Tom White

The Story Of The Beach Boys' 'Good Vibrations' The Beach Boys classic, released in 1966, is the product of a revolutionary approach to songwriting.

A tough week for LA: Trump's performative provocation...losing Sly Stone...and now Brian Wilson is gone. What woke me up to his genius was this deconstruction of "Good Vibrations," part of NPR's 100 Songs series from 2000.
"I don't know where, but she sends me there"
www.npr.org/2000/06/19/1...

Sly Stone, Maestro of a Multifaceted, Hitmaking Band, Dies at 82

Amidst this ongoing American tragedy, we just lost one of the great geniuses of the past 60 years. Thank you for letting us be ourselves again, Sly. Thanks for taking us higher. We will stand in your honor.
P.s. Much love to our friend in frequency, Novena Carmel.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/a...

Hot Docs Industry Conference: Truth and Bias in the Age of Trump, Influencers, and AI - POV Magazine Highlights from the Hot Docs Industry Conference included conversations about navigating truth and bias in the Trump era, and artificial intelligence.

Here's my report on the @hotdocs.bsky.social Industry Conference for @povmagazine.bsky.social. Thanks to @marcglassman.bsky.social and @patmullen.bsky.social for their editorial guidance.
povmagazine.com/hot-docs-ind...

ITVS study explores the complex relationships at the heart of documentaries - Current The ITVS team was most surprised to learn that 89% of documentary participants indicated that they would participate in a documentary again.

In my "Current" debut, I spoke to some of the key drivers behind ITVS’ groundbreaking study, The Filmmaker-Participant Relationship Unpacked. Thanks to Mike Janssen and Karen Everhart for their editorial rigor.
current.org/2025/05/itvs...

Nominees in Docs, News, Public Service, Podcast Announced - The Peabody Awards The Peabody Awards and Center for Media & Social Impact Launch We Disrupt This Broadcast, New Podcast Featuring Interviews with Quinta Brunson, Damon Lindelof, Ramy Youssef, Pamela Adlon, Charlie Broo...

Kudos to the @peabodyawards.bsky.social nominees! peabodyawards.com/stories/nomi...

YouTube video by CBS News Watch Live: Cory Booker delivers marathon speech on Senate floor | CBS News

This is democracy in action. Senator Cory Booker has been on fire against fascism for 19 hours. This is what it takes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSHV...

Rob Manfred pledged to keep MLB's values on diversity “unchanged" back in February.

But now, MLB's careers home page has no reference to “diversity," with a league spokesman telling The Athletic they're "evaluating" the programs.

More:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/622...

And the Summer Olympics in 28...

‘Free Leonard Peltier’ Follows A 50-Year Trail To Justice For Native American Icon – Thessaloniki Int’l Documentary Festival 'Free Leonard Peltier' directors David France and Jesse Short Bull on Native American icon's 50 year trail to freedom.

Between its world premiere at @sundancefilm.bsky.social #sundancefest & its international premiere at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, I spoke with Jesse Short Bull & David France about their film "Free Leonard Peltier." Thanks to @deadline.com & Matt Carey. deadline.com/2025/03/free...

Israeli-Palestinian film wins Oscar, directors assail US, global political stances "No Other Land," a film about Israeli displacement of a Palestinian community, won the documentary feature film Oscar on Sunday, and its directors appealed to the world to help end the conflict and accused the United States of blocking a solution.

‘No Other Land,’ a film about Israeli displacement of a Palestinian community, won the documentary feature film Oscar, and its directors appealed to the world to help end the conflict and accused the United States of blocking a solution reut.rs/41oltqZ #Oscars2025

“Seeds,” “Cutting Through Rocks” among Sundance Grand Jury Prize winners The winners of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Awards were revealed at a ceremony in Park City, Utah on Friday (January 31), with Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. documentary ...

Kudos to the winners in the doc categories at Sundance 25!

realscreen.com/2025/01/31/%...

“Black Box Diaries,” “Death by Numbers” among Oscar doc nominees The nominations for the 97th Academy Awards have been announced, with the awards-season favorites No Other Land, Sugarcane and Black Box Diaries (pictured) among the nominees in the documentary featur...

Congrats to all the Oscar nominees in the doc categories! Onward! realscreen.com/2025/01/23/b...

Documentary Community Reckons With Devastating Loss From L.A. Wildfires: “This Whole Place Just Got Decimated” – Doc Talk Podcast Deadline's Doc Talk Podcast discusses the wildfires that have impacted many in the documentary community for whom Southern California is home.

deadline.com/2025/01/docu...

