(No blogging Thursday due to sales conference. Back on Friday)
According to Jazz Times, jazz pianist and composer Bill Cunliffe has scored an upcoming independent film titled The Northern Kingdom. Jazz soundtracks are always welcome, and this one definitely sounds interesting. It features flutist Holly Hoffman, guitarist John Chiodini, and violinist Peter Kent, who have played with Cedar Walton, Natalie Cole, and Shirley Horn respectively.
There are not any blockbuster stars attached, but one name is interesting: Linda Powell, daughter of Sec. Colin Powell. One wonders if film critics will punish Powell over the course of her career for their disagreements with her father’s role in the Bush Administration. That obviously would not be fair to Ms. Powell, but for the Bush-deranged it seems that no line of attack is off-limits. So far, she has been featured several times in the Law & Order franchise, which has been friendly to Republican actor-presidential candidates, even if their storylines have not necessarily been so congenial.
Kingdom will be a small indy film, that sounds like a meditation on grieving for those lost in the Iraqi War. As such, it might not be the best vehicle for such critical vendettas. Linda Powell will also be in American Gangster with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. (My house is certainly wishing it will be a very commercial film since we are publishing the tie-in.) If MSM critics are so inclined, that kind of film may be seen as a better opportunity for indirectly pursuing political grudges. Let’s hope that does not happen, and also that Cunliffe’s soundtrack gets decent distribution.
