9/11 Doc OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY Now Available Online

Over the years, I've posted on here about the progress and screenings of a documentary I worked on as an associate producer called OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY. It tells the story of Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial trading firm that had offices on the top floors of the World Trade Center. After a successful film festival tour in 2012-13, you can now watch it online this week as it debuts this month on a variety of platforms including iTunes, Amazon and even YouTube.

On 9/11, more than 600 of Cantor's employees died in the terrorist attack on the building...more than two-thirds of their work force. Amazingly, the CEO Howard Lutnick survived and vowed to save the company against the odds to help support the families of those left behind. Many people know Howard Lutnick as the face of the company when he appeared on all the TV networks in the days after the attack talking about his extraordinary loss. This documentary delves deeper into that story as well as the stories of others who survived and helped get Cantor back on its feet.

The film is directed by my good friend and colleague Danielle Gardner, who lost her brother Doug who worked at Cantor. Danielle spent nearly 10 years making the film and I was working with her as an associate producer on the project for almost 5 years. I'm very proud of this project and I hope you will check it out and see a different side of the 9/11 story that it presents.

The YANK! Cast Recording Is Now Available And It's A Classic

Last night, I went to the York Theater to celebrate the official release of the cast album for YANK!, a musical about gay soldiers in WWII written by my colleagues David and Joe Zellnik. (You can download it today via iTunes for just 10 clams!) From when I first heard about the idea for this show, I've been a big fan and I've seen it more than a few times, in it's many incarnations, from a reading in a rehearsal studio on 42nd Street to a beautiful production at the Gallery Players in Brooklyn.
But these did not prepare me for how amazing this recording is.

With rich orchestrations by Bway vet Jonathan Tunick and a jazzy Big Band sound, listening to these songs is now somewhat like discovering the old '40s era journal that kicks off the show's opening scene; these songs sound like a time capsule from a long lost past that is familiar yet strikingly different too. If you like your musical theatre old school, this show is like something from the 1940s except for the fact that it's memorable songs, especially the aching "Reme'bring You", are about two men who fall in love during WWII.

I was a supporter of the Kickstarter campaign that made this beautiful CD possible. Now that its available to the public, David and Joe are hoping that as this music gets out into the world, more productions of the show will happen and eventually the show will end up where it deserves to be--on Broadway. Hey...if the gays can play for the NBA, anything is possible!  :)

Today's The 50th Anniversary Of The Beatles First U.S. Concert At Washington Coliseum

While The Beatles' NYC appearance on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW gets most of the attention for their American debut, the Fab Four's first live concert for a paying audience took place in Washington DC. Two days after being seen by nearly 75 million Americans, the group played for 8,000 screaming fans at the Washington Coliseum a few blocks from Union Station, where they arrived by train in a snowstorm.

Today's Washington Post has a fantastic oral history of that first Beatles show, with attendees like Al Gore (who grew up in DC) and Albert Maysles (who shot the concert) and Sir Paul reminiscing about it all. There are some great details, like the chat Ringo had with a child on the train and the teen screaming which had police officers putting bullets in their ears. You can also watch footage from that show on iTunes new Beatles channel, along with two of The Beatles SULLIVAN segments.  I watched these uncut broadcast segments after the CBS tribute on Sunday kept showing tantalizingly short clips. They are really remarkable...the screaming is annoying but also electric, especially during "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". At one point, Ed himself cannot quiet the audience down to speak in intro'ing the second segment.

Finally, a live celebration of the anniversary is happening tonight at the old Coliseum itself (which now goes by its original name U Line Arena). It's been brought back to life for a one night only restaging of that first show with a Beatles tribute band. They will play the exact same set list and the show will start, as it did then, at exactly 8:31pm.  And just like the original, it is also sold out.

NetPix: MUD With Matthew McConaughey

I recently got a chance to see one of the sleeper indie hits of the summer, MUD. It stars Matthew McConaughey but really the stars of the film are two young boys, 14 year olds in the deep south on the verge of manhood played by Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland. Their performances are subtle and powerful by the end. And overall the movie is a wonderful piece of filmmaking telling a story that has many surprises along the way, especially towards the end. I didn't know much going into the film which I particularly like...I don't think I had even seen a trailer. I had just read online and heard from friends that it was a film worth seeing.

