tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76702374732050769082024-03-19T06:51:45.521-04:00Johnny Spin's Mise En SceneNotes and Clips about Film & Television and Other Popular Culture.Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-57701936105163436482021-11-12T11:45:00.002-05:002021-11-12T11:47:12.721-05:00Rolling Stones No Filter Tour 10/4/21 Pittsburgh Pa<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKBpu6ot8bm2IvXOhRZIFM1nRb5mh6aGE718j-DmUAnC_jf5SguAXl4Uu6FlRiZZx1fMJIlzjImT7mTj57Ii8tEwQrMw3ZiejEa_3Iu_8MQT5gAK33cHzThGLUX_1HX4Zr_h8slCjmW6I/s961/47172CF9-AFFA-406D-8FDB-797EDED88F0E.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKBpu6ot8bm2IvXOhRZIFM1nRb5mh6aGE718j-DmUAnC_jf5SguAXl4Uu6FlRiZZx1fMJIlzjImT7mTj57Ii8tEwQrMw3ZiejEa_3Iu_8MQT5gAK33cHzThGLUX_1HX4Zr_h8slCjmW6I/s400/47172CF9-AFFA-406D-8FDB-797EDED88F0E.jpeg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU1eAXUI8TZBPeizn3GCEuPOUNCf2EmM9cP-Jme84yCGXTKUWWZfhQEMkJr0QDioCkSCTklzmlm50ZCuAPqkPuaHlSXGsU5qhWyX1an8_Q3QfhQx2oCk00RLqJeflAHHM3BsVXY6_8ClY/s960/6D9EE3F4-D4D4-4243-8E62-1E92C412A312.jpeg" style="display: block; 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text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XJgJl0bXiYE" width="320" youtube-src-id="XJgJl0bXiYE"></iframe><span style="background-color: black;"><span></span></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Peter O'Toole</b> is brilliant in writer/director <b>Richard Rush</b>'s cult classic <b>The Stunt Man</b>,</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); font-size: large; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">adapted by Lawrence B. Marcus and Rush from the 1970 novel of the same name by Paul Brodeur. It was nominated for three Oscars; including Best Actor (O'Toole), Best Director (Rush), and Best Screenplay Based on Material From Another Medium.</span></span></span><span style="color: white;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;"></span></span>O'Toole won Best Actor from the <b>National Society of Film Critics</b>. The Leeds born Irish actor plays maniacal movie director "Eli Cross" who takes a </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">fugitive </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Vietnam veteran played by <b>Steve Railsback</b> on the run who stumbles onto the film's set and makes him a stunt man on location for his epic shielding him from the police. The fugitive gets more than he bargains for as "Eli"</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> uses him for many death defying stunts and assorted mind games including the big final stunt that proved fatal for a previous stunt man. O'Toole has said that he based his character on <b>David Lean</b> who directed him in his star making turn as "<i><b>Lawrence of Arabia</b></i>" and the diabolical rascal and fellow hellraiser <b>John Huston</b> who directed him in his epic mess <i><b>The Bible</b></i>. He also cribbed a little watching Richard Rush too when creating the character. When you hear O'Toole shout from his helicopter "I want that shot!" and or swoop in from his crain saying "If God could do the tricks that we could do, he'd be a happy man..." From the film's excellent opening sequence on, the viewer gets sucked into this crazy ride where nothing is what it seems and wants to be on that film's location. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVT28Fb4NRY36J0CkxPqVljY6e6BIvXLhtXn8NzhGD-CSaZubmEcukfFpZRFCynb5PnaWRfXzOuUsnRKCYbbtjy4WtUHsz17EL5RQWEohvUJmPf1DJ5IuFwb1kKXFhhsI31boWq_UVWM0/s743/TheStuntManAd.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="743" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVT28Fb4NRY36J0CkxPqVljY6e6BIvXLhtXn8NzhGD-CSaZubmEcukfFpZRFCynb5PnaWRfXzOuUsnRKCYbbtjy4WtUHsz17EL5RQWEohvUJmPf1DJ5IuFwb1kKXFhhsI31boWq_UVWM0/w368-h322/TheStuntManAd.png" width="368" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><i><b><span face="Lato, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a;">When Peter O'Toole read the script for the first time, he contacted Richard Rush in Hollywood from England and declared, "I am an articulate, intelligent man. I read the screenplay and if you don't give me the part I will kill you."</span><span> </span></b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Here's clip from The Stunt Man directed by Richard Rush </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Starring Peter O'Toole, Barbara Hershey and Steve Railsback</span></div></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l4S6iKING5I" width="320" youtube-src-id="l4S6iKING5I"></iframe></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The supporting cast is also quite good with <b>Barbara Hershey</b> as the film's leading lady, <b>Alex Rocco</b> as the local cop looking for Railsback, <b>Allen Garfield</b> fine as always playing the nebbishy screenwriter who takes "Eli's" abuse and recognizes his brilliance. Legendary stuntman <b>Chuck Bail</b> playing a version of himself is terrific as the film's stunt coordinator. Perennial bad guy <b>Steve Railsback</b>, best known for playing "Charles Manson" in the epic 70's TV movie <i><b>Helter Skelter</b></i> and serial killer "Ed Gein" <i><b>In The Light of the Moon</b></i> is competent in a rare romantic lead as fugitive "Cameron, The Stunt Man" but he like everyone else is blown off the screen by the charismatic bigness of O'Toole's "Eli." </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>The Stunt Man</b> is one of the very best movies about making movies along with <b>Vincente Minnelli's</b> excellent duo <i><b>The Bad and The Beautiful</b></i> and <i><b>Two Weeks in Another Town</b></i>, <b>Clint Eastwood's </b>excellent <b><i>White Hunter, Black Heart</i> </b><i>(a roman a clef about making The African Queen with John Huston)</i> and <b>Francois Truffaut's</b> wonderful <i><b>Day For Night</b></i>. </span><span style="text-align: left;">The Stunt Man is a favorite of mine, I watched it repeatedly when it was on The Movie Channel in the early 80's and they'd only show a handful of movies a month! It was one of the films that cemented my love of films and filmmaking. Rush's film has achieved quite a following and mystique over time and its chaotic development and slap dash release was the subject of the documentary <i><b>The Sinister Saga of Making The Stunt Man</b></i>. O'Toole has publicly said that "the film wasn't released, it escaped..."</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Trailer for The Stunt Man </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Starring Peter O'Toole, Directed & Co-Written by Richard Rush</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zo2tB4Nr2vQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="zo2tB4Nr2vQ"></iframe></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you love movies, movies about movies, great acting and Peter O'Toole, please do yourself a favor and watch The Stunt Man which plays on some of the premium cable channels like</span> </span><b>Cinemax</b><span style="font-size: large;">, </span><b>Turner Movie Classics</b><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">and streaming on</span> </span><b>Amazon</b><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">and</span> </span><b>Hulu</b><span style="font-size: large;">. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Some other films starring Peter O'Toole that you might want to check out: <i><b>The Lion in Winter</b></i> and <i><b>Becket</b></i> where he plays "</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>King Henry II</b>" in both films and the only time that an actor playing the same character in different films was nominated for Oscars. Other films include <b>Mel Brooks's</b> funny memoir film <b><i>My Favorite Year, The Ruling Class, Lord Jim, How to Steal a Million, Under Milk Wood, What's New Pussycat?, Night of the Generals, Man of La Mancha, Rogue Male, Great Catherine, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Murphy's War, Brotherly Love, The Last Emperor</i>, <i>My Talks with Dean Spanley</i>, <i>The Final Curtain</i>, <i>Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell</i>,<i> Masada</i></b>,<b> </b>and the 2006 release <b><i>Venus</i> </b>for which he was the sentimental favorite to win the Oscar but lost to <b>Forrest Whittaker. </b>O'Toole was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award a record 8 times without winning, however was given a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 2002. Then there is of course his signature title role in David Lean's masterful <b><i>Lawrence of Arabia</i>,</b> that performance was ranked number one in Premiere Magazine's list of 100 Greatest Performances of All Time in 2006.</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Not all of these films are great but most are worth seeing and O'Toole performances are always entertaining. </span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A clip with O'Toole, Allen Garfield and Steve Railsback as they watch the film within a film's footage. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K9ijrylB54A" width="320" youtube-src-id="K9ijrylB54A"></iframe></span></div></div></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">O'Toole interviewed by Robert Osborne for a special on Turner Classic Movies</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DMl_npzvsZU" width="320" youtube-src-id="DMl_npzvsZU"></iframe></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Here's a 2 part interview with Writer/Director Richard Rush and actor Steve Railsback being interviewed about the film</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F2D42S907Gs" width="320" youtube-src-id="F2D42S907Gs"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KBo7xhGWsag" width="320" youtube-src-id="KBo7xhGWsag"></iframe></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-24818133595434705602014-02-12T03:27:00.002-05:002014-02-12T03:27:57.155-05:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a data-pin-do="embedUser" href="http://www.pinterest.com/johnnyspin/"data-pin-scale-width="80" data-pin-scale-height="200" data-pin-board-width="400">Visit Johnny's profile on Pinterest.</a><!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --><script type="text/javascript" async src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-56862339647018061922014-01-08T16:45:00.001-05:002021-11-12T11:50:13.666-05:00IL SORPASSO - Movies - Film Forum
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<a href="http://filmforum.com/movies/more/il_sorpasso2#.Us3GxPBGJ5w.blogger">IL SORPASSO - Movies - Film Forum </a><br />
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I cant wait to see this film. One of the quintessential road trip movies! Several of my friends from Italy have told me that it's really great and that Vittorio Gasman gives a legendary performance. Also with Jean Louis-Trintignant who was so great in last year's "Amour," and one of my favorite films "The Great Silence." Now at the Film Forum! </div>
Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-47198010321543397812013-12-17T18:41:00.003-05:002021-11-12T11:49:43.292-05:00Peter O'Toole: As Good as it Gets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Terribly saddened by the passing of the great Peter O'Toole, a truly brilliant actor and man. His work affected me greatly and he's left us an amazing body of work and some memorable appearances on talk shows. Here are a few clips that I want to share. I will be doing a full tribute shortly.<br />
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Here's my second exposure to Peter O'Toole after of course "Lawrence of Arabia," Richard Rush's great, enigmatic, "The Stunt Man." O'Toole is wonderful in a bravura performance as a diabolical movie director who will do anything to get his shot. It has been said that O'Toole based his character on John Huston and David Lean, however I think he had just finished working for Otto Preminger before the this film and might have added a few touches of the mad Austrian to his characterization too. This is a wildly entertaining film about the magic and insanity of movies and one of my favorites. Steve Railsback gives an intense performance as the escaped convict who O'Toole hides on his set, making him a stunt man replacing one who died doing a difficult car crash. Barbara Hershey as his leading lady who he manipulates into a performance. Alex Rocco as the local cop fed up with the movie people and Alan Garfield in a nice part as the nebbishy screenwriter trying to please O'Toole. A fine work and one must watch the documentary about the rough road this film had to take to even get made and distributed. <br />
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Peter O'Toole playing "King Henry II" for the second time after "Becket," in James Goldman's wonderful historical drama of family intrigue "The Lion in Winter." O'Toole gives a dynamic performance as the rogue King who must choose his successor and his three very different and conniving sons all vying for it. Anthony Hopkins in his first film as the young, mama's boy "Richard The Lionhearted," is good and Katherine Hepburn won Best Actress Oscar for her role as the Queen, the legendary "Eleanor of Acquitaine" who is imprisoned by "Henry" but gets to come to the court for Christmas. Her best line is "what family doesn't have its ups and downs...." Great film! </div>
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I promise there will be much more to come regarding the great Peter O'Toole. Here's O'Toole on Johnny Carson in a funny appearance.<br />
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Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-29406246580220795972013-11-13T12:57:00.001-05:002021-11-12T11:47:59.030-05:00My Film, "3 Teams: A Youth Sports Story" World Premiere Set! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“3 TEAMS:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A YOUTH SPORTS STORY” TO HAVE PREMIERE ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 2<sup>ND</sup> AT CLEARVIEW
THEATER IN PORT WASHINGTON AT 7PM.</span></b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/R-LPp13fhtk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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Checkout our website at <a href="http://www.3teamsmovie.com/">www.3teamsmovie.com</a>, Follow us on <b><i>Twitter @3_teams</i></b> and/or like us on <i><b>Facebook at 3 Teams: A Youth Sports Story </b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Long Island based documentary film shows a Dad, Coach
and former Hofstra Player’s journey through the crazy world of Youth Sports
while coaching each of his three kids’ basketball teams.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Port Washington, NY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>November 13, 2013- Introducing the
