It was a privilege to work with Frank Gehry on this 2004 story. What followed, and warm remembrances from his friend Jack Hoffman, in the post: www.dogtown.press/frank-gehrys...
Frank Gehry's Venice Idyll Would Be A Dream Deferred
It started as a rumor, hardly louder than the rustle of palm fronds from the octet of 90-foot trees that sway above the southern end of one green, quiet block. Frank Gehry, for most people’s money the...
www.dogtown.press
December 6, 2025 at 11:49 PM
It was a privilege to work with Frank Gehry on this 2004 story. What followed, and warm remembrances from his friend Jack Hoffman, in the post: www.dogtown.press/frank-gehrys...
@Schruers
@schruersvenice
·
Now
Chloe Zhao's moving "Hamnet" is hardly about the box office but sales are decent in L.A.: dogtown.press
@schruersvenice
·
Now
Chloe Zhao's moving "Hamnet" is hardly about the box office but sales are decent in L.A.: dogtown.press
November 28, 2025 at 8:51 PM
@Schruers
@schruersvenice
·
Now
Chloe Zhao's moving "Hamnet" is hardly about the box office but sales are decent in L.A.: dogtown.press
@schruersvenice
·
Now
Chloe Zhao's moving "Hamnet" is hardly about the box office but sales are decent in L.A.: dogtown.press
Blue Lights" Season 3 dropped yesterday and will go for six episodes total on Thursdays. Still offers a fine mix of street action and (often-thwarted) romance: www.dogtown.press/blue-lights-...
"Blue Lights": Still A "Dirty Old Town"
I heard a siren from the docks
Saw a train set the night on fire
I smelled the spring on the smoky wind
Dirty old town, dirty old town
The plaintive folk tune that spills out over the opening moments...
www.dogtown.press
November 15, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Blue Lights" Season 3 dropped yesterday and will go for six episodes total on Thursdays. Still offers a fine mix of street action and (often-thwarted) romance: www.dogtown.press/blue-lights-...
Blog post on "The Diplomat": In which I wonder if a story of earnest governance by people trying hard for (mostly) the right reasons can have real impact in a country under siege by the other kind: dogtown.press
October 27, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Blog post on "The Diplomat": In which I wonder if a story of earnest governance by people trying hard for (mostly) the right reasons can have real impact in a country under siege by the other kind: dogtown.press
The love of top critics for Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another" felt almost too much like a prayer circle formed against the moronic maneuverings of Trump. But, turns out tons of heart and some top-drawer filmmaking can plant a flag we filmgoers could rally around:
www.dogtown.press
www.dogtown.press
Dogtown
Smart takes on film, streaming, music, sports, media and more. Plus a Song of the Day. By a writer from Rolling Stone, Premiere, etc., the author of "Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography".
www.dogtown.press
October 1, 2025 at 7:21 PM
The love of top critics for Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another" felt almost too much like a prayer circle formed against the moronic maneuverings of Trump. But, turns out tons of heart and some top-drawer filmmaking can plant a flag we filmgoers could rally around:
www.dogtown.press
www.dogtown.press
After a week of Trump brouhaha, now comes Kimmel:
www.dogtown.press
www.dogtown.press
Dogtown
Smart takes on film, streaming, music, sports, media and more. Plus a Song of the Day. By a writer from Rolling Stone, Premiere, etc., the author of "Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography".
www.dogtown.press
September 24, 2025 at 2:55 AM
After a week of Trump brouhaha, now comes Kimmel:
www.dogtown.press
www.dogtown.press
Amy Berg's Jeff Buckley doc "It's Never Over" proves its point with tender, smart interviews, impressionistic mood-setting, and consistently great music. (Also, it's personal for this writer):
www.dogtown.press
www.dogtown.press
Dogtown
Smart takes on film, streaming, music, sports, media and more. Plus a Song of the Day. By a writer from Rolling Stone, Premiere, etc., the author of "Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography".
www.dogtown.press
September 5, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Amy Berg's Jeff Buckley doc "It's Never Over" proves its point with tender, smart interviews, impressionistic mood-setting, and consistently great music. (Also, it's personal for this writer):
www.dogtown.press
www.dogtown.press
Had a fine time discussing things Billy Joel with Alex Belth: alexbelth.substack.com/p/billy-joel...