Despite the dark days ahead, I eagerly await the energizing power of new creations in 2025. See you on the other side of the calendar! Peace and love to all!

7) Bloomsday Celebration (The Hammer, LA)
😎 Herbie Hancock/Headhunters 50th Anniversary (Hollywood Bowl)
9) Hell’s Kitchen (Broadway, NYC)
10) Urban Bushwomen: Scat! (Mark Taper Forum, LA)

My Favorite Performances:
1) Waiting for Godot (Geffen Playhouse)
2) The Comet/Poppea (Geffen Contemporary)
3) Moon Mine (Pomona College, CA)
4) Solange Knowles: El Dorado Ballroom: Contrapuntal Counterpoints (Disney Hall, LA)
5) Sudan Archives (The Hammer, LA)
6) Fat Ham (Geffen Playhouse, LA)

12) Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street Cultural Center/Greenwood Cultural Center (Tulsa, OK)
13) PST: All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (The Redcat, LA)
14) PST: Open Sky (Benton Museum/Pomona College, CA)
15) PST: Breath(e) (The Hammer)

7) Mickalene Thomas: All about Love (The Broad, LA)
😎 Glenn Ligon/Jasper Johns (Wesleyan Gallery, CT)
9) John Waters: The Pope of Filth (Academy Museum)
10) Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea in the 60s and 70s (Hammer Museum, LA)
11) Plaza Botero/Musee de Antiquero (Medellín, Colombia)

My Favorite Exhibits:
1) Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame Museum (Cleveland, OH)
2) Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy (LA)
3) Comuna 13 (Medellín, Colombia)
4) PST: Olafur Eliasson: Open (Geffen Contemporary/LA)
5) Desire to See: Photographs by Agnes Varda (Fahey Klein Gallery, LA)
6) Simone Leigh (LACMA, LA)

My Favorite Books–I actually read more books this year than in years previous; here's my top six:
1) Prophet Song–Paul Lynch
2) Trust–Hernan Diaz
3) There There–Tommy Orange
4) The Magnificent Ruins–Nayantara Roy
5) Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma–Claire Dederer
6) The Rediscovery of America–Ned Blackhawk

5) Old Joy (Kelly Reichardt, 2006)
6) First Cow (Kelly Reichardt, 2019)
7) Murs Murs (Agnes Varda, 1980)
😎 Foreign Parts (J.P. Sneidecki, Verena Paravel, 2010)

1) A Night of Knowing Nothing (Payal Kapadia, 2021)
2) Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959)
3) The Souvenir Part II (Joanna Hogg, 2021)
4) Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino, 2017)

My Favorite Films that I Discovered for the first time in '24 (that were released before '23):

1) Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
2) Eno
3) Dahomey
4) No Other Land
5) Ernest Cole: Lost and Found
6) A Photographic Memory
7) Union
😎 Flipside
9) Nocturnes
10) Farming the Revolution

My Favorite Docs: I did attend a fair number of fests, either virtually (Sundance, Big Sky, BlackStar, DOC NYC) or in-person (Full Frame, Hot Docs), so I have a sizable smorgasbord to choose from. Here’s what I whittled down to:

As with last year’s offering of lists, I’m behind on the fourth quarter tsunami of fiction releases, but I will share my top five Favorite Fiction Films:
1) All We Imagine As Light
2) Nickel Boys
3) Sing Sing
4) Perfect Days (released in US in February)
5) I Saw the TV Glow

I’m taking a break from my liminal, reflect-and-refract retreat in the desert to bring to you My Favorite Things from 2024.

"The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices."
— Former President Jimmy Carter, Nobel Peace Prize address, 2002

You Could Win an Oscar—You Can’t Never Tell - POV Magazine On hard fought Oscar nominations and the high price of an Academy Awards campaign in an increasingly competitive documentary field.

Here's an article I wrote for @povmagazine.bsky.social about awards campaigns, with a focus on the long journey of "To Kill a Tiger," from its 2022 TIFF premiere to its 2024 Oscar nod. Thanks to @patmullen.bsky.social & @marcglassman.bsky.social. povmagazine.com/you-could-wi...

Oscars 2025 Shortlists Unveiled: ‘Emilia Pérez’ and ‘Wicked’ Nab the Most Spots See the shortlists revealed December 17 for the 2025 Academy Awards, including for the international and documentary feature categories.

The Oscars short list is here! The road to the final fives (or tens) begins! Congrats to the 30 feature and short docs, and their respective teams, for making it this far! www.indiewire.com/awards/resul...