James Sims

James Sims

  • Bringing Country Music to Lincoln Center

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    James Sims

    Remember those Pace Picante Sauce television commercials that ran throughout the 1980s. “This stuff is made in New York City,” a comical cowboy would say with horror after picking up a jar of salsa. A chorus of outraged cowboys would always follow that quip, screaming “New York City!” Before moving to New York City, I…

  • Mamet Tells Colbert Broadway is Dead, Misses Point

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    James Sims

    David Mamet, the often cantankerous playwright and director, has been playing the book circuit while promoting his new page turner, Theatre. He made an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s Comedy Central show last night, telling the comedian that theatre is dead. Dead because Broadway is basically producing nothing but revivals of plays that weren’t funny 40…

  • Watch the Sam Mendes iPhone 4 Commercial

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    James Sims

    Update per Engadget.com: We’re told this isn’t actually the Sam Mendes video calling ad, but rather an Apple promo video produced internally. We’ll just have to wait and see if Mendes can top these heartwrenching images of American beauty with his ad. Steve Jobs, the visionary behind Apple’s magic gadgets, descended on San Francisco today…

  • Tony Awards Reflect a Boring Broadway Season

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    James Sims

    With the Tony Awards only a few days away (June 13) and nearly every theatre-oriented website extolling predictions for the ceremony, I thought it appropriate to weigh in on the past Broadway season, and even toss out a few of my own picks for best in show. It is nearly impossible to dismiss the fact…

  • Broadway’s ‘Fela!’ Joins Bono, John Legend in Music Video

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    James Sims

    While U2’s charismatic leader Bono hasn’t made his official splash on Broadway — both he and guitarist the Edge have written the music for the upcoming “Spider Man: Turn off the Dark” — the Irish singer joins dancers from Broadway’s “Fela!” in the music video for Angelique Kidjo‘s spin on the classic “Move On Up.”…

  • Tom Cruise Revisits ‘Risky Business’ for MTV Spoof

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    James Sims

    Tom Cruise is never a name I thought would pop up on this blog, as the actor conjures thoughts of lunacy and madness in my head. From his Scientology hullabaloo to his rough antics in Hollywood, Cruise fell off of my radar post “Interview with the Vampire,” although he was waning even before then. However,…

  • Jeffrey Katzenberg Eroded Animation with Celebrities

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    James Sims

    Katzenberg, with the soft-spoken help of Roy Disney, injected new life into the animation arm of the studio following a drought that lasted more than 30 years.

  • Banana Shpeel Talks Tony Nominations

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    James Sims

    I recently had the chance to produce/shoot a Tony Awards-related video for BroadwayWorld.com featuring the characters of Banana Shpeel, a new show written and directed by David Shiner currently playing at New York’s Beacon Theatre. What a hoot it was sitting down with “Marty Schmelky” and his assistant “Margaret” backstage at the Beacon to talk…

  • Video: ‘Avenue Q’ Pays Tribute to Gary Coleman Off-Broadway

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    James Sims

    With the sudden and tragic death of former child star Gary Coleman, who entertained television audiences as the bite-sized half of “Diff’rent Strokes,” an unlikely tribute came by way of Broadway, or at least Off-Broadway, thanks for the puppet musical “Avenue Q.” “Avenue Q,” a musical that won a Tony Award for best musical, includes…

  • Hollywood Talent Births Sweet ‘Kid’ Off-Broadway

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    James Sims

    Hollywood has been dabbling in the New York theatre scene since the early days of movie making, although in the beginning it was Broadway shows that ended up being adapted to the screen rather than the current trend of rushing blockbuster films to the stage. As the past few seasons on Broadway can attest, Hollywood’s…