band geek.”
I looked around for any strangers within hearing distance, and then I asked my question.
“Hey guys… do I look like Blossom?”
My roommates looked at me in shocked silence.
“Eek! No, not at all!”
Here’s hoping, for everyone’s sake.

Concerned Students of Richmond High

The police in Richmond California have arrested 6  people in connection with the rape and torture of a 15-year-old high school sophomore outside of the homecoming dance at Richmond High school.

Richmond High boast a multi-cultural group of students, all from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The students are from lower to middle class families, all hardworking and primarily blue collar.It resembles the demographics in many urban inner city communities in California, as well as my own community in Southern California where I live .

The following are the demographics for Richmond, California as of 2007…

Races in Richmond:

• Black (36.1%)
• Hispanic (26.5%)
• White Non-Hispanic (21.2%)
• Other race (13.9%)
• Two or more races (5.3%)
• Chinese (3.3%)
• Filipino (3.1%)
• Other Asian (2.9%)
• American Indian (1.6%)
• Asian Indian (1.2%)
• Japanese (0.9%)
• Korean (0.5%)
• Vietnamese (0.5%)
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (0.5%)

The estimated median household income for the citizens of Richmond in 2007 was $50,293 (it was $44,210 in the 2000 census), and the stats for California median household income was by comparison $59,948.

Estimated median house or condo value in 2007: $484,000 (it was $170,700 in 2000) while in the whole state, it averaged out to be $532,300, in that same year.

The average price of a rental was in 2007 was $1,012, and the percentage of residents living in poverty was in 2007 17.6%. For more statistics on the demographics for Richmond, click on my source below…
http://www.city-data.com/city/Richmond-California.html#ixzz0VZipWJH4

The point being is that Richmond is at no level a totally impoverished or in no way a minority community, as some  have so unfairly labeled it, due to their ignorance , but rather a diverse multicultural community where minorities, white families, and immigrants reside to form a community that resembles the racial melting pot here in America.

Only a racist would see it any differently.

It is in fact, not a white dominated community, which to some may seem like a black community, but that is just because they prefer an all white community over a diverse one that highlights several races of American citizens.Just old fashioned American racism.

This brutal rape was an issue of power, humiliation, and control,like most rapes, and race or poverty had absolutely nothing to do with it. The fact that some of the perpetrators were black, latino, and white is purely a coincidence, and not some genetically programmed predisposition to be a violent criminal gang rapist as some are publicizing.

If that were the case, then one would have to believe that all white people are genetically programmed to be high school mass murderers like the Columbine killers, or rapist and murderers that eat their victims like Jeffery Dahmer.

I am sure that the fact that they were white is purely coincidental. There crimes rank as some of the most reprehensible crimes of the 20th century.I am certain that  these crimes by these non-minority killers had an influence on these rapist, more than any other possible influence.

It is only logical, based on the media that the crimes garnered.

The police are reporting that one of six suspects arrested in the gang rape of the 15-year-old girl outside Richmond High School’s homecoming dance will be released after prosecutors declined to file charges, authorities said Friday.

The name of the released suspect is Salvador Rodriguez, 21, and was set free due to a lack of sufficient evidence to connect him to the crime.

Five other suspects remain in custody. The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that…Cody Ray Smith, 15, of San Pablo; Marcelles James Peter, 17, of Pinole; and Ari Abdallah Morales, 16, of San Pablo are juveniles being charged as adults. They all face felony counts of rape in concert and penetration with a foreign object. Morales also is charged with felony robbery for allegedly stealing the girl’s jewelry.

Manuel Ortega, 19, of Richmond is charged with rape in concert, robbery and assault causing great bodily injury. He is being held on $1.2 million bail…

Police on Thursday night arrested Jose Carlos Montano, 18, near his San Pablo home in the 1800 block of 16th Street.

The spokesman for the Richmond police  said Montano played a “significant” role in the assault and police will request felony charges of rape, rape in concert with violence, penetration with a foreign object and a special enhancement requesting life in prison.

“The charges accurately reflect the severity of (Montano’s) actions,” the Richmond police spokesman said.

