Project X seems to have gone to great lengths to kick Battlefield Earth from its bottom ranking. It might be more accurate to say that Project X lacks what it takes to avoid being tagged as one of the worst movies ever.
According to Wikipedia, the premier source for facts and information:), one of the worst films to appear on-screen was John Travolta’s Battlefield Earth.
I’ve not seen Battlefield Earth, nor Project X, but found it painful to sit through several minutes of trailers of the two Rotten Tomatoes. I imagine Travolta may be happy to see Project X make a public showing, as it seems to have made an effort to knock ‘Earth’ off its throne; or should I say, out of its hole.
Even before I saw the Mercedes in the swimming pool in pre-rehearsals, Project X had the look of a rabid dog that no sane person would want to be in the same room with. I can imagine the pain of sitting in a theater full of…half full of…a handful of…alone, watching a male-adolescent, testosterone-driven, misogynistic plot bark at the moon for over an hour.
But every cloud has a silver lining. I came away from my tour of duty with a handful of lunchtime watercolors.
In 1885, I worked on an amazing television series produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. The show was ‘Amazing Stories’. It lasted for only one season; but not because of a lack of viewers.
The opening sequence, which would be considered first-year film school by today’s standards, was ground-breaking at the time.
As I remember it, Spielberg sold the concept of the show based on his name, not on a pilot he had made. Once the television show went into production, each episode was constructed and shot like a feature film. There was always multiple episodes in production; occupying many of the sound stages at Universal Studios. I was a lead painter and usually had 10 – 20 set painters on my crew. When you consider that other paint crews were comparably staffed, Amazing Stories employed a disproportionate number of local #729 members.
When the show was canceled, rumor had it that it was too expensive for television. My research on IMDB revealed that the show lasted two seasons. However, I’m almost certain that all 24 episodes were shot in one season.
I happened across the series on Netflix this evening. I recall working on a big wooden train in the mill at Universal Studios. I also worked on a living room which had been parted like the red sea by the train.
The train in the painting above, ‘Loco Notion’, is not the one we used for filming. The one shown here is something I painted from a sketch I did in the same year as the launch of Amazing Stories. Whenever a tour tram approached the railroad tracks, the train would come speeding down the rails and stop just short of hitting the tram. The voice of Mr T would shout, “Watch out sucka!”
You can see the entire Amazing Stories series here.
I’ve been busy the last week transfering all of my sites to a new host. I expect to have Hollywood Backlots back
In my last post, I pointed to the use of certain technologies which are curtailing the available work for set painters and scenic artists (read: ‘As Went the Scenic Artists, So Goes the Set Painters’).
Well, there’s nothing like the taste of ‘humble pie’. While it is true that the marbleizing work I thought was coming my way did not materialize, some other faux finishing work did.
This past week, I was sent from Paramount Studios to LA Center Studios to do some wood graining on the interior of the Vanger residence.
The caution remains to set painters and other below-the-line workers to stay abreast of the changes in our industry, however, the Hollywood establishment doesn’t appear to be too anxious to abandon their tried and tested systems of producing entertainment. We should be happy about that.
When we think about Hollywood, we often turn our imaginations to the stars and glamor that grace our screens, whether it be at home or in a theater. However, there are often months, even years of unseen (publicly) work that proceed a public presentation.
Hollywood Backlots is here to tell the untold stories of what it takes to make entertainment and how to make it in entertainment. This is a good place to plug my book, Back Lot Talk.
BLT is primarily a lexicon of the motion picture set painter, but it will be entertaining and informative to all who read it. Knowing what to say and how to say it on a movie or television set is important for anyone who wants to advance in the industry. Or, if you’re not is show business but want to impress your friends with a little film speak, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this read.
