Rick Marin
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Articles by Rick Marin
Party Poop
Reading Graydon Carter's often witty, always name-droppy, and selectively self-deprecating memoir, When the Going Was Good,I was transported through the mists of time. Picture an hourglass with expense receipts flying into clouds like calendar pages in an old movie as we travel back to a 1991 piece I'd written for Spy, the satirical magazine that put Carter on the map and led to his 25-year residency at the most gilded of print monthlies, Vanity Fair.
The Anti-Woke King of Hollywood Lets Loose
It's not often that a TV show not only nails the zeitgeist but anticipates it-that zeitgeist being the election of Donald Trump and concomitant rebuke of the Democratic political-cultural agenda. Make that TV shows, plural, all from the ridiculously prolific keyboard of Taylor Sheridan. His massive hit Yellowstone spawned two prequels- 1883 and 1923-and five more series: Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Lioness, and, most recently, Landman.
How the Outdoors Shapes Our Relationships
Reeling from her husband’s request to divorce after 25 years of marriage and two kids, Florence Williams was experiencing debilitating grief. An accomplished reporter, she decided to explore the science of heartache to see if she could find a cure. In this excerpt from her new book, ‘Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey,’ she heads out for a 120-mile solo paddle on Utah’s Green River, with a too heavy portable toilet and a shattered heart.
The Fraud
What if there had been no gravedigger? On November 26, 1963, Jimmy Breslin published a column in the New York Herald Tribune that cemented his reputation as the "voice of the common man." The piece was still being taught when I was in journalism school in the 1980s. Four days after the assassination of JFK, every reporter in the country was chasing the who, what, when, where, and why of that national tragedy.
Voice Box
When I lived in New York in the late 1980s, the was my bible. Not my political bible. I was the only one in my class at Columbia Journalism School who would have voted for Reagan-if I hadn't been Canadian. It was my nightlife-and-everything-else bible. How I knew what clubs to go to, who was playing at The Bottom Line, where I found my first apartment. One of my closest friends in those days met his future wife through its personal ads.
Alone Again, Unnaturally
For Billie Holiday, solitude was no bargain. “In my solitude,” she tells us in one of her signature songs, she sits in her room, filled with despair, gloom everywhere, eminently sad, certain she’ll soon go mad.
The Left Can’t Let You Live in Two Worlds
Iwas walking up Sixth Avenue a few years ago when a man stopped me. “Are you Rob Long?” he asked. I never know how to answer that question. The answer, of course, is “yes,” but before I confirm my identity, I kind of need to know what I’m getting into. What I wanted to say was, “Who wants to know?” But that seemed unnecessarily hostile. So I did what I usually do: I shrugged and nodded and mumbled something like, “I guess so.” “Big fan!” he shouted.
Not-So-Great Scott
I once asked Martin Scorsese why no epic biopic of Napoleon Bonaparte had been made since Abel Gance’s iconic movie of 1927. He replied that if the studio moguls hadn’t withdrawn the funding from Stanley Kubrick’s projected Napoleon film in the early 2000s, perhaps that would have been it, but that also there is always the possibility some personalities and lives are just too enormous to be fitted into 150 minutes on the silver screen.
Hoop Dreams
Tell me when you think the golden age of Saturday Night Live was, and I’ll tell you what year you graduated high school. Such is the power of nostalgia. It makes us think the cultural artifacts from our own particular salad days were the product of a special moment. As we age, and decline, we see that decline mirrored all around us. The new stuff is never, to us, as good as the old stuff. They don’t make movies like they used to. The mid-list novel is dead.
Why Sound of Freedom Is a Phenomenon
There’s a classic moment in Annie Hall when Alvy Singer, Woody Allen’s hapless character, is stuck in line at the movies in front of a pompous, bloviating know-it-all holding forth about the work of Marshall McLuhan. Exasperated and annoyed, Alvy reaches off-screen and produces, in the flesh, a very real Marshall McLuhan, who dresses the mansplainer down. “You know nothing of my work,” McLuhan says. “Boy, if life were only like this,” says Alvy Singer into the camera.
Reflections on Stardom in the 21st Century
Chris Pratt’s 2016 may wind up being one of the most pivotal moments in the history of movie stardom, both as an idea and an ideal. Pratt came to public attention playing Andy Dwyer, the doughy and dopey but kindhearted comic relief on NBC’s little-watched but critically beloved show Parks and Recreation. And then something happened. In the space of two years, he became one of the biggest movie stars in the world. He did lead voice work in The Lego Movie, which made half a billion dollars.
The Fat-Suit Oscar Goes to...
