“thou bleeding piece of earth” . . . “the ruins of the noblest man” . . . ”over thy wounds now do I prophesy” . . . “carrion men groaning for burial”
I would never suggest that we have no outstanding actors working today. We certainly do. The incredible Daniel Day-Lewis comes to mind. But the above phrases from William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar” require a performance that communicates fury, intensity, and revenge, by someone who oozes magnetism and charisma, an actor who consistently nails it no matter what the role. In 1953 that actor was the one and only Marlon Brando.
Today is the Ides of March . . . beware! For this notorious day on the Roman calendar which marks the assassination of Julius Caesar, this is Brando as Mark Antony delivering the “Dogs of War” monologue, moments after Caesar was killed by conspirators. He is smoldering and ferocious, and gorgeous to boot
For a slideshow of political assassinations throughout history check out this page from TIME.
In Woody Allen’s latest film “Midnight in Paris”, the actor Adrien Brody does a memorable cameo as Salvador Dali. It’s a very funny scene in which Owen Wilson’s character, Gil, finds himself sitting at a cafe table in Paris with the Spanish artist and his surrealist buddies Luis Buñuel and Man Ray. Gil shares with the men his confused feelings about his life and career, his fiancee (played by Rachel McAdams) and his bizarre delusions of time-traveling back and forth from the 21st century to the 1920s. Brody’s Dali, speaking in almost indecipherable heavily-accented English, starts babbling on about drawing and rhinoceroses fornicating. Man Ray seems to think there is nothing peculiar at all about Gil’s strange fantasies. It’s amusing to watch Gil try to distinguish dreams from reality while commiserating with a group of surrealists. They are of course no help to him at all.
Salvador Dali is one of those characters who was in real life just as offbeat and cartoonish as he is perceived. He cultivated that image. We’ve all seen pictures of him with his bulging eyes, outlandish moustache, looking completely crazy and off his rocker. He even made odd appearances as a contestant on TV game shows in the 1950s. In “Midnight in Paris”, Adrien Brody almost seemed to underplay Dali’s weirdo persona, yet still managed to communicate the artist’s eccentricity to a tee. I’m a fan of both Brody and Dali so the cameo was a special treat for me. I recounted a personal story about Salvador Dali from my childhood in an old Museworthy post.
While Salvador Dali will forever be a colorful cult figure in popular culture, his expert artistic talents should never be overlooked. The man was an amazing draftsman and painter. His works are absolutely masterful in their use of geometry, symbolism, space, and vivid imaginings. I especially like Dali’s treatment of religious themes. Look at his version of the Ascension of Christ, from 1958. That is some serious foreshortening!
The Fourth of July falls on a Monday this year, so you know what that means – a patriotic Music Monday! I’ve got a great one for us. It’s a clip from the classic 1942 film “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, starring the amazing, multi-talented, iconic, beloved American actor James Cagney, one of my favorite guys. The epitome of a natural talent, Cagney was a native New Yorker, born in 1899 on the Lower East Side, and lived through a scrappy childhood of poverty, odd jobs, and the occasional street brawl. Cagney’s strong belief in hard work, self-reliance, and resourcefulness took him from working as a custodian to a bellhop, to a night doorman, pool hall attendant, amateur boxer, to a versatile vaudevillian and song-and dance man, all the way to Hollywood. This movie, which began filming the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, won Cagney an Oscar for his portrayal of George M. Cohan, the American composer, entertainer, and producer. Enjoy this incredible, delightful performance, especially the great “Cagneyesque” footwork.
Hello dahlings! Hope everyone’s had a good week. Just a quick post to promote the super-cool, inventive and ambitious film composer that is my big brother Chris Hajian. Chris has been out in LA for the past week promoting the new documentary “Unraveled”, for which he composed the original music. The film, directed and produced by Marc Simon, profiles Marc Dreier, an attorney under house arrest prior to sentencing, who masterminded a giant hedge fund fraud, embezzled over $400 million, and committed crimes that almost rival those of Bernie Madoff. Chris spoke often and enthusiastically about this film project while he was working on it. I cant wait to see it. Check out this review in the Hollywood Reporter, especially the last sentence which reads “Chris Hajian’s plaintive score adds to the poignancy of this American odyssey.” My brother!
As for me, I was asked by my friend Emily Rapp to write a guest post for her blog Little Seal. Gosh, I was so flattered! My first “guest post” as a blogger. And of course I am approaching it in a very serious, sincere, and conscientious way. Someone asked me to write for them. I take that as a big deal, an honor, an expectation I want to fulfill. Right now my piece is still a work-in-progress. I go to it every day, stare at it, read, stare some more, cut, add, reword and rework. The usual writing process. It’s getting there. I will let you all know when it’s published.
That’s all for now, my friends. Until next time, and for no reason whatsoever, here’s Marlon Brando shaving
On Cape Cod last week, my family and I were sitting at a big round table enjoying a wonderful dinner. The champagne flowed as freely as the conversation. As is typical among our gang, the discussion was dominated by the arts, and on this particular night, film, theater, and music were the main topics.
