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Showing posts from April, 2018

Casting Choices: Could There Have Been Better Decisions?

It would be very interesting to be a casting director.    I think it's an underrated position in terms of if a film works or fails.   Some people have a knack for it.  For instance, Clint Eastwood.  When he got involved in the production of "Million Dollar Baby", the casting choices were Morgan Freeman for Frankie and Sandra Bullock for Maggie.  Eastwood ended up taking the role of Frankie, gave Freeman the supporting role of Scrap, and literally on his own, decided to go with Hilary Swank as Maggie.   History proved Eastwood's selections couldn't have been better.   It's hard to imagine anyone else playing those parts.  On occasion, casting decisions are changed - but it is quite possible that either scenario would have worked.   A good example is the film "Doubt".  Frances McDormand was lined up for Sister Aloysius.  Natalie Portman was in negotiations to play Sister James.   Everything changed when t...

Songs You Absolutely Hate

I have been thinking of something to write about today.  This topic popped into my head early this morning.  As the day has wore on I have gone from thinking it's an insane topic to thinking it's an interesting topic.   I'm sure everyone has heard songs they hate.  You know what I mean - the type of song that makes you cringe.  Makes your skin crawl.   Makes you feel like you're in the company of someone you can't stand, lol.  But seriously though - there are some songs that do make me feel that way.   I've been rolling it around in my head for a couple of hours and several have come to mind.  I'm using songs that I believe are relatively well known.  So, let's get started: 1. "You Can Call Me Al" - Paul Simon This was a big departure for Paul Simon.  A new kind of music for him.  In fact, it was critically acclaimed.  Personally I couldn't stand it thirty years ago and I still hate it today. 2. "Total Eclipse o...

Do you Believe Dreams have Special Meaning?

This is an interesting topic to discuss.  There are many people, cultures and religions that place a very high emphasis on dreams.   Some people believe dreams can forecast the future.  Others believe a dream represents something you desperately want.  Then of course there is a school of thought that believes a dream is a reminder of something awful that you did in your life that you can't face while awake.  My feeling is that the dream is in the eye of the dreamer.  I don't believe there is any consistency to dreams.  A dream may mean one thing for one individual, and it could mean something entirely different to another individual.  I would imagine just about every human being has at some point had a dream in their life.  I certainly have.   I've had thousands as I'm sure many other people have.  The question is, did you ever have a dream that had some kind of special meaning?   For me it happened only once.  Of the...