“(A) song I wrote in ten minutes almost as a challenge to myself. I thought, maybe I could write just a simple, almost formula song and make it mean something…”
That was how Elvis Costello described Everyday I Write The Book in an 1998 interview. The song went on to become one of Costello’s best-known compositions and the subsequent music video was a hit during the early days of MTV. Directed by Don Letts, the video features Elvis performing while Prince Charles haplessly attempts to woo Princess Diana (both of whom are played by celebrity lookalikes). Released just two years after their royal wedding and at a time when the story of Diana and Charles were still being held up as the ideal romantic fairy tale, this video proved to be prophetic in its portrayal of Charles and Diana’s marriage.
According to Costello, director Don Letts was solely responsible for the idea of using the royal lookalikes in the video. Letts is best known for his collaborations with The Clash. Not only did he direct several music videos for that group but he and Mick Jones later co-founded Big Audio Dynamite.
Yesterday, Elvis Costello announced that he would be cancelling the last six performances of his current tour because his battling what has been described as being “very aggressive cancer.” I know that I speak for a lot of music fans when I say that we’re all keeping Elvis in our thoughts and that we hope he makes a full recovery.
To many of us longtime comic book fans, Steve Ditko was an enigma.
We knew that, as the original artist on The Amazing Spider-Man and as the creator of Doctor Strange, Steve Ditko was responsible for much of Marvel’s early success. Though he would never make a cameo appearance in an MCU film and the mainstream media will probably always continue to act as if Stan Lee is solely responsible for every character in the Marvel Universe, true fans know that, without Steve Ditko, Benedict Cumberbatch would never have cast as spells as Doctor Strange and Tom Holland would never have swung through New York as everyone’s favorite web slinger.
We all knew of Steve Ditko’s talent but the man himself remained a mystery. He rarely gave interviews or made public appearances, saying that he preferred to let his work speak for itself. And what work it was! With Spider-Man, Ditko’s art captured not just the excitement of fighting criminals and saving the world but also the angst and anxiety of being young and overburdened. With Doctor Strange, Ditko brought magic, both literally and figuratively, to the Marvel Universe. Filling the pages with surrealistic images and out-of-this-world creations, Ditko kept Marvel relevant even as youth culture made the transition from the optimism of the Kennedy era to the drug-influenced psychedelia of the late 1960s.
Ditko left Marvel in 1966. The exact story of his departure are unknown. Perhaps, as a committed and outspoken Objectivist, Ditko chafed at the editorial restrictions that Marvel put on his work. While Stan Lee wanted to sell comics, Steve Ditko wanted to reach minds. After leaving Marvel, Ditko worked for several different companies, including Charlton and DC. (He even returned to Marvel in 1979 and regularly contributed freelance work to the company.) The best-known of his later creations was Mr. A, a reporter-turned-masked-vigilante who dispensed of criminals with uncompromising justice.
Despite his reputation for eccentricity, most people who worked with him described Ditko as being personable and cheerful. According to Charlton’s Frank McLaughlin, “He was a very happy-go-lucky guy with a great sense of humor at that time, and always supplied the [female] color separators with candy and other little gifts.”
On June 29th, Steve Ditko was found dead in his New York apartment. Rest in peace, Mr. Ditko. Thank you for sharing your imagination with us.
From The Amazing Spider-Man #33:
In Strange Tales, Ditko introduced my favorite of all of Marvel’s “cosmic” entities, Eternity:
And finally, the character who may have been closest to Ditko’s worldview, Mr. A:
The year is 1998 and America is flat broke. Paper currency is now worthless and, to the joy of Ron Paul supporters everywhere, all transactions are done in gold. After the country ran out of oil, people started using skateboards and bicycles for transportation and many turned their cars into homes. While the citizenry spends their time consuming a steady diet of sitcoms and reality television, the government tries to figure out how to pay back the loan that it took from Sam Birdwater (Chief Dan George), a Native American who made billions after buying Nike. Birdwater wants his money back and he is prepared to foreclose on the entire country.
Newly elected President Chet Roosevelt (John Ritter) is not helping. A combination of Jack Tripper and Jerry Brown (who was gearing up to challenge Jimmy Carter in the Democratic primaries when Americathon was first released), Chet Roosevelt is a spaced-out former governor of California who speaks in 70s self-help slogans and who is more interested in getting laid than leading the country. Roosevelt governs out of The Western White House, a condo in California. When an ad exec named Eric McMerkin (Peter Reigert) suggests a month-long telethon to raise the money to pay off the loan, Roosevelt leaps at the chance.
