Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Neil - You're encouraging me... 
Hrm... Erik the Viking is only available as a UK DVD...
How odd... An Awfully Big Adventure is available on VHS in the US, but
not the UK, and on DVD nowhere... I'd like that on DVD just so I could
watch it with subtitles... (I like the film but still can't understand
about 25% of the dialogue)
Similar thing with Clockwise...
How come the British films I'm most interested in are more available
in the US than their country of origin? That seems odd.

On a film version of Into the Woods:
considering that the DVD I've got is three hours long, and that's
without the extra songs or the pigs, etc. etc. ... I can see where
there'd be a problem trying to fit the whole thing into a mass marketed
movie. 

Ok, I'm off to get my Jelly Babies and go back to work.
  

    

I just thought I'd share that the other night I dreamed that squeaks was my
step-sister, our parents were evil scientists and they were working on an
immortality pill in a haunted mansion.
Make of this what you will.
  

    
Neil, I'm glad Mr. Gilliam had the sense to walk away from that. 
*shudder*  Was this the one that was supposed to use Henson muppetry? 
I loved the London cast too, I know the recording well. Was that the
one you saw? 

Well, I saw Into the Woods last night, and to be really honest I am
baffled.  I don't know how this could have been directed by the same
James Lapine, as it was so saddeningly bereft of humor and ...
character ... that makes the show so wonderful.  I have a feeling that
the concept was a more sober, post-Sept.11th (sigh) take on the show,
because I would say more than 50% of the comedy fell flat.  The dark
humor just wasn't there.  The cast seemed to lack a certain physicality
and many were pacing around and giving lines to the backdrops.  There
were MANY points where the singers couldn't keep up with the score and
had to drop words to catch up.  

There were changes that were nice, like the addition of the three pigs
and the use of two wolves instead of one.  But they dropped what I
feel is one of the most important lines from the witch:  "You're so
nice.  You're not good, you're not bad, you're just nice.  I'm not
good, I'm not nice, I'm just right.  I'm the witch.  You're the world."

There were certain elements that were truly lovely:  the design was
gorgeous, costumes were beautiful, and I LOVED what they did with the
Giant, to be sure. Milky White was a wonderful surprise, and I won't
tell you what that is unless you want to know.  

I think I'm just frustrated because I know how good this show can be,
and I don't know why they're doubting the material.  

Everyone:  at the new store at www.davidlynch.com, you can purchase a
DVD that has all of David Lynch's short films, including The Cowboy and
the Frenchman and other such lovelies.  Also, Eraserhead is soon to
come out with a completely immaculate print and mix.  Yummy goodness.  
  

    
Madman - I'll make a goulash, I think... 
  

    
...or what's a Christopher Wren dome for?

Dan!  I think you'd make a *lovely* goulash.
 
     *

This is not a post.  In the event that this had been a real post, it
would have contained *content* dammit, and *style*, and possibly some
very self-assured instructions on what to do next, but that's all
rather going out of style, isn't it?
  

    
One is concerned that the bad syntax (and redundancy) in the previous
paragraph might be interpreted to mean that *content and style* were
going out of style here or anywhere, but that's utterly not what one
meant.

On the contrary, one has been in silent admiration all week.

Happy weekend in a relationship of one to many.
  

    
Neil--Hee-hee.  I think John should write it & you direct it.  And
definitely Francesca Annis.  <hee-hee>  *That'll* get it back on the
air.  <giggle>

Saw Waiting to be Invited last night at Victory Gardens.  It's a
wonderful new play.  This production starred Irma P. Hall, and even
that great lady had to work to keep from having the show stolen by the
rest of the cast.  Terrific writing, great acting...gives a girl hope,
it does.

Pamela--you make me *laugh*!

Adriana--sorry the show was such a disappointment.  When did they open
this bad boy?  I kinda got the impression it had been up at least a
couple of weeks....and they're still dropping words?  Bizarre.