Crimes of this nature are unusual in communities like Richmond. The police and community are up in arms about the severity and devilish brutality, the like that are usually limited to the upper class, and wealthy suburban communities.

In 1988 Jodie Foster portrayed a gang rape victim in the Academy Award nominated film ”The Accused” which portrayed a real life gang rape and the victims quest for justice, which happened in 1983 in the wealthy and tony Upstate New York, which is predominantly white.

Jodie Foster plays the flirtatious Sarah Tobias, who goes to a local bar, flirts with some bar patrons, and then she is violently gang raped by several patrons of the bar, while many others watched, and did not intercede.

I would make a note that there were no black or mexican patrons in that bar to witness, or perpetrate this gang rape, and no rapist there was poverty-stricken, debunking any suggestion that this rape and torture is in any way due to race or poverty issues.

The real name of the real life gang rape victim portrayed by Foster, is Cheryl Ann Araujo. Click the link to find out more about Cheryls’ gang rape…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheryl_Araujo

The racial demographics of New Bedford, the actual site of the rape portrayed in the ‘Accused’ movie is… 78.86% White, 4.39% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 9.51% from other races, and 5.92% from two or more races…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Bedford,_Massachusetts

This case is simply human brutality, which knows no racial boundaries, and the mere suggestion of that as even a reason for this violent rape, is patently offensive.

Here is a link to a review of the movie, which intelligently juxtaposes the Sarah Tobias Upper New York gang rape by white men against a single white female, to the gang rape of this 15-year-old Richmond High school student…

http://www.xomba.com/movie_review_accused_starring_academy_award_winner_jodie_foster

By the way, Jodie Foster won the Oscar for best actress for her portrayal of gang rape victim Sarah Tobias, which was great for Jodie, but may have sent the wrong message to the public, and may have influenced this gang rape in Richmond, unwittingly.

In 2005, Samuel L. Jackson portrayed Richmond High school’s controversial basketball Coach Ken Carter, who made national attention when the Richmond High  team was well on its way to the 1999 State Championship, when he  received the low grades of his players. Coach Carter  locked the gym and benched the whole team for poor grades.

Coach Carter received some praise and much more criticism for his decision.

The name of the movie was ”Coach Carter”…http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0393162/

In an interview Coach Carter gave on CNN  Friday, Carter spoke by telephone to Richmond High School Senior Class President Gina Saechad.   He promised Saechad he would return to the school to help.

When asked about his reaction to the gang rape, he told CNN that he could see it coming when he coached at the school 10 years ago.

“Someone (at the school) was asleep at the wheel,” he said.

He went on to tell Class President Gina Saechad that you are not what people think about you, but you are what you think about yourself…

He is arranging a fund-raiser in support of the gang rape victim, and vows to help out with the students at Richmond High, which holds a special place in his heart.

It would make a great impression on the students if they can see a role model and a leader in society that has come from their community, and had a positive, yet challenging experience there as an educator.

Who knows, maybe he can convince Samuel Jackson to stop by the school and deliver a talk about self esteem , love and compassion for your fellow-man, in any given circumstance. A visit by a movie star and the subject of a hit movie, Ken Carter could make a positive impression on the Richmond High students.

In closing, the only issue here is discipline, and compassion, which seems to be lacking in some of the students involved in this horrendously brutal crime against humanity.

As illustrated by the Jodie Foster movie, this type of barbaric behavior is not endemic to poverty or race as some media, and faux liberal political cartel blogs might want to portray it, it is simply a case of human brutality that no race of people is immune to,across the board. Any one perpetuating this myth, is a liar.

Read more at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/30/BAR01AD19F.DTL#ixzz0VZpkExGZ

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-banks31-2009oct31,0,41271.column?track=rss

The Accused-1988

Coach Carter movie poster

Richmond High School is accepting cards and donations for the victim to go towards her care. They can be mailed to the school at 1250 23rd St., Richmond, CA 94804-1011. Make checks out to the Richmond High Student Fund.

Stop every little thing that you’re doing–life altering updates are IN:

1.  Survey results:  pilot/pilot hanky panky in the cockpit–8,353 people voted yes (the equivalent of a small town); pilot/pilot sleeping or engaged in deep conversation:  2 people voted yes (Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar– they don’t believe in cockpit hanky panky).

