See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die
Source (3:49)
Showing posts with label Andy Griffith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andy Griffith. Show all posts
Friday, October 24, 2008
The Ron Howard Political Ad
It's viral. Very viral. And the best work he's done in years.
Source (3:49)
Source (3:49)
Thursday, March 06, 2008
A FACE IN THE CROWD
When I went to the Film Forum to see A Face in the Crowd followed by a talk with Patricia Neal and Budd Schulberg, I thought I might make it a double feature by also going to see Chop Shop afterward.
Fat chance. The movie alone was so intense that it was more than enough to make for an evening. The post-screening talk put it over the top.
As I had expected, the event was sold out well in advance. Film Forum programmer Bruce Goldstein told us we were the luckiest group in town that night, but it wasn't exactly luck that got us in—it was also speed and alertness that got me and gallery expert Eric seats in a crowd full of film buffs. Some around us knew each other and gossiped about film people they knew while others turned out to be fans of One-Eyed Jacks and/or Marlon Brando, as indicated by a conversation that ultimately spanned three rows of kibbitzers. (I think it would be very smart for the Film Forum to facilitate gatherings and communications among this audience base.)
Released in 1957 but years in the making, the movie itself is incredible—and on video, folks. Following the rise of a jailbird singer (Andy Griffith) discovered by an Arkansas radio host (Patricia Neal), the screenplay satirizes mass media, politics, advertising, and human relations with such incisiveness that it was almost unbearably harrowing at times. Griffith carries the film with a crafty energy, while the rest of the excellent cast moves in and out of his orbit with forces of their own. Neal in particular offers some great scenes, including one in which she barely utters a syllable to express her despair. Some sections of the film (especially one having to do with political image-making) seem like they could've been inspired by today's news; overall, the film still comes across as fresh and edgy in terms of its language as well as its imagery. (Gayne Rescher and Harry Stradling Sr. were the cinematographers.)
During the post-screening talk, led by Foster Hirsch, both Neal and Schulberg gave high praise to Face in the Crowd director Elia Kazan. Judging from Schulberg's comments, Kazan was a writers' director who gave Schulberg a say in casting; judging from Neal's comments, Kazan was an actors' director who knew just how to manipulate his performers to bring out the best in their performances. Schulberg, who said that Face in the Crowd was Kazan's favorite among his own films, cited Tennessee Ernie Ford, Arthur Godfrey, and Will Rogers as models for the Andy Griffith character. He shared one anecdote in which he told about how Will Rogers, Jr. told him that his famously folksy father had been something of an elitist, and how he advised young Rogers, who was campaigning for political office, not to disillusion potential voters. Everyone agreed with the idea that Jack Daniels should have gotten a credit in the film, as Kazan and Griffith relied on Jack to get through certain scenes.
Neal (called "saucy" by one of my neighbors in the audience) told the audience that Griffith sent his best wishes to the crowd. Actually present in the theater was a contingent from Piggott, Arkansas, which played Picket, Arkansas, in the movie. The mayor talked up the town and its connection to Ernest Hemingway (who lived and wrote there for a time). Another Piggott visitor, who had been in the movie, talked about hosting Lee Remick, mixing with the other actors, and playing a baton twirler. (The movie features jaw-dropping baton twirling sequences.) A teen at the time (her name escapes me), she remembered how Remick mingled with her and her crowd while learning her role but then cut her off to mingle with the actors. She recalled how, on a very hot day, Remick poured ice water over herself to cool off even though she was wearing nothing under her blouse. She spoke fondly of Neal, who seemed to have a knack for dressing up for casual events and dressing down for formal ones. When she and her friends came to New York for filming, they asked questions of their Big Apple co-stars just to hear their accents. She also spoke appreciatively of Schulberg and Kazan, who donated money to restore a Piggott public pool that continues to operate today.
There was some discussion of how the film flopped upon its initial release and only achieved its "classic" status years later. It reminded me of the 1955 musical It's Always Fair Weather, a milder satire with similar targets and a similarly disappointing box office history.
There was a little talk of A Face in the Crowd being turned into a Broadway musical at some point.
There was no Q&A, but there was a meet-and-greet in the lobby after the talk.
Here's the crowd...
...and here are the faces in the crowd.
Photos: David Marc Fischer
When I went to the Film Forum to see A Face in the Crowd followed by a talk with Patricia Neal and Budd Schulberg, I thought I might make it a double feature by also going to see Chop Shop afterward.
Fat chance. The movie alone was so intense that it was more than enough to make for an evening. The post-screening talk put it over the top.
As I had expected, the event was sold out well in advance. Film Forum programmer Bruce Goldstein told us we were the luckiest group in town that night, but it wasn't exactly luck that got us in—it was also speed and alertness that got me and gallery expert Eric seats in a crowd full of film buffs. Some around us knew each other and gossiped about film people they knew while others turned out to be fans of One-Eyed Jacks and/or Marlon Brando, as indicated by a conversation that ultimately spanned three rows of kibbitzers. (I think it would be very smart for the Film Forum to facilitate gatherings and communications among this audience base.)
