Well, dear readers, the long, long weekend is upon us and I, for one, intend to enjoy it to its fullest. I have absolutely no plans at all, other than to re-proof the new galley, and try to write a few pages. Other than than, I shall just relax, watch DVDs, and perhaps drive about in my motor car, and take some nice walks. Today, I shall have to leave shortly, because she of the Evil Eye will be here to clean. That’s fine, as I have an eleven o’clock appointment with Teddy to, how shall I put it, get my hair looking like its been summerized. By the time that’s finished, she of the Evil Eye will be gone and I shall come back to the home environment to begin my relaxing day and evening. Yesterday wasn’t quite as busy as previous days. I didn’t have to have many telephone calls, because, I think, people were already taking either the full or at least a half day off. I wrote a bit, and then I went to Mr. Grant Geissman’s home environment, where we finished entering galley fixes and printed out a new version for me to proof yet again. Grant then worked on the cover for the dust jacket, and we have a couple of versions we really like, but one, in particular, that “feels” right. It has an interesting vibe about it, while the other version has an interesting xylophone about it. I shall live with them for a few days and see which one ultimately feels best. I then did some grocery shopping, came home, and caught up with stuff around the home environment. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Last night I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Stripes, the new extended edition. Let me get the preliminaries out of the way first: Stripes, for me, is a mildly entertaining film with some genuinely amusing moments. It succeeds mostly because of its really wonderful cast – especially, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, John Candy, P.J. Soles, Sean Young, Judge Reinhold, and the absolutely brilliant Warren Oates. The film’s final third has always felt flabby and not so funny to me (it’s hard to top the drill routine), but it sort of limps to its finish, and is never less than amiable. It is interesting, in lieu of the way they score comedies these days (non-stop music from start to finish), to watch how much of the comedy in Stripes plays in silence, with no music. That is because comedy and comic performances have their own rhythms and music, and they don’t need help or extra layers, which, in fact, never help and always harm. Now we have this extended version, which adds eighteen minutes of cut scenes back into the film (they are all identified by an on screen card). I simply don’t understand why filmmakers are letting studios coerce them into doing this. The original version is included, but the extended version is a lesson in how out-of-control DVD releases and studio greed has become. Stripes is a comedy. It ran a reasonable 107 minutes in its original version. The creative team ran the film, saw what worked and what slowed the film down, and got it down to a running time that was right for the film. What is not right for the film is for it to run 124 minutes. It’s a whole different movie, almost relentlessly unfunny because of the additions, which simply don’t belong, and which grind the movie to a halt every time they appear. Ivan Reitman should be ashamed of himself for doing this. It’s one thing to include them as extras, it’s another to insert them back into the film for a new “version.” Certainly he’s not doing his film a service, nor is he doing the viewers a service. And certainly, a nice special edition is going to sell what it’s going to sell and the bastardization that this new version is is simply unnecessary and, in fact, harmful to the reputation of the film. The transfer is fine.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Don’t I have to go have my hair summerized? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’ve got to get crackin’ so I get can back here and sit outside and take in the beautiful day.
I do hope we don’t have a ghost town here at haineshisway.com on this long, long weekend. I do hope we keep the holiday spirit alive here at haineshisway.com and this long, long weekend. I do hope we all put on our short-shorts and out psychedelic t-shirts and parade about like a gazelle with hormones run amok.
Have you ever had hormones run amok? I have. I have had hormones run amok, and when hormones run amok all one can do is to dance the Lambada (The Forbidden Dance) and listen to Dino at the piano.
Oh, aren’t we supposed to be having an Unseemly Trivia Contest? I do believe we are, so let’s get to it, shall we?
This play was reasonably successful and ran almost a year. But it didn’t compare to the success of one of its author’s other plays, an enduring classic. But, back to this reasonably successful play. This reasonably successful play had a very interesting cast of players. Its leading player was one of the theater’s most luminous lights, a player who would, in fact, go on to win an Academy Award some years later. Also in the cast was an actor who had made his Broadway debut in this play’s author’s enduring classic, and who would go on to have an incredible career as a motion picture co-star and star, and who also the recipient of an Academy Award. Also in the cast was an actor who would go on to iconic fame as the star of a truly beloved television series. Also in the cast was an actor who would become more well-known as a comedian in later years. Also in the cast was a child actor who would go on to great fame, and whose father had a connection to the play. Also in the cast were two supporting performers who would go on to be featured in two classic Broadway musicals in the same decade as this play – one of them would repeat their role in the film version of the musical, and one would not. So –
Name the reasonably successful play and its author, as well as its author’s enduring classic play.
Name the play’s leading player, and name the film and role for which the leading player would eventually win an Academy Award.
Name the actor who’d made his debut in the author’s enduring classic and who would go on to a great career in films, and name the film and role for which the actor won his Academy Award.
Name the actor who would go on to star in an iconic and beloved television series, and name the series.
Name the actor who would go on to be more well-known as a comedian.
Name the child actor who would go on to great fame, and name the child actor’s father’s connection to the play.
Name the two supporting actors who would go on to play supporting roles in two classic musicals in the same decade as the play, and name the one who would repeat his role in the film version of the musical in which he appeared. Finally, name the actor who replaced the other supporting actor in the film version of the musical in which HE appeared.
Whew! Remember: DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS TO THE SITE! Send them to me at bruce@haineshisway.com (and don’t worry if the e-mail appears to bounce back – I do get them). You have until midnight Monday to submit your answers. Good luck to one and all and also all and one.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, see if my hormones are running amok. I wonder if amok ever runs the hormones? I must be blonde, I must be relaxed, I must write, I must sit outside on this lovely day, and, above all, I must keep the partay spirit alive here at haineshisway.com. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite songs sung by the fabulous Nat King Cole, Perry Como, and Jack Jones, three of my favorite crooners. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we all watch our collective hormones run amok.