2.  Little fart in a wind storm.  Did you know if you Google this favorite phrase of Joyce’s it comes up 33,000 times and is used to refer to everything from Iraq to China to the Clinton years.  Who knew Joyce was so Google-icious?

3.  ChazJoyce (a Hugh Jackman look-alike) got back to us about the bars.  Here is what he reported:  “I have to keep my desk locked these days.  Once the bell rings at 2:20, Mar-joyce is swimming upstream past the kids leaving school, trying to reach my room for one of her ‘bars.’   After 7 of them, I try to remind her that she’s struggling to squeeze through my doorway, but that seems to have little-to-no effect on her.  I don’t know what else to do.  She’s eating me out of house and home and bars.  I can only refill the supply so often and so quickly.  And she’s dressing as an airline pilot for Halloween.’  (It’s that time of year when Joyce likes to observe and celebrate bar time.  It’s the Halloweenie thing to do.  According to J, there is nothing like the Snickers snack size.  However, we are partial to the Reese’s Cup.  What’s your favorite?)

  4.  We’ve come up with a way to earn some extra cash.  We’re going to set up a little snack cart in the pediatrician’s parking lot.  We’ll sell juice boxes, bars, sour gummy worms, Corona Lights, Slim Jims, and hot dogs.  Are we the only ones who see a huge profit margin in this business?  Can’t you see it . . . all those parents waiting in their cars with their little sick naughties . . . desperate . . . for . . . something . . . to take the pain away.  Spike is very pleased with our ingenuity and is financially backing the entire project.

5.  Bulldog is feeling a little better.  The naughty sparkle has returned to his eye and he is sitting up straight again.  Due to his illness, Mama had to miss a girlfriend field trip and girlfriend night out.  Boo hoo hoo.  Poor Mama.  Thank God for movies or we’d be climbing the walls.  We escaped to Australia with Nicky Kidman (we’re beginning to detect some ‘cat’ in her face).  And we enjoyed the glistening and toned body of Hugh Jackman . . . . . .

(Thank you, Hugh, that was very nice.)  Then we were off to Nim’s Island with Jodie Foster.  We wore our travel scarf the entire time and Bulldog lined up all his stuffed animal friends to watch with us.  Who needs a theater when you have a big bed and a bigger bowl of popcorn? 

Happy Halloweenie to all Joycerinos!

Check Out Our Cool New Affirmation Apps:

Check out our new affirmation apps for Apple devices or search i-mobilize on the iTunes store. The Affirmation Spot is developing these motivation apps in partnership with i-mobilize. Click an app to view it – Love Magnet, Sales Booster, Confidence Affirmation, or Full Body Scan.

Contact is a 1997 movie based on a book by Carl Sagan and starring Jodie Foster. It is one of my all-time favorite movies. Foster plays Ellie Arroway a highly-driven, highly rational astronomer searching for extraterrestrial life.

Her ridiculed search becomes an international sensation when her team detects a sentient message coming outer space. The message contains instructions for building a vehicle to rendezvous with the aliens. After a few twists and turns, Arroway winds up being Earth’s representative.

Her spiritual skepticism is tested when she has a profound experience that defies scientific explanation. The following scene includes her voyage to the rendezvous point and her meeting with an alien who represents himself as her father.

The key is the message delivered by the alien about how important we all are. The scene has unforgettable imagery. Enjoy and remember all we have is each other!

Upon return, Arroway has to explain her unprovable experience before a Congressional committee investigating the whole situation as a fraud. She makes an impassioned speech wishing that everyone could see what she has seen.

Stay inspired!

Ray

2009 Affirmation

“This year I am absolutely committed to being the person I came here to be!”

Jodie Foster is directing a movie called “The Beaver“?? oh come on!

now that’s funny. really.

