Fülle Circle Magazine

Simple Things: A Conversation with Amy Grant

2022-05-30T12:29:00.006-07:00

Written by Jason Anders | Illustration by Kaelin Richardson

Last week, I was at the Illiad Bookshop in North Hollywood when I reached for a biography on the Music shelf entitled "Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far" - the author; Amy Grant. She is the bestselling Christian artist of all time, and one of the only musicians to truly transcend that label and become a pop sensation. As I plucked the book off the shelf, a nearby stranger said, "Amy Grant! She's amazing!" The man went on to proclaim that her song "Baby, Baby" has "one of the tightest basslines in all of pop music." We briefly bonded over our love for the woman, in what felt like a true movie moment, before going our separate ways. I went on a rant about Grant to my girlfriend in an attempt to capture just how much of an icon she was to those of us who grew up with her in the spotlight, and she was the first celebrity I met as a child, thanks to my dad taking me backstage on her House of Love tour in 1994.

As her book describes, Grant was subject to adulation, speculation, and scrutiny during the height of her popularity. She generated controversy within the Christian community for being "too worldly" and "too sexy," and suffered a "barrage of condemnation" following her divorce and remarriage. The obstacles and ridicule that Grant has overcome in her life, while remaining a compassionate human being with a heart of gold, remains an inspiration to me. I blast her music regularly, her 80s synth boosts endorphins on every spin without fail. She was the first celebrity I ever met, and the first star I remember imitating as a child - I danced around my living room at the age of five in a white leopard print jacket, lip syncing the lyrics to her music video for "Wise Up."

It is no understatement to declare Grant a music legend. She is a recipient of six Grammy Awards and has six chart-topping pop hits to her credit. In 2006, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, of which she says, "If you wanna go out to California, you can stick some gum on my star." She graciously accepted this lifelong fan's invitation to ask her a few casual questions, themed to the title of her 2003 album, Simple Things...

What hobbies do you have when you're not making music?

I go through what I call cereal passions, where I'll just get eaten up with something that I love and invest myself in it 100%, and then after a little bit of time I will jump to something else. To me, that's just a fun way to enjoy what you love. I love anything outside, the heat doesn't bother me - I love to sweat. Before this interview, I was in my garden out back picking okra that was, no kidding, bigger than my hand. I love nature. Later on today I'm going out with one of my daughters - we're going to ride horses, and I am not a fancy horseback rider. We just trail ride. I like camping. I also enjoy cooking, but I'm very average. I also love to read.

I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night last night, so I went and tuned up my bike. I knew that if I got on a computer that I'd never go back to sleep, so I thought I'd do that just in case I had a chance to go ride... and I don't ride like Lance Armstrong. Bottom line, I'd rather be outdoors than in a shopping mall any day of the week.

What books are you currently reading?

Well, this is going to sound really like the "spiritual girl", but I've never read the Bible cover-to-cover, so I'm trying to do that by my birthday. I also love fiction. This last year I've enjoyed Olive Kitteridge.

Do you have any phobias?

Bridges. I can hardly bike over a bridge - the older, the scarier. I don't know why, but they just make me nearly hyperventilate. I was in California with a couple of my daughters for a cousin's wedding in June, and my 17-year-old pulled over on the side of this bridge that went near Santa Barbara and over a canyon and she said, "Get in the driver's seat. I don't care how slow you go, but you've got to face this fear." I was sweating from every pore. I don't know why. That's the only phobia I can think of.

Are there specific albums that influenced you to start making your own music?

Joni Mitchell's Blue and Carole King's Rhymes & Reasons. Those records were a daily part of my existence in my little yellow bedroom with my first turntable. Also, The Jackson 5. I love Michael Jackson. I also love Aretha Franklin. The great thing about music is that, on any given day, it depends on how you're wanting to be moved. Something that is so perfect in one moment for you could make you want to jump and shout and feel so alive, and later can be something that is so interior and still. There are no three best records. They're all important - the famous, the infamous, and the unknown... because you never know how you're going to be moved.

What do you love most about making music for a living?

I would be making music whether or not I could pay the bills with it. I love it. I am just as happy to be onstage as I am to be in a crowd, just as long as somebody's making music. I was so fortunate to get the breaks that I got and for the doors that opened. I always exposed myself to, and was surrounded by, people who were talented in different ways who - in my opinion - were much more talented than I was. I did what I did because the doors opened up. Whether it is listening to records or playing guitar in my bedroom, I just love how music brings people together. I love the community that music creates, because it's equally shared ideas. Nobody is more important than anybody else.

That's what makes Nashville such a unique town. So much of it is based on creativity that you just can't hammer down and fly through the schedule. In order to be creative, you have to slow down. You have to ponder. You have to think. You have to reflect and articulate. You have to turn off your computer and cell phone and think of something that matters, and say it in a way that's interesting. To be able to do that is a gift.

Which three adjectives would you use to describe yourself?

Curious, hyperfocused, and easygoing.

If you knew that this was going to be your last interview, what would be the most important message you would want to get across to people?

Life goes by faster the longer that you live, and it's such an amazing journey. The hardest parts are the most valuable, even though you hate every second of them. I tell my children that if, and when, you sense God... always open up.

Spotlight on The Great American Opry: Memories from the Rainbow Music Theater

2021-07-22T14:35:00.002-07:00

Written by Jason Anders | Illustration by Kaelin Richardson

I landed my very first job while still in the fourth grade when I learned how to operate the spotlight at the Rainbow Music Theater for Gary McSpadden's The Great American Opry, a musical variety show in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee - for which my dad was the music director. My mom and sister worked there, too. Maybe "worked" isn't the right word - we basically lived there. It was a magical place, one that I still find myself revisiting in daydreams when I need an escape to the happiest, simplest time in my life. I later fell in love with Robert Altman's whimsical 2006 film, A Prairie Home Companion, it being a fantasy about the final performance of a variety show. Its heavy dose of nostalgia for shows like the Opry obviously resonated deeply with me. In the film, Tommy Lee Jones plays Axeman, who represents the investors who bought the theater and plan to tear it down, dryly stating to Virginia Madsen's character, "It would've been great in its time, but the time's up. Life moves on."

The Rainbow Music Theater was where I first found my passion for performing, working behind-the-scenes, and for live music. The featured musicians - Gary McSpadden, Lori Mullinax, Kim Kobeck, Rick Ball (who commissioned me to paint the Opry's logo on his bass drum), Ronnie Chauvin, Les Marple (and more) were all literal rock stars in my eyes. And then there was my dad, belting from behind his keyboard, bringing down the house every single night with his superhuman musical talent (which I absolutely did not inherit.) I also found my love for performing comedy, as I absorbed the wild energy of Chan Mullinax's manic portrayal Bubba the Redneck Ranger, a character known for constantly interrupting the proceedings with his irreverent humor. Chan brought a Peter Sellers-esque brilliance to a role that a lesser actor would have let fall flat with generic buffoonery. Chan's portrayal of this goofy Smoky Mountain menace was otherworldly - which is why his character continues to thrive to this day as part of the Country Tonite Theatre. The first jokes I ever told publicly in middle school were stolen, verbatim, from him.

I recently discovered an eBay account selling the original (and remarkably sealed) cassette tape recordings of the show, and as a result edited together the audio of the main performance with the Christmas Spectacular. This journey down memory lane has transported me directly back to the balcony of the Opry, behind the heat of the spotlight's bulb, where I frantically pushed and pulled the instrument in an effort to keep up with every beat of each performer. While the sound quality of my upload isn't top notch, the show remains as great as it was in the early 90s. I am proud to have played some small part of it, and proud to say that Eddie Anders is my dad - a small-town celebrity who played an integral part in transforming Pigeon Forge, Tennessee into an entertainment capital through his work across several theaters, including his very own dinner theatre - Eddie's Heart & Soul Cafe.

Below is an edited excerpt from my dad's incredible 2017 book, Waking Up Dead, in which he recounts the origins of the show...

"Gary McSpadden graciously extended the invitation in 1991 for me to become his music director, keyboard player, and featured vocalist in the show he was introducing in Pigeon Forge, resulting in our relocation from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. The Smokies would be home for a long time to come.

Over the next two years, each member of our family were all involved in The Great American Opry. Nancy was active in the operations of Gary's tour company, booking bus tour groups into our show and area hotels; Jason assisted in the lighting production, and Lindsay took her place on stage as our featured dancer.

Our home theatre was a very boutique venue, seating just over two hundred people, proving to be one of the most positive aspects of our presentations. The intimate setting meant audience members were up close and personally interactive with the performers during each show. Being the consummate professional, Gary's stage presence and heartwarming style of hosting gave us a distinct advantage in winning over a crowd and obtaining a loyal following in the market. At the time of our arrival, there were only five other theaters in Sevier County, all very organic, home-grown, and relatively small in scale. All of these shows gained loyal followings over the years in a market not really known as an entertainment destination.

I found myself to be an intrinsic component of innovation as The Great American Opry dared to challenge the long-held traditions of the seasonal show calendar. Maybe we were naive and foolishly optimistic, but it seemed the obvious was being ignored. Thousands of people were actively pursuing ways to be entertained at any given time, even during the "off-season." We made the decision to keep the lights on and the Opry open for business as "the only show in town," an overture people responded to with astounding joy. The tourists, as well as the locals, bought tickets as never before and we enjoyed our greatest success to date. Being the first to introduce a long-run Christmas show in Pigeon Forge facilitated our becoming an instant hit.

Our first "New Year's Eve in the Smokies" resulted in three sold-out performances in one evening. A small upstart cast, housed in a tiny two-hundred seat boutique theatre, shifted an entire paradigm for the Smoky Mountain region, resulting in an insurgency of commerce and economic growth unlike any time in its history. Even if on a relatively small scale, our success had helped to awaken a sleepy giant.

Within two years, the newly formulated "Winter Celebration" had transformed Sevier County into a solid ten-month entertainment destination. By 1994, the aforementioned acre lot on the identical segment of highway frontage would easily yield in excess of one million dollars. As the big money began to roll in and competition swiftly escalated to capture the richest pieces of the newly discovered pie, Gary McSpadden's enthusiasm began to wane. It is one thing to operate a quaint theatre in a sleepy little town where entertainment options are minimal - it is an entirely different proposition when the neighborhood becomes home to multimillion dollar productions housed in state-of-the-art theaters, featuring marquee names and a multitude of talent from across America.

With the area poised to make a run at becoming another Branson, Gary concluded competing against corporations with extremely deep pockets was not something in which he wished to engage. Soon, he would close the show and make his way back to Nashville. A couple of the most loyal fans of our show were landowners on the Parkway, three acres of which they had proposed to roll into a partnership deal with Gary for the construction of a new home for The Great American Opry. He graciously - yet immediately - turned down their offer." - Eddie Anders (2017)

(Left) Lori Mullinax performing "Sweet Thang" (Right) Young Jason Anders taking inspiration

THE GREAT AMERICAN OPRY - FULL PERFORMANCE: YouTube.com/Opry

Celestial Sounds: A Conversation with Lena Raine

2021-05-01T11:17:00.001-07:00

Interview by Jason Anders | Illustration by Kaelin Richardson

Lena Raine is an award-winning composer and producer who has written several highly acclaimed soundtracks for video games, as well as solo albums and orchestral works. Her score for CELESTE, recipient of Best Independent Game at The Game Awards and Best Score nominee, beautifully punctuated the game's highs and lows and brought its emotional aspects to their peak. Raine's career has significantly accelerated since the time of the below interview. In addition to returning to Celeste mountain by scoring CELESTE: FAREWELL for the game's DLC final chapter, Lena has also released her debut full-length album ONEKNOWING along with providing scores for MINECRAFT, SACKBOY: A BIG ADVENTURE, CHICORY: A COLORFUL TALE, and more. She is also providing the score for the recently announced Maddy Thorson game, EARTHBLADE. Below is our archival interview from December 2018.

What is it about composing game scores that you love?

Games offer something for composers that no other medium really allows you to do. You get to score experiences and craft aural spaces that people can get lost in for hours. It's a unique thing usually reserved for installation art that doesn't really get much appreciation. I love the magic that is writing music that then evokes things for people as they play through a game, enhancing the experience in ways that only an interactive medium can do.

Do you remember what first sparked your interest in becoming a composer?

Music has always been a major part of my life. My dad was performing in bars and doing sound design and composition for theater and dance while I was growing up. I performed in choirs from childhood up through college. I think it was inevitable that I'd become involved in music in some way. For me, that spark was the music in games I played. My first interests in composing came from replicating the music I loved. Then, when I started writing my own music, it pulled from those sounds in a lot of major ways. It's probably why I'm still so adhered to games as a medium. They run through the lifeblood of everything I write.

How surreal was it to join the Celeste team onstage at The Game Awards to accept "Best Independent Game"?

Really, really amazing. And kind of hilarious, too. I was involved in The Game Awards as a nominee, as a performer, and as a presenter. So when the Best Independent Game award started coming up, I was suddenly taken backstage by a stage manager to get ready to present the award for Best Direction. But as soon as I got backstage, another stage manager came up and asked if I was part of the Celeste team. I then got hurriedly re-seated in case we won. So I was on edge already, mentally preparing to be on stage for hundreds and on camera for millions, and then being jostled around by stage folks. It was mostly just hilarious because I had no idea if we were going to win, but then suddenly (after Ninja and a prawn Muppet hammed it up a bit) the cameras were on us and we headed up. As a side note, I'm glad I got to handle one of the trophies in dress rehearsal because I would not have been prepared for how heavy they are!

How did you come to compose the score for Celeste?

I had been working as a quest designer and level designer in AAA games, and managing to do music as a part-time thing, when I had the spare time. At some point I had the inclination to branch out and do my own solo project as Kuraine. I had started writing a lot of electronic music, really moody deep house sort of stuff. So I released four of my most solid tracks as an EP called Singularity. I was friends with a number of folks in the indie scene at the time, but one of my good friends knew the developers on Celeste and she passed along my music to them. They super loved my work on Singularity, and so Matt reached out to me in a Twitter DM asking if I'd like to write the music for the game that he and the team were about six months into designing. I had been relatively familiar with their work, and got to play an early build, and thought it really gelled with the kind of music I love to write, so I said sure! It worked out super well, and I really felt like a core member of the development team. By the end of the project we had a really good vibe going, and so I'm looking forward to possibly working on more things with all of them.

You wrote in your liner notes about the project becoming far more personal than you were expecting...

Honestly, the process of writing the music for Celeste took place over one of the most turbulent 18 months of my life. Between starting the game and finishing it, I had gone from living in Seattle and working as a designer on Guild Wars 2, to uprooting and moving to Montreal to work for Ubisoft on Far Cry 5 for a year, to realizing I wanted to do music full-time, leaving my job and Montreal, staying with friends back in Seattle while I looked for a place, and then finishing everything after I had found a new apartment again. I wrote on three different computers, changed programs I was using to write, and had to buy a new smaller PC to work off of after moving back to Seattle since my desktop tower was on a moving van going across the continent. It's honestly a miracle I was able to do all of that and finish the score at the same time. It was very much my own mountain to climb, but I'm in a better space now.

Celeste's success must be wonderful for you, both personally and professionally.

In a purely personal way, it has allowed me to try and get my life on track following the turbulence that ensued during Celeste's development. In a monetary way, it's allowed me to lay low and take on smaller projects while I figure out where I want my career to go. In a professional way, it's opened up a lot of connections with creators that I admire, and has paved the way for me to work on the projects I'm most passionate about and want to pursue. I don't think I'll be doing a Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed or whatever any time soon, because I feel like the AAA space is already difficult enough to navigate. But I have a number of things lined up, mostly with good friends in the industry, that I'm super excited to continue and begin work on.

Do you have a favorite track from the score?

I've been asked this a few times, and I don't remember how I've answered, but I think despite its short length and intensity, my favourite is still Anxiety. It's probably the most personal of the tracks, since it very accurately depicts my own experiences with anxiety and having a panic attack, so scoring that became a very honest depiction on my part.

Name three albums that you love.

Oh god there's so many! Off the top of my head:

1.) Archandroid by Janelle Monae

2.) Xenogears by Yasunori Mitsuda

3.) Dangerous by Michael Jackson

What can we be looking forward to?

I'm on the verge of finishing up my debut solo album as Lena Raine! I spent a lot of time this year needing to calm down and relax, and so I began writing songs with a limited palette of Rhodes piano, zither, and a small string section. I started a rule for myself where if I found myself in a situation where my anxiety or stress were getting to a boiling point I'd sit down with one of those instruments and start writing something relaxing. Eventually, the songwriting got to a point where I was very clearly scoring a specific emotional arc for myself, so I began to think of it as an album. By the time I finished, I reached out to my girlfriend who has done a number of wonderful covers for me and she painted the exact sort of feeling I described in writing these tracks, which I'm using as the cover art. I'm also actually working with a record label on this release, so they're doing the heavy PR lifting this time around. I'm so excited to start getting the word out!

If you had to sum up your music in three words, what would they be?

Evocative. Personal. Odd.

Visit Lena's website HERE!

We're History: A Celebration of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure" at Universal Studios Florida

2020-10-30T22:42:00.029-07:00

Illustration by Kaelin Richardson

"Be excellent to each other." For 26 years the Wyld Stallyns brought a most triumphant party to the world's premier Halloween event at Universal Studios Florida, providing an escape from the blood, guts, and gore of the park's haunted houses and scarezones. This "trick or treat through time" premiered onstage as part of the event in 1992 and was based on a franchise that boasted two hit films, an animated series, comic book, video game, and breakfast cereal. Universal Creative Director Julie Zimmerman would be responsible for rebranding 1991's Fright Nights as Halloween Horror Nights and would introduce a live comedy with "bodacious stunts and awesome surprises," eventually tagging writer Jason Surrell to type up a fresh new take on the show who would expand upon the cultural parody element and add an SNL-esque touch to the proceedings. Strange things were afoot at Universal as The Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show stage became home to scantily clad dancers, pop culture icons spewing adult language, and explosive rock 'n roll with pyrotechnics to match. The show would acquire many die-hard fans for whom the experience would become a time-honored Halloween tradition, present company included.

My first HHN outing was Sweet 16: Horror Comes Home in 2006 where I was introduced to icons Jack the Clown, The Caretaker, The Director, and The Storyteller, confronted a fire-breathing Robosaurus roaming the city streets of New York, walked a Psycho Path to the Bates Motel, experienced a prequel to The People Under the Stairs, descended into a Dungeon of Terror, and attended an All Nite Die-In. Most importantly, however, I would experience for the very first time a stage show based on two of my favorite childhood movies, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991). Queen's "We Will Rock You" signaled the start of the show, and in a puff of smoke Bill and Ted's phone booth appeared on stage and the crowd roared as Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted Theodore Logan (in all of their air guitar glory) faced that year's most heinous foes: Lex Luthor, Howie Mandel, and Mr. Clean, all swelling to an incendiary finale involving Jay and Silent Bob! Sweet 16 was an incredible bonding experience for the group of co-workers I attended with from my new job, and the howls of laughter were the perfect contrast to the screams of terror surrounding Amity's Fear Factor Live stage. I would attend the show every year from that night forward, eventually going on to work the event.

As Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure ultimately drew to a close with its Farewell Tour in 2017, we all knew that Halloween Horror Nights would never be the same. We didn't, however, imagine that we would ever experience a year without HHN altogether. With the painful absence of our beloved Halloween party, in the middle of a pandemic and during a devastating year for the theme park industry as a whole, we decided to look back and celebrate all of the excellent adventures by talking with the incredible talents that took us on those journeys throughout the years. The show that brought so many of us together with endlessly quotable lines of dialogue, unforgettable film and TV crossovers, and beautiful moments like watching Rosie O'Donnell beat the crap out of Donald Trump. What follows are the recollections of just some of the countless hundreds of Universal Orlando Team Members who brought Bill & Ted to life for 26 years - who made us laugh, cheer, and (in my case with the Farewell Tour) cry. Most importantly, this was a show with a message, one that is needed now more than ever... "Be excellent to each other."

Jason Anders at Bill & Ted's Farewell Tour (2017)

Jason Anders: Were any of you fans of Bill & Ted before becoming part of the show?

Julie Zimmerman (creator): I had seen the movies and fell in love with them. The premise was fabulous - who wouldn't want to travel to any time and place? Bringing historical figures to present time is something I have always dreamed of. Joan of Arc leading an aerobics class while Napoleon chills at Wet 'n Wild? How could this not be a stellar film?!

Jason Surrell (writer/director): The ironic thing is that I wasn't a big fan of the films, at least at first. I saw the original as a freshman in college in 1989, and I honestly thought it was kind of silly. I was entering a snobby phase in terms of film, and I think I wrote it off as a "dumb stoner movie," which of course it wasn't. So because of that I passed on Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey in 1991, which came out shortly after I moved to Orlando. It was the original Halloween Horror Nights show that got me to appreciate the characters a bit more, and then when I got the chance to write the second show in 1994, I revisited both films over and over again on home video to prepare. That's when I got a new appreciation for both the characters and the movies and fell in love with them. Sometimes you never get there in terms of "drinking the Kool-Aid" where an IP is concerned. I've definitely experienced that since then, but with Bill and Ted it was love at second sight.

Chris Leps (Bill): The original film came out the same year I graduated high school. I saw it in the theater and genuinely enjoyed it. The writing had a lot of wit and the dialogue was highly quotable - especially since, like Bill and Ted, I was a high school senior. The characters are goodhearted and I loved the overall theme of "be excellent to each other." I only saw a few episodes of the animated series, but it was awesome that Alex Winter, Keanu Reeves, and George Carlin came back to voice their characters for the first season.

Jason Ryan Perry (Ted): I was born in 1985, so I didn't see the movies in theaters. In fact, I think I saw Point Break before I saw Keanu play Ted. One day I went over to a friend's house after school and her sister had Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure on. I think we missed half of the movie, but we were so infatuated by the characters that we just sat there and watched the rest of it. Then we rewound the VHS tape and watched the whole thing again.

At the time I was heavily influenced by surf culture due to T&C Surf Designs on Nintendo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a solid collection of matching Ocean Pacific shirt and shorts combos. So Bill & Ted was exactly what I needed in my life. Thus the term "dude" was born and would become a regular part of my vocabulary.

Erin Cline (performer): I was always familiar with the films, I was eight when it released (feel free to do the math yourself) and I'm quite sure I saw it in its early years. Of course I loved it. I was a huge fan of the The Lost Boys (1987) and, as we all know, Alex Winter portrayed Marko in that film. I remember being excited to see him in other projects. Keanu is such an interesting and unique performer - pair those two with the endearing dedication of William Sadler as Death and it's a match made in Heaven... and Hell.

Paul Joseph Gajda II and Jason Ryan Perry in 2017's Farewell Tour

Brett Waldon (performer): Strangely I don't remember seeing the movies as a kid, but I definitely remember the animated series. I was a bit of a cartoon buff (still am) so it makes sense that it would have been on my radar at the time. Every time someone says "Bill & Ted" my brain immediately responds with, "It's a party, that's for sure!"

Kari Ringer (performer): My earliest memory of Bill & Ted was watching Excellent Adventure with my dad when I was nine or ten. I really loved the word "bodacious" and used it a lot. I had a ginormous crush on Keanu - who doesn't?

Megan Boetto (performer): I was not familiar with the movies or animated series. I really only knew who Bill and Ted were because of HHN.

Jillian Gizzi (performer): I am a 90s baby, so I actually didn't really know anything about Bill & Ted except for it being a show at HHN!

Sharon Joy Yost (performer/ writer): My earliest memories of the characters were from the cereal and cartoon, as I was a toddler when the movies came out; however, my cousins and I loved to recreate movies and television shows and would sometimes choose our favorite characters and create something new. Bill and Ted were definitely in our arsenal of characters, oftentimes intertwined with Wayne and Garth for the ultimate battle of the bands play.

Do you remember the moment in life when you knew you wanted to go into the arts, and who or what inspired you?

Jason Surrell (writer/director): The funny thing is that I don't know that I ever wanted to be a writer. As early as elementary school I knew I wanted to be in show business, and I may have known that I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I don't think I wanted to be a writer even though I was writing at a very early age. I started typing up my own guide to Walt Disney World when I was eleven or twelve, and I wrote a few horror short stories around that time, one of which I actually submitted to Twilight Zone Magazine. I was too focused on wanting to be a film director or a Walt Disney Imagineer, which I figured meant becoming an artist, architect, or engineer - none of which I was - but becoming a writer never occurred to me. It was only when a colleague asked me to collaborate on a concept for a character Christmas show at EPCOT in 1991 that I realized, "Oh, yeah, I'm kind of a writer." And then some of my earliest experiences with Imagineering taught me that, as a writer, I had just as much to contribute to the art of themed design as, wait for it, an artist, architect, or engineer. And it was around then that I said, "I'm a writer."

Chris Leps (Bill): Like many kids, I was always doing impressions. Being born in 1971, I saw most of the classic pop culture films of the '70s and '80s in the theater, so I would pretend to be a number of those protagonists. A cardboard packing tube became Luke's lightsaber, a rope tied to a tree branch became Indy's whip, and I would race my bike through the neighborhood as if E.T.'s life depended on it.

Harrison Ford, Kurt Russell, and Jeff Bridges were early inspirations, but in general I was influenced more by films themselves. Jim Henson also energized me at a young age through the overall imagination of his work. The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986) remain two of my favorite films to this day.

Jason Ryan Perry (Ted): When I got to high school I knew I wanted to be a performer, but at the same time I wasn't into musical theater or drama class. Luckily, I found my love for performing in TV Production. My teacher, Mike Scheele, was funny, smart, and most importantly, had a zero fucks attitude.

My guidance counselor at the time gave me a sheet of paper with a list of careers and asked me to pick one. I think I wrote "Jim Carrey" at the bottom of the sheet, so she threw it away and gave me another one. One of the jobs said "TV Repairman," so I crossed out "Repairman" and circled "TV." So I'd say I was inspired not only by Jim Carrey, but by my teacher Mike Scheele, as well.

Julie Zimmerman, Co-creator of Halloween Horror Nights

Erin Cline (performer): I was sixteen and had been scouted by a team of filmmakers from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts to play various roles in a series of student films. I was standing in a soundstage on campus, surrounded by lights and cameras, performing in a dark musical comedy about the Salem witch trials. I was dressed in Puritan threads with a long witchy wig, standing on the pulpit pleading guilty to my crimes. I was to be burned at the stake. Little did the viewer know that I would rip off that clothing to reveal a purple sequined gown, and we would all break out into choreographed song and dance. It was gloriously cheesy. That's when I knew and set out on a lifelong quest to be an actor. I am still on that quest.

Gary Oldman as Drexel in True Romance (1993) stole my young little actor heart. He has continued to steal it in all of his roles with his steadfast dedication to the art.

Brett Waldon (performer): I saw a play performed by my peers in seventh grade and thought, "Well, if they can do it so can I." I auditioned the next year and was cast in Playing the Palace as the head developer who wants to tear down the titular palace. I caught the bug and started auditioning for everything after that. I was, like many boys at the time, inspired by Jim Carrey exclusively. While I have gone on to admire the work of many actors and artists since, I can't shake the "you kind of remind me of Jim Carrey" response I inevitably get from the audience after my shows.

Kari Ringer (performer): The first movie I can clearly remember watching was The Wizard of Oz (1939) when I was three. When I saw Judy Garland acting, singing, and dancing, all while wearing the prettiest costumes, I decided that was the path for me!

Megan Boetto (performer): As a kid I was always trying to entertain people. I sang and danced around to every Disney classic, as well as movies like The Wizard of Oz. I loved anything with Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, and Jim Carrey.

Michael Thibodeau (performer): My parents owned a dance studio growing up, so I was sort of thrown into performing at a young age with various recitals, musicals, and tap dancing. Other than that, I grew up in a household where Saturday Night Live was cherished and we owned a lot of "Best of" SNL DVDs. Adam Sandler, David Spade, and Chris Farley always inspired me in their sketches.

Jillian Gizzi (performer): I was always a theatrical child and pursued the arts at a young age. I specifically always wanted to be a Pink Power Ranger.

Sharon Joy Yost (performer/writer): I have been involved with music, acting, and the creative arts since I can remember. I always knew performing would be a part of my life to some capacity, but I really fell in love with it going into high school. The idea of making it my career, however, was a surprising plot twist to my college plans. I was originally in school thinking I would be a teacher, keeping my summers free to pursue acting. I suppose it was in my schooling when I could have pursued something seemingly certain, but chose known risk instead.

As for the actors I was inspired by, there were so many, but none more pivotal and personally profound than Robin Williams. As a '90s baby, he was the quintessential representation of our childhood - there's a familiarity and nostalgia there. His work, and his heart, withstand the test of time in his versatility and authentic nature. What inspired me most was his ability to make anyone feel seen and known, and his great compassion for people in his personal time outside of the big screen. Yes, he was naturally quick-witted and hysterical, but even his humor came from a deep and bittersweet place. On and offscreen, his heart and humor as an actor and fellow man was most inspiring to me.

Julie - Being the "The Mother of Bill & Ted", what initially sparked the idea of bringing a live stage comedy to Halloween Horror Nights?

Julie Zimmerman (creator): I was Project Manager for 1991's Fright Nights. Fortunately, I was part of the pioneer team that designed, developed, and built Universal Studios Florida. I started working for Universal Studios Hollywood on the Florida project in 1987, so the Universal 'big house' knew me. I was asked a simple question, "What would you do for Fright Nights II?" I did a treatment for the entire event, including a show that utilized The Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show arena. No one knew if Universal would invest the money into another Halloween event. When Rich Costales called me months later saying we were going with all of it, I said, "Even Bill & Ted?" He said, "All of it." I panicked, for I was going to produce all of Halloween Horror Nights. They wanted a show and they didn't specify what kind, so I thought, "What the hell, I am going to write something fun that involves time travel... I am going to write Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure."

Tell me about your first viewing experience of Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure.

Jason Ryan Perry (Ted): I got my start at Universal in 2003 as a scareactor in the Jungle of Doom house. I remember I was on a break in the Jurassic Park Café and they had the show on one of the TVs - I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was ridiculous in all the right ways. Although I never got the chance to see it again that year, during rehearsals the following year they let us see the show and I was hooked. From that point, it was my goal to be part of the show in some way.

Erin Cline (performer): I moved back to America from London in 2007. I am originally from North Carolina so I had not seen the show, nor had I ever been to Halloween Horror Nights until I worked it in 2006. In 2007 I played a sweet little clown psycho killer in Jack's Carnival of Carnage, and I don't remember seeing the show then. In 2008 I auditioned for it, and that would begin a series of excellent years with Bill & Ted.

Brett Waldon (performer): I first became aware of the show during my first year as a Team Member. It would have probably been 2012 because I remember Obama and Romney were characters in it, and I just couldn't believe that Universal was doing something so topical and edgy. This is not to say that it was inappropriate, I just couldn't imagine being a company lawyer for a show like this one. Similar to my seventh grade experience, I immediately started formulating plans on how to be a part of the show in 2013. It took me a few years of auditioning before I got my foot in the door.

2017's Farewell Tour

Kari Ringer (performer): The first year I saw the show was 2015. I had started working for Universal in January in Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue, and by October I was chomping at the bit to experience this famous Halloween event that all my friends and colleagues gushed about. I thought Bill & Ted was great fun, an awesome nod to all the newsworthy pop culture shenanigans that happened throughout the year!

Megan Boetto (performer): My first viewing experience was back in 2001. I thought it was a fun show - mind you, I was only eleven. I didn't quite grasp what was going on at that age, but I knew it was something I thought would be a fun job to do!

Michael Thibodeau (performer): My first year seeing the show was 2013, which was set in Camp Morningwood and featured Taylor Swift as the villain. It was such a blast and unlike anything I had seen. Little did I know that I'd be performing in the show a year later and having even more fun on stage.

Jillian Gizzi (performer): I saw it while attending HHN as a high schooler. I didn't know much about the show, but one of my friends in the group was persistent about seeing it. After that, I loved it and made it a staple to always watch the show.

Sharon Joy Yost (performer/writer): The only way to see Bill & Ted was to go through Halloween Horror Nights. Admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of scary things. I appreciate the storytelling and creativity that goes into all of it, but I have a very active imagination and I am definitely a scaredy cat.

My first time seeing it was 2007 and it was so much fun! It was a nice break from the houses where you could rest, catch your breath, and be thoroughly entertained. I remember being so enthralled while watching it because it was like the Super Bowl halftime show and a long-form SNL skit had a baby! I remember after the show, in a wheelchair from having knee surgery, being the last audience member to exit. I looked at the stage with an unexplainable knowing confidence and said, "I am going to do this show one day,"... and I did. The following year was my first time performing in Bill & Ted, and I did it every year until its end; five years, six shows.

Chris Leps (Bill), Jason Surrell (writer/director), James Keaton (Ted)

Walk me through your experience of becoming part of the show.

Jason Surrell (writer/director): The moment Julie Zimmerman offered me Bill & Ted remains one of the seminal (insert guitar riff and Bill and Ted chuckle here) moments of my career. My first assignments for her were for a number of other live shows for Halloween Horror Nights in 1994 - one of them actually got produced: The Price is Fright starring Beetlejuice. Others, like A Shadow in the Night which tied into one of Universal's big releases for that summer, The Shadow - she wisely passed on. I think it was our second meeting, after she seemed happy with what I had done during round one, when Julie said, "Okay, now let's see what you can do with Bill & Ted." I was like, "Wait, what?" Because Bill & Ted had already become hugely popular after the inaugural show that had run in 1992 and '93, it felt like a daunting assignment from the get-go. I was just as concerned about not screwing up as I was trying to build on it and do something new.

That first show was essentially the existing Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show with Bill, Ted, and some scary characters - this is not to take anything away from it, mind you. I basically pitched a twenty-five minute Saturday Night Live sketch with stunts and pyrotechnics that would incorporate some of the biggest news and pop culture personalities of the year into a format that would then change every year in order to remain fresh. One of the other big releases for the year was a sci-fi action film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme... and that's how the show became Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure II: Bill and Ted Meet Timecop.

As for other big news and pop cultural figures, the show wound up featuring "Nancy Kerrigan" and "Tonya Harding" and, after a very tentative and almost sheepish pitch to Julie, "O.J. Simpson." I'll never forget that day. A twenty-four year-old kid nervously asking, "Do you think we could have "O.J." drive out in the Bronco?" Julie thought about it for a second and just said, "Sure, why not?" In my mind I was thinking, "Well, I can think of any number of reasons 'why not,' but she said 'yes' so I'm gonna get the hell out of here and go put it in the script!"

1996 Cast and Crew for The Final Frontier at HHN VI: Journey Into Fear

Chris Leps (Bill): I didn't fully understand what I was getting myself into at the time. I was hired at Universal in the Spring of '93 as a part-time Felix Cassidy in The Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show. My goal was to land a full-time contract, so I was trying to be involved with as many Universal productions as I could in the hopes of becoming more valued by management. I saw the casting notice and went in doing my best Bill S. Preston, Esq. impression. The movie was still relatively fresh and "dude" was already a staple of my vocabulary, so I found the role very relatable.

I'm ever grateful to Adrian LePeltier and Julie Zimmerman for casting me that year, because it was the beginning of a really great chapter in my life and career.

Jason Ryan Perry (Ted): It was rough. After seeing the show in 2004, I auditioned in 2005 and I think I was part of the first group to get cut. Then in 2006 I got a callback for Ted and I couldn't believe it. I remember being excited on my way to the callback, but incredibly nervous because I didn't even know what a callback consisted of. So I get to the rehearsal hall and there had to be at least fifty people in there.

They lined us up in groups and we read a quick side as the character chosen for us. Then they taught us some choreography. Now, I had never learned choreography like that so I was already out of my element, and it's pretty difficult trying to learn something like that with fifty other people crammed into the same room. I did what I could, but it just wasn't in the cards for me that year.

I came back again in 2007 and it was a similar situation. This time I think they had me read a side for Superman, which gave me a boost of confidence because the guy that had played Ted the few years before was back. He was great as Ted, so I knew he was practically a shoo-in. Everything so far was going well, until it came time to dance. I remember attempting to warm up by moving my arms in circles and then squatting down like some sort of professional athlete. Then I heard a rip. I completely split my jeans in front of everyone. Needless to say I was humiliated. My dancing was terrible and I got cut again.

That year I became an Assistant Stage Manager for PsychoScareapy: Home for the Holidays. I remember hearing rehearsals for the show, then getting to see the final show that year from the very top of the bleachers. If you've ever seen a final showing of Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure then you know there's something magical about it. The show ended and I just stood there while everyone started to leave the stadium when I whispered to myself, "I'm going to do this show."

Then the next year, I got it.

Smaug puppet from 2014's Frat House at HHN 24

Erin Cline (performer): The audition process with a theme park is already vastly different from auditions for theatre, film, television, or commercials - but the audition process for Bill & Ted year after year was uniquely its own. It was equal parts reunion, reminiscing, playtime with friends, and working your ass off in that dance choreography. Once you combine all those ingredients, mix and shake and serve over ice, you would have yourself one of the hardest and most rewarding theatre experiences of your life. We all truly felt like rockstars... or, at least, what we think that feels like.

Brett Waldon (performer): I had auditioned for four years before finally getting cast, and even then my first official role was "Mouth of Trump." I wasn't actually in the show even though I was technically there every night.

Auditioning for Bill & Ted was tricky because I wanted to bring something into the room that I felt was topical and that I could put an interesting and comedic spin on, but if I don't look like anyone making headlines that year it doesn't matter how funny my monologue is. I remember being called back for "Seth Rogen" one year and thinking to myself, "Oh, this isn't happening for me this time," but I kept going because I knew it would eventually happen.

Kari Ringer (performer): I first auditioned in 2016. However, that year I was cast as Chance in the Scareactor Dinner Experience. By 2017 I was super excited to audition again. The callback was a political scene with Trump and Melania. I just acted a fool and had a permanent Botox scowl on my face. That must have done the trick for Jason Horne because he cast me as Moana! You never know what the characters are going to be until the script is revealed. Basically the casting team picks a scene for the callbacks that shows whether actors can work together, appreciate the fine art of comedic timing, and can believably portray notable characters.

Megan Boetto (performer): The audition process was fun and a bit intimidating after hearing stories of the show. I had only been working at Universal for two years and remember dancing with so many people who I looked up to or had danced with at Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue. My first year performing in the show was 2014, the frat house year. My expectations were high just from watching the show every year at HHN and after hearing people talk about their previous experiences.

1995 Cast and Crew at HHN V: The Curse of the Cryptkeeper

Michael Thibodeau (performer): The audition process was always a good time. You got to go in there and read some hilarious sides with the funniest people in town, try your best to comprehend an insanely difficult dance combination, and leave sweating bullets. It was great. The first year I got cast was a huge eye-opener. A lot of times in the theatre industry the roles you are cast in have a preconceived idea of what the script wants you to do - with Bill & Ted you are given an opportunity to show as much of yourself in the characters as you can. I loved that aspect of the process.

Jillian Gizzi (performer): It was actually my first job at Universal - I had just worked on a show with a previous Bill & Ted director who told me to audition. Besides having seen it, I didn't know much about it. Little did I know I would be playing the villain that year!

Sharon Joy Yost (performer/writer): Every year I auditioned I wrote my own monologue as the main character I ended up playing. The audition process was always so much fun because you really just had the opportunity to play and be ridiculous. Seeing the hundreds of people go through in their costumes and sharing their creative ideas was so surreal. I typically have the worst nerves going into an audition, but never with this show. It was unique in every sense of the word.

I had worked for Universal before as a Who for Grinchmas and in Streetmosphere, but I hadn't planned on auditioning in 2012. I hate auditioning and didn't want to get my hopes up. In my head I wasn't ready, even though I had been a professional performer since 2007. I hadn't done any performing in almost a year because of my knee surgery. Also, I had seen the people who got to be in the show and I didn't look anything like any of them. None of this stopped several friends insisting that I go, though. That year, one of the characters the show was looking for was Toddlers & Tiaras child star, "Honey Boo Boo Child" - in their minds I had to go! I pushed through my fear and excuses and got the gig!

