Articles for April, 2011
Correction: We Got the Wrong Bob Armstrong Dip
In our April issue, as you might have heard, we published a list of “52 Things Every Dallasite Must Do.” One of the things was eat Bob Armstrong dip at Mattito’s Tex-Mex, which does not list the concoction on its menu. Unfortunately, our art and editorial departments had a communications snafu, and to illustrate the dip item, we ran a picture of the Bob Armstrong dip not from Mattito’s but instead from Matt’s Rancho Martinez. Mattito’s, you see, was once affiliated with Matt’s, which originated the Bob Armstrong Dip. But not long after Mattito’s opened, the two organizations parted ways — and not altogether amicably. Estella Martinez, Matt’s widow, politely explained all this to me. She said that she and her staff were delighted when a D Magazine photographer came in to take pictures, but when she saw her dip next to the Mattito’s writeup, her delight turned into something else.
We regret the error.
Scott Pelley To Replace Katie Couric?
An alert FrontBurnervian points us to this TMZ report, which says former ABC Channel 8 reporter Scott Pelley will put his bottom right where Katie Couric used to put hers. What the TMZ report fails to mention is that no one reading this blog post on FrontBurner has watched The CBS Evening News in more than a decade, so Pelley’s move to Couric’s anchor chair doesn’t really matter to anyone except Pelley and his immediate family.
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: April 5
All right. Tonight’s main event is not in Dallas. It’s in Fort Worth. I’m sure we can all deal with that, because if you’re any kind of musical theater fan, the trek will be worth it.
Somehow, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra convinced Tony-winning talent Patti LuPone to appear in concert preceding their annual fancy-schmancy gala. Why is this worth your gas money? For one thing, LuPone is somewhat more controversial than the Bass Hall’s usual guests (she very lightly disses Barbra Streisand in this interview with TheaterJones), and her performance is a departure from the classical, safe pre-gala pieces of which the FWSO is so fond.
Secondly, if you don’t seize the opportunity to see Broadway royalty in person, I will feel very sorry for you. And you’ll feel sorry for yourself, which is interesting because regret seems like it could be a theme tonight. I spoke with Marilyn when I called over this morning, and she was kind enough to give me the details. LuPone will do an hour long, one-act set she calls “Should Coulda Woulda.” It’s an amalgamation of the songs that made her famous (”Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” to name just two) plus selections from the shows she auditioned for and didn’t get (or passed up) over the years. And because it’s not an FWSO production without a little classical music thrown in, pops conductor Andres Franco will lead the orchestra in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol before LuPone takes the stage. Tickets are still available online, so you shouldn’t have a problem securing a seat.
Oh, and about those pesky difficult diva rumors: not true. “She’s actually lovely,” Marilyn says, and since it’s LuPone’s first time in Fort Worth, she’s been pondering a visit to the Stockyards. If that actually happens, I must be tipped off immediately.
For more things to do in Dallas tonight, go here.
A.H. Belo Sprinkles Cash on Top Executives
Bonus check time! (Or, at least, bonus reporting time.) For their good work in 2010, Robert Decherd received a $408,000 (plus stock awards), publisher Jim Moroney $327,250, president John McKeon $584,960 (his first year on the job), and CFO Alison Engel $150,000.
For all I know, they deserve it. After a near-death experience in the depth of the Great Recession, the company has performed very well, posting EBITDA of $56.5 million in 2010, a 72.5 percent increase over 2009. But employees may not see it that way. Although the company has restored its 401(k) matching, no pay raises are expected for the rank and file. That may rankle. But look at it this way: the alternative might have been no pay at all. After all, you can’t bitch about a company unless you have one.
Erin and Al Hill III Indicted
Last summer, I wondered whether the DA’s office was going to go after Al Hill III for the shenanigans he pulled with his house. I’d been told at the time that folks from the DA’s office had interviewed family members about the matter. Well, now I need wonder no more. The couple was indicted (sub. req.) on multiple felony counts of mortgage fraud. Honestly, that’s the least of his troubles. A good lawyer and a lot of money could make this whole thing go away. But for whatever reason, III is appealing the settlement he reached with his father, Al Hill Jr., over what portion of the family trust was owed to him. Oh, and he doesn’t have a lawyer. All signs point to broke.