upcoming documentary film "3 Teams: A Youth Sports Story."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over 40 million kids play Youth
Sports in America and One Man--Rob, a Dad, a Son of a coach, a former NCAA
Division 1 player and Youth Basketball coach thinks the way we approach Youth
Sports today has gone terribly wrong. This year he's coaching his three
kids' (8, 11 & 13 years old) basketball teams. He's trying to do
Youth Sports the right way and make some positive changes in the way we teach
our kids how to play,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Like millions of parents Rob
Weingard coaches Youth Sports in his hometown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His father was a college coach and athletic director and he
played division 1 college basketball at Hofstra University, leading the nation
is assists in 1985.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now he coaches
his three children:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crew in the
seventh grade, daughter Stevie in sixth grade and third grader Jensen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The basketball season’s schedule is
hectic, but for many families the sports seasons never end… Over the past
twenty years there has been a transformation in Youth Sports.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was once a community oriented
activity, stressing fundamentals and teamwork has now become an industry based on
individual competition and advancement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Parents pit children against each other scrambling for an unrealistic
dream of college scholarships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
did this become the new normal?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And how will it affect our children as they grow into adults?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To find answers Rob went on a journey
seeking out other programs and experts in the Youth Sports field like former
NBA player and author of the book <u>Just Let The Kids Play</u>, Bob Bigelow,
psychologist Dr. Rhonda Yoss-Kaplan, camp director and former director of
admissions of C.W. Post University Steve Nisenson and author and host of “The
Sports Edge” on WFAN, Rick Wolff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">On his journey Rob goes into
the highly controversial world of AAU Basketball and travel teams which
according to many has become a for profit way for kids to play sports and be
noticed by college coaches with hopes of landing that scholarship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fueled by the notion that the more that
one plays, the better player that they’ll become, kids spend hundreds of hours
and thousands of dollars playing on travel teams and teams governed by the AAU
in the same season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The core
concept is simple pay to play and travel with “top” athletes from other
communities in hopes of getting college exposure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But is all of that extra activity worth it and at what
cost?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much commitment is left
for a young athlete to invest to any one team?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">The myriad of issues of
Youth Sports are addressed in this documentary from the overloading of kids’
schedules, the actual odds of an athlete receiving a scholarship and the lack
of free play for today’s kids in the super structured world of today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rob also visits two programs that “do
it the right way,” West Islip Lacrosse a perennial state and national level
contender and the legendary Bridgehampton Killer Bees basketball program that has
more NY state basketball championships that any other school and yet has less
than 20 boys in their whole high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Rob meanwhile is coaching
his three children’s basketball teams and we follow these very unique squads as
they progress through their seasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Crew’s seventh grade team consists of youngsters on the verge of playing
for their high school teams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Stevie’s sixth grade girl’s team is a fun group of girls who make every
practice seem like a sleepover party and yet they learn to play the game and
become teammates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jensen travels
from his hometown to nearby Hempstead to play in a much different community
than his own and in his first basketball league season run by an unforgettable
lady coach/police detective. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">“3 Teams: A Youth Sports Story”
hopes to shed some light on the issues that face parents and coaches of Youth
Sports and hopefully provide some answers and ways for the kids to have fun and
take home some lessons for life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-88642099718636214322013-10-30T21:58:00.001-04:002021-11-12T11:48:34.271-05:00Halloween Horror Film Tribute to My Favorite Horror Star Christopher Lee! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLL1rA6g93AVwBjm1GitoF20W-tNjq0licoEWqGgKuU497t9V9kHuebGjQ-cS1EFnK9aUEAWM07-gL2G44WVH7zQYGAhy8eGdARp0CvQq12G9P1Gk0FqKs0Ly7OarXUzwCsd-TOTJZmm4/s1600/tumblr_l9wljpIdBy1qz72v7o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLL1rA6g93AVwBjm1GitoF20W-tNjq0licoEWqGgKuU497t9V9kHuebGjQ-cS1EFnK9aUEAWM07-gL2G44WVH7zQYGAhy8eGdARp0CvQq12G9P1Gk0FqKs0Ly7OarXUzwCsd-TOTJZmm4/s400/tumblr_l9wljpIdBy1qz72v7o1_500.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent">It's
Halloween and I salute my favorite horror movie star, the eternally
cool Christopher Lee. Lee was cousins and spied in WW2 with OO7 creator
Ian Fleming. He holds the Guinness Book of World Records for Actor
With Most Film Credits. He's been in some of the greatest movies of
all-time and some of the worst, however he always makes them better. He
was the definitive "Dracula," "Mummy," & "Frankenstein Monster" in
the Hammer Horror films and was a Bond villain in "The Man With The
Golden Gun," and audiences today know him from the "Star Wars" and "Lord
of The Rings" sagas and Tim Burton's films. He also records Heavy
Metal and Opera records. Still going strong at 90! Cheers! Here's a
look at 10 of his best! </span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYyod78KrYIaRXw8y68_3LNgEUhBMpHv1ydItQb8FrqgTQ1tib7LeqAWpExCE4YklODw8cmoDd1tOkVrSbQ5nMzvdjRbC4rgeXm9E8MV3ml18VlEDz1RWvVEPAncchmpyNnOiMNxSINEY/s1600/4580509_std.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYyod78KrYIaRXw8y68_3LNgEUhBMpHv1ydItQb8FrqgTQ1tib7LeqAWpExCE4YklODw8cmoDd1tOkVrSbQ5nMzvdjRbC4rgeXm9E8MV3ml18VlEDz1RWvVEPAncchmpyNnOiMNxSINEY/s1600/4580509_std.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the cover of the great Paul McCartney album "Band on the Run." Also on the cover is the equally cool James Coburn</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></span></h5>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"> </span></span></span></h5>
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/_DoRiEMGLEA/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/_DoRiEMGLEA&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/_DoRiEMGLEA&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Here's the trailer for a true gem of a film that Christopher Lee did for the great Billy Wilder, "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes." This is a wonderful film and its failure at the box office severely affected the masterful Wilder. Lee plays "Mycroft," Holmes' older and smarter brother. If you ever get the chance to watch this film, please do! Here it is! A wonderful, original story by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond based on the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. </span></b></div>
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<br /><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/_DT7RAOE0Pw/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/_DT7RAOE0Pw&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/_DT7RAOE0Pw&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"></span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942206}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942206}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942206}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]">Here
is a full movie that is one of Christopher Lee's best, "Horror Hotel" aka "The City of The Dead." Co-starring Venetia Stevenson who would marry one of the great Everly
Brothers. It's a bout a curse put on a small New England town by a
witch. Very moody and scary film. </span></span></span></span></h5>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/WVo1BHf0Y0I?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]">Lee as the Bond villain "Francisco Scaramanga" in the underrated "The Man With The Golden Gun. </span></span></span></span></h5>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/v8ttszfkLEo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]">Here's
Lee co-starring with fellow Horror Icons Boris Karloff and Barbara
Steele in the very stylish film "The Crimson Cult." One of the better
Devil worshipper movies. Complete film here </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/NCG0UhklOk0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942470}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942470}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942470}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]">This
is Lee in a scary "Alfred Hitchcock Hour" episode where he is a real
ghoul recruited by Hollywood types to be in a horror movie. Very good! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/k1d6yPcEnG4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942470}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942470}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942470}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942529}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942529}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942529}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]">Gotta
include one of these, here's Lee in his signature role as "Count
Dracula" with his longtime co-star and good friend Peter Cushing in "The
Satanic Rites of Dracula." </span></span></span> </span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/VkGiyhoQnrs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]">Last but not least is a public domain gem made in Spain with the leftover model trains from "Dr. Zhivago" produced by the great and notorious producer/writer Philip Yordan and Bernard Gordon for their Scotia Films is the wonderful Euro Horror film "Horror Express." This film has a great cast starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Telly Savalas along with some familiar Euro Horror faces. It's a really wild mishmosh of genres and is terribly entertaining and gained a real cult following through its many tv showings in the 70's and 80's. Enjoy! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/oJ1nVV4G64I?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942274}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[5dnuy].[1][4][1]{comment707216059:10152035512336060:63_30942321}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]"> Here is Lee receiving his Fellowship Award from BAFTA in 2011 presented by Tim Burton and given a loving reception by the star studded crowd. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/-2Od_8xyDLI/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/-2Od_8xyDLI&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/-2Od_8xyDLI&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-34710885715096493602013-08-17T10:29:00.000-04:002020-12-14T04:26:15.703-05:00American Legacy Magazine: A Moment's Gesture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</span>Here's the cover story that I wrote for the Spring 2008 issue for the excellent magazine devoted to the African-American Historical experience, <b><i>American Legacy.</i></b> The article was about the tumultuous events that took place leading up to and during the 1968 Mexico City Olympics culminating in the now iconic photo of Gold and Bronze Medal winners in the Men's 200 Meter Dash, Tommie Smith and John Carlos. These two young athletes took a stand and it affects them to this day. I was very proud of this piece and it marked my first foray into magazine writing. Special thanks to the wonderful Audrey Peterson the editor of this magazine and who took a chance on me. For more information about <b><i>Amercian Legacy Magazine</i></b>, visit their website: <u>http://www.americanlegacymag.com/</u>. <br />
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Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-6823603318575004102013-06-30T01:28:00.003-04:002013-06-30T01:28:34.943-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Excellent essay by Christopher Buckley on the eternal question about writers and writing, on drinking and booze and writing and inspiration. From the NY Times Sunday June 30, 2013 edition. </span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-size: large;">From the essay: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">In his memoir, “Hitch-22,” Buckley's friend Christopher Hitchens made a solid case
for liquidity. </span></i></span><div itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">
“Alcohol makes other people less tedious and food less
bland, and can help provide what the Greeks called entheos, or the
slight buzz of inspiration when reading or writing.” </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Booze as Muse</span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">By
<span itemprop="author creator" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span itemprop="name">CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY</span></span></span></h6>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">MY first real job in journalism was as a junior editor at Esquire, a
magazine with a venerable literary pedigree. I imagined myself having
three-martini lunches with Tom Wolfe, and explaining to “Tom” (surely we
would be on a first-name basis by the third martini) that his latest
25,000-word article was not bad, exactly, but needed another run through
the typewriter before we could even think of publishing it. </span></span></div>
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Andrea Tsurumi</h6>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">This absurd, callow reverie was summarily dashed by my first assignment.
