60 Minutes Interview With Bradley Cooper, Star of 'American Sniper'

Steve Croft at 60 Minutes interviewed Bradley Cooper, an intelligent and talented actor, this past Sunday.

As recently as five years ago you would have been forgiven for not knowing exactly who Bradley Cooper was despite the fact that he had been in roughly 20 movies and four television series. Today, you have no excuse. He's had quite a year, winning acclaim for two roles that couldn't be more different: one on stage portraying a sensitive soul with a horrible affliction and the other on film as a stoic, solitary Navy SEAL in Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper."

You can watch the interview, as well as the extended interview on 60 Minutes Overtime, where Cooper visited the Italian Market in South Philly with the Italian-American side of his family, via the below link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bradley-cooper-60-minutes-oscars-academy-awards/

On Murder And Malware: Michael Mann, The Crime Drama Kingpin

I've not yet seen Michael Mann's Blackhat, but it sounds interesting as I have serious concerns about cyber crime, cyber espionage and cyber warfare.

Mann is a serious crime writer, director and producer. I've enjoyed Mann's previous crime films, such as Thief and Manhunter. I especially liked Mann's TV crime series Crime Story.

The late Dennis Farina, a former Chicago cop, was very good as the detective squad lieutenant. Anthony Denison was also very good as a gangster, as was Andrew Dice Clay. The supporting cast was also first rate.

The late John Santucci (his real name was John Schiavone), who was a real Chicago burglar, was outstanding as a crook in Crime Story. Mann's film Thief was based on Santucci, and he is shown on the right in the bottom photo.

I was enjoying Mann's HBO series Luck until it was sadly canceled over the death of a horse at a racetrack.

So I was interested in reading Jonathan Bernstein's interview with Mann at the British newspaper the Guardian.

Shimmering neon reflected on the spotless bonnets of expensive sports cars. Sleek speedboats piloted across ice-blue water by Armani-clad criminals with strict moral codes. Bone-weary cops who view their underworld adversaries with professional respect. That’s far from the totality of Michael Mann’s career, but it sums up the stylish world with which his name is synonymous.

For over three decades, the director has painted both small and large screens with beautifully lit pictures that dwell on the violent lives of terse, tough men. Men the calibre of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Heat, James Caan in Thief, Tom Cruise in Collateral, and even Don Johnson, who may have sported pastels in Miami Vice, but was a man with a guarded exterior who weighed his words.
Chris Hemsworth, who plays the hacker at the centre of Mann’s latest film, Blackhat, may use codes and viruses rather than glass-cutters and sub-machine guns, but he fits perfectly into the director’s archetype of a male lead: stoic, unsentimental and dispassionate.

Yet real-life events suggest that maybe this archetype isn’t as reliable as it used to be. In the US, Blackhat debuted a week after North Korea temporarily crippled Sony Pictures, an action of massive consequence without a steel-jawed hero anywhere near it. I ask Mann whether he watched what happened to The Interview and experienced a degree of trepidation for his own release. The 71-year-old director waves away the question like a mosquito buzzing around his face.

“On a scale of one to 10 of intrusion, what happened at Sony was about a four,” he says, his Chicago accent still broad. “You have one country’s fighter jets that are being stolen from another country’s defence contractors. There’s malware called Shamoon that overwrites on the actual disc so there’s no way to recover data.” Mann, who showed up to our meeting bearing a stack of official-looking folders, reaches into the pile and pulls out some photocopied documents that delve even deeper into the intricacies of Shamoon. He directs my attention to the document with a steely gaze that implies: “Don’t bother me with Seth Rogen, when Shamoon’s out there”.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/16/michael-mann-blackhat-chris-hemsworth

To learn more about Michael Mann you can also read an earlier interview with him at ew.com via the below links:

http://www.ew.com/article/2012/01/21/michael-mann-interview-luck-hbo

http://www.ew.com/article/2012/01/28/michael-mann-crime-story-robbery-homicide-division-luck

Former Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney On The 2016 Democratic National Convention In Philly

Steve Tawa at cbslocal.com in Philadelphia interviewed former Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney about the upcoming DNC in 2016 in Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Security was one of three main selling points, other than logistics and financing, in Philadelphia’s successful bid to land the Democratic National Convention in July of 2016.

