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May. 1st, 2023 08:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatWell, I finished another watercolor tonight. This one was of a girl reading on the train. Proof people still read books, not kindles, not cell phones, but books on trains.
Wales was surprised I stated this. She reads books all the time on the train and sees other people doing it too. So maybe it's a Manhattan thing?
Wales works in Manhattan. I work at the tail end of Queens.
Speaking of...Lee told me today that this is her last week at the Queens location, next week she moves back to the Manhattan one. I burst out laughing.
Lee: Why are you laughing?
Me: Well, I don't know how this is going to work. NG also wants to work in Manhattan and they are making her report here, and she commutes further than you do.
Lee: Oh yeah, I know that.
Me: Also BYT has a 3 hour commute both ways into Manhattan and doesn't want to go there at all. I'm mostly ambivalent - except I really don't want to be the only person in the union and from the Railroad there. I rather stay here, I'm used to this space.
Stupid organization has created a mess. All I can do is laugh at them.
I really can't win either way.
But, hey, I spent the day figuring out how to put my meeting agenda, and spiel for tomorrow into a powerpoint presentation. I used someone else's as a boilerplate. I didn't have to. And it was time consuming. But it made me and BYT happy.
I feel guilty revising my novel at work - so attempt to find other work-related activities to do instead.
**
I have somehow managed to get my AIC to 6.2. So my diet choices are working. (Basically no carbs or limited. Lots of greens, proteins, and limit on sugar.)
The Polish Super who doesn't actually know English but speaks Russian fluently, came by to check the fire safety in my apartment. I told him one of fire alarms wasn't working - he ignored it. And seemed to be okay with the fact that kitchen windowsill wasn't completely clear for escape (it was clear enough - I can get out). Personally, I'd rather have the fire escape out the bedroom - because if a fire enters my home - it's coming to the kitchen. At any rate - I don't see myself surviving a fire in this building. Without some serious injury.
Back hurt from Saturday's shenanigans. (I cleaned out the bottom of my hall closet). Everyone I've told was impressed - if they'd seen the closet, they would have been more so. Although - I still need to get rid of the extension chords, television cables, and humidifiers.
****
Talked to Wales on Sunday - she told me that she could set up a show for my work if I wanted. She thinks I should have an art show - and the watercolors are good. I, of course, see flaws. Some are better than others. I should probably go back to just doing one person portraits. With the two people portraits, one of the people doesn't quite work. She said they reminded her of another artist's work - who did subway passengers, but he did long rows of people from more of a distance. Mine were more initimate portraits.
I'm think of doing superheroes on subways next. Except drawn as real folks. Such as an out of shape Batman. Basically folks going to Comic Con.
It didn't quite come out like I wanted. The man's outfit should have been more of lighter yellow, than orange and red, but I was trying to cover up the harsh pencil lines. Also while his face is dark, I think I screwed up with his features.
The girl reading is perfect however. She actually looked like that. Even down to the outfit. I just wanted the light green to come out more. It does in person. Photographs tend to darken or brighten colors and flatten the painting a bit.
Here's the Work in Progress...
***
Killing John Wayne has about four hours left in it. It's a long-ass book. I've gotten through the filming of the Conqueror - dear lord, that was harrowing.
Wayne broke all ties with RKO afterwards, and ended his friendship with Howard Hughes. (That's how bad it was. I don't blame him. He also gave up on trying to get the Alamo done.
Mother: But he was in The Alamo film. I know, I saw it.
Me: That was much later. This was in 1953.
Mother: Oh that's right the Alamo was done in the early 1960s, when I was in college.
He'd given up on doing the Alamo himself with RKO and with Hughes.).
Susan Hayward was drunk through most of the shoot, and kept throwing herself at Wayne. At one point she challenged his fiancee to a fight. Which Wayne broke up. Another, she kissed him, shoving her tongue down his throat and rubbing his thigh. Wayne kept trying to avoid her. And she later reported that he was her favorite among her leading men - strong, solid, tough, firm, and very gentle. She adored him. He despised her.
Hughes apparently over-worked people. Brought them back for multiple reshoots. Didn't pay them well. Worked them at scale. Wasn't on the set or at the studio at all - and did all of this remotely. Trucked in the dirt to his studios in Hollywood (yes, the radioactive dirt - although they didn't know it at the time.)
I discussed this with mother, who informed me that she'd seen the film too - just didn't remember it, outside of seeing it and that it was awful.
Me: That bad eh?