Hosted by Harvey Korman, the telethon (which is called, naturally, the Americathon) features a wide variety of acts. There’s a ventriloquist. Jay Leno boxes his grandmother. Meat Loaf destroys a car. Even Elvis Costello and Eddie Money make brief appearances. While Chet falls in love with one of the performers, his chief-of-staff (Fred Willard) plots, with the leaders of a new Middle Eastern superstate, to sabotage the telethon.
Based on a play by the Firesign Theater, Americathon has a big, talented cast that is let down by Neal Israel’s uncertain direction and a script that is only rarely funny. The idea of America hosting a tacky telethon to pay its debts sounds like a good SNL skit (especially if Bill Murray played the host) but the premise is too thin for a feature film. Like Airplane! or The Naked Gun films, Americathon is a movie that tosses every joke it can against the wall to see what will stick. If the jokes are good, like in Airplane!, that formula can lead to a comedy classic. If the jokes are bad, not even John Ritter, Harvey Korman, and Fred Willard can make them funny.
Today, if Americathon is remembered, it’s because it supposedly predicted several future events. Americathon does take place in a future where China is an economic superpower, Nike is a huge conglomerate, and reality game shows are very popular. But, even with those correct predictions, Americathon is a such a film of its time that it was probably dated from the minute that it was released. Just the sight of John Ritter in a condo permanently marks Americathon as a film of and about the ’70s.
George Carlin does score a few laughs as the narrator and Elvis Costello performs both Crawlin’ To The USA and (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea. Eagle-eyed viewers might want to keep an eye out for the tragic Playboy playmate, Dorothy Stratten, who has a brief non-speaking role. Otherwise, Americathon is as hopeless as the country it’s trying to save.
Lisa already wrote about the new trailers for The Predator and Zoe. Here are some of the other trailers that were released last week.
First up, there’s Beautiful Boy. Based on the memoirs of both David Sheff and his son, Nic, this movie is based on the true story of David’s struggle to understand and deal with his son’s drug addiction. It stars Oscar nominees Steve Carell, Timothee Chalamet, and Amy Ryan. It will be released on October 12th by Amazon Studios, who are hoping that they’ll have the same success with this film that they had with Manchester By The Sea.
And now, to quote the poet Python, for something completely different. Mile 22 is the latest action film from star Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg. Mile 22 is due to be released on August 17th.
Also due to be released on August 17th is Juliet, Naked. This Nick Hornby adaptation is about a rock star (Ethan Hawke) and the couple (Rose Byrne and Chris O’Dowd) who are obsessed with his music. We can expect this one to inspire many comparisons to High Fidelity.
On July 20th, Denzel Washington returns as retired CIA assassin Robert McCall in The Equalizer 2. In the sequel, he’s investigating the death of a friend from the first film.
The House With A Clock In Its Walls is the latest fantasy film to be based on a children’s book. It looks like a change of pace for director Eli Roth, if not star Jack Black, and is set to be released on September 21st.
Also based on a young adult novel is The Hate U Give. Amanda Stenberg plays Starr, a young African-American woman who finds herself at the center of protest and controversy after she witnesses the fatal police shooting of her best friend. The Hate U Give will be released on October 19th.
King of Thieves is the latest film from The Theory of Everything‘s director, James Marsh. Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, Jim Broadbent, Michael Gambon, and Ray Winstone are over-the-hill thieves. (Didn’t Caine already do this in Going In Style?) This British film does not yet have an American release date.
In Assassination Nation, the citizens of suburbia become outraged and violent when a data hack leads to all of their darkest secrets being exposed. (This would never have happened if they had just taken part in the Annual Purge like they were supposed to.) Assassination Nation will be released on September 21st.
Finally, in Mandy, Nicolas Cage plays a man who seeks revenge on the cultists and demons that killed the woman he loved. Mandy will be released on September 14th.
Last week’s E3 saw the release of too many trailers for me to share them all in just one post but I would like to share the trailers for 12 games that I am especially looking forward to. In alphabetical order, these are my 12 top trailers from this year’s E3:
Lisa asked me to do a round-up of all the trailer that were released this week and the first rule of working at Through the Shattered Lens is that when Lisa asks you to do something, you do it.
To start things off, here’s the trailer that everyone was talking about this week. Tim Burton’s live action version of Dumbo looks like it could be something special. I’ve seen a horse fly. I’ve seen a dragon fly. I’ve seen a house fly. And now, on March 29th, 2019, I’ll finally see an elephant fly!