Released in 1957 but years in the making, the movie itself is incredible—and on video, folks. Following the rise of a jailbird singer (Andy Griffith) discovered by an Arkansas radio host (Patricia Neal), the screenplay satirizes mass media, politics, advertising, and human relations with such incisiveness that it was almost unbearably harrowing at times. Griffith carries the film with a crafty energy, while the rest of the excellent cast moves in and out of his orbit with forces of their own. Neal in particular offers some great scenes, including one in which she barely utters a syllable to express her despair. Some sections of the film (especially one having to do with political image-making) seem like they could've been inspired by today's news; overall, the film still comes across as fresh and edgy in terms of its language as well as its imagery. (Gayne Rescher and Harry Stradling Sr. were the cinematographers.)
During the post-screening talk, led by Foster Hirsch, both Neal and Schulberg gave high praise to Face in the Crowd director Elia Kazan. Judging from Schulberg's comments, Kazan was a writers' director who gave Schulberg a say in casting; judging from Neal's comments, Kazan was an actors' director who knew just how to manipulate his performers to bring out the best in their performances. Schulberg, who said that Face in the Crowd was Kazan's favorite among his own films, cited Tennessee Ernie Ford, Arthur Godfrey, and Will Rogers as models for the Andy Griffith character. He shared one anecdote in which he told about how Will Rogers, Jr. told him that his famously folksy father had been something of an elitist, and how he advised young Rogers, who was campaigning for political office, not to disillusion potential voters. Everyone agreed with the idea that Jack Daniels should have gotten a credit in the film, as Kazan and Griffith relied on Jack to get through certain scenes.
Neal (called "saucy" by one of my neighbors in the audience) told the audience that Griffith sent his best wishes to the crowd. Actually present in the theater was a contingent from Piggott, Arkansas, which played Picket, Arkansas, in the movie. The mayor talked up the town and its connection to Ernest Hemingway (who lived and wrote there for a time). Another Piggott visitor, who had been in the movie, talked about hosting Lee Remick, mixing with the other actors, and playing a baton twirler. (The movie features jaw-dropping baton twirling sequences.) A teen at the time (her name escapes me), she remembered how Remick mingled with her and her crowd while learning her role but then cut her off to mingle with the actors. She recalled how, on a very hot day, Remick poured ice water over herself to cool off even though she was wearing nothing under her blouse. She spoke fondly of Neal, who seemed to have a knack for dressing up for casual events and dressing down for formal ones. When she and her friends came to New York for filming, they asked questions of their Big Apple co-stars just to hear their accents. She also spoke appreciatively of Schulberg and Kazan, who donated money to restore a Piggott public pool that continues to operate today.
There was some discussion of how the film flopped upon its initial release and only achieved its "classic" status years later. It reminded me of the 1955 musical It's Always Fair Weather, a milder satire with similar targets and a similarly disappointing box office history.
There was a little talk of A Face in the Crowd being turned into a Broadway musical at some point.
There was no Q&A, but there was a meet-and-greet in the lobby after the talk.
Here's the crowd...
...and here are the faces in the crowd.
Photos: David Marc Fischer
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
COMING SOON TO THE FILM FORUM: A FACE IN THE CROWD!
The actress Patricia Neal and screenwriter Budd Schulberg will speak with film historian Foster Hirsch after the Film Forum's special screening of A Face in the Crowd at 7 pm on Wednesday, March 5, 2008.
I look forward to finally seeing the movie on this occasion. Directed by Elia Kazan and starring Andy Griffith in a part very different from that of his well-known television roles, this satire also features Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau, Lee Remick and many others in cameo parts.
I'm sure much of the event will be a love-fest for Schulberg and Neal, but there's always the potential for some fireworks considering the controversies associated with the guests of honor. (For instance, Schulberg cooperated with the House Committee on Un-American Activities.)
Want to get in on this? Buy tickets in advance!
Source (2:18)
The actress Patricia Neal and screenwriter Budd Schulberg will speak with film historian Foster Hirsch after the Film Forum's special screening of A Face in the Crowd at 7 pm on Wednesday, March 5, 2008.
I look forward to finally seeing the movie on this occasion. Directed by Elia Kazan and starring Andy Griffith in a part very different from that of his well-known television roles, this satire also features Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau, Lee Remick and many others in cameo parts.
I'm sure much of the event will be a love-fest for Schulberg and Neal, but there's always the potential for some fireworks considering the controversies associated with the guests of honor. (For instance, Schulberg cooperated with the House Committee on Un-American Activities.)
Want to get in on this? Buy tickets in advance!
