Arts and Entertainment

Goodbye Hollywood, Hello Dallas

July 29, 2019 | Jaxx Artz

Charles “Charlie” Solomon Jr. loves the weather in Los Angeles.

“It’s always 68,” he told me during a phone interview–him in Hollywood and me sweating on an 80 degree day, or what is considered Texas’ milder weather.

A man with many hats, the Park Cities native told me how California was originally great for his acting and production career and that the seemingly-endless list of things to do would ensure he was always entertained. However, Tinsel Town isn’t where he calls home. After 24 years of living in Los Angeles, Solomon returned to his roots in 2011, a move inspired by the birth of his son, Harrison, and wanting him to grow up in the same thoughtful community he did.

While it’s not every day you have a working actor and producer nestled in the Park Cities, Solomon continues his career with a slew of acting titles: most recently, the role of a detective in “Attack of the Unknown,” a science-fiction movie starring Tara Reid, Robert LaSardo, and Richard Grieco.

However, bouncing between Hollywood and the Lone Star State isn’t Solomon’s ideal. Instead, he is working hard to bring entertainment work to the Big D, pursuing several different paths to do so. For one, Solomon wants to turn his story idea, tentatively titled The Nine Lives of Herbert Noble, into a TV series filmed in Dallas. He is also talking to directors about filming his family movie “Get Gomez!” in Texas.

“I love Texas. The area is great, the people are great–Texas has a lot of talented people that we can make great use of,” he said.

Solomon said his passion for theater developed early in life as he would write and perform short plays for his family. He joined the Dallas Theatre Center before moving to Waxahachie for high school. Between class and working at a cotton gin, he enrolled in a theater program.

After graduating from SMU with a bachelor’s in English literature, Solomon moved to Los Angeles to learn from acting teacher Vincent Chase, after whom the lead character in Entourage is named. Wanting more instruction, he then went to New York to study theatre under Herbert Berghof, Uta Hagen, and Sanford Meisner.

“I did a few off-Broadway plays, working next to actors like James Gandolfini, but it’s a hard career,” he said. Taking a step back from performing, Solomon started racing cars and liked the adrenaline rush. He thought maybe this could be his new passion until a bad crash in 2001 nearly took his life.

Solomon said he didn’t know what his next step would be until a friend convinced him to move back to Hollywood. He added more behind-the-scenes work to his skill set, producing and directing several videos and movies, such as “Who Shot Mamba?” (2009) and “Killer View” (2009).

Nowadays, Solomon travels to California less often, mainly to catch up with friends. With projects set in Texas, he hopes there will be no need to go there for work. “I want Dallas to be the next city for film, and I’m starting with my own projects.”

This article originally appeared in the August 2019 print edition of Park Cities People. A shorter version of it can be found on the website for People Newspapers here: Goodbye Hollywood, Hello Dallas

“Where’d You Go Bernadette” Is The Perfect Summer Flick For Families

August 14, 2019 | Jaxx Artz

Movies are never as good as the books they’re based on. It’s something I think whenever I walk into a theater, already poised to point out the fatal flaws in the movie adaptation of a favorite novel. I try to give every film the benefit of the doubt, telling myself not to compare them, even as I roll my eyes at the casting decisions (though “Gone Girl” did a great job with Rosamund Pike).

I walked into “Where’d You Go Bernadette” expecting to be underwhelmed, sinking back into my chair as the lights dimmed.

Of course, sometimes adaptations surprise you, most likely when it’s been a few years since you last read the book and can enjoy the movie without cringing too many times. And then there are the films that recognize a book as inspiration but take the story in a different direction, choosing what can fit into a 2-hour time slot and be interesting enough to keep an audience’s attention. These are the success stories, when done well, and when the readers of a beloved book can recognize how different formats produce different stories.

“Where’d You Go Bernadette” is not the same as the book, but that’s okay.

The film stars Cate Blanchett as rising star architect Bernadette Fox, who gives up a promising career to move to Seattle with techie husband Elgin Branch (Billy Crudup) to raise their daughter Bee.

But the thing is, Bernadette hates people; detests their fake niceties, deplores social events, and absolutely cannot stand the moms at Bee’s school who hound her about sleepovers, fundraisers, and bringing cupcakes to the annual bake sale. When Bee reminds her parents about a promised vacation to Antarctica, Bernadette has to confront everything she’s afraid of and prefers jumping out of a window (literally) to becoming a “normal” mom, forcing Bee to search for where she may have gone.

