Isaac Hayes has the lowest, smoothest, sexiest voice in soul music, bar none. Originally, a Stax Records session man, Hayes enjoyed a remarkable solo recording career in the early Seventies, thanks in large part to his incredible score for the movie Shaft.
“The Theme from Shaft” transformed Hayes into a superstar. He earned the titles “Black Moses” and “Hot Buttered Soul.” Not only did he continue to score movies, but Hayes starred in movies. His most memorable roles: Truck Turner, The Duke of New York in Escape from New York, Hammer in I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, and, of course, Chef in South Park.
Director John Singleton resurrected “The Theme from Shaft” as the theme of the latest incarnation of the black private dick played by Samuel L. Jackson. Recently, Isaac Hayes discussed the lasting power of the theme, what it means to the hip hop generation and the possibility of another Truck Turner.
Can you sing a little bit for me?
“I wanna make looooove to you…” (laughs)
First, the “Rockfish” episodes of The Rockford Files are my favorites.
Thank you. That was fun to do.
“The Theme from Shaft” is one of the most memorable pieces of movie music. What was the process of creating a song that’s become so recognized?
Mario Van Peebles was doing a movie called Sweet Sweetback’s Bad Asssss Song. And we realized that there was a market in our community of moviegoers, and we had to tap in. We had to come up with a black movie, with a black director, black leading man and composer and that gave birth to Shaft.
Now Stax records was somehow involved in that, so Stax tapped their roster and Isaac Hayes was the main man on the roster, so he’s got to get involved and write the music. I had never scored a movie before in my life. I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to try out for the lead role, but they said I had to do the music, but I could try out. I went back home bragging about it. They would say, “Hey Isaac, you got the call yet?” I would say, “No.” So I went and called and they told me they had cast this guy named Richard Roundtree in the leading role, but they reminded me that I had to do the music. I said, “Okay.” They told me that this guy Shaft, I needed to zero in on his personality. He’s a roving type character; he’s relentless; he doesn’t let up. The music has to denote that type to attitude. I said, “Okay.”
They gave me three reels of sixteen millimeter film. One of him walking through Harlem. The other was when he was making love to his woman, Ellie. And the other one was when he came up out of the subway to begin the movie. They told me to sit down and write something to this. That was like throwing a baby into water and saying, “Swim.” But it gave me a viewpoint.
“Ellie’s Love Theme” was easy to write. I did that in an hour. The montage of shots when he walked through Harlem, I did that in about an hour. It was easy. The main theme, I thought, “Oh God, what can I do with this?” I had an idea. I told Warhol to give me some 16th notes on a high hat (imitates the sound of the high hat). That started something. There was a guitar piece we had worked on a year ago. I had them go get that piece and the engineer played it. (Begins to make more musical sounds) And we need some drumming, bass and everything began to fall into place. And I didn’t finish writing it until I finished the rest of the score. (more musical noises). The theme looked easy to write, but I had to put it on the edge: “Who’s the black private dick who’s a sex machine to all the chicks.” I had to censor myself, “This cat Shaft is a bad mother -- shut your mouth!” I did that because somebody would have told me to shut my mouth. That’s how it all started.
Did you ever think that “The Theme from Shaft” would become “The Theme from Shaft?”
I would have bet you a million dollars to your one dollar that it wouldn’t have happened. I was convinced that it was just for that time. I had no idea it would go on like that. It took on a life of its own. I don’t know what the ingredient was in that theme. It could have been a number of things that captured the hearts and minds and imaginations of people all over the world. Even the kids now, who didn’t see the movie but they hear the music, it strikes a chord with them.
When you re-recorded the theme for this movie, did you change anything?
Well, when they approached me about doing the film the first thing I told them was you can’t change the theme. You don’t reinvent the wheel. We re-recorded it. We did it under today’s technology. They’ve done re-mixes for European. It’s hot. With today’s technology, it will be more dramatic and more dynamic because you can hear everything now. It’s so strong and powerful. So I bet that when you hear it now you’ll say, “I didn’t know that was in there.” John (Singleton) agreed and, with the new technology, it punches, it bites.
Did you like how “The Theme from Shaft” played over Singleton’s opening credit sequence?
Oh, it’s cool. That’s today’s view. You have to do it like that. I’ve only seen the trailers. It punches real hard. I think, “Damn, that’s the way my stuff sounds!” I haven’t seen the movie yet. I only consulted on this one. They wanted me to sit down with them and I was too busy. When they were ready for me, I wasn’t ready for them. I told David Arnold, it’s laid out for you all you have to do is follow your own brick road. You just reprise a lot of this stuff. The theme is so rich, just inter-work it. Just weave that fabric throughout the film. So he did.
