- ITâS OK WITH US: Looks like director Azazel Jacobs has caught the Portland bug. After filming Terri, written by Portland novelist Patrick deWitt, heâs collaborating with deWitt on a second screenplayâand has just finished co-writing an adaptation of Raymond Chandlerâs 1935 story âSpanish Bloodâ with Gill Dennis, a Portlander best known for penning the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line. âSomething in the air in Portland, I guess, right?â Jacobs tells WW. âI very much have been in love with Chandler and Hammett, and have wanted to be in that world for a long time.â Jacobs says casting will soon begin for Spanish Blood, which is about a detective investigating a politicianâs murder: âIâm looking for my Elliott Gould,â the director says.
- CLASSICAL DEPARTURES: Third Angle New Music Ensemble is performing in Chiang Mai at the Thailand International Composition Festival. And Cappella Romana was just invited to take its Byzantine music back to the country of its origin, Greece, for two performances in September. One departure, however, will be much lamented: Executive director Katie Taylor has left Opera Theater Oregon. The low-budget company has successfully courted younger and more diverse audiences through a combination of low ticket prices, pop-culture references (like last yearâs Baywatch-style version of Wagnerâs Rheingold), and beer available during performances. âAfter five years on the ponyâthe zesty, prancing pony that is OTOâIâve decided itâs time for me to step down,â Taylorâs announcement read. âI was going to invent a sex scandal (not involving ponies) to explain my departure, but then I remembered that this is Portland, and no one would be likely to care, even if ponies were involved.â OTO Musical Director Erica Melton and Film Division Director Jen Wechsler will assume Taylorâs duties.
- FOOD + BOOZE: Itâs bar month in Portland! Quimbyâs, a bar on Northwest Quimby Street at 19th Avenue with an attached cart pod, opened July 9. Kask, a charcuterie and cheese-centric bar attached to Chris Israelâs Grüner restaurant, opened July 15. Rum Club, a new bar that shares a building and owner with Beaker & Flask, opened July 18, as did RingSide Fish House in the Fox Tower. And Trader Vicâs makes its tiki-triumphal return to Portland on Aug. 1. Cheers.
- FAREWELL METROPOLIS: And in caped-crusader news, the latest edition of the Superman comic series is set in Portland (Superman #713). The book actually opens in Newberg, where Superman is hanging out in a park having an existential crisis. Later he slips on some thick-framed square glasses and hangs out in a Starbucks-esque coffeeshop in the Pearl District. Thereâs even a panel showing Jamison Squareâs kid-clogged fountain. Superman #713 now available for $2.99 at local comic book stores.
WWeek 2015