14 “Dark Shadows” Facts with Bite

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Jake Rosen and Mental_Floss present 14 Dark Shadows Facts with Bite.  Here are three of my favorites…

1. BARNABAS COLLINS WAS AN AFTERTHOUGHT.
Creator Dan Curtis—who would later conceive of The X-Files predecessor Kolchak: The Night Stalker and the classic TV movie Trilogy of Terror—originally had in mind a dramatic series about the strange residents of Collinsport, Maine, as viewed from the perspective of newly-arrived governess Victoria Winters. Though mystical elements—like ghosts—were present, they were subtle and slow to materialize. When the show premiered June 27, 1966, viewers found its characters as impenetrable as Winters did; Variety called it a “yawn.”

Hoping to improve ratings with a classic horror movie trope—a vampire—Curtis introduced Collins, a brooding bloodsucker tortured by his condition. Originally intended to be a fleeting character who would be staked in the heart after a three-week run, he became so popular with viewers (ratings saw a 62 percent increase) that the show was saved from the guillotine.

6. BARNABAS DIDN’T TALK MUCH WHILE FANGED.
Dampened vocally by the fangs he had to wear, Frid also told the Gazette of some production trickery: Collins was rarely filmed talking in them. “My words come out slushy when I wear them, so they have to cut away from me when I talk,” he said. Frid would spit out the fangs, deliver the dialogue, then stuff them back in when the camera returned to him.

10. IT’S THE ONLY SOAP TO SPAWN THREE FEATURE FILMS.
It’s a testament to Dark Shadows‘ rabid following that the series birthed two feature films with the original cast—virtually unheard of for a soap opera of any era. Curtis directed 1970’sHouse of Dark Shadows, which covered much of the same ground as the series but morphedCollins into more of an antagonist. While a feature budget meant actors actually had the privilege of doing more than one take, reviews were mixed.

After the series ended in 1971, Curtis wanted to continue the story with another film. Night of Dark Shadows was released that same year, but Frid declined to participate. Curtis opted for more of a haunted house theme instead, with the show’s cast popping up in different roles. It’s been alleged MGM cut 30 minutes from the finished film, obliterating some plot and character details. In its released form, reviewers found it “dull,” “monotonous,” and “a bore.” (Tim Burton’s 2012 feature, starring Johnny Depp as Collins, didn’t fare much better.)

Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra “And the Grass Won’t Pay No Mind”

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Check out the video below and you’ll hear Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing And the Grass Won’t Pay No Mind.

From Entertainment Weekly…

On October 30th, Legacy Recordings will release If I Can Dream: Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which revisits Presley’s catalog by pairing 14 of his classics with new, orchestral arrangements…

If I Can Dream: Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra:
1. Burning Love
2. It’s Now Or Never
3. Love Me Tender
4. Fever (feat. Michael Bublé)
5. Bridge Over Troubled Water
6. And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind
7. You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling
8. There’s Always Me
9. Can’t Help Falling In Love
10. In The Ghetto
11. How Great Thou Art
12. Steamroller Blues
13. An American Trilogy
14. If I Can Dream

Thanks to Entertainment Weekly we can get a listen to And the Grass Won’t Pay No Mind now.

12 Spine-Tingling Facts About “Tales From the Crypt”

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Jake Rosen and Mental_Floss present 12 Spine-Tingling Facts About Tales From the Crypt.  Here are three of my favorites…

1. LETHAL WEAPON IS PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SHOW.
Producer Joel Silver was on the set of 1987’s Lethal Weapon when he and director Richard Donner began talking about Silver’s failed attempts to adapt Tales from the Crypt as a feature film: the disappointing reception to 1983’s Twilight Zone: The Movie and 1982’s Creepshowhad lessened enthusiasm for horror anthologies. Unmoved by those failures, Donner said he’d be interested in joining the project. When the series idea was brought to HBO, they were intrigued that so many feature film talents were backing the idea. When Zemeckis—who was working with Silver on 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?—got involved, the network agreed to move forward with the show.

4. IT BROUGHT HUMPHREY BOGART BACK FROM THE DEAD.
Zemeckis’s involvement often meant that Tales from the Crypt would take any opportunity to explore new techniques for visual effects. In the episode “You, Murderer,” a career criminalmurdered by his wife and best friend posthumously narrates the events leading up to his demise. When the character looks in the mirror—the show takes place from his POV—viewers see the resurrected features of Humphrey Bogart. Zemeckis used footage from Casablanca,The Maltese Falcon, and other Bogart films to capture footage and digitally insert it into the frame. During wraparounds, the Crypt Keeper also converses with a seemingly above-ground Alfred Hitchcock.

6. TWO VERSIONS OF EACH EPISODE WERE SHOT.
For Zemeckis, Donner, and the rest of the show’s high-profile producers, the financial payoff was always thought to be a move to syndication. Because HBO was more permissive in terms of content, they needed to prepare for an eventual screening on broadcast TV stations. WhenTales from the Crypt was bought by Fox for a late-night Saturday slot in 1994, the episodes were re-edited to include alternate takes that eliminated most of the original episodes’ gore and nudity. The show also had actors loop non-profane dialogue during shooting. While HBO normally values exclusivity, it didn’t mind the deal: uncut episodes were still an attraction and, as one executive pointed out, “The show is called HBO’s Tales From the Crypt.” Free advertising never hurt.

