A positive review from a local critic declaring the film “a satisfyingly taut suspenser.”  By A. Long

A positive review from a local critic declaring the film “a moody horror/thriller elevated by deft staging and the director's well-known narrative gamesmanship.”  By A. Long

Promotion of Signs.  By A. Long

Promotion of "Philly".  By A. Long

Promotion of “Philly”.  By A. Long

To keep the film within Pennsylvania, Shyamalan orders casting calls in local cities.  By A. Long

M. Night Shyamalan targets an ordinary audience. He wants to make a cross-generational movie for everyone from parents, children, grandchildren. Shyamalan uses his vision to transform a B-movie genre of alien invasion into an emotional tale of faith and belief. The film’s prevailing theme of the resilience of the human spirit led critics to interpret the film as almost a response to September 11^th.  By A. Long

While the director stays close to Philadelphia for personal reasons of family and preference, the new location creates a more organic space for filmmaking, spurring more original ideas. For the set of the farm, Shyamalan rented 100 acres of fields at the Delaware Valley College to plant 40-acres of corn and construct an entire farmhouse. After the movie’s production, the house was torn down and all of the corn was donated to the school. The director claims to deliberately focus the settings of his plots in the Philadelphia-area (for example Bucks County and the Eastern State Penitentiary).  By A. Long

M. Night Shyamalan attended school in an upscale Episcopalian institution in suburban Philadelphia. Instead of film focusing on crop circles and the simple alien supernatural, the director constructs a narrative of a higher supernatural to center on themes on faith and miracles. By A. Long

M. Night Shyamalan further centers the film’s themes on lost faith and later redemption of the protagonist Graham Hess. He connects worship beyond just the characters, but into a more self-conscious worship of cinema, the motivation of audiences to repeatedly attend screenings in movie theatres. Whether in reverence or otherwise, the director cleverly uses silence as a device for plot and representation.  By A. Long

Signs is shot in various locations in the Philadelphia area, mainly Doylestown, Morrisville, and Newtown. M. Night Shyamalan has a close association with these locations as his home is in close proximity, in Gladwyne, PA. Perhaps his own connections with the setting as well as the narrative was the cause of his devastation when his earlier film Unbreakable failed to connect well with audiences.  By A. Long

M. Night Shyamalan’s films often feature a fascination with the middle class family. His films appeal to wide ranging audiences and demographics. As Hollywood’s highest paid screenwriter, Shyamalan is on his way to becoming a modern auteur, opening a film with his name.  By A. Long

M. Night Shyamalan’s Contributions to the Greater Philadelphia Film Office.Philadelphia has experienced a recent loss of projects to Canada. The success of M. Night Shyamalan’s films have created a new industry understanding of Philadelphia as a production center, increasing resources and experiences available to support future productions. The convention center and two city-owned warehouses have recently been transformed into free municipally run soundstages. Pinkenson explains that GPFO has always served as a nonprofit organization for the local film community.  By A. Long

Delaney is reluctant to leave comfortably established role in “NYPD,” but expressed more confidence when Bochco is confirmed as the show’s executive producer.  By A. Long

Bochco expresses understanding of ABC time changes, but worries about “NYPDs” new competition on Wednesday night. “NYPD” now occupies the 10PM timeslot against NBC’s “Law & Order” while “Philly” will take over “NYPD’s” old Tuesday slot. ABC explains its refusal to renew NYPD just yet as a sound decision from a business standpoint.  By A. Long

“Philly” is scheduled to run during “NYPD Blue’s” timeslot on Tuesdays. NYPD Blue’s performance in its new timeslot on Wednesday worries Bochco, since the network has not renewed the show for its 10^th season. The network hopes the Tuesday timeslot will capture the established NYPD audience.  By A. Long

