Well, dear readers, I didn’t have quite the totally restful Sunday I thought I was going to have, but I did get some relaxing in. No, I instead buckled down, Winsocki and got the New York Kritzerland people their material for our two shows there. I also made some adjustments to the program order and will now have to adjust the patter at some point. But at least the singers have their stuff and plenty of time to learn it.
I only got about seven hours of sleep, but I stayed in bed for an hour after I woke up. I then did my morning ablutions, then went and had a Cobb Salad and a toasted sesame bagel. Then I came back home and did the work on the shows, which took a bit of time. Then I put our launch party list in alphabetical order – we’ve got about eighty people coming. At some point I did a mile and a half jog, and then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I finished watching David Cronenberg’s first feature, Shivers aka They Came from Within aka Frissons. I must say it’s not a film I care for very much. It’s fun to see him at the beginning and many of his themes that would show up again in subsequent films. But it’s not that well made, very low budget, and this transfer off a theatrical print does the film no favors. It’s too contrasty, detail in any mid to long shot is practically non-existent – close-ups are better and the color is fine. People are up in arms that there’s about seventeen seconds of gore that were cut out to get the film an R rating with the MPAA. Since that’s the way the film played here, I really don’t have a problem with it at all. Most of it are trims of about two seconds – I’ve seen them and you know, who needs it? Certainly not me. No one seems to really be up in arms over the transfer itself and they certainly should be. But the film itself just isn’t high on my Cronenberg list.
Then I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Always, a film of Steven Spielberg, the Spielberg film that no one ever really talks about. I saw it back when it first hit home video and thought it was okay. It’s still merely okay – some lovely moments marred by a script that veers wildly between wanting to be a silly comedy and then wanting it to elicit tears. The comedy is really, really bad – right up there with Spielberg’s 1941. When the film concentrates on its real plot (adapted from the film A Guy Named Joe), then things fare better, thanks to a wonderful performance by Holly Hunter and nice work from Richard Dreyfuss and John Goodman. The other lead, Brad Johnson, takes some getting used to but ultimately he does what’s required of him. The film certainly didn’t make him a star, which it should have. But it’s mostly the script that’s at fault. Jerry Belson is a truly uneven writer – he started in TV with classic 60s sitcoms, did a lot of Odd Couple TV in the 70s, wrote the screenplay for Smile, another wildly uneven piece of work, and several other films of that era. As for Mr. Spielberg, he does certain things so beautifully, but here some of this film almost plays like a parody of a Spielberg film. It works best when he’s at his simplest, which isn’t often enough here. The John Williams score also seems somewhat formless – no real major themes here, so we have nothing to grab onto. It all moves along nicely and is worth it for Miss Hunter, who is a treasure. Transfer is not brilliant but gets the job done.
After that, I had some telephonic conversations and just did stuff on the computer.
I promised I’d put one track from the new Sandy album in these here notes. After going back and forth and also forth and back about which track it should be, I just made the decision it should be track one, which also happens to be the title track. So, here is It Might Be Fun and I sincerely hope you like it. If anyone is interested just ask on the discussion board and I’ll tell you the history of the song.
Today, I shall relax a bit, hopefully pick up some packages, and just make sure I’ve got everything ready on my end for tonight’s launch partay for And the World Goes Round. I’m hoping it will be a fun and frolicsome affair – we’ll be there around two hours, and there’ll be food and liquid refreshment, the CD will be playing and three of our five cast members will be in attendance – Kyra Da Costa, Jason Graae, and Kristin Towers-Rowles. Our musical director, Joshua Eli Kranz, and his family will be there as will a few of the musicians. And I’ve got some celebrities coming and we have a photographer for photo ops. I will, of course, have a full report for you.
The rest of the week is meetings and meals, a work session and seeing a couple of things and attending an event.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, relax, hopefully pick up packages and then attend a launch party. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of Richard Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland after which I shall be launching the party.