tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post8989129160526116201..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: It's as if I'm being interviewed by James LiptonBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35105974055420971832012-01-20T11:08:02.212-08:002012-01-20T11:08:02.212-08:00I found some footage of James Lipton being interv...I found some footage of James Lipton being interviewed:<br /><br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHk08T_BCSk&feature=relatedPaul Ducanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63256123171748427092012-01-07T17:47:51.804-08:002012-01-07T17:47:51.804-08:00A coincidence on New York television tonight. For ...A coincidence on New York television tonight. For New Yorkers uninterested in the Saints-Lions game, they can pick between the two versions of ARTHUR. The remake is on HBO while the original is on PBS. If it is on PBS in New York it is likely that it will be shown on other PBS stations around the country in the coming weeks.scottmcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35202952470408755252012-01-03T17:34:42.067-08:002012-01-03T17:34:42.067-08:00You, an Amway salesman? There's got be a good ...You, an Amway salesman? There's got be a good story. C'mon, give.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64221142959796363952012-01-03T14:03:02.101-08:002012-01-03T14:03:02.101-08:00I love the random reference to Harry Chapin, "...I love the random reference to Harry Chapin, "Morning man at W.O.L.D."Nobody Will Read Thishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03435587585058495930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44285467842341694212012-01-03T13:16:34.826-08:002012-01-03T13:16:34.826-08:00"Kirk said...
What I find interesting about T...<i>"Kirk said...<br />What I find interesting about The Ten Commandments is all the romantic triangles. Yul Brynner loves Anne Baxter who loves Charlton Heston who loves Yvonne De Carlo (well, I guess that's more of a square.) Meanwhile, Edward G Robinson loves Debra Paget who loves John Derek."</i><br /><br />Moses is, rather, in two romantic triangles: He and Ramses both want Anne Baxter (Ramses does not love her. She represents the throne, and he loves the throne.) And both Anne and Yvonne love Moses. Moses, however, only loves "God." "You lost him when he went to seek his god; I lost him when he found his god," says Yvonne to Anne in their only scene together. Heston does provide The Voice of God, so it's pure narcisssim on Heston's part. He ignores all the ladies, and loves the burning bush that sounds like him.<br /><br />And what Edward G. Robinson's Dathan feels for Debra Paget's Lillia is not "love," it's plain old lust. Paget is the one with a rectangle instead of a triangle. Joshua loves her, and Dathan and Vincent Price's Baka both lust for her, and are fine with forcing her.<br /><br />I guess Paget got over being repelled by Vincent Price, since they are married and in love in both <i>Edgar Allen Poe's Tales of Terror</i> and <i>The Haunted Palace</i> (Her last film.), both good Roger Corman movies.<br /><br />In fairness to DeMille, he states quite plainly and clearly in the movie's prologue that they had to seek other sources for the plot of the movie's first half, as The Bible is silent on this part of the myth. (Come on, folks, Moses did not actually exist. It's a myth.) The opening screen credits are also clear about their other sources.<br /><br />But wow. You got to wait until aqe 20 to read The Bible? I should have been so lucky, but my mother was forcing it into my and my siblings' ears and eyes from birth on. Every morning, growing up, Mother read aloud to us from The Bible over breakfast, which I'm sure is why I never eat breakfast anymore, I associate it with being bored by forced Bible readings. (Mother never understood why, with her intensive brainwashing campaign, four of her five kids grew up to be atheists. She never liked my answer: "Because we're all smarter than you are.")<br /><br />And Mother <i>HATED</i> DeMille's <i>Ten Commandments</i> because of the added stories. She felt that, if it wasn't in The Bible, it didn't happen, though she was never open to my theory that, if it <i><b>IS</b></i> in The Bible, it didn't happen either.<br /><br /><i>"That final scene between Anne Baxter (incidentally, how could she NOT overact given that dialogue?) and Yul Brynner, to me at least, reeks more of romantic disappointment than any real concern about which god is the real god."</i><br /><br />You are right. That whole "Show me his blood on your sword" stuff was her, once again, telling Ramses that Moses was more man than he ever was. Castrating to the end, and poor Ramses at the end is a man with his army cut off.<br /><br /><i>"Mike said...<br />Forget the telly. American TV is wall-to-wall shite and a lost cause. It's your own fault for voting for Republicans."