Born in Toronto in 1944, Lorne David Lipowitz, as Lorne Michaels was known at birth, was, like all baby boomers, seemingly predisposed to undermine, question, and, above all, parody the prevailing conventions of his civilization. “People start to be funny early in their lives, when they notice the difference between the official version and what […]

When I tell my friends in show business that I am now at Princeton Theological Seminary, getting a master’s degree in divinity and on my way, I hope, to ordination in the Episcopal Church, their response is usually to nod thoughtfully and say something along the lines of “Can’t wait to read the sitcom script […]

On the night of Oct. 10, 1985, Lt. Cmdr. Barry Steel, call sign Vert, was relaxing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga. The ship was cruising in Alert 60, a readiness condition with weapons stowed and planes tied down, so it would take 60 minutes to launch a bird. “Stand by. Stand by. Now launch […]

It is old hat to say that Steven Soderbergh’s movies are stylish, but a look through the auteur’s catalog inspires few descriptors that are more fitting. The director of 35 feature films since 1989’s Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Soderbergh knows when to begin and end a scene. He understands what characters should wear and how […]