Big Pink Now Standing Guard at Nasher
The Nasher’s upcoming “Statuesque” exhibition doesn’t open till Saturday, but one of the pretties is already in place. Behold Aaron Curry’s Big Pink, 2010. As you can see, my iPhone didn’t quite know what to make of that color — or at least it couldn’t process the contrast between that color and the muted tones of the Nasher building.
FrontRow Launches New Film Series: Join Us at the Texas Theater
Four great movies, two great directors: FrontRow will kick-off its newest film series this coming Monday at The Texas Theatre with the melodramas of Douglas Sirk and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Come for the romance, the love, the passion, the hard-to-stomach social criticism — or use it as an excuse to finally come down to Oak Cliff and check out the city’s best movie theater. There’s more info than you would ever want over on FrontRow, and you can pre-purchase tickets on The Texas Theatre’s website.
Leading Off (4/5/11)
Texas Instruments to Buy National Semiconductor. Dallas companies are gobbling up their competitors (never you mind that sinking ship called Blockbuster). First it was AT&T buying T-Mobile. Now T.I. wants a little sumptin’ sumptin’. If regulators clear the deal, it’ll cost T.I. $6.5 billion.
An Editorial for the Ages. The Morning News brings us an editorial this morning about the tendency of Southwest Airlines planes to open like cans of tuna while in flight. The News‘ take? Southwest Airlines needs to figure out what’s going on. That right there is some bold thinking.
Jennifer Floyd Engel Is Not Optimistic About the Mavericks. The Star-Telegram columnist says the Mavs aren’t going anywhere this post-season because they are soft. Zac Crain, hold me. I’m afraid she’s right.
Rangers To Go Undefeated This Season? The Rangers beat the Mariners last night 6-4. They are now 4-0. And would you be surprised if I told you that Elvis Andrus homered for the first time since 2009?
Forbes Calls D Magazine “Insightful”
Aw, we’re blushing. Christopher Helman, the Southwest bureau chief for Forbes, writes on their blog:
Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons has been called the king of Superfund sites. His companies, like publicly traded NL Industries, have over the years reportedly polluted numerous industrial sites with toxic metals and radiation. And another of his companies, Waste Control Specialists, is in the business of cleaning the messes up. It’s such a clever strategy that Dallas’ D Magazine in an insightful profile last year, called 79-year-old Simmons Dallas’ “most evil genius.”
He concludes his post by saying:
[W]hen politically tainted commissions override the concerns of hydrologists willing to quit to make themselves heard, it’s probably time for Texans to demand an independent investigation of the true risks of Simmons’ nuke dump.
Meat Loaf Flips Out on Celebrity Apprentice
This is a thing that occurred.
Spurlock’s “Line In the Sand” Against Advertising
You’ve got to hand it to Morgan Spurlock, the guy who downed all those Quarter Pounders in Super Size
Me, for coming up with another thought-provoking documentary. The director’s latest, titled POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, explores the intersection of advertising, marketing and “product placement.” The film, screened Saturday at the Dallas International Film Festival and reviewed here by Peter, was financed entirely through product placement from different brands. It purports to show how creativity is affected by such placement, which Spurlock says he considers a worrisome trend.
“From a creative standpoint, as artists, we should be worried about it,” the director (pictured in photo by Jeanne Prejean) said Saturday, taking the red-carpet stroll for the festival at NorthPark Center. As for the bigger picture, he went on, “Do we really need to live in a place where everything is brought to us by a sponsor?” He recalled how New York City, where he lives, is pondering corporate naming rights just now for parks and playgrounds. “Do I want to go to the Pepsi Playground? We have to draw a line in the sand!” he said. But, isn’t the horse sort of out of the barn by now? “Sao Paulo, Brazil, banned [all outdoor] advertising … within the city limits,” Spurlock replied. “If they can do it there, why not here?”
