Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to the soundtrack from Chinatown in honor of Mr. Jerry Goldsmith’s birthday yesterday. This is Jerry at his absolute zenith and to think he had two weeks to write and record this score is mind boggling. This is everything a movie score should be, and it does what every movie score should do – illuminate the characters, support the story, provide subtext – you know, what no movie scores today do. The main theme is brilliant, and it weaves its way throughout the score. It’s a fairly short score unlike the wall-to-wall pad/sound design of today’s so-called scores. The score appears where it needs to and isn’t there when it shouldn’t be. I think if this score was presented to a director today, they’d ask for a complete rewrite, ask for another 100-minutes of music, or fire him. But in his heyday, what a master Goldsmith was. There, I’ve said it and I’m glad. I didn’t watch anything last night – I didn’t even attempt watching anything. I did have a long telephonic conversation and I had to catch up on a few things. Earlier, I had dinner with Kay Cole at a nice Eyetalian jernt nearby called Oliva. I ate there a couple of times over a decade ago and enjoyed it very much. And I had to say, it was jammed with people. We got there at six and there was hardly anyone there, but forty-five minutes later there wasn’t a table to be had. The food was good – we split a Caesar salad and we both had chicken dishes. Mine was called Milanese di Pollo – breaded chicken with rosemary potatoes and broccoli. It was very good. We were there about ninety minutes and then they made a very bad error in judgement – they asked if we’d leave to free up the table. Mind you, we were five minutes away from leaving, but ninety minutes in a high-end restaurant isn’t too long and they should not have done it. Kay was furious. She treated, which was very sweet of her. I gave her a copy of Kritzer World. Prior to that, I had a conversation with Muse Margaret, and we went over the twenty or so things I needed to run by her, we decided which to do, and then I did them. So, that part of the proofing/fixes is done. And I’ve now done five chapters of the designed book they’ll use as a guide. I really like the cover font for the chapter numbers and sub-headings – it’s just fun-looking. Prior to all that, I got just under eight hours of sleep, answered e-mail, shaved and showered, then moseyed on over to the Group Rep for a cabaret fundraiser. I’ve done three of these for them. I’ll just say that putting together a two-act cabaret show is not as easy as people think. As I always say, structure is everything – how to open, how to close the act, how to begin the next act and how to end the show. I knew most of the performers and a few were from 70, Girls, 70. It was a sold-out show, and I knew many in the audience, too. It started twenty minutes late. I knew the Muse Margaret call was happening at 3:30, so that put me in a crunch. The show, which I’m told was supposed to run ninety minutes plus the intermission, didn’t end until 3:20. So, I hurried backstage, said hi to those I needed to say hi to, then hurried home. I managed to get home at 3:45 and called the Muse immediately, so it all worked out fine.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll go pick up an Amazon package containing four cans of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup, I’ll make Wacky Noodles for food, and then I’ll spend most of the day formatting the designed book and try to finish that. I don’t do Super Bowl Sunday or any other Super Bowl, so I’ll just watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, I have a lot of stuff to do, including two sets of liner notes and getting back to the project with David Wechter. Tuesday, David and I do separate interviews about The Faculty, for the upcoming special edition Blu and Ray. Maybe if it’s a big seller it will generate some decent residuals. Wouldn’t that be nice? The rest of the week is busy, and I’ll try to have the proofers do one final go-through before I send it to the designers. I also have to figure out who’ll blurb this book. Ideally, I’d love to have a couple of working directors – film and stage – do it. I’m trying to think who those people would be. I do know a couple of New York folks who might do it so I’ll have to figure that out and get them the manuscript to read.
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, pick up a package, eat, format the designed book guide, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to be listening to the marvelous film scores of Jerry Goldsmith – yep, thar’s gold in them thar Goldsmith scores.