Well, dear readers, I was all prepared to be sparkling and lively when I received a call from my cleaning lady, she of the Evil Eye, who asked if she could come clean today instead of tomorrow. So, she is on her way and I must bang out these here notes in a trice. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Last night I attended the re-premiere of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World at the Cinerama Dome. We arrived at six-thirty, met up with the people we were meeting, and picked up our tickets. There was a red carpet set up near the main Arclight box-office. We stood there and stood there and didn’t see any celebrities arriving. Finally, I suggested there was some other premiere going on and that our premiere was in the front of the Dome. I was right. By that time we’d missed all the arrivals save for Sid Caesar, Edie Adams and Michelle Lee. We went directly into the theater and mingled. Those attending the re-premiere were treated to free drinks and popcorn. We took our seats and at seven-thirty we were treated to half-an-hour of speeches by various and sundried folks such as Karen Kramer, the widow of Mr. Stanley Kramer, Johnny Grant, the honorary Mayor of Hollywood (or something like that), and a few others. Before the film actually unspooled, we were treated to a short film which showed the Dome being built. From the time the property was purchased and the theater was designed, they had sixteen weeks to construct it, and they did it, night and day. Then the Overture began and I can’t tell you what a treat it was to see a pristine, brand-new 70mm print of Mad World which was, of course, actually shot in 70mm. The only problem was the same problem the Dome has always had, the projection is a bit dim there. The film, even in this slightly shorter version (approximately 165 minutes) is really long. I have never thought Mad World was one of the greatest comedies ever made, but it has enough laughs to keep me happy, and the cast – well, we’ll never see their like again. There just isn’t anyone like these people – Phil Silvers and Paul Ford and Arnold Stang and Marvin Kaplan and the stars, Spencer Tracy, Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, Edie Adams, Jonathan Winters, Ethel Merman, Dorothy Provine, Buddy Hackett, Dick Shawn and Terry-Thomas. And all those cameo stars, everyone from Buster Keaton to The Three Stooges. The score by Ernest Gold is pretty amazing, too.
In attendance were Mr. Sid Caesar, Edie Adams and Marvin Kaplan (at least those were who I personally spied), along with Michelle Lee, Lainie Kazan and quite a few others. The most amusing thing that happened to me during the entire evening happened in the Men’s Room at intermission. I was standing there, washing my hands, when the fellow next to me just started staring at me and then said, loudly, in front of all the people in the Men’s Room, “Bruce Kimmel? Are you Bruce Kimmel? First Nudie Musical? I love that movie, I love that DVD.” I thanked him very much.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because she of the Evil Eye will be here at any moment.
Speaking of Mad World, there is a repackaged DVD that just hit the stores – do not be fooled – it’s the same thing as the prior DVD, just without the extras.
Well, she of the Evil Eye has just pulled up, so I must hurry and finish these here notes and get the hell out of here.
Today I’ll be picking up the latest version of my manuscript which, even though I’m not completely through doing the proofing fixes, I will be giving to two of the folks who’ll be providing blurbs for the back cover. There has been one detail in the book that I know is wrong that I haven’t been able to fix because no one, not one single person, that I’ve talked to can remember the detail I’m looking for. There was a bookstore in Beverly Hills that I used to frequent, and I could not remember the name of it (very unusual for me), so I just put in Hunter’s as a placeholder (Hunter’s was a block from the bookstore I used to frequent). Last night, lying in bed, I started going through the alphabet, thinking of various names and I finally remembered it, at least I think I did – I have to confirm it, but it sounds right to me. Whew!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must go hither and thither and perhaps yon, I must get the hell out of here and not return until she of the Evil Eye is gone. The good news is that I will not have to vamoose tomorrow. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player, and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, still going through my various Stan Getz imports, which are all amazingly amazing. DVD, just finished The Italian Job and I will hopefully be picking up a whole slew of amazingly amazing new titles today. I’ll keep you posted. Speaking of posted, let’s have loads of lovely posts, shall we, so that upon my return I will have scads of them to read for my mental delectation.