Mother: Well can you envision John Wayne as Genghis Khan?
No. LOL!
Wayne went back to safe territory - Westerns with John Ford, and ended up doing one of the best films of his career, best roles of his career, and later determined to be among the best films of the genre - "The Searchers".
Ironically, the Searchers and The Conqueror (that's what the Genghis Khan film was called) were released at the same time.
The Conqueror did better at the box office, believe it or not than the Searchers. But it was universally panned, the Searchers, meanwhile, was praised. (At least the critics had taste.) This was 1956. It was filmed and completed in 1953. It made $18 million. Apparently audiences flocked to it.
The reason it was released so late - was Howard Hughes, who was holding it as collateral in the sale of RKO. He refused to release it until he got paid fully for the sale of the film studio.
It took the buyer of RKO (Mike Lee (I think that was his name, might have been Tom Lee), about four years to pry the film from Howard Hughes.
The reason it did so well - was it had Hayward and Wayne as box office draws. And people were curious - due to the marketing blitz. They went nuts with the marketing, and premiers and the red carpet. People lined up for blocks to see their idol - John Wayne. (He was kind of the equivalent of Tom Cruise - now, except even more popular and much bigger?)
But it was really bad.
Oh, I found the original theatrical trailer!
It's basically a toxic male historical romance or boddice ripper. And the dialogue and performances are astonishingly bad - as you can tell from the trailer. There were good films made in the 1950s, this just wasn't one of them.
The audiobook goes into detail. Apparently Hayward does a lackluster sword dance that defies description, and she kind of walks through her role - not that there is much there for her do anything with. The plot? Uh...well, it's Genghis Khan's origin story. He gets his name by forcing himself on or (conquering) the daughter of a rival. He basically rapes Susan Hayward. It was the 1950s, so this is alluded to - and shown more as "he forcing himself on" the daughter of his rival. And they considered this a boilerplate wild romance. Women were objectified or mocked in the film, and Hayward's character was meant to be little more than an object or trophy by Hughes, and her role is edited down to that. The Panther statue - blink and you missed it. (Considering she was attacked by the original panther...). Wayne's makeup is barely there. He looks like John Wayne. Agnes Moorehead wanders about bug-eyed throughout, muttering and screeching about her son conquering Hayward. Critics stated that at first it was..well ludicrously entertaining, but then it was just boring and drug on forever.
In other words, it's a misogynistic sexist racist mess. But hey, it did well at the box office at the time. But since this was 1956, and it was popular year for movies with the releases of Around the World in 80 Days, Giant, War and Peace (Henry Fonda and Audrey Hepburn), The Searchers...the Conqueror kind of fell by the wayside.
I've not gotten to the bit about a quarter of the cast and crew contracting and dying of cancer. The Director, all four of the leads, and several of the supporting cast, and crew all died of cancer ten to fifteen years later. And their kids who were on the set - all had brushes with cancer.
I did read about it on Wiki though. A lot of people from that film ended up dying of cancer - the percentage was so high, people wondered, but not high enough to get money from the government. Agnes Moorehead's estate sued. Wayne said it was probably his six pack of cigarettes a day habit that did him in, and June Allison said the same of Dick Powell. Both died of lung cancer.
Wales was surprised I stated this. She reads books all the time on the train and sees other people doing it too. So maybe it's a Manhattan thing?
Wales works in Manhattan. I work at the tail end of Queens.
Speaking of...Lee told me today that this is her last week at the Queens location, next week she moves back to the Manhattan one. I burst out laughing.
Lee: Why are you laughing?
Me: Well, I don't know how this is going to work. NG also wants to work in Manhattan and they are making her report here, and she commutes further than you do.
Lee: Oh yeah, I know that.
Me: Also BYT has a 3 hour commute both ways into Manhattan and doesn't want to go there at all. I'm mostly ambivalent - except I really don't want to be the only person in the union and from the Railroad there. I rather stay here, I'm used to this space.
Stupid organization has created a mess. All I can do is laugh at them.
I really can't win either way.
But, hey, I spent the day figuring out how to put my meeting agenda, and spiel for tomorrow into a powerpoint presentation. I used someone else's as a boilerplate. I didn't have to. And it was time consuming. But it made me and BYT happy.
I feel guilty revising my novel at work - so attempt to find other work-related activities to do instead.
**
I have somehow managed to get my AIC to 6.2. So my diet choices are working. (Basically no carbs or limited. Lots of greens, proteins, and limit on sugar.)