“The Theme from Shaft” secured your status as an African-American pop icon. You were known alternately as Hot Buttered Soul and Black Moses. How did those monikers come about?
There’s a gentleman right now who is a minister at this church in Harlem. His name is Dino Woodard. He used to be my bodyguard. We had done a college gig and I had got about two or three curtain calls one night and I said, “Man, I can’t go back out there.” He said, “Man, listen to how they are cheering you! They love you! You’re like a Moses. You’re a Black Moses.” I said, “Dino don’t do that! That’s sacrilegious.” I continued to resist it and Chester Higgins who was writing for Jet magazine got wind of it and put it in an article he did on me. Then I performed at the Spectrum in Philadelphia a few weeks later and a local personality introduced me as “Black Moses of the Music World, Isaac Hayes.” And 18,000 people rose to their feet! And it caught on. And of course, the staff at the office at Stax records came up with the album concept. When I went to Europe, they were kind of resentful, “How dare he call himself a Black Moses.” I told them, “Let me straighten you out: I did not do that.” I realized that as long as it has relevance, it has positive things, I will go with it.
Shaft and Isaac Hayes certainly inspired the hip hop generation. What do you think of the “appropriation” of some of your music used as loops in rap songs?
Well, at first I didn’t like that. But if you remembered about my generation, there are so many things that we’ve done. It goes in so many directions. Big Daddy Kane told me in 1992, “Ike, you’re gonna blow up. They are going to be sampling you.” And I thought, “Really? Well, we’ll see.” I look at it as a compliment. Why is Shaft so popular today? Because the hip hop generation has embraced it. I think that at the time it was done, it was ahead of its time. It’s just now beginning to catch up. With the sampling by hip-hop, the sound has stayed out there. As recent as the other day, I got a fax from Erykah Badu’s people to get a release because she has a song called “Bag Lady.” They sampled some of one my songs and needed my permission to use it. Dr. Dre did it early this year. So it just keeps going in, hitting the well and drawing water. It’s a compliment to Isaac Hayes and the work that he’s done and that it has lasted over all these years. I don’t have all the answers to it, but I’m thankful for it.
Can you tell me about Soulhouse.com?
Soulhouse.com is a new thing I’m involved in. We sell music, videos, books and movies. We have chat rooms, and it’s targeted towards the African-American and Latino markets. We are slow to get into computers; we are intimidated by them. But most people are, so we want to make it easy. We expect that to blow-up pretty big.
Since they’ve resurrected Shaft, do you think might see another Truck Turner soon?
They’ve been talking about Truck Turner for over a year. If somebody really gets the idea to do it and put the finances behind it, of course I would get involved with mad Truck Turner. I’ll be ready to kick butt.
Monday, January 22, 2007
How To Get With A Smart Chick
Whether guys want to admit it or not, we like smart chicks. Even if they’re not that smart but they seem even slightly smarter than me, I’m hooked. To be honest, if they write with that girlie cursive writing with the happy faces over the i’s and j’s, I’m all good. But throw in a few big words like weltanschaung and tyromancy and I’m in love.
Claire Danes looks smart. Way smart. And she stars in movies where she gets to look smart or, in the case of The Rainmaker and U-Turn, at least as smart as trailer trash suffering from battered wives syndrome can get to look.
In her movies, Claire gets to hook up with the hunkiest of young Hollywood hunks. Guys like Leo Di Caprio and Matt Damon and Sean Penn. Let that be a lesson to you, ladies: guys like Leo Di Caprio and Matt Damon and Sean Penn dig smart chicks. Or at the very least, producers, writers and directors dig smart chicks.
For those of us who aren’t Leo Di Caprio or a producer or lack the mad skillz it takes to be a director, you might still have a chance if you pay attention to the subtle clues from Claire’s movies. They provide all the necessary ingredients to get with a smart chick.
Little Women: Claire plays Beth March, one of four pretty Victorian-era sisters in this chick flick, but unless you’re scarlet fever, you ain’t having none of Claire. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: Infectious disease.
Home For The Holidays: Claire is 16-year-old Kitt, a strong-willed little trollop who announces that she plans to lose her virginity over the Thanksgiving Break. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: Giblets.
To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday: Claire is Rachel, the daughter of Gillian, who is dead. Her father David can’t accept Gillian’s death and won’t move on with his life so Rachel’s aunt and uncle threaten to take him to court for custody of Rachel. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: A court order.
Romeo + Juliet: That’s read “Romeo Plus Juliet” as in Claire Dane’s Juliet is going with Leo Di Caprio’s Romeo, a cute boy from the rival gang, and their forbidden romance only adds fuel to the murderous fire of an ongoing gang war. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: Star-crossing, poorly calculated suicide pact.
