The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the FRED Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support FRED by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)
Any time we can get fully remastered editions of the Studio Ghibli films, color me delighted – and that’s just we’ve got with new 2-disc special editions of Castle In The Sky, Kiki’s Delivery Service, & My Neighbor Totoro (Walt Disney, Rated PG/G/G, DVD-$29.99 SRP each). Each release features a behind-the-scenes exploration of the film, an introduction by John Lasseter, and a storyboard presentation of the film. Sadly, none of the films are getting a Blu-Ray release, but at least the most recent – Ponyo (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-ray-$ SRP) – does, and comes with a standard version to boot, plus the same bonus materials as the other Ghibli releases. Will we get high definition versions of them soon? I hope so.
Eliminate all of those excuses about it being far too difficult and time consuming to brew a proper mug of tea by picking up the IngenuiTEA 16oz teapot ($18.99), an ingenious device that allows you to put the tea leaves in the plastic pot, brew to perfection, then set it on your mug and let the spring action release just the tea – leaving the leaves behind. Great, right?
Prior to starring in John Carpenter’s Elvis (Shout! Factory, Rated PG, DVD-$19.99 SRP), Kurt Russell was largely known for the work he’d done at the Disney studio as a teenager. After his remarkable turn in this memorable biopic, there was little doubt that Russell had an adult career in the offing. This new special edition sports an audio commentary, a new featurette with archival interviews, rare American Bandstand clips, and a photo gallery.
The market’s being flooded with any movie or special that ever bore the name, but what sets the 1966 BBC production of Alice In Wonderland (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), besides being directed by Jonathan Miller, is its all-star cast – including Peter Sellers, Sir John Gielgud, Peter Cook, Sir Michael Redgrave, Alan Bennett, John Bird, and more. Bonus materials on the disc include an audio commentary, the 1903 silent film version of Alice, a photo gallery, a Ravi Shankar performance, and Dennis Potter’s 1965 biopic about the real-life Alice Liddell.
It’s a memorable book, but Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$28.98 SRP) is also a very slight book – certainly not something that’s easily expanded and transitioned to a feature-length film. Purists may cry foul, but I feel Spike Jonze succeeded in making that transition, creating a film that melds Gilliam’s Time Bandits with Henson’s Dark Crystal & Labyrinth in terms of just endearingly oddball energy. Bonus features include a series of behind-the-scenes short subjects. The Blu-Ray edition ($36.99 SRP) adds the HBO First Look special and an animated adaptation of Sendak’s Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or There Must Be More To Life.
It’s a trippy, Teutonic mess of a children’s film (What can you expect from Wolfgang Petersen?), but thousands of viewings on 1980’s HBO endeared me to The Neverending Story (Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$28.99 SRP), which has made its way to high definition in a restored print that blows previous DVD editions away. Sadly, there’s not a bonus feature to be found, which is a real waste.
The Daleks get their due in a pair of classic Doctor Who releases, starting with the 4-disc Doctor Who: Dalek War set (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), featuring the fully restored (now in color!) Jon Pertwee arcs Frontier In Space & Planet Of The Daleks. We then jump ahead to the Sylvester McCoy years with Remembrance Of The Daleks (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP). As usual, both releases are positively loaded with bonus features, from commentaries and featurettes to interviews and easter eggs.
Get your fill of good ol’ country lawyerin’ with the complete fourth season of Abe Simpson’s favorite show, Matlock (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP). The 6-disc set contains all 23 episodes. My favorites? Whenever Don Knotts would show up. When. Ever.
If you’re a fan of The Sarah Silverman Program and have been endlessly wondering if they’d ever release all of the music featured in the show, you can now cease your endless wondering and simply pick up a copy of Songs Of The Sarah Silverman Program: From Our Rears To Your Ears (Comedy Central Records, $9.98 SRP). It contains all of the songs (and dozens of dialogue snippets) from the first 3 seasons.
Calling Bitch Slap (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$22.97 SRP) a B-movie is a bit generous, but it certainly is a raucous C-D-grade flick about a trio of hard fightin’ women out to retrieve some stolen jewels from a gangster’s hideout. Yup. That about sums it up. Bonus features include audio commentaries and a featurette.
The trailers for the movie have left me cold, but I’ve been an admirer of Chris Sanders’ artwork since Lilo & Stitch, so to see it pop up in the design for the titular beast in Dreamworks’ How To Train Your Dragon was welcome, and I’m always a fan of pouring through books like The Art Of How To Train Your Dragon (Newmarket Press, $40.00 SRP), which is packed with production artwork for the film.
The film itself lags in spots, but Robin Wright proves again how powerful she can be on screen as the titular middle-aged housewife and mother in The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee (Screen Media, Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP), who undergoes a reawakening and seeks to recapture the wild energy of her youth (as shown in flashbacks, played by Blake Lively) as she encounters a kindred soul (Keanu Reeves). Bonus features include an audio commentary and cast interviews. A Blu-Ray edition ($29.98 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus features.
I’m sure car nuts enjoy TLC’s reality series focusing on the refurbishment of old cars, Overhaulin’ (TLC Store, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP). Like everything else on the channel, it’s essentially a reality series about the builders tasked with turning these clunkers around in a short time.
It’s dangerous and sensationalistic, but for the footage of the storms alone, I’m always going to be entranced by a show like Storm Chasers (Discovery Store, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP), which follows the men who follow devastating midwest storms.
After releasing them as full seasons, they’ve decided to start the whole split-season thing with Have Gun – Will Travel: The Fourth Season Volume One (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The adventures of Paladin continue with the 19 episodes contained in the set.
So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…
Check out my new column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on TWITTER under the name: Stipp
WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – DVD Review
There’s a moment in WE LIVE IN PUBLIC (Now out on DVD) in which Josh Harris, an Internet wunderkind who saw the convergence of our online and everyday lives meshing long before any of us delighted in the joy of broadband service, makes an underground lair. Now, as founder of Pseudo.com, one of the very first sites to ever make video on the Internet available in the late 90’s, he wanted to push the sociological and psychological boundaries of what we would consider voyeuristic. He built a bunker, for lack of a better word, underground in New York where dozens upon dozens of people, artists mostly, had to submit not only applications for the chance to have their lives taped 24/7 but were put through rigorous examinations to determine their willingness to be completely exposed to those around them in ways we hadn’t yet been exposed to. One of the things you learn quickly about the cultural mores of artists, I think, is that through this selection process you notice that these people are open to the idea of things, the idea of a good artistic endeavor, in a way that I don’t think Ma and Pa Kettle would, as the general looseness of those who agreed to be filmed bathing, fornicating, and doing whatever they wanted while the cameras rolled is apparent in their giddiness to take part in this experiment.
Through the fresh direction of Ondi Timoner, her documentary DIG! still ranks as one of my favorites in that genre, we see how Josh’s own theories about the Internet’s allure for instant fame and our insatiable need to consume information about the lives of those we follow play out on camera. The bacchanalia of sex, video cameras, guns, and general licentiousness that took place over the course of 30 days is fantastic in how revolutionary the idea was at the time at the turn of the millennium. Oddly enough, it was the clock striking the year 2000 that put an end to the communal party as “The Man” stepped in to put and end to what was a living, breathing example of the world that was about to come.
Josh decides to get intimate with the idea of the personal expressed through online channels and decides to do the same thing but makes it above ground and limits it to 2 people: his girlfriend and himself. What occurs is really the meat of the things we all know about today in some way or another. That the idea the Internet could allow for real intimacy is really a fallacy. This situation only confirms that when you scrutinize and pick apart situations for everyone to look at and comment on there is nothing, absolutely nothing, positive that can come out of it that would indicate how humans really act when the doors are closed.
It’s a false sense of reality and this film captures the essence of the Internet age in a way you never thought to ask because we’re all too busy making our own opinions, and lives, known on the Internet. The situations that Harris create only bolster the argument that technology, inherently, does not allow for personal intimacy. It’s a false front but the advent of new and better ways for people to communicate with one another, ironically, artificially create that sense and it’s that sense that Timoner captures so very well.
If you’re a fan of documentaries this one should be required viewing for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of what kind of lives we’re building for ourselves online and whether this is truly healthy for our own sense of self. Loved it.
About the film:
As the social networks become more and more mainstream, questions of personal privacy continue to be an issue. But in the “˜90s, Internet guru, artist, futurist and visionary Josh Harris was experimenting with that very subject. Ten years in the making and culled from 5000 hours of footage, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, from award-winning director Ondi Timoner (DIG!), documented his tumultuous life for more than a decade to create a riveting, cautionary tale of what to expect as the virtual world inevitably takes control of our lives. Called “remarkable [and] mesmerizing”, the 2009 Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner for Best Documentary reveals the effect the web is having on our society, as seen through the eyes of Harris, “the greatest Internet pioneer you’ve never heard of”.
Harris, often called the “Warhol of the Web”, founded Pseudo.com, the first Internet television network during the infamous dot-com boom of the 1990s. He also curated and funded the ground breaking project “Quiet” in an underground bunker in NYC where over 100 people lived together on camera for 30 days at the turn of the millennium. With “Quiet”, Harris proved how we willingly trade our privacy for the connection and recognition we all deeply desire, but with every technological advancement becomes that much more elusive. Through his
experiments, including a six-month stint living with his girlfriend under 24-hour electronic surveillance which led to his mental collapse, Harris demonstrated the price we pay for living in public.
Featuring music by The Pixies, Spoon and Jamiroquai, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC is presented in widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Extras include commentary from Internet pioneers Chris DeWolfe and Jason Calacanis and venture capitalist Fred Wilson, a Sundance 2009 retrospective, the official trailer and more.
THE UNIVERSE SEASON 4 – DVD Review
I’ll admit it: I’m dumb.
I hated math and I liked science a little less. However, I was utterly enthralled with Mr. Wizard’s World.
Don Herbert was a master of taking really complex concepts that ruled our every day existence and crafted experiments to show kids like me that there was practical explanations about how calories were calculated, the nuances of gravity, and what the effects of liquid nitrogen were on a hot dog. This engendered a sense of wow about the world I lived in but the problem was that Mr. Wizard only came on for 1/2 a hour a day and school lasted hours upon hours and they never brought that kind of teaching style to the table.
Fast forward 20 years. I still hate math but I do like science. I may not understand the complex means by which people get to the answers what the coefficient is of the force that will ensure the wing of the plane I am riding in doesn’t snap off but it intrigues me. Thankfully, The Universe is a lot like Mr. Wizard for grown-ups like me who aren’t necessarily nerds when it comes to understanding how the larger universe around me operates but who want to learn.
In the fourth season this series continues to impress and educate with its methodological tack for making sense of the space that our globe is ensconced in on all sides. From using computer modeling to show how star clusters function and what happens when big things collide into planets to employing real life scientists who actually enjoy what they do and communicate as such on camera provide a viewing experience that just felt easy for me to follow. And I think the ease with which these things are explained help to make this a show that isn’t just aimed at people who may fancy themselves junior astronomers. This is a show for people like myself who aren’t well-versed in the complex mathematics involved which would explain everything they’re talking about but who really do need some help in slowing down and compartmentalizing the information in bites that are simple enough to consume. No, I don’t realize the difference between stars that seem to be the same and the relationship of dimness which can set them apart but, thanks to season 4 of The Universe, I saw someone with a white car back up in a parking lot to illustrate the point they were making.
Look, there should be no shame in saying that you’re deficient in certain areas of your mental wheelhouse but the pleasure a series like this brings, where people are delighted to explain ideas that eggheads have been agonizing over for centuries and where scientists are more than happy to create a real-world scenario that contextualizes what they’re saying, makes me more than giddy to see where else they can fill in the holes. To boot, this is also a series I can enjoy with the rest of my family as everyone can get something unique out of it and I think that speaks volumes about the production aims for a series that wants to not only cast the net really wide but wants to try and elevate the conversation for everyone involved.
As long as they keep making shows like this I will be more than willing to try and school myself because if they’re anything like this, I don’t mind sitting in front of the television for hours on end.
About the film:
Using stunning HD graphics and packed with authentic NASA footage, THE UNIVERSE returns in SEASON FOUR to transport home viewers past the wonders of our own solar system and out to the bizarre far-flung reaches of the cosmos. From death stars to ringed planets, star clusters to space wars, THE UNIVERSE: THE COMPLETE SEASON FOUR on DVD and BLU-RAY uses new discoveries and more advanced CGI to help explain the mysteries of outer space.
These special edition sets feature all 12 episodes from SEASON FOUR plus special “Ask the Universe” segments in which the series’ most popular experts answer viewers’ questions. Examine which elements from popular sci-fi movies could really exist ““ from the ice moon of Endor to wormholes and transporters. Discover how the universe is awash in all sorts of strange liquids, from oceans of methane to blobs of alcohol floating in space, and even iron rain. And watch and marvel as experts cook up ten ways to destroy the Earth, including blowing it up with anti-matter, hurling it into the Sun, and colliding with another galaxy in this top-rated #1-selling HISTORYâ„¢ franchise.