A Pile of Comic Books for a Unknown Artist’s Batman Painting – Who Got the Better Deal?

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In 1962, Bill Steinfelt agreed to trade Mel Ramos a pile of old comic books for the painting above.

You’re probably thinking, man, I wonder what those comics would be worth today?  A lot, right?

Perhaps you should be thinking what that painting was worth.

The 1962 painting titled “A Sinister Figure Lurks in the Dark” was sold by Heritage Auctions in 2015.  It was bought by a Dallas collector who wishes to remain anonymous.  The winning bid was $173,000.

Mel Ramos created about 50 comic book and superhero paintings early in his career.  Bill Steinfelt was lucky to get one.

26 Things We Learned from the “An American Werewolf in London” Commentary

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Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 26 Things We Learned from the An American Werewolf in London Commentary.  Here are three of my favorites…

9. Landis threatened to relocate the film to Paris after British Actors’ Equity balked about Dunne’s role not going to a member. The director actually went so far as to scout locations in France, but Equity backed down and allowed Dunne. Had he moved the production Landis already planned to re-title the film An American Werewolf in Paris. We really dodged a bullet there huh?

20. Dunne wonders why the film never used Warron Zevon’s “Werewolf of London” song, but they still don’t know. Naughton does recall that the filmmakers asked Cat Stevens for permission to use “Moonshadow” only to be told no “because he believed that werewolves really existed.”

26. They recall telling Landis that the lack of silver bullets used to kill David meant this could become a franchise. The director told them in no uncertain terms that there would be no sequel.

The Top Rated Movies of the Last 25 Years on the IMD

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In a tribute to the 25 years of the Internet Movie Database’s existence /Film posted The Top Rated Movies of the Last 25 Years on the IMD.

Of the 25 films they selected, I’ve seen twenty.  Here they are with my thoughts on each…

  • 2012: Django Unchained: Good film but over-rated.

  • 2010: Inception: See Django Unchained.

  • 2009: Inglourious Basterds: Very violent and a bit long but wow, what a cool film.

  • 2008: The Dark Knight: The best Batman film ever and one of the best superhero films as well.

  • 2006: The Departed: Excellent crime movie and works for multiple viewings.

  • 2005: Batman Begins: Average film that doesn’t hold up on closer look.

  • 2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Well done.  Truth be told though all of the LotRs movies run together to me.

  • 2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: See above.

  • 2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: See above.

  • 2000: Memento: Inventive story-telling.  I want to watch this again soon.

  • 1999: Fight Club: I enjoyed this and look forward to watching it again someday.

  • 1998: Saving Private Ryan: Another classic.  Endlessly rewatchable.

  • 1996: Fargo: The Cohen Brothers hit another homer.

  • 1995: Se7en: Love this film and what an ending!

  • 1994: The Shawshank Redemption: Always felt this was over-rated.

  • 1993: Schindler’s List: Spielberg’s masterpiece.

  • 1992: Reservoir Dogs: Tarantino’s best work.

  • 1991: The Silence of the Lambs: A classic.  Anthony Hopkins was only on screen for a small amount of time, but he’s what comes to mind when you think of Silence of the Lambs which is even more impressive when you think about how good Jodie Foster and the rest of the cast were.

  • 1990: Goodfellas: I’ve grown to love this movie more with each reviewing.

‘THE GODFATHER’: A HISTORICAL CURIOSITY THAT PROVED INSTRUMENTAL FOR OUR FILMMAKING EDUCATION AND APPRECIATION

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Those are Francis Ford Coppola’s notes from a page of Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather.  If you’re a fan of The Godfather movies and love behind-the-scenes materials, then you’ll absolutely love Cinephilia and Beyond’s ‘THE GODFATHER’: A HISTORICAL CURIOSITY THAT PROVED INSTRUMENTAL FOR OUR FILMMAKING EDUCATION AND APPRECIATION.

If you click over, plan to stay a while because there are a treasure trove of Godfather items waiting.

The Best TV Shows of the Last Twenty Five Years

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In a tribute to their 25 years of publishing, Entertainment Weekly selected their choices for The Best TV Shows of the Last Twenty Five Years.

Of the 25 shows they selected, I’ve seen nine.  Here they are with my thoughts on each, plus one I’ve never seen and two I’m shocked that didn’t make the list…

  • Roseanne: I watched a few episodes over the years but it wasn’t for me.

  • Larry Sanders Show: See my comments for Roseanne.

  • X-Files: This is one show I wish I had watched more of.  I plan to give it a try again.  I have a feeling it would have grown on me if I had given it a chance.  Have to say though that I was bored out of my mind with the first movie — perhaps the new one will be better.

  • Friends: I watched it for a season or two and just grew tired of it.

  • Sopranos: I think I’ve seen all the episodes… but not on HBO and so some of the violence was cut.  I would like to watch this series again (uncut) someday.

