Tagged: Writer
The Rum Diary: Gabardine Windbreaker and Chinos
Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp in The Rum Diary (2011)
Vitals
Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp, expatriate American journalist
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Summer 1960
Film: The Rum Diary
Release Date: October 28, 2011
Director: Bruce Robinson
Costume Designer: Colleen Atwood
Background
“In summary, this airman, although talented, will not be guided by policy,” heralded Hunter S. Thompson’s honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force in November 1957, a considerable understatement given the iconic writer’s eventual symbolic anti-authoritarian status.
Following his discharge, Thompson tried a few journalistic stints in New York but was fired by Time (for insubordination) and the Middletown Daily Record (for damaging a candy machine) and moved to Puerto Rico in 1960.
Having failed to procure a position with the San Juan Star, Thompson wrote for the El Sportivo sporting magazine… though it folded quickly after his arrival. His experiences in San Juan formed the basis of The Rum Diary, a novel that he penned shortly after his return to the U.S. the following year, although it wasn’t published for more than three decades.
While it would be inaccurate to describe The Rum Diary as a strict roman à clef, its morose, restless narrator Paul Kemp is clearly modeled on Thompson himself, and Thompson’s friend Johnny Depp was naturally tapped to play the role in the film adaptation. Continue reading
Californication – Hank Moody’s Brown Shirt
David Duchovny as Hank Moody in “Lights. Camera. Asshole”, Episode 4.08 of Californication.
Vitals
David Duchovny as Hank Moody, womanizing novelist and screenwriter
Los Angeles, Spring 2010
Series: Californication
Episode: “Lights. Camera. Asshole.” (Episode 4.08)
Air Date: February 27, 2011
Director: Adam Bernstein
Costume Designer: Peggy A. Schnitzer
Background
It just seems appropriate to feature Hank Moody on 6/9, so today’s #NiceDay post explores one of his lesser seen outfits.
Midway through the fourth season, in the midst of Hank’s post-Mia revelation legal troubles, he is offered a gig to rewrite the shitty dialogue littering the script of a zombie movie starring his latest fling, Sasha Bingham (Addison Timlin), as a police officer.
Of course, Sasha’s request for our favorite writer turns out be more libidinous than literary, so Hank escapes this potentially sticky situation… and finds himself landing in another one. Continue reading
Sweet Smell of Success – J.J.’s Flannel Suit
Burt Lancaster as J.J. Hunsecker in a colorized photo from Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Vitals
Burt Lancaster as J.J. Hunsecker, powerful and domineering newspaper columnist
New York City, Fall 1956
Film: Sweet Smell of Success
Release Date: June 27, 1957
Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Costume Designer: Mary Grant
Background
One of my favorite movies is Sweet Smell of Success, the atmospheric film noir starring Burt Lancaster as a Walter Winchell-like columnist and Tony Curtis as the opportunistic young PR flack desperate to get in good with him.
Ernest Lehman, who contributed to the screenplay based on his own novelette, declined to direct the film due to his fear of Lancaster, but the actor’s aggressive and volatile temperament paid off to create the needed aura of his intimidating character, the sort of man who could and would destroy an enemy’s career on a whim. Continue reading
Larry David’s “Pants Tent”
Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm (Episode 1.01: “The Pants Tent”)
Vitals
Larry David as himself, a neurotic comedy writer
Los Angeles, Fall 2000
Series: Curb Your Enthusiasm
Episode: “The Pants Tent” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: October 15, 2000
Director: Robert B. Weide
Creator: Larry David
Costume Designer: Wendy Range Rao
Background
Curb Your Enthusiasm isn’t a show often celebrated for its sartorial style, but the trouser-centric faux pas that drives the plot of its first episode makes Larry David the perfect subject for BAMF Style’s annual April Fool’s Day post this year. Continue reading
Californication – Hank at the Gun Range
David Duchovny as Hank Moody in “The Ride-Along”, Episode 5.05 of Californication, with a Desert Eagle-wielding RZA.
Vitals
David Duchovny as Hank Moody, womanizing novelist and screenwriter
Santa Monica, Spring 2012
Series: Californication
Episode: “The Ride-Along” (Episode 5.05)
Air Date: February 5, 2012
Director: Millicent Shelton
Costume Designer: Peggy A. Schnitzer
Background
Two years before Ice Cube and Kevin Hart took their seats in a police car, Hank Moody joined unstable rapper Samurai Apocalypse (RZA) for an Santa Monica PD ride-along to prep for Sam’s new movie, Santa Monica Cop.