TELL THEM ANYTHING YOU WANT – DVD Review
As Maurice Sendak tells it, life growing up was sweet with his older brother and older sister.
This rather compact documentary on the man who would pen Where The Wild Things Are is a sincere and touching view into the life of an author who never deigned to spend his life writing for children. His muse was set to make him the vessel through which he produced dozens of books that kids everywhere adored and revered.
Clocking in at around 40 minutes this is a film directed by Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze that, honestly, is emotionally stirring when you listen to a man who initially comes off as a crotchety old coot who you wonder, initially, why he even agreed to be on camera. The man is crotchety, no question about it, but instead of railing against the ills of the world around him he seems consumed with the ills that plague his soul.
While he recounts a life growing up with an older sister who he adored, in the special features there is a “dramatic” recreation with Jonze and Katherine Keener of a time he threw her under the bus after being left in a bake shop one time, and an older brother who helped him make hand-made toys you get a sense here was a man who had a rich childhood that was filled with wonder. He recounts the time, in a slow and exacting manner, how when he was a toddler seeing a picture of a badly decomposed photo of the Lindbergh baby that was kidnapped and left to rot in a forest. He tells how that affected him and you cannot help but feel in awe of a man who is able to recall those things which shaped his perception.
About his writing for kids, and it sounds like he’s a grumpy old man, but he likens his talent to a malfunction. He doesn’t understand why he was able to churn out story after story where his characters were no older than kids in the throes of childhood. He doesn’t seem mystified by the process. He seems resigned to knowing that he was just following a path as an artist and never wavered from it. It’s sweet and tender but it offers insight into how Maurice would grow up to create Where The Wild Things Are, a story that was controversial for its depiction of a mother who would stoop to the level of her child. Controversial for its depiction of a mother that would let her emotions get in the way of societal niceties that dictated hard and fast rules about the role of parents.
He talks sanguinely about death and its implications but you see an artist who knows he’s created something special for the world but, as any good artist would say, it doesn’t seem good enough. He has that “one more thing” still wanting to be created and you hope for all our sakes that he finally does. At one point, near the end of the documentary, he talks about why he wrote books for kids. He asks, almost self-reflexively, “Why is my needle stuck in childhood? I don’t know…That’s where my heart is.”
This is a movie that should not be missed and should absolutely be hunted out and viewed.
About the film:
From Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze, acclaimed director of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, comes A PORTRAIT OF MAURICE SENDAK, a loving look at one of the most cherished and controversial figures in children’s literature. Featuring TELL THEM ANYTHING YOU WANT, this is a deeply moving tribute to Sendak, a seminal talent whose conflicts with success and lifelong obsession with death have subtly influenced his work.
Now 81, Sendak is best known for his book, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, which he wrote twelve years into his career as a writer and illustrator. WILD THINGS would go on to become one of the most beloved and critically lauded children’s books of all time and, much to Sendak’s chagrin, would come to define his career. Through his own words, personal photos, and illustrations, Sendak offers a rare, intimate, and unexpected look at his exceptional life. A TRIBUTE TO MAURICE SENDAK also features James Gandolfini, Meryl Streep, Catherine Keener, and Tony Kushner honoring their friend and colleague.
And the Winner is”¦
By Ray Schillaci
The Academy Awards is either just around the corner or has been announced depending on when or if this gets posted. It’s been awhile since I’ve delivered my input on what’s out there. Thinking back I do not have a good enough reason not to have delivered Mr. Stipp a review or two a month. I could use the excuse that I have been traversing through a labyrinth of pain while in and out of a drug haze that impedes my writing, but I just don’t think that is acceptable. I will not continue on with my condition in fear of falling into maudlin territory and depressing you, the reader, and myself. So, in my humble opinion it’s unfortunate that the Academy has reduced itself to a cheap marketing ploy rather than get more creative to capture a television audience with the announcement of 10 “best picture nominees” rather than the streamline 5. Pardon me; did I use the word “creative” conjunctively with the Academy?
This is the Academy that anointed “best picture” in 1973 to the long forgotten, “The Sting” rather than embrace one of the most memorably chilling movies in film history, “The Exorcist”. The same group that selected the now forgettable, but still well made “Ordinary People,” completely dismissing the greatest film of that decade, Martin Scorsese’s monumental achievement, “Raging Bull” and one of the most emotionally draining and provocative films of all time, David Lynch’s, “The Elephant Man”.
Between 1932 and 1943 the Academy had 10 “best picture” nominees and if you take a look at any one of those years (with the exception of 1939) the category could have easily been reduced to five. Seriously, does this year’s crop of film come anywhere near the mythos of the batch that was provided in 1939; Gone With the Wind, Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach, Of Mice and Men, Dark Victory, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Ninotchka. If you are not familiar with some of these, do yourself a favor and rent them. They are the inspirations for many famous filmmakers in the last 40 years!
Frankly, there are only five best pictures this year; The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Up in the Air, Avatar and Up. I place Avatar on a precipice nearly being toppled by the far less expensive, but deeper District 9. The other films are well made human dramas that have no place under the best picture banner. Each one of the films I’ve mentioned as legit nominees have their strong sells to command the coveted spot. Avatar is the only questionable one. I’m not a Cameron basher and I do not concern myself with the budget of a movie. I am more concerned with the story itself and for the life of me I don’t understand how a film can be nominated for “best picture” without getting nominated for “best screenplay” or “best adapted screenplay”. Seeing Avatar is like going out with Paris Hilton ““ can it really last? Where’s the depth? It’s good for the time being, but years later it will get old and there will be little to enjoy. Am I being too mean?
For me, Kathryn Bigelow’s, “The Hurt Locker” is every bit as visceral as Oliver Stone’s, “Platoon”. It’s one of the few films you watch after the first ten minutes and say, how can they possibly top that. The expectations are too high, and yet Bigelow delivers! On the other hand, Pixar’s, “Up” personifies a classic tale that nearly rings as original as “The Wizard of Oz”. It should not be dismissed as an animated film. The feelings are genuine and so are its actors, whose voices bring to life characters that forever stay in our heart and make an indelible mark in our lives. The story is both simple and unique carrying a bittersweet tome about life; the joys of youth and the pains of growing old. Speaking of original, Tarantino steps up to the plate and knocks it out of the ballpark with his grinningly fun inaccurate WW2 take, “Inglourious Basterds”. Tarantino challenges and we are all the better for it. He shows growth both as a director and a writer. He also remains outside the Hollywood system making his style not as accessible to mainstream audiences, but that’s why we love him. It reminds me of when Scorsese brought us Taxi Driver and Raging Bull ““ ending up being whole chapters in cinematic history.
But superseding as the most important statement about where we stand as a nation and where we may be going is Jason Reitman’s, “Up in the Air”. From the subtle performances, nuanced script, deep rich cinematography and a score that leaves one with a mild taste of the sixties harking back to the classic, “The Graduate,” Reitman proves that he was the genius behind “Juno” and not Diablo Cody. Cody proved that herself with the tepid “Jennifer’s Body”.
If you have not seen this masterpiece on corporate America, by all means do. Do not be put off by what you may think this picture is about. I thought, going in, it would be too bourgeoisie for me. How could I relate to people making 100 grand a year getting laid off when I knew way too many people making half of that getting the ax? How could I possibly care for the lead character that performs this heinous act? Reitman and company pull this off magnificently with George Clooney delivering the best performance of his career. Vera Farmiga (Orphan) cannot receive enough praise as Clooney’s seductive co-pilot who happens to have a delicious back end (unless they used a body double). She is not only the epitome of aging gracefully, she’s downright sexy too.
The importance of this film speaks volumes and rightfully places it at the top of my list as best picture. Of course, that does not mean a thing when you look at the past; “French Connection” beating out “Clockwork Orange” or “No Country for Old Men” stealing best picture from “There Will Be Blood”. But every so often the Academy does surprise us and does the right thing. Look at “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” in 2003, “Braveheart” in 1995 and both “Godfathers ““ I & II” in 1972 and ’74. I only hope box office does not become the ultimate decision over what is actually the best we have to offer in American cinema.
Adult Swim’s Dana Snyder and FRED’s Ken Plume set out to have a literate conversation between two pals, but inevitably devolve into a verbal, and funny, free-for-all full of bickering, infighting, and the special kind of male bonding that comes from conflict expressed through the podcast medium.
Actor/comedian/raconteur Dana Snyder, you’re certainly aware, is Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s Master Shake, Squidbillies‘ Granny, Minoriteam’s Dr. Wang, and The Venture Bros.‘ Alchemist. Available for weddings and bar mitzvahs (bat availability pending), you can keep tabs on him via his website, www.eyeofthesnyder.com.
Ken Plume is the editor-in-chief here at FRED. He is a friend of Dana’s, as well as his arch-nemesis.
KEN P.D. SNYDECAST #137: Rough ‘n’ Reddy – Ken & Dana return with a debate as old as time, involving a woman who roars. And then chicken is discussed. And letters are read.
[CONTENT WARNING]:This podcast may contain some foul language and horribly off-color jokes. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
CONCORD, NH – The Rad Girls prove that women can be out of control without beating each other senseless. The trio of Ramona Ca$h, Munchie and Darling Clementine are in the midst of their third season of mayhem on MavTV. How could I refuse a chance to talk women who figured out how to give themselves bikini waxes using a car bumper?
Ouch. The trio called the Party Favors hotline from various parts of the Southwest including the lonely highway from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Munchie swore they were just in a convenience store that seemed a location from The House of a 1,000 Corpses. Please excuse me if I attribute a quote to the wrong member since the conversation moved fast and furious.
The outrageous series wasn’t always on MavTV. Clementine explained, “We had a really fun run on Fuse. We got a lot of fans. They were like, ‘Oh my god! That waxing your muff off is crazy. But unfortunately Fuse changed their format three weeks after our season launched. They became entirely music programming. Even though Rad Girls was great for the old Fuse; for the new Fuse we didn’t fit anymore. We became orphans.”
Luckily the trio weren’t set adrift too long. They were rescued by MavTV and brought into the world of high definition. How did upgrading to 1080p affect the show?
“From a shallow stand point, we were all like, ‘Damn! We better tweeze our eyebrows and put on make up,” Ramona said.
The slightly larger size of the HD camera didn’t alter too much of the production since they weren’t a Candid Camera show. Although that’s not by their choice.
“It didn’t change that much because in the state of California, it’s illegal to have a hidden camera. You have to film in plain vision. It wasn’t that big of a difference. It really did suck when we were on the Warp Tour all of our make up was stolen. We were on HD without makeup for most of the Warp Tour,” Munchie confessed.
“For season three we were really good about making sure we looked good,” Ramona declared. “It really shows up in the HD format.” Nobody wants their show to look like a series of before ads on the Pro Active Infommerical.
Their faces weren’t the only thing they’ve taken more concern about on the HD show. “Colors look good on HD so we were began playing with the brightness of our wardrobe and locations. If some is getting their ass kicked or eating something gross, it can add to the gnarly factor,” Munchie said.
Do bruises show up better? “Totally!” replied Ramona.
Even though the show isn’t a complete surprise to unwitting victims, they still have to get these folks to sign model release forms. What’s the secret to getting folks to scribble on the dotted lines?
“It’s really important to have a good P.A. that has their pitch down,” Munchie said. “They have to make that person think they made that skit look really amazing. Some P.A.s are really good at fluffing the person.”
As a creepy PA, it warmed my heart to hear such a glowing tribute to the lowest paid slot on the call sheet. Of course there are a time where no fluffing will get a mark to make their mark on the release form. Have their been great sketches hampered by a spoilsport?
“It was called retail dinner party,” Munchie said. “We brought a lovely dinner into a fancy furniture store. The owner of the store thought it would be funny to play a joke on the manager of the store. She had a reputation of being a guard dog of a lady. Her name…we probably shouldn’t say her name. She reacted like crazy. Flipped out. Threw our stuff in the trash. Called the cops. Dumped Clementine out of a chair. Totally lost her cool. We desperately wanted to show her face. Despite what we did to woo her to sign both that day and later, she refused. That was the one that got away.”
How hard is it to get people to sign release forms in Southern California where it seems everyone wants a new professional credits on the back of their headshots?
“If you’re filming in L.A. everybody wants to get paid,” Ramona said. “If you’re in a place where they’re not used to seeing cameras and they get really excited that you’re filming at television show, the people are excited to be a part of it. If you’re filming in LA where it’s saturated with TV and movies, the people are more inclined to want money or get something out of it.”
The historical waxing sketch didn’t need any outsiders. How exactly did they decide that the bumper of a car would be the best way to smooth off the nether region?