Szokujący raport na temat “miłości”

Musisz wiedzieć, czym jest stalking.
Wielka miłość, bezgraniczne oddanie, kwiaty, telefony. Ale zamiast szczęścia, rodzi się koszmar. “Wielbiciel” nie daje ofierze spokoju, osacza ją i prześladuje. Taka praktyka, czyli stalking, czasem kończy się tragicznie. Tak zamordowano Miss Polski Agnieszkę Kotlarską.
GDY RAJ PRZERADZA SIĘ W PIEKŁO
Zaczyna się często miło i niepozornie. Z czasem jednak kwiaty, listy , telefony i inne dowody uczucia i oddania zaczynają być męczące, a namolny wielbiciel nie daje sobie wyperswadować kontaktu. Finał bywa tragiczny.
Pierwotnie słowo “stalking” tyczyło się prześladowców celebrytów. Takich jak John Hinckley, który w latach 80. próbował zastrzelić prezydenta Stanów Zjednoczonych Ronalda Reagana – jak twierdził, w imię miłości do nastoletniej wówczas Jodie Foster. Zgodnie z aktualnie obowiązującą w USA definicją stalking jest “celowym, złośliwym i wielokrotnym prześladowaniem i molestowaniem innej osoby, które zagraża jej bezpieczeństwu“.
Często stalker w swoje praktyki angażuje rodzinę albo osoby z otoczenia swojej ofiary – prosząc o przekazanie wiadomości, radę lub wstawiennictwo. Ofiarą stalkingu zazwyczaj jest kobieta, a sprawcą – jej dawny, np. porzucony partner (50 proc. przypadków), współpracownik szukający zemsty za domniemaną krzywdę lub przypadkowo spotkany mężczyzna obsesyjnie wręcz poszukujący kontaktów intymnych z ofiarą. Stalker często jest osobą cierpiącą na zaburzenia psychiczne takie jak obsesja, schizofrenia, paranoja prześladowcza.
FINAŁ BYWA TRAGICZNY
Często ofiara pełni funkcje publiczne (jest lekarką, pielęgniarką, psycholożką). Prześladowca nawiązuje z nią kontakt na gruncie zawodowym, po czym zaczyna ingerować w jej życie prywatne, narzucając się z kontaktem i angażując otoczenie. Nierzadko próbuje zdyskredytować ofiarę w miejscu pracy, w ramach zemsty lub po to, by wejść w rolę jej pocieszyciela.
Osaczona ofiara niemal zawsze zmuszona jest zmienić numer telefonu, w skrajnych przypadkach nawet miejsce pracy i zamieszkania. Często nie ma odwagi zgłosić się na policję w przekonaniu, że przyjmując kwiaty czy zgadzając się na spotkanie, sama sprowokowała oprawcę. A to błąd, gdyż stalking może
skończyć się tragicznie – nawet śmiercią ofiary.
Z raportu opublikowanego we Włoszech wynika, że 10 proc. morderstw popełnionych w latach 2003 – 2005 poprzedzonych było prześladowaniami. W Polsce w podobny sposób została brutalnie zamordowana przez prześladowcę Miss Polski Agnieszka Kotlarska. Dlatego wiele krajów wprowadziło regulacje grożące odpowiedzialnością karną za stalking – są to między innymi Stany Zjednoczone, Wielka Brytania, Kanada i Włochy, które dołączyły do tego grona po opublikowaniu szokującego raportu. Polska niestety do grona tych państw nie należy.

(Courtesy of High Octane Wrestling)

Announcer guy: “And now it’s time to return to the Shelly Scott program.”

Shelly Scott, a bubbleheaded beach blonde, shuffles her notes.

Shelly Scott: “And welcome back to the Shelly Scott program.  I am Shelly Scott and next, we have a wrestler who’s about to debut on High Octane Wrestling here in Chicago.  Please welcome to the Shelly Scott program- Dr. Annabel ‘The Cannibal’ Lecktor and her handler FBI Special Agent Charlize Starling!”

Polite applause.  Starling leads Dr. Lecktor, wearing a mask and hands and arms tied up in a straitjacket, to the chairs.  Starling helps Dr. Lecktor down.

Shelly Scott: “Dr. Lecktor!  Welcome to the Shelly Scott program.”

Dr. Lecktor slowly turns and stares at the host.

Starling: “It’s okay, Shelly.  Dr. Lecktor can be very non-verbal at times.”

Shelly Scott: “I see.  This should make for a fascinating interview.

Dr. Lecktor: “Oh, now you’re just being rude.  I don’t like rude people.”

