Tonight Only: Merrily We Roll Along from Sondheim/Furth/Kaufman/Hart

Posted on October 23, 2013 at 8:00 am

Tonight only — Fathom will make the legendary musical “Merrily We Roll Along” available in theaters across the country.

Set over three decades in the entertainment business, the story charts the relationship between three friends Franklin, Mary and Charley. Travelling backwards in time, this powerful and moving story features some of Sondheim’s most beautiful songs including “Good Thing Going” and “Not a Day Goes By.” As an extra treat, cinema audiences will be treated to an exclusive backstage experience with cast interviews and more.

It began as a rare flop for George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, the writing team behind many of the biggest box office successes of the middle 20th century, including “You Can’t Take It With You” (which became an Oscar-winning movie) and “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” It was innovative because it presented the story in reverse order. In the first scene, the characters are established show business figures, though not very happy. Each succeeding scene takes us back in time as we see the characters make compromises and lose their innocence, until the final moments, when we see them as seniors graduating from college, filled with optimistic dreams.

In 1981, writer/actor George Furth and composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim adapted it into a musical and again it was a financial failure, unlike their other collaboration, “Company.” But it has been amended and revived to great success and this highly acclaimed London production should be very satisfying.

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Based on a play Musical

50 Must-See Movies: Fathers

Posted on October 22, 2013 at 3:59 pm

I’m delighted to announce publication of my newest book, 50 Must-See Movies: Fathers. Earlier volumes in the series include the print and ebook 101 Must-See Movie Moments, and the other 99 cent ebooks 50 Must-See Movies: Mothers and 50 Must-See Movies: Weddings. Coming soon, Must-See Movie books about lawyers/judges, nurses/doctors, musicians, and teachers — suggestions welcome! If you buy any of these books and post a review on Amazon, I will send you an e-version of any one of the others you’d like to have.

The book’s introduction:

What do “Wall Street” and the “Star Wars” saga and, seemingly, about half the movies ever made have in common? They are about fathers. In “Wall Street,” Charlie Sheen plays the ambitious Bud, who respects the integrity of his blue-collar father, played by his real-life father, Martin Sheen. But Bud is dazzled by the money and power and energy of Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). The movie will up the ante with Bud’s father’s heart attack as we see him struggle between the examples and guidance of these two male role models.

In “Star Wars,” Luke (Mark Hamill) does not know until halfway through the original trilogy that (spoiler alert) the evil Darth Vader is his father. He was raised by his aunt and uncle, who are killed very early in the first film, but the father figures who are most meaningful in his life are the Jedi masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. Like Bud in “Wall Street,” Luke must choose between the good and bad father figures. Like Luke, Harry Potter is raised by an aunt and uncle, but he finds a true father figure later. For Harry, it is headmaster Albus Dumbledore. In opposition is He Who Must Not Be Named. Like Luke, Harry has the opportunity for great power on the dark side, but he lives up to the example set for him by Dumbledore.

The first stories ever recorded are about fathers. The central human struggle to reconcile the need for a father’s approval and the need to out-do him is reflected in the “hero of a thousand faces” myths that occur in every culture. In Greek mythology, Zeus is the son of a god who swallowed his children to prevent them from besting him. Zeus, hidden by his mother, grows up to defeat his father and become the king of the gods. Ancient Greece also produced the story of Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother, and The Odyssey, whose narrator tells us “it is a wise man who knows his own father.”

These themes continue to be reflected in contemporary storytelling, including films that explore every aspect of the relationship between fathers and their children. There are kind, understanding fathers whose guidance and example is foundation for the way their children see the world. There are cruel, withholding fathers who leave scars and pain that their children spend the rest of their lives trying to heal. There are movies that reflect the off-screen real-life father-child relationships. Martin Sheen not only played his son’s father in “Wall Street;” he played the father of his other son, Emilio Estevez, “The Way,” which was written and directed by Estevez, and which is about a father’s loss of his son. Will Smith has appeared with his son Jaden in “The Pursuit of Happyness” and “After Earth.” John Mills appeared with his daughter Hayley in “Tiger Bay,” “The Truth About Spring,” and “The Chalk Garden.” Ryan and Tatum O’Neill memorably appeared together in “Paper Moon.” Jane Fonda produced and starred in “On Golden Pond” and cast her father Henry as the estranged father of her character. Jon Voight played the father of his real-life daughter Angelina Jolie in “Tomb Raider.” And Mario Van Peebles, whose father cast him as the younger version of the character he played in “Sweet Sweetback’s Badasssss Song” made a movie about the making of that film when he grew up. It is called “Badasssss!” In the role of Melvin Van Peebles he cast himself.

Director John Huston deserves some sort of “Father’s Day” award. He directed both his father and his daughter in Oscar-winning performances, Walter Huston in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” and Anjelica Huston in “Prizzi’s Honor.”

