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Messages - Gothick

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961
Current Talk '23 I / Re: WB ORDERS FILMING OF NEW DS PILOT
« on: March 27, 2017, 05:19:37 PM »
I really have only vague memories of that 2005 screening.  I do remember that I found the ending ridiculous.  So it was a surprise when I watched it again and actually thought the ending now worked.  It certainly works a hell of a lot better this way than what I recall from the unfinished edit that was screened over a decade ago.

I would guess that there was going to be a different theme for Josette's music box.  It's amazing just how much they crammed into this.  There were originally going to be more scenes for Angelique. I've wondered if those were actually filmed.

The most significant difference between this and the Burton-Depp film, for this viewer, is that Alec Newman is outstanding as Barnabas.  I thought Depp was a disaster in the role. Obviously, we are all at liberty to agree to disagree.

G.

962
Current Talk '23 I / Re: WB ORDERS FILMING OF NEW DS PILOT
« on: March 26, 2017, 10:04:06 PM »
The complete pilot is on Youtube now, but I don't expect it to be up for long:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0gLTmrsltU

It was interesting to see it again.  It was a little better than I had remembered from my previous single viewing.  Alec Newman is a standout as Barnabas.

Best, G.

963
Ah OK it's yet another comic book adaptation.  Last year a UK fan sent me an interesting short comic based on Kronos that appeared somewhere or other back in the early or mid 1970s.

I suddenly feel much less excited... though I'm less than optimistic now whenever a "re-boot" of a classic character or story from the "old days" is mooted.

G.

964
Kronos (as it is commonly known in Hammer fandom) has acquired quite the cult following over the years.  I first saw it on the CBS Late Movies sometime in the mid 1970s.  I think it's a pretty cool film--not entirely successful, perhaps, but much more interesting than a lot of the more polished, glossy, compact productions.

I presume this is happening because Brian Clemens died last year (I think it was last year?) and perhaps someone approached his sons for the rights to the Kronos project.  It had originally been meant to be a sequel but the release and distribution of the original film was so badly botched that the movie had only a spotty and intermittent appearance in theaters--plus, of course, Hammer studios was in a state of collapse by the time the movie played here, around 1974 I think.  Horst Janson, who was I think German (perhaps Austrian?) plays Kronos and does have a presence that might make you think of Michael York.  The last I heard, Horst was still alive and active as an actor.

An intriguing facet of the original movie was the use of some very offbeat folklore that sets it apart from the usual Hammer vampire film.  I've never known if that folklore was something Clemens invented, or found in Montague Summers.

G.

965
MB, thanks for all those pages of material from the script that was cut, plus the long passage from the Ross book.  I read that 47 or so years ago but have no memory at all of this scene and this answers another question I've wondered over the years--why was Professor Stokes over at the house that evening?  Odd to see that Stokes fancied himself some sort of Miss Marple to the family.  His words have a sadly ironic ring given how it all ended.

Best,  G.

966
Current Talk '17 I / Re: "Filthy" DS Topic
« on: March 19, 2017, 05:37:11 AM »
The 1953 classic Queen Bee gives an idea of what JC would have been like as Liz.  A very different kind of matriarch but one full of imperious grandeur and in full possession of her personal authority over her beleaguered family.  I would say that Joan C's performance in that film illustrates just why she would not have been good casting for Liz.  Casting is not so much about ability as it is about nuance, personality and something imponderable we call "fit" for lack of any more articulate way of expressing it.

A major difference between our Joan and Joan C is that our Joan did have a background in theater and occasionally went on what she called "buck and truss" tours (I would guess in the 1950s and early 1960s when work had dried up due to the negative impact of the Walter Wanger scandal on her career).  She came from a theatrical family with a solid history in the craft.  I would say that that was what gave Joan the wherewithal to sail through her scenes with such quietly grounded focus even when her lines weren't perfect on DS.  As I've shared before, Nancy Barrett did tell me once how terrified Joan would look at moments when they were standing next to one another in the middle of a scene and Joan had suddenly dried.  But somehow, the camera never caught that.  I always felt that Joan, like Jonathan, made her difficulty with lines work in how she expressed the character of Liz.  The words not always being exact became, somehow, an expression of the iron will of an indomitable woman.  And we loved her for that.

G.

967
Current Talk '17 I / Re: "Filthy" DS Topic
« on: March 17, 2017, 09:41:23 PM »
I enjoyed Crawford in her films, but she would have been disastrous casting as Liz.  In the original film MOMMIE DEAREST in which Legendary Faye Dunaway portrayed the no-holds-barred diva, they re-staged the time Joan decided to substitute for daughter Christina when the latter was hospitalized while appearing on a soap opera at some point in the mid to late 1960s.  It's a hilarious sequence.

Subsequently, an audio tape of Joan doing one of these scenes was uploaded to Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG-DkuB1V28

I've known a number of people who criticized Joan Bennett's acting on DS.  I thought Joan B was superb.  She had the grit and the professionalism to carry off a scene even when she was unable to get the script down.  And when she was on... she was ON.  Joan C could also be excellent but not all actors can do the kind of act-on-your-feet work required in something like DS.

G.

968
That's a sweet memory, MB. 

G.

969
Fans,

A friend of mine bought a CD of rare recordings by Claudine Longet.  I think some (possibly all) of the material came from TV broadcasts.  He mentioned that there's a track where Claudine covers "Shadows of the Night."