In this next trailer, Benedict Cumberbatch is The Grinch! On November 9th, The Grinch’s heart will grow by three sizes. Hopefully, a cardiologist will be on duty.
Unfriended: Dark Web is either a horror sequel or an extended LifeLock commercial. Unfriended: Dark Web will be infecting a screen near you on July 20th.
Based on the novel by Sarah Waters and directed by Lenny (Room) Abrahamson, The Little Stranger will be visiting theaters on August 31st.
The Nun is being advertised as “the darkest chapter in The Conjuring Universe,” which is apparently now a thing just like the MCU and the DCEU. Say a prayer for us all because The Nun will be hitting screens on September 7th.
If you liked the trailer for The Nun, you might want to go through The Devil’s Doorway with IFC Midnight on July 13th.
If you survive stepping through The Devil’s Doorway, consider pledging to The Row on July 27th.
And finally, coming to DVD soon, It Came From The Desert!
Produced by Martin Bregman, directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, and starring Al Pacino, the 1983 remake of Scarface is one of the best-known, most iconic gangster films ever made. It opened to mixed reviews but it’s gone on to be recognized as a classic. Everyone can quote the script: “Say hello to my little friend!” “In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.” “Say goodnight to the bad guy!”
Scarface starts with one of my favorite opening scenes of all time. Powered by Giorgio Moroder’s score, the opening credits of Scarface play out over footage of the real-life Mariel boatlift. Combined with footage of Fidel Castro ranting that Cuba does not need the Marielitos, this opening gives real-world credibility to everything that follows. We then segue from the actual boatlift to Al Pacino as Tony Montana, answering questions with that shit-eating grin on his face.
Listen to the interrogation scene carefully and you’ll hear both Charles Durning and Dennis Franz, dubbing the lines of the actors who played the immigration agents.
Long-time producer Martin Bregman died yesterday at the age of 92. Bregman, who started out as a talent agent, was well-known for producing several of Al Pacino’s best films. This edition of 4 Shots From 4 Films is dedicated to his memory.
4 Shots From 4 Films
Serpico (1973, directed by Sideny Lumet)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975, directed by Sidney Lumet)
Margot Kidder was born in Yellowknife, a mining town in Northern Canada that was so remote that it didn’t even have a movie theater. She didn’t see her first movie until she was 12, when she and her mother were visiting New York City. Kidder later said, “I saw Bye Bye Birdie, with people singing and dancing, and that was it. I knew I had to go far away.”
Kidder started her career in her native Canada, appearing in 1968’s The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar and going on to appear in films like Black Christmas and Quackser Fortune Has A Cousin In The Bronx.Even after Kidder found stardom in the United States, she continued to appear in Canadian films and won two Canadian Film Awards and one Genie Award for her performances.
In 1973, she played dual roles in Brian DePalma’s Sisters. As detailed in Peter Biskind’s Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, it was during this time that she and her Sisters co-star Jennifer Salt shared a Malibu beach house that became a gathering place for such up-and-coming Hollywood directors as DePalma, John Milius, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg. Briefly, she and Spielberg even dated.
For a generation of filmgoers, though, Margot Kidder will always be Lois Lane! In 1978, Kidder beat out over 100 other actresses for the role of Lois. (Among the others who tested: Anne Archer, Susan Blakely, Lesley Ann Warren, Deborah Raffin and Stockard Channing.) Superman was the first great comic book film. In the aftermath of both Watergate and Vietnam, Superman made audiences that a man could fly. As important as Christopher Reeve was to the success of Superman, Margot Kidder was just as important. In many ways, Kidder’s Lois was the audience surrogate. We saw Superman through her eyes. At the same time, Kidder gave such a lively performance that it was impossible not to join Superman in falling in love with Lois. When Superman spun the world backwards to bring her back to life, nobody questioned it because they would have all done the same thing.
Kidder was even better in Superman II but, unfortunately, she was also forever typecast as Lois. In her later years, she would be better known for her health struggles than her acting. After having a widely publicized manic episode in 1996, Kidder became just as well-known as an outspoken mental health activist as an actress. Though her acting career may have slowed down, Kidder never stopped working, appearing in movies and television shows up until her death.
Margot Kidder died yesterday in Montana, at the age of 69. To many, she’ll always be Lois but she was so much more as well. Rest in Peace, Margot Kidder.