Some actors known for very non-paternal roles have delivered very touching performances as fathers. Edward G. Robinson is best remembered for playing tough guys, but in “Our Vines Have Tender Grapes” he gave a beautiful performance as a farmer who loves his daughter (Margaret O’Brien) deeply. Cary Grant, known for sophisticated romance, played loving – if often frustrated — fathers in “Houseboat” and “Room for One More.” “Batman” and “Beetlejuice” star Michael Keaton was also “Mr. Mom.” Comedian Albert Brooks is a devoted father in “Finding Nemo.”

There are memorable movie fathers in comedies (“Austin Powers,” “A Christmas Story”) and dramas (“To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Boyz N the Hood”), in classics (“Gone With the Wind”), documentaries (“Chimpanzee,” “The Other F Word”), and animation (“The Lion King,” “The Incredibles”). There are great fathers (“Andy Hardy”) and terrible fathers (“The Shining”). There are fathers who take care of us (“John Q”) and fathers we have to take care of (“I Never Sang for My Father”). All of them are ways to try to understand, to reconcile, and to pay tribute to the men who, for better or worse, set our first example of how to decide who we are and what we will mean in the world.

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Who Can Teen Girls Count On For Good Advice?

Posted on October 22, 2013 at 3:59 pm

In 2002 I wrote an article about the messages in magazines for teenage girls. I said that they struck “an uneasy balance between being empowering and being trashy. This is the result of another uneasy balance between their two constituencies, readers and advertisers. Girls want to attract boys. Advertisers want to avoid controversy.”

Since that time, the internet has, for worse but mostly for better, opened up a new range of possibilities for teenagers to express themselves and explore different ideas about growing up. One of the best is Rookie, from Tavi Gevinson, an astonishingly accomplished teenaged writer/editor (with an assured movie debut in “Enough Said”). With monthly themes and topic categories that include music, fiction, tech, books and comics, style, eye candy, sex and love, “you said it,” “you asked it,” “live through this,” and “anything else” and a warm welcome for writing by its readers, it is both smart and wise, with interviews that meet or exceed the quality of any you will find in “Vanity Fair” or “Rolling Stone.” A second volume of the collected works, Rookie Yearbook Two is now available. Highly recommended.

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Parenting Teenagers

12 Years a Slave: The Real Story

Posted on October 21, 2013 at 6:26 pm

Time Magazine has researched the real story behind “12 Years a Slave,” comparing the film to Northrup’s book and found most of it depicted as Northrup described it. SPOILER ALERT — here are a few of the facts they researched.

Mary Epps injures Patsey in a jealous rage

Ruling: Fiction

Northup does write in his autobiography about Epps’ affection for Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o) — and the jealousy aroused in Epp’s wife. However, he never writes anything about Mary (Sarah Paulson) becoming moved to violence or, as the movie shows, hurling a decanter at her face. Patsey did, however, suffer greatly from Epps’ alternative affection and rage, getting both raped and beaten, especially when Edwin was trying to prove to Mary his lack of affection for Patsy.

Northup was forced to whip Patsey

Ruling: Fact

Patsey leaves the plantation to borrow a bar of soap from a neighbor. Epps did not believe Patsey’s story and compelled Northup to whip her as punishment.

Northup is saved, thanks to a letter written by a kind-hearted carpenter named Bass

Ruling: Fact

Samuel Bass (Brad Pitt) did have a discussion with Epps about slavery as portrayed int he movie, leading Northup to believe he could trust Bass with a letter home. Bass sent the letter and had several nighttime meetings with Northup to report back on the letter’s progress. For a good deal of time, the letter received no response, and Bass even offered to go up to Saratoga himself and tell Northup’s friends about the situation once he could afford to do so. However, Northup’s friends received the letter sooner than that: they make the trip South and save Northup.

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The Real Story

Interview: Scott Jordan Harris on Rosebud Sleds and Horses’ Heads — The Greatest Movie Objects

Posted on October 21, 2013 at 3:59 pm

Scott Jordan Harris is the author of Rosebud Sleds and Horses’ Heads: 50 of Film’s Most Evocative Objects – An Illustrated Journey, a beautifully illustrated tribute to some of the most beloved props and costumes in film history. He writes about Marilyn Monroe’s dress in “The Seven Year Itch,” Dorothy’s ruby slippers in “The Wizard of Oz,” and Michael Myers’ mask from “Halloween.” He generously took the time to answer my questions about the book and these iconic objects.

Dorothy’s ruby slippers are one of the most popular items at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History. In the book, they’re silver. Why the color change?

Changing them to red allowed “The Wizard of Oz” to fully exploit the potential of Technicolor. I say in the book that nothing has ever seemed quite so resplendently red as Dorothy’s ruby slippers and I think that’s true. The redness is crucial to their visual impact, which is crucial to their resonance.

Didn’t we see Rosebud burn in the film?