For those who have no idea who I am talking about, Claudine became a celebrity back in the Sixties mainly in her role as the wife of Andy Williams, who would now be described as an "adult contemporary" lounge singer.  Andy had a hugely popular "family friendly" TV series from sometime in the 60s through to the 1970s.  I think Andy Williams is largely forgotten and that is even more the case for Claudine.  Claudine did appear in a 1967 film starring Peter Sellers, THE PARTY.

Claudine did a really spooky cover of the theme song from Rosemary's baby, a kind of Satanic lullaby.  And Claudine later made international headlines due to an unfortunate "accident" involving a ski star named Spider who was her extramarital lover.

I didn't find Claudine's recording of "Shadows of the Night" but I did find this one with husband Andy Williams.  It sounds like the kind of thing you'd have heard in a bus station coffee shop back around 1974 (yes, this is a little in-joke for those of us who are card-carrying members of Halloholics Anon).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RvC4jiKD_g

G.

970
I'm much more excited by the news that hit last month that Eva has been cast as Virginia Woolf, opposite Gemma Arterton (if I'm remembering that second name correctly) as Vita Sackville-West, in a new film about the love affair between these two celebrated authors.  The focal point is the period when Virginia was writing ORLANDO:  it was written as a love letter to Vita, and in Virginia's mind, Vita WAS Orlando.

G.

971
KMR, that sounds excellent.  I'm already thinking of some imagery but we're not allowed to post even fic snippets here so I will forebear...

My guess is that Seth and Todd had a "history."

Best, G.

972
Fans, this announcement was made on Herbie J. Pilato's Facebook page a few hours ago:

Look for Lara Parker, along with Kathryn Leigh Scott and David Selby, for a special tribute to "Dark Shadows" on a future episode of "Then Again with Herbie J Pilato" - coming soon to Decades TV.


Mr. Pilato appears to be some kind of retro celebrity--the name is vaguely familiar.  I don't know anything about the series.  Perhaps a more specific announcement about the broadcast date will come via Shadowgram at some point.

Best,

G.

973
Hmmm. Clearly, Todd was in the mood for cake that evening.  No wonder he was so anxious to get Miss Stoddard safely stowed away with Mother at home.

MB, many thanks for printing extracts here of the "Marilyn" Ross novelization.  They brought back the feeling of bafflement as to just what was going on when characters, incidents and dialogue showed up in the book I had no memory of seeing either in the film, or in the profuse coverage of it we enjoyed in our monster mags back in '70.

Best,

G.

974
Calendar Events / Announcements '17 I / Re: Memories of Thayer David
« on: March 09, 2017, 08:47:32 PM »
Jonathan mentions the Gramercy Park hotel a couple of times, so I presume that it was a popular place for Thayer to visit, and he may indeed have gathered there with other DS cast members from time to time.  It sounds as if Grayson and Sam would have loved it, as well as Louis and Joan and others.  I found this note on Wikipedia about it:

"In 1958 Herbert Weissberg, a prominent New York hotel owner, bought the hotel. He added a gift shop, doubled the size of the bar and gave tenure to Pinky, the beloved hotel bellhop. Guests were drawn to its bohemian character, low prices and locale. The hotel's reputation for discretion attracted such musicians as Bob Marley and Bob Dylan in the 1970s. The Canadian and Chicago part of the first cast of Saturday Night Live stayed in the hotel during the show's premiere and Paul Shaffer, the show's original bandleader, continued to live in the annex for another 16 years. Other former residents include character actress Margaret Hamilton, actor Matt Dillon, and playwright David Mamet. Other notable guests include the Clash, Madonna, Debbie Harry, and David Bowie."

About ten years ago someone made a documentary about this hotel, I think mainly focused on its cultural significance. 

G.

975
Calendar Events / Announcements '17 I / Re: Memories of Thayer David
« on: March 09, 2017, 08:40:48 PM »
I think I posted this one back in October 2015, but in case anyone didn't see it then, here's nephew Jonathan Vincent commenting upon Thayer David's love of doing DS:

He did really love Dark Shadows. It only took a few hours a day-- an hour or so for rehearsal, an hour for makeup and wardrobe, and an hour for shooting. He was very fond of his colleagues. He was a reserved person, but he really thought the show was a gift to try out different personalities as an actor. He savored the gothic, so it was a great fit for him. He'd go over to a club on Fridays with the adventurous actors and crew for the weekly wrap party-- maybe the Gramercy Hotel bar? He was quite shy, but with his friends I think he was very entertaining. There are rumors that he had lung cancer before he died. If he did, he kept it close. He was having diabetic induced health issues-- he lost a toe. But he was happy. He was planning a re-marriage to (former wife) Valerie French. She was around a lot, and she was so interesting. With Valerie back and Nero Wolfe-- he was at a high-point. I apologize if I've mentioned this before. I often lament we didn't intersect more. He died only a few years before I could have really interacted with him as a peer. He was almost what I'd call agoraphobic. Only the stage could pull him into the world.... All those folks on Dark Shadows were really wonderful. My uncle was a mad spokesman. He'd hypnotize you with history, science, politics. I just wish he lived longer. Much I'd love to chat with him about, now. He was very much like Stokes... But maybe more accessible and funnier. Stokes was a little more uptight. David was super smart. A Harvard boy. He was Stokes with some whimsy."

Best,  G.

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