The Rainmaker: Matt Damon portrays Rudy Baylor, an inexperienced lawyer, who takes on the Great Benefit Insurance Company who denied coverage for client Donnie Ray’s bone marrow transplant. Claire is Kelly Riker, an abused teenage wife Rudy rescues from husband Cliff (Andrew Shue). Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: Law degree, anger management issues.
U-Turn: Sean Penn is Bobby Cooper, a drifter who attempts to hideout in the creepy little town of Superior, Arizona, where he unwittingly gets sucked into a weird little web of treachery. Claire is Jenny, a trailer trash teen, who wants to be rescued by Bobby from abusive husband Toby N. Tucker (Joaquin Phoenix). Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: A sordid past, a broken down car, anger management issues.
Polish Wedding: Claire is Hala, the daughter of old school Polish-Americans. She sneaks out night-after-night for naughty little romps with the good-looking neighbor man Roman (Adam Trese). When she gets knocked up, her parents force she and Roman to marry. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: High sperm count, shotgun-toting in-laws.
Les Miserables: Claire is Cossette, the daughter of a whore who Valjean, an escaped convict on the lamb from the long arm of 19th Century French law, raises as his own child. Later, Cosette falls for Marius (Hans Matheson), a teenage militant rabblerouser in Revolutionary France who inadvertently tips off Le Man to Valjean’s whereabouts. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: Political righteous indignation.
Mod Squad: Claire is Julie Barnes, a young woman being sent up the river for assault. Capt. Adam Greer offers her the option to become an undercover cop with two other reprobates, arsonist Linc Hayes (Omar Epps) and thief Pete Cochrane (Giovanni Ribisi).
Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: A criminal record.
Brokedown Palace: One night in Bangkok, Alice (Claire) and Darlene (Kate Beckinsdale), two randy teenagers, hook up with Nick (Daniel Lapaine), who convinces them to take a jaunt with him over to Hong Kong. Once there, Nick disappears and the girls become embroiled in a drug trafficking plot. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: Australian accent.
Claire Danes looks smart. Way smart. And she stars in movies where she gets to look smart or, in the case of The Rainmaker and U-Turn, at least as smart as trailer trash suffering from battered wives syndrome can get to look.
In her movies, Claire gets to hook up with the hunkiest of young Hollywood hunks. Guys like Leo Di Caprio and Matt Damon and Sean Penn. Let that be a lesson to you, ladies: guys like Leo Di Caprio and Matt Damon and Sean Penn dig smart chicks. Or at the very least, producers, writers and directors dig smart chicks.
For those of us who aren’t Leo Di Caprio or a producer or lack the mad skillz it takes to be a director, you might still have a chance if you pay attention to the subtle clues from Claire’s movies. They provide all the necessary ingredients to get with a smart chick.
Little Women: Claire plays Beth March, one of four pretty Victorian-era sisters in this chick flick, but unless you’re scarlet fever, you ain’t having none of Claire. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: Infectious disease.
Home For The Holidays: Claire is 16-year-old Kitt, a strong-willed little trollop who announces that she plans to lose her virginity over the Thanksgiving Break. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: Giblets.
To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday: Claire is Rachel, the daughter of Gillian, who is dead. Her father David can’t accept Gillian’s death and won’t move on with his life so Rachel’s aunt and uncle threaten to take him to court for custody of Rachel. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: A court order.
Romeo + Juliet: That’s read “Romeo Plus Juliet” as in Claire Dane’s Juliet is going with Leo Di Caprio’s Romeo, a cute boy from the rival gang, and their forbidden romance only adds fuel to the murderous fire of an ongoing gang war. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: Star-crossing, poorly calculated suicide pact.
The Rainmaker: Matt Damon portrays Rudy Baylor, an inexperienced lawyer, who takes on the Great Benefit Insurance Company who denied coverage for client Donnie Ray’s bone marrow transplant. Claire is Kelly Riker, an abused teenage wife Rudy rescues from husband Cliff (Andrew Shue). Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: Law degree, anger management issues.
U-Turn: Sean Penn is Bobby Cooper, a drifter who attempts to hideout in the creepy little town of Superior, Arizona, where he unwittingly gets sucked into a weird little web of treachery. Claire is Jenny, a trailer trash teen, who wants to be rescued by Bobby from abusive husband Toby N. Tucker (Joaquin Phoenix). Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: A sordid past, a broken down car, anger management issues.
Polish Wedding: Claire is Hala, the daughter of old school Polish-Americans. She sneaks out night-after-night for naughty little romps with the good-looking neighbor man Roman (Adam Trese). When she gets knocked up, her parents force she and Roman to marry. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: High sperm count, shotgun-toting in-laws.
