Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everybody

I wish you all a safe and joyous Christmas and a New Year filled with prosperity and happiness.
Later,
Paul Parducci

Bruce Haack on Mr. Rogers

Techno Music Pioneer Bruce Haack on Mr. Rogers.


Later,
Paul Parducci

Thanksgiving

Here in a America we will be celebrating our Thanksgiving.

So for my brothers and sisters here in the USA, I wish you all a blessed and happy gathering. And for my brothers and sisters on the rest of our blue-green planet, pull up a chair, there's always room at the table.

For most of us the joy of present loved ones will be mixed with the honey-dipped pain of those absent.

So let's join hands and ask for gratitude for what we have, grace for those we've lost and grit for the road ahead.

Now please pass me a drumstick.

Later,

Paul Parducci

PS: The picture is from the Margaret Fuller House collection.

Don Siegel's "The Shootist"

As far as I'm concerned John Wayne's best movie (which also turned out to be his last.) Directed by American Auteur Don Siegel. With excellent performances by Ron Howard, Richard Boone and Lauren Bacall. This one is a must see. And you can catch it this month on American Movie Classics.
Later,
Paul Parducci

Recession Economics: Keep Your Chin Up.

Like most of us on planet Earth right now I'm feeling the pinch.

Consumer Reports has aggregated a nice batch of info regarding the saving of the green stuff.

I have a bottle cap with a simple message inside: "Keep Your Chin Up." I affixed a magnet to the back and mounted it on my refrigerator door to remind me of all I have to be grateful for and that this too shall pass.

Later,

Paul Parducci

Can Robots Evolve and Become Self aware?

Self Aware Robots

Holy Toledo!

Later,

Paul Parducci

The "Quota Quickie" And The Sound of Hitchcock

In order to resist the growing dominance of American Films, in 1927 Parliament passed the Cinematograph Films Act. The result of which were a large number of films which came to be known as "Quota Quickies."


Nice overview from the Guardian.
Also from Film Reference.

From the Quickie period also emerged the first British Sound motion picture; Alfred Hitchcock's "Blackmail."
Later,
Paul Parducci

Alfred Hitchcock Cameos

Everytime I see Alfred Hitchcock in one of his films I smile.
Later,
Paul Parducci

Psychomanteum

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Paul Parducci

Nightmare Boss #1 Wide Screen "Are You Paid To Drink Coffee?"

Strange But True: Thirty-One Thousand Year-Old Christian Symbol Found

Discovered in 1994 Chavet Pont Du Arc has many amazing Prehistoric Cave Paintings. The most unusual is one that clearly shows a cross. A symbol that (as far as I know) is not naturally occuring in nature.

Later,

Paul Parducci

Apparently Paul Parducci Owns the Lucrative 35-54 Male Demographic!

Paul Parducci Project "MWF" Overalls and Age breakdown

Sample size 182K viewers

Regular readers of this Blog know that I try and keep overt self promotion to a minimum but I just paid a bunch of bills (and I'm in that certain frame of mind.)

In show business you take a lot of meetings. Most of these meetings lead nowhere but you never know. So I always make it a point to suit up and show up.

Lately, I have been hearing how surprisingly well I do with the lucrative 35-54 Male Demographic. (I'm in this demographic and most of the time I don't feel all that lucrative-but that's for another posting)

One distributor even lists my Nightmare Boss series as comedy for "men." I always kind of thought that the folks who paid attention to my work were evenly split between men and women (I mean my wife and my mom seem to like my stuff!) So I checked into it and found out; it's true!

Okay, I guess I better call my agent.

Later,

Paul Parducci

Are Ice Circles The New Crop Circles?

Strange indeed.
More info here.
And here.
Okay that's enough.
Later,
Paul Parducci

Seven Years

God Bless America.
I love this country. It's filled with good, strong, people.
Never count us out.
Paul Parducci

Nightmare Boss #16 "Quarterly Review"

Proof of ESP?

Unfortunately so far the record is very slim on repeatable, replicable proof of Psi.

Regarding this question the work of Susan Blackmore is worth a look.

Skepdic provides this overview.

Try for yourself here.

Later,

Paul Parducci

What's The Deal With Luck?

This is Daniel Pink's article on the work of Professor Richard Wiseman from a few years back.
Later,
Paul Parducci

Oh and the picture? 53 million year old rabbit's foot bones.

Is The BigFoot Body For Real?

I had to post this.
Later,
Paul Parducci

Tracy Arm

Just got back from Alaska and the Yukon.

Here is my mandatory iceberg picture from the amazing Tracy Arm Fjord.

(See the bird?)

Later,

Paul Parducci

My Ultimate Quote Regarding Directing.

