Monthly Archives: January 2014

Disney animator Mike Peraza put together a very nice remembrance video of folks the animation community lost in 2013…

How will the closing of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark this weekend affect business on Broadway? I mean, aside from the guy outside the theater selling ticket holders insurance in case an actor falls on them? Here's a report.

Back in 1932-1933, Groucho and Chico Marx starred in a radio show called Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel. In it, Groucho played the sleazy attorney, Waldorf T. Flywheel, and Chico played his assistant, Emmanuel Ravelli. One season was produced but only a few partial recordings of the program and one complete episode still exist.

The scripts to 25 of the 26 episodes, however, survived. A few years ago, BBC Radio put together a cast and re-created eighteen of them with Michael Roberts and Frank Lazarus as Groucho and Chico. Some liberties were taken with the old scripts — some rewriting, some ad-libbing. Every now and then, BBC Radio reruns the series and now is one of those times. For the next few days, you can hear Episode Two — sorry I didn't know about this last week — at this page. It'll be available for four more days and then it will be displaced by Episode Three, which will be listenable for a week, then Episode Four will be there for a week and so on. Thanks to Chris Collins for letting me know about this.

In the meantime, the player below will play you the audio of the only known complete original episode in existence…

I don't know what to think of the World's Most Famous Whistleblower, Edward Snowden. Here are two sides to the question. The New York Times thinks he deserves some form of pardon or clemency. My favorite writer about U.S. intelligence and military matters, Fred Kaplan, thinks he doesn't.

More of these…

I like the advertising for Jack-in-the-Box. I like the locations and the general feel of their stores and the convenience. They were the chain that invented the concept of driving through the drive-thru and ordering via a two-way intercom. There's something very friendly about their outlets and boy, do I wish I could find something — anything! — on their menu I wanted to eat. I can tolerate the bottled water and maybe the fries.

In the years I was sometimes dining at them, they kept going through makeovers and I don't know any other chain that seems to always have nineteen new menu items each time you went in. These generally replaced the nineteen items that were introduced around the time of your last visit. One time I was there, they'd added fish-and-chips to the menu, apparently that day. I ordered it and the order-taker-lady said, "I'm sorry…we just got it in and we haven't learned how to make it yet."

I made a point of stopping in a few weeks later. By then, they'd learned to make the worst fish-and-chips I ever had in my life. It was one of those restaurant items I call a Two-Biter. You take your first bite and it's awful. Then you take your second bite because you can't believe a commercial enterprise is serving something that terrible. But they are so you throw the rest away. I've encountered enough Two-Biters at Jack-in-the-Box that I gave up on them. My last time there a few years ago, I just went for the burger and it was about a Three-Biter.

I now patronize Jack-in-the-Box about as often as the places like Burger King and Carls Jr. which I never patronize. Still, I find myself unable to generate the same indifference to them. Their advertising's too clever and once upon a time, they were pretty good.

Every so often, Jon Stewart on The Daily Show takes a shot at Arby's and I don't know why. There's lots worse. In fact, I find the basic Arby's roast beef sandwich quite pleasant. (Keep in mind in this series, I am not comparing fast food places to genuine, sit-down restaurants with real chefs. I'm comparing them to other fast food places which offer the same speed and value.) Arby's actually has quite an array of different sandwiches but I don't recall trying any of them. I like their signature sandwich so much that when circumstances steer me into an Arby's meal, that's what I get.

I recall Arby's turning up in Southern California in the late sixties amidst a flurry of other new fast food chains offering up roast beef sandwiches as an alternative to hamburgers. They were not the best. The best — I still miss these places — were the Roy Rogers Roast Beef Sandwich places. The current Roy Rogers chain is, I guess, a descendant of those and even though they have a roast beef sandwich on their menu, it ain't the same. Compared to Roy's old establishments, Arby's sandwiches tasted processed and plastic.

But all the Roy Rogers eateries around here closed and that chain morphed into whatever it's become. Arby's stuck around and somewhere-sometime, they managed to improve their product a lot. They even edged into an area that few of their competitors have tried of making their food healthier. They got rid of a lot of common additives and eliminated trans-fats and so on and I'm fine with them. And that's absolutely everything I have to say about Arby's.