Hollywood Commentary Years ago, when an aging movie star won an Emmy award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Special—a category specifically designed for aging movie stars—she raced to the podium, clutched her award, stared at it lovingly, and then trilled, “I hope you get along with Oscar and Tony!” Meaning: “Please be aware, members of the audience, that I also have an Oscar and a Tony.” It was an egregious and self-serving comment, but it was also a bit of savvy branding.
Where to Put the Funny Word
Hollywood Commentary Afriend of mine told me that a certain legendary television writer once dispensed this bit of wisdom, which for my money is the single best piece of advice I’ve ever heard about how to succeed in show business or anywhere else.
The Taylor Sheridan Juggernaut
The weird politics of television’s most successful producer The Top Five programs of the 2021–22 TV season went like this: football, football, football, football, Yellowstone—the modern-day Western with Kevin Costner that averaged about 2.4 million viewers in this, its fifth, season. What’s impressive about that is the massive numbers Yellowstone gets despite airing on hard-to-find cable and streaming platforms: the Paramount Network and Peacock.
Wenner Take All
Jann Wenner isn’t a rock star, but he has spent a lifetime with them as founding editor and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine and a co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. So no surprise that his autobiography, Like a Rolling Stone: A Memoir, moves to the same rhythm as the last two Hall of Famer books I read: Keith Richards’s Life and Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run. They all start out fast and fun, with a beat you can dance to.
Coverage or Cover-Up?
Media Commentary What duty do journalists have to the public when it comes to reporting on the health of politicians and political candidates? And what happens when facts about a candidate’s health belie the story the media want to tell? In May, John Fetterman, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, suffered a serious stroke.
Can Elon Pull It Off?
Tech Commentary On October 26, Elon Musk strode into Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters carrying a heavy white porcelain object. The media described it as a “kitchen sink” and mused about various “everything but the…” implications. Musk himself tweeted a short video of his grand entrance, commenting, “Let that sink in!” But even a glance at the ceramic signifier showed it wasn’t a kitchen sink at all, but rather a washbasin of the sort one would find in a typical powder room. A bathroom vanity.
Conservative Night Live
Hollywood Commentary Some of the most unforgettable movies ever made tell their stories in flashback. Citizen Kane begins with Charles Foster Kane’s last words—“Rosebud!”—and works back from there. Sunset Boulevard opens on William Holden’s corpse floating in a swimming pool and then tells how he landed there. It’s also a staple of teen movies and television shows from the 1980s. We fade in on the appealing young star in the middle of some kind of outrageous situation.
Helter Stelter
Media Commentary In 2018, a flattering profile of the host of CNN’s Reliable Sources, Brian Stelter, appeared in the Columbia Journalism Review. In it, Stelter declared, “Trump is the biggest story in the world, and I’m never going to apologize for covering the biggest story in the world…. All roads lead back to Trump.” They certainly did for Stelter.
'The Godfather' at 50
Rick Marin Commentary Magazine August 19, 2022 Is there any midlife moment more poignant, painful even, than when a father introduces his teenage son to The Godfather, and the reaction is “Little slow”? Slow? We’re talking about the greatest movie of all time here! Not just a cinematic masterpiece, but for my generation, a touchstone of masculinity, what with Sonny’s tinder-box machismo, Clemenza’s murderous avuncularity, and Michael’s transformation from sensitive idealist to heart of stone.
The Godfather at 50
Still the greatest, no matter what my teenager says Is there any midlife moment more poignant, painful even, than when a father introduces his teenage son to The Godfather, and the reaction is “Little slow”? Slow? We’re talking about the greatest movie of all time here! Not just a cinematic masterpiece, but for my generation, a touchstone of masculinity, what with Sonny’s tinder-box machismo, Clemenza’s murderous avuncularity, and Michael’s transformation from sensitive idealist to heart of stone.
The Last Days of Legacy-Media Disco
All the expenses fit to submit and other memories of my halcyon days in print In 1994, I came in from the freelance-writer cold and took a job at Newsweek. I spent the next four-plus years there, followed by two and a half at the New York Times before I wrapped up my career in legacy media to write a book and try to make it in Hollywood.
The Once and Former King
On Clark Gable Inthe 1930s, Clark Gable was the most popular male movie star in America, a titan of the screen whose nickname, “the King of Hollywood,” was in no way exaggerated. Today, he is Rhett Butler. Unlike Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, or James Stewart, whose well-defined personalities did not prevent them from playing a wide variety of characters, Gable was a one-character actor.
The Real Misinformation Problem
There is a new scourge befouling the media landscape, one that our self-appointed mandarins have declared themselves eager to combat: misinformation. The Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder recently released a report that blamed misinformation for a range of social problems: “Information disorder is a crisis that exacerbates all other crises… . Information disorder makes any health crisis more deadly. It slows down our response time on climate change. It undermines democracy.
