Tuesday, April 17, 2012
everybody is a star........
How is it possible that Rocky is 36 years old? It seems like just yesterday - my colleges chums and I were filming our parody of this very sequence. All i remember is putting our camera operator in a shopping cart and pushing him alongside our"Rocky" to get those tracking shots.
The SUNY Fredonia Library has some rather imposing steps that filled in for the Philadelphia Museum steps.
I still remember, we were all artsy fartsy "cinema" types, but this grungy little Cinderella story totally won everybody over. There was a pal of mine at the time, Dan (I'm so ashamed, I can't remember his last name) he saw a preview of Rocky and came back raving about it.
I was in Philadelphia this past weekend, seeing a wonderful Van Gogh exhibit (more about that another day) and there I came face to face with the legendary steps.
There was a huge crowd entering the museum to view the art, but there was an equal crowd who came to master the steps.
Young, old, real old, fat , skinny, out of shape, no shape- one by one , in groups - hundreds of people running up the steps. The biggest crowd was there around 7 pm, I had just exited the museum and was sitting near the bottom of the steps doing some first class people watching. By now the museum was closed, but the crowds kept coming. I heard English, Spanish, French, German- everybody knows Rocky.
Stage left of the steps at the bottom is a statue of Rocky, in his boxing trunks, hands raised above his head. As art it's a bit on the kitschy side, but as an attraction it rivals the steps-people lined up , waiting patiently for their turn to pose next to the Italian Stallion.
I think the original idea was that the statue would be placed at the top of the steps, and I believe for a time it was- then it was moved to another location, but after a bit the museum relented and let it come back to the lovely location where it now resides.
It's rather ghoulish, but I have to admit that the one thought that went through my head as I watched ascent after ascent was, "How many heart attacks happen here annually? " There were a lot of people who had nooo business running at all, let alone running up those stairs.
ps there was one unpleasant incident, at one point about 15 guys riding Motocross motorcycles came roaring up, popping wheelies, turning donuts , reving the engines and of course riding up the stairs, while tons of people were still walking up and or down. Nasty louts (the riders, not the walkers) One nit wit , took a nasty spill as he was riding up the steps.
Inside I was kinda hoping he cracked his head....... does that make me a bad person?
The SUNY Fredonia Library has some rather imposing steps that filled in for the Philadelphia Museum steps.
I still remember, we were all artsy fartsy "cinema" types, but this grungy little Cinderella story totally won everybody over. There was a pal of mine at the time, Dan (I'm so ashamed, I can't remember his last name) he saw a preview of Rocky and came back raving about it.
I was in Philadelphia this past weekend, seeing a wonderful Van Gogh exhibit (more about that another day) and there I came face to face with the legendary steps.
There was a huge crowd entering the museum to view the art, but there was an equal crowd who came to master the steps.
Young, old, real old, fat , skinny, out of shape, no shape- one by one , in groups - hundreds of people running up the steps. The biggest crowd was there around 7 pm, I had just exited the museum and was sitting near the bottom of the steps doing some first class people watching. By now the museum was closed, but the crowds kept coming. I heard English, Spanish, French, German- everybody knows Rocky.
Stage left of the steps at the bottom is a statue of Rocky, in his boxing trunks, hands raised above his head. As art it's a bit on the kitschy side, but as an attraction it rivals the steps-people lined up , waiting patiently for their turn to pose next to the Italian Stallion.
I think the original idea was that the statue would be placed at the top of the steps, and I believe for a time it was- then it was moved to another location, but after a bit the museum relented and let it come back to the lovely location where it now resides.
It's rather ghoulish, but I have to admit that the one thought that went through my head as I watched ascent after ascent was, "How many heart attacks happen here annually? " There were a lot of people who had nooo business running at all, let alone running up those stairs.
ps there was one unpleasant incident, at one point about 15 guys riding Motocross motorcycles came roaring up, popping wheelies, turning donuts , reving the engines and of course riding up the stairs, while tons of people were still walking up and or down. Nasty louts (the riders, not the walkers) One nit wit , took a nasty spill as he was riding up the steps.
Inside I was kinda hoping he cracked his head....... does that make me a bad person?
Friday, April 13, 2012
mysteries at the museum......
I have been a member of the Museum Of Modern Art for over twenty years. In that time I have seen some of the most incredible art work in history up close. I have been inspired time after time. Pieces I have written, sets I have designed, songs I've written have started by walking through those galleries with open eyes.
Incredible -Picasso's Guernica (when I was still a kid) , crazy kinetic sculptures, Ferdnand Leger's painting's. Chuck Closes's portraits, The original drawings and notes for Art Spieglemans Maus, The drawings of George Seurat....... and on and on.
Incredibly, I have never seen a movie at the Museum! That's right, Me, Movieboy, had never been to either of the theaters that are right there at the museum! Oh, I have been to exhibits of posters and movie ephemera right in the lobby of the theaters. One of the most important film libraries in the world! They have about 4 showings everyday! I have been in the building hundreds of times! I'm a member! The movies are free for members!
Never.
The other day I was there to see the monumental exhibit of the work of Cindy Sherman, But I'll write about that soon.