Mantegna on Mailer, Warts and All
The director behind the great new Norman Mailer documentary–part of the Dallas International Film
Festival, and reviewed by Peter here–is a beefy, blunt-talking, middle-aged guy in a dark suit and tie who admires the late author but is also clear-eyed about his foibles. Joseph Mantegna, not to be confused with the Criminal Minds actor, calls Mailer the greatest writer of the second half of the 20th century, a “lover and a romantic” (he had five full-time girlfriends when he died), and the first true director of reality-TV films, like Maidstone. “Before there was the Kardashians, there was Mailer,” said Mantegna (pictured in photo by Jeanne Prejean).
A Night Out in Oak Cliff
Oak Cliff — and really, I suppose when I say Oak Cliff these days, and when you say Oak Cliff these days, I/you really mean North Oak Cliff — is not a secret anymore. Not to you, not to your parents, not to anyone. If I were to see you in the street and say to you, “Hey, cool s— is happening in (North) Oak Cliff” — because I tend to swear when I’m not on this blog, and certainly when I’m in the street — you would only think that was strange because I just randomly brought up that subject when we were having a conversation about hypothetical scenarios and grudges, my two favorite conversation topics.
So, what I am about to talk about is not new, but maybe is interesting. To streamline my wording here: FEEL FREE TO SKIP TO THE NEXT ONE.
Dallas International Film Festival, It’s Time to Put Vittorio Vere Out of Our Misery
There are a lot of great things about the Dallas International Film Festival. Most significantly there are still plenty of good movies to see between now and Sunday, some of which you may never again have the chance to view on the big screen.
But there’s one major flaw that’s become the bane of festival-goers. His name is Vittorio Vere.
He’s a character in the DIFF’s own promotional spot that plays before every film. I didn’t particularly find the ad funny the first time, but some other audience members chuckled, so fine. By my seventh screening of the festival (check out our team coverage on FrontRow), last night at 10:30 pm, I and much of the rest of the audience were ready to rush the projection booth to make it stop. There are other ads we’ve been forced to watch before every screening. It’s just that “Vittorio Vere” outdoes them all by its excruciating length. It’s too late for this year, but a much shorter cut or having a few different promos running on various screenings is the answer.
Meanwhile, I have a solution for right now. Before the aforementioned screening of the film Apart last night, a mesmerizing and hypnotic animated short called “Take Your Medicine,” featuring a song by the band Transfer, played. It practically upstaged the feature that followed. Plead with the makers of that short to let you scroll your festival sponsors’ names on the bottom of their film (since that’s the true purpose of “Vittorio Vere.”) And make “Take Your Medicine” the ad which you’re asking us to sit through over and over.
I realize the makers of “Take Your Medicine” (you can see some of their storyboards here) may not be agreeable, but a man can dream of a day without a Vittorio Vere.
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: April 4
Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you all had an excellent, fun-filled weekend. Me? I’m settling into my new place just fine, despite a lack of real person furniture. I have to say, not driving 30 minutes to get to work is truly a great thing.
With all the hubbub over the Dallas IFF, I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that the Horton Foote festival is still trucking along. The Kitchen Dog Theater, right around the corner from my new place of residence, opened their trio of one-acts last week, and it’s a FrontRow must-see — unfortunately the next performance isn’t until Friday.
No matter. Tide yourself over with tonight’s discussion of the playwright’s life and work at the DMA, moderated by Dallas Theater Center artistic director Kevin Moriarty. Foote’s daughter, Hallie, will be there, as will Foote’s biographer, Wilborn Hampton. Foote’s children have graciously shared their father with us for the past few months, allowing glimpses of not just the writer but the man. I studied dramatic writing in college, and there’s always a curious fascination over what makes a playwright tick — one good reason to show up tonight. But I’m especially interested in what Moriarty has to say, since he’s the one who convinced the lion’s share of Dallas theaters to agree to this first ever city-wide artistic collaboration. Tickets are still available online, which makes reserving your tickets easy-peasy.
For more things to do in Dallas this evening, including a concert featuring No. 14 on Rolling Stone’s Greatest Guitarists of All Time list, go here.
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