Rutenberg examines the causes for increases in explicit language present in “Philly” as opposed to his previous “NYPD Blue.” Broadcast television has been long characterized with significant give-and-take exchanges between censors and producers to gradually lower standards. Traditionally, standards on broadcast have been higher due to public accessibility versus the anything-goes cable network, which has recently been posing a threat to network’s market share. Changing censorship rules are molding the movement of both television and pop/local culture. Bochco continues to demand looser restrictions.  By A. Long

Kim Delaney leaves “NYPD Blue” in order to star in Bochco’s new “Philly.” The agreement is a win-win situation for the actress as she is guaranteed a returning role to “NYPD Blue” should the show be canceled after 13 episodes. Bochco states that he felt Delaney was underutilized on the current show and welcomed the opportunity to write a new role for her. While two roles of Diane Russell and Kathleen Macguire are women working around criminals and male coworkers, the new character of Kathleen is less cynical and damaged. Delaney interviewed several Philadelphia-based defense lawyers in preparation for her role.  By A. Long

Gallo speculates that the public acceptance of Bochco’s trial drama depends on former “NYPD Blue” star Kim Delaney’s performance as Kathleen Macguire. The character roles are fairly similar: strong candid females with inexplicable drive to set things right. The city is subtly a background, with few differences from New York City.  By A. Long

Bochco’s recent wartime drama portraying the war in Iraq fails to receive much audience attention. Gray contends that while the show is worthwhile and deserves a larger audience, both the smaller cable network and unresolved ending of an ongoing war contribute to its low exposure. Perhaps the audience feels like they are simply watching the news in drama form.  By A. Long

Philadelphia –born actress Kim Delaney was arrested Malibu, California on suspicion of drunk driving. She was arrested and given two years probation, $300 fine, and ordered to attend a safe driving class as a result of her arrest for drunken driving.  By A. Long

Deggan explains the controversial racial issues of the show "Philly". He questions Bochco’s lack of consideration for the implications of an all-white core cast defending black offenders for Philadelphia. Racial groups such NAACP, La Raza, and many minority viewers have expressed outrage that 21^st century television does not better reflect the changing composition and increasing diversity of our society. By A. Long

The President of the NAACP, Kweisi Mfume, calls the fall's major-network lineup a ''virtual whitewash,'' highlighting the blatant absence of black, Latino, or Asian actors in prominent roles in the new shows premiering on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. Mfume called this ''a glaring omission,'' adding that ''African-Americans make up 13 percent of the population; we feel that our presence should be appropriately reflected.'' However, well-known producer, Steven Bochco, is creating a new show with a predominately Black cast.  By A. Long

Back to Bochco. Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who played Detective John Clark on Steven Bochco's NYPD Blue from '01 to '05, will rejoin his old boss on the new hit drama, Commander in Chief. The show (and many other produced by Bochco) have difficulties generating interest within the younger viewer demographic. Positive local reception of his shows remain concentrated in much older viewers, with an average age of almost 60.  By A. Long

Review of the Fugazi album, “In on the Killtaker”. Review starts off with, “Fugazi makes records the way the late, great John Cassavetes made films - with iron-willed independence and a rare gift for portraying harrowing worlds of raw emotion.” It’s interesting to see how the Philadelphia critical press approaches this album review through the Cassavetes song and the significance he has in the world of independent media.

Announcement that on July 9^th, PBS will do an “American Masters” on Cassavetes. Cassavetes’s canonization by PBS is announced in the Philadelphia Daily News as a means of advertising the show, but it is another insistence of the importance of John Cassavetes as an American artist.  By G. Bond

Philadelphia learns of Cassavetes’s death and begins to explore his career.  By G. Bond

Popularity of the convertible, as evidenced by the celebrities who drive the, including John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands. Indication of Cassavetes’s level of celebrity in Philadelphia.  By G. Bond

