9 year old actor Devon Michael was one of three boys who auditioned at Skywalker Ranch for the role of young Anakin Skywalker in“The Phantom Menace,” a “Star Wars prequel. The role went to Jake Lloyd, who later quit acting after merciless bullying. A New York Times Op-Doc directed by Ben Proudfoot.
“Gimme Some Skin, My Friend,” written by Don Raye, Gene De Paul, and Red Mack, performed by The Andrews Sisters in the 1941 Abbott & Costello film In the Navy. The greeting gesture had been know in African American culture since the 1920s. Even Al Jolson used it in 1927, in The Jazz Singer. These days it’s known as the “low five,” a retronym differentiating it from the “high five.”
________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-BEo
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
The “Most Important Device in the Universe” has blinking tubes and no function. It’s the Dual Neon Generators prop designed by John Zabrucky in the 1970s, and has appeared in many Sci-Fi movies and TV shows. Video compilation by Major Grin.
Studios are intent on streaming their films, and COVID only intensified that. But big movies still come out in theaters first. A Vox video by Edward Vega.
“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine for the 1944 movie Meet Me in St. Louis, performed by 21-year-old Judy Garland (who married the film’s director Vincente Minnelli in 1945). The original lyrics were considered depressing by the MGM producers, and Hugh Martin re-wrote them, crafting this poignant perennial.
More:
“The Story Behind ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,’” NPR Music
When a movie wants to inspire fear, unease, or anxiety, a film’s composers and sound designers use the “drone of dread” to introduce a sense of impending doom. A Quartz video.