Billy Joel—Dem’s Fightin’ Words
A Piano Man Deep Dive with Joel’s Official Biographer Fred Schruers
alexbelth.substack.com
August 29, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Had a fine time discussing things Billy Joel with Alex Belth: alexbelth.substack.com/p/billy-joel...
You write a blog post about the accelerating horrors of Trumpism then take a step back from posting, because of the events of Minneapolis. Then you wake up and Trump's calling Baltimore a hellhole. We can't sleep on his coup for even one day...https://www.dogtown.press/the-bolton-raid-and-d-c.../
August 28, 2025 at 7:10 PM
You write a blog post about the accelerating horrors of Trumpism then take a step back from posting, because of the events of Minneapolis. Then you wake up and Trump's calling Baltimore a hellhole. We can't sleep on his coup for even one day...https://www.dogtown.press/the-bolton-raid-and-d-c.../
.Per Billboard', in the 3 weeks since the Billy Joel doc dropped on HBO, "Billy's on-demand streaming is up more than 24%...interest in Joel's music only accelerated in the week following its premiere." It's the music but also the life--dive on in below: www.dogtown.press
August 21, 2025 at 8:42 PM
.Per Billboard', in the 3 weeks since the Billy Joel doc dropped on HBO, "Billy's on-demand streaming is up more than 24%...interest in Joel's music only accelerated in the week following its premiere." It's the music but also the life--dive on in below: www.dogtown.press
The publisher'sl tub-thumping for Cheryl Hines' due-in-November memoir "Unscripted" kicked off this week with a (sharp) Wall Street Journal profile. ((I wonder if "Feckless" might have better described what and whom she supports.) So I made up a dinner invite:
www.dogtown.press/dinner-with-...
www.dogtown.press/dinner-with-...
Dogtown
Smart takes on film, streaming, music, sports, media and more. Plus a Song of the Day. By a writer from Rolling Stone, Premiere, etc., the author of "Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography".
www.dogtown.press
August 16, 2025 at 9:40 PM
The publisher'sl tub-thumping for Cheryl Hines' due-in-November memoir "Unscripted" kicked off this week with a (sharp) Wall Street Journal profile. ((I wonder if "Feckless" might have better described what and whom she supports.) So I made up a dinner invite:
www.dogtown.press/dinner-with-...
www.dogtown.press/dinner-with-...
Profound thanks to Don Winslow, whose works I have read with such pleasure, for this notice: x.com/donwinslow/s...
Don Winslow on X: "If you loved the Billy Joel documentary on HBO, order this fantastic book by @FSchruers that goes even deeper and provides stories and insights not found anywhere else. https://t.co/L4L9NwuBrH" / X
If you loved the Billy Joel documentary on HBO, order this fantastic book by @FSchruers that goes even deeper and provides stories and insights not found anywhere else. https://t.co/L4L9NwuBrH
x.com
July 31, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Profound thanks to Don Winslow, whose works I have read with such pleasure, for this notice: x.com/donwinslow/s...
In Episode 8 of “The Studio”’s ten-parter on AppleTV+, Bryan Cranston is a comic grenade with the pin pulled, and the show's truly socko cast brings the laughs by passing the threat around at a dizzying pace: www.dogtown.press
Dogtown
Smart takes on film, streaming, music, sports, media and more. Plus a Song of the Day. By a writer from Rolling Stone, Premiere, etc., the author of "Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography".
www.dogtown.press
July 23, 2025 at 12:51 AM
In Episode 8 of “The Studio”’s ten-parter on AppleTV+, Bryan Cranston is a comic grenade with the pin pulled, and the show's truly socko cast brings the laughs by passing the threat around at a dizzying pace: www.dogtown.press
This is Mud, guest cat in Venice. Eyes wide open for the Billy doc at 8 p.m.Pacific time. (Has not yet made time to read the Definitive Bio based on a hundred hours or so): www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/236036.... Updates on Bill at Dogtown.press, link in profile or: www.dogtown.press
July 19, 2025 at 1:19 AM
This is Mud, guest cat in Venice. Eyes wide open for the Billy doc at 8 p.m.Pacific time. (Has not yet made time to read the Definitive Bio based on a hundred hours or so): www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/236036.... Updates on Bill at Dogtown.press, link in profile or: www.dogtown.press
Boomer dad introduces just-graduated-from-colleg son to John Fogerty. Aces!