</i><br /><br />A. No it's not. There is some very good stuff on TV, along with a lot of crap. Sturgeon's Law: "90% of everything is crap."<br /><br />B. I've voted in every American election since 1972, and I have <i><b>NEVER</b></i> voted for <i><b>ANY</b></i> republican, or as I call them, Repulsivans, for any office whatever. So why do I deserve it again? <br /><br />What benighted country are you writing from, "Mike"? Britain with it's archaic Royal Family and love affair with Torys (and the country is bankrupt, but not The wealthy Royals)? France, with their governement of greater pervs than our congress? What country? Come on, "Mike" speak up. I can trash whichever country it is every bit as accurately as you tried trashing ours.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47906548572173300562012-01-03T05:06:33.629-08:002012-01-03T05:06:33.629-08:00Speaking of Steve Gordon...you may have heard that...Speaking of Steve Gordon...you may have heard that Katy Perry and Russell Brand are getting a divorce. Wags say it's because she finally got around to seeing him in the remake of ARTHUR.<br />(Russell may get the last laugh, though...I guess there were no pre-nups, and the price to Katy for her freedom is mentioned in the neighborhood of $20 million)Paul Ducanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14795760984118830122012-01-02T17:45:38.867-08:002012-01-02T17:45:38.867-08:00Ken, if you don't mind, which Vonnegut and Rot...Ken, if you don't mind, which Vonnegut and Roth novels or stories are your favorites? Each had (or has had) such long careers, starting to publish in their late 20s and writing for more than five decades. My own favorite Roth novel is probably <i>The Professor of Desire</i> (1977). I think Vonnegut's satiric-dystopia short stories such as "Harrison Bergeron" are quite appropriately being taught to 8th-graders (here in the Maryland D.C. suburbs) and may even have a longer life than many of his novels, my favorite of which remains his second one, <i>The Sirens of Titan</i>.gottacooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65336279998425721042012-01-02T17:04:30.155-08:002012-01-02T17:04:30.155-08:00What Mark Patterson said.
LET'S HEAR ABOUT THE...What Mark Patterson said.<br />LET'S HEAR ABOUT THE COMIC STRIP.<br /><br />Forget the telly. American TV is wall-to-wall shite and a lost cause. It's your own fault for voting for Republicans.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06248182899977033579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82623089791957943422012-01-02T16:09:02.798-08:002012-01-02T16:09:02.798-08:00What I find interesting about The Ten Commandments...What I find interesting about The Ten Commandments is all the romantic triangles. Yul Brynner loves Anne Baxter who loves Charlton Heston who loves Yvonne De Carlo (well, I guess that's more of a square.) Meanwhile, Edward G Robinson loves Debra Paget who loves John Derek. I actually grew up thinking all that was in the Old Testament. When I finally did read The Bible in my 20s, I was a bit disappointed to find that the Pharoah doesn't do all that bad stuff because he's jealous of Moses. No, it's simply because that ol' master manipulator God has temporarily taken over his mind (which, in all fairness, really should get Ramses off the hook when faced with damnation.) Unrequited love seems to run through all Cecil B DeMille's movies, at least the ones I've seen. He must have had his heart broken at one time or another. That final scene between Anne Baxter (incidentally, how could she NOT overact given that dialogue?) and Yul Brynner, to me at least, reeks more of romantic disappointment than any real concern about which god is the real god.<br /><br />Re: The One and Only. Saw it in the 10th grade and one funny bit really stands out. Henry Winkler is being introduced to Kim Darby's parents. Her father says to call him Tom. Winkler replies, "Mom and Tom. I like that!"Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-42868164158830515192012-01-02T15:07:20.984-08:002012-01-02T15:07:20.984-08:00Just gotta say, tho I don't brag about it to f...Just gotta say, tho I don't brag about it to friends, I really enjoyed "Volunteers." Offhand it seemed like it couldn't decide if it was going to be like "Animal House," or a Hope/Crosby road picture. It was a strange brew but the relationship between Hanks and Watanabe was golden, and their repartee was a joy.<br /><br />Great lines (from memory):<br /><br />"It's not that I can't help these people. I just don't want to."<br /><br />"Come on, At Toon, don't you have any manhood?"<br />"Yeah, and I'd like to keep what I got!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41177016333859490742012-01-02T13:45:14.135-08:002012-01-02T13:45:14.135-08:00"Greg Ehrbar said...