Shelly Scott: “I’m…I’m sorry, Dr. Lecktor.

Dr. Lecktor: “You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste. Good nutrition’s given you some length of bone, but you’re not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Shelly Scott? And that accent you’ve tried so desperately to shed: pure West Virginia.  And by the way, what is up with saying Shelly Scott every five seconds.  I know I’m on the Shelly Scott show.  The people watching know they’re watching the Shelly Scott show.  I know you’re Shelly Scott.  They know you’re Shelly Scott.  STOP SAYING SHELLY SCOTT EVERY FIVE SECONDS!”

Scott’s face is frozen in a frightened stare with her eyes wide open.

Charlize: “It’s okay.  She gets like that this time of the month.”

Shelly Scott: “O…okay…um…we’ll be back with Dr. Lecktor on the…um…this show…in a second.”

Tech. Director: “And we’re clear.”

Dr. Lecktor: “Good.  Whew!  Charlize can you pull this mask up?”  

Charlize pulls the mask up like a hockey goalie would. 

Dr. Lecktor: “Thanks.  Hey, can someone get me a drink?  I am parched.  Wow…this straitjacket is really making me sweat.”  She turns to a still stunned Shelly Scott.  “Hey, thanks for having me on the show.  It means a lot for a housewife like me to end up on a big time show like yours.”

Shelly Scott: “Y-you’re…a housewife?”

Dr. Lecktor: “In real life, yes.  I originally just did this wrestling gig as a way to make some extra money.  I actually worked at Political Championship Wrestling in the office and one night…”

Tech. Director: “Twenty seconds.”

Dr. Lecktor: “…they asked me if I wanted to play Dr. Lecktor at one of the shows.  Apparently, I had the right size and build they were looking for.  So I took the gig and made some extra cash on the side.”

Shelly Scott: “So…so now you’re doing this full time?”

Dr. Lecktor: “Yeah.  My husband lost his job and so someone has to bring home the ol’ bacon.  He’s on unemployment and such but that doesn’t remotely make up for the loss of income.  So, I had some contacts in the industry with me working at PCW and…”

Tech. Director: “Ten seconds.”

Dr. Lecktor: “…I called in a couple favors and wall-lah.  Here I am.”

Tech. Director: “Five…four…three…two…one.”  He points at Shelly.

Shelly Scott: “Hello and welcome back to the Shelly Scott show.  I’m Shelly Scott and with me is-”

Dr. Lecktor: “You’re doing it again.”

Shelly Scott: “Ah…doing what?”

Dr. Lecktor: “Saying you’re name every five seconds.  It’s annoying.”

Shelly Scott: “Um…o-kay.  Dr. Lecktor, we were talking off air about how you got into wrestling and you told me this great story about-”

Dr. Lecktor: “After your father’s murder, you were orphaned. You were ten years old. You went to live with cousins in a small village along a small waterway by the Tashkowaski Dam, built in 1931 as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s WPA inititiative to provide jobs to those who were thrown out of work during the Great Depression.”

Shelly Scott: “Yes, Dr. Lecktor, that’s correct.  Now, if we can get back to-”

Dr. Lecktor: “Your cousins lived in a ramshackle cabin made of cheap wood and you could hear everything.  You could hear the water running.  You could hear your cousin snoring.  You could even hear your aunt and uncle doing their reenactment of William T. Sherman’s march through Georgia at two o’clock in the morning.”

Shelly Scott: “Yes…yes…that’s true.  But-”

Dr. Lecktor: “Then one day, a knock developed in two of the dam’s water driven turbines and the loud noise from the engines allowed you to sleep in peace at night without having to hear the water running, your cousin snoring, or your aunt screaming out ‘ravage me,’ ‘pillage me’ at the top of her lungs at two o’clock in the morning.”

Shelly Scott: “Y-yes.  I was finally able to get a good night’s sleep.”  (she whispers out of the side of her mouth)  “Your mask is up.”

Charlize quickly reaches across and puts the mask back down.

Dr. Lecktor: “Sorry.  Now, where was I?  Oh yes.  But then, dear Shelly, engineers repaired the knocking sound coming from the turbines by putting in a new efficient, state of the art turbine engine that made no sound at all.  It was quite a tramautic experience for you, wasn’t it?”

