The Doctor
There's another significant (to some) anniversary this weekend. Today, Sunday November 23rd, marks the 40th anniversary of the premiere of Doctor Who on BBC television.
While this may not be big news to most people, it is special to me since this was my favorite childhood TV program. I was a devoted fan of the show for several years. Tom Baker was my favorite Doctor, followed by Jon Pertwee (who preceded Baker), and Peter Davison (whom I also loved on All Creatures Great and Small), the fifth actor to play the Doctor. By the time programs from the earlier two Doctors and the last two Doctors aired on American television, I had kind of outgrown the program, so I didn't get into them as much.
Although production of the TV program ended years ago (it became too expensive), the characters surprisingly live on amongst a hardcore cult of fans around the world. There are books, radio programs, CDs, even an online animated version that continue the adventures of the Doctor and his companions. There's still an annual Doctor Who fan club gathering here in LA that lasts a whole weekend every February. I've been meaning for years to attend, but never quite seem to make it. Maybe next year??
What I loved about Doctor Who, besides the time-traveling science fiction setting of the show, was that his character loved to travel, he had a tremendous thirst for knowledge, he stood up for justice and equality for everyone, and he was extremely open-minded and non-judgmental. It didn't hurt that he had a bevy of beautiful babes accompanying him in his spacecraft!!
To celebrate, I might dig through my video tapes and see if I've a few old episodes to throw on the VCR. A nice cup of tea and few jellybabies would fill the bill....
Sunday, November 23, 2003
JFK
Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination in Dallas, Texas. There was a fair amount of coverage in the media to mark the anniversary, but I actually felt underwhelmed by the amount of coverage I saw. Maybe it's because I don't have cable so I wasn't aware of myriad programs on the various channels or maybe Michael Jackson's arrest trumped old news like Kennedy. After all, Kennedy has been dead almost as long as he was alive! Still he casts a long shadow on American politics and culture.
The one TV program I did see was Peter Jenning's ABC special, The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy. I found it to be very interesting and compelling support of the lone gunman theory. They showed a lot of evidence about Oswald's personal history, and Ruby's as well, that I had never seen/heard before. They also spent an unexpected amount of time and attention debunking the myths and misinformation presented in Oliver Stone's "JFK."
It seems very likely that Oswald was just a mixed up young failure, desperate for attention, who finally snapped and found his 15 minutes of fame. Ironically, Jack Ruby went through almost the same process. I was surprised to see the similarities in the characters and personalities of the two men. Ruby also seemed to snap at the last minute and took the law, and history, into his own hands. The scene of Oswald's murder on live television in the basement of the Dallas police department is truly terrifying.
In fact, I never cease to feel chills whenever the topic of Kennedy's assassination comes up. The violent images of two real-life murders, the panic and chaos following the assassination, and the dark uncertainty of the motives for the crime and its perpetrators: it is one of the most frightening stories I've ever heard.
To me, what makes it different from 9/11 or other tragic pieces of history is the very intimate human aspect of the story. The situation involved basically three men, none of whom knew each other, each following their own motives and desires for power and attention of varying degrees. There is no mysterious, evil villain to hold responsible, a la Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden. None of the characters are larger-than-life. These were men, each complex in his own way, and each pursuing his own ideas of justice and doing what he felt was the right thing.
I had never realized before seeing the program that the conspiracy theories became prevalent in American discussion so soon after the assassination occurred. I assumed that was a more recent development, which reached its peak in the Oliver Stone film. However, it's now obvious that the initial assumption by authorities and the pubic, and certainly by LBJ, was that of a conspiracy to assassinate the President, conducted either by Communist Russia, Castro's Cuba, the American mob, or, finally, by forces within the U.S. government itself.
Forty years after the events of November 1963, it seems highly unlikely that some piece of evidence or personal testimony proving the conspiracy wouldn't have surfaced by now. Secrets that big are just too hard to keep for that long. It reminds me of the theories of Elvis faking his death. Some stories are so upsetting that we create fantastic explanations to deal with a tragic loss. Like Peter Jennings articulated, we don't like to think that a single human individual is capable of committing such an evil act that would change the world so dramatically.
Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination in Dallas, Texas. There was a fair amount of coverage in the media to mark the anniversary, but I actually felt underwhelmed by the amount of coverage I saw. Maybe it's because I don't have cable so I wasn't aware of myriad programs on the various channels or maybe Michael Jackson's arrest trumped old news like Kennedy. After all, Kennedy has been dead almost as long as he was alive! Still he casts a long shadow on American politics and culture.
The one TV program I did see was Peter Jenning's ABC special, The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy. I found it to be very interesting and compelling support of the lone gunman theory. They showed a lot of evidence about Oswald's personal history, and Ruby's as well, that I had never seen/heard before. They also spent an unexpected amount of time and attention debunking the myths and misinformation presented in Oliver Stone's "JFK."
It seems very likely that Oswald was just a mixed up young failure, desperate for attention, who finally snapped and found his 15 minutes of fame. Ironically, Jack Ruby went through almost the same process. I was surprised to see the similarities in the characters and personalities of the two men. Ruby also seemed to snap at the last minute and took the law, and history, into his own hands. The scene of Oswald's murder on live television in the basement of the Dallas police department is truly terrifying.
In fact, I never cease to feel chills whenever the topic of Kennedy's assassination comes up. The violent images of two real-life murders, the panic and chaos following the assassination, and the dark uncertainty of the motives for the crime and its perpetrators: it is one of the most frightening stories I've ever heard.
To me, what makes it different from 9/11 or other tragic pieces of history is the very intimate human aspect of the story. The situation involved basically three men, none of whom knew each other, each following their own motives and desires for power and attention of varying degrees. There is no mysterious, evil villain to hold responsible, a la Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden. None of the characters are larger-than-life. These were men, each complex in his own way, and each pursuing his own ideas of justice and doing what he felt was the right thing.
