tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post6521386654884413868..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Friday QuestionsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63709511728713920262019-11-09T07:41:43.973-08:002019-11-09T07:41:43.973-08:00Think Walter Matthau said that he'd like to ha...Think Walter Matthau said that he'd like to have played Felix in some version of "The Odd Couple" ... and yes even though Art Carney was a gifted actor I'd keep seeing "The Honeymooners" Ed Norton on stage, shooting the cuffs and all, playing Felix. 5w30https://www.blogger.com/profile/11576484521477341204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-42506568055130999612019-11-08T00:43:12.507-08:002019-11-08T00:43:12.507-08:00Hi Ken
I think I just figured something out that ...Hi Ken<br /><br />I think I just figured something out that is probably completely wrong.<br /><br />Your extremely busy period on a project a while ago was working on the new Frasier?<br /><br />If I am right don't bother okaying this email, but if you could insert the word potato in a post it would give me a sense of kiwi self satisfaction!<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />Chris Thomsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12918651955891558412019-11-07T17:35:37.447-08:002019-11-07T17:35:37.447-08:00My Friday Question - How Long is Too Long? "...My Friday Question - How Long is Too Long? "The Irishman" is 3.5 hours long. I can't sit through that. I have a 2 hour limit How long is too long? My ideal movie - 1.45 minutes or less. If you are going over 2 hours I have to love the actor to sit through it or it has to be "Gone With the Wind" quality and I can watch it on DVD and split it up over 4 nights. There is absolutely no way I can sit in a theatre for 3.5 hours. +4 if you add coming attractions,JShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13376748020962332059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50556941772959975342019-11-06T13:54:56.363-08:002019-11-06T13:54:56.363-08:00With the theme of beating a dead horse.
I went and...With the theme of beating a dead horse.<br />I went and found the Jack Lemmon version of 12 Angry Men on line and watched it as well.<br />First I was impressed with all the versions and the actors each putting their own stamp on the characters. Staging was interesting as Cumming version played withe the room "reversed' compared to other versions.<br />First I agree with previous comment about Mykelti Williamson being cast as bigot. It was discordant. Perhaps it would have played better if the defendant had been presented as Gay. Difficult to accept dynamics in play with a Black man playing a conspicious bigot in front of caucasian majority. <br />I do admit I found that George C Scott did seem a bit over the top espiacially towards the end. But seeing comparison of Lemmons understated acting compared to Scott's rampaging was educational in terms of the craft. Which was more effective?<br />Olmas was excellent a usual. Cronyn was excellent but I preferred ( taste only not judgement) Sweeny's character. He seemed a bit more in touch with "everyman" as they age the Cronyn who gave the sense of being more of the upper class in large part, I think, of his costume which seemed a bit more elegant then the experiences he was trying to interpet for the others.<br />Ok I am done<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74194464420873028632019-11-05T05:13:32.352-08:002019-11-05T05:13:32.352-08:00Friday Night Lights is such a great show - the Han...Friday Night Lights is such a great show - the Hand-Held cameras is why it made it great. It is a different kind of filming. So many careers came out of that show - Kyle Chandler, Michael B. Jordan, Connie Britton. JShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13376748020962332059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83997652409006007762019-11-03T16:40:57.059-08:002019-11-03T16:40:57.059-08:00Found a version where they show where breaks were ...Found a version where they show where breaks were but continue on. Film quality may be lacking but otherwise excellent since it is chopped up by extra intrusive ads.<br />Funny though I love the Fonda version I found the Cummings version more "realistic" in the sense of it seemed to truer to an "everyman" experience in a jury ( done jury duty for minor stuff)<br />But with the talents in the Fonda version the reluctance of many seemed to get washed over a bit. Considering the powerful, and talented, actors in the Fonda version that may have been dictated by the abundance of outsized talents.<br />None of this is meant a a critism but rather sidelights by an untrained "civilian" eye.<br />ps here is the site of where I found it.<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DkI2I0W5i8Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40979013457455205192019-11-03T15:43:01.745-08:002019-11-03T15:43:01.745-08:00Tried to watch the old version of 12 Angry men on ...Tried to watch the old version of 12 Angry men on the link supplied here.<br />A favorite of mine.<br />But with the almost continued breaks for online ads it is unwatchable.<br />Truly sad. For some odd reason always had a fondness for Robert Cummings.<br />From what I saw his cahracters almost reluctance to buck the rest at the very beginning seemed a bit more "realistic" then Fonda's opening statement in the same role. But since shortly after he made his comment it broke again for another (second) ad break just gave up.<br />If any one knoew of a less interrupted version of this on line I would appreciate in seeing it<br />Thank you.