Well, dear readers, once again it is late and I must get these here notes posted because I have to be up at six in the morning to announce our new title. First of all, let me just say that I have seen the future. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, I, BK, have seen the future. That is because yesterday I watched an episode of The Name Of The Game (circa 1971) that I got on a homegrown DVD, said episode entitled LA 2017. I now know what it will be like in Los Angeles in 2017. Isn’t that exciting? For one thing, in six short years all of us will be living underground thanks to too much smog. This must have all seemed very plausible back in 1971 but watching it in a little year I like to call 2011 it’s rather a silly affair, although its themes are certainly understandable, what with us regularly killing the planet and all. I used to love The Name Of The Game – the ex-wife and I never missed it. I loved the revolving cast (Gene Barry, Robert Stack, and Anthony Franciosa) and the stories were always interesting. The show had one of the all-time great themes, written by Dave Grusin. The scores to many of the episodes were by Billy Goldenberg (including LA 2017 with some help from Robert Prince). But LA 2017 is more than just a footnote wacky episode from an old TV show. Why? Because it was directed by a twenty-four year old kid named Steven Spielberg. He shows a lot of talent within the constraints of series television, a talent he would soon get to put to better use in better TV projects like Duel. Gene Barry is his usual dapper and low-key self, and it’s fun to see a very young Geoffrey Lewis in the show, along with stalwart guest stars Barry Sullivan (what series did this man not guest star in), Edmond O’Brien, Severn Darden, Paul Stewart and Sharon Farrell. And so, LA, please prepare to live underground and actually, according to this episode, you should have already been living there since the early 1990s.
In addition to that DVD, I also watched a motion picture entitled Color Me Dead, which was made in 1969, an Australian programmer starring Thomas Tryon and Carolyn Jones. I actually saw it back in 1969 whilst living in New York, New York – in fact, I remember exactly where I saw it – on 42nd Street at the Anco Theater. Even back then I thought it was pretty bad but back then I had no idea it was a remake of a film I had yet to see, but that I would soon see and really like – DOA, a weird little noir starring Edmond O’Brien. I hadn’t seen Color Me Dead since then so it was fun to find that it’s just as bad as I remembered. It’s poorly directed, Tom Tryon was a much better writer than actor, and they kind of make everything too convoluted and hard to follow, whereas the first film was not so at all. This was a homegrown DVD, too, and open matte – and kind of the poster child for why films should never be shown anywhere open matte when they were framed for 1.85 projection. Why? Because one constantly sees mics in shots and tops of sets.
I didn’t sleep in as long as I’d wanted, and was up by nine-thirty (I didn’t get to sleep until two). I did the four-mile jog at noon, then went and had a bacon cheeseburger and nothing else. Then I listened to various and sundried upcoming Kritzerland projects, began some liner notes for a project we have to get done so that the longer than usual approvals process can happen, and had a few telephonic calls, as well as picking up the important envelope at the mail place. Mostly, it was a relaxing day.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must get as much beauty sleep as I can.
Today, I shall be up at six to announce the new Kritzerland title. After that, I shall hopefully print out a LOT of orders. I won’t really have time to go back to bed, so I’ll do the four-mile jog at nine because I have a rehearsal with Vicki Lewis and Joan Ryan at eleven. After that, I have to write my contextual commentary for the Gardenia show – I figured out the show order a couple of days ago so I can now write the commentary.
Tomorrow is really busy – I’m attending a rehearsal for our Friday shoot so I can get some ideas about how I want to photograph what we’re shooting, and then we have our first Gardenia rehearsal, which I’m very much looking forward to. Wednesday I have a lunch meeting, Thursday a meeting and then our second Gardenia rehearsal, and Friday we shoot all day, first at a rehearsal studio and then at Jason Graae’s house. Then we at least get a nice, long holiday weekend.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, announce a new title, do the four-mile jog, have a rehearsal, do errands and whatnot, print out orders, eat, and then write. Today’s topic of discussion: 1969 was a very interesting year for motion pictures – what were your favorites that year? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, perhaps dreaming of LA 2017.