I was planning to go to a movie yesterday at the Writers Guild, called Dave Made a Maze. It was co-written and directed by Bill Watterson, which intrigued me, since Bill Watterson -- is the fellow who wrote the comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. And further, the description of the plot had a very Calvin and Hobbes sense of imagination to the storyline. Shortly before leaving, though I just decided to double-check by assumption, and it turned out to not be that Bill Watterson at all, but someone else entirely. Since that had been what most caught my attention, thought I might not go. But I decided to check out the trailer, and was to taken by the first 30 seconds that I stopped, not wanting to give too much away. And that I went. And boy, was it ever unique -- and fun. The story, co-written with Steven Sears, is about a frustrated artist who decides he wants to finally finish something, so he builds what basically appears to be a fort made of cardboard boxes in his living room. But outward appearances are deceiving because the inside bizarrely is a massively large labyrinth. And he's gotten lost in it. And it's filled with booby traps. And a Minotaur is chasing him and then his friends who come to rescue him, along with one friend whose brought his documentary film crew. The way the story develops is incredibly clever, and the production design is a hoot. In one scene, the room looks normal, but you soon realize it's all forced perspective optical illusions. Another time, they slide down a chute and turn into cardboard puppets. Or there's the room where the guy has built a maze inside his maze. Trust me, this gives away little -- there are wildly inventive twists and turns around every corner. And before getting to the corners. The movie won an Audience Award at the Slamdance Film Festival, and has won a lot of other awards at festivals, as well. Surprisingly, as funny as the film is all the way through, it's also a bit dark in parts, borderline "scary" (though never really crossing the border since it's all handled with odd humor and a whimsical eye), and it's uncertain as watch you how much will actually turn out well for the characters. There's an offbeat sense of malevolence throughout -- yet the humor holds up even then. It doesn't all work. But most does, and I love any movie that takes such risks and pushes the form. And for as outlandish as it is, I also admire how utterly bone-dry it's done -- no small feat. Being so matter-of-fact low-key when all this utter insanity is going on around them They even manage to poke fun at the title of the movie in their own sly way. The trailer doesn't do it full-justice, and leaves out most of the malice, but actually gives a reasonable sense of the film.
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Robert Redford and Jane Fonda star in a new, upcoming movie, Our Souls at Night. It tells the story of a couple of old, long-time neighbors who -- now alone in life -- decide to start a relationship. Just a reminder that Redford and Fonda also starred in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park as young newlyweds -- in 1967. That's 50 years ago. A half century! And actually, to be fair, this wasn't even the first movie that they starred in together. That would have been The Chase, made the year before. (That one also starred Marlon Brando, so Barefoot in the Park is their first film they didn't have to share star billing with anyone.) I wonder what the "record" is for the longest period between two people starring in their first movie together and their latest? 51 years has to be close, if not "it." Mind you, in between, they also filled in the gap to star in The Electric Horseman in 1979. So, just one year between their first two films. But then 12 years pass before they get together again on screen. And another 38 years before they try it one more time. Hey, I guess sometimes it just takes a while looking for the right project to re-team... I initially had embedded the trailer, but then I watched this clip, and when I came to the 1:30 mark, I knew I had to use this one instead. It's sort of remarkable, in a movie history kind of context -- And then a quick time-warp half a century ahead. This is what life is like 50 years later.. Here's an addendum to my piece the other day about Chicago Cubs All Star first-baseman Anthony Rizzo who donated $3.5 million through his foundation to Lurie Children's Hospital. As I mentioned, I just think Rizzo is an absolutely great guy, and it's not only that his foundation donated so much money, but he has events throughout the year raise money, regularly visits the hospital, at least once a month during the season, and stays in touch with the people and families. On one of his hospital visits a couple years ago, he befriend a new patient there, Mike Kasillis, who was older than most, at 22. But Rizzo felt a particularly close connection to him, since it was around the same age -- a few years older -- than when he himself was diagnosed with Hodgins lymphona. During on visit, Kasillis figured he'd play a bit of Babe Ruth with the Cubs star, and asked him to hit a home run for him at that night's game. And that he did, to please make some sort of signal to him so that he could see it on television. Obviously, hitting a home run on call is not something ballplayers can readily do. And Rizzo didn't. No, he hit two home runs that night. And signaled to the sky after each one. Love