|
'All my vague cartoon ambitions suddenly fused into one crystal clear goal: to draw dramatic, emotionally-charged, energized scenes of power, grandeur, and intensity. It was like movie-making on paper, and you were the writer, designer, and director.'—Dave Stevens, creator of The Rocketeer
'I''ve bought a ticket in a lottery, the grand prize of which amounts to this: being read in 1935.'—Stendhal
We open on a black screen, as the Copland-esque Americana of James Horner''s score (rightly described by Jessica Ritchey as 'the best John Williams never did') plays under the deco-style lettering of the movie''s credits. After 'The Rocketeer' appears (with lightning bolt edges on its 'R' and 'E's), the screen and the title suddenly splits in two, as if what we''re seeing is a curtain, and there''s another screen behind it, waiting to burst into view. Silhouettes push 'Rock' and 'Eteer' and the black backdrop to either side of the frame, as dewy light reveals a prop plane on the yellow gravel of a runway, green trees and a slightly overcast blue sky a bit blurry on the horizon. We''re seeing all this from the perspective inside the hanger, and even as the cut to the next shot reveals another plane (the yellow, snub-nosed 'Gee Bee Model R') being rolled out, the framing remains masked at its 2.35:1 edges, as if pitched between an older, Depression-era framing of literal 'squareness' and the broader spectacles of late 20th century Hollywood.
Before we know who these silhouettes on the screen are, before a word is spoken—indeed, before we know anything about the story at all—'The Rocketeer' has given us all of its pertinent information. This is going to be a film full of both reverence for a period past and a playful deconstruction of that era''s movie tropes; it will use theatrical slight of hand to create a hyper-real vision of the 1930s; and not despite but because of this 'split personality' of style, period, and image, it will fly.
Released 25 years ago this month, 'The Rocketeer'—director Joe Johnston and screenwriters Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo''s adaptation of Dave Stevens'' acclaimed indie comic—was pitched as Disney''s second attempt (after the previous year''s equally stylized, period-set 'Dick Tracy') to compete with 'Batman,' after that film stormed theaters in 1989. It had rising stars like Bill Campbell (making his film debut after gaining good notices for work on TV shows like 'Crime Story' and 'Dynasty') and Jennifer Connelly; a marvelous villain portrayed by the most recent-James Bond, Timothy Dalton; well-regarded character actors like Alan Arkin, Paul Sorvino and William Sanderson in key supporting roles; a screenwriting team who''d just show-run a well-received adaptation of 'The Flash' for CBS; and a director coming off the surprise hit of 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.' The gorgeous, painted Art Deco poster captured the look of Stevens'' comic brilliantly for longtime fans, while grabbing the eyes of those (like 18-year old me), who''d never heard of the Rocketeer in 1991, but were certainly curious t
|
|
As reported by the BBC, playwright Peter Shaffer—who won multiple Tony Awards and a Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award—has died. He was 90.
Shaffer was born in Liverpool in 1926, and he worked as a coal minor during World War II. According to The New York Times, he later studied history at Cambridge and began writing mystery novels with his fraternal twin brother, Anthony (who also eventually became a Tony-winning playwright). After graduating, Shaffer moved to the United States and got a job at the New York Public Library, which is reportedly where he first became interested in the theater. He returned to England shortly after that and began writing plays, with his first production—The Salt Land—getting adapted for TV by the BBC in 1955.
Over the years, Shaffer would go on to write more than 18 plays, including Five Finger Exercise, Black Comedy, Lettice And ...
|
|
Here''s what we know about the three live-performance versions of 'Frozen' underway — including one by sea.
|
|