I was told to call up someone famous — “anyone famous” — and get his or
her favorite Bloody Mary recipe for the summer issue. I called an old
girlfriend who had married a certifiably famous movie director. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“He only drinks Scotch neat,” she said. “But we’ll just make something
up.” The ghost of Esquire’s founder, Arnold Gingrich, winced over my
shoulder as she and I went to work devising her famous husband’s
fictional Bloody Mary. It ended up consisting of 20 or so ingredients,
15 of which contained toxic levels of capsaicin. For months after it was
published, I lived in fear that we’d be sued for immolating some poor
reader’s esophagus. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
I think back on my first shameful venture in “legitimate journalism”
every time I come across the latest improbable recipe for some new
cocktail. I don’t mean to imply that their creators are as spurious as I
was; they’re fun to read, and the more improbable the better. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Kingsley Amis, author of the indispensable “Everyday Drinking,” referred
to the genre as “dipsography, the alcoholic equivalent of pornography.”
Dipsography is continuing ed of the highest order. How satisfying and
knowing it is to drop savvy remarks like “Did you winterize your
margarita this year?” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
At the same time, it’s best not to overdo the dipsography, at the risk
of getting yourself a rep as a “cocktail bore,” “beer bore,” “aquavit
bore,” etc. </span></span></div>
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Who among us has not been held captive by a wine, single malt or vodka
bore? Thanks to the recent proliferation of boutique vodkas, it is now
possible, indeed likely, to have your eyes as frosted as a Grey Goose
bottle while someone holds forth at Homeric length on potato versus
grain versus molasses versus organic wheat versus Australian sugar cane.
My eyes glazed over just typing that sentence. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Booze — for present purposes, let us include in this category wine,
beer, eau de vie, moonshine, the blushful Hippocrene and all varieties
of intoxicating liquid refreshment — is a compelling subject. And
dipsography has evolved pari passu with the progress of the Internet.
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Surfing a large wave of ethyl alcohol recently, I came ashore on the Web
site of the Museum of the American Cocktail. The home page noted that
it was World Cocktail Week. Beneath that was a notice: “There are no
seminars or events scheduled at the current time. Please check back
later.” Had I possessed hacking skills, I’d have been tempted to insert a
“ — hic — ” somewhere in the last sentence. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
For classic literary dipsography — and counter-dipsography — log off
from the Internet and turn to the bookshelf. Roald Dahl’s short story
“Taste” is the ultimate takedown of the wine bore. A rather sinister
dinner guest proposes to his host a contest: if he identifies the wine
the host is pouring, he wins the hand of the host’s daughter. If he
fails, then the host gets both his houses. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
I won’t ruin it for you; it’s white-knuckle reading all the way to the
finish. When Alfred A. Knopf read the story in The New Yorker in 1951,
he signed Dahl to write a collection, and a brilliant career was born.
Come to think of it, surely the magazine’s most celebrated cartoon
remains James Thurber’s: “It’s a naïve domestic Burgundy without any
breeding, but I think you’ll be amused by its presumption.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Benjamin Disraeli is not principally known as a maker of bons mots, but
in his 1845 novel “Sybil,” he gives us Mr. Mountchesney’s unimprovable
remark: “I rather like bad wine. One gets so bored with good wine.”
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Continuing on the prime ministerial theme, Amis’s “Everyday Drinking”
provides the recipe for Queen Victoria’s Tipple: 1/2 tumbler red wine
and — brace yourself — Scotch. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“I have it on the authority of Colm Brogan,” he writes, “that the Great
Queen was ‘violently opposed to teetotalism, consenting to have one
cleric promoted to a deanery only if he promised to stop advocating the
pernicious heresy.’ ” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Elsewhere, the “Muse of Booze,” as Christopher Hitchens calls Mr. Amis
in his introduction to the reissue of “Everyday Drinking,” gives us
recipes for Paul Fussell’s Milk Punch (“to be drunk immediately on
rising, in lieu of eating breakfast”) and Evelyn Waugh’s Noonday Reviver
(“1 hefty shot gin, 1 bottle Guinness, ginger beer ... I should think
two doses is the limit”). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Amis was author of probably the most immortal hangover scene in all
literature. (The one suffered by Tom Wolfe’s louche British journalist
Peter Fallow in “Bonfire of the Vanities” is up there.) Amis demurely
refrains from mention of his own masterpiece moment in “Lucky Jim,”
though one of his cocktail recipes is named after the title. He does
however give us three “infallible” hangover cures, adding “though I have
not tried any of the three.” The first two are: “Go down the mine on
the early-morning shift at the coal-face” and “Go up for half an hour in
an open aeroplane, needless to say with a non-hungover person at the
controls.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
I mentioned Christopher Hitchens a moment ago. It seems fitting that he
should provide our nightcap. He and I once had a weekday lunch that
began at 1 p.m. and ended at 11:30 p.m. I spent the next three weeks
begging to be euthanized; he went home and wrote a dissertation on
Orwell. Christopher himself was a muse of booze, though dipsography and
fancy cocktails were not his thing. Christopher was a straightforward
whiskey and martini man. In his memoir, “Hitch-22,” he made a solid case
for liquidity. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Alcohol makes other people less tedious,” he writes, “and food less
bland, and can help provide what the Greeks called entheos, or the
slight buzz of inspiration when reading or writing.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Tempted as I am, I won’t close by saying, “I’ll drink to that,” because I
just found this recipe for a kumquat and clove gin and tonic, and I’m
thinking it might be more fun to drink to that. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Christopher Buckley is the author of a forthcoming book of essays, “But Enough About You.”</span><br />
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Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-71577927110296650202012-12-12T16:06:00.001-05:002021-11-12T11:49:00.992-05:00Happy Birthday Frank Sinatra! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
12/12 is the Birthday of one of the world's greatest entertainers/icons/singers/bon vivants, <b>Mr. Frank Sinatra</b>, a true hero of mine and many others. Here are 3 clips that sum up for me some of what made him great. As <b>Louis Armstrong</b> once said about jazz and I think life itself, "If you don't get it, then you never will...." Cheers Baby!<br />
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Here's <b>Howard Cosell's</b> brilliant ad-lib introduction of Sinatra from his Main Event Live Concert from Madison Square Garden.<br />
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This is Sinatra in 1965 with the mighty <b>Count Basie Orchestra</b> performing one of his greatest song with the furious <b>Quincy Jones</b> arrangement of "You Make Me Feel So Young." If you're not familiar with Sinatra here he is at his swinging best. </div>
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<b>Pete Hamil</b> in his great book <b><i>Why Sinatra Matters</i></b>, writes that the greatness of Sinatra's singing was how he projected the heartbreaking sadness of lost love or the euphoric joy of a love that is found. Here he is performing the epic torch song by <b>Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer</b>; <b>"One For My Baby (and One More For the Road)."</b> Quite possibly my favorite song. A <b>Hemingway short story</b> as song. Sinatra truly owns it and performs it brilliantly. As one musician said during a recording session of Sinatra's genius for torch songs, "he really believes this shit..." Radio personality <b>Sid Mark</b> had a Sinatra radio program throughout the 50's until the 90's would devote an hour every week to just Sinatra doing torch songs and it became nicknamed famously, <b>"the suicide hour..." </b></div>
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Enjoy, you if you don't get why Sinatra is great or matters after seeing these clips amongst hundreds of other, then you never will. Cheers Baby! </div>
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Below is an extra that I added to this post with the wonderful NYC writer and acquaintance of mine<b> Pete Hamill</b> discussing Sinatra and his excellent book <i><b>Why Sinatra Matters</b></i>. <br />
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Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-5784125443100057642012-06-21T03:27:00.000-04:002020-12-14T04:30:04.183-05:00Andrew Sarris: A Touchstone, America's Greatest Film Critic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">RIP Andrew Sarris. America's finest film critic and theorist. A man who
changed the face of how films are made and seen. He was a lovely and
gracious gentleman whose brilliantly written books taught me more about film and how to think than
anyone else. Reading his<span class="text_exposed_show"> books and
watching the films that he wrote about by the directors he championed were the best film school anyone
could want. I used to sit in on his classes at Columbia and they were
days that I'll always remember. It was a real highlight. He was very nice to this interloper. I
told him that if movies are my religion, he's the pope.... </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yp6rjJc5RbOFRn8ubo8CQybeW-CV-vJEGlP0O06xr-ioNr0qRHbXqfVyn8vz3kI0hIG8myLIPUgY-Fx1nvimh-FOXDvYdcp_blLgLcPGFePkBmBV1Pii3TM-CgStjfm95dTBZJa6kqo/s1600/Me&Sarris.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yp6rjJc5RbOFRn8ubo8CQybeW-CV-vJEGlP0O06xr-ioNr0qRHbXqfVyn8vz3kI0hIG8myLIPUgY-Fx1nvimh-FOXDvYdcp_blLgLcPGFePkBmBV1Pii3TM-CgStjfm95dTBZJa6kqo/s320/Me&Sarris.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew Sarris and I when I used to sit in on his classes at Columbia for a few years back in the 90's. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"I consider Andrew Sarris to be one of the most fundamental and valued teachers," writes Martin Scorsese. "His writings led me to see the genius in American movies at a time when
the cinema was considered a mindless form of entertainment, worthy of
serious attention only if it came from Europe or Asia."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I will be doing a long form piece about this great man in the near future, there were tributes from all over today to this man. Below are some links to some of the very good ones that I read. A very nice piece ran in the Hollywood Reporter by Todd McCarthy was posted today. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/andrew-sarris-tribute-todd-mccarthy-american-cinema-340334">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/andrew-sarris-tribute-todd-mccarthy-american-cinema-340334</a> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Roger Ebert wrote a nice piece also: </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120620/PEOPLE/120629992">http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120620/PEOPLE/120629992</a> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">A nice piece from Richard Brody in The New Yorker: </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2012/06/andrew-sarris-postscript.html">http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2012/06/andrew-sarris-postscript.html</a> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This is a very good post on Fandor's site with lots of quotes from several top film writers:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.fandor.com/blog/daily-andrew-sarris-1928-2012/">http://www.fandor.com/blog/daily-andrew-sarris-1928-2012/</a> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Lastly there's a link from 2001 from the Columbia News celebrating the collection of essays by various writers including Martin Scorsese and 39 other contributors, <b>Citizen Sarri</b>s:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/01/08/andrewSarris.html">http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/01/08/andrewSarris.html</a> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">As I remember upon meeting the excellent director Sam Fuller once, I asked him to autograph "the bible" Sarris's seminal book <b>The American Cinema</b>, and Fuller said "sure, this is a very good book..." </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Upon reading the vast amounts of tributes today remembering this man's life and his contribution to movies as a serious art form, I can say that he was a true touchstone to mine and many other's lives. </span></div>
