Friday, June 6, 2008

Sid Said

Last weekend at the Book Expo in L.A., I had the honor/pleasure (it was both) to interview Sid Jacobson, who was the editor and creative heart at Harvey Comics for more years than he'd admit. Sid was one of the key players who brought you Casper the Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich, Little Lotta, Sad Sack, Hot Stuff, Wendy the Good Little Witch, Little Dot and a lot of other popular characters that we don't talk about much in this interview.

Mostly, we talked about Sid's latest career (he's had several). He and artist Ernie Colón, created the graphic album version of the 9/11 Commission Report. Here's a linky-poo to order one. While you're at it, you can also pre-order their follow-up, which looks very good.

The interview, which runs a smidgen under 26 minutes, was videotaped and I have no idea where or if the video will be available. But they also turned it into a podcast and you can hear it by clicking in the right place below.

• Posted at 6:44 PM · LINK

What Hump?

And, speaking on Young Frankenstein on Broadway: This report says that the cast members are being offered a deal: "Your contract's up in August. You can either take a 50% salary cut or go find other work." Stars Roger Bart and Megan Mullally have both been out recently while they filmed pilots so they may have other jobs, and Sutton Foster is leaving soon anyway to star in that Shrek musical.

As we've noted here, this show seems to be performing waaaay under expectations, box office wise...and I guess its makers expected a lot more attention from the Tony Awards than they're getting. How low the grosses are is unknown because in a break with Broadway custom, the show is not releasing its numbers to the press.

This is a shame because as I said last November here, I enjoyed the show a lot. It's not up to The Producers but there were enough great moments that I'm glad I went to see it...and might do so again next time I'm in New York if (and this is looking unlikely) it's still running and hasn't lost all its best cast members. If you've been thinking of seeing it and you're in the vicinity, you might want to do so before they have their big half-off sale on performers. The production is so elaborate, and success has been so lukewarm, that it's unlikely this show is going to have a huge after-Broadway life. I actually think that with a few weeks of earnest work and rewriting a few numbers and the ending, they could turn it into what everyone expected. But I can sure understand that its backers aren't eager to throw more money at the problem.

• Posted at 1:41 PM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Here's a brief (3.5 minutes) handheld home video of Mel Brooks doing a curtain speech on opening night of Young Frankenstein. This was allegedly shot by either Rosie O'Donnell or her companion that evening, and there's a brief shot of Rosie in there. More interesting is the surprise guest star that Mel brings on to take a bow. Have a look.

• Posted at 2:26 AM · LINK