Shelly Scott: “Y-yes…it was.”

Dr. Lecktor: “And what was it, Shelly.  What was it that made your life a living hell for years as you lived with the sound of water running, you cousin snoring, and your aunt crying out “I’m burning, I’m burning,” and your uncle replying “I’ve tried to put on more lubrication dear but it’s not working!”

Shelly appears to be on the verge of tears.

Shelly Scott: “It was…the silence.  The…silence of the dams.”

Tech. Director: “Okay, we’re in commercial.”

Dr. Lecktor: “So anyways, with my husband out of work, he stays home with my three children: Allie, Jenna, and Sam.  He’s not very good at grocery shopping yet even though I try to put together a list of things to buy.  He’s good at making pizza and burgers but the kids shouldn’t eat that every day, right Charlize?”

Charlize: “Absolutely.”

Tech. Director: “Ten seconds!”

Shelly Scott: “Oh, no…”

Dr. Lecktor: “I do call my kids every night I’m in Chicago.  Thankfully, I can drive home on weekends to see my husband so this hasn’t put too much of a strain on our marriage…”

Tech. Director: “Five…four…three…two…one.”

Shelly Scott: “Okay.  We’re back.  I’m Shelly Scott.  This is Shelly Scott show.”

Dr. Lecktor: “Hello Clarice.”

Shelly Scott: “My name is Shelly.”

Dr. Lecktor: “I know because you keep saying it EVERY FIVE SECONDS!”  She starts to sniff as if she smells something.  “Are you…wearing perfume?”

Shelly Scott: “Yes.”

Dr. Lecktor: “May I?”  She takes Shelly’s arm and sniffs it up and down.  “Hmmm, your arm would go nicely with some fava beans and a nice chianti.  I do wish we could chat longer, but…it’s time to have a new friend for dinner.”

Dr. Lecktor leaps on top of Scott who lets out a high-pitched, blood-curdling scream.  Charlize tries to pull her off.

Charlize: “DOC-TOR LECKTOR!  DOC-TOR LECKTOR!  NO!  YOU PROMISED!  DOC-TOR LECKTOR!

The show cuts away quickly to commercial…

Inspirado por el deseo del rey Alfonso XIII de construir un hotel de lujo que estuviera a la altura del Ritz de París, el Hotel Ritz de Madrid, inaugurado en 1910, comparte con sus homónimos de París y Londres la reputación de ser uno de los hoteles más majestuosos de Europa. El hotel se diseñó y construyó bajo la supervisión personal del legendario hotelero Cesar Ritz, de quien adoptó el nombre.El Ritz ha desempeñado un papel esencial en la vida de Madrid durante el último siglo. Aún hoy, el hotel persiste como un punto de atracción clave para muchos visitantes de esta capital europea.

A principios del siglo pasado, el rey Alfonso XIII volvía de sus viajes por Europa con el recuerdo de los palacios que había visitado impreso en la memoria. Madrid era una ciudad de intensa vitalidad, con edificios soberbios y hermosos jardines. Sin embargo, de un modo u otro le faltaba algo. El Rey fue el primero en ser consciente de cuánto ganaría la ciudad si contara con un gran hotel de lujo de la misma categoría del Ritz de París o Londres.

Se puso manos a la obra y no perdió tiempo en poner estas ideas en práctica. Madrid debía ofrecer a sus visitantes algo realmente extraordinario: un hotel que pudiera satisfacer el gusto más refinado de un nuevo tipo de viajero, que sólo por aquel entonces empezaba a conocerse como “turista”.

El sueño del monarca comenzó a hacerse realidad. La edificación del Ritz -grandioso, luminoso y confortable- había comenzado con el respaldo de la Compañía de Desarrollo Ritz. Charles Mewes, de París, y Luis de Landecho, de Madrid, fueron los arquitectos responsables. En poco tiempo, las paredes del futuro hotel sobrepasaban ya las magnolias, los cedros y las acacias del Prado.

