Read it!

The Film Studies Dictionary
Steve Blandford, Barry Keith Grant, Jim Hillier
Oxford University Press

  There is a highly specialized language, growing every day it seems, that surrounds film as a technology and an international industry. This new book helps to make this language accessible, riding the gap between dictionaries that are primarily academic and theoretical, and those that deal mainly in technical jargon. It uses examples taken from a wide range of films, both classic and contemporary, to illustrate concepts in operation. For anyone (especially students of film) that wants to learn the language of cinema - what a gaffer is, an "arc" light or "best boy," for example - this book will prove
invaluable.
- Gerry Young
Watch it!

  Ready-to-wear cinema? The Sony Glasstron headset and high tech glasses allow you to watch a movie anywhere, as if you had a 52-inch TV screen six feet in front of you. It can be linked to a portable DVD, a VCR or a TV.
Celebrate it!

  Women in Film and Television is holding the 14th Annual Crystal Awards April 23, 2001 at the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto. This non-profit organization honors the unique contributions and accomplishments of established and up-and-coming women in media and entertainment.
  Recipients include actress Rebecca Jenkins, who will receive the award for Creative Excellence; Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell, Creative Producers, Back Alley Productions, who will receive the award for Excellence in Production; and Laura Michalchyshyn, Senior Vice President, Dramatic Programming, Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting, who will receive the award for Excellence in Mentorship or Professional Development.

Hear it!

Pollock
Rounder/Universal
Apart from Tom Waits' "The World Keeps Turning," all the music for painter Jackson Pollock's bio-flick, starring Ed Harris, is composed by Jeff Beal. Beal feels Pollock displayed a strong sense of compositional beauty, and that the musical analog to Pollock's work should be repetition and structure. The score builds alongside Pollock's progression, and many of the themes are layered as a collage of interlocking rhythm and melody. Great music to paint by.


3000 Miles to Graceland
TVT/Universal
  With bands like Filter, Nothingface, Bender and Planet Earth, you know this isn't going to be a leisurely musical stroll through the park. But after you've recovered from the metal onslaught of the first few tracks, listen for "Mansion on the Hill" by A3, "In 2 Deep" by Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Uncle Kracker on "Who's Your Uncle," which has to rank as one of the coolest cuts so far this year. The CD wraps with George S. Clinton's "Franklin's Requiem," and the King himself (E.P.) fittingly singing one of his signature tunes, "Such A Night."

Down to Earth
Epic/Sony Music
  Featuring new songs from 15 of the biggest names in R&B and pop music, the grooves come from the heart in this great collection. Highlights include "Just Another Girl" by Monica, the first single off the soundtrack, as well as Snoop Doggy Dogg ("Gin and Juice"), Sticky Fingaz featuring Eminem ("What If I Was White"), "Everything is Everything," performed by Lauren Hill, and "Angel," performed by Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child, which isn't included in the film.

- Gerry Young