I had never realized before seeing the program that the conspiracy theories became prevalent in American discussion so soon after the assassination occurred. I assumed that was a more recent development, which reached its peak in the Oliver Stone film. However, it's now obvious that the initial assumption by authorities and the pubic, and certainly by LBJ, was that of a conspiracy to assassinate the President, conducted either by Communist Russia, Castro's Cuba, the American mob, or, finally, by forces within the U.S. government itself.
Forty years after the events of November 1963, it seems highly unlikely that some piece of evidence or personal testimony proving the conspiracy wouldn't have surfaced by now. Secrets that big are just too hard to keep for that long. It reminds me of the theories of Elvis faking his death. Some stories are so upsetting that we create fantastic explanations to deal with a tragic loss. Like Peter Jennings articulated, we don't like to think that a single human individual is capable of committing such an evil act that would change the world so dramatically.
Friday, November 21, 2003
Fuck! I just wrote a blog entry and then tried to post it but the text simply disappeared....I guess it's gone. Damn Blogger! Oh well, I'll try to recreate some of it:
Jammin with Heidster
Heidster came down again tonight with her guitar. We've found a fun new thing to do on Friday nights. We usually meet for coffee or a movie. Now we've started our own band: Spackerson!
It's fun to practice with someone else, and Heidi's pretty good. She's learning fast and she has a great musical sense. We spent the first 30 minutes tuning (!) then we played for a couple of hours until our fingers just wouldn't take it anymore. Most of our songs were in the key of D major tonight. Now that I've shown her how to make a B7 chord, maybe we can try some songs in E major next week! :-)
Besides sore fingers, I'm also getting a sore throat this evening. It started shortly after dinner. There's been some crap going around school this month; hope I didn't catch it. Crap! And I've been washing my hands every ten minutes too....shit.
Good thing I went to the grocery store today. Got plenty of fruit and fruit juices. I've already started with the orange juice and it looks like I'll be sucking down the juice all day tomorrow if this sore throat doesn't clear up.
I'd better get to bed. I've got to be up in 9 hours to start my online teaching job. That'll be fun: all day on the computer with sore fingers and sore throat. Nice.
Night night, Bloggy.
Jammin with Heidster
Heidster came down again tonight with her guitar. We've found a fun new thing to do on Friday nights. We usually meet for coffee or a movie. Now we've started our own band: Spackerson!
It's fun to practice with someone else, and Heidi's pretty good. She's learning fast and she has a great musical sense. We spent the first 30 minutes tuning (!) then we played for a couple of hours until our fingers just wouldn't take it anymore. Most of our songs were in the key of D major tonight. Now that I've shown her how to make a B7 chord, maybe we can try some songs in E major next week! :-)
Besides sore fingers, I'm also getting a sore throat this evening. It started shortly after dinner. There's been some crap going around school this month; hope I didn't catch it. Crap! And I've been washing my hands every ten minutes too....shit.
Good thing I went to the grocery store today. Got plenty of fruit and fruit juices. I've already started with the orange juice and it looks like I'll be sucking down the juice all day tomorrow if this sore throat doesn't clear up.
I'd better get to bed. I've got to be up in 9 hours to start my online teaching job. That'll be fun: all day on the computer with sore fingers and sore throat. Nice.
Night night, Bloggy.
Sunday, November 16, 2003
Two Days
Just got back from a movie with Heidi. She got passes to a screening of a new film called Two Days which was showing at the AFI Film Festival at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood. I do love that theater! (See my review of Rebel Without A Cause from Nov 3rd for details.) The director was there to introduce the film and he and one of the lead actors answered a few questions after the screening.
Two Days is a quasi-mockumentary (is there such a thing?) about a 30-year-old frustrated actor in Hollywood (played by the truly wonderful Paul Rudd) who decides to commit suicide and make a documentary film about the event.
I really loved this movie. It's very funny, sweet, and surprisingly emotional. Paul Rudd is excellent in the lead role and the supporting cast are quite good as well.
Because this film deals with the Los Angeles film scene, it probably wouldn't be very appealing to a mainstream audience. Also the subject matter is quite dark and a few people walked out of the screening. Ironically, the people who left did so just as the main character suggests that anyone in a movie theater watching his story would probably be running for the aisles at this point because people don't like to think about dark subjects like this!
I won't reveal the ending, but it was quite suspenseful. If you like offbeat comedies and have any sort of appreciation for caricatures of Hollywood personalities, you would probably enjoy this film.
Just got back from a movie with Heidi. She got passes to a screening of a new film called Two Days which was showing at the AFI Film Festival at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood. I do love that theater! (See my review of Rebel Without A Cause from Nov 3rd for details.) The director was there to introduce the film and he and one of the lead actors answered a few questions after the screening.
Two Days is a quasi-mockumentary (is there such a thing?) about a 30-year-old frustrated actor in Hollywood (played by the truly wonderful Paul Rudd) who decides to commit suicide and make a documentary film about the event.
I really loved this movie. It's very funny, sweet, and surprisingly emotional. Paul Rudd is excellent in the lead role and the supporting cast are quite good as well.
Because this film deals with the Los Angeles film scene, it probably wouldn't be very appealing to a mainstream audience. Also the subject matter is quite dark and a few people walked out of the screening. Ironically, the people who left did so just as the main character suggests that anyone in a movie theater watching his story would probably be running for the aisles at this point because people don't like to think about dark subjects like this!
I won't reveal the ending, but it was quite suspenseful. If you like offbeat comedies and have any sort of appreciation for caricatures of Hollywood personalities, you would probably enjoy this film.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
Fire and Ice....and Rain!
