c is for cornelius...

...more specifically, father vito cornelius from luc besson's imaginative space adventure 'the fifth element.'

i really should screen this movie more often... i mean like, until i know most of it by heart. i realize it's loud and gaudy and visually over the top, but the story and 'message' is sound, the action is fast, and the cast is virtually flawless. and my darling ian holm looks gorgeous with his 'just right' facial hair. i'm glad they just let him grow a 'normal' goatee. i'm glad like, the wardrobe department didn't make him carve a diamond shape on his chin or something. he looks great. and even though he's in a gaudy sci-fi romp, ian treats the part as if it were no less than shakespeare. every scene he's in, he steals. i love this shot, too. great expression. ian can pack 101 subtle expressions into 30 seconds of film... and that's only a slight exaggeration.

c is for chas...

...or is it spelled 'chaz?' i don't feel like checking an 'official source' right now. but my 'alphabet method' gives me a new reason (excuse?) to showcase one of my favorite films 'performance' by nicholas roeg (and donald cammel.) i've already posted so many shots of chas on 'planetcool' so far it was hard for me to find one i hadn't used yet. here's one of chas (james fox) giving his close-cropped hair the 'once-over.' such a vain little pup isn't he? my mate jean-lucien captured this frame from the film. there was a color version too, i think, but i couldn't find it. still, his skills with grain and contrast standout even in black and white.

b is for 'babydoll'

well, what can i say about elia kazan's 'babydoll' that i haven't said already? it has a hard and fast place in my top five favorite black and white movies of all time. i can't tell you how many times i've seen it. it fascinates me on so many levels. even after repeated viewings, the performances crackle with fresh electricity. i've never seen a trio of actors in leading roles turn in finer performances than carroll baker, karl malden, and eli wallach in 'babydoll.' they're all so good its almost unsettling. its a dirty, hot, florid, unscrupulous, voyeuristic film. the main players never seen to know they're being watched. its wicked and funny and at times, even genuinely frightening. the famous 'hide and seek' sequence is every bit as scary as it is sexy. over the years, the image of carroll baker sleeping in the baby's crib has endured as an iconic image, but i would argue that the image of silva vacarro, (eli wallach) riding the rockinghorse with a whip in one hand, a pitcher of lemonade in the other, chewing on a piece of fried chicken, is every bit as provocative and brazen. if you've never seen it, go find it and watch it. i've never really seen anything quite like it.

b is for berg...

dave berg, that is. the very great dave berg. i can't remember a time in my life where i wasn't reading MAD magazine, and berg's 'the lighter side of...' strips were almost always my favorite feature. even as a very young kid i admired his drawing style, which was in my opinion, a perfect marriage of realism and expression. i love the dry sense of humor in the writing. berg's eye on the ironies and the shared experiences of american life always rang true. his attention to detail was keen and telling. whether it was a certain character's manner of dress or even a facial expression, everything always seemed just right. so real. i can't get enough 'lighter side,' ... i could read them a thousand times, and some of them, i probably have. i think this strip was featured in 'the lighter side of summer camp.' (click to enlarge)

b is for ...b-52's : legal tender - video

"...living simple and tryin' to get by ... but honey, prices have shot to the sky..." mmm, i hear ya, kate and cindy... i hear ya.

b is for bookcover

i made this one a long time ago, and i never got around to completely filling it up... and there's no mystery as to why; it was right around then that i got this computer. still, the collagework on the front is pretty nice. i dig the patriotic colors. and it was clear i had already fallen head over heels with ian holm-as-officer-ash. he's on there twice. morrissey's on there, too. i was still in the upstairs bedroom. i remember working on it... i mean i remember cutting and gluing everything down. sometimes i miss making the books, but i love to type so much its hard to go back. i think i only filled in about a fifth of the pages before i 'hit it,' and went on to something else. still, i like the 'stars and stripes' feeling it has. but i always felt all the angles were just a little bit crooked, and that bugged me. still, it beats the hell out of all the people out there that are walking around with plain, boring, naked, 100% un-decorated notebook covers. (click to really enlarge.)

b is for backstage

here is a shot from the early 90's... a backstage shot of morrissey and some of his band during morrissey's

