Tony Bravo December 19, 2020Updated: December 20, 2020, 9:46 am
Water pours out of the Vaillancourt Fountain at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle
On a recent early-morning walk in Embarcadero Plaza, the sky was radiant. The bay glimmered and seagulls swooped around the tower of the Ferry Building. The view felt more like a postcard than real life, until my gaze fell on the twisted mass of stark concrete tubes, spouts and protruding forms on the northwest side of the plaza that make up the Vaillancourt Fountain. The water looked a little … different. It was a slimy shade of kelp-like green. Against the weathered concrete of the fountain, the color was shocking, like bile or some toxic cleaning solution. It looked both comical (a St. Patrick’s Day prank months early?) and a little dangerous. As I watched the blocky, acne-textured tubes puke out green liquid, I felt my heart swell.
Tony Bravo December 10, 2020Updated: December 10, 2020, 7:52 pm
SFFilm Executive Director Anne Lai appears at the 2020 Awards Night virtual gala. Photo: Pamela Gentile , SFFilm
More than eight months into the pandemic, virtual galas and celebrations can still feel strange, clunky and new as we try to keep the rituals of civilization and nonprofit funding alive while also navigating videoconferencing. Glenn Close pointed out these makeshift gatherings also have advantages.
“I can have Armani on the top and blue jeans on the bottom and two dogs in the room,” the actor said over Zoom. “I couldn’t be happier.”
Close’s Zoom strategy was shared as she was honored by SFFilm during its 2020 Awards Night virtual gala on Wednesday, Dec. 9, for her work in Ron Howard’s “Hillbilly Elegy.” The showy role that buried her under costuming is already garnering her considerable Oscar attention.