What's next for Wayne?

Wayne Dolcefino unexpectedly leaves Channel 13 in surprise announcement, butwhy?

Wayne Dolcefino was never one to hold back. And the former TV news star toldplenty while receiving a fraud fighting award.
Wayne Dolcefino in a promo photo that appeared on the Channel 13 site when heworked there.
Courtesy of KTRK

In an oddly timed announcement that came at the start of the Thanksgiving holiday, Channel 13 officials announced that investigative reporter Wayne Dolcefino has left the station.

"It's a sad day here at 13," anchor Dave Ward said on the 10 o'clock news Wednesday. The announcement had been previously made on Channel 13's 5 p.m. news.

"In my opinion, Wayne Dolcefino is the best at what he does and we will really miss him," Ward said on-air in a closing tribute.

The hardcharging Dolcefino had headed the ABC-owned station's 13 Undercover unit for nearly 26 years and won a boatload of Emmy Awards. Focusing on government corruption, Dolcefino set his sights on politicians, schools and such institutions as the Port of Houston, which he dubbed the "Port of Plenty."

His investigations led to the resignation of Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole and the recent indictment of Harris County Constable Victor Trevino.

Ward said that Dolcefino's work had led to "millions of tax dollars being saved as well as numerous government officials investigated for possible wrongdoing."

"In my opinion, Wayne Dolcefino is the best at what he does and we will really miss him," Ward said on-air in a closing tribute.

Longtime political observers recall that Dolcefino was a key figure in the outcome of the 1991 Houston mayor's race between businessman Bob Lanier and State Rep. Sylvester Turner. A week before the election, Dolcefino aired a story that dubiously linked Turner to a $6.5 million insurance scam. Turner lost the race and sued the station for libel. He won a $5.5 million verdict in 1996. It was subsequently overturned by a court of appeals, a decision that was upheld by the Texas Supreme Court.

"Telling the truth can sometimes be controversial," Dolcefino said in a statement.

Dolcefino is usually a fixture during "sweeps" — the time when stations put their most sensational programming on in hopes of garnering higher ratings that translate into higher advertising rates — but has not appeared on the station during the most recent ratings period this month. When news of the indictment of Trevino came down last week, TV observers found it odd that Dolcefino was not on the air to announce it.

"I have fought hard to honor the long tradition of Eyewitness News," Dolcefino said in a statement issued by the station and acquired by the Houston Chronicle. "I thank the people at Channel 13 who have helped me expose those who betray the public trust and who waste the public's money. After 26 years you are like family. Telling the truth can sometimes be controversial."

The big answered question is why did Dolcefino leave at this time?

Mike McGuff, whose popular blog mikemcguff.com covers Houston's media scene, reported that the "general consensus is that he (Dolcefino) and the higher ups butted heads over his stories. Let's face it, Dolcefino has an aggressive, provocative, hard hitting and sometimes comical style that just doesn't exist much on TV anymore. More often than not in television news these days, the story's promo is more interesting than the actual content."

McGuff speculated that Dolcefino might end up at Channel 11, although it is believed Dolcefino's contract contained some sort of non-compete clause. "I can't imagine a colorful character like Dolcefino would just retire at this point, but then you never know," McGuff wrote.

Dolcefino's departure certainly seems to signal the end of an era when larger-than-life figures, including Marvin Zindler (who died in 2007), Red Duke, Shara Fryer and Elma Barrera (to name a few), gave Channel 13 its unique personality and led to ratings dominance throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

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Movie Review

Over-the-top acting and incoherent plot drag down Her Private Hell

Photo courtesy of Neon

Sophie Thatcher in Her Private Hell.

Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn is not someone who plays nice with the general film world. His 2011 film Drive introduced him to American audiences in a big way, but that pulsating thriller was followed up with artier films like Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon that eschewed coherent plots in favor of moody, atmospheric pieces.

Winding Refn, who hasn’t made a feature film in 10 years, has gone fully down the rabbit hole with Her Private Hell. Taking place in a liminal space that kind of resembles Earth but also feels like someone’s dreams/nightmares, the film focuses on Elle (Sophie Thatcher), an actor currently starring in a sci-fi film. Staying at a hotel with newcomer Hunter (Kristine Froseth), the two bond over their shared passion and the legend of Elle’s father, Johnny Thunders (Dougray Scott), who’s now married to Elle’s friend Dominique (Havana Rose Liu).

After spending a good amount of (mostly incomprehensible) time with that group, Refn introduces Private K (Charles Melton), who seems to be living in post-World War II Japan. He is looking for his daughter, who might have been taken by a mysterious figure known as “Leatherman,” and he will stop at nothing to find her, fighting whoever stands in his way.

It becomes clear almost right away that Winding Refn has no desire to engage in traditional storytelling in this film. The main characters wander through neon-drenched streets and buildings, which are often surrounded by a mist that is referred to on multiple occasions but never explained. Everyone speaks as if in a constant state of wonderment, and there are many moments where it’s unclear if events are actually happening, part of a movie-within-a-movie, or something else entirely.

Unlike his previous films, Winding Refn has taken the characters in this film completely out of the real world, with every scene taking place in a sparsely decorated room or street that is obviously a movie set. While there are moments where this decision really works, especially the striking first shot of a human-like figure mixed in with a cityscape and clouds, most of the time it only adds to the stilted nature of the film as a whole.

In fact, the entire movie has the feel of an avant-garde theater exercise. Every actor seems to be trying to outdo the others with awkward performances and out-sized reactions. Two very specific characters make appearances in both sides of the story for seemingly no reason other than to inject their weirdness into both spaces. The shocking violence that crops up on occasion would have more of an impact if it was related to anything intelligible.

Thatcher (Companion) and Liu (Tuner) are among the young stars who have had breakout moments in recent years, but neither of them is served well by this hot mess of a movie. They, along with Melton, still demonstrate the talent they possess, but the oddity of the film weighs them down. Scott makes an impression for all the wrong reasons, while Froseth is called upon to play a character who might as well not be there at all.

If there’s any kind of message that Winding Refn was trying to convey with Her Private Hell, it’s lost among the flashing lights, overload of pink, and jewel-like structures. Filmmakers who try to make art for art’s sake have a place in the world, but this film too often feels like people are making things up as they go, with no real goal in mind.

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Her Private Hell opens in theaters on July 24.

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