Well, dear readers, hopefully by the end of the weekend our Tourette’s Syndrome benefit will be fully cast – we’ve recently added thos Wild Party boys, Adam Grupper and Stuart Zagnit, as well as Class Act’s David Hibbard. They join Judy Kaye, Debbie Gravitte, Christiane Noll, Remy Zaken and more to be announced posthaste.
Yesterday, we had a very long meeting about our upcoming film – lots of details discussed and we start in earnest on the fifteenth. Since a press release will be going out next week, I may as well give those of you dear readers who don’t know the scoop. The new film is about those two marvelous but virtually unknown Tin Pan Alley tunesmiths, Meltz and Ernest. It is entitled The Importance of Being Meltz and Ernest, and it will feature many of the Broadway singers I’ve worked with over the years, plus interviews with a host of celebrity stars, as well as legendary composer/lyricists who will also talk about the team. The film will feature many of the Meltz and Ernest’s fabulous songs. Ever since I discovered them (that wonderful day when I found the sheet music to I’m a Blue, Blue Jew in a garage sale) I have been determined to bring their work to the public and finally I am able to. I will have more details in the coming week, and you will hear all scoops here first, dear readers. I am directing the film, and our producer is my friend, Nick Redman, the Academy Award-nominated producer of the brilliant documentary on Sam Peckinpah. Our musical director is none other than our very own Todd Ellison, and our choreographer is Jen Cody. Both Todd and Jen also appear in the film, as do I. We are very excited about this film, and we feel that this will finally give Hinky Meltz and Ernest Ernest the respect and fame that so eluded them in life. We have, for your information (FYI, in Internet lingo), discovered archival footage of Meltz and Ernest being interviewed on a local cable access show, we’ve uncovered rare videos of their songs being performed, the widow Meltz has provided us with home movies of the boys at work and play, and their children, Hinky, Jr. and Ellie Ernest will also lend their memories. Stay tuned for more details.
Last night I watched a motion picture entitled Road to Perdition. I suppose that ultimately I enjoyed it on some level, because I like Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. But it was all so heavy-handed and portentous and took forever to get going – I mean, it was almost forty minutes until I actually knew what the story was going to be. It’s beautifully shot by Conrad Hall, so it’s always nice to look at in a Frank Darabont sort of way, if you get my meaning. About two-thirds of the way through I realized that the music had almost never stopped, it was literally almost wall-to-wall score, and not a very good one at that. I can imagine what the spotting session was like. There was Sam Mendes, the director, and Thomas Newman, the composer – the titles begin and Sam say, let’s not have any music during the titles, just the sound of ocean waves. Tom nods his head. The titles end and Sam say, okay maybe some music could start here. Two hours later he says, okay let’s stop the music as soon as the end credits are over. Thanks for coming, Tom. I mean, honestly, more is not always better. Plus the music is like one long droning pad, except for when it’s doing its predictable pseudo-Irish meanderings. They really mis-sold this film, I think. I had no idea what it was about from the ads – in fact, I think I thought it was based on a comic book (it’s based on a graphic novel by Max Alan Collins).
I then watched the first third of the new DVD of Leo McCarey’s An Affair To Remember, which I’ll finish tonight. Now, don’t think me insane, but aside from seeing the film as a sprig of a twig of a lad of a youth (and I remembered very little of it), I have only seen snippets since. Well, it is such a charmer, and Grant and Kerr have such charisma and warmth and star power, and I can’t wait to finish it and give you my full report.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Don’t we have an Unseemly Button to click? We do and we shall.
Today is my final day of proofing and correcting things in the book, then it goes off to the publisher on Monday, and I’ll see my galleys in about four weeks. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must lock in the last few people for the benefit, I must do errands, I must leave and reenter my house, I must watch the rest of An Affair to Remember, and then watch Mr. Bing Crosby in Pennies from Heaven. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD and DVD/video players? I’ll start – CD, my recording of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas with Miss Ann-Margret. I don’t know what made me pull it out, but I hadn’t heard it since we did it and I must say it’s quite good, and I also must say that Miss Ann-Margret comes off splendidly on the CD, unlike she came off on the stage. I love Ann-Margret, by the way (BTW, in Internet lingo) – also listening to Far From Heaven by Elmer Bernstein, my favorite score of the year. In the DVD player, An Affair to Remember. Your turn.