American Masters

Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn Monroe: All Alone In A White Halter Dress

mcnamarat — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:06:34 +0000

George Zimbel was there on the street among several photographers to document what would become Marilyn Monroe’s most lasting image: a blowing white halter dress. More than the dress or the scene, Zimbel remembers a Joe Dimaggio that couldn’t take all the bright lights that night: leaving Monroe all alone in a white halter dress.

Voices: Family of photographer Sam Shaw, Norman Mailer, George Zimbel.

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Marilyn Monroe: Still Life airs Sunday, August 5, 2012 on PBS (check local listings).

Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn Monroe: Nude

mcnamarat — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:05:19 +0000

Leif-Erik Nygards’ one photograph of Marilyn Monroe. When he met her, Nygards was an assistant to photographer Bert Stern. Following a shoot, Nygards asked if he could take just one picture for himself: he got more than he asked for.

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Marilyn Monroe: Still Life airs Sunday, August 5, 2012 on PBS (check local listings).

Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn Monroe: ‘Identity’ by Norman Mailer

mcnamarat — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:04:05 +0000

Norman Mailer, author of ‘Marilyn: A Biography,’ reads an excerpt on Monroe and her identity. (Photos by Roy Schatt.)

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Marilyn Monroe: Still Life airs Sunday, August 5, 2012 on PBS (check local listings).

Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn and Arthur

mcnamarat — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:37:20 +0000

A relationship in pictures: Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller.

(All photos by Sam Shaw.)

Voices: Norman Mailer, Shaw family.

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Marilyn Monroe: Still Life airs Sunday, August 5, 2012 on PBS (check local listings).

Pearl Jam Twenty: Watch the Full Documentary

fultonk — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:30:12 +0000

Watch the full documentary Pearl Jam Twenty here on the American Masters web site.

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Told in big themes and bold colors with blistering sound, Pearl Jam Twenty chronicles the years leading up to the band’s formation, the chaos that ensued soon-after being catapulted into superstardom, their step back from the spotlight with the instinct of self-preservation, and the creation of a trusted circle that would surround them — giving way to a work culture that would sustain them. Part concert film, part insider hang, part testimonial to the power of music and uncompromising artists, the film celebrates the freedom that allows Pearl Jam to make music without losing themselves, their fans, or the music lovers they’ve always been. Pearl Jam Twenty features new interviews with original band members Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, drummer Matt Cameron, and friend and Soundgarden singer/guitarist Chris Cornell, as well as archival performance and interview footage of Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog, Kurt Cobain, and Neil Young.

Inventing David Geffen

mcnamarat — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:04:58 +0000

“I’ve always thought that each person invented himself… that we are each a figment of our own imagination. And some people have a greater ability to imagine than others.”

–– David Geffen

David Geffen’s far-reaching influence — as agent, manager, record industry mogul, Hollywood and Broadway producer, and philanthropist — has helped shape American popular culture for the past four decades. Notoriously press and camera-shy, Geffen reveals himself for the first time in the new two-hour documentary.

American Masters: Inventing David Geffen, premiers nationally on Tuesday, November 20, 2012 on PBS (check local listings). It’s an unflinching portrait of Geffen, who narrates his unorthodox rise from working class Brooklyn boy to billionaire entertainment power broker in extensive interviews.

American Masters explores the highs and the lows in Geffen’s professional and personal life through more than 50 new interviews with his friends, colleagues and clients, as well as other media luminaries. Irving Azoff, Jackson Browne, Cher, David Crosby, Clive Davis, Barry Diller, Maureen Dowd, Rahm Emanuel, Nora Ephron, Tom Hanks, Don Henley, Arianna Huffington, Jimmy Iovine, Elton John, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Calvin Klein, Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, Mike Nichols, Yoko Ono, Frank Rich, Slash, Steven Spielberg, Jann Wenner, Neil Young, and many others illustrate Geffen’s riveting story.

ABOUT

Starting out in the William Morris Agency mailroom in 1964, Geffen channeled his ambition by devoting himself to his work and perfecting the art of the deal. He launched the early successes of Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Jackson Browne, the Eagles, Tom Cruise in Risky Business (1983), and Guns N’ Roses through his companies Geffen/Roberts Management, Asylum Records, Geffen Records, and Geffen Pictures. In 1994 he co-founded DreamWorks SKG with Spielberg and Katzenberg, the first new Hollywood studio in more than 50 years, which went on to release Oscar®-winning Best Pictures American Beauty (1999), Gladiator (2000) and A Beautiful Mind (2001), as well as animated features, including the Shrek franchise. Geffen also produced the Broadway musicals Cats (1982) and Dreamgirls (1981), and helped realize the Golden Globe-winning 2006 film adaptation. Witty and self-aware, Geffen admits, “I have no talent except for being able to enjoy and recognize it in others.”

A multi-millionaire by 1972 and a billionaire by 1995, Geffen became one of the earliest — and consistently one of the largest — contributors to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Through his philanthropic efforts and media heavyweight status, Geffen became an important political voice, first as an early supporter of Bill Clinton and later for Barack Obama, helping harness early support in the creative community during his 2008 presidential campaign.

Notorious for his fierce loyalty, bluntness and chutzpah, Geffen has not avoided conflict or controversy. American Masters Inventing David Geffen addresses his rifts with Laura Nyro, the Eagles, and the Clintons, his lawsuit against Neil Young, his unsuccessful stint at Warner Bros. Pictures, his whirlwind romance with Cher, and his struggles with cancer, homosexuality, and the AIDS-related deaths of his friends, including Michael Bennett. In 2010 Geffen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2011 he received the GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons® President’s Merit Award.

Charles & Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter: Watch the Full Documentary Film

colin fitzpatrick — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 13:08:35 +0000

From 1941 to 1978, this husband-and-wife team brought unique talents to their partnership. He was an architect by training, she was a painter and sculptor. Together they are considered America’s most important and influential designers, whose work helped, literally, shape the second half of the 20th century and remains culturally vital and commercially popular today. They are, perhaps, best remembered for their mid-century modern furniture, built from novel materials like molded plywood, fiberglass-reinforced plastic, bent metal wire and aluminum – offering consumers beautiful, functional, yet inexpensive products. Revered for their designs and fascinating as individuals, Charles and Ray have risen to iconic status in American culture. But their influence on significant events and movements in American life – from the development of modernism, to the rise of the computer age – has been less widely understood. Charles and Ray Eames are now profiled as part of American Masters. A film by Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey. Narrated by James Franco.

Watch the full program here on the American Masters Web site.

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American Masters

Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn Monroe: All Alone In A White Halter Dress

Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn Monroe: Nude

Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn Monroe: ‘Identity’ by Norman Mailer

Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn and Arthur

Pearl Jam Twenty: Watch the Full Documentary

Inventing David Geffen

“I’ve always thought that each person invented himself… that we are each a figment of our own imagination. And some people have a greater ability to imagine than others.” –– David Geffen

Charles & Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter: Watch the Full Documentary Film

“I’ve always thought that each person invented himself… that we are each a figment of our own imagination. And some people have a greater ability to imagine than others.”

–– David Geffen