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</div>Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-46865675069994638702012-06-06T05:02:00.002-04:002020-12-14T04:23:39.693-05:00Spaghetti Westerns at Film Forum! Bravo!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When I was a kid and movies would come on TV some of the
ones that always fascinated me were the weird, crazy movies that seemed and
looked like westerns but were somehow much different. Obviously they were dubbed into English, had really cool
music soundtracks, were very violent, the women were really sexy and everybody
was very sweaty and had lots of makeup and unique costumes on. Yeah, these cowboy movies were
different all right from lame "Bonanza," or "Gunsmoke," they were made in Spain and Italy financed by Germans,
with an American star directed by Italians with Italian crews and using actors
from all over Europe, these were Spaghetti Westerns. Originally this term was derided by the craftsmen who made
these films on shoestring budgets but the genre became such a hugely successful worldwide box office sensation,
that they didn’t mind. From the
Mid-Sixties until the Mid-Seventies, these movies were very, very popular with
worldwide audiences making international superstars out of some unlikely actors
like Lee Van Cleef who spent years appearing in small parts in features and
television and Clint Eastwood who co-starred on "Rawhide" for years, Franco Nero, Tomas Milian, Terence Hill, Bud Spencer and Charles Bronson. In the upcoming posts, I’ll be going through this wonderful genre
of films. Right now the great Film
Forum will be showing a bunch of these films and if you get a chance to see
these crazy movies on the big screen do yourself a favor and go see them. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Here’s My Top 30
Spaghetti Westerns: </u></b></div>
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For A Few Dollars More </div>
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Once Upon a Time in the West </div>
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The Great Silence </div>
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A Bullet For The General </div>
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Duck, You Sucker</div>
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The Big Gundown </div>
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Death Rides a Horse </div>
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<br /></div>
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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly </div>
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Django </div>
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Fistful of Dollars </div>
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The Hills Run Red </div>
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Companeros </div>
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Django Kill </div>
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Sabata</div>
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Face to Face </div>
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The Hellbenders </div>
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Django The Bastard </div>
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Day of Anger </div>
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Vengeance </div>
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Requiescant </div>
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The Mercenary </div>
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Navajo Joe </div>
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If You Meet Sartana, Pray For Your Death </div>
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Keoma </div>
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And God Said to Cain </div>
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Return of Ringo</div>
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Any Gun Can Play</div>
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My Name is Nobody </div>
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Adios Sabata </div>
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The Ruthless Four</div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Alex Cox’s Top Twenty
Spaghetti Westerns</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Touche_pas_%C3%A0_la_femme_blanche"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span></a></span>
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<ol start="1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;" type="1"></ol>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. For a Few Dollars More</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2. Once Upon a Time in the West </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">4. Django </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">5. The Great Silence </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">6. Requiescant </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">7. Johnny Hamlet </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">8. Arizona Colt </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">9. Django Kill </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">10. A Bullet For the General </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">11. Tepepa </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">12. Cemetary Without Crosses </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">13. California </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">14. Today It's Me... Tomorrow You </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">15. Black Jack </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">16. The Ruthless Four </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">17. $1,000 on the Black </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">18. Bandidos </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">19. And God Said to Cain </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">20. Dont Touch the White Women </span><br />
<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Quentin Tarantino’s Top
Twenty Spaghetti Westerns</span></i><span style="display: none;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">1.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>The Good, The Bad and The Ugly</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">2.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>For a Few Dollars More </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">3.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Django </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">4.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>The Mercenary </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">5.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Once Upon a Time in the West </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">6.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>A Fistful of Dollars </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">7.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Day of Anger </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">8.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Death Rides a Horse </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">9.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Navajo Joe </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">10.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Return
of Ringo </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">11.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>The
Big Gundown </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">12.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>A
Pistol for Ringo </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">13.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>The
Dirty Outlaws </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">14.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>The
Great Silence </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">15.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>The
Grand Duel </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">16.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Shoot
The Living, Pray For the Dead </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">17.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Tepepa
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">18.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>The
Ugly Ones </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">19.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Viva
Django </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">20.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>The
Machine Gun Killers </span> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sir Christopher Fraling's (genre expert) Top Ten Spaghetti Westerns</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. Once Upon a Time in the West </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. The Great Silence </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. For a Few Dollars More </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. Django Kill </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. Django </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">8. My Name is Nobody </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">9. The Mercenary </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Most of these movies will be playing at the Film Forum here in NYC for the next three weeks. I hope that you might catch them there on the big screen or on DVD or streaming on Netflix or YouTube. I sure that you will thoroughly enjoy them, they're a lot of fun. Feel free to comment. Enjoy! </span></div>
</div>Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-17719802179577450372012-01-20T22:34:00.000-05:002012-01-20T22:34:42.689-05:00Favorite Character from a Favorite TV Show: Ian McShane as "Al Swearengen" of "Deadwood."<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hey friends, sorry for the absence but have been in production and have had a full plate. Anyway, just posting a quick one but a great set of clips from one of my favorite shows of all-time! "Deadwood," created, written by and executed by David Milch. One of the main characters of the crazy ensemble from this lawless town in the old west was the owner of the Gem Saloon, "Al Swearengen" masterfully played by Ian McShane in an award winning performance. I think "Deadwood" was one of the finest works of film/tv in the past 20 years. David Milch has a new show on HBO called "Luck." I hope that it can approach the quality of his western saga. Enjoy McShane doing the words of David Milch in a terrific performance in these following clips.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/uqvdmjGc3cI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/FfE6C-h8-xE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> A great performance in a very missed series. I hope that David Milch and the ensemble reunite for maybe a "Deadwood" movie. One can only hope. </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div></div>Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-44058819430676448302011-10-12T17:10:00.000-04:002011-10-12T17:38:29.875-04:00Jean-Luc Godard's WEEKEND at Film Forum in New York City till October 17th<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">My personal favorite of Jean-Luc Godard's films. The great, crazy, "Weekend." One helluva ride! If you love the movies, go check out this film. It will make you feel something... <br />
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Jean-Luc Godard's WEEKEND at Film Forum in New York City<br />
<a href="http://www.filmforum.org/films/weekend.html#">http://www.filmforum.org/films/weekend.html# </a><br />
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Some clips from this landmark film: <br />
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</div>Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-84431957545679430842011-08-17T06:49:00.000-04:002021-03-08T18:39:05.288-05:00ROBERT RYAN at Film Forum in New York City<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://www.filmforum.org/films/robertryan.html#817">ROBERT RYAN at Film Forum in New York City </a><br />