Raphael Barges as "Seal" and Chelsea McLean as "Barb Holland" in 2017's Farewell Tour

What was your first year in the show like?

Julie Zimmerman (creator): The show debuted at an employee preview. I remember sitting there thinking, "Oh God, what if they hate it?" They loved it and cheered, I was beside myself with joy. Audiences loved Bill and Ted. The Vice President of Operations came over to me and remarked, "Well, Julie, you have given us Bill & Ted - where are you going from here?" Like a Super Bowl commercial I said, "I'm going to Walt Disney World!" He looked at me and said, "You are too much for them."

Jason Surrell (writer/director): The rehearsals for my first Bill & Ted were surreal, if for no other reason than I was still working as a Disney character while taking these freelance writing gigs. So it was weird to be on the other side - the creative side - watching the show come to life.

My first director was Paul Vroom, a Universal Entertainment veteran, and we had a great relationship - still do! I'll never forget the day Julie took me out to The Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show stage and he said, "Jason, with your writing and my directing, this show can't miss." And he was right. Even today you don't quite get over seeing your ideas come to life, no matter how old you are or how much experience you have - but that first time, seeing Bill and Ted come out and say my words, or watching Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan go at it, or... wow... the first time that white Ford Bronco drove onto the stage and "O.J." stepped out. It remains one of the thrills of my career. They say you never forget your first time, and that's certainly true in show business.

Chris Leps (Bill): It was evident that the show was a crowd favorite at HHN, so that in itself made it a special experience. '92 and '93 were the same show, so I was fortunate to work with several people who had done the show the year prior. I asked a lot of questions because I wanted to make sure my performance was on par with the show's tone. I quickly felt right at home and it was such a fun time with an amazingly talented group of people. That era is especially dear to me because between my time at Disney and Universal I made a number of lifetime friends. Plus, it was a real honor to be a part of it all because there were only so many roles available. It felt like a family.

Sharon Joy Yost as "Sean Spicer" in 2017's Farewell Tour

Jason Ryan Perry (Ted): Lots of excitement. And anxiety. Rehearsals started and I was overwhelmed by everything going on. Trying to learn choreography, blocking, and not to mention an entire script in a matter of a few weeks. Luckily, it was Patrick Flanagan's first year doing the show as Bill as well. We vaguely knew each other beforehand through mutual friends and we hit it off from the start. Still, I wasn't a professional performer like the rest of the cast. It all became very real, very quickly, when I stepped onstage and saw such a massive, intricate set followed by costumes and makeup for characters like "Hellboy," "Predator," and "Hulk Hogan."

Overall, it was a pretty incredible experience. The entire cast was full of talent and, even if we had to do seven shows a night, we made sure to give the audience a spectacular experience every time. The real Hulk Hogan even came to see us one night and we got a photo with him afterwards. There was no other feeling like doing that show. From that point on, I was hooked.

Sharon Joy Yost (performer/writer): The first year got me hooked. It was just a blast, onstage and off! The camaraderie with the performers, the thrill from the stage, and the energy of every cheering audience member was enough to know I never wanted to stop doing something so special. To this day I say that there is no audience like a Bill & Ted audience; they were a huge part of my happy feels and in gaining confidence back in my performing, having been away from it for almost a year prior.

Julie - What did you see in Jason Surrell that prompted you to give him the keys to the phone booth as the writer?

Julie Zimmerman (creator): Jason is Jason. He is his own attraction. He is a gifted and brilliant writer who understood the HHN audience perfectly. He is funny, loves situational comedies, and does an amazing George W. Bush impersonation - he is perfect in every way. I knew he would bring the show to new heights, and he did.

Paul Joseph Gajda II, Brett Waldon, Jason Ryan Perry in 2017's Farewell Tour

What is it like seeing the audience reactions for the first time?

Jason Surrell (writer/director): This may sound obvious, but the audience reaction is why you do the show. I will never forget the way the Team Member Preview audience went absolutely nuts for that first show. And since it was essentially the first time I was seeing an audience respond to something I wrote on that scale, it was overwhelming. The Universal Entertainment and Events executives were coming up to me, hugging me, pumping my hand, slapping me on the back, and saying things like, "Do you have any idea what you've done, what this means?" I didn't have any idea then, but quickly would as the show shot to number one in the ratings, a position the show held for its entire run, if I'm not mistaken.

Every year after that I would giggle as I would write or direct certain moments thinking, "They're gonna love this, they're gonna go nuts." Because at the end of the day, Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure was all about "them", the audience. Even 26 years later there's been nothing so gratifying as a big Bill & Ted reaction - whether it be a laugh, a roar, a cheer, or a standing ovation. To this day it's hard to top.

Do you have a favorite year of the show?

Julie Zimmerman (creator): Yes, I am going to say it. The "O.J. Simpson" year.

Jason Surrell (writer/director): My favorite show was and remains 1997's Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure V: The Final Frontier. The show was just firing on all cylinders at that point. 1996, the first year I wrote and directed the show, was huge. I'll never forget the call I received from the Director of Events who said, "Your show is number one!" I was like, "Great, my directing didn't make it drop from last year!" He went on to say, "No, I mean it's scoring higher than T2-3D: Battle Across Time," which had opened earlier that year and was the park's number one rated attraction. The show was always number one in the HHN ratings, but I don't think it ever topped 1996, when it even beat the Park's most popular daily attractions.

I approached 1997 with a little trepidation, but decided to just put everything in that I loved and thought the audience would love - from the biggest movie hits of the year to personal loves like the Seinfeld gang. I can remember the VP of Entertainment at one point questioning something I wanted to do, and the Director of Events, Wayne Gagne - God bless him - said, "Well, after last year I would suggest we let the young man do anything he wants!" So I did, but always kept the audience in the forefront of my mind.

I just loved everything about the show, from the Star Trek framing device and Dan Johnson's spot-on send-up of William Shatner, to the chance to play with life-sized Batman action figures and the Seinfeld gang emerging from the DeLorean and absolutely bringing the house down. Our "Jerry" had won a national lookalike contest and appeared on Oprah - so many guests did a double-take thinking we had actually landed the Jerry for the show! Plus, due to an actor's commitment to an out-of-town wedding, I actually got to appear in the show for the first time as "George Costanza," because, you know, typecasting. To this day it remains my favorite Bill & Ted show, and one of the highlights of my career.

2017's Farewell Tour

Chris Leps (Bill): Wow. It is really tough to name a favorite because every one of the five years I did the show is special to me for various reasons. 1995 does tend to stand out because I really felt like a regular by then. I had gotten a full-time Felix contract the year before and truly felt at home. Also, James Keaton (Ted) and I were involved with a lot of the HHN special events that year, so in addition to the show we did a lot of promotion throughout the Park. We occasionally took it upon ourselves to crash a few other events in the Park as well. But really, every year was unique in its own way.

In 1997 I broke tradition and played the Robin character. That was at the height of Joel Schumacher's Batman era and the hype was especially high. In the show that year, Robin had a slide-rappel entrance and some cool fight action, so it was a fun change from the Bill character. But again, every year had its moments.

Jason Ryan Perry (Ted): That's always the hardest question to answer because each year was completely different and special in their own way. I will say this though, my favorite entrance was in 2015 when Bill and Ted rode onto the stage in the DeLorean with Doc Brown. Especially on Back to the Future Day, October 21, 2015 - the day Marty went to the future in Back to the Future: Part II. Two of my favorite movies crossing over like that - it was beautiful. Plus, this was my original "final year" playing Ted. So, I guess that may be my favorite year after all.

Erin Cline (performer): Each year was a favorite for different reasons, and I categorize them by the characters I played.

1.) "Lindsay Lohan" - It was Mike Aiello's last year directing and that was so special.

2.) "Smurfette" - The makeup was incredible and so challenging. I loved the character and the team, I was working with some of my closest friends.

3.) Swing - This was the hardest for me as an actor. I learned and performed, as relief for the hard cast actors, the roles of "Justin Bieber," "Selena Gomez," "Paula Deen," "Miley Cyrus," "Samara," and "Taylor Swift." What a great premise year. Camp Morningwood, I hold you in my heart.

4.) "Frozen" - This year was my dear friend Jason Horne shaking his head at me every time I put a sexual innuendo into the "Megan Fox" scene. It was also the debut of the musical parody of "Anna" and "Elsa" - man, that was well received! Side note: I am not a good rapper. There, I said it.

Jillian Gizzi's "Zombie Taylor Swift" wig and mask from 2013's Camp Morningwood.

Brett Waldon (performer): My year, 2017. The last show. I mean, if you have to have a first show to be truly cast in, what better time than the very last one when everyone is watching? It was emotional, hilarious, and bittersweet. It provided me with some of the most cherished moments I have of being onstage. The cast was so tight and supportive, and that by itself was incredible. But then, on top of that, we would have the input and support from the cast from years past, and I truly did feel like I was a tiny, insignificant part of HHN history.

Kari Ringer (performer): My favorite year is obviously 2017!

Megan Boetto (performer): Oh man. It's hard to pick a favorite year, but I still think my first year in 2014 holds a special place in my heart. I kind of just sat back and watched the veterans a lot so I could learn and try and keep up with everyone. Experiencing my first last show was the icing on the cake for that year.

Michael Thibodeau (performer): It's extremely hard to choose, and a lot of it blends together, but I really enjoyed 2015. "Kanye West" was a great villain, and rocking out as "Kurt Cobain" in the finale was pretty rad.

Jillian Gizzi (performer): It's a toss-up between 2013 and 2016.

Sharon Joy Yost (performer/ writer): God, that's like asking which one of your kids is your favorite. Conceptually, of the years I was a part of, I'd have to say 2013: Camp Morningwood. The opening alone was genius, having the scantily-clad lady versions of all the classic horror film icons. Everything about that year was perfection.

On a personal level, though, it would have to be 2014: Frat House. This year might be tied for first in concept as well. Even though it was completely different from the year prior, there was still a sense of perfect synergy in the whole show. I wasn't going to audition that year, but I'm so glad I did! This was the year I auditioned as full-figured "Elsa." My song parody ended up in the show, and it paved the way for me being the Bill & Ted co-writer for three years.

Walk me through the experience of writing a new Bill & Ted.

Jason Surrell (writer/director): Bill & Ted was always a writer's show in my mind, more so than a director's show, in that it was where most of the difficult choices had to be made. I would say that as a director as well, and that's not to take anything away from Paul who directed my first two scripts. As a writer you spend the year watching pop culture, the news - everything - to start to build up the cast list, who you want to include, and how. Because how we satirized something was almost more important than who we satirized. In 1995 we had a "Stallone" character who came out in a "Judge Dredd" helmet and "Rocky" boxing shorts - so that was a broad send-up of Stallone himself rather than one specific character. And then for two years in a row Dan Johnson did a number on William Shatner and we just changed out the costume: a "Starfleet" uniform one year and a police uniform the next - because it didn't matter if it was supposed to be "James T. Kirk" or "T.J. Hooker" - the point was that we were making a commentary on Shatner.

All that said, I was nervous when I began directing the show in 1996 because it was one of my very first directing jobs, so it was like jumping into the deep end while the pool was drained. But I found that my main focus was on successfully translating everything that works on the page to the stage without messing up a good thing. And Bill & Ted was always a very collaborative show for me. I'd open the first rehearsal by saying, "Your active, creative participation in this show is not encouraged... it's expected." We had the pick of the litter in terms of local talent, and you'd be an idiot not to tap into that. Now, you shouldn't take advantage and rely on them to do the work for you, but as long as I went into the first night of rehearsals with a strong script, I knew my cast was only going to make it better and funnier - not only through the course of rehearsals, but throughout the course of the run. They would find things and try them, and since I tried to be at the stage every night of the run, we could approve it and put it in right then and there. I knew I had to get it right as a writer and then not screw it up as a director. If I got into a disagreement with the writer, I could just throw myself off the set!

Sharon Joy Yost (performer/writer): As mentioned earlier, each year I would write my own monologues to audition with. A few days after auditioning for "Elsa" I had received a call from the writer and director, Jason Horne, saying, "So we had a "Frozen" section in the show already written, but we really like what you came up with. Can we use what you wrote, and, do you want to play "Elsa?" Of course the answer was "yes and yes." After the success of that year I was then asked to come on as a seasonal writer with Jason Horne.

The writing process meant my getting to work behind-the-scenes in Universal Orlando Creative with some of the most incredible people I looked up to and admired throughout the years, which is still so surreal to think about. Oftentimes Jason would already have the theme and general blueprint for the show and I would help fill in the holes. We would dialogue and, oftentimes in just joking around playing with ideas, would come up with solid material. We had a whiteboard where we'd write out popular shows, musicians, movies, and scandals throughout the year, and we were constantly adding and deleting. I just remember being so impressed with Jason's creative solutions and I feel that the success of the show is truly the genius of Jason Horne, and the writers that went before him. I'm glad I was able to contribute, but he was definitely the mastermind.

What did you love most about performing in the show?

Chris Leps (Bill): Aside from getting to perform with so many friends and talented people, what made it all so great was being a performer in the show was basically a front row seat. We all had our lines and choreography down pat, so we were able to really take in and enjoy what everyone was doing in their respective moments, and every night was slightly different. As with all live show settings, you got instant feedback from the audience and that level of energy really fueled our desire to make the most of all those beats. It really allowed for a fluid, organic performance within the structure of the dialogue and pacing.

Jason Ryan Perry (Ted): The audience. It's one of those shows that becomes more of a celebration and, most importantly, everyone is in on it. It's not one of those cheesy theme park shows where they press for audience participation, and it certainly wasn't the type of show to exclude the audience altogether. Though not as many shout-outs and such, it reminded me of something like The Rocky Horror Picture Show. If you've seen the final show of the run, then you know exactly what I mean.

Brett Waldon (performer): I love that I was given an opportunity to play a character from the movies that no one had seen or done before in this capacity. It was definitely nerve-racking knowing that fans hold the Grim Reaper close to their hearts, and rightfully so given how iconic William Sadler's performance is. The accent, the look, the personality - it was a fun challenge to honor the character while also imbuing him with my own energy and motivations. There was one show where a co-worker of mine - who definitely knew what I looked like - texted me afterwards and said, "I guess you weren't in that show. Sorry I missed you." Which, I guess if you want a compliment as an actor, that's a pretty good one.

Kari Ringer (performer): My boyfriend (now husband), Casey Tregeagle, was in Bill & Ted with me. Being able to perform such an iconic show with your significant other was such a memorable experience.

2017's Farewell Tour

Megan Boetto (performer): What I love most is how much fun we would all have, both onstage and off. We could play around but also give a stellar show. I would get butterflies every time "We Will Rock You" would come on, and hearing the crowd do the stomps in the stadium would get me pumped! The camaraderie between the performers and crew was a refreshing and family-like vibe, and was essentially what kept me coming back year after year.

Michael Thibodeau (performer): The best part about performing in this show has to be the audience. I know that sounds cheesy, but hear me out. We would perform seven shows a night and people would come back over and over again. It really felt like they were part of the show. They would say a lot of the lines with us and we really fed off of each other's energy. Also, whenever we would break onstage - it was so hard for me to not die laughing at some of the shit that would happen in the middle of a show. Finally, the costumes, lighting, and set designs always blew me away and lifted all of us up.

Jillian Gizzi (performer): My time, onstage and off, with the cast. Performing in this show is unlike anything else I've ever done, and it's fun to share the rush with a bunch of people who are being goofy right next to you.

Sharon Joy Yost (performer/writer): It was seeing the whole process come to fruition - from the creativity and excitement of auditioning, to getting the highly anticipated "congratulations" email, to all the hard work and possibilities thereafter. Every cast and crew member had such a love and appreciation for the show, and just being a part of everyone's skill set as a whole made for something so special.

The hours of rehearsals, learning choreography (which I loved), collaboration of ideas, set and light design, script re-writes, and the like - seeing all of it come together as a cohesive whole, in combination with the energy and 'good times' vibe from the crowd, is just freaking magical! It's the full circle experience of a job well done.

Sharon Joy Yost, Paul Joseph Gajda II, Jason Ryan Perry in 2014's Frat House

What are your fondest memories from the show?

Julie Zimmerman (creator): Watching the audience. Listening to the laughter. My most distinct memories are the mosquitos. One night I was out at the venue around midnight with the Art Director, John Paul Geurts, and he said, "Julie, call tech services or the audience will be eaten alive."

I loved seeing Jason Surrell excited about the script each year. He loved writing this show. The Tech Director would constantly shake his head at me because the venue still had to be used during the day for the stunt show. I remember the look on his face when I told him I wanted the Back to the Future DeLorean to come crashing out of the horse barn - he looked at me and said, "Where do I put the horses?" I said, "Anywhere but here."

Jason Surrell (writer/director): My fondest memories over the years boils down to the people, and by that I mean the actors and the audience. Late night rehearsals collaborating with "Bills" like Chris Leps and Joey Wolf, and Teds like James Keaton and Brian Skala to polish every moment we could into a gem. Wandering over to the adjacent Jaws: The Ride to watch them raise the animatronic sharks out of the water late at night - even knowing it was fake, we made sure not to go anywhere near the water.

Moments of transcendence in auditions like when Tyler Cravens came in and knocked it out of the park as "Fox Mulder" in front of British acting legend Miriam Margolyes, who happened to be sitting in on the auditions and leaned over to me and whispered, "He's very good." Or when Gina Galasso strolled into the room and was "Elaine Benes." And of course any moment in which the audience positively erupted as one, such as when "Bruce Willis", "Sylvester Stallone", and "Arnold Schwarzenegger" surrounded "John Travolta" and "Samuel L. Jackson" and "Sam" says, "What planet are you guys from?" "Arnold" takes just the right pause and answers, "Planet Hollywood," in a monotonous Terminator voice and the crowd goes wild. That's what it was all about.

1996's The Final Frontier

Chris Leps (Bill): So many memories and so much laughter, both onstage and backstage. It really was some of the most fun I ever had in my time as a live show performer.

One memory from 1997 stands out. Even though I auditioned for and was cast as Robin, I knew the Bill dialogue and staging from observation throughout rehearsals. For as fun as it was to play Robin, I missed performing Bill alongside my partner in crime, James Keaton. The show's writer and director, Jason Surrell, was and still is one of my closest friends, and he asked if I wanted to do one show as Bill, which of course I did!

The audiences always got bigger and more pumped up as Halloween drew closer, and this was one of those shows. Knowing it would be our only show together that year as Bill and Ted, James and I literally gave it everything we had. Our energy was through the roof and it felt like the audience went equally ballistic. It was truly awesome to be a part of that type of connection with the crowd and to perform at that level once again alongside James.

Jason Ryan Perry (Ted): This show has given me so many wonderful memories that hold a special place in my heart. One of my favorites was towards the end of the Farewell Tour, when Bill was talking to Death. Death says, "All of this will seem like a dream, but one you were lucky enough to have." I then came over to Bill and told him, "This has been a most excellent adventure." It's got to be one of my favorite, most heartbreaking scenes of all time.

Erin Cline (performer): Last year I built a Spotify playlist of songs from previous Bill & Ted shows that I have been a part of. I listen to that playlist often. To reminisce, to smile with happiness (and sometimes sadness), to attempt to remember portions of the choreography, and to reference my youth and the energy that is felt every time I think back on those years is what I'm most fond of.

Brett Waldon (performer): Every day held something memorable because we were all aware how limited our time together was. But I would have to say, hands down, my fondest memory is of the last few shows on the final night. Having the honor to stand next to P.J. and Jason (icons in their own right) as they delivered their final lines to an audience that adored them was absolutely incredible. I felt like I was cheating a bit being brand new to the show and getting to stand front and center amongst all the heavyweights and fan favorites from the last couple of years. The energy and love from those crowds was unforgettable.

Kari Ringer (performer): My favorite memory was the final show for two reasons. During my last "Moana" song, the entire amphitheater sang the words with me and I've never felt more like a rockstar. I broke character on mic and said, "This is so freaking cool." The second reason is for when every single cast member portrayed either Bill or Ted at the end. The audience didn't know we had added that element, and the amount of iPhone flashbulbs that went off was like the paparazzi on steroids. It felt so great to stand in unity with our cast in the same costumes and pay homage to the Bill & Ted legacy.

Megan Boetto (performer): Definitely the Farewell Tour. The last show especially, with half the cast dressed as Bill and the other half dressed as Ted. I think that the show will stay forever imprinted in my mind. The whole stadium on their feet cheering us on. Hugging the boys goodbye before our final bows and exiting through the phone booth. I will never forget that exact moment and how it all ended.

Michael Thibodeau (performer): The final night of the Farewell Tour was a whirlwind of emotions. I'm really honored to have been a part of that final year and I will cherish that night forever.

Jillian Gizzi (performer): Definitely my time with the cast and crew. I hate to say that it's fun when things go wrong, but... it's fun when things go wrong. It's nice knowing that the actors and techs around you will always help out and make sure the show resumes.

Sharon Joy Yost (performer/writer): Being a part of Bill & Ted made me face things I never thought I could do, or at least didn't feel qualified to do. I started off as a fan of the show and then was lucky enough to be in it. I got to sing, act, dance, and be a part of writing it. One year I even wrote all of the a cappella charts for the Pitch Perfect portions. My first year was Jason Horne's first year in charge - to be able to close out the show with him along with so many of the hardworking, talented, fun-loving people involved is something I hold close to my heart.

The culmination of my experience came during our last shows in the Farewell Tour. Every year, our last show would have a solid twenty minutes added because it was a time, as cast and audience, where we could go completely wild! The crowd would say every line with the actor speaking and be pleasantly surprised when a new line or joke was added. My journey came full circle when I got to surprise the audience by coming out as "Elsa" one last time. It had been three years since that role originated. Growing up, I wanted to be the female version of Weird Al - doing that role made it possible. I knew bringing her back would go over well, but I didn't expect what happened.

Kari Ringer was singing that year as "Moana" and as she implied my entrance the crowd started freaking out. Everyone shot out of their seats chanting, "Sing. Sing. Sing," to which I replied, "Oh, it's happening," and proceeded to sing. It had been three years since I sang that song and the audience remembered, singing back every word with me.

I will never forget that. All the years of hard work, building friendships, creating memories, growing in my craft, facing fears, working alongside some of the best of the best in Orlando (onstage and off), and having thousands of people acknowledge and appreciate your efforts and creativity was just something I can't fully put into words. I suppose my fondest memory is that of culmination, and the glory of our last show, in that moment.

Props from the show on display at the HHN 25 Preview in 2015

Chris - Which year was your final performance as Bill?

Chris Leps (Bill): 1997 was to be my last year, but at the time I didn't know it. I had been a live show performer for nearly eight years, and as enjoyable as it all was, it had run its course. My sights were set on a transition into television and film which had begun a few years earlier.

That October, I had the opportunity to be a lead stunt double on a feature film. It was the break I was looking for, so I had to take it. It was a gamble because it meant quitting my full-time job at Universal, but it paid off because I've been working in film and television ever since.

Having said that, I don't think I would have done anything different for my last Bill & Ted show. I always gave 110% regardless. Every October 31st, after the final show, we were always sad to say goodbye to it because we never wanted it to end. One aspect of youth, at least for me, is a more natural ability to live in the moment.

Jason, your return for the final year was so wonderful and bittersweet...

Jason Ryan Perry (Ted): I was lucky enough to be a part of the writing team for the show that final year along with Katie Ford, Joel Warren, and of course, Jason Horne. Unfortunately, when we first started writing the show in the spring, we had no idea that this year would be the last. So, in my mind, I was still "retired" as Ted, and I would just be there to help put some ideas on paper. The script ends up going through rewrites for various reasons, even after the run begins. A few months before rehearsals started I came in to do a script read for execs when Jason broke the news to me. I was already on the fence, but at that point I knew I had to come back.

At first it was rather difficult coming to terms with the fact that it was all coming to an end. Ultimately, I was just so proud to be a small part of something so big. To go from being cut from multiple auditions for the show I dreamed about, to eventually performing in it for nine years was just so surreal to me.

The last night of shows went by fast. I took a walk around the park after we did our mic checks and saw the line of people getting wristbands for our final performances. I silently sat in the stands for a few minutes before I got dressed and I could hear people waiting in the courtyard. I can't even remember how many shows we did that night, but I think I just smiled the entire time. I could probably talk about the last night of our run for hours, but I'll just say that it was really something extraordinary. I don't think there will ever be anything like it.

What do you think it was about that show that brought so many passionate fans back every year?

Julie Zimmerman (creator): Who doesn't love Bill & Ted? The show is pure satire. It's like watching Saturday Night Live with stunts and a brilliant musical finale. Nothing is off limits! It's pure gold.

Jason Surrell (writer/director): I think the reason the show endured and kept fans coming back comes down to two things: Bill and Ted themselves, and the show's format. These characters have always been inherently lovable and by virtue of their voices and physical appearances weren't too hard for other actors to capture, so the audience eagerly bought into it and went along for the ride. That's why it was always so important to keep Bill and Ted centerstage, literally and figuratively, and not allow them to get lost in the noise or shown up by colorful cameos.

We also made sure they had story, something to do, so that all the extra fun stuff was in context and made sense. The format, which we introduced in that second show and established as the formula that would remain for most of the run, was the "who's who" cast and how they would be incorporated into the story. The audience never knew who we would choose from the year in news and pop culture or how we might use them, so knowing the show was going to be different and, as it turned out, bigger and progressively more outrageous year after year kept people coming back and making it the number one offering at Halloween Horror Nights.

Chris Leps (Bill): A number of elements, I think. People were excited and curious to see what new storyline the show would offer each year and, along with it, what new characters would be involved. Unlike standard "lookalike" shows, it really was an "adventure" and an actual story about what Bill and Ted were experiencing at that time. It was a great canvas to paint on and create valid reasons for new characters to be brought in from their respective worlds.

Also, it was an immersive experience for the audience. They were, in many ways, an extension of the performance. I feel that aspect kept them coming back for more. Lastly, it was another medium in which to see so many iconic characters come together outside the realms of TV and film, so in that regard it was the ultimate mash-up!

Jason Ryan Perry (Ted): There were a lot of elements that came together to really make this particular show stand out. There's certainly not a lot of theme park shows that could get away with actors cussing onstage or half-naked dancers. Halloween Horror Nights itself has such a passionate fan base, and there are various reasons why people love the event. I think the same could be said for our show. It's a spectacle unlike anything they've ever seen. Some people enjoy the improv moments, some like the dancing, and others may be there just to rest their feet for a while. Either way, we're so incredibly grateful for all of the support that people have shown us over the years. It really meant everything, to all of us.

Erin Cline (performer): I think watching the show was a release for people - an opportunity to make fun of what scares us, excites us, and frightens us; which itself is an opportunity to unite us.

We Will Rock You. That is a promise, and a threat.

Merchandise for 2017's Farewell Tour

Brett Waldon (performer): This show was a release valve for all the pent-up anxiety we felt during the year. No matter what awful, annoying, and unbelievable headlines were being generated, we could always respond with, "I can't wait to see what Bill & Ted do with that this year," and it made people feel better. Then, for a magical shining few weeks every year, we could all laugh and be in on the jokes together.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure was cathartic, silly, mindless, biting, sexy, dopey, sneezy, and bashful. I think the Farewell Tour did everything right. It managed to be relevant and observe what was happening at present during that time while also acknowledging its past without being maudlin about it. Of course, Grim was written into the show before anyone knew it was the Farewell Tour, but it just seemed completely fitting that it worked out that way. I would always joke that I was the Ted McGinley of the show, coming into a successful series and having it end immediately upon my arrival. The joke never landed, but that's because my references aren't as timely as they should be.

The Farewell Tour, above all else, paid homage to the fans and to every performer that's ever been in a Bill & Ted show, past and present. It was a love letter to itself, but one that ends with the word 'sike!'

Kari Ringer (performer): I think Bill & Ted gave its audiences an outlet to collectively laugh off the craziness of the year. Whether it was political, musical, entertainment, or pop culture, we could call out their flaws and all have a laugh together. It helped us to not take ourselves too seriously. It was also nostalgic, as Bill and Ted are these likable iconic teens, and we get to see world events through their unique perspectives. The Farewell Tour gave audiences and cast members a chance to say a final goodbye to those icons and feel a sense of community with their fellow fans.

Megan Boetto (performer): It was the amount of things people could relate to through pop culture and current times. If something big happened, we would change minor parts of the show to stay relevant. The energy on the stage trickled into the stands, leaving audiences fully engaged with what we were giving to them. Fans would remember lines and recite them with the actors, we knew they were right there with us. The Farewell Tour was a perfect send-off for the Wyld Stallyns.

Michael Thibodeau (performer): I don't think there are many shows like Bill & Ted. The show is designed to be an escape from all the horror in the park. It doesn't take itself too seriously and the embodiment of the whole franchise is "be excellent to each other," and "party on" - you would have to truly go out of your way to not have a good time in that audience.

Jillian Gizzi (performer): I think Bill & Ted is a show you see just to have a good time, which is exactly why people like it. The Farewell Tour was bittersweet; I loved being a part of it, of course, but it was sad to see it go.

Sharon Joy Yost (performer/writer): As a cast, we had input. As the audience, we considered them an extension of the show; they played a character and a relationship was formed of mutual appreciation. There was a level of personal touch and interaction that you just don't get anywhere else. It was special because it was irreverent, silly, and relevant but it didn't take itself too seriously.

Perry and P.J. were just so lovable as Bill and Ted. Their portrayal had a way of making everyone feel at home and in on the jokes. We could break the fourth wall. There was structure, but also some liberties that could be taken that added a personal touch and an anticipation of "what are they going to do this time?!"

It's incredible to look at the evolution of Universal Studios and Halloween Horror Nights and how this show remained part of it for 26 years...

Julie Zimmerman (creator): I love Universal Studios Florida. Having helped build the place, there is a great deal of my DNA under all that concrete. I knew Universal would always own Halloween - Universal Pictures was all about Horror films from the 1920s to the 1950s. Horror films saved that studio. Halloween Horror Nights was created in an empty trailer on a borrowed computer, and a TV tray table served as my desk. I knew the event would be a success - for in a world of dancing mice and mermaids, you need a place to scream and cry out for your mother to save you.

I am proud of Halloween Horror Nights. I am amazed at the thousands upon thousands who adore the event. I had no idea the event was adored across the globe. HHN lives in my heart. I still watch Horror films, visit haunted locations, and design haunted houses in my mind.

Jason Surrell (writer/director): The show's personality changed over the years, right along with the folks who were creating it, and that's how it should be. It was always a little jarring to come back during the random years and see different iterations of Bill and Ted, and perhaps a different tone to their adventures, but the show changed with the times.

Being there for the last show of the night during the Farewell Tour in 2017 was actually pretty emotional for me. My father had passed away earlier that year and The Great Movie Ride had recently closed at Disney's Hollywood Studios - that attraction used my script for over half its run - so it felt like a year of goodbyes to powerful forces that had been in my life for a long time. I was just praying they wouldn't announce the closure of A Day in the Park with Barney anytime soon or I would have had to be committed. But it was an honor to be there with the audience to say goodbye to Bill and Ted and know that I had a little something to do with all the love and goodwill that filled The Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show stage that night.

Sharon Joy Yost (performer/writer): We can always live in the "what if" of a reunion tour. The likelihood of that happening is slim at best, but hearing people's ideas and seeing their faces light up with the possibility is most excellent indeed.

On a more serious note, the Farewell Tour needed major adjustments at the beginning of the run. The show had its debut in late September and was reworked when the tragedy of the Las Vegas shooting occurred; just one year after the horrific Pulse shooting that devastated our community. With the content of our show that year we changed the entire premise and added extra rehearsals to implement it. People wanted a safe place to escape the real world - to forget, to laugh, and to feel something other than the weight of the world on their shoulders. It was our goal to provide that. That relationship and understanding between cast, crew, and audience lent itself to the healing process. To live life celebrating what was good, and honoring what no longer was. Cast and audiences coped together. The old adage of "the show must go on" rang true. Each night we got to see people regain their strength and get some semblance of normalcy back, all leading up to the final farewell shows.

Our last shows were just something special; a time you wish you got to stay in forever. I mean, we had Greg Faucette as Rufus, we had every performer dressed as Bill and Ted for the finale, we had the most sentimental lines from the movie delivered by Death himself. We all celebrated each other in the bittersweet knowing that we got to be a part of something so special in our lifetime, something that quite possibly can't be topped. We felt the deep truth of the words uttered in the show that, "All of this will seem like a dream, but one [we] were lucky enough to have." It was a joy and privilege being a part of Universal's legacy and cult classic showtime history. It was more than a show. It was more than an experience. I have nothing less than a fond appreciation and deep level of gratitude having been part of something that truly made people's day a little brighter.

What were your thoughts on the new movie, Bill & Ted Face the Music?

Jason Surrell (writer/director): The absence of Halloween Horror Nights leaves an awful hole in a year filled with awful holes, cancelations, and postponements. It's not Fall or Halloween in Orlando without that event, even though we'd now be on year three without the boys.

It seems only fitting that Bill and Ted are back on the big screen in Face the Music, which probably not coincidentally deals with aging and the passage of time in a world when you theoretically have all the time in the world. Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves are around my age, maybe a little older, and roughly the same age as all the actors who played Bill and Ted for me, so the movie did have a slight "Twilight of Generation X" vibe to it. But unlike the first two films, this one came along after I had built up thirty years of love and affection for the characters in a film that felt very much like the first two, creating a narratively and emotionally cohesive trilogy, which gets harder to do the more time that passes, so in addition to being sweet, innocent, fun, and funny - all things we desperately need right now. The film was incredibly poignant for me for all those reasons. I absolutely loved it.

Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.

If you had to sum up Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure with only three words, what would they be?

Julie Zimmerman (creator): Excellent party, dudes!

Jason Surrell (writer/director): Oh, that's easy. "Party on, dudes!"

Chris Leps (Bill): Jubilation. Extraordinary. Nostalgic.

Jason Ryan Perry (Ted): "Excellent. Halloween. Adventure." Everyone involved from the cast, crew, and especially the fans truly made this a most excellent adventure.

Erin Cline (performer): Strange. Things. Afoot. #2020

Brett Waldon (performer): Party on, dudes!

Kari Ringer (performer): Be. Excellent. Always.

Megan Boetto (performer): Most. Excellent. Adventure.

Michael Thibodeau (performer): Bodacious one-of-a-kind experience.

Jillian Gizzi (performer): Best. Time. Ever.

Sharon Joy Yost (performer/writer): Party on, dudes!

Catch ya later, audience dudes!

45 Years of the Time Warp: A Conversation with Barry Bostwick

2020-09-10T00:12:00.018-07:00

(Illustration by Kaelin Richardson)

"It was great when it all began..." THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW is turning 45, and it is still guaranteed to thrill you, chill you, and fulfill you! As a brand new limited edition Blu-ray™ SteelBook® is being released and Fright-Rags celebrates the anniversary with newly designed merchandise, I thought it would be a good time to ask Barry Bostwick if he would be interested in expanding upon our original interview to discuss his starring role in the only film to ever continuously screen in select theaters for forty-five consecutive years. This cult classic musical/science fiction/comedy/horror phenomenon is far from the only unforgettable picture Mr. Bostwick has brought his incredible talents to - in today's conversation we deep-dive a rich career that spans decades and includes collaborations with Stanley Donen, Hal Needham, Michael J. Fox, and Rob Zombie on both the big and small screen. The living legend himself was kind enough to talk everything from Pixar to his most obscure indie films, and what set life is like for an actor in the days of COVID-19.

You mentioned you've been filming and I'm wondering how big of an impact COVID-19 has had on the production experience.

It's a totally different atmosphere. Before we showed up on the set, the cast and crew all had to get COVID tests and if any of them tested positive we couldn't start the production. Every three days into shooting we all had to have the tests done again. We shot for five weeks in Riverside for a show called The Potwins, a series about three generations of guys in a family. I play the old hippie father who is always throwing in 60's analogies and points of view and the youngest one is a fifteen-year-old conservative shit heel who drives everyone crazy. Kevin Sorbo plays the father who tries to keep everyone communicating. It could be a very fun show, we'll see.

Getting back to your question - I was talking to the producer and at the end of five weeks he had put in an additional $120,000 just in testing, hiring the nurses, and COVID monitors on the set - more than he had ever budgeted for. You would show up in makeup and hair, they'd take your temperature and ask you questions, and you would have to keep your mask on, even through rehearsals. At the last minute, just before the cameras rolled, a COVID person would come by and take your mask off and put it in a special bag with your name on it and you'd do the scene, immediately putting your mask back on right after. It was a miracle that no one tested positive for five weeks because it was a young crew who were mostly away from home. But we did it and it's going to be good, it's just not as much fun making movies this way. I still don't know what the first and second director, or the camera guys, looked like because they never took their masks off.

(Jason Anders and Barry Bostwick)

Did you film the entire first season or just the pilot?

We filmed a pilot about two years ago and we just made the first season, eight half-hour episodes, and they're already talking about doing a second season. There hasn't been much press on it yet because they are waiting to see where it lands.

Something else that has changed in the world is that Disney now owns The Rocky Horror Picture Show...

Yeah and I don't know what they are going to do with it, whether they'll stay interested in it or just let it go. It's our 45th Anniversary this year and I know that the producer, Lou Adler, is trying to do something for it like a simultaneous screening at a hundred theaters around the country, but it's just a piss poor time to celebrate anything like that. For instance, I had one-nighters during Halloween where I would go around to theaters with a shadow cast and give a Q&A. I did four or five of them and they're a lot of fun, but you have to go to a theater where people sit side by side - but the theater owners just can't do it if they don't sell out. I do it just because I want to keep the film out there and going. I'm not sure that the suits have the drive or ingenuity for it.

It's a phenomenon and I don't know how it's lasted this long, other than the fact that it has affected the lives of the kids who love it. We are now on our third generation of people seeing it. The last few screenings I've been at... when they asked for virgins I swear at least a third of the audience all under the age of twenty-five came up on stage, all there to have the same kind of fun evening that we did forty-five years ago. This whole new generation is falling into it. While working on The Potwins there were several twenty-somethings who were gaga over it, showing me pictures of themselves when they first went to see a screening dressed up as the characters - these are kids who are either just out of college or still in college.

Nell Campbell, Patricia Quinn, Meatloaf, and myself are still out there hustling, as is Tim Curry. I'm doing a drive-in gig in Middletown, New York later this month - that's about the only way we've been able to organize it is through a drive-in. People can still dress up and dance, and we'll have a shadow cast doing a show in front of the screen, it'll be fun and something new.

I have a feeling that Rocky Horror is going to be around for quite a bit longer.

(Best Buy's Blu-ray™ SteelBook®)

Has your perspective on The Rocky Horror Picture Show changed over the course of 45 years?

I've always loved the movie. I've always thought that it was strange and trendsetting, and that it spoke to subjects that need to be talked about. I just think that it's a damn good film. If you look at it frame-by-frame you'll see the extremely innovative approach they took to making a stylistic musical. The entire cast and crew were at the top of their game in trying to push the envelope. I appreciate it not only for the themes, but as a piece of film history.

That movie is still, to this day, unlike anything else.

I believed in it, and I also think that when we were doing it that we had no idea the repercussions. We were just trying to make a one-off goofball send up of all these film genres. I don't think that Richard O'Brien or Jim Sharman thought that deeply about the psychosexual meaning, because back in 1975 everything that's in the movie was done on the street, it's not like it was anything totally new - look at David Bowie and Queen who were both pushing the sexuality of rock & roll. The film was simply a reflection of that time as a garage band musical. Get six guys who can almost play their instruments and they can all do Rocky Horror.

Our first conversation took place at Spooky Empire in Orlando, where you were flooded with fans of all ages. Do you do a lot of conventions like that one?