Lots of rain. Actually, I was spared most of this evening's downpour, but parts of Los Angeles were completely flooded out when over five inches of rain fell in less than two hours. Longtime residents agree today was the strangest weather day ever in Los Angeles.
I left UCLA around 4:45 this afternoon and saw the clouds gathering strength. It had showered earlier in the afternoon, but the rain had dissipated on the west side. As I drove east towards Hollywood, the sky became darker and darker. It was unbelievably dark! I've never seen a more ominous looking sky here in Southern California.
But the most spectacular and bizarre sight was the unbelievable (and unprecedented) lightning storm coming over the Hollywood Hills! I have lived in SoCal for seven years and I have witnessed lightning a total of three times. By that, I mean three strikes, not three storms! Well, this evening we had over 100 lightning strikes in the LA metropolitan area!
It was so fun and exciting, mostly because I wasn't in the worst of it. Traffic was already piling up the closer I got to home, but I was able to take some alternate routes and get home safely. There was just a light rainfall when I arrived home. I turned on the TV and all the news stations had wall-to-wall coverage of the storm. South LA was getting hit the worst -- they got pounded with rain and lightning (which caused several blackouts), and -- it gets weirder -- hail!!!
It has NEVER hailed like this in Los Angeles. The hail was so deep on the streets, it looked like snow! The pictures were just amazing. I couldn't believe what I was seeing on the TV. This extreme weather happens sometimes in Colorado, sure, but never in California. The TV news people were just as stunned as I was. I've never seen reporters so incredulous over what they were reporting.
The worst part of the whole story was that the storm hit its peak right at the evening rush hour. So traffic was backed up on the freeways and the side streets for miles. In fact some roads were closed due to flooding. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of cars were stranded in the flooded streets, and people stuck on the freeways were at a standstill for hours.
Adding to the headache were the power outages caused by lightning strikes on some transformers (we saw the flashes and explosions live on TV) which pitched some neighborhoods into darkness and knocked out traffic signals all over the place.
The good news is for the ski resorts: they already have more snow now than they normally do at Christmas time! The bad news is that some areas affected by the recent wildfires could experience mudslides due to the heavy downpours.
Tonight on the late news, the rain had stopped, the waters were receding, but the reporters on scene were standing in almost a foot of pea-sized hail stones! Kids in the neighborhood parks were running and playing outside like it was snow. They showed one guy making snow angels. :o)
What a nightmare today! I loved it!!
Lots of rain. Actually, I was spared most of this evening's downpour, but parts of Los Angeles were completely flooded out when over five inches of rain fell in less than two hours. Longtime residents agree today was the strangest weather day ever in Los Angeles.
I left UCLA around 4:45 this afternoon and saw the clouds gathering strength. It had showered earlier in the afternoon, but the rain had dissipated on the west side. As I drove east towards Hollywood, the sky became darker and darker. It was unbelievably dark! I've never seen a more ominous looking sky here in Southern California.
But the most spectacular and bizarre sight was the unbelievable (and unprecedented) lightning storm coming over the Hollywood Hills! I have lived in SoCal for seven years and I have witnessed lightning a total of three times. By that, I mean three strikes, not three storms! Well, this evening we had over 100 lightning strikes in the LA metropolitan area!
It was so fun and exciting, mostly because I wasn't in the worst of it. Traffic was already piling up the closer I got to home, but I was able to take some alternate routes and get home safely. There was just a light rainfall when I arrived home. I turned on the TV and all the news stations had wall-to-wall coverage of the storm. South LA was getting hit the worst -- they got pounded with rain and lightning (which caused several blackouts), and -- it gets weirder -- hail!!!
It has NEVER hailed like this in Los Angeles. The hail was so deep on the streets, it looked like snow! The pictures were just amazing. I couldn't believe what I was seeing on the TV. This extreme weather happens sometimes in Colorado, sure, but never in California. The TV news people were just as stunned as I was. I've never seen reporters so incredulous over what they were reporting.
The worst part of the whole story was that the storm hit its peak right at the evening rush hour. So traffic was backed up on the freeways and the side streets for miles. In fact some roads were closed due to flooding. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of cars were stranded in the flooded streets, and people stuck on the freeways were at a standstill for hours.
Adding to the headache were the power outages caused by lightning strikes on some transformers (we saw the flashes and explosions live on TV) which pitched some neighborhoods into darkness and knocked out traffic signals all over the place.
The good news is for the ski resorts: they already have more snow now than they normally do at Christmas time! The bad news is that some areas affected by the recent wildfires could experience mudslides due to the heavy downpours.
Tonight on the late news, the rain had stopped, the waters were receding, but the reporters on scene were standing in almost a foot of pea-sized hail stones! Kids in the neighborhood parks were running and playing outside like it was snow. They showed one guy making snow angels. :o)
What a nightmare today! I loved it!!
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Reading and the Average Joe
Been reading more recently. Feels great. Still enjoying the hell out of Dracula, and I've finally started Randy's latest script (Elvis in Alaska). I'm about thirty pages in and it's just amazing. My friend's a fucking genius.
I read today in a magazine and heard again on television that advertisers and network execs are panicking because young men (the most coveted demographic) have basically stopped watching TV. No wonder why: there's absolute crap on TV these days -- and that's an insult to crap!
Actually, one show that does tickle me a little is NBC's newest "reality" dating show, Average Joe. A fabulous blonde has to decide her true love from a motley assortment of nerds, geeks, and fat guys....each with a heart of gold! :-)
Unfortunately, the blonde bimbo cut the most popular player, Dennis, last night, so there's little reason left to watch. It was such a let-down when he was cut, not just for the viewing audience but for the other guys playing on the program as well. Dennis was like the team mascot. He was everybody's favorite and some of the guys were actually weeping as Dennis gave his hugs goodbye. It was quite extraordinary.
