Two little morsels of information gleaned over the weekend that I'd like to share:
I came across Robert Altman's
Popeye on cable this past Saturday, a film which I had seen upon its initial 1980 theatrical release, but had not watched even on TV in many a moon. Glancing at the opening credits, I was excited to see that Roberta Maxwell was among the cast! I was further charmed to discover that she played Nana Oyl--a thoroughly delightful character, possibly my favorite in the whole film. In 1980 I would have had no idea of Ms. Maxwell's identity, but there she was, shining in her thespian metier, and in such an utterly different role than that of Mrs. Twist (a truly great albeit brief performance). Maxwell's presence in Altman's film made me feel a new and wholly unexpected connection to it--twenty-six years after first seeing it!
My other news is also movie-related. I was at the bookstore Saturday evening, and thumbing through a guidebook to Wyoming, read that the Mint Bar in Sheridan, the watering-hole that will be forever immortalized as the place where Ennis and Jack were born in Annie's imagination, was used in the filming of a 1985 movie called
Wild Horses. Apparently the bar, which dates back to 1907, is quite well-known locally. I looked up
Wild Horses on the IMDb, and it seems to be a made-for-TV movie, starring Kenny Rogers. I think it would be worth seeking out for the Mint's presence alone. Here is the link to this title's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090324/Lastly, while at the bookstore (a Borders) that same Saturday night, I finally purchased the
Brokeback Mountain 2007 wall calender. It's still wrapped up in plastic at my home, but I now own a copy. It looks like I'll be seeing quite a bit of our boys in the new year...
Scott