Well, dear readers, we finished act one and then moved on to act two and did its opening number. Kay was with us so she completed the number I’d started the day before, then I blocked through to the end of the act. Then she took over and did its opening number. The fun thing was that both the big rolling stair units were onstage, so we began to move them around and they look absolutely fantastic and work really well. We worked five hours rather than our usual four – had we worked six we would have had to have given an hour meal break so I didn’t see the point since the grand total would have been five anyway. The only way that works is if you’re going to work seven hours – then you’d get your six hours and we may do that next Friday.
Other than that, I had about six hours of sleep, printed out a few more orders, then had to mosey on over to LACC for a meeting with a new lady there who does publicity for the college. So we chatted and I think she’ll be very helpful. Then I went to rehearsal and the rest of that you know.
After rehearsal, Richard Allen and I went to House of Pies for broasted chicken. It was really good this time but I got so full that I had to take my second chicken breast home with me. Traffic wasn’t too bad at all – I think some of that had to do with the World Series being on – if anything can keep idiot LA drivers out of their cars it’s sports. I stopped at home only briefly then went the new house, bringing over a few things. Then I came home.
I had tons of e-mails to answer, which I did. I got the great news that we finally have our sound designer, someone who came highly recommended, so that is a big weight off my shoulders or elbows, thank goodness. And then I finally started writing the damn commentary and got a few songs in, so I should hopefully be able to finish that tonight and be done with it. And that was my day and that was my evening. Oh, and of course I ate the second chicken breast.
I keep forgetting to mention that when going through the garage stuff, I came upon a list of movies I had in 16mm and 35mm – this was probably my final list after I’d already sold pretty much everything, a few of which I should NEVER have sold – my 35mm IB Technicolor prints of little things like Vertigo, The Court Jester, the Leone films, the Bond films – unbelievable stuff, really. But seeing this list was really interesting – and I can see that I’d printed it to sell the rest of the collection. So, here are some of the more interesting items that I still had at the time – probably in the early 80s – in 16mm: a Tech print of Bell, Book, and Candle, Black Sunday (the Bava), Black Sabbath (low-fade stock), The Browning Version, Diabolique (subtitles), The Creeping Unknown (Quatermass Experiment), Curse of the Demon, A Cold Night’s Death, Children of the Damned, The Creeping Terror, David and Lisa, Dead of Night, Devil is a Woman (gorgeous print, as were all the Von Sternberg/Dietrich films), Dishonored, Darling Lili (Tech/Scope), Force of Evil, The Great Imposter, House on Haunted Hill, Hand in Hand, Have Rocket, Will Travel, Henry V (IB Tech), High Noon, Homicidal, The Ipcress File (Tech/Scope), Judex (subtitles), Ministry of Fear, Morocco, Night of the Hunter, On a Clear Day (Tech/Scope), A Raisin in the Sun, The Red Shoes (Technicolor), Requiem for a Heavyweight, Sundays and Cybele (scope, subtitles), The Swimmer (Technicolor), Topaz (Technicolor), 36 Hours (scope), To Kill a Mockingbird, Touch of Evil, Up the Down Staircase (Technicolor), Way Out West, What’s New, Pussycat (Technicolor), The Red Balloon (Technicolor) – that’s about 20% of what’s on this list.
Tons of TV shows on the list, too – many Hitchcock Presents, Jack Benny, Phil Silvers, Twilight Zone. In 35mm I still had No Way to Treat a Lady (Technicolor), Barefoot in the Park (Technicolor), Li’l Abner (Technicolor), Night of the Following Day (Technicolor). In the largest version of this collection I probably had two hundred movies in 16mm and at least fifty or sixty in 35mm. And remember – this was before home video.
Today, I’ll be up early and to rehearsal at ten. We’ll continue with act two – I have a very long and big scene to stage, certainly the most complicated in the act, but I kind of roughed it out on paper so hopefully I’ll do it in a timely fashion. It’s about eight pages, I think, maybe ten. Then I’ll turn things over to Kay for her big number in act two, a stylized Peking Opera-esque (masks, presentational) burning of Chinatown sequence. While she’s doing that, I’ll probably take my leads into the lobby and block their scenes there, then it will be easy to put them onstage as I’m keeping the more intimate scenes extremely simple. If things go as I hope, we should get at least halfway through the act. After rehearsal, I’ll pick up whatever packages or mail have been accumulating over the past few days at the mail place, I’ll eat, and then take some stuff over to the new house. Then I’ll come home and finish the commentary.
Tomorrow, some LACC kids are coming over to begin boxing up the CDs, books, and Blu-rays. My intention is that the three kids will work for four to five hours and we’ll see how much they get done – I’m kind of hoping everything. Whilst they’re working, I have to make a brief run to Richard Sherman’s house to pick up the additional signed copies of A Kiss Goodnight, then I’ll come right home. We’ll finish the work around three, and then I am absolutely doing nothing but relaxing. Monday we have our first Kritzerland rehearsal, which is early in the day, then I go to our Levi rehearsal. The rest of the week is Levi and Kritzerland and Kritzerland and Levi.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, rehearse, eat, make a run to the new house, pick up packages, write commentary, and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: Of the listed films I owned, which are particular favorites of yours? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have finished act one and gotten into act two.