Source (2:18)
Monday, January 21, 2008
SUZANNE PLESHETTE (1937-2008) AND ALLAN MELVIN (1923-2008)
Suzanne Pleshette, actress and recent widow of Tom Poston, will be well-remembered for playing Emily Hartley on the original Bob Newhart Show. As noted here just days ago, Pleshette and Poston sent out a funny 2007 Christmas card despite their ailments.
The name of Allan Melvin probably won't be remembered by many for very long, but he was also a significant television presence. Best known as Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch, he also appeared on The Phil Silvers Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, All in the Family, and Archie Bunker's Place. His voice-over contributions included work on Magilla Gorilla, The Flintstones, and The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.
Here he is in a Liquid-Plumr commercial, kinda doing a Bert Lahr thing.
Source (00:58)
Suzanne Pleshette, actress and recent widow of Tom Poston, will be well-remembered for playing Emily Hartley on the original Bob Newhart Show. As noted here just days ago, Pleshette and Poston sent out a funny 2007 Christmas card despite their ailments.
The name of Allan Melvin probably won't be remembered by many for very long, but he was also a significant television presence. Best known as Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch, he also appeared on The Phil Silvers Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, All in the Family, and Archie Bunker's Place. His voice-over contributions included work on Magilla Gorilla, The Flintstones, and The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.
Here he is in a Liquid-Plumr commercial, kinda doing a Bert Lahr thing.
Source (00:58)
Friday, May 04, 2007
WAITRESS AND AWAY FROM HER. Having seen Waitress and Away from Her at free New York Observer screenings, I've got to commend whoever "curates" the NYO events. The quality of the series continues to be pretty high--especially considering that this is a sponsorship situation. As for Waitress and Away from Her....
Waitress, as BAT readers know by now, was written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelly, who also acts in the movie. The story revolves around a waitress, played endearingly by Felicity's Keri Russell, who has a gift for pie-making and a yearning to flee her miserable marriage. Here's Adrienne Shelly on its origins.
Source (1:04)
As someone who saw a lot of potential in Shelly from her movies with Hal Hartley, I would like to say that Waitress is a masterpiece, an instant classic. Instead, I will have to settle for recommending it as flawed but winning and worthwhile--something that Shelly could rightly be proud of creating. Featuring interesting storylines and strong acting (especially from Russell and Andy Griffith, whose big-screen track record is excellent albeit limited), Waitress has enough magic to inspire critic Nathan Lee to write, "What can I say? Maybe it's not my mind that's talking but my heart, which went out to the movie against all odds....Waitress won't set the world on fire, but it glows."
It's a shame that we will not be able to see Shelly continue to progress as an auteur. With that in mind, it seems very fitting that the mission of The Adrienne Shelly Foundation is "to do everything possible to help young women pursue their filmmaking dreams, and to assist others in making the same leap from acting to writing and directing as Adrienne had done so successfully."
Coincidentally, the writer-director of Away from Her is Sarah Polley, herself making the leap from thespian to auteur. Based on an Alice Munro story, this observant, deliberately paced, and well-received Canadian production follows a married couple as the Alzheimer's afflicted wife Fiona (played by Julie Christie) decides to check into a residence. Playing husband Grant is Gordon Pinsent, whom Armond White wisely likened to Ingmar Bergman actor Erland Josephson. Until I read White's remark, I hadn't realized how very much Polley's film resonates with Bergmanesque qualities. Here's Polley on the movie.
Source (3:23)
Someone I know is fond of using the expression, "Once you've seen one case of Alzheimer's...you've seen one case of Alzheimer's." That saying comes to mind when I think of Away from Her. There are many aspects of Alzheimer's that ring true in the movie, but in some respects it is almost Utopian in the one case it follows. The story is certainly filled with pain (and some wonderfully humorous touches), but the prevalence of rational, thoughtful, and sensible behavior and decision-making would come across as a vision of paradise for the many people whose experience with Alzheimer's is marked by a big muddle of crises, conflict, confusion, confinement, tedium, violence, bureaucratic hassles, shifting responsibilities, legal and financial hurdles, and all manner of hygiene issues. Some of what makes the Away from Her situation distinctive is a story thing--it's just one Alzheimer's story, and fictional to boot--and some of it is probably a Canadian health system thing, but I know of at least one Canadian case that is far more complicated and painful than the one in the movie.
Just today, I got an appeal from the excellent New York City Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association that offers two case studies that show inadequacies in the current system for dealing with the condition.
Waitress, as BAT readers know by now, was written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelly, who also acts in the movie. The story revolves around a waitress, played endearingly by Felicity's Keri Russell, who has a gift for pie-making and a yearning to flee her miserable marriage. Here's Adrienne Shelly on its origins.
