Blog of Much Holding

Last visit to Walt Disney World in Florida, we spent time at one of the hidden gems in the MGM Studios: Walt Disney -One Man’s Dream, a museum dedicated to the man himself, Walter Elias Disney.

Even if you are not a Disney buff, you will enjoy this area of the part, if just for the nostalgia factor. Not only celebrating Disney’s life, the exhibit also showcases collectibles and memorabilia from the company’s 70+ year history. For example:

Here’s the cloak/costume worn by Guy Williams when he played Zorro for Disney in the 50’s. While Guy’s life ended badly (dying in Argentina and not being found until a week later) in his youth he was an incredible presence and a very entertaining actor, and I like his work in Zorro a lot more than in Lost in Space (though, strangely, on LIS his character always fought a way to fight aliens using a Spanish fencing rapier – hmm). And then there’s this:

MICKEY MOUSE, HE’S SO DREAMY!
They mocked up a mini-bedroom set for a 1950’s pre-teen who was, apparently, suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. “Mommy, did you get the new issue of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories for me? What do you mean you forgot? YOU DON’T LOVE ME!”

I love the way the little title card they have on the desk states that this was a “typical” girls room. Uh-huh. Typical on a Disney soundstage during the making of The Parent Trap, maybe… And speaking of little cards:

This case displayed and detailed the history of how Disney’s licensing of Mickey and Minnie to the Lionel Train company not only saved the company from bankruptcy, but because they sold so many of the Disney train cars they were able to expand the company and produce some of the classic trains that we remember today. This was, of course, a dangerous precedent, one that we still see today (how many landfills are being used to contain unsold Atlantis or Home on the Range merchandise? Too many, I’m afraid..)

Of course, they also showcase some of the classic Disney posters and films, and intersperse some foreign-laguage posters along the way. By the way, the Disney classic Cendrillion has nothing in common with Marillion. One is a progressive rock band, one has a pretty castle. And the rumors of a new Disney ride based on The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway are completely unfounded…

Here’s an original animator’s desk, with the built-in lightbox and shelves to hold the day’s drawings and sketches. It took some effort for my sons to grok that this was used to create the classic cartoons they love (and that Disney exploits via multiple re-releases to shore up every year’s third and fourth-quarter results) but they eventually got it. If you look very close, you can see the scuff marks on the desk left by the artist when he rushed up to go on strike…

Then there’s this: an authentic recreation of Walt’s California office from the late 50’s. I’ve seen footage from the Disneyland DVDs of Walt doing intros and bumpers for his TV-show and this is pretty darn close to what it was. I especially loved to see the stake of scripts n his table behind the desk – I think half of them were for Disney’s True Life Adventures films – “No, we can’t have the cougar die of dehydration! I don’t care what footage you shot and what happened, get me a rewrite!”

Disney World. The Imagineers recreated the studio where Walt shot the “pitch” film for Disney World (and it’s expanded EPCOT concept) down to the SMALLEST detail – they even have replicas of the same PHOTOS that were on the wall way back when Walt shot the footage over forty years ago. Damn. And the weirdest thing:

WALT LIVES! RUN! HE CRAVES HUMAN FLESH!

In addition to the authentic set, they have a 1:1 scale Walt cutout posed in front of the giant Disney World map just like in the promo film. If you look through the “cameras” you see footage from that film. A little weird, but cool.

Anyway, the whole tour ends with a 20-minute documentary on Disney’s like and, earlier sarcasm aside, is a must-see if you are a fan of Disney or a nostalgia or film buff. I close with a great piece of work that reflected the view of the public when Walt died those many years ago: I shed a tear not for Walt, but over the lost potential of what EPCOT could have been if he had lived to see it’s completion…

- Joe Dickerson

Originally Published June 29, 2006 

For years fans have discussed the “Superman curse.” This curse is supposed to fall on the actors who portray the Man of Steel – apparently a streak of bad luck comes with playing the part, which began with George Reeves death and continued to Christopher Reeve (who was paralyzed after a horse riding accident).

For a while it seemed as if the curse had also attached itself to the producers of the film series, as they have attempted to revive the movie franchise for over a decade with aborted attempts coming from Tim Burton, Kevin Smith and J.J.Abrams. Millions – tens of millions – were spent trying to bring a new version to life. Finally producer Jon Peters bought into Bryan Singer’s take on the character and thus, after an additional two years of productions, we have the just-opened Superman Returns.