'gold lame shirt' phase. the handsome man in the western shirt is morrissey's once-upon-a-time bandmate and collaborator mr. alain whyte. i hope i don't sound too 'slashy' when i say i suspect he and morrissey might've been more than 'just friends.' (assuming morrissey wasn't still officially 'celibate' at the time.) i do love morrissey's music around this period, which gave us hits like 'glamorous glue' and 'we hate it when our friends become successful.' (neither one my favorites, but i'm going by the ones he made videos for.) alain played guitar and even wrote some songs. he was in the band up to the recording of morrissey's most recent studio album 'ringleader of the tormentors,' to which he contributed minimally. (its still an excellent record though, take my word for it.) in the reflection you can also see bass player gary day, and some guy taking the picture. very cool. (click to enlarge)

b is for burroughs

i'm the first one to acknowledge the fact that my mate jean-lucien is far more qualified to write this entry than i am. he knows more about sweet william s. burroughs than anyone else i know. literally. but i believe i can still celebrate bill with sincerity and gratitude. he broke all the rules. that sounds corny, i know, but there's nothing even metaphoric about it. he was a gay man who married a woman. he accidentally murdered her, and never did any time for the slaying. he was a heroin addict who managed to live into his 90's. he wrote and published books without adhering to things like 'plot' ... let alone logic and rational thought. he worked onstage with laurie anderson, had parts in movies like 'drugstore cowboy,' and even released spoken-word albums. he is an angel. i hope where ever he is tonight, i hope the boys are pretty and willing, and i hope 'the man' is on time. peace to you, bill.

b is for '...mr. bbc.'

here is a still from the glam-rock fantasy movie 'velvet goldmine.' it may be the only genuine laugh or light moment in the movie. the cute blond glam kid is interviewed 'man on the street' style and is presumably asked to comment on the gender-bending ways of 70's rock. his answer is great, '...i like boys, i like girls... they're all great. there's no difference is there?" (pause, 2-3-4, then adds flirtatiously) "...mister BBC..." its the best. i wonder if 'mr. bbc' was tempted? tempted to 'take a walk on the wild side,' if you know what i mean.

b is for bitchslapped

hello lovers. i don't feel like i have a lot of energy tonight, but i figured i could add a bit more onto my wild psychedelic alphabet. i was clawing my way through some really old files, like two-rooms-ago, and i found this hilarious 'cartoon' jean-lucien made a couple years back. and since i've been rolling 'rope' a lot lately, i thought i'd post it. anyone who knows the movie will recognize farley granger as 'phillip' on the left, (getting slapped) and bitchy john dall on the right. (doing the slapping.) the two of them have a pretty strange relationship in the movie... are they roommates or what? its never made clear. but they seem to do everything together... drinking, smoking, entertaining, driving-up-to-the-country... and murder. and i hear on the weekends they play nightclub gigs as a new-wave shock duo called 'the chicken stranglers.'

a is for ann-margaret

...or is it margret? i never can get a 'straight answer' from 'the machine.' here's a playful sexy shot of miss ann, wearing ponytails. (have you ever tried to google 'ponytails?' yikes, i strongly advise you against searching it at work.) but i love ann margret. she's like ice cream... it's almost impossible to find someone who doesn't like her, and when you do, you wonder what the hell's wrong with them. she's just the best. she tears into every gig like a bloodthirsty lioness. she can act, sing, dance, the whole thing. and she's verrry much 'easy on the eyes.' and she never got like, super-skinny... which is a great comfort to regular curvy girls like me. i was first aware of her in 'tommy,' in which she was nominated for a best actress oscar. (she was also nominated for her crucial part in 'carnal knowledge' in 1971.) i also remember digging on her in my 'HBO years' alongside bruce dern in 'middle age crazy.' (aged?) so have a honey-flavored spoonful of ann-margaret on me. peace.