<u>http://www.filmforum.org/films/robertryan.html#817 </u><br />
<strong>"Life, death, loneliness, loss: these were some of the things we learned from the quiet art of Robert Ryan." <br />
</strong>– Pete Hamill<br />
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When I was a kid, I used to watch movies with my dad. He used to work a lot so when he and I would watch a movie on TV it was quality time. Despite being in a remote town in PA, he was a good movie guy. He got the ball rolling by making me watch "<b>On the Waterfront</b>," with the great Brando, Burt Lancaster in "<b>Elmer Gantry</b>" and Howard Hawks' "<b>Red River</b>," with John Wayne and Montgomery Clift that he told me were all great actors. But one actor that he always told was the GUY, was Robert Ryan, his personal favorite. Robert Ryan is indeed a great actor, Jeff Bridges who was in "<b>The Iceman Cometh</b>" with him as a young man, says that Ryan was the greatest actor that he'd ever seen on screen or worked with. Robert Ryan was an actor's actor who never was an "A-Lister" but when paired with such stars as Clark Gable, Robert Mitchum, John Wayne, Burt Lancaster, James Stewart, Lee Marvin and Spencer Tracy, he more than held his own. <br />
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Ryan often played conflicted, ambiguous characters in such films as Nicholas Ray's "<b>On Dangerous Ground</b>," Anthony Mann's great western "<b>The Naked Spur</b>," Fritz Lang's version of Clifford Odets' "<b>Clash By Night</b>," or Max Ophuls' "<b>Caught</b>," in those great director's movies and many others he simply dominates the screen even though his characters are not very nice people.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-C9rR2-Qv54Ccal5lYVKaEFm1My7uomJvNT7XR26uGLrBdkwyKblP-C2dxHO7x_qqHjs81j-WjQhY50ettAaIjVwggOd_lB_0sBs0a9PRLCg80GHT7KGcXzNHpAoYmbbIzX5TmFIOkw/s1600/robertryan1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-C9rR2-Qv54Ccal5lYVKaEFm1My7uomJvNT7XR26uGLrBdkwyKblP-C2dxHO7x_qqHjs81j-WjQhY50ettAaIjVwggOd_lB_0sBs0a9PRLCg80GHT7KGcXzNHpAoYmbbIzX5TmFIOkw/s320/robertryan1.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>In other films like the adaption of Melville's "<b>Billy Budd</b>," Richard Brooks' "<b>Crossfire</b>," Robert Wise's "<b>Odds Against Tommorow</b>," and "<b>Bad Day at Black Rock</b>" with Spencer Tracy, Ryan is just downright mean, cementing himself as possibly the screen's greatest heavy. However all of his characters brought an intelligence and gravitas that gave dimension to all of those characterizations. <br />
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In real life he was the exact opposite, a private, family man, a fierce liberal who campaigned for many causes like civil rights, against Sen. McCarthy's withchunts, anti-nukes, etc. He did many stage productions at the height of his movie stardom which not too many actors would do including Irving Berlin's last musical "<b>Mr. President</b>." He said, "In movies, I've played pretty much everything that I've dedicated my life to fighting against." A legitimate tough guy in a land of fake tough guys, he was a Marine Drill Instructor and an Ivy League boxing champion who on the set of "<b>The Wild Bunch</b>," threatened to punch out legendary tough guy Sam Peckinpah whom he didn't get along with. Legend has it that he and his friend and total political opposite John Wayne almost came to blows. Shortly after Ryan died in 1973, his estate sold his apartment in the Dakota building to a young couple named John Lennon and Yoko Ono. <br />
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The Film Forum on West Houston Street in NYC is doing a very overdue tribute to Robert Ryan's career showing 21 films over 12 days this August, it's going on now. <u>FilmForum.org</u> 2 excellent films where Ryan gets to really show his stuff and are playing in this festival are Roy Ward Baker's 3-D survival tale "<b>Inferno</b>," and Robert Wise's boxing film "<b>The Set-Up</b>." Both films feature tour de forces by Ryan. In "<b>Inferno</b>," he plays a not so nice millionaire who's left to die in the desert with a broken leg by his cheating wife. He's alone on screen trying to survive for most of the movie and one can't help but rooting for his boorish character to survive. In "<b>The Set-Up</b>," considered by many one of the best of all the boxing movies and Bob's favorite role, Ryan plays a real ham and egger in the dead end world of small time boxing. <b> </b><strong><b>“Bob caught all the nuances of guts and shattered hopes, and small-time aspirations of a never-was beating the hell out of the desperation of being a club fighter.</b>”</strong>– Samuel Fuller. I'll be as bold to say that Ryan's performance is the best in any boxing movie. <br />
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So I think my old man was right about saying that Robert Ryan was "the man." An actor first, a star second, not afraid to take an unsympathetic role. Ryan brought a dignity and intelligence to any film that he was in and if you love movies and acting you should definitely try to catch some of his films at the Film Forum, TCM or Netflix. You will be entertained. The writer who did Robert Ryan's obituary when he died in 1973, wrote this very lovely summation of Ryan's career, "he left behind a lifetime of roles too small for his talent..." Well said. <br />
</div>Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-28589823162284309472011-08-03T00:54:00.000-04:002011-08-03T00:54:16.719-04:00Remembering Thurman Munson<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Me and millions of others remember exactly where they were in 1979 when they heard that Thurman Munson was killed tragically in a plane crash at the age of 32. It was a very sad day for all of baseball and heartbreaking to Yankee fans who had lost their Captain, their heart and soul. A great player who led the Yankees to 3 straight World Series appearances and winning 2 in '77 & '78. Munson played with a fire that is rare in a player and his style clicked with fans. He was a lunch bucket type of player from Canton Ohio, whose uniform was always dirty, played through injuries and the only time he'd smile on the field is after the Yankees had safely secured a win. </div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: white; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUlpCiDVF4ZiglPYqXgTqG8oekDSnTd83BIahsK2LxuwFYBY458xl2nqKZ9b5l7S4EIxNcezKjOuW2tEEJaENkLIuzwJMco2nGfMiaPQ9_CNpXUhLctn5ReagJ3VL1QEzV-zCKF1fRPU/s1600/munsonjpg-e4e26828c658d680_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUlpCiDVF4ZiglPYqXgTqG8oekDSnTd83BIahsK2LxuwFYBY458xl2nqKZ9b5l7S4EIxNcezKjOuW2tEEJaENkLIuzwJMco2nGfMiaPQ9_CNpXUhLctn5ReagJ3VL1QEzV-zCKF1fRPU/s320/munsonjpg-e4e26828c658d680_large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span></span>His fight during a collision with his rival, Boston catcher Carlton Fisk is the stuff of legend. In '76, Owner George Steinbrenner named the catcher to be the first captain of the New York Yankees in 37 years succeeding the late, great Lou Gehrig. Munson was perhaps the best clutch hitter of his time leading the '70's Yankees from being an also ran to champion in a short time. Those Yankee teams were something else, a collection of rogues starting from "The Boss" George Steinbrenner, Manager Billy Martin, controversial power hitting outfielder Reggie Jackson whom Munson feuded then befriended, flaky Mickey Rivers, tough guys Lou Piniella and Graig Nettles to quiet superstars like Catfish Hunter and Ron Guidry. They were nicknamed the Bronx Zoo but it was their captain Munson that held the ship together and led them to victory. Thurman Munson a beloved Yankee, team captain, champion. His locker at the old Yankee Stadium remained empty with his number 15 jersey hanging there since that day in August of '79 and that locker was moved to the new Yankee Stadium paying tribute to Munson. </div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdl1Q-_W19gr0KnolmS-5dZn1h94kSWbUFdfGmRRYdQbKnHaROUFNowbAk41bbJGqP5R-T7Kgekf8ldMnmebR9e0RtQl2DfpOKu_RgRgNZ-4NNcqVYTDsfRGcXbTEAq19CyZ_tf2hciOU/s1600/220px-Munson_Locker.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdl1Q-_W19gr0KnolmS-5dZn1h94kSWbUFdfGmRRYdQbKnHaROUFNowbAk41bbJGqP5R-T7Kgekf8ldMnmebR9e0RtQl2DfpOKu_RgRgNZ-4NNcqVYTDsfRGcXbTEAq19CyZ_tf2hciOU/s1600/220px-Munson_Locker.JPG" /></a></div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hopefully the veterans committee of the Baseball Hall of Fame will rightfully place him in Cooperstown. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame much more so than the recent batch of statistical compilers who've recently entered the HOF. Here's a 3 segment video biography of the Yankee great. </div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/abkDLcjA77I?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/PuQahUME3N4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/h3XrqGaoELo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some of Thurman Munson's accomplishments as a player: </div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*3 consecutive seasons batting .300 or better with 100 or more RBI each year. He was the first catcher to accomplish the feat in three consecutive years since Yankee Hall of Famer Bill Dickey's four straight seasons from 1936-1939, matched only by Mike Piazza since (1996–1998).</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*Munson had a career .357 batting average in the post-season with three home runs, 22 RBIs and nineteen runs scored. </div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*Munson's batting average in the World Series was .373.</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*1976 AL MVP </div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*7 Time All-Star (1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*3 Time Gold Glove Award winner (1973, 1974, 1975)</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*New York Yankees' Team Captain 1976-'79</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span></span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*1970 AL Rookie of the Year </div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*Lifetime Batting Average .292</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*Number 15 Retired by the New York Yankees</div><table class="infobox bordered vcard" style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><tbody></tbody></table><table class="infobox bordered vcard" style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><tbody>
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Some of her other films that I like with Miss Wood are: "Kings Go Forth" with Frank Sinatra and Tony Curtis, "This Property is Condemned," with Robert Redford, "West Side Story," "Sex and the Single Girl," "Gypsy," Blake Edwards' "The Great Race," "Love With the Proper Stranger" with Steve McQueen, "Inside Daisy Clover" with Redford and Christopher Plummer, Paul Mazursky's "Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice," and an excellent tv presentation of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," with Laurence Olivier and husband Robert Wagner. Wood is really good as "Maggie the Cat" in this nice production from the BBC and Olivier. <br />
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She died tragically in 1981 under mysterious circumstances but her star still burns bright with her radiant screen presence. <br />
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Here's a nice tribute to Miss Wood from her co-star Robert Redford that ran on TCM:<br />
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Here's the trailer from Elia Kazan's production of William Inge's "Splendor in the Grass."<br />
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You can see many of Natalie Wood's films from Netflix and on TCM. I think you'll like them. <br />
Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-71292539455950609462011-05-30T03:11:00.000-04:002020-12-14T04:29:21.435-05:00Tony Curtis Telling it like it is! Great Vanity Fair piece from '07<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h1 class="content-headline">Tony Curtis: Been There, Done That</h1><h2 class="sub-header">After more than 150 movies spanning half a century, Tony Curtis, now 81 years old, recounts a life lived onscreen—and off.<span class="contributor"><b class="label"> </b></span></h2><h2 class="sub-header"><span class="contributor"><b class="label">by </b><span class="name" style="background-color: white; color: black;"><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/contributors/tony-curtis">Tony Curtis</a></span></span></h2><div class="display-date">February 12, 2007 </div><div class="content-container"><div class="content-supporting"></div><div class="article-text"><i></i><i><br />