And I don't have a lot to say about Papa John's. It's thirty-minute-to-your-door pizza, about as good as Pizza Hut and Domino's and a few others. I don't order from them. The best pizza I've found in Los Angeles — and sadly, I'm a few blocks outside their delivery area — is Vito's over on La Cienega, a few blocks south of Santa Monica.

The best pizza, as we know, does not come from large chains. I think we have to think of pizza as three separate kinds of foods and not make the mistake of expecting one when we order another. There's Non-Chain Pizza, made in an establishment that is owned and controlled by one person or family. They may have opened a few other stores in the area but basically, you're getting pizza made by people who want to make pizza. Then you have Chain Pizza — your Pizza Hut, your Papa John's, your Domino's, your Sbarro, your Godfather's (I've never had Godfather's), etc. — and some of those are okay for what they are. This is pizza made by people who work there because nearby burger stands weren't hiring. I experience this kind of pizza only when I'm at a party or meeting and someone sends out.

And then you have Airport Pizza, which with the one brief exception I noted in our Pizza Hut entry, is always terrible. In fact, this applies to any pizza served in a food court of any kind. If Vito opened in a terminal at LAX, his pizza wouldn't be any good, either. It must be something about being within fifty yards of a Starbucks. Anyway, Papa John's is as good as any Chain Pizza you're going to get…and maybe these aren't the best names for the three types. Maybe we should call them in descending order, "Real Pizza," "Convenience Pizza" and "Pizza by a Technicality."

We shall continue…

Scott Bradley was the man who did the superb music for the Tom & Jerry cartoons that Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera produced for MGM. John Wilson, who conducts a massive orchestra for the BBC took that music and made something of a symphony out of it…

Jerry Seinfeld has launched a new season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. This one features Louis C.K. taking Jerry out on his boat. I can't embed it but you can watch it here.

It may be a few days until I figure out what I want to say about why I didn't like Saving Mr. Banks. A couple of folks wrote to ask if my objections were the same as Harlan Ellison's, as expressed in a much-discussed online video. I understand Harlan's point and he and I actually discussed it on the phone the other day, before I saw the film. He didn't like the movie as a representation of what really happened and my thoughts don't quite make it that far. I don't like the movie as a movie. I admire it as a movie but I don't like it…if you can parse the difference in those two verbs. I'll get around to explaining myself better.

I've suddenly gotten quite busy with top o' the year business. In fact, I'm so busy that this is the only one of many year-end screeners I've had time to watch. For those of you who don't know: If you're in a Hollywood union or academy, you're likely to deluged with these DVDs of recent movies. They're hoping you'll watch them and vote for them for Oscars or other awards and they come…Lord, how they come. I must have thirty of them here, all adorned with cheery messages that say they hope you'll watch their labor of love and consider it when it comes time to mark your ballot. And — oh, by the way — this unsolicited gift they've given you is Their Property, Not Yours…and if you misuse it by selling it or copying it, they will send Ninja Warriors over to kill your housepets and then cart you off to prison. Happy viewing!

Anyway, I get a lot of them and I never know what to do with them all. I just found a great use for one. Sergio Aragonés called and said that MAD wants him to do a parody of a certain current movie and he asked if I received a DVD screener of it. I did, and he's coming over tomorrow to borrow it…because otherwise, he has to go sit in a movie house with his sketch pad and draw in the dark. Glad to be of service.

I finally got around to watching Saving Mr. Banks. I found much to admire in the performances and in the cinematic storytelling techniques but I really didn't like the film very much. In the next few days, I'll try to whip up a posting here that will explain why.

I continue to work my way through major fast food eateries and my experiences and opinions…

Chick-fil-A presents a bit of a moral dilemma. I first tried it years ago back east, back before the company had many outlets in Southern California. I liked their basic chicken sandwich a lot. Didn't like their chicken soup. Didn't like their chick-n-strips. Didn't think their fries were so hot. But I liked their signature chicken sandwich and I liked it more than the knock-off/clone McDonald's began serving as Chick-fil-A began becoming a serious competitor.