The characters in the movie are funny, frustrating, and more real with a skilled set of actors than most page-to-screen adaptations can accomplish.

Whereas the book slowly reveals Bernadette’s story through FBI files, emails, and notes throughout its 352 pages, the movie went inside the mind of Bernadette to share her struggles and anxieties, her hatred of “Seattle gnats” bugging her about an unkempt yard, and her fear about her husband seeing her as everyone else does.

And with Cate Blanchett as the leading lady, of course it’s going to be a good film. I have always loved Cate Blanchett; she becomes her characters, fitting so perfectly into the world she’s created that you forget you’re watching a movie. I often wonder what she would be like in real life, away from her roles as Carol, Lou, and Queen Elizabeth. With brown hair, a sharp American accent, and bangs, she is Bernadette Fox, transforming a character I liked and understood better than the one I read about years before.

In 130 minutes, viewers experience the hilarious, and at times heartbreaking, unraveling of a family that is forced to cross oceans to come together again. If you don’t want to go to feel closer to your family, then go for Kristen Wiig. Never have I seen her in such a role, and she nailed it.

“Where’d You Go Bernadette” (Rated PG-13) will be released nationwide on August 16.

This article originally appeared on the People Newspapers website.

K. Flay Is The Next Artist You Need To Become Obsessed With

March 6, 2017 | Jaxx Artz

You know how you have a bunch of different playlists, all with different titles? Maybe one is titled “sad” and another is titled “Summer” and another is simply “Chill.” Each playlist is full of different songs by a variety of artists, each curated across genres to fit a specific mood, ready for whenever that mood strikes.

Attend one live K. Flay concert and it’ll blow your playlists out of the water.

I saw K. Flay live last week at the Bowery Ballroom, a cool venue that serves up live music and refreshments. She was on tour, hitting up the favored spot before moving on to Buffalo. It’s a good thing, too, for her fans were excited to see her perform live.

Rob, a thirty-something from Washington D.C., had come to New York specifically for the concert with his wife and a few friends. “I’d listened to her on Music Choice Radio and thought it’d be fun to take a spontaneous trip to the city for the weekend,” he said.

Dani and John, who recently moved to New York from Australia, had a similar story. Dani discovered K. Flay on Spotify while searching for new American artists to listen to and found out about the show soon after. “We live close to here so we were excited to come out for the night and listen to good music.”

All around the venue, in fact, were like-minded people of varying age and gender who no doubt traveled from a wide-range of places to see K. Flay in person. Her music appeals to many, whether 18 or 40, male or female. And once the concert began, I could see why.

She opened the show with “Everyone I Know,” a slow-starting ballad that introduced the audience to her style of mixing low beats with a fun and fast chorus. Immediately, the crowd became one, swaying like a wave reaching the shore for the millionth time. After that, the range of K. Flay’s music became apparent.

“Sunburn” was next, another song that made my head bop but revealed an unexpected component to K. Flay’s music: rap. The verses were quick and clever, and I found myself googling the lyrics to keep up with the experienced fans around me who knew each word.

The rest of K. Flay’s set was a blend of rap, pop, and rock, mixed with intricate bursts of vibey beats that made the crowd come alive. The subject matter varies, with songs about love, sadness, drinking, and surviving mixed together, expanding past the typical tones that match each sentiment.

“I’ve written a lot of songs, and some of them have been about getting fucked up,” she said softly into the microphone, introducing “Black Wave.” The fast and loud music that picks up around the chorus, she said, is something she does because sometimes you just want noise and something to scream and dance to, especially in the world we live in today. The bridge perfectly sums up this sentiment: “How did a girl like me end up in a world so mean?”

By the end of the night, I knew I would be adding her songs to my various playlists on Spotify. Besides the catchy beats and honest lyrics that make up K. Flay’s music, I think I most admire the inspiration she draws on. Whether it’s about loving someone who only sees you as a friend or being so angry you just need to scream, K. Flay’s raps and slow ballads are written carefully, her word choice perfectly encapsulating how it feels to be by yourself and thinking through your feelings.

K. Flay’s story is one that is woven intricately throughout her songs. Take a listen and you’ll figure it out.

A version of this article appeared on Odyssey Online‘s New York University community page.