Doesn't Yul Brynner ...<i>"Greg Ehrbar said...<br />Doesn't Yul Brynner also do the Felix Unger thing, too? 'Moses, Moses, Moses...'"</i><br /><br />Yes, he certainly does.<br /><br />Anne's last line was "You couldn't even kill him," to which Yul replies: "His god <i>IS</i> God," an odd way for a polytheistic man to express it.<br /><br />It's hard to top DeMille movies for tin-eared dialogue. In Shakespeare's <i>Antony and Cleopatra</i> Enobarbus describes Cleopatra thusly: "Age can not wither nor custom stale her infinite variety. Other women do cloy the appetites they feed, but she makes hungry where most she satisfies."<br /><br />In DeMille's <i>Cleopatra</i> she is described thusly: "She's always new."<br /><br />I liked the bargaining exchanges. First off, Edward G. Robinson striking a deal with Yul:<br /><br />Ramses: "Do you haggle with me like a seller of melons in the marketplace?"<br /><br />Dathan: "No, I will not haggle, great prince," <i>[He then preceeds to the haggling]</i> "Here's your money. But for ten talons of fine gold, I'll give you the wealth of Egypt. Give me my freedom and I'll give you the sceptor. Give me the water girl Lillia, and I'll give you the princess of your heart's desire. Give me this house of Baka, and I'll give you the throne. Give me all that I ask, or give me leave to go."<br /><br />Or later, when Yvonne DeCarlo is sellng herself to Heston over Anne Baxter. First off, she asks about her so-far-unseen-rival: <br /><br />Sephora: "She was very beautiful, this woman of Egypt who left her scar upon your heart. Her skin was white as curd..." <i>[ew]</i> "... her eyes green as the cedars of Lebanon, her lips, tamarisk honey..." <i>[I have no idea what "tamarisk honey" is, beyond merely being honey.]</i> "...Like the breast of a dove, her arms were soft, and The Wine of Desire was in her veins."<br /><br />Moses: "Yes, she was beautiful, as a jewel"<br /><br />Sephora: "A jewel has brilliant fire, but it gives no warmth. Our hands are not so soft, but they can serve. Our bodies ot so white, but they are strong. Our lips are not perfumed, but they speak the truth. Love is not an art to us..." <i>[Nor is screenwriting]</i> "... It's life to us. We are not dressed in gold and fine linen. Strength and honor are our clothing. Our tents are not the columned halls of Egypt, but our children play happily before them. We can offer you little, but we offer all we have."<br /><br />Moses: "I have not little, Sephora, I have nothing."<br /><br />Spehora: "Nothing from some is more than gold from others." <i>[This line of logic has <b>NEVER</b> worked for me!]</i><br /><br />Moses: "You would fill the emptiness of my heart?"<br /><br />Sephora: "I could never fill all of it, Moses, but I shall not be jealous of a memory." They then cut directly to the old Pharoah's death. Apparently just hearing this sickly dialogue killed Sir Cedric Hardwicke.<br /><br /><i>"Dan Tedson said...<br />I'm surprised Douglas Adams isn't on your authors list."</i><br /><br />Well he's on mine! I was lucky enough to meet Adams a number of times. In fact, I have the whole <i>Hitchhiker</i>'s series, in hardcover, all signed except for the last one, which was published posthumusly, as well as signed copies of both Dirk Gently books.<br /><br />When my first book was published, I Googled myself, looking for reviews, and up popped all the best seller lists. This was because the week my first book came out, the Best Seller List included a book by Douglas Adams and one by Ian McEwan.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72200016468415824782012-01-02T13:01:45.243-08:002012-01-02T13:01:45.243-08:00As a comedy writer myself, I'm normally a grea...As a comedy writer myself, I'm normally a great admirer of good comic scripts, but for some reason, "Tootsie" left me cold. Like "Heaven Can Wait," "Shampoo" and "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," it left me baffled by what people thought was so damn funny about it. About the only things I remember actually laughing at are Bill Murray's lines, which I seem to recall reading were all shot in two days and mostly ad-libbed. Guess I've seen too much British comedy to find a man in a dress to be that unique and amusing. <br /><br />Then again, maybe my mood was soured right up front when Hoffman expressed how desperate for work he was by saying he'd even sink to doing radio voiceovers. Didn't appreciate having my industry and the incredibly talented people in it insulted. Ironic that I now hear Hoffman doing so much VO work. <br /><br />VW: Prexpria - The new miracle erectile dysfunction drug.Pat Reedernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81249357911490025892012-01-02T12:59:40.122-08:002012-01-02T12:59:40.122-08:00I guess this talk of a remake of THE PRODUCERS is ...I guess this talk of a remake of THE PRODUCERS is deliberately not counting the recent film version of the Broadway musical?jbryantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-86339871622656638582012-01-02T12:49:28.962-08:002012-01-02T12:49:28.962-08:00The other movie that I’d like to remake is THE PRO...