New York Times, Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Inspiration came from Lorelai Gilmore, Lauren Graham's character on "Gilmore Girls," but I couldn't find even one other example from television. I avoided ones like Jerry Lewis playing Jerry Langford in "The King of Comedy" since then "Jerry" is in the clue and answer, and also similar ones like Joe Pesci playing Joseph Palmi in "The Good Shepherd."

Some decent ones that didn't make the puzzle:

• Denzel Washington as Demetrius Williams in "Mississippi Masala"
• Jim Broadbent as John Bayley in "Iris"
• Jeff Bridges as Jack Baker in "The Fabulous Baker Boys"
• Rod Steiger as Reb Saunders in "The Chosen"
• Wesley Snipes as Web Smith in "Rising Sun"
• James Woods as Jake Wise in "Against All Odds"
• John Travolta as Jack Terry in "Blow Out"

Actors with initials identical to the characters they played. I was a huge "Blues Brothers" fan when I was younger, so JOHN BELUSHI / Jake Blues came easily. Neat realization — how is it that I never before made the connection?

ANTHONY / HOPKINS playing Alfred Hitchcock was another interesting find. I haven't seen the film, but it's on my list, as Hitchcock's vast body of work amazes me.

JAMES STEWART as Mr. (Jefferson) Smith, too. Although, who calls him "James"? His prim and proper grandmother, perhaps?

The others weren't as interesting since the names aren't as recognizable. You ask anyone on the street, what's the last name of the famous director Alfred? Or the last name of Jake and Elwood in "The Blues Brothers"? You'd get a lot more right answers than if you asked for the name of MARK RUFFALO's character in "Spotlight."

Interesting grid layout. I wouldn't have thought to try intersecting JAMES STEWART / ANTHONY and LIZA MINNELLI / HOPKINS.

Why, though? Why not use a more traditional layout, MARK RUFFALO in row 3, LIZA MINNELLI in row 5 or 6, ANTHONY / HOPKINS split in row 8, etc.? It'd be more like a movie poster presentation — appropriate to the theme — and it doesn't separate ANTHONY and HOPKINS in an awkward way, where solvers will likely encounter HOPKINS before ANTHONY.

The unusual layout did make for some rarely-seen opportunities. A lot of great bonuses, BIKER BAR, NORMALCY, TIMELINE, MINGLES, UNWRITTEN standing out. Some were in unexpected places, too, which I like. Good to be surprised every once in a while.

But let's consider the liabilities on the other side of the balance sheet. AS A LARK is a 7-letter partial. BOSSA can only be clued in one way. ESS ESO, SCI, SST? And the solve felt choppy, so it wasn't a surprise to see 26 3-letter words, four more than some editors allow.

It's a unique theme, and I like encountering something I haven't seen before. Not an idea that wowed me, though, and it would have benefitted from more a traditional themer layout.