tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post2339057847296030824..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: It's the PICTURES that got smallBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68670674965219524092018-05-25T08:32:13.963-07:002018-05-25T08:32:13.963-07:00Ken, if you're in town Labor Day weekend, you ...Ken, if you're in town Labor Day weekend, you really need to come to Cinecon at the Egyptian. Nearly five solid days of vintage features and shorts--most you haven't seen, some you haven't heard of, but all of them entertaining and often illuminating. (Last year they ran Sam Fuller's POWER OF THE PRESS (1943), which is literally about fake news, and the crowd went nuts.) Check out the website: www.cinecon.org cadavranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91568934266017254632018-05-25T01:05:16.528-07:002018-05-25T01:05:16.528-07:00There is a website called Kansas Anymore which is ...There is a website called Kansas Anymore which is a calendar of classic screenings on the big screen in the L.A. area (although they are generous as to what constitutes a classic).<br /><br />https://www.kansasanymore.com/<br /><br />In June the Los Angeles Conservancy has its Last Remaining Seats series showing classics in historic venues. Steamboat Bill, Jr. is at the Orpheum which has a Wurlitzer and as as was done in the silent era it will be accompanied, in this case by Mark Herman plus music from the era performed by the divine Janet Klein & Her Parlour Boys.<br /><br />https://www.laconservancy.org/last-remaining-seats<br /><br />The Silent Movie theater on Fairfax seemingly is cursed. In the aftermath of the proprietor in the 90s being murdered all sorts of questions were raised of the sort alluded to. It then briefly was run by some trust fund wannabe composer. Then the Cinefamily started using it for mostly indy films plus some classics and a monthly series of silents. A sexual harassment scandal caused it to close. A revamped entity in January called Fairfax Cinema is supposed to be bringing it back but no further details since then. Stay tuned...<br /><br />http://www.indiewire.com/2018/01/fairfax-theater-silent-movie-theatre-cinefamily-1201915500/Dana Gabbardhttp://socata.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58658167489267837162018-05-23T16:13:48.419-07:002018-05-23T16:13:48.419-07:00@Mike
Consider that the Gloria Swanson character w...@Mike<br />Consider that the Gloria Swanson character would have been about 50 in the film.<br />Seems like she would be 70.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69079677296720017102018-05-23T14:27:26.407-07:002018-05-23T14:27:26.407-07:00There's a great episode of WKRP in which Johnn...There's a great episode of WKRP in which Johnny hosts a disco dance show, but breaks into the music with a rock and roll song. The teens of the time are put off by the strange music until he convinces them to give it a chance, which they do -- and they find they like it, very much. Enter well-cast Mary Frann as the show producer, who shuts down the fun, cuts off Johnny as he tries to explain and fires him on the spot. Yes, he broke the format of the show, but that was not the point being made. It's not the young people who are keeping great stuff away, it's not true that they all won't watch black and white, it's not true that the date of a work makes it irrelevant (studies show that millenials don't care when things were made as long as they're interesting). The point is that it's important to make sure they see a variety of great entertainment so they can know how much is out there besides the limited choices marketed to them.<br /><br />That's all about to change because they have so many choices, but with all those choices comes an even more crowded marketplace where the classics can be lost in the maze. It can't be left to schools or TV or peers to gift them with this. We have to do it. <br /><br />Regarding seeing classic films in theaters, there's a lot of talk on this blog about live audiences for shows. When a theatrical comedy was produced back in the day, there was time for the crowd to laugh between funny lines and gags, so that when the films are played on TV, they seem odd because of the long pauses. When we went to the TCM showing of "Singin' in the Rain," it was a marvel to experience all those pauses filled in with a theater audience's reactions. It really does make a difference.Greg Ehrbarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-48940539195302616632018-05-23T09:49:18.385-07:002018-05-23T09:49:18.385-07:00And Jack Webb, who created both series you speak o...And Jack Webb, who created both series you speak of, was a jazz buff and had previously been married to Julie London. That he not only would hire his ex, but the man she married, speaks well for all of them.<br /><br />(BTW, Troup was a superb songwriter, too. His compositions include the westward anthem "Route 66," done by everyone from Nat Cole to Perry Como to the Rolling Stones, and the title song for "The Girl Can't Help It," sung by Little Richard in the film as Jayne Mansfield's mighty curves transfix passers-by. Julie's also in the film, performing <i>her</i> signature song, "Cry Me A River.")VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-48800720305498250472018-05-23T09:44:29.251-07:002018-05-23T09:44:29.251-07:00I'm amazed that they were able to make Sunset ...I'm amazed that they were able to make Sunset Boulevard when they did. Just 11 years after Gone With the Wind, and 21 years after the first Oscars, the idea of fading actresses would have been very new.MikeNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37699232551777661132018-05-23T09:09:27.607-07:002018-05-23T09:09:27.607-07:00Janet Ybarra's twin-spin above makes a key poi...Janet Ybarra's twin-spin above makes a key point:<br /><br /><i>Exposure</i> to the Stuff of the Past is vital to keeping it alive.