Everyone has a favorite Brillstein story...I never even knew the man, and I have favorite Brillstein stories.

I was sorry to read today that Hollywood agent and manager Bernie Brillstein died at the age of 77.

During the mid-to-late '70s, the '80s, and into the '90s, Brillstein's clients would produce some of my favorite television and films; more than likely yours, too: NewsRadio, The Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters, The Celluloid Closet, and The Muppet Show and movies, just to name a few.

He was credited as producer or executive producer on many of these, but I think that was mostly a reward for delivering his clients. That's not meant pejoratively, his job was to "produce" those clients and keep them happy, something that by most accounts he did very well.

This column says,

Everyone has a favorite Brillstein story.

And that's right. You see, although not an actor or screenwriter himself, Brillstein was a supporting character in the lives of so many performers that I like and have read about; that's how I collected the stories.

Here are two of the best.

Brillstein managed John Belushi, for example, a job he got this way:

As Brillstein told the story, the night of the very first episode of Saturday Night Live, Belushi was still dragging his feet about signing his contract. This was a matter of some urgency because without the contract, he could not be allowed on the air.

Finally Belushi, after complaining loudly for several long, agonizing minutes, said he'd sign only if Brillstein (who already managed Lorne Michaels), agreed to become his manager. Brillstein, more out of exasperation and the need to get-this-done, did so agree.

Only later did he realize Belushi had just "crazed" himself into a deal with the boss's manager.

He would also come to represent, among others on SNL, Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase.

(Chase left Brillstein's "stable" when he left the show, and look what happened to him.)

Another story Brillstein told was of the day that a young man with long hair and a beard (which were fashionable at the time) came to see him, seeking representation. The man had already begun to make some headway in TV, but sought Bernie's help in getting more exposure for his act.

Brillstein was iffy, and only more so when the man started taking oddly-cut pieces of felt out of a box that he'd brought with him, and having conversations with them. The young agent was looking for a graceful excuse to get this nut out of his office when the phone rang and he seized it gratefully.

It was Brillstein's superior, calling him to let him know he'd seen a wonderful new puppeteer on television the night before. He wanted to know if Brillstein could investigate the possibility of representing this fine young man.

Brillstein was glad to be able to tell his boss that this Jim Henson fellow was sitting directly across from him even as they spoke.

So, Bernie...I know it's probably more a comforting thought than reality, but I would like to think John, Jim (and Gilda Radner!) are singing, performing, and otherwise clowning for you now. RIP.

Classic movie meme, or, how could he knock Amadeus?

(I got this here)

Ok, this time I'm tagging people. Jason (if you have time and feel like it...and since your blog is on hold for the duration, feel free to use the comments here), PJ, Becca...this one's for you. It's the

Classic movie meme

Get the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Movies list and answer the following questions:

1) Your favorite 5 movies that are on the list:

* Some Like It Hot
* Star Wars
* Psycho
* The Best Years of Our Lives
* North by Northwest

2) 5 movies on the list that you didn't like at all:

* M*A*S*H
* Amadeus


I could only come up with two, and I'm stretching the point to include even those. In the case of M*A*S*H it's just a fact, unfortunate or otherwise, that I saw it only after having fallen in love with the TV version.

Amadeus I probably haven't seen in 25 years, but I remember it as being remarkably dull (it's entirely possible that I was too young for it).

3) 5 movies on the list you haven't seen but want to:

* Citizen Kane
* Casablanca
* Lawrence of Arabia
* The Third Man
* Stagecoach

4) 5 movies on the list that you haven't seen and have no interest in seeing:

* The Searchers
* The Jazz Singer
* The Wild Bunch
* Forrest Gump
* A Streetcar Named Desire

5) Your favorite 5 movies that aren't on the list:

* The Usual Suspects
* The Lord of the Rings (all three)
* Monty Python and the Holy Grail
* Requiem for a Dream
* Aliens

And maybe WALL•E, I want to give it a year or two (and see it a few more times) to see if it stands the test of time.

Actually, these are all good songs, I don't care what anybody says

Guilty Pleasures: Random Confessions Of The ’80s Man

Cause there's a meme goin' around...Okay. I’m going to list some nominations, and I’ll let the people decide which I should be most ashamed of…

Music, or embarrassing records that I actually, secretly don’t want to smash:

(with YouTube clips and other illustrations)





After Eight”, by Taco. Used to have this on cassette but somehow lost it, though it’s probably somewhere in this apartment. I pretty much love the version of “Singing In The Rain” full stop.