“Clementine was over at my house in 2005 for breakfast. I was waxing myself,” Ramona confessed. “I was trying to recreate something that had happened inadvertently. I accidentally waxed my hairpie to the counter of my bathroom. She was like ‘Let’s do it again for the camera.’ I was telling my brother that we should do it again for the Fuse season. He said, ‘OK come on, nobody cares about you waxing yourself to the counter. This is TV. You have to make it extreme. You can do it to the bumper of a moving car.’ He was just talking it out as an idea, but I was like, “Oh My God, you’re so right!” Clementine drove the car and Munchie held onto me so I wouldn’t get pulled over.”
There are rumors that this is how James May waxes his back on the upcoming season of Top Gear. How does the trio top such an amazing moment? By finding even more bizarre and extreme ideas including meal time.
“We blended the All American breakfast, a sushi lunch and a chicken dinner and Munchie did Meal Bongs,” Clementine said. “It has to be eyepopping, or hideous or kinda gnarly to make people look twice.”
The question arises about standards and practices at their channels when it comes to the episodes.
“MavTV, because they’re a smaller network, has been very accommodating to most of our ideas,” Munchie said. “With Fuse, there was a lot of stuff that we wanted to do that they didn’t want us to do. They just wanted us to look pretty all the time. Mav has been very cool in letting us creatively do whatever we want. That’s the bonus of being on a smaller network. There have been a couple things they’ve said, ‘We can’t really show that.’ They’ve been cool and willing to blur things. They’ve taken risks.”
For those wanting to see inside the blurs, their DVD Rad Girls: Rad for the Bone has recently been released. “We have whole section of things that were unfit for television,” Munchie revealed.
The ladies revealed the highlights of their new season that’s currently airing.
“The third season is our most mature; if you can use that word,” Clementine said. “We do a skit where Ramona is a horny toad. I pose as a topless bearded woman. Rowdy Roddy Piper’s daughter puts his choke hold move on us in public. There’s mousetrap roulette.”
We won’t spoil which of the ladies gets their tongue in the trap.
Another noted sketch from the previous seasons was the Geriatric Romance sketch. The first time had a lucky senior citizen getting early bird action instead of merely waiting for Willard Scott to slap him on a Smuckers jar. Did the girls find themselves getting loads of romantic letters from wannabe Abe Vigodas?
“No. Not really. But that is a skit that a lot people bring up. ‘That old man make out.” That was a shocking segment that we decided to do it for season Three,” Munchie said. “I decided to do it with an older woman instead of an older man. I think I’ll have a romantic date with an old woman instead.”
How did she meet her special golden girl? Did she cruise shuffleboard hotspots? Post her picture on Hot Or Menopause?
“I set up something on LA Casting,” she said. “We got a bunch of different submissions. We had four or five elderly women come in to audition. Based on my chemistry with the different women, we picked one. It was cool. It was a mentally challenging skit. It was ultimately fun and the older woman had fun too. She came to our premiere party and was psyched.”
Was there a casting couch used to find the future Estelle Getty?
“We made them hug,” Ramona said. “I was like, ‘Our last question: we just want to see you hug so we can see your physical chemistry together.’ Just hugging. It was pretty tight.”
Will there be a third stage to this sketch? Shall Munchie look for a swinging couple at a Matlock convention?
“Octogenarian threesome might be going too far,” Munchie said. Although she had an idea. “Season four, I’m going to look for the old person in the world and make out with them.”
“Munchie goes down on the oldest person in the world!” hyped Clementine.
It takes them about 6 months to create, shoot and edit each season’s 8 episodes. The trio are heavily involved in the production and aren’t merely on-air talent. Being a Rad Girl is a year round gig. Muchie and Ramona were down in Las Vegas promoting their clothing line. Clementine posed as a pregnant party girl at the Voodoo Lounge to get attention.
“I was resting a Corona on my belly. I was holding cigarettes in my hand. I was looking like the worst mother-to-be in my third trimester,” Clementine confessed.
?”We like playing with these feminine taboos,” Munchie said. “We had fun in burkas riding horses and surfing. Stuff like period, boobs and pregnancy is all fair game.”
What do the Rad Girls feel about The Bad Girls Club?
“Bad Girls Club is more like girls drinking and fighting each other. We’re all friends. We don’t want to beat each other up,” Clementine said.
“Nobody cast us. We’re actual girls and actual friends,” Ramona added.
“We’re legitimately doing things to make each other laugh,” Munchie chimed in.
You have to be friends to trust them enough to wax you with their car bumper.
Rad Girls airs on MavTV which is channel 351 on Dish Network. They are on other various cable channels. You can check out their videos on Radgirls.tv. They have a line of surfboards.
CREEPY DAD
This was shot before the Shamu incident.
HEAVY TIMES
The sad thing about what Clear Channel has done to radio is that if you want to hear cool music, you need to listen to commercials. Lately I’ve become hooked on the Kia ad featuring the sock monkey and the dildo shaped superstar from Yo Gabba Gabba. They’re being badasses on the road in a new SUV. What got my attention is an equally badass soundtrack. The Heavy’s “How You Like Me Now?” is pure James Brown party funk with that Screamin’ Jay Hawkins meets Iggy and the Stooges fury. Twenty years ago, this song would have been drilled into our skulls with radio and MTV. But now, this tune wasn’t part of the public buzz until the Kia ad. No longer is selling your song to Madison Avenue a sell-out move. It’s the best way for people to actually hear you. Here’s the full version of “How You Like Me Now?”
Now I feel like going mechanical bullriding with a sock monkey.
EITHER NOR
Funny Or Die wasn’t nearly as funny as a visit to their website. Most of the sketches were long, pointless and funny only to the guys on the screen. In other words it continues the fine work of Will Ferrell’s career including his seasons on Saturday Night Live. This isn’t nearly as good as HBO’s standard of sketch comedy: Hardcore TV. Remember that if a sketch seems stretched – throw in some pointless nudity since this is HBO and not Nick Jr.
HOME HICK HOME
History Channel’s Madhouse is about NASCAR racing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This was the former home of the Party Favors headquarters so I’m kinda shocked at how utterly hickish they’ve made this city. While the race track was a few miles away from my old apartment, the entire town isn’t one big mecca of redneck gearheads.
I’ll admit that we did have a large number of stripclubs including one that was in my front yard. But the town also is the home of Krispy Kremes, Hanes underwear and Camel Cigarettes. This is a semi-sophisticated area. You don’t have to leave your teeth at the border. Madhouse is Winston-Salem’s version of Reno 911.
What interesting about Madhouse is the amount of outright anger and hatred between the various racers. There wasn’t this much bile on the screen in any History Channel World War II documentary. With this much negative energy in W-S, it’s no wonder Gilligan died there.
COLD SOULS GIVEAWAY
20th Century Fox is allowing 3 happy Party Favors readers a chance to win copies of Cold Souls on DVD. Paul Giamatti (Sideways) plays an actor named Paul Giamatti. He’s having difficulty wtih his character in Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. The role is weighing on his soul. He finds a doctor who can remove a major part of your soul and keep it in cold storage. Can he really give a great performance with such lightness inside him? You’ll be able to find out if you’re a lucky winner after sending your name and the answer to the question: where in the USA are you located to mokaha@aol.com. Winners will have to give real address. Family members, employees, Paul Giamatti and Pete Rose can’t enter the contest.
DVD SHELF
Elvis is finally in the house. This is the movie that launched the partnership of Kurt Russell and director John Carpenter. Kurt Russell had just got through playing the cool college guy in all those Disney films. But in the opening minutes when as Elvis, he uses a revolver as a remote control, he exploded into adulthood. Carpenter at this point was known mostly as horror director with Halloween being a massive hit. While a TV movie biopic of the King of Rock might be odd for him, he made a movie about an Elvis haunted by his dead twin brother and later his dead mother. The movie only goes up to Elvis’ Vegas comeback at the International. Kurt doesn’t have to plump up for the final decade of Fat Elvis. Shout! Factory’s bonus features a vintage production feature and a commentary from Ronnie McDowell about being Kurt’s singing voice. The strange thing is a special American Bandstand pitting fans of Elvis versus fans of the Beatles. Blood flowed in the streets of Philly that night thanks to Dick Clark. This is still my favorite Elvis bio-flick.
My Three Sons: The Second Season, Volume One brings more William Frawley love. The man who once dazzled us as Fred Mertz returned as the single Bub, the grandfather to three kids. He’s in charge of the house while Fred MacMurray. “Chip’s Composition” lets the youngest son discover how little he knows about his dead mother. Dad is zero help in talking about her which bites cause the kid has to write a composition about his mom. He finally realizes who is the real mother in his life – Bub! “Bub Goes to School” lets William Frawley work his magic on Mrs. Drysdale from The Beverly Hillbillies. Is she as posh as she pretends while mistaking Bub for a real Broadway producer? “The Girls Next Door” has a foursome of stewardesses moving into the neighborhood. They all want a little Bub after a day in the skies. The soundtrack between the opening and closing credits have been replaced by new score. There’s 18 episodes on 3 DVDs.
Matlock: The Fourth Season brings more deep fried legal work from Andy Griffith. This was the season that stared without Kene Holliday after he was fired for substance abuse. Clarence Gilyard Jr became Andy’s new private investigator to follow the leads. “The Prisoner” is two-parter with David Carradine (Kung Fu) bringing his Eastern ways to the Southern life. Also we get to see the great Tiny Lister Jr. Don Knotts returns as Les Calhoun in “The Fugitive.” Strangest of all the guest stars is Joe Dallesandro in “The Informer.” How interesting to think that Joe worked for Andy Griffith and Andy Warhol. Wonder which one he found the most peculiar? As said before, this is a show that makes you feel calmer as the action heats up. Abe Simpson awaits the final 5 seasons.
Flash Forward: Season One, Part One provides the first ten episodes of the new ABC series. This is a rather quick way to catch up on the show before it returns on March 18. On a busy day, everyone on the Earth blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. What happened? Nobody is sure. Although people begin to have visions of what they’ll experience on April 29, 2010. The FBI begin to grab clues as to what could have caused such a world wide passout besides release of a Susan Boyle sex tape? The do pick through security tapes and discover people that were moving around during the event. People also begin investigating the visions in their flash forwards. They all want clues. John Cho, Dominic Monaghan and Joseph Fiennes headline the action. There’s a coupons so you can get a rebate on the complete season set when it comes over the summer. This series pairs well with Lost.
Everybody’s Fine will be a holiday season tradition Robert DeNiro is recently widowed and discovers that it was his wife that held together the family. When none of them want to visit him, he hits the road to connect with his kids. Turns out they viewed him as Robert DeNiro character. His kids include Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell and Drew Barrymore. They’ve at least gone onto rather successful careers so he didn’t completely break their will to live. The film is a remake of a Marcello Mastroianni flick. As kind as DeNiro seems to be, there is a fear that he’s tracking down his offspring to plant bugs on them. Although DeNiro does his best to not merely play DeNiro as a dad.
Have Gun Will Travel: Season Four, Volume One puts Paladin (Richard Boone) back on the trail after a four year layoff. He was a rather sophisticated guy in San Francisco who offered his services as a problem solver. He didn’t like violence, but he had no problem fixing a situation with a carefully placed bullet. The action is kept to 30 minutes so he has no time to dilly-dally in the wild west. Smokey and the Bandit director Hal Needham appears in numerous stunt required roles in the 19 episodes on the 3 DVDs. There’s plenty of other stars crossing paths with the hired gun. “The Fatalist” and “The Shooting of Jesse May” have Robert Blake as two different characters. Irony being that Blake has a Gun, but he leaves it in the restaurant booth. “The Poker Fiend” unties Warren Oates, Peter Falk and Brett Somers. That would have been a great row on Match Game ’75. It’s great to see Paladin back in the saddle after such a long delay.
Matt Houston: The First Season brings us the lost Lee Horsley private eye series. He’s a Texas oilman who is working his California investments, but has plenty of time to investigate. He kinda reminds me of Tom Sellack’s Lance White character on Rockford. He’s smooth, cool and charming with Texas schmooze. His assistant’s Pamela Hensley (Princess Ardala of Buck Rogers) has to rival Lee’s mustache for attention. This was an attempt to keep the ’70s detective going in the ’80s so they loaded up the guest stars. The crimes resemble a Love Boat casting call. “The Purrfect Crime” gives us the triple threat of Sonny Bono, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Werner Klemperer (Hogan’s Heroes). There’s 23 episodes on 6 DVDs. The show only lasted three seasons. Weird piece of trivia: Matt was short for Matlock. Thus we have 2 Matlocks being released this month.
