Secret Society

You’re living for nothing now, I hope you’re keeping some kind of record

Things I did not know about Mel Gibson:

Mel Gibson is a bigger Leonard Cohen fan than you are. Yup, Mel Gibson is such a big Leonard Cohen fan that he executive produced a movie about him: Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, due in theaters June 21. What have you done for Leonard Cohen lately, huh?

Part documentary and part concert film, I'm Your Man centers around a January 2005 Australian tribute concert, "Came So Far for Beauty", organized by producer Hal Willner and featuring performances by Antony, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Rufus Wainwright, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Martha Wainwright, Beth Orton, Linda Thompson, Teddy Thompson, the Handsome Family, Julie Christensen, and Perla Battala. Cohen himself performs "Tower of Song" with U2.

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I'm Your Man was directed by Lian Lunson, whose previous claims to fame include a PBS documentary about Willie Nelson and work on the companion CD to The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson's other movie about a Jew with a fanatical cult following.

State of Fear

I just watched Pamela Yates's gripping documentary State of Fear. So should you. (Watch the trailer here).

Apparently, though, American TV networks (including PBS, the Sundance Channel, the National Geographic Channel, etc) feel otherwise, as they have all refused to air this important film. So -- for now -- you will have to see it the old-fashioned way. It's currently at The Quad in NYC and will be coming to additional theatres around the country in the next few weeks. Don't miss it.