<br /><br />I'm a Fifties Kid, born in 1950.<br />Demographics hadn't been invented yet; TV, then just taking root, was using anything and everything that was available, no matter when it was made, or who was in it (and whether they were still around).<br /><br />Sometimes, I kiddingly call this my "classical education": the newer TV shows ran side-by-side with program pictures from the '30s and '40s - and my sibs and I saw many of the same players in all of them.<br />The old movie comedies - Laurel & Hardy, Wheeler & Woolsey, the Little Rascals, Leon Errol and Edgar Kennedy, Billy Gilbert and Vince Barnett - we saw those in the afternoons, and in prime time, the sitcoms often had the players who will still around, as funny as ever.<br />Same with Westerns and detective shows - the programmers of the '30s and '40s aired cheek-by-jowl with the TV of the '50s and '60s, often with the same players in front of the cameras, and with much of the same behind-the-camera talent (writers, directors, and suchlike).<br />I learned to read credit crawls early on (they really crawled back then); seeing many of the same names in old movies and new TV was a lesson I never forgot.<br /><br />Above, I mentioned Demographics, <i>the</i> Junk Science of our time; if I didn't disparage it sufficiently there, permit me to observe what seems to be a Universal Truth of today:<br /><b>You can ruin anything, simply by trying to get scientific about it.</b><br /><br />A Universal Truth - it might even be Paramount ...Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-34891507914858832092018-05-23T07:43:24.279-07:002018-05-23T07:43:24.279-07:00It IS possible to get kids to love the classics, b...It IS possible to get kids to love the classics, by the way. Our 8-year-old daughter just LOVES MASH, and we have all 255 or 256 episodes on our DVR for her (us too ;)). For some reason, she's hooked on the pilot episode and loves watching that one over and over.<br /><br />She also likes the old ADAM-12 and EMERGENCY. In fact, we poined out to her that Bobby Troup and Julie London from EMERGENCY used to be famous jazz singers from the 1950s and started playing some of their music for her and she really liked that too.Janet Ybarranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27047583937629151352018-05-23T05:43:50.258-07:002018-05-23T05:43:50.258-07:00@Mike Doran, on your question about how younger au...@Mike Doran, on your question about how younger audiences handle older/outdated references, I seldom had a problem. It was all part of a well-rounded education.<br /><br />Of course, I'm a Gen-Xer, the last generation to come along under the "old fashioned" way of education before too much attention to computers and standardized testing began to start skewing basic public education.<br /><br />I'm not saying all public education is bad today....far from it. I've volunteered at the elementary level. I'm just afraid there's a bit too much using computers as a crutch and too much emphasis teaching what is going to be on the next standardized test. <br /><br />Our kids, honestly, would do with a bit more exposure to classic cinema these days.<br /><br />Janet Ybarranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-3224974310382519872018-05-23T00:43:21.848-07:002018-05-23T00:43:21.848-07:00When DEEP THROAT came out, there was a brief perio...When DEEP THROAT came out, there was a brief period of "Porno Chic," in which all sorts of celebrities were noted going to the picture. Jack Benny decided he needed to see what all the fuss was about, but there was no home video at the time and he felt it would ruin his career to be caught in public attending that sort of smut. <br /><br />He finally came up with an elaborate scheme to watch the film... he'd buy an advance ticket, wear a disguise, and have a taxi drop him off right in front of the Pussycat Theater so he could rush inside before anyone would notice him. <br /><br />Everything went according to plan. Benny hit the sidewalk in front of the theater and was almost at the door when Mel Blanc stepped out, gave a big wave, and shouted, "HEY, JACK! HOPE YOU ENJOY THE MOVIE!"E. Yarbernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83206484246493743952018-05-22T23:58:30.397-07:002018-05-22T23:58:30.397-07:00In the late 70's I saw DEEP THROAT at the Holl...In the late 70's I saw DEEP THROAT at the Hollywood, Pussycat Theatre. The one on Sunset not the one on Hollywood Blvd. Today, however, I wouldn't have the nerve to go into a porno theater even if they still existed.