Les Miserables: Claire is Cossette, the daughter of a whore who Valjean, an escaped convict on the lamb from the long arm of 19th Century French law, raises as his own child. Later, Cosette falls for Marius (Hans Matheson), a teenage militant rabblerouser in Revolutionary France who inadvertently tips off Le Man to Valjean’s whereabouts. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: Political righteous indignation.
Mod Squad: Claire is Julie Barnes, a young woman being sent up the river for assault. Capt. Adam Greer offers her the option to become an undercover cop with two other reprobates, arsonist Linc Hayes (Omar Epps) and thief Pete Cochrane (Giovanni Ribisi).
Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: A criminal record.
Brokedown Palace: One night in Bangkok, Alice (Claire) and Darlene (Kate Beckinsdale), two randy teenagers, hook up with Nick (Daniel Lapaine), who convinces them to take a jaunt with him over to Hong Kong. Once there, Nick disappears and the girls become embroiled in a drug trafficking plot. Necessary ingredient to get with a smart chick: Australian accent.
Movie Review: End Of Days 3 Days
Director Peter Hyams makes fun movies. Capricorn One, Outland, Running Scared. But he also produces el stinko. The Relic, Sudden Death, Timecop. End of Days is a fun movie.
December 28, 1999: In accordance with the prophecy, The Fallen One returns to Earth after a thousand years banishment in Hell to conceive his child--the Beast, the Anti-Christ--and institute a reign of evil and chaos in preparation for Armaggedon.
Gabriel Byrne is Satan, Lucifer himself, The Bringer Of Light, Prince Of Air, the underworldly embodiment of carnality and evil, who makes the rather convincing argument that more people would worship him--God just has a better team of publicists; the Bible an, overblown press kit.
When he first arrives, he is a transparent blob of gelatinous goo. But in no time, he finds a suitable human form: an investment banker.
In the meantime, prophets and visionaries are speaking in tongues and sprouting stigmatas, all signs of the End Times. The Vatican has dispatched an intelligence network of covert operative priests who intend to protect the innocent child who bears the Mark Of The Beast from the Dark Lord’s seduction, thusly insuring the Anti-Christ will never be born. The girl, Christine York (Robin Tunney), has no clue that she is the Chosen One, sheltered by her adoptive parents and a Zanax-prescribing psychologist. Of course, they happen in to be in Satan’s Service, preparing her to be his bride.
Defying the Vatican, an ancient order of knights decide that faith is not enough in this, the darkest hour, and seek to kill Christine before the Devil can complete his unholy coupling. Investigating the attempted assassination of his client, a suicidal, alcoholic ex-cop- cum-security guard, Jericho Cane (Arnold Schwarzenegger) happens upon the attempted assassination of Christine, rescues her, and unwittingly finds himself the defender of the Earth from the Forces of Evil.
Jericho has lost faith. He no longer believes in God, and no longer believes in himself. Within minutes of meeting Christine, his lack of faith is shaken. But not enough to trust God to protect him. He’s got his Glock 10 for that. He soon learns, of course, that bullets are no match for the craftiness of Old Scratch, who, in the film’s best scene (“The Last Temptation Of Arnold”), even promises to deliver unto Jericho the thing he desires most.
As Satan only has the hour between 11:00pm and midnight EST on Millennium’s Eve to spawn, Jericho races against time towards the inevitable conclusion, wrestling his own personal demons as well as Beelzebub, Mephistopheles and the whole legion of hellish minions who hope to usher in the End of Days with the birth of the Un-Savior.
The gnawing question, however, has to be “If Satan’s from Hell…an eternal Lake Of Fire that burns in perpetuity with brimstone--do you really think firepower, be it guns or grenades, is really gonna slow the Great Beast down?
December 28, 1999: In accordance with the prophecy, The Fallen One returns to Earth after a thousand years banishment in Hell to conceive his child--the Beast, the Anti-Christ--and institute a reign of evil and chaos in preparation for Armaggedon.
Gabriel Byrne is Satan, Lucifer himself, The Bringer Of Light, Prince Of Air, the underworldly embodiment of carnality and evil, who makes the rather convincing argument that more people would worship him--God just has a better team of publicists; the Bible an, overblown press kit.
When he first arrives, he is a transparent blob of gelatinous goo. But in no time, he finds a suitable human form: an investment banker.
In the meantime, prophets and visionaries are speaking in tongues and sprouting stigmatas, all signs of the End Times. The Vatican has dispatched an intelligence network of covert operative priests who intend to protect the innocent child who bears the Mark Of The Beast from the Dark Lord’s seduction, thusly insuring the Anti-Christ will never be born. The girl, Christine York (Robin Tunney), has no clue that she is the Chosen One, sheltered by her adoptive parents and a Zanax-prescribing psychologist. Of course, they happen in to be in Satan’s Service, preparing her to be his bride.