But then you had the politics of the company…or at least of its president. As I understand it, the company used to reflect the anti-gay views of its prez, Mr. Cathy and donate to anti-gay causes. At some point, they stopped doing that and issued some statements about respecting everyone and being an all-inclusive force…but he still espouses the same views and backs them with personal donations. Should that bother me? I dunno. I'll bet I give my money to lots of companies with presidents who feel that way and don't make an issue of it. I don't think buying or not buying a chicken sandwich should be a referendum on anything but that chicken sandwich.

I don't think most boycotts are very effective and that when they are, they often wind up hurting the wrong parties. If we could all band together, withhold our patronage from one particular Chick-fil-A and put it outta business, I don't think Mr. Cathy would be harmed in any meaningful way…especially if our protest drives folks who think like he does to eat more often at other Chick-fil-A outlets to show support. We'd only wind up hurting the employees at the one outlet we closed — and they didn't set the policy.

On the other hand, I can't pretend that the anti-gay stance doesn't bother me and does make me less comfy with the notion of going to a Chick-fil-A and getting one of those (admittedly) great chicken sandwiches.

Fortunately for my conscience, I have an easy way to avoid the issue for now. They've opened a lot of Chick-fil-A places in Southern California but the only one located where I routinely travel is at the corner of Highland and Sunset in Hollywood. I don't care about a company's politics. I don't care how wonderful their food is. I'm not navigating that intersection or trying to get in and out of that tiny parking lot for any meal. It could be a Five Guys that gives out hundred dollar bills free with every burger. I ain't eating there.

This spares me having to decide how I deep-down feel about Chick-fil-A and its politics versus its cuisine. One of these days, I may be in a situation — say if I was in an airport and famished — where I have to choose and I'll decide then. If the alternatives are Burger King or Carls Jr., I'll probably place poultry over principle and eat at Chick-fil-A. But maybe not 'til then.

Younger fast food fanciers may be stunned to learn that there was a time when KFC stood for Kentucky Fried Chicken. Even more amazing is that a decade or two before they decided to start hiding the word "fried," there was a time when KFC was really good. The late Colonel Sanders had a recipe and a method of chicken preparation that yielded a really tasty product. If you could start a new fast food chain and faithfully replicate that chicken, you could probably own the marketplace.

Alas, the guy with his face on the bucket sold his company — for what he soon realized was way too little. It's changed hands a few times since then and along the way, its sequential owners found way after way to cheapen the product and make it even easier for unskilled (i.e., cheap) labor to prepare. The chicken, last time I had it, tasted like dough that had been fried too long in fatty oil. It had a stale taste. When you look at the Nutritional Information, you think, "Gee…if I'm going to consume that many calories, I can eat something I'll like a whole lot more than that bad chicken."

That's what I thought when I gave it up for, probably, ever. To get me back, here's what would have to happen…

Someone new would have to acquire the company. Then he or she would have to make a commercial in which they came on and said, "I used to love KFC but jeez, it's been awful the last decade or two. I acquired it to put it back the way it was and I've fired all the people responsible for ruining what was once one of the great American delicacies. All I wanted was to get my hands on the Colonel's original recipe and I have and now we're going to make chicken so good, we're going back to calling it Kentucky Fried Chicken!"

Then and only then, I might try it again. I kinda hope no one does this, though. I'd probably wind up eating there too often.

With Domino's Pizza, I once had the same problem I have with Chick-fil-A — the politics of the owner. Domino's was founded and run for years by a gent named Tom Monaghan, who has spent zillions of dollars condemning those who practice contraception, abortion, homosexuality or anything else that disrupts his vision of the only way human beings ought to live. In the early eighties, there was a brief flurry of controversy in the press involving him and a lot of people stopped ordering Domino's Pizza because they felt like they were contributing to his cause of persecution against anyone who didn't fit his definition of a right and proper Catholic.

I didn't consider boycotting Domino's then because I'd never eaten a Domino's Pizza. But I was involved with the company…sort of.

They had a mascot then in their commercials…a little annoying guy called The Noid. Domino's had used some sort of corporate pressure to persuade CBS to at least develop a prime-time animated special of The Noid, and they hoped it could then maybe become a Saturday morning series, as well. Another writer had done a script but no one liked it at CBS and no one liked it at Domino's. It was tossed — I never read it — and I was called in to write a new script. I agreed…and then a few weeks later, headlines broke about Mr. Monaghan's campaigns and I was suddenly uneasy about doing something that could make him a lot of money.

