Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much tired fish, listening to Sinfonia di Requiem by Benjamin Britten, conducted by Andre Previn in excellent sound and a fine performance. That’s the fun part of having all this in the Music app – I can rediscover these big box sets anytime I want without actually taking them out. When I do my initial listening, it’s kind of overload, music-wise. So, it’s fun to really take the time to listen. I really enjoy most of Mr. Britten. Previn does very well by the Brit composers. Prior to that, I did watch a motion picture, a rather terrible and amateurish piece of cheese called The Centerfold Girls, about a psychopath played by Andrew Prine who murders centerfolds under the guise of wanting to “help them.” I wasn’t actually intending to watch anything but the credits and to see if it was filmed in LA, which it was. After the first murder, we’re treated to three different “stories” that have nothing to do with Mr. Prine, who does show up at the end of them to off the centerfold. In the very first scene when Mr. Prine returns home, it’s to a classic apartment on Leland Way (building still there and pretty much the same), so I had hopes for some great location footage. That was quickly dashed and we get no more. Some of it was shot in Malibu and the beach areas, but nothing that is fun to look at. I kept watching because the cast was so interesting – first of all, the “centerfolds” were all amateurish young women who were quite nude. But the other roles, in addition to Mr. Prine, were cast in such outre fashion that I couldn’t shut it off. Aldo Ray, Francine York, Dan Seymour, Mike Mazurki. Jeremy Slate, Ray Danton, John Hart (who replaced Clayton Moore as The Lone Ranger during a salary dispute), and Janet Wood. Now, who in tarnation is Janet Wood? Well, I’ll tell you who is Janet Wood – longtime member of the Group Rep, who appeared in a dual role in A Carol Christmas and who was quite delightful in it. In this, she is a meanie. Fun to see her as she looked in 1974. The director was John Peyser, who happened to be the uncle of my one-time gal pal, Penny Peyser, and it was he, in fact, who taught me to use ten cloves of garlic in spaghetti sauce. He was a real character and I got along with him famously and he really liked me. He directed a LOT of television. His work in this film borders on the incomprehensible in terms of style, but it’s a very no-budget film. Anyway, fun to see the old-timers.
Yesterday was a semi-productive day. I was up at ten after four hours of sleep, I got ready, and then was on my way to have a meeting about a possible new home for the Kritzerland shows. I don’t want to say more at this time – right now, it doesn’t seem financially viable to me, but we’ll continue the conversation and I do know they’d love to have us as a regular thing, a residency. The helper person actually lived two blocks from where the meeting was, so she just walked over there and from there I stopped at the mail place to pick up a little package and then it was back to the home environment.
Over the next three hours, we actually finished the perks. Everything is pulled and the helper will have to come back and pick it all up. The only thing that will take a bit longer are the bigger items – the art – two Lost in Boston paintings, the Li’l Abner window card and the Gloria Swanson painting. Everything else can ship pretty quickly now. The amazing thing is just how many CDs we’ll have shipped – well over four hundred. And we seem to have run out of Follies and I’m not going to be able to get more copies for at least a month. However, I remember seeing another box, so perhaps we’ll be able to find that.
It was great to get all that done. Then I drove the helper person home and I returned home just in time for a four o’clock telephonic meeting with my cameraman in New York. We had a very nice chat and discussed how we’d shoot things and we both seemed to be on the same page, which is key. He was concerned about one day, schedule-wise, and I’ve been very vocal about that day, too. It’s just too much to shoot in one day, so we’re trying to move a four-page sequence out of that day and onto the morning of an earlier day that’s not too busy. That’s a must. We continue to lock actors in for the other roles, and I continue to not be able to find someone for the duet that remains uncast. So far, I’ve gone through five people, all of whom are simply too busy or out of town. We have a few other names, but I don’t know them personally, so we’re trying to get to them through mutual friends. We have to figure it out now so they can at least have two weeks to learn the song.
Then I ordered food – the small Marco’s pepperoni pizza. That got here quickly and it was very good, although my tummy isn’t feeling so good right now. I haven’t had any nausea in over a week, so that’s a bit irritating. After food, I sat on my couch like so much fish and watched the movie.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll try to at least finish casting all the small roles, and I’ll keep on keeping on to find the duet person. If all else fails, I’m going to have to rewrite the set-up to it so it’s not a name performer, but that’s not as much fun. I’ll eat, then maybe have a Zoom thing for the screenplay (probably the last until I’m back from New York), and then I can watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow and Sunday and all next week will be prepping for our New York shoot. We need to figure out the get-together for the East Coast dear readers. I’ll have to do a load of laundry and tell she of the Evil Eye to come the Saturday after my return.
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, hopefully finish casting all the roles and hopefully find duet girl, maybe have a Zoom thing, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – CD, nothing. Blu-ray, a UK disc of The Swimmer, with new extras and a supposedly stronger transfer. We shall see. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have seen some of the old-timers in a cheesy no-budget motion picture.