Walker, Texas Ranger, The Complete Seventh Season completes Chuck Norris’ turn as a lawman. The final season at the start of the release. You might think that there were 9 seasons of Walker and somehow the DVD set for season 8 is missing. But the issue is that there were only 8 full seasons. The “first season” consisted of 3 TV movies. They were put in the first season box season along with the full season that followed. If you follow the imdb – this is their version of Season 8. Have I unconfused you enough that you’re not writing Congress for a special investigation to the missing boxset that never existed? Nia Peebles joins the force as a big eye improvement. “The Lynn Sisters” lets Chuck Norris face off with Erik Estrada (CHiPs). “Fight or Die” lets Charles Napier (Squidbillies) play a warden instead of a sheriff. “Rise to the Occasion” puts Danny Trejo against Chuck. “Soldiers of Hate” has my nemesis Mark Cuban playing himself. You’d think Chuck could have touched up the billionaire’s haircut. The final three episodes focus on the marriage of Chuck and Sheree J. Wilson. They were registered at Restoration Buttkicking. Just remember that after you’ve gone through these 25 episodes, you can quickly order The Final Season to see how the series wrapped up.
Strawberry Shortcake: The Berryfest Princess Movie brings partisan politics to a fruity alternate universe. In this case Orange Blossom and Strawberry Shortcake are up for the Berryfest Princess title. Except things get nasty with other candidates stirring the jam pot. Things get out of control and threaten the big parade with strife levels peaking. Who knew this could happen in such a happy kinda place? Luckily Strawberry Shortcake is around to set things straight and give a nice message to the kids. This is a CGI cartoon that should occupy small kids in the back of the mini-van for 64 minutes. Extras include a sing-along and print out coloring pages as a DVD-ROM feature.
Hannah Montana: Miley Says Goodbye? will have your tween nieces going twisting in fear that their idol is about to hit the road. The DVD contains the closing episodes to season 3 that’s currently running on Disney Channel. Miley/Hannah has a weird dream involving her beloved horse talking. She thinks there’s a meaning it the vision about splitting her double life in Malibu for the simple charms of Tennessee. I think it’s secretly her desire to revive Mister Ed. Kids will be in agony wondering if this shall be the finale to the series. What will Miley do? Among the bonus features is an alternate version of “He Could Be the One.”
Greek Chapter Four presents another 12 episodes in the life of the frat houses at Cyprus-Rhodes University. The thrilling part has one of the ladies attempt the great college experiment – if you get what I mean. That is the big highlight of the season since this seems to be an awkward growth period for the series. The big surprise of this season is a visit from music sensation Jesse McCartney. Bonus features include bloopers, a recap and the music video for Jesse McCartney’s “How Do You Sleep?” At my old college I often wondered how the guys at frat houses could sleep with the smell of beer and cigarettes soaked in the floor and walls.
Bitch Slap is what happens when an Andy Sadaris’ movie gets pumped up by Sin City green screen effects. The movie sets up a high standard with an opening credit sequence that features clips from the great bad girl cinematic treasures including the cast of Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! That’s a heavy burden for a movie. The three girls in Bitch Slap are sexy and violent. The trio are a stripper, a drug runner and a business woman that join together to heist a gangster’s stolen jewel collection. They kidnap the guy and that’s when their troubles start. Most of the film takes place in the middle of desert and on various locations projected over green screen. Director Rick Jacobson had worked on Xena which explains how Lucy Lawless, Zoe Bell and Kevin Sorbo pop up in the action. The Unrated cut is mainly filled with violence and a little girl-girl dry humping. There’s a lot of blood and bruises on the women as their plan unravels and real faces are exposed. The bonus documentary “Building A Better B-Movie” is as long as the film. It shows how Rick and his pals put together this project. If you’re ever tempted to make your own low budget film; watch and take notes from this Master Class lecture. If you just want to watch the feature for fun, make sure you have a bottle of Two Buck Chuck nearby before hitting play. These women don’t play by the rules and will distract you with their bosoms.
When I was a child I enjoyed all sorts of animated cartoon series I saw on television, perhaps more or less equally. But as an adult, watching these cartoons again, I discovered that some, notably Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes grew in my estimation, while others, notably the Hanna-Barbera television cartoons of the late 50s through the 1960s, dropped considerably. I still find the early Hanna-Barbera characters–Yogi Bear, et al.–appealing, thanks to their visual design, primarily by the late animator Ed Benedict, and especially the great voice acting by Daws Butler and his colleagues. But while I can name numerous Warners cartoons whose direction and writing make them great and classic–What’s Opera, Doc?, One Froggy Evening, and on and on–are there individual Hanna-Barbera TV cartoons from the 50s and 60s that are anywhere near that league?
That’s why I was surprised watching the Hanna-Barbera Hokey Wolf cartoons I wrote about a few weeks ago. Usually nowadays when I catch a Hanna-Barbera cartoon of that vintage on Boomerang, I’m disappointed by what now seems to me the weak stories and dialogue. The Hokey Wolf cartoons proved to be surprisingly inventive, leading me to wonder if there is some other Hanna-Barbera series of that period that deserves critical reevaluation. (Someday I’ll get around to writing about The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Hanna-Barbera’s combined parody of silent movie serials and Disney’s Snow White, for example.)
This brings me back to a long-promised topic, Hanna-Barbera’s Top Cat, which debuted on ABC back in 1961, and starred the voice of character actor Arnold Stang, who had earlier voiced Herman, the tough little New Yorker mouse in the Herman and Katnip cartoons of the 1950s. (Watch animation writer Earl Kress interview Stang about Top Cat here:
Following the success of Hanna-Barbera’s The Flintstones in prime time, Top Cat was also made for evening viewing and aimed at an adult audience that included adults. It lasted only one season, for a total of thirty episodes (TV seasons were longer back then), but has been rerun ever since, first on Saturday mornings and nowadays on the cable network Boomerang.
Top Cat and Herman were part of the Baby Boomers’ childhoods, and today their cartoons can be found on DVD collections and online. They are further proof of my Eternal Present theory of cartoon art in the 21st century: so much classic material is now easily accessible that the significant work of the past has once more part of the present, for those who care to look.
As I mentioned in a previous installment, both Hokey Wolf and Top Cat were inspired by Phil Silvers’ performance as comedic con man supreme Sgt. Bilko on the classic 1950s television series You’ll Never Get Rich a. k. a. The Phil Silvers Show a. k. a. Sgt. Bilko. The dead giveaway that Top Cat was inspired by Bilko was the casting of Maurice Gosfield, who played Private Doberman on Bilko, as a similar character on Top Cat, Benny the Ball.
It’s also been observed that Top Cat, a. k. a. T.C., with his gang of alley dwellers is reminiscent of the team of young actors who started out on film as the Dead End Kids and were later known by various names, most famously as the Bowery Boys. Although Top Cat and his gang are all adults, they are all considerably shorter than their friendly nemesis, Officer Dibble, who comes across as a surrogate father figure trying to keep a bunch of mischievous kids in line. (It strikes me that Dibble, Top Cat and gang are like fun house mirror reflections of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s Guardian and the Newsboy Legion, another cartoon variant on the street gang idea.)
Beyond this, I think that the names of some of Top Cat’s gang–Benny the ball, Fancy Fancy–signal that yet another source for the series was the work of Damon Runyon, who is today best known as the author of the stories that were adapted into the musical Guys and Dolls, about likable small-time gamblers and crooks in New York City. It’s notable that Top Cat is the only classic early Hanna-Barbera series that is explicitly located in a real place: New York City. Hoyt Curtin’s score for the series even at moments evokes the music of George Gershwin.
Apparently Top Cat, which was originally shown in prime time, was meant to be written with more adult sophistication than Hanna-Barbera cartoons like Yogi Bear and Quick Draw McGraw. But as a child I watched Top Cat avidly, and the series did have a long afterlife on Saturday morning TV. It’s not written above the heads of smart kids.
Producer-director Joseph Barbera repeatedly said that he believed the reason why Top Cat, unlike The Flintstones, lasted only one season in prime time was the adult prime time audience would not accept talking animals in a cartoon series. This seems right. A generation later, The Simpsons, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary, proved that a prime time animated series could be a tremendous success, and significantly, it excludes talking animals.
But The Simpsons is also sharp and satirical enough to amuse sophisticated adults. But it seems to me that, despite its origin as a series supposedly for adults, Top Cat really is a kids’ show. Unlike The Simpsons, Top Cat doesn’t delve into politics or social satire or adult relationships like marriage, and certainly not sex. Looking at Yogi Bear cartoons on Boomerang, it now seems obvious to me that Yogi is like a clever and mischievous but goodhearted boy trying to get away with his pranks, notably stealing picnic baskets, under the nose of Ranger Smith, a stand-in for a father as authority figure. Top Cat is wilier and acts more mature than Yogi, and Officer Dibble more gullible than the often formidable Ranger Smith, but essentially T. C. and his gang are still like kids trying to outwit their father figure. So the appeal this show would have for kids is clear.
What surprises me in re-watching Top Cat episodes now are subtexts that I ignored as a child because this was indeed a show about “funny animals.” In discussing Hokey Wolf and Fantastic Mr. Fox weeks ago, I pointed out that both had protagonists who are anthropomorphic talking animals, essentially humans disguised as animals. But what if you think of them–or of Top Cat–as actual humans? It seems to me that if Hanna and Barbera had done Top Cat as a series about a gang of humans, not cats, it would have had to be radically different or it wouldn’t have worked. Watching episodes of Top Cat recently, I was struck by how grim the premise of the series would be if Top Cat and his friends humans and not funny talking alley cats. (I will be discussing specific episodes, so I issue spoiler alerts.)
Top Cat not only lives in an alley but in a trash can (years before Oscar the Grouch did the same). He uses Officer Dibble’s police phone, presumably because he can’t afford one of his own. He has no job or source of income apart from his various schemes. Early in one episode, “Rafeefleas,” Top Cat collects what money the gang has. T. C. himself has none, the other five have only a little over sixty cents among them. In short, beneath their comic banter, they are desperately poor. If Top Cat were human, nowadays we’d call him one of the homeless.
But I don’t recall the term “homeless” being commonly used back then: the homeless poor were still referred to as tramps and hobos and bums. Moreover, the hobo was then often a comedic figure rather than a sad one, perhaps following the tradition of Chaplin’s Little Tramp. When Top Cat was first on television, for example, one of comedian Red Skelton’s signature characters was Freddy the Freeloader, a charming clown-like tramp who seemed happy and satisfied with his life. Similarly, although they would love to make a fortune, Top Cat and company do not seem unhappy about their lifestyles.
But imagine if Top Cat and his gang had been depicted as humans rather than cats. Wouldn’t it seem pathetic rather than amusing to have them living in an alley and even in trash cans? If Top Cat and company were truly homeless humans, they would surely be dressed in rags. As cats, following the conventions of cartoons, they instead wear minimal clothing which somehow proves suitable in most places they go. Sgt. Bilko aimed for and lost fortunes, but he had the safety net of his low but secure income as an army sergeant. In contrast, Top Cat and company have absolutely nothing. If he were human, Top Cat’s sunny confidence in his own talents, despite the squalor of his surroundings, would make him seem to be deep in denial of reality. In another episode, “A Visit from Mother,” Benny is distraught because he has told his mother he is not only successful but has become mayor of New York, but now she is coming to visit him and he fears she will learn the truth. For a moment the viewers may stop to consider just how far from successful Top Cat and company are. (And again, a story about a son playing pretend, in effect, to please his mother seems more like a subject for a children’s show.)
I wonder if Top Cat reflects memories of the Great Depression, which its creators had lived through, transformed into a comedy about a heroic conniver whose wit, self-confidence and persistence enables him to rise above, and indeed, ignore the poverty around him. As in the show’s celebrated opening credit sequence, with the title character pretending to ride in a limousine and dining at a fancy restaurant (by stealing a sewer worker’s lunch), Top Cat acts as if he is rich and successful. Penniless he may be, but as the title song goes, he is nonetheless the chief and the king of his world, its top cat.
Like Sgt. Bilko, Top Cat and his accomplices manage to scale the heights before returning to their status quo as alley dwellers. In “A Visit from Mother”, Top Cat succeeds in convincing Benny’s mother, aided by her naivete and nearsightedness, that her son is indeed mayor, and even succeeds in faking a ticker tape parade:
In “˜The Maharajah of Pookajee”, Top Cat ends up impersonating the wealthy maharajah and getting to stay in a palatial hotel suite–until the real maharajah inevitably turns up, of course:
In “The $1,000,00 Derby”, Top Cat not only comes close to winning a million dollars but manages to fool not only the news media but even the city and federal government into thinking he is “the richest man in the world,” oil-rich sheik Ali Khat:
Now there is a premise with the potential for a real satire on the media and politics, but the episode really only scratches the surface. That’s typical of Top Cat: hinting at greater satiric implications without delving into them. Even back then, Jay Ward’s Bullwinkle and Bob Clampett’s Beany and Cecil would have gone further! If only someone would someday revive Top Cat and explore its potential!