But I did it and I did it as well as I could. CBS actually okayed it for production and I'm still not sure why it didn't happen. There was some sort of fight with CBS and Domino's and I think (note the emphasis) it went something like this…

The Domino's people read the script and said, "Great! Put in some overt plugs for our pizza and it's a go!" And the CBS people said, "No, we can't have any plugs for pizza in this. You'll have to be content that just putting the Noid on TV is enough of a plug for your company…and by the way, we'll be needing that money you said you'd contribute to the production budget so we aren't taking as big a risk on this thing, which is the main reason we agreed to do it." And then the Domino's people said, "Hey, we're not going to put up any money for this unless you work in a mention of our two-large-pepperonis for the price of one plus a large drink special…"

And somehow, the project was off and the show was never made. I'm not sure it was exactly that but it was something like that.

Before that happened, I was in a meeting with a gent named Buzz Potamkin, a fine producer who was set to produce the animation, and there were other folks there, as well. We got to talking about Domino's and everyone there admitted to being a little uneasy about the project and supporting the politics of Mr. Monaghan. Then someone said, "Look, we're not promoting his politics. At most, we're promoting his pizza." And I said, "Gee, I think I know his politics but I don't know his pizza. I've never had a Domino's Pizza."

Buzz said he hadn't, either…and then the three or four other folks present all admitted the same. None of us had ever had Domino's Pizza. It was about time to order lunch in so someone suggested we call Domino's. Buzz had an even better idea. He called his contact with the Domino's corporate offices and asked if there was any way he could arrange free pizza for us. The guy said, "Sure," and less than an hour later, we had about three times as much pizza as we could eat plus samples of all of Domino's side dishes and other goodies.

And boy, was it awful. We invited in people from the adjoining offices to share our bounty and a few of them (who'd tried Domino's) declined. But all of us in Buzz's office and the ones who did join us thought it was pretty bad pizza. Thereafter, as we worked on the Noid special, we were all less uneasy about bolstering Monaghan's anti-gay, anti-woman agenda than we were in perhaps causing people to eat that pizza. Ergo, none of us were that unhappy when the show didn't go the distance.

Years later, Monaghan sold off some or all of his interest in Domino's for a billion or two…to Bain Capital, the company Mitt Romney co-founded. By this time, Domino's had done something about a diminishing market for their product and improved the quality of their pizza by quite a bit. If they hadn't, there probably wouldn't have been a company there for Bain to acquire — because chains like Pizza Hut and Papa John's were growing, offering the same fast delivery as Domino's but of better product.

I had the improved version once or twice when it was brought in to other meetings and I found it edible and decent…but not as good as a half-dozen other places from which I could order. So I'll probably never order from Domino's but it's not the worst pizza I've ever eaten. It just used to be.

Three more of these in a day or three…

Here's some good news as we start a new year…

Well, I wound up not writing all day. I went over to a hospital to visit Jeanine Kasun, who is making progress in recovering from her Subarachnoid Hemorrhage…but she still has a long way to go. (A few hours after I left, in fact, she went to another hospital and will probably be there for some time.)

When I got home, my friend Carolyn called and said how wonderful it would be to see the last sunset of the year from the Griffith Observatory so on a whim, I drove over, picked her up and we went up there…only to find that about half the population of Southern California had the same idea. The nearest parking spot turned out to be somewhere across the International Date Line, where the last sunset of the year had long since come and gone. But what we saw was worth the shlep.

Then it was dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants and I took her home, came back here to work and slept instead. Oh, well. I'll finish that script this year, instead.

I have nothing profound to say about the end of one year and the start of the next. For me, 2013 was a year of Too Much Bad News. I don't mean on CNN. I mean on my telephone. That's what I'd like to have stop in 2014. Somebody get on that right away, okay?

Politifact offers up The Top 10 most viewed fact checks of 2013 and also, with some overlap, The Top 16 myths about health care law.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Politifact, it's a fact-checking project offered by the Tampa Bay Times. When it tells you that your political allies are correct and that your opponents are lying, it's a valuable, unbiased service whose integrity is beyond question. And when it tells you the opposite, it's a dishonest smear machine working for the opposition.