Well, dear readers, I had a really long but really fun work session with Mr. Grant Geissman yesterday. It began at ten-thirty and finished around six-thirty and within that time he wrote and recorded the theme for the web series, which came out wonderfully – it’s very quirky and fun. He watched the animation, got the feel and the timing of it, and I told him how the episodes worked and he got the idea and just sat down and DID it. He’s really good at this sort of thing and then he played it on his guitar and it was just right. He then made the track, which took some time and then we played it against the animation and it was just perfect. Once that was done, we began working on three Guy Haines tracks (a fourth had its basic track done months ago). The first song, Milton Nascimento’s gorgeous Bridges, was really right up Grant’s alley, since it’s guitar based. He did two guitar tracks, some rhythm, and will fill it out with strings and other things this coming week, as he’ll do for all these four tracks. All we were doing was getting the basic tracks down, which is the hard part for him. We took a lunch break and went to Stanley’s with his daughter, Greer. I had a chicken Caesar salad and it was quite yummilicious. Then we returned and worked on Johnny Mandel and Paul Williams’ song Close Enough For Love (from Agatha). That took a while because we were doing it in a different key than the sheet music. After that, we did one of my usual 70s favorites, Don’t Give Up On Us Baby – that one also took a while due to the changing of the key. So, now he has to fill out the tracks and then Guy will come in and get these four vocals down. Then John Boswell, Guy, and I will be recording four or five other songs – some just with piano, some to have instruments added later. At that point, we’ll see what we feel like having the last few songs be. This has taken way too much time, but at least we’re having some forward momentum.
Since I’d had no time to jog, I came home and did the four-mile jog at seven. I really don’t like running that late, but I had to do it. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture I’d TIVOd entitled Act One, a film based on the autobiography of Moss Hart. I’d always wanted to see it – it’s one of the few films I missed in the 1960s, but it literally came and went in a week and completely disappeared. Through the years, I could never find a TV showing to watch. I did know that it had gotten panned by practically every reviewer and that it had done zero business at the box-office. But I’m kind of a sucker for these sorts of bio-pics so I was really glad that TCM showed it. Unfortunately, it’s really one of the worst movies I’ve ever EVER seen. Everything about it is bad and can firmly be laid at the feet of writer/director Dore Schary. This is Mr. Schary’s one and only directorial credit – he was a producer and a writer. His work here as director is fairly inept pretty much all the way through. He has no idea how to pace a scene and he holds every shot in the film twenty seconds too long, and therefore the film runs just under two hours – if you cut all that dead weight it would probably run ninety minutes. The film is dramatically inert; there is no life, no joy, no fun, no insight. Surely Mr. Moss Hart was an interesting fellow, but as played by George Hamilton, he’s like a goofball country bumpkin. Jason Robards, normally one of my favorite actors, has just chosen to be weird and act dyspeptic for the entire length of the film – maybe that’s what George S. Kauffman was like but it really makes for a boring characterization. But every actor in the film doesn’t come off well, so I think when it’s that epidemic then Mr. Schary must surely be to blame. And it’s a good cast, with a very young George Segal, Eli Wallich, and other fine character people. The film looks bad, has bombastic music by Skitch Henderson which does nothing to help the film, and I’m sure that Mr. Hart’s book is a lot more entertaining and fun than this leaden, flat soufflé.
After that, I made a Facebook page for the web series, we put up an announcement placeholder for the series’ website, and I began thinking about the next set of liner notes for what will be album number ninety-nine. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must once again be up very early so I need all the beauty sleep I can get.
Today, I shall be up both bright and early and early and bright. I shall do the four-mile jog by nine-thirty, then do some banking, and then I’m seeing a staged reading of a musical version of Sleepless in Seattle at noon. From there, I go directly to the Bank of Bur and the editing room to fine cut two episodes and see a third, and I’m sure we’ll put in the title sequence with Grant’s music and leave black for the end credits (again with a longer version of Grant’s music). I have to sit now and create the end credits and make sure I’ve credited everyone who worked so hard on these episodes. After that, I go to a rehearsal for this Michelle Nicastro benefit. Then I’ll finally be able to eat something, after which I’ll probably watch a motion picture.
Tomorrow, I have a work session with Alet and lots of errands and whatnot to do. The rest of the week will be work sessions, writing liner notes, booking camera and sound people for our next shoot and having some meetings and meals.
Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora or the gavotte, because today is the birthday of our very own beloved dear reader elmore. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own beloved dear reader elmore. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN BELOVED DEAR READER ELMORE!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the four-mile jog, do banking, see a staged reading, fine cut, rehearse, and eat. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite bio-pics, and what are your all-time favorite show business autobiographies and biographies? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland with Grant’s catchy theme running through my head.