Well, dear readers, it is the day of the Do and the Night Before Christmas and all through the house, the spaghetti sauce is stirring and so is the music of Richard Strauss. I don’t know what that means, but I like it. Of course, I’m writing these here notes prior to midnight, so the sauce is not actually stirring and I’m certainly not listening to Richard Strauss or even Johann Strauss or even Charles Strouse. No, I am sitting here like so much fish, hands tired from all the slicing, dicing, and mincing, and listening to music, namely a Canadian composer named Andre Mathieu, whose music is rather stunningly beautiful, yet another Tube of You discovery. Well, enough of paragraph one.
Yesterday was a day that wasn’t much of a day, as I did not wake up until one-twenty in the afternoon. I didn’t get to sleep until four, so I got a great night’s sleep of nine-and-a-half hours, which I really needed. Once up, I answered e-mails, then had to go get my hair cut at two. My hair was quite unseemly and unkempt and unappealing, so that was nice to get it to the length I’m used to, which is short enough that it takes care of itself after a shower.
After that, I went directly to the mail place and picked up some packages and mail, then came right home. I listened to music, unpacked the car, began putting stuff away like the stacks of screeners and CDs I’ve been listening to. Then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a DGA screener entitled Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final Star Wars motion picture in the nine-film series. I’m sure there will be spinoffs galore from here on in. I saw the original Star Wars in 1977 about two days after it opened at the Chinese in Hollywood. Of course, you couldn’t get near the theater or in it without standing in line for hours, but I knew an executive with Mann Theaters, and so we went with him and he just walked us right in and got us great seats. The reaction to the film was unbelievable – I’d never heard anything like it at that point. Huge laughs, yelps of pleasure, applause – they just ate up every minute, and there was not a doubt that we were seeing a phenomenon in the making.
I would never have known that from reading the script, which I actually couldn’t get through because the descriptions were so dense and took up a lot of the script. At that point, Luke was not called Skywalker – but Starkiller. At that point, George Lucas and Brian de Palma were both casting and had a joint casting session for both Star Wars and Carrie. I, like every young actor back then, went in, but I was not right for either film and they knew it and I knew it. Two of my manager’s other clients got farther than I did – one screen tested for Leia but didn’t get it – Cindy Williams. The other did get it – Harrison Ford. So, did I love the movie? Not really. I enjoyed it, for sure, but I did not see why it was such a deal, as I’d grown up watching sci-fi and serials. I did like the effects and especially the score. I knew Mark Hamill very well, and Harrison in passing, from parties and such. It didn’t overstay its welcome and I’ve always felt the same about it – I like fine, but I wasn’t a FANatic. Of course, I was there for the opening show of The Empire Strikes Back and for the opening show of Return of the Jedi, neither of which I thought were as good as the first film, mostly because they were suddenly more somber and dark – the first film was kind of a lark – yes, the characters and plot had plenty at stake, but there was a cheekiness about it and it was nothing but fun. The villain was great, but it was still fun. By the end of Return of the Jedi, I thought – enough. Let’s not have any more of this.
And we didn’t – until the three prequels. I thought the three prequels were okay – didn’t hate them like some, but certainly didn’t think they were great and didn’t understand why they were even made. Then came this latest, and it all turned into the J.J. Abrams show and I’m not that much of a fan, frankly. I thought the first of the sequels was okay, but too serious, none of the new characters grabbed me much and were certainly not cheeky or fun. I missed The Last Jedi because I heard it was really bad – I suppose I should see it, as it had a different director, which was, I’ve been told, the problem. But here, Abrams is back and we’re strictly back in that land – everything is portentous and SERIOUS, there’s almost no fun (they do try every now and then), but there’s nothing to equal the sheer joy people got out of the first movie back in 1977, despite all the money in the world being poured into it. It was nice to see the returning characters, but I think it’s weird to resurrect an actual deceased person through the use of CGI.
Now, the one constant in all the films is Mr. John Williams. And his contribution is huge – he is Star Wars, the master of its universe, sound-wise. And the new score is terrific, as they all are. He won’t win an Oscar for it, because if you know anything about the Academy you already know it’s going to Joker, one of the worst scores I’ve ever heard, but some new flavor of the month who also did Chernobyl. A few notes for cello and soundscape do not a score make, not in my universe. I’m sure the Blu-ray and 4K that will come along soon will look and sound spectacular. As an end of the series, it was okay, not great. It will still make billions.
After that, I made the two batches of tuna pasta salad, and then I sliced and diced the onion and sliced and minced the ten cloves of garlic, both for the spaghetti sauce. I also put out the cutlery, napkins, plates, and cups, so I’m in pretty good shape for today. All the while, I listened to music.
Today, I’ll be up by eleven or so, and I’ll start cooking the sauce at around one. I’ll finish putting stuff away and put out all the folding chairs. At some point, I have to go to the bank, and then to the mail place, but mostly I’ll be here stirring the sauce. And then at six, people begin arriving and we go to around ten-thirty. I will, of course, have a complete report.
Tomorrow, I’ll sleep in, open whatever presents there are, and I haven’t heard whether the Darling Daughter is coming or not – she’ll be here at some point, just not sure when. Thursday, we may have a one-hour casting session prior to the brush-up rehearsal. I intend to be there at the start of the brush-up to give a couple of general notes and then we’ll go right to the Professor Metz scene so I can put in the actor who’ll be playing it for the three weekend shows. Friday, we resume performances – week four of the show and Barry Pearl’s final three shows. We’ll miss him, but we’re in good hands with his two replacements. Not sure if I’ll see all three shows or not – I’m thinking not.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven, start cooking the sauce, do some banking, hopefully pick up packages, and then finish getting everything ready for the Do, which begins at six. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite Christmas foods to eat? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to be alive and well for the day of the Do.