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<div class="inlineimage right"><img alt="" src="http://www.vanityfair.com/images/fame/2007/02/faar01_tonycurtis0702.jpg" /><span><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span> <br />
<div class="caption">Antoninus bathes with Marcus Licinius Crassus in <i>Spartacus. Universal International Pictures/Photofest.</i></div></div>I punched Burt Lancaster out in <i>Trapeze.</i><br />
<div style="background-color: black; color: black;"><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=13">I took two girls away from Jack Lemmon—Marilyn Monroe and Natalie Wood.</a></div><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=2" style="background-color: white; color: black;">In the movies I fell in love with</a> Piper Laurie, Janet Leigh, Colleen Miller, Marilyn Monroe, Claudia Cardinale, Monica Vitti, Virna Lisi, Susan Hampshire, Debbie Reynolds, Christine Kaufmann, Gloria DeHaven, Suzanne Pleshette, and Mae West.<br />
I took one girl from Frank Sinatra and took back one girl from George C. Scott.<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: black;"><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=17">I helped Cary Grant paint his sub pink.</a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: black;"><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=3">I took a bath with Laurence Olivier.</a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: black;"><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=15">I killed Kirk Douglas in <i>The Vikings</i> and he killed me in <i>Spartacus.</i></a></div>Yul Brynner killed me in <i>Taras Bulba.</i><br />
<div style="color: white;"><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=11">I was grilled by Henry Fonda in <i>The Boston Strangler.</i></a></div>I took out Edmond O'Brien's tooth in <i>The Great Impostor.</i><br />
In <i>The Great Impostor,</i> I was kicked out of a monastery by Raymond Massey for eating grapes.<br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=6">I raced Roger Moore—he in an Aston Martin, me in a Ferrari.</a><br />
I got a Christmas card from Gregory Peck in <i>Captain Newman, M.D.</i><br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=22">I was on the phone with Mia Farrow in <i>Rosemary's Baby.</i></a><br />
I shot pool with Cary Grant, Burt Lancaster, and Jack Lemmon—all hustlers.<br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=9">I played poker with Ernie Kovacs and Dean Martin.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=12">I had a date with Audrey Hepburn in <i>Paris When It Sizzles.</i></a><br />
I danced with Burt Lancaster's girl Yvonne De Carlo in <i>Criss Cross.</i><br />
I did not have to make a movie with Angela Lansbury. I never made an Angela Lansbury film and I may never have to.<br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=7">As Houdini, I sawed Janet Leigh in half.</a><br />
I took out Kirk Douglas's eye in <i>The Vikings.</i><br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=19">I was Stony Curtis in <i>The Flintstones.</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=10">I was on the cover of the Beatles' <i>Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=23">As Ira Hayes, I raised the flag on Iwo Jima.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=8">I was chained to Sidney Poitier forever.</a><br />
I was a close friend to George Sidney.<br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=5">I have Edward G. Robinson's easel.</a><br />
I was knighted by the French government as a <i>Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.</i><br />
I was knighted by the government of Hungary.<br />
Lines from my movies:<br />
"I'm Spartacus!"<br />
"The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river."<br />
"Nobody's perfect."<br />
I supposedly said, "Yonder lies Fadder's castle."<br />
I had dinner with Salvador Dalì.<br />
I was invited to make a movie with Linda Lovelace. <br />
I danced with Sammy Davis Jr.<br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=18">I was funnier than Jerry Lewis in <i>Boeing Boeing.</i></a><br />
I took Ann Blyth to a premiere.<br />
I wrestled Eddie Albert in a toilet in <i>Captain Newman, M.D. </i><br />
I got a tip from Barbara Stanwyck in <i>The Lady Gambles.</i><br />
Gary Cooper was a friend of mine.<br />
After the bath, Laurence Olivier was hot for me.<br />
I was in a movie with Francis the Mule and Donald O'Connor.<br />
Humphrey Bogart took me on his yacht.<br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=14">Orry-Kelly designed my dresses for <i>Some Like It Hot.</i></a><br />
I took Roseanne out to dinner one night.<br />
Frank Sinatra gave me a wooden flute.<br />
Bea Arthur, Elaine Stritch, and I went to the same acting school.<br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=16">I have met every president of the United States from Kennedy on, except Nixon.</a><br />
I fenced superbly against Ross Martin in <i>The Great Race.</i><br />
George and Barbara Bush are friends of mine.<br />
Frank Sinatra Jr. gave me two of his father's shirts.<br />
Audie Murphy beat me to the draw.<br />
At Universal, I knew Norma Eberhardt, who had one blue eye and one brown eye.<br />
Anita Ekberg wanted me.<br />
I had dinner with Clark Gable.<br />
I called Rona Barrett a yenta.<br />
Tyrone Power was shy.<br />
Spartacus was a friend of mine.<br />
I was in a movie with Edward Everett Horton.<br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=21">Ernie Borgnine was my father in <i>The Vikings.</i></a><br />
Marlon Brando and I rented a house on Barnum Boulevard with our agent, Jay Kanter.<br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=4">Mamie Van Doren and Cleo Moore were friends of mine.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/fame/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=20">I was the first actor <i>Playgirl</i> wanted for a nude centerfold.</a><br />
I took a girl away from Marlon Brando.<br />
The Serviceman's Canteen on the submarine base at Pearl Harbor has one of my paintings. <br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702?slide=24">The Museum of Modern Art has accepted one of my paintings.</a><br />
<i>Go to the slide show:</i> <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/02/tonycurtis_slideshow200702">Tony Curtis: A Celluloid Life.</a><br />
<div class="caption"><b>Tony Curtis</b> is … well, Tony Curtis.</div><br />
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</div><div class="keywords">JS: RIP Tony C. You did it in style and had a lot of fun doing it, baby! Thanks for the movies and the memories. </div><div class="keywords"><br />
</div></div>Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-35034797116661110292011-05-16T17:16:00.000-04:002020-12-14T04:28:45.065-05:00Happy BIrthday Henry Fonda<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Doing a quick post celebrating the birthday May 16th of the great Henry Fonda, one of the best actors that we've ever had on the screen or stage. He was a portrait of quintessential American dignity as "Tom Joad" in John Ford's "The Grapes of Wrath," and as a "Young Mr. Lincoln" in yet another Ford Masterpiece. Fonda amassed a tremendous body of work in a career spanning over 50 years, creating the great role of "Mr. Roberts" in the play of the same name and then the classic movie. Oddly enough he started acting in his native Nebraska at the urging of Dodie Brando (yes Marlon's mother). This dignified presence that Fonda brought to the screen had him often playing "The President" in several of his later films. He was the liberal yin to the conservative yang of his friend John Wayne. <br />
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Fonda was also very cool as he showed in his western performances. I particularly like him as "Wyatt Earp" in Ford's "My Darling Clementine, and " William Wellman's "The Ox-Bow Incident," and in Edward Dmytryk's "Warlock" based on a great novel by Oakley Hall (one of Thomas Pynchon's favorites btw). "Warlock" is a inversion of the Wyatt Earp/Doc Holliday legend with Fonda ambiguously portraying an Earp like hired gunman/marshall. <br />
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One other performance of note was as the title character in the Alfred Hitchcock chilling masterwork "The Wrong Man." He plays a man whose life is destroyed when wrongly accused of murder. <br />
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Some of Fonda's other excellent films and performances include: The Ox-Bow Incident, Drums Along the Mohawk, The Lady Eve, You Only Live Once, Jezebel, The Return of Frank James, The Male Animal, Daisy Kenyon, Fort Apache, War and Peace, The Wrong Man, 12 Angry Men, The Tin Star, Advise and Consent, The Best Man, Fail Safe, Firecreek, Once Upon a Time in the West, Battle of the Bulge, Big Hand for A Little Lady, There Was a Crooked Man, My Name is Nobody, On Golden Pond, Summer Solstice. <br />
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Most of these films are available on Netflix and are shown regularly on TCM. Please check them out, you will be entertained. <br />
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Here's Some clips of this wonderful actor's work: <br />
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</div>Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-31238411501903219412011-04-20T02:59:00.000-04:002020-12-14T04:28:13.554-05:00ELIZABETH TAYLOR: More Than Meets The Eye<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="color: black;"><style>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">When she passed away a few weeks ago, Elizabeth Taylor had achieved an iconic level of enduring worldwide stardom that really only a very few ever achieve; Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Marlon Brando, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant and Charlie Chaplin are among those who ever enjoyed that kind of stardom. During the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, Elizabeth Taylor was arguably bigger than any of them on the world stage. As Roger Ebert wrote, “</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Of few deaths can it be said that they end an era, but hers does. No other actress commanded more attention for longer, for her work, her beauty, her private life, and a series of health problems that brought her near death more than once.”</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> Ebert described, “Taylor had her own category of stardom.” She’s known mainly by today’s young people as an old star who had a popular perfume and made charitable appearances and cameos, but there’s a lot more going on there: she was a damned good movie actress. Taylor quit really making movies in the mid-70’s due to health concerns and I think boredom, but her work truly stands up and is a testament to a woman whose beauty often overshadowed her talent. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicooaeUecURlhSgs890yZrSMwBbvoGsI4Oe589CoLpKTXDWTU-Ro22b_USF0siqBjMrW1TY_ERWfWRd3wNGqgDB7z6u9nUzCfzJU2r6qM3H3AZuLs3ES-WscSSUAUi4RaMc4um8RY-O2c/s1600/LizTaylorTattoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicooaeUecURlhSgs890yZrSMwBbvoGsI4Oe589CoLpKTXDWTU-Ro22b_USF0siqBjMrW1TY_ERWfWRd3wNGqgDB7z6u9nUzCfzJU2r6qM3H3AZuLs3ES-WscSSUAUi4RaMc4um8RY-O2c/s200/LizTaylorTattoo.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A friend of mine's tattoo of her idol Elizabeth Taylor</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">In the excellent New York Times obituary written by Mel Gussow writing about Miss Taylor, “</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">There was one point of general agreement: her beauty. As cameramen noted, her face was flawlessly symmetrical; she had no bad angle, and her eyes were of the deepest violet.“ It also</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> quoted </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who directed her in "<i><b>Suddenly Last Summer</b></i></span><u><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></u><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">” and “</span><i><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Cleopatra</span></b></i><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">,” saw her for the first time, in Cannes, when she was 18. “She was the most incredible vision of loveliness I have ever seen in my life,” he said. “And she was sheer innocence.” Mankiewiewicz who wrote and directed such classics as “<i><b>All About Eve</b></i>,” and “<i><b>The Barefoot Contessa</b></i>,” also admired Miss Taylor’s professionalism. “Whatever the script called for, she played it,” he said. “The thread that goes through the whole is that of a woman who is an honest performer. Therein lies her identity.