Well, dear readers, there are days that are just all around pleasant. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, there are days that are just all around pleasant and I don’t care who knows it. For example, yesterday was a day that was all around pleasant, with the exception of a couple of pieces of mail, but I discounted that since they were sent days ago and therefore really couldn’t blemish the all around pleasant day. I just tossed those few items right in the damn trash where they belonged and didn’t give them another thought.
First of all, I got eight hours of blessed sleep, which I really needed. Then I woke up to an e-mail that for some reason I forgot was coming, and that was a very good and helpful e-mail. I then had to do some banking, then I came home and answered e-mails and did some work on the computer. I chose a few songs, we confirmed one more singer and therefore we’re just waiting for confirmation on our final cast member, plus figuring out who our guest star will be. Then I went and picked up a couple of packages, put gas in the motor car (I actually went over three weeks on one tank of gas), and then went to my lunch meeting at Tally Rand coffee shop. I had a BLT-A and some potato salad, so a very light lunch. The meeting with our very own Doug Haverty went very well. Then I headed over to see a screening.
I was invited to see the results of a new restoration of a 65mm film – I’d been seeing the progress of it prior to this, so it was fun to finally see almost the entire thing. I am sworn to secrecy about which film it is, but I can only tell you that it’s going to make a whole lot of people a whole lot of happy. If it looked that good projected on a movie theater-sized screen, one can only imagine how good it’s going to look on a home theater screen. After that, I came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched another “thriller” on Netflix – that one will be my final Netflix film for at least three or four days, as I have a lot of Blu and Rays to watch. This “thriller” was entitled The Intruder, and starred waif-like Charlotte Gainsbourg and Nastassja Kinski in one of those made in Canada things, where apparently the Canadians will fun any piece of trash as long as it’s shot there and uses a lot of Canadian actors. The director was David Bailey on this 1999 film – he’s a photographer from England who apparently fancied himself a director. While some of the imagery was pretty, he lacks the key ingredient of a competent director – the ability to tell a coherent story visually and with the actors. Of course, when you’ve got a totally amateur script with some of the worst dialogue ever, the actors are kind of left in the cold. I like Miss Gainsbourg, so she wasn’t an issue for me. Miss Kinski was okay. But the supporting cast would have been an embarrassment in a high school production let alone a feature film. A few of the smaller parts done by Canadian actors trying to put on New York accents were laughably bad – I mean LAUGHABLY bad. Given the accents one assumes the city would be New York but that’s actually never stated. It is constantly snowing in this film. The plot makes no sense and there are so many pointless herrings in this movie that don’t go anywhere, so one is left scratching one’s head. The director keeps cutting to a guy outside on the street somewhere, playing a lonely saxophone. This has nothing to do with the film at all, but over and over we cut to this guy. The film ends up being a kind of sci-fi time warp thing, but who really knows. The guy who plays the detective grilling Miss Gainsbourg really takes the bad acting prize in this film, although the gun shop dealer is right up there with him. Then we have the sinister super of the building – he’s so sinister that they even light him from beneath. He’s sinister and has nothing to do with the plot or anything else. Apparently this film made about thirty dollars in France, otherwise made no money anywhere. Needless to say, direct to video.
After that, I did some more work on the computer, had a few telephonic calls, and that was about it. In other words, an all around pleasant day.
Today I hope will be another all around pleasant day. I have a meeting at eleven-thirty, then will hopefully pick up some packages, then I’ll come home and write liner notes, have a visit from the helper, and choose songs, after which I shall relax.
The rest of the week is meetings and meals, then I’m seeing the opening night of Always Patsy Cline on Friday evening. Saturday is our pick-up recording session for And the World Goes Round – it’s going to be a somewhat long and involved day and then Sunday my engineer and I will try to get everything where it belongs in our mixes so we can finally wrap up this project, get it to Mr. Kander to listen to, and then finally release it.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a meeting, hopefully pick up some packages, write, have a visit, choose songs and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What is your absolute favorite kind of sandwich to eat. And where is the best place you’ve had it? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland after which I shall hopefully have another all around pleasant day.