www.dogtown.press
www.dogtown.press
Dogtown
Smart takes on film, streaming, music, sports, media and more. Plus a Song of the Day. By a writer from Rolling Stone, Premiere, etc., the author of "Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography".
www.dogtown.press
July 9, 2025 at 1:58 AM
Boomer dad introduces just-graduated-from-colleg son to John Fogerty. Aces!
www.dogtown.press
www.dogtown.press
`Round the traps, as the Aussies like to say, the big bountiful 100 Best Films round up from the Times has stirred many views. How about a take on the more daring choices from the industry and celebs?:
dogtown.ghost.io
dogtown.ghost.io
Dogtown
Smart takes on film, streaming, music, sports, media and more. Plus a Song of the Day. By a writer from Rolling Stone, Premiere, etc., the author of "Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography".
dogtown.ghost.io
June 27, 2025 at 12:03 AM
`Round the traps, as the Aussies like to say, the big bountiful 100 Best Films round up from the Times has stirred many views. How about a take on the more daring choices from the industry and celebs?:
dogtown.ghost.io
dogtown.ghost.io
Not that Trump’s claimed cease-fire and precipitate (if perhaps ineffective long-term) bomb-slinging is solely a hellish distraction, but let’s not shirk paying heed to the fear he’s spawned in L.A.’s streets, neighborhoods, and commerce:
www.dogtown.press/it-was-a-zom...
www.dogtown.press/it-was-a-zom...
It Was A Zombie Jamboree: "28 Years Later," and snatches in the L.A. streets
Dodging the infected onscreen; dodging the thugs in Santa Monica
A lot of world leaders talkin' 'bout war
And I'm afraid they're going too far
So it's up to us, you and me
To put an end to catastroph...
www.dogtown.press
June 24, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Not that Trump’s claimed cease-fire and precipitate (if perhaps ineffective long-term) bomb-slinging is solely a hellish distraction, but let’s not shirk paying heed to the fear he’s spawned in L.A.’s streets, neighborhoods, and commerce:
www.dogtown.press/it-was-a-zom...
www.dogtown.press/it-was-a-zom...
Just an aside while DJT and S.M. Goebbels enact their equivalent to the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939; the story of detective Carl Morck in "Dept. Q" is one of determination, and we could use some of that spirit now: www.dogtown.press/be-it-consci...
"Be it conscience, karma or the universe, they are ultimately ...punished"
“Authority that does not exist for Liberty,” wrote the storied if controversial English historian Lord Acton, “is not authority but force.”
If you live in L.A.—in fact, if you live in Trump’s Americ...
www.dogtown.press
June 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Just an aside while DJT and S.M. Goebbels enact their equivalent to the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939; the story of detective Carl Morck in "Dept. Q" is one of determination, and we could use some of that spirit now: www.dogtown.press/be-it-consci...
Congrats to Steve Cohen, Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin on a nice reception for part 1 of their Billy Joel doc, “And So It Goes”. (on HBO in July). Some media seem agog re suicide attempts and love triangle--learn more below, pp. 61-67 & 81-86 for Billy’s takes from 100 hours of talk: bit.ly/43UChay
Billy Joel by Fred Schruers: 9780804140218 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
The all-access biography and unprecedented look at the life, career, and legacy of a pint-sized kid from Long Island who became a music legend. “A funny, revealing, and poignant look at [Billy]...
bit.ly
June 9, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Congrats to Steve Cohen, Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin on a nice reception for part 1 of their Billy Joel doc, “And So It Goes”. (on HBO in July). Some media seem agog re suicide attempts and love triangle--learn more below, pp. 61-67 & 81-86 for Billy’s takes from 100 hours of talk: bit.ly/43UChay
Yes, the tech bro's in this comedy (?) from "Succession"'s Jesse Armstrong are crazier than the real-life tech oligarchs we have sucking up to Trump...but just barely: www.dogtown.press/mountainhead...
