Trilogy, Tom and the Spielberg clout

Hi Carolyn,

Okay, some "of the moment " stuff to start.


 I  hereby  pledge that I will do my best, in this and the next  entry, not to pull out the old pulpit and whine thereupon about being inundated with crass, commercial Christmas stuff  ( read " crap" )  way back here in Mid to late November. It will be a most vexing thing to do, though, since it is every-freakin'-where.

Also, I hate to say it but the name of your home state is being taken in vain by the weather prognosticators hereabouts. We're getting our first sizable  slop of snow and it's being blamed on that nefarious " Colorado Low " . Curses, curses !

I mentioned a wee bit back, that I was making my way through a nice little volume that my  daughter Amazoned to me ( cool, a new verb ! ) in time for my b-day.  Time and events conspired, as they invariably do, to make it a longer period before I finished. But I am now " finito " .




 So,  good morning Mrs. Varvel, and class, here is my book report!

I found this a most enjoyable read. The whole feel is that here's an account that comes from someone who looks at the movie-making business from the inside out. Thankfully there's little of the hyperbole and hackneyed phraseology of a thinly-disguised press release item. It was also cool to learn that Caseen Gaines is a high school English teacher, to boot.

• A few points and impressions to pass along.

I was surprised to learn that the  first movie was more than a few weeks into shooting when it was decided to change the lead. Michael J. Fox had been among the top prospects but couldn't be freed up  from his immensely popular Family Ties TV series .  A major source of leverage in the whole casting for the eventual lead process was the gentleman you referred to last time around and whom I'll get to in a bit as well. It made me realize just how much would be involved in stopping a major movie-making process once it was in motion when I read about how involved it was to start again once the original lead had been let go because the whole thing " just wasn't working " 


 Fox had been secured for the title role, after some months shooting with another actor.  That unnamed actor did receive his whole agreed upon fee for the movie even though he was only shot in scenes that took place in the first few minutes.

That major source of leverage I was referring to is, of course, Mr. Spielberg. Wow, I sure get the feeling that if you are part of the current movie-making culture and you have Steven S. on speed dial or your first tier text list you have arrived.  Spielberg supported this venture from the first moment and was to play a pivotal role more than once in the production of the complete trilogy.



Another aspect of the movie making process that this account made me think more about was product placement. When I was doing my grade 12 media studies course we got to mention this phenomenon but mostly in passing. None of my students chose to do an extended look at it so we never got further than that.


I looked further into it recently and was quite fascinated by just how long it had been around and how ubiquitous it is. I get the feeling that it works fundamentally because of the " human see, human do " aspect of our behaviour as mammals. From a strictly advertising standpoint it's a win-win thing, as well. This " branded entertainment " eliminates the need for commercials, since the product is out there front and centre during the program itself. Brilliant, and diabolical, all at once.

Actually, one of the smoothest and most diabolical product placement items, to my mind at least, leads me to the third thing I wanted to touch upon and which you had mentioned last time around. We all remember Wilson, Tom Hanks best ( and only ) buddy while he was the " Castaway "   BTW, I'm betting Tom has got Steve S on his speed dial, and vice-versa.  

I agree with you that Mr. Hanks can be counted among the most memorable actors in our lifetimes. He's always been  a definite screen presence. Our video cupboard, ( now rendered obsolete by online storage ) includes some of his biggies including  " Big " and " A League of Their Own" and one that really tugs at the strings of my LSBH's heart, as a big dog person, " Turner and Hooch " In fact, if you check his movie list there are so many.


If I had to do the castaway thing with just one Hanks flick, it would be a tough choice. Although I'd probably pick " Castaway " just so I'd be confident about getting off that same island too.




Mark Twain's observation for tonight sorta fits in.




Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper.








See ya later.




Don






All images sourced from Google images.


Fig 1 - www.amazon.ca


Fig. 2 - dreamworksstudios.com


Fig. 3 - indigop0427.wordpress.com