Lo último en comodidad y lujo en aquella época era contar con cuatro o cinco cuartos de baño en cada planta del hotel. Con instalaciones como éstas, el Ritz se convirtió de inmediato en uno de los hoteles más lujosos del mundo. Había un teléfono por piso junto al ascensor, el cual también estaba considerado como un ejemplo sublime del lujo moderno.

Actualmente, el Hotel Ritz mantiene estas tradiciones, aunque los baños y teléfonos son estándar en todas las habitaciones, las cuales cuentan además con conexiones Wireless de alta velocidad a Internet.

A su vez el  Restaurante Goya es cita obligada para los paladares más exigentes, el té de media tarde en el Lobby Bar, un almuerzo o cena en La Terraza disfrutando de los increíbles jardines unido a un discreto pero atento servicio, hacen de los Restaurantes y Bar del Ritz los lugares más exclusivos de Madrid. 

Para terminar, destacar la fabulosa ubicación del Hotel,  un auténtico lujo por si misma. El Hotel Ritz está situado entre el Parque del Retiro, el Teatro de la Zarzuela y los tres museos más importantes de Madrid: el Prado, el Thyssen Bornemisza y el Centro de Arte Moderno Reina Sofía.

El hotel se encuentra situado en pleno centro financiero de la capital, a escasos metros de la Bolsa de Madrid, y a 5 minutos a pie del casco histórico.

Sin lugar a duda, el deseo del rey Alfonso XIII de crear un hotel majestuoso se vió cumplido.

Durante casi cien años, el Hotel Ritz Madrid ha dado la bienvenida a las personalidades más representativas de todos los ámbitos: cultura, arte, política, ciencia, moda… El Libro de Oro del Hotel se ha convertido en testigo y testimonio importante de ello.

Esta es una pequeña muestra de algunos de los clientes ilustres del pasado y del presente que han firmado en nuestro Libro de Oro: Rey Alfonso XIII y la Reina Victoria Eugenia ,El Emperador Haile Selassie de Etiopía ,El Rey Jaled de Arabia Saudí , La Reina Sonia de Noruega , El Príncipe de Gales y la Princesa Diana , El Príncipe Raniero y la Princesa Gracia de Mónaco , El Príncipe Naruhito de Japón , El Rey Mohammed VI , El Maharaja de Kapurthala , El Príncipe Ernst August de Hannover , Margaret Thatcher , Fidel Castro , Mijail Gorbachov , Eva Peron , President Jaques Chirac , Kofi Annan , Vladimir Putin , Matta Hari , Romano Prodi , Yaser Arafat , Helmut Kohl , Tony Blair , President Bill Clinton , Nelson Mandela, Herbert von Karajan, Sir George Solti , Cher, Placido Domingo, Marc Anthony , Ana Belen , Madonna , Julio Iglesias , Frank Sinatra, Sting , Arthur Rubinstein , Jennifer Lopez , Elton John , Tina Turner , Brian Ferry , Lorin Maazel , Paul McCartney, Salvador Dali , Alberto Maravia , Fernando Botero, Catherine Deneuve , Sofia Loren , Michael Caine , Pierce Brosnan , Mel Gibson , George Clooney , Milos Forman , Salma Hayek , Nicole Kidman , Ridley Scott , Brad Pitt , Jerry Lewis , Tom Cruise , Monica Bellucci , Dennis Quaid , Sylvester Stallone , Jeremy Irons , Penelope Cruz , Morgan Freeman , Will Smith , Emma Thompson , Harrison Ford , Mel Brooks, Laurence Olivier ,Lesley Howard , Richard Burton , Ava Gardner , Woody Allen , Richard Gere , Roger Moore , Melanie Griffith , Zsa Zsa Gabor ,  Antonio Banderas , Julia Roberts , Henry Fonda , Ben Stiller , Jennifer Connelly , James Stewart , Holly Hunter , Dustin Hoffman , Michelle Pfeiffer , Jodie Foster , Burt Lancaster ,Anthony Hopkins , Marcello Mastroianni , Orson Welles, Alexander Fleming , Christina Onassis , Ivan Trump, David Delfin , Dolce & Gabana , Salvatore Ferraga , Manolo Blanhik , John Galiano.

Más información: http://www.ritz.es/web/orit_es/hotel_ritz_madrid.jsp