I was playing the vinyl version of this album at work once though, and the record skipped during “Puttin’ On The Ritz”.

Unfortunately it was during the percussion break so I didn’t notice for like 20 minutes.

Actually, what makes this album work is the fact that most of the songs are so classic (”I Should Care”) that even the cheesiest of synths can’t hurt them.

“Too Shy The Singles And More”, by Kajagoogoo and Lihmal. There’s scarcely a track on here that doesn’t have something wrong with it. A stupid lyric, a bad keyboard part, or some combination. Only possible exceptions: “Neverending Story” and the “Hang On Now” extended mix.

Which, oddly enough, you can hear over this slideshow of images of Mena Suvari.



No, I don't know what the connection is either, but I like this mix and Suvari is beautiful...

Also see: This Time-The 1st 4 Years, by Culture Club. Unlike most Culture Club retrospectives, this one includes “War Song,” a catchy-but-stupid (or vice versa) attempt to get a slice of the “Two Tribes” pie. CC would rather forget this song existed; not so fast, says I.



Def Leppard's Hysteria. I have a whole theory worked out to explain this one; it revolves around the idea that Def Leppard is actually a techno pop band (remember, "techno" doesn't always mean "synth.")

“Straight Up”, by Paula Abdul. Oh-oh-oh. A brilliant record of a stupid song. I've asked the remarkably psychotic (but still slightly-more-dimensional than Abdul) Harley Quinn to give us her interpretation of this number. Harley?



The stretch for the rhyme of “Are you more than hot for me, or am I a page in your history…book?” is the most endearingly awkward lyric since…

“Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) by Flock Of Seagulls. The only hit by this very definition of a “haircut band” that I’ve got much time for.

Kylie Minogue. “I should be so lucky, lucky, lucky lucky.” Need I say more? Just look at her, she's glorious.



Also for the fact that if I’d have offered to bet you $150 in 1988 that 20 years later Kylie would not only still be considered a sex symbol…

(I mean, you may think you’ve got your manners going on, but were you voted the woman men would most like to have phone sex with?)

(Ok, so I made up the "sex" part of that...but I think it's implied.)

…but would also still be having hits, any one of you would have covered my money. Including Kylie herself, most likely. Face it, she's indestructible. No wonder her doll hangs out with Wonder Woman's doll.

Bros. I still have no idea how to pronounce this. Bros feature heavily in “Literally” (A book about Pet Shop Boys) so when I found their album cheap I picked it up on curiosity alone.

It’s almost touching how badly they seem to want to be PSB, especially on “When Will I Be Famous”. I like that track, and two or three of the others are good as well, but it’s not like you can’t tell why they were a 2 or three hit wonder (Probably generous).

Trivia: former Bros singer Luke Goss played the elf prince Nuada in Hellboy II.

Toto's "Africa."

Jan Hammer Miami Vice Theme. You know you'll never forget it.



I Want Candy -- Bow Wow Wow. Forever for me associated with the Private School movie shower scene, in which it plays throughout.


Double your pleasure, double your guilt...

And, of course,

I'd tag George, but he's already done it...

Connecting images by the slimmest of threads

1. I just know there's a metaphor here for the republican and Democratic parties.



You guess which is which (and of course, click to enlarge)



2. This is Virginia Madsen, who AFAIK is not a metaphor for either party. It's just that I've had a crush on her since 1985.

I believe faithfully that if we've been good, when we die we get to take a never-ending hot shower with a 21 year-old Madsen.

You make your heaven, and I'll make mine...

I think I'm going to pass out.

(If you don't know who that is, refer to "Seven happiness," below)

You know what I was saying about how Elizabeth Edwards impresses the hell out of me?

Here, she shows why.

I mean this to be my last post on the matter, because:

I ask that the public, who expressed concern about the harm John’s conduct has done to us, think also about the real harm that the present voyeurism does and give me and my family the privacy we need at this time.

Done.

Nine happiness

Ok, the John Edwards thing

I'm disappointed and saddened, obviously, because as you know I've liked Edwards a lot in the past--even saw him at one time as kind of a hero. But I also think his wife is terrific and am mildly obsessed with his daughter Cate, so I'm really sorry he's put them in this unpleasant situation.