The Last Days of Legacy-Media Disco
In 1994, I came in from the freelance-writer cold and took a job at Newsweek. I spent the next four-plus years there, followed by two and a half at the New York Times before I wrapped up my career in legacy media to write a book and try to make it in Hollywood. Not a decision I regret, but one I look back on with a mixture of nostalgia and amazement that print journalism still meant something back then—even if it didn’t mean quite as much as it thought it did.
The Once and Former King
Inthe 1930s, Clark Gable was the most popular male movie star in America, a titan of the screen whose nickname, “the King of Hollywood,” was in no way exaggerated. Today, he is Rhett Butler. Unlike Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, or James Stewart, whose well-defined personalities did not prevent them from playing a wide variety of characters, Gable was a one-character actor.
Parental Guidance Not Suggested
When it comes to the concerns of American parents about the education of their children, the mainstream media have lost the plot. Story after story paints a portrait of American parents as an extremist, potentially violent mob driven by conspiracy theories and threatening the lives of this country’s hard-working school-board members and professional educators. There are 63 million Americans with children under the age of 18.
Some Like It Dark
On film noir When Billy Wilder made Double Indemnity, his 1944 version of James M. Cain’s novella about an insurance salesman who conspires with his lover to murder her unwitting husband and collect his accident insurance, he had no idea he was giving birth to a new cinematic genre.
Cain and Abelowicz
Review of 'Competing with Idiots' by Nick Davis Onthe heels of the much-lauded biopic Mank comes Competing with Idiots, a “dual portrait” by the documentary filmmaker Nick Davis of his grandfather, Herman J. “Mank” Mankiewicz, and his great-uncle, Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Unlike the well-intentioned but leadenly executed movie, the book is a fascinating family saga, played out against Hollywood’s Golden Age and driven by a sibling rivalry that puts Cain and Abel to shame.
Cain and Abelowicz
Onthe heels of the much-lauded biopic Mank comes Competing with Idiots, a “dual portrait” by the documentary filmmaker Nick Davis of his grandfather, Herman J. “Mank” Mankiewicz, and his great-uncle, Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Unlike the well-intentioned but leadenly executed movie, the book is a fascinating family saga, played out against Hollywood’s Golden Age and driven by a sibling rivalry that puts Cain and Abel to shame.
The Roth Biography Scandal
We were already in the middle of a cultural skirmish over Blake Bailey’s Philip Roth: The Biography—the key issue being, Was Roth a misogynist?—when both book and biographer spilled over from the review pages to Page One. “Sexual Assault Allegations Against Biographer Halt Shipping of his Book,” the New York Times announced in April. Several women accused Bailey of predatory behavior.
The Roth Biography Scandal
Should the subject be blamed for the biographer? We were already in the middle of a cultural skirmish over Blake Bailey’s Philip Roth: The Biography—the key issue being, Was Roth a misogynist?—when both book and biographer spilled over from the review pages to Page One. “Sexual Assault Allegations Against Biographer Halt Shipping of his Book,” the New York Times announced in April. Several women accused Bailey of predatory behavior.
Will There Be a Nude Scene Ever Again?
At the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, there are two large swimming pools. Both are ringed by colorful cabanas and festooned with fountains and amoeba-shaped nooks. But only one of them—a little more secluded than the other—allows something called, with mysterious glamor, “European-style bathing.” Meaning: topless. The hotel’s management took the idea of topless girls lounging around the pool and made it classy-sounding.
Will There Be a Nude Scene Ever Again?
At the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, there are two large swimming pools. Both are ringed by colorful cabanas and festooned with fountains and amoeba-shaped nooks. But only one of them—a little more secluded than the other—allows something called, with mysterious glamor, “European-style bathing.” Meaning: topless. The hotel’s management took the idea of topless girls lounging around the pool and made it classy-sounding.
John Huston’s Glorious Losers
The shape of John Huston’s career was significantly different from that of any other first-tier Hollywood filmmaker.
The Bad News Bears
Over the past ten years, I have been a T-ball Dad, a Baseball Dad, a Soccer Dad, a Basketball Dad, a Tae Kwon Do Dad, a Lacrosse Dad, a Swim Dad, a Fencing Dad, and a Tennis Dad. Which happens to be the only sport I know the least bit about. But that didn’t stop me from being an obsessive, over-involved, agonizing-in-the-middle-of-the-night Nutjob Dad in all of them.
The Bad News Bears
Review of 'Pee Wees' by Rich Cohen Over the past ten years, I have been a T-ball Dad, a Baseball Dad, a Soccer Dad, a Basketball Dad, a Tae Kwon Do Dad, a Lacrosse Dad, a Swim Dad, a Fencing Dad, and a Tennis Dad. Which happens to be the only sport I know the least bit about. But that didn’t stop me from being an obsessive, over-involved, agonizing-in-the-middle-of-the-night Nutjob Dad in all of them.