<i>The other movie that I’d like to remake is THE PRODUCERS. Come on. It’s time. </i><br /><br />My first reaction was "blasphemer!" I think the challenge would be to rewrite it so that you didn't just sit there thinking (as I did watching the musical) "God I miss Zero Mostel!" Knowing nothing about how movies are financed, could you transfer it to Hollywood? The little old ladies replaced with Candy Spelling/Real Housewives types? George Clooney as Madoff Bialystok? Nah, can't see him screaming "I WANT THAT MONEY!" Alec Baldwin?Jim, Cheers Fannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14836525185067515432012-01-02T12:39:34.641-08:002012-01-02T12:39:34.641-08:00D. McEwen: I'd forgotten what you mentioned a...D. McEwen: I'd forgotten what you mentioned about VistaVision -- I read in an online article that because so much information can be stored in a VV print, the process is still used by special-effects specialists to produce trick shots (do they still call them trick shots-- if they don't, it's a pity). I remember seeing <i>Vertigo</i> back in 1984 or so, when it was released in theaters but before the print had been restored. Even un-restored, the film looked absolutely beautiful. VistaVision is one heck of a process.Matt Pattonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2772529885804375112012-01-02T10:46:08.491-08:002012-01-02T10:46:08.491-08:00In ALL ABOUT EVE Sanders says "San Francisco....In ALL ABOUT EVE Sanders says "San Francisco...an oasis of culture in the California desert".Paul Ducanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31491246682428834822012-01-02T09:05:54.394-08:002012-01-02T09:05:54.394-08:00"Oh Moses, Moses, you stubborn, splendid, ado..."Oh Moses, Moses, you stubborn, splendid, adorable fool!"is, I believe, from Deuteronomy. Pretty sure. "Your tongue will dig your grave, Memnet," if from one of those lost scrolls of Ocoee or something.<br /><br />Doesn't Yul Brynner also do the Felix Unger thing, too? "Moses, Moses, Moses..."<br /><br />Whenever my mom was getting on my Dad's case about something, he would start paraphrasing Anne Baxter -- "Some pharoah! Couldn't even kill Moses!"<br /><br />Oh and speaking of William Shatner, he apparently charges $60 for an autograph and $100 for an autograph and photo. Wonder how much is would cost to have him shout, "No BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!"?Greg Ehrbarhttp://www.mousetracksonline.com/blog.phpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-39310529155650107412012-01-02T00:33:07.733-08:002012-01-02T00:33:07.733-08:00Matt: George Sanders overacting? Haven't seen...Matt: George Sanders overacting? Haven't seen ALL ABOUT EVE in a while, but I recall him as being rather wry and restrained.jbryantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49740439806115609362012-01-01T21:47:47.096-08:002012-01-01T21:47:47.096-08:00I'm surprised Douglas Adams isn't on your ...I'm surprised Douglas Adams isn't on your authors list. But I'm surprised he isn't on every list ever made ever. Sometimes I even add a towel to my shopping list just to give him a shout out.<br /><br />Friday question - in general, what months do staff writers work through the year? Is it 6 months on, 6 months off, that sort of thing?Dan Tedsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16452847576600692673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-57343132139391587022012-01-01T20:43:17.117-08:002012-01-01T20:43:17.117-08:00Also saw Tootsie in the theater. By far the bigge...Also saw Tootsie in the theater. By far the biggest laugh the movie got, even over the climactic reveal, was in response to two words: "You slut."pumpkinheadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7359976976723066662012-01-01T20:41:16.701-08:002012-01-01T20:41:16.701-08:00Opening credits to The Practice
http://www.youtub...Opening credits to The Practice<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9lNyiiwY5wpumpkinheadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21313189847404810462012-01-01T20:33:28.365-08:002012-01-01T20:33:28.365-08:00Saw The One and Only in the theater. Remember The...Saw The One and Only in the theater. Remember The Practice. It's gratifying when I find out that I'm not the only one who ever saw/remembers this old stuff.<br /><br />My favorite Charleton Heston role will always be "Good Actor." <br /><br />And I always learn something interesting reading the comments.pumpkinheadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80476585972653751112012-01-01T20:07:47.402-08:002012-01-01T20:07:47.402-08:00Betty Hutton can be forgiven everything else she&#...<i>Betty Hutton can be forgiven everything else she's ever done just for..</i>.<br /><br />"The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek," the Betty Hutton movie for people who don't like Betty Hutton. (Much of it is attributable to both Eddie Bracken, who's wonderful, and Preston Sturges, who's wonderfully subversive to have put all this -- Betty's character is named <i>Trudy Kockenlocker! -</i>- past the censors. This may have been while Joseph Breen was at RKO and not running that office.)VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80309877859219686092012-01-01T17:47:06.553-08:002012-01-01T17:47:06.553-08:00I'll put out another request for Gordon's ...I'll put out another request for Gordon's original ARTHUR screenplay. The bits you've posted were absolutely magical.Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-57762186505283547892012-01-01T17:04:16.983-08:002012-01-01T17:04:16.983-08:00Check Amazon.com for "The One and Only",...Check Amazon.com for "The One and Only", just over $5 including shipping.<br /><br />RayAlaskaRaynoreply@blogger.com