I've done maybe three or four over the years. It's always fun to see that the fans are so adamant about The Rocky Horror Picture Show, though I find I'm signing a lot more pictures now where they're saying, "Would you sign this for my mom?" There are ten-year-olds coming up to me saying, "My parents took me when I was seven," to which I respond, "Your parents should be arrested." The wide range of ages for that movie is one of the reasons why I really love it.

(The Rocky Horror Picture Show - 1975)

Would you say that you're more recognized for The Rocky Horror Picture Show or Spin City?

It depends on the age group, really. If you're between your 50s and 70s, unless you have many tattoos and body piercings, then it's usually Spin City. The Rocky Horror Picture Show being forty-five years ago... it's incredible that people still know me from that.

Even Universal Orlando has midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show during Halloween Horror Nights on AMC CityWalk.

The problem with doing it live is that people feel the need to talk back at the stage. As an actor that's pretty disconcerting, it's hard to say your lines when the audience is screaming at you. I saw it in New York a few years ago when they did it like that. I'd much rather perform it on film and know that I'm not going to be bothered.

This movie is referenced in so many other films and TV shows, from Fame (1980) to The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) and from The Simpsons to Glee.

Me and Meatloaf were in that episode, The Rocky Horror Glee Show... Meatloaf and I... Mr. Loaf & Mr. Bostwick. I think it's an honor. It's a wonderful, iconic film. I'll never get tired of watching it because it's a great movie with a lot of color, style, and great music. It's such an original one-off movie. I'm proud of it.

(Barry Bostwick photographed by Mary Bluhm)

What originally sparked your interest in becoming an actor?

It was probably a girl, I'm sure. I think it was. In high school my girlfriend was a cheerleader, singer, and dancer and I did this dance studio thing with her. I was always a singer, I sang folk music and stuff. We sang together in high school plays and then community theatre. After four years of college I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from a school in San Diego (Allianz International University) then went to New York University's Graduate Acting Program to work on my Master's and started working in the city doing a lot of theatre. So, women.

Do you have a favorite actor or performance?

Probably anything that Jimmy Stewart has done. I just think he's so genuine.

You're very Jimmy Stewart-esque.

I probably am. But then Tom Hanks came into the picture and now he gets all the Jimmy Stewart parts. I get them on television and he gets them in the movies.

But you also land pictures like Rob Zombie's 3 from Hell (2019).

That man has very particular tastes. He's a nice guy, I really like him. He's one of those guys who has a certain public persona but in reality he's not that at all. He's very down to earth. He has that fandom quality about him for everything he does. He does it for the love of the genre, not just to make money.

(Fantastic Planet - 1973)

One of your films recently had a beautiful 2K Blu-ray™ restoration on The Criterion Collection, Fantastic Planet (1973).

It was so long ago and all I did was the voice over for the lead character. I came in and dubbed it for the U.S. release because it was a French film. I was blown away by the artwork, it is beautiful and disturbing at the same time. It was a huge step forward in animated feature films in exploring those themes and concepts.

I am a huge fan of your film Road Movie (1973) and I have so many questions about the production of it...

I have to be honest with you, I can't really answer any of those questions. I was shooting the film during the day and then rushing back to New York to do Grease on Broadway every night. It all was a blur.

(1973's Road Movie is an underdiscussed masterpiece)

I just remember that Joseph Strick got his money from the trucking company in his name, and therein lay his interest in the film. It could have been a romantic view or bleak look back at something he experienced. I honestly don't remember how I got the part, or how I even got to the set every day in Jersey. I don't even think I saw the movie until years later. I am glad you appreciate the film. It makes me want to go back and see it again.

You've done a lot of iconic voice work, from the series Phineas and Ferb to The Incredibles 2 (2018). What do you enjoy most about voicing animation?

You don't work very hard for the money. (laughs) But that work is so hard to get, you have to know people and you need to have had a history with it. I have a fully lined, soundproof booth here at my house in Florida, and within a week's time I will audition three or four times for animated series and games, and I don't land them... just like most actors. The people that land them are the handful who do it all the time and are trusted. It is the hardest part of show business to ever break into. I have been trying to find steady voice work for almost twenty years. Most actors who work in voice overs, that's their profession separate from us, unless you're talking about one of the big guys. If I can land a couple per year I'm happy.

Are you ever approached by fans about your movie Megaforce (1982)?

Yeah, there's a lot of fans for it out there. The general attitude about it is that it's over the top and silly, laughable in all the wrong ways. I like it because it's tongue-in-cheek and not to be taken seriously. I think the people who take it seriously are the ones who make those other comments.

(Megaforce - 1982)

From the standpoint of an action movie, I think that Hal Needham did a brilliant job with all the cars and military equipment. The only thing he didn't think about was the story. We ended up writing the script in the car going to the set every day where he was blowing something up, which I think was the only problem with it. A lot of the funny iconic lines came from the actors asking, "Well, what do I say now?" Meanwhile, Hal is off riding a motorcycle across the desert.

It's a movie that if you were twelve-years-old and you saw it on the big screen with your dad, you'd go home and outfit your bike to make it look like a flying motorcycle. It was a moment that you could go see something that was G-rated yet a lot of fun, one that I constantly hear, "It's a movie my father and I watch all the time because it reminds us of our relationship when it came out." It's just one of those movies that if you got to it at the right time, before you got too jaded, I think you'd really enjoy it.

It's so cool that you got your very own video game from it.

I have a copy of that, I just don't have the console to play it on. There's a beautiful LaserDisc of it out there, too.

We're actually making a documentary about that film. We've worked for two years interviewing everyone involved and we're calling it "The Documentary That Nobody Asked For". It's a fun film because it's not just about the movie, it's about this guy who was so affected by it when he was twelve-years-old that as he grew up he started collecting everything that had to do with Megaforce. Now he owns three of the cars, three of the motorcycles, and every prop he could find. And he's not crazy! He's in the special effects business. He came to me with the idea of making a film, and it became more about him being this super fan and getting into all these other people's heads who made this thing who were so interesting and life-changing for him. By the end of the film he thinks he is my character - he grows the beard, and he and I ride off on matching motorcycles into the sky.

Is there a plan for releasing this documentary yet?

Not yet. It's being produced by Spare Change Films, the people who made Life After Flash (2017).

(Movie Movie - 1978)

Tell me about being directed by Stanley Donen for Movie Movie (1978).

He was a tough director. It was two movies in one, one in color and one in black and white, and we shot the color one first and in-between the two he fired everyone because he didn't think they were doing a good enough job. Ultimately a sweet man, but he wanted it totally his way.

I got the part out of the blue because somebody had suggested my name to him when I was just off of Broadway. He offered me the part without my having to audition. He peopled the thing with very interesting actors, it was the first time that I had worked with so many old stars in something - Red Buttons, George C. Scott, Art Carney... the list goes on and on. Was I intimidated? Yeah, I sure was. I was young but he treated me well. My one disappointment is that we had a long dance number on a roof called "Just Shows to Go Ya" which was a seven-minute number. We spent weeks on it, and when the final movie came out it was cut down significantly with no dancing, it was just around the piano. I was disappointed in that because had worked so hard on it. I heard a rumor it was left on the cutting room floor, I hope it's not true but if it is... goodbye.

That's happened with every musical I've been in, including Rocky Horror. My song "Once In A While" was cut from the bedroom scene. I know that things are normally cut because they are slowing the movie down, so I don't begrudge. I just would like to have seen the final product to see what it was like and maybe have some of that film on my reel way back when. We were young bucks trying hard.

Movie Movie was strange but I think it's an excellent film that was just released in the wrong season and they didn't put enough money into it. I think it was just a little too ahead of its time in terms of its tongue-in-cheek attitude. It was sending up, in very subtle ways, those two genres of film - the Broadway musical and the gritty boxing movies of John Garfield. People who are movie aficionados and interested in the history of film will always mention it to me. I don't think it's been released on Blu-ray, but if they ask me about it I'll mention your name and say, "Come on, he wants it! Give it to him."

(Some Guy Who Kills People - 2011)

Since we last spoke I watched a picture for which you were nominated for Fangoria's Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actor, Some Guy Who Kills People (2012). Was that film as much fun to make as it is to watch?

Oh yeah, it was. You can make those movies in ten days. The writer Ryan Levin and I became good friends, and the director Jack Perez and I have done three films together since then. It was such an interesting balance of realistic family stuff and mystery - it's sort of a genre-busting movie. I thought my character was interesting because he didn't belong in the police department. There was something more philosophical about him, he was distracted and detached, which I liked. I liked his sermonizing about things.

Did you interact with John Landis on that film at all?

Never met him. He was the Executive Producer but he wasn't around. I did another movie with the same director called Blast Vegas (2013) with Frankie Muniz where Landis and Joe Dante played the opening scene.

Perez and Levin should be making major films - they haven't quite reached that point yet, but I recognize their talent. They started with The Asylum films, which we've all done, but Jack Perez now teaches directing classes at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and I think Ryan Levin has been working in animation.

I love The Asylum...

I did a real interesting one called 2010: Moby Dick (2010) - the cheesiest Moby Dick you could ever see, it is as bad as those stupid sharks falling out of the sky. Some of the performances in it are quite good, and then unfortunately they'll cut to this giant whale jumping over an island and you'll think, "Well, there goes my Academy Award." It's worth seeing just for shits and giggles.

(Spin City - ABC Series)

Let's talk about being a part of the cast of Spin City...

Spin City was such a good, deep bench of actors. They could throw a storyline to any one of the cast members in an A-story and they would carry the whole show. That's what was wonderful about the show, you never felt like you had to make up for somebody else. You were always on par with everybody.

They were all such brilliant comedians. Each character was unique unto themselves. You never felt that you were overlapping somebody in comedy or character, like so many of those sitcoms do - you know, the three guys in an office who's lines could be interchangeable. Each character on this show had a unique point of view.

I grew up watching Spin City with my family on Tuesday nights, so it is surreal to be standing here talking to Mr. Mayor. Does it ever really register that you were in so many homes every week?

Not really. It's hard to get on the other side of the tube and see it from that standpoint. I'm able to pretty much divorce myself from the characters that I play - even with Spin City I probably couldn't even tell you more than five episodes of what happened. Television just moves so fast that by the time you finish one and are onto the next, you forget what happened the previous week.

But what was it like being in people's homes each week? With that particular show, the problem was that people always thought I was as stupid as the character. I tried to explain to them that the character wasn't really stupid, he was just entitled. He was rich. Everybody had been doing everything for him. Occasionally he would solve the problem, but if you didn't see that episode you'd say that the guy is just a ditzy, incapable character. I always tried to make sure every five-to-ten episodes that they made you believe the guy could actually be the mayor of a major city and that it wasn't just totally being run by the Deputy Mayor. I don't know if I was successful at it, but we were successful at getting laughs.

(Barry Bostwick photographed by Mary Bluhm)

I personally think Mayor Randall Winston is one of the funniest television characters of all time.

Oh really? Neat! Thank you.

I noticed that there is an actual Randall Winston in the credits of the show...

He was one of the producers on it, the Associate Producer, and they named me after him. He became the producer on Scrubs and then on Cougar Town. He's a tall Black guy and I love him. He's one of my good friends, just a neat guy and very sweet. In terms of character types we were so different but, still, I am so happy to have been his namesake.

What was it like filming the iconic episode, Radio Daze, where you and Michael J. Fox jumped into the Hudson?

That was a tough episode because Michael was sick and nobody really knew it, and I had just had an operation for prostate cancer about a month earlier and nobody really knew that. When he said, "Let's do it again!" I said, "No, Mike. I don't wanna jump of this pier again!" He was gung ho for it.

The problem with that scene, if there was a problem, was that we looked at the survey the day before we went out to film it and when we showed up the day of filming, the tide was down about ten feet from where it had been before. So all of a sudden the jump was huge, like we're jumping off the top of a building! They had scuba divers down there ready to get us. I was a little scared taking that jump - when we jumped we needed to hold each other's hand.

(Barry Bostwick photographed by Mary Bluhm)

What advice do you have for all of the actors who are currently out of work due to COVID-19.

I think the most important thing is that you need to have a good hobby. Let this be a warning that show business goes in and out, and you don't want to be hanging by the phone during these times waiting on someone to call. You want to use your creativity for something else - whether it's ceramics, painting, or building cars. Use this time creatively to establish something in your life that you have more control over. You don't have any control over show business unless you're the producer/director. You may give the best performance in the world but it won't always cut that way. You can't put your whole life into what you do. You have to find something in your life that's going to feed you in other ways.

I've found that in ceramics and pottery, and before that it was sculpting. I have a really nice outlet with ceramics and I've been doing it for twenty-something years. I have a studio at the house and whenever I'm not acting I'm creating stuff there. I can create and destroy my pots, there's nobody telling me how I should be making things, or what shape and color. It's been a lifesaver over the last thirty years of my life because I have something to fall back on that gives me energy and fulfills that creative side of my soul.

So that's what I do - I say get a hobby! A good hobby. Don't take it too seriously. Another thing you can do is read as many books as you can and watch as many YouTube videos about acting that you can. Or spend the time learning dialect. Take six weeks and work on a different dialect. Look in the mirror and see how somebody would cast you. Have the ability to portray different characters in your back pocket. This is the time to learn it, not the night before the audition.

(Jason Anders and Barry Bostwick)

What happens with your pottery once a piece is completed?

Some of the bigger ones I will give to charity. I have sold them in the past, but I've never been able to sit down and get a whole production. We were supposed to have an art tour a few months ago here in Florida but that was canceled. I think eventually I will come up with some designs that are a little different, but I'm not much of a salesman. Maybe I'll get an online store. I live in an artsy town called Mount Dora and there's all kinds of studios and art fairs here, but I don't see myself standing underneath a tent on Saturdays and Sundays selling things. Right now I'm just working on new shapes, I just got my kiln up and running, and I'm experimenting and relaxing through the process.

What future projects do you currently have in the works?

I just shot another pilot called Snow Birds, but I haven't seen any of the edits yet. I'm also working on a one-man show about Oscar Hammerstein that I might do a production of in a local theatre called Oscar. So there's a lot of little things, but what I really want to do right now is make pots.

How would you sum up your life so far with only three words?

Not over yet.

*Interview conducted October 9, 2011 & September 3, 2020.

Inside Severin Films: A Conversation with Co-Founder David Gregory

2020-07-01T14:53:00.004-07:00

(Illustration by Kaelin Richardson)

Devoted to rescuing and releasing the most controversial and provocative films from around the world, Severin Films was co-founded by today's guest, David Gregory, in 2006 with Carl Daft and John Cregan as an answer to our home entertainment prayers for physical media that would honor the love and admiration we collectors and lovers of cinema have for our cult classics. What a time for cinephiles to be alive, when we can load our checkout carts with Lina Romay pins, Laura Gemser t-shirts, Al Adamson box sets, and Severin nipple pasties - we're not worthy! But how does one find themselves at the epicenter of bringing obscure, rare, forgotten pictures to their fully restored Blu-ray glory for future generations of film fans devour, accompanied by thoughtfully and beautifully produced bonus features such as the brand new feature-length documentary, Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson? The director of this and several other wonderful films discusses his journey on the road to co-founding Severin, and what the mouth-watering future of this badass boutique label has in store for us.

Jason Anders: What initially sparked your interest in pursuing a career in home entertainment, and which aspects of the job have kept you invested after all this time?

David Gregory: Carl Daft and I went to school together and always shared a passion for horror films, much to the chagrin of our mothers, not helped by the fact that horror was considered the source of all society's ills during that period in the U.K. according to the press, the moral do-gooders, and the government.

Once films started to be banned in the mid-80s and hard to come by through legal channels, we started trading tapes with similarly minded horror fans up and down the country through a network surreptitiously enabled by fanzines like Shock Xpress and Samhain and all-night festivals like Shock Around the Clock and Black Sunday. We would scour video shops for banned films that the owners would often have hidden in the back and buy them. One day this search took me to a small distributor called VPM in Nottingham, where we lived. I got along with the owner, Andrew Clarke, and he saw that I was passionate about movies and how the business side of it worked. I started working there as a summer job. It was there that I learned about rights and labels and such. At the time, there was so much bootlegging going on because all of the labels had gone out of business after the Video Recordings Act 1984 was introduced by Parliament because they couldn't afford to get all of their product rated and make the cuts required, so the old masters were passed around being retitled and repackaged. There were a lot of budget releases at every gas station, every liquor store... wherever you could get tapes.

Andrew had shitty, cut masters of things like The Beyond (1981), Eaten Alive! (1980), Blood Bath of Dr. Jekyll (1981), and Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972), repackaging and selling them in bulk for cheap. I wanted to give them proper covers with original artwork and market them as the horror classics they were, but Andrew said if I wanted to do that I should actually buy the rights and put them out properly. Before long I was talking to rights holders. Eventually Carl and I pooled our resources and started our company, Blue Underground, and its subsidiary label, Exploited, on which we released 14 titles or so. It was tough going because the U.K. was still very censorious and the BBFC did not see eye to eye with us on the merit of the movies we were putting out. We also started putting extras on our VHS releases such as interviews with filmmakers at the end of the movie. This is what led us to doing our first feature documentary, Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000), which in turn led to me being hired by Bill Lustig to do extras for the Anchor Bay special edition DVDs that he was producing in the early 2000s. I moved to the U.S. and Lustig formed Blue Underground US. I was with him there as disc producer for the first four or five years - then Carl, John Cregan and I formed our own label, Severin.

Walk me through the process of how a Severin Blu-ray is produced once the rights for a film has been secured.

Once we license a title I'll let the team know that it's in the pipeline. The Severin team is nine people including me, plus a bunch of additional people we work with regularly for editing, design, authoring, and shooting. Between us we come up with who can be approached for interviews and we decide how deep we want to go. If it's an Italian film we consult with our longtime featurette co-producer, Federico Caddeo at Freak-O-Rama Video Productions in Italy, and he will let us know who he can approach.

The mastering is different for every film. Sometimes we get the raw scan in from the territory where the negative resides. Other times the negative, or best element, will be shipped to the office where we will scan it on our 4K scanner, which we purchased a couple of years ago and has enabled us to do a lot more projects than when we had to rely on outside scanning for cost and time reasons. But it's often not as simple as getting access to the negative. Sometimes the negative is lost or unavailable for some reason. So we then have to go on a hunt for the best possible element in existence. In some cases this might be a release print, but we do try and access a pre-print element, at the very least, where possible. Once we have the raw scan files we send to one of our three colorists and restorationists and the sound goes to a sound professional for clean-up. Were it that simple, though - we have to compare our master to all existing releases because so many of these films were released in different versions around the world. There are a lot of very vocal trolls out there who demand you be hanged in the town square if you dare to be missing a sound effect or seconds of a car driving by, so we try to be as thorough as possible in checking we have everything on there in the feature and give the best presentation we can.

And of course the extras are particularly important to us. The feature is the main draw, but as we are preserving exploitation cinema history we are passionate about getting firsthand recollections on record while we still can. We treat our featurettes like mini-productions, or sometimes massive productions, because it is thoroughly unacceptable the quality of some of the extras on a lot of labels' otherwise terrific discs. Extras are always essential for us and treated with care.

Tell me about the conception of the Severin logo.

John Cregan, our third partner, and I were still working at Blue Underground when we were spitballing for a company name. I had come up with Blue Underground as a combination of Blue Velvet (1986) and Velvet Underground. John and I, both big fans of Velvet Underground, decided to go through their catalog to find inspiration. We got as far as "Venus in Furs" from their debut album and "Severin" was the standout word, it was also the name of the protagonist in the original masochist text, so it seemed ideal. He found a designer, a lady named Wanna Cam Cam, and we told her the name and source of inspiration (and what it is we do), and she came back with a bunch of comps - the Severin lady is immediately the one that grabbed us. Then my good friend Mark Raskin, who scores most the films I make, composed the accompanying jingle and Bob's your uncle.

What are the three Severin titles you are most proud of?

Santa Sangre (1989)

Combat Shock (1986)

Threads (1984)

How has COVID-19 affected Severin?

The biggest hit we took was the cancelation of conventions. We do a lot of them and they provide a decent chunk of income, but they also allow us to meet likeminded people face to face. We chat about what's coming up, spread the good word, get ideas of titles to go after or merch to do, and they're really the only place where fans of the movies we put out can browse our stuff all in one place, check out the covers, learn about the movies, and then pick up what they want. Other things have slowed down such as manufacturing of boxes, shipping discs from overseas, and getting scans done in Rome... so there's been quite a few hurdles and some delays. But overall we had so much in-house already that we've been able to continue with production. The team has been working harder than ever to keep our products moving towards delivery so that we can continue to release as much as possible. Everyone has been working from home, which many of the team do anyway because we are spread all over. Only Zach and I work out of the Severin office in L.A. on a full-time basis. Nicole is the Production Manager/Coordinator, she ties all the pieces together logistically. Carl in the UK handles contracts and accounts. Andrew is the Post Supervisor, coordinating elements between the various people who edit, quality control, color correct, restore, and author. Josh handles our social media and public relations and also produces some special features. Zach edits and is quality control.

Kier-La produces special features and is working on a documentary feature on folk horror. Jamie edits. Jason and Amanda, who run the web store (www.Severin-Films.com) and oversee physical packaging and shipping for our direct order customers, have been working nonstop so that we can keep things going, even if the outside world is in turmoil. Jim Kunz authors and handles any technical panics we may have. Johnnie Buell and Marc Morris author, too. Crystal and Earl design. Warren and Lannie color. Everyone has been plowing forth and being more productive than ever. During this time, we released our most ambitious project ever in Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection, as well as a box set of Umberto Lenzi/Carroll Baker gialli and a bunch of single discs which come with merch items and whatnot. I am very proud to be working with all these wonderful and dedicated people.

Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson is easily, along with Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau, one of the most fascinating documentaries I've ever seen on a filmmaker. Do you plan to direct more Severin documentaries moving forward?

Well thank you, my biggest passion is filmmaking and the documentary on filmmaking has turned out to be my thing. Didn't plan it that way, but I've been at it pretty much nonstop since Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000). After doing many, many short featurettes I was always looking for a subject which would be worthy of the feature-length treatment. It couldn't just be your common or garden 'making of' story, it had to be something that would stand on its own and justify that length. I'd done The Godfathers of Mondo (2003) for Blue Underground's The Mondo Cane Collection, which I was very happy with but which didn't get any play outside of the set, really. We also should have done The Joe Spinell Story (2001) as its own feature, as he was a fascinating subject. That 50-minute piece for the Anchor Bay Maniac (1980) release is still one of my favorites. Anyway, the point being that there were some warm up projects - Ban the Sadist Videos! (2005) was another that I thought could play separately from the films they were accompanying.

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau (2014) was the first one we took out to festivals as its own documentary feature, the response to it was very positive and it subsequently went far and wide. I was looking for the next subject that could match that in filmmaking insanity, and once Al Adamson came into my orbit it was pretty clear this would be it. So began a three and a half year process of tracking everyone down for interview, finding all the films and scanning them - it was a very rewarding process. One advantage of doing docs like this as opposed to narrative features is that they're not a sprint, they're a long-distance run. You can take the time to get everything you need and, as was the case here, reshoot some elements and make sure you get what you want over time. I was making three documentary features concurrently while shooting Blood & Flesh. I also did Master of Dark Shadows (2019) for MPI Media Group as a work for hire, which was completed first, and I also shot Enter the Clones of Bruce (2020) about the decade of faux Bruce Lee movies which hit the market worldwide after Lee died, starring the likes of Bruce Li, Bruce Le, and Dragon Lee. That one is now deep in post and should be done by the end of this year.

What are three movies you love to recommend?

Bitter Moon (1992)

Bad Boy Bubby (1993)

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

For those interested in working in the world of home entertainment in some capacity, what is your advice on skills and education they should acquire to pursue that career path?

If you want to be in the boutique label world and consider yourself a filmmaker, make a featurette or two, or documentary, on a subject you're passionate about. There's a lot of people out there who are "scholars" or can stick a phone in front of some actor or director and ask them to talk about a given film, but there are very few who can actually deliver a well produced, informative piece on that given film. I'm always looking for filmmakers who can do something with what may seem like a basic assignment. If you're thinking of starting a label, know that it's not a quick way to make a lot of money. We all do it because we can make a living doing what we love, and for the most part fans of the movies we put out get a kick out of what we do. It may seem like there is a lot of negativity, but that's usually because the eunuchs from the harem in forums have very loud voices, a lot of free time, and a whole lot to say on the internet. If you're a self-appointed expert, better to go out and do it rather than moan in a vacuum that you could do better.

Which upcoming Severin titles are you most excited for?

Oh man, so many - but quite a lot not announced yet. The Andy Milligan box set is finally coming together after a few years of work. The first proper U.S. disc release of the batshit unofficial sequel, Nosferatu in Venice (1988) starring crazy-as-ever Klaus Kinski, accompanied by a documentary on the last years of Kinski. The remasters and first U.S. disc releases of Álex de la Iglesia's Perdita Durango (1997) and The Day of the Beast (1995) are so close now - the nightmare we had on those with elements paid off because Perdita Durango in particular not only looks better than ever, it's also a few seconds longer than any previous disc release anywhere. More Italian classics well overdue for the Blu-ray treatment, some Christopher Lee rarities well overdue for an upgrade, our own movie The Theatre Bizarre (2011) is finally coming home, along with accompanying releases of features made by some of the directors. Some French, Czech, South African, British, Spanish and plenty more U.S. films in the works.

Follow Severin Films on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and visit www.Severin-Films.com for exciting release announcements and special offers.

Oh My Debut Darling, CLEMENTINE: A Conversation with Writer/Director Lara Jean Gallagher

2020-06-12T15:04:00.002-07:00

(Illustration by Kaelin Richardson)

Clementine, the incredible debut feature film from writer/director Lara Jean Gallagher, premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and is the newest release from the most intriguing and risk-taking distributor out there, Oscilloscope Laboratories. Gallagher, originally from rural Pennsylvania, describes herself as being "raised on a steady stream of television, polka, processed food, and wooded warfare" with her three sisters. Her first feature immediately became one of my favorite pictures of 2020, even the trailer left me thinking, "how did she do that?" Thankfully, she was kind enough to let me ask her all about the movie and more...

Jason Anders: Do you recall what first inspired you to put pen to paper on Clementine?

Lara Jean Gallagher: I really wanted to make a feature film and thought that a way to be able to shoot it no matter what budget we had would be to keep the cast small and limit the locations. I wanted to explore a complicated female relationship - one where the dynamic shifted almost constantly. This is something that I think is true about female relationships (sexual and otherwise) and something that I really hadn't seen on screen very much. That motivated me to start writing and using my personal experiences to anchor the emotions to something otherwise fictional.

You've mentioned before that television and books had more of an influence on you growing up than movies. Did any of these influence your style?

Yes! I watched an incredible amount of television growing up. I wouldn't say that any of the shows I loved inspired my style for this film, but I think they definitely inspired me to pursue creating my own stories. TV with female and kid characters seemed more accessible to me than movies and helped me to believe that I could do it too. One of my favorite shows growing up was The Adventures of Pete & Pete on Nickelodeon. Sometimes I think the show's oddness and dryness inspired much of my humor and way I think and am inspired by mundane, suburban experiences, though I can't say that that necessarily seeped into Clementine. Maybe on the next one!

Was there ever a doubt in your mind that this was the first story you wanted to tell as a feature?

I was actually developing another script that I thought was going to be my first feature. It is a feature version of a short film that I made that is semi-autobiographical about two young sisters dealing with the death of a neighborhood bully in tandem with a scary medical diagnosis of their own. I realized that this story was a bit too big to tackle as a first feature for budget reasons, which is the main reason why I challenged myself to write Clementine - something decidedly contained and with way less characters.

What was the biggest challenge of writing Clementine?

Dealing with the aftermath of a breakup that happens entirely offscreen before the movie begins was a definite challenge. I wanted this unseen thing to feel like a giant weight and something that the entire film hinges on, yet I didn't want to get into scenes that tried to explain something that I wanted to feel one-sided and confusing to my main character. Dealing with the emotional aftermath of something is a hard thing to do since showing is way better than telling in movies.

Are the any directors who you look to for inspiration?

So many! Contemporary directors that I love are Jane Campion, Lucrecia Martel, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Kelly Reichardt. I have also been incredibly saddened to hear of Lynn Shelton's passing last week. She was a huge inspiration as someone who made the movies she wanted to make, where she wanted to make them, but still managed to engage with the industry by directing TV as well. Losing her is a huge loss for the independent film community and especially for female directors always looking for examples of women who have been able to find sustainability in this business.

Once you completed the script, what were your immediate next steps?

I applied for the Venice Biennale College Cinema program with the treatment for the project and was thrilled to be one of twelve projects selected to attend this ten day, rigorous lab for micro-budget films in Venice, Italy. That was a great experience and really solidified my belief that this movie could and should be made. It was for that lab that I completed the first draft of the script. Getting into that program was great for the project in that it validated it, in a sense, and helped to get key members of my team involved.

What has your experience with Oscilloscope Laboratories been like? They are, in my opinion, distributing the best independent features out there right now.

My thoughts exactly! I am thrilled to be partnering with Oscilloscope Laboratories on the release of this film. They have been incredibly collaborative and respectful to me and my team throughout the process. This has been especially appreciated as we had to pivot from our initial theatrical distribution plan to instead release the film virtually because of COVID-19. I'm really grateful to be working with a small and dedicated team to be able to respond quickly to the situation at hand but still be able to be moving forward with getting this film out into the world. A list of all our virtual theatrical partners can be found here: clementine.oscilloscope.net

How did you go about finding your cast and crew? You also have the greatest trailer I've seen in a long time.

Thanks! My key crew members were a mix of people that I had worked with before in Portland, Oregon - like my main producer, Aimee Lynn Barneburg and people who I was introduced to from other filmmaker friends, like my DP, Andres Karu. We worked with an amazing casting director in Los Angeles, Nicole Arbusto, to cast the film remotely. We were introduced to her through a filmmaker friend who had previously worked with her as well. The trailer was all O-Scope! They worked on it internally and were able to do it very quickly once we decided to pursue a virtual release.

List five films that you love.

1.) Sweetie (1989, Dir. Jane Campion)

2.) Morvern Callar (2002, Dir. Lynn Ramsey)

3.) The Holy Girl (2004, Dir. Lucretia Martel)

4.) Persona (1966, Dir. Ingmar Bergman)

5.) Fat Girl (2001, Dir. Catherine Breillat)

What advice do you have for future filmmakers currently working on their first screenplay?

Try not to let the uncertainty of this time affect what you're writing. We'll never have a crystal ball to predict what kind of stories are going to matter most in the future, but the thing that matters most to you is always going to be the thing that motivates you to get up every day and do the hard work of putting it on the page. Keep going!

Visit the official Clementine website here: ClementineMovie.com

"VOTE!" A Message from John Landis

2020-06-04T23:53:00.002-07:00

"Anyone who has watched this corrupt administration and the consistent behavior of President Trump and still supports him is either a fool, or someone not to be trusted. To support such an obvious fascist, racist, criminal and the constant abuse of power and disregard for the law by this narcissistic, cowardly pathological liar reveals extraordinary ignorance and/or some deeply creepy close held beliefs of their own. It is essential to vote these bastards out of power.

VOTE!"

- John Landis

6/5/2020

(Video provided by John Landis from an unknown source)

Fülle Circle's SUPER MARIO MAKER 2 Levels!

2020-05-05T10:38:00.001-07:00

(Illustration by Kaelin Richardson)

Hey, paisanos! We're taking a field trip to the Mushroom Kingdom to interview Mario, Luigi, and even Bowser in our very own Super Mario Maker 2 levels! Since you as the player control the characters, you are the ones able to answer the interview questions as you adventure through three Fülle stages, and your answers will remain visible in-game to all future players! I decided to make "three" levels as a tribute to my favorite video game of all time, Super Mario Bros. 3. If you're a fan of that NES classic, check out Alyse Knorr's incredible book about the game's phenomenon.

Below are the Course IDs for each level. You will need both Super Mario Maker 2 for Nintendo Switch and a Nintendo Switch Online subscription in order to access these levels. So what are you waiting for? Let's-a-go!

Fülle Circle's Conversation with Mario (Course ID: W03-069-LVG)

Fülle Circle's Conversation with Luigi (Course ID: W0Y-M9H-5KG)

Fülle Circle's Conversation with Bowser (Course ID: F7G-2NH-XXG)

Eat Dirt!: A Conversation with Earthworm Jim Creator Doug TenNapel

2020-04-03T18:13:00.003-07:00

(Illustration by Kaelin Richardson)

Animator. Writer. Cartoonist. Video Game Designer. Comic Book Artist. Doug TenNapel is all of these things, and in 1994 his many talents funneled into one project when he created the critically acclaimed video game, Earthworm Jim. Originally released on the Sega Genesis, the story follows Jim, a normal earthworm until a "special suit" falls out of the sky and allows him to operate much like a human, at which point he is tasked to rescue and protect Princess What's-Her-Name. Earthworm Jim stood out in the midst of all other titles as being a unique, wildly rebellious dark comedy that played as a parody of other games. The television commercial, which featured an elderly woman eating live worms, was pulled from multiple networks due to complaints from nauseated viewers. However, that did not stop the game from becoming a hit and earning itself a sequel, toy line, and animated series. Today we take a nostalgic look back with the man who told us to "eat dirt" in the 90s...

Jason Anders: Long before creating Earthworm Jim you worked in television animation. What led to your job as an animator on Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and what was your experience on that series like?

Doug TenNapel: That first job was a big one for me. I was like many artists who graduated from college and asked, “How am I going to ever get paid for what I love doing?” I had been a freelance illustrator for just over two years when that opportunity opened up and I lucked out to get it. My animation skill was clunky at best, but I figured my workaholism would make up for my lack of skill.

After a year at that job I learned so much about how television animation worked. I learned how to read an exposure sheet, how to make sure my shots hooked up to the previous and following content, and how to work with others on a large crew. Many of the friends I met on that project in 1991 are still dear friends of mine today and we are dispersed throughout the entertainment industry working for feature, television, and video game animation companies.

Did you meet John Astin while working on that show?

I did not meet John Astin, but our crew was far stranger than his role on The Addams Family! I did get a chance to meet his son, Sean Astin, a few years ago. He's a nice guy.

In 1993 you were an animator on the Sega Genesis adaptation of Jurassic Park.

After leaving Attack of the Killer Tomatoes I went right back into unemployment despair. I was in San Diego and discovered that many of my co-workers on Killer Tomatoes were getting animation jobs in video games. This was news to me because for some reason I assumed all video games were made in Japan. There were a number of small gaming companies that were alive and well in San Diego. I started contracting on little-known titles and I quickly got a reputation for being able to animate really fast. Due to the limitations of the cartridges at the time, I could do all of the animation for a game in two weeks. That saved the developers a lot of money and I found enough work to keep me busy around the clock. I had a decent amount of animation to show other video game companies that were exploding at the time due to the sheer amount of games being made in the early 90s.

My first real job was at BlueSky Software. They hired me and paid a little extra to not do any side freelance work. I became a company man and got to work as an animator on a number of titles at the same time. Within the first year they landed the Jurassic Park game and I was offered the lead position. I got to visit the Jurassic Park set and meet two of my heroes who were working on the movie, Stan Winston and Phil Tippet. The latter just found out that the movie wouldn’t be using his stop-motion work because they decided to go with computer animation on the dinosaurs.

There are moments were I’m just lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. On the day that I visited Phil Tippet, he was so upset at losing the Jurassic Park gig that he threw a stop-motion puppet of one of the Velociraptors into the chair right next to where I was sitting! I picked up the puppet and it felt absolutely amazing in my hands. This was the most high-end puppet I’ve ever touched. The machining of the armature was the best that money could buy, and the foam work on top of the armature felt like real skin. It moved like a dream. I looked at Phil and asked if I could shoot the puppet and digitize the images for the video game. He put us in contact with the studio lawyers and they agreed to let us use it if we took out a $75,000 insurance policy on the puppet.

Like my work on Killer Tomatoes, I wasn’t the greatest animator to inherit such a great project, but I worked long hours to get my stop-motion skills to some level using that puppet. I had done a lot of stop-motion puppet animation on my dad's 8mm camera starting when I was in 4th grade. The game was finished on time and on budget. While I find the gameplay a little clunky, that project taught me a lot about gaming and opened up an opportunity to work for Virgin Interactive where my career was about to step up far beyond what I could have imagined.

Was it fun to animate Sega's Ren & Stimpy: Stimpy's Invention?

I remember that we had to slam that game out pretty quick. My animation wasn’t great, but I really love Ren & Stimpy. We made the game really silly and just wanted the players to be able to get together and have a good time. That’s back when studios didn’t get too involved in our work because they considered video games voodoo. Games are, of course, voodoo. That may be the first time the studios were right about something.

Let's talk about the origins of Earthworm Jim...

That whole game happened because I met David Perry, Mike Dietz, and Ed Schofield when I got hired at Virgin Games. I didn’t do well when I landed at that company. I inherited the Super Nintendo version of The Jungle Book game, and the crew and I didn’t click very well. Within a few months I felt like I made a big mistake leaving BlueSky, but David Perry and his crew had made so many hits for Virgin Games that they decided to leave the company to start Shiny Entertainment under direct funding of Playmates Toys. They were looking for an animator, and I had become friends with Mike and Ed, so I was begging them to put in a good word for me. I was super desperate and not sure if Virgin Games would ever pan out for me. That unemployment knot in my gut was rearing its ugly head on the horizon.

Mike Dietz was also interviewing Larry Ahern (Day of the Tentacle, Monkey Island) and he didn’t get back to Shiny because he was on vacation in Hawaii. Shiny said they knew I could animate, but wanted to know if I could be creative. They asked me to come up with a character that weekend and bring it in. I sat down and came up with Earthworm Jim and most of the bad guys. It was one of the easiest things I’ve created, but I was mostly just terrified of not getting the job. When I presented the characters to them, they hired me.

Once I landed at Shiny we started to goof around with Earthworm Jim as a game idea. We put together a pitch for Playmates, but still weren’t certain they would let us do the game. We were entertaining doing the Beavis and Butt-Head game instead, but once Playmates saw our pitch they agreed to make the game. That’s just another instance of how lucky I am. It’s hard to believe that something like that would happen, especially when life doesn’t seem to go the way I want it to when I really need it. But those first three years in animation took me from Killer Tomatoes to working on my own character who became a smash hit thanks to the Shiny team.

Do you have a favorite element that made its way into the Earthworm Jim games?

My favorite part of the game was that the lead character is just a total idiot who does his best and ends up saving the world. He has become a symbol of my whole career! I like how he is a moron but has just enough competence and heart to be a hero. He’s a vulnerable worm that fell into a super suit that cannot be destroyed.

How did the idea of your sequel, Earthworm Jim 2, come about?

While working at Shiny we always overdeveloped our games, so there would be a lot of ideas that didn’t make it in. We didn’t come up with great stuff, we came up with a lot of stuff and threw out the things that were too stupid or too difficult to make. What’s left over becomes the game! We knew we would make a sequel because the game did so well with the gaming press. They went ape for it. I think we needed to just capitalize on the game engine and see if we could squeak out another one. Some of our ideas were a little too aggressive and the game suffered for it, but most people still respected what we were trying to do. I liked having that kind of support. This was at a time when gamers were more about playing and having fun than being professional critics. It was different back then.

Earthworm Jim was soon brought to life as an animated series...

That was a surreal moment. The Simpsons had only been on the air for three years back then, and Dan Castellaneta was a real catch for us. I remember listening to a lot of people trying out for the voice and his was the clear winner. Having my own television series was an even bigger dream come true because I’d been watching cartoons a lot longer than I’d been playing video games. I went from animating other people’s characters to executive producing my own series. Suddenly, I was tracking Neilson ratings and monitoring a mass audience. I became aware of how a lot of people felt about my work instead of just me looking at an isolated image in my sketchbooks.

