Six Million Dollar Man

I can't help but giggle at the memory of watching this as a kid. Still, it's a great idea for a feature film - a bionic man that is (sans Sasquatch).

As a note, slow motion and a fast soundtrack sell the sense of speed and power. Note the bizarre passage of time in this sequence - they meet during the day and finish fighting at night and then run back into the daylight. It's as if Ed Wood had directed it!

There was a time when a hairy chest was cool.

I wouldn't want to get hit with a tree...

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Woody Allen Interviews Billy Graham

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How the Times Have Changed

I was watching American Movie Classics today and happened upon 'PT109', a dramatization of John F Kennedy's wartime experience. To be honest, I wasn't much interested in watching it but was struck by the idea of how times have changed. Could you imagine a dramatization of George W's skipping out on the National Guard?! His film might be somewhere on the level of 'Revenge of the Nerds' or 'Animal House'. Had Kerry won the election maybe we would have another PT109 or 'Mutiny on the Bounty'. Maybe even a dramatization of Al Gore creating the internet...

The Emperor has no clothes.

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Missing DVD

I was contemplating some missing films on DVD. Previously it was 'The Conformist' which has since made its appearance. Today I was thinking of the 'The Magnificent Ambersons' and its glaring absence. If ever a film deserved a spectacular super duper special edition, its Welles somewhat forgotten, abridged masterpiece.

Here's hoping.

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Joe Eszterhas - Hollywood Animal

I just finished reading Joe Eszterhas' memoir 'Hollywood Animal' and found it to be an extremely surpising, touching and engrossing book. If you don't know him, Eszterhas is famous for being one of the highest paid screenwriters in history and is responsible for such films as Showgirls, Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge, Betrayed, Flashdance, Jade (etc.). His films have had a huge impact at the box office despite being lambasted by critics as 'everything that is wrong with Hollywood'.

I can't chime in on the criticism here as I think I've only seen Basic Instinct, Betrayed and Flashdance. I can't chime in on the criticism as I don't remember much about these films. However, 'Hollywood Animal' is refreshing as Eszterhas doesn't sugar coat his life or his work. He frankly recognizes when films didn't work but defends his own place in the process. He defends himself against accusations of misogyny and a lust for violence. He also defends the writers place in the process of making a film. Too often writers are just happy to be invited to party (the production) and too often writers ruin their own work, giving in to the whims of the studios. Eszterhas refused to do unnecessary rewrites and fought to preserve the integrity of his stories. He was willing to kill a project if the studio or director wanted to make changes Eszterhas felt damaged his story.

Whatever you think about his films, you have to admire his courage (or arrogance) in the face of overwhelming pressure. The pressure is this: do what we say or you don't have a career. Anyone who stands up to that possibility warrants a second look and deserves the respect of his peers. In the documentaries for the show Seinfeld, there is a story of Larry David who quit after being given 'notes' by an executive (apparently he quit often). David, like Eszterhas thought it better to walk away then to give in to someones 'stupid' ideas. The writer is hired, like any specialist, to write. The writer should be considered the 'expert' at story. The writer is the one who is trying to balance all the elements of the story and is asked, often without care or thought, to make changes that jeopardizes that delicate balance. Think of the script as a house of cards or a game of Jenga. You place all the elements in their place for the purpose of the drama. You juggle all of the elements of character, dialogue and situation to move towards the unexpected but inevitable conclusion. Then, out of nowhere, changes are requested that pulls a card (or several) out of the house. Suddenly, the cards fall and you end up with a mess. On top of it, you give up your unique voice and obsessions to appease the whims of others (something novelists, playwrights and poets don't have to do).

One thing I admired about Eszterhas is that he rarely worked on assignment and he didn't just pitch an idea. He dreamed up a story, wrote the screenplay and then sold it (for a tidy sum). He was a writer writing. He wasn't a gambler, trying his hand at an idea, but a writer who spent his time writing what he wanted and then worried about selling it afterwards. This is called the 'spec' script and he was advised against it by his agent as it was considered to be amateur. Real writers pitched an idea then wrote a script. Eszterhas liked to write and he made his career on his own terms. Despite what anyone says about his films, he deserves respect for his integrity and need to express his own ideas.

Beyond the business of writers and writing, 'Hollywood Animal' is also a very honest autobiography of a man who lived a dual life. He stayed away from Hollywood and was known as a dedicated family man. However, he admits to giving in to the sins of the rock and roll lifestyle, drinking to excess and cheating on his wife. There is an honesty to this book that is touching. He reflects on his past and seems to be trying to exercise his demons. As one might tell a story of their life in anecdote, Eszterhas seems to use this memoir as a way of understanding himself. It is the work of someone who is not at the end of their days, but one who is trying to move forward with the realization of who they have become.

Highly recommended.

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Orson Welles, James Stewart and Dean Martin? Why not?

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Other Side of the Wind

Mark Mayerson passed on this terrific article on Orson Welles last completed film, 'Other Side of the Wind'. Welles shot the film over six years but never finished the editing. Peter Bogdanovich, a long time friend of Welles and an actor in the movie, has been trying to complete the film. Much of Welles later catalogue of films, including Chimes at Midnight and the re-release of Touch of Evil have seen legal complications due to Welles' daughter Beatrice or issues dealing with ownership of rights.

http://brightlightsfilm.com/55/windiv.htm

If you're interested in Welles' works then you should check out the Criterion Collection Dvds 'F for Fake' and 'Mr. Arkadin' aka 'Confidential Report'. Both feature beautiful transfers of these wonderful films as well as terrific supplementals. 'F For Fake' includes the great documentary 'Orson Welles: One-Man Band'. Orson Welles friend and confidant Oja Kodar was trusted with all of Welles collection of film works and graciously gave access to this work to the filmmakers. The documentary features Welles doing monologues, test footage from unrealized projects as well as some scenes from 'Other Side of the Wind'. The collection is quite impressive and a testament to the fact that Welles had kept busy, working on independant projects until the day he died. He died at his typewriter, working on original material.

Clifford Irving, one of the subjects of Welles 'F for Fake', is now featured in the upcoming film 'Hoax'. Irving became famous after claiming to have written the autobiography of the mysterious and eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. It turned out to be a hoax. If you have a desire to see the new film starring Richard Gere then you should absolutely check out the Criterion Collection's 'F for Fake'. The film is a rather complex 'essay' on the nature of fakery. Welles breaks away from traditional documentary techniques which pertain to retain a degree of objectivity. 'F for Fake' is very much a personal statement and is as whimsical as it is profound. The more I read about Welles, the more I feel that he too was as whimsical as he was profound.

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