Writing a movie called Santa Monica Cop (no, it’s not supposed to be a very original concept) is an unexpected scenario for Californication‘s cynical, hard-drinking protagonist, but even more unexpected is the setting for the episode’s cold open: an L.A. gun range. Continue reading
Professor Hank Moody’s New Boots
Vitals
David Duchovny as Hank Moody on Californication. (Episode 3.02: “The Land of Rape and Honey”)
David Duchovny as Hank Moody, borderline alcoholic and womanizing college professor, née novelist
Venice Beach, Fall 2009
Series: Californication
Episode: “The Land of Rape and Honey” (Episode 3.02)
Air Date: October 4, 2009
Director: Bart Freundlich & David Von Ancken
Costume Designer: Peggy A. Schnitzer
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Midterms are in full swing for fall semester college students, so BAMF Style is taking a look at Californication‘s Hank Moody making his brief foray into the world of academia. Continue reading
Ernest Hemingway in Midnight in Paris
Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway in Midnight in Paris (2011).
Vitals
Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway, macho expatriate American novelist
Paris, 1920s
Film: Midnight in Paris
Release Date: May 20, 2011
Director: Woody Allen
Costume Designer: Sonia Grande
Background
Today is my 27th birthday, a day that I proudly share with brilliant artists like Ernest Hemingway, Robin Williams, Hart Crane, and even a few non-suicidal ones like Don Knotts, Cat Stevens, and Kay Starr.
Hemingway is arguably the most world-famous of my shared birthday buddies, and – at the time that he turned 27 – he was a war-haunted expatriate living the Parisian high life with a promising new novel just months shy of its publication. In fact, Hemingway had begun scribing The Sun Also Rises exactly a year earlier on his 26th birthday, July 21, 1925. Continue reading
Californication – Hank’s “Love Song” Flashback
David Duchovny and Natascha McElhone filming “Love Song”, Episode 5.06 of Californication, in June 2011.
Vitals
David Duchovny as Hank Moody, rising novelist and family man
Venice Beach, circa summer 2003
Series: Californication
Episode: “Love Song” (Epiosde 5.06)
Air Date: February 12, 2012
Director: Eric Stoltz
Costumer: Alison Cole Godachy
Background
“Love Song” was a welcome break during Californication‘s relatively uneven fifth season, providing a bright spot in a season that arguably marked the end of what had once been a reliably mature Showtime dramedy.
Many fans’ hopes were answered as we finally got to see Hank and Karen when they were a strong couple, both eagerly facing the prospect of their new life in L.A. Continue reading
Limitless – Eddie’s Blue Tom Ford Suit
Bradley Cooper as Eddie Morra in Limitless (2011).
Vitals
Bradley Cooper as Eddie Morra, performance-enhanced investment broker and former struggling author
New York City, Spring 2010
Film: Limitless
Release Date: March 18, 2011
Director: Neil Burger
Costume Designer: Jenny Gering
WARNING! Spoilers ahead! Continue reading
The Rum Diary: Kemp’s Striped Linen Shirt and Jeans
Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp in The Rum Diary (2011), with co-star Amber Heard.
Vitals
Johnny Depp as Paul Kemp, expatriate American journalist and borderline alcoholic
St. Thomas, Summer 1960
Film: The Rum Diary
Release Date: October 28, 2011
Director: Bruce Robinson
Costume Designer: Colleen Atwood
Background
All the balls that Paul Kemp was juggling at this point have begun to fall. His grasp on his job, his shady dealings with PR whiz Sanderson, and his flirtation with Sanderson’s girlfriend. The bottom falls out when Kemp and photographer pal head to Carnival at Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands after visiting island property for Sanderson’s budding real estate scam.
Bruce Robinson’s script perfectly nails the feeling of the scene as Chenault leads Kemp by the hand to Sanderson’s yacht:
Like walking the plank in reverse, they invade a small drinks party.
Other than the glamorous Chenault, none of the new visitors fit in with Sanderson’s cosmopolitan set. Continue reading
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