The Earthworm Jim series was animated by Universal, so I got to spend a lot of time on the Lot. I remember driving my beat-up pickup truck around the sets, sitting in on the record sessions, and reviewing scripts. I didn’t have a lot of input on the show, I just did approvals and designed any new characters that showed up on the series. I was mostly just watching and learning how to make a show by experiencing it from the front row.

Do you have a favorite episode?

I suppose my favorite episode was "The Anti-Fish". It’s just a really stupid, silly episode that I can’t believe exists!

Is there a medium you most enjoy working in?

I like comics best. No offense to the other mediums I work in, they’re all a wonderful experience, but when I make a graphic novel I get to write and draw the whole story by myself with little collaboration from others. It’s where my storytelling is best, and I think it’s the most powerful medium for my skill set.

Creature Tech is such a wonderful story - do you think Fox will ever move forward on production of a film adaptation since they obtained the rights?

I don’t know if they will, but they should if they want to make a lot of money and entertain the masses! Last time I checked that was Fox’s job, so let’s hope they get to it. That graphic novel is one where I just made something very personal and I thought I was the only one who would like it. Come to find out a lot of us are on the same page. It’s a broadly American sci-fi comedy with mile-long flying space eels, so how could it not work?

What is the last thing you drew?

This.

What are you working on now that you are excited about?

I’m finishing up our last season of VeggieTales in the City for Netflix/Dreamworks and I’m excited about that. I’ve got a few pitches in the hopper I’m getting ready to take around to the studios this spring, and I am writing two graphic novels. I’m always excited about what’s next because that’s where I live.

What originally inspired you to get into animation?

When a drawing moves, it seems alive. It’s a study of life. I love life and it's a great magic trick to pull off. I like drawing, but the drawing sits there and someone needs to make that thing come to life!

What inspires you now?

All things that are true, good and beautiful. I find little patience in media that’s ugly, dark, or false… and there’s a lot of that.

How has working in the industry changed since you first started?

Well, the Internet happened. That changed a lot of problems that artists used to have with accessing a mass audience. The audience has a lot more power than when I started, as we are all digitally connected and we all consume a lot more media, so there is a bigger workforce required to create that media. Unfortunately, the quality of storytelling hasn’t progressed much. If anything, I’d say we’re moving backwards culturally.

(The creation of the cover art for THE MAKING OF EARTHWORM JIM book)

What advice would you give to those who want to follow in your footsteps?

Turn around and run away! Seriously, I think someone who works harder than the next guy and gets a few lucky breaks can do what I do. It’s not easy, and I still feel that unemployment knot in my gut, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m an artist, no matter if I’m successful or not. I can’t change that.

If you had to sum up your art in three words, what would they be?

Fun, odd, and thoughtful. That’s what I’m trying to do, anyways.

I Put a Spell on You: A Conversation with Eszter Balint

2020-03-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

(Illustration by Kaelin Richardson)

In 2012 I was living in Orlando, Florida watching Hulu's SPOILERS WITH KEVIN SMITH, a movie talk show which featured a segment called "Criterion Corner." On the first episode he recommended a movie from 1984 called STRANGER THAN PARADISE by Jim Jarmusch. I quote what Smith had to say about it in the interview below, but I'll never forget rushing to the nearest Barnes & Noble to purchase the disc, described by Criterion as "Americana at its most offbeat. A nonchalant masterpiece of deadpan comedy and perfectly calibrated minimalism." My favorite part of the movie, however, was one of its three leads, the character of Eva played to perfection by Eszter Balint.

Born in Budapest in July of 1966, Eszter is a Hungarian singer, songwriter, violinist, and actress. She first emerged as a child member of the avant-garde Squat Theatre troupe before making her cinematic debut in the aforementioned film. She's been directed in pictures by Woody Allen and Steve Buscemi, and her television credits range from MIAMI VICE (1985) to LOUIE (2014). She is an accomplished musician described by several critics as having a "film noir sensibility." She has released several beautiful albums, most recently 2015's critically acclaimed AIRLESS MIDNIGHT.

What follows is an archival interview recorded in 2012 when Eszter so kindly agreed to let me ask her all about her life and career after I had fallen down the rabbit hole of her work. When I originally posted the audio conversation on iTunes, I was criticized by listeners for gushing over her work. Well, here we are eight years later, and I'm still gushing.

Jason Anders: In last week's episode of Hulu's Spoilers with Kevin Smith there was a very cool shoutout of your film in which he proclaims, "Stranger Than Paradise empowers the hell out of you. It's the movie that made me want to be a filmmaker. It makes great use out of nothing. It's a masterpiece of minimalism. It is "indie film" defined. Even just holding the DVD, you feel some sort of power - there's something kinetic about it. If you watch this movie and then don't want to make a movie yourself, something may be very, very wrong with you. It's THAT empowering a document." It was this recommendation that sent me immediately to Barnes & Noble to buy the movie and every word he says about it is accurate.

Eszter Balint: I think that's actually kind of cool because the people who want to interview me, that's the defining thing that they've known for so long. There's a kind of innocence to you just becoming acquainted with it now, that's refreshing and nice.

Has Criterion's release of the film brought any new fans to your live shows?

Mostly, I think the kind of people who would buy the DVD are already familiar with it. Over the years I've definitely had a lot of people comment on that movie - there seems to be something sort of pivotal about it. I don't know if it's the timing of when it came out, but apparently people were very affected by it, which is cool. I still love the movie. I haven't seen it in so long, but it's a wonderful thing.

It took me a while to get past the initial success of this amazing gift that after a while became a defining thing for me that I had to deal with always being labeled "the girl from that movie." That was a little bit difficult. Now I think so much time has gone by that it's easier to be objectively appreciative of the whole experience.

It's so timeless. Definitely not something I associate with other 80s movies.

That's cool to hear that it doesn't have a dated quality. I like that.

You were 15 when asked by Jim Jarmusch to be in the film. Tell me about the theatre shows that you were doing in New York before being approached for the role of Eva.

My father was a founding member of a theatre group, Squat Theatre, that started out in Budapest, Hungary. The authorities back in the Iron Curtain days weren't fans, so they made it very difficult to do the work. The theatre group eventually decided to leave - which on its own was a difficult thing, but we managed to get out.

We all lived in France for a year and a half, I was ten at the time, and we performed at a lot of festivals, traveled all over Europe, and then settled in New York in the summer of 1977 - which was a pretty crazy, interesting, amazing year to be an eleven year old kid moving to NYC. Looking back, it was an insane time of adventure, but when you're young you think it is normal - no matter what the circumstances are. You do all these shows, people come, it gets written about, everything is at stake when we perform, and it's a matter of life or death. We all lived together in this building next to the Chelsea Hotel and it was a really exciting time to be alive and in the arts. I still have trouble adjusting to the fact that that's not what normal life is like.

I totally relate to that because I grew up in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee where my dad was a musician at several theatre shows where I would run the spotlight, my mom would work the concessions, and my sister would dance onstage.

I know Pigeon Forge! Dollywood!

I grew up thinking Dolly Parton was our mayor. It was a bizarre place to grow up, but I'd give anything to go back to that time of putting on shows every day.

That's the magic of childhood, you just sort of live what comes your way as the norm. Sometimes that can be terrible, but sometimes it can be amazing.

I wasn't so much performing my music onstage back then, but I had studied music as a kid. I studied classical violin. Pretty early on I started getting substantial roles in the plays, life just happened me into it. It was not a conscious decision to pursue a career. I later became more involved in helping pick out music for the shows. There was also a period when the theatre group functioned as a night club for bands, which was also incredibly exciting because the early 80s were a pretty amazing time for music in New York. I became the DJ at the theatre. I was just really into music, and it was later that I would start pursing my own non-classical music as a so-called "career." I have a lot of problems with that word.

Who were originally your influences in classical music?

My father was a really big influence, as were his partners in the theatre group. My grandfather as well - he was a visual artist, a great painter and incredibly prolific, and very well known in Hungary. His father had been an intellectual and journalist in the arts, so it's a long lineage of artists on my father's side. These people were all a huge influence on me because they were taking their art very seriously, which is not to say humorlessly, but they just lived for their art. That shaped my world view at a very early age to some extent.

In the later years, when Squat Theatre became a center at the time for other artists to come perform and be in the audience, it became sort of a cultural hangout. That sounds pretentious. It was filmmakers, artists, writers, and musicians gathering there and it was pretty exciting.

At what point in all of this are you approached about Stranger Than Paradise?

Jim saw me in a featured role in a play at Squat Theatre - we used a lot of film in the plays and I was in those as well. That played a role. John Lurie, who was in one of our house bands, The Lounge Lizards, may have suggested me for the role. I knew Jim casually, who was also in a band at the time that I saw at other clubs. I don't remember the exact moment of being approached, but it all seemed natural. Everybody was doing stuff back then, amazingly.

(Stranger Than Paradise, 1984)

Was the idea of starring in a movie overwhelming, or did it seem natural since you were already onstage and in films?

I was already in a few student films as well, so it all seemed very organic. That's not to say that I wasn't scared shitless. Of course I was. I was when we performed plays as well. It was a combination of on one hand taking it for granted that this is what I'm asked to do, what I'm supposed to do, and what's expected of me, and on the other hand a tremendous amount of insecurity. It went hand in hand.

Was your family supportive of the idea?

It was a combination of things. Of course, my father was incredibly proud of me. I really idolize the theatre for its values, but there was a lot of snobby judgment coming from people in general - not about the movie per say, my father was friends with Jim and he loved the movie. But being supportive and nurturing wasn't one of the main agendas of the theatre. I was very precocious and probably acted pretty cocky and self-confident, so maybe people saw that and didn't feel I needed their support.

Did it ever cross your mind while on set that you were making something that would have such a huge cultural impact?

Absolutely not. It was really just one more project of many. No one had any idea what that movie would become, so it was kind of a shock to us all. We were making it casually on a shoestring budget, fleshing out the script in rehearsals at Jim's house, which served as his office at the time. It was a modest effort that turned out to just hit at the right time. We didn't anticipate that.

It's beautiful for me personally now that I am old enough and wise enough, and enough time has passed, that I can actually appreciate it. At the time I didn't want to be put in that box as being known for this one thing that I was a part of, now I've graduated from that phase.

You were also directed by Woody Allen in Shadows and Fog.

A really funny story, actually. My meeting with him was one of the more hilarious moments of my acting career. My agent called and said that Woody Allen wanted me to audition for his next movie and I was really nervous. It was this really dark room in the catacombs of the basement in this hotel in Central Park West where I am waiting for Woody to come in. When he arrived I couldn't even see him because is was so dark in there. He extended these nervous, slightly clammy hands and said, "Thank you very much," and left. I got a call an hour later from my manager at the time saying, "Woody loved you!" I just thought, "Wow, that guy is really intuitive." His instincts function on a plane higher than I can ever understand.

It was a very tiny role and I had no communication with him. There was no hang, no getting to know him. He was very secretive about the script. I don't know if he still works like that, but at the time no one was allowed to read the script before you showed up on the set. It was an abstract experience.

I was also in a Steve Buscemi movie that I'm really proud of.

(Trees Lounge, 1996)

Trees Lounge (1996) is such a wonderful film, one that I have read is very close to your heart. The song you wrote for it is beautiful.

Aww, thank you. That film has such a great pace that you don't see in movies so much anymore. I did another independent movie during that time which only got a very limited release, but I'm happy with Trees Lounge having been the last film I really did that was of any importance before I moved away from acting altogether.

You've explained it as a "self-imposed exile from a Hollywood that managed to extinguish whatever small flames of passion I ever held for the film industry."

That sentence has definite validities to it. Living in Los Angeles and really giving it a try to do it for a living was so not suited to me and my personality. If things came easier my way then maybe it would have taken a lot longer to feel like this isn't really, truly me.

It was a struggle. I didn't fit easily into any sort of mold. I was trying so hard for something that I didn't truly want. I found myself auditioning for things that I was dreading to get, things I wouldn't have been proud of. I grew up in a different way where people were very creative and doing their own thing and not just told what to do by others. I guess I was a little bit spoiled because I was privileged by having grown up in this extraordinary theatre group that did really exceptional work, and then having been in a few exceptional films, it was hard for me to just become part of the grind. Just the whole system of living out there and trying to get work by hustling and promoting yourself, trying to get script breakdowns and finding out what's out there, having agents and managers... it just wasn't my world. I know this sounds snobby, and I don't mean for it to.

When you see someone on the cover of a Criterion Blu-ray, it's easy to assume they are able to pick what they want to do as working actors.

Oh no, that's a Kodak moment - which is an old fashioned analogy now. After this film, it was a lot of struggle, coming down to earth, and trying to make ends meet. It wasn't easy and it wasn't like I automatically got offered all these great roles in great movies. Nothing like that.

It's all for the better. I'm not even sure that the highest level of actors get to do what they really want. Stranger Than Paradise's reception as a film was way beyond anyone's hopes and expectations, but for me personally, as a ticket to stardom - no, it was a real struggle.

Is music your main focus now?

Yes, it has been slowly simmering over the years more and more. I never quite parted ways with music, it was always somehow a big part of my life. For a while I actually studied classical singing, thinking that I might want to do something with that. While living in Los Angeles I took some music courses again, which I hadn't done since I was a youngster. As a kid I took music theory, choir, sight reading, ear training, piano - and then I realized that classical music was definitely not where I'd be going with this, but I was still interested in the basic foundations of music.

It was a really good time living in Los Angeles in the 90s when I turned around to commit myself to music fully. It's where my heart was. Songwriting especially. Words have always played an important role, I've been writing, scribbling, and journaling my whole life. I like to think of myself as a reader. So the combination of words and music just clicked for me and made sense.

Now I'm not sure it makes so much sense because it's so hard! Talk about a difficult way to function in today's world with all the changes. It's always been difficult to be a musician, with the digital age changing the rules of the game completely (plus a recession) it's now ten times as hard. You've got to be really crazy to be trying to do this today.

Do you feel with today's technology it is easier to succeed as a musician, or more difficult?

It depends on the person, but for me it's harder. I drown in the sea because skills that I have not acquired are competing and promoting, it's just not where my interests lie. Being a mother I have limited time, and writing and being a musician for me is very time consuming. I don't just roll out of bed with the confidence to grab my guitar and write a new song every day. There's a lot of time that goes into practicing my instruments, singing, and writing my lyrics. My lowest priority is being a self-promoter.

How many children do you have?

I have one, he's eight and half. You give up your life but there's an incredible reward. I've been very unproductive for my standards since I had a kid, and that's okay. I have had a lot of other issues in a pretty tumultuous eight years. Without going into too many details, I am bringing up my kid. That's the kind of time commitment that spills over in these invisible ways into every minute of your life. You're not necessarily shoveling coal for twelve hours a day, but even when you're doing nothing you're still standing by. It's a very large chunk of time.

Where do you see yourself looking ahead to the near future?

I've had an incredible amount of disruptions and distractions - just real heavy life stuff that we all have to deal with sooner or later (as I like to say, "no one escapes") - but I've had a concentration of it the last few years. Right now I'm coming out of a personal health issue, too.

I would like to see if I can get my next album out in the next six months to a year. I have a lot of the material done, but not all of it. I'd like to get back into performing. I feel like I have a little more air to breathe now after the last few years of intensity. I want to alternate good work habits, which haven't been my forte with having a child, and all this other stuff that constantly distracts me. I do always have this little exit strategy, which is if it becomes too hard I will still keep doing it for my friends and channel my energy towards writing. Writing is something I am passionate about and is a lot simpler in terms of not needing to organize rehearsals with and depending on other musicians, and also finding the money to pay them. I've been incredibly fortunate to work with my favorite musicians, but in this day and age it's very difficult to be a musician and thrive. I'm going to really give it a shot for the next two years, but if it becomes too exhausting to make it work then writing short stories and prose is my exit strategy.

... I may miss music to much to do that.

What are your favorite things to read?

I read a lot when I was younger. Being a mom cuts down on your reading time a great deal. I love poetry, short stories, and novels. I go through phases of non-fiction, like books about how the brain works. I'm also interested in Buddhism.

What do you love most about making music?

I think it's performing live with someone else. When you're in sync with someone else, in the zone and communicating something to an audience, it's a beautiful, wonderful feeling. Music has often transformed pain and struggle into a glimpse of something transcendent that matters more than those little tunnels we can get ourselves into.

What I love most about your music is that it is so authentic, you feel that direct connection...

Authentic, that's a great word! That's what I strive for. If that comes through, even a little bit, then I feel like something's working. It's my little guidepost, even though it's not always easy to know where authenticity is. It's just a thing that I'm chasing. That's something I feel that I got from my incredibly fortunate upbringing. My family strove away from artifice, which maybe explains why the world of "trying to make it" as an actor in Hollywood didn't quite click for me, I don't know that authenticity is the highest value in that universe. "Direct connection" is another good one, thank you for coming up with all these words! I hope I translate in a way that resonates. You are totally making me not worry about the exit door.

Vist Eszter at EszterBalint.com.

Lions and Tigers and Birds, Oh My!: A Conversation with Tippi Hedren

2020-01-20T16:04:00.002-08:00

By Jason Anders - Illustration by Kaelin Richardson

She's appeared in over 80 films and TV shows. She's worked with everyone from Charlie Chaplin and Ed Wood to Alexander Payne and David O. Russell. She's voiced characters for Batman animation, and played herself in sitcoms like Cougar Town. She took artistic risks like starring in Ted Post's controversial film THE HARRAD EXPERIMENT (1973), and producing and starring in what has come to be known as "the most dangerous movie ever made", ROAR (1981). She is a single mother to daughter Melanie Griffith, a successful actress and producer, and granddaughter, actress Dakota Johnson. As an animal rights activist, she started her own non-profit organization to support an 80-acre wildlife habitat where she personally contributes to the care and preservation of animals like elephants, lions and tigers. She was instrumental in the development of Vietnamese-American nail salons in the United States. Cary Grant once called her "the bravest woman I've ever known." Finally, and perhaps most famously, she starred in two Alfred Hitchcock films, THE BIRDS (1963) and MARNIE (1964). In 2016, she published a memoir in which she spoke openly about the dark pain she endured while working with the controlling Master of Suspense.

The legend, the star, the icon. Tippi Hedren was kind enough to join me on the Universal Pictures Lot in the summer of 2017 for an evening of conversation in front of a live audience to discuss the jaw-dropping stories of her career and remarkable life.

Jason Anders: How much time would you say you've spent here on the Universal Lot during your career?

Tippi Hedren: I practically moved in! Your calls are very early and you work late, so it became a home for me. Things have changed dramatically - in fact, yesterday I decided to try and drive by my old dressing room and see if it's still there. I didn't arrange the time correctly, but maybe on my way out. I had a really wonderful dressing room and a whole makeup room with a shower, all done in French blue and French furniture... I was spoiled. It's good to be spoiled.

Have you been on the Studio Tour recently?

No, I haven't. We should do that, (to audience) let's do that!

Was your first visit to Universal Studios for the casting of The Birds?

Yes, it was. I received a phone call asking if I was the girl in the Sego commercial, which was a diet drink. I had been doing a number of commercials, which was great because they pay so well. I was doing one commercial after another which came about at the end of my modeling career with Eileen Ford. I had been modeling for about eight years and that's a long time. It was dwindling and I had my little girl, Melanie, thinking what am I going to do, I don't type! Melanie and I packed up our dog, cat, and bunny and moved back to Los Angeles.

All of a sudden I get this call telling me, "there's this producer who is interested in you." I said, "Oh? Who?" They said, "come down to the studio and we'll talk about it." That's how that whole thing happened.

(Tippi Hedren being interviewed by Jason Anders)

Growing up in Minnesota, when did you know that you wanted to become a model?

I got off the streetcar coming home from high school one day and this woman came toward me and handed me her card saying, "Would you ask your mom to bring you down to Donaldson's department store? We'd like to have you model at our Saturday morning fashion shows." So, bingo!

A lot of people may not know that your real name is Nathalie...

Yes, and I married a Griffith so I was Nathalie Griffith! I never went by Nathalie, in fact if anyone said my name I would never have blinked an eye. My father was Swedish and he started calling me Tupsa, which was a term of endearment. From Tupsa it went to Tips, and from Tips it went to Tippi.

Was acting ever the goal while modeling?

No. It wasn't until the Hitchcock thing.

And you didn't even know that was who you were coming here to meet, he really is the Master of Suspense!

I think that was sort of a fun thing for him to do. It really was fun, interesting, and exciting. When I realized it was Alfred Hitchcock it was mind-blowing. The first meeting with him was a little bit awesome, a little bit scary. He sat there looking very pleased with himself. We just talked about the weather, didn't even get close to talking about the movie. It was just a simple conversation. You know how he was on his television show? He was very similar to that.

When the conversation finally comes to The Birds, did you have any indication of how physically grueling it would be?

I had no clue. We didn't have the capability then of making movies the way that we do today, so we used real birds. I became very friendly with a raven, his name was Buddy. He was big, shiny, and beautiful. The animal trainer, Ray Berwick, was so kind to all of the birds. I was so happy to see that he cared so much about them. He would tell Hitchcock when the birds were tired and had to rest, and we'd stop filming. He introduced me to Buddy, who got to know where my dressing room was, and he'd come over and jump up onto the table with all my makeup, then sit on my shoulder, then on my head. He really was my buddy, a great relationship. I missed him a lot when it was over, I really did.

Is Buddy the bird holding the match to light your cigarette in the infamous photo?

Yes, that's my favorite picture. I'm sorry that was even taken because it was just plain wrong.

I believe Cary Grant once called you the bravest woman he's ever known...

He did call me that, and now I'm proving it by playing with lions and tigers. He said that because of working with the birds. They weren't tiny and they had great claws, but I was never hurt. I did get really tired, especially at the end when they had me lying on the ground with the birds attached to me - they were all on elastic so that they could move around and jump but not leave my body. The bird on my shoulder jumped at my face and the claw was too close to my eye, and with one swoop I got them all off of me. But I liked the birds and had a good time with them.

What was this whole transition in life for you like?

It was life changing. The whole business was so different - I was certainly used to the photographs, but to be in a film directed by a man as powerful and knowledgable as Alfred Hitchcock was just amazing. I felt so fortunate having that education. It really was stunning.

You'd go on to star in another Hitchcock film, 1964's Marnie, alongside Sean Connery...

It was fabulous! When Hitchcock was looking for the Mark Rutland character he was going through all the different actors trying to find the right man and he couldn't find anybody. Finally, he said he got Sean Connery and I said, "Hitch, in this movie I'm supposed to be a frigid woman who screams if a man comes near her... Sean Connery?! How am I supposed to do this?!" And he said, "It's called acting, my dear."

Tell me about suddenly being surrounded by celebrities, such as Marilyn Monroe...

I met Marilyn Monroe, but we never had a conversation. It was at photographer Milton Greene's home in Connecticut. He had a party and she was at the house - she came down and sat in the corner of the stairs and didn't move... I'm sorry, that's all I have to say (laughs).

I believe you are the only actor in history to have been directed by both Alfred Hitchcock and Charlie Chaplin. What was your experience appearing in Chaplin's final film, 1967's A Countess from Hong Kong, like?

The fun thing about being directed by Charlie Chaplin was that his modus operandi in directing was to act out all of our roles, he would get out on the set and become our characters, then he'd say, "and now you do it." I thought it was awesome to watch this magic being performed in front of us, I loved that whole thing. However, Marlon Brando wanted to quit. He really didn't appreciate this method of direction at all. He couldn't quit because he was under contract, so he just had to suffer through it.

You wrote in your memoir about some very important work that you did during a trip to Vietnam, tell us about that experience and what significant events unfolded as a result.

My mother was always involved in church work and doing things for other people who were having a tough time, and I kind of did that as well. At one point, I was asked to go to an organization called Food For the Hungry at a time when they were working on hurricane relief. I liked that idea a lot and spent several years traveling around the world with them to various places that had been in bad shape because of everything from war to weather.

(Charles Chaplin & Tippi Hedren)

You wrote that the Vietnamese women were the strongest people you had ever met...

I still think that. Food For the Hungry had a place outside of Weimar, California - it was an abandoned tuberculosis sanatarium with these big buildings containing bedrooms and baths, a perfect place for them to reside until they could find their way in the United States. I went up there and met with these women, trying to figure out how we could assimilate them into our communities with a job. All of them were fascinated with my fingernails, which were longer than they are now with some kind of wonderful red on them, and after a few days of them talking about them I decided to bring my manicurist in and see if any of them would like to become one. That's how the whole Vietnamese manicure thing started.

They're still my friends and we meet every now and then, it's really wonderful.

What an incredible spark to have been responsible for...

Yes, it was. To know these women and how strong they were and are, and how they so wanted to not be a burden on the United States - they all wanted to work and assimilate into our society. It was an amazing time.

Other important work that you are doing is that of the Shambala Preserve. I understand that you found your passion for animals on the set of the 1970 film Satan's Harvest, which by the way sounds like a pretty metal picture.

(laughs) Yeah, I think so. It was after me and my then husband had been to South Africa, I did two films there and it was thrilling and powerful to see the animals in their natural habitat, running free and not in cages.

We decided to do a movie about the animals in the wild and the problems they have out there, and we chose the great cats to be our movie stars. We're dealing with apex predators here, folks! We contacted several trainers who had a lion or tiger that they would use for movies. Well, they wouldn't let their cat work with a cat it didn't know because they'd kill each other. It became evident to us that we'd have to acquire our own animals to do the movie. It's a romantic notion, isn't it?

Well, that's what we did. The first young lion was about four months old and he came to live with us in our house... in Sherman Oaks. We got to know that little lion. He just kind of took over the whole house like a one-man demolition crew. He'd walk past the couch and just take a bite out of it. I had to hire an expert re-upholsteror! Another little lioness came to live with us and then we learned how unique the male is to the female. At one point we had seven lions and tigers. They grow like you're blowing up a balloon!

One day, one of the little lions looked down over the fence at our neighbor, who looked up and said, "That's a lion!" The next day animal control came pounding on our door saying, "I hear you've got some lions here? You've got 24 hours to get them off of the property." Oh, I've had such a fun life. We got them off the property for a while, but they eventually reached an age that we couldn't keep them at the house in Sherman Oaks anymore. We boarded the cubs with the place that they came from in Acton, but the more we acquired the higher the board bill went, so we eventually bought the place. That's now where I live. I hope that you will all come visit and see the lions and tigers.

The whole time that we were rescuing these animals, I was wondering why our government doesn't have laws against the breeding and the selling of them as pets to anyone who has the money. These are apex predators, top of the food chain! One of the four most dangerous animals in the world and our government wasn't doing anything. There were a few state laws, such as needing a permit to have the animal on your residence, but there was no real control over it... so I put a bill together. It was quick, easy, and to-the-point. I took it to a congressman at the time who said, "Tippi, you're dealing with a huge business. You'll never get this passed." I said, "Well, we're going to try, aren't we?" He joined me in this effort and I eventually went to Washington and testified, not pulling any punches. That bill was passed unanimously and President Bush signed it on December 3, 2003.

You really are the strongest woman in Hollywood.

Oh, I think so. Definitely. Modest, too.

Speaking of strength - on the set of ROAR did you ever fear that one day you'd end up being lunch?

I knew I would! It's amazing that we lived through that, and that nobody was killed. Our photographer Bill Dow, who is here, ended up in the hospital at one point. I did, too. There were so many people who had bought these animals as adorable little cubs and what do you do when it starts tearing up your house and taking a good chunk out of your child? So we were taking in a lot of these animals, at one point we had close to 100. That's when I really thought, "I've got to get this bill passed." We are now down to 30 cats and don't have anyone calling to ask if we can take their lion or tiger.

Is it true that 70 cast and crew members were injured on that film?

Something like that, yeah. But everybody lived. (laughs) That's a strong point.

What kept you persevering through that at the time?

Just a real determination to get it done. There were a lot of times that we would run out of money, and there we were with all of these animals to support - and they kept coming in. But it was great because we were doing a wonderful service in having this facility where people could bring their little monster that was originally so cute and cuddly. It all worked out.

I'm really glad that I wrote the book because I have been so fortunate in having one hell of a life. I've just had the best life ever. I've been scared to death so many times. I almost called the book "The Open Door" because I've had all of these doors that would open for me - some of which I slammed shut and some of them I walked through. It's been a good life.

Since we are on the Universal Lot, I have to ask you about MURDER, SHE WROTE.

Angela Lansbury was absolutely delightful. I wish I had a copy of that episode.

I doubt you'll remember this, but the first time we met I ranted to you about how much I loved I HEART HUCKABEES.

That was fun because David O. Russell is fun, that was an amazing time.

Your first experience working in comedy was actually with John Landis in DREAM ON.

That was so much fun. I didn't have an education in comedy, so I was just watching all the other actors trying to get some kind of information that I could steal. Oh, it was wonderful fun, it really was.

What is it like for you to have not only your daughter, Melanie Griffith, but also your granddaughter, Dakota Johnson, find success in film?

I didn't encourage either one of them to get into the business. I always wanted them to do what they wanted to do, not be influenced by me or what I did - or what I would want them to do - that is something that your child should be able to choose freely, what they want out of their lives. All of those things have just been a big surprise to me. They are both incredibly talented.

Any chance of you working with them in the future?

Oh, I would love that. All that we need is a script. We need a story. We need the money. (laughs)

I think it is important how open you've been about what happened on set with Alfred Hitchcock, I feel you've helped make women stronger in this industry by not being afraid to tell your story.

Thank you for saying that, because I really do believe that we have every right in the world to say "NO." The earlier a young woman learns that, and knows that there isn't anything that she has to do or be talked into doing if she doesn't want to, is really important.

What do you love most about acting?

Becoming somebody else. Trying to think like a particular character in what they're doing. Acting is an amazing career to have, I wish I could do more of it. There aren't many roles, though, once you get older. I'm old. I can't believe it, and that's the way it's going to be for the rest of my life. I plan on staying that way.

How is it that you retain such youth and health?

I practice eating right all the time. I watch my weight, I will not gain a pound without cutting back on my eating - I just refuse to do it. But I also have no sense of taste or smell.

I had two accidents that affected my nerves. I also can't drive because I cannot turn my head, so I am limited in that. But it took my sense of smell and taste away, which is a huge loss. Every day, it's a huge loss. It's dangerous, I had to install more powerful smoke detectors. And I can't even enjoy a glass of champagne. I'm going to cry now.

It seems you had a good relationship with the great costume designer, Edith Head...

We became very, very close friends - which was not wonderful only for the clothing aspect, but because of her charm and her wit. Juadavive for life. She was an exceptionally, wonderfully fun and exciting woman to become friends with. We were not only together on the Hitchcock films, we saw each other socially and would have lunch together and do girl stuff. It was a great honor to be a good friend to her and have her as a friend, it was just amazing.

I had a dress form that was made of my exact measurements which was given to me by her, which I of course brought home and had in my bedroom... sometimes I'd dress it. I'd put scarves and jewelry around it, it was really fun. And then came the little lions... the bedrooms were built into the lower floor in our house on the hill, I came down one day and my little lions had killed that body. It was torn and ripped with the stuffing coming out and I just sat and cried. I eventually took all the stuffing and put it back in, taking a needle and sewing it back up, and I still have it.

What was Hitchcock's method of directing like?

His method of directing was just having conversations about the character and situation of the scene. There wasn't any real solid direction, it was all kind of a thought process. It was sort of magical, actually. It was wonderful. It spoiled me, though, real bad. We would talk about the characters, the film, and the story - everything was discussed in-depth. He was amazing.

I had the opportunity to see the dailies, which was part of my education... and what better teacher? Couldn't be better.

What was it like reacting in THE BIRDS to elements that you couldn't see or hear?

It's called acting. (laughs) On occasion they'd try and make sounds that would get our attention, but mostly we were reacting to nothing. No sound at all.

Were the other directors who had a unique method besides Chaplin and Hitchcock?

I don't recall any other directors that had as much of an effect on me in their methods. That's aiming pretty high to find anybody better, or anyone even like them. It was pretty amazing. I don't know of another actress who worked with both. I'm it.

(Dakota Johnson, Tippi Hedren & Melanie Griffith)

What was your experience like on THE 4400?

That whole storyline itself was so fascinating, it was wonderful to do. I love stories like that.

Do you prefer working in film or television?

I prefer film, just because of the time that you can take. It's just totally different.

Have you noticed a difference in film vs. digital?

Digital is a lot faster, but I like taking the time with film and putting all of the effort into each scene better.

Have you ever found yourself starstruck?

I was starstruck with Sean Connery. I thought, "Oh my god this man is so handsome, so beautiful. How dare he be married!"

Does everyone here know that you were the mayor of Universal City?

I was! Did you all know that? I ran a very tight ship. I was very concerned about everything. Actually, it was nothing but fun. Just going to parties, it was great.

What did that entail?

Absolutely nothing. (laughs) It didn't entail anything except that I'd be going to lunches and the cocktail parties, it had nothing to do with any kind of real position of running Universal City. But it was fun and I absolutely loved doing that.

Who initially approached you about it?

Hitchcock! It was he.

Thank you for being such a wonderful mayor to us all.

Thank you so much. (laughs) I enjoyed it tremendously.

Do you have any fun stories from THE BIRDS II: LAND'S END?

Oh god, I forgot all about it. (laughs) I don't, in fact.

How can we actually get involved to help you when it comes to animal rights?

I would love to invite all of you to the Shambala Preserve. We are not open to the public, it's reservation based and open one weekend a month - and we offer summer sunset safaris, which are quite lovely. The lions roar more at night than they do during the daytime.

Who's down for a field trip? (audience cheers)

That would be wonderful, let's do it!

Have you been back to Bodega Bay recently?

I go back to Bodega Bay almost every year, usually around Labor Day. I love going back there - there's so many people who are visiting, it's a very popular place. I'll sign autographs and just have a good time with everybody. It's nice.

You seem to be a very confident person, is that chutzpah something you've always had?

You know, I found my strength when I was really young. I was a very shy and frightened little girl. Do any of you bite your fingernails? I remember exactly where I was - I was coming home from grade school, I must have been 7 years old, walking up a hill. In the middle of walking up the hill I thought, "I'm not going to bite my fingernails anymore." Now, if any of you used to bite your fingernails, you knew it was a bad habit and you could hardly not do it. I think that was one of the most strengthening things that I ever did because I said to myself, "I'm not going to do that again,".. and I didn't. It was my little coming into a different phase of my life completely.

... and then you made history with your fingernails.

And then I made history! I see all of these commercials saying "we have the method to help you stop smoking," - you know what stopped me from smoking? It was the first time that they presented the scientific facts that smoking will kill you, make you very ill, or make you look older faster - that one got me. I said, "I'm not going to do it anymore," and I didn't. I put the cigarette out and did not have another one. (audience applause) Yeah, no kidding, I am strong! You have to be able to say, "This could kill me, make me very sick, or make me look older faster. What's attractive about all that? Nothing."

So, anyway, if any of you smoke just stop it.

What are your future plans for Shambala?

The plan is to keep it open. The bill that was passed has, fortunately, had a huge impact on the animals being purchased and people breeding them to be sold as pets. We actually do see a light at the end of the tunnel. People will not be buying predators to be a pet now. But as long as there is a lion or tiger that needs a home, we will be there.

We also had two elephants who lived out their lives with us, Timbo and Cora. I have to say that those were my best years of my life with these animals - they were just so amazing, it's an incredible thing to be a friend of an elephant. I wish I could explain how it feels to walk up to that gigantic being and hear that rumble of thunder - it's not a purr, but it's a welcoming sound that they say to each other, and they would say it to the man who was taking care of them, Chris Gallucci. You'll meet him when you come to the preserve.

Chris was a Hell's Angel. I was on the roadside and this big black Harley came down the road with a man all dressed in black, long black hair, and black beard. He pulled up and said, "I hear you're hiring," and I asked, "What can you do?" He said, "Everything." And you know what? He was right. So we hired him and he learned all about the animals and the care that they need. Everything. It was just stunning. I have now made him Vice President of Operations & Director, he runs the place.

I don't think there are enough stories out there about Hitch's wife, Alma Reville.

Alma was a wonderful woman. I liked her very, very much. We became very good friends. I thought they were such a bizarre couple. I went to their home often for dinner and she was just charming and a good friend.

Do you still have the bird pin that Hitch gave you?

When we were on our way here I said, "I forgot the bird pin!" But I do have a tattoo on my shoulder of a bird if you would like to see that.

Thank you so much for a beautiful evening of stories, and thank you for writing one of the most beautiful memoirs ever written. You did an incredible job writing this.

Thank you! It was such a pleasure to be here, very lovely. Thank you for being such a wonderful, caring, informed audience - I'm impressed. I look forward to seeing all of you at Shambala. I will have more books in the gift shop, just in case.

(Tippi Hedren & Jason Anders)

Watch the full video interview HERE.

Top 50 Favorite TV Shows

2019-11-25T19:49:00.000-08:00

(Illustration by Kaelin Richardson - @HeyKaelin)

The magical box we refer to as television no longer exists. When I was a kid, we had a TV in every room, something unheard of in 1955 according to Back to the Future. Today, kids have screens in their pockets and YouTube alone provides more content than all of cable could have ever provided. Part of me loves the accessibility of content (and the ability to create content) on a whim - but a big part of me is sad for those growing up today who may never understand the sacred experience of primetime or Saturday morning programming.

Growing up, my entire life was scheduled around television. It was a door to another world, the ultimate escape from real life, which at times wasn't the happiest place to be. Television provided a way to better understand myself and the world around me, basic communication being something I struggled with due to moving to new cities and changing schools frequently. By the time I reached 4th grade my social anxieties were crippling. I couldn't look anyone in the eye or bring myself to engage in the simplest conversation, which ultimately led to being bullied. I disliked myself a great deal at the time, which is why I think I was so drawn to the self-depreciating humor of David Letterman on Late Night. I began studying Dave's mannerisms, the way he talked, and what he said. I took his jokes and reworked them into punchlines about school, teachers, and bullies to perform for the lunch table and on the playground. I began treating conversations with classmates like a talk show, even turning my desk into a set, complete with blue index cards that I would fumble with to hide my nervousness. I began interviewing people as a way of communicating, and telling jokes as a defense mechanism. It turns out that pretty much everyone loves to laugh and talk about themselves. No one around me realized it, but I was turning the world into my own soundstage. I became known as the class clown, and being funny and odd became what I was known for.

This is just one of the many ways in which being a couch potato rescued me from depression and ultimately gave me something to be passionate about. The sofa was my church and the religion of movies, TV, and video games ultimately saved my life. That is why these "Top 50" lists exist - it is not a critical assessment of the greatest achievements in the medium, but rather a list of shows that really meant something to me and had an impact on my life. Granted, there are some obsessions that didn't make the cut because I love them purely for nostalgic reasons (does anyone remember the live action Super Mario Bros. sitcom?), but most of the really important stuff is listed below. To my friends that have become parents who may think TV will rot their children's brains, don't touch that dial! I am forever grateful to my parents who allowed total freedom of the tube. Without it, I wouldn't be who I am today - though my vision would have probably been a lot better.

"TV is like the invention of indoor plumbing - it didn't change people's habits, it just kept them inside the house." - Alfred Hitchcock

50.) THE FLINTSTONES (1960 - 1966)
"Yabba Dabba Doo!" One of the longest running primetime animated series and the first to parody the typical American family, The Flintstones featured storylines and comedy aimed at adults, done in part by hiring two of Jackie Gleason's live action writers as the series is itself inspired by The Honeymooners. The show draws its humor from the absurdities of ordinary life and ordinary relationships. The imaginative gags in the fantasy setting of Bedrock along with the vibrant colors & designs provide endless eye candy while the chemistry of the voice actors along with the original music by Hoyt Curtin and very funny animation (not to mention the genius addition of a laugh track) make this show about a modern Stone Age family an unforgettable "gay old time"!

