Nicolas Cage

We all enjoyed watching Cage play the tortured character Ronnie Cammareri in Moonstruck, I thought everyone might enjoy this video of Cage just being tortured and losing his s&%t in all of his roles.

Film Studio executives

from Mel Brooks . . . . Anytime you go to the studio executives office and ask for money. They’ll invariably say no, once they get behind that big desk in their grand office they’re puffed up and feel like kings. You have to run into them somewhere like in the hallway either going to or coming back from lunch even better catch him in the men’s room. 

Studio executives are funny people. If you need something from them, it’s always good to find out what kind of mood they’re in first. Check with their secretary or fellow filmmakers who recently dealt with them they could be wonderful, friendly, and supportive or they can behave like downright tyrants. 

To Be or Not to Be

Who can imagine Jack Benny and Carol Lombard starring together in a movie? Well it happened in 1941 under the direction of Ernest Lubitsch, the acclaimed film director of his day.

Lubitsch had never considered anyone other than Jack Benny for the lead role in the film. He had even written the character with Benny in mind. Benny, thrilled that a director of Lubitsch’s caliber had been thinking of him while writing it, accepted the role immediately. Benny was in a predicament as, strangely enough, his success in the film version of Charley’s Aunt (1941) did not interest anyone in hiring the actor for their films.

For Benny’s costar, the studio and Lubitsch decided on Miriam Hopkins, whose career had been faltering in recent years. The role was designed as a comeback for the veteran actress, but Hopkins and Benny did not get along well, and Hopkins left the production.

Lubitsch was left without a leading lady until Carole Lombard, hearing his predicament, asked to be considered.^[10] Lombard had never worked with the director and yearned to have an opportunity. Lubitsch agreed and Lombard was cast. The film also provided Lombard with an opportunity to work with friend Robert Stack, whom she had known since he was a teenager. The film was shot at United Artists, which allowed Lombard to say that she had worked at every major studio in Hollywood.

I learned about this film reading Mel Brooks’ autobiography recently. In it tells the story of his remake of the film with his wife Anne Bancroft.

We will watch the film this evening . . .

The Hurricane

Rubin Hurricane Carter is the subject of The Hurricane. A film directed by Norman Jewison. Bob Dylan was so moved by Carter’s plight that he composed a song about it.

Roger Deakins cinematographer

Many of you know about my admiration for Deakins. He was nominated 11 times for an Oscar before winning his first of two Oscars. The list of nominations totals 174!

Here is a link to a video I captured about Roger Deakins

Talking Pictures podcast

I really enjoy podcasts. I listen to them when I’m driving. One of them is the Talking Pictures podcast hosted by Ben Mankiewicz. They are all good but if you want to get a good introduction, find the one where Ben interviews Mel Brooks.

Talking Pictures
TCM and Max

From TCM and MAX, this is Talking Pictures: A Movie Memories Podcast, hosted by Ben Mankiewicz.  We all remember the first movie to really scare us, or the movie a parent loved and watched repeatedly. We know which movies changed us, inspiring a move or a new career path. Mankiewicz, the Turner Classic Movies host, collects these moviegoing memories from Hollywood’s most interesting writers, actors, and directors in Talking Pictures. Listen in as movie-lovers swap stories, jokes, surprising moments, and endless movie recommendations; then watch some of those very same films on the streaming service MAX. For the cinephile or the casual movie lover, this is a conversation about all the life that happens because of watching movies. 

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-pictures/id1722148571

Camera film lenses

Do you know the difference between anamorphic and spherical lenses? Quite a lot, watch this video to learn more.

Christopher Nolan

Ever since I saw Memento, I’ve been impressed with the film making skills of Nolan. My cinematographer friend Dan Dominy recently sent me a link to an early Nolan film, Following. I forgot that I saw this film many years ago and watched it again on youtube. If you’ve seen Memento but not Following then I urge you see Following. If you haven’t seen Memento, do that then watch Following. You’ll know why early on in the film. Then I found this short video on Nolan discussing how he made Following. There aren’t any spoiler alerts for this short but it would be best to watch Following first.

Key Largo and the key players

The film is more than the principal actors, Bogart, Robinson, Bacall, Barrymore and Trevor. The director and screenwriter and support actors all contributed to this great film, one of two films directed by John Huston starring Humphrey Bogart in 1948. Follow this link to learn more.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Key-Largo-film-by-Huston

Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak – Director

Anatoly Litvak (10 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), was a Ukrainian-born American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in various countries and languages. He began his theatrical training at age 13 in Petrograd, Russia (now again known as St. Petersburg).

Litvak was notable for directing little-known foreign actors to early fame and is believed to have contributed to several actors winning Academy Awards. In 1936 he directed Mayerling, a film which made French actors Charles Boyer and Danielle Darrieux international stars. He returned Swedish star Ingrid Bergman to popularity with American audiences in 1956 with Anastasia, in which she won her second Oscar. He directed Olivia de Havilland to an Academy Award nomination for The Snake Pit (1948). He directed Jean Gabin in his screen debut and directed Elia Kazan in his earliest acting role, City for Conquest. In 1938 he directed Humphrey Bogart, Edward G Robinson and Claire Trevor in a crime thriller where a physician in New York City decides to research the medical aspects of the behavior of criminals directly by becoming one. With an ending trial scene worthy of praise, the outcome is very well written and directed for a surprise ending.

Litvak directed Confessions of a Nazi Spy in 1939, starring Edward G. Robinson, which used actual newsreel footage from U.S. Nazi rallies. As a refugee from Nazi Germany, Litvak was among the few directors who tried to open Hollywood’s eyes to the threat Germany posed to Europe and the world.

During World War II, he enlisted and co-directed documentaries with Frank Capra, including Why We Fight films. His solo-directed, The Battle of Russia (1943), won numerous awards and was nominated for an Oscar. Because of Litvak’s ability to speak Russian, German and French, he supervised the filming of the D-Day Normandy landings. He also filmed aerial warfare with the U.S. Eighth Air Force. He was promoted to full colonel by the end of the war for his volunteer wartime efforts. He received special awards from the governments of France, Britain, and the United States.