Universal 100th Anniversary Fan Tribute

I'm a little late on posting this to here. I made this tribute last year in honor of Universal Pictures centennial anniversary.

Universal has played a big role in my life starting with ET, Back to the Future and especially the Florida theme park.

2012 CAPA Summer Movie Series Announced

Here is the just released list for the 42nd CAPA Summer Movie Series presented by PNC. For more details visit the CAPA Website.


Casablanca (1942)
Friday, June 15, 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 16, 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 17, 2 pm & 7:30 pm



Goldfinger
Wednesday & Thursday, June 20 & 21, 7:30 pm



DOUBLE FEATURE
Way Out West (1936)
International House (1933)
Friday, June 22, 7:30 pm



Cartoon Capers
Saturday, June 23, 10 am



Hello, Dolly! (1969)
Saturday, June 23, 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 24, 2 pm & 7:30 pm



To Have and Have Not (1944)
Wednesday & Thursday, June 27 & 28, 7:30 pm daily


Laura (1944)
Friday, June 29, 7:30 pm


Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Saturday, June 30, 7:30 pm
Sunday, July 1, 2 pm & 7:30 pm


Adam's Rib (1949)
Thursday, July 5, 7:30 pm


FRIGHT NITE FRIDAY WITH FRITZ!
Dracula's Daughter (1936)
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
Friday, July 6, 7:30 pm


Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Saturday, July 7, 7:30 pm
Sunday, July 8, 2 pm & 7:30 pm


High Anxiety (1977)
Wednesday, July 11, 7:30 pm


Robin Hood (1922)
Thursday & Friday, July 12 & 13, 7:30 pm


High Society (1956)
Saturday, July 14, 7:30 pm
Sunday, July 15, 2 pm & 7:30 pm


Psycho (1954)
Wednesday & Thursday, July 18 & 19, 7:30 pm


Sixteen Candles (1984)
Friday, July 20, 7:30 pm


Cartoon Capers
Saturday, July 21, 10 am


Girl Crazy (1943)
Saturday, July 21, 7:30 pm
Sunday, July 22, 2 pm & 7:30 pm


The French Connection (1971)
Wednesday, July 25, 7:30 pm


War of the Worlds (1953)
Thursday & Friday, July 26 & 27, 7:30 pm daily


Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Saturday, July 28, 7:30 pm
Sunday, July 29, 2 pm & 7:30 pm


Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Wednesday, August 1, 7:30 pm
Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963)
Thursday & Friday, August 2 & 3, 7:30 pm


Guys and Dolls (1955)
Saturday, August 4, 7:30 pm
Sunday, August 5, 2 pm & 7:30 pm


Dinner at Eight (1933)
Wednesday & Thursday, August 8 & 9, 7:30 pm


Gaslight (1944)
Friday, August 10, 7:30 pm


Funny Lady (1975)
Saturday, August 11, 7:30 pm
Sunday, August 12, 2 pm & 7:30 pm

Through My Daughter's Eyes

For Addy.

When I started this blog a year ago, my daughter was only 15 months old. Movies were not in her repertoire. Then came her first movies.

Follow That Bird, Bolt, The Little Mermaid, Shrek and Superman.

We're at the stage now where she only likes certain scenes before she grows tired and demands for the next showing from the projectionist (me).

I still and will always remember the first time I sat with her on my lap and we watched Superman for the first time together. I had seen it millions of times before. This one was special.

I proceeded to relay to my daughter what was happening in the movie so that she would understand.

I told her that Jor-el was Superman's daddy and he was a good guy and the 3 villians, Zod, Non and Ursa were the bad guys. The Phantom Zone was of course "time out."

When young Clark kicks the football she always "oooo"'s and she yells "TRAIN" when Clark traverses the Kansas wheat fields.

 I didn't know how I would to tell her when Pa Kent suffers his heart attack. "He's sleeping." (Later my wife informed me you shouldn't relate death to sleeping. Good point) The next viewing when that camera goes wide and you see Jonathan hunch over, she repeated my same words. "He's sleeping." I cried.

