Italian Spiderman!

Meet Italian Spiderman. Apparently this is the first of several pseudo-old school, B-movie episodes:

I AM ED

I am. Trust me. And if you get a chance to see ELAN VITAl, my new movie, you'll understand. Or, maybe you won't understand, but you'll certainly see that I am, in fact, ED.

It won't be on the world-wide interweb for a little while, as it's off to Festivals right now, but you should definitely check it out. As an actor, I am incredibly insecure about my performance and the fact that I look ugly and overweight in this movie. As an Associate Producer, I love how Ed has a definitive and pivotal role in the grand scheme of things. Plus the fact that Ed is surrounded by some amazing lighting and great scenery, courtesy of the Monsoon Cafe Lounge and some Jason Loya artwork.

What does it mean to be ED? It's an awakening of sorts. It's trying to see everything for what it is, but bring the contradictory parts of this world together into some kind of harmony. It's bringing your wombmates out of their shell and letting them express themselves in a way that is scary to them but ultimately will save them and make them happier in life. It's being the lynchpin... the crux... the guy who never gets more than a sip of whiskey, but is looking less for the alcoholic stupor and more for the Boogie Woogie.

Trust me, ya gotta see this movie.

Hundred Points by Alessandra Celletti

This is a video for a song by the brilliant and wonderful Alessandra Celletti from Rome. One of her masterpieces is featured in our upcoming film, Elan Vital. She is a genius on the ivory keys and it is rare that you hear her voice - especially in English. This song and video is guaranteed to make your day.

Please take a moment to check out her website - AlessandraCelletti.com. Like the classical masters or modern maestros, her music does not disappoint.

Movie of the Week: Steve Martin's "The Jerk"

Truthfully, Mutiny Universe Television isn't going to post a Hulu-approved movie every week, but do you remember when television stations weren't part of networks and/or owned by general managers who also owned network affiliates?

Today's VHF television in the Los Angeles market:
2 - KCBS is a CBS affiliate
4 - KNBC is an NBC affiliate
5 - KTLA is a CW affiliate
7 - KABC is an ABC affiliate
9 - KCAL is owned by the same guy who owns KCBS, which is a CBS affiliate
11 - KTTV is a FOX affiliate
13 - KCOP is the sister station of KTTV, which is a FOX affiliate. KCOP is also part of the quasi-network "My Network TV," which is owned by FOX.

While these stations still show movies during the lull of the weekend, the overtly oligopolistic nature of today's broadcast media gives these stations the clout to play modern movies - recent (two or three year old) blockbusters and pseudo-indie films. Back in the day, at least when I was growing up, the non-network stations either broadcast classic movies or hideously obscure films or box office bombs (licensed for cheap, I'm sure).

As I remember it, so I could be wrong, the LA television market looked like this, in VHF:

2 - KCBS (CBS)
4 - KNBC (NBC)*
5 - KTLA (independent): Family Film Festival! I met the host (the Popeye guy) at Marine World, but I was but a wee lad at the time.
7 - KABC (ABC)
9 - KHJ (independent): Elvira, baby!
11 - KTTV (independent)
13 - KCOP (independent)

Enough reminiscing. I'll leave that for my memoirs. Anyhow, here's that classic film starring Steve Martin, The Jerk:

*My family's old TV set was hooked up to a monstrous VHS deck, which consisted of two pieces. The VCR was set to show on Channel 4, and to relieve the TV from contradictory signals, KNBC was set on Channel 3 - if I remember correctly.

Just read the new KOTCS trailer

Somebody on Myspace with a supposed "IN" posted a script for the upcoming trailer to INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. Let's ignore the fact that I'm all over this movie like white on rice. Let's not get into discussions about the title, whether it should even have been made, or whether it will suck or not (it won't). Let's discuss THIS:

Why is it called a TRAILER if it comes BEFORE the film? Wouldn't that be called a FORERUNNER? Or a HAULER? Or an UPFRONT? Think about it.

Well, as always, WIKIPEDIA has our answer, as well as some fun notes on who was the first real announcer in a trailer. read on:

Trailer (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Trailers or previews are film advertisements for films that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema, on whose screen they are shown. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a film programme. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the theater after the films ended, but the name has stuck. Trailers are now shown before the film (or the A movie in a double feature program) begins.

History
Prior to the 1960s, trailers were mostly created by National Screen Service and consisted of collections of slowly edited scenes, often without narration, but with large graphic words splashed across the screen. Those that did have narration used stentatorian voices. In the mid 1960s, Andrew J. Kuehn revolutionized the trailer industry with his independently produced trailer for Night of the Iguana, using provocative voiceover by an actor (a young James Earl Jones). Film dialogue was used to tell the story and fast paced editing coupled with dramatic music created a whole new art form. His format was so successful, he began producing this new form of trailer with partner Dan Davis.
Kuehn opened the west coast office of Kaleidoscope Films in 1971 and Kuehn and his company dominated the trailer industry for the next three decades. As Hollywood began to produce bigger blockbuster films and invest more money in marketing them, directors like Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone and Barbra Streisand began to depend on Kuehn and Kaleidoscope for their ability to create the best trailers theater-goers could see. Kuehn is responsible for trailers ranging from The Sting to The Exorcist, and Taxi Driver to Superman and Titanic. He is famous for creating the line "Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water," for the Jaws campaign.
Kuehn alumni include leading trailer makers and marketing creatives. Top trailer vendors like Cimarron, Bacon O'Brien, The Ant Farm, Aspect Ratio and Trailer Park have all been run by former Kaleidoscope creatives. Michael Camp headed the trailer department at Paramount, Tom Kennedy at MGM, and top editors Greg McClatchy, Jeff Werner and Vince Arcaro all started their own successful trailer companies. Bob Harper began his career as a messenger at Kaleidoscope before becoming a producer and quickly Vice-Chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment. Top industry trailer composer John Beal credits his career success to his thirty-year collaboration with Kuehn.

Pretty cool, eh?