Mary (reading Zelazney's Cat's Eye)
  

    
E-mail from Kathy Li:

Neil - Shaeffer-wise, I am tickled pink.  Also, Jon Singer says the cup he 
gave you at Boskone has the same marvelous blue-red glaze as the cup he 
gave me.  I feel much less sulky, now, about missing Boskone.

Adriana - Ditto everything you said about Gilliam's wisdom and the London 
Cast recording. So sorry you had a different experience with INTO THE WOODS 
than I did.  As for how Lapine could have muffed it, I've seen a Lapine 
play that I wish I hadn't (LUCK PLUCK AND VIRTUE) and there's always the 
question of why he did LIFE WITH MIKEY after IMPROMPTU :-).
  

    
    Wirrumgirgle?  This is the Notorious Peter Hall season, with Ian
McKellen (or possibly it was Antony Sher) as The Master, Michael Bryant
as Lethbridge-Stuart, and Rik Mayall as the voice of K-9?

    "Enunciate!  Enunciate!" -- Dalek dialogue coach. 
  

    
Neil,  I was delighted to read Mr. Handler's blurb for Coraline. I've
been in love with the Series of Unfortunate Events since the release of
the second one, and I gave a set to Mom, who teaches second grade. She
finished reading to the kids all of the ones that are available, and
the kids absolutely love them (but they haven't complained too loudly
about the books having run out for the time being, because I gave Mom
some Bellairs books to read to them in the meantime, and they are into
those stories too). My fifth graders are equally into the Snicket
books. I'm so anxious for Coraline to be released.

I realized last week, after showing both mine and Mom's kids Burton's
Frankenweenie, that these kids are getting a lot of exposure to rather
macabre things from us. And then I realized, very happily, that neither
of us has had so much as a whisper of parental complaints. It's an
interesting world.
  

    
Mr. Ford: wasn't the part of Sarah Jane Smith being played in fetching
fashion by Eddie Izzard?
  

    
Yay for sock monkeys!

Neil- Since you haven't mentioned it in a while (I don't think) what's
going on with the Death movie? Are you allowed to talk about it? You
seem to be working on A LOT of mysterious projects at once. I hope that
we will all be bombarded with Neilness soon:)

Thanks for the link, Adriana! 
I got my Eraserhead from ebay, not because I'm particularly fond of
ebay, (It turned out to be a dub of the DVD, NOT the original VHS.
Grrr.) but because it's out of print and I couldn't find it anywhere
else. Now I can buy all of the real DVDs and he can get the money and
make more wonderful movies. yippie!

Today's mail brought Omaha steaks and burgers. Mmmmmm....I must go
eat.
  

    
I love Antony Sher!

And I realy want to see Eddie up against Francesca in the
audition.....
  

    
Alan Rickman as the Doctor, and Eddie Izzard as Companion. That's what I'm
holding out for.

Mary, I'm not sure the Sampo can be put into words, exactly, but I do like
"strapless evening dress" very much. Gives the Kalevala a very interesting
spin. And brings inexorably to mind the image of Terence Stamp as
Vainomoinnen.

Neil, I have some cool beads to show you next time we're in the same place.
Strange wonderful beads, like the Potato Fairy, and the mer-cat, and Pangur
Ban....
  

    
Oooo, Pangur Ban beads.  Where *do* you find such cool things?
  

    
Me, I want to see Alan Rickman and Hugo Weaving in _anything_
together.  Maybe one sequel to the three movies that Weaving is most
noted for:

"Priscilla: Fellowship of the Matrix."
  

    

I want to hear about the beads!  I want to *see* the beads!  Beads!
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>
  

    
Hrm... I wonder for what roles... and how far along "talks" are...
Depp would probably be Newt, although someone like Jason Alexander
would be more appropriate. Williams would probably get cast as
Aziraphale... although, again, I could more easily see Anthony Daniels
in the part.

