Rose Byrne and Chris O’Dowd at the New York press day for “Juliet, Naked” at the Crosby Street Hotel in SoHo on August 13, 2018. Rose Byrne and Chris O’Dowd Get Unplugged with Juliet, Naked by Jay S. Jacobs Rose Byrne and Chris O’Dowd play a long-time couple coming to the end of the road in the music-oriented romantic comedy Juliet, Naked. However, you wouldn’t have been able to tell that when we recently met up with the two at the Crosby Street Hotel in New York to discuss t

High and Outside: A Baseball Noir HIGH AND OUTSIDE: A BASEBALL NOIR (2017) Starring Phil Donlon, Geoffrey Lewis, Ernie Hudson, Lindsey Haun, David Yow, Scarlett Fay, Eddie Jemison, Johnny Dowers, Jason James Richter, Camilla Cleese, David Proval, Iván Kamarás, Norma Michaels, Jules Bruff, Livia Treviño, Rivka Rivera, Jimmy Walker Jr. and Peter Jason. Screenplay by Dan O’Dair. Directed by Evald Johnson. Distributed by Standard17. 98 minutes. Not Rated. There is very little act

Everybody Wants Some!! EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! (2016) Starring Blake Jenner, Will Brittain, Zoey Deutch, Ryan Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, J. Quinton Johnson, Glen Powell, Wyatt Russell, Austin Amelio, Temple Baker, Tanner Kalina, Juston Street, Forrest Vickery, Sophia Taylor Ali, Jonathan Breck, Celina Chapin, Shailaun Manning and Lynden Orr. Screenplay by Richard Linklater. Directed by Richard Linklater. Distributed by Paramount Pictures.  116 minutes.  Rated PG-13. Richard Linkl

Cameron Dallas and Nash Grier with our Maggie Mitchell at the New York press day for “The Outfield.” Photo by Caitlyn Lange. Nash Grier & Cameron Dallas Talk the Outfield Movie by Maggie Mitchell & Deborah Wagner When three high school baseball stars who have been best friends since childhood head into their senior year, they have to navigate some pretty difficult situations in the new film The Outfield. Life-changing decisions about family, friendships, career goals and coll

Big Hair and Fake Grass – A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging ’70s. Dan Epstein The Hairs and the Squares! Baseball in the 1970s by Ronald Sklar It wasn’t a dream. It really happened. People looked that way, dressed that way and played that way. Yes, the uniforms were that tight… and, oy, those colors. Dan Epstein tells us so in his awesome book, Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging ‘70s. A ride indeed, in

Baseball – The Tenth Inning Baseball: The Tenth Inning Top of the Tenth (1992-1999)/Bottom of the Tenth (1999-2009) (PBS/Paramount Home Video-2010) In the early 1990s, documentarian Ken Burns became a PBS sensation through his acclaimed documentary series on The Civil War.  As the follow-up, he decided that he wanted to look back at something even more American than the war of the states. In 1994 he returned with a 21-hour documentary series on the American pastime, Baseball.

Darren Daulton Darren Daulton – What He Knows by Ronald Sklar Originally posted December 2, 2007. “Don’t shoot the messenger,” says legendary former Philadelphia Phillies’ catcher Darren Daulton, responding to his many, many critics of late. Daulton, being the messenger in question, has only recently begun to share his newfound knowledge of spirituality and metaphysics, of aspiring to and traveling between various planes of consciousness. In fact, he has written it all down o

Fever Pitch FEVER PITCH  (2005) Starring Jimmy Fallon, Drew Barrymore, Jason Spevack, Jack Kehler, Scott H. Severance, Jessamy R. Finet, Maureen Keiller, Lenny Clarke, Ione Skye, KaDee Strickland, Marissa Janet Winokur, Evan Helmuth, Brandon Craggs, Brett Murphy, Isabella Fink, Miranda Black, Great Onieogou, James B. Sikking, Johnny Sneed, Michael Rubinfeld, Willie Garson, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Jason Veritek, Johnny Damon, Trot Nixon, Stephen King and JoBeth Williams. Screenp

Joe Mantegna in “Joan of Arcadia.” joe mantegna one of us by jay s. jacobs When Joe Mantegna was a student at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, he would to pick up a play and turn the page that listed the original cast.  It always fascinated him.  Who originated these roles?  What did they do later?  Did they become a star or stay relatively obscure?  He always thought that it would be the greatest thing if someday an acting student could open a book and see his name. A

Peter Krause in “Sports Night” Peter Krause Helping to Make TV Safe for Smart People by Jay S. Jacobs The fall of 1998 was a tough time for television comedy. The networks tried to come up with a plan for post-Seinfeld TV, but the best they seemed to be able to come up with were tired retreads like Jesse, Two of a Kind and Maggie Winters. But shining like a diamond in the empty mine of a new comedy schedule was one true pedigree. Sports Night was a smart and funny look behind