To me, this still wouldn't make him a bad candidate, however, I understand that the climate being what it is...well, who needs the drama? Other than that, I want to say a couple of things building on what Steve Benen said already:

For what it’s worth, Elizabeth Edwards apparently became aware of the relationship in 2006, and the affair went on while her cancer was in remission.

in the future, this will only encourage media outlets to be more aggressive in looking into candidates’ personal lives, which is really a shame.

To me these are not insignifigant--we're talking about an extramarital relationship which had been concluded, of which the spouse was aware; had apparently chosen to forgive. And continue in the marriage.

And our tabloid-driven media dug it up because...why? Is anyone's life better off because the world now knows John Edwards had an affair?

I'd just add a nod that:

before Republicans pounce on this with too much glee, if, in the wake of Edwards’ confession, presidential-candidate adultery all of a sudden becomes an important campaign issue, let’s not forget that this is one subject John McCain and his supporters really don’t want to talk about.

Then I saw...

So you know how it is...I'm searching images for my other blog and come across something that doesn't seem to fit there tonight but which strikes me somehow, and so I decide to come up with a funny comment, click over here and post it.



I was gonna go with the headline All right miss...you have my attention.

Then I saw that this turns out to be a frame from David Lynch's Inland Empire. I haven't seen the film--as a rule, I really wish Lynch wouldn't write the films he directs. But I'm not saying it's good or bad.

What I am saying, in retrospect, is that I should've guessed this was from a Lynch film immediately. It's got his brand of woman-demeaning written all over it.

Art.

Droops, Rabbits and Rags

Leonard Maltin writes,

[Richard Williams] has two Oscars to his credit, and is renowned for directing the animation in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but his magnum opus, The Thief and the Cobbler, on which he lavished years of effort and much of his own money, has never been seen in the form that he intended. Many animation fans hope that some day it will be restored.

Trivia: Williams also performed the voice of Droopy in the deadpan mutt's cameo in Who Framed.

His other work includes what I think is the finest version of the "Pink Panther" opening titles, from The Return of the Pink Panther in 1975:

(should be watched full-screen, if possible)



And Williams directed the Raggedy Ann & Andy movie of the '70s, which I don't think I've seen since I was little but remember as being good. Here's a scene (reportedly animated almost entirely by Williams) to see if I'm right.



Anyway I bring all this up because I want to pass along what Maltin passed along, which is a 10-minute promo for Williams' new Animator’s Survival Kit Animated DVD set.

If I was an animator (or really any kind of a visual artist), I would steal, beg, or borrow money to take a class from Williams, or see these videos. But even as someone who's just a fan of the art, there's a lot here that'll make you smile and laugh.

Eight happiness

Gilmore Girls. Fast-talking, sharp-witted babes. How far can you go wrong? (The answer: When the show's creator and chief writer leaves before the last season, pretty far, unfortunately). But when it was good...

Lauren Graham
Originally uploaded by JANiE webzine

Alexis Bledel.



And of course it's where I found Liza Weil, Mon Annabel préféré.

Ok. This could almost, almost, almost get me to forgive Laura Prepon for going so washed-out blonde.

Almost.

Cricket the way it was meant to be played

Seven happiness

Cutest picture ever.



(If you don't know, that's Kristen Bell of the much-missed Veronica Mars)

Is it wrong that the first time I saw this, I saw...

City Nurse
Courtney Love?

...is it wrong that I totally want to see Courtney Love in a loose-fitting 1950's nurse's outfit?

...Yeah, well, no one's making you come to this blog, now are they?

That's strange...I feel a cheap shot coming on...

Rare shot of them together again.

...not the "Sex and the City" girls, their legs...

(excuse me)

A message to my fellow Democrats:

Steve Benen has a post here about how despite what the "liberal" media would like you to believe, Obama is actually ahead of McCain in the polls by a pretty fair amount.

Yesterday, Lifetime Networks released a national poll of women and their presidential preferences. Time’s Mark Halperin said Barack Obama “edged out” McCain in the poll. Obama’s lead? 11 points.

According to Chris Matthews, when McCain holds a six-point lead with a given demographic, it’s significant. When Obama holds a six-point lead, it’s “almost … negligible.”

I think they do it mostly just so they'll have something to talk to each other about, the poor things. But seriously: In this sense, at least, Obama is Reagan; McCain is Carter.

And it's 1980.

Relax, it's not even gonna be close...

Drummers like this are why God invented drum machines.

Makes Stephen Morris sound like Ringo Starr.

Earthly Pleasures

Dunno if this book is any good, but I'm digging' on the cover.