Jim Beckerman

1 week ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

From "Little Women" to "The Giving Tree," here's our list of fictional moms and what makes them stand outFrom time to time a supremely talented writer will offer up a role model of motherhood. These are mothers who impress without being cloying, who inspire without sounding like a Hallmark card. M is for the millions of words that have been written about Mother. Popular songs, greeting cards, aphorisms are full of her. "A Boy's Best Friend is His Mother," we say.

2 weeks ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

Before "Trekkies," before "Beatlemaniacs," "Janeites" were letting the world know that they love, love love Jane Austen. As the world gears up for the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth and a new Netflix version of 'Pride and Prejudice,' here's a look at her work (and fans)"Janeite." It sounds vaguely geological — like "pyrite."It's not that old. Merely the first fan subculture.

3 weeks ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was such a success — more than a $5 million international gross, 14 times its budget — that it re-launched the Monty Python brand. A famous character from the movie, the Killer Rabbit, had an actual real-life prototype. Cleese encountered him when he was 5. If wishes were horses, the knights of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" would ride.

3 weeks ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

Ruth Elizabeth Davis (she got the "Bette" from the Balzac novel "Cousin Bette") of Lowell, Massachusetts, arrived in Hollywood in 1930 to instant non-acclaim. She became known for the series of tense, tough, hard characters she played in films like "Jezebel," "The Letter," "The Little Foxes," "In This Our Life" and "Beyond the Forest."She was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Anyone can do Bette Davis.

1 month ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

When it was first released, critics loved "The Great Gatsby" — but it went over the heads of readers. The story had better luck as a Broadway play, in 1926. The green light in "Gatsby" has a whole pack of emotional associations — both for Gatsby, and for the reader. It means hope. It means spring. It means possibility. Among the events planned are a range of Gatsby experiences at the Plaza Hotel, including a stay at the Plaza's "Gatsby suite," and a "Gatsby dining experience" at The Palm Court.