Well, dear readers, I am bleary-eyed and vaguely discontented from having scanned over twenty DVDs yesterday, trying to choose footage for our celebrity clip reel for the LACC show. This is not as simple as it sounds – one has to go through each DVD, scanning, but stopping all the time to listen to dialogue or see if there’s an interesting visual with the particular celebrity. It took me seven hours, all told – but, I think I found good moments and I think I will have given Mr. David Wechter enough to play with (we still have to get eight more DVDs, which I’ll be going through on Tuesday – then I’ll be handing all the DVDs with their time-code notes to Mr. Wechter, and we’ll then set a time to edit them). I found some unexpected gems, like Robert Vaughn’s cameo appearance as Napolean Solo in The Glass Bottom Boat (with Paul Lynde in drag!), and hadn’t realized just how many LACC alums are in Nudie Musical. At four o’clock, I took a well-needed break and went on my merry way to a partay at the Pogues. Said partay was jam-packed with good folks and good conversation, and, as always, good food. I had a little salad, a little lasagna, a lot of sweet gherkins, a few cashew nuts, and a carrot or three. After the partay, I came back home, had a brief dinner meeting at Du-Par’s (I’d already had the partay food, so I just had soup and a small sandwich), and then came home and finished scanning the three DVDs that were left to do. So, it was a Sunday of images bombarding ye olde cranium – it’s funny, but in choosing the bits for Donna Reed from It’s A Wonderful Life, I just started blubbering like a baby as I watched several of the scenes. I used to run the film every year at Christmas, but haven’t watched it since my last official Kimmel Movie Marathon, which had to be back in the late eighties. It’s a film that gets to me every time I watch it, so I think this year I shall put in the DVD at Christmas time and have myself a feel-good experience.
Last night, I did manage to watch two-thirds of a motion picture on DVD. It’s not that it was too late to finish it, it’s that the motion picture on DVD was terrible and I finally gave up on it. It was entitled Hard Promises. I’d never even heard of the 1991 film, but it starred Sissy Spacek and William Peterson, whom I enjoy, plus Mare Winningham, Ann Wedgeworth, and Brian Kerwin. The film wants to be a quirky romantic comedy, but it doesn’t have one interesting character, one real moment, one laugh, or one touching scene. Oh, it tries – it’s like being hit over the head with a club, that’s how hard it tries, but it’s completely charmless. Of course, over on the imdb, there are four ten-star “reviews” from people who think the film is just great. I looked up the gross of the film, and it was a whopping $360,000, which must be some kind of all-time low for a major studio film. And it was lambasted by most critics. But, those four people on the imdb thought it was GREAT. Go know.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because soon the day will be young, which is more than I can say, and soon I will have to get crackin’.
If our ears are burning this evening, it’s because dear reader FJL and Mr. Skip Kennon are throwing a reunion/CD release partay for The Last Stargighter. We will, of course, expect a full report, and even some on location posting from the attendees.
Today, I must package and ship a few orders (including a big one for Lincoln Center Tower Records), make several important telephonic calls, do some banking, and then try to spend an hour or two thinking about tonight’s rehearsal and the way in which I’ll be staging the opening number. It’s quite large, the opening number, with many people to move around the stage in interesting ways. Prior to the rehearsal, I have a two-hour casting session (some new people, and some callbacks), which I’m looking forward to. I’m also supposed to get a model of the set today or tomorrow, so I can start planning the blocking of the play, or at least getting ideas for the blocking of the play. I suppose I’ll find time to eat something at some point.
Don’t forget, Donald should have a brand spanking new radio show up for your listening pleasure, so do check it out and let us know how you like it. Also, if you’re going to submit answers to our Unseemly Trivia Contest, you have until midnight tonight.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must go, go, go (that is three go’s), and I must do, do, do (that is three do’s), and I must even try to write a page or three. I don’t know that I’m expecting any more packages for a while, but perhaps I’ll be surprised. Today’s topic of discussion: There’s a song in Stages called First Apartment. What was the first place you lived in after you left home? Where was it, what was it like, were you happy there, and how long did you live there – and have you ever gone back and visited it? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I try not to be the bleary-eyed me.