49.) SPIN CITY (1996 - 2002)
"The past is prologue. Men like us have to keep looking to the future." A sitcom about the local government of New York City starring Michael J. Fox as the Deputy Mayor alongside what is arguably the funniest TV ensemble on this list, Spin City was unique for its filmic camera style - one of the few sitcoms to consistently use tracking shots to make you feel like you were there, one of the many conventional rules it broke during its time on the air. This show was also repeatedly at the forefront of gay rights and issues at a time when Ellen DeGeneres was being banned from Hollywood for it, featuring an incredible performance by Michael Boatman as a homosexual main character. Also, as the photo below indicates, there was one hell of a guest star roster. I'll never forget Fox signing off from the show in the fourth season's finale due to his diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease, that episode's end credits being one of the most emotional moments in television history. This is the first of several shows on my list to be beautifully preserved on DVD by Shout! Factory, our savior of saving the best television programming.

48.) THE ADVENTURES OF PETE & PETE (1991 - 1996)
"I wanted to change the world, but after a whole year of trying the only thing I changed was my underpants." Nickelodeon was once at the forefront of free-spirited channels, allowing creators to get away with a lot and take chances in order to develop an original voice. They fostered an environment that led to some of the best shows of the 90s. This strange show about two brothers was like Twin Peaks for kids. Nickelodeon gave us some major doses of weird to grow up on, and this surreal, hilarious, and sometimes horrifying look at adolescence is one of those series very much responsible for warping my mind at a young age. This series was at ground zero for the alternative revolution in children's programming, and I'm so happy I was there for it.

47.) SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST (1994 - 2008)
"Welcome back, stupid viewers! You'll watch anything!" One of the oddest TV series of all time, this late night talk show hosted by an intergalactic superhero with rapid-fire lowbrow humor and rough animation lifted from a 1966 Hanna-Barbera cartoon series is one of the greatest treasures of the medium. There is a consistent bizarre rhythm that takes this series beyond parody and into some strange comedy dimension where I want to live. This is the kind of show that will make you laugh and then make you question why you laughed. The best kind, in my opinion.

46.) PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE (1986 - 1990)
"Presenting his majesty... The King of Cartoons!" The ultimate Saturday morning arthouse experience (preserved beautifully by our heroes at Shout! Factory) this show bursted at the seams with imagination and insanity while at the same time educating and embracing racial equality. Also, if you're a fan of this show but have never seen the Christmas special, do yourself a favor and seek it out right now. Critic Jeffrey Kauffman wrote, "Even the legendary Salvador Dalí might have wondered what hallucinogenic Mrs. Dalí slipped into his meal had he been alive to watch any given episode." There has never been anything remotely like this in children's television, and most likely there never will be again. This is an amazing and unforgettably weird series.

45.) ROWAN & MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN (1968 - 1973)
"Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls!" One of the most chaotic comedies in history, this variety show was the biggest show on TV during its time. It was nonsensical vaudeville with political satire - a maniacal musical social commentary featuring a terrifically goofy cast (including Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin) that remains incredibly relevant today. There were so many rapid-fire jokes crammed into each surreal episode that it is hard to catch them all in one viewing, adding up to a wonderful time capsule of the era.

44.) BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (1997 - 2003)
"In every generation, there is a chosen one..." While I am a fan of the 1992 film that the series was based on, this show is the true Buffy. Joss Whedon's creation about a typical high school girl with the ability to spot and kill supernatural monsters, which she balances with homework and friendships, would brilliantly push itself more and more outside of conventional storytelling norms as the series went on, moving into some truly dark territory all while maintaining its wonderfully unique sense of humor. This series popularized TV horror in a way no other shows before it had, presenting high school as a literal Hell. Its dialogue was considered so unique that it became known as "Buffyspeak", and every episode was crammed with metaphors for rebellion, subversion, predation, and sexuality. There is not a wasted word or missed beat in this entire series.

43.) LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN (1993 - 2009)
"You've got a good show... for me to poop on!" I will always love Conan, but the true gold mine of his material resides in his first iteration of Late Night (the pilot opens with him cheerfully about to hang himself at the pressure of living up to Letterman) which featured everything from a cigar chomping insult comic dog to a masturbating bear. The show was panned by critics for being too weird and O'Brien for being too inexperienced, which is exactly what made it better than anything else in late night television at the time. O'Brien wrote a review of the first episode for the New York Times called "O'Brien Flops!" in which he told readers, "Frankly, I was not impressed."

42.) 30 ROCK (2006 - 2013)
"Ambition is the willingness to kill the things you love and eat them to survive. Haven't you ever read my throw pillow?" What started as a very funny sitcom quickly became the funniest show on television with its absurd, surreal humor inspired by the making of Saturday Night Live. This show started solid and only got better all the way through to its series finale. I will forever continue to return to the lunacy of this wildly wacky comedy masterpiece filled with rich, zany characters and an endless guest star roster.

41.) THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW (1956 - 1964)
"Without laughter, life on our planet would be intolerable." Steve Allen was the co-creator and the first host of The Tonight Show, which was the first late night television talk show. This was his first primetime spinoff, and his wacky comedy inspired David Letterman, Steve Martin, and Robin Williams with segments such as Allen becoming a human hood ornament, jumping into vats of oatmeal and cottage cheese, and being slathered with dog food and allowing dogs backstage to feast on him. The show launched and fostered the careers of many, and remains the greatest of all the late night shows it would inspire.

40.) TWIN PEAKS (1990 - 1991)
"This must be where pies go when they die." One of the most original and unusual shows ever to air on network television, this hit series would inspire a (wonderfully strange) movie and a reboot, none of which would match the quality of its original surreal and quirky storytelling about the murder of a small town's prom queen. This show perfectly captures the darkness beneath America's wholesome surface in one of the most visually haunting mysteries to ever grace a TV set.

39.) THE BEANY AND CECIL SHOW (1959 - 1962)
"Do you think there is too much violence on television?" A lampoon of the current political issues at the time wrapped in a children's show about a boy, his captain uncle, and a seasick serpent with a lisp. This spin-off of the Emmy award-winning puppet show, Time for Beany, was created by (my favorite) Looney Tunes director, Bob Clampett, and would later inspire the creation of Mystery Science Theater 3000. This is a show that fully embraced the sugar-fuled magic of Saturday morning programming and it's a tragedy that this series is currently under-discussed. These are the funniest TV cartoons ever made, infused with the psychedelic humor of a mad genius, consistently spiraling out of control and into complete mayhem.

38.) CHAPPELLE'S SHOW (2003 - 2006)
"It's not HBO. It's regular ass TV." Critic Kurt Dahlke describes this show best in his review stating, "Brilliant, outrageous comedy that demands intelligence and immaturity while staring in the face of bigotry." This show was too short-lived, and even while considering Chappelle's own issues with some of the series' sketches, it's hard not to fall in love with the insanity of these episodes from a comedian who says he was inspired by Bugs Bunny. Pair this show with Michel Gondry's 2005 film, Dave Chappelle's Block Party.

37.) THE CRITIC (1994 - 1995)
"It stinks!" I guess it shouldn't be surprising that a cartoon about an overweight, balding, single parent movie critic wasn't a mainstream success, but that's the charm of this show - it's something that is shocking it ever got made in the first place. This show thrives on obscure movie references (even more obscure now that we are decades removed from its time), so I would typically only recommend it to film buffs, as its parody of the industry is its biggest strength. For movie fans, this show is impossible not to love!

36.) BOY MEETS WORLD (1993 - 2000)
"I don't understand anything about my entire life." Ben Savage did not try and imitate his big brother's dramedy, The Wonder Years, with this show - in fact, it runs entirely in the opposite direction. This show has a lot of heart and is a lot of fun, and I literally grew up with these characters (Topanga being my first crush). It's the kind of show they just don't make anymore (even though there is a wonderful reboot called Girl Meets World, the tone is completely different), sitcoms in the 90s just had a different grasp on presenting comedy that felt like it was actually performed in front of a live studio audience, something absent from today's slickly produced programs, even if they recorded live. If you subscribe to Disney+ the entire series is currently available to stream, I highly recommend adding it to your watchlist!

35.) GUNSMOKE (1955 - 1975)
"What's the matter, Doc? Someone pull you through a knot hole?" Radio's last hurrah made, in a revolutionary move, the successful transition as TV's first "adult western". It stands today as one of the greatest shows of all time. This was a series all about dramatic characters and avoided the epic tropes of movie westerns at that time (even though one of its directors was Sam Peckinpah, and the pilot was introduced by John Wayne.) The first 26 episodes were all directed by one man, Charles Marquis Warren, who also wrote several of the episodes. This was an incredibly intimate show and as a kid watching these episodes with my grandparents, I believed not only that the characters were real but that they were actually filmed in the Old West. This isn't an easy show to find outside of the DVD releases, which can cost quite a bit considering there are 20 seasons. I'm hoping to see it properly streamed one day, as the CBS app currently only has seasons 6 and 7 available.

34.) COMEDIANS IN CARS GETTING COFFEE (2012 - )
"I have never seen anyone drink so much coffee in my entire life." One of the simplest concepts ever executed - Jerry Seinfeld introduces a vintage car selected for a guest comedian, followed by a drive to a restaurant for coffee. That's it, and it's one of the most entertaining talk shows ever produced. Facebook and Vimeo both suggested that if the show exceeded 5 minutes per episode it would be a failure. As we cruise through Seinfeld's 11th caffeine-fueled season, I am very happy he ignored that advice.

33.) DR. KATZ, PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST (1995 - 2002)
"Sometimes I think that the dream is reality and life is the simulacrum." One of the first hits for Comedy Central (presented in Squigglevision!) follows the life of psychologist Jonathan Katz and his comedian patients, proving that laughter truly is the best medicine. This absurd cartoon feels like therapy on a talk show recorded without a studio audience, a show which Dave Attell once referred to as "a comedic garbage dump of material." This show is dry wit at its finest.

32.) ALIAS SMITH AND JONES (1971 - 1973)
"The two most successful outlaws in the history of the West." A spirited Western romp executed in the style of 1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, this Universal series is probably the most under-discussed of all the popular cowboy television shows. Based on true events and characters, two outlaws secretly strike a deal with a governor to stay on the right side of the law for 12 months - if they do, they'll be granted amnesty. The only catch is that they'll have to elude all of the lawmen and criminals who wish to profit from turning them in. This is an intelligent, funny, action-packed adventure with intriguing stories from Glen A. Larson, the creator of Battlestar Galactica!

31.) SOUTH PARK (1997 - )
"Oh my God, they killed Kenny!" The Hollywood Reporter's first review says that this show is "a collection of poorly paced, lowest-common-denominator setups that are not even sophomorically funny or scatologically goofy" going on to call the show "witless" and "dumb." This rude and crude cartoon is a foul-mouthed masterpiece, and as a kid in school when it first came out, the show felt like a revolution in its obscenity. After 23 seasons it is still going strong.

30.) THE VIRGINIAN (1962 - 1971)
"The west had grown up. It had changed. But this breed of man was still there, still looking for the fun and headlong adventure." This sensational and iconic 90-minute Western series can be perfectly summed up with its quote, "If there's a wrong, you fight it. If you don't, you become a part of it." This is a wonderful drama filled with beautiful scripts and terrific performances, and its 9 seasons of magic can be experienced if you have a subscription to STARZ.

29.) ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (2003 - 2006)
"Now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together..." There are very few comedies out there that can stand up to this show, which is easily the greatest of the dysfunctional family genre. The chemistry of this first-rate cast is unbelievable, every episode filled with unpredictable moments and marvelously funny storylines. One of the most imaginative and hilarious sitcoms out there, it's a shame that a show this great struggled so much.

28.) SISKEL & EBERT & THE MOVIES (1986 - 1999)
"Two thumbs up!" No other critic has shaped the way I think about film more than Roger Ebert. Even today, years after he has passed, I refer to his reviews in seeking out classic films and to inform the way in which I write and speak about them. That influence all began with this show in which two film critics share their opinions about newly released movies. One of the greatest on-air love/hate relationships in TV history. Be sure to seek out their interview segments on Letterman via YouTube. There will never be another Ebert. I also recommend his beautifully written book, Life Itself.

27.) COMMUNITY (2009 - 2015)
"I'm so sick of the dean jamming his PC-ness down my throat." A formulaic sitcom premise disguised what might have been the most unique and groundbreaking writing I have ever witnessed on television. I came to this hilariously cynical series after it had ended, but will forever continue returning to it. One of the few shows out there that I feel has a direct line to my soul. Evident in its gleefully suicide-induced theme song, this is a bright comedy about dark times in the lives of adults who all consider themselves failures, all colliding in a study group at a "community college-shaped toilet."

26.) IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA (2005 - )
"Dayman, fighter of the Nightman." A comedy about reprobates and narcissists featuring a group of friends who are consistently on the verge of turning on each other, this insanely funny and smartly written series is currently in its 14th season (not bad for a show that started with struggling actors making a short film on a digital camera) and for a good reason, it's one of the funniest shows in the history of television. It knows no bounds, it's like someone cut the brake lines but no one is letting their foot off the gas anyways. One of the most ambitious comedies ever made.

25.) BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (2004 - 2009)
"Earth is a dream... one we've been chasing for a long time." At the time of its release, this was the most important thing to happen to science fiction in a long time. This is one of the most beautiful shows ever produced, and I was very fortunate to interview several people who worked on it for this blog. For an intimate study on man's relationship with God, technology, and humanity (or to see space cowboys fighting robots) look no further than this epic series.

24.) ELLEN (1994 - 1998)
"What is that, gay humor? Because I don't get it - that's how un-gay I am." There is no way to convey just how big of a deal it was for a major star to come out on primetime television in the 90s. When Ellen DeGeneres came out in real life, she decided to have her sitcom character do the same. Within what seemed no time at all, her show was canceled (a move that Ellen had to discover by reading about it in the trades) and she was practically banned from Hollywood, with even Elton John going on record telling her, "We get it, you're gay. Now shut up and be funny." Before this reveal in season four's "The Puppy Episode", Ellen (previously known as These Friends of Mine) was a show that helped me find my sense of humor. It was during the time of this show that I purchased her stand-up album Taste This, from which I stole several jokes to tell at the lunch table. This was not only an important series to me personally but groundbreaking in its ability to bring homosexuality to light for the first time on what was essentially a family show. This started an important conversation in our country, and gave us one of our most beloved entertainers with a simple, profound message - "Be kind to one another."

23.) THE SIMPSONS (1989 - )
"As long as you're on TV people will respect you." The idea of a cartoon for adults was deemed a risk at the time of its release, but cut to 31 seasons later and The Simpsons is one of the most influential shows in television history, not to mention consistently one of the best shows on the air. I seriously doubt there's a single person reading this who needs me to describe the show. I'm very thankful to Disney+ for adding every single episode to their service - being a kid when this show premiered, many of us were not allowed to watch it due to its "bad attitude", we never could have anticipated Disney eventually buying it! I'm gonna go unwrap a Butterfinger and binge before finishing this list.

22.) FIREFLY (2002 - 2003)
"I aim to misbehave." The biggest cult TV show of the millennium was also the most mishandled series ever by a network. If you don't love Firefly I can say with confidence that you are wrong. This is one of those rare shows that has inspired legions of fans around the world, myself being one of those convention attendees who has paid to take photos with the cast. No shame here. The protagonists are losers of a futuristic Civil War, diverse characters on a series of adventures including a girl by the name of River with a superior mind that has been enhanced to its breaking point by scientists. This show helped usher quality science fiction back to the world of television, as well as its own major motion picture adaptation by Universal with 2005's fantastic Serenity (mandatory viewing as the series finale of this wonderful show).

21.) ADVENTURE TIME (2010 - 2018)
"Something weird might just be something familiar viewed from a different angle." One of the few shows to perfectly capture absolutely everything I love about animation. Has there ever been a stranger or more imaginative show? Even at its weirdest and funniest moments the show has something deep to say about the meaning of life. Sometimes bright, colorful, and sweet as candy and sometimes very dark and demented, the series truly feels like an adventure of the human spirit that will have you laughing through each of its incredibly fun 11-minute episodes. I wish this was part of my Saturday morning lineup as a kid, I'm jealous of those who grew up with this.

20.) THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JOHNNY CARSON (1962 - 1992)
"Exactly what time did I lose control of this show?" Long before The Tonight Show became a showcase for viral YouTube clips of games and bits, Johnny Carson hosted what can best be described as a live cocktail party where friends enjoyed conversations and joke-telling each weeknight. His long, in-depth conversations with guests is something that is missing from late night shows today. For some reason networks don't think we have the attention spans to handle real interviews with shows like these, which had a tendency to be gut-bustlingly hilarious. Johnny is the true master of conversation, and my first late night obsession as a kid.

19.) MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 (1988 - 1999)
"In the not-too-distant future, next Sunday A.D." This show is truly a masterpiece, with a simple yet brilliant concept - three characters watch a bad movie and make fun of it. This series took one of my biggest pet peeves - talking during a movie - and turned it into an art form. It simultaneously turns cinematic trash into comedy gold. The original series is a laugh riot, as is the movie produced by Universal featuring their classic film, This Island Earth. This series has been preserved in a gold mine of DVDs produced yet again by Shout! Factory.

18.) POLICE SQUAD! (1982)
"You take a big chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan." As a kid I was obsessed with the Naked Gun movies, but did not realize until later that they were all based on this short-lived TV show that was even funnier than the films. It may be TV's most perfect parody, with humor so dry and visual that if you are only listening to the show you might not even realize it is a comedy. This series was way ahead of its time, demanding the full attention its viewers to fully appreciate its comedy. Highly recommended for those who appreciate the silly side of life.

17.) THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS (1986 - 1991)
"Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis. What's that, a law firm?" This show evoked feelings in me as a kid unlike anything else, a purely imaginative and terrifying series that equipped me with the ability to face my darkest fears head-on with a razor sharp sense of humor. This show was funny but offered up horror that we kids weren't used to on Saturday mornings, making it more unique and enticing than anything else on television at the time. The writing of the show, especially in the first two seasons (overseen by script editor J. Michael Straczynski), is very smart, fleshing out the character's relationships as well as the fictional physics of the technology. Perhaps the most genius move in the setup is that the cartoon characters are the real Ghostbusters, and the movies exist within the fictional world as films based on their lives. I can't even begin to fully express how much I love the character designs here, the work of Everett Peck on this show deserves a blog post all of its own. Some of the nightmare-inducing images (such as the Boogieman) convince me that the artists on this show hated children. But hey, I ain't afraid of no ghost.

16.) THE ERIC ANDRE SHOW (2012 - Present)
"I've always been obsessed with awkward television and bad public access." Eric Andre has destroyed the talk show genre. It can never be the same. I grew up loving late night talk shows, but after the creation of this series it must be put to sleep. It can never be taken seriously again. Let's be honest, every late night talk show is ripping off everything that came before it. We are afraid to progress into something new. This is show is anarchy defined. I have never experienced anything like it, perfectly described by Rolling Stone as a "nightmarish funhouse."

15.) WALT DISNEY'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR (1961 - 1969)
"The world we live in would look pretty dull if Mother Nature used a black and white palette." Originally known as Walt Disney's Disneyland (1954 - 1958) and then Walt Disney Presents (1958 - 1961), this anthology show was renamed before airing on NBC (formally ABC) and introduced a new character, Ludwig Von Drake, who was the first Disney cartoon created for television. The show began by dealing with the principals of color and became the showcase for some incredible new made for TV content (my favorite being 1963's Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh), new animation, and network premieres of theatrical films. Easily the most magical of all Disney TV shows.

14.) ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS (1955 - 1965)
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to darkest Hollywood." Just the mention of his name and his theme song - Funeral March of a Marionette by Charles Gounod - starts playing in your head, doesn't it? You can just see him stepping into his hand-drawn silhouette. The show was ultimately a marketing gimmick similar to Walt Disney's, in this case making the man synonymous with mystery, murder, and intrigue. The cherry on top of these wonderful, experimental episodes of great television was Hitchcock hosting them, always with a strong dose of black comedy.

13.) BATMAN (1966 - 1968)
"Tune in tomorrow - same bat-time, same bat-channel!" This, the most iconically absurd portrayal of Gotham City, will always be my favorite iteration of the Dark Knight. A goofy creation full of wonderfully evil and over-the-top villains portrayed by incredible actors unafraid to be extremely silly in the funniest adventures of our caped crusaders ever committed to film. This was my introduction to Batman as a kid, and holy toledo nothing in the D.C. Universe has topped it for me since!

12.) MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS (1969 - 1974)
"And now for something completely different..." Probably the most influential comedy troupe (and TV show, for that matter) of the past 50 years. It's as weird and wonderful as comedy can get, perfectly described by critics as a "hilarious and thought-provoking kaleidoscope of madness and mayhem." I find that many people who have seen and love Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) have somehow missed this groundbreaking series, which is as wacky and wonderfully silly as anything I've ever seen.

11.) GET A LIFE (1990 - 1992)
"America's most lovable psycho." I cannot believe this show ever made it to network TV. It is the most unusual sitcom ever produced, one that seems to be buried in obscurity but has recently been resurrected in all of its black comedy glory on DVD by none other than Shout! Factory. Chris Elliot plays a 30-year-old paperboy who lives at home with his parents in a show so strange that it would nowadays only be seen on a network like Adult Swim. Watching it will ruin all other sitcoms for you as it destroys the formula we have all become numb to. There was nothing like this when it aired, and nothing has matched its odd existence since.

10.) STRANGER THINGS (2016 - Present)
"Mornings are for coffee and contemplation." I cannot sum this series up better than critic Martin Liebman did in his review of the collectible VHS-themed Blu-ray box set saying, "an amazing show with a decidedly Spielberg flair and flavor. It's not easy to describe beyond calling it a beautifully assembled, instantly absorbing, and extraordinarily collage of classic movie elements in a convincingly 80s period." This series is an homage to moviemaking magic, and it turn becomes magic itself. Though it is rooted in nostalgia, it feels like something entirely new - and, in many ways, bests the content it is paying tribute to. I'm so happy to have Winona Ryder back.

9.) NBC'S SATURDAY NIGHT (1975 - 1977)
"Live from New York..." Lorne Michaels gave sketch comedy new relevance with his groundbreaking series Saturday Night Live. The first 5 years of the show, known as NBC's Saturday Night, had much more of a rebellious, underground feel... almost like a real life Wayne's World. It's hard to make this hugely successful series feel underground now, even if the show pushes boundaries it will forever feel like a slick, corporate show. The first 5 years had no such polish and even stumbled to find its footing through the first season, referring to its cast as "The Not Ready for Prime Time Players" and boasting memorable repeat guest appearances by comedians like Steve Martin and Andy Kauffman. The show also featured adult segments of Jim Henson's Muppets (no Kermit the Frog here, folks. All creepy monsters), experimental short films by Albert Brooks, and The Mr. Bill Show which remains the funniest clay-made content in history. This will forever remain my favorite years of SNL.

8.) THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959 - 1964)
"You unlock this door with the key of imagination..." This series was something wholly unique in the history of television, a science fiction/fantasy/horror show aimed squarely at adults - which is, in all honesty, still more thrilling and chilling than anything being done in those genres today. Filled with smart and scary social commentary delivered by Rod Serling, who beamed into America's living rooms for 5 years as our host from another dimension... of sight, sound, and mind. The dimension of imagination. It is a cynical yet hopeful show, fueled by the mysteries and terrors of the unknown. If you haven't already, dive deep into Serling's reflective and insightful netherworld in the "middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition." There's the sign post up ahead... your next stop, The Twilight Zone.

7.) SEINFELD (1989 - 1998)
"Yada, yada, yada..." One of the most influential series of all time, and the first network sitcom to openly discuss taboo topics such as masturbation (an entire episode was built around the subject), Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David brought us a show with mean main characters that exposed the awkwardness of modern living. This was a show with characters that the creators did not care if you liked, the series' motto being: "No hugs. No learning." This "show about nothing" made us laugh about everything, even those things we were taught not to laugh at. The quality of Seinfeld does not once dip during its 180 episodes, they only get better and better, right up until its controversial series finale, a joke on its audience which I truly loved.

6.) THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM (1950 - 1965)
"I'm honest. When another comedian has a lousy show, I'm the first one to admit it." A comedy gold mine that is sadly fading into obscurity (recently resurrected on DVD by, you guessed it, Shout! Factory). Jack Benny plays himself (similar to Larry David) as a cheap, vain, superficially charming, untalented TV star in a late night/variety show/sitcom setting. He was a master of comic timing and subtle expressions who constantly broke character laughing at his guest stars during their bits, always revealing his pure joy and love of the craft. I'm hoping to see more eventual high quality releases of this show on DVD, but until then there is more than enough material available through Shout! Factory to get you started.

5.) YOU BET YOUR LIFE (1947 - 1960)
"Say the secret word and win $100." Groucho Marx successfully turned his comedic radio quiz show into a long-running television series which required little more than a desk and a featureless background as his face was the source of all the entertainment. This is technically a game show, but most of the time was spent in Groucho's hilarious conversations with the contestants. Shout! Factory (surprise, surprise) has released two beautifully packaged DVD sets of this series, and every episode presented is a laugh riot thanks to Groucho's masterful razor wit.

4.) THE REN & STIMPY SHOW (1991 - 1995)
"Blast off to adventure in the amazing year 400 Billion!" Words can never express what this show means to me. Growing up, it was my primary source of happiness and inspiration. I would get lost in doodling the characters during school, sometimes turning in math tests with nothing but sketches of the characters on the page. My classmates actually paid me (in dimes) to draw these characters on notebook paper for them. I've interviewed the majority of the crew who worked on the show for this blog, much of which was used for a recent Ren & Stimpy book, and an oral printed history of its production for Hogan's Alley was my first paid commission as a writer. Most recently, I have executive produced a documentary about the show called Happy Happy, Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story, which is soon to be released. Needless to say, this show has had a major impact on my life. I will quote critic Bill Gibron in describing this show, he sums it up beautifully - "It arrived unannounced like a cataclysmic storm, packing the kind of instant success punch that very few cartoons ever produce. From the first moment it sprung its satire and surrealism onto an unwary public, genuine hysteria ensued. A new giant in the animated realm of anarchy was crowned. No one had ever seen anything like it. It spoke to a modern sensibility as it recalled several bygone eras. The jokes were as crude as the drawings, and all the elements that made pen and ink programs so successful (understandable plots, consistent character modeling, likable heroes) were virtually non-existent. There was a level of mean-spiritedness and menace that seemed to suggest a few very disturbed minds behind the cel-based shenanigans. It was a strange, unexplainable triumph - one surrounded by several befuddling ideals. It no longer gets the rousing respect it once owned outright. During its heyday, it was heralded and hated, praised as genius and degraded as trash. It screwed with the standards. It was animation pushing the envelope, paving the way for others to surpass and excel. The series lingers in the minds of its fans because of its overwhelming originality. It's just too bad it got lost in the shuffle."

3.) THE MUPPET SHOW (1976 - 1981)
"It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights..." Jim Henson was an absolute genius, and this Emmy-winning series is my favorite example as to why everyone refers to him as such. This anarchic series is all about the backstage fun and chaos of putting on a show, itself a show about making show. This seems to be the most fun Henson ever had behind the felt, and it shows in every glowing moment of the series. Overstuffed with celebrities, musical numbers, and puns, this show was the first to spark in me a desire to entertain, and taught me to laugh even when things go terribly wrong. This series perfectly defines the mayhem and happiness that is The Muppets.

2.) LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN (1982 - 1993)
"There is no off position on the genius switch." David Letterman has always been my favorite comedian and late night talk show host, even in his final CBS years on Late Show he was still rebelling against the system. But his early years were highly bizarre and anarchic. His new show on Netflix is a refreshing take on talk shows, but nothing matches the high octane insanity of his original late night series. I will leave all the surprises unspoiled as you can venture down this rabbit hole via YouTube, but I will leave you with the premiere episode's opening monologue as it perfectly captures the strange spirit of the best late night talk show in TV history... "Good evening. Certain NBC executives feel it would be a little unkind to present this show without just a word of friendly warning. We are about to unfold a show featuring David Letterman; a man of science who sought to create a show after his own image, without reckoning upon God. It's one of the strangest tales ever told. I think it will thrill you. It may shock you; it might even horrify you. So if any of you feel like you don't care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now's your chance. Well, we warned you."

1.) ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS (1959 - 1964)
"And now, here's something we hope you'll really like..." I'll never forget my dad bringing home the new collection when I was a kid, retitled The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle for its VHS release. Here is a show (set during the Cold War) that rarely gets the credit it deserves. Above all other things in life, this sophisticated, political, wickedly satirical, and outright goofy show implanted in me a sense of humor. Watching this with my dad, we both laughed our way through the episodes, only he was laughing at the jokes I didn't get. The sloppy, minimal animation was a magical delight to behold! The show's strengths were its writing, colors, voice acting, and music. The thing that really caught my attention is that these characters are all very much self-aware. They know they are Saturday morning cartoon characters and constantly address the viewer. This was the wittiest, most inspired, and relentless half hours of animation ever produced, packed with a gleeful magic and cumulative joy that transcended the crude animation. Jay Ward was its magnificent visionary, who actually lobbied Washington for statehood for Moosylvania. No other show completely defines my personality like this one.

Rocky: Bullwinkle, you know what A-bomb means!
Bullwinkle: Sure! A bomb is what some people call our program.
Rocky: I don't think that's so funny.
Bullwinkle: Neither do they, apparently.

"The space between the television set and the viewer is holy ground." - Fred Rogers

King of the Swingers: The Pre-Code Tarzan Films

2019-10-29T16:13:00.002-07:00

(Illustration by Kaelin Richardson)

"I do not understand what you mean exactly by fear," said Tarzan. - Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes (1912)

May 1st, 1989. The Disney-MGM Studios, a theme park inspired by show business and itself an actual operating production studio, opened its doors to the public at the Walt Disney World Resort for the very first time. Transported to the Golden Age of Hollywood, you could stroll down the Sunset Boulevard of a bygone era, star in an episode of I Love Lucy in front of a live studio audience, and dine at the Hollywood Brown Derby. My favorite restaurant in the world is located next to a cinema bookshop, Sci-Fi Dine-In, which is modeled after a 1950s drive-in theater where you are served food by carhops on roller skates while parked in a convertible under the stars watching old science fiction and horror movie trailers and vintage cartoons on the big screen. A dark ride located inside the park's replica of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood's most famous movie palace, delivered on its promise to me as a kid to be "A Spectacular Journey Into the Movies". The Great Movie Ride transported you to the Old West, the rooftops of London, the far reaches of space, and along the yellow brick road. John Travolta's character from Pulp Fiction might have described this attraction as "a wax museum with a pulse," as it featured Audio-Animatronic figures recreating iconic scenes from classic films throughout motion picture history. You'll see dancers from Busby Berkeley's musical spectacular Footlight Parade (1933) to your right, and Gene Kelly literally Singin' in the Rain (1952) to your left. The ride journeys to the seedy underbelly of Chicago to showcase the birthplace of gritty and violent gangster films of the Great Depression with James Cagney in The Public Enemy (1931), then to the legendary American wild frontier with Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name" on your right, and John Wayne (or Duke) on your left. From there you would find yourself aboard the Nostromo from Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) alongside Ripley with some terrifying Xenomorphs bursting from the walls and dropping from the ceiling, eventually arriving at a scary scene inspired by the very first horror film, Georges Méliès' The House of the Devil (1896). It was incredible to find all of this in a Disney ride and I credit the park with sparking my love for film. In the 90s I was actually able to see movies made here, including watching animators working on Disney's 37th animated feature film version of Tarzan. Too bad that the park has since been gutted of all its charm. Anyways, from a mummy's tomb aglow with the red eyes of creepy skeletons, we move into Africa...

"This is the jungle home of the most famous movie character of them all, Tarzan. The movies' most popular Tarzan is undoubtedly Johnny Weissmuller, who starred in twelve films as the King of the Jungle." In this gorgeous room we see the beautiful Jane (based on Maureen O'Sullivan) sitting atop an elephant to our left and the mysterious Tarzan swinging on a vine through the trees to our right, belting out his iconic jungle call (one of the most recognizable sounds of the 20th century). And of course the couple's ape friend, Cheeta, is present as well. This ride was remarkable and inspired me to seek out dozens of classic films upon the return home from my Orlando vacation. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a sucker for movies featuring men in monkey suits, which I've admired in everything from Dizzy Detectives (1943) to Trading Places (1983), so Tarzan landed on the top of my list, but I had no idea just how much I would end up loving these films. Starting with W.S. Van Dyke's Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), the MGM pictures had wonderful production value and elaborate sets, and most importantly endlessly entertaining performances by its lead actors Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, and (of course) Jiggs the chimpanzee as Cheeta!

"The best known... the most loved character ever conceived in the mind of man." - Ridiculous text from the trailer of Tarzan and His Mate (1934).

Before the Hays Code was strictly enforced in 1934, which regulated rigid moral guidelines in motion pictures, movies were allowed to be sexy - and boy, were these ape-man movies ever sexy! Jane and Tarzan spend the entirety of these pictures practically naked, there's even a nude swimming scene in the first sequel, Tarzan and His Mate (1934), which was originally banned from the final cut but restored once a print resurfaced around 1987. But it wasn't just the flashes of skin that made these pictures burst at the seams with its steaming fervidity, it was the performances of the actors who with just a glance could set the celluloid on fire. Beyond the extravagant sets and erotic romance, these movies were both wildly fun and funny. Found in O'Sullivan's timing and delivery of dialogue is some highly underrated comedy, and it's refreshing that her character is not a girl who is in constant need of being saved - instead, the charm of Jane's relationship with Tarzan is that he needs her just as much as she needs him. I loved that she translated his language for those intruding in their jungle home. O'Sullivan showcased intelligence, femininity, tenacity, and a great sense of humor - and she almost wasn't cast in the part.

Maureen O'Sullivan sailed to New York in October of 1929 from her home in Ireland on her way to Hollywood aboard the British steamer, R.M.S. Baltic. Her film career began when she met director Frank Borzage, who suggested she take a screen test. She did and won a part in a movie, which led to appearing in six films for 20th Century Fox. "Fox fired me, saying that I was poison at the box office," said O'Sullivan, "and I pointed out the window at some oleanders saying that they were poison and they're beautiful." In 1932 she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer where, after several roles, she was chosen by head of production Irving Thalberg to play Jane Parker in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932). In the books Jane was American, but in the films (six in total) she was to be portrayed as British. "My dad always loved Maureen," says Johhny Weissmuller, Jr., "she was a good buddy and consummate professional." When O'Sullivan was asked about a real life romance with her co-star, she replied, "I went out with Johnny once, and that was only because the studio made us." She spoke fondly of her time working with him, saying, "He was a big kid who enjoyed having fun with people. I got sick of it for a while being known as Jane, but as the years go by, I'm happy."

Johnny Weissmuller wasn't MGM's first choice, either, with Clark Gable and Douglas Fairbanks already in talks to play Tarzan. However, director Van Dyke wanted "someone who looked natural undressed." Weissmuller spent his formative years in a pair of trunks as, pre-Tarzan, he was an Olympic swimmer who won five gold medals and one bronze in the 1920s. Weissmuller also won 52 United States championships and set 67 world records, he never lost a race and retired with an unbeaten amateur record! In regards to looking natural undressed, he truly fit the bill, having been a model for BVD and appearing in nothing but a fig leaf for Paramount's wonderful musical comedy, Glorifying the American Girl (1929). Still, he'd never had acting lessons, and producer Bernie Hyman said that he didn't like his name, determining that it was "too long." Weissmuller's name came up after screenwriter Cyril Hume recognized him at the Hollywood Athletic Club and asked him to test for the part. Ultimately, Hyman's entourage convinced him that Weissmuller came with built-in publicity, having already achieving fame as the world's fastest swimmer. There was also something very "cat-like" about him.

Swedish poster art for Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

Author Edgar Rice Burroughs, though pleased with Weissmuller's performance, hated the studio's depiction of a Tarzan who barely spoke English. Some phrases, like "ungowa", were created for the films. A fun drinking game will be taking a shot every time you hear this phrase used, seemingly meaning something different each time it is uttered. Weissmuller, though not cinema's first Tarzan (that credit goes to Elmo Lincoln), was the first to yodel the Tarzan yell, and it remains the greatest of all the jungle calls. The yell was created by the sound department as a mix of three vocalists spliced together - a soprano, an alto, and a hog caller. In addition to Jane's origins, another deviation from the book involves comic relief in the form of a chimpanzee by the name of Cheeta. This animal actor, named Jiggs, had been raised and trained by Tony and Jacqueline Gentry, brought up alongside a collie named Spanky. Jiggs refused to do any film work without the dog present, who was used to control him on the set.

The first film was shot on Lot One of the MGM Studios in Culver City, and would co-star lions and elephants from their Movieland Zoo. The elephants were from Indonesia (it used to be thought that you couldn't train an African elephant) where these are domestic animals who in the movies have giant rubber ears glued on (along with fake tusks) to make them look African, which stand out terribly but, hey, at least they tried. Woody Van Dyke, the director of the first film (and a ghost director on the second), was known as "One-take Van Dyke" - as recounted by O'Sullivan, "I'd ask if I could do a scene again and he'd say, 'No, you should have thought of it the first time." Van Dyke also used a wealth of stock footage from his successful 1931 film, Trader Horn, to create Africa for scenes that were shot in Toluca Lake. For all its influences, one thing that you don't ever hear is the line of dialogue, "Me Tarzan, you Jane." This is a line invented by the public that caught on but does not officially appear anywhere in the original films or books, it is interestingly the most famous quote in connection with Tarzan.

Tarzan and His Mate screening in Shanghai's Concert Hall in 1934.

Tarzan the Ape Man was MGM's biggest film of the season, a tremendous box office success which made a great deal of money, with an average of seven screenings per theater each day. 1933 saw the release of King Kong, which inspired a big sequel to Tarzan - it would be the most expensive and longest in the series, along with a showcase of the richest production value and most action. Tarzan and His Mate (1934), in my opinion, is the greatest Tarzan movie ever made. It is a direct sequel which picks up right where the first one ends. It is without a doubt the sexiest, something that would be watered down in the remaining sequels - Moving forward, our characters would be modestly clothed and Jane's costume (the most revealing onscreen costume of that time) would never be worn again. "The second costume, the risqué one, was the good one," said O'Sullivan. Jane sleeps in the nude, swims nude, is constantly touched by Tarzan... they even sleep together, which was considered "startling" by Hollywood standards at the time. This picture has acquired cult status but was not a success like its predecessor, yet it is the only Tarzan movie to be selected for preservation in the National Film Registration by the United States Library of Congress. What made this second film so great? Was it the return of our wonderful actors reviving the characters we fell in love with in Tarzan the Ape Man? Was it the complex and gorgeous matte paintings and miniatures? Was it the film's spirit of naughty sexual freedom? Was it the lavish practical sets? (Just look at that elephant's graveyard!) Was it the insane stunt work? Was it seeing a man riding a rhinoceros for the first time on film? Was it the nude swim scene? Was it the outrageous violence and gruesome killings of the bloodthirsty onscreen massacres? Was it the screenplay by James Kevin McGuinness, who would go on to write A Night at the Opera (1935) and Rio Grande (1950)? Was it the men in ape suits? To all of this, I'd say: Yes.

"When Tarzan killed he more often smiled than scowled, and smiles are the foundation of beauty." - Edgar Rice Burroughs

It should not go unmentioned that these movies are racially insensitive, including the use of blackface for the natives who seem to be in the picture only to be used for massacres and torture scenes. Filmmaker John Landis says, "It's a racist idea, this white man being lord of the jungle." This is typical of American cinema in the earlier part of the twentieth century, sadly. See The Birth of a Nation (1915) for one of the more extreme examples of a highly regarded American film that is inherently racist. King Kong (1933) is sometimes credited with tackling racist issues, but I feel it was unintentional and that the original film is meant to be as racially insensitive as others produced at the time. Racist stereotypes were wrong then and they are wrong now, but as Whoopi Goldberg points out in regards to animation, "It reflects some of the prejudices that were commonplace in American society, especially when it came to the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities. Removing these inexcusable images would be the same as saying they never existed. They reflect a part of our history that cannot, and should not, be ignored." Films are more than just entertainment; they are a window through which we view American culture. Thankfully, we have come a long way as a country, but we still have a very long way to go.