The Polish Super who doesn't actually know English but speaks Russian fluently, came by to check the fire safety in my apartment. I told him one of fire alarms wasn't working - he ignored it. And seemed to be okay with the fact that kitchen windowsill wasn't completely clear for escape (it was clear enough - I can get out). Personally, I'd rather have the fire escape out the bedroom - because if a fire enters my home - it's coming to the kitchen. At any rate - I don't see myself surviving a fire in this building. Without some serious injury.
Back hurt from Saturday's shenanigans. (I cleaned out the bottom of my hall closet). Everyone I've told was impressed - if they'd seen the closet, they would have been more so. Although - I still need to get rid of the extension chords, television cables, and humidifiers.
****
Talked to Wales on Sunday - she told me that she could set up a show for my work if I wanted. She thinks I should have an art show - and the watercolors are good. I, of course, see flaws. Some are better than others. I should probably go back to just doing one person portraits. With the two people portraits, one of the people doesn't quite work. She said they reminded her of another artist's work - who did subway passengers, but he did long rows of people from more of a distance. Mine were more initimate portraits.
I'm think of doing superheroes on subways next. Except drawn as real folks. Such as an out of shape Batman. Basically folks going to Comic Con.
It didn't quite come out like I wanted. The man's outfit should have been more of lighter yellow, than orange and red, but I was trying to cover up the harsh pencil lines. Also while his face is dark, I think I screwed up with his features.
The girl reading is perfect however. She actually looked like that. Even down to the outfit. I just wanted the light green to come out more. It does in person. Photographs tend to darken or brighten colors and flatten the painting a bit.
Here's the Work in Progress...
***
Killing John Wayne has about four hours left in it. It's a long-ass book. I've gotten through the filming of the Conqueror - dear lord, that was harrowing.
Wayne broke all ties with RKO afterwards, and ended his friendship with Howard Hughes. (That's how bad it was. I don't blame him. He also gave up on trying to get the Alamo done.
Mother: But he was in The Alamo film. I know, I saw it.
Me: That was much later. This was in 1953.
Mother: Oh that's right the Alamo was done in the early 1960s, when I was in college.
He'd given up on doing the Alamo himself with RKO and with Hughes.).
Susan Hayward was drunk through most of the shoot, and kept throwing herself at Wayne. At one point she challenged his fiancee to a fight. Which Wayne broke up. Another, she kissed him, shoving her tongue down his throat and rubbing his thigh. Wayne kept trying to avoid her. And she later reported that he was her favorite among her leading men - strong, solid, tough, firm, and very gentle. She adored him. He despised her.
Hughes apparently over-worked people. Brought them back for multiple reshoots. Didn't pay them well. Worked them at scale. Wasn't on the set or at the studio at all - and did all of this remotely. Trucked in the dirt to his studios in Hollywood (yes, the radioactive dirt - although they didn't know it at the time.)
I discussed this with mother, who informed me that she'd seen the film too - just didn't remember it, outside of seeing it and that it was awful.
Me: That bad eh?
Mother: Well can you envision John Wayne as Genghis Khan?
No. LOL!
Wayne went back to safe territory - Westerns with John Ford, and ended up doing one of the best films of his career, best roles of his career, and later determined to be among the best films of the genre - "The Searchers".
Ironically, the Searchers and The Conqueror (that's what the Genghis Khan film was called) were released at the same time.
The Conqueror did better at the box office, believe it or not than the Searchers. But it was universally panned, the Searchers, meanwhile, was praised. (At least the critics had taste.) This was 1956. It was filmed and completed in 1953. It made $18 million. Apparently audiences flocked to it.
The reason it was released so late - was Howard Hughes, who was holding it as collateral in the sale of RKO. He refused to release it until he got paid fully for the sale of the film studio.
It took the buyer of RKO (Mike Lee (I think that was his name, might have been Tom Lee), about four years to pry the film from Howard Hughes.
The reason it did so well - was it had Hayward and Wayne as box office draws. And people were curious - due to the marketing blitz. They went nuts with the marketing, and premiers and the red carpet. People lined up for blocks to see their idol - John Wayne. (He was kind of the equivalent of Tom Cruise - now, except even more popular and much bigger?)
But it was really bad.
Oh, I found the original theatrical trailer!
It's basically a toxic male historical romance or boddice ripper. And the dialogue and performances are astonishingly bad - as you can tell from the trailer. There were good films made in the 1950s, this just wasn't one of them.