We did. Just as writing a book about film’s most memorable characters would involve writing about some characters who die in the course of their movies, so writing about film’s most memorable objects meant writing about some objects that are destroyed onscreen. The book isn’t about props, as such. It’s about analyzing important objects in movies in the same way we analyze important characters, discussing their symbolism, their impact on the plot, and what they tell us about the characters around them.

Iconic objects are sometimes based on real life, like the championship belt in “Raging Bull,” and sometimes created just for the story, like the Maltese Falcon.

The two objects you mention—Jake LaMotta’s championship belt in “Raging Bull” and the Maltese Falcon in “The Maltese Falcon”—are two of my favourites. Both only actually appear in their films for a short time but both are crucial to our understanding of those classic movies.

The Maltese Falcon is the engine that powers the entire plot of its film. It is the only real connection the characters have and they wouldn’t encounter each other without it. The title belt doesn’t drive the plot of “Raging Bull” but is instead used, briefly and brilliantly, to comment on the main character. The way Robert De Niro’s Jake LaMotta behaves towards the middleweight championship belt, using physical violence to destroy the symbol of his best achievements while believing he is acting rationally, is a potent metaphor for the way he behaves in life.

Have HD and 3D and CGI affected the way props are created?

Dramatically so, I would say. CGI in particular has altered what we think of as a prop and what we think of as a character, which is an area of discussion that always fascinates me. Had “Life of Pi” been made years ago, for example, the tiger might have been a sophisticated animatronic puppet. We would have called it a prop and thought of it as an object. Because it was CGI, we think of it solely as a character.

If you could have one of the items from your book in your home, which one would you pick?

In a sense, I have one. My friend, the film writer Elisabeth Rappe, bought me a Sheriff Woody doll that sat on my bookshelves while I was writing the book.

If I could choose another, I’d have a real, working hoverboard from “Back to the Future Part II”. I was a young child when the movie came out and the hoverboard represented the true magic of the movies to me and to many people of my generation. I still feel almost cheated that hoverboards don’t exist, not by the movies but by reality.

What makes a prop or a costume iconic?

Very few movie objects become truly iconic. There are the ruby slippers, Marilyn Monroe’s white dress from “The Seven Year Itch” and perhaps a few others. Those objects have a cultural significance beyond a single film.

There are a few qualities they share. The first is an unforgettable look that makes them immediately recognizable and the second is an emotional resonance so powerful it approaches the universal. They often also have an unmistakable symbolism. The ruby slippers suggest the power of childhood fantasy and escapism, for example, while the white dress is a perfect image of irrepressible sexuality.

How did you find the artists to illustrate the book and what made them right for this project?

The book was developed from a column I wrote for a British film magazine called “The Big Picture”, of which I was editor for a couple of years. The editor-in-chief has a background in graphic design and knew various illustrators he thought might be right for the book. He spoke to them about it, they submitted portfolios, and we chose the three we thought would work best. The way their three distinct styles would blend to create the look of the book was an important factor in the decision, as was the ability to highlight in the illustrations certain aspects of the objects highlighted in the text.

In a digital world, how can a book like this demonstrate the benefits of a traditional book on paper?

As Rosebud Sleds and Horses’ Heads is about evocative objects, one of the aims behind it was to create a book that was an interesting object in itself, something that was enjoyable to handle and to display but that would still cost less than $20. That was easy for me to say, though. I’m a writer: all I do is type. It was the publishers, the printers and, most of all, the illustrators (Charlie Marshall, David McMillan and Jayde Perkin) who had the responsibility of making the book an impressive physical object, and I’m indebted to them for pulling it off.

What was the biggest surprise you uncovered in researching the book?

Years ago, when I first became interested in the subject but well before I started writing the book, I researched the horse’s head in “The Godfather”. It was a little shocking to learn that it was a real horse’s head. When I tell people that, they sometimes think it was the real head of the live horse that is seen earlier in the film. It wasn’t: it was bought from a dog food factory and then painted so that it appeared to be the head of the horse that plays the racehorse in the earlier scene. I’d be fascinated to talk to the person who had to paint the head. It can’t have been a pleasant job.

Something that surprised me when I began research with the book in mind was that a book about evocative objects on film didn’t already exist. There are many wonderful books about objects in other areas of life and about film memorabilia, but I couldn’t find one written from a film critic’s point of view about the role objects play in movies. I wanted to read one, so I wrote one.

What movie object do you get asked about most often?

The object people talk to me about most frequently is their favorite object, the one there was no way I could possibly have left out of the book, but somehow did. That object has been everything from the watermelon in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension to the bowling ball in Grease 2.

Those are always enjoyable conversations. It’s not like those times as a critic when you’re forced to write a top 10 list and people call you an idiot for not including X or Y. Rosebud Sleds and Horses’ Heads was never intended to be a definitive collection of the “greatest” film objects, but a celebration of some of the most evocative, and I love talking to people about their favorites. It’s such a fertile subject.