Source (1:04)
As someone who saw a lot of potential in Shelly from her movies with Hal Hartley, I would like to say that Waitress is a masterpiece, an instant classic. Instead, I will have to settle for recommending it as flawed but winning and worthwhile--something that Shelly could rightly be proud of creating. Featuring interesting storylines and strong acting (especially from Russell and Andy Griffith, whose big-screen track record is excellent albeit limited), Waitress has enough magic to inspire critic Nathan Lee to write, "What can I say? Maybe it's not my mind that's talking but my heart, which went out to the movie against all odds....Waitress won't set the world on fire, but it glows."
It's a shame that we will not be able to see Shelly continue to progress as an auteur. With that in mind, it seems very fitting that the mission of The Adrienne Shelly Foundation is "to do everything possible to help young women pursue their filmmaking dreams, and to assist others in making the same leap from acting to writing and directing as Adrienne had done so successfully."
Coincidentally, the writer-director of Away from Her is Sarah Polley, herself making the leap from thespian to auteur. Based on an Alice Munro story, this observant, deliberately paced, and well-received Canadian production follows a married couple as the Alzheimer's afflicted wife Fiona (played by Julie Christie) decides to check into a residence. Playing husband Grant is Gordon Pinsent, whom Armond White wisely likened to Ingmar Bergman actor Erland Josephson. Until I read White's remark, I hadn't realized how very much Polley's film resonates with Bergmanesque qualities. Here's Polley on the movie.
Source (3:23)
Someone I know is fond of using the expression, "Once you've seen one case of Alzheimer's...you've seen one case of Alzheimer's." That saying comes to mind when I think of Away from Her. There are many aspects of Alzheimer's that ring true in the movie, but in some respects it is almost Utopian in the one case it follows. The story is certainly filled with pain (and some wonderfully humorous touches), but the prevalence of rational, thoughtful, and sensible behavior and decision-making would come across as a vision of paradise for the many people whose experience with Alzheimer's is marked by a big muddle of crises, conflict, confusion, confinement, tedium, violence, bureaucratic hassles, shifting responsibilities, legal and financial hurdles, and all manner of hygiene issues. Some of what makes the Away from Her situation distinctive is a story thing--it's just one Alzheimer's story, and fictional to boot--and some of it is probably a Canadian health system thing, but I know of at least one Canadian case that is far more complicated and painful than the one in the movie.
Just today, I got an appeal from the excellent New York City Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association that offers two case studies that show inadequacies in the current system for dealing with the condition.
Mrs. D is a ninety-six year old woman who has middle-to-late stage Alzheimer's disease. Her ninety-two year old sister with whom she has lived for most of her life was her sole caregiver. Mrs. D was recently hospitalized for several days. When she was released from the hospital she was deemed ineligible for Medicaid-funded home care even though her sister cannot possibly care for Mrs. D by herself any longer. A small grant from our Emergency Assistance Fund enabled the sisters to pay for a part-time aide until they could establish Mrs. D's Medicaid eligibility.The letter from the Alzheimer's Association states "Our Assistance Fund is nearly depleted, yet there is an urgent and ongoing need for this lifesaving service." The plea for donations states that "100% of your gift will go directly to the fund's grant recipients." Contributions earmarked for the Emergency Assistance Fund Campaign and made payable to the Alzheimer's Association, New York City Chapter can be sent to
Mr. R is fifty-eight years old and has early onset Alzheimer's disease. He was always his family's primary breadwinner but he lost his job not long after he was diagnosed. His wife now works full-time and struggles to make ends meet. His son is away at college. Mr. and Mrs. R were rapidly depleting their life savings and their son's college fund to pay for his adult day care. This was not the future they had envisioned. A grant and later a grant extension from our Emergency Assistance Fund allowed Mr R to stay in day care until a comprehensive financial plan for the family's future could be developed.
Alzheimer's Association
New York City Chapter
360 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
MOVIES FOR CHEAPSKATES: WAITRESS. The New York Observer and Fox Searchlight are offering New York City screening passes to Waitress. Other passes for New York City and other locations may be available via the movie's promotional site.
I've covered Waitress here before. Written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelly, it features Keri Russell and...Andy Griffith!
Observer Screening Details:
Here Keri Russell and Cheryl Hines talk about Andy Griffith.
Source (0:50)
I've covered Waitress here before. Written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelly, it features Keri Russell and...Andy Griffith!
Observer Screening Details:
Date: April 18th, 2007Click here to go for it!
Location: Uptown, winners will be notified of exact theater location
Time: 7:30pm
Here Keri Russell and Cheryl Hines talk about Andy Griffith.
Source (0:50)
Sunday, March 25, 2007
WAITRESS ON THE WAY. Andy Ostroy writes that his late wife Adrienne Shelly's movie Waitress will open on May 2. The cast includes Keri Russell and Andy Griffith as well as Shelly and Ostroy. Here's the trailer.
Source (2:29)
Source (2:29)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
