PRESIDENT'S CORNER - January 13
Me: As you can see, I am NOT in the hospital…yet. I had all my pre-op tests on Monday and thought I was scheduled for Wednesday…wrong! I am now scheduled for Wed., Jan 18. Stay tuned…
Movies/Directors: Sorry but for the second week in a row, perhaps with the docs ready to slice and dice me, Bon and I have been spending a bloody fortune on MOVIES! Well, we had to see “Fences,” then “Manchester by the Sea,” “La La Land,” then “Hidden Figures,” not to mention “Nabucco” last Saturday, and we’ll go to TCM’s “Singin’ in the Rain” tomorrow. You think that’s too much? I think, in college, I went to the movies about twice a week, but I did live in Los Angeles, after all.
ALL of these films were terrific…not to be missed. If you watched the Golden Globes, you’ll know that “La La Land” won 7 Globes including Best Picture, Actor and Actress, and Director. And there is the intro to my next topic…Byran asked me to comment on the sets and costumes, etc. at “Nabucco.” Just in case you have not taken one of my theater classes, here’s my lesson for today: If you love the movie, play, concert, then thank the director/conductor. If you hated the movie/play/concert, then blame the director. This is basic, Cardinal Rule #1 of theater. The director is in charge, makes all the final decisions about sets, costumes, lighting, movement on stage, how each role is interpreted, what music is used, what camera angles, what instruments are emphasized at what moment, etc. As for “Nabucco,” it was, as Jimmy Benner told us, a “park and bark.” The star performers and chorus were told to stand HERE and…sing, and sing very well they all did, but the action just stopped and so the opera suddenly became boring. In the concert, if the conductor tells the musicians to play the opening notes of Beethoven’s 5th at piano (soft) instead of sforzando (full), you’re not going to get the same effect, right?
“Singin’ in the Rain:” A reminder that Turner Classic Movies will be showing this greatest of all movie musicals 4 times at the Regal Hollywood: Jan 15 and 18 at 2 and 7 PM. It’s digitally restored and should look fantastic on the big screen…and the direction by Vincent Minelli is flawless. Here’s a brief secret about this film… The Hollywood premiere that starts and ends the film was at Grauman’s Chinese theater on Hollywood Blvd. Only one tiny problem…the Chinese was not built with a stage, it was built to show movies, period. Just recently, it has undergone a complete restoration to show big big screen extravaganzas…and still has no stage. Here’s some pictures.
$$$: It’s not too late to have your snowflake placed on the windows of the Member Lounge! Any donation will help our bottom line to start off the New Year right.
I haven’t forgotten my quips:
Old age is an excellent time for outrage. My goal is to say or do at least one outrageous thing every week. [Activist Maggie Kuhn]
Sixty years ago, I knew everything; now I know nothing; education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. [Historian Will Durant]
Jim Held, President