My brother Chris is a composer and his standards for what make a quality musical are very high- higher than most peoples’. Chris is a guy who was happy to see Rent finally close! Anyway, he stated that he felt Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret was one of the best, if not the best, musicals ever produced. That led to a discussion of the film version starring Liza Minnelli, who won a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar for her performance. Another Oscar winner for that film was the director Bob Fosse. I happen to be a huge fan of Bob Fosse. From his films to his choreography, his overall creative vision, Fosse made memorable contributions to the performing and visual arts.
Besides his talent and impressive body of work, the late Bob Fosse signifies something else that is personal to my family. In his 1979 autobiographical film All That Jazz, my father made a small appearance! It was really exciting at the time. In the nightclub scene, my Dad was a musician on the bandstand in the background, and he was directed personally by Bob Fosse. Cool! I believe he instructed my Dad to act bored, a musician on a break reading the newspaper, and then pick up his horn to play when the act came onstage. The funny thing is that I wasn’t even allowed to see the R rated film at the time. I was only eleven years old and my father forbid it. But I have of course seen it since then
All That Jazz has one of the best opening scenes of a movie ever. Terrifically shot, it captures the grueling pressure of a Broadway audition and is set to the hit song “On Broadway” by George Benson. As a kid I remember loving that song, and playing the record over and and over again in my room, dancing as if I had big Broadway dreams. It’s a great, groovy track. I’m posting this video for “Music Monday” but it could easily be a “Dancing Monday”. That’s the excellent Roy Scheider (an actor I love) dressed in black, depicting the film character “Joe Gideon” based on Bob Fosse himself.
To all Museworthy readers; if you have the opportunity, if a theater near you is showing it, I urge you to go see the movie “The Cove”. I saw it yesterday here in New York at the Angelika, and I am still stunned, heartbroken, angered, and profoundly moved by what I saw. I can’t even fully describe what I’m feeling. I just bumped my planned blog post to put this one up instead, that’s how strongly I am compelled to get the word out.
You know how most movie trailers make a movie look better than it really is? Well that’s not the case here. This is harrowing, impassioned filmmaking. Check out this trailer.
If you care about the earth, animals, and the environment, if you want to know the ugly truth beneath the surface and the deceitful actions of government, or if you just appreciate extraordinary documentary films, then you must see “The Cove”.
“Stop the car”.
I stopped my car and rolled down the window. “Yes officer?”
“The street is closed”, she said. “No cars allowed. They’re shooting a movie”.
“Yes ma’am, I know about the movie,” I said. “But I live here.”
“You live here?”
“Yes, ma’am , I live here.”
“On this street?”
“Yes, on this street”.
The officer was silent, eyeballed me a bit, and then took a quick glance at the shopping bag on the passenger seat. It was filled with cans of organic cat food for Monty, Punk, and the kittens. Organic, holistic cat food <— stop laughing!
“Ok, well people have been scamming me all day, you know? Saying they live on this street when they really don’t, just to get up close to the movie shoot. I send them through and the crew turns them away and makes them drive back up again. They’ve been scamming me!”
“Oh, I see.”
“It’s a damn nuisance.”
“Yes, well, people will do that.”
“So you really live on this street? No BS?”
“Yes, ma’am. No BS. That’s my house right there.” I pointed at my house.
“That house?”
“Yes, that house. The one with the potted pansies on the front stoop”.
One more glance at me, and she seemed convinced. I guess I have an honest face.
“Ok, move along then.”
“Thank you officer. You have a good day!”
A little excitement for the afternoon, right? Filmmakers have invaded our quiet little residential street. They trekked all the way out to northeast Queens for a shoot. Don’t we feel special! Actually it’s not that unusual. We’ve had film crews here before many times. Once you see the bright orange flyers stapled to the telephone poles, indicating “MOVIE SHOOT”, with dates, times, and “No Parking” admonishments, you know they’re coming. Trailers, equipment, guys with walkie-talkies. The “invasion”.
After I unpacked the deluxe cat food, I went outside where my neighbors were gathered in the street, watching the filming. I chatted up a very nice, very burly crew guy and got the scoop. The movie is called “Rabbit Hole”, and it stars Nicole Kidman. My neighbor Phil said he saw her earlier and that she’s “really tall”. I missed it, of course, because I was out buying cat food. But it’s no big deal. Now if it was Christian Bale, on the other hand, that would be a whole different story. I’d never leave the neighborhood! I’d put on slutty short shorts and Wonderbra-induced cleavage, stroll around the block like a tramp, make eye contact with him and then shout, “What the fuck are you doing??!!!!! Trashing my scene?!!! OOOOHHH GOOOOOD FOR YOOOOUUUUUU!!!!, you FUCK!!” You all heard that audio tape I assume? What can I say, rants make me hot.
