A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

IT TAKES A KNIFE-WIELDING MANIAC TO SHOW US THE WAY: David Mills, the Undercover Black Man and television writer/producer of much repute himself, interviews ALOTT5MA fave, former NYT film critic Elvis Mitchell, in which he discusses Pauline Kael, why he didn't write for SNL, and when he knew that writing for the New York Times gave him a real opportunity to shape the culture:

You know how I became aware of that? I was working on a CNN show, “Entertainment Weekly,” and there were things I wanted to try to do. Like I wanted to do a piece on how there were no black dramatic hour-long shows. And I remember getting into an argument with the producer of the show. “What about ‘Homicide’?” “[That’s] a couple of guys amongst a mostly white cast.” “What about ‘NYPD Blue’? What about ‘ER’?” “It’s the same thing.”

But when you say something like that in the New York Times, the entire journalistic world pays attention to it. Nothing ever goes away once you write it. It becomes sort of a constant part of that cultural conversation. So I was aware of that as an African American at the New York Times – there’s an impact that I could have.

That “Amores Perros” review – One of the things I’ve always wanted to do in any review I write is try to convey my feelings, especially when there’s a real excitement about a new talent.** That was a great year, 2000. That was the year of “Amores Perros,” that was the year of “In the Mood for Love,” that was the year of “George Washington.” That was a great year to have as my first year as a film critic at the Times. I just happened to be there when the wheel went ’round, really. I was so thrilled to get to write about that movie.

Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview.

** "'Amores' feels like the first classic of the new decade, with sequences that will probably make their way into history . . . In his very first film Mr. Gonzalez Inarritu makes the kind of journey some directors don't, or can't, travel in an entire career."