And of course, the most damaging of all is all I have to do is hum those 3 notes, C, C, G, and she yells "SUPERMAN."

Having children is such a rewarding experience. But to have them love the movies you love is breathtaking. I grin from ear to ear thinking of the days when she'll be old enough to watch Back to the Future, Jaws, A Clockwork Orange....strike that last one.

Do you remember...

I know it's been a while since I've posted. It's been hectic with school starting back up and I'd rather post quality than quantity.

Anywho, more and more lately I've been having vivid flashbacks to when I was younger. A lot of them related to movies.

The sights, sounds, surroundings, feelings rush at me and emotionaly knock me over.

For example:

Casper was released on May 26, 1995. I don't remember seeing it in theaters but I do remember that the VHS came out in October of that year. It was the stretch between Halloween and Christmas when I remember my Sundays were spent after homework was done, the fireplace crackling, following my then crush, Christina Ricci and Casper on their adventure at Whipstaff Manor. Never did I ponder that I'd be thinking about those moments 15 years later.

First off, Hook is not a bad movie. I'm not certain if people are turned off by Peter Pan growing up or what. Music is wonderful by John Williams. Yes I may be biased because it's a Spielberg film but there are worst movies. Hook will be celebrating it's 20th Anniversary in December of this year. I remember going to see this in a theater in Chillicothe with my dad and sister, who now that I think about it was only 4 1/2 at the time. I wonder if she remembers. Anywho, I remember the theater was down a hill and the roads were wet from snow that had fallen. When we went in, it was light out, but something happened that when we left it was twilight. I sit here writing and I feel that something about that was magical to me.

Finally, the E.T. VHS came out on October 27, 1988. The casing was black with the top shield being green. I thought that was totally awesome that they did that for the movie because of E.T's home, the Green Planet. Turns out it was to detect counterfeit tapes. Pepsi also ran promotions with the video release. I have somewhere in my collection a cutout from a 12 Pack Pepsi case, featuring a drawn Elliott and E.T. whisking away from the moon. I rode my back around the neighborhood, Spring of 89' thinking I was being followed. I would lift up on the handle bars, hoping I would soar into sky.

On the negative side, the thing I remember about seeing "Hitch" was that I broke up with an ex the next day.

My point is we can remember a movie and like, love or hate it. But there is so much more.

So think about it. Think about a favorite movie or the first time you saw a film. What do you remember?

TRAILER: WAR HORSE (2011)

From director Steven Spielberg comes “War Horse,” an epic adventure for audiences of all ages. Set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War, “War Horse” begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets—British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter—before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land.

“War Horse” is one of the great stories of friendship and war— a successful book, it was turned into a hugely successful international theatrical hit that is arriving on Broadway next year. It now comes to screen in an epic adaptation by one of the great directors in film history. Music by John Williams and produced by Spielberg, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy. (Synopsis provided by Dreamworks)

And there's no aliens.

Set to open December 28, 2011

TRAILER: WINNIE THE POOH

I'm a little behind with this one but I had no idea that Disney was going through with this. Watch this and not get emotional.

Misreading a letter from Christopher Robin, Pooh convinces Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo, and Eeyore that their young friend has been captured by a creature named "Backson" and they set out to save him.

Jim Cummings, John Cleese and Craig Ferguson are just some of the actors to provide the voices to the beloved characters of the Hundred Acre Wood.

Opening July 15th in the US.

Sound Tracks: The Aviator (1985)

Hey ya folks. Got a less known track for you this week.

It's from the 1985 film "The Aviator" starring Christopher Reeve and Rosanna Arquette.

I am very unfamiliar with the composer, Dominic Frontiere but I can not stop listening to it and it's definitely now in my top 10 track favorites.

Special Thanks to CapedWonder for the tracks which can be found HERE if you can't get enough along with the Supergirl soundtrack composed by the great Jerry Goldsmith.

