Monthly Archives: December 2014

Toyland Traditions

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Toy1James H. Burns asks, “Is it possible for a classic to be overlooked? Laurel and Hardy’s Babes in Toyland (aka March of the Wooden Soldiers) may be remembered as a fun romp for the comedy legends, but it might also be one of the best fantasy films ever made. (It’s certainly one of the first creature movies lensed in the ‘sound era.’) In New York, and other parts of the country, broadcasts of the movie, beginning decades ago, became something of a Christmas tradition.”

Burns’s 2009 article “March of the Wooden Soldiers: A New York Christmas TV Memory” for the Village Voice  discusses that annual TV tradition, the search for a print of the long version of the film, and the movie’s Disney connection – just about Mickey Mouse’s only appearance in a live action movie, played by a monkey in costume!

MickeyMouse2

Will GRRM Get To Screen “The Interview”?

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Sony is making The Interview available at a limited number of theaters on Christmas Day. The studio initially cancelled plans for its release after hacker attacks and other threats to public safety caused major theater chains to refuse to show it.

George R.R. Martin criticized the decision on his blog and offered to show the film in his own Jean Cocteau Theatre in Santa Fe. Now that several independent theaters, including the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, have announced Christmas Day showings, he is trying to arrange a screening in Santa Fe too.

Update 12/23/2014: And the answer is — YES!

George R.R. Martin says The Interview will open at the Cocteau on Christmas Day — four showings. “We were otherwise going to be closed on Christmas. We’re opening just for this film, and will devote the whole day to it…. So come join us, and celebrate Christmas… and free speech… with Seth Rogen.”

The movie is booked for a full run, so The Interview will play there for two weeks in rotation with the other films they’d already committed to.

Defining the Relationship

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The upheavals in the WisCon committee have prompted the Tiptree Award administrators to issue a statement clarifying that “as a registered 501(c)(3) corporation with its own ‘motherboard,’ the Tiptree Award does not have any official relationship to WisCon or SF3.”

And while the Tiptree Award apparently will be presented at next year’s WisCon, the ceremonies are not anchored there:

The motherboard has arranged in the past and may arrange in the future to host award ceremonies at conventions other than WisCon; however, WisCon is uniquely situated in the center of the country, at a perfect time of year, and with a very supportive audience, so we anticipate coming back frequently even if not annually.

The 2015 Tiptree Auction will be held at WisCon. And because next year is the 100th anniversary of Alice Sheldon’s birth, the Tiptree motherboard will “work with WisCon’s programming team to include appropriate recognitions and celebrations of this milestone in WisCon programming.”

The members of the Tiptree Motherboard are Karen Joy Fowler (ex officio), Jeanne Gomoll, Ellen Klages, Alexis Lothian, Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin, and Jeffrey D. Smith.

Pournelle Keeps Improving

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Alex Pournelle snapped a photo of his Mom and Dad as they visited in the hospital on December 21. And he posted to Chaos Manor that Jerry is on the mend following his stroke:

More Motor skills, more speech improvement (at least to me). He is also annoyed at his inability to express himself by typing though I suspect he will be back to banging away pretty quick, at least with 2 fingers.

Tomorrow starts the long term intensive physical therapy and then home adaptation.

Roberta and Jerry Pournelle. Photo by Alex Pournelle.

Roberta and Jerry Pournelle. Photo by Alex Pournelle.

A Star Wars Christmas

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Check out this Star Wars-themed Christmas light display in Newark, CA, rocking the neighborhood with nine tunes from the movies.

I built all the props using wood, metal, acrylic and corrugated plastic. I am a music/teacher director for a living (COVA Conservatory in Oakland and Centerville Presbyterian Church in Fremont), hence the massive instruments! If you look closely (especially during the Cantina song) the instruments are playing the real notes! …The guitar is 17′, the piano is 19′ and the drums are standard. About 12,500 channels running around 100,000 lights.

There once was a manager in my office whose radical frontyard Christmas light display repeatedly won the city of Burbank’s top award. He was a piker next to this Star Wars fan! Could his lights be seen for miles? No. Did he need to make sure his lights didn’t shine into airline flight paths? No. Did he raise thousands for charity? No – the donations he sought were to pay his own power bill. The owner of the Newark display says due to LED technology the power bill is only $100 a month. He uses his light show to attract donations to a church food program.

Billie Whitelaw Has Passed

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Actress Billie Whitelaw, CBE, died December 21 at the age of 82. Famous as Samuel Beckett’s “muse” – he wrote many of his more experimental plays specifically for her – she also appeared in such genre productions as The Omen, where she played  Mrs. Baylock, the guardian of the demon child Damien.

Whitelaw started as a child actress in radio, then moved into television in 1952, playing the maid, Martha Sowerby, the BBC’s adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s tale, The Secret Garden. (She also appeared a 1987 TV movie adaptation of the novel, in a different role.)

Her genre work included Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a 1968 TV movie with Jack Palance and Torin Thatcher, single episodes of The Adventures of Robin Hood and Space:1999, roles in Supernatural, Merlin, The Cloning of Joanna May (a TV movie), and a voice-only role in The Dark Crystal.

 [Thanks to James H. Burns for the story.]

This Day In History 12/21

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Carthay Circle Theater in 1937 during the premiere of High, Wide and Handsome.
Carthay Circle Theater hosting the 1937 premiere of Zola.

December 21, 1937: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood, California. It was the first animated feature-length film with sound and color.

The Carthay Circle Theater hosted the premieres of many major films, including Gone with the Wind (1939) and Disney’s Fantasia (1940).

Walt Disney introduces each of the Seven Dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs theatrical trailer.

Walt Disney introduces each of the Seven Dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs theatrical trailer.

Craig Ferguson’s Relative Dimensions in Time and Space

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By James H. Burns: There’s even more genre musical fun in this opening from Friday’s last broadcast of Craig Ferguson’s late night CBS talk show. (Throughout the evening, Ferguson had a Tardis on his desk, and the night before, mentioned he would love to be on Doctor Who, but was afraid he’d ruin it…) Perhaps oddly, I also found this musical montage, and ensemble, moving: Ultimately, what choice do we all have, but to keep “banging on?”

(We’d mention the multiplicity of star-turns, but then that might t ruin half the fun!)