The audiobook goes into detail. Apparently Hayward does a lackluster sword dance that defies description, and she kind of walks through her role - not that there is much there for her do anything with. The plot? Uh...well, it's Genghis Khan's origin story. He gets his name by forcing himself on or (conquering) the daughter of a rival. He basically rapes Susan Hayward. It was the 1950s, so this is alluded to - and shown more as "he forcing himself on" the daughter of his rival. And they considered this a boilerplate wild romance. Women were objectified or mocked in the film, and Hayward's character was meant to be little more than an object or trophy by Hughes, and her role is edited down to that. The Panther statue - blink and you missed it. (Considering she was attacked by the original panther...). Wayne's makeup is barely there. He looks like John Wayne. Agnes Moorehead wanders about bug-eyed throughout, muttering and screeching about her son conquering Hayward. Critics stated that at first it was..well ludicrously entertaining, but then it was just boring and drug on forever.
In other words, it's a misogynistic sexist racist mess. But hey, it did well at the box office at the time. But since this was 1956, and it was popular year for movies with the releases of Around the World in 80 Days, Giant, War and Peace (Henry Fonda and Audrey Hepburn), The Searchers...the Conqueror kind of fell by the wayside.
I've not gotten to the bit about a quarter of the cast and crew contracting and dying of cancer. The Director, all four of the leads, and several of the supporting cast, and crew all died of cancer ten to fifteen years later. And their kids who were on the set - all had brushes with cancer.
I did read about it on Wiki though. A lot of people from that film ended up dying of cancer - the percentage was so high, people wondered, but not high enough to get money from the government. Agnes Moorehead's estate sued. Wayne said it was probably his six pack of cigarettes a day habit that did him in, and June Allison said the same of Dick Powell. Both died of lung cancer.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-02 03:36 am (UTC)I was wondering about this, thinking how many takes it would take Dick Powell to realize John Wayne was never going to get many of the dialogue scenes acceptable much less "right." It must have been torture knowing that he couldn't get rid of Wayne, and that Hughes was going to be on his back to do it again and again and get better stuff or at least stuff Hughes liked better. Hughes had a crazy ideas about what he wanted, but even he must have eventually given up and taken the best of the bad takes. I can imagine the total amount of film shot for that movie was boggling.
The war movie The Enemy Below is a better indication of Powell's directing abilities.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-02 01:42 pm (UTC)Wayne was miserable - he couldn't get the dialogue to work and struggled with it. They tried to change it - but it wasn't permitted. And Hughes insisted on reshooting half of it on a Hollywood sound stage. He was notorious for doing stuff like that. For a flight action sequence - in another film that he produced, he forced the entire company to stay on the ground until it got stormy, so he could get a flight sequence in storm clouds. Hughes makes Kubrick seem sane in comparison.
It was an insanely expensive film and kind of bombed, even though it was considered initially - successful and Hughes made money off of it - but he lost RKO and his career in movies because of it.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-02 04:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-05-03 01:00 am (UTC)But yeah, it's easy to forget how prevalent it really was. My father smoked a pipe. Most of my friends parents smoked cigarettes, along with a lot of my fathers brothers and sisters. (No one does now.) We were happy my Dad smoked a pipe, then moved to cigars - because they smelled better than cigarettes. My brother smoked cigarettes up until about ten years ago. Also, Wales smoked cigarettes up until about a year or so ago.
Same with co-workers - used to see them doing it all the time. People did it in the bathrooms, hallways, then when they couldn't do it there - outside in the entrances to buildings.
It's becoming rarer and rarer.
But in the 20th Century it was the norm.
no subject
Date: 2023-05-03 11:03 am (UTC)Mmm, these exposure cases are thorny. Even if one might confidently conclude that they killed a bunch of people it's still much harder to say exactly which or how many, yet it feels as if they should nonetheless be just as culpable. I remember something bad about chemical contamination on the set of Tarkovsky's .
no subject
Date: 2023-05-04 01:39 am (UTC)Other countries, China and France got in on the act.
And the rise in cancer is ...or has been directly related to the atomic bomb testing. They even tested it's potential effects on humans and towns, by setting up a fake town with mannickins, the bomb melted the mannikans and destroyed the town - zip remained. So they finally stopped.
I listen to this - and I think, okay, this explains why there is so much cancer in the US. The stupid idiots felt the need to test atomic bombs. People are dumb. And they let fear more than common sense guide them.