In addition to McConaughey, who gives a great performance as the eponymous and mysterious character named "Mud", there are a couple other well-known actors in surprising roles in the film. This was also great in that I had no idea they were going to be in the film and was impressed how they really immersed themselves in these particularly unglamorous roles in a rough-and-tumble milieu. Though I didn't see this one on NetFlix (which has lately not become a home for new films, unfortunately), you can catch it on iTunes or Amazon. It's a great corrective to the bloated and oversized films (many of which are bombing) of this summer.

Summer Reading And Viewing For Your iPhone/iPad...Courtesy of Me

As the dog days of August begin, I know that a lot of you will be at the beach or up in the country--for some of you I will be staying at your beach/country houses! :)  So I thought it would be a good time to suggest some fun summer reading and viewing, specifically of my very own summery projects.

First off, a few years back I wrote my second novel TALE OF TWO SUMMERS (Simon and Schuster) and it's still going strong, as perennial summer love stories seem to have staying power!  Now it's even available to download for beach reading on your iPhone/iPad for  $11.99 in the iBook store or just $10 on Kindle. On top of that, you get two summer love stories for the price of one...what's not to like!

The other summer-themed projects are movies; first there is AUGUST, a sultry summer romance about a love triangle set during an LA heatwave, which is now available on iTunes as well as streaming now on Netflix and Hulu Plus. This is a film that I co-wrote/produced with Eldar Rappaport and stars Murray Bartlett, who is featured in the upcoming gay HBO show set in San Francisco. The other feature is THE WAY I SEE THINGS, which I executive produced, that was written and directed by Brian Pera and is about a summer road trip that goes awry with some unlikely/lovely detours in the South. It was just released on Amazon Prime (which is free if you try the service for a month).

So check one or all three of these out in your summer downtime, and I hope you have a lovely and relaxing August. And thank you for your continued support of all my creative works.

AUGUST Is Now Available On iTunes

Last summer, I had a few posts about a feature film that I co-wrote/produced called AUGUST. It was directed by my friend Eldar Rappaport and is a steamy love triangle set in Los Angeles during a heatwave. Well, now that it's summer again and almost August, it seems the appropriate time for the film to get its commercial release.

This week, AUGUST is available for rental or purchase via iTunes; to rent its $4 and to buy its $14. For those who like to have an actual DVD, that will be available later this month via Amazon and Wolfe Video, our US distributor. So check it out this week because, as the temps rise, it's a great time to stay in the comfort of your own home and watch a hot new movie. Thanks for your support!  And stay tuned for more news on my new feature BEST SUMMER EVER....

MAD MEN Goes All GLEE With Its First iTunes Hit

The GLEE-ification of television continues this week with this surprise bit of entertainment news. During the season premiere of MAD MEN, Don's new French-Canadian wife did a little song and a lot of dance during the party scene.  The sooo 60s ditty "Zou Bisou Bisou" was sooo perfect for her and the party in general. So perfect that a YouTube version of the original was soaring past 100,000 hits by Monday. Thinking quickly, the show released actress Jessica Pare's version to iTunes where it instantly made it into the top 100 yesterday.

From the moment that party scene began with a gay boy from the band trying to adjust the lighting, I knew this was destined to be one of the most memorable scenes of this memorable series.  And now it's been semi-immortalized with the downloadable version of Megan's love song to Don (which of course didn't go over so well). I'm not sure if I'll actually download it myself, having already spent 23 bucks on my season pass for the show.  But it is j'adorable...as is Megan, who got a bit of nuance with this song and a kinky S/M scene late in the epic season opener.  Hopefully, there will be more musical numbers to come...and more Megan too.

Madonna Turns It Out For Haiti

Friday's Hope for Haiti telethon raised nearly $60 million dollars for the earthquake relief in that devastated country. The multi-network marathon featured many remarkable performances but, I gotta say, Madonna truly turned it out with a simple, nearly acapella version of "Like A Prayer" backed by a church-like choir of singers.  


The song will be available on iTunes soon, both as a single track and a whole album including other performances by Alicia Keys, Sting and Jay-Z. So, if you missed the show, buying the songs are a great way to continue to help the people of Haiti in their time of need.