The museum was getting ready to close, I looked up at a poster that announced that they were showing the film "The Unbearable Lightness Of Being". I saw it when it first came out in 1988. I had nothing to do that evening, I had planned on heading home , but what the heck, I'll grab a bite to eat and then come back for the 7:30 showing. I went to the members desk and got my (free) ticket.
At 7:15, I return to get a good seat. In the lobby I see Philip Kaufman , the director, and standing next to him is film scholar Anette Insdorf. It turns out she just published a book about Kaufman and that the museum was kicking off a week long celebration of his work. Kaufman and his editor, the legendary, Walter Murch, introduced the film. Bonus!
I love Kaufman's movies, but he's a director that flies just under the radar. The Right Stuff! Invasion of the Body Snatchers! The Wanderers (a personal fave), Henry and June. The White Dawn (another personal fave) , he created/wrote Indiana Jones, for goodness sakes. Attention must be paid.
Many of his movies deal with sexuality/sensuality/lust/eroticism/carnality/ in an adult way. His "Henry and June" was the first film to be rated NC-17 (if memory serves) a rating that all but spells box office doom.
What the hell is wrong with us!? The movies revel in gore and violence and torture and debasement. Absolute horror, But we run from any hint of sexuality.
"Take off your clothes"
There are many sexual/erotic/carnal scenes in the movie. Some are funny. Some are tragic. some are uncomfortable. Some make you want to tear your clothes off and join in. All of the scenes are there to tell the story- not to just ogle over incredibly gorgeous naked bodies. It doesn't hurt that the people who are naked are incredibly gorgeous, Juliette Binoche, Daniel Day Lewis and.......Lena Olin...... Oh dear god, Lena Olin! Lena Olin and that hat!
Most times when actors are in scenes with nudity all kinds of negotiations take place before hand about what can be shown and how much and how much touching can happen. Understandable. I can only imagine how awkward it must be to film those type of scenes.....
I was in a horror movie once and in my scene I was a patient in a hospital. A beautiful woman enters and climbs into bed with me, Now she's on top of me! It would appear that we are engaged in a bit of afternoon delight. Unbeknownst to me she is a ghoul! A demon! And at the peak of our passion she reaches in and pulls out my heart!
We had just met and 10 minutes later. we were grinding away in bed. Granted we were fully clothed, but still...
In Kaufmans movies the sensuality feels real. And it has consequence. Satisfaction, love, guilt, you know all that stuff,
There's a wonderful moment when Lena Olin's character is dressed in some lacy underthings and is standing next to her married lover. We are seeing them from behind, I will be blunt , when God created the perfect bottom, he gave it to Lena Olin. Her lover is standing next to her and after a moment he reaches over and places his hand right on that behind. You can hear the audience smile.
Without getting too graphic, throughout the movie, hands and mouths go where they seldom do in Hollywood movies and it all feels....right.
For your viewing pleasure, I present the above scene, perhaps the most erotically charged in the movie. In context you should know when this starts the scene is about half way over, there have already been some awkward moments, some tears, some laughs, as a matter of fact when this sequence starts , the audience is still giggling over Binoches reactions, that changes when Lena Olin takes her arm. A beautiful moment..
I want more sex in the movies.
Incredible -Picasso's Guernica (when I was still a kid) , crazy kinetic sculptures, Ferdnand Leger's painting's. Chuck Closes's portraits, The original drawings and notes for Art Spieglemans Maus, The drawings of George Seurat....... and on and on.
Incredibly, I have never seen a movie at the Museum! That's right, Me, Movieboy, had never been to either of the theaters that are right there at the museum! Oh, I have been to exhibits of posters and movie ephemera right in the lobby of the theaters. One of the most important film libraries in the world! They have about 4 showings everyday! I have been in the building hundreds of times! I'm a member! The movies are free for members!
Never.
The other day I was there to see the monumental exhibit of the work of Cindy Sherman, But I'll write about that soon.
The museum was getting ready to close, I looked up at a poster that announced that they were showing the film "The Unbearable Lightness Of Being". I saw it when it first came out in 1988. I had nothing to do that evening, I had planned on heading home , but what the heck, I'll grab a bite to eat and then come back for the 7:30 showing. I went to the members desk and got my (free) ticket.
At 7:15, I return to get a good seat. In the lobby I see Philip Kaufman , the director, and standing next to him is film scholar Anette Insdorf. It turns out she just published a book about Kaufman and that the museum was kicking off a week long celebration of his work. Kaufman and his editor, the legendary, Walter Murch, introduced the film. Bonus!
I love Kaufman's movies, but he's a director that flies just under the radar. The Right Stuff! Invasion of the Body Snatchers! The Wanderers (a personal fave), Henry and June. The White Dawn (another personal fave) , he created/wrote Indiana Jones, for goodness sakes. Attention must be paid.
Many of his movies deal with sexuality/sensuality/lust/eroticism/carnality/ in an adult way. His "Henry and June" was the first film to be rated NC-17 (if memory serves) a rating that all but spells box office doom.
