Robert de Niro's Waiting, hot-combing his hair

or,

LIFE BEFORE THE HOT COMB – A Story of Tragedy and Disaster, Starring Robert de Niro

Years ago I picked up a pile of men's magazines on the side of the road, including a couple of late 60s coy Playboys. One of them (1967 I think) included a full-page add for the Hot Comb for Men. And who is the chump in the photographs, showing the advantages of the Hot Comb after a bad hair day? The distinctive mole and Aquiline nose indicate none other than Academy Award-winner Robert de Niro (IMDB).

More scans below.

Only Sleep in God's Subway

Here's one for all the music copyright aficionados out there. My 11 year old daughter has discovered sixties pop plagiarism to surpass the "Kookaburra Sits in the Ol' Gum Tree vs Men at Work's Downunder" music copyright controversy.

This morning I was listening to Petula Clark's Don't Sleep in the Subway when my daughter asked if I was listening to a parody of the Beach Boys' God Only Knows. She pointed out that the melody of the refrain "God only knows what I'd be without you" is identical to the the melody of "Don't sleep in the subway darling." Same clippity-clop rhythm too.

So, after a little pitch resampling to make Carl Wilson sound exactly like Petula Clark, and make Petula Clark sound like Shirley Bassey, we can compare the two refrains side-by-side:

I think Tony Hatch owes Brian Wilson some royalty payments.

The Negative of Positively The Living Voices

Three and a half years ago, I posted about my unironic affection for the unironic LP of protest songs, 'Positively 4th Street', by easy-listening choral group, The Living Voices – arranged by and featuring Anita Kerr. You can read my original post here.

Well, in response to an email, I revisited my post and decided to post a follow-up.

Acting Clips: Before Stanislavsky

This is a clip from The Imposters (imdb), a 1998 comedy starring Stanley Tucci (Burlesque, Devil Wears Prada) and Oliver Platt (The Big C, The West Wing) as two out-of-work silent movie comedians. Their fictional duo resembles the historical comedy pair, ‘Laurel and Hardy’. In this scene they practice acting emotions for silent films. This is the antithesis of Stanislavskian ‘truthful' acting.

Acting Clips: Film Improvisation

Actor Fred Willard (you might recognise him as the father of Phil inModern Family) talks about working with director Christopher Guest. Guest is famous for his improvised ‘mockumentaries’: This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show.

An example of Fred Willard's improvisation from Christopher Guest's folk music mockumentary, Best in Show.

Acting Clips: Director-Actor relationship

An infamous out-take from the shoot of the feature film, I Heart Huckabees. The director loses his temper after getting into an argument with actress Lily Tomlin over stage business – how to hold a folder of papers. Search ‘Lily Tomlin’ on IMDB and compare her credits and experience with writer/director David O. Russell. Meanwhile, Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman doesn’t say a word.

Acting Clips: Betty's Audition

This is “Betty’s audition scene” from the film Mulholland Drive, starring Naomi Watts.

Naomi Watts produced her “break-out” performance in David Lynch’s film Mulholland Drive. In the film, Watts plays an aspiring actress named Betty Elms who comes to Los Angeles to launch her career. The film has conflicting layers of reality and a non-linear narrative and the character of Betty may be just a dream.

Critics, net-nerds and Watts-fans nominate “Betty’s audition scene” as the performance that launched Watts’ Hollywood career, and fans have posted the scene on YouTube and other video sharing sites. But Betty’s / Watts’ performance in the audition only makes sense if you first watch her practising the scene at home with her flatmate/friend “Rita.” (Rita is an amnesiac who, in some interpretations of the film, may also not exist.)

wigs for the production

They'll look like real hair. Well, they'll look as real as everyone else's hair once we've cut, styled, curled and spray-spray-sprayed.

Gypsy Strip Samples

Some clips from Gypsy that inspired our basic striptease choreography. Note, NOT edited to synchronise with the music.

Jean's canapés: Devils on Horseback

Bev accuses Walter of Dreaming of Devils on Horseback at the tie counter. (Is this some type of sexual innuendo?)

Recipe here: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/23872/date+devils+on+horseback

Drinking glasses