Which is a mess.

The movie is a virtual remake of the original 1978 Superman – the Movie, and in remaking the classic film Singer has tried to force aspects of the original into the new film’s plot (but BIGGER!) and, with only one exception, these do not work. For example, arch villian Lex Luthor, instead of wanting to have valuable beach front property by causing the San Andreas Fault to crack, in the new film wants to create a Kryptonite-filled continent (that will, incidentally, destroy most of the continental US). And Superman, instead of wearing a Kryptonite meteor and nearly dying in a pool as in the first film, is instead stabbed – twice – by a Krypton shiv by Luthor and nearly dies in the bottom of the ocean. And so on.

The only “reimagining” that worked was a remarkable rescue that mirrored the helicopter rescue from the first film – only this time a prototype space shuttle on top of an airline is in danger. Of course, Lois Lane is on board. Talk about bad luck…

As the film begins, Superman has been gone for five years, and that is another issue I have with the movie’s premise. He left because astronomers found Krypton and he hoped that there was still life out there. Like an adopted son, Superman went to seek out his real parents, and found nothing “but a graveyard.” This was a frustrating plot point to myself and many other reviewers, as it has the main character abdicating his responsibility for no good reason (a point the film empathizes by showing Clark watch the news and see all the world strife that has occurred in his absence). This comes off more as a construct of the writers (to allow for the plot situation to exist) than something that is “in character” – that is, the character of Superman that was established in the original film.

This brings up the biggest problem with the entire movie. In continuing the original film series with a new cast, this invites, almost requires, viewers to recall and compare the new version with the old. Brandon Routh, in an incredibly sincere performance, is a great Superman, but he does not have the presence and gravitas that Christopher Reeve brought (but then, who does?). Same with Kevin Spacey’s Lex Luthor versus Gene Hackman’s portrayal. And so on. This is in contrast to Batman Begins (a film that is much superior to this one) where the filmmakers wisely decided to reboot the entire franchise from the beginning.

But Batman Begins was better than the new Superman not just because they abandoned all ties to the original Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher films, but because they also had a fresh take on the character. This movie does neither, and, while the new Superman film is superior to the much-maligned Superman IV: the Quest for Peace, there are parts of the previous three Superman films that are more entertaining than any part of this film (and the direct parallels with the original makes this new film pale in comparison).

Not to say that they don’t add new touches to the characters or the premise – as you read from the brief synopsis above, they do. However, the new touches, like the additions Peter Jackson made to his unsatisfying King Kong reimagining last year, add nothing with the same weight or power of the original. The new, non-trivial character and plot points – Jackson’s film had a useless cabin boy subplot, Singer’s film has a subplot involving Lois’ son and fiance – could have been excised and one could hardly miss it (though the son subplot does pay off nicely in a couple of scenes – no spoilers, though anyone with an IQ of lint could guess the eventual pay-off).

If it seems I am contrasting the new film with the original too much, you are correct – I am. But the filmmakers, as stated above, invite the comparisons, and if they did not want such comparisons they should not have created a movie so linked to the classic film.

Beyond that, there is quite a bit of the new film that could have been removed with little noticeable effect, and several of these scenes only exist to parallel scenes from the original Superman – the Movie. Off the top of my head: a flashback to Superman as a boy jumping through cornfields, a lengthy sequence where Luthor steals the Kryptonite meteor he uses in his evil scheme (a similar crime in the original is dismissed in one line of dialogue and never shown), a voyeuristic scene where Superman is looking in on Lois’ life with her new family – all could be removed with no affect on the film.

This brings up another problem: again, like Jackson’s King Kong, the movie is easily twenty to thirty minutes too long, and I was not the only viewer to feel that way – in the screening I attended I lost count of the times I saw people shifting uncomfortably in their seats and looking at their watches. I’m not impatient – I sat through the Lord of the Rings movies absolutely transfixed – it just the movie never grabbed hold of me and made me lose myself in the story like that film (among others) did. The final cut is about two hours and twenty-five minutes, and I heard the original first cut was over three hours. Thank goodness they had the common sense to edit it down, because I honestly could not see myself sitting through this film if it was that long.