  • The West Wing: Never missed an episode and loved this series.

  • The Office: I didn’t watch it regularly but always enjoyed it when I did catch it.

  • The Wire: The Wire along with Deadwood are the two series I’ve never seen and want to badly.

  • The Colbert Report: Always enjoyed it the few times I tuned it.

  • Breaking Bad: Saw every episode and consider it one of the best series of all time.

  • How could Seinfeld and Justified not make the list?

EW’s The Top 25 Movies of the Last 25 Years

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In a tribute to their 25 years of publishing, Entertainment Weekly selected their choices for The Top 25 Movies of the Last 25 Years.

Of the 25 films they selected, I’ve seen eleven.  Here they are with my thoughts on each…

  • Silence of the Lambs: A classic.  Anthony Hopkins was only on screen for a small amount of time, but he’s what comes to mind when you think of Silence of the Lambs which is even more impressive when you think about how good Jodie Foster and the rest of the cast were.

  • The Player: An under-rated film that doesn’t get a lot of talk.  All the cameos were a hoot.

  • The Piano:  I watched it years ago and remember not thinking much of it.

  • Pulp Fiction: Inspired a new generation of film-makers and re-energized Travolta’s career.

  • Boogie Nights: I always thought it was over-rated.

  • Saving Private Ryan: Another classic.  Endlessly rewatchable.

  • Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Well done.  Truth be told though all of the LotRs movies run together to me.

  • Memento(2001): Inventive story-telling.  I want to watch this again soon.

  • Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: See my comments for LotR: The Fellowship of the Ring.

  • Letters From Iwo Jima: Not one of Clint’s best but still good.

  • Zero Dark Thirty (2012): A good movie that I felt was over-hyped.

The 25 Most Rewatchable Movies of All Time

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Walt Hickey at FiveThirtyEight recently ran a survey to determine The 25 Most Rewatchable Movies of All Time.  From the submissions Hickey was able to determine the top 25 overall, the top 25 for men and the top 25 for women.

You might be surprised that the lists weren’t all that different…

  • All top 5 women’s choices made the men’s favorites list.
  • Four of the top 5 men’s choices made the women’s favorites list.  Only Pulp Fiction for the men couldn’t make the cut for the women.

There were quite a few movies that would have made my list of most rewatchable movies that didn’t make the cut for men or women: Enter the Dragon; The Big Heat; Get Carter [Stallone version]; Cabin in the Sky and The Outlaw Josey Wales just to name five.

Classic Universal Monsters by Nicolas Delort

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Nicolas Delort created the very cool Wolf Man poster above.  It is just one of seven prints featuring the famous and much-loved classic Universal Monsters [Wolf Man, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man and The Mummy].

Delort’s art for each of the Universal Monsters has been made into prints that are available from Dark Hall Mansion.

Source: io9.

How We All Miss the Point on School Shootings

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I try to keep our posts here light, fun and focused on some aspect of entertainment.  My hope is that the folks who drop in daily will get a smile.  Sometimes, and it is rare, I post something serious.

I thought that Mark Manson’s How We All Miss the Point on School Shootings was one of those rare, serious pieces worth posting.  I hope regular readers will as well.

If you just drop in for the entertainment posts, have no worries, we’ll be back to the fun stuff with the next post.

13 Fascinating Facts About “Miller’s Crossing”

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Matthew Jackson and Mental_Floss present 13 Fascinating Facts About Miller’s Crossing.  Here are three of my favorites…

2. THE COEN BROTHERS TURNED DOWN BATMAN TO MAKE MILLER’S CROSSING.
After Raising Arizona’s success established them as more than one-hit indie film wonders, the Coens had some options with regard to what project they could tackle next. Reportedly, their success meant that they were among the filmmakers being considered to make Batman for Warner Bros. Of course, the Coens ultimately decided to go the less commercial route, and Tim Burton ended up telling the story of The Dark Knight on the big screen.

8. GABRIEL BYRNE HAD TO CONVINCE THE COENS TO LET HIM KEEP HIS IRISH ACCENT.
Though he was an Irish native playing a lieutenant to an Irish mobster, the Coens did not originally want Gabriel Byrne to use his own accent in the film. Byrne argued that his dialoguewas structured in such a way that it was a good fit for his accent, and after he tried it, the Coens agreed. Ultimately, both Byrne and Finney used Irish accents in the film.

11. JON POLITO HAD TO CONVINCE THE COENS TO CAST HIM IN A DIFFERENT ROLE.
When Polito read the Miller’s Crossing script, he loved it and immediately wanted to audition for the role of Johnny Caspar. The Coens had different ideas, and were considering the 39-year-old actor for the role of Caspar’s enforcer, Eddie Dane, instead. The role of Caspar was originally supposed to go to an actor in his mid-50s, but Polito was adamant.

“Anyway, I said I won’t read for anything but Johnny Caspar,” Polito told The A.V. Club. “’And tell them that they’re gonna have to come back to me cause I’m gonna play Johnny.’”

The Coens ultimately gave in, and Polito was cast. They must have liked what they saw, too, because they ended up casting him in four more films after that.