My favorite episode, in my childhood and now, is “All That Jazz”, which had that title before either the Kander and Ebb song from Chicago and Bob Fosse’s semi-autobiographical film. The title is the full name of another trickster cat, A. T. Jazz, who is voiced by Daws Butler, possibly performing the voice he would have given Top Cat. (I recalled Butler using his Hokey Wolf voice for Jazz, but that’s not quite right: he gives Jazz a somewhat different voice, much like Hokey’s but also with traces of another Hanna-Barbera character, the hipster cat Mr. Jinks.) Having come all the way from Syracuse (a reference to another city in New York State I hadn’t noticed as a child), Jazz sets about to supplant T. C. as head of his gang, ladies’ man, master con artist, and, in short, “the top cat” of the area. (According to this episode, “top cat” is a title, suggesting that T. C. has an unrevealed real name.) Thus begins a war of the tricksters:
I think one factor that keeps Top Cat from being a truly adult series is that Top Cat’s cunning schemes are so often so transparently obvious to adult viewers. That is true in “All That Jazz.” For example, T. C. tricks Jazz into thinking diamonds have been discovered in a distant country, but he invents a name for the locale that Jazz is easily able to discover is phony. Retaliating, Jazz fakes a radio broadcast declaring that the diamond discovery is real, but watching as an adult, I found it hard to believe that Top Cat didn’t recognize Jazz’s undisguised voice.
In researching tricksters, I learned that one aspect of this character archetype is that he often ends up being tricked himself. That’s one of the pleasures of “All That Jazz,” as Jazz and Top Cat take turns manipulating the other and then proving gullible to his rival’s tricks. In the last act of the story, Jazz and Top Cat each even succeeds in tricking himself. A Hollywood producer and his lackey arrive, looking for a new discovery to cast in their movie The Thing from the Alley. On separate occasions they invite Top Cat and Jazz to be their new star. But Top Cat thinks this is one of Jazz’s tricks, and Jazz thinks this is one of Top Cat’s tricks, with the result that each turns down this offer of potential fame and fortune. This is a recurring pattern on Top Cat. When T. C. masquerades as the Maharajah of Pookajee, he hands out “rubies” that are really cheap costume jewelry. Not once but twice in the episode, Top Cat is offered real rubies, but he assumes they are more costumed jewelry, outsmarting himself. Jazz outsmarted himself in another way as well: having successfully gotten Top Cat’s gang to switch their loyalties to him, he then thoughtlessly proceeded to alienate them, one by one, while investigating T. C.’s diamond scam.
At the end of “All That Jazz” the childlike, trusting Benny the Ball accepts the producer’s offer, and Top Cat and Jazz both realize that the producer was just what he claimed to be. Now Top Cat finally triumphs over his rival by proving to have quicker trickster reflexes. On learning of Benny’s deal, Top Cat immediately tells the producer he is Benny’s agent, and recruits the rest of the gang as Benny’s entourage. Top Cat and company then drive off in the producer’s limousine, literally leaving Jazz in the dust of the alley, which Dibble demands he clean up.
Even as a child I recognized and enjoyed the fact that the rivals were played by two stars of cartoon voice acting. Both in my boyhood and now, my principal pleasure in watching the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the late 1950s and 1960s–the pre-Scooby-Doo era, if you will–is not so much watching as listening to them. Chuck Jones famously called TV cartoon shows of this period “illustrated radio,” because of their severely limited animation. The phrase is apt in another respect, too: like classic radio comedies, the Hanna-Barbera cartoons of this period remain showcases for wonderful cartoon voice acting.
Welcome to our weekly round-up of featured giveaways here at FRED. Every week, we’ll present a new clutch of DVDs, books, and other cool stuff you can take a shot at winning. All you have to do is click on the graphics below to be taken to their respective contest pages. And good luck!
In conjunction with Shout Factory Home Video, we’re giving away five (5) copies of GI JOE: SEASON 1.3 on DVD.
In conjunction with Shout Factory Home Video, we’re giving away five (5) copies of SMALL WONDER on DVD.
In conjunction with Warner Bros. Home Video, we’re giving away three (3) copies of SCARECROW & MRS. KING on DVD.
In conjunction with BBC Home Video, we’re giving away two (2) copies of ALICE IN WONDERLAND on DVD.
In conjunction with First Look Pictures, we’re giving away three (3) copies of NINJA on DVD.
I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.
In this episode, I have a bit of a chat with the man behind MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER’S Crow T. Robot & Dr. Clayton Forrester, and now one-fifth of CINEMATIC TITANIC, Trace Beaulieu.
I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.
In this episode, I have a freewheeling chat with author Matt Debenham, whose first collection of short stories, THE BOOK OF RIGHT AND WRONG, will be released this June.
Once again I welcome you all to another edition of TV or Not TV. I’ve got a lot of thoughts for this week so please bare with me as I bounce around through all of them. Also be forewarned if you still haven’t watched last week’s episode of LOST I’d encourage you to just skip ahead to the listings.
I wanted to start by talking about last week’s episode of LOST titled THE LIGHTHOUSE. First and foremost I was hoping with a title like THE LIGHTHOUSE they would actually be shedding some light on what, exactly, is going on with this whacky Island. Although they didn’t do this they did give us a bit more insight into part of the story we were told last week during THE SUBSTITUTE. I also wasn’t very sure what I was in for because of another Tweet by executive producer Damon Lindelof.
If you haven’t noticed by now I’m not sure you will pick up on the fact that the writers and producers of LOST love elements of ALICE IN WONDERLAND. There were plenty of looking glasses and white rabbits in this episode. There was also a very subtle call back to something that happened in the first season episode titled WHITE RABBIT. At the beginning of the episode we find HURLEY given a mission by the recently deceased JACOB to take JACK to THE LIGHTHOUSE because someone is comign to the Island. In order to do this HURLEY tells JACK the phrase “you have what it takes”. This, of course, sets JACK into a tizzy and where he didn’t care at all what JACOB wanted from him two seconds before after those five words he’s rip-roaring ready to go. Why? The easy answer is from that whacky flash sideways story back in the Los Angeles where the plane never crashed. JACK tells his son DAVID (I know, what?!?) the uplifting story about how his dad CHRISTIAN told him he didn’t have what it takes. At this point I can’t remember if it was about piano playing, baseball, or basket weaving. Doesn’t matter. CHRISTIAN seemed to have been a mean dad who was obviously continuing some cycle of abuse.
You’ll notice I said that the flash sidways story was the easy answer. I also said soemthing about a connection to the first season episode WHITE RABBIT. If you can stretch your mind back six years with me you’ll remember that in this episode, where JACK seems to be chasing after his dead father CHRISTIAN through the woods when he finally catches up the ghost (or SMOKE MONSTER, hallucination, etc.) of CHRISTIAN tells him to not try to lead these people because he just doesn’t have what it takes. Obviously CHRISTIAN has been doubting and loathing his son for quite some time. What a guy!
Now that I’ve spent two paragraphs telling you how they were able to link back to dialogue from six years ago let me tell you about one of the two parts of this episode that I found really interesting. When HURLEY gets JACK up to THE LIGHTHOUSE things really smash the glass. It turns out that the Island has a very old lighthouse on it that no one has ever seen, apparently becuase they weren’t looking for it (like when you misplace your car keys I guess). This lighthouse is so hold it uses a fire pit and mirrors to reflect the light out to the ocean. Just like anything else on this Island, however, it turns out to do far more than just reflect light. It seems that when you turn the mirrors to certain degree markings on the LIGHTHOUSE (also now accompanied by names) you get a glimpse of something in the mirror other than a reflection. JACK first sees what looked to me like the church where SAWYER’s parents funeral service was held (I’m probably wrong). This drives him to make HURLEY turn the mirrors to 23 (which is marked SHEPHARD) and he gets a glimpse of his childhood home. Logically JACK gets mad that JACOB appears to have been playing peeping Tom and smashes all the glass when HURLEY can’t telll him why JACOB is a big ol’ peeping perv. I don’t know if either of them happened to notice the name that was marked 108, as this was the degree marking HURLEY was supposed to turn the mirrors towards. I’d put money on that person being DESMOND since “the Island is not done with” him yet.
Another thing that I think is interesting is that JACK assumes instantly that JACOB is a peepin’ perv based on one still image he sees reflected back at him. How does he know this was the intent and use of THE LIGHTHOUSE. Maybe, instead, these “candidates” that are being drawn to the Island are being revealed even to JACOB himself by using the mirror. He gets a glimpse and has to ascertain who the candidate is. Just a thought. Oh, also whoever this person is must not be all that important becuase it turns out JACOB just did all this to make sure that HURLEY and JACK were as far away from the temple as possible because ol’ SMOKIE JOE is apparently a comin’ to lay a whoopin’ on all the people there. Hopefully MILES gets away.
The second thing that I loved about this week’s episode is that CLAIRE is 100% pure, grade-A bat $hit crazy. She’s taken on the roll of ROUSSEAU as the crazy lady in the woods that wants to get her child back. She’s also been lied to by the SMOKE MONSTER this whole time being told that the OTHERS have her baby AARON (who, if you remember, was taken off the Island by KATE when they escaped via chopper…. man writing about this show makes ME sound bat $hit crazy, doesn’t it?). I assume it is the SMOKE MONSTER anyway because CLAIRE says her Dad told her (CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD) and then her friend, who is revealed to be the JOHN “THE SMOKE MONSTER” LOCKE. I don’t know if there is going to be a possible path for redemption for CLAIRE with all this bad grigri going on around her.
One final LOST thought. Last week we learned that this Fake LOCKE is now stuck looking like JOHN LOCKE. I know I said we don’t know why but I have a funny feeling it has something to do with the fact that JACOB is now dead. Prior to JACOB being killed I’m pretty sure fake LOCKE was able to be LOCKE as well as ALEX, etc. in the episode DEAD IS DEAD. The onlyh thing that’s changed between now and then is JACOB dying. I just thought I would share even though we might never actually know the reason why.
So there’s my thoughts on last week’s episode of LOST here on the eve of the next episode titled SUNDOWN. Considering this episode marks the 1/3 mark for the series (and the fact that they only showed us mere seconds of this week in the previews) I’m sure there’s going to be some heavy stuff going down at the temple. Good luck DOGEN, I’m rooting for you.
Now that I’ve spent so much time talking about LOST let’s switch over to see just what else there is available to watch.
MONDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: CHUCK is back and tonight he has to impersonate a dangerous assassin. Is there really any other kind of assassin?
CBS – 8:00 PM: CARRIE UNDERWOOD guest stars on tonight’s episode of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER. Notice I said guest star there Ted? Wouldn’t get your hopes up that this one is your kids mom.
ABC – 8:00 PM: Once again THE BACHELOR chooses (I think) a woman to take his hand in marriage followed by the season finale special “After the Final Rose.” Once again I also successfully navigated my way completely away from seeing a single moment of the show. Me for the win!
CBS – 8:30 PM: Remember that sitcome RULES OF ENGAGEMENT? Yeah, neither do I. It’s back for a third season tonight though. DAVID SPADE for the win!
TUESDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: Now that the Olympics are over we finally see how that torch balancing on the head stand off ends on THE BIGGEST LOSER. Yeah, you read that right.
FOX – 8:00 PM: The top 10 female finalists try desperately to perform better than their horrid performances last week on AMERICAN IDOL. Based on last week I think SIMON is getting out at just the right time.
ABC – 9:00 PM: Yeah, you may have already heard me say something about that LOST show.
TNT – 10:00 PM: Fans of SOUTHLAND should be sure to tune in to TNT tonight as the second season premiere episode airs.
WEDNESDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM: I can’t really tell if the top 10 male finalists performed any better last week than the ladies on AMERICAN IDOL. I just know that I have absolutely no one to root for.
NBC – 8:00 PM: BIGGEST LOSER host ALISON SWEENEY guest stars on tonights episode of MERCY. Congratulations MERCY, I may actually tune in and watch for once.
ABC – 9:00 PM: PHIL tries to overcome a fear of the dark while exploring under the house with LUKE on MODERN FAMILY. Although not much to read I’m sure it’s going to be comedy gold.
NBC – 9:00 PM: Tonight LAW & ORDER: SVU has a special two hour event with KATHY GRIFFIN guess starring as a lesbian-rights activist. I think the second hour doesn’t have anything to do with this but the show is good enough to stick around.
USA – 10:00 PM: This week on PSYCH it’s LASSITER that actually makes the outrageous claim when he says a shark attack was actually a murder. I can already hear all of the JAWS lines being retread.
THURSDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: Look, all of the NBC comedy shows are back tonight with the exception of 30 ROCK. Why is 30 ROCK not getting any love? It’s making room for BABY HALPERT who is being delivered during the one hour THE OFFICE event.
CBS – 8:00 PM: I have no insight at all into tonight’s epsiode of SURVIVOR: HEROES VS. VILLAINS but from the previews I look forward to the groups being disrupted by hidden immunity idol fever.
FOX – 8:00 PM: Tonight four more contestants are crushed by the fickle choices made by the citizens of the US on AMERICAN IDOL.
USA – 10:00 PM: The season finale of BURN NOTICE promises to be packed with action in the first five minutes. The only thing really bad about this show is that it feels like the season is over right after it starts.
FRIDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? follows celebrity journeys to finding out about their family history. I’ve sat through enough family slide shows to know to avoid this one.
ABC – 8:00 PM: Tonight on SUPERNANNY a family with a cafe needs help taming their wild kids from ruining business. One helpful hint: check the stock level on those chocolate covered espresso beans because I bet the kids are dippin’ in to them.
CBS – 8:00 PM: I know that every show wants to have an explosive 100th epsiode to celebrate the achievement but GHOST WHISPERER has taken it a bit too literal with having a missing bomb as part of the story.
SATURDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: If you missed the pilot for PARENTHOOD (like me) than you have a second chance to catch it tonight.
ABC – 8:00 PM: I guess you can tell the OSCARS are tomorrow with the 20/20 BEFORE THEY WERE FAMOUS special being retread right before THE OPRAH WINFREY OSCAR SPECIAL dreadges through again as well.
HALLMARK – 9:00 PM: Normally I wouldn’t recommend a HALLMARK channel film (because I don’t watch them) but UNCORKED features JULIE BENZ and since in the past six months she’s been a serial killer’s wife AND an ex-stripper I figure we can extend some sympath viewing her way.
SUNDAY
ABC – 8:30 E/5:30 P: Tonight THE 82ND ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS are tag teamed by ALEC BALDWIN and STEVE MARTIN. Is it the ACADEMY AWARDS or the SNL all-star guest host show?
– WILL WILKINS has been pre-empted to bring you this very special announcement.
I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.
In this episode, I have another chat with a very funny writer/producer who traces her career from THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN through THE ROSIE O’DONNELL SHOW to THE BEST WEEK EVER (and its Paul F. Tompkins-helmed successor). There are plenty of other stops along the way, and plenty of irons in the fire, so sit back & listen to me chat w/ the very funny Caissie St. Onge.
The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the FRED Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support FRED by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)
The long drought of last year is but a distant memory as the new Cinematic Titanic releases roll out with great speed this new year, the latest being The Alien Factor (Cinema Titan, $14.99), a horrid 70’s cheapie shot in the wilds of Baltimore, that manages to be a sci-fi version of Manos‘s low-rent, interminable filmmaking – making it glorious fodder for the fine folks at CT. This is another of their live performances, shot last year at LA’s Largo. The energy of the crowd elevates the Titans’ own energy – making for quite a nice little feedback loop.
Moore Action Collectibles had a go at it a few years ago, but it wasn’t until Toynami took over the license that the Futurama action figure line really took off and became what fans always hoped for – mainly, filled with characters. If you’re completely oblivious to the existence of these figures, then thank Thinkgeek for collecting together a clutch of them and offering them as Futurama 2-Packs ($24.99). The available pairings are Fry/Bender, Hermes/Farnsworth, & Leela/Zap Brannigan. You know you want them. You know you do.
There’s an entire generation out there that never got to experience the golden years of a show called Night Court (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), and I urge them to do so by picking up the finally-released third season of the show, which brings Markie Post on full-time as public defender Christine Sullivan. If you’re unaware of the show, give it a spin. Fans are already there.
R. Lee Ermey returns with a brand new series – Lock n’ Load (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$34.95 SRP), which finds the retired Gunnery Sergeant taking viewers on a history and demonstration of battlefield weapons from tanks to rockets. Even if you’re not a warmonger, the history and innovation is fascinating. This 4-disc set contains all 13 first season episodes.
Where the Coen brothers fell down, a firing-on-all-cylinders Steven Soderberg delivers The Informant (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$28.98 SRP) a tale of espionage – the corporate variety – in the form of an immensely likeable, deluded man named Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) who felt the secret recordings he was making of corporate bigwigs price-fixing food additives would make him a national hero. He did become the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in US history, but… well, that would be spoiling a very funny film. Bonus materials are limited to additional scenes. A Blu-Ray edition ($35.99 SRP) is also available, with identical features.
I think the title of his new DVD sums it up pretty well – Sinbad: Where U Been? (Comedy Central, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) finds the comic returning to the stage for his first special in years, riffing on where exactly his disappeared to after incredible success in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The disc also contains a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Remember About Schmidt? Remember Jack Nicholson’s cross-country journey to reconnect with his daughter after his wife’s passing? Well, crank up the schmaltz factor and regress the script, and give the lead to Robert DeNiro and you’ve pretty much got Everybody’s Fine (Miramax, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP), which finds DeNiro’s widower traveling cross-country to reconnect with each of his kids. Bonus features include a featurette and deleted/extended scenes.
It’s always interesting to find out about the people behind the names that have become nothing more than brands, and such is the case with the biopic Coco Before Chanel (Sony, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$34.95 SRP), which looks at the humble beginnings of Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel (Audrey Tatou), who would one day take the fashion world by storm under her nickname, Coco. Bonus features include an audio commentary and a trio of featurettes.
I never thought I’d be interested in seeing the pressure and power struggles that went into making an issue of Vogue magazine, but like any good documentary, The September Issue (Lionsgate, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP) had me glued as the mag’s legendary editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour (immortalized by Meryl Streep in the fictionalized Devil Wears Prada), did just that. The 2-disc set contains an audio commentary, deleted scenes, photos, trailer, and over an hour of additional footage.
The film’s a mess but I love how the cover of the oddball Vampire’s Assistant: Cirque Du Freak (Universal, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$36.98 SRP) tries to make its tale of a kid who joins the circus to become a Vampire into Twilight – going so far as to heavily photoshop its lead to look more like Robert Pattinson. Bonus features include a pair of featurettes and deleted scenes.
Zombie Nazis. Does anything else really need to be said about the Nordic take on Evil Dead, Dead Snow (MPI, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), that will make its goofy premise any more appealing? I didn’t think so. The 2-disc special edition contains behind-the-scenes featurettes, outtakes, and more.
Michael Palin turns in a memorable dramatic performance in the UK miniseries GBH (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP), as an unassuming headmaster who inadvertently derails a labor strike called by an egomaniacal Labour party leader, which leads to a fierce test of wills in this still powerful satire. Heck, it even has a soundtrack by Elvis Costello. The 4-disc set also features an audio commentary on the first episode and an interview with writer Alan Bleasdale.
For those with very little patience, you can pick up and either re-watch or get caught up with the first half of Flashforward‘s debut season (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP). The 2-disc set contains the first 10 episodes, plus an effects featurette and a preview of things to come.
Front and center, Edie Falco makes an indelible impression as the titular Nurse Jackie (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) as an acerbic caretaker in a New York hospital who also intakes a healthy dose of pain pills to deal with her constant back pain. Give the first season a spin and see if you’re not hooked. The 3-disc box set contains all 12 episodes, plus commentaries, featurettes, and nurse stories.
It’s not my cup of tea, but there’s no denying that Superjail! (Adult Swim, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) is easily one of the most visually distinctive shows to hit Adult Swim, and could certainly grow into a unique cornerstone of the programming block. The first season set contains all 10 episodes, plus the pilot.
Go back to the infancy of the Oscars with the Academy Collection: The Envelope Please Volume 1 (Infinity, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), which collects eight early Best Picture nominees that have slipped into public domain. Those films are The Racket, Alibi, The Front Page, A Farewell To Arms, The Private Life Of Henry VIII, A Star Is Born, Pygmalion, and Love Affair.
Learn of the perils and impending issues of overfishing in the compelling documentary The End Of The Line (Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP). It’s rather sobering to think just how close to the brink an entire ecosystem is. Bonus materials include 6 behind-the-scenes webisodes, an interview with narrator Ted Danson, featurettes, and a trailer.
Those nifty score purveyors at La-La Land Records have delivered another trio of releases to keep soundtrack fans happy and penniless – Christopher Young’s score to Love Happens (La-La Land Records, $17.99 SRP), Bear McCready’s music from Battlestar Galactica: The Plan and Razor (La-La Land Records, $17.99 SRP), and cues from the long-running soap Days Of Our Lives (La-La Land Records, $23.99 SRP), by Ken Corday & D. Brent Nelson.
Science! Can’t get enough of it. Also? Excited by it. The 4th season box set of The Universe (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP)? Can’t wait to dive into the 12 stunning episodes exploring the mysteries and majesty of outer space. The 4-disc set also contains a pair of features on meteors and comets. The real way to watch it, though is in glorious high definition via the Blu-Ray edition ($54.95).
I can only assume they’re a big hit north of the border, but I confess to being nonplussed by the titular comedy troupe helming the feature film Trailer Park Boys: Countdown To Liquor Day (Screen Media, Rated R, DVD-$24.98 SRP), but I can assure you that the film will probably appeal to those who dug the Blue Collar Comedy tour. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scene, featurettes, and more.
So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…
We here at FRED are true lovers of music, in all its forms. We’re also quite keen on the spirit of competition, and of spurring creativity through said competition.
To that end, we launched a unique form of creative combat.
In this age of manufactured and painfully earnest talent contests, we’ve decided to instead shine a light on the quirky, quixotic underworld of musicians that don’t get nearly the attention they deserve.
Ah, but I did mention that there was a competition involved…
Like a songwriting version of Iron Chef, the competitors will be presented with a very specific songwriting challenge. They’ll be given one week to complete their songs – however they see fit, within the parameters set forth – after which time the entries will be uploaded to FRED to be voted on by you, the audience.
At the end of the 3rd Challenge, the two Challengers with the most votes will face off, mano a mano for the title of…
MASTER OF SONG FU
However, there may yet be one final challenge for this newly crowned Master – for they very well might (if the stars align and schedules permit) face off against one of the LEGENDARY MASTERS – artists like Jonathan Coulton, Paul & Storm, Neil Innes, Doc Hammer, & The RiffTones. Think of them as the iron chefs of Song Fu – one of which may or may not be revealed as your ultimate challenge. Only the wheel of uncertainty can predict (and even then, not).
So what was the first Challenge?
ROUND 1 CHALLENGE
Write a song that is about (or at least has key to the central narrative) RAIN (the meteorological phenomena). At some point (or throughout) the song, you must utilize an instrument (or vocals) that represent the rain. You are free to write your song in any style that you choose.
That’s it. The only other directive is that your song must run no shorter than 1 minute 30 seconds.
And then our Challengers were given their Round 2 Challenge…
ROUND 2 CHALLENGE
Write a song that does not rhyme.
CLARIFICATION: Your song can be in any style, but must not contain any rhymes of 2 dissimilar words within a traditional verse structure. Exact repetition of a phrase or word is permitted. Your song must run no shorter than 1 minute 30 seconds..
You’ll find the Round 1 and Round 2 songs from each of our Challengers below, as well as the results of the Round 1 voting and the STILL ONGOING Round 2 voting. More importantly, though, you’ll find the reveal of the 3rd Challenge!
THE CHALLENGERS
MIKE LOMBARDO
Mike Lombardo is a piano-playing geek-pop-rock singer-songwriter who likes to use hyphens when describing his occupation. He has been known to write songs about just about anything, including rocks and SAW 4. When not banging on a piano, Mike spends most of his time playing way too many video games or teaching small children how to bang on pianos. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Mike is currently finishing up his second album with his piano rock band, the Mike Lombardo Trio. Official Website: www.mikelombardomusic.com Twitter: twitter.com/mikelombardo ROUND 1 SONG: “Sit And Watch The Rain”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/mike_lombardo-sit_and_watch_the_rain.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “I Found You”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/mike_lombardo-i_found_you.mp3]
EDRIC HALEEN
Edric is a returning veteran of the Masters of Song Fu competition. He has been writing music (off and on) since the early nineties. He wrote and directed a musical, The Pushcart War, based on Jean Merrill’s wonderful novel. He has written and/or arranged a number of songs for various friends – some commissioned, some as surprises. He loves acting in community theatre, and is inspired by the music of Stephen Sondheim, Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Also – feel free to check out (and add to!) the “Happiness Board” on his web pages!
ROUND 1 SONG: “In The Rain”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/edric_haleen-in_the_rain.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “This Song Doesn’t Rhyme”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/edric_haleen-this_song_doesnt_rhyme.mp3]
GODZ POODLZ
Legends foretell of a mighty duo, born in the frozen North. Two neighbors and friends will unite to form “Godz Poodlz” and battle the Mazters or Song Fu for glory and bragging rights! Godz Poodlz are Rüss Rogers and Rod Durre. Russ Rogers was once a member of “Kit and Kaboodle” (still available on iTunes) and currently performs in “Rusty’s Rocking Jamboree!” Rhod Durre was in the Goth Rock Band, “Sear!” Beware the Godz Poodlz Ear Worm! Godz Poodlz songs are bright, funny and tenaciously catchy. Come join Godz Poodlz Legionz of Fanz!
