Week Four
My Secret Addiction
I have a problem. I will admit it right here out in the open. I have an addiction to films. I love to watch films. All types from the early 1930s through the current films of this month; regardless of the genre. I do not mind what the critics have said or what my friends or colleagues thought about the film. I just enjoy films. However, I do have to admit that I take greater pleasure in movies in which I have read the play or book first.
There is something about holding the weight of a book in my hands and turning the page with anticipation of what the writer was visualizing for the characters to experience in the next moments of their lives. Then I imagine how the book could be turned into a screenplay. The costumes, the scenery, the actors chosen for each part; every piece fascinates me. After I read the book, I love to compare the book to the film; whenever possible. But, sometimes, as you can imagine, that is not possible. So it is not a mandatory prerequisite for all of my film viewing.
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| I sang in Carnegie Hall Memorial Day 1987 with the Southeast MO State University Concert Choir |
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| My Family & I with Mr. Whipple "Please Don't Squeese The Charmin" ( I am in the white dress) |
I unfortunately was ill this last weekend. When I am ill, I always turn on films that can play in the background. I choose ones in which I can drift in and out and know exactly what is going on. There are many for me to choose from. A sort of comfort food for my mind.
This weekend I watched “His Girl Friday” with Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Based on the play, "The Front Page". It is a wonderful 1940 screwball comedy about
a newspaper man who is about to lose his best reporter and former wife to
another man. So he tries to get her to
stay by enticing her with a huge story.
First of all, it is a wonderful example of how women were not seen as
equal in the work force. Second, how the
media worked – through pens, paper, cameras, and people running around on foot
to get the story. But the most important
tool that is utilized by the reporters is the typewriter. The reporters are utilizing manual
typewriters that they clank and bang the keys to get the stories typed out so
they may be given to their newspapers type setters.
This movie was remade in 1988
– “Switching Channels” – starring Burt Reynolds in the Cary Grant role,
Kathleen Turner in the Rosalind Russell role, with Christopher Reeve playing the finance' Only this time they are working for a cable news network patterned after
CNN. They had to worry about what her
make-up looked like and the camera angles and they utilized a copy
machine. Photo copies of different
stories were made and then given to the on screen reporters to read from. If the movie was remade today, what would it be like? Would it be a company like Yahoo that writes the story for online readers? Would it be an online magazine focused upon a specific subject matter? Would the characters utilize iPads and smartphones instead of manual typewriters and photocopiers? I had a wonderful time imagining the cast that I would put into my new version of the film. Of course, the budget would not be realistic because the actors would want too much money. And I do not think anyone would really want to film the movie in my small home town. But I had a lovely time fantasizing about what it could be like if it could be remade today.
Instead, I think I will look for a copy of a good book that I can hold in my hands and turn the pages. I am off to the library with my card in my hands. Hope I don’t come home with a DVD instead J.
Films referenced at the top of the page:
Pride & Prejudice (2005) Based on:
Somewhere in Time (1980) Based on:
Little Women (1933) Based on:
Anna and the King of Siam (1946) Based on:
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