During the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, more than 400 arrests were made, most of which happened the second night of the event, when protesters ran through city streets.
“But by and large, the demonstrations were peaceful.”

While we deal with wicked cold temperatures, former Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney spoke with us while putting up with a sand storm, in the Kingdom of Bahrain, where he is consulting these days on police training.

“Except for 1968 in Chicago, the Democratic conventions appear to draw less venomous protesters than do the Republican conventions. The RNC, which is being held in Cleveland, will have its own problems.”

Obviously, the 2000 RNC in Philly was pre-9/11.

“Terrorism becomes a critical factor as you plan for these events. It’s an opportunity for some lone wolf or terrorist cell to exploit the publicity that a political convention brings to the table.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/02/14/former-philly-police-commissioner-shares-his-thoughts-on-how-police-will-handle-dnc/

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine interview with John Timoney via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/08/interview-with-americas-top-cop-q-with.html

And you can read my Crime Beat column on Timoney via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/06/on-crime-thrillers-tale-of-crime.html  

Arnaud de Borchgrave, Former Washington Times Editor In Chief, Dies At 88

 

The Washington Times, where I'm a contributor, reports that Arnaud de Borchgrave has died.

Arnaud de Borchgrave, former editor in chief of The Washington Times and a celebrated foreign correspondent who covered 17 wars and became the confidant of dozens of world leaders, died Sunday at a hospice in Washington after a lengthy illness with cancer. He was 88.

Mr. de Borchgrave was editor in chief of The Times from 1985 until he retired in 1991. He had earlier been the chief foreign correspondent for Newsweek magazine for 25 years. He presided over The Times during a period of great growth, both in circulation and in influence at the White House and on Capitol Hill, far beyond its circulation numbers.

He was president and chief executive officer of United Press International after he retired from The Times, and was editor at large for both publications at the time of his death. After he retired from the newspaper he became the director of transnational projects for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

He is survived by his wife, Alexandra Villard de Borchgrave, an award-winning photographer who often accompanied her husband on his globe-trotting trips.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/15/arnaud-de-borchgrave-former-washington-times-edito/

Newsmax also offered a piece on the passing of de Borchgrave.

In 1980, de Borchgrave co-wrote with Robert Moss the international best-selling novel "The Spike," a political thriller involving an American journalist whose exposés on the KGB are mysteriously spiked by editors who have become agents of influence under sway of the KGB.

The best-selling book and Ronald Reagan's election victory combined to bolster de Borchgrave's standing in journalistic circles. Sensing a fellow staunch anti-Communist, the president reportedly tried to appoint de Borchgrave to two ambassadorships, one to Tunisia and one to France. But de Borchgrave politely declined both appointments to focus on his journalistic endeavors. According to his biography, he resigned from Newsweek in 1980.

When de Borchgrave took over the newsroom of The Washington Times in 1985, Reagan called to offer his congratulations. At the Times, de Borchgrave's tireless work ethic was soon on full display. He knew his mammoth competitor The Post, his former employer at Newsweek, could outspend his newsroom many times over. To compensate, he labored tirelessly to single-handedly reverse the newspaper's fortunes, often sleeping overnight on the convertible sofa in his office.

In an effort to motivate the Times staff, shortly after taking the helm he recounted his experiences in the Royal Navy. "My skippers seldom left the bridge," he told them. "I see myself as your new captain on the bridge."
You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/de-borchgrave-obituary-war-correspondent-journalist/2015/02/15/id/624927/?ns_mail_uid=266329&ns_mail_job=1608668_02152015&s=al&dkt_nbr=oj5ler34

Note: In addition to reading Mr. Borchgrave's interesting columns, I also read The Spike, his  espionage/politico/journalism thriller.