Some of the quotes from competitors were comments like, "He's the kindest human being I've ever known" and "Dennis made me a better man." Incredible! If all the other guys agree this was the best man on the show, then why the fuck should anyone tune in next week?!
Ah well, back to my reading....
Been reading more recently. Feels great. Still enjoying the hell out of Dracula, and I've finally started Randy's latest script (Elvis in Alaska). I'm about thirty pages in and it's just amazing. My friend's a fucking genius.
I read today in a magazine and heard again on television that advertisers and network execs are panicking because young men (the most coveted demographic) have basically stopped watching TV. No wonder why: there's absolute crap on TV these days -- and that's an insult to crap!
Actually, one show that does tickle me a little is NBC's newest "reality" dating show, Average Joe. A fabulous blonde has to decide her true love from a motley assortment of nerds, geeks, and fat guys....each with a heart of gold! :-)
Unfortunately, the blonde bimbo cut the most popular player, Dennis, last night, so there's little reason left to watch. It was such a let-down when he was cut, not just for the viewing audience but for the other guys playing on the program as well. Dennis was like the team mascot. He was everybody's favorite and some of the guys were actually weeping as Dennis gave his hugs goodbye. It was quite extraordinary.
Some of the quotes from competitors were comments like, "He's the kindest human being I've ever known" and "Dennis made me a better man." Incredible! If all the other guys agree this was the best man on the show, then why the fuck should anyone tune in next week?!
Ah well, back to my reading....
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
Alien
Went to see Ridley Scott's Alien last night in Westwood. It's a newly restored "Director's Cut" and the theater featured Digital Projection. DP is awesome, although I don't think it was especially necessary in this case since Alien was shot on film. It did look gorgeous though on the big screen.
I hadn't seen the film in a theater since it first came out in 1979 (is it that old?!) and I hadn't even seen it on video in at least 15 years. I was surprised, however, at how much of the dialogue and even the shots and sound effects that I remembered. I guess I must have watched it a lot when I was younger. It was fun to see it again.
The movie wasn't really scary to me because I knew exactly when the "boo" moments were coming, but I was impressed by the filmmaker's ability to create the suspense and "horror" without nearly as much gore and violence as we see in films today. In fact, the only really bloody scene is early on when Kane (the great John Hurt) starts choking at the dinner table and the alien pops out of his chest. That scene was really horrific. Otherwise, we never really see the alien killing anyone.
What an exciting sense of wonder and mystery this film has! It's been copied so many times that it seems old hat nowadays, but to relive it as audiences did almost 25 years ago, I was struck by its freshness and originality. Certainly it follows a tradition of monster movies and suspense thrillers, but the ingenuity of an alien lifeform that infects its host with its offspring, keeps the host alive until the offspring germinate, and the offspring "hatch" out the host's chest -- it's never been matched!
Ridley Scott is the best director for creating "a world" in which the characters live (he did this so well in Blade Runner). The production design, set dressing, and sound effects are truly outstanding. The special effects are somewhat dated (no computer animation back then, folks) but they are earnest and they seem more realistic than computer effects, which always look phony to me.
Best of all were the actors, some of the best in the business: Tom Skerritt (would you believe he just turned 70!), Sigourney Weaver, Yaphet Kotto, John Hurt (my favorite), Ian Holm (my second favorite), Harry Dean Stanton (my third fav-, ah forget it), and Veronica Cartwright. They were so real and genuine in their performances. I never saw any "sci-fi acting" on screen. Everybody played it totally straight and it worked. I had forgotten how much the characters hate each other -- they argue and fight all the time, just like children. It was funny.
Anyway, if you have the chance to see the new Alien, do it. You won't regret it. If you can't see the new one, watch the old one again. It's a good film.
By the way, the "director's cut" only includes a few seconds of extra footage when Ripley finds the remains of Dallas and Brett in the Alien's lair before the ship self-destructs. [I remember a comic book version of the film I had as a kid and it included this scene but I never saw it in the film. It must have been cut after a late preview screening or something and the comic book tie-in had already been finished.]
The sound has been remastered into 6.1 Digital surround, and I read in an interview with Ridley Scott that he also trimmed some of the longer expositional shots that he felt were a little too slow. So the pace of the film is a bit faster than the original. It would be fun to compare both versions.
Went to see Ridley Scott's Alien last night in Westwood. It's a newly restored "Director's Cut" and the theater featured Digital Projection. DP is awesome, although I don't think it was especially necessary in this case since Alien was shot on film. It did look gorgeous though on the big screen.
I hadn't seen the film in a theater since it first came out in 1979 (is it that old?!) and I hadn't even seen it on video in at least 15 years. I was surprised, however, at how much of the dialogue and even the shots and sound effects that I remembered. I guess I must have watched it a lot when I was younger. It was fun to see it again.
The movie wasn't really scary to me because I knew exactly when the "boo" moments were coming, but I was impressed by the filmmaker's ability to create the suspense and "horror" without nearly as much gore and violence as we see in films today. In fact, the only really bloody scene is early on when Kane (the great John Hurt) starts choking at the dinner table and the alien pops out of his chest. That scene was really horrific. Otherwise, we never really see the alien killing anyone.
What an exciting sense of wonder and mystery this film has! It's been copied so many times that it seems old hat nowadays, but to relive it as audiences did almost 25 years ago, I was struck by its freshness and originality. Certainly it follows a tradition of monster movies and suspense thrillers, but the ingenuity of an alien lifeform that infects its host with its offspring, keeps the host alive until the offspring germinate, and the offspring "hatch" out the host's chest -- it's never been matched!