If you are a Superman: The Movie fan or a Chris Reeve fan, do yourself a favor and check out CapedWonder. It is a excellent website that all movie sites should strive to be.

Enjoy!

My Work: Part 1

I've been wanting to put up some of my work on to my blog to, well, show off and to...no, that's about it.

For one of my classes, everyone was assigned a course to make a Corporate video about in the Digital Video and Sound Major at Columbus State Community College. Students had to film, interview, find archived footage and edit into a quick, spiffy 1 min teaser.

My video was for the Corporate video class which teaches you how to make a corporate video.

So here you go. Any companies that want to sign me after seeing this mind blowing piece of art, I have no equipment. Please buy me equipment. :-)



Please comment good or bad below or at @MovieMorty on Twitter

THE MUPPETS TRAILER IS HERE!

Just in, the highly anticipated return of the Muppets is getting closer with this brand spanking new trailer which is quite hilarious.
Jason Segal (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Amy Adams (Enchanted) join the colorful cast along with Chris Cooper (American Beauty) as the villian.

Who Directed Poltergeist?

Seems like a relatively easy question to answer. You check IMDB, the DVD cover, credits at beginning or ending of the movie. They all say Tobe Hooper, who is known for the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” fame. But even after almost 30 years, there's still doubt in the air.

You see, Steven Spielberg thought up the story and along with Michael Grais and Mark Victor, wrote the script. Spielberg also produced the film and was reported to be on set every day of the shoot, except for the 3 days he was in Hawaii with George Lucas after the release of “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. He was by contract, not allowed to direct another movie while he was working on “E.T: The Extra Terrestrial”. The LA Times showed up on the set one day to see Spielberg filming some 2nd Unit (he was allowed by his contract) shots at the beginning of the film with the kids and the remote control cars. That is how the rumor got started.

But it didn't stop there. Over the years, many of the actors and crew members have spoken up about the matter:

JoBeth Williams (Diane Freeling)
“It was a collaboration with Steven having final say.”

Bill Varney (Sound Mixer)
“Tobe dropped by one or two times, but he had no input whatsoever as far as our (sound) work was concerned. Basically, Tobe didn't participate at all.”

Dennis E. Jones (Production Manager)
"Some directors kick the producer off the set. In this particular case, that didn't occur. It was an amicable situation. Tobe seemed to resolve Steven's participation in his mind. But I'm sure inside he was hurting."

Mike Fenton (Casting Director)
"Did he (Tobe) direct the film? Not that I saw."

Perhaps one of the most damaging quotes came from Zelda Rubinstein who played psychic Tangina:

“I can tell you that Steven directed all six days I was there. I only worked six days on the film and Steven was there. Tobe set up the shots and Steven made the adjustments. You're not going to hear that from Tobe Hooper, you’ll hear it from Zelda, because that was my honest to God experience. I’m not a fan of Tobe Hooper. I feel he allowed… I don’t know how to say this… he allowed some unacceptable chemical agents into his work. I felt that immediately."

I could go on and give more crew testimonies but let's go in to some of the stories from the set. Like the scene in which Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) is holding on to the bed railing for dear life. The scene really upset the child actor and she fell apart. Spielberg stopped the production, took her in to his arms and told her she didn't need to film the scene again.

During the scene where Robbie (Oliver Robins) is being strangled, the clown's arms became extremely tight and Robbins started to choke. He screamed out "I can't breathe!" and Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper thought that the boy was ad-libbing and continued to tell him to look at the camera. When Spielberg saw his face turning blue, he ran over and removed the clown's arms from the child's neck.Why the hell isn't Hooper taking charge?

Ok, now forget everything you've read up to now. The film looks and feels like a Spielberg film. This case can be argued because Spielberg was said to have storyboarded every shot so that may be why it looks like one of his films. However if you look at Hooper's line of films, none of them look, feel or did as well as Poltergeist. It's also interesting that Spielberg has produced over 50 productions that he didn't direct and they all don't have this mystery of Directed by Unknown except this one.

