Paul Reiser The Carolina Theatre, Durham Saturday, Jan. 31, 8 p.m. Even Paul Reiser admits that he’ll probably always be most remembered for his Emmy-winning 1990s sitcom Mad About You, but the veteran actor, writer and comedian has enjoyed a renewed profile recently, including a supporting turn in Best Picture Oscar nominee Whiplash as well […]
Zack Smith
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Posted inArt
Host D.G. Martin’s enthusiasm and curiosity drive UNC-TV program North Carolina Bookwatch
Two people chat amid a makeshift book nook with a round table and bookshelves on a soundstage at the University of North Carolina Center for Public Television in Research Triangle Park, across from the darkened, lumber-piled set of Roy Underhill’s The Woodwright’s Shop. The set is artificial, but the enthusiasm is real as host D.G. […]
Posted inCulture
Year in review: You have to see theatrical releases to rank them
Recently, the INDY asked me if I’d provide a list of the top 10 films I saw in the past year. The request threw me, because it made me realize something: There’s a lot less pressure to see a film in the theater than there used to be. Understand, I’ve never been a primary part […]
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Chapel Hill’s Varsity Theater starts fundraising campaign to stay in business
As 2014 winds down, a Chapel Hill institution turns to Kickstarter in the hopes of making it through 2015. Today, the Varsity Theatre, which has operated on Franklin Street under different names for more than 85 years, unveiled a Kickstarter campaign starkly named Go Digital or Go Dark. Its goal is to raise enough money […]
Posted inCulture
The Polar Express and Jumanji author Chris Van Allsburg respects the intelligence of young readers
Chris Van Allsburg Quail Ridge Books & Music Tuesday, Nov. 11, 7 p.m. It’s funny how easy it is to think of Chris Val Allsburg’s picture books as whimsical tales for children. Sure, Jumanji seems like a delightful romp about a jungle-themed board game whose obstacles come to life until the young players finish, and […]
Posted inArt
Highway to Hell: Take a haunted house road trip
I can still smell the gasoline from the chainsaw wielded by the Jason Voorhees lookalike at Lacy Elementary School’s Fall Festival in the 1980s. So I have a deep respect for the tradition of the Halloween haunted house, from peeled grapes masquerading as eyeballs to elaborate productions that cost thousands of dollars. That’s why I […]
Posted inArt
Visit Raleigh’s little shop of horrors
His name is Rod Sterling, not Serling, but his Raleigh shop, The Little Leviathan, feels like something you’d find in The Twilight Zone. Hidden away at 212 Powell Drive in a nondescript office suite near the State Fairgrounds, it lurks behind a door ominously marked “Oddities.” Inside, it takes a moment to adjust to the […]
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Comics roundup: A civil rights legend, Congressman John Lewis, visits Durham in comics and real-life form
“Durham Reads Together” and The Durham Comics Project A major public figure with an connection to comic books will be in Durham this weekend: Georgia Congressman John Lewis, the legendary Civil Rights Movement leader who is the last surviving speaker from the 1963 political rally in Washington, D.C. where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his […]
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Bull Spec officially retires as print magazine
For Triangle-based fans of science fiction, fantasy and horror, Durham’s Samuel Montgomery-Blinn has played a major role in raising awareness of and consolidating the rich local scene for these genres with his magazine and website Bull Spec since 2010. The INDY reported on it back when it was on its fourth issue in 2011. But […]
Posted inArt
As big chains fold, Triangle indie bookstores thrive on the personal touch
As online giant Amazon continues to face backlash for its alleged bully tactics against writers published by Hachette Book Group and speculation rages as to whether big-box chain Barnes & Noble is headed for the same fate as the now-defunct Borders, independent booksellers in the Triangle are moving to take back the local marketplace. The […]