I doubt I'll be entirely happy with any casting in this film... but
that's Hollywood.

In other news. Ubu Roi went really, really well this weekend. This was
heartening, since absurdist theatre is very much an acquired taste and
I was half afraid that nobody would show up... let alone call us out
for a second curtain call. 

I also got cast in another show, and will be playing a young Albert
Einstein in a new One-Act in April.

So much for random traveling.

RMJ: Excellent title!

Neil: regarding your blog this weekend... it's good that you refrained
from succumbing to the urge to relive the 80's... I went dancing after
the show Thursday at a club that specializes in 80's music and some of
the folks there had resurrected the clothes, makeup, and hairstyles of
the period. ... It gave me a renewed desire to live in the present.
*grin*
  

    
Dan: where is the one-act running?  I haven't been to any theater
since Impact! was doing "Action Movie: The Play."  Also, amongst
friends it's "RJ". And having thought of that title, I want to write
the damn thing, now.  Which will mean having to watch those three films
over and over and over.  Oh, the horror, the pain!
  

    
Beads... well, I should be getting photos of some new work this week; I'll
put the URL in when I get it. As for the Pangur Ban bead, it's actually a
pewter Pangur Ban button, and it can be seen here:

http://www.greengirlstudios.com/catalouge/buttons.html

It's the second from the bottom, labeled "celtic cat". Her little catalogue,
though, has the poem about Pangur Ban and everything.

I adore her beads. Got several dozen at the Tucson shows. Not sure what
they'll turn into, yet, but they are way cool.  The potato fairy and the
mer-cat are also hers, as is the splendid snail with a castle on  its back.
Truly wonderful, that one. And she has the most endearing netsuke-inspired
animal beads, including a sweet little bat. (Note to self: should have
ordered more bats. Next time, get more bats.)

RJ: consecutively or concurrently?

Got my copy of _Adventures in the Dream Trade_ the other day, and am deeply
pleased. Made Pamela and DDB giggle by showing them Mike's intro. We all
lost it at the reference to Mistah Strunk.
  

    
Today would have been George Harrison's 59th birthday.  Happy
birthday, George!

<sigh>

On a more festive note, Maddy makes me giggle.  She truly is
priceless.  She's right--Whistler *does* sound better.

I have been charged for both of the copies of AITDT that I ordered,
and From the End of the Twentieth Century, so I hope that means they
will all ship soon. 

This just in from the Roane test kitchens--Tarn-X really does work. 
(It''s a tarnish remover for silver)  Yay!  My (plate) candelabra &
candlesticks are on the mantel, finally!  It's fairly inexpensive and
really does wipe away the tarnish.  And since it says on the bottle
that it contains a chemical that is known in California to cause
cancer, I figure I'm all set, since I live in Illinois (you knew there
had to be a downside, didn't you?)

Dan--congrats on the show!  You're right, absurdism is a bit of a hard
sell, but perhaps mostly because reality gets more like it every
day.....

Mary (going off to look at pretty beads, and pretty casting....) 
  

    

Ooh!  Thanks, Elise!  But...did you not also order the lioness?!

Are these made out of PMC?
  

    
Elise: probably concurrently, as the story of P:FotM (how's that for
euphonious acronym?  Sounds like a Welshman trying to sing Klingon
opera) is about a brave hobbit drag-queen who has a secret life as the
master-hacker, Frodo, who is trying to return the Token Ring to barbie
at Ayres Rock and win the big singing extravaganza.  The only bit of
dialog I have so far is Agent Elrond (in his best black taffeta suit)
confronting Priscilla/Frodo with the line, "So, Mister... Underhill. 
It seems you lead... _two_ lives."

I know it's not much, but it's a start.
  

    
I'm probably the only one, but I think that Williams and Depp would be
good. They're both very versatile, and in my opinion, underrated
actors (well, Depp at least.) I have faith that if they *do* agree to
do it, they'll pull it off nicely.