Ridley Scott is the best director for creating "a world" in which the characters live (he did this so well in Blade Runner). The production design, set dressing, and sound effects are truly outstanding. The special effects are somewhat dated (no computer animation back then, folks) but they are earnest and they seem more realistic than computer effects, which always look phony to me.
Best of all were the actors, some of the best in the business: Tom Skerritt (would you believe he just turned 70!), Sigourney Weaver, Yaphet Kotto, John Hurt (my favorite), Ian Holm (my second favorite), Harry Dean Stanton (my third fav-, ah forget it), and Veronica Cartwright. They were so real and genuine in their performances. I never saw any "sci-fi acting" on screen. Everybody played it totally straight and it worked. I had forgotten how much the characters hate each other -- they argue and fight all the time, just like children. It was funny.
Anyway, if you have the chance to see the new Alien, do it. You won't regret it. If you can't see the new one, watch the old one again. It's a good film.
By the way, the "director's cut" only includes a few seconds of extra footage when Ripley finds the remains of Dallas and Brett in the Alien's lair before the ship self-destructs. [I remember a comic book version of the film I had as a kid and it included this scene but I never saw it in the film. It must have been cut after a late preview screening or something and the comic book tie-in had already been finished.]
The sound has been remastered into 6.1 Digital surround, and I read in an interview with Ridley Scott that he also trimmed some of the longer expositional shots that he felt were a little too slow. So the pace of the film is a bit faster than the original. It would be fun to compare both versions.
The Hookup
Strange and funny event this morning. I'm at my local laundrymat doing you know what, when I see a guy with a video camera shooting a couple other guys by the dryers. Actually they were shooting right in front on the dryer with my clothes in it and since my clothes were about finished, I made my way over there.
I couldn't figure out at first what they were shooting. In all, there was a cameraman and another producer/director type giving instructions, and two other guys who I thought were actors, and then one very good-looking guy who turned out to be the host of this reality program.
I was only a few feet away so I listened in on their dialogue. Camera rolls and blonde guy standing near dryer opens the door as if to take out his clothes. Enter host and little Latino guy from outside. Host calls blonde guy's name and introduces him to Latino guy. They shake hands and smile warmly at each other. A few seconds of chit-chat, then host says, "Alright you guys, we're going send you off to a great dinner, on us, and we'll see what happens" Host then looks into camera and says, "Looks like we made another hookup!" and walks off.
The cameraman cuts, and they set up to shoot it again. By this time my clothes are done and I want to get them out before they start to wrinkle. Also I'm on a tight schedule before work. Before the next take, I step in and start to take my clothes out. The blonde guy, who looks vaguely familiar, gives me a warm smile and a wink and says, "Let this guy get his nice things out before they wrinkle." I push my loaded cart out of the shot and they go again.
Again: Camera rolls and blonde guy standing near dryer opens the door as if to take out his clothes. Enter host and little Latino guy from outside. Host calls blonde guy's name and introduces him to Latino guy. They shake hands and smile warmly at each other. A few seconds of chit-chat, then host says, "Alright you guys, we're going send you off to a great dinner, on us, and we'll see what happens" Host then looks into camera and says, "Looks like we made another hookup!" and walks off.
Suddenly, I figured out they were shooting what seems to be a gay dating show!! :-) It's something like Blind Date because the blonde guy doesn't know Latino guy, but Latino guy wants to meet blonde guy and Host is happy to oblige. I think the show may be called "Hookup" because the host was sure to use that expression every time after introducing the guys.
Funniest of all, they shot this 30-second sequence at least 15 times! The two "daters" seemed to be fine and having fun, but the host flubbed his lines several times and then the producer and cameraman argued back and forth (and with Host) about the dialogue in the scene and how it should be shorter and blah, blah, blah. It seriously took them many times shooting the scene before they were satisfied. Blonde guy would occasionally look over at me folding my laundry after a take and smile nervously with raised eyebrows as if to say "whew, showbiz is hard!" or something like that.
Some "reality" show, eh?! I don't even know if these guys were really gay or even on a real date. They seemed like actors to me. Not to mention that Blonde Guy seemed to be flirting with me a bit! (he was pretty cute) After the shoot, the producer/director guy held up his still camera and took some shots of blonde guy in front of the dryers. I don't know what that was for. And cameraman walked around the laundrymat shooting a few seconds of the dryers and washers spinning. I'm sure that's for cutaways or something.
Anyway, be looking for "The Hookup" or some similarly named gay dating show coming soon. You may see Scottydude's cameo -- in the background folding laundry! Check your local listings....
Strange and funny event this morning. I'm at my local laundrymat doing you know what, when I see a guy with a video camera shooting a couple other guys by the dryers. Actually they were shooting right in front on the dryer with my clothes in it and since my clothes were about finished, I made my way over there.
I couldn't figure out at first what they were shooting. In all, there was a cameraman and another producer/director type giving instructions, and two other guys who I thought were actors, and then one very good-looking guy who turned out to be the host of this reality program.
I was only a few feet away so I listened in on their dialogue. Camera rolls and blonde guy standing near dryer opens the door as if to take out his clothes. Enter host and little Latino guy from outside. Host calls blonde guy's name and introduces him to Latino guy. They shake hands and smile warmly at each other. A few seconds of chit-chat, then host says, "Alright you guys, we're going send you off to a great dinner, on us, and we'll see what happens" Host then looks into camera and says, "Looks like we made another hookup!" and walks off.