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Elizabeth Taylor had no formal acting training but basically grew up on camera and was a terrific movie actress whose parts displayed an impressive range. I think she’s the definitive Tennessee Williams heroine doing four movies of his plays. She did “Taming of the Shrew” with her then husband, the great Richard Burton in possibly the best film of Shakespeare. Most impressively over the course of her career she held her own on screen with such imposing screen titans as Mickey Rooney, Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando, Spencer Tracy, James Dean, Paul Newman, Rock Hudson, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Michael Caine, Katherine Hepburn and Burton whom she did 11 films with. </span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWg-3gI30OaJq-aW401AyugY3eq5OHoF0zp9QYVxljHXBjrd1QHGbMpPqiJhNi-95sQhLJ08x1j91C2AzFTut_xXz5060CCNwnDZqMgNHLNJB-cxiMtC1Hj4KxDbS8yPbjA2CwEcJc8s/s1600/elizabeth_taylor_swimming_costume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWg-3gI30OaJq-aW401AyugY3eq5OHoF0zp9QYVxljHXBjrd1QHGbMpPqiJhNi-95sQhLJ08x1j91C2AzFTut_xXz5060CCNwnDZqMgNHLNJB-cxiMtC1Hj4KxDbS8yPbjA2CwEcJc8s/s200/elizabeth_taylor_swimming_costume.jpg" width="160" /></a></span></td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> In 1944, she did the enduring kid’s classic “<i><b>National Velvet</b></i>” as young girl and was a star for the rest of her life in a touching performance that captured the public’s imagination. From there she made a series of solid films for MGM most notably as Spencer Tracy’s daughter in Vincente Minnelli’s “<b><i>Father of the Bride</i></b>,” and “<i><b>Father’s Little Dividend</b></i>.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Everything changed in 1951, Elizabeth Taylor made a very important film with a top director George Stevens in “<i><b>A Place in the Sun</b></i>,” co-starring Montgomery Clift, then along with Brando were the shining new lights of the theatrical world. “<b><i>A Place in the Sun</i></b>,” was based on the masterful classic novel <b><u>An American Tragedy</u></b> by Theodore Dreiser, and Liz plays what Stevens describes as “beautiful girl in the yellow Cadillac convertible that every American boy, some time or other, thinks he can marry.” Clift plays the working class kid who falls for the unattainable Liz and she for him but first impregnates the girl he knew earlier to disastrous results; simple, working class girl Shelley Winters. Taylor and Clift’s gorgeous, romantic couple highlights and complicate the dark plot of this enduring classic. I highly recommend this film. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/_Fm6sa_L5_4/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_Fm6sa_L5_4&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_Fm6sa_L5_4&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Several years later, Stevens hired Taylor to star in his big American epic, the most expensive film ever made at the time “<b><i>Giant</i></b>,” along with box office star Rock Hudson and the tragic, emerging superstar James Dean. Based on Edna Ferber’s novel, it epically follows the lives of a Texas cattle/oil family. “<b><i>Giant</i></b>” was a massive hit and a touchstone movie from the ‘50’s. James Dean died while during filming. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/w2x6AT4mr3o?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">One of the definitive Taylor performances was in the Richard Brooks production of Tennessee Williams’ provocative classic play “<b><i>Cat on A Hot Tin Roof</i></b>.” Liz is “Maggie the Cat,” appearing gorgeous in a white slip throughout most of the movie, desperate for the love of her alcoholic and possibly gay, ex-football star husband Paul Newman. Despite the censorship of the times, the movie made its point and the performances by the ensemble around Liz is excellent. The handsomest couple in movie history perhaps.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/rDk0JtQHc0A?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Mankiewicz directs Katherine Hepburn along with the third teaming of Taylor and Montgomery Clift in another Tennessee Williams play “<b><i>Suddenly Last Summer</i></b>.” This lurid melodrama features Hepburn in her only villainous role as a mother who wants her seemingly crazy niece Taylor lobotomized by psychiatrist Clift to silence her about the sleazy life and death of her son. (Clift had a terrible disfiguring car accident some years before this driving from Liz’s house and is a shadow of himself from the earlier films. Taylor had to pull Clift’s teeth out of his throat to prevent him from choking to death.) The three stars are dynamite and this was another big hit, and Taylor is amazing in her white one-piece swimsuit.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/HBPwPIqYXtg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The film that probably defined Taylor’s career for many was the legendary, bloated, mega-expensive yet highly watchable epic “<b><i>Cleopatra</i></b>.” This is the film where she began her tumultuous affair with Richard Burton, a personal favorite and the greatest classical actor of his generation. This love affair/marriage was biggest tabloid story of the 60’s as these two magnetic superstars defined excess and yet made a string of very good movies. Check out the IMDB <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056937/trivia" style="color: red;">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056937/trivia</a> trivia entry for the myriad of stories surrounding this film that would’ve cost about 300 million in today’s money. Taylor received 1 million in salary and eventually made 7 million due to overruns in scheduling and profits from it. It was originally 6 hours long cut to 3 but is highly entertaining. This film was so expensive that Fox had to sell off part of its back lot and studio space which is now the Century CIty part of Los Angeles. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/NGDyZHlHklo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">As the 1960’s progressed, “Liz & Dick,” worked together and apart in many quality productions, their most well known is probably Mike Nichols smash hit film of Edward Albee’s “<i><b>Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf</b></i>.” Taylor won her second Oscar (her first for “<b><i>Butterfield 8</i></b>”) and deservedly so in a truly fearless performance putting on 20lbs. Burton is equally good as her codependent drunken husband. A viewer wonders was art imitating life as the two hurl unrelenting alcohol infused abuse toward each other. A touchstone film of the sixties. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/hZEKQnMCze8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">As I wrote earlier, “Liz & Dick” did quite possibly the best film version of Shakespeare in a very funny and entertaining “<b><i>Taming of the Shrew</i></b>,” directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Burton is perfect as the scheming, loutish “Petruchio” and Taylor again shows her stuff as the shrewish brat “Kate.” This film was lovely to watch and made Shakespeare into big box office. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/c9Cm6CU5Kc4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">A film that features three legends and was a big flop and hardly remembered and yet is an exceptional film is “<b><i>Reflections in a Golden Eye</i></b>,” starring Taylor and Marlon Brando directed by John Huston based on the Southern Gothic novel by Carson McCullers. Set on an Army fort in the South, Taylor daringly plays the vulgar wife of a latent homosexual officer (Brando). In a great performance, Brando is obsessed with a young soldier (played by Robert Forster of “Jackie Brown”) who he catches sneaking in his home going through Liz’s underwear. Taylor tortures and ridicules the sullen Brando while carrying on with another officer in front of him. This film was shot in Rome and Huston tinted its print in golden hues, very daring for its time in dealing with homosexuality, voyeurism, masochism, etc. Roger Ebert, a big fan of this movie, thinks that this film failed at the box office because the public wasn’t ready to see two great stars in essentially an art film playing pretty unsavory characters. However it’s very entertaining and has great performances from Taylor and Brando. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/mCNHtiZu2TU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Yo_NN2tPHCf5l2RIzx3vcha6cGW2bHcCMpCvmWK5WO1IXH-a9d0DCDWUDnFOREd6eoW3nzVKbJZImkEzU6tJ3E45XY4DKl-LC2Qpw1fwqnYd26QAck_UqJ8jpBIFSwYSTbK-r0zp4T0/s1600/elizabeth-taylor-21545-1024x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Yo_NN2tPHCf5l2RIzx3vcha6cGW2bHcCMpCvmWK5WO1IXH-a9d0DCDWUDnFOREd6eoW3nzVKbJZImkEzU6tJ3E45XY4DKl-LC2Qpw1fwqnYd26QAck_UqJ8jpBIFSwYSTbK-r0zp4T0/s200/elizabeth-taylor-21545-1024x768.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">These are just a portion of the many movies that Elizabeth Taylor made throughout her great career, in my opinion the best ones, however her star graced many more worth watching and a few that were not, but we shall not see another star the likes of her again. In reviewing her life, she seemed like a hell of a great woman who was remembered as a loyal friend, tremendous spokesperson and fundraiser for AIDS research and somebody who didn’t take herself too seriously despite having the world at her feet. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Bonus: Here's a touching tribute to Liz for TCM by her co-star in "<b><i>Cat on a Hot Tin Roof</i></b>," Paul Newman. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/NyHa4NSmTkk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Thanks for reading and watching, these movies are frequently on TCM and are available on Netflix. This is my third entry in this blog and I hope that you enjoy it. Any feedback is welcomed. Stay tuned. </span></span></div></div>Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-18453433473722733712011-02-23T08:22:00.000-05:002011-02-23T08:22:21.209-05:00Justified: A Damned Good Show!<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">Season 2 of the exceptional FX series “Justified” (Wednesdays 10pm & more) starring Timothy Olyphant premiered February 9th and it’s one of the best series on television.<span> </span>It appears to me that most of the intelligent filmmaking done anymore is in the 1 hour tv dramas series like “Madmen,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Sopranos,” etc, which is a sad state of affairs.<span> </span>But let’s be thankful we at least get 13 good episodes of quality, grown up stuff to watch a few times a year. Meanwhile Hollywood keeps cranking out costumed hero kidstuff and fratboy comedies more and more as American adulthood continues to be frozen in the Peter Pan syndrome.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">“Justified” is based on the short story “Fire In the Hole,” by the great Elmore Leonard, and his novels <u>Pronto</u> and <u>Riding the Rap</u>.<span> </span>It follows the chronically lethal adventures of Stetson hat wearing U.S. “Marshal Raylan Givens,” played with a charming intensity by Olyphant, best known for playing “Sheriff Seth Bullock” in possibly my favorite show of all time, “Deadwood” (created & executive produced by David Milch).<span> </span>On that show, Olyphant played angry hall monitor/straight man to the entire eccentric and twisted characters in the lawless, gold rush town of Deadwood.<span> </span>Here it’s his show and he carries it with a nice ease coupled with Elmore Leonard’s penchant for humorously violent chaos.<span> </span>He’s a modern day gunfighter in a world full of some badass and unlikely backwoods perpetrators.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">The opening scene of episode 1 takes place in Miami where “Givens” is sitting at a busy beachfront café with his quarry, a fugitive drug dealer (played by local guy Peter Green, “Zed” from “Pulp Fiction,” whom I’ve had the “privilege” spending a few late nights drinking with…) As they sit at the table discussing if he’s going to give himself up, the self-described unarmed fugitive pulls on “Givens” and the marshal’s fast draw blows the drug dealer away, a justified kill. This event as with any maverick cop story lead to “Givens’s” superiors not being happy with the marshal and also puts a big bull’s-eye on him from the drug cartel.<span> </span>The Miami hotshot gets transferred to Lexington Kentucky, out of the way. <span> </span>There he takes on a hate crime case in the rural mining town Harlan, Kentucky that just happens to be “Raylan’s” hometown.