Life of this chef and restaurant owner, whose restaurant Konstantino’s, “attracted notables including Peter Falk, John Cassavetes and the former Princess Irene of Greece.” Fifteen years after shooting “Mickey and Nicky”, and one month after his death, Cassavetes is remembered as being one of the celebrities that graced Janus’s restaurant, an indication of the mark he left after his short time in Philadelphia.  By G. Bond

Alexandre Rockwell, the director of “In the Soup”, is refered to as a “John Cassavetes-Sam Fuller protégé”.  The Philadelphia critical press places Alexandre Rockwell in a lineage forged by John Cassavetes, once again keeping Cassavetes in a historical context.  By G. Bond

The exhibition, titled “Gloria” and concerning feminist art of the 1970’s, partially inspired by the Cassavetes film of the same name. Evidence of the continuing presence of Cassavetes on the Philadelphia art scene.  By G. Bond

One year after his death, Philadelphia’s International House takes up the job of commemorating him with a 12-title retrospective. Not only does the International House make a step in the direction of canonizing Cassavetes, but Ryan does his part too, meditating on Cassavetes and his roles as director and actor. By G. Bond

"Like Cassavetes, he is at his best in finding the revealing moment of truth in a mundane remark or admission." Another illustration of the importance of Cassavetes to the Philadelphia critical press and their means of discussing "edgy" cinema. By G. Bond

There have been numerous screenings of Cassavetes’s films throughout Philadelphia since his death, and they have served an important part in the continuation of his legacy. In his brief synopsis promoting the screening, Ryan writes, “The late and much lamented John Cassavetes financed his adventurous career as a director by acting in flagrantly commercial movies. His own films found only a cult following, with the exception of Gloria, starring Gena Rowlands (Cassavetes' wife) as a gangster's moll in a witty variation on Little Miss Marker. The film offers the spontaneity of Cassavetes' more experimental work in a more disciplined format. By G. Bond

As a Philadelphia critic, and the one with the most experience with Cassavetes, it is fitting that Ryan writes his obituary for The Philadelphia Inquirer, and so he begins the posthumous canonization, finding a way to define his work in the context of history and its great influence and importance.  By G. Bond

Desmond Ryan reveals his love for Cassavetes in this overall negative review. While Ryan did not like the film, he blames the writer, explicitly saying Cassavetes did what he could with the script.  By G. Bond

The film was shot in Philadelphia in 1973. The usually Cassavetes-friendly Ryan does not like “Mikey and Nicky”, but still manages to say something nice about him, “it is gruesome to think how bad this film would be without Peter Falk and John Cassavetes in the leads”. He even goes so far as to praise his directing unprovoked, “the inescapable conclusion is that Cassavetes, for all his faults, does this kind of film with more spontaneity and impact.”  By G. Bond

In discussing Kasdan’s balancing his career between projects like “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and more adult films like “The Big Chill”, Kasdan, “does not see himself as an artist who toils in flagrantly commercial enterprises to finance his important work - a defense John Cassavetes offers for some of the roles he takes. A seemingly unprovoked reference to Cassavetes, such as the one made by Ryan here, both serves to indicate the extent to which Cassavetes and his characteristics as an actor and a director have become ingrained in the language of filmmaking, and it serves to confirm his place in film history.  By G. Bond

Announcement of “Love Streams”, in the context of Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes and husband and wife, co-actors, and director and actor. Continuation of Cassevetes career as defined in the Philadelphia press by his marriage to Gena Rowlands.  By G. Bond

Ryan demonstrates the contemporary view of Cassavetes and his balance between his artistic directing work and his B-movie acting work, “Cassavetes' excuse for incubating is that the money he earns from trash like The Incubus helps pay the bills for his own work as a filmmaker. The price of a Gloria is very high, and he had better make something equally good to atone for slumming through The Incubus.”  By G. Bond

This small article from The Philadelphia Inquirer shows how Cassavetes and Rowlands were, at least partially, defined in the media by their working marriage. By G. Bond

This review of “The Tempest” illustrates Ryan’s admiration for Cassavetes as an actor, but this praise cannot be removed from his love of his directing. “Phillip, the Prospero of Mazursky's story, is played by John Cassavetes with a fervor that makes one wish his passion for directing allowed him more time in front of the camera”  By G. Bond

Philadelphia’s habit of Cassavetes retrospectives moves from International House to Temple University Cinematheque.  By G. Bond

“Faces” is being screened at the Temple Cinematheque in Philadelphia. Another instance in the maintaining of Cassavetes’s legacy through retrospective screenings.

