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While on my internet travels this weekend I stumbled across the trailer to a documentary in theaters now. I find documentaries fascinating and this one appeals to me because it’s about Walt Disney. The film, Walt & El Grupo, tells a story about Walt that I know little about. 

I’ve always had an interest in Walt Disney. From early childhood to my teenage years, and up to my early adulthood I was thrilled each time I found a bit of Disney trivia. It toned down when my JDOCD (Johnny Depp Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) flared up but I realize I’ll always have an interest in the man that built a pop culture empire out of imagination.

Walt Disney & El Grupo explores the 10 week period in 1941 when 39 year old Walt, along with his wife, and sixteen colleagues from his studio visited nations in Latina America to collect ideas for South American themed films.  This was not only a trip to gather stories for films like Saludos Amigos  but also a diplomatic mission for inter-American friendship.

Told with the help of Latin music, 16mm home movie clips and personal accounts, this interesting story will transport us back to the “Golden Age” of Hollywood in Latin American style. 

Click here to see the trailer.

For more information and to find out where you can see this film visit http://www.waltandelgrupo.com/

For those of you following along you may remember the name Knuckle Draggers from my interview with actor and producer, Paul J. Alessi.

The World Premiere of his latest movie, Knuckle Draggers, was on Sunday at the Newport Beach Film Festival. I was fortunate enough to get one of the last vacant seats for this sold out show.

“Knuckle Draggers takes a realistic, but comic look at how the behaviors of men and women have evolved very little since the caveman times.” -director Alex Ranarivelo

First let me be honest in saying that after seeing the trailer I thought I might be just a bit too old or too married for a movie about dating and the evolution of man when it comes to relationships. I was more than pleasantly surprised to find out after watching the film that I was wrong. I loved this movie.

With a stellar cast including Ross McCall, Paul J. Alessi, Amie Barsky, Danielle Nicolet, Justin Baldoni, Jennifer Alden, and Omar Gooding this movie wins in the acting department.

The script was comical and heartfelt. I heard laughter from female and male voices from the audience, and although parts of the movie are spent comparing women’s ideas of mates to studies done on monkeys, women enjoyed the film giving kudos to Paul as they left the theater.

The music choices by composer Austin Wintory complimented the scenes and were never overpowering. I liked the way he mixed music with a primitive element and Spanish guitar to make it “ultra romantic”.

Actor & musician Omar Gooding played the role of Russell. Two of his songs, My Shine and Ghetto Star from the album, Tradin’ War Stories, were featured in the movie.

Paul’s passion for this film was evident not only by his on screen performance but the way he worked with the press, cast and crew, also mingling with movie-goers at the World Premiere.

This housewife gives Knuckle Draggers the movie 4 out of 4 waffles.

Housewife in Hollywood Talks with Cast of Knuckle Draggers from SuzanneHIH on Vimeo.

Housewife in Hollywood Talks with Cast of Knuckle Draggers from SuzanneHIH on Vimeo.

You can see Knuckle Draggers at another screening Thursday April 30th. Click here for schedule & ticket information at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

Del Shores is a writer, director, producer, actor, and activist. He’s written, directed, and produced for film, television, and stage performances. Del has won numerous awards and was honored with a star on Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 2004.

He’s one of those people that must have more time stored some place. Even with all his titles and interests, he still finds time to teach acting workshops and offer audition coaching.

Let’s find out more about Del Shores with some Q&A:

HIH: I’ve been an Olivia Newton-John fan ever since I watched the film Grease in 1978. It was an honor playing the role of Sandy on the playground during recess. You’ve worked with Olivia Newton-John  on Sordid Lives the film and Sordid Lives: The Series on the Logo Channel. What is it like working with this iconic actress?

Del: Olivia is her image. Sweet, gracious, beautiful inside and out. She is wonderful to direct, tries anything I ask and we laugh ourselves silly working on the accent. I also directed her in “The Wilde Girls” in Australia and it was a very special time.”

Olivia Newton-John performs against scenes from the hit TV show Sordid Lives: The Series. Complete soundtrack available on CDBABY.COM and soundtrack and individual songs available on iTunes.

HIH: Sordid Lives started off as a play and includes elements from your own life. Tell us a bit about those elements.

Del: Just watch the Ty/Latrelle pre-funeral scene. Not at my grandmother’s funeral, but most of that dialogue ripped right out of my mom’s mouth — and mine. And Ty’s therapy sessions were mine. I did wear Husky jeans and my mom did change the labels.

HIH: “A black comedy about white trash.” I laugh out loud when I read this tagline for Sordid Lives because there is something universally funny about southern white trash. Why do you think the idea of white trash is so entertaining?

Del: I don’t really consider everybody “white trash” in “Sordid Lives”. That was a marketing “bite” that 20th Century Fox coined when they launched the DVD. I think Southerners/Texans are just colorful and the small things become big (like the mink stole situation in the movie) and with conflict, the comedy becomes real and organic in crazy situations.

HIH: Writing, directing, producing, acting, what do you feel the most comfortable doing?

Del: Well, I will always be a storyteller first and foremost. But when I have the most fun is directing my writing in the hands of great actors.