Sharon Tate & Margot Robbie filling the shoes of Jane - Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966)/ The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

The Johnny Weissmuller/Maureen O'Sullivan Tarzan films were not the first, and certainly not the last, to be made about the ape man. They began in the silent era, with 1927's Tarzan and the Golden Lion featuring a then unknown Boris Karloff as the villain! Weissmuller continued making Tarzan films long after O'Sullivan left the series in 1942 (other studios were already making Tarzan films simultaneously, including Buster Crabbe as Tarzan in a 12-part serial), hanging up his loincloth for good after 1948's Tarzan and the Mermaids. Moving forward, Tarzan became unpredictable in his many incarnations, including a gritty (and Jane-less) adaptation in 1959 with Gordon Scott in the lead role of Paramount's Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (co-starring Sean Connery), an MGM remake of the original film that same year with Denny Miller in Tarzan, the Ape Man, and Tarzan-turned-James Bond (Mike Henry) in 1966's Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (which almost starred Sharon Tate in the "Jane" role, who pulled out at the last second). In 1981, Bo Derek would play Jane in a soft-core porn that is commonly referred to as one of the worst films of all time (though Ebert found it to have a certain charm), Tarzan, the Ape Man. In 1984, Andie McDowell would play Jane (alongside Christopher Lambert) in the well received Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes - what a lengthy title! Harry Potter director David Yates brought Tarzan back to the screen with Margot Robbie playing Jane (alongside Alexander Skarsgård) in 2016's The Legend of Tarzan with an impressive all-star cast, including Samuel L. Jackson. However, the only Tarzan to win an Oscar has been Disney's 1999 animated adaptation, Tarzan. This list doesn't even begin to touch on the character's representation in books, comics, television, theater, radio, and video games.

Over 30 actors have portrayed Tarzan for film alone, but none match the chemistry and magic of the Weissmuller/O'Sullivan era. Johnny Weissmuller would go on to open a chain of California health food stores in 1969, and in 1970's oversee a Florida theme park called Tropical Wonderland. Maureen O'Sullivan, mother of actress Mia Farrow, would continue to act - even appearing in such later films as Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Francis Ford Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married (1986). But the Tarzan films would be their greatest creative achievement. A testament to this fact is that they both have stars facing each other on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The pre-Code Tarzan films are movies whose importance were ingrained in me from the age of seven thanks to The Great Movie Ride, and were unconsciously a part of me even before having ridden it. I imagine that's true of everyone, whether or not you've seen any of the Tarzan films, you probably feel like you have. I'm fascinated by iconic properties that transcend their medium and become a part of our culture. I'd like to see Tarzan used in creative ways we've never imagined before... if I ever make a film, perhaps it will be Tarzan Goes to Space, or maybe even a horror picture starring the ape man. Imagine the monkey suits! Don't steal these ideas, even though they are golden. Until then, do yourself a favor and check out the wonderfully sexy and classic adventure films, Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) and Tarzan and His Mate (1934).

"Men were indeed more foolish and more cruel than the beasts of the jungle. How fortunate was he who lived in the peace and security of the great forest." - Tarzan of the Apes

Top 50 Favorite Films

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There has been nothing more precious to me in life than movies. They saved me from childhood depression and social anxiety, and gave me a common ground for conversation with my friends and family - in fact, my favorite childhood memories are of movies I watched with my parents and sister. I'll never forget the day Batman Returns was released on VHS and I proceeded to literally ruin my eyesight from countless repeat viewings while planted directly in front of the TV, my sister and I eventually putting on a stage play version (the stage being our den's fireplace) with makeup and masks purchased during Halloween. I have been an obsessive student of films since I was five years old after seeing Who Framed Roger Rabbit in a theater in 1988 (left kicking and screaming during the final scene from my utter fear of Judge Doom). The magic of making movies has always captured my imagination, and I moved to Hollywood in pursuit of being a part of them.

I tortured myself for weeks deciding what my 50 favorite movies of all time were, so I decided to set some rules. 1.) No repeating of directors, they get only one film each. 2.) These are not only my favorites, but also what I consider the greatest movies from my list of favorites. No film is listed purely for nostalgic reasons. 3.) Each film comes with a suggested pairing for a double-feature. 4.) The order in which they are listed is purely in the form of a playlist. Think of it as my mixtape of films for you. However, my #1 spot is truly my number one. 5.) I do not consider this a "Greatest" list, I don't believe in those. These are simply the films I love most. I hope you enjoy this list as much as I enjoyed making it.

"Every time I go to a movie, it's magic, no matter what the movie's about." - Steven Spielberg

50. THEY ALL LAUGHED (1981, Dir. Peter Bogdanovich)
"A New York Romance" proclaims the movie's poster for this under-discussed whimsical screwball detective comedy. This film is fueled by pure joy. It features the final starring roles of Audrey Hepburn and Dorothy Stratten. Pair this for a double-feature with Bogdanovich's equally silly What's Up, Doc? (1972).

49. L'AVVENTURA (1960, Dir. Michelangelo Antonioni)
"Words are becoming less and less necessary; they create misunderstandings." One of the most beautiful movies ever filmed. The title in English is "The Adventure", essentially about rich yet spiritually bankrupt people trying to escape boredom. There was nothing like it before its release, and nothing has really matched it since. Pair it with Antonioni's Blow-Up (1966).

48. MCCABE & MRS. MILLER (1971, Dir. Robert Altman)
"All you've cost me so far is money and pain." The most perfect film of Altman's career, and the most gorgeous, is an anti-western about flawed characters who want to build the ultimate whorehouse for miners. This film revitalized the genre while simultaneously deglamorizing it. Pair it with Altman's final film, A Prairie Home Companion (2006).

47. PIERROT LE FOU (1965, Dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
"It's easy for a girl to kill a lot of people." This film is one of the most puzzling I've ever seen. An experimental French crime comedy about silly characters who have seen too many Hollywood movies. One of the least conventional pictures ever made. Pair this with Godard's new wave masterpiece, Breathless (1960).

46. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004, Dir. Michel Gondry)
"Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders." Roger Ebert wrote that Charlie Kauffman was "the most gifted writer of the 2000s", and nowhere is that more evident than here with his story about the process of thought and memory and how they interact with love... and the obscure company in Boston willing to erase it all for you. Pair this with Gondry's other film about erasure, Be Kind Rewind (2008).

45. BADLANDS (1973, Dir. Terrence Malick)
"He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked just like James Dean." A dreamlike film about murders with no meaning. This mystical odyssey doesn't always feel like the nightmare it is, but the disassociation of our main characters with their actions is truly terrifying. Critic Kim Morgan appropriately sums up Malick's debut as "one of the most extraordinary first films in all of cinema." Pair it with William Witney's The Bonnie Parker Story (1958).

44. PANDORA'S BOX (1929, Dir. G.W. Pabst)
"You'll have to kill me to get rid of me." A silent film so modern it feels like it could have been made today. A controversial psycho-sexual melodrama about a showgirl named Lulu made an icon out of American actress Louise Brooks, who got herself banned from Hollywood before starring in what would later become the defining role of her career. In 1982 Brooks published a book of essays called Lulu in Hollywood which would become known as one of the greatest autobiographies on the industry from this era. Pair it with another Brooks film, Howard Hawks' A Girl in Every Port (1928).

43. THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974, Dir. Tobe Hooper)
"... one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history." This is the most horrifically raw and vile film ever made; so disgustingly grimy that it will make you sweat... you will literally smell the splatter on the other side of the screen. If there is a more effective horror movie out there I have yet to see it. It is a pure, unrelenting nightmare. It's also quite funny. Pair it with Hooper's other haunted house, Poltergeist (1982).

42. BOYZ N THE HOOD (1991, Dir. John Singleton)
"Either they don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on in the hood." In 1992 John Singleton, at 24, was the youngest filmmaker and first African American to ever be up for Best Director. This is one of the most important American movies ever made, and one of the most brilliant directorial debuts in Hollywood history. Pair it with Singleton's road picture starring Janet Jackson, Poetic Justice (1993).

41. MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001, Dir. David Lynch)
"It'll be just like in the movies, pretending to be somebody else." A dark vision of Los Angeles and a study of the subconscious' way of dealing with jealousy and revenge. The less said about this Hollywood film noir the better, not that I can actually explain this movie or even ruin it for you, watching it feels like getting lost in a weird dream that keeps growing scarier and more confusing. Pair it with Lynch's Lost Highway (1997).

40. ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968, Dir. Roman Polanski)
"You're not religious, my dear, are you?" This is a horrifying film set in a gothic New York City with some dark comedy twisted in. Not the only film on my list to be condemned by the Legion of Decency, but this film actually condemned the Legion! When the movie became a major hit, the Legion was disbanded. Several disturbing stories haunt the production of this film, including the direction Polanski's life headed after its release - Vanity Fair has labeled it "The Most Cursed Hit Movie Ever Made". Pair this with Polanski's Repulsion (1965).

39. THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY (1961, Dir. Ingmar Bergman)
"Give me a proof of his existence. You can't." Ingmar Bergman was the son of a Lutheran minister and in the late 1950s religion became the main focus of his work. This Academy Award winner is the first in a trilogy of films about Europe's collective crisis of faith in the modern era, or "exhausted Christianity." Every frame of this film is beautiful, and the outstanding performance by Harriet Andersson is unlike any I have ever seen. Bergman said in his 1987 autobiography, "I have struggled all my life with a tormented and joyless relationship with God." Pair this raw and powerful film with its trilogy, Winter Light (1963) and The Silence (1963).

38. AMERICAN HOT WAX (1978, Dir. Floyd Mutrux)
"You can stop me, but you can never stop rock and roll. Don't you know that?" This semi-fictionalized account of a week in the life of disc jockey Alan Freed is crafted with pure passion. This movie just might be rock-and-roll's biggest fan (Freed actually coined the term), showcasing pure soul and joy in paying tribute to the man who introduced and popularized the music of the 1950s. Pair it with George Lucas' American Graffiti (1973).

37. GHOSTBUSTERS (1984, Dir. Ivan Reitman)
"Back off, man. I'm a scientist." The rare multimillion dollar production in which the biggest and most expensive special effects in the movie actually get the biggest laughs, inspired by films like Blithe Spirit (1945) and Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) that successfully mix supernatural and horror elements with comedy. Pair this with Aykroyd's epic and iconic musical comedy, The Blues Brothers (1980).

36. MYSTERY TRAIN (1989, Dir. Jim Jarmusch)
"You know, Memphis does look like Yokohama. Just more space." Not many films set out to explore the myth of Memphis, but this beautifully nostalgic comedy about two Japanese kids traveling to Tennessee on a rock-and-roll odyssey does a wonderful job of capturing the magic, including a haunting by the ghost of Elvis. Pair this with Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise (1984).

35. MONA LISA (1986, Dir. Neil Jordan)
"From the first time he met her, she was trapped. Like a bird in a cage." Inspired by a true story of a British ex-convict who was charged with violently "protecting ladies of the night against their Maltese pimps." Bob Hoskins may be my favorite actor and I highly recommend pairing this heartbreaking and sleazy gangster flick with The Long Good Friday (1980).

34. GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (1933, Dir. Mervyn LeRoy & Busby Berkely)
"It's all about the Depression. We won't have to rehearse that." Warner Bros. made the definitive picture of The Great Depression filled with wonderful songs and amazingly outrageous dance numbers. This pre-Code political comedy struck some major dramatic chords in one of the greatest American films ever made. Pair it with another Berkeley feature, Footlight Parade (1933).

33. THE HEARTBREAK KID (1972, Dir. Elaine May)
"There's no insecurity in those potatoes. There's no deceit in the cauliflower. This is a totally honest meal." Charles Grodin is on his honeymoon and completely in love... just not with his wife. One of the funniest yet tragic romantic comedies I've seen. Have yourself an Elaine May film festival with A New Leaf (1971) and Mikey and Nicky (1976).

32. DARLING (1965, Dir. John Schlesinger)
"It should be so easy to be happy, shouldn't it? It should be the easiest thing in the world. I wonder why it isn't. Maybe it is?" A satirical study of the professional rise and personal fall of a young (and bored) British fashion model. Julie Christie won Best Actress for her performance in this heartbreaking and funny film. Pair it with Schlesinger's Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971).

31. BLOW OUT (1981, Dir. Brian De Palma)
"You can be crazy or dead." A hallucinatory political thriller starring John Travolta as a sound effects man. This is the greatest American conspiracy movie ever made. Pair it with De Palma's horror masterpiece, Carrie (1976).

30. ALMOST FAMOUS (2000, Dir. Cameron Crowe)
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." As a kid I spent several summers as a roadie where I conducted my first interviews with musicians on a bus while en route to the next gig. This film feels like a document of my childhood. I thought it was impossible to convey the magic of those summers, but this movie captures it perfectly. It also won Cameron Crowe a much deserved Academy Award for his screenplay. Pair this with his romantic sci-fi thriller, Vanilla Sky (2001).

29. HALLOWEEN (1978, Dir. John Carpenter)
"It was the Boogeyman." Roger Ebert compared it to Psycho (1960) calling it a "frightening, merciless thriller." In 1979 the Village Voice called it "an instant schlock horror classic" and "the trickiest thriller of the year." Endless sequels continue to resurrect The Shape, but none come close to capturing the black magic of the original. Ebert says "the movie's a slice of life that is carefully painted (in drab daylights and impenetrable nighttimes) before its human monster enters the scene." Enter it he did, and Michael Myers is here to stay. Pair this with Carpenter's The Thing (1982).

28. THEY LIVE BY NIGHT (1948, Dir. Nicholas Ray)
"They're thieves, just like us." A hardboiled lovers-on-the-run story that pre-dates the term of its own genre, film noir. One of the most beautiful crook stories ever committed to celluloid, the biggest crime of all being that the studio shelved it for two years because they didn't understand it. Pair this with Ray's In a Lonely Place (1950).

27. PRETTY POISON (1968, Dir. Noel Black)
"These fantasies of yours can be dangerous." An erotic psychological thriller with romance and true horror starring my favorite psycho, Anthony Perkins. Pair this with another picture in which he stars alongside the amazing Tuesday Weld, Frank Perry's dark L.A. masterpiece Play It as It Lays (1972).

26. ALIEN (1979, Dir. Ridley Scott)
"In space, no one can hear you scream." Sometimes described as a haunted house movie in space, sometimes described as a deep-thinking science fiction film about religion and politics. Call it what you want, it remains scary as hell and the the most terrifying ride through the cosmos that the movies have ever taken us on. Pair it with Scott's other sci-fi masterpiece, Blade Runner (1982).

25. MODERN ROMANCE (1981, Dir. Albert Brooks)
"This is the last time. It's for real." It was said by Brooks that Stanley Kubrick responded to the picture, "How did you make this movie? I've always wanted to make a movie about jealousy." Modern Romance is very funny and very bleak as, it turns out, all of my favorite movies about relationships are. Also one of the greatest movies about making movies. Pair this with Brooks' Lost in America (1985.)

24. THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966, Dir. Sergio Leone)
"If you work for a living, why do you kill yourself working?" Here is a bold example of visual storytelling, starring a Hollywood outcast by the name of Clint Eastwood. Because he worked in television on shows like Rawhide, he had to go to Italy to be a star in what were known as Spaghetti Westerns, a genre which Leone invented. Pair this with another Leone masterpiece, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968).

23. KISS ME DEADLY (1955, Dir. Robert Aldrich)
"Blood red kisses! White hot thrills! Mickey Spillane's latest H-bomb!" An apocalyptic sci-fi film noir best described by Criterion as a "brazen and bleak piece of Cold War paranoia, and it features as nervy an ending as has ever been seen in American cinema." Pair this with Aldrich's war epic, The Dirty Dozen (1967).

22. RIO BRAVO (1959, Dir. Howard Hawks)
"You want that gun, pick it up. I wish you would." To quote Ebert, "the film is seamless. There is not a shot that is wrong. It is uncommonly absorbing, and the 141-minute running time flows past like running water." The Blu-ray includes a fantastic commentary by John Carpenter. Pair it with Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 (1976).

21. RUMBLE FISH (1983, Dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
"Time is a very peculiar item." A deeply personal art film for teenagers about estrangement. Coppola's second adaptation of a novel by S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders was released the same year. Pair it for a triple feature to include his masterpiece, Apocalypse Now (1979).

20. ANYTHING ELSE (2003, Dir. Woody Allen)
"The Pentagon should use her hormones for chemical warfare." Christina Ricci gives the funniest performance in romantic comedy history. Pair this neurotic love story in a triple feature with Allen's Everyone Says I Love You (1996) and Deconstructing Harry (1997).

19. FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (1982, Dir. Amy Heckerling)
"I shall serve no fries before their time." This movie had the balls to portray high school sex as it really is... embarrassing and disappointing. The director was nearly fired for her raw and honest portrayal of teenage life on topics like abortion in what was advertised as a stoner comedy. Pair it with Heckerling's masterpiece, Clueless (1995).

18. DUCK SOUP (1933, Dir. Leo McCarey)
"Go, and never darken my towels again." This comedy is total anarchy. In Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Duck Soup is the movie that leads the main character to find the meaning of life after a suicide attempt. Pair this with a film by the criminally under-discussed master of comedy, Buster Keaton, in The Goat (1921).

17. ALL THAT JAZZ (1979, Dir. Bob Fosse)
"Do you suppose Stanley Kubrick ever gets depressed?" Fosse's most personal and mind-bending musical about one's "final appearance on the great stage of life." Pair it with his film about the murder of Dorothy Stratten, Star 80 (1983).

16. JAWS (1975, Dir. Steven Spielberg)
"You're gonna need a bigger boat." A defining achievement on every level and as perfect a film that has ever been made. This scary and brilliantly told thriller also created the "summer blockbuster." Pair this with Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).

15. FORTY GUNS (1957, Dir. Samuel Fuller)
"I was born upset." Barbara Stanwyck saddles up for her last great film role in a fiercely feminist spin on the genre. Criterion calls it "the pulp maestro's most audacious western with astonishing black & white Cinemascope photography, hard-boiled dialogue laced with double entendres, and a fiery performance by Stanwyck at her most imperious. A virtuoso display of Fuller's sharpshooting talents." Pair this in a triple-feature with a pre-Code Stanwyck classic, Baby Face (1933), and Stanwyck in Billy Wilder's film noir, Double Indemnity (1944).

14. EYES WIDE SHUT (1999, Dir. Stanley Kubrick)
"Don't you want to go where the rainbow ends?" A dreamlike journey into the sexual underworld is perhaps the greatest study of jealousy ever committed to celluloid. Kubrick's final masterpiece ends his perfect body of work on an erotic chilling note. Pair it with Luis Buñuel's similarly-themed Belle de Jour (1967).

13. SONS OF THE DESERT (1933, William A. Seiter)
"Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into." It doesn't matter what I'm going through, put Laurel and Hardy on and I am laughing. My spirits are lifted. I haven't a care in the world. There's magic in the comedy of these two that transcends space and time. Pair this with their bittersweet and very well made biopic, Stan & Ollie (2018).

12. ELECTION (1999, Dir. Alexander Payne)
"Some people say I'm an overachiever, but I think they're just jealous." Reese Witherspoon's greatest comedic role as high schooler Tracy Flick in what Criterion describes as a "closely observed take on deeply flawed humanity to its bitter but stealthily sympathetic essence." Pair this with Payne's poignant comedy, Nebraska (2013).

11. ED WOOD (1994, Dir. Tim Burton)
"Worst film you ever saw? Well, my next one will be better!" Tim Burton's biopic about the man voted Worst Director of All Time captures the love and passion Ed Wood had for film, and his undying optimism in the face of disaster. The zany spirit of this movie (and of the man himself) is an inspiration. It demands to be paired with Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959).

10. THE EXORCIST (1973, Dir. William Friedkin)
"Something beyond comprehension is happening to a little girl on this street, in this house." The director calls it a "story about the mystery of faith." The writer calls it a "supernatural detective story." Linda Blair calls it a "theological thriller, anyone who thinks it is a horror film is wrong." I call it the greatest horror film of all time. Pair it with Friedkin's Sorcerer (1977).

9. LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003, Dir. Sofia Coppola)
"The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you." This movie is pure magic. It gave me the courage to step out of my comfort zone and explore different places, different people, and different questions about what makes me truly happy. This beautiful and bittersweet film establishes Sofia Coppola as one of our greatest living filmmakers. Pair this with her first picture, The Virgin Suicides (1999).

8. DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993, Dir. Richard Linklater)
"If I ever start referring to these years as the best of my life, remind me to kill myself." My favorite movie about high school. No nostalgia here, this movie about the last day of school captures the boredom and angst of the most agonizing years of our lives. Pair this with Linklater's spellbinding first film, Slacker (1991).

7. TWO-LANE BLACKTOP (1971, Dir. Monte Hellman)
"You can never go fast enough." The greatest car movie ever made, this existential road picture about male obsession is one of the best American-made wonders out there. Pair it with Hellman's existential western, The Shooting (1966).

6. TO CATCH A THIEF (1955, Dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
"From where I sat it looked as though you were conjugating some irregular verbs." Grace Kelly enjoyed the filming location so much on this picture that she decided to marry the Prince and become the Princess of Monaco. John Landis calls the movie "elegant, stylish, and wonderfully silly", and I enjoy Hitchcock most when he's being silly. Pair it with another of Hitch's silly capers, Family Plot (1976).

5. TAXI DRIVER (1976, Dir. Martin Scorsese)
"On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody." Pauline Kael called this lonely movie a "feverish, horrifyingly funny movie" using descriptors like "ferociously powerful" and "raw". Ebert called it "one of the best and most powerful of all films." Pair it with another Scorsese masterpiece, Raging Bull (1980).

4. THE GRADUATE (1967, Dir. Mike Nichols)
"Mrs. Robinson, if you don't mind my saying so, this conversation is getting a little strange." You probably already know this as one of the most beloved (and endlessly quotable) American films of all time. It was rejected by all the major studios, but would receive several Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture (Nichols won for Best Director). Pair it with another groundbreaking romantic comedy by Nichols, The Birdcage (1996).

3. INHERENT VICE (2014, Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
"Change your hair, change your life." A hardboiled and drug-fueled look at the American soul which is both goofy and heartbreaking, sometimes simultaneously. A conspiracy-driven love story sporting what is probably my favorite cast of any film. Pair this with Anderson's other 70s-based masterpiece, Boogie Nights (1997).

2. WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988, Dir. Robert Zemeckis)
"I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way." Spielberg's resurrection of the Golden Age of Animation was the first movie I ever saw in a theater. Richard Williams' incredible animation paired with Bob Hoskins' brilliant performance of a drunk detective dealing with a cartoon rabbit accused of murder is the most fun Disney has ever produced in one picture. Never again will you see Mickey Mouse alongside Bugs Bunny in a film noir with sex, booze, cursing, and violence. Pair this with the animated shorts Red Hot Riding Hood (1943) and The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946).

1. ONCE UPON A TIME IN... HOLLYWOOD (2019, Dir. Quentin Tarantino)

"That was the best acting I've ever seen in my whole life." I have never loved a film so completely. This is the sweetest love letter ever written to the movies. For me, this blend of fact and fairy tale is as pure as cinema gets. My true #1 on this list. Pair it with Sharon Tate in The Wrecking Crew (1969).

"The motion picture has become one of the marvels of all time; a true Wonder of the World in its magical powers. But what it brought on the screen for everyone to see and ponder has been even more wonderful." - Walt Disney

Fülle in Fódlan - The Fan Art of FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES

2019-09-06T20:51:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Garreg Mach Monastery! For those of you yet to hear tell of the Officer's Academy, it is where a significant number of we Nintendo Switch owners have spent the majority of our free time lately, battling the evils of the Fire Emblem universe and... well, fishing and sipping tea with friends. This tactical role-playing video game by Intelligent Systems and Koei Tecmo is, quite frankly, a masterpiece - and as such, the sixteenth installment of the franchise, Three Houses, has captured the imagination of gamers all around the world, creating a community of "professors" who teach the art of war and worship the Goddess Seiros with their students.

Many of those gamers happen to also be incredibly talented artists who recently have flooded the Internet with their amazing pieces based on the new characters - everything from paintings and clothing to plushies and pins! I got just as lost in the fan art as I did the game, the two making great companions, and even purchased a few pieces along the way. For a while, opening Instagram and Twitter became exclusively about clicking on the #FireEmblemThreeHouses hashtag to discover all of the conversations and art being made. Below are some of the pieces I've fallen in love with, each containing commentary by the artists who created them, these wonderful folks all gracious enough with their time to talk about their work exclusively for this post. Major thanks to @katribou who created the incredible cover art above! Now read on, for the fate of Fódlan!

(Fire Emblem: Three Houses pin set by @DakiArts)

"Fire Emblem's medieval folklore vibe has always been a huge inspiration, but even more so now that Three Houses has arrived and brought with it a huge wave of extra research and new topics of interest. Art Nouveau and Renaissance aesthetics have always been the peak of my art inspiration, also being what I used as a basis for my pins and a lot of my other merchandise. Seeing a Fire Emblem game breathe life into that whole European historical era and its visual style has been incredible." - Dakira Valentine (@dakiarts)

(Fire Emblem: Three Houses plushies by @Kitty_Cay)

"Three Houses is honestly one of the most inspiring Fire Emblem games for me as an artist, not only because of the hard work and care that was put into the game in general, but specifically with the game's characters. Although I thought it would be a challenge for Three Houses to live up to the writing and cast of the previous game, Shadows of Valentia, we were given an extremely immersive world full of characters that were easy to feel attached to immediately. It's because of this that I was eager to work on art and channel my excitement from the game, in a cute and simple way!

I've been making plushies of characters that I and others are passionate about for around seven years now, and Three Houses has been something new and exciting to pull me out of an art block. I'm happy to know that my sewing has seemingly made people just as happy as it's made me, purely through a shared love and deep connection to such a lovely game." - Cata Zavaleta (@Kitty_Cay)

(Fire Emblem: Three Baseballs by @marmarlay)

"Three Houses' character dynamics has made the game one of my favorites. Each student has a distinct personality that makes interactions between them hilarious and sweet. I loved the time skip aspect that was introduced because it somehow gave me a sense of nostalgia that made finishing the game feel like a grandiose journey.

I like the aesthetic of baseball clothing, which was the main inspiration for my baseball pieces. The poses that come out of baseball are really fun to explore, like pitching a ball or swinging a bat. I sort of used these as mini character studies as well - I played around with what extra pieces of clothing each might wear, how they would hold themselves on the field, even just their expressions."

(Fire Emblem: Three Houses "Hangout" by @marmarlay)

"For this piece I wanted to draw the Three Houses leaders, who inevitably go to war with each other, hanging out as friends. I am personally into fashion, hence their dressed up look, but I also feel that because of their nobility in the game they would dress as such in a modern setting." - Áine Gleeson (@marmarlay)

(Fire Emblem: Three Houses pin set by @SilkeTara)

"I have been a fan of the Fire Emblem franchise for a long time. When I saw the trailer for Three Houses I knew this was going to be a great one and I have been obsessed with it ever since. The game actually exceeded my expectations. The story left a bittersweet taste, and that's why I like it. It feels more real that way. I love how the game can capture human emotion so well through the interesting character's supports. This game inspires me." - Silke Tara (@SilkeTara)

(Fire Emblem: Three Houses by @TheSketchyDot)

"Ever since I started playing Fire Emblem: Awakening I've been hooked on the series, this time is no different! The characters in Three Houses are so full of life - everyone has their own little quirks and personalities that got me invested in them. Their designs are amazing and the voice acting is phenomenal! Initially, I decided to only draw the leader of the house I chose, but it didn't feel right to leave the other two behind. I gave this a stylistic approach to give them a sense of regality, they are nobles after all! If you haven't played Three Houses yet be sure to give it a go. I promise you're in for one hell of a ride!" - @TheSketchyDot

(Fire Emblem: Three Houses "Black Eagles" by @katribou)

"I really like character-driven stories, and Fire Emblem is often quite good at that. Three Houses takes this to another level by not stopping at tropes, expanding on the nuanced and multifaceted people which makes them feel all the more real. This makes for really good art inspiration as I like to get into the heads of characters in order to portray them properly, whether it be for serious or lighthearted pieces." - Kat G. (@katribou)

(Claude costume by Michaelle of @ArcadeAngels)

"I spent a few in-game months with the Golden Deer house and got bit really bad by the cosplay bug. I sympathize with Claude. I'm not a noble, but I am mixed with bloodlines that are both very proud of who they are. The hatred and mistreatment I experienced for existing was overwhelming for me as a kid. When we moved to a new area, I embraced the racial majority in my surroundings to fit in and avoid any altercations over my biracial existence. Like Claude, I schemed - picking and choosing who to associate myself with to mitigate any trouble in this new town. I became a token in the community and I avoided much of this mistreatment others like me had suffered due to the major population. I was one of them, even if I didn't look it. I took advantage of my position among the approving majority to open the way for other people of color and increase our visibility in the area.

I spent a little under 50 hours creating Claude. I really hope I do him justice with my cosplay and in trying to bring him to life." - Michaelle (@ArcadeAngels)

Thank you to everyone who contributed and allowed me to post their art on here. Now, go follow them all and check out the #FireEmblemThreeHouses hashtag on social media - there's SO much more incredible work just waiting to be discovered!

Visit the FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES site to purchase the game!

"Who Created Roger Rabbit: A Conversation with Gary K. Wolf" by Jason Anders

2019-05-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

"I thought it was a really interesting idea for a movie - a detective story with an irascible rabbit named Roger. I said this is a movie that I would like to go out and see. If done right, it could be something that no one's ever seen before."
- Steven Spielberg, Executive Producer

The legacy of Disney's 1988 feature film noir, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, cannot be overstated. Boasting the highest budget of any film to date at the time of its production, it rekindled an interest in the Golden Age of American animation, sparked the modern animation scene, and spun off three theatrical animated shorts. It inspired everything from a Nintendo game to a Disneyland ride, and in 2016 was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

But who created Roger Rabbit? Spielberg? Director Robert Zemeckis? Animator Richard Williams? The origin of this toon star and his hard-boiled beginnings actually comes from Illinois author Gary K. Wolf in his 1981 comedic mystery novel, WHO CENSORED ROGER RABBIT? Gary was kind enough to visit Fülle Circle for an intimate investigation into the creation of a toon celebrity who hopped his way to stardom...

First hardcover edition of Wolf's novel.

Jason Anders: What is it like for you to look back at these characters now and consider the revolution it inspired in the industry?

Gary K. Wolf: I'm amazed that by default I get credit for inspiring the second Golden Age of American animation - that was the furthest thing from my mind when I was writing the book. I just wanted to write a good story and have a lot of fun. I was lucky to get involved with so many creative people who were able to visualize what I saw in my head. When I walk through Toontown at the Disneyland® Resort, it is like walking through my own imagination. It is flooring to me.

I bought a Blu-ray collection of 1940s Popeye theatrical shorts the other day thinking, "I wonder if this product would exist without WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT..."

It's interesting you say that because so many classic characters got a resurgence out of the movie, Droopy certainly received a whole new life out of it, but one of the only characters we were unable to obtain the rights for was Popeye. I could have made him a real star! Steven Spielberg was really the guy who went after all those characters. Roy Disney originally went to Warner Bros. saying, "We'd like to have Bugs Bunny come onscreen for fifteen seconds and say, 'What's up, Doc?' and walk off," and they told him to get lost. Five years later Spielberg goes to Warner Bros. asking for the same thing and they not only agreed to it, they offered him all of the other Looney Tunes characters as well.

It was a perfect storm of creativity and Hollywood influence. I have to give a lot of credit to the unsung hero, Jeffrey Katzenberg. He was in charge of Walt Disney Pictures and was the real champion of Roger Rabbit. He was brought to Disney with the task of turning around a failing company that was making horrible movies. He said at the time that he was going to bring the studio back to prominence by going for "singles and doubles, not triples or home runs. I'm never going to make a movie that costs more than $14 million." The first production meeting that I sat in on, producer Robert Watts said the original production estimates showed it was going to cost at least $35 million, probably a lot more. Jeffrey just said, "Okay, fine. Do it. Just do it right." The budget just kept going up, capping out officially at $75 million. We never lost Jeffrey's support, even though a failure probably would have meant his job and career in Hollywood.

Roger Rabbit concept art.

It's great that they involved you in those kinds of meetings...

They allowed me to be as involved as I wanted to be. However, I'm a novelist and business meetings bore me, and I quickly found out that shooting a movie bores me. I cannot stand there and watch take after take. I sat in on some of the early strategy meetings though and would be amazed at being in one room with thirty-five of the most creative people I'd ever met in my life, who are all tossing out ideas on how to make my novel funnier. I kept thinking, "Where were these thirty-five people when I was in my kitchen writing the novel from 4-7 a.m. every morning before work?" If they would have been there I could have been a Pulitzer Prize winner!

It became obvious after a while that they had bought into my vision. They wanted to do on film what I had done in the book, and I didn't want to be there because I didn't want to screw it up! I hear a lot about the novel's story being different from the movie, and it is. I wrote it to be the best possible book I knew how to write, wanting it to appeal to people's imaginations - I think I did that pretty well, using conventions like having the toons talk in word balloons. If a toon shoots a gun it produces a BANG balloon. Police will collect the BANG balloons, being careful not to break them, and compare them with BANG balloons shot from the weapon to determine whether or not they have the right gun. The whole book is full of stuff like that. Early on they wanted to incorporate the word balloons in the film, but when they tried it the result was a silent movie. It was unworkable.

They had to change some of the conventions and story to make it more filmic, but what they didn't change was the important stuff - the concept of cartoons co-existing with real people in a human world, and they didn't change the characters. They gave me Roger Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit, Eddie Valiant, Baby Herman - these are iconic characters now, and I created them. They could have easily said, "How about Rocko Raccoon instead of Roger Rabbit? Just so we don't have to mess around with Wolf." I'm over the moon for what they did with my book.

Test footage for Jessica Rabbit and Eddie Valiant.

I've read that you came up with the idea for the book while watching Saturday morning cartoon cereal commercials?

Let me give you a little bit of Wolf history, dating back to when I was in the second grade. I went to a very small school in the very small town of Earlville, Illinois, where there were twenty-five kids in my class. Our teacher gave us a picture to color (a barn and a field with one cow) and the object was to stay inside the lines. My mom always told me that when people were alone they would get sad, lonely, and blue... so I colored the cow blue. The teacher passes them all back except for mine, calling me up to the front of the class (I thought it was because I stayed inside of the lines better than anybody) and holding the picture up above my head she says, "Now class, look at this stupid picture. Everybody knows that cows are black, brown, or white... but never are they blue." She called my parents and told them she thought something was wrong with me, but my parents encouraged me that if I wanted to color a cow blue, then I should color a cow blue. A couple of months later our teacher gave us an assignment to write about what we had done during our summer vacation, so I wrote about how I built a rocket ship out of tin cans in my backyard and I flew to the moon. My teacher handed it back to me with no comment.

I tell you this story to help you understand my upbringing. My mother once told me, "Gary, if you want to get somewhere in life, the one thing you can do to make that happen is to read." She never put any restrictions on what I should or could read, so I grew up reading comic books. They were a big part of my life. When I became a writer I wrote three science fiction novels, I wanted my fourth novel to incorporate things that I most enjoyed when I was growing up, and one of those things was comics.

My father read True Crime magazines in which they would dispatch photographers to capture crime scenes, and they would include with the descriptions real photos of dead bodies. I read those as well, but fortunately graduated to better stuff like Dashiell Hammett and Mickey Spillane. I was always fascinated with noir mysteries and I knew I wanted to combine them with comic books in some way, but I didn't know how. One morning I was watching cartoon cereal commercials and it just clicked. Here's Tony the Tiger just talking to real kids and nobody seemed to think it was odd. I said, "What if you had a world where cartoon characters were real? What kind of a world would that be?"

That Saturday morning changed my life.

I immediately started outlining the novel, doing more research on comic books and comic strips to see what they did that human beings couldn't (or wouldn't) do, and then putting it all together as a mystery that could only exist in a cartoon universe.

What I find most inspiring about your story is the success found in spite of overwhelming rejection.

110 rejections from publishers. I got a lot of encouragement from my agent, who believed in the book as much as I did, and I would even call the rejections "good rejects." I always got them for the same reason, the editors would say that the book was fantastic or "one of the best novels I've ever read", but it was so unusual for the marketing department who would always say they couldn't sell it because it didn't fit into any category in a book store. On the 111th try, my book landed on the desk of an editor named Rebecca Martin at St. Martin's Press, where she had just published a major bestseller for them. The President of the publishing house gave her a vanity project saying that the next book she edits can be whatever she wants. That very day my book came across her desk and she said, "This is the book." The President said, "You can't publish this, I can't sell it. There's no place for it on the book store shelves." Rebecca stepped up to the plate and said, "You either publish it or I quit." He published it, but in very small quantities.

If I had my life to live over I would buy up all of those $2 hardcovers because now they go for over $300 on eBay.

When did you first realize that Disney was interested in your book?

The book was bought for publication in 1980 and was scheduled to be released in 1981. In mid-1980 I receive a call from Roy Disney who said, "I just read your novel and I was wondering if you'd be interested in having Disney make a movie of it." The book hadn't even been published so I just said, "Yeah, right. Roy Disney. Give me a break," thinking it was one of my friends putting me on. It turned out that someone at St. Martin's Press, I never found out who (and I really tried), sent a copy of the manuscript to Disney. It made its way up the chain to Roy who said, "This is the movie we have to make."

Roy saw it as the idea that would catapult them back into the first ranks of moviemaking. They also acknowledged that their stable of characters was getting a bit old. Mickey was a corporate "spokesmouse" and you really couldn't have fun with him anymore. You could still have fun with Donald, but nobody could understand what he was saying. They saw this as a new line of characters that they could merchandise, from which they make a tremendous amount of money, it was a potential new revenue stream. All the elements were in play for them to want to make the movie.

As time went on, nobody really thought that Disney had the clout to make this movie in 1980, and initially they proved me right. They had trouble integrating the live action and animation and they came to me saying, "How about instead of animation we have the characters wear costumes like they do at Disneyland®?" I pictured Fred MacMurray as Eddie, Dean Jones as Roger, Hayley Mills as Jessica, and Kurt Russell as Baby Herman and immediately said "No." It really compromised the premise. Cooler heads prevailed in 1985 when Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg arrived at Disney. They brought in Steven Spielberg and he brought in Robert Zemeckis. From that point on, they never looked back. Again, it was a perfect storm - if any of those things had not happened I'd instead be writing those TV commercials.

I really love how willing they were to tell such a dark story and place their classic characters in a film noir with some truly horrific moments...

I'm accused of being the guy that gave kids Judge Doom nightmares, but there's a long history of darkness that goes through Disney movies. There's the hunter in Bambi, the whale in Pinocchio, and the Witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (who I'd put against Frankenstein) - those are pretty scary characters. I think Who Framed Roger Rabbit was more about getting back to their roots.

You wrote two sequels, WHO P-P-P-PLUGGED ROGER RABBIT? (1991) and WHO WACKED ROGER RABBIT (2013)...

I had a creative challenge, especially with the first sequel, when considering that the film grossed $1 billion and that the people who saw it knew it as Roger Rabbit in Toontown. I think maybe thirty-five people had read my book, that includes my mother and my aunts. To most people, Roger Rabbit was the movie and not the book. I had twelve publishers bidding for the rights to the second novel, and I had to ask myself to which vision I'd hold true, the book or the film.

The movie was dark, but my novel was way darker. And in the original book, Roger Rabbit dies.

I was able to solve this problem successfully and brought the rabbit back in the second book. I can't remember the page specifically, but I do have an explanation for why he's back. The first book didn't get many reviews at all, but the second book was well reviewed, People Magazine even printed the entire first page. The third novel broke all of those records. The creative challenge was fun. I don't know if Roger Rabbit is a work of towering genius, but it's pretty clever.