Cassavetes’s “A Woman Under the Influence” is inducted into the National Film Registry.  Cassavetes is canonized by the government.  By G. Bond

Review says, “Seymour Cassel, the veteran of so many John Cassavetes pictures - pictures that Trees Lounge evokes in its emphasis on characters over plot - also turns up briefly.” An indication of the presence of Cassavetes on the conscious of the Philadelphia critic, as well as the extent to which even after his death, Cassavetes remains in dialogue with independent cinema. By G. Bond

In her review for “The Big Dis”, Rickey points out the influences of Cassavetes of the film’s makers, from its handheld 16mm cinematography to the productions that “state that the script is based on an improvisation by the cast”.  By G. Bond

John Cassavetes retrospective at the International House, specifically “Opening Night” and “Husbands”. By G. Bond

At this early point in figuring out Cassavetes’s place in film history following his death, Carrie Rickey makes a statement for his canonization. It is also impressive because, while she got the film wrong, Cassavetes did make the National Registry with “A Woman Under the Influence”.  By G. Bond

Article on 1986 Los Angeles Film Critics Awards. John Cassavetes is given the career achievement award. Philadelphia was made aware of the significance of Cassavetes’s career.

Review says, “’In the Soup’ also stars Seymour Cassel, a big bear of a character actor and repertorial fixture of an earlier era's indie film pioneer - John Cassavetes. The Philadelphia critical press demonstrates its awareness of the history of independent cinema by connecting this film’s being an indie film with Seymour Cassel, the film’s link to the birth of independent cinema and John Cassavetes.  By G. Bond

Godard dedicated “Detective” to John Cassavetes, Edgard Gulmer, and Clint Eastwood, saying, “I dedicated the film to these three because of the way they have been able to make movies outside the system, the way they have beaten the system.”  The publishing of this article in The Philadelphia Inquirer is a testament to the love of cinema in Philadelphia, but it also serves as further propagating the legacy of John Cassavetes, particularly from such a widely recognizable name.  By G. Bond

Negative review of Love Streams. Prior to his death, there were still mixed feelings within the Philadelphia critical press about Cassavetes. Lyman says, “All the time-tested Cassavetes staples are on view in Love Streams - intense close-ups, extreme long takes, a focus on character rather than narrative… In his best movies - such as Faces (1968) - these artsy effects gave the movie a gut-wrenching improvisational quality. In Love Streams, they feel old- fashioned, one last self-congratulatory beatnik wail.”  By G. Bond

Through this article, The Philadelphia Inquirer provided a voice for Bogdanovich, openly making the statement that he prefers Cassavetes to the “cartoon-like” work of Lucas and Spielberg, and thereby makes a step forward for independently-minded cinema.  By G. Bond

Discussion of the American New Wave, centered around Cassavetes’s “Shadows” as “probably the most influential and important movie of the American New Wave” and “a stark, realistic and improvisational classic”.Again, between the retrospective itself and the article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia has contributed to the life of “Shadows” and Cassavetes’s work as a whole.  By G. Bond

Not only is this another in the line of Cassavetes retrospectives in Philadelphia, but the International House has gone one step further in canonizing Cassavetes and turning the retrospective into a means of carrying on film history by showing Charles Kiselyak’s three-hour and twenty-minute documentary, “A Constant Forge”. The role of retrospectives like this one is not lost on the International House, as they begin their write-up on the event with “Since his death in 1989, recognition of John Cassavetes’ significance has grown steadily – a recognition that often eluded him in life.”  By G. Bond

