SCORSESE DIRECTING NEW DOC ON DAVID JOHANSEN FOR SHOWTIME

The New York Dolls

Showtime Documentary Films announced on Tuesday that renowned filmmaker Martin Scorsese will be directing a new feature on David Johansen, frontman of the New York Dolls.

Co-directed with David Tedeschi — known for his work on other Scorsese documentaries such as No Direction Home and Shine a Light — the film will take an intimate biographical look at Johansen, beginning with his upbringing on Staten Island and his arrival in New York’s East Village in the late Sixties as a teenager.

Buster Poindexter

The doc not only explores Johansen’s time as the lead singer for the New York Dolls but also his stints as the Eighties swing revival alter-ego Buster Poindexter and his Nineties output with the Harry Smiths.
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“I’ve known David Johansen for decades, and his music has been a touchstone ever since I listened to the Dolls when I was making Mean Streets,” Scorsese said. “Then and now, David’s music captures the energy and excitement of New York City.

I often see him perform, and over the years I’ve gotten to know the depth of his musical inspirations. After seeing his show last year at the Café Carlyle, I knew I had to film it because it was so extraordinary to see the evolution of his life and his musical talent in such an intimate setting. For me, the show captured the true emotional potential of a live musical experience.”

MICHAEL C HALL SAYS DEXTER MAY MAKE A COME BACK!

Despite Dexter ending over five years ago, the show’s star Michael C. Hall hasn’t ruled out reprising the role of everyone’s favorite secret serial killer.

Dexter, which focused on the misadventures of Dexter Morgan (Hall), a blood splatter analyst by day and murderous vigilante/serial killer by night, was a smash hit when it premiered in 2006.

Unfortunately, over time, the show – which ran for eight seasons – suffered a decline in viewership until it eventually wrapped itself up (in sheet plastic) with a divisive series finale. The finale upset fans everywhere....anticlimactic to be sure...

Hall stood by the shows ‘lumberjack’ ending explaining it didn’t make sense for Dexter to wrap itself up in a neat little bow.

He explained how it made sense to him how the character would fake his own death to escape his life, and dismissed concerns it stretched credibility:  READ MORE

Dexter: The Complete Series Collection [Blu-ray]

Six Feet Under: Complete Series

KIMMER FAVORITE QUOTES FROM TV FICTIONAL CHARACTERS OF 2013

#1 Walter White
I did it for me. I liked it. 
I was good at it. 
And, I was really... I was alive.

#2  Jesse Pinkman Bitch!

Jesse: You either run from things, or you face them, Mr. White.
Walter: And what exactly does that mean?
Jesse: I learned it in rehab.
It’s all about accepting who you really are.
I accept who I am.
Walter: And who are you?
Jesse: I’m the bad guy.

#3 Dexter Morgan
Miguel: I accept you, Dexter. I accept you like a brother.
Dexter: I killed my brother. I killed yours, too...

 

 #4 Detective Debra Morgan
@#$&!! AND @#$&!!

#5 Gustavo Fring

"You going to look at me today Hector?"

#6 Hector Salamanca

Ding Ding Ding...

#7 Regina the Evil Queen

Well it looks like getting rid of a baby just made my to-do list. 

DEXTER BREAKING BAD AND MADMEN: MY TV OBSESSIONS

I know I am a late bloomer when it comes to watching television of late...being a blogger I am constantly online or talking to friends. My TV consumption had dwindled down to just occasionally watching Madmen online.

Since I discovered Netflix I began to indulge in the newest television craze....the ANTI-HERO.
Jon Hamm (Madmen), Michael C, Hall (Dexter) and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) are stellar at portraying the sociopathic man with an underling love of family mixed with guilt.  Yes i would say all three are conscience challenged...

First I dove head first into the evolution of panic and darkness in Madmen, then Breaking Bad and now Dexter. Have to admit that I was suffering from BRBA withdrawal and found the courage to turn on Dexter after one of my readers told me it was his favorite show of all time....

Now I am entering season 5 of Dexter and I would love to hear from any of you fans of these shows...Kimmer is just dying to hear from you....

JAMES GANDOLFINI FUNERAL

By Chris Francescani

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Family, friends and fans of actor James Gandolfini gathered at a Manhattan cathedral for his funeral on Thursday, a week after the 51-year-old star of the HBO television show "The Sopranos" died of a heart attack while visiting Rome.

Police set up barricades in front of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in upper Manhattan as fans waited to get a glimpse of mourners of the actor whose performance as the burly, cigar-smoking New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano made him a household name.

"He was just so friendly and sweet and humble," actress Laila Robins, who played Tony Soprano's mother as a young woman in the early seasons of the show, said as she arrived for the funeral.

Several members of the cast of "The Sopranos," along with celebrities including Alec Baldwin and his pregnant wife Hilaria Thomas, were escorted into a side entrance of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.

Dick Cavett chatted with actor Steve Buscemi near the front of the church. Aida Turturro, who played Gandolfini's sister in "The Sopranos," was one of the first from that show's large cast to arrive.

Some 1,500 seats had been set up inside the massive cathedral. The public was to be allowed in after the invited guests.

The creator of "The Sopranos," David Chase, is one of four people scheduled to offer remembrances during the ceremony. The others are his widow, Deborah Lin Gandolfini, and two family friends.

David Chase memorializes James Gandolfini

There are cameras in the church, but they are HBO cameras, as the network is footing the bill for the funeral and taping the entire ceremony for what it says is a special video just for family members.