<br />M.B.Mike Bloodworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04755626259169126800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38178784162127709592018-05-22T19:50:18.211-07:002018-05-22T19:50:18.211-07:00I miss porn on the big screen. In college my roomm...I miss porn on the big screen. In college my roommates and I went through a phase where we would go to the Chicago Loop and watch porn at the Cinestage. The movies were horrible, usually scratchy imports that involved Scandinavian airline stewardesses more than seems plausible in hindsight, but the comments people would yell at the screen were hysterical (aided by more than a few of those joints Ken mentioned). It was like a XXX version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and it was a tough crowd--Siskel and Ebert had nothing on the regulars at the Cinestage.<br /><br />I pity today's teenagers watching porn alone on a computer screen. ODJenningsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64932116997676617172018-05-22T19:31:07.393-07:002018-05-22T19:31:07.393-07:00My little corner of Pittsburgh had a fabulous litt...My little corner of Pittsburgh had a fabulous little 1920's single-screen that, for years, was rented and run by a non-profit as a revival/art house, showing everything from silents with live accompaniment on the restored theatre organ to, of course, Rocky Horror and Big Lebowsky on alternating Saturday midnights. I've seen many old and new wonders there, including documentaries and foreign films not playing anywhere else within a day's drive. Their popcorn had real butter, and you could BYOB! A few months ago the building was purchased by a national organization "committed to saving" the old single-screens, and the non-profit was evicted. Now it's a second-run house. Like the world needed that.<br /><br />Teri Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-410868281109865322018-05-22T19:27:11.813-07:002018-05-22T19:27:11.813-07:00I've seen Sunset Boulevard so many times. When...I've seen Sunset Boulevard so many times. When I went to theater for it last week, I was on the edge of my seat during the final scene. That whole speech is incredible and so much more powerful when you see it on the big screen. She's vulnerable, emotional, you pity her but you're scared to death of her. Just amazing.Justin Piatthttp://instagram.com/jhpiatt.artnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-90300178481377125552018-05-22T19:15:42.009-07:002018-05-22T19:15:42.009-07:00I miss the old rep houses. The ones in Boston star...I miss the old rep houses. The ones in Boston started vanishing in the 1980s just as VHS tapes were becoming more common. The rep houses were an improvement on the limited offerings available on television, but VHS opened a magnificent new window. There were a couple of video stores that had everything. You could suddenly binge watch Keaton or Kurosawa or Sturges or Astaire. This window is still open, though the format is now DVD, but it is closing. Video on demand offers a surprisingly limited selection of movies. It's almost like going back to broadcast television with just whatever the studios had in release, and set your VHS and hope you catch it. I'm guessing the studios like it that way. It was never about the money. It was always about control.Kaleberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283840743310507878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-66299763628351816982018-05-22T16:58:00.426-07:002018-05-22T16:58:00.426-07:00Living close to Rochester NY, we had the George Ea...Living close to Rochester NY, we had the George Eastman House's Dryden Theater, always showing a themed retrospective show from September thru June, and then a special Summer Series. Got hooked in the early 70s with the Lon Chaney Retrospective (summer series) and the wonderful introductions by James Card. About 15 years later, my wife and I went to see a movie I had never heard of, but it was the first screenplay written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. The audience reaction was truly amazing, wall-to-wall laughs. So much so, that there was one line I never heard until I was able to buy the film on DVD. The film? MIDNIGHT, starring Don Ameche, Claudette Colbert and John Barrymore. (One story Mr Card told us was, back in the studio days, actors were given only the pages of the scenes they were in. Barrymore was so impressed with his scenes, he called the studio and asked them to send him the complete script.)JonCowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16803624302502293556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58230926320380329812018-05-22T16:08:19.479-07:002018-05-22T16:08:19.479-07:00For several years, until late 2017, Cinemark Theat...For several years, until late 2017, Cinemark Theaters had a weekly feature called Cinemark Classics where they'd have one showing per day on Sunday and Wednesday of classic films (including recent classics from the 1980s) at regular ticket prices. As a senior I could see the film for $7.00 and I saw Doctor No, Psycho, Rear Window, The Maltese Falcon, Raiders of the Lost Ark, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, North By Northwest, Back To The Future, Ghostbusters, E.T. and even The Tingler (with the special scenes where the blood is tinted red in the otherwise B&W film). But they dropped that and instead it is now just once a month for $12.50 you can see the Fathom Events TCM films.James Van Hisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06658381884799398658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60760327850561515262018-05-22T15:21:10.121-07:002018-05-22T15:21:10.121-07:00Grew up in Palo