O-Bits: Banned in Boston Edition

Sometimes hot property is extra hot. According to the New York Post,  an Upper East Side co-op, once owned by the late Kathleen Winsor, has been sold for more than three million dollars. Now, who is Kathleen Winsor? She was the author of the best-selling novel,  “Forever Amber.” While the description “porn writer” is a vast overstatement, her book was banned by 14 states (led by Massachusetts, which counted 70 references to sexual intercourse, 39 illegitimate pregnancies, 7 abortions, and 10 descriptions of women undressing in front of men among its reasons)  and condemned by the Catholic Church, so she had to be doing something right. Plus, the seller is the granddaughter of William Rhinelander Stewart Sr., who commissioned Stanford White to design the famous Washington Square Arch,. White’s murder in 1906 by millionaire Harry K. Thaw, over the actress Evelyn Nesbit (aka “The Girl In The Red Velvet Swing”) was one of the 20th century’s first “Crimes of the Century”

In the case of the Indian movie “Dashakriya,” it’s not sex that people object to, it’s death. The film, the debut from director Sandeep Patil, deals with after-death rituals. According to the its synopsis, “After the cremation of the deceased, certain rituals are performed for the next thirteen days, as there is a belief that these rituals lead the deceased to Moksha i.e. salvation from the cycle of rebirths.” Members of the Brahmin caste objected to the content of the movie, claiming that it portrays the community in negative light. The Hindustan Times says the caste requested the film be withdrawn, and theater chains in Mumbai have pulled the film, even after the government assured theater owners extra security would be available.

And finally, as if they didn’t have enough troubles. TMZ says the Weinstein Company is being sued by the widow of the author of “The Amityville Horror.”  Lesia Anson claims that the company made this year’s sequel to the 1979 movie was made without her permission. But given that “Amityville: The Awakening” had one of the worst opening weekends of the year, grossing $742 from ten theaters, is there that much to fight over?

Steven Mirkin

Steven Mirkin’s diverse career has taken him from politics to pop culture to high art, offering him a front row seat to some of the most fascinating events and personalities of our time: writing speeches, fundraising appeals and campaign materials for Ed Koch, John Heinz and independent presidential candidate John B. Anderson; chronicling the punk/new wave scenes in New York and London; interviewing musicians such as Elton John, John Lydon and Buck Owens; profiling modern masters Julian Schnabel, Paul Schrader and Jonathan Safran Foer; and writing for TV shows including 21, The Chamber, Let's Make A Deal, and Rock Star: INXS.