HIH: Your play Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s got the Will?) became a film in 1990 starring Beau Bridges. He was also in Sordid Lives. This seems like a common theme for you having the same actors in more than a couple of your productions. Is this a conscious choice or does it happen by circumstance?

Del: It’s a choice. If I connect with an actor, I start writing for them. And if I’m lucky, they’ll agree to work with me again. Most of the time, I’m lucky.

HIH: Your GLAAD Award-Winning play Southern Baptist Sissies is being made into a movie. What are the challenges and benefits to telling a story on stage compared to on a movie screen?

Del: Well, because of the economy there has been a delay in bringing Sissies to the big screen. I love that play and it was a difficult play to adapt to screen. The screenplay feels more like a hybrid of stage and film — and it helps that I made “Mark”, the story teller, a playwright. So in the film, he gets writer’s block, flies to Texas and sits in the church where he grew up and writes. We push into his mind and see what he is writing.

HIH: Being a housewife myself I’m interested in your play Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife. I’ve read that it’s a tragic tale about abuse but your flair for funny helps keep the audience from getting too down. Will this production be made into a movie anytime soon?

Del: Probably not. But I wouldn’t rule it out. It’s a powerful piece, if I say so myself. The Samuel French playbook  just came out and it will now be done everywhere.

Visit Del Shore’s official website delshores.net for his itinerary, tickets to upcoming events and workshop information. For the Sordid Lives: The Series show schedule visit the Logo Channel online by clicking here.

Call it a Cup of Joe, java, or plain ol’ coffee there are many ways to ask for a cuppa caffeinated bliss. I fell in love with the taste of coffee when I was just a kid. I believe it started at the Thrifty ice cream counter. My favorite flavor was Java and I’d always get a scoop of Bubble Gum with it. The saying, you are what you eat, is true. Bubble gum and coffee is a combo that describes my personality deliciously.

When other kids wanted hot cocoa after dinner I wanted coffee with milk and sugar. I’ve tried many substitutes from chicory root to Soyfee but they never quite measure up.

So I did some research about coffee in pop culture. Two things I just can’t get enough of.

1. Coffee in Commercials

Just this morning I made the coffee a bit too strong again. Strong is great when you have a primo brand of coffee to start with but if you try to make diner style coffee strong you get “bad taste”. Here’s a retro commercial of a housewife dealing with this very same scenario. Let’s see how she solved her morning coffee catastrophe.

2. Coffee in Music

Emmett Miller’s “You’re the Cream in My Coffee”, The Ink Spots “Java Jive”, Bob Dylan’s “One More Cup of Coffee”, Wendy & Lisa’s  ”Waiting for Coffee”, and The Squeeze’s “Black Coffee in Bed”. We’d need a few pots of coffee to keep us going with the long list of java in music. Let’s take a coffee break. Click here and have a listen to Frank Sinatra sing The Coffee Song.

3. Coffee in Television

Friends gathered at the Central Perk. Alice filled coffee cups at Mel’s Diner. Dr. Frasier Crane met with Daphne and Niles for a caffeinated beverage at Café Nervosa. Even soap operas like the Young & the Restless used a coffee shop to set the scene.

Caffeine in excess is proven to increase irritability. Watch what happens after these guys had too many mochas at the Y&R coffee shop.

4. Coffee in Film

Just like television, movies have used coffee shops as backdrops, coffee cups as props, and even coffee as a central theme. Have you seen Coffee and Cigarettes by Jim Jarmusch? This film is a series of vignettes starring Tom Waits, Iggy Pop, and Bill Murray just to name a few. You can see a few clips in this creative Cinema & Coffee videoart on YouTube:

In 1961 a short film called This is Coffee was made. It’s full to the brim with coffee information.

5. Coffee Table Books

This housewife isn’t fond of dusting her coffee table but she sure loves coffee table books. I have two favorites on display. One is Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and the other is Studio 54. A little Depp and a little disco is all I need to make dusting more fun.

On my quest to quench my coffee thirst, I found this great site devoted to coffee table books. Click here to do some book browsing. I think I need a few more coffee tables.

Any other pop culture Cups of Joe out there you’d like to share?

Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal are leading the way in World Wide Web internettainment. This duo met in the first grade and now they’re all grown up working together as musicians, filmmakers, and comedians. Most Internet enthusiasts know them for their large collection of videos on the Internet.

This is one of my favorites:

Rhett & Link put the viral in viral marketing. Catch Rhett & Link at these 5 featured Links:

1. Their official website www.rhettandlink.com/

2. Being a MySpace user myself, I just have to share this link to their official MySpace page  www.myspace.com/rhettandlink  

3. You can watch all 21 of their summer episodes for the Alka Seltzer Great American Road Trip at www.speedysroadtrip.com/

Here’s the first one that started the summer seltzer craze, it’s in San Diego my hometown!

4. Rhett & Links Websongs, Volume 1 on Napster featuring all of their online hits including the Facebook Song, Unicorn Rap, Velcro Song, Pluto on the Rebound, and Fireworks Song. Click here to be linked.

5. Here’s the link to their film Looking for Ms. Locklear, www.locklearmovie.com/, and no, it’s not about Heather.