Spencer is trying to do things. Music is one of those things. It is painfully obvious to him, if not others, that he has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. In the past he has been musically inclined with a guitar and occasionally with a piano. He is trying to be musically active once again, but this time he is attempting to do so while on the Internets. Creating music is a large part of his 40×40 list and he thinks this competition seems like “a Super Mega Happy Fun way” to rekindle his musical desires. Official Website: www.spencersokol.com Twitter: twitter.com/spencersokol ROUND 1 SONG: “Reservations”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/spencer_sokol-reservations.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “Minus”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/spencer_sokol-minus.mp3]
KYLIE PETTO
My name is Kylie, and I’m your everyday 17-year-old girl with a passion for music. I’ve been writing my own songs since I was ten years old, and nothing is more fun for me than to sit down with my guitar and unwind. Now I thankfully have a violin to add to my arsenal, and I’m armed and ready for my second go at song fu!
Caleb is a software engineer who pretends to be a musician on the internet. Self-taught in music theory, he is more comfortable writing a four-part instrumental fugue than he is writing a verse-chorus-bridge song. His favorite style of music went out of style at the end of the 18th century, but after discovering the likes of Weird Al, Dr. Horrible, and especially Jonathan Coulton, he realized that “omodern music” can be fun too. Now he is on a quest to update, expand, and diversify his musical knowledge and experience. In addition to singing, he plays a whole family of recorders, baroque flute, ukulele, melodica, pretends to play keyboard and guitar, and most recently, bass. He also uses virtual instruments because a real orchestra costs too much.
The Boffo Yux Dudes began in the 80’s and 90’s doing radio comedy, and promptly fell asleep for the next 15 years. Tom Giarrosso and Allan Morgan (Pop Machine) continue the tradition of trying to recreate their lost youth with exceedingly torturous music, instead of spending the money on therapy like normal people having a midlife crisis. Tom blames Mike Lombardo for showing him the Fu way of doing things, and now he has to listen to the voices and write songs instead of doing his actual day job. Official Website: www.boffoyux.com Twitter: twitter.com/boffoyuxdudes ROUND 1 SONG: “Reign of the King”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/boffo_yux_dudes-reign_of_the_king.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “Al’s Blues”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/boffo_yux_dudes-als_blues.mp3]
DENISE HUDSON
Denise Hudson is a musician of non-determined hair-color from Austin, Texas who is married to an musicaphile Australian. She hopes that she typed up her bio correctly (alas, she cannot spell!); and additionally hopes she amuses you, but she is done apologizing now. 🙂 If she happens to make you slightly uncomfortable, she supposes there’s nothing to be done for it… Official Website: denisehudson.bandcamp.com
I’m “BucketHat” Bobby Matheson. I used to make cartoons for the internet, and sometimes still do, but mostly focus on my music right now. I write and record my songs solo, in my little make-shift studio, and when I play live, I often get some help from friends. Some of my music is funny, and some isn’t. More often than not, the humour is unintentional. My Influences range from Klezmer to folk, to punk and back again, which ends up sounding more like Zydeco than anything else (who’d have guessed?). I’ve been described as a “Cajun Buddy Holly” and an “Optimistic Elvis Costello”. It’s been said that I sound like “That guy from the Barenaked Ladies” and a “Nasaly Bob Dylan”. One of these days, I hope to have a description that is accurate. Official Website: www.buckethatbobby.randomsociety.com Twitter: twitter.com/BucketHatBobby ROUND 1 SONG: “Forget About The Rain”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/buckethat_bobby_matheson-forget_about_the_rain.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “I’m Fine (Could Be Worse)”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/buckethat_bobby_matheson-im_fine_could_be_worse.mp3]
IAN “TWO SHADES” JOHNSON
Ian is a guitarist/singer/pianist/other-stuff-ist. He was a participant of Song-Fu #5, and is a member of Too Much Awesome. His songs have been described (by himself) as “probably not as funny as I think they are.” Official Website: ianjohnson.bandcamp.com ROUND 1 SONG: “Downpour”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/ian_two_shades_johnson-downpour.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “Two Words”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/ian_two_shades_johnson-two_words.mp3]
GORBZILLA
Gorbzilla is a musician/band teacher in Mid-Michigan. He has been in a few bands over the years, most notably as the bass player/vocalist for the band “Satin Jones” and the guitarist/vocalist for the band “Jimmy Likes Pie”. The proud father of two future rock maniacs, Gorbzilla has been writing music for the past twenty years, and is currently working on his first musical Beer ““ Finally a Musical for Men based on the Haiku by Patrick “Horkmeister” Sweet entitled, “I Think I Threw Up”. He has been happily married for eight years, and is looking forward to this competition. Official Website: gorbzilla.blogspot.com ROUND 1 SONG: “Freezing Rain”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/gorbzilla-freezing_rain.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “A Song About This Song”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/gorbzilla-a_song_about_this_song.mp3]
GOVERNING DYNAMICS
Governing Dynamics is the name of Travis Norris’s eternal sideproject, where all the stuff written by him goes when his current band (whatever it may be) refuses to play it. The music has been favorably compared to such bands as Eels, Radiohead, The White Stripes, and other bands that cool people like. It has been unfavorably compared to the tactics used by the FBI against the Branch Dividians at Waco. If he has to describe his music by genre (and refer to himself in third person) Travis calls it “alternative/shoegazer with a liberal dose of Midwestern rock”. Official Website: governingdynamics.bandcamp.com Twitter: twitter.com/travisnorris ROUND 1 SONG: “Rain in Chicago”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/governing_dynamics-rain_in_chicago.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “Restrictions”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/governing_dynamics-restrictions.mp3]
ZER0GUY
Two brothers from the midwest return to Song Fu with their brand of eclectic musical ideas. They don’t like to stick to a genre, and sometimes they suffer from swarms of bees. Official Website: www.myspace.com/zer0guyband ROUND 1 SONG: “Thundercade”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/zer0guy-thundercade.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “Guitar Tonite”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/zer0guy-guitar_tonite.mp3]
JUTZE SCHULT
Johannes “Jutze” Schult (from Germany) likes to live in a dream world where there has been no Grunge and where he is a talented singer. Sometimes his little folky pop songs find their way into the real world. Here they suffer from his hoarse voice and the do-it-yourself home recording production, struggling to appeal off and on beaten musical paths. Official Website: www.jutze.com Twitter: twitter.com/schult ROUND 1 SONG: “Kingdom Of Rain”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/jutze_schult-kingdom_of_rain.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “Communication Removal”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/jutze_schult-communication_removal.mp3]
LEIGH & HOOVER
Dave & William have been writing songs together for decades, yet have still managed to avoid finding a clever name for themselves. William writes the words; Dave the music… which is good because it doesn’t really work the other way ’round. Official Website: www.cratchit.org/music ROUND 1 SONG: “Summer Rain”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/leigh_and_hoover-summer_rain.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “We Do What We Do”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/leigh_and_hoover-we_do_what_we_do.mp3]
COMMON LISP
Common Lisp is the name for the music projects of yours truly, Paul R. Potts, and any collaborators I may be able to drag into participating. I am a middle-aged software engineer with four children, some home recording gear, and too many guitars. I have never written an original song. It’s about time, don’t you think? Official Website: commonlisp.bandcamp.com Twitter: twitter.com/paulrpotts ROUND 1 SONG: “Polly Loves the Rain”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/common_lisp-polly_loves_the_rain.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “War Criminal”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/common_lisp-war_criminal.mp3]
GLEN RAPHAEL
Glen Raphael is a Manhattan-based software geek, circus performer, and guitarist/singer/songwriter who counts Jonathan Coulton and Paul & Storm as influences. He has recently written songs that featured killer robots, exploding pants, and the Statue of Liberty having a mid-life crisis. Though not all at once. Yet. Official Website: youtube.com/glenra ROUND 1 SONG: “Can’t See The Sky”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/glen_raphael-cant_see_the_sky.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “Song That Doesn’t Rhyme”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/glen_raphael-song_that_doesnt_rhyme.mp3]
INVERSE T. CLOWN
Inverse T. Clown is a jack of many entertainment trades, songwriting being one of his favorites. He has an album half-ready to be recorded, and is looking forward to garnering the patience to sit down and do it. Even more so, he’s looking forward to Song Fu 6. There is an ongoing series of internet covers of Inverse’s song “Today’s The Day” – and he loves them all – but it would nice to get some steam behind the endless REST of his genius, and Song Fu seems just the place to start it up. He’s funny, he’s clever, his music is synthetic, and he’s champing at the bit to throw everything he’s got to his clamoring fans. Stick around, and see why Salemites everywhere call this musical genius “The Future of Greatness”. Official Website: toomuchawesome.ning.com/profile/InverseTClown ROUND 1 SONG: “Sexy In The Rain”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/inverse_t_clown-sexy_in_the_rain.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “An Angry Rant”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/inverse_t_clown-an_angry_rant.mp3]
JEFF MacDOUGALL
Coming in at twice Mike Lombardo’s age, Jeff MacDougall is back and ready to throw some Fu! When asked about the competition, he had this to say: “Yeah. That’s right. I’m back. *coughs* *mumbles*” This will be a Song Fu for the ages! Official Website: www.jeffmacdougall.com Twitter: twitter.com/jeffmacdougall ROUND 1 SONG: “Beautiful Day”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/jeff_macdougall-beautiful_day.mp3] ROUND 2 SONG: “Ken Plume Is To Blame”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/jeff_macdougall-ken_plume_is_to_blame.mp3]
TARYN MILLER
Taryn Miller is an 18-year-old, gluten-intolerant, crazy-hat-wearing guitarist (and other stuff too, but she’s played guitar longest). She hails from Winfield, Kansas – Home of Bluegrass. Official Website: myspace.com/chellenesuperstar ROUND 1 SONG: “Crowded And Clouded”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/taryn_miller-crowded_and_clouded.mp3]
To download a ZIP FILE containing all of the ROUND 2 songs, CLICK HERE.
To download a ZIP FILE containing all of the ROUND 1 songs, CLICK HERE.
ROUND 3 CHALLENGE
Write a song that involves a recipe for something.
This recipe can be for anything – not just food. Your song must run no shorter than 1 minute 30 seconds..
Your song must be submitted in mp3 form (128-192kbps) either via e-mail (to songfu @ asitecalledfred.com – remember to remove the spaces) or a file upload service (like RapidShare or YouSendIt). Deadline for submission is 11:59pm EST on Sunday, March 7th, 2010.
There will be a Round 3 Listening Party at 8:30pm EST on Monday, March 8th HERE. Voting on Round 3 submissions will commence immediately after the listening party.
If you want some inspiration, here’s a recipe song by Queen Ida…
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/queen_ida-zydeco_taco.mp3]
ROUND 2 VOTING
And now, it’s time for the voting. For this round, you can choose your TOP 5 FAVORITE Challenger songs. Be sure to choose carefully. VOTING CLOSES AT 11:59pm EST on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27th. If you are having trouble voting, CLEAR YOUR BROWSER’S CACHE and try again. PLEASE NOTE: This voting system bases voting eligibility on your IP Address. If there are other computers on a home or business network that share the same IP address through a router, it may say you’ve already voted. Unfortunately, there is no way around this, and still be able to prevent ballot stuffing. It’s just the nature of the online voting beast.
I’m Joe Covenant. I’m Scottish. And never have enough time to do everything I wanna! Been singing and perfoming for over 40 years… (yes, I am 46.)… and I’ve nearly learned a 6th chord! Everything I do. I do for Song Fu. (If not for this ‘contest’ I would have never met and collaborated with so many talented people.)
ROUND 1 SHADOW SONG: “Rain”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song1/shadow_song-joe_covenant_lamb-rain.mp3] ROUND 2 SHADOW SONG: “The “Jay Is Awesome” Polka”
[audio:http://asitecalledfred.com/songfu/06song2/shadow_song-joe_covenant_lamb-the_jay_is_awesome_polka.mp3]
If you triumph, not only will you win remarkable (and potentially off-putting) bragging rights and a clutch of fantastic mystery prizes, you will also become the proud owner of the magnificent, one-of-a-kind MASTER OF SONG FU TROPHY.
Check out my new column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on TWITTER under the name: Stipp
GREEN ZONE – SCREENING
Yes, United 93 made me a little ill. With all that shaky-cam movements he’s known for Paul Greengrass has tempered his need to put his cameras on paint shakers. Thank the heavens for that as I was able to enjoy the last Bourne film with much more interest.
His latest, GREEN ZONE, looks like it will be a thriller in the most classical of ways. Immediate, visceral, fast-moving, and starring the acting stylings Matt Damon this will be a film that ought to satisfy the action jones any guy must have with the lack of action at the box office as of late. I have your tickets to a screening on March 9th, at Tempe Marketplace, at 7:00 p.m.
Shoot me an e-mail at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com and I’ll make sure you get entered to get a pair of tickets
A film description:
Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93) re-team for their latest electrifying thriller in Green Zone, a film set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War when no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences.
During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.
Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region. And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will find the most elusive weapon of all is the truth.
Christopher McDonald – Interview
It was Tappy Tibbons that really drew me into Christopher McDonald’s world. Sure, you could can talk all you like about the comedic life he pored into making Shooter McGavin such a despicable villain but it was Darren Aronofsky who saw something indelible in making McDonald a pivotal part of his dramatic fever dream.