Defying the Vatican, an ancient order of knights decide that faith is not enough in this, the darkest hour, and seek to kill Christine before the Devil can complete his unholy coupling. Investigating the attempted assassination of his client, a suicidal, alcoholic ex-cop- cum-security guard, Jericho Cane (Arnold Schwarzenegger) happens upon the attempted assassination of Christine, rescues her, and unwittingly finds himself the defender of the Earth from the Forces of Evil.
Jericho has lost faith. He no longer believes in God, and no longer believes in himself. Within minutes of meeting Christine, his lack of faith is shaken. But not enough to trust God to protect him. He’s got his Glock 10 for that. He soon learns, of course, that bullets are no match for the craftiness of Old Scratch, who, in the film’s best scene (“The Last Temptation Of Arnold”), even promises to deliver unto Jericho the thing he desires most.
As Satan only has the hour between 11:00pm and midnight EST on Millennium’s Eve to spawn, Jericho races against time towards the inevitable conclusion, wrestling his own personal demons as well as Beelzebub, Mephistopheles and the whole legion of hellish minions who hope to usher in the End of Days with the birth of the Un-Savior.
The gnawing question, however, has to be “If Satan’s from Hell…an eternal Lake Of Fire that burns in perpetuity with brimstone--do you really think firepower, be it guns or grenades, is really gonna slow the Great Beast down?
The Hubbub Over The Hurricane
Recently, the filmmakers responsible for The Hurricane have been attacked for changing elements of the true story of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter for the sake of drama, or even worse, to fit their agenda. Presumably, the disastrous effect this will have on the movie-going public is paramount. They may be inclined to wholeheartedly accept literary fabrication as literal fact, to believe histrionics as history.
So f’ing what.
I don’t know that Socrates really drank the hemlock, that Jesus Christ ever actually walked on water, or that Katherine the Great truly met an untimely death under a horse. Nor do I care.
The entire canon of theater and literature is comprised mostly on historical fictions, based on true stories, or actual events, or, more often than not, legends and mythologies of those actual events. Fiction accepted as fact. The Bard himself penned thirteen histories and all of them lies. Titus Andronicus may not have even existed.
The last hundred years of film, likewise, abounds with biopics. But here’s a little clue for you all, The Pride of the Yankees is about ninety percent fancy, Lawrence of Arabia is pure cow crap, and Larry Flynt isn’t simply a lovable free speech advocate, he’s also a fat scumbag who may have molested his daughter.
Instead of attacking The Hurricane for being what it isn’t, perhaps it should be reviewed for what it is.
Inventing the Cabots
William Shakespeare’s pants are on fire and he’s sitting on a telephone wire. Not only did the Bard blatantly rip-off Plutarch, he also completely altered the stories to fit his own devious agenda. Sound familiar? The filmmakers behind The Hurricane were obviously inspired by Willy’s deceptive ways. A side-by-side comparison of the film and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar verifies our sneaking suspicions.
Julius Caesar is based on Plutarch’s Lives and C. Suetonius Tranquillus’ Vita Divi Luli.
The Hurricane is based on Rubin Carter’s The Sixteenth Round and Lazarus and The Hurricane by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton.
Julius Caesar’s life and career prior to his ascension to dictator is given only scant treatment that insufficiently provides background on the true character of the man.
Rubin Carter’s life and career prior to his arrest is given only scant treatment that insufficiently provides background on the true character of the man.
The three senators in the play are a composite of senators and aristocrats who conspired against Caesar, of which there were at least 60. You can’t fit 60 people onstage at The Globe.
The lead detective in the case is a composite of investigators and prosecutors who conspired against Rubin Carter, of which there were dozens. Who wants to keep track of that?
The role of Marc Antony in avenging Caesar’s assassination is vastly exaggerated for dramatic effect while the role of friends, Romans and countrymen is vastly underplayed. For dramatic effect.
The role of The Canadians in avenging Carter’s incarceration is vastly exaggerated for dramatic effect while the role of friends, family, and the legal team is vastly underplayed. For dramatic effect.
Artemidorus, a significant figure in the events surrounding Caesar’s death, was given short shrift in the play.
John Artis, a significant figure in the real life events surrounding Carter’s case, was given short shrift in the movie.
Chances are Caesar never said, “Et tu, Brute! Then fall, Caesar.”
Chances are Carter never said, “Hate put me into prison, love gonna bust me out.”
So f’ing what.
I don’t know that Socrates really drank the hemlock, that Jesus Christ ever actually walked on water, or that Katherine the Great truly met an untimely death under a horse. Nor do I care.
The entire canon of theater and literature is comprised mostly on historical fictions, based on true stories, or actual events, or, more often than not, legends and mythologies of those actual events. Fiction accepted as fact. The Bard himself penned thirteen histories and all of them lies. Titus Andronicus may not have even existed.
