“I have no faith at all. I only hold convictions.” – Ayn Rand on February 25, 1959, as told to Mike Wallace, to whom she explained her self-centered philosophy “objectivism.”
‘GORE VIDAL: THE MAN WHO SAID NO’: On the ’82 Campaign Trail
By Gregory Crofton Gore Vidal, a well-known, openly gay, historical writer and political commentator, decided to run for the United States Senate to represent California in 1982. (His great-grandfather served as a U.S. senator from Oklahoma in the 1920s and…
ALTMANESQUE: Documentary Director Talks Up Robert Altman at Retrospective
By Gregory Crofton The idea came to him while he listened to a “Robert Altman: The Oral Biography” (2009) in his car. Make a documentary about this hugely influential American filmmaker, a man who mocked Hollywood with THE PLAYER and…
The Disposable Life of a 20-year-old Confidential Informant
On June 27, 2014, the body of 20-year-old Andrew Sadek, a promising electrical student at the North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) in Wahpeton, North Dakota, was pulled from the Red River bordering North Dakota and Minnesota. Missing for…
What Happened When Portugal Decriminalized Drugs?
For 20 years The Economist has led calls for a rethink on drug prohibition. This film looks at new approaches to drugs policy, from Portugal to Colorado. “Drugs: War or Store?” kicks off our new “Global Compass” series, examining novel…