that Rizz. For reasons I don't quite understand, they've brought back the game show, The Tell the Truth. Of the major game shows of that era -- notably I've Got a Secret and What's My Line?, I find it the least interesting, and even sort of annoying. While I know it's the one that's most-easy for the home audience to play along with, there are two huge problems for me. The first is that when you have an interesting guest...two-thirds of the time you're not hearing what he or she has to say, and worse, for all you know, what you're hearing about this interesting guest may not even be remotely true, but one of the impostors guessing. But secondly, what bothers me the most is that, after the real-life, interesting person is identified, and you'd love to hear what this remarkable person has to say, now that we know who it is -- the show uses this post-guessing time to interview the two other people! When we want to hear from the actual, real person, we instead hear from the two fakes!! Honestly, I don't care who the two fakes are, I want to hear from the Actual, Real Person. It's for that reason I don't post many clips from To Tell the Truth. But once in a while, I come across a guest who's so fascinating to see in person, that it's outdoes any hindrances. Sometimes, at this point, decades later, we can identify who it is when the game starts and watch while knowing. But even if we can't, we do find out at the end, and can go back and replay the thing. This is one of those times. It comes from the October 10, 1960. I suspect that most people here have seen the movie, Inherit the Wind, about the famous "Monkey" Trial (or Scopes Trial, as it was also know). That was based on the stage play written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee (no, not that one...) -- who oddly enough also wrote another famous play totally different in subject and tone, Auntie Mame (which they later adapted themselves as bookwriters of the musical version, Mame.) The play, of course, told a fictionalized version of the battle between Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, over schoolteacher John Scopes, who had taught evolution and Darwin's Origin of the Species which was against the law in Tennessee. Well...the guest here is -- John Scopes! Yes, the actual, real. Even the panelists are impressed. (As one notes, "It's like having a national monument here.) The questioning is sort of bizarre. (The polite term for "bad.") They spend so much time asking about the casting of Inherit the Wind, rather than the Scopes Trial. And what he went through. And the history of the time. Worse, they ask about the casting of the two lawyers...and not who played Scopes himself! The guy who is right there in front of them they're trying to guess. Still, it's great fun to see, odd questioning and all. Fortunately, he's the first guest, so you don't have to scroll through. And happily, since when I do watch the show I'm not very good at it, I guessed correctly here. Unfortunately, as always, no, they don't talk to him afterwards. Just the two fakes. Sigh... Sorry, I meant to post this yesterday, but the world got in the way. It's the follow-up to my piece on Monday about the vibrant, full-fledged production of My Fair Lady being done in Australia, directed by the original Eliza Doolittle, Julie Andrews. As I said, everything I've seen of the production looks absolutely wonderful. Julie Andrews has said that she wanted to re-create as much as possible everything from the original 1956 production, while allowing for a few updates with the passage of time and acting choices. But overall, it's apparently deeply-faithful to the original. And it shows, and doesn't seem musty at all, but rich and enthusiastic. If you missed the initial videos I posted, scroll down a bit and check them. I also promised a couple of other videos that show how impressive the production appears to be. And that brings us to today. This first is the full production number of "Get Me to the Church on Time," with Reg Livermore in the role of Alfred P. Doolittle. Side note: in my annoyingly-vast collection of original cast albums, I have about half a dozen of different My Fair Lady from around the world, including (off the top of my head) from Israel, Spain and Germany. (The Spanish production, by the way, as I noted here a while back, credits a young man starting out his singing career in the role of one of Alfred Doolittle's cronies. The young singer's name is Placido Domingo) The performances of actors playing Henry Higgins and Eliza all vary -- some quite good (the Israel production especially), and others miss the mark a bit, for my taste. But one thing I've noticed is that EVERY country in the world seems to have an old, crusty, vaudevillian-type who absolutely nails Alfred P. Doolittle. Reg Livermore here in Australia is no exception. Another side note. In Alan Jay Lerner's memoir, The Street Where I Live, he tells the story about how during rehearsals for My Fair Lady, Stanley Holloway -- who played the role of Alfred Doolittle in the original Broadway production (recreating it in London and then in the film) -- started to get out of sorts because of all the time and attention director Moss Hart was giving to the to leads, Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, and ignoring him in the process. His annoyance grew to the point where Hart noticed it was on the edge of turning into a blow-up and came over to settle Holloway