Who the heck is Paulie Walnuts?!

The Sopranos ruled the Bing! & Nucky runs the Boardwalk, but before those gavones Ray Luca and his Chicago gang battled Lt. Mike Torello in "Crime Story" (1986-88)
It's 1963 and the true Mad Men are Luca and Torello facing off mano a mano,  This short lived Michael Mann series is the precursor to today's cable hits. As a network show it had to please the censors but still managed to have legs. Outstanding performances by Dennis Farina (Torello), Anthony John Denison (Ray Luca) and especially Stephen Lang as attorney David Abrams. The opening sequence uses Del Shannon's "Runaway" in that very Michael Mann style. Check it out.

Film Crew Slang

Video Village-Area on a film set where people  cluster around the monitors showing what the camera sees.  Director's chairs are placed in a group where clients, investors and anyone else  talk on cell phones, chat and annoy the hard working crew.

Video Assist-Video Assist crew record video off of a film camera through the camera operator's viewing system and display it on TV monitors to use as reference for the filmmakers. Film normally needs to be delivered, processed, developed and transferred by a lab before it is available for viewing. Video assist provides a sort of preview. In today's digital world, Video Village is still useful as a reference for the producer, clients, investors and anyone talking on cell phones, chatting and annoying the hard working crew.

Words to live by...

“They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time.”  — Anchorman (2004)

Noooooo! Not Math!

Inverse Square Law (Law of Inverse Squares)- If you want to work as a dp, cameraman or lighting crew, you must learn this simple concept.  The amount of light coming from any light source varies according to the square of the distance of that source. Relax, it's still not math. Physics actually!  In other words: When you move a lamp twice as far away from the subject, you'll get 1/4 the intensity. Now go try it. You can even use the light meter on an SLR camera to prove it.

More Dialogue Greatness

"There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?"
Airplane (1980)

Flesh

"The Walking Dead" season 2 premiers Sunday 9pm (EDT) on AMC. Stock up on gummy worms and candy hearts. Winchester!!

Pick of the Week

"Decoy for Terror" (A.K.A. "The Playgirl Killer" A.K.A "Portrait of Fear) 1968- A deranged artist kills and freezes women for the sake of his art. Not only is this fun Canadian schlock, but 50's-60's teen popstar Neil Sedaka (famous for..."I love, I love my little calender girl..! Yeah, yeah,yeah!) breaks into song several times.  Best Scene-The artist has frozen a girl as a statue posed with a strung bow and arrow. Guess what happens when the power goes out and the room warms up?

Dialogue Greatness...

 "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Film Crew Slang

Downstage- A director may use this term to tell an actor to move closer to the camera. Originally a theater term meaning the front of the stage closer to the audience.

Camera Left or Camera Right- More directorial verbiage for actor movement. It is movement from the perspective of the camera. Thereby if an actor is facing the camera and is told to move a little camera left, they move to their own right. Got it?

New Ken Burns Documentary

Starting this Sunday, Ken burns new 3 part documentary, "Prohibition" on PBS. Check it out! Would be interested in what everyone thinks about it!

BUSTER KEATON SILENT MOVIE MANIA

FYI...Starting Sunday, October 2nd with “The General” through Monday, October 3rd @ 8AM, AMC is featuring a bunch of Buster Keaton silent movies. We show “The General” in the brick and mortar class! It’s a great piece of cinema and well worth the watch!

Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing 3

Dr. Seuss doesn't want any part of this.
A new version of "The Thing" is hitting theaters in October. The original "The Thing" (1951) was directed by both Howard Hawks (uncredited) and his Academy Award winning editor Christian Nyby. Not sure what the ruckus there was. It is also know as "The Thing From Another World". This picture is most famous for starting the "it came from outer space" craze. A good scary 50's flick but not overly remarkable.
"The Thing"(1982) by Wes Craven is much creepier. Lots of gore too, if that floats your boat. Kurt Russell stars in this version and puts in a solid performance. The 1982 version should be considered a cult classic in my book.

And Thing 3? Well, why don't you check it out and give us a review. I might save my pennies for netflix.

Pick of the week

"Kitten With a Whip"(1964)- A pre-Viva Las Vegas Anne-Margaret is a seductive teen delinquent on the run. She holes up with a Senator (John Forsythe, the voice of Charlie in the original Charlie's Angels t.v. series) and threatens to cry rape if he turns her in.

Best Scene- Kitten lays down the law and takes over. The ever so stunning Anne-Margaret seethes with anger, sexual tension and a sadistic pleasure in making the Senator realize he's caught in her trap. In the background a t.v. set shows a cartoon of a cat stalking a mouse.

Film Crew Slang

"On a Bell "- Rolling on a Sound Stage, a bell will ring telling us:

One Ring-Rolling

Two Rings-Cut

Film Crew Slang

"Cowboy" Shot- No, not a dead high plains drifter. A cowboy is a shot framing both an actor and his guns, even if he isn't wearing any, it's where they would be. It describes a shot that is wider than a close-up or medium shoot but not quite a full shot.

Full Shot- Framing an actor that shows them from head to toe. Also can be referred to as a head to toe. Imagine that....?

Bad Judge of Talent...

"Can’t act. Slightly bald. Can dance a little"- Screen Tester about Fred Astaire

Dialogue Greatness...

"Dumb & Dumber" (1994)
Harry: According to the map we've only gone 4 inches.

Film Gear has Funky Names

Taco Cart- No it's not lunchtime. There is no food on this cart. It is a wheeled cart that Grips use to keep certain equipment within easy reach. Flags, stands, apple boxes and other essential equipment are staged on it for quick access. There are several different types and configurations but all serve the same purpose.

2 picks this week

The 2nd pick:
"Swimming To Cambodia" (1987): I'm not normally one to recommend watching a 90 minute  monologue, but this film is the exception. Actor Spalding Gray spins a tale about working on Roland Joffe's film "The Killing Fields"(1984). He has just a small role in the film and his tale is more about the experience of working and playing in southeast Asia just 6 or 7 years after the end of the Vietnam war. From depravity in Bangkok to arguments with his neighbor in New York City, Gray is spellbinding. No small credit goes to director Jonathan Demme in turning a one man stage play into a feature film. Filmed during what I consider to be Demme's golden period, "Swimming To Cambodia" is right at the top. Performer/musician Laurie Anderson's score syncs perfectly with Gray's humor and self effacing dialogue which swings from absurd to sad and back again.
See it.

Film Crew Slang

"Last through the line": When the 1st Asst. Director calls lunch (or a meal), the clock does not start until the last person in the food line is served. Gives everyone a relatively equal amount of time to eat. Filmmaking is one of the few jobs that usually feed you on site at company cost.
P.S.: There are exceptions to this and a variety of incarnations depending on the gig. We will discuss "Grace" later.

2 picks this week

Labor Day weekend had me playing in Northern California. I neglected to give us a pick of the week. So there will be 2 this week. The first..

Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)- John Landis directs an off kilter set of skits spoofing film genres, television and pop culture in the late 70's.While the production value & skill is less than we see in Landis's following films like Animal House and The Blues Brothers, the spark of his irreverent sense of comedy jumps right out. Kentucky Fried Movie possesses that chaotic sense of true freedom & verve, like hanging out with your college friends late, late at night after the party.

Best Scene: The T.V. News is watching you....

I wish Mr. Landis would get back to work.