The cameraman cuts, and they set up to shoot it again. By this time my clothes are done and I want to get them out before they start to wrinkle. Also I'm on a tight schedule before work. Before the next take, I step in and start to take my clothes out. The blonde guy, who looks vaguely familiar, gives me a warm smile and a wink and says, "Let this guy get his nice things out before they wrinkle." I push my loaded cart out of the shot and they go again.
Again: Camera rolls and blonde guy standing near dryer opens the door as if to take out his clothes. Enter host and little Latino guy from outside. Host calls blonde guy's name and introduces him to Latino guy. They shake hands and smile warmly at each other. A few seconds of chit-chat, then host says, "Alright you guys, we're going send you off to a great dinner, on us, and we'll see what happens" Host then looks into camera and says, "Looks like we made another hookup!" and walks off.
Suddenly, I figured out they were shooting what seems to be a gay dating show!! :-) It's something like Blind Date because the blonde guy doesn't know Latino guy, but Latino guy wants to meet blonde guy and Host is happy to oblige. I think the show may be called "Hookup" because the host was sure to use that expression every time after introducing the guys.
Funniest of all, they shot this 30-second sequence at least 15 times! The two "daters" seemed to be fine and having fun, but the host flubbed his lines several times and then the producer and cameraman argued back and forth (and with Host) about the dialogue in the scene and how it should be shorter and blah, blah, blah. It seriously took them many times shooting the scene before they were satisfied. Blonde guy would occasionally look over at me folding my laundry after a take and smile nervously with raised eyebrows as if to say "whew, showbiz is hard!" or something like that.
Some "reality" show, eh?! I don't even know if these guys were really gay or even on a real date. They seemed like actors to me. Not to mention that Blonde Guy seemed to be flirting with me a bit! (he was pretty cute) After the shoot, the producer/director guy held up his still camera and took some shots of blonde guy in front of the dryers. I don't know what that was for. And cameraman walked around the laundrymat shooting a few seconds of the dryers and washers spinning. I'm sure that's for cutaways or something.
Anyway, be looking for "The Hookup" or some similarly named gay dating show coming soon. You may see Scottydude's cameo -- in the background folding laundry! Check your local listings....
Monday, November 03, 2003
American Rebel
Had the great pleasure of seeing "Rebel Without a Cause" in Hollywood yesterday. Gosh, what a great film! And it really is a different experience seeing it on the big screen, as was originally intended.
I had seen "Rebel" theatrically before, years ago at the Denver Film Festival, but that was nothing compared to the THX majesty that is the Arlight Cinerama Dome. That is the nicest movie theater I've ever been too. It takes movie-watching to a whole new level of gourmet pleasure! The theater has two full bars and a restaurant inside, and all the theaters are equipped with state-of-the-art, THX-certified sound and projection equipment. I saw "Star Wars Episode II" in digital projection last year at the Arclight and it was spectacular. I hope to see the newly restored version of Ridley Scott's "Alien" in digital projection this week at the Arclight.
This screening of "Rebel" was introduced by Frank Mazzola, who played "Crunch" (one of the gang members) in the film. In this photo from the film, he's the guy dead center with black hair, white shirt and jeans (you can also see baby-faced Dennis Hopper on the upper-left side). Frank told some stories about meeting Jimmy and hanging out with him during shooting. Besides acting in the film, Frank also served as technical advisor since he was himself involved in the Los Angeles gang scene at the time and director Nicholas Ray wanted the film to be as realistic as possible.
The film is extremely psychological for its day. There are tons of parenting issues and husband/wife issues presented in the story. The kids have every material desire fulfilled by their parents, but there's no real emotional intimacy between parents and children. It seems frighteningly parallel to the lives of young people I see today. There is also much symbolism in the film, both intentional to the story and ironically mirroring James Dean's life and untimley death.
My favorite scene is the first planetarium scene at Griffith Observatory. Dean's character, Jim Stark (an amalgam of Dean's own first name and his "East of Eden" character, "Cal Trask"), arrives late for the presentation just as the astronomy professor lectures the students about the arrival of "a new star, a brilliant star growing ever brighter in the heavens." The scene ends hilariously (unintentionally) as the professor concludes the presentation with a dramatic flash and explosion, accompanied by Leonard Rosenman's terrifying film score, as the Earth is incinerated during the Sun's fiery death. "In the vast expanse of the Universe," the Prof explains, "the Earth will not be missed. The lives of mankind are insignificant. That's all; thank you for your attention." I always want him to smile and say, "Have a nice day, kids! Have fun growing up!" :-)
One humorous aspect of the film, which I hadn't noticed quite as evidently on television, is the blatant homoerotic lust for James Dean exuding from Sal Mineo's "Plato." On the big screen, you can clearly see the light that shines in his eyes whenever he's near Jimmy. He's obviously completely in love with Jimmy and I don't think there was much acting going on there. It's quite sweet.
All of the acting is quite good, as Nicholas Ray smartly cast his actors as themselves and encouraged their improvisations in the scenes, especially the gang kids. Nick Ray was much older than the kids but he was regarded like a trusted older brother on set, much like the kind-hearted police lieutenant played by Edward Platt (famous later as The Chief on "Get Smart") who looks after Jim. The police lieutenant's name? Ray Fremick.
Jim Backus is excellent as Jimmy's immasculated father. The funniest and most poignant scene between them is after the knife fight at the Observatory when Jim wants his father's advice about the Chickie Run. Backus spends the whole scene in Mrs. Stark's flowery kitchen apron! He had been preparing dinner for his wife, but dropped the tray on the floor, spilling the contents. Jimmy scolds him for not "standing up" like a man to Jim's mom. His father's inability to "stand up" for Jim or himself is a recurring theme in the film.
