Ink Lake

The Story of E

Today’s Google “doodle” celebrates Edith Head. An eight-time Oscar winner, she was the model for “E” – the character that designed the super-hero costumes of the The Incredibles, (and vehemently anti-cape).

 

Below is a scene from the movie (Brad Bird, the director/writer of the movie, voiced the character).

 

 

And here is the real Edith Head, talking about the costumes she designed for Audrey Hepburn to wear in Roman Holiday. “I used to design for gods!” 

“This Is A Family Newspaper”

Well now it’s the Bezos family, and not the Grahams.

With the purchase of the Washington Post by Jeff Bezos, I thought this would be a good time to post some clips of everyone’s ideal of an editor, Ben Bradleee; as played by everyone’s idea of Ben Bradlee, Jason Robards, in All The President’s Men.

“You haven’t got it.”

 

“He really said that about Mrs. Graham?”

It’s Not Like It Used To Be

 

Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, and Robbie Robertson. The Last Waltz

You Can Go Home Again

This is taken from the upcoming and final issue of Amazing Spider-Man (#700 - out next month).

It’s interesting that it actually looks not too differerent from the real Ingram Street. In the original comics, I recall Forest Hills being drawn fairly accurately..(tall trees, Tudor houses, leafy). Then after the 2002 movie, in which Parker was portrayed as coming from a decidedly much more blue-collar Archie Bunker-type neighborhood (more Hauser Street than Ingram).. the comics changed to reflect the film.

Now it’s back to a little bit of reality (except for the crowds).

Et in Arcadia, ego.

Thank You, Friends

On Saturday night, I got to attend the NY premiere of Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me . It was shown as part of the DocNYC festival .

Like Big Star’s music, it was great, joy-making, and a little sad. I was lucky enough to be able to contribute (very) little to the making of it, and became friends (a little), with the movie’s producer.

Readers of the blog know my feelings about Big Star, and was so glad to see this thing happen, and unlike anything that happened during the life of the benighted band, it was at the festival’s largest venue, and its first sell-out.

Big Star’s story is like that of the Titanic. A hundred sub-plots, each one worthy of its own movie. I’m sure everyone wanted to see all the footage that was shot, but that will have to wait for the Blu-Ray.

At the end of the screening, John Fry (founder/owner of Ardent Studios, where Big Star recorded), and Jody Stephens, Big Star’s drummer, and sole surviving original member spoke briefly. They seemed like the nicest guys in the world, and it made me very happy that they got to see first-hand, an inkling of how many people’s lives they’ve touched, made better, healed.

 

Cool Bonus Footage!

Cool

Though I’m miffed with myself for writing “fascinated with”, rather than “fascinated by”.

Still, thank you, Ms. Farrow.

The X Files — IND Division

via Gothamist

With Gothamist's report of subway cars mysteriously butchered and sitting in a desert, it brought to mind the opening scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

 

Sic Transit Gloria

Nikolas Giakoumidis - AP

When I read the amazing news that in the course of building a new subway line in Thessaloniki, Greece, workers have unearthed a 2,000 year-old Roman road, I couldn’t help but think of this scene from Federico Fellini’s Roma.

The road still bears the marks from horse-drawn carts, as well as children’s games. Thankfully, unlike in the movie (which is fictional), this bit of history will be preserved. 

Ramona Come Closer

Ramona Flowers: “What kind of tea do you want?”

Scott Pilgrim: “There's more than one kind?”

 One of the 1.3 million small pleasures in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. A movie, that as Robert Wilonsky of the Voice, wrote, “fits in more ideas per frame than most filmmakers per feature.”

Levon Helm's Other Gig

Beside being one of rock & roll’s finest drummers in one of its most important and greatest bands, Levon Helm was a capable actor, too. Anyone who’s seen The Last Waltz, can’t help notice his charisma. Coupled with his mellifluous Arkansas drawl, it won him important parts in Coalminer’s Daughter, and The Right Stuff, among other films. 

In the latter, he played real-life Col. Jack Ridley, a test pilot, gum-chewer, and whom later became chief of the Air Force’s Flight Test Engineering Laboratory.

Chuck Yeager, who became the first person to break the sound-barrier in the X-1 rocket-plane, called Ridley “The brains behind the whole X-1 test program”. He was renowned for his superb engineering and problem-solving skills. Here, in this scene from the movie, Ridley fashions up a way for Yeager to pilot the craft with a broken arm.

What I love about the scene is Helm giving a hint at 1:10 as to his day job.