The more shows I do the more I meet people with similar stories about their elder relatives. Great-aunts and great-grandmothers or grandmothers who played for movies back in the silent era. The repeats have confirmed what could easily be fuzzy… Read More »Play Me a Movie
My favorite Laurel & Hardy shorts are the ones with little or no plot. Don’t ask me why. Films like Busy Bodies, Helpmates, Towed in a Hole and of course The Music Box that are basically Stan and Ollie just… Read More »Stan & Ollie – and a Horse, and an Orchestra
The name Matt Dennis may not be familiar, but if you’re an Ernie Kovacs fan you may know it. Or maybe not. You’d have be a credits-reader who also paid attention to the details in the back of the “Ernie… Read More »“Let’s Get Away From It All” — The Slightly Missing Matt Dennis
I’ve been a fan of Akira Kurosawa’s since the middle of high school. I forget which year it was, but my English lit class had read what my wife and daughter refer to as “the Scottish Play” by Shakespeare. Earlier… Read More »A New Year’s Resolution, Thanks To Akira Kurosawa
On this episode, Ben Model talks about creating and performing a live score on theatre organ for the 1931 “Dracula” with Bela Lugosi, shares some insights about programming the “Silent Comedy International” series at MoMA, and discusses why playing at… Read More »ep. 31: Scoring Dracula, Playing for Pat & Patachon, Reaching Younger Fans
I’d almost forgotten about the home movie gem I posted a few years ago. Southwest Silents on Twitter @SWSilents has been tweeting a Silent Film Xmas Advent, finding holiday-related silents online and sharing them. They’ve already posted two discoveries that… Read More »Home Movie Day Goes Sledding
Imagine my surprise walking home from the C train tonight, listening to the newest episode of Seth Godin’s podcast “Akimbo“, and hearing my own voice. Last week, Seth Godin discussed the current status, validity, importance and relevance of copyright on… Read More »Is Copyright All Right?
For a clown, a real honest-to-goodness Clown, the core of what they are doing is rooted in the honest, raw, vulnerable connection they create and have with the audience members. This is the source of where the laughs come from.… Read More »Red Noses in Black & White: Clowns in Silent Movies
The things you see during a silent film show when you’re the one who’s closest to the screen! As a film accompanist, I’m constantly scanning the frame for information while I’m playing. Impending story developments can be introduced in different… Read More »Arbuckle-Spotting, or: What Emma Clifton and I Saw Last Night
“The Lighthouse and the Sidecar” is a nickname that is probably more catchy in its original language, Danish. Evoking two things that are pretty much extinct doesn’t help either. But this was how many people in Scandinavia and maybe Europe… Read More »The Lighthouse and the Sidecar Get it Right