There are so many great actors in the movie (Backus, Natalie Wood, Dennis Hopper) but the film clearly belongs to James Dean. Seeing it again after several years (I've seen it dozens of times before), I was struck by what a beautiful boy James Dean was. He's just gorgeous, and his presence radiates from the screen. His performance is the glue that binds the various subplots together. We see him exposing his most personal emotional issues (abandonment by his estranged father, his ambiguous sexuality, his sense of alienation, loneliness and ostracism) right there on the screen. It's an extraordinarily intimate performance, made ever more touching by Dean's tragic end just weeks before the film's premiere.
The most touching moment for me was at the end when Plato's been shot at the Observatory and Jimmy tearfully zips up his red jacket on Plato's lifeless body. "He was always cold," Jim chokes, before collapsing in a sobbing heap at his father's feet. I couldn't help tearing up a bit myself at that moment. It was such an honest moment.
"Rebel Without A Cause" is truly an American classic. I never get tired of watching it, no matter how many times I've seen it. Like "Casblanca" or "Citizen Kane" or even "Star Wars," it is a film that never gets old.
Had the great pleasure of seeing "Rebel Without a Cause" in Hollywood yesterday. Gosh, what a great film! And it really is a different experience seeing it on the big screen, as was originally intended.
I had seen "Rebel" theatrically before, years ago at the Denver Film Festival, but that was nothing compared to the THX majesty that is the Arlight Cinerama Dome. That is the nicest movie theater I've ever been too. It takes movie-watching to a whole new level of gourmet pleasure! The theater has two full bars and a restaurant inside, and all the theaters are equipped with state-of-the-art, THX-certified sound and projection equipment. I saw "Star Wars Episode II" in digital projection last year at the Arclight and it was spectacular. I hope to see the newly restored version of Ridley Scott's "Alien" in digital projection this week at the Arclight.
This screening of "Rebel" was introduced by Frank Mazzola, who played "Crunch" (one of the gang members) in the film. In this photo from the film, he's the guy dead center with black hair, white shirt and jeans (you can also see baby-faced Dennis Hopper on the upper-left side). Frank told some stories about meeting Jimmy and hanging out with him during shooting. Besides acting in the film, Frank also served as technical advisor since he was himself involved in the Los Angeles gang scene at the time and director Nicholas Ray wanted the film to be as realistic as possible.
The film is extremely psychological for its day. There are tons of parenting issues and husband/wife issues presented in the story. The kids have every material desire fulfilled by their parents, but there's no real emotional intimacy between parents and children. It seems frighteningly parallel to the lives of young people I see today. There is also much symbolism in the film, both intentional to the story and ironically mirroring James Dean's life and untimley death.
My favorite scene is the first planetarium scene at Griffith Observatory. Dean's character, Jim Stark (an amalgam of Dean's own first name and his "East of Eden" character, "Cal Trask"), arrives late for the presentation just as the astronomy professor lectures the students about the arrival of "a new star, a brilliant star growing ever brighter in the heavens." The scene ends hilariously (unintentionally) as the professor concludes the presentation with a dramatic flash and explosion, accompanied by Leonard Rosenman's terrifying film score, as the Earth is incinerated during the Sun's fiery death. "In the vast expanse of the Universe," the Prof explains, "the Earth will not be missed. The lives of mankind are insignificant. That's all; thank you for your attention." I always want him to smile and say, "Have a nice day, kids! Have fun growing up!" :-)
One humorous aspect of the film, which I hadn't noticed quite as evidently on television, is the blatant homoerotic lust for James Dean exuding from Sal Mineo's "Plato." On the big screen, you can clearly see the light that shines in his eyes whenever he's near Jimmy. He's obviously completely in love with Jimmy and I don't think there was much acting going on there. It's quite sweet.
All of the acting is quite good, as Nicholas Ray smartly cast his actors as themselves and encouraged their improvisations in the scenes, especially the gang kids. Nick Ray was much older than the kids but he was regarded like a trusted older brother on set, much like the kind-hearted police lieutenant played by Edward Platt (famous later as The Chief on "Get Smart") who looks after Jim. The police lieutenant's name? Ray Fremick.
Jim Backus is excellent as Jimmy's immasculated father. The funniest and most poignant scene between them is after the knife fight at the Observatory when Jim wants his father's advice about the Chickie Run. Backus spends the whole scene in Mrs. Stark's flowery kitchen apron! He had been preparing dinner for his wife, but dropped the tray on the floor, spilling the contents. Jimmy scolds him for not "standing up" like a man to Jim's mom. His father's inability to "stand up" for Jim or himself is a recurring theme in the film.
There are so many great actors in the movie (Backus, Natalie Wood, Dennis Hopper) but the film clearly belongs to James Dean. Seeing it again after several years (I've seen it dozens of times before), I was struck by what a beautiful boy James Dean was. He's just gorgeous, and his presence radiates from the screen. His performance is the glue that binds the various subplots together. We see him exposing his most personal emotional issues (abandonment by his estranged father, his ambiguous sexuality, his sense of alienation, loneliness and ostracism) right there on the screen. It's an extraordinarily intimate performance, made ever more touching by Dean's tragic end just weeks before the film's premiere.
The most touching moment for me was at the end when Plato's been shot at the Observatory and Jimmy tearfully zips up his red jacket on Plato's lifeless body. "He was always cold," Jim chokes, before collapsing in a sobbing heap at his father's feet. I couldn't help tearing up a bit myself at that moment. It was such an honest moment.
"Rebel Without A Cause" is truly an American classic. I never get tired of watching it, no matter how many times I've seen it. Like "Casblanca" or "Citizen Kane" or even "Star Wars," it is a film that never gets old.
