Well, dear readers, I’m so tired I can’t see straight, and it is quite difficult writing these here notes when you are seeing crooked. Everything is askew and askance, nothing looks right, everything looks left, and I am completely discombobulated. I’d hoped to get a good sleep, but I think I only got seven hours, maybe eight if you added up everything. I was up several times during the evening. But tonight, I’ll try to be in bed by twelve-thirty and I’d love to get ten good hours of sleep. As I write these here crooked, askew, and cocked notes, I am listening to more British film music from Britain – a two-CD set, all newer recordings. Not the greatest band in the world, but the music is aces and has some nice rarities thrown in. And I did manage to watch a motion picture last evening, a looooong motion picture, which I managed to stay awake through, although as soon as it was over, I fell asleep for an hour. The was entitled Blonde, and it very quickly has become a very divisive film. Many loathe it, some love it. I found it completely worthless in just about every way. The director throws in everything, style-wise, including the kitchen sink but to no particular purpose. Changing aspect ratios, black-and-white, color, weird angles, and a lot of “homages” to other better directors. This director has incredible ego, which is fine if he actually had made a good or interesting film, which he did not, at least not for me. Many are up in arms because it’s just a relentlessly depressing affair with not a shred of joy to be found anywhere, and they feel it does Miss Marilyn Monroe a disservice and sullies her memory and is filled with untruths. Well, yes, it is, because it’s based on a Joyce Carol Oates book called Blonde, a work of fiction in which Miss Oates imagines many things. Of course, Netflix doesn’t really mention that it’s a complete work of fiction until the end. In other words, it’s not a bio-pic, and yet Netflix does everything they can to make it seem like it is. But what may work in a fictional book becomes literal on the screen because we’re seeing Miss Monroe portrayed and there’s nothing left to the imagination that a reader would have. The film received an NC-17 rating early on and the director was so uppity about it and played on the rating to make people think the film was loaded with nudity and sex and he didn’t give a damn if Netflix cared or the audience cared. Well, I’m cynical enough to entertain the thought that he (and perhaps Netflix) wanted the NC-17 rating for publicity because I’m here to tell you that there’s considerably more nudity in The First Nudie Musical than this thing. There’s ONE scene in which the fictional Miss Monroe is asked by a certain president of the United States, who just happens to look like John F. Kennedy, to give him some oral satisfaction, and I don’t mean an oration. This she does, but there’ve been worse depictions than this – you don’t really see anything. Nor do you see any overt sex scenes, so, please, the NC-17 rating is a load of BS.
Ana de Armas has received adulatory reviews for her portrayal. At times she looks quite like Monroe and at other times she doesn’t. At times she does a reasonable impression of the voice and at times she doesn’t, and her Cuban accent comes through. But really, for me, the bottom line is what’s the takeaway? That an author has fictionally imagined the abuse Miss Monroe suffered at the hands of men (and her mother)? And at almost three hours it’s just a complete slog. I think the people who are drooling all over this are the usual cineaste crowd who think they have a new auteur on their hands – they love the other couple of films this guy has made so of course they elevate him immediately. Comparisons to David Lynch, of course, and the black-and-white Hollywood stuff is Wellesian – of course, they love him and his film. I like Ana de Armas, but she’s hampered by a repetitive script that requires here to cry for 60% of the film. So, put me in the loathed it camp, I’m afraid.
Yesterday was certainly a Wednesday, there’s no disputing that and it wasn’t fictional. I got out of bed around 10:45, answered a lot of e-mails, and then forwarded a lot of orders to the helper, so I got all that caught up. Then I went to the mail place and picked up two important envelopes, went to the bank and cashed a check – in and out in two minutes flat – then came back home and did more stuff to catch up, got the great news that our New York cameraman is coming to LA to shoot the last two episodes of what we hope will be the first of several seasons. I wasn’t relishing working with another cameraman, and I was worried that the visual look wouldn’t match the other eight episodes. So, that was very good news indeed.
After that, I went to my bank and deposited the cash, then moseyed on over to Casa Vega for lunch with Marshall Harvey. I gave him the hard drive with all our footage, we discussed how things will get done, and I’m very excited about all of it, because I know he’ll do a great job. For the first time at Casa Vega, I veered from what I normally have – I had a tostada with shredded chicken, and it was really good. After that, I came home and did a few more things and then I had to stop because I just could not function well. I did order a piece of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, and it was very good although a little heavy. Then I watched the movie and the rest you know.
Today is more of the same – continuing to catch up, and the helper will come and get the rest of the Indiegogo stuff to ship, and I have to deal with several disasters that are sapping my energy and mood. At some point, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow’s the same, Saturday she of the Evil Eye comes, and I’m going to try and have Sunday be a ME day. Then next week, we’ll set our schedule and lock down the times for Cindy Williams and Kerry O’Malley, and the two locations we have. And then the days that Cindy and Kerry will shoot their Face Time scenes – those have to be done the way we did Tonight’s the Night – with us on Zoom and them shooting on their phones. But the good part is Sami will be here and that will make everything easier.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by noon or thereabouts, continue to catch up, get the rest of the Indiegogo stuff shipped, deal with several disasters, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: Playing off a conversation that began in yesterday’s discussion board postings – what do you think of the new Times Square vs. the old Times Square, what do you miss most, and what do you think of the kiddies who go to musicals and scream and whoop and holler after every high note, as if they were watching American Idol, and who do mid-show standing ovations. I personally think they have ruined attending theater for many – certainly for me. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, hoping that these here notes weren’t too crooked or askew, askance and akimbo.