What the hell is wrong with us!? The movies revel in gore and violence and torture and debasement. Absolute horror, But we run from any hint of sexuality.
"Take off your clothes"
There are many sexual/erotic/carnal scenes in the movie. Some are funny. Some are tragic. some are uncomfortable. Some make you want to tear your clothes off and join in. All of the scenes are there to tell the story- not to just ogle over incredibly gorgeous naked bodies. It doesn't hurt that the people who are naked are incredibly gorgeous, Juliette Binoche, Daniel Day Lewis and.......Lena Olin...... Oh dear god, Lena Olin! Lena Olin and that hat!
Most times when actors are in scenes with nudity all kinds of negotiations take place before hand about what can be shown and how much and how much touching can happen. Understandable. I can only imagine how awkward it must be to film those type of scenes.....
I was in a horror movie once and in my scene I was a patient in a hospital. A beautiful woman enters and climbs into bed with me, Now she's on top of me! It would appear that we are engaged in a bit of afternoon delight. Unbeknownst to me she is a ghoul! A demon! And at the peak of our passion she reaches in and pulls out my heart!
We had just met and 10 minutes later. we were grinding away in bed. Granted we were fully clothed, but still...
In Kaufmans movies the sensuality feels real. And it has consequence. Satisfaction, love, guilt, you know all that stuff,
There's a wonderful moment when Lena Olin's character is dressed in some lacy underthings and is standing next to her married lover. We are seeing them from behind, I will be blunt , when God created the perfect bottom, he gave it to Lena Olin. Her lover is standing next to her and after a moment he reaches over and places his hand right on that behind. You can hear the audience smile.
Without getting too graphic, throughout the movie, hands and mouths go where they seldom do in Hollywood movies and it all feels....right.
For your viewing pleasure, I present the above scene, perhaps the most erotically charged in the movie. In context you should know when this starts the scene is about half way over, there have already been some awkward moments, some tears, some laughs, as a matter of fact when this sequence starts , the audience is still giggling over Binoches reactions, that changes when Lena Olin takes her arm. A beautiful moment..
I want more sex in the movies.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
a slave to fashion......
I was in New York City the other day ( ..just like I pictured it/ sky scrapers and everything)
It was a lovely spring day and I was feeling cavalier,so i get all duded up- I "handlebarred" my mustache and combed out my beard. Put in a gold hoop earring ( I'm more of a demure silver earring guy) , an electric blue shirt with a black sport coat/ complete with a Buddy Holly button on the lapel. I had been gifted with a lovely silk bandanna a while back , so I tied that around my neck and put on my saddle shoes and Viola! off I went.
During the day I found myself sitting on a bench reading the paper, a family was sitting next to me. The son (about 7) turned to me and said "I like your look".
My look. Most days I pull on jeans , sneakers and a tee shirt, but that day I had a look.
I was reminded of a show I did for many years on stage- The Dr. Gesundheit Show. I was Dr G. It was a fun/silly show for kids and adults kinda in the style of Pee Wee Herman.
One of the characters was my housekeeper ; Concetta (later renamed Connie. more PC you know) Concetta was played by my dear friend and brilliant actress Candi. She would tease her hair high up on her head, wear over sized earrings, 20 brightly colored bracelets, a chunky necklace or two. Her clothes were a neon colored explosion complete with a tutu style skirt. Platform shoes. Kabuki like make up. Total excess. Total genius.
After each performance we would do a meet and greet with the audience. Every time , all the young girls (ages 3 to 10) would line up to meet Concetta/Connie/Candi and every girl .... every single girl !... would tell her how beautiful she was. No Irony. no snark, they all thought she was absolutely beautiful.
they liked her look
It was a lovely spring day and I was feeling cavalier,so i get all duded up- I "handlebarred" my mustache and combed out my beard. Put in a gold hoop earring ( I'm more of a demure silver earring guy) , an electric blue shirt with a black sport coat/ complete with a Buddy Holly button on the lapel. I had been gifted with a lovely silk bandanna a while back , so I tied that around my neck and put on my saddle shoes and Viola! off I went.
During the day I found myself sitting on a bench reading the paper, a family was sitting next to me. The son (about 7) turned to me and said "I like your look".
My look. Most days I pull on jeans , sneakers and a tee shirt, but that day I had a look.
I was reminded of a show I did for many years on stage- The Dr. Gesundheit Show. I was Dr G. It was a fun/silly show for kids and adults kinda in the style of Pee Wee Herman.
One of the characters was my housekeeper ; Concetta (later renamed Connie. more PC you know) Concetta was played by my dear friend and brilliant actress Candi. She would tease her hair high up on her head, wear over sized earrings, 20 brightly colored bracelets, a chunky necklace or two. Her clothes were a neon colored explosion complete with a tutu style skirt. Platform shoes. Kabuki like make up. Total excess. Total genius.
After each performance we would do a meet and greet with the audience. Every time , all the young girls (ages 3 to 10) would line up to meet Concetta/Connie/Candi and every girl .... every single girl !... would tell her how beautiful she was. No Irony. no snark, they all thought she was absolutely beautiful.
they liked her look
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