Read more:

FUNERAL FOR JAMES GANDOFINI THIS THURSDAY

(CNN) -- The body of actor James Gandolfini has been returned to the United States, a family friend said Monday. A charter flight to Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday night carried the body of the "Sopranos" star, Michael Kobold said.

An autopsy determined his death was the result of a heart attack, Kobold said.

A funeral service for family and friends is scheduled for Thursday in New York, Kobold said. It will be held at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan.

Gandolfini, 51, died last week while on a working vacation in Rome. He arrived there with his son, Michael, the day before he died. "Jim was happy, he was healthy, he was doing really fine," Kobold said recently. "He was on vacation with his son. He has an 8-month-old daughter. Everything was going great. I just spoke to him on Father's Day."

The same day Gandolfini died, he had visited the Vatican and dined with his son, the family said. After he returned to his room, his son alerted hotel staff that he was not answering knocks on the bathroom door.

James Gandolfini will be buried on Thursday at the famed Saint John the Divine cathedral in Manhattan, HBO announced on Sunday. "We can confirm, on behalf of the Gandolfini Family, that the funeral service for James Gandolfini will be held Thursday, June 27th.

The service will be held at 10:00 AM at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan," the statement said. The sudden death of the iconic actor at 51 on Wednesday, who was on vacation with his family at the time, shocked Hollywood and his legions of fans. ...

SOPRANOS STAR JAMES GANDOLIFINI DEAD AT 51

**UPDATE** ROME (Reuters) - The body of actor James Gandolfini, who died of a heart attack in Rome last week, was flown out of Italy on Sunday on a flight bound for New York, Rome airport authorities said. The actor's body left Rome's Fiumicino airport at around 1600 GMT (1200 ET) on a private flight, an airport official said. Family friend Michael Kobold, speaking to reporters in Rome, thanked the Italian authorities and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for helping to accelerate procedures.

Word just in...Actor James Gandolfini died today in Italy from a massive heart attack. The star of The Sopranos was in Italy was in to attend the 59th Taormina Film Festival in Sicily -- and he was scheduled to participate in a festival event this weekend with Italian director Gabriele Muccino.

I fell in  love with big Tony from the very first episode of the Sopranos.  This news came as such a shock just now...so sad...

James Gandolfini (center) is best known for his role as Tony in HBO's 'The Sopranos,' acting alongside Tony Sirico (from left), Steven Van Zandt, Michael Imperioli and Vincent Pastore.

Gandolfini is survived by his wife Deborah Lin, who gave birth to the couple's daughter in October 2012. He also has a teenage son from a previous marriage. R.I.P. Gandolfini shot to fame playing a hitman in the 1993 hit "True Romance" ... and quickly became a Hollywood legend when he was cast as Tony Soprano in 1999. He won 3 Emmy awards for the role during the show's 6 season run.

Gandolfini also appeared in a ton of huge movies including "Get Shorty," "The Mexican" and "Zero Dark Thirty." Read more:

R.I.P James Gandolfini we will miss you...

Edie Falco (Carmela Soprano): "I am shocked and devastated by Jim's passing. He was a man of tremendous depth and sensitivity, with a kindness and generosity beyond words. I consider myself very lucky to have spent 10 years as his close colleague. My heart goes out to his family." Falco continues saying she will "hold on to the memories of our intense and beautiful time together. The love between Tony and Carmela was one of the greatest I've ever known."

Lorraine Bracco (Dr. Jennifer Melfi): "We lost a giant today. I am utterly heartbroken."

Tony Sirico (Paulie Gualtieri): "He was one of my best friends in life. He helped me with my career and I'm going to miss him. He's part of my family."

Steven Schirripa (Bobby Baccalieri): "Jimmy was a dear friend and like a brother to me. He was a great actor and a great father. I will miss him terribly. I am very sad."

Joseph R. Gannascoli (Vito Spatafore): "I will be forever indebted to Jimmy."

Since the shocking and devastating news of his death broke, celebrities have taken to Twitter to share their memories and sorrow. Below are some of the most notable reactions so far. We'll continue to update as more come in.

BEST WRITTEN TV SHOW OF ALL TIME: THE SOPRANOS!

 My favorite TV show of all time....so far anyway....

By Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times Television Critic

The Writers Guild announced its 101 best-written TV series on Sunday night, and it will surprise exactly no one to learn that David Chase and "The Sopranos" topped the list, followed closely by "Seinfeld" (Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, creators) at No. 2.

Beyond being consistently splendid shows, both helped usher in the current golden age of television. "The Sopranos" officially established HBO, and by extension cable's, reputation for cinematic television, while "Seinfeld" took mainstream comedy existential.

For these shows and their creators, this list is not only suitable for framing and tweeting but it's also good for Renewed Interest that could lead to a Potential Ratings Bump. Which most (though not all) shows that make these sorts of lists inevitably need. (Biggest beneficiary: Netflix, with the resurrected "Arrested Development" and many older shows.)

313: LIFE IN THE MOTOR CITY BY JOHN CARLISLE

Since 2007, John Carlisle has fascinated readers with his untold stories of Detroit in his "Detroitblogger John" column for the Metro Times. His words and photographs shed light on the overlooked and forgotten while bringing life to neglected, far-flung neighborhoods.

The Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists named Carlisle the 2011 Journalist of the Year for his work on the city. This collection features dozens of his previously unpublished photographs and forty-two of his most unforgettable stories, including a man who has a strip club in his living room, a bar in a ghost town, a coffee shop for the city's homeless, an art gallery in a mattress store and an old-fashioned debutante ball in the unlikeliest of places.