Well, dear readers, I’m the proud possessor of my second new porcelain cap. I can now chew on both sides of Ye Olde Mouthe. It all happened easily and quickly as well as quickly and easily. Of course, I immediately had lunch and was delighted to chew my turkey sandwich wherever I wished to chew it. Chewing freely and without care was lovelier than lovely. And the sandwich was particularly yummilicious.
Prior to that, for some unknown reason I awoke at six in the morning. I just stayed in bed and eventually about an hour later I fell asleep again and slept until the helper came to get invoices. Not enough sleep, but over the next few days I should be able to catch up. Then I answered e-mails, went to Dr. Chew, had lunch, and then picked up the package I’d shipped from the city that never sleeps – chocolate licorice in abundance. I had a long telephonic conversation with the East Coast Singer – really a postmortem for last Sunday’s performance. It was detail stuff for her to work on every day until she’s here next week. By the way, for any of our West Coast dear readers and lurkers – if you’d like to see her show she’s told me that you can come as her guest – we’re especially looking to fill the house for the Friday night performance (she does Friday and Saturday). So, just drop me a little e-mail and tell me if you can come and how many you’ll be.
After that, I got the check disc for the upcoming Kritzerland Blu and Ray of the marvelously marvelous short musical film, Junior High School. The transfer looks great and everything works well. They have to redo a few little things that aren’t right, though. And I won’t give those notes until Mr. David Wechter, the co-director of the film, sees it to make sure we’ve caught everything. That will happen this afternoon. The film is a complete delight, as is the little bonus short film entitled Gravity, which is laugh out loud funny. So, once we get a disc I can approve, then the packaging will go to the printer and we should be able to announce it for pre-order in about a month. Then I printed out a LOT of sheet music for our musical director for the July Kritzerland show, Mr. Shelly Markham. We’re now fully cast – Chelsea Emma Franko (the winner of Michael Sterling’s LA’s Next Singing Star competition and a knockout singer), Gordon Goodman, Kim Huber, Dennis Kyle, Jane Noseworthy, and our special guest, Andrea Marcovicci, all singing the delectable lyrics of Mr. Alan Jay Lerner. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched two more episodes of the Danish series, Those Who Kill – both were compelling stories, and each had some irritating elements, but not enough to stop me from enjoying them. One more to go and that will be that – then it will be back to movies and the Swedish Beck series of films – I think I have three more of those.
Then I finished working out a very big deal that set my collector heart to fluttering. I mentioned that I recently got scripts for Rear Window and Vertigo – these never come up for sale or trade – in all my years I’ve never seen them for sale or been offered them. And also To Catch a Thief and the story treatment for Rear Window. Well, I now am getting the rest of this guy’s Hitchcock stuff and it’s a pretty spectacular package and includes an early draft of North by Northwest, when it was entitled The Man in Lincoln’s Nose. That draft also includes several pages of camera directions for the Mount Rushmore sequences. The very first version of Vertigo, when it was called Darkling I Listen, by Maxwell Anderson – that includes a carbon of two pages of structure notes from Hitchcock. Then an early draft of the 1950s version of The Man Who Knew Too Much. Finally, the final draft of Psycho, which includes carbons of notes from the Production Code. Psycho also includes the original script for the film’s trailer – that wonderfully witty tour through the Bates Motel, starring Hitchcock. It’s a treasure trove and I can only imagine what kind of value would ultimately be put on this lot. I think I’m going to have some custom made cases done for all of this, so they can’t get damaged. So, I really did hit the mother lode of Hitchcock. I wonder if one can hit the father lode of Hitchcock?
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must get a good night’s beauty sleep.
Today shall be a busy little day. I’ll get up, do some errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up some packages, then I have a lunch meeting. After that, David Wechter comes over and we will watch all of the Junior High School disc and take notes as we go. Then I have to drive to West Los Angeles for what I am sure will be a fun dinner party at the home of Miss Julie Kirgo.
Tomorrow I will write liner notes, I will write a contextual commentary, I will figure out the show order, and I will and must relax a bit. The rest of the week are meetings, meals, and a few things to see.
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 some packages, have a lunch meeting, watch a check disc and take notes, and then attend a dinner party. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, whilst I salivate in advance over the mother lode of Hitchcock that will be coming my way soon.