The last hundred years of film, likewise, abounds with biopics. But here’s a little clue for you all, The Pride of the Yankees is about ninety percent fancy, Lawrence of Arabia is pure cow crap, and Larry Flynt isn’t simply a lovable free speech advocate, he’s also a fat scumbag who may have molested his daughter.
Instead of attacking The Hurricane for being what it isn’t, perhaps it should be reviewed for what it is.
Inventing the Cabots
William Shakespeare’s pants are on fire and he’s sitting on a telephone wire. Not only did the Bard blatantly rip-off Plutarch, he also completely altered the stories to fit his own devious agenda. Sound familiar? The filmmakers behind The Hurricane were obviously inspired by Willy’s deceptive ways. A side-by-side comparison of the film and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar verifies our sneaking suspicions.
Julius Caesar is based on Plutarch’s Lives and C. Suetonius Tranquillus’ Vita Divi Luli.
The Hurricane is based on Rubin Carter’s The Sixteenth Round and Lazarus and The Hurricane by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton.
Julius Caesar’s life and career prior to his ascension to dictator is given only scant treatment that insufficiently provides background on the true character of the man.
Rubin Carter’s life and career prior to his arrest is given only scant treatment that insufficiently provides background on the true character of the man.
The three senators in the play are a composite of senators and aristocrats who conspired against Caesar, of which there were at least 60. You can’t fit 60 people onstage at The Globe.
The lead detective in the case is a composite of investigators and prosecutors who conspired against Rubin Carter, of which there were dozens. Who wants to keep track of that?
The role of Marc Antony in avenging Caesar’s assassination is vastly exaggerated for dramatic effect while the role of friends, Romans and countrymen is vastly underplayed. For dramatic effect.
The role of The Canadians in avenging Carter’s incarceration is vastly exaggerated for dramatic effect while the role of friends, family, and the legal team is vastly underplayed. For dramatic effect.
Artemidorus, a significant figure in the events surrounding Caesar’s death, was given short shrift in the play.
John Artis, a significant figure in the real life events surrounding Carter’s case, was given short shrift in the movie.
Chances are Caesar never said, “Et tu, Brute! Then fall, Caesar.”
Chances are Carter never said, “Hate put me into prison, love gonna bust me out.”
Twisted and Tortured Romance Double Feature: Bitter Moon & Blue Velvet
There’s Romance, that sweet thing, that Meg Ryan thing that’s warm and fuzzy and hot chocolate on a brisk autumn morning. That romance is nice. Outside of the obligatory second act misunderstanding, no one’s getting hurt in that romance.
Then there’s romance, that obsessive thing, that thing that’s cold and prickly and a Big Gulp of engine additive on a sweltering August day. That romance is painful. That romance is all about the hurt. That romance is unkind and unfriendly and unrepentant and unjust. That romance destroys.
Color me masochistic, but I prefer the second kind of romance--maybe not so much in real life. I mean as visceral and passionate and evocative as that kind of romance can be, it kind of sucks to have your heart ripped from your body and shown to you, still beating. In the movies, however, I like the kind of romance that brings with it financial ruin, bizarre sex rites and restraining orders.
Bitter Moon (1992)
Roman Polanski is no stranger to sexual peccadilloes and personal tragedy, nor is the director afraid to plumb the depths of his sordidness. With Bitter Moon, depravity is on parade, exposed through the story of a torturous sexual relationship between expatriated writer, Oscar (Peter Coyote) and his exotic French girlfriend, Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner). Wheelchair-bound Oscar corners young, proper British couple, Nigel and Fiona who begins to assail them with his horrid tale of sexual degradation. Shocked and horrified, but drawn in nonetheless, the young couple is compelled to listen to Oscar’s fascinating descent into sexual obsession and ultimately murderous rage. Bitter Moon is beautiful, disturbing, erotic but, above all, handled with a subtle camp humor that keeps this from becoming, like so much bad erotica, something that takes itself seriously.
Blue Velvet (1986)
In Blue Velvet, fresh-faced college boy Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) returns to his hometown and his sweet, innocent girl Sandy (Laura Dern), only to find a severed human ear. Jeffrey’s discovery inspires him to play junior detective, his rationalization for budding voyeuristic tendencies. The trail leads him to Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini), a beautiful and mysterious chanteuse. Jeffrey becomes her “secret lover” and is sucked into an abyss of degeneracy inhabited by Dorothy, her ether-sniffing boyfriend Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), and his posse of fringe element roughtrade. Jeffrey is torn between his seedy relationship with the alluring Dorothy and the staid Sandy, but is swayed further by Dorothy’s manipulative appeals for Jeffrey’s protection from Frank. The results of Jeffrey’s obsession are, of course, disastrous. As opposed to Polanski’s Bitter Moon, with Blue Velvet you get the feeling that maybe David Lynch does take the world of Blue Velvet seriously, but somehow that’s okay because Lynch doesn’t see the world the same way we do. Or more importantly, Lynch doesn’t see the same world we see.