"Mountainhead"'s Tech Bros Mad-Dog the Planet
"Succession"'s Jesse Armstrong delivers some entrtainment almost as distressing as real life now is
As Jesse Armstrong peopled the "Mountainhead" retreat with the four tech oligarchs we'll be trapped...
www.dogtown.press
June 4, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Yes, the tech bro's in this comedy (?) from "Succession"'s Jesse Armstrong are crazier than the real-life tech oligarchs we have sucking up to Trump...but just barely: www.dogtown.press/mountainhead...
Playing Don Draper on "Mad Men" was one of great runs any Peak TV actor could have--now Jon Hamm is bringing his distinctive skill set to "Your Friends and Neighbors" with its season finale May 30: www.dogtown.press/how-did-this...
How Did This Become Our Lives?
“How Did This Become Our Lives?”
“Your Friends and Neighbors” Lands In A Place Jon Hamm Owns
The headline that leads off this post is a quote from Episode 8 of the above-referenced series on Amaz...
www.dogtown.press
May 28, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Playing Don Draper on "Mad Men" was one of great runs any Peak TV actor could have--now Jon Hamm is bringing his distinctive skill set to "Your Friends and Neighbors" with its season finale May 30: www.dogtown.press/how-did-this...
John Mulaney's added a Monday May 19 set at an intimate L.A. theater. Here's an account of the May 12 event that gave us a taste of his Netflix live romps and his sprawling summer tour: www.dogtown.press/at-42-john-m...
At 42, John Mulaney Is Still Coming of Age
In a May 12 set at Largo at the Coronet, the comic, blindfolded, ramped up for a major tour
John Mulaney walked onstage wearing a dark black blindfold.
The lanky, reliably smiling Chicagoan typical...
www.dogtown.press
May 18, 2025 at 3:11 PM
John Mulaney's added a Monday May 19 set at an intimate L.A. theater. Here's an account of the May 12 event that gave us a taste of his Netflix live romps and his sprawling summer tour: www.dogtown.press/at-42-john-m...
After flirting with the top spot as most-watched streaming TV on Prime, "Etoile" is right behind "Reacher"; if it can't on its own save ballet amidst arts funding cuts, it should at least bring in some new dance fans: www.dogtown.press/etoile-danci...
"Etoile": Dancing Through High Culture's Extinction
"The arts are under siege," says Amy Sherman Palladino, and that sets the stage for an engaging romp that shows the battle up close
When Lou de Laage first appears before us as Cheyenne in “Etoile...
www.dogtown.press
May 5, 2025 at 7:00 PM
After flirting with the top spot as most-watched streaming TV on Prime, "Etoile" is right behind "Reacher"; if it can't on its own save ballet amidst arts funding cuts, it should at least bring in some new dance fans: www.dogtown.press/etoile-danci...
"The Pitt" on MAX has been adding viewers in big weekly jumps since January 9; now will come the Emmy campaign the warm critical reviews should usher in: www.dogtown.press
April 24, 2025 at 6:21 PM
"The Pitt" on MAX has been adding viewers in big weekly jumps since January 9; now will come the Emmy campaign the warm critical reviews should usher in: www.dogtown.press
Perhaps it's no surprise, if ypu love his singing, that Joe Cocker was such quietly warm presence in an interview during what was then an early-80s career reboot. Now let's get him voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: www.dogtown.press/joe-cocker-b...
Joe Cocker belongs in the Hall of Fame--with a little help from his friends
Paul McCartney and Billy Joel agree: Let's vote him into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
In midsummer, 1982, I traveled to Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, where Island Records founder Chris Blackw...
www.dogtown.press
April 15, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Perhaps it's no surprise, if ypu love his singing, that Joe Cocker was such quietly warm presence in an interview during what was then an early-80s career reboot. Now let's get him voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: www.dogtown.press/joe-cocker-b...