Cinephilia and Beyond has this good post on Scorsese editing Life Lessons. The editing room–room 306 of the Brill Building–stuff was shot when I was a senior in high school and working in the building. Ah, memories.

New York Stories – Life Lessons (1989) from Aitor Garcia on Vimeo.

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There is a long profile on Nick Nolte by Chris Heath in this month’s issue of GQ magazine.

Nolte is one of my favorite actors. “48 Hours,” “Under Fire,” “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,”  “Lorenzo’s Oil,” “Life Lessons,” “Q&A,” “Affliction.” He’s been strong is so many movies. I thought he was restrained and gave a moving performance in “Warrior.”

It’s Sidney Lumet Week at the Walter Reader Theater, guys. If you are around, check it out. If you’ve never seen “Q&A,” it’s worth it. Nolte at his best:

How good is Nick Nolte? I haven’t seen much of his recent work–although a quick trip to IMDb shows that he’s been busy–but I think he’s one of the most interesting, powerful actors of his generation. “North Dallas Forty,” “Under Fire,” “48 Hours,” “Life Lessons,” “Q&A,” “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” “Weeds,’ “Affliction.”  That’s an impressive list. And he’s been ambitious too, stretching himself in roles like “Jefferson in Paris,” and “Lorenzo’s Oil.”

I’ll bet he’s got a Jeff Bridges Appreciation run in him too.

[Picture by Christopher Wahl]

Sidney Lumet made some great movies and some decent ones and a bunch of clunkers. But he almost always got good performances from his actors. “Q&A” was a New York corrupt cop story, a Lumet specialty. It wasn’t a great movie but it featured a lot of solid performances–Armand Assante was never better–especially from the supporting cast, another Lumet trademark.

But it was Nick Nolte’s movie.

Man, when he’s on, Nolte is great.

Anyone who watches movies knows that high school can be hell, especially on the teachers. Ask Michelle Pfieffer or Jim Belushi. One high school melodrama that I remember from my childhood is a Nick Nolte-Ralph Macchio movie called Teachers. It wasn’t very good but it featured Laura Dern who I had a crush on for years—loved all that pent up neurosis. It also co-starred Joebeth Williams who I also had a more private crush on at the time. She was never at the top of my list, she wasn’t like Pfieffer, my major 80’s crush, but she always turned me on. In the Big Chill, in this one. Anything she did.

Loved it when she flared her nostrils and got all righteous.