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26531719671907906722019-11-03T14:48:55.386-08:002019-11-03T14:48:55.386-08:00I apologize if this has already been asked as a Fr...I apologize if this has already been asked as a Friday question but I would love Ken's take on eight turkey day themed episodes of "Friends" being shown at your local megaplex this Thanksgiving as one of those Fathom Events.DARON72https://www.blogger.com/profile/01726705799261360259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33474691084543501542019-11-03T08:07:51.973-08:002019-11-03T08:07:51.973-08:00Not sure if this qualifies as a Friday question bu...Not sure if this qualifies as a Friday question but I am curious about a Becker episode which you directed. The episode involved two groups of extras, a group of construction workers lining up to use the the diner's bathroom and a group of Backer's neighbors in the lobby of the building. Was the number of extras in both decided upon before you began working on the episode? Is there a way of directing a scene to make it look like there are more extras? Could one of the construction workers have doubled as one of the neighbors,if necessary? Is a scene with a lot of extras any more difficult to direct?scottmcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30411333132290983202019-11-03T03:48:27.643-08:002019-11-03T03:48:27.643-08:00Re Randall and Klugman: I remember when Tony Randa...Re Randall and Klugman: I remember when Tony Randall's theater company was doing Inherit the Wind in London with George C. Scott, who died just as things were starting up. As a result, Randall's company was facing bankruptcy. In comes Klugman with an offer to do The Odd Couple in the West End for six weeks at no pay, which saved Randall's bacon.<br /><br />It wasn't all talk with those two guys.<br />thirteennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13676324418712701362019-11-02T09:29:08.607-07:002019-11-02T09:29:08.607-07:00The story's been told many times (once by Neil...The story's been told many times (once by Neil Simon himself) about how the playwright got euchred when his then-agency sold <i>The Odd Couple</i> film rights to Paramount for a comparative pittance (even by '60s standards) - and how the deal included TV series adaptation rights.<br />Because of this, Neil Simon <i>never made a dime</i> from the TV series - or from its afterlives in syndication and home video (which latter didn't even exist back then).<br />Mr. Simon retained some bitterness about all this, to the extent of sort-of personally boycotting the <i>Odd Couple</i> TV series for most of its run, until he was talked into making that cameo late in the run.<br />(I don't know if Paramount ever made some kind of <i>ex post facto</i> settlement with Simon in later years; if anybody here knows anything, here we all are …).Mike Doranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14427528138598549103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27425204335272435682019-11-02T06:36:46.492-07:002019-11-02T06:36:46.492-07:00MikeN,
Curious...how many times have you been div...MikeN,<br /><br />Curious...how many times have you been divorced?Dixon Steelenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43692319025759118082019-11-02T00:30:23.499-07:002019-11-02T00:30:23.499-07:00Friday Question: There seems to be some confusion ...Friday Question: There seems to be some confusion and a number of rumors circulating as to why Farrah Forke left "Wings" after only two seasons. Do you know the exact reason? Was it her own decision to leave, or did the writers feel her relationship with Brian had played itself out, or was it something else?Frednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32109801227528614382019-11-01T23:53:23.253-07:002019-11-01T23:53:23.253-07:00Friday Question: Ken, in your opinion, what announ...Friday Question: Ken, in your opinion, what announcer working today, radio or TV has the best home run call? I watch a lot of baseball highlight videos and I find them all annoying. I'm a Yankee fan, so that makes it worse. Every time I hear 'seeya!!" or some nonsense like: It's "Glebberday" after a Torres home run I want to puke...Astroboynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30479707844819121952019-11-01T23:52:20.313-07:002019-11-01T23:52:20.313-07:00Not a Friday question, but a recommendation for yo...Not a Friday question, but a recommendation for you, Ken. I just finished the audiobook of Rob Neyer's PowerBall, about a single, inconsequential game between a terrible Oakland A's team and the eventual World's Champion Houston Astros in 2017. He takes the various events of the game and uses them to riff on a number of topics about how the game of baseball was played at that exact moment, everything from economics to uses of statistics to changes in strategy to how the availability of cameras has changed the information available in the dugout to the size of ballplayers to the length of games. Some of the information was surprising and new to me (and I follow baseball pretty intensely) and it's very well put together. I actually listened to the audiobook, read by Neyer himself, and I enjoyed that as I often enjoy audiobooks done by the author, because if there's an inflection they intended in their prose, you're not going to miss it. I think you'd enjoy it, if you haven't already read it. Breadbakernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13158703800470154812019-11-01T23:40:31.250-07:002019-11-01T23:40:31.250-07:00In the vain of too many extreme close-ups: If I ne...In the vain of too many extreme close-ups: If I never have to see a character (or characters) do an entire scene while a steady-cam is constantly circling (and circling and circling...) around them for the entire scene I will die a happy viewer. God, that annoys me, because it almost never serves any purpose in enhancing the story telling, unless making me physically ill is the intention.Astroboynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28828057824996076582019-11-01T20:24:08.360-07:002019-11-01T20:24:08.360-07:00@Wendy Yeah, but keep in mind, this was back in th...