Well, dear readers, at long last we have conformed the Welcome to My World charts with the exception of one song and one dance break. We’ll have the song, which was a chart done over a decade ago and which needed to be updated with changes and made to look of a piece with the new stuff, on Monday or Tuesday, then we’ll hopefully go to the printers by the end of next week. Of course, we’re not quite there because I spent two hours last night proofing and found lots of typos, a few note problems that Alby didn’t catch, and a few lyric changes he didn’t mark in his book. I sent all those changes to the chart guy and he’ll fix and resend and then those charts will all be ready to go. We’ll be selling the sheet music book at Kritzerland, and the single sheets, too, but those will come via e-mail. But I’m getting a head of myself.
Yesterday, thankfully the iPad alarm went off as it should have. I got up, did my morning stuff and then had to go to the chart guy’s house, which is just off the Miracle Mile in the Wilshire district. I took Laurel Canyon and then Crescent Heights all the way down to Wilshire and then drove east towards La Brea. I haven’t driven that stretch in probably six or seven years and I must say it’s pretty disgusting. So many great buildings and stores all gone, replaced by ugly things. Funnily, chart guy lives on the same street as Adriana Hofstetter, just a bunch of miles south of her. What I thought would take two hours took three-and-a-half, but it was fun and we were joking the whole time.
After we finished I took Rossmore (Vine) all the way up to the freeway – it wasn’t too terrible and neither was the freeway, so that was nice. I went directly for food, since I hadn’t eaten a damn thing all day. I had a breakfast burrito and a bagel, then came home, caught up on e-mails, and then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I attempted to watch the new Judd Apatow movie, Trainwreck, starring someone named Amy Schumer. I knew I didn’t want to see it because I loathe Mr. Apatow’s oeuvre and find him completely and utterly unfunny. The fact that whatever studio produced the film actually thought members of the DGA would nominate this guy is funnier than anything in the movie. I lasted about an hour and ten minutes out of its 125-minute running time. I don’t know anything about this person named Amy Schumer, but I found her charmless, not funny, crass, and her writing is obvious, not funny, crass – the kind of “humor” I find totally humorless. You can tell that she “thinks” she’s being really funny, but everything is predictable and I’m bored of these people who crave to shock with their humor. It’s not shocking, it’s just stupid and inane and disgusting and you know what – we’ve seen it all. Yes, I made a film once upon a time that pushed every envelope known to Hollywood, but the humor and jokes were all in service of the plot, were not “winky-winky” smarmy stuff, and even the most outrageous stuff had an essential innocence to it. Not so with Ms. Schumer and Mr. Apatow. There’s no saving grace to this film because you care not one whit about anyone. They think they’re making a 2015 Woody Allen movie from the 1970s. Well, no. Mr. Allen was a singular talent. The supporting cast is so-so, with the man who plays her father either unknowingly or knowingly trying to do Larry David in his cadences and line readings. No recommendation from the likes of me, baby.
After that, I began the arduous proofing process. In certain charts I found quite a few fixes, in others just one or two, but I think there was something in every one of them. I also had a nice telephonic conversation with Miss Sharon McNight, who’s in our holiday show, about what songs she’ll sing. We have three chosen, but part of me really would like to premiere this epic thing I’ve been working on – but it just isn’t quite finished or there yet. I’m going to spend the weekend trying to wrap it up, then I’ll let her hear it – if she likes it she’d have four weeks to learn it.
Today, I have some errands and whatnot to do, then I’ll relax until it’s time to sup and then attend the opening night of a new musical directed and choreographed by our very own Kay Cole.
Tomorrow, I have a noon lunch meeting during which I’ll eat lunch, which is a good thing to do at a lunch meeting. The only question that remains is where this lunch meeting will take place. We shall see. Then this coming week is filled with meetings and meals and dealing with stuff and we do need parts three and four of the miracles so send your excellent vibes and xylophones, please – then hopefully by the end of the week we’ll be able to announce our new release and hopefully we can announce one two weeks after that.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, do errands and whatnot, relax, try to finish my epic song, sup, and attend an opening night. Today’s topic of discussion: Which of the modern comedies from the past five years do you actually find funny? I can’t think of any, but hopefully you dear readers will. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have gotten all the charts conformed.