Filmmaking in New York has a long, impressive history. We are, in my opinion, the unparalleled movie location. The list of movies – great movies – that have been shot in New York is a mile long. From “Sweet Smell of Success” to “Rosemary’s Baby” to “Serpico” to “Annie Hall” to “Do the Right Thing”, it just goes on and on and on.
So I had fun hanging out with the neighbors. But watching movie shoots isn’t always as exciting as it sounds. We got to hear the director yell “Action!”, and see a huge camera on wheels roll backwards about eight feet, and then “Cut!”. Some scene with a guy getting into a car, I don’t know. I got bored. I asked the burly crew guy if I was allowed to go for a run in a park. “Yeah, ” he said. “We’re not using the park, just the street.” Cool. So I went back inside, changed into my running shorts, and with my iPod in hand, jogged right past the crew, past the equipment, past the lights, and ran off into the sunset. Like your typical New Yorker, oblivious to the “glamour” of cinema and eternally unimpressed. Man we’re jaded.
I have no idea what “Rabbit Hole” is about. But I do know that there is a big difference between just shooting a film in New York and shooting a film in New York that is about New York, in drama, psychology, speech, and attitude – those films where the city itself is a character of its own, alongside the actors. If I had to choose a film that embodies the madness, volatility, and the gritty style in which films used to be shot here, the choice is easy.
1975, director Sidney Lumet, lead actor Al Pacino, and the streets of Brooklyn, this is “Dog Day Afternoon”. The scene is a heated confrontation between a hapless, hostage-holding bank robber and the cops. THIS is how you shoot on location in New York:
With Oscar season approaching I thought I’d remind everyone that art modeling once made it onto the big screen, in a big way. It may come as no surprise that my favorite scene in the 1997 blockbuster film “Titanic” was not of the sinking ship, but of Kate Winslet posing nude for Leonardo DiCaprio in a tender, playful, and very private life drawing session.
I enjoy this scene, and my seasoned and oh-so-worldly art model’s soul isn’t too jaded to appreciate it. Actually, I think it’s very well done, especially in how it conveys the motivations of Kate Winslet’s character; a teenage girl starting to connect with her womanhood, feeling attraction for a man and desiring to be close to him, yearning to be liberated, try a new experience, curious about being a subject for art, and seeking the thrill of complete and honest “exposure”. Yeah, I get it. I get all of it
The only problem with this video clip is that the editing seems to have cut out the moment when Kate first drops her gown. It’s disappointing because that is precisely the moment when a “virgin” art model discovers who she really is, when it hits her that she is standing stark naked in front of someone, unguarded and vulnerable. It’s the “showdown” moment when she either overcomes or submits to her fears, when she realizes that the experience will either make her feel powerful or powerless. The choice is simple. You either dive in or you run for the hills. It’s one or the other, you know. There’s no in between.
By the way, I have done the posing with “only a necklace” thing. It’s a nice look, except in my case the necklace has never been some rare, gigantic diamond! Rather it’s been some $5 beaded thing I bought off a sidewalk street stand in the East Village.
I doubt any male artists out there would object to Kate Winslet posing nude for their drawings. And I can’t say I’d have any objections posing nude for Leonardo DiCaprio.
Belated Happy Thanksgiving wishes to all my readers! I hope everyone had a great day whether your focus was on eating, ruminating, watching football, enjoying the company of family and friends, or any combination of those. I took part in all except the football watching. Now I’m not sure, but I think I came close to consuming 10 or 12 pounds of homemade cranberry sauce. Can’t help it. It’s one of my favorites!
This movie clip made me smile and chuckle. Since my personal relationship with my readers (albeit an “online” one) has been evolving and becoming more intimate over time, I actually saw a little bit of myself in Kirk Douglas’ portrayal of Vincent Van Gogh! Well let’s just say I related to his pleas, needs, and sensitivities. The word “attachments” is spoken in the dialogue, and that really struck a chord in me, since the subject just came up in comment discussion in my last post. (Love you, DougRogers).
In this scene from the 1956 film “Lust for Life”, Van Gogh is trying desperately to hang on to, deepen, and solidify his friendship with Paul Gauguin, played by Anthony Quinn. Fearing loneliness and abandonment, Vincent is reaching out to Paul, and the macho Paul is having none of it. Instead, he reacts coldly, irritated by Van Gogh’s clingy nature and lack of toughness in an often harsh, cruel world.
It is people in my real life who function as my true “Gauguins”, but just for fun I tried to place all of you in the Gauguin role. Luckily it didn’t work. Why? Because you guys are awesome!! You are warm, compassionate, and sympathetic to my troubles, feelings, and honest disclosures here on Museworthy. And I doubt that any of you would ever raise your voices angrily to me. Oh and for the record, I, as Vincent, would NEVER hurl a glass at any of your heads! A shoe, maybe. But never a glass (just kidding).
What can I say, rants make me hot.