The Timothy Hunt Witch Hunt
I n 1983, the British biochemist Timothy Hunt discovered cyclins, a family of proteins that help regulate the life of cells. Eighteen years later, in 2001, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
Schwartzman Unrestricted
There’s a photo of Diego Schwartzman shaking hands at the net with Alexander Zverev after their match at the 2019 U.S. Open that says a lot—if not everything—about why people are so excited about the best Jewish tennis player in a generation. Schwartzman, who’s from Argentina, is 5′7″. Zverev, a German, is 6′6″.
Schwartzman Unrestricted
There’s a photo of Diego Schwartzman shaking hands at the net with Alexander Zverev after their match at the 2019 U.S. Open that says a lot—if not everything—about why people are so excited about the best Jewish tennis player in a generation. Schwartzman, who’s from Argentina, is 5′7″. Zverev, a German, is 6′6″.
A Bracing Honesty
What makes a great memoir? The answer is that it matters less what the life lived actually was, than that it should be described with the utmost honesty. Ordinarily that means it must be written by somebody who either does not expect the book to be published in their lifetime or else has no special desire to still leave the house.
The Royals & Their Fictions
Watching the Windsors T he Crown has gripped audiences across the Anglophone world for four seasons now on Netflix. Series creator and writer Peter Morgan has struck gold with his account of the passions, sacrifices, and misdeeds of the British royal family, beginning with the illness and death of George VI and the ascension of Elizabeth II in 1952.
The Man Who Went Backstage
Mike Nichols was one of a vanishingly small number of directors to have done distinguished work on both stage and screen, and one of an even smaller number to be widely known by name to the public at large. But like Alfred Hitchcock, who became nationally famous only when he started hosting a TV series, Nichols first acquired his celebrity for another reason.
The Man Who Went Backstage
Mike Nichols was one of a vanishingly small number of directors to have done distinguished work on both stage and screen, and one of an even smaller number to be widely known by name to the public at large. But like Alfred Hitchcock, who became nationally famous only when he started hosting a TV series, Nichols first acquired his celebrity for another reason.
Names, Dropped
Martin Amis welcomes us into his new jeu d’esprit by affecting to be our thoughtful host: “Oh, incidentally, that’s the way to the bathroom.” Offered a welcome-aboard glass of Macallan, the guest/reader is invited to come and gawk at the A list. Here are Kingsley, Philip, Jane, Hitch, Saul, Vladimir, Germaine in Amis’s Gotcha Almanac, the literary social climber’s register.
Names, Dropped
Martin Amis welcomes us into his new jeu d’esprit by affecting to be our thoughtful host: “Oh, incidentally, that’s the way to the bathroom.” Offered a welcome-aboard glass of Macallan, the guest/reader is invited to come and gawk at the A list. Here are Kingsley, Philip, Jane, Hitch, Saul, Vladimir, Germaine in Amis’s Gotcha Almanac, the literary social climber’s register.
Archie Leach’s Greatest Character
Cary Grant was by common consent the greatest comic actor in the history of sound-era American film. As any theatrical professional will tell you, a great comic actor is a great actor, period. This, however, is not a conviction universally shared in Hollywood, which is why Grant never won a competitively awarded best-actor Oscar, not even for one of the rare films in which he essayed dramatic roles.
CLOSE TO HOME; Just a Pen, You Say? Not to Bic Boy
See the article in its original context from March 16, 2000, Section F, Page 1Buy Reprints TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. A PEN is a pen, you'd think. Especially a ballpoint. You lose it, you buy another for $2.99. They stop making your kind, you switch. No biggie. No. Biggie. My pen is my life. Literally.
Fame
I recently had an email from a reader who sent along a paragraph from Garrison Keillor’s “News from Manhattan” column in which he, Keillor, bemoans the end of the famous writer. Keillor recounts looking at a portfolio of Jill Krementz photographs of authors from the 1960s and 1970s: Every author there, he writes, “from Tom Wolfe to Mailer to Roth to Margaret Mead to Perelman and Singer and Vonnegut and Morrison and Steinem—I recognized them instantly at a glance.
Fame
I recently had an email from a reader who sent along a paragraph from Garrison Keillor’s “News from Manhattan” column in which he, Keillor, bemoans the end of the famous writer. Keillor recounts looking at a portfolio of Jill Krementz photographs of authors from the 1960s and 1970s: Every author there, he writes, “from Tom Wolfe to Mailer to Roth to Margaret Mead to Perelman and Singer and Vonnegut and Morrison and Steinem—I recognized them instantly at a glance.
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