The Ballsiness of the Long Distance Runner: A Chat With Mumia Abu-Jamal

By Alex SimonMumia Abu-Jamal has been one of journalism’s most outspoken voices for nearly forty years. However, Mumia’s greatest fame has come not from his written work, but from the fact that he is one of the most famous state “employees” in the country: he has been in state prison since 1982, serving on death row until just over a year ago. Born Wesley Cook in Philadelphia, Abu-Jamal made his name as a tireless writer and journalist during the...

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Best Actress Nominee Jessica Chastain: The Hollywood Flashback Interview

In May of 2006, I sat down with actress Jessica Chastain, then an unknown and untested 29 year-old who was on the precipice of her first big break after being tapped by Al Pacino to co-star in his stage production of Oscar Wilde's "Salome" at the Wadsworth Theater. Then as now, Chastain's fresh-faced beauty made every passerby do a double-take as we spoke. Her ambition to succeed as a performer was palpable, and paid off in 2011 with Chastain appearing...

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Baz Luhrmann: The MOULIN ROUGE Hollywood Interview Flashback

(Baz Luhrmann, above.)(This interview with Baz Luhrmann first appeared in Venice Magazine in June of 2001. I would later interview Baz for his opera production of "La Boheme" - check out that interview here. I seem to be in the minority, but I really enjoyed his Australia, a sprawling epic with unabashed sentimentality, reminiscent of many films from the old studio era.)The Man Behind the Red CurtainDirector Baz Lurhmann Reveals the Secrets of Moulin...

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HALLE BERRY: The Hollywood Interview

addthis_pub = 'YOUR-ACCOUNT-ID'; addthis_logo = 'http://www.addthis.com/images/yourlogo.png'; addthis_logo_background = 'EFEFFF'; addthis_logo_color = '666699'; addthis_brand = 'Your Site'; addthis_options = 'favorites, email, digg, delicious, myspace, facebook, google, live, more'; This interview with Halle appeared originally back in the February 2002 edition of Venice Magazine. It was on the eve of...

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Ben Gazzara: 1930-2012 and Remembering Cassavetes

We're sad to report that actor Ben Gazzara has succumbed to pancreatic cancer at age 81. Over Gazzara's nearly-sixty year career, his greatest screen moments occurred in collaboration with close friend John Cassavetes, along with actors Peter Falk, Seymour Cassel, and Cassavetes' wife Gena Rowlands. With Falk's passing last year and now with Gazzara's, it seems an opportune time to revisit a 2004 chat I had for Venice Magazine with the surviving...

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Robert Altman: The Hollywood Interview

Director Robert Altman. ROBERT ALTMAN: ECLECTIC MAVERICKByAlex SimonEditor’s note: This article originally appeared in the April 1999 issue of Venice Magazine. It's the Fall of 1977 and I'm a bored and rebellious ten year old in search of a new movie to occupy my underworked and creativity-starved brain, feeling far too mature for previous favorites Wily Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Return of the Pink Panther (1975), and wanting something...

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