In my opinion, I believe Spielberg set out to let Tobe Hooper direct Poltergeist because he contractually could not. During the process he couldn't fully give his baby up, either because he's too protective or because of an incompetent director. Perhaps Hooper gave up and became a fall guy. It was said that once Production wrapped, Hooper wasn't involved with post production. A director that's not involved with 1/3 of the production process should not be called a director.

I hope someday that MGM, the crew, Hooper and Spielberg will get together and acknoledge that there was two director's on the film Poltergeist. All prints of the film from that point would be altered to state:

Directed by

Tobe Hooper

Steven Spielberg

TRAILER: CONAN O'BRIEN CAN'T STOP

In case you were living under a rock or just need a recap, here ya go:

2004-Leno announces his retiring and Conan O'Brien will be the next host of the "Tonight Show".

June 2009-O'Brien Takes over

January 2010- Long story short, Conan is ousted, Leno gets "Tonight" again and NBC sucks.

Following his departure from television, O'Brien and crew went on a 33 city tour filled with joy, hope and an inflatable bat.

Below is the trailer for the documentary of process of the tour from beginning to end. I can not wait for it to release in theaters.

Movie Meals

I'll be the first to admit that I probably have a food addiction. But I promise I was not hungry when I started this post.

Sometimes, there may be a movie that you've been watching and there's a scene with a food item and you find yourself getting hungry

Resse's Pieces in "E.T." The imaginary food fight scene from "Hook" Any holiday film.

Even if you haven't, I have. A film that came out 15 years ago this week. 15 YEARS!!!! I'm still talking about that damn brown gravy.

TWISTER-AUNT MEG'S

Ok. Your turn. Comment below a food movie moment or tweet at @MovieMorty

Sound Tracks: The Addams Family

I was going to post a Sound Tracks blog yesterday, featuring the "Friday the 13th" theme. I listened to it and said it's not worthy of my blog (no offense to Mr. Harry Manfredini, I salute anyone who composes music).

So, this week we'll feature music composed by the talented Marc Shaiman.

I give you "Finale" from "The Addams Family"

2011 CAPA Summer Movie Series Announced

The list is out for the 41st CAPA Summer Movie Summer Series presented by PNC (I'll be waiting for the check). The series promises to showcase the oldies with the newbies.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

     Friday, June 17 @ 7:30pm

     Saturday, June 18 @ 7:30pm

     Sunday, June 19 @ 2 & 7:30pm

Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy

     Wednesday, June 22 @ 7:30pm

     Thursday, June 23 @ 7:30pm

Bridget Jones' Diary (2001)

     Friday, June 24 @ 7:30pm

Cartoon Capers

     Saturday, June 25 @10am

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)

     Saturday, June 25 @ 7:30pm

     Sunday, June 26 @ 2 & 7:30pm

High Noon (1952) 

     Wednesday, June 29 @ 7:30pm

     Thursday, June 30 @ 7:30pm

The Big Sleep (1946)

     Wednesday, July 6 @ 7:30pm

     Thursday, July 7 @ 7:30pm

FRIGHT NIGHT DOUBLE FEATURE

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

     Friday, July 8 @ 7:30pm

West Side Story (1961)

     Saturday, July 9 @ 7:30pm

     Sunday, July 10 @ 2 & 7:30pm

Airplane! (1980)

     Wednesday, July 13 @ 7:30pm

Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)

     Thursday, July 14 @ 7:30pm

     Friday, July 15 @ 7:30pm

The Sound of Music (1965)

     Saturday, July 16 @ 7:30pm

     Sunday, July 17 @ 2 & 7:30pm

Bringing Up Baby

     Wednesday, July 20 @ 7:30pm

Glory
     July 22 @ Ohio Statehouse Lawn around 9pm

Cartoon Capers

     Saturday, July 23 @ 10am

Gone with the Wind (1939)