Then there’s romance, that obsessive thing, that thing that’s cold and prickly and a Big Gulp of engine additive on a sweltering August day. That romance is painful. That romance is all about the hurt. That romance is unkind and unfriendly and unrepentant and unjust. That romance destroys.
Color me masochistic, but I prefer the second kind of romance--maybe not so much in real life. I mean as visceral and passionate and evocative as that kind of romance can be, it kind of sucks to have your heart ripped from your body and shown to you, still beating. In the movies, however, I like the kind of romance that brings with it financial ruin, bizarre sex rites and restraining orders.
Bitter Moon (1992)
Roman Polanski is no stranger to sexual peccadilloes and personal tragedy, nor is the director afraid to plumb the depths of his sordidness. With Bitter Moon, depravity is on parade, exposed through the story of a torturous sexual relationship between expatriated writer, Oscar (Peter Coyote) and his exotic French girlfriend, Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner). Wheelchair-bound Oscar corners young, proper British couple, Nigel and Fiona who begins to assail them with his horrid tale of sexual degradation. Shocked and horrified, but drawn in nonetheless, the young couple is compelled to listen to Oscar’s fascinating descent into sexual obsession and ultimately murderous rage. Bitter Moon is beautiful, disturbing, erotic but, above all, handled with a subtle camp humor that keeps this from becoming, like so much bad erotica, something that takes itself seriously.
Blue Velvet (1986)
In Blue Velvet, fresh-faced college boy Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) returns to his hometown and his sweet, innocent girl Sandy (Laura Dern), only to find a severed human ear. Jeffrey’s discovery inspires him to play junior detective, his rationalization for budding voyeuristic tendencies. The trail leads him to Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini), a beautiful and mysterious chanteuse. Jeffrey becomes her “secret lover” and is sucked into an abyss of degeneracy inhabited by Dorothy, her ether-sniffing boyfriend Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), and his posse of fringe element roughtrade. Jeffrey is torn between his seedy relationship with the alluring Dorothy and the staid Sandy, but is swayed further by Dorothy’s manipulative appeals for Jeffrey’s protection from Frank. The results of Jeffrey’s obsession are, of course, disastrous. As opposed to Polanski’s Bitter Moon, with Blue Velvet you get the feeling that maybe David Lynch does take the world of Blue Velvet seriously, but somehow that’s okay because Lynch doesn’t see the world the same way we do. Or more importantly, Lynch doesn’t see the same world we see.
Movie Review: Independence Day 2 Stars
Independence Day. ID4.
All the DVD goodies on the planet can’t save this alien stinker
This movie didn’t have to be this bad -- genocidal aliens have sent an attack force to earth to exterminate mankind, for the love of Mike! But apparently Universal Soldier wunderkind Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich don’t think that was enough. Sure, humanity has thirty-six hours to unite via Ham radio and launch a counterattack on the aliens, but that’s nothing compared to all the time we can waste on “character development.” Why, there’s 400 different intersecting storylines that must be tied up before we can get to more pressing matters -- like SPACE LIZARDS WITH ATOMIC DEATH RAYS BLOWING UP THE WHITE HOUSE!
But wait… first, we have to really get to know the single-mom stripper (Vivica A. Fox) who goes to work during the end of the world. And, of course, Old Jew (Judd Hirsch) and Old Fag (Harvey Fierstein), two of the most offensive stereotypes since Stepin Fechit. ID4 must give The Committee to Elect Al Gore hope because in it, Bill Pullman, the most boring man on the planet, was elected President. Remaining consistent in the casting, the most boring woman on the planet, Mary McDonnell plays the First Lady the exact same way she plays an Sioux Indian…as an imbecile.
By the way, at this point, the ten largest cities on Earth have been destroyed by battle cruisers TEN MILES IN CIRCUMFERENCE!
And we haven’t even gotten to drunken cropduster Randy Quaid, a former Vietnam Vet who was abducted and molested by aliens decades ago and has been trying to warn his fellow Earthlings ever since. Does that sound like an interesting character? Yes. Is it? No. Quaid is little more than Walter Matthau’s character in Earthquake. And, of course, Lieutenant Drunky Drunkerson has a family that we are introduced to as well.
The other two marginally interesting characters -- Scientist Who Saves the World, Jeff Goldblum and His Ex-Wife Who Happens to Be The President’s Aide, Margaret Colin -- are interesting because James Cameron created them. They are carbon copies of Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in The Abyss, down to the wonderful performances they turn in.
