Well, dear readers, it is sweltering and muggy here in Los Angeles, California, USA. Yes, Virginia, it is unbearably hot and disgusting and I don’t much care for it. I don’t mind hot, necessarily, but I do mind muggy, oh, yes, I do mind muggy. Have you ever minded muggy? If so, was muggy happy about it? I’m hoping for some respite today, but have no idea if said respite will be occurring. I must stop talking about the heat because it’s making me even hotter, and I don’t mean the good kind of hot. Yesterday, for example, was a hot day. I awoke early, did some stuff online, and then jogged, as I was to have an early lunch with Jrand’s friend Adam. I did indeed have said lunch and it was quite a nice lunch with yummilicious California Pizza Kitchen foodstuffs. After the lunch, I came home and began writing a new book – finally. As I posted yesterday, what I began had nothing to do with any of the ideas I was trying to choose from – this was something that just presented itself to me and I thought I’d give it a go. I wrote two count them two pages and shall mush on today. I do have to now figure out some things, but I think it will be an enjoyable book to write. We shall, of course, see. I also had to make all the last minute details for today’s recording session, which is in the later afternoon. The music arrived (I actually got quite a few packages yesterday), I spoke to our conductor/pianist, Mr. Gerry Sternbach, I spoke to the folks at the Music Center, I spoke to our contractor, and I spoke to our very own Vinnie. After all that, I did a couple of errands, had a nice telephonic conversation with our new/old friend Jeannie, and then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Late Autumn, which, as you have probably gathered, is another Yasujiro Ozu film, and a fine one at that. This was his third to last film and I must say I’m quite fond of these later films. I really like his use of color. The story is his typical marrying off the daughter plot – this time told with much good humor. Once again, we have the incandescent Setsuko Hara starring, along with a lot of other Ozu regulars. The ending is beautiful and touching (a heart-rending closeup on Miss Hara) and even though it’s quite long at 128 minutes, I have just grown to love Mr. Ozu’s films and their steady even pacing. The DVD from China is fine, image-wise (decent color, if a bit on the green side) but the subtitles are rather ineptly done.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because frankly I’m too hot to handle right now.
I’m happy to say that we had quite a few correct guesses in our Unseemly Trivia Contest – one I thought was very convoluted and difficult. What no one pointed out was the fact that half the question had already been done quite some time ago – I thought it sounded familiar, but I thought that this was different enough so that we could get away with it. In any case, here was the question as asked by me:
A flop play. A flop musical. They opened within weeks of each other. The flop play was directed by someone who would go on to direct one of the most beloved motion pictures ever made. The flop play starred an actor who’d gotten his start as a child. It also starred a woman who’d been up for an Academy Award for playing a very memorable character. It starred an actor who would go on to win an Academy Award. It featured an actor who would go on to star in an incredibly successful television series. It also featured a young actor who would go on to be nominated for an Academy Award. With me so far? The flop musical would, ten years later, be turned into a non-musical film, starring one of the most popular performers in the world. In the chorus of the flop musical was an actress who would go on to win an Academy Award in the same film that the young featured actor from the flop play was nominated for. Even my head is spinning by now. So –
Name the flop play and the flop musical.
Name the director of the flop play and his beloved film.
Name the actor in the flop play who’d gotten his start as a child.
Name the woman who starred in the flop play, and name the film for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, and name her memorable character.
Name the actor in the flop play who would go on to win an Academy Award.
Name the actor in the flop play who would go on to star in an incredibly successful TV series and name the series.
Name the young actor who went on to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Name the non-musical film and its star, which was adapted from the same source material as the flop musical.
Name the chorus member of the flop musical who would go on to win the Academy Award in the same film that the actor in the flop play was nominated for – and name the film.
And the many and various answers are:
Comes A Day and Whoop-Up
Robert Mulligan/To Kill A Mockingbird
Brandon de Wilde
Judith Anderson/Rebecca/Mrs. Danvers
George C. Scott
Larry Hagman/Dallas
Michael J. Pollard
Stay Away, Joe/Elvis Presley
Estelle Parsons/Bonnie and Clyde
Whew! Our winners were Rodzinski, Dan-the-Man, Jrand, Michael Shayne, FJL, and Steve Gurey. We put all the names into our Electronic Hat, which randomly chose our High Winner – Rodzinski. So, if Rodzinski will send his address he will be receiving a sparkling prize. Congratulations to all our winners. We had so much fun with the contest we may just have another one this weekend.
Today, I must drive over to a rehearsal studio and get Gerry Sternbach his piano/conductor score so he has a chance to look at it prior to the session. Then, I’ve got a ton of stuff to do, and then I shall toddle off to the Wood of Holly for our recording session – it’s four hours total, although the actual recording part will only take an hour. I’m looking forward to it. After that, I shall come home and plotz.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must try to not be too hot to handle for I wish to be handled, damn it all, I must jog (as soon as I get back from handing off the music), I must do errands, I must write a page, and after the session I must eat a nice meal. Today’s topic of discussion: Many here have seen Mr. Blake Edwards’ sometimes hilarious film The Party. What is the single wildest party you’ve ever attended – where was it, and what made it wild? Let’s have all the details, baby, and leave nothing out. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and let’s hope we have some respite from this unbearable mugginess and heat – I’m tired of being too hot to handle.