Laura Roman, PhD

Happy birthday to Alex Cox (b. December 15, 1954). "I was never in the “traditional Hollywood cinema” because the only films I made for studios were made as negative pick-ups. The studio read the script but they didn’t have any involvement until you delivered the finished film. Then, if the finished film was a fair facsimile of the screenplay, they had to pay. You just had to find some wealthy person who could take out a bank-loan to cover the production until the studio bought the picture at the end of the production . . . I don’t think it is done anymore. I’m not aware of it being done anymore. What the studios were doing in those days—in the ‘70s and the ‘80s—they were learning how to make independent films. They were learning how it was done because they wanted to get around the craft-guilds. Once the studios figured-out how an independent film was made, they created their own faux-independent companies, like Focus Features. They made their own." — "From REPO MAN to DEAD SOULS: A Lifetime in the Cinema of Alex Cox" by Jonathan Marlow, 2024 ⬇️ Alex Cox, unknown date, Repo Man (1984), Walker (1987), Highway Patrolman (1991).

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta.

Christopher Hitchens

“Eno is probably the most prolific artist I've ever encountered...actively making music for over 54 years now, has released over 40 solo / collaboration albums, and produced dozens more....I hope we can all stay as curious as he's been for the past five decades and beyond.” - GH