@Wendy Yeah, but keep in mind, this was back in the days when television still had Standards & Practices they had to observe in regards of what could or couldn't be shown or discussed on the air. Not just the subject of divorce itself, but Garry Marshall has mentioned that toilets couldn't be shown on TV back then, hence why whenever a shot took place in Oscar's bathroom, we saw no toilet.<br /><br />Plus, this was ABC, they were still the "family-friendly" channel: they were so afraid Felix and Oscar would be perceived as being a gay couple, hence why not only were mandated to have active dating lives, but their ex-wives became recurring characters.Joseph Scarbroughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02572781083272335747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51733155688613230922019-11-01T18:30:54.589-07:002019-11-01T18:30:54.589-07:00I guess I'm in the minority - I enjoyed the fi...I guess I'm in the minority - I enjoyed the first season of The Odd Couple more than the following seasons, especially BECAUSE Felix and Oscar didn't let loose and weren't as manic.CarolMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06357698369178272616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79337046762223927912019-11-01T18:29:02.101-07:002019-11-01T18:29:02.101-07:00I watched Twelve Angry Men in a high school Englis...I watched Twelve Angry Men in a high school English class. I don't remember exactly why, but I think we watched it around the same time as To Kill a Mockingbird. PJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22705128364564300402019-11-01T17:17:39.293-07:002019-11-01T17:17:39.293-07:00I knew he was in Oceans 11, but Mr Roper was in Th...I knew he was in Oceans 11, but Mr Roper was in The Odd Couple?<br /><br />Cary, they could have just called it 12 Women.<br /><br />As for cable streaming, I predict Comcast will add these streaming services to their box, and you can just pay them as a middleman.<br /><br />ESPN's $8 per month per cable subscriber, is on borrowed time.MikeNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31630364797976709852019-11-01T17:03:57.260-07:002019-11-01T17:03:57.260-07:00I saw a production of The Odd Couple in Cedar Rapi...I saw a production of The Odd Couple in Cedar Rapids, of all places, starring Jamie Farr as Oscar and William Christopher as Felix. I was a teenager at the time (this was the mid 90s) but I remember really liking it and being thrilled to see them on stage.Jonathan Teiglandnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8314786223624570412019-11-01T16:02:08.901-07:002019-11-01T16:02:08.901-07:00Here's another question for Ken (or anyone):
...Here's another question for Ken (or anyone):<br /><br />It seems that Neil Simon did not write any of the Odd Couple episodes. Why not? <br /><br />Does anyone know of an instance where a playwright wrote for an adapted TV series? <br /><br />And a hypothetical: <br /><br />Ken has stated that Simon was no stranger to rewriting on the fly for plays- supposing Neil Simon DID write an episode for the Odd Couple series - how might that have worked out? <br />Jahn Ghaltnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70226464499048261022019-11-01T15:09:48.753-07:002019-11-01T15:09:48.753-07:00Here's a Friday question, Ken: when you write ...Here's a Friday question, Ken: when you write an episode centering on a "villain," a Frank Burns or a Roy Biggins, is it challenging to move that character to the center from the fringes? Or is it kind of fun because those characters are somewhat less featured and it's a chance to develop them more?ReticentRabbitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70249719600204350072019-11-01T14:51:36.212-07:002019-11-01T14:51:36.212-07:00Not related to Friday questions, but wanted to sha...Not related to Friday questions, but wanted to share that Cleveland Indians radio voice Tom Hamilton is among eight finalists for the BBHOF's Ford C. Frick Award.<br /><br />“A swing and a drive, waaaay back and … gone!”Rory Wnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11552747099995654302019-11-01T14:26:16.323-07:002019-11-01T14:26:16.323-07:00“McAlvie11/01/2019 7:09 AM
Recently re-watched the...“McAlvie11/01/2019 7:09 AM<br />Recently re-watched the original 12 Angry Men and I agree. It was just a top notch classic all the way......”<br /><br />First version (1954), like Marty, was made for TV<br />https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Angry_Men_(Westinghouse_Studio_One)<br /><br />Nice credits, too<br /><br />Starring Robert Cummings as Juror #8<br />Franchot Tone as Juror #3<br />Edward Arnold as Juror #10 Paul Hartman as Juror #7<br />John Beal as Juror #2 Walter Abel as Juror #4<br />with George Voskovec as Juror #11 Joseph Sweeney as Juror #9 Bart Burns as Juror #6<br />Norman Fell as Foreman Lee Phillips as Juror #5 Will West as Juror #12<br />Vincent Gardenia as Bailiff<br />Note: Sweeney and Voskovec repeated their parts in the 1957 film.<br />Production personnel<br />Written especially for Studio One by Reginald Rose<br />Produced by Felix Jackson<br />Directed by: Franklin Schaffner<br /><br />WATCH THE LIVE TV VERSION HERE<br />https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3lkrc0<br /><br /><br />Rose later created The Defenders tv series... starring E G Marshall<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com