Years ago, during my senior year of high school, my AP History teacher taught us about Vietnam by bringing in a movie. He explained that the movie featured some “adult language” and was not always easy to watch. He also said that it was the most realistic portrayal of basic training ever put on film. Seeing as how he was a former Marine himself, we took his word for it.
That movie, of course, was Full Metal Jacket. The class loved the movie, though not in the way that our teacher was hoping. He was hoping that we would pick up on the film’s anti-war theme but instead we were all obsessed with Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann, the tough-as-nails drill sergeant played by R. Lee Ermey. It didn’t matter that Hartmann probably wouldn’t have welcome any of us into his beloved corp. (The majority of the class may have had Private Joker’s wit but they also had Private Pyle’s physisque.) From the minute that Hartmann started yelling at the recruits, the class thought he was the coolest and toughest sonuvabitch of all time. We were supposed to be learning that war was Hell and dehumanizing but we just wanted to listen to Hatmann yell about Mary Jane Rottencrotch and her pink panties.
Looking back, I feel bad for my teacher. He wanted to show us the horrors of Vietnam and instead, he ended up with a bunch of students who wouldn’t stop chanting, “I don’t know but I’ve been told/Eskimo pussy is mighty cold!” Every class debate, there was always a chance that someone would respond to an opposing argument by saying, “You wouldn’t even have the common courtesy to give him a reach around!”
I won’t even get into the number of times that, for the rest of the year, the term “skull fuck” was used in class discussions.
Full Metal Jacket is an anti-war film. The first half may be dominated by Sgt. Hartmann turning the recruits into “perfect” killing machines but the second half features those machines being picked off, one-by-one, by an unseen sniper in a bombed-out building. All of Hartmann’s words about the brotherhood of duty are meant to ring hollow as we watch one teenage girl gun down Marine after Marine. Perhaps they would have if Hartmann had been played by anyone other than R. Lee Ermey.
One reason why Ermey was so believable as Hartmann was because he actually had been a drill instructor. In 1961, R. Lee Ermey was 17 years old and had two arrests for criminal mischief on his record when a judge told him that he could either go to jail or he could join the military. Ermey chose to enlist. He served in the Marines for 11 years, getting a medical discharge in 1972.
He began his film career as a technical advisor to Francis Ford Coppola during the shooting of Apocalypse Now. This led to him playing Sgt. Loyce, a drill instructor in The Boys of Company C.
(The shooting of Apocalypse Now was so drawn out that The Boys of Company C actually ended up getting released a year before Coppola’s epic.)
Originally, Ermey was only hired to serve as a technical advisor on Full Metal Jacket. It wasn’t until Ermey put together an instructional video for Tom Colceri, the actor who had previously been cast as Sgt. Hartmann. When Full Metal Jacket‘s director, Stanley Kubrick, saw the tape, he replaced Colceri with Ermey. (Colceri still appears in the film. He plays the helicopter door gunner who brags about shooting 50 water buffalo.)
Kubrick not only gave Ermey his most famous role but he also allowed Ermey to improvise much of his dialogue, something that was practically unheard of on a Kubrick set. Kubrick also said that it usually only took 2 or 3 takes for Ermey to give him what he was looking for. That was a high compliment from Stanley Kubrick, the man who, during the filming of The Shining, made Scatman Crothers do over a hundred takes of one scene.
Ermey’s performance as Hartmann was so iconic and so quotable that it has become the standard by which all other film drill instructors are judged. It also made Ermey a much-in-demand character actor. Many of the roles that Ermey played were designed to capitalize on his fame as Hartmann. He played the a ghost of a drill instructor in The Frighteners. He was the voice of Sarge in three Toy Story films.
In a few films, R. Lee Ermey got a chance to show that he was capable of more than just playing variations on Sgt. Hartmann. In Prefontaine, he played the legendary coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman. He was a police captain in Se7en and the father of a murdered girl in Dead Man Walking. In the two remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, he was Leatherface’s equally depraved uncle.
R. Lee Ermey died yesterday at the age of 74 but his performances will live on forever.
The year is 1998 and America is flat broke. Paper currency is now worthless and, to the joy of Ron Paul supporters everywhere, all transactions are done in gold. After the country ran out of oil, people started using skateboards and bicycles for transportation and many turned their cars into homes. While the citizenry spends their time consuming a steady diet of sitcoms and reality television, the government tries to figure out how to pay back the loan that it took from Sam Birdwater (Chief Dan George), a Native American who made billions after buying Nike. Birdwater wants his money back and he is prepared to foreclose on the entire country.
Through the Shattered Lens 