JOHN LANDIS ON RAY HARRYHAUSEN

Personal stories about how we are introduced to the movies and who we end up really admiring (often those who are not very well known to the general public) are interesting to me.

Director John Landis wrote an article for The Guardian newspaper last week on his affinity for stop-motion animator, artist, and producer Ray Harryhausen (of classic films such as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts). I feel very much the same way that Landis does about his subject.

The director is hosting a 90th birthday celebration for Harryhausen at the British Film Institute (BFI) in London this coming Saturday, June 26th...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jun/17/ray-harryhausen-special-effects-john-landis

CAPTAIN KIRK'S QUIRKS

As evidenced from my last week of postings, I am a William Shatner fan. So how did I miss this article printed in the Globe and Mail last Wednesday?...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/television/captain-kirk-reveals-his-demons/article1606130/

Back in 1995 I bought a book hot-off-the-presses titled "Captain Quirk". You may think that it sounds like a cheap put-down book but it actually is not. It reveals both Evil Shatner and Good Shatner. Most of us pop out the goatee from time to time, but most of us are not as recognized and known the world over as is the great starship captain.

SUN TV NEWS PROMO

I'm all for new voices on television, but when you see something like this, you start to wonder exactly what is going to make it to air...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrTooDqY9pY

This video clip looks as though it was produced by some very small town's chamber of commerce (not that there is anything wrong with that), or by a low-end corporate video company. Maybe Quebecor got a really low and unbeatable quote.

This news-dog is looking forward to Sun TV News. I must keep an open mind -- hopefully they will not close it for me.


(Don't listen to Sun TV News' creators when they say that all Canadian television and other media is Left. That is absolute rubbish and is designed to make you think that they will be the lone representative of the other side.)

RONALD NEAME DIES AT 99

The British film talent Ronald Neame passed away on Wednesday, June 16th. Originally a cameraman, having shot the excellent and honest One of Our Aircraft is Missing, In Which We Serve (both 1942), This Happy Breed (1944), and Blithe Spirit (1945), the multi-talented man eased into directing, ultimately earning his place in popular film history by helming the 1972 blockbuster, The Poseidon Adventure. He also directed the outstanding The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), a film for which Maggie Smith won an Oscar.

In addition, Neame hammered the typewriter for pictures such as This Happy Breed, Blithe Spirit, Brief Encounter (1945), and Great Expectations (1946).

Explore the work of someone who was not only versatile but 'good versatile'.


Obit...
http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/news/a229530/director-ronald-neame-dies-aged-99.html

Wikipedia file on Neame...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Neame

British Film Institute interview from 2003...
http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/interviews/neame.html

KING KONG - SUPER 8 - 1978

Further to the post immediately below (STAR TREK - SUPER 8 - 1978), there are two more films by these young people... which I did not notice at first. They -- the "capcodshorts" -- also made their own version of King Kong...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTUFVsZtFNI&feature=related

Very good. While watching I kept thinking, "why is this so much more entertaining than a lot of the Hollywood garbage of million dollar budgets?"

They also did an Alien takeoff. Also entertaining.

I doubt these kids went on to movie careers. It just goes to show you that for every James Cameron who goes all the way, there are hundreds, if not thousands more, who make films as a hobby when they are young but ultimately go into "respectable careers". In the case of the young people in question, it is our loss if they took the latter route. Can you imagine what they would have done with money and further experience?

STAR TREK - SUPER 8 - 1978

Oh my lordy. Things run in a theme. I was on Youtube looking for Super-8 films and this came up as a hit...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvd9B2iMmfc

It is a Super-8 Star Trek short film made by a bunch of kids in Cape Cod in 1978. I have not laughed like that in ages while watching a 'movie'. The kids staged a fight sequence and it is, as far as I'm concerned, worth the price of admission. The original series had professional stuntmen and it showed, even if they did not always look like the characters they were standing in for, but, needless to say, the kids here do "their own stunts", so the illusion is perfect... and hilarious!

They were talented little buggers. And they clearly understood the source material.

The audio was added a few years ago as were a few "opticals".

Great show.


(Another effective touch is the way they use music from "The Cage", "Amok Time", and "The Doomsday Machine".)

SHATNER ON SHATNER

Canadian pay TV station Movie Central will be producing a documentary on Space Captain William Shatner. The Captains will focus on the actor's rise to the bridge of the starship Enterprise.

The only odd thing about this project for some might be the news that Shatner is directing the film. Helming a documentary on yourself is kind of odd. I would not want to direct a film on my self. That would be too weird -- like the bizarre on top of the bizarre.

I admit I'm not William Shatner, however. And I have not had an Orion Slave Girl. It just might be worth a man's soul...


The captain...
http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/tv/2010/06/16/14406851.html

WILLIAM SHATNER ON MIKE DOUGLAS (1969)

This is what happens when you go onto Youtube and key in 'mike douglas show'...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5lTlkWPsqo&feature=related

The date is February 25th, 1969. The guest is William Shatner and he had wrapped filming on Star Trek's third season just before this was taped.

First of all, Shatner was one good-looking guy. Second; he mentions being seen by 16 million people. That's right, back in the day when numbers like that barely kept you on the air -- as was the case especially for the more expensive shows. Nowadays, an audience figure like that makes you a big hit! Television schedules back in those days were packed more densely than Neutronium.

GERMANY OVER AUSTRALIA (4 - 0)

The World Cup match between Germany and Australia ended about ten minutes ago: Rarely have I seen a team dominate to the degree that Germany did today. They scored quickly and never looked back. As the CBC's post game wrap-up crew kept reiterating, Germany looks to be a major force. "They are absolutely on fire."

I shan't miss a game.

BARRY'S NEW THREADS

I got a new stylist. As I've been on here for three years now, I decided it was time for a change. While I liked the old page very much with its 'media look', even this conservative designer decided to shake the template bag.

When I get more time I'll play with colour and perhaps move some of the furniture around the room.