Not to belabor the point, but there are also editing decisions made by the filmmakers that hurt – and lengthen – the film. Example: Superman stops the Daily Planet globe from crushing Perry White – great effect and iconic image. Do we need to extend the scene by several seconds showing him slowly lowering the globe onto a car? It’s like the spaceships landing in the Star Wars movies – it’s only there because the filmmakers can show it, not because the story demands it. Lots of scenes felt “overlong” and could stand a good trimming. I can see imagine someone doing a fan-made “directors cut” that trimmed this and other scenes – as several did with Star Wars – Episode I – that would result in a much more enjoyable film.

Apparently Singer, like Jackson before him, was allowed to indulge himself in the making of this film and in the end produced a slow, ponderous film that was more an effort to sit through than a joy. Visuals, effects and music are all well crafted, but in the end it came off as a missed opportunity to make the world once again believe that a man can fly.

- Joe Dickerson

Originally Published November 19th, 2006 

OK, this is my public service announcement posting for the year, so bear with me.

I spent a nice afternoon this weekend with my brother-in-law, an insurance salesman (reseller/independent agent) and he was telling me that were really lucky right now. Seems insurance rates in the Southeast have been increasing dramatically since Katrina hit, but only in the states affected (MS, FL and LA). Since we live in Northeast Georgia, we have actually had rate decreases in that time, because the actuary and risk assessment tables have been adjusted. That, combined with a “boring” hurricane season, made for a Georgia market that had insurance agencies jumping in and competing for (our and others) business.

“Enjoy it while it lasts,” he said, “’cause it may not last long.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Well, for one, the New Madrid Fault. If we have another Mag 8 earthquake there, it’ll affect everyone. Lots of property damage. Lots of people dead. Not to mention if we have another nasty hurricane season like last year, the market will adjust again, and this time everybody’s rates might go up.”

My friend Jeff is a natural disaster buff (strange, I know, but so is he) and had mentioned New Madrid before, so I was not ignorant. I mentioned the conversation to a coworker Monday. He was ex-Army, and worked with FEMA for years during his his second stint (when FEMA was run by James Watt). He reinforced my brother’s opinion.

“Yup, If the New Madrid fault goes, you’ll have Katrina times ten. When I was working up there we had emergency plan reviews every quarter, and when the review of the New Madrid occurred I found out there was no real planning for the worse case scenario for the emergency personnel up there.

“If a Mag 6 earthquake happens, there will be NO first responders. They will not have the capacity or capability to respond. It’ll be like You’re on your own. Things may have changed since then, but I doubt it.”

So I looked up some articles on the web and found out the chance of a magnitude 8 or higher earthquake, one that will effectively cut off the East Coast from the rest of the country for quite a while and cause unimaginable destruction? An earthquake that would be far more destructive and impactful to the world economy than “the big one” in California?

10% likely, in the next 40 years. The odds of a “lesser” quake? Only 85%, same time period.

Yikes.

So, taking the advice of Glenn Reynolds and many many others, I have put together a “Grab and Go” kit for my family. It’s about $175 worth of food and supplies that would take care of us for three or four days if we had to, and, as it’s name entails, we can grab it, throw it in the van, and we’re gone.

Click this link for lots of advice. I URGE everyone to remember what happened with Katrina – it took almost four days for the help to get to some people and some were on their own with NO supplies. The government may (I’d say probably) not be there to help you.

We may never have any use for it but, keep this in mind: wouldn’t you rather have it and not need it than not have it and desperately need it?

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

- Joe

I neglected to mention when I wrote previously about the DVD release of the first season of Saturday Night Live the one reason I’m excited to see its release. No, it’s not the classic Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise sketch, it’s my personal all-time favorite SNL sketch.

Citizen Kane 2.

Shown on the tenth episode, hosted by Buck Henry, the sketch was a black and white sequel to the classic Orson Welles film, with the entire cast playing character from the film (Aykroyd’s Charles Foster Kane was especially enjoyable). The premise is that Kane said more than just “Rosebud” on his death bed and… well, if you have not seen the sketch, I won’t ruin it for you, but the “reveal” of the joke is both hokey and brilliant at the same time (enhanced all the more by the actors cracking up as the characters piece it together).

Both this sketch, and the classic Star Trek sketch, were written by Mike O’Donoghue, may he rest in piece.

I can’t find a video clip online, but here’s the transcript, if you’d like.

