Well, dear readers, can you believe it? The week, which just began, is already over and now the weekend is almost upon us. It’s like it’s Monday one day, and then it’s just suddenly Friday. We have got to slow this trend down, because we’ve no time to stop and smell the roses or the coffee or the ham. Slow down, I say. Enough of this fast-motion – let’s have a little slow motion for a change, like a gazelle suffering from heat prostration. But, I mustn’t tarry or dally or even dally or tarry, because I’ve got another busy day to attend to. Yesterday was also a busy day. I had to go to both Kinko’s and Staples in the morning, then had to toddle off to rehearse with Mr. Kevin Spirtas. We blocked the entire second act of his show, and I must say there are some very fun things in the blocking. From now on, it’s run-throughs every day until the show. No days off for BK. After the rehearsal, I had to run to the Wood of Holly, where I attended a very interesting meeting with the Hollywood Redevelopment organization, about which I cannot say more at this time, oh, no, I cannot say more at this time. Then I went to dinner at the Hollywood Hamburger Hamlet, where I had one of the most annoying dining experiences ever. We arrived around five-forty. There weren’t that many people in the jernt, and we were seated at a booth (Tammy and her mum and I). After about ten minutes, our waitress finally deigned to stop by our table (it seemed like she was the only one working). We ordered our drinks and food all at the same time. Thirty minutes later nothing had arrived, save for the drinks. I got the waitress to the table and told her that my Lobster Bisque had best be coming out before my Patty Melt, and that I would send the Patty Melt back if they arrived together. She assured me the soup would be out first. Tammy was starving and getting really annoyed. Ten minutes later, still no food. Now, it does not take a lot of manpower to ladle some soup into a bowl. Another waiter walked by and saw the look on my face. He asked if anything was wrong, and I lit into him in a way that he was not quite prepared for. He assured me that he’d go get the soup. As he was bringing it out, the manager was bringing soup, too – they were serving it in some new way that was totally stupid. The soup, I may add, was the worst it’s ever been. Ten minutes later our food finally arrived. I’d specifically asked for raw onions rather than sautéed onions on the patty melt, and, of course, the onions were sautéed. By that time, I was just too too annoyed and I just ate it the way it came. We’d also ordered some of their “new” onion rings. Now, I love mostly any and all kinds of onion rings. But these “new” onion rings were disgustingly bad. After all that, these stupid people didn’t even comp any dish on our bill. The Hamburger Hamlet corporate offices will be getting a really nasty letter from me come Monday. I then came back to the home environment, where I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Point Blank, starring Mr. Lee Marvin, Miss Angie Dickinson, and a bunch of great character actors, such as John Vernon, Carroll O’Connor, Lloyd Bochner, and Keenyn Wynn. Point Blank was a box-office flop, and critics weren’t so kind to it either. I really liked it back when I originally saw it on its release, and it only gets better and better. It’s a completely one-off film – many have tried to ape its structure and style, and no one who’s tried has succeeded. The direction by a young John Boorman (his second film) is astonishing in its invention, and the editing is unsettling and unique, as is Johnny Mandel’s absolutely brilliant score. I listened to a bit of the commentary track with Boorman and Steve Soderbergh – I usually have no interest in these tracks, but there were a couple of amusing bits right off the bat. Apparently, Lee Marvin met Boorman when he was in the UK making The Dirty Dozen. He gave the script of Point Blank to Boorman, who hated it – thought it was terrible. Still, they agreed to do the film together – Marvin saying there was only one caveat. At which point he threw the script out the window. Later in the commentary, Boorman speaks of the Mel Gibson remake (Payback) and said it was pretty close to the script that had been tossed out the window, and they wonder if Gibson might have been walking by and might have picked it up. The other interesting thing Boorman mentions is that when he showed the film to the MGM brass, they were so weirded out by it, that they immediately started talking about reshoots and reedits. Margaret Booth, MGM’s legendary editor-in-chief had a surprising reaction, but not as surprising as the reaction of the studio brass when they heard her reaction – she simply said, “You’re not touching one frame of this film. Ship it.” In fact, Boorman says she offered only a couple of suggestions, which he said were quite spot on. In any case, Point Blank is a terrific film and, in fact, is still ground-breaking even today. The transfer is excellent, with perfect color, but it is not, as they are saying on “other” DVD sites, the best the film has ever looked. It is soft at times (the film was never soft), and murky at times (never murky like that in the theater) but certainly it’s the best it’s looked on home video – it’s just not a perfect transfer. Mono sound is fine.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Don’t I have a rehearsal to get ready for? And don’t I have a big event to get ready for? I do and I do. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below before the weekend is over. Slow down, I say.
Yes, Virginia, after rehearsal today, I shall make ready to attend the big Sondheim concert birthday event at the Hollywood Bowl. I think these birthday concert events for Mr. Sondheim have gotten out of control. For example, where is even one concert event for Mr. Harvey Schmidt, or Mr. John Kander, or Mr. Charles Strouse, or Mr. Jerry Herman, all of whom are Mr. Sondheim’s age? But, I’m sure it will be entertaining, but I’m not looking forward to what I’m sure will be the over-adulatory whooping and hollering from the usual suspects. Still, I’ll be in a lovely box with a lovely girl eating a lovely picnic dinner. Now, can any one of you dear readers find out how early we can arrive. I’d actually like to get there between five and five-thirty so as to avoid any traffic.
I have given a cursory look-through of the latest galley, and I found only six more little nit-picky things, and, when we enter those, that will truly be it – off it will go to the publisher.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, rehearse, I must try to dash off a little writing (I have not been able to find any time to do so in the last two days – which if most annoying to me), I must shave, shower, and coif myself for the Hollywood Bowl do, and then I must drive down there and go Bowling. I will, of course, have a full report for you, and hopefully I shall have some actual photographs. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player, and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, Jason Robert Brown’s new album, which I found a promo of, and which I got because of the drooling salivating two raves I’ve read for it. After having heard half of it, I will continue to say that his stuff just doesn’t interest me that much. His producer is Jeffrey Lesser, the man who produced Rupert Holmes’ first few albums, and the first track, the title song, is so Holmesian as to border on frightening. Mr. Brown has a pleasant voice, but I just don’t respond to the songs. I’ve heard Songs from a New World, which I didn’t care for, and I’ve heard Parade, which I didn’t care for. The only thing I haven’t heard is The Last Five Years – I’m told I’d enjoy it, so maybe I’ll give that a try. And I will say that the cover and artwork and booklet of the new CD is really annoying in its attempt to be “with it” “different” and “hip.” It’s none of those things. DVD, next up, I finish Elephant Walk, which I’m finding slow going, and then it’s on to the Warners Film Noir box Volume Two. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we? And, may I just say to the speeding-by days – slow down, why don’t you? Just slow down and enjoy the scenery.