Haines Logo Text
Column Archive
March 4, 2021:

THE WONDERFUL WORLD

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to the austere first symphony of Aulis Sallinen, which is austere. This is not one to tap your toes to or dance a jig to or that will make you laugh and be happy. It’s austere, and there are no two ways about it. It’s also moody, very well crafted, and I like it quite a bit, despite its being austere. But let’s not dwell on it, let’s not beat a dead horse because beating a horse that’s dead is truly an act of abject stupidity. I mean, have you ever seen someone find a dead horse and then beat it. You just want to shout, “Hey, moron, that horse is dead.” I have no idea what the HELL I’m talking about so let me tell you about an interesting thing that happened yesterday before I tell you about all the other yesterday stuff. I mentioned that I’d be going to the Bank of Bur to pick up some tapes for a potential Kritzerland release. Well, the person I was meeting was the one and only Dave Strohmaier, the fellow who’s restored all those Cinerama travelogues. He’s been quietly working on a restoration of The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, which will premiere at the Dome later this year and which will be followed by a Blu and Ray release. I’d seen a couple of minutes of it several months ago and what I saw looked pretty great, but it was still in early stages. Dave’s in town, mixing the sound now, so I got to sit in for a few minutes and he showed me a bunch of stuff and it looks absolutely incredible. What he showed me was Smileboxed and I just love that look. The color was better than it had any right to be, and the detail and clarity was astounding, actually. It was very impressive, especially the dragon sequence. Then they played the gypsy dance sequence with Russ Tamblyn, in glorious sound – this is going to blow people away. It’s not a great film, but it’s very entertaining and lavish and I can’t wait for the Blu-ray. So, that was a trip well worth taking. Not sure what the tapes I got will yield, but I’ll know soon enough. I don’t think it will be enough music for a CD but I have something else I can pair with it that I’ve been sitting on. We shall see.

Yesterday was a day, once it actually began. Something I ate yesterday, perhaps those muffin tops, didn’t agree with me, and so I only got two-and-a-half hours of sleep before finally getting up, and then I went back to bed and got an additional three hours of sleep, but I was pretty wasted in the first hour of the day. I did the picking up tapes run, then went and picked up some packages, including a nifty old catalogue from Sunset House. They used to have a little store on Sunset Boulevard in the early 1960s that I’d visit, as it was right next to Chesterfield Records, my favorite store back then. This one’s from the 1970s but it has a few things I remember from back then.

I didn’t feel like ordering in, so I stopped at McDonald’s and got food – quick and easy – then came home and ate it and it kind of hit the spot. Then I did some work on the computer until it was time for our Zoom rehearsal for project two aka project two. We had to push it a half-hour as one of our actors got hung up at work. First, I worked with two actors alone, just to get us all on the right page – they’re both great and those short meetings went very well. Then we had our rehearsal and went straight through with no stops and it went very well. I only gave a couple of notes after and that was that. And then, we reconvene on Friday at six.

After that, I went to Gelson’s and got a couple of small snacks, came home, and ate them. Then I did a bit of writing, whilst listening to music.

Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I think there’s an interesting delivery coming to the house, which I’ll tell you more about should it arrive, I’ll write, try to mostly have a ME day, hopefully pick up some packages, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax.

Friday, I will work on the Indiegogo campaign and that’s a lot of work, then we convene at six for project two. That’s scheduled for three hours, but I doubt it will take that long – we shall see. Saturday is whatever it is, then we have another project two session at six, and the same thing happens on Sunday. On Monday at six, there’ll be a final hour to work through on project two and then this phase will be done. And then it’s straight on to the March Kritzerland show.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, maybe have a fun delivery to the house, write, hopefully pick up some packages, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What was the first Cinerama movie you saw? How many have you seen in real Cinerama theaters? And what are your favorites? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have seen a bit of the restored The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm – I think for many it will be a wonderful world when it finally arrives.

Search BK's Notes Archive:
 
© 2001 - 2024 by Bruce Kimmel. All Rights Reserved