down. Basically, what he said (and I'm paraphrasing) was -- "Stanley, I have a lead actor who's never been in a musical before and is terrified. And I have a lead actress who's 20-years old and starring in her first musical and is terrified. You've been doing this for 40 years, and I don't have to worry about you because I know you know exactly what you're doing and that you will do it wonderfully. So, if I'm ignoring you, it's because I know I can, but the other others need my help." Lerner writes that Holloway loved the explanation and took it as a badge of honor that he was left alone. Anyway, back to today and Australia. Here's Reg Livermore knowing what he's doing, as well. By the way, though this looks like it takes place during a regular performance, my guess is that it's a dress rehearsal. Not only is the camera too well-placed to be shooting during the normal run, but given the smattering of applause at the end, I suspect the theater is pretty empty. Finally, this is a nicely-done featurette from a local TV show, Good Morning, Melbourne. You see some behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and performance. As mentioned the other day, the leads are Charles Edwards and Anna O'Byrne, who has the monumental task of being directed by the legendary performer who created the very role she's playing. And acquits herself wonderfully. Stick with me on this one. It's about a baseball player, but not baseball. It's not that the Chicago Cubs have players good enough to have won their first World Series in 108 years last season, but they have a bunch of really good guys on the team. When people ask me who my favorite player is, it's really hard not to name reigning MVP and former Rookie-of-the Year Kris Bryant. Or Javier Baez. Or Addison Russell. Terrific players and great guys. And there are others, as well -- not to mention manager Joe Maddon. But I also say it's pretty tough to top All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo. I love the guy, and have written about that here in the past. Well, he just added another reason. Rizzo has long been a regular visitor to the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, coming by once a month during the season. And on Tuesday, he gave $3.5 MILLION to them. It comes through his Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation. Rizzo is himself a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma when he was in the minor leagues and playing in the Red Sox organization, so his connection to the hospital is clearly personal. According to the Cubs website, "his foundation has created two endowed funds for patients being treated for cancer and their families. One provides grants on a case-by-case basis for families facing financial hardship due to unexpected needs. The second supports two oncology Child Life specialists, a position funded entirely by philanthropy." Here's a Chicago Sun-Times video of the ceremony of and Rizzo's emotional speech, talking about remembering what he himself went through, something he generally puts behind him. "I don't do that much, but today was one of the days when it got to me." He added later, "I feel I try to do a really good job of keeping baseball in perspective," he said. "You go out there between the lines and give it your all, give it your best, and that's all you can do. There's so much more to life than baseball. It's a balance -- you have to learn how to balance that. You have to go out there and have a job to do. I put my heart and soul into baseball, and when I leave the field, I try to just be Anthony, not the baseball player." A couple things to note in this video. This isn't the first time he has given money to the hospital, or others connected to it. You'll see in the video one of the mothers, Sue Erickson, talking eloquently about Rizzo and what he's meant to her son Matthew. What the reporter Madeline Kenney doesn't say on camera, though she writers in the Sun-Times article -- "Erickson also said that the Rizzos have helped pay for Matthew’s medical bills and the family’s mortgage when they were struggling to make payments. The Rizzos also sent Erickson and her three kids to Disney World last summer for a family vacation." (In all, Rizzo has now given over $4 million to the children's hospital.) Also, reporter Kenney comments in the video how choked up Rizzo got when unveiling a signed jersey. What isn't mentioned is the reason he was so touched -- the jersey wasn't signed by his teammates, but rather the kids at the hospital. A couple years ago, I posted a wonderful 15-20 minute featurette that MLB Network did on Rizzo about his career and battle overcoming cancer. It's highly worth checking out, and you can see it here. For those who want something shorter, this is probably the most famous clip of Anthony Rizzo on the ball field. It comes from August 12, 2015, and not only is it a tremendous play, but it shows the enthusiasm and effort he puts into the game. When he said above, "You go out there between the lines and give it your all, give it your best," that wasn't just an Athlete Cliche, but this video shows he means it. (The timestamp show the clip to be 2:14, but it's really only around a minute -- they show the play twice, as reported by by the Cubs TV announcer Len Kaspar and then their radio play-by-play man, my fave Pat Hughes, who has the better call.) |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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