“Staff Notes” Archive
Chris Cummins | Staff Notes
Have you ever wanted to be a guest blogger on Movie FanFare? Here's your shot! We are currently seeking guest contributors to have their views on movies featured on our site -- along side of such regular features as First Time Watch, Ghouly Irv and Poster Doppelgangers. Here's the submission guidelines:
Posts and Articles That Will Be Accepted
- Informative posts that offer readers some benefit.
- Posts with pictures are highly desirable.
- Posts that discuss favorite movies, old movies, rare movies, favorite actors or actresses, movie memories and or anything movie related are welcome.
- Movies Unlimited will accept submissions ONLY via email or on our Blog.
- The subject line MUST be "Blog Story Submission".
- The text of your email MUST include either your FIRST NAME or your username, and please tell Movies Unlimited what name you prefer us to use for the "written by" tagline.
- Posts may be edited for spelling, grammar, content, and length - if something is missing that you feel is important, you can always add it back via a comment.
- Not every submission will get posted. Please don't get upset if your submission is not accepted; likewise, we might hold a submission for a short time before posting (especially if it's a busy day). If something is extremely interesting but we need more details or info, you may receive a reply email.
- Posts will follow a simple format: 2-5 paragraphs in length, (1000 words max) 1-2 pictures max (but not required), all website/URLs provided in the text (no retail websites)
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Jerry Frebowitz | Staff Notes
Here are 10 trivia facts about M*A*S*H from 1970, which originally appeared as our Mystery Movie Quiz on our Facebook page. There are hundreds of pieces of behind-the-scenes information about this movie. Please feel free to comment and add more trivia we might have missed.
1. This movie could be considered in three genres.
M*A*S*H is primarily a dark comedy. However, it fits neatly into both the drama and war genres.
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George D. Allen | Staff Notes
With vampires all the rage and a cinema smitten with mind-bending narratives built around the generic staple of the “unreliable narrator,” what better time is there to have a look at Czech director Jaromil Jires’ provocative 1970 cult film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders?
First coming to the world’s attention with his 1963 debut feature The Cry (exhibited at Cannes), a film of documentary realism and social criticism that displeased his native government, Jires found his talents put on hold as Czechoslovakia’s state-supported film industry turned down script after script he subsequently submitted for production. It wasn’t until 1968 that Jires reappeared on the scene with The Joke, adapted from the novel by Milan Kundera as an ambitious drama attacking totalitarianism.
I’ve yet to see either of those films, but based on what I discovered with Valerie, I’d be eager to explore more of his works. While Jires is typically noted as one of the earliest directors associated with the movement known as the Czech New Wave, it’s fair to say he should also be more popularly recognized for creating this truly unique film that should be spotlighted in any history of 1970s horror.
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Jason Marcewicz | Staff Notes
Hot rods and muscle cars, all tricked-out and built for speed: There’s plenty of articles out there about them. This article is not about those. The cars listed here are the antithesis of cool. Be they drab, junky, clunky, burned-out, broken-down or plain ‘ol kooky looking these are the cars that are… well, frankly embarrassing.
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Brian Sieck | Staff Notes
OK, yours truly has covered sex and drugs in this column, so it’s only natural that I tackle rock ‘n’ roll movies to complete the triple play. Sure, there have been plenty of “rock” movies made throughout the course of film history, but what I’m really talking about are movies “about rock ‘n’ roll.” I’m not talking about musicals like The Who’s Tommy. Nor am I venturing to discuss concert films like Woodstock. I’m also not willing to include documentaries such as Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz. It would be much too easy to just throw the aforementioned movies on a list and call it a day. That’s just not fun. Besides, it has been done numerous times before. I’m talking about actual scripted movies about rock music and rock history that also include great music. When one uses such criteria to narrow down the best of the bunch, the options dwindle considerably. Furthermore, many of the fun films from the ‘50s and ‘60s dealing with the topic such as The Girl Can’t Help It simply aren’t available.
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George D. Allen | Staff Notes
Roger Moore once described his approach to the part of James Bond by remarking that 007 was a fellow who didn’t like killing, but was glad he did it well. Moore’s outings as the debonair superspy, for the most part, are more concerned with pure entertainment and humorous escapism than any of the series’ entries before or since. That may be a source of disappointment to some Bond purists who revere the character's literary heritage, but it’s no accident that the oft-quoted tagline “nobody does it better” originated smack in the middle of the Moore era.
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Jay Steinberg | Staff Notes
August 18, 1925: MGM settles on the winner of a fan magazine contest to rechristen contract starlet Lucille LeSeur, and adds "Joan Crawford" to the lexicography.
August 16, 1926: Up-and-coming starlet Clara Bow inks a deal with Paramount, but refuses to sign the customary "morality" clause.
August 21, 1939: RKO Pictures contracts with theater/radio wunderkind Orson Welles, allowing him to produce, direct, script and act in two projects of his choosing.
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George D. Allen | Staff Notes
Uganda's film industry is growing. Here's a report on how the democratization of filmmaking technology is helping the nation's aspiring film artists make their own stories:
This is great news, because for every quality picture like General Idi Amin Dada and The Last King of Scotland, there's always an Amin! The Rise and Fall (guilty pleasure though it may be) to tip the scales of movies about the country back down. Not to mention the fact that there simply have to be other stories about Uganda to be told than just sordid recountings of Amin's grotesque rule. And, if Hollywood proves less than interested in these stories, it's good to see the power to tell them taking shape from within.
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Irv Slifkin | Staff Notes
Does The Expendables, which is smashing into theaters with a cast that includes Stallone, Statham, Li, Rourke, Austin, Lundgren, Couture, Crews, Willis, Schwarzenegger, et al., have the toughest cast of all time?
Well, it certainly is one of the most testosterone-fueled casts in recent memory. Director-co-scripter Stallone certainly did a bang-up job recruiting pals for this revenge tale. The sweat level is about to go to “11” on the meter.
But The Expendables is one of a long line of movies in which macho, macho men unite for a cause.
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Jay Steinberg | Staff Notes
August 9, 1930: The Fleischer Studio's Betty Boop sashays onto the screen (as a dog!) in the cartoon short Dizzy Dishes.
August 14, 1940: Top screenwriter of Easy Living and If I Were King, Preston Sturges, makes his directorial debut with The Great McGinty.
August 10, 1950: Director Billy Wilder is accused of biting the hand that feeds him with his darkly funny look at Hollywood past, Sunset Boulevard.
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