Alto, high school thru college (19...Grew up in Palo Alto, high school thru college (1948 - 58) and saw many a picture at the Stanford Theatre. The original David Packard lived across the street from us, in a very middle class section of Palo Alto, while starting his new company. My farther, a Stanford grad, new him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56387217941174625912018-05-22T14:45:07.051-07:002018-05-22T14:45:07.051-07:00God,I love Sunset Boulevard! I always think of Har...God,I love Sunset Boulevard! I always think of Harriet Sansom Harris, the actress playing Bebe Glazer, Frasier's nutty agent, whenever I think of Gloria Swanson. Harris channels Swanson better than anyone.AltSunghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02091271275548692502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71355645179163602722018-05-22T14:39:25.687-07:002018-05-22T14:39:25.687-07:00Curious how big the theatre was and size of the cr...Curious how big the theatre was and size of the crowd (full, 2/3 full). I'm a boomer who works with millennials and Gen Xs. The majority of whom have never seen a B&W movie, including IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.MikeKPa.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25689073433958357122018-05-22T13:37:32.078-07:002018-05-22T13:37:32.078-07:00Why not simply finally make good rom-coms? (See th...Why not simply finally make good rom-coms? (See the lady in my avatar, or Powell and Loy.)VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-36073788584266782892018-05-22T13:31:00.575-07:002018-05-22T13:31:00.575-07:00A curiosity - and possible Friday Question:
How d...A curiosity - and possible Friday Question:<br /><br />How does an audience filled with people who were born well after the making of a movie react to a reference that was timely when it was made, but would now require explanation?<br /><br />When Bill Holden shows up at Jack Webb's office party in white tie and tails, Webb introduces him to the crowd thusly (emphasis mine):<br /><br /><b>"You all know Joe Gillis - the well-known screenwriter, diamond smuggler, and <i>former Black Dahlia suspect</i>!"</b><br /><br />Comes to that, I wonder how that reference goes over with a crowd that knows what Webb's referring to ...?<br /><br />Especially nowadays ...<br /><br />Just askin', is all ...Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11507281089566290282018-05-22T13:30:02.815-07:002018-05-22T13:30:02.815-07:00Ken, Are you on the email list for American Cinema...Ken, Are you on the email list for American Cinematheque? If not, you should fix that right away. Last month I went to the last night of Cinematheque's annual noir festival. Eddie Muller and Alan K. Rode introduced a great double feature, ACT OF VIOLENCE and NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES. I'd seen the former on TCM but the latter is not on DVD. What a treat! Best of all, the entire audience obviously felt the same way. After watching DOCTOR ZHIVAGO at the Aero and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (twice) at the Egyptian I've found it's tough to watch a David Lean epic on television.Louis Burklowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12105879183637623203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41881263764202286112018-05-22T13:15:06.616-07:002018-05-22T13:15:06.616-07:00Ken,
With all your posts over the years about how...Ken, <br />With all your posts over the years about how difficult pilot season is for everyone -- writers, producers, directors, actors... crew trying to find a steady job... have you seen actor Dave Annable's post about being recast in a show? I'd be interested in your perspective: http://deadline.com/2018/05/dave-annable-the-code-recasting-post-agony-network-recastings-1202395491/ (For the record, I think he comes across as a real good dude here.)Charles Jurrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00222749064232908583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-42313687780366137652018-05-22T12:59:26.153-07:002018-05-22T12:59:26.153-07:00I ran the film society at my college for a couple ...I ran the film society at my college for a couple of years. We did about 200 shows a year, four during the regular semester week, two in summer, and special outdoor showings at the family residential complexes. There was a large auditorium for 35mm prints and a lecture hall for 16mm. I introduced the movies, went to the bus stop with the projectionist to pick up the film canisters, and got to each showing early to make sure the box office was open. Once we had a bomb scare and I had to go up and down the rows with the cops to check for anything unusual.<br /><br />The perk of all this was that I got to see just about anything I wanted on the big screen, and all that experience with audiences was more helpful that I realized when I entered the business and began reviewing projects with clients who hadn't paid for a movie in years. <br /><br />Of course, the moment someone else wanted the job, I was out on my ear. Some fraternity guy thought it would look good on his resume. He couldn't get the crowd to laugh, though, and was removed from the post for sexually harassing the ushers. After he was gone the new team always let me in for free, but I was spending most of my nights editing my own magazine by then. E. Yarbernoreply@blogger.com