I love the way that you treated comic book characters, such as Dick Tracy, in your novels.

I treated them like real people.

The WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT video game (1989) by LJN for the Nintendo Entertainment System, which I played obsessively as a kid, was very much like playing the novel, being that it's filled with a lot of questioning by Eddie Valiant and the characters speaking in word balloons.

Yes! When the movie came out on June 22, 1988 they premiered it at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. My wife and I went with her mother and sat in the V.I.P. section of the balcony - I had Kathleen Turner on one side of me and Amy Irving (uncredited singing voice of Jessica Rabbit) on the other, these two fantasy girls, and we are about to watch my movie on the big screen and I remember thinking, "Life doesn't get any better than this." Then, life got better... Kathleen leaned over and put her hand on my leg and said, "Gary, are you excited?" I said, "Kathleen, you have no idea!"

We went to the after-party that night and stayed in a hotel across the street from the theater. I woke up the next morning and looked out my window to see a line waiting to get into the movie. You didn't see lines anymore, I couldn't believe it! I had heard that they were selling Roger Rabbit merchandise at Macy's and so I told my wife, "Let's go over there and see what they've got." I said that I was going to buy the first piece of merchandise that I saw and that I was going to keep it forever. We walked in and I asked the young woman at the information desk where the Roger Rabbit merchandise was and she said, "Third floor." I asked, "Where on the third floor," and she said, "No, third floor." The whole third floor was full of Roger Rabbit merchandise, as far as the eye could see! I sometimes wish that my eye had landed on something else, but the first thing that I saw was a red plastic lunch box with a Thermos in it, so that is what I bought and kept.

I have not made my home or office an homage to Roger Rabbit merchandise, but I do have those items.

One of three Roger Rabbit theatrical shorts.

Did you have any involvement in the three theatrical Roger Rabbit shorts?

They told me that they were going to do them and the premises, which were mostly sight gags that were done on-the-fly by the animators. I met many times with Rob Minkoff, the director of Tummy Trouble (1989), as well as the other directors and animators. There's just not a whole lot that I can contribute to that. I would rather sit at home alone in my office writing my books.

I thought that Roller Coaster Rabbit (1990) was the funniest short I'd seen in my life. I think that short holds its own against anything that Warner Bros. did in the '40s or '50s. It's Tex Avery-level, just brilliant.

Tell me about the rumored production of THE STOOGE...

You know, I honestly don't know the status. The Stooge is a great project using Mickey Mouse and Roger Rabbit in a buddy movie based on a Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis film. It works perfectly, but I don't know what to tell you. Disney seems more interested in using their own characters and focusing on their Marvel and Star Wars properties. They don't seem to be real interested in the classic characters anymore. Who Framed Roger Rabbit grossed $1 billion, that's not small change, especially for 1988. The rule of thumb is that a sequel will do three-quarters of what the original did. The thing is that the champions of Roger are Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner, who are no longer there. In order for a movie like this to get produced and succeed, it has to have a champion, and there are no champions for this.

Never say never. You never know what tomorrow is going to bring. I keep hoping.

You seem to have found success with your most recent novel, KILLERBOWL.

Yes, it is going to be a comic book as well as a table game in London, and there's movie interest in it. I've also got other live action/animated projects going that I can't talk about for contractual reasons, but some of them are going to be mind-blowing. Roger Rabbit stuff included.

One of the sheer pleasures of my life is that in order to write Roger Rabbit novels in a convincing way, I actually have to go live in Toontown. In my office I'll sit down, shut my eyes, and visit Toontown to talk to the characters and see what they're doing. At first it was weird, like an alien place, but after a while I began to enjoy it. The sequences that I'm writing now are so easy for me that I'm beginning to question my own sanity. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I have flipped that switch and have actually become a toon myself.

Someone suggested that the other day, "I've heard that Gary Wolf is actually a toon." That would explain a lot.

Visit Gary K. Wolf's website HERE to learn more & purchase books, including autographed copies and mint hardcover 1st editions of WHO CENSORED ROGER RABBIT? www.garywolf.com

An Impossible Journey: The Case for 'A Far Off Place'

2019-02-14T11:11:00.000-08:00

"Don't look back." Nonnie's advice wasn't taken by Harry in 1993's A Far Off Place, and it won't be taken here as we look back fondly on Mikael Salomon's directorial debut for Walt Disney Pictures, an adventure drama film based on Laurens van der Post's works. This is not your traditional Disney fare, it is dark and disturbing, prompting critics to caution parents about the adult content. Set to a beautifully exotic score by James Horner, we will see elephants slaughtered and their tusks sawed off by poachers, parents will be brutally murdered and their child will discover their bloody corpses, an ivory smuggler will try and machine gun three kids to death with AK-47s, and Reese Witherspoon will blow up bad guys with car bombs and hold her parent's killer at gunpoint. It's badass. We will learn about family, friendship, culture, survival, nature, spirituality, revenge, and how to impress a girl by making her an antelope vest on the fly. If all that's not enough, the movie is paired with a brand new (or maybe it's from 1947) anarchistic Roger Rabbit short called Trail Mix-Up in which he accidentally destroys Mount Rushmore. This was just the night at the movies we 90s kids were pining for, and the critics just didn't understand.

The first thing that we need to stop doing is comparing this to Nicolas Roeg's 1971 film, Walkabout. That movie is a masterpiece and you should watch it. Now, if you've never seen it. But no critic could seem to get through their review on A Far Off Place without mentioning it, always comparing the Disney film unfavorably to it. These are two completely different movies so let's stop holding them up next to each other. And as badass as I found this movie as a kid, let me be very clear that this is "Disney badass", it's not Goodfellas Goes to Africa. I have a fascination with Disney movies that go to dark places, challenging you or surprising you in some way, and this picture does both. It's so refreshing when Disney breaks out of its box and produces something that feels new. Walt was always breaking the mold with his projects, and that should be the standard for the company, not the rare exception.

To fully appreciate this film we need to look at the people behind it, starting with author Laurens van der Post. The screenplay, penned by several writers, is based on his source material, A Story Like the Wind (1972) and A Far-Off Place (1974). Post was born in 1906 in the small town of Philippolis in the Orange River Colony, known today as South Africa. He introduced the world to the "Kalahari Bushmen", now known as Sān people, in the 1950s. Much of his life is still a subject of great debate, just how much of it did he embellish or flat-out make up? Take a look at his Wikipedia page and you'll see him described as an "author, journalist, farmer, war hero, political advisor to British heads of government, educator, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer and conservationist." In reading the New York Times article "Master Storyteller or Master Deceiver?", biographer J.D.F. Jones says that, "When a doctor who knew him was asked the cause of his death, the doctor replied, "He was weary of sustaining so many lies." Allegations about his seducing and abandoning a 14 year old girl are addressed and confirmed by his daughter in the article as well. His daughter said in an interview that, "He was not a saint. He hurt people. He hurt me. But by God, he was fascinating." Post's 1963 book The Seed and the Sower, about his being a prisoner of war in a Japanese prison camp, became the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence starring David Bowie. Both the Bowie film and A Far Off Place were produced before Jones' revealing 2002 biography.

The film was originally set to be directed by René Manzor, but he was replaced by cinematographer Mikael Salomon at the recommendation of Steven Spielberg. What would this movie have been like if it had been completed by the French director? According to this Los Angeles Times piece, "Everyone involved, including Disney executives, were appalled by the work being done." A source said, "Things were out of focus and nothing was making any sense. They knew they had to get rid of him quickly." Sources close to the film insist "there's much more to the story" - cut to 2017, Reese Witherspoon opened up about her "true disgust at the director who assaulted me when I was 16 years old and the anger I felt at the agents and producers who made me feel that silence was a condition of my employment." Could this be why Manzor was quietly let go? And if so, why the hell was it quietly? Does this mean Kathleen Kennedy would have been one of those "producers"? Witherspoon has not confirmed which director from this timeframe assaulted her, it may not have been anyone associated with this production at all, but Manzor's sudden firing and the lack of documentation regarding his departure raises a huge red flag. It's a shame that whoever Witherspoon is referring to has been allowed a career since 1993.

Before A Far Off Place, Mikael Salomon had been a Director of Photography for Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Richard Linklater, Ron Howard, and James Cameron, including 1989's The Abyss. He was originally being considered to replace the first cinematographer on the film, but when Manzor was fired Spielberg instead suggested that Salomon should replace him as director. "Within the same day of offering him the job as cinematographer," says a source to the LA Times, "they decided he should direct the film." Salomon was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1945 and photographed dozens of films in his native country. He moved to Hollywood in the late 1980s and found success as a DoP on films like Always, Arachnophobia, Far and Away, and Backdraft. Salomon would go on to direct only two more features, Hard Rain (1998) and Freezer (2014). I thought Hard Rain was so cool when it came out. It was also responsible for the success of Jars of Clay's hit single, Flood - I'll let you decide for yourself whether or not that's a good thing.

Juan Ruiz Anchía was then brought in as cinematographer, fresh off Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), and did an incredible job. Roger Ebert wrote of his work on the film,"The scenes shot in the desert have an undeniable beauty, and the photography captures the forms of the sand dunes with real poetry."

The screenwriters, some uncredited, were Robert Caswell (A Cry in the Dark), Jonathan Hensleigh (Jumanji, The Rock), Sally Robinson (Medicine Man) and David Mickey Evans (Radio Flyer, The Sandlot). I love the dialogue in this movie and that Witherspoon's Nonnie was written as a strong female character, especially for early 90s Disney. The film opens with her resenting having to "babysit some American boy" instead of going on patrol for target practice, sharpening her aim for capping poachers but "only in self-defense," of course. I really enjoy her banter with Harry throughout the movie...

Harry: "I can carry your bag for a while."

Nonnie: "Why?"

Harry: "Because it's heavy."

Nonnie: "... and if you carry it, it'll get lighter?"

Harry: "No, but..."

Nonnie: "... what? You're a guy?"

Harry: "I wasn't gonna say that."

Nonnie: "Then what? Bigger? It's my bag and I'll carry it."

A Far Off Place was Reese Witherspoon's second film, following 1991's The Man in the Moon. Her debut picture, directed by the legendary Robert Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird) in what would be his final film, is a criminally under-discussed masterpiece. Read Ebert's glowing review of the film here and add it to your "go watch it right now" list. Her co-star, Ethan Embry, went by the name Ethan Randall at the time. I love Embry's movies, having grown up with Dutch (1991) and All I Want for Christmas (1991), he went on to star in some of my young adulthood favorites like Empire Records (1995), That Thing You Do! (1996) and Can't Hardly Wait (1998). Pure magic for me was when Witherspoon and Embry reunited in 2002's Sweet Home Alabama. Seeing the two of them together onscreen again truly created a cinematic high for fans of A Far Off Place. Thank you to whoever's idea that was.

One problem I had with Disney's marketing for the film was their largely ignoring Sarel Bok's character of Xhabbo, even the trailer boasted "two extraordinary people" when Xhabbo was, if anything, the most extraordinary of them all. It is a story about all three of them, and that's the way it should have been promoted. Period. He brings so much joy and soul to this picture, it's a shame this was his only performance.

Ebert warned that young viewers would be "appalled" by the violence, but I loved it. This movie had an edge that, honestly, I wasn't expecting as a kid and wouldn't expect now. The kids, as well as the adults, cursed just like us. The opening scene observes animals as if it were a nature documentary, it's a beautiful moment, making the sudden killing of the elephants for their tusks all that more startling and upsetting. I really loved the scene with Koba where the explosion startles both her and the cat, it's a great jump-scare and fun character moment, especially when she says "bullshit", pinning her knowledge of profanity on Nonnie, to which her mom says, "I'll kill her." There's a lot of character crammed into that twenty seconds of film, and it works well.

I'm a big fan of the kids' intelligence in the movie. They were definitely much smarter than I was at 14, but never to the extent of, "It's a Unix system. I know this!"

Nonnie: "People need to stand up and fight for what they believe or nothing's ever gonna change."

Paul: "People need to sit down and talk, otherwise people won't change."

Nonnie: "If you were George Washington's father, we'd still be British colonists."

When Xhabbo is attacked by a leopard, Nonnie and Harry spend the night in his cave to help him recover. Meanwhile, their family is gunned down in the Parker's home after Paul poked his nose into the illegal ivory exporting being done by his associate, John Ricketts. When Nonnie stumbles across the dead bodies of her parents and Harry's dad, she loses her shit and blows up some bad guys with explosives. It's a great scene of suspense, especially when Nonnie gets trapped under a truck with the dynamite fuse already lit. It's one of those "OH MY GOD, GET OUT OF THERE" moments. She escapes, blowing the bastards up, but Ricketts is still out there and he's on a mission to murder her. It's time for our heroes to get the hell out of the desert and seek help, and so begins our 2,000 kilometer adventure. Nonnie says crossing the Kalahari is "impossible", to which Xhabbo replies, "Wind can do it, we can do it." An inspiring quote, even with its rebuttal, "All the wind is going to do for us is bury us." Xhabbo tells him that he will guide them on their journey, even though he doesn't have to, saying "As brothers, we go together, or we stop." There's also a wonderful "faith vs. science" balance amongst the three kids.

Harry: "So, you really think we can make it to Karlstown?"

Nonnie: "If the wind can do it, we can do it."

Harry: "Don't give me that Bushman crap, I want a real answer."

Nonnie: "You want a real answer?"

Harry: "Let me hear the Bushman version again."

Does Xhabbo posses mystical powers? Harry refers to him as Doctor Dolittle when he communicates with the animals and he seems to drum up a sandstorm simply with the thumping of his chest. Or maybe it's all just coincidence. The movie leaves it open for interpretation which is probably for the best. Mystical powers or not, the kids still find themselves in a hopeless situation and at times on the verge of giving up. "I thought you said it wasn't safe to have a fire." says Harry. "We're dead now," says Nonnie, "we can have whatever we want." The kids learn to hunt for their food, gleefully being chased by an ostrich after stealing its egg... okay, I'd probably be loopy at that point, too. Harry struggles emotionally with killing an antelope with a bow and arrow. He does the job, but can't quite let it go...

Harry: "The herd of gemsbok have come back to our camp. They're not afraid. Xhabbo says they have accepted the death of one of them. He says only to kill when you must... what do I do face-to-face with the man who killed my father?"

Ask Nonnie and she'll tell you to blow them all to Hell.

I'm assuming if you've read this far you've watched the film and know how this all ends, but just in case, I won't spoil the ending. I like the way the picture ends, though there seems to have been some heavy editing to scale back the violence. There's also a note of friendship (and romance) that closes our tale which could have come off as cringe-worthy but actually works.

Critics weren't all negative in their reviews for the film, one publication writing that it was "a sort of young people's Lawrence of Arabia." The same article comments on the film's "terrible violence that may frighten and upset young children." SOLD.

Music fans should not hesitate for a moment to go find the collector's edition soundtrack, the score by James Horner is incredible. John Takis writes of it being a "dynamic, symphonic score that taps into the grandeur, romance, and adventure of Africa. Horner was a titan in his field, and this score is an example of why he will be so badly missed."

If you're looking for a double-feature I'd suggest pairing A Far Off Place with 2014's Wild, another film in which Witherspoon must trek a long distance in the face of certain death. It's her all-time best performance and one of my top ten favorite movies, and any excuse to recommend it I always take. In the end I am ultimately bias, writing this essay with the picture built into my DNA since childhood, choosing to ignore its issues and buy completely into its magic. If you can do that then I promise you're in for a good ride. I'm not writing this to argue the film's importance, as always I am writing it for those of us who were impacted by it and its importance to us. It's incredible the ways that certain movies can affect us when we see them at exactly the right time, that's what this movie was for me, and it lives within us, becoming a part of us. Revisiting those movies feels like going home, just like Nonnie with her birds...

Nonnie: " I miss my birds. Had them ever since I was really little. My mother put them in my room to sing me to sleep, but I mostly think of hearing them when I wake up in the morning. I know it's stupid, but that's home to me - hearing them before I even open my eyes."

"In the Belly of the Beast: The Importance of the Psycho Sequels" by Jason Anders

2019-02-08T16:13:00.000-08:00

"Cutlery. That line reading trumps all the Hitchcock shit right there." - Quentin Tarantino

Psycho II is, to me, Anthony Perkins' best performance. Period. But this is not a critical film essay, nor is it a scholarly argument for the importance or relevance of the sequels to Hitchcock's 1960 picture, it is instead a journaling of what these movies meant to me, and the impact they had on my life. I can actually think of three instances where the phrase "that movie changed my life" applies to me in a major way, and Psycho was the first. A child's obsession with movies about a serial killer might seem like cause for alarm, but they helped me overcome an anxiety I had over horror (or anything remotely scary for that matter) when I was young. The first movie I saw in the theater was Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and I emerged with eyes full of tears. Judge Doom scared the hell out of me, and that final confrontation between him and Eddie Valiant still gives me chills. When I was six I screamed my head off in Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion, I was terrified. Everything scared me.

Psycho was my first true horror movie love and it represented a conquering of the darkness... I walked into that "haunted house" alone and confronted my fears, and what I found was a therapeutic treasure. Anthony Perkins came to love playing, and even directing, the character of Norman Bates, and it was his raw passion for cinema that lit the fuse on film for me. Can one movie actually change your life? I can tell you that without Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece that I wouldn't be who I am, or where I am, without it. So let's toast some cheese sandwiches, pour a glass of milk, and dive into the belly of the beast.

"Don't go over to Jason's house, he'll just make you watch the Psycho movies," was an actual warning muttered to my classmates by a jerk named Cody during our 7th grade year. He came over to hang out one day and I insisted on a movie marathon featuring my favorite slasher, Norman Bates. I felt it was a calling that everyone in my life needed to see just how crazy awesome these movies were. I even went so far as to make edited versions of both films to show to my parents as a kid, removing the nudity and sex scenes so that my VHS copies wouldn't be taken away from me when they realized just how graphic they were. My friend Billy Cogdill said to me on more than one occasion at school, "Are you drawing the Psycho house again?" "Always," I'd say, "do you want one?" I sold my drawings of the Bates Motel for ten cents. Psycho wasn't the only thing I drew, nor was it my only obsession, I made oodles of nickels and dimes selling drawings of Darkwing Duck, Ren & Stimpy, the Genie from Aladdin, and my own original creation, Cowboy Bob, a ripoff of Saturday Night Live's Mr. Bill. I wanted to be a Disney animator one day, and all I cared about was drawing for people during school, which resulted in horrendous report cards.

Q: So what sparks an 11-year-old's undying obsession with two 80s slasher sequels in the first place?
A: Universal Studios Florida.

There are two versions of Jason Anders, the one who existed before visiting the attraction Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies and the one who afterwards exited through the Bates Motel gift shop (with bags full of merchandise) during the summer of his 6th grade year. I first read about the attraction in the Universal Studios brochure at my great-grandmother's house and was obsessed with its promise of sending a chill down my spine. That classic drawing of Hitchcock's profile captured my imagination, and one of the souvenirs purchased that day was this coffee mug...

I spotted the Hitchcock building from the queue of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. The attraction was rated PG-13, but I was not 13. My parents were hesitant as they did not want to expose me to horror films at such a young age, especially since they knew I was scared of literally everything, and this attraction boasted that you were in for some absolute terror once inside. I broke them though, being compelled by the imagery and description, and the next thing I knew we were inside the building being briefed by a hostess on the biography of Alfred Hitchcock (it was then that I realized he was that tubby guy I had seen on Nick at Nite.) We picked picked up 3-D glasses and headed inside the theater for what would be a wonderful screening showcasing Hitch's rich filmography and, at the age of ten, I could now boast that I'd seen Grace Kelly strangled in three dimensions. Suddenly, black birds began ripping through the movie screen for a grand finale to what served as my introduction to the Master of Suspense. It was also the first 3-D movie I'd experienced without running screaming from the theater, which happened on a previous trip to EPCOT Center at the reveal of Angelica Houston's character in Captain EO.

The attraction then shuffled its audience into the next room, where before us was a full stage set of the Bates Motel and mansion. It was beautiful, unlike anything I had ever seen. Something about that set struck a chord with me and I fell deeply in love. The gothic mansion on the hill above a seedy motel with flickering neon lights dimmed as Anthony Perkins appeared on a movie screen to discuss the importance of "the shower scene." The what? Hosts from the attraction proceeded to pluck volunteers from the audience to participate in an onstage demonstration of how the shower scene was filmed. I knew, at that moment, I had to see this movie. I even bought the Universal Studios souvenir video so that I could watch clips from the attraction at home. This was unlike anything that had existed in any theme park before or since, it remains my favorite attraction of all time. To describe its scope and scale to anyone who didn't experience it first-hand is difficult, though I tried on this blog a decade ago in an interview with Susan Lustig, a creative who developed The Art of Making Movies. These were only portions of the full experience, which included using binoculars to spy on people in a building "across the street" on a Rear Window set (my sister and I spent a lot of time at this spot, a video looping above us of Jimmy Stewart talking about the movie it was based on - guys, JAMES STEWART filmed a video for this attraction!) or filming yourself falling off the Statue of Liberty in a re-creation of the climax from Saboteur. I arrived back home in Tennessee after our Orlando trip and ran to open the Columbia House catalogue to order two movies, The Birds and Psycho.

(from Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies at Universal Studios Florida)

[R]. That rating glared on both the front and back of my VHS copy of Psycho. My parents weren't keen on my owning an R-rated movie, but considering it was so old it was most likely harmless in their eyes, I guess, so they allowed me to keep it. It felt so adult to place it on my shelf. My parents had actually spotted Hitch in person before I was born during a visit to L.A., his undeniable silhouette outlined through the window of a limousine. I watched Psycho alone late that night, deliberately waiting until it was dark. Beyond the shower scene, I knew nothing of the film. I didn't know who the killer was or how soon Janet Leigh would die. It was the purest viewing experience, which could have only been bested by erasing my knowledge of the infamous slaughter.

At Universal there was a large framed one-sheet for Psycho II hanging at the exit. "It's 22 years later, and Norman Bates is coming home." After seeing Psycho, this poster taunted me. I saw the VHS for II and III at Reel Collections, a video store at a Knoxville mall, but could not afford to buy them myself, refusing to ask my parents out of fear that they wouldn't allow me to watch them. Then, finally, I found them at a rental store called Movieland Video, where the clerks allowed me to rent R-rated movies. "What did you get?" my mom asked. "Rock-a-Doodle and Rover Dangerfield," I said. I finally had them, this was it, the sequels I had been waiting for months to see.

These movies were SICK. Demented. Suspenseful. Funny. Thrilling. I liked them better than the original and I still enjoy them more to this day. The scene of Mrs. Spool getting a shovel blow to the head kept my finger on the rewind button. To this day I still marvel at that shot, it really does look like this little old lady was brutally taken out for good. Psycho II was a nostalgic mystery, a character study of a sick man who has spent the last two decades restoring himself to sanity, a man who ultimately would have (likely) done no more harm if he would have just been left alone. You feel for Norman, you want him to get better, but too many people are so cruelly against this cause.

If this film were produced today it would have been a reboot, to pick a story up in 1983 in real time from where it left off in 1960 with the same actors simply never happens, with the exception of the new Halloween (a franchise notable for its multitude of Psycho nods). The film opens with a beautiful score by Jerry Goldsmith as the sun rises on an empty Bates mansion, cut to a courtroom where some "legal hocus pocus" is going down. Norman Bates is being released, and Lila Loomis isn't happy about it. Another Tarantino quote I love regarding this movie is, "Vera Miles is back and she's a fucking bitch!" Right off the bat Norman thinks he sees someone in his mother's window as he returns home. Is he still crazy after all these years? Norman is trying his hardest to be a good man. Watch the brilliant and haunting way in which Perkins gazes at himself in the mirror, it's like you can read his mind but you also wonder what he's thinking about at the same time.

He befriends a co-worker named Mary during his first day of work at a local diner up the road. They form a close bond and later, in my favorite scene of the movie, she holds Norman in bed as he cries and offers up the oddest, most heartbreaking compliment...

Norman: "You smell good."

Mary: "I do?"

Norman: "Yeah."

Mary: "What do I smell like?"

Norman: "You smell like... like the toasted cheese sandwiches my mother used to bring me when I was in bed with a temperature. She used to do lots of nice things for me, before she went... before she became..."

Mary: "Shh, just remember the good things she did for you. Only the good things."

Norman: "I can't. They're not there anymore."

Mary: "Of course they're there."

Norman: "No, the doctors took them all away. Along with everything else. Except... except those sandwiches."

Mary: "Just sleep, Norman. Just sleep."

The framing that scene ends on is surreal. This is not an 80s slasher, this is art.

There are so many twists and turns in this story that it makes you start feeling a little bit crazy, capped with an ending we could have never predicted. That's the greatest thing about this movie, it's packed with so many surprises that when the picture ends you need to take a moment to reflect, just to make sure you really do have it all figured out. It's a slow burn that builds to a manic pace until you reach that booming music and iconic shot that cuts to the end credits, putting you on the edge of your damn seat to where you CANNOT get Psycho III into the VCR quickly enough!

Psycho III is even more of a character study, only this time Norman is examined through the lens of a noir-ish black comedy that wasn't afraid to go to the weirdest and darkest places. The movie starts, spoilers ahead, with a woman screaming into a dark void, "There is no God!" Being raised Christian, this made my stomach flip and was edited out for my parental cut of the film. III was directed by Anthony Perkins himself and, honestly, I don't know what he was thinking a lot of the time... especially during the filming of that sex scene. It's so odd and uncomfortable, and for a long time I thought that was how people had sex. Then there was the scene where Mother slits the throat of that girl on the toilet (played by filmmaker Katt Shea) and Norman proceeds to fall in love with her dead body. Theirs easily makes my Top 3 Best Onscreen Kisses list. So romantic.

For all its wickedness, this movie still teases you with redemption, especially with the Catholic overtones, though redemption seems far more unlikely here than it did in II. In fact, Perkins and screenwriter Charles Edward Pogue tried to convince Universal to let them end it on a poignant note, but the studio refused and slapped on the strangest ending that, honestly, I loved as a kid, but knowing how perfectly it all could have ended it just makes me angry now.

There are some beautiful moments in III that you just don't see in your typical slasher film. The shot of Norman sitting in the dark playing the piano just so happens to be the film's haunting theme composed by Carter Burwell, which is my all-time favorite horror movie score. Perkins encouraged the cast and crew to watch the Coen Brother's Blood Simple from which he drew inspiration, another film featuring Burwell's work. We spend a lot of time alone with Norman, in the stillness and silence of his mansion, as he indulges in taxidermy and plopping spoonfuls peanut butter onto Ritz Crackers, feeling uneasy that the stuffing of birds is happening at such close proximity. We witness his struggles, the fighting of his own inner demons, and his sadness. There is unbearable weight of loneliness that Perkins has captured starting with since the first film - at his most conscious he knows that he must separate himself from people to keep them out of harm's way, but he also needs companionship, and dammit, he tries. There's a lot of remorse, captured both in quiet moments and in the screenplay.

Take for example the dialogue from the scene in Statler's Cafe where Norman discusses his past with a Los Angeles journalist who is writing an article on "the insanity defense and the rehabilitation of mentally ill murderers..."

Tracy: "We always hear the objections of the victims and their relatives, but in a way, murderers, who can't help themselves, are victims, too. Your point of view would be important to me."

Norman: "I understand. My cure couldn't cure the hurt I caused. My return to sanity didn't return the dead, there's no way to make up that loss. The past... is never really past. It stays with me all the time, and no matter how hard I try I can't really escape. It's always there, throbbing inside you, coloring your perceptions of the world and, sometimes, controlling them."

There's also a love story in III, not only with the corpse of the girl from the toilet but also with a suicidal nun-on-the-run who accidentally committed murder herself. This is classic stuff. You get to see Norman on an actual date in a restaurant, among actual people, attempting to be an actual human being... something that we know in our gut at this point in the series he is utterly incapable of. You can read in his eyes as they dance that he desperately wants love, but knows he can never have it. "What should we toast to?" asks Maureen. "Happiness." says Norman. The most heartbreaking dialogue is in the hospital scene...

Norman: "People should look out for each other, don't you think? We sometimes get lost, but if there'd only been someone looking out for us, to help us understand, maybe we wouldn't do some of the sad, awful things we do."

The movie continuously flips from heartfelt, to hilarious, to disturbingly bizarre. The drifter known as Duke is slimy and fun, and I really enjoy watching him go from cool to batshit crazy. The performance by Jeff Fahey is fantastic. Hugh Gillin as Sheriff John Hunt is a comfort in both films, you may remember him as the mayor in Back to the Future: Part III, he's great in thirds, I suppose. In both movies you feel he really cares for Norman. I just feel safe when he's around. Plus watching him unknowingly swallow bloody ice cubes is the funniest scene in all the Psycho movies. I also love seeing a college party happening at the Bates Motel, we rarely see the place overrun with guests and it creates all kinds of trouble for poor, crazy Norman. The movie is filled with great, dark dialogue...

Maureen: "I guess I did leave the bathroom a mess."

Norman: "I've seen worse."

Psycho III, even with the cryptic ending slapped on by the studio who was no doubt hoping for another sequel, is the perfect ending for this franchise. Free or not, Norman has exercised the demons and is going away. He'll never get out again.

Cut to Psycho IV: The Beginning. I never liked the VHS box art as a kid, it just seemed cheap, like it was straight-to-video quality. It was one step above that; made for Showtime. However, it was written by Joseph Stefano who adapted the Hitchcock original, starred Perkins, was introduced on cable by Janet Leigh, and featured Henry Thomas (Elliot from E.T.) as a young Norman Bates, Olivia Hussey as Mother, and... is that John Landis? Yep. The fourth installment was probably most significant to me because it was the only sequel filmed at Universal Studios Florida, and the Bates mansion still stood when I visited as a child, ironically right next to the E.T. Adventure. I was in awe standing in its presence. My family would frequent the old Hard Rock Cafe and my only request was always to visit the back patio to get a glimpse of the house on the hill. It was magic. That was my Cinderella Castle. At this point, Perkins had passed away and in my mind his soul inhabited that set.

Many years later I would stand in the exact spot where the mansion once resided, the house now gone and replaced with a Curious George playground, wearing a Universal Orlando name tag and spieling about the legacy of Psycho to my V.I.P. Experience trainers, David and Alina. Standing next to a Woody Woodpecker cutout, I connected the bird with Psycho III (Burwell's score even echoes and distorts Woody's theme song as the cartoon plays in the background of a scene, it's wonderful) in a passionate 10-minute speech that ultimately landed my job as a tour guide. I had made my way from the hills of Tennessee to working at the very theme park that made me a movie geek, and my new job was to talk about the things I loved. Life was good.

If I wouldn't have visited Universal when I was young, I wouldn't have experienced the Hitchcock attraction that made me fall in love with movies. Not only movies, but with filmmaking itself. In which case this blog wouldn't exist. My love for storytelling might have never been realized. That passion for entertainment exploded from within me right there in that theme park when I was a kid, and I returned from Orlando immediately wanting to consume classic films, that same week tuning into AMC and watching Tony Perkins in Fear Strikes Out with my mom, so excited to dive head first into movie marathons... there were so many movies to watch and I didn't know where to begin! The fact is that I wouldn't have explored films obsessively or moved to Orlando after college to pursue a career in theme parks, a road that eventually led me to Hollywood, without Psycho. The first film books I ever bought were on the making of Psycho (I also bought the Bloch novels, but I didn't like that his Norman was... gross.)

I'll never forget the day that I landed a job at the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood. It was the greatest day of my life. Only a month prior I considered buying a very expensive VIP Tour ticket solely for the advertised photo op in front of the Bates house. From the top of the parking garage I stood looking out at the Psycho set and just took in the moment. That very house had inspired me since childhood, and there it was, now part of my workplace. Kids had made fun of me for loving those movies, but those films never stopped speaking to me. I moved around a lot as a kid and was at times quite lonely, I think it was Norman's loneliness that I related to. There's a poetry to his performance that hits me on the deepest level. I sometimes forget these are horror movies. My favorite single frame of film from any of the Psycho movies is when Norman returns to the house from his dinner with Marion in the parlor. He just sits there at the kitchen table, alone. What is going through his head? It's an incredible shot and I related to it.

On into my career at Universal, I was stopped by security late one night when I decided to venture out to the Psycho set after hours. It was midnight and I could see the security truck approaching me from afar. He shined a flashlight in my eyes and asked for I.D. I thought I was getting fired. He asked what I was doing and I told him I was walking the Lot trying to memorize my Studio Tour script in silence. He let me continue on my way and, after trekking through the War of the Worlds set in dark, I arrived. I sat on the steps of the Bates mansion reflecting, just staring up at that iconic piece of gothic architecture. I'm sure that the Studio Tour guides or Norman performers would have thought I was strange and silly to walk out there so late at night just to sit there, but it was a spiritual trek for me. Tradition soon became arriving for work early, Starbucks in hand, and enjoying coffee on the steps of the Psycho set before the Park opened... I have so many selfies and videos from the motel, it's ridiculous. I studied these films as a kid and now here I was, right where they were filmed it, even the Hitchcock original.

I had studied Perkins' life and career as a kid, reading biographies like Split Image and watching everything from Lucky Stiff to Edge of Sanity. I was nervous to rent Crimes of Passion in 8th grade, but I secretly did it anyways. Falling in love with movies is what created a dialogue with the people who I now consider my best friends. It has landed me multiple jobs and has ultimately shaped my life. Without a passion for film and theme parks, I honestly don't know where (or who) I'd be.

When I landed a promotion at Universal to Supervisor of Entertainment Operations, I quickly got myself in trouble with HR for filming a documentary about Psycho's legacy in relation to the theme park, which was intended to be used as a training video. I worried, once again, that I was getting fired. I was told to surrender the footage in which I interviewed the Park's creative director, John Murdy, and all the performers who played Norman. I even filmed one performer's set from every possible angle (even from inside the trunk of Marion's car) and edited it all together. I was told to cease and desist. So I did.

I'll never forget the first email that I sent to repair the rotting steps that the performers use at the house for Halloween Horror Nights as it became a safety concern, or the ribbon cutting to celebrate a trailer upgrade for the actors, complete with Psycho-themed Voodoo Donuts, or teaching day one orientation for new hires and educating them on the history of that set. There was also a failed attempt at an outdoor screening of Psycho at the Bates Motel, which I'm still hoping they figure out one day. We even had Janet Leigh's original body-double for the shower scene, Marli Renfro, on site one day and she autographed a photo for me that read "Be careful taking a shower!" Visits to the Psycho house on a daily basis was now officially part of my salaried job. What is life? Psycho screened at the Universal Cinema for one night only and I, of course, had to attend. Who was sitting behind me but the entire cast and crew of Bates Motel! The entire movie was spent listening in on Freddie Highmore making Norman jokes and observations with writer/producer Kerry Ehrin. What a magical night at the movies!

So now, here I sit, alone at 12:30 a.m. with the Psycho III Blu-ray from Shout! Factory spinning in the background. I've grown, as has the video presentation of both films. As bad as the Universal Home Video release was, does anyone remember that GoodTimes DVD? Ew. (At one point I even met with the Director of Universal Archives & Collections to inquire about what materials the studio had on hand from the sequels, but there was nothing.) I'm reflecting on my five-years spent at Universal, where I reached a high point donning suits and filling theaters on the Lot with an audience of Studio Tour guides to perform Q&As with cinema legends like John Landis (yes, we discussed Psycho IV), Joe Dante, and Tippi Hedren. With Tippi, surrounded onstage by fake birds, we discussed the magic of being on the Lot, and what her first job in the industry was like, starring in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Life had become surreal. This is what I had dreamed of as a kid in my bedroom, watching these same people interviewed on my DVDs and thinking, "I want to be a part of that."

(Me on the Psycho set)

As with most people who pack their bags and move to Los Angeles on a whim, I'm still searching for what it is I'm meant to do. I'm working on a novel, assisting with some studio projects, and feverishly using my blog as an excuse to continue talking to anyone in this industry who will open their door and drop some knowledge and inspiration.

Sometimes it's easy to feel lost and alone in that process of finding your place in the world, even when surrounded by people who love you, and in those moments it is vital to remind yourself how far you've come, and what it is that got you to where you are. For me, it was sitting alone in my bed at midnight as a child watching my brand new Psycho VHS, seeing the big reveal at the end of the film that truly shocked me, and while experiencing the high that I was on from being completely engrossed in movie magic, I knew I was ultimately, somehow, bound for Los Angeles. There were many other movies and filmmakers along the way that would become a new obsession, but I'll never forget the origin of finding my passion, in the belly of the beast, with the house that Hitch built.

The point of this post is, ultimately, to both remind and encourage you to celebrate your fandom. When someone puts you down for the things you love, or you're worried about how others might think of you as silly for indulging as a fervent fan in whatever it is that makes you happy, remind yourself of why you love those things and how they've helped you cope with life. They might call you crazy, but hey, we all go a little mad sometimes.

Dancing Hippos in America: A Conversation with Author Mindy Aloff

2018-12-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

Mindy Aloff has published essays, interviews, and articles on dance, literature, film, music, and other cultural subjects in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Village Voice, and more. She is a renowned dance critic and scholar, analyzing dance in Disney animation for her Disney Editions book, Hippo in a Tutu. With her newest publication, Dance in America, she spans three centuries with the biggest anthology on American dance ever published. She stopped by Fülle Cr. to discuss these projects and more.

Jason Anders: So let's jump right into your newest work, a book called Hippo in a Tutu: Dancing in Disney Animation, which studies dance in Disney's animated shorts and features; you have been a professional critic and teacher of dance for quite some time, and have even written a book called Dance Anecdotes, which contains stories about dancing all over the globe. So why Disney for the subject of your book, and when did the idea first come to you?

Mindy Aloff: The idea for the book, as such, wasn't mine: it was a longtime concept of an editor at Disney Editions, Christopher Caines, who is also a working choreographer - and, not incidentally, the author of the title, Hippo in a Tutu. He noticed that although there was a fair amount of published writing about music at Disney there was little about dance, and he thought such a study could fill in an important gap. Around six years ago he approached me with the suggestion that I might write the book; I drafted a proposal and the editorial director of Disney Editions, Wendy Lefkon, liked it... even though I didn't have an animation background.

However, the reason that Christopher tapped me was that nearly ten years before, in the early 1990s, I'd written two stories about dance in animated films. One, assigned by the dance editor of The Village Voice, was based on a festival of Warner Bros. cartoons at Film Forum in SoHo during which I saw 100 shorts in a row and stumbled into the street with the conviction that, as far as dance went, Disney exhibited more understanding and technical prowess. This story was never published.

The second, much more abbreviated, was one of the published Dance columns I wrote for the "Goings on about Town" section of The New Yorker, to which I contributed between 1989 and 1993. In 350 words or so, I evaluated dancing in Disney and Warner's and explained why, with respect to the dance passages of its animated films, Disney was my preference. Others in Great Britain had also written about dancing and Disney around that time: you can read the lovely 1989 essay "Disney's Dances" by Alastair Macaulay (now the chief dance critic at The New York Times) originally published in The Dancing Times and reprinted in Robert Gottlieb's new anthology, Reading Dance. The subject was in the air. I was just very lucky that Disney Editions reached out to me.

Tell me about the process of tackling this subject matter.

It was nothing if not research. I began by going through the John Canemaker Collection at New York University's Bobst Library: a huge compendium of writings and art that John had used in the course of writing his many Disney histories and donated to the library. It was there where I first encountered some of the meticulous transcripts that recorded the story conferences of Walt Disney and his staff during the 1930s and early '40s. My favorite was one on Alice in Wonderland, which languished for several decades in development: in the transcript, Walt Disney spends a heartbreaking amount of time trying to figure out the psychological reasons why certain events in the Lewis Carroll books happen in the sequence they do. Reading it, I kept wanting to leap through time into the conference room and whisper into Mr. Disney's ear, "But Charles Dodgson was a mathematician, and these sequences play out certain math games." No one ever mentions that fact in the transcript, and it would have saved the team so much vexation!

