Many stars have died in 2020. Here are a few:
Olivia de Havilland
~New York Times Tribute - "Olivia de Havilland, a Star of ‘Gone With the Wind,’ Dies at 104"
~ Town & Country Magazine - "We Became Friends in Paris"
~A list of Olivia de Havilland posts on Java's Journey.
Marge Champion
~NPR - "Remembering Dancer And Choreographer Marge Champion"
~ LA Times - "Marge Champion, famed dancer of Hollywood's Golden Age, dies"
~A list of Marge Champion posts on Java's Journey.
John Saxon
~Vanity Fair - "Actor John Saxon Dies at Age 83"
~News 4 Nashville - "John Saxon's widow remembers late husband's film career, friendship with Bruce Lee"
~A list of John Saxon posts on Java's Journey.
Kirk Douglas
~ NPR -"'Fresh Air' Remembers Hollywood Star Kirk Douglas"
~ People Magazine - "Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas Pay Tribute to Late Kirk Douglas on His Birthday"
~A list of Kirk Douglas posts on Java's Journey.
Monday, December 14, 2020
End of the year
Tuesday, August 04, 2020
Classic remakes in 2020
Although many movies this year have moved their release dates to 2021 or have made them available for streaming, there are at least two classic movie remakes that still plan to be released in 2020 despite the global pandemic.
When West Side Story, a Broadway show by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, hit movie theaters in 1961, it garnered critical acclaim and plenty of awards. With home entertainment, this mid-20th century retelling of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet has remained a delight for generations. This year's remake is directed by Steven Spielberg and will arrive in theaters on December 18, 2020
Kenneth Branagh returns as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile. This remake of the 1978 classic about a the mysterious murder of a passenger aboard a cruise is set to hit theaters on October 23, 2020. As in his release of the remake Murder on the Orient Express in 2017, Branagh also returns as director of the new film.
When West Side Story, a Broadway show by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, hit movie theaters in 1961, it garnered critical acclaim and plenty of awards. With home entertainment, this mid-20th century retelling of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet has remained a delight for generations. This year's remake is directed by Steven Spielberg and will arrive in theaters on December 18, 2020
Saturday, May 23, 2020
Peter Bogdanovich discusses his career in TCM podcast "The Plot Thickens"
Turner Classic Movies has started a podcast called The Plot Thickens. TCM host and journalist Ben Mankiewicz interviews director Peter Bogdanovich for the first season. This season is called "I’m Still Peter Bogdanovich."
From TCM:
Sounds great. Listen to The Plot Thickens on TCM's website.
"Welcome to The Plot Thickens, a new documentary podcast about the movies and the people who make them. Our first season is I’m Still Peter Bogdanovich, the tale of a young cinephile who became one of Hollywood’s top directors – but soon found himself a victim of jealousy, public scorn, and a devastating crime."
Sounds great. Listen to The Plot Thickens on TCM's website.
Monday, March 02, 2020
Jerry Lewis is No Joke to the French [Vintage Article]
I found this article about comedian Jerry Lewis: "Jerry Lewis is No Joke to the French" by Stanley Meisler Montreal Gazette January 23, 1984. (Read it here on Google News.)
In it, we see Lewis wearing his Commander of Arts and Letters insignia in Paris. The author notes that the French "look on him as a comic in the tradition and of the calibre of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers." But no such love was shown to him stateside, apparently. Lewis says that he has battled the reputation of not being the critically-acclaimed comic in his own country for 30 years. "When I get depressed," he says, "I come to Europe."
How sad. But also, all of the comics to whom he is compared in the article were all, unfortunately, dead by at least 7 years, if not more, by the time this article came out. It is difficult to be a legend in your own time. Plus, they were legends with most of their career in the can. Lewis, on the other hand, was still making films at this point.
Also, Lewis is second generation slapstick, with his solo career's heyday in a time of increasing cynicism and droll wit - the 1960s and 1970s. Very few classic stars were getting their due by the 1970s, I think. It would take another generation and home videos to revitalize the appreciation for glamour and wit of the mid 20th century. I hope he felt appreciated by the end of his life.
In it, we see Lewis wearing his Commander of Arts and Letters insignia in Paris. The author notes that the French "look on him as a comic in the tradition and of the calibre of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers." But no such love was shown to him stateside, apparently. Lewis says that he has battled the reputation of not being the critically-acclaimed comic in his own country for 30 years. "When I get depressed," he says, "I come to Europe."
How sad. But also, all of the comics to whom he is compared in the article were all, unfortunately, dead by at least 7 years, if not more, by the time this article came out. It is difficult to be a legend in your own time. Plus, they were legends with most of their career in the can. Lewis, on the other hand, was still making films at this point.
Also, Lewis is second generation slapstick, with his solo career's heyday in a time of increasing cynicism and droll wit - the 1960s and 1970s. Very few classic stars were getting their due by the 1970s, I think. It would take another generation and home videos to revitalize the appreciation for glamour and wit of the mid 20th century. I hope he felt appreciated by the end of his life.
Monday, February 03, 2020
Classic Movie Star Look-a-Likes for Ads
A while ago I found these print ads for Armstrong Laminate. It looks like real wood but isn't. So they are using people who look like classic films stars to stand on the fake wood.
Brilliant! There is faux Lucille Ball, James Dean, Dean Martin (That one is scary good!), and Marlon Brando. I love it.
Brilliant! There is faux Lucille Ball, James Dean, Dean Martin (That one is scary good!), and Marlon Brando. I love it.