In the meantime, Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas are RUBBLE!
The only one who seems to get the message in this flick is Will Smith who “can’t wait to get out there and kick E.T.’s butt.” Only Smith and the special effects, make ID4 watchable.
All the DVD goodies on the planet can’t save this alien stinker
This movie didn’t have to be this bad -- genocidal aliens have sent an attack force to earth to exterminate mankind, for the love of Mike! But apparently Universal Soldier wunderkind Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich don’t think that was enough. Sure, humanity has thirty-six hours to unite via Ham radio and launch a counterattack on the aliens, but that’s nothing compared to all the time we can waste on “character development.” Why, there’s 400 different intersecting storylines that must be tied up before we can get to more pressing matters -- like SPACE LIZARDS WITH ATOMIC DEATH RAYS BLOWING UP THE WHITE HOUSE!
But wait… first, we have to really get to know the single-mom stripper (Vivica A. Fox) who goes to work during the end of the world. And, of course, Old Jew (Judd Hirsch) and Old Fag (Harvey Fierstein), two of the most offensive stereotypes since Stepin Fechit. ID4 must give The Committee to Elect Al Gore hope because in it, Bill Pullman, the most boring man on the planet, was elected President. Remaining consistent in the casting, the most boring woman on the planet, Mary McDonnell plays the First Lady the exact same way she plays an Sioux Indian…as an imbecile.
By the way, at this point, the ten largest cities on Earth have been destroyed by battle cruisers TEN MILES IN CIRCUMFERENCE!
And we haven’t even gotten to drunken cropduster Randy Quaid, a former Vietnam Vet who was abducted and molested by aliens decades ago and has been trying to warn his fellow Earthlings ever since. Does that sound like an interesting character? Yes. Is it? No. Quaid is little more than Walter Matthau’s character in Earthquake. And, of course, Lieutenant Drunky Drunkerson has a family that we are introduced to as well.
The other two marginally interesting characters -- Scientist Who Saves the World, Jeff Goldblum and His Ex-Wife Who Happens to Be The President’s Aide, Margaret Colin -- are interesting because James Cameron created them. They are carbon copies of Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in The Abyss, down to the wonderful performances they turn in.
In the meantime, Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas are RUBBLE!
The only one who seems to get the message in this flick is Will Smith who “can’t wait to get out there and kick E.T.’s butt.” Only Smith and the special effects, make ID4 watchable.
The Skinny On... Chewbacca
NAME: Chewbacca
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: During the Lifeday celebration a long time ago on Kashyyyk, the Wookie home planet in a galaxy far, far away
CHINESE ZODIAC SIGN: Year of the Ugnaught
TELEVISION LOST EPISODE: The Star Wars Holiday Special
FORGOTTEN FILM CLASSIC: 1967 Patterson/Gimlin Bigfoot Film
FILM ROLES TURNED DOWN: Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun
PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS & NOMINATIONS: 1977 Academy Award, Best Costume Design “Star Wars”
1997 MTV Movie Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, 1971 NBA Wookie of The Year
NEXT ON THE PLATE: Fishin’ with John Lurie, Star Wars, Episode VIII: A New Scary Terror (2008)
SECOND CAREER AS: Spice smuggler
DEFINING QUOTE: “Aargh…Yawn…Grrr.”
SIX DEGREES OF WILLIE AAMES: Chewbacca was in Star Wars with Harrison Ford who was in Air Force One with Gary Oldman who was in Dracula with Sir Anthony Hopkins who was in The Elephant Man with Sir John Geilgud who was in A Portrait of The Artist As A Young Man with Willie Aames.
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: During the Lifeday celebration a long time ago on Kashyyyk, the Wookie home planet in a galaxy far, far away
CHINESE ZODIAC SIGN: Year of the Ugnaught
TELEVISION LOST EPISODE: The Star Wars Holiday Special
FORGOTTEN FILM CLASSIC: 1967 Patterson/Gimlin Bigfoot Film
FILM ROLES TURNED DOWN: Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun
PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS & NOMINATIONS: 1977 Academy Award, Best Costume Design “Star Wars”
1997 MTV Movie Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, 1971 NBA Wookie of The Year
NEXT ON THE PLATE: Fishin’ with John Lurie, Star Wars, Episode VIII: A New Scary Terror (2008)
SECOND CAREER AS: Spice smuggler
DEFINING QUOTE: “Aargh…Yawn…Grrr.”
SIX DEGREES OF WILLIE AAMES: Chewbacca was in Star Wars with Harrison Ford who was in Air Force One with Gary Oldman who was in Dracula with Sir Anthony Hopkins who was in The Elephant Man with Sir John Geilgud who was in A Portrait of The Artist As A Young Man with Willie Aames.
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