Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Remembering Julie

Harlan Ellison's obit for Julius Schwartz has finally been posted online. It's here.

• Posted at 11:05 PM · LINK

Commentary commentary

I wrote the preceding item before reading the current entry in Leonard Maltin's Journal wherein he praises the commentary on the DVD of Catch 22. Great minds think alike and so do ours.

Leonard and I and a bunch of our friends are doing something Saturday night that ought to be a lot of fun. Check back here Sunday morning and I'll tell you about it.

• Posted at 9:43 PM · LINK

Help the Bombardier

Just re-watched the 1970 movie version of Joseph Heller's Catch 22, directed by Mike Nichols from a screenplay by Buck Henry. I first read the novel after the film was announced but shortly before it came out and I kept wondering, "How are they going to make a movie out of this?" A group of friends and I went to see the first matinee on the first day and emerged from a theater in Westwood, utterly confused as to whether or not they'd pulled it off. The only consensus was that a movie with Paula Prentiss naked in it couldn't be all bad, and one of our group (not me) announced he'd be going back the next day and might sit through the film two or three times, just for those nine seconds.

For a long time, if you'd asked me if I liked the film, I would have said, "I don't know yet." I finally decided I did, as much for the amazing cast as for the clever way Henry pared down a sprawling book while still retaining its sense of sprawl. I'm not sure if it works for those who never read Heller's book...and in a sense, if you did, you don't need to see the movie. But I decided I liked the film, and I just watched the DVD to listen to the commentary, which has Steven Soderbergh interviewing Nichols. I find a lot of DVD commentaries tedious and worthless, largely because the filmmaker doesn't have a lot to say, and it's especially awkward for some to deliver a monologue in that context. But Soderbergh's chat with Nichols was fascinating, especially when the latter pointed out little things you might otherwise never notice — like intentional "mistakes" in continuity and one place where Buck Henry does an unbilled cameo, above and beyond his credited role. It was also interesting to contrast Nichols' recollections with things that Charles Grodin wrote in his autobiography.

Even if you didn't like the film, you might enjoy the commentary...so here's another link to buy it at Amazon along with my recommendation. It's a good movie, and not just because of Paula.

• Posted at 3:03 PM · LINK

Kerry/???

Let's see...Bill Clinton says that he has no interest in being John Kerry's running mate. Tom Brokaw says he's not interested in getting into politics...

John McCain, who I believe still is technically the head of the Bush campaign in Arizona, is hinting he might not say no to the job. Right-wing websites are filled with theories of how Hillary Clinton is planning to swoop in and grab it, perhaps elbowing Kerry aside while she's at it...

Pundits are tossing out names like John Edwards, Bob Graham, Dick Gephardt, Bill Nelson, Bill Richardson, Evan Bayh, Ed Rendell, Dianne Feinstein and Robert Rubin.

Logic, which often does not figure into these things, would tell us that Kerry should wait until just before the Democratic convention to make his pick. By then, there will be a lot more polling data to tell him where he may be weak and what states are still in play...and in the interim, he'll have most of those people out "auditioning" for the veep slot by campaigning for him.

On the other hand, if he waits that long, every single person in the country over the age of 35 who is not already part of the Bush administration will have been mentioned for the job. People will start saying, "What's wrong with Kerry? Can't he make a decision?" And then they'll start saying, "It's taking so long because no one wants to run with him." Which comedy series will be the first to do a sketch that parodies a current reality show with potential veeps being eliminated a la Fear Factor or Survivor? (Extra points if they actually get Donald Trump to come in and tell guys like Edwards and Nelson, "You're fired!")

So Kerry will fill out the ticket relatively soon. I'm guessing either someone from Florida or Dom DeLuise.