McDonald has put in over thirty years making memorable roles that lesser actors would just as soon blend into the background playing. He’s made it his livelihood, his life’s work, playing parts that take on something special when he filters their essence through his sensibility. What that sensibility is, for the most part, are characters that you love to hate, but they are characters that make you feel something. I had a chance to talk to McDonald about his latest film, Splinterheads, which is now available to buy on DVD, but I was insanely curious to know more about the life of an actor that isn’t front and center with every production, how you make a life out of playing roles that people may or may not remember.
CHRISTOPHER STIPP:Â In preparing for this interview I thought it was interesting of how, as you were coming through the ranks, you had a Timex that was set to go off on a set schedule as a reminder, to you, to think about where your career was going.
MCDONALD: Where did you find that?
CS:Â It was in an interview you did but i thought the sentiment was genuinely resonant. Do you still have that Timex in your head? Do you always re-evaluate what you do?
MCDONALD: That’s a very good question and, to be honest with you, I think the ticking gets less loud once you reach a certain amount of success.
It’s not a complacency that you get, don’t get me wrong, I’m very focused on what I’m doing, but I know that I’m not that same guy that’s always looking for that reassurance from the business to make your way. It’s more like…I’m part of the club now, it’s really lovely to be involved…it’s a mutual respect thing when you see people and say, “Hey”¦Hey, McDonald get over here.” It’s all kind of great now, it’s more “How do you have more control so it gets in the world?” this year. I’m doing my first directorial project, I’ve got 4 or 5 movies coming out, I’m promoting this one which I loved shooting it and hope it makes a little bit of noise in the DVD and downloading world. So it’s like that. It’s something that beats not every hour but every day. I look for something to be sure I’m headed in the right way.
CS:Â You just directed your first feature?
MCDONALD: I’m in the process of casting it and directing it and won’t actually get under the cameras until this Fall so I’m leaving myself a lot of pre-production time. Takes place in the Fall over about 8-10 years.
CS:Â Why did it take you this long to say, “You know what, why don’t I make one of these things”?
MCDONALD: I think what it took me ““ there was just so much love for me out there in the acting world I hope that never goes away and have been offered so many great things and almost too busy to do it. But now when you think about it, it’s kind of like writing also, I’m also afraid to do it.
Not that I think I won’t be good at it but I think anything that detracts from what we were just talking about ““ what am I doing with my career as an actor in Hollywood, this guy who came from nothing out in the boonies in New York, to this town of broken dreams on Hollywood Blvd. It was a big step and everyone thought I’d be back in 8 months with my tail between my legs and, by hook or by crook, you keep going so I wanted to dance only with the girl I came with.
But then I thought how many times have I seen my work and the work of other people that I know been cut out because, when the baby is coming down the birth canal, and it’s just too long, the director has to make that decision so I wanted to make sure I was good enough to do the math in my head to say I know how long this movie’s going to be, I know what I need to shoot because I already edited it in my head so I won’t be wasting money, wasting time, and breaking some hearts down the line saying, “I hated to do it, I’m sorry, we cut those 2 to 3 scenes out so, sorry.” That’s a horrible thing. It’s happened to me, it’s happened to friends and it’s not fun but I wanted to be prepared.
CS:Â And now with Splinterheads, this is Brant Sersen’s first film writing and directing.
MCDONALD: Correct.
CS:Â Â Describe for me what it’s like with a first time director/writer on a film like this.
MCDONALD: I’ve had great success with first time director/writers. The smartest thing one can do, I have learned, is surround yourself with the best possible people. There are a couple of missteps, and are, in every movie, but other ones I’ve seen there have been bigger missteps where people were let go and another group hired to come in and save the day. Your right arm is your DP, because that’s where the time, and actual total and pictures of the movie take place. So you want to be with the guy who can deliver that and I thought that Brant did a brilliant job. Was a great DP and very smooth. There were a couple days where things went too long but for the most part it was very well run, it was run not on a dime but it was a cheaper production and all the money went up on the screen. And it was great to see Patchogue, Long Island really embrace this movie and stepped up and donated food and time and lots of good extras and didn’t cry that we were shutting down the streets, as some towns do but they really welcomed us with open arms and it was terrific.
CS: What did you see in the script? I read that you are always looking for reasons to say yes to a project. What made you say yes to this one?
MCDONALD: I have to say on this one it was particularly interesting because he rewrote it for me with the idea that I might be doing it. So when they offered me the part I was a) flattered and b) it was perfect timing. I always wanted to work in a town where”¦ I was born in Long Island and had my formative years there. Lea Thompson was involved and she’s a terrific old pal of mine and Frankie Faison. The only question mark was the director. I already loved the script and this Thomas Middleditch. This guy I never heard of. So they sent me a couple links to go find his work and I just found out immediately the guy is very funny and uniquely talented. And Rachel Taylor was a big boon when we got her to sign on because she is truly spectacularly beautiful and played the part really well I thought and she really embraced the material. But there are a lot of different things, if it’s not the director which I usually say yes to if it’s the director. It’s ultimately the material, director, co-stars…little things like money helps.
(Laughs)
Location helps as well. And you don’t want to keep repeating yourself all the time but you want to give it a different slant or flavor or an attack on a part that you haven’t done before and that’s what I got a chance to do with this Bruce Mancuso, the only cop in town.
CS: One of the things I was reminded of when I saw the film was that I’m constantly amazed at what you are able to do. You’re definitely a working man’s actor and you are not comfortable doing one thing here and one thing there ““ you constantly surround yourself with different projects. One of the most famous character, at least in my eyes, was Tappy Tibbons from Requiem For A Dream. What you did with Darren utterly blew me away. How do you find ways to reinvent a character or try to look at a character a different way and give it a life you haven’t before given because obviously looking your resume it’s filled up with all parts but they each feel different.
MCDONALD: Well, thank you for saying that, first of all. I think in that particular case with Darren Aronofsky a lot of it was improvisational where we actually worked around the streets of New York City. He had a camera in his hand and people would recognize me and I would respond to them as Tappy Tibbons. So that kind of got the juices flowing. They knew me but didn’t know my name or the ones who did know my name new me from Shooter McGavin or something like that. They wouldn’t use that in the coverage and would move on to someone else but would use the reactions and it was quite interesting. Or shooting on the rooftop of his little 5 floor walk-up in Hell’s Kitchen, which I think has changed now for some reason.
(Laugh)
But I think all that kind of improvisation helped me get on the sound stage that day at Tappy and just kind of let it rip. He just kind of let me go and play this game and get the audience going and then bring on Sara played brilliantly by Ellen Burstyn and it was something I was never really on sure ground so I knew it was sort of out there and I was pushing the envelope each time. Because I was sort of a drug. I was putting a drug in her mind. So how much is it really me and how much is it her interpretation of me? So I thought that was an interesting challenge and I’m glad it turned out as well as it did.
CS:Â Absolutely. Now, you’ve mentioned at one time that you are comfortable with being pigeonholed because that means you get to work…
MCDONALD: Yeah, pigeonhole me. It’s better working than not working.
CS: Obviously, pigeonholing connotes some bad things but how did you become so comfortable it or was it just as simple as, “You know what, I’m working. So who cares what other people think?”
MCDONALD: The whole thing in pigeonholing is when I see a movie I like to see someone like Daniel Day Lewis who is never the same in any part. That, to me, is tremendous chameleon character lead acting. Yes, when he has to play something that is close to himself, we’ve seen that before, but there is always a different spin on it. I thought there are other actors the audience won’t embrace in a different role. They wouldn’t embrace John Belushi, God rest his soul, as a guy that was trying to make a serious movie at times and no one went. So in my particular situation I try to do what I know the part calls for and if it’s left to me to add to it I am going to try something different or I’ll just try something more amped up if I think the scene needs it, or the movie needs it or the character needs it.
People seem to respond to that much more than playing it straight ahead ““ like Kevin Costner straight-ahead leading man guy you love, the movies that Gary Cooper and Clark Gable cut their teeth on. I’m much more of a character lead and I love dancing around the exterior ledge with one foot playing super real and another foot where you are going I can dance out here a little bit to make it more memorable, but it’s all dependent on the character.
CS: Right. And have you been offered roles where you are the lead and have to carry the film?
MCDONALD: Yes. I’ve had some success at things but they haven’t made the noise or, should I say, have the following that the other parts, the colorful parts, have. I did a wonderful movie written by the guy who wrote the Omen called the 18th Angel. We shot it in Italy. It was a terrific experience to play the lead guy who’s daughter had the devil come through her. Long story short, it was wonderful. Maximilian Schell was in the movie but it just was not promoted. When it’s out there in cable land it does quite well but I see something like that I just say, “I could have done it and kept on doing it.” I loved it. I was in almost every frame of the movie but parts like that don’t come my way that often. If it had become a big success it would have been a turn in my career but it wasn’t. I’ve done a couple other things like that on television shows. But people and ultimately employers really respond to how the audience responds to my character work.
CS: I find it very curious that you are out here stumping for a film that is now available on DVD. Why are you out here, again, stumping for a movie that has played and that now people might get the chance to see in the secondary market?
MCDONALD: I want more eyes on the prize. I think the movie is very funny and at the same time very true to life. There are kids like this ““ Thomas Middleditch who plays Justin ““ kids have no direction and takes this angel that comes to town to really kind of just kick him in gear. You see this guy in the formative time of his life.
I want people to see it. It’s just a fun movie. It’s won awards and accolades as far as audience awards and stuff like that. The reason I’m stumping for it is because I want more eyes on the prize. I would like people to check it out because I think they would have a good time.
CS: Being in the business for over three decades what’s the biggest change you see right now in terms of where you are right now versus where you started? Has the business changed from your perspective?
MCDONALD: The business has changed tremendously. There’s not as much work on television because of ““ even with all the new channels and things like that, the prime time gets all the attention ““ there are so many reality shows on.
They are cheap to make but it dumbs down the American people. If I want to watch the Kardashians who have all this money and watch people make all these dippy choices in their life, then a lot of it isn’t reality. “Would you be really angry at her please? Just try it out.” Kinda like walking on the Jerry Springer Show. You have to start a fight within a minute. That kind of stuff is manipulative and brings down the whole intelligence level of what defines entertainment. All the wonderful hours we used to do and comedies we used to do ““ there are so few left because of all the hours taken up by reality television. That said, it’s the most wonderful time in the world. If I was starting out now it would be completely different because of the ease of technology that makes everything ““ if I had a story to tell I would have started 13 years ago but back in my day videotape hadn’t really started yet.
Now you have a camcorder, tell a story, and cut it on your Mac and put music on it and you have a showcase. Fantastic. So that technology part is fantastic. The cable world is where I live when I watch television because I think they are breaking new ground.
Some of the greatest writing that’s done for television now is on cable and networks that are fighting for their hours. You pull Jay Leno down and that takes away 5 hours a night a week of programming? That’s massive. So it’s a very interesting time. A very scary time. Everything is going to be streaming ““ people will be going to their Blockbuster stores ““ saying, “What was that movie?” And boom, it’s on your phone right there. It’s movies now wherever you are which is fantastic because we’re always going to need good product and I would just love to ride the next wave which is going to be that whole streaming thing. I go to Sundance every year and watch the new developments in 3D ““ that’s what people are going to go to theaters for because they aren’t going to have 3D things in their house. It’s the whole communal thing of going to a movie and being blown away by 3D, Avatar, going, “Oh my god, that was an experience.” That stuff is exciting as hell. But for the most part I think it’s changed tremendously and I hope to grow with the process because I hope to be doing this until the day I die.
CS: If I could ask just one more question… I read that your family means a lot to you and the roles you choose are predicated on how close you can be to them. When you look at your career, is there any sort of hope that your family will think one way or the other about what you’ve done, your oeuvre of work? Any conscious choice to always put that at the forefront or is there sacrifice?
MCDONALD: There is always sacrifice. There are a lot of films that I don’t want my kids to see, Requiem for a Dream being one, until they are 21, and a lot of times I made the choice to do Disney movies. I would go after them so my kids could see what Daddy does.
And a lot of actors do this but the family becomes the most important thing once you hit a level of success. That’s what you really want. Want to share the whole thing. There are a lot of movies that take you away from that and when the kids were young the whole family went with me, like to Italy. It was a blessing. You can’t pull them out of soccer. You can’t pull them out of school. It’s pretty hard as they get older. But the best thing about technology is just Skype them or if you have a Mac, just iChat them and there you are sitting at the kitchen table. It’s a gift to look in their eyes that the generation before us just didn’t have. So as things change and life goes on you take the movies you really want to do and then sometimes take them because you need to pay the rent. But for the most part I’ve turned plenty of stuff down that I wouldn’t want my family to see but for the most part I try to find a way to make it palatable but you never know. Sometimes if it’s not on the page it’s not going to be on the stage.