Well, dear readers, this week is flying by, like a gazelle with a Brazilian wax. It’s quite late now because I’ve been writing a blurb for the Kritzerland anniversary show, which is now fully cast: Juliana Hansen, Dennis Kyle, Lisa Livesay, Jane Noseworthy, Jenna Rosen, Sarah and Sami Staitman, Kevin Symons, and our guests Jason Graae, Lea Thompson, and the reunion of the stars of the LA production of Ruthless! – Rita McKenzie, Lindsay Ridgeway, and Joan Ryan. All the material is chosen and I’ve assigned all but two songs. So, by tomorrow all singers should have gotten their mp3s and sheet music. So, that’s a big load off.
Otherwise, yesterday was a very long day, due to my arising at six in the morning to announce the new Kritzerland title, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, a classic 1940s Miklos Rozsa noir score. It is, as of this time, our fastest selling soundtrack title in ages and I can’t imagine it will be around for more than two or three more days tops. Do you know what I feel like doing right now, just for the halibut? I feel like writing the rest of these here notes in crayon. Wouldn’t that be a kick in the pants if I just suddenly wrote these here notes in crayon with my favorite childhood Crayola colors – Burnt Sienna and Raw Umber. I don’t know about you, dear readers, but one cannot have enough Raw Umber.
In any case, after I announced, I couldn’t really go back to sleep, so I just did stuff on the computer until it was time to go to storage. Once there, I found all the charts I needed. After that, I came back home briefly and printed out a lot of orders, then I went to the Studio Café for an early lunch – I had their newly added mac-and-cheese. I was told it was a “meal” but it’s more like a side dish. When I saw it (about four ounces to my eye) I also ordered up some drumettes – all of it was really yummilicious. After that, I went to the mail place and picked up a big package o’ stuff from Harvey Schmidt. We’re going to be doing a four CD box set (our first) and I’m very excited about it. Not sure we’ll make this year, although I’m going to try for it to be our Christmas release.
I then put some gas in the motor car, after which I came home. It was already too late to go to the little lunch thing, so I just did more work on the computer, loaded songs into iTunes, and printed more orders. Then it was time to do the podcast. It lasted an hour and I must say I had a really good time doing it, thanks to excellent questions by Peter Filichia, Michael Portantiere, and James Marino. I spoke my mind, was frank, hopefully amusing, with a few stories that were new. After that, I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched another episode of Cracker and it was every bit as good as the ones I watched the day before. In this episode, a character you love to hate, completely loathsome, is finally dispatched. The acting on this series is beyond good – it’s brilliantly cast and each actor really does great work. And the direction is so nice, in the classic style, with none of that pretentious shaky-cam crap. I then watched the first hour of the next episode and it, too is excellent. There’s one more after that to complete the series proper, then there’s a standalone film from 1996 and then either one or two more recent entries, which I hear are not quite up to snuff, but we shall see about that.
After I finished with that, I read some more of the first draft screenplay to The Man Who Knew Too Much. The bones are all there, and quite a bit of this first pass dialogue did end up in the film. But scenes go on forever in this draft and all the excisions and tightening were all necessary. And the relationship between the McKenzies (changed to the McKennas for the film) is just too adversarial, and really ahead of its time in certain ways – even audiences back then would have not been happy with James Stewart’s character because of his selfishness in not wanting his wife to work – he’s kind of a bore about it, and all that but a very minimal amount was removed and its much more sympathetic in the film. All the set pieces are there right down to Bernard Herrmann conducting the London Symphony Orchestra at the Albert Hall (the script just refers to a “cantata” that he’ll be conducting). The most interesting thing for me is the song. In the film, the song Doris Day sings son Hank is, of course, a Livingston and Evans original penned for use in the film – the great Que Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be). In the script, the song is People Will Say We’re In Love, which they sing as a duet – it’s said that Day’s character, Jo Conway, once recorded the song with Alfred Drake. It’s so nice to know that even great screenwriters have to pare away and finesse their scripts.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because boy do I need a good night’s beauty sleep.
Today, I shall hopefully arise after a good night’s beauty sleep. I’ll then hopefully print out more orders, I’ll eat something light but amusing (I’m thinking one of those six hundred calorie things at the Daily Grill), then I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, start getting singers their music, and then I’m having dinner with a friend and her adorable daughter who are visiting from Florida.
Tomorrow and the rest of the week is meetings and meals, errands and whatnot, writing a new set of liner notes, and getting ready for my trip to the city that never sleeps on Sunday.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, arise, print out orders, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, get singers music, and have dinner. Today’s topic of discussion: What were your favorite childhood Crayola colors? What were your favorite coloring books? And what toy that they no longer make do you wish you could have come back? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall hopefully dream sweet dreams filled with lovely Crayola colors, such as Burnt Sienna and Raw Umber.