Well, dear readers, I did end up having a pretty Serene Sunday, which is what I needed. I got a great night’s sleep, which is what I needed. I answered lots of e-mails, printed out a few orders, which is what I needed. Then I moseyed on over to Jerry’s Deli in the Hills of Woodland to have lunch/work session with Mr. David Wechter. Lunch was good – I had something I’ve never had before at Jerry’s Deli – a bacon cheeseburger, and shiver me timbers if the damn thing wasn’t tasty as all get out, and I think we all know just how tasty all get out is. Then we worked, figured out some stuff, and each of us will now write our designated scenes. Whilst driving home, I told myself the story of The Randy Vicar and the Lug Nut – that’s a great one for driving. I then came home, did some writing, made some telephonic calls, had an interesting e-mail that has led me to thinking about an upcoming Kritzerland soundtrack project that might be feasible, and then I was shocked to find that the afternoon was already over. I then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched two motion pictures on Blu and Ray. The first motion picture on Blu and Ray was entitled L’Enfer, a documentary about the making and unmaking of Henri Georges Clouzot’s film L’Enfer. It’s a fascinating tale of lost chances, creativity run amok, a director run amok, and a film that wasn’t meant to be. We see lots of camera tests and some wonderful footage from the film, and there are lots of interesting interviews from people who worked on it. Clouzot really wanted to push the envelope with in-camera effects and weird lighting and stuff, and those tests and shots are breathtaking and somewhat astonishing in light of the fact that several of them were ultimately used on films later in that decade, most noticeably the weird Saul Bass title sequence for Seconds – one of the most original title sequences ever done – until you realize that Clouzot had done the same four years earlier. The film’s stars, Romy Schneider and Serge Reggiani look like they were giving wonderful performances, although Reggiani ultimately walked off the film weeks into shooting because he could no longer stand the bullying and yelling of Clouzot. Clouzot tried to replace him, and while shooting some other material with Schneider he had a heart attack and that was the end of L’Enfer. For lovers of cinema and fans of Clouzot (I’m a huge fan), this is a wonderful documentary feature, and the actual footage from the film is spectacular looking. The transfer is great.
I then watched the second motion picture on Blu and Ray, which was entitled Rabbit Hole. I’d seen a production of the play at LACC and didn’t quite understand what about the play caused it to win a Pulitzer Prize. Seeing the movie version, I still don’t quite understand it. It’s perfectly okay, writing-wise, but nothing all that special, at least for me. The film version is average in just about every way. The actors are all fine, the direction is like a TV movie, and the score doesn’t help the film at all, being one of those awful piano driven small scores with a bunch of chords and no melody – a real score by someone like Dave Grusin or Johnny Mandel would have helped this thing immeasurably. And I’m sorry, but I simply cannot look at Miss Kidman’s face – I read somewhere that she owned up to having used way too much Botox and that she’s stopped, but you wouldn’t know it by Rabbit Hole – her lips look permanently frozen. It’s certainly a well-meaning show, but for whatever reasons, its drama just doesn’t touch me or get to me. The transfer is excellent.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must try and get another good night’s beauty sleep, which is what I need.
Today, I have some errands and whatnot to do, hopefully some packages and an important envelope to get, a work session with the MD of the Gardenia show, and then some writing to do.
Tomorrow, we have rehearsal, and I’ve got quite a few other things to do, and the rest of the week is more of the same – rehearsals, meetings, work sessions, and errands and whatnot.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up a package or three and an important envelope, have a work session, write, eat, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are the worst examples of people having bad facial work done – so bad that you can’t look at them anymore, and so bad that it’s actually robbed them of being able to emote and show expressions? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, which is what I need.