St. John's Confidential File

HELLO AMERICA!—Everyday thousands of young creative  hopefuls and future filmmakers are arriving in Hollywood to make their way in an industry which is one of the most difficult journeys one can pursue. Recently, I was introduced to Romane Simon who hails from Haiti.  He didn’t waste any time writing scripts and setting up his cameras in making his mark as...

HELLO AMERICA!—Since the big verbal explosion between hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’Donnell on “The View,” I have been hesitating to tune in to see what the fallout of the battle between the two women was like.  It was gratifying to find freshman Hosts Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace settled in quite nicely. They were relaxed, properly informed on...

  HELLO AMERICA!—If you haven’t seen “Rise and Shine” (I Thought I was White) already at the Let Live Theatre you should do yourself a favor and get tickets as soon as possible.  The show was written and stars Anil Kumar. It is directed by Reena Dutt. “Rise and Shine” is an uplifting, heartwarming, hilarious story about a young man...

HELLO AMERICA!—The Blank Theatre (Daniel Henning, Founding Artistic Director; Noah Wyle, Artistic Producer) has scheduled for their first production of its 24th season The Why by Victor Kaufold, directed by Henning. The engagement will run through October 19. The Why is a fast-paced tragicomedy — one part modern satire one part honest investigation. The central story concerns Robert, an American teenager guilty of...

HELLO AMERICA!—Don’t be shocked by the shenanigans and unbridled actions of some of our new Tinseltown stars because it has always been that way in the motion picture industry. To name a few, there were stars like Fatty Arbuckle, Charlie Chaplin, Jean Harlow, John Barrymore and tons of others who hit the entertainment headlines time and time again. In...

HELLO AMERICA!—In 2012, singer/actor EL DeBarge was released from drug rehab excited about rebuilding his music career. He even signed with the David Geffen Record Company and produced a hit song “Second Chance.”  Life seemed on the high ground again and El believed that he finally had licked the demons of death that were slowly smothering him into utter...

HELLO AMERICA!—Living in Hollywood is comparable to trying to exist in a carnival. There are tons of rides, faces of painted disguise and people simply moving from one place or another where it seems safe to challenge its purpose for existing where they are. When hearing about Robin Williams’ death, it simply reinforces one’s belief that those of us who...

HELLO AMERICA!—Usually when you set a panel of judges, it is important that they, in some way, have some expertise in the arts i.e., music, acting, dance, something that qualifies one to judge. However, the producers of “America’s Got Talent” insults the intelligence of their audience with the likes of Howard Stern who doesn’t dance, sing, act or do...

HELLO AMERICA!—Hearing of the passing of the beloved actor James Garner was quite disturbing even though we all realize and understand that death is inevitable. Somehow, because we idolize and respect many of our artists, we neglect to remember they are human just as we are. Yet we mourn them because they represent so much in our lives, pilot...

HELLO AMERICA!—When Barbara Walters retired from “The View” talk show and a few weeks later the firing of Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy was announced leaving only Whoopi Goldberg as the survival panelist, we knew it would simply mean another war. My ABC source didn’t hesitate to disclose that everyone connected with the show is getting ready for the...