While in New York, I also set up a 90-minute oral history interview at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts with Marge Champion, the live-action reference dancer for Snow White, the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio, the Twirling Blossom in the "Nutcracker Suite" section of Fantasia, and for Hyacinth Hippo in Fantasia's "Dance of the Hours," which she also choreographed. (An edited version of that interview is included in Hippo in a Tutu.) And I began to buy the DVDs of animated shorts and features by Disney, Warner's, Fleischer, and other studios as Disney had none to lend. I also began to buy books on animation, most of them out of print and many of them not held by area libraries. Happily, one day, in two oversized boxes, a dozen relevant Disney histories arrived at my doorstep from Disney Editions: I could never have afforded them, even used. And I spent days at the Dance Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center researching related topics, as well as on the Internet, where I discovered that the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York owned a copy of the 1916 silent live-action feature Snow White, which Walt Disney had so enjoyed as a teenager, and that it was available as part of a DVD box set of American silents, which I was able to track down and (dipping deep into my savings) buy for study.

Disney Editions also set up three trips for me, each a week long, to the company archives in Burbank and Glendale. These were extraordinary experiences. On the first visit, I was able to interview animator Andreas Deja and the co-directors of The Little Mermaid, Ron Clements and John Musker and, over the phone, Kathryn Beaumont - the voice and live-action reference for Alice in Wonderland. I also spoke on the phone with Disney connoisseur Harry Arends and met film producer Les Perkins and other animation historians. Most of the week, though, was spent in the Burbank campus archives with the great Dave Smith and his excellent staff and at the Animation Research Library in Glendale, where archivist Fox Carney produced one treasure after another: inspirational drawings, live-action reference films. On the second trip, I spent all my time in the Burbank archives and at the ARL where archivist Ann Hansen, apprised of my research, brought to the table the full set of pencil drawings that Ub Iwerks made for "The Skeleton Dance", Disney's first Silly Symphony, as well as the art by another hand of Persephone dancing in another early Silly called "The Goddess of Spring."

On the third trip I touched base with both the Burbank archives and the ARL; however, most of it was spent at the Disney Photo Library in Glendale. And there were many conversations and interviews I conducted by telephone and online with the Disney historian Ross Care and most wonderfully of all, with the composer and Disney historian Alexander Rannie, whom I have yet to meet in person but with whom I have spent the equivalent of weeks in conversation through e-mail and over the telephone discussing Disney animation. Alex's unique combination of brilliance, respect for accuracy, collegial generosity, and optimism in the face of bleak doubt have been almost as important to the completion of this book as the spiritual contributions of my daughter, Ariel, and the editorial exactitude and imaginative sympathy of Christopher Caines. At one point, when I thought I'd hit a brick wall in my efforts to find out any information about the second half of the life of Hattie Noel (who served as the live-action reference for the body of Hyacinth Hippo), Alex got in his car and drove to libraries as well as through the neighborhood in which she lived. He sent me a report, which I've quoted in the book.

You cannot put a price on the kindness and intellectual curiosity of colleagues like Alex, or Jeff Kurtti, the Disney author and interviewer who, in essence, gave me the entire history of the Disney-Dali collaboration, Destino, and whose family opened their home to me to stay when I couldn't afford a hotel. In the event, the acknowledgments for Hippo in a Tutu spell out all the good souls who contributed to its realization.

Do you have an all-time favorite piece of animation?

For a long time my very favorite was Lotte Reininger's feature-length silhouette cut-out film from the 1920s, The Adventures of Prince Achmed, which I saw in college. That is still a stupendous achievement and film of entrancing beauty. However, in the past decade it has been replaced by the animated sequence in the early Ingmar Bergman ballet picture Summer Interlude from the late 1940s. The animation consists of stick figures on the label of a long-playing record which, as the record turns, come to life for a pas de deux. It is both as simple and as profound as a pre-schooler's drawing, and I've never seen anything else quite as emotionally affecting. At one point I wrote to The Ingmar Bergman Foundation in Sweden to find out the name of the animator and the circumstances of the making of the passage and they kindly shared all that information via e-mail. However, when I changed computers, that all got lost. Jean-Luc Godard was once quoted as saying that he thought Summer Interlude was the finest film that Ingmar Bergman ever made; Godard and I agree on this point, and I'm a Bergman fan.

When I was in elementary school my favorite animated moment was when Disney's Lady and the Tramp enjoyed a spaghetti dinner together in an alley. As a very little kid, my favorite was when Peter Pan and the Darling children flew in the night sky.

Do you remember where your love and passion for dance began?

In the Philadelphia Academy of Music on an evening in 1956 when my father took me to see a performance of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. The love and passion were born when I saw a ballet by Heinz Rosen called La Dame a la Licorne, about the unicorn tapestries of Cluny. The ballet, I learned later, was a critical disaster, but the image of the ballerina unicorn pointing her toe shoe in a gesture that rhymed with the horn on her mask was the moment I threw in my lot with ballet and art and poetic association.

Let's talk about another book of yours, Dance Anecdotes.

Dance Anecdotes came to me at a moment when I was desperate for work and also had a two-year-old child and aging parents. It was part of a series that Oxford University Press publishes and most of the people who write those books have all the stories at hand. I didn't: I researched. And I had a vision; I wanted to include stories that would show theatrical and nontheatrical dancing as a vocation, even a mission, and I wanted stories that children as well as adults might find of interest. It's a luxury to hold a vision and the result was that the book took me seventeen years to complete. My editor at Oxford, the late great Sheldon Meyer, truly understood me and he waited, serving as editor even after he had retired from the press. I heard that mine was the very last book this wonderful editor worked on. The paperback edition is dedicated to his memory as well as to the memories of my parents, both of whom died in the time I worked on it.

Who are a few of your favorite dancers of all time?

Goodness, there are way too many! But one "dancer" you might not have thought of was the outstandingly graceful baseball player, Satchel Paige.

Are there any other films created by different studios that you feel achieved greatness in their marriage of dance and animation?

Absolutely! Max Fleischer's studio, Disney's chief competitor during the 1930s, produced dancing sequences that were gorgeously musical, charming, and beautifully drawn. Betty Boop starred in several of them, such as her "Snow White" and "Poor Cinderella." I'd also cite the very simple slow marching dance of Winsor McCay's Gertie the Dinosaur, the amazing animations of Lotte Reininger, Alexander Shiryaev, and Wladyslaw Starewicz from just before or just after World War I, Gene Kelly's duet with Jerry Mouse in Anchors Aweigh, and even the animated credits to The Pink Panther. But you must remember that I'm not an animation historian. I'm missing entire repertories, which I'm sure that your readers will fill in.

Which film do you feel is the prime example of cartoon choreography?

Fantasia.

Where did the idea for your new anthology book, Dance in America, originate?

Dance in America is a compendium of other people's writings—seventy-one other people. I wrote an introduction, of course, but I'm not represented in it as a contributor: There was no room.

In May of 2010 I sent a message to the Library of America's editor-in-chief, Geoffrey O'Brien, to say it was nice to see him at the recent reception for current and former fellows of the Guggenheim Foundation and to ask if he had any time to meet about the “dance writing project” that he and I had discussed at the reception. I had worked with Geoffrey on the reference book he used to edit, The Reader's Catalogue, in the 1990s, as the contributor in the Dance section, and I was teaching my annual “Dance in Film” course at Barnard at the time (Geoffrey often writes about film for The New York Review of Books), and so it was natural for us to speak about dance, film, and—since he was an editor—writing projects.

At our first meeting in the Library of America offices, Geoffrey and Max Rudin, then LoA's Publisher and now its President, weren't sure that there was enough material for an anthology restricted to American writers and/or American dance. Robert Gottlieb had just published his landmark anthology of international dance writing in English, Reading Dance, and it was nearly 1,400 pages long. Was anything left? But I had some ideas about writings that Bob hadn't chosen. Also, I wanted to include genres of writing outside formal essays or articles: I wanted poems, letters, journal entries, and other unanticipated sources. And I very much wanted authors who are rarely if ever associated with dance as a substantial subject of their work. I've been reading a lot about dancing from the time I was in grade school, and I knew that dance writing is a genre of surprises. To find treasures, sometimes it's necessary to think unconventionally. I spent a lot of time reflecting on the collection and raking my memory as a reader, as well as actively researching and reading material new to me.

What challenges did you face in the research process?

The best part of the research was learning so much—including what the resources were to try to find out anything about whether dance writing existed anywhere from sea to shining sea before the United States of America did! And having to think so hard about what “America” means, especially now, was educational indeed. I also was introduced to the fact that my sense of myself as proficient at basic math was a preconception that had to be revisited. I made three different tables of contents over the years of putting the anthology together, and the first one was 2,000 pages long, with something like a couple of hundred contributors. That's when I learned that I didn't know how to count and had, in my wishful way, considerably overshot my allocated 550 pages of text. I was also introduced to the realities of permissions fees: For instance, the cost of anthologizing some poetry was simply prohibitive for an anthology from Library of America, a nonprofit press. Money counts: Who would have thunk it?

So, I tried to narrow the collection's focus in every way possible. Early on, I cut the English-language writings I had gathered from Cuba and Canada and the English translations of South American classics, for instance, Jorge Luís Borges's reflections on the tango, the complex and evocative partnered dance of his native Argentina. I regretted that, as the tango has been quite popular and influential in the United States, sometimes in its supple, chess-like, improvisatory Argentinian form, sometimes in its regulated competitive ballroom forms, and sometimes as a staged choreography, such as the tangos that Rudolph Valentino used to do in silent movies or bravura dancers perform in tango revues. The fact that I'm one of those pokey readers who lingers over every word was a huge challenge. Hello, midnight espresso! And then there was the scanning of possible passages from hundreds of books and periodicals. I was very lucky there, as three wonderful Barnard students stepped up to help: Susanna Friscia (now a freelance journalist), Rhitu Risal, and Ariel Rivkin.

What is it that excites you most in writing about dance?

Truly? That I can do it. Dance writing involves so many perceptual skills and so much memory (the fun factor of taking notes in the dark without looking is quite overrated) and so much knowledge about how music and sound and movement and composition and running times for the chaos part and—OMG! What color were the bodices, and were there ten people on stage or twelve?—Well, as the novelist put it, God is in the details; you can see right here how the effort to write about dance can break down the English language and, in certain high-stakes platforms, the critic's very mind. The idea that one might have an opinion, too, and that the opinion is why you were assigned to review the show in the first place, can drive a critic out of the the dance-critic biz altogether and into a new career in sales. Every time, I sit down to the computer and think, “Aloff, you're sunk.”

And then I remind myself—I'm being absolutely literal here—of the most important experience I had concerning the solving of puzzles. For, ultimately, writing is a version of puzzle-solving, sometimes with just a few pieces and sometimes with thousands. Anyway, I was in the seventh-grade math class of the immortal Mr. Sewall at Philadelphia's Beeber Junior High. Mr. Sewall gave the class an assignment of solving a math problem that covered all the blackboards in the classroom and called upon every mathematical procedure we were supposed to have mastered to date. So, I duly copied it and took it home, sure that I'd never get it. I asked my father, an electrical engineer, to help me. But he was of the devil's party, that is, he told me that unless I did it myself it would never count in the largest scheme of things, whatever that is. So, I sat down with pencil and paper and started at the beginning, on the left, and went from required operation to required operation, until, after an hour or so, I arrived at an answer, which I remember to this day: 3/400. Would you think that was the right answer? The fraction was lopsided; it has no je ne sais crois. But it's what I found, and the next day it was what I turned in.

The following day, Mr. Sewall announced that two people in the class had gotten the right answer. One was in decimals, and the girl who had turned it in said that she'd worked on it with her father, and Mr. Sewall nodded approvingly. Don't even think of asking me how I felt! For the second answer, he said that he'd written it on a 3 x 5 card and put it in a sealed but translucent envelope and that, since he was standing next to me, I could read the answer aloud and would the problem solver stand up. He placed his thumb on the envelope so that I could see it was a fraction, and that the top number, the numerator, was a 3. I began to scream. And he moved his thumb on the envelope so I could see that the bottom number, the denominator, was 400. I've never forgotten that lesson: When you think you're lost, intellectually speaking, go forward step by step. It doesn't always get you out of the woods; there are puzzles where you have to somehow put yourself in the zone to provoke an epiphany from absolutely out of the blue to get clear. But step-by-step often does work, and the process has a comforting dimension. I used it the morning of 9/11, when I was on the subway heading uptown to work and my daughter had just taken the subway to her school, ten blocks away from Ground Zero.

But back to dance reviewing: After re-running that junior-high experience as a talisman, I embark on my first draft. Most puzzles eventually have solutions, and just that knowledge—even if you yourself aren't the one who will solve them—removes the high anxiety attendant on the undoable. And, myth or wish or fiction as that may be for the most rarefied enigmas, the prospect of solution is exciting.

What is one thing you learned while writing this book that you didn't know before?

As the dance historian Joanne Barclay Skoller discovered and wrote about, between 1846 and 1847, the ballet Giselle was performed between 30 and 50 times in Boston, Massachusetts, alone. Think about that: Giselle was given its world première, by the Paris Opéra Ballet, in 1841. And in a mere five years it was being performed across the Atlantic, in just one city (that is, exclusive of the performances in New York, Philadelphia, and elsewhere in the U.S.), at least 30 times in a single year. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy.

What subject would you most like to tackle next?

An encyclopedia of the world's luxury spas, hotels, cruises, and Guide Michelin restaurants. If you're aware of an interested publisher, I'm listening.

Buy Mindy's new book, Dance in America, HERE!

Celestial Sounds: A Conversation with Composer Lena Raine

2018-12-12T11:47:00.000-08:00

Lena Raine is an award-winning composer and producer, having written original soundtracks for highly-acclaimed video games, solo albums and orchestral works. Her score for the recipient of Best Independent Game at this year's Game Awards, Celeste, beautifully punctuated the video game's highs and lows, bringing its emotional aspects to their peak. Lena dropped by Fülle Cr. to discuss the making of that soundtrack, her love of the genre, and the music that inspires her.

Jason Anders: What is it about composing scores in the gaming world that you love, and what inspired you to do so in the first place?

Lena Raine: Games offer something for composers that no other medium really allows you to do. You get to score experiences and craft aural spaces that people can get lost in for hours. It's a unique thing usually reserved for installation art that doesn't really get much appreciation. I love the magic that is writing music that then evokes things for people as they play through a game, enhancing the experience in ways that only an interactive medium can do.

Do you remember what first sparked your interest in becoming a composer?

Music has always been a major part of my life. My dad was performing in bars and doing sound design and composition for theater and dance while I was growing up. I performed in choirs from childhood up through college. I think it was inevitable that I'd become involved in music in some way. For me, that spark was the music in games I played. My first interests in composing came from replicating the music I loved. Then, when I started writing my own music, it pulled from those sounds in a lot of major ways. It's probably why I'm still so adhered to games as a medium. They run through the lifeblood of everything I write.

You recently joined the Celeste team onstage at The Game Awards to accept "Best Independent Game" - what was that moment like for you, and what challenges did you face along the way in your journey arriving at that moment as an artist?

Really really amazing. And kind of hilarious, too. I was involved in The Game Awards as a nominee, as a performer, and as a presenter. So when the Best Independent Game award started coming up, I was suddenly taken backstage by a stage manager to get ready to present the award for Best Direction. But as soon as I got back stage, another stage manager came up and asked if I was part of the Celeste team. I then got hurriedly re-seated in case we won. So I was on edge already, mentally preparing to be on stage for hundreds and on camera for millions, and then being jostled around by stage folks. It was mostly just hilarious because I had no idea if we were going to win, but then suddenly (after Ninja and a prawn Muppet hammed it up a bit) the cameras were on us and we headed up. As a side note, I'm glad I got to handle one of the trophies in dress rehearsal because I would not have been prepared for how heavy they are!

What is your origin story in being brought on to compose the score for Celeste?

I had been working as a quest designer and level designer in AAA games and managing to do music as a part-time thing when I had the spare time. At some point I had the inclination to branch out and do my own solo project as Kuraine. I had started writing a lot of electronic music, really moody deep house sort of stuff. So I released four of my most solid tracks as an EP called Singularity. I was friends with a number of folks in the indie scene at the time, but one of my good friends knew the developers on Celeste and she passed along my music to them. They super loved my work on Singularity, and so Matt reached out to me in a Twitter DM asking if I'd like to write the music for the game that he and the team were about six months into designing. I had been relatively familiar with their work, and got to play an early build, and thought it really gelled with the kind of music I love to write, so I said sure! It worked out super well, and I really felt like a core member of the development team. By the end of the project we had a really good vibe going, and so I'm looking forward to possibly working on more things with all of them.

It's incredible that the soundtrack was released on vinyl and the B-Sides on cassette! You wrote in your liner notes about the project becoming far more personal than you were expecting - tell me about that experience.

Honestly, the process of writing the music for Celeste took place over one of the most turbulent 18 months of my life. Between starting the game and finishing it, I had gone from living in Seattle and working as a designer on Guild Wars 2, to uprooting and moving to Montreal to work for Ubisoft on Far Cry 5 for a year, to realizing I wanted to do music full-time, leaving my job and Montreal, staying with friends back in Seattle while I looked for a place, and then finishing everything after I had found a new apartment again. I wrote on three different computers, changed programs I was using to write, and had to buy a new smaller PC to work off of after moving back to Seattle since my desktop tower was on a moving van going across the continent. It's honestly a miracle I was able to do all of that and finish the score at the same time. It was very much my own mountain to climb, but I'm in a better space now.

What has the success of Celeste been like for you, both personally and professionally?

In a purely personal way, it has allowed me to try and get my life on track following the turbulence that ensued during Celeste's development. In a monetary way, it's allowed me to lay low and take on smaller projects while I figure out where I want my career to go. In a professional way, it's opened up a lot of connections with creators that I admire, and has paved the way for me to work on the projects I'm most passionate about and want to pursue. I don't think I'll be doing a Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed or whatever any time soon, because I feel like the AAA space is already difficult enough to navigate. But I have a number of things lined up, mostly with good friends in the industry, that I'm super excited to continue and begin work on.

Do you have a favorite track from the score?

I've been asked this a few times, and I don't remember how I've answered, but I think despite its short length and intensity, my favourite is still Anxiety. It's probably the most personal of the tracks, since it very accurately depicts my own experiences with anxiety and having a panic attack, so scoring that became a very honest depiction on my part.

Name three albums that you love.

Oh god there's so many! Off the top of my head: Archandroid by Janelle Monae, the soundtrack to Xenogears by Yasunori Mitsuda, and Dangerous by Michael Jackson.

What are you currently working on that we can be looking forward to?

I'm on the verge of finishing up my debut solo album as Lena Raine! I spent a lot of time this year needing to calm down and relax, and so I began writing songs with a limited palette of Rhodes piano, zither, and a small string section. I started a rule for myself where if I found myself in a situation where my anxiety or stress were getting to a boiling point I'd sit down with one of those instruments and start writing something relaxing. Eventually, the songwriting got to a point where I was very clearly scoring a specific emotional arc for myself, so I began to think of it as an album. By the time I finished, I reached out to my girlfriend who has done a number of wonderful covers for me and she painted the exact sort of feeling I described in writing these tracks, which I'm using as the cover art. I'm also actually working with a record label on this release, so they're doing the heavy PR lifting this time around. I'm so excited to start getting the word out in 2019!

If you had to sum up your music in three words, what would they be?

Evocative. Personal. Odd.

Buy the vinyl release of the Celeste original soundtrack HERE!

Eat Like Walt: A Conversation with Author Marcy Carriker Smothers

2018-12-10T07:11:00.002-08:00

Marcy Carriker Smothers is a noted personality in the Northern California world of food and wine. From radio shows to books on food, her love of dining and Disney recently led to a wonderful new book, Eat Like Walt: The Wonderful World of Disney Food. This week Marcy drops by Fülle Cr. to discuss the making of her book and her favorite places to dine in Disneyland today!

Jason Anders: Where did you first dream up the concept of exploring the history of Disney food as a book?

Marcy Smothers: My agent asked what I was going to do that's different from any of the blogs, and I knew I wanted to write about the food at Disneyland. I started thinking about the culinary history of Disneyland, which had never been written about before, and wondered if Walt had set out to make the food experience at Disneyland entertaining and immersive like the attractions. During my research for the proposal, I found a newspaper insert from an Orange County newspaper where Walt said, "Welcome to the Kingdom of Good Eating, where the food is as fabulous as the fun." Bingo! Proof of concept.

What makes Disneyland your favorite place?

Visiting Disneyland was always the most special day of the year for me as a child growing up in southern California. As an adult, and like millions of others, I feel at home there. It really is the happiest place on earth.

What is the origin of your passion for food?

I grew up teaching myself to cook out of defense and curiosity. We ate a lot of TV dinners when I was a kid. I remember the first thing I made was a hamburger patty with Lawry's garlic salt. I think I was ten. It was delicious! I've hosted several food radio shows, including one with Guy Fieri called Food Guy and Marcy. That led to my first book, Snacks: Adventures in Food, Aisle by Aisle.

Did you pitch the concept to Disney before anything had been written?

I wrote the proposal first, researching on my own. That took about six months. My Imagineer pals Tom Fitzgerald and Kathy Mangum vetted it for me before I submitted it to Disney Editions.

What was the process of pitching to Disney like?

The pitch was a blast! I was in my agent's office in New York. Wendy Lefkon, Editorial Director for Disney Publishing, came into the room a fan of the project. While we didn't make a deal right there and then, it was pretty clear it would happen. We decided our anthem would be "Let's Go Fly a Kite" because we were so excited to work together. About three months later I had a contract.

Exploring the Disney Archives must have been a thrill!

It's as exciting as Christmas. You present your wish list to the archivists and they do their best to fulfill it. Holding memos that Walt held brought me to tears. The Research Library and Art Archives at Walt Disney Imagineering was equally thrilling.

What were some of your most memorable moments interviewing Disney Legends?

Far and away the most memorable is how each and every one of them care deeply about ensuring Walt's legacy. It's as if they all still work for him.

What is your favorite thing that you learned about Walt while writing this book?

How human he was. Many of the people that knew Walt (everyone in my book knew him, by the way, no third person accounts) used that word often to describe him.

Which locations would recommend for a unique Disneyland dining experience today? Mine would be a table by the water at Blue Bayou Restaurant then catching a show at The Golden Horseshoe with a Churro Sundae.

For the vintage experience, go to the Plaza Inn, which was probably Walt's favorite (originally Swift's Red Wagon Inn) and ask to sit at Walt's table. That restaurant is largely the same as Walt and John Hench reimagined it in 1965. For a modern day experience, and my personal favorite, sit on the top deck in the very back of the Hungry Bear Restaurant in Critter Country. With the Disneyland Railroad now running along the Rivers of America, the view of Tom Sawyer's Island plus the Mark Twain and Columbia sailing ships, it's both nostalgic to Walt's era and present day practically perfect!

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

I get asked this all time. In my opinion, it's really simple: Writers write. You don't need the job title "author." Just a good story you want to share and the discipline to put it down on paper.

Do you have an all-time favorite Disneyland restaurant?

Really tough to pick one! That's like asking "What's your favorite attraction?" The aforementioned Hungry Bear Restaurant for the ambience reasons I outlined. For the food, it's a three-way between the Plaza Inn for a sit down meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and biscuit. The Bengal Barbecue in Adventureland for any and all of their skewers. And when I am lucky enough to be a guest - Club 33!

Buy Marcy's book at EatLikeWalt.com!

Mufasa's Pride: A Conversation with Alton Fitzgerald White

2018-12-04T11:51:00.003-08:00

The only African American actor who has played a lead role in five iconic hit shows on Broadway, Alton Fitzgerald White drops by Fülle Cr. to discuss the journey from his boyhood home in a Cincinnati housing project to playing a record-breaking 4,308 performances as King Mufasa in Disney's The Lion King, which he writes about in his Disney Editions book, My Pride: Mastering Life's Daily Performance.

Jason Anders: In your book you write about being influenced by your time spent in front of the television, which I definitely relate to - tell me about the positive impact that TV had on your life.

Alton Fitzgerald White: Television was different when I was a kid growing up in the 60s and 70s, parents could leave their children in front of the TV and not be afraid of them seeing something that was inappropriate. Variety shows were something that the whole family could watch; I loved that they were about entertainment, not competition. I have the blessing of benefiting from programs in my childhood that were meant to make you laugh and feel good, it was an escape and it was inspiring. Learning how to speak well and how to present yourself were things I learned from watching TV, and I soaked it up.

Which shows did you most enjoy watching?

Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, Dinah Shore and fun shows like Gilligan's Island and Afterschool Specials came on during the afternoon and were all about fun and glamour. At night we had The Flip Wilson Show, which was huge because it was the first successful variety show hosted by an African American. It was a manifestation of all my dreams, "He looks like me, he's singing, dancing, acting, and hosting... it's possible for me when I grow up."

What do you find is the best way to cope with the rejection that inevitably comes with this career?

I write in my book about the concept of service. When I do have moments of doubt, a lot of it comes from my ego (which is never fully satisfied), and I have to remind myself that it's all about service. You are talented. Look back on your history, you've worked before and you will work again. The right "service" will show up for me that I can do willingly, gratefully, passionately and happily. If I audition for something, my responsibility is to go in there and do the best I can which means going in prepared. Prepare for whatever your service is, and if it's a match it'll happen - nothing will stop it from happening. Showing up and doing well is all you can really control, do that and you'll get to your destination against any odds. Focus on what you can do. Rejection is sometimes protection from things that are ultimately not good for you. Choose to focus on those moments and see them as lessons - don't get stuck in feelings of rejection, it's about moving through it. Service helps me to move through it.

A term you use in your book is "commonplace achievements", how do you define that?

It's the little victories in life. When I do my public speaking, I guide whoever I'm speaking to on a gratitude meditation. You may look back and see that you've had a promotion, a new car, a new relationship... but what about the little bitty things, like when you were running late to work and doing everything you could to get there on time and then actually making it? Those are the little things that we tend to discount. There are things we ask for and then we get them, but we never really take the time to acknowledge them. Simple things that mean a whole lot in the moment, things that actually work in our favor; the more that you recognize those things the more you'll realize that you get a lot of what you ask for. We tend to find the things that never work out for us more attractive because many times it’s more dramatic, but it's important to give the commonplace achievements attention as well.

Were you armed with this thinking going into your career?

These are things that I learned in my career and in life. Any career that we pursue is so consuming it's important to have a balance of what's happening in other parts of our lives. Any career, especially in show business, is so unpredictable that it helps to be rooted in things that you know work for you for sure.

What were the biggest challenges on your road to Broadway?

The biggest obstacle was really believing that it was possible. Getting into a Broadway show is like getting into the NFL, and it really makes you think about how many people are pursuing it versus how many people actually get there. What makes me think that I'm an exception? Especially when I was younger and didn't know anyone on Broadway I would think, "Wow, what does it take? I couldn't possibly be enough."

When you're pursuing anything it's so easy to slip into desperation because you want it so badly. Desperation takes the air out of everything. When I was investing my time and money to get to New York for an audition - to buy the music and to prepare - I wanted it to be worth my investment. My focus was, let me not just think about the end result, let me stay on the journey and in the moment... the moment is all there really is. Our fantasies take us there, but all you really have is here and now. I went from believing "this will never happen for me" to getting an audition, and I knew that I really didn't want to blow my shot. Creating a space for the possibility of it happening was probably the most difficult thing.

When you're performing full time do you stay completely in the moment or are you planning for what's next?

When I was performing eight shows a week there was a whole set of skills that came into play that I needed for thriving through it. Part of that for me was staying open to how I could turn the present opportunity into other opportunities. That's the "business" part of show business. When I was younger I would do a lot of workshops because it was a chance to meet other creative teams. It's important to take whatever you have presently, connect the dots, and help it hopefully lead to other opportunities.

What was your experience in landing The Lion King?

I had my first audition with Julie Taymor before it came to Broadway just after I had been cast in Ragtime - I wanted to meet her and instinctually I knew that we clicked. I had a work session with the stage manager who told me what Julie likes. I absorbed that and saw it as a huge blessing because all I had to do was put my own stuff into what he told me. After the audition she said, "It might finally be time for us to work together." That's where the journey began.

What did you love most about playing Mufasa?

Mufasa was all of the wonderful, varied and positive things he represented. He's this iconic father who loves his son so much, and I was honored to be a black male actor playing this character that represented everyone, even though the message wasn't specifically black. What he represents is human - in spite of race or gender he was just an iconic father. My prayer is that people tap into their own Mufasa, their own king or queen within them – their own courage and leadership.

For many kids The Lion King was their first theatre experience and could potentially be just like me seeing Flip Wilson as a kid and saying, "That could be me when I grow up." Knowing that I could be that for some other minority kid is huge and very gratifying. What Mufasa represents is very powerful and his image is one of the things that helped me do it for so long.

When did the idea of documenting your journey as a book first spark?

When I hit the 4,000 mark and people kept telling me how lucky I was! If one more person told me how "lucky" I was, I was going to explode. "Luck" discounts any hard work or sacrifice and it felt like a backhanded compliment. I started writing down what I sacrificed and what I did, even though it may have looked easy. People don't realize what it takes for theatre actors to perform eight shows a week, we need the stamina of athletes. I started thinking about how my spirituality, my foundation, is what helped me keep moving forward in all parts of my life and wrote about that, too.

I thought about self-publishing but then had a meeting with Thomas Schumacher, the head of publishing at Disney, asking him about a book which he had just released about introducing kids to theatre. He asked what I was writing about and I told him my idea and he asked me to send him some stuff. A couple of months later he told me, much to my surprise, that "Disney might want to publish this." I got a literary agent, found an editor, and then it was published. A few weeks ago it had its first birthday.

How has the reception been?

It's been amazing. I didn't really know what to expect, I have discovered a whole new service for myself. It wasn’t about how many books I would sell or how much money would be made, but more about being able to share my story and hopefully inspire and touch people, not as a character but as me. It's been a dream. I did my best, authentically putting it out into the world without expectations, and have reaped wonderful spiritual and financial rewards.

Do you still have surreal "pinch me" moments?

Every time I sign the cover for someone I still can't believe I wrote a book. I just can't believe it! It was never in my realm of possibility. I don't like typing and I don't know anyone more impatient than I am, I never imagined having the time to sit down and being able to write. That frustration with the whole "luck" thing and how insulting it felt, I had no other way to express it. I started typing just to get it out of my system and it turned into this thing. The main thing I love about all of this is that I started writing for myself as therapy - I needed to remember my story and how I went from being the shy kid afraid to sing in front of anybody to 4,000 performances.

I love the title - were there ever any other working titles?

It was always My Pride. There's no greater feeling than making yourself proud. If you know that you've done your best and you've made yourself happy, that's something that no one can take away from you unless you allow them to.

In terms of pride, it is important who we surround ourselves with. Surround yourself with like-minded people who inspire you, who push and challenge you, not people who just tell you what you want to hear or people who are constantly complaining. It's another reason I chose that title, to remind you to be protective of your spirit and not just give it up to anybody who might take advantage of it and not appreciate it.

When did you become cognizant of who you surround yourself with?

As I was pursuing the business and started getting more roles and making more money I had groups of friends who I loved and thought we wanted the same things - what they say is true, you can't take everybody with you. It's heartbreaking but people's agendas, dreams and desires change. That’s okay, but there's nothing worse than getting good news about a show or anything in life and being worried to tell your friend because it will turn into a conversation about their problems and you feel guilty because they don't seem to be doing so well - especially when you really know them and know they are not doing all they can possibly do for themselves or their situation. It can feel like a burden. I think for a lot of us it's hard to "break up." We sometimes wind up dragging people along even though they drain our energy, and that is something that we all have to be conscious of... in life, and especially in the business, because it's so unpredictable. It is vital to be deliberate with where you put your energy and your overall investments.

What advice do you have for those pursuing a career and are feeling discouraged?

It is important to be realistic with what your dreams are. You need to really know what your strengths and weaknesses are. In some cases, know what type you are and commit to that. Being honest with yourself is important. Be prepared. How prepared are you to get that big break that you say you've been waiting for? Become incorporated and be prepared to make money so that you won't be eaten alive by taxes. Do it because you're your own best investment. In 2018 they changed a lot of the tax laws for actors and we can't write off a lot of the things that we used to write off, which is really hurting a lot of people. Becoming incorporated many years ago helped me not have to worry about a lot of that. I say all of this because some people finally get their shot and become overwhelmed by it. You can sabotage it if you're not prepared emotionally and financially. As artists, we can never forget that pursuing the arts is a business.

A book about money is something I'm actually thinking about writing. I think that people who pursue against-the-grain, self-employed careers that have terrible relationships with money need it. We as actors carry the label of "starving artist" and if once we start getting work we don't have a healthy relationship with money it can be intimidating. As soon as someone becomes successful and commercial (which is the idea to begin with) we call them a sellout. Why can't they just be a "thriving artist" instead of a "starving artist"? If you don't put conscious energy into that mentality shift it's so easy to sabotage it.

What is one musical you think everyone should see?

My favorite musical is Once on This Island. I saw the original thirteen times. It's just a musical about love. It was this 90-minute show with no intermission and no major sets, it was just earthy beautiful music about the power of love. The music and human story are both extraordinary, told through black islanders but their color becomes secondary because it is about similar journeys that many of us go through. A show that can make you think about your own life but also entertain you is a very special thing. That takes real craftsmanship, to not be put in one category, and have you walking out of the theatre thinking "what if I hadn't had the experience I just had?" It's heart-opening and a show that I think everyone should see.

If you had to describe yourself using only four words, what would they be?

Passionate. Honest. Courageously vulnerable.

Buy an Autographed copy of Alton's book, My Pride: Mastering Life's Daily Performance, HERE!

Heart in Motion: A Conversation with Amy Grant

2018-12-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

Singer, songwriter, musician, author and painter. Having made her debut as a teenager, Amy Grant has since sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, won six Grammy Awards, and had the first Christian album to ever go Platinum. She was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. Today she stops by Fülle Cr. to discuss the little things in life. Sometimes, there's nothing bigger...

Jason Anders: What hobbies do you have when you're not making music?

Amy Grant: I go through what I call cereal passions, where I'll just get eaten up with something that I love and invest myself in it 100%, and then after a little bit of time I will jump to something else. To me that's just a fun way to enjoy what you love. I love anything outside, the heat doesn't bother me... I love to sweat. Before this interview I was in my garden out back picking okra that was no kidding bigger than my hand. I love nature. Later on today I'm going out with one of my daughters - we're going to ride horses, and I am not a fancy horseback rider. We just trail ride. I like camping. I also enjoy cooking, but I'm very average. I also love to read.

I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night last night, so I went and tuned up my bike. I knew that if I got on a computer that I'd never go back to sleep, so I thought I'd do that just in case I had a chance to go ride... and I don't ride like Lance Armstrong. Bottom line is I'd rather be outdoors than in a shopping mall any day of the week.

What books are you currently reading?

Well this is going to sound really like the "spiritual girl", but I've never read the Bible cover-to-cover, so I'm trying to do that by my birthday. I also love fiction. This last year I've enjoyed Olive Kitteridge.

Do you have any phobias?

Bridges. I can hardly bike over a bridge... the older, the scarier. I don't know why, but they just make me nearly hyperventilate. I was in California with a couple of my daughters for a cousin's wedding in June, and my 17-year-old pulled over on the side of this bridge that went near Santa Barbara and over a canyon and she said, "Get in the driver's seat. I don't care how slow you go, but you've got to face this fear." I was sweating from every pore. I don't know why. That's the only phobia I can think of.

Do you collect anything?

I used to collect quilts, but now I have more than I need. I used to collect teapots after I went to Southeast Asia. I also used to collect dishes, but I collected more than I could use and started giving them away. When I was little I collected seashells, and I still do. I have the same seashell collection that I've had since I was kid, and still add to it. After a while you go through so much stuff. What I love is using something until it's all worn out. I don't shop very much, and any great clothes I get is probably because it was for a photo shoot.

I invite people that are a part of my fan club to come to sound checks, I think it's more interesting than waiting in a line to get the same autograph for the twelfth time, and I can sing songs that maybe I wouldn't do in a show or work out new stuff. People will come up to have me sign a picture from the last time and I will be wearing the same t-shirt. My whole family is that way.

Do you remember the first album that you bought?

The first album I probably bought was John Denver. I think I was the only John Denver fan in my family. I inherited The Beatles, Elvis, Joni Mitchell, Emerson Lake & Palmer, and Jethro Tull. I had a great record collection when I was young because of my sisters.

Do you have a top three favorite records of all time?

My brain really doesn't work that way. I can say three records that I love, but tomorrow I'd have a different answer.

Are there specific albums that influenced you to start making your own music?

Joni Mitchell's Blue and Carole King's Rhymes & Reasons. Those records were a daily part of my existence in my little yellow bedroom with my first turntable. Also The Jackson 5. I love Michael Jackson. I also love Aretha Franklin. The great thing about music is that on any given day it depends on how you're wanting to be moved. Something that is so perfect in one moment for you could make you want to jump and shout and feel so alive, and later can be something that is so interior and still. There are no three best records. They're all important - the famous, the infamous, and the unknown... because you never know how you're going to be moved.

What do you love most about making music for a living?

I would be making music whether or not I could pay the bills with it. I love it. I am just as happy to be onstage as I am to be in a crowd, just as long as somebody's making music. I was so fortunate to get the breaks that I got and for the doors that opened. I always exposed myself to and was surrounded by people who were talented in different ways, and in my opinion were much more talented than I was. I did what I did because the doors opened up. Whether it was listening to records or playing guitar in my bedroom, I just love how music brings people together. I love the community that music creates because it's equally shared ideas. Nobody is more important than anybody else.

That's what makes Nashville such a unique town, so much of it is based on creativity that you just can't hammer down and fly through the schedule. In order to be creative you have to slow down. You have to ponder. You have to think. You have to reflect and articulate. You have to turn off your computer and cell phone and think of something that matters, and say it in a way that's interesting. To be able to do that is a gift.

Which three adjectives would you use to describe yourself?

Curious, hyper-focused, and easy-going.

If you knew that this was going to be your last interview, what would be the most important message you would want to get across to people?

Life goes by faster the longer that you live, and it's such an amazing journey. The hardest parts are the most valuable, even though you hate every second of them. I tell my children that if and when you sense God, always open up.

Fülle Circle Magazine

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Spotlight on The Great American Opry: Memories from the Rainbow Music Theater

Celestial Sounds: A Conversation with Lena Raine

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45 Years of the Time Warp: A Conversation with Barry Bostwick

Inside Severin Films: A Conversation with Co-Founder David Gregory

Oh My Debut Darling, CLEMENTINE: A Conversation with Writer/Director Lara Jean Gallagher

"VOTE!" A Message from John Landis

Fülle Circle's SUPER MARIO MAKER 2 Levels!

Eat Dirt!: A Conversation with Earthworm Jim Creator Doug TenNapel

I Put a Spell on You: A Conversation with Eszter Balint

Lions and Tigers and Birds, Oh My!: A Conversation with Tippi Hedren

Top 50 Favorite Video Games

Top 50 Favorite TV Shows

King of the Swingers: The Pre-Code Tarzan Films

Top 50 Favorite Films

Fülle in Fódlan - The Fan Art of FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES

"Who Created Roger Rabbit: A Conversation with Gary K. Wolf" by Jason Anders

An Impossible Journey: The Case for 'A Far Off Place'

"In the Belly of the Beast: The Importance of the Psycho Sequels" by Jason Anders

Dancing Hippos in America: A Conversation with Author Mindy Aloff

Celestial Sounds: A Conversation with Composer Lena Raine

Eat Like Walt: A Conversation with Author Marcy Carriker Smothers

Mufasa's Pride: A Conversation with Alton Fitzgerald White

Heart in Motion: A Conversation with Amy Grant