Well, dear readers, here we are on a Sunday, sweet Sunday, the start of a brand spanking new week. Isn’t it nice to be armed with that knowledge? Would it be equally nice to be legged with that knowledge or, at the very least, elbowed with that knowledge? In any case, it is Sunday, sweet Sunday and I intend to not do much of anything. I intend to write, watch DVDs, walk, and flit about like a gazelle in a fedora. Yesterday, I relaxed as well, although I did go see two count them two theaters, one of which I liked pretty well. So, depending on what transpires, I’m hoping it will either be the Hudson or this theater we saw yesterday. If either of the theaters come through, and if the funding is completely in place, which we expect to be the case, then this next few months could be very busy ones, which is fine by me. There would be the play, the LACC benefit, the book release, and the continuing Kritzerland releases. You will, of course, be the first to know about all of it. Speaking of the first to know, tomorrow you will be the first to know the next Kritzerland release, which will follow Stages and the Harvey Schmidt album. Anyway, in between seeing theater one and theater two, I got to feast on a bacon cheeseburger and zucchini fries at Astroburger, and boy was it yummilicious. I then came back to the Valley, did some errands, and then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I watched two count them two motion pictures on DVD. The first motion picture on DVD was, in reality, a British miniseries based on John Wyndham’s marvelously marvelous novel, The Day of the Triffids. The miniseries was originally shown in six thirty minute weekly episodes, and that is the way the show is presented on the DVD. It’s really quite a good adaptation of the book, with good actors, decent direction, and an interesting score by Christopher Gunning. Some of it is quite chilling, although the triffids themselves occasionally look a bit silly. I still think a great movie could be made from this story, what with CGI and all. Still and all, very enjoyable. I then watched the second motion picture on DVD, entitled Kiss Me Goodbye. I know I saw the film when it came out in 1982, but I really didn’t remember much of it. It’s a remake of Bruno Barreto’s Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, and it stars Sally Field, Jeff Bridges, and James Caan, all of whom acquit themselves quite nicely. Some of the script is hilarious – some great one-liners, but some of it just gets too stupid for words, and some of it just lays there like so much fish. It’s certainly well directed by Robert Mulligan, and it has a nice score by Ralph Burns. It also has a wonderful supporting cast, which includes Claire Trevor, Paul Dooley, and Mildred Natwick. It is the long sequence with the latter that is the film’s high point. Miss Natwick, in ten minutes of screen time, is an encyclopedia of brilliant comic timing. Anyone who wants to understand brilliant comic timing should be forced to watch Miss Natwick in this or Barefoot in the Park, or The Court Jester. Right around the time of this film, I was lucky enough to see her on Broadway in Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce. The American cast had just replaced the original British cast, and what a thrill to see Miss Natwick score one huge laugh after another (mostly opposite Robert Coote). I just love me Miss Natwick, and she alone is worth the price of the DVD. I was trying to figure out why Kiss Me Goodbye works so much better than the lame attempts of current films to do this sort of thing (like Fever Pitch). It’s because the writers, for all their Robert McKee and Syd Field Screenwriting 101 crap, really know nothing about structuring comedies, and how to build laughs. But the real difference is that today we have no supporting players. If you really look at Fever Pitch, there is really only the two stars, and everyone else in the film has very little to do and are completely unmemorable, unlike the likes of Miss Mildred Natwick, Miss Claire Trevor, and Mr. Paul Dooley. They had faces then, and personalities, and timing. The transfer is mostly excellent in that diffusion-drenched way of the late 70s and early 80s, although some shots really border on being completely out of focus.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get crackin’ and get these here notes posted, mustn’t I?
I wonder what I shall eat today? I’m sort of bored with my endless dieting. I don’t want to pig out or even pig in, but I do want to eat something fun and fancy free. I shall have to ponder the situation. Perhaps I’ll walk over to the Studio City Farmer’s Market tomorrow and see what goodies they have there.
I am sleuthing away, trying to find the original company of Stages for our launch party. I have two different numbers for presumably two different Phillip Clark’s in New York – neither of them have an answering machine or voice mail, which I find peculiar. I found Sammy Williams’ number and have left a message. And I’ve written to several people who went to LACC to enlist their aid in finding folks. And, of course, there could be an exciting special prize for anyone here who actually finds someone – for the list of folks we’re looking for, see yesterday’s notes. Yes, Virginia, we hainsies/kimlets are sleuths, and, being sleuths, we shall sleuth with the best of them.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must write, I must relax, I must watch DVDs, and I must eat something interesting. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s book day here at haineshisway.com – what book have you most recently read, and what book are you either reading or about to read? I’ll start – I’ve been slowly but surely going through my scintillating collection of Theatre Worlds. Also, Christopher Frayling’s Once Upon a Time in Italy: The Western Films of Sergio Leone. No fiction, I’m afraid – haven’t done fiction since the year 2001, because when I’m writing I don’t care to read fiction. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, as we sleuth away all the livelong day and night.