In this article for the television section of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the story is told about how Matt Laborteaux got his role in “A Woman Under the Influence” when Cassavetes asked him if he could cry on the spot, and when he could, he gave him the job. This is one of the most famous stories of John Cassavetes, and here in this article on the stars of “Little House On the Prairie” in the television section of the Philadelphia paper, the legend grows a little bigger.  By G. Bond

In The Philadelphia Inquirer, Kevin L. Goldman wrote this article talking about Hollywood’s use of Atlantic City. Cassavetes is used as the focal point of the film and its interaction with the space of Atlantic City.  By G. Bond

Philadelphia’s reception of news from the international film festival regarding Cassavetes, with a very positive review of his performance.  By G. Bond

The video release of “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie”. The brief description of the film says it is “shoddy and pretentious”, but that it has a “quirky charm”. While not terribly significant, this is evidence of the presence of John Cassavetes in the Philadelphia conscious.  By G. Bond

Barely four months after his death, and there is already a tribute documentary. This is an indication of his significance, as is the fact that he is referred to as “one of film’s great mavericks”.  By G. Bond

Celebrating the culture of pasta restaurants in Philadelphia, one of them lists John Cassavetes and Peter Falk among its star clientele.Twenty-five years after Cassavetes and Falk shot “Mikey and Nicky” in Philadelphia, their visits to restaurants are still recalled as signs of the golden era. By G. Bond

According to this review, Baltake represents a critical fanbase in Philadelphia for Cassavetes before his death.  By G. Bond

Review of the film “Parting Glances”.  Baltake refers to the “kind of large ensemble doing the kind of spontaneous turns (improvisations?) rarely seen except in the work of John Cassavetes.” Cassavetes is synonymous with a large cast that improvises, this article leads us to believe, or at least for this Philadelphia critic.  By G. Bond

While talking about Frank Sinatra, Baltake says he has a fantasy of seeing Sinatra in a Cassavetes film. “Sinatra was made for Cassavetes. Cassavetes makes dramatic movies, but they have the spirit of a tune and the poetry of a lyric, qualities which, on screen, have always showed Sinatra at his best, qualities that make it possible for Sinatra to conjure up the feelings that he brings to a song.”An unprovoked reference to a figure like Cassavetes leads one to believe that Cassavetes plays a big part in the collective cinematic conscious, and that the seemingly mythological pairing of Sinatra and Cassavetes confirms Cassavetes place a cultural figure of significance, especially when placed alongside Frank Sinatra.  By G. Bond

Baltake is critical of the movie, but is eager to praise Cassavetes’s performance saying he gives “the best performance of his career”. Like Ryan, however, Baltake can’t stop himself from talking about Cassavetes the director, “Through it all, one is aware of what Cassavetes himself might have whipped up in half the time and with half the money - probably a modern, gritty, ‘Waiting for Godot.’ He certainly would have made better use of the Philadelphia locations and the film's inherent sociology on ‘neighborhood’ life as the two buddies here walk the streets, sit in bars, ride the buses and reminisce.”  By G. Bond

Talking about the film “Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?”, Baltake requests the reader, “imagine what ‘Annie Hall’ might have been like if it had been made by John Cassavetes, you’ll get some idea of the jittery, discordant, vital movie that director Henry Jaglom has created here.  The Philadelphia critical press uses Cassavetes in a very referential way, solidifying his reputation as an ideal or prototype of an edgy, independent filmmaker.  By G. Bond

The Philadelphia Daily News, in promoting the first wave of home theater equipment, endorses purchasing the video of Gloria, under the heading of “Sleepers”. Referring to the gangster genre, Baltake says, “Needless to say, Cassavetes turns the genre upside-down. It’s exhilarating!” By G. Bond