Saturday, November 01, 2003
All Hallow's Eve
Yesterday was a quiet Halloween for me. Had my afternoon class at UCLA as usual, except I appeared in my Elvis costume to the great delight and laughter of my students and co-workers. I also brought some candy so the kids could play "trick or treat." It was fun, but pretty low-key since most of the school was empty on Friday afternoon and in fact only about half of my students showed up for class.
After work, I chilled for a while (no really, it was quite cool in LA yesterday) and had a burrito at Baja Fresh before meeting my friend Heidster for a movie at the UCLA Film and Television Archives. We went to see "The Ghostbreakers" from 1940, starring Bob Hope in a spooky comedic thriller. The film actually wasn't that funny, although there were a few good laughs. Bob Hope was trying to make weak material work. The highlight of the film for me was the gorgeous Paulette Goddard, who must have had the prettiest smile in all of Hollywood. She was just lovely.
This screening was part of UCLA's Archive Treasures series, which is intended to recreate a night at the movies from the classic Hollywood era. So there were several selections on the program before the feature, including a cartoon, a newsreel, etc. It was a fun idea. The most stirring film for me was a short film saluting the courage and determination of the people of London as they went about their daily lives during the height of the Nazi blitz. This seemed all the more poignant in light of 9/11 and the current state of terrorism in the world, but it reinforced my awareness that modern Americans really don't understand war. Most of us have never lived through it ourselves nor seen its devastation on our own lands. It's no wonder the Europeans are so opposed to any violent conflict after seeing what they went through during the early 20th century.
The rain had started to fall in Los Angeles (I know -- rain in LA?!) around dinner time and by the time we got out of the movie, it was coming down pretty good. Although it was early, only 9:30pm, it felt like midnight to me so I hurried home (well, I tried to hurry) since I realized Lousy was stuck outside in the rain.
The Halloween traffic was pretty bad as usual, especially since the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval was underway just up the street on Santa Monica Blvd. I tried to avoid it as much as I could by sticking south on Wilshire, but the ripple effect was taking its toll. Actually, the traffic could have been a lot worse, but since it was raining heavily, some revelers may have stayed away. I'm sure the rain didn't dampen the spirits of all the WeHo drag queens who live for this night when they can parade themselves out in all their glory!! :-)
It was raining so hard when I got home. It was wonderful, except I got soaked just from the short walk, or run in this case, from the garage to my door. Poor little Lousy was crouching miserably in my parking space when I arrived. "Meow, meow," he whined pathetically. I picked him up and hid him in my coat as I ran to my door.
Once inside, I made sure the cats were dry and warm and well-fed. Then I cranked up the electric blanket on the bed -- it was frigid in my room -- and since it was a dark and stormy night, I finally cracked open Bram Stoker's "Dracula," which I bought weeks ago but hadn't started yet.
I only got through about 25 pages before nodding off, but what I read was really great. I think it's going to be a fun read. Perfect for a dark and stormy night.
Happy Hallowe'en!
Yesterday was a quiet Halloween for me. Had my afternoon class at UCLA as usual, except I appeared in my Elvis costume to the great delight and laughter of my students and co-workers. I also brought some candy so the kids could play "trick or treat." It was fun, but pretty low-key since most of the school was empty on Friday afternoon and in fact only about half of my students showed up for class.
After work, I chilled for a while (no really, it was quite cool in LA yesterday) and had a burrito at Baja Fresh before meeting my friend Heidster for a movie at the UCLA Film and Television Archives. We went to see "The Ghostbreakers" from 1940, starring Bob Hope in a spooky comedic thriller. The film actually wasn't that funny, although there were a few good laughs. Bob Hope was trying to make weak material work. The highlight of the film for me was the gorgeous Paulette Goddard, who must have had the prettiest smile in all of Hollywood. She was just lovely.
This screening was part of UCLA's Archive Treasures series, which is intended to recreate a night at the movies from the classic Hollywood era. So there were several selections on the program before the feature, including a cartoon, a newsreel, etc. It was a fun idea. The most stirring film for me was a short film saluting the courage and determination of the people of London as they went about their daily lives during the height of the Nazi blitz. This seemed all the more poignant in light of 9/11 and the current state of terrorism in the world, but it reinforced my awareness that modern Americans really don't understand war. Most of us have never lived through it ourselves nor seen its devastation on our own lands. It's no wonder the Europeans are so opposed to any violent conflict after seeing what they went through during the early 20th century.
The rain had started to fall in Los Angeles (I know -- rain in LA?!) around dinner time and by the time we got out of the movie, it was coming down pretty good. Although it was early, only 9:30pm, it felt like midnight to me so I hurried home (well, I tried to hurry) since I realized Lousy was stuck outside in the rain.
The Halloween traffic was pretty bad as usual, especially since the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval was underway just up the street on Santa Monica Blvd. I tried to avoid it as much as I could by sticking south on Wilshire, but the ripple effect was taking its toll. Actually, the traffic could have been a lot worse, but since it was raining heavily, some revelers may have stayed away. I'm sure the rain didn't dampen the spirits of all the WeHo drag queens who live for this night when they can parade themselves out in all their glory!! :-)
It was raining so hard when I got home. It was wonderful, except I got soaked just from the short walk, or run in this case, from the garage to my door. Poor little Lousy was crouching miserably in my parking space when I arrived. "Meow, meow," he whined pathetically. I picked him up and hid him in my coat as I ran to my door.
Once inside, I made sure the cats were dry and warm and well-fed. Then I cranked up the electric blanket on the bed -- it was frigid in my room -- and since it was a dark and stormy night, I finally cracked open Bram Stoker's "Dracula," which I bought weeks ago but hadn't started yet.
I only got through about 25 pages before nodding off, but what I read was really great. I think it's going to be a fun read. Perfect for a dark and stormy night.
Happy Hallowe'en!
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