Wichita Eagle article

There is an article in today's Wichita Eagle newspaper about Louise Brooks. The article, "Silent-film star once lived on North Topeka," even alludes to the Louise Brooks Society!

Lulu in L.A.

I think we all agree with the sentiments expressed in this short article, which appeared in today's Los Angeles Times.

Louise Brooks and silent-era German Expressionist films have a web following and are screening at the American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre. 

By Susan King
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

December 6, 2007

IN the era of TMZ, Britney Spears and throwaway pop culture, it might seem there's no longer a place for silent films. Not so, says Peter Kobel, who wrote the new coffee-table book "Silent Movies: The Birth of Film and the Triumph of Movie Culture." In fact, there is a growing interest in silent films "and not just among film-school nerds," he says.

"On MySpace, there is a very large silent-film group, like 1,500 members," Kobel says. "I have actually met some very cool people in that group. They are not just students, but they are in rock bands or they are artists. You can tell by their sites and chatting with them, a lot of people are into this stuff. . . .

"It's my theory that they are rediscovering silent films because they are often strikingly original or strange or just plain interesting."

Look no further than tonight's screening at the American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre for two intriguing examples of silent-era German Expressionism -- 1925's "Variety," starring Emil Jannings as a former trapeze artist who lands in prison, and director Joe May's pre-noir "Asphalt" from 1929. The films, both restored by the Library of Congress, are traveling the country in conjunction with the publication of the book. The library's Christel Schmidt will introduce the movies, and Daniel Redfield will provide live piano accompaniment. Plus, attendees will be able to buy the book, which is lavishly illustrated with materials from the Library of Congress and features a foreword by Martin Scorsese and introduction by historian Kevin Brownlow.

As for those more interested in Britney than Brownlow, Kobel has the perfect solution: Louise Brooks. The silent-film actress has a surprisingly active Web following. "Of anyone you would want to pick out," Kobel says, "Louise Brooks is going to be a cult figure for modern times."

That Bob

Katie Holmes' new hairstyle - a bob - has been all over the news. I have seen references to it in newspapers from all over the world, including, even, the online edition of the Khaleej Times. The article, syndicated in a UAE newspaper, reads in part

If she doesn't owe her latest hairstyle to daughter Suri - perhaps she was attempting a hairdo which combines close friend Victoria Beckham's bob with Kate Moss's fringe?

Or maybe she's harking back to the look of tinseltown's original queen of the black bobbed look, Louise Brooks?

At the Castro

Hopefully, I will see one or some of you at the Castro Theater at today's winter season San Francisco Silent Film Festival. As usual, I will be up stairs at the book table, where we will be selling books on silent film and hosting film historians Matthew Kennedy and Anthony Slide.

Back in the USSR

Ever wondered how to spell Louise Brooks in Russian? This postcard, dating from the late 1920s, shows how. It is for sale oneBay.

This Soviet era postcard depicts the photographic work of M.I. Boris, a photographer once associated with the Austro-Hungarian Royal Court. That's a bit ironic, historically speaking. Ah, the currents of history . . . .

Lulu in New York, Louise Brooks in New York Times

Today, the New York Times ran a piece on a new stage production of Lulu, which is playing at BAM as part of the Next Wave Festival. (An earlier, and equally informative article about this new production, "The Nymphet Is a Lethal Weapon," appeared in the 11-25-07 New York Times. The article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/theater/25kalb.html).

Today's article by Caryn James, "A Woman of Thoughtless Erotic Force Has Her Day, and Many Men," reads in part:

Wedekind wrote “Pandora’s Box” and “The Earth Spirit,” which together became “Lulu,” soon after “Spring Awakening,” the 1891 play that is the basis for the current (when the stagehands aren’t on strike) Broadway musical. Although his sexual frankness shattered the mores of his society, we can see now that his plays were not so much ahead of their time as timeless. Just as the musical “Spring Awakening” speaks to the eternal theme of adolescent sexual discovery, this “Lulu” distills the story of a woman and the many men with whom she has lethal affairs to its primal elements: desire, willfulness, blind obsession.

That approach shatters the Lulu stereotype. From Louise Brooks in the 1929 silent film “Pandora’s Box,” staring out from the screen with her dark-rimmed eyes and trademark black bob, to her descendant, Lola Lola, the Marlene Dietrich character in “The Blue Angel,” the typical Germanic femme fatale has swept through men’s lives with the destructive force of a tornado. Mr. Thalheimer offers a nonjudgmental “Lulu,” with a heroine who is more careless than seductive, and men and women who are neither good nor bad, strong nor weak. Until it is undermined by a melodramatic ending, his version has an elemental sexuality that transcends the taboos of any moment.

According to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) website, this performance is sold out for the duration of its short run. I know I have asked this question before, but might there be a Wedekind revival in the works?

Louise Brooks, the fairy

magine Louise Brooks as a fairy. Imagine Louise Brooks as a fairy doll. Must be seen to be believed. . . .  Check it out here.