Well, dear readers, I ran out of patience yesterday afternoon and the result wasn’t so pretty. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, I, BK, ran out of patience yesterday and it wasn’t so pretty. But the first thing you should know is that I’m one of the most impatient of impatient people ever, perhaps THE most impatient. It’s been that way ever since I can remember. So, we have to go from that reality. But when I’m consistently asked to be patient, over and over again, and I actually try to be and then I’m asked again and again to be patient, well, my frustration takes over and my impatience with trying to be patient reaches the breaking point or the boiling point and that is what happened yesterday during a telephonic conversation. We’ll see how it all plays out from here on in but there will come an end to it and that will be that. I has spoken. Otherwise, I’m still listening to marvelous music by Ryuichi Sakamoto. And I did watch two motion pictures last evening, the first of which had something in common not only with the night before’s movie, Lethal Weapon, but something in common with The First Nudie Musical. I’ll get to that in a moment. The first motion picture I watched showed up today on HBO Max and I knew it was a newer transfer from the Blu-ray I have, so I watched it – Poltergeist. Once upon a time, Mr. Steven Spielberg produced two movies back-to-back, one called Poltergeist, with Tobe Hooper as director, and one called E.T. with Spielberg directing. Both films had exactly the same budget of ten million dollars. I saw Poltergeist on its opening night of June 4, 1981 at the Paramount in Hollywood. I saw E.T. at its premiere, the night before it opened, just a week later on June 10, 1981. We all know what happened with E.T. which, given its cost to profit ratio may be the most profitable film of all time. As we stood in the lobby waiting, the previous show let out and the buzz coming out of that theater was unbelievable. And for once, the it lived up to it. From the moment it began it was clear it was going to be great, with Jerry Goldsmith’s amazing score and the very Spielbergian introduction to the family and suburbia. It was also very clear as the film went on, that Mr. Spielberg, no matter what others may say or have said, was in charge. The film reeks of him – every shot, every effect, the family dynamic, everything. Yes, Tobe Hooper was there and in the director’s chair, but there’s some behind scenes footage where Mr. Spielberg is giving the orders and Mr. Hooper is sitting in his chair. And all you need to is look at any other Spielberg film and then look at any Tobe Hooper film and there it is, plain as plain can be. The audience reaction to Poltergeist was as much fun as the film, and watching it at home, good as it is, just doesn’t capture the EXPERIENCE – the huge laughs throughout, the screams, all of it. I saw it a couple more times there and that reaction was always the same. I haven’t seen it since the Blu-ray came out a long time ago, and it just works so beautifully – every performance is just right, it does what so many horror films don’t understand – it takes the time for you to know and love the characters and that makes everything work. And that score – what perfection. And most of all, Spielberg, on both films, showed what you could make with just ten million dollars – which was a fairly small budget for a film back then, especially a film loaded with special effects. And those effects are so much better, to me, than all the CGI in the world. I know there was a bad remake in 2015 that you couldn’t pay me to sit through and, of course, there were two terrible sequels to the original film. I thought the transfer looked very nice.
Yesterday had its moments. I got about six hours of sleep, got up, showered, answered e-mails, we got our Kritzerland rehearsal schedule out, and then I went and cashed my check – as I mentioned last month, US Bank has absorbed Union Bank and what a shame that’s going to be. The big ATMs that used to cash my checks in two minutes are gone, replaced by US Bank ATMs that won’t cash non-customer checks. There was one person with the one teller and I could tell he wasn’t going anywhere for hours, but happily by the two new ATMs, the customer service person was there and she got it cashed quickly. But I fear the days of it not ever being crowded are done. And that stinks.
I then moseyed on over to the Smokehouse to meet a very nice man who’s on the Home Theater Forum and who is a big Kritzerland supporter, especially in our Indiegogo campaigns, Allen Hollis. I had my usual wedge salad, cup of clam chowder, shrimp cocktail and a couple of pieces of garlic cheese bread, all great. Allen, at my suggestion, ordered the fish and chips and I do believe he loved it. We had a lot of fun conversation and he very sweetly picked up the tab. Then I hied myself over to my bank branch and made a deposit, so that’s done. Then I came home and had the unfortunate telephonic conversation, but I will try my utmost to remain patience until that pretense will no longer work and something will have to be done.
Then I sat on my couch and watched Poltergeist, followed by Death Wish II. I know I’ve seen it before but didn’t remember much of it. The original film is very good – a Paramount film – with a good script and great performances. By the time of the sequel, Cannon Films had picked up the rights to do the 1982 sequel – different writer, but the same director, Michael Winner. While the original film was very well directed, one cannot say the same thing for the sequel, which is sloppy and isn’t shot well. Bronson is fine and so is his real-life wife, Jill Ireland. But it’s really just the same exact movie but set in Los Angeles. Vincent Gardenia makes a return appearance as the New York cop trying to help the LA cops. Where the hoods in the original film included future star Jeff Goldblum, the hoods in the sequel include future star Laurence Fishburne. Some of the supporting cast aren’t so hot, but Anthony Franciosa has one scene, as does J.D. Cannon. The score is pretty hideous and intrusive, but the film has one large redeeming feature – the LA of 1981, when it was shot. There are tons of great Hollywood Boulevard shots, when every movie theater was still open, plus other great shots around the city. We can pinpoint the shoot between April and May of 1981, because Excalibur is playing at the Chinese – it opened there on April 10. I was not around Hollywood then because we were at The Culver Studios in pre-production for The Creature Wasn’t Nice. Bronson’s apartment in the film is still there on Crescent Heights and Packard, looking pretty much the same.
Now, what do Poltergeist, Lethal Weapon, and The First Nudie Musical all have in common? I guess I’ll spill the beans – they all have Miss Marian Tumen, the script supervisor.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll set up the ring light and then in the late afternoon I do the Laurie Beechman podcast and I have no idea where this thing airs. I only know that I’ll get the link an hour before we have to be there. I think the show itself begins at either five or five-thirty. That will take no more than an hour, and then I’ll have some food, then watch, listen, and relax.
The rest of the week is book stuff (hoping to get the designed book today or tomorrow), Sami stuff (still have heard nothing), I do think there’s another meeting/meal at some point and I have to have a work session for the Kritzerland show with our new pianist.
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, set up the ring light, do a podcast, eat, then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite motion pictures featuring Mr. Charles Bronson? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, hoping I can be patiently patient and combat my natural impatience.