     Saturday, July 23 @ 7:30pm

     Sunday, July 24 @ 2 & 7:30pm

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

     Thursday, July 27 @ 7:30pm

     Friday, July 28 @ 7:30pm

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

     Friday, July 29 @ 7:30pm

Fight Club (1999)

     Friday, July 29 @ 11pm

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

     Saturday, July 30 @ 7:30pm

     Sunday, July 31 @ 2 & 7:30pm

Tron (1982)

     Wednesday, August 3 @ 7:30pm

The Matrix (1999)

     Thursday, July 27 @ 7:30pm

     Friday, July 28 @ 7:30pm

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

     Saturday, August 6 @ 7:30pm

     Sunday, August 7 @ 2 & 7:30pm

Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo

     Wednesday, August 10 @ 7:30pm

     Thursday, August 11 @ 7:30pm

Funny Girl (1968)

     Friday, August 12 @ 7:30pm

     Saturday, August 13 @ 7:30pm

Tickets are $4 at the door or $3.50 for seniors.

Strips of 10 tickets for $25 can be purchased by calling 614-469-0939 or stopping by the CAPA Ticket Office at the Ohio Theatre. Additional info can be found HERE.

What movie would you die to see in a theatre? Comment below or at @MovieMorty on Twitter

Happy Mother's Day

Today is the day for those we call mom. Then of course on Monday, it's back to the whatevers and eye rolls of everyday life. :-)

There have been lots of motherly portrayals on the big screen.

Mommie Dearest. Stepmom. Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.

Some of course have been extremely heart breaking. Littlefoot's Mother

Some are...comically disturbing...Hey You Guys!

Now I leave you with a video that will probably require therapy afterwards for the guys.



Who or what is your favorite movie mom or motherly movie?

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

Sound Tracks: Vertigo

The film that features this music is possibly Alfred Hitchcock's best film ever.

Composed by Bernard Hermann, this is "Scene D'Amour", featured in the 1958 film, "Vertigo", which if you haven't seen, please do. This track is in my top 5 of all time favorite tracks.

Jackie Cooper passes away at 88

Legendary film star Jackie Cooper has passed away today after a sudden bout of illness.

Most famous in my mind was his work as editor of the Daily Planet, Perry White in the Superman films from 78-87.

You will greatly be missed sir.

Happy Birthday Audrey Hepburn

Today would have been Ms. Hepburn's 82nd birthday if not for her passing away from appendicular cancer on Jan. 20, 1993.

Ms. Hepburn was a beautiful and wonderful actress with starring roles in such films as Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sabrina and Wait Until Dark.

Her final film would be Steven Spielberg's "Always" in which she plays Hap, an angel sent to help Richard Dreyfusss'(is that right?) characters' transition from life to death.

Below is a scene from "Breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey singing Henry Mancini's beautiful piece, "Moon River"



And also Happy Birthday to my sister, Patty.

Breaking the Fourth Wall

Ok. Another film lesson that is relatively easy.

In a story, you have to think that the people in it are in their own world without outside influences. When 2 people are talking in a room or there is a party at a warehouse, there are hypothetically speaking, 4 walls.

Now, what you may have noticed, mostly in comedies, is that sometimes the character will reverence the audience, which wouldn't normally happen in "their world."

First example that comes to mind is from "Blazing Saddles." Hedley Lamarr is sitting at his desk, contemplating who to send to Rockridge to create hysteria so that plans for the railroad can proceed.

"If I could find a sheriff who so offends the citizens of Rock Ridge that his very appearance would drive them out of town."
[looks into the camera]
"But where would I find such a man?"
[pause]
"Why am I asking you?"

Another example below is from another Mel Brooks film. If you think about it, in every Mel Brooks film there's a breaking of the wall. This one is literal.



And finally, a personal favorite. You'll have to follow the link since no one with the scene will let me have an embedded link. Sigh.

Superman Ending

So what's your favorite "breaking the wall" moment?

Be sure to comment here or at Twitter. @MovieMorty It's good to be back.

Trailer: When Harry Met Sally 2

When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren from Billy Crystal

I couldn't resist.