<span> </span>“Harlan County USA” is a famous, Oscar winning 1976 documentary about a violent coal miner’s strike in this depressed coal town.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">In his hometown an all black church is firebombed by some white supremacists and the prime suspect is his boyhood friend turned lifelong criminal from a clan of criminals “Boyd Crowder” deftly played Walton Goggins.<span> </span>The slippery “Boyd” “likes blow shit up” with his rocket launcher.<span> </span>“Raylan” arrests and shoots “Boyd” and takes him in but opens a whole can of worms with Boyd’s” family “The Crowders” who are involved in all kinds of mischief; meth, robbery, pot, hookers, guns and also do business with the thugs from Miami.<span> </span>Goggins impressed many with his portrayal of<span> </span>“Detective Shane Vendrell” on the hit show “The Shield.”<span> </span>He has a slimy, redneck likability despite his sociopathic activities.<span> </span>Throughout season 1, “Raylan” has to play a game of cat and mouse with this redneck crime family.<span> </span>To add to the mess, the marshal’s estranged dad “Arlo” is a charmer who’s resided on the other side of the law all of his life much to son’s embarrassment.<span> </span>To add to the Freudian angle, “Boyd’s” dangerous daddy “Bo Crowder” (played by bad guy stalwart M.C. Geiney) makes him look like a punter, he is criminal mayhem incarnate.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">The 13 episodes of Season 1 of “Justified” are all pretty self-contained with the thread of the “Crowders” and “Raylan’s” dealings with his past including a beautiful, bitter ex-wife “Winona” (Natalie Zea) and a new girl “Ava Crowder” (Joelle Carter) who killed her abusive husband who was another of the lawless “Crowder” bunch and a new target for them.<span> </span>Several of Olyphant’s fellow “Deadwood” actors sparkle throughout season 1 including Ray McKinnon (the weird “Reverend” from “Deadwood”) as a truly unorthodox hit man sent from Miami to kill <span> </span>“Raylan.”<span> </span>The “Deadwood” angle helps with the general vibe of the show, echoing the deadly goings on with some truly eccentric characters and situations.<span> </span>However Executive Producer/Writer Graham Yost (“Speed,” “The Pacific”) expertly keeps the tone loyal to the masterful style of the great writer Elmore Leonard.<span> </span>Clearly evident is his mantra for the show, “what would Elmore do?” Season 1 is available on DVD from Sony.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">“Justified” has the pedigree of great and entertaining movies that have come from the typewriter of Elmore Leonard including “Get Shorty,” “Jackie Brown,” “3:10 to Yuma” (filmed twice), “52 Pickup, (filmed twice, once as “The Ambassador” which the shyster producers didn’t pay for and is the basis for <u>Get Shorty</u>), “The Tall T,” “Out of Sight,” “Hombre,” “Valdez is Coming,” “The Big Bounce” (filmed twice), among many others.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">Leonard has received pretty much every award a writer can get.<span> </span>Stephen King calls him “the great American writer…” Martin Amis says, “that Leonard’s prose makes Raymond Chandler look clumsy.”<span> </span>Personally I think he creates really cool and fun characters which Leonard states take on a life of their own as he writes.<span> </span>“Chili Palmer,” “Jackie Brown,” “Ben Wade,” “John Hombre Russell” and I think now “Raylan Givens” joins the roster of stellar Leonard characters.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">“Justified” definitely has Leonard’s touch in the mix, he’s one of the executive producers on the show that lends to the quality and I think it’s more than just a title.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">So Season 2 opens where Season 1 ends and ties up the loose ends.<span> </span>He’s invited back to Miami by a superior but decides to stay put in Kentucky.<span> </span>He seems to feel that he can make a difference in this depressed, backward place, Olyphant stated in some interviews.<span> </span>He also has some remaining issues to deal with including his ex “Winona” and the wild “Ava,” not to mention a free “Boyd Crowder” and his old man.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">As Episode 1 titled "The Moonshine War" progresses, his African-American colleague “Rachel” (Erica Tazel) is assigned to an anonymous tip about a convicted child molester “Jimmy Earl Dean” on the loose back in the Harlan County township of Rabbit Holler.<span> </span>She asks “Raylan” to assist because she’s “not comfortable with these people in coal country…” There’s a terrific scene between 14 year-old “Loretta” and the pervert where she eludes the creep, problem is, the perv works for the legendary “Bennett” family who are former moonshiners who are now big time pot growers.<span> </span>The “Bennett’s” and “Raylan’s” family have a long history from back in the days of moonshinin’. “Loretta’s” widowed father is growing weed on the “Bennett’s” land and they aint too happy about it, and it gets even worse when they hear of his call to the feds about the perv bothering his daughter.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";"><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">In their search for “Jimmy Earl Dean,” (“never trust a man with three first names,”) they encounter the kindly matriarch of the “Bennett” clan “Mags Bennett” played by the wonderful character actress Margo Martindale (best known for playing Hilary Swank’s white trash mom in “Million Dollar Baby,” also "Dexter" ).<span> </span>Two of “Mags’” sons, “Dickie” and “Coover” are some colorful hillbilly burnouts who like to play with guns and bear traps, the other son is the top cop in Rabbit Holler.<span> </span>The battle lines are being drawn and it’s going to be a real donnybrook between “Raylan” and the “Bennetts” this season.<span> </span>Did I also mention that “Boyd Crowder” is on the loose too….<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">This appointment television my friends if you like good writing, characters, action and acting.<span> </span>Justified, Season 2 Wednesday’s at 10 and other times on FX.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";"><span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Optima ExtraBlack";">This is my second entry in this blog and I really appreciate that you've taken the time to give it a look.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670237473205076908.post-36443791027642094272011-01-12T15:28:00.000-05:002011-01-12T15:28:37.827-05:00The Wonders of YouTube or a Great Way to Procrastinate and Watch Dino Do His Thing.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The other night, I had to finish writing something and I fell into the giant, wonderfully entertaining trap that is YouTube. For somebody like me who loves show business, sports and movies it is a virtual treasure trove of endless delights. I just typed in a name of a favorite star like <b>Dean Martin</b> for instance and I can literally spend hours watching stuff of just one favorite star. Dean Martin is a particular favorite of mine, he's such a gifted performer who made everything seem so effortless and he was possibly along with Robert Mitchum and few others, one of the coolest people to ever live. My friend, <b>Nick Tosches</b> wrote the seminal show business biography featuring Dean Martin as it's subject titled <b><u>Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams</u></b>, a wonderful book. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I searched through the dozens of posts of Dino doing his thing. I chose his amazing cigarette flicking into funnyman <b>George Gobel's </b>"coffee" cup on <b><i>The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson</i></b>. Gobel comes out and <b>Bob Hope</b> is on the panel with Dino. Johnny is chatting with Gobel and Dino's flicking his ever present cigarette's ashes into the unknowing comedian's cup as the audience, Hope and Johnny are cracking up. Howard Stern often cites this as his favorite old <b><i>Tonight Show</i></b> moment. <b>Johnny Carson</b>, my old man's favorite, was very cool and the finest talk show host ever, is wearing one helluva an ascot type thing in this clip. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After that I find an interesting and serious clip of Dean singing a doing a bang up job on a song not normally associated with him like <b><i>"One For My Baby (And One More For the Road)"</i></b>. This is one of the all-time great standards written by <b>Johnny Mercer</b> and a personal favorite. It's like a Hemingway short story as a song. </span><br />
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From there, I end up watching one of the episodes of Dino's variety show (<b><i>The Dean Martin Show</i></b>) from the late 60's which is incredible in the way it was done. He didn't rehearse! He just went in and they shot the show and he'd often have as many as 4 guests doing songs and comedy sketches. Dino would show up, wear a tux and Producer Greg Garrison would tape the show. The guests for this particular show were <b>The Andrews Sisters</b>, <b>Frank Gorshin</b> ( a terrific impressionist and best known as "The Riddler" from <b><i>Batman</i></b>), <b>Duke Ellington</b> and <b>Lainie Kazan</b> (then a buxom young starlet best known at the time as Streisand's understudy on Broadway in <b><i>Funny Girl</i></b>.) What a lineup! The true highlight of this show was Frank Gorshin, doing his truly excellent impressions and using the heat from his Emmy nomination from <b><i>Batman</i></b> to do a scene from <i>Batman</i> with Gorshin doing great turns as Burt Lancaster as "Batman" and Kirk Douglas as "Robin." Then Mr. Gorshin sends up Method acting titans Marlon Brando as "Batman" and Rod Steiger as "Robin," which is really funny. This guy was a really gifted impressionist, much better than Rich Little or Fred Travelena. Dino comes out and trades a few riddles with his guest then a true oddity that was so fun on the old variety shows, Gorshin sings a song with "<b>The Golddiggers</b>" (the regular chorus of hot babes on the show) to style of the <b><i>Batman</i></b> theme song called "<b><i>I'm the Riddler</i></b>." This was truly weird and funny. I actually think that it was released as a single. Back in the 60's, everybody who was famous released a record. Ever check the vinyl in an old record store? You'll find some serious gold. One time during the early 90's, I was in the East 20's and Gorshin was in a parking garage waiting for his car and I recognized him and told him that I was a big fan and he looked at me with that intense stare and said "thanks kid!" Gorshin also had a featured role in one of my favorite movies, the western <i><b>Warlock</b></i>, with Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark and Anthony Quinn, directed by Edward Dmytryk from the great book of the same name by Oakley Hall. <br />
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From there a few hours after going on YouTube, I check out the trailer for my favorite film that Dean Martin starred in, writer/director <b>Billy Wilder's</b> great <i><b>Kiss Me, Stupid</b></i>. Dean gives a terrific, courageous performance playing a caricature of his "Rat Pack" swinger image. It took the balls of a giant for Dean to completely lampoon himself in a very funny film so full of sexual innuendo that it was banned in many cities for being too risque for audiences at the time. The plot concerns one of Wilder's favorite themes of how a person will do almost anything to get ahead. Amateur songwriters <b>Ray Walston</b> & <b>Cliff Osmond</b> sabotage Dino's sportscar in a detoured stopover en route from Vegas to LA in hopes of selling the singer one of their songs. Walston even offers "Dino" his wife for the evening in hopes of selling the singer a song! <b>Peter Sellers</b> was originally slated to co-star but had a heart attack during the production and was replaced by Walston (best known today as "Mr. Hand" from <i>Fast Times at Ridgemont High</i>). <b>Kim Novak</b> is really sexy and very good playing Walston's hired wife to lure Dino for a good time and <b>Felicia Farr</b> equally good as the real wife who may or may not ended up for a hot night with the swinger. If you ever get a chance to watch this movie, please do yourself a favor and I promise that you will be entertained. <br />
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. I hope that you find this entertaining and it gives you what Jimmy Stewart called "little pieces of time..." that one finds enjoyable. Johnny Spin's Mise En' Scenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03366811556133156618noreply@blogger.com2