I loaned the book to someone and never got it back, so I ordered a copy from www.abebooks.com and recently reread it. It held up. The Spike is a good thriller, as was his follow-up thriller Monimbo.

My Philadelphia Inquirer Review Of 'Gotti's Rules'

My review of George Anastasia's Gotti's Rules appeared in today's Philadelphia Inquirer.

Appearing on ABC some years ago, former Mafia capo Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano told an interviewer about the time he was eating in a New York restaurant with Gambino crime family boss John Gotti.

A nearby couple was staring and whispering and Gotti grumbled. Gravano asked Gotti if he wanted him to handle it.

"No," Gotti told his underboss sternly. "This is my public."

Gravano said he was taken aback. They were both members of La Cosa Nostra, a secret criminal society. And here was a boss who believed he had a "public." Gravano said Gotti's ego and need for public attention led to his downfall.

In George Anastasia's Gotti's Rules, John Alite, an associate member of the Gotti crime family, outlines other Gotti shortcomings, such as rapacity, disloyalty, hypocrisy, and treachery.

As for Alite, Anastasia introduces him to the reader this way: "John Alite was a murderer, drug dealer and thug." For 25 years, Anastasia writes, Alite brutalized people. He stabbed them, shot them, and beat them with pipes, blackjacks, and baseball bats.

"He's not proud of that, but he doesn't try to hide from it, either," Anastasia writes. "It's who he was. But not who he is." Alite's years with the Gotti family ended when he testified in court against John Gotti's son, "Junior."

You can read the rest of the review below:

Note: You can click on the above to enlarge. 

My Piece On Black Flags, Clowns And Mountain Bikes: A Look Back At The Violent Protests During The 2000 Republican National Convention In Philadelphia

Back in 2000 I covered the violent protests and street riots that took place during the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia for Counterterrorism magazine. 

I interviewed Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Robert Mitchell (seen in the above photo) and I was on the street and covered the clashes between violent protestors and the police. 

   

You can read my piece below:

Note: You can click on the above to enlarge.

Welcome To Philly, Democrats. A Local's Dos And Don'ts For The Democrats Coming To Philadelphia In 2016

In light of the news that Philadelphia was selected to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Buzz Bissinger offers an amusing piece on the city at politico.com.

So Philadelphia is getting the Democratic National Convention in 2016… Given the competition—gentrified, Disney-fied, richified New York, where residents now only answer to the name of their shell corporation, and Columbus (why even consider a city in North Dakota??)—Philadelphia was a no-brainer.

 

As someone who spent the five longest years of anyone’s natural life writing a book about the city and its then-Mayor Ed Rendell, a few dos and don’ts to make the convention experience special.

... DON’T come near a cheesesteak. They are gnarly and fundamentally deranged in conception. Until you eat one. Then they are almost worth the guilt you will inevitably feel because you just ate one and likely ingested fifty or sixty thousand calories. Instead satisfy your cravings in what is America's most interesting and diverse culinary city. Try one of the many BYOBs. They are small and intimate and the food stunning and the cost reasonable.

... DO drive on the Schuylkill Expressway one night to see the twinkling lights of Boathouse Row against the backdrop of the art museum and the Fairmount Water Works and the city skyline. It is the single most spectacular view in the city. Then be prepared to die since the expressway is the worst engineered highway in history (for a real death thrill, take the South Street exit heading east and try to merge).

... DON'T refer to Philadelphia as “The City of Brotherly Love.” It’s tired and worn out and has never been remotely true. Philadelphians take great pride in their city. They are open and friendly, as long as you don’t mess with them. Same with the Eagles’ fans who once threw snowballs at a fan dressed as Santa Claus. It happened almost fifty years ago. It is also not at all representative of Eagles fans, except for the ten thousand or so still in jail for various unspeakable offenses. So don’t bring it up.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/democratic-convention-philadelphia-2016-115164.html#.VN7qD8t0yM9

Note: As a lifelong South Philadelphian - the main arena will be the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly, near the sports stadiums - I'm pleased for the city.