- Joe

Last month, I read an interview with Dan Rather, late of CBS News. In the new interview, Rather stated that he still stood by the story he green-lit that cast a critical light on President Bush’s National Guard duty. Well, if you were unaware, that story in 2004 set off a blogstorm that is well documented here. The main thrust of the criticism was the primary evidence against Bush were documents that were purported to have been typed in the early 70s, yet were apparently created using Microsoft Word.
 
Rather stated that “no one has even proven those documents (the ones used to reinforce the story) were fake.”
 
This comment set me off, and reminded me of a very appropriate story, told to me over 15 years ago by magician and noted skeptic James Randi.
 
Way back then Randi, the great debunker of all things hooey, made a speech at my college where he explained it this way:  you get a hundred reindeer, and, one after another, you through them off the top of the empire state building. They all crash to the ground and make a huge mess for New York sanitation to clean up. Have you proved that reindeer can’t fly? NO. You have demonstrated (not even “proven”) that these reindeer either could not, or chose NOT TO, fly – the point is not proven because the one flying reindeer may have been suicidal and, of course, we are not mind-readers.
 
There may still be reindeers who can fly somewhere in the world – just as there may be evidence to what Dan Rather claimed in that story. BUT the burden of proof is not on the critics of the story, it is on the claimant, to prove the documents were accurate and not fake. In that the documents were not “disproven” he is exactly right, as I mentioned – you can’t prove a negative.
 
But you can provide evidence that withstands scrutiny, which Rather, in all reasoned views, did not. Again, check the above links cited if you were not watching the events when they first occurred,
 
How is it that scientists have peer reviews and reporters (and their claims) don’t (and react rather angrily when informal peer reviews occur?) Oh well…
 
- Joe

Originally Published November 20th.

Thank God.

I thank God everyday for the many blessings my family has received, and I can add another one to the list. Bond is back. And he’s back in rare form.

Caught Casino Royale on Friday night, and I was – and am – quite impressed. In fact, save for a slow fourth act (yes, fourth act), the film was not only a great Bond flick, it stand up to scrutiny as a good MOVIE. Let me explain.

Ever since Diamonds are Forever, I have found that the only way to truly enjoy a Bond film is to not examine the movie’s premise too closely, and to accept huge, ludicrous plot points and stunt sequences simply, on their face. Don’t think too hard, or the whole thing falls apart. Accept it as mindless entertainment – kick back, relax and enjoy yourself. The only other film series that has a similar dramatic downslide is Star Wars – which went from serious to silly in six films (rather than twenty). Both series have similar drastic extremes of tone and approach from film to film (sometimes from scene to scene).

The early script review I read of Royale months back was discouraging – it seemed that they were going the route of Batman Begins, and I did not like the premise at all. I thought it would come off as a gimmick to try and get younger audiences. Well, I was exactly wrong.

While the first hour of the movie is the invention of the filmmakers the next hour IS Fleming’s Casino Royale, with a few modern flourishes. They capture the tone and feel of the first Bond novel and maintain the story’s through-line almost exactly (the only thing missing is, in this PC age, is the smoke-filled casino and the flop-sweat). The torture scene is there, and, though the carpet beater has been replaced with a knotted-up rope, the effect is the same as the novel – brutal. The final betrayal, and the final line, from the novel is there as well, and it is to the producer’s credit that they do not allow any happy ending. Yes, this is “Bond Begins” – but so was the Fleming novel. And, like the novel, when the impact of the events he lives through finally hits Bond, he changes, and turns into the cruel super-spy we have enjoyed for forty-odd years.

The Bond theme is saved till the end, and this choice is utterly appropriate. Craig is superb here, and I dare say he may be the best actor to ever play Bond. Yes, Connery had more of a presence on screen, but Craig is the better actor. I also dare say that if Craig makes another Bond film this good he will be right up there with Connery in the opinion of many. If he makes a third film as good he will SURPASS Sean. Seriously, he’s that good in the role.

Craig and the producers absolutely nailed what makes Bond work in the books – the ability to inflict cruel, harsh violence combined with dark wit, a sharp tongue and a hint of superiority. Combine the great acting by Craig with two FANTASTIC “Big” Bond Action Sequences (copyright, patent pending) and the best title sequence EVER, and you have a fantastic movie, and, as has been listed in the credits at the end of almost every single Bond film, JAMES BOND WILL RETURN.

Thank God. – Joe