a is for 'another hundred people'

i heard today that george furth died. most people would recognize him as an accomplished and widely employed character actor. he had a part as the crusading 'aj foyt' in the first 'cannonball run.' he was also in two monkee episodes, ('one man shy' and 'a coffin too frequent'). he had a small but memorable part as the 'company man' in 'butch cassidy and the sundance kid,' who refused to help them open a safe or something during a train hold-up. he was also seen in 'blazing saddles,' and i'm sure several other things i can't remember right now. but most people don't know he wrote the 'book' for the hit 70's sondheim musical 'company.' it is hands down, my favorite broadway soundtrack with 'evita' running a respectable second. the clip i've chosen gives the viewer a rare and wonderful look at the process behind the studio recording for the original broadway cast album of furth and sondheim's 'company.' this number is one of the stand-outs, sung by the beautiful and strong miss pamela myers. mr. furth can be seen around 3:30, off to the left, discussing the progress of things with sondheim, elaine strich, and the great hal prince. i knew who george furth was before i 'got into' this record, and was surprised to learn how much he had to do with it. so god bless you george. i am glad to say i was, and continue to be, a fan.

a is for at-at...

hey, this alphabetic thing seems to be going smoove. so... at-ats, ladies and gentlemen. also known, ( i think) as emperial walkers. (or is imperial?) my clearest memories regarding at-ats lands me at my aunt lil's house, christmas it must've been... probably 1980. jean-lucien and i were only 8. yikes, i feel older in the memory when i think about it. my wonderful and beloved cousin eric had been given a sizeable at-at figure. well, he'd just gotten an at-at, and was killing the boredom of 'forced family interaction' by enjoying his new hot toy. i remember him making it 'walk' across an old-fashioned braided rug my aunt lil had in the living room. actually, now that i think about it, i really dug aunt lil's house. i wish we'd gone there more often. back to the point... at-ats. there's a shot i love in 'empire strikes back.' the rebels on Hoth have been called above ground to deal with an insurgence, and they show a pov-shot like, as seen through some kind of goggles... and at first, it looks like a lot of pixilated blurs... then they pull back, thus revealing the hulking scale of the warcrafts. its a great shot. i wish i had an at-at figurine. they really know where its 'at.'

a is for science officer ash

yes, ohhh yes... i haven't posted a shot of my darling ian holm lately. i searched my archives, and i don't think i've posted this exact shot yet. i mean, i think i have one a few frames off of this one, but his face does so many tiny and lovely things, it think it's like every frame is completely different. i can't decide which costume i like better on ash... his sky-blue white thermal-sleeve outfit, or the emerald green zip-up snug flightsuit? (shown) he looks so hot in both of them. i love this shot... he looks a little worried. perhaps he's wondering if his scheme will be a success? who knows. anyway, i realize some of you out there may not 'get' what's so damned hot and handsome about him, but what the hell... this is MY little station after all. hey ian... call me! (cut to quick shot of me like, winking saucily as i make a 'phone-up-to-my-ear' gesture with my hand.) CUT.

a is for artful

keeping with the alphabetic theme, a is also for 'the artful dodger.' i realize most people associate the part with the diminutive and talented jack wild from the motion picture 'oliver!' but here on 'the planet' i've chosen to feature the original artful dodger from the early 60's london stage, mr. davy jones. it almost seems like the part was written with him in mind. look at that face, boys and girls. if he'd been just a little older he might've gotten himself snagged by those famous liverpudlians rather than the pre-fab and very fabulous Monkees. this is a particularly nice shot, i mean its clean and clear and all that. i tricked it a little bit to bring out the contrast, but not much. hey, i love davy 'the wave' jones, and i don't care who knows it. the Monkees were and are like, 100% cooler than most people realize. consider yourself welcome to dig it!

a is for...

hello lovers. i must admit, after two weeks of cynically bagging on the olympic games, i found myself sucked in. i've been watching most of the swimming and gymnastics in the evening. that is one of the reasons i haven't posted much lately. another reason is i've been sort of stuck for ideas... so, as a jump-starter, i've decided to go down the alphabet, creating my own semi-psychedelic list. you know, like in children's books... 'a is for apple,' and all that. but tonight on planetcool, i'm able to give you a groovy one-two punch... a is for 'amadeus,' the marvelous milos foreman oscar winner for best picture of 1984. its one of those movies i've loved since the first time i saw it. i proudly admit i know it by heart... well, most of it. and 'a' is also for f. murray abraham who took home the much-deserved award for best actor in a leading role.