Ivan Triesault as director Von Ellstein in Vincent Minnelli's "Bad and the Beautiful"

"To direct a picture, a man needs humility. Do you have humility, Mr. Shields?"

Regarding this particular job in film-truer words were never spoken.

Later,

Paul Parducci

 

You can Subscribe to my Youtube Channel Here. 

Magic Squares

A Magic Square is a "square" of numbers that add up the same vertically, horizontally and diagonally.
This is from Gaudi's Church of the Sacred Family in Barcelona, Spain. (It adds up to 33)
(I've been to this church and if you're every in this neck of the European woods it's a must see.)
This is a terrific Magic Square site.
Later,

Paul Parducci

The Internet as Queen Bee: Or How I Learned to Stop Thinking and Love the Web

The thought has occurred to me that the Internet is altering not only how we process information but also how we retain it.

In the past I would be inclined to get to the bottom of a topic so that I could file it properly in my long term memory. But now I frequently just tell myself that if I want more factoids when a need arises, I'll just "Google" it.

As an Actor and Filmmaker more and more of the projects offered to me are "Snack-Sized" for fast consumption and limited or compressed thought.

Are we humans becoming slaves to the web and how it works?

Is this amazing information/communication/entertainment hub modifying us to serve "it" in the way "it" works best?

With every passing day we seem to be more Hive-minded with the Internet as our passive but demanding queen.

Buzz.

Later,

Paul Parducci

PS: Here is a fantastic article by Nicholas Carr from the Atlantic

The Disappearance of Sub Culture: Is Privacy the New Fame?

Everyone knows artist Andy Warhol's quote regarding 15 minutes. And of course this has been proven to be absolutely correct. In the past world-wide fame was linked either to great achievement or great notoriety. Today with a will anyone can present themselves for global observation.
Special knowledge and the feeling of being "in the know" are also fast evaporating.
Where once fame was the elusive commodity it is this writer's humble opinion that privacy is now the most valuable. And in the google culture we live in it will prove to be more desirable with every passing day.
In the future only the most powerful will be able to afford a private life.
In short Privacy is the new Fame.
Later,
Paul Parducci

Great article on our new "everything is everywhere" world.

Van Gogh's "Starry Night"

Later,
Paul Parducci

Harvey Korman (1927-2008)

Some of the greatest in front-of-the-box moments of my life were spent watching this great comic actor work.
Here he is with Tim Conway doing what he did better than anyone else.

Rest in Peace Mr. Korman.
Later,
Paul Parducci

Memorial Day 2008: Alexander Kelly USCT Medal of Honor

Today we honor soldiers like Alexander Kelly.

Thank you sir.

Paul Parducci

My Buddy David's New Blog

Put this one on your "Must Read" list:
NEXT SET-UP
Later,
Paul Parducci

Nightmare Boss: A Very Grateful Bladder Problem

I want to thank all the folks who are watching "Nightmare Boss" on Vodaphone in the UK and beyond. Also,I really appreciate all of you who have taken the time to let me know how much you enjoy the series.
Here is Nightmare Boss #14 "Bladder Problem."
Later,
Paul Parducci

Edinburgh, Scotland: If You Can: Go And See The Ghosts

Edinburgh is a great town filled with interesting , friendly people.

It still bothers me that they can't fly St. Andrews Cross above the UK flag. (I guess I'm just an obstreperous American so in order to avoid an international incident I'll stop right there.)

Anyway if I were there this coming week I would head over to their annual Ghost Fest.

Later,

Paul Parducci

Ps: The great photo is frome here.

Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing

A fantastic Noirish Psychological thriller- well worth a look.
Here is Chris Fujiwara's piece from Senses of Cinema on Mr. Preminger.
Later,
Paul Parducci

The Voynich Manuscript

Among the many strange objects floating around our planet, this is one of the strangest.

The Voynich Manuscript.

John Baez's Overview

If this is a Hoax, it is an astounding one.

Later,

Paul Parducci

My Scriptapalooza Script "Ghosties"

Just before the strike a script I had submitted to the excellent Screenplay Competition:
Scriptapalooza ended up as a Semi-Finalist. Consequently I have had a lot of interest in this project and I want to commend this competition for doing an excellent job.

Here is a promo for it:


Later,
Paul Parducci

Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels

Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels is both a film that works and an excellent commentary on the value of entertainment in general and comedy in particular in a world that frequently has little of either. Oh and there's Veronica Lake as well.
Later,
Paul Parducci

CERN's "GRID" and The Death Of The Internet

A couple of Slide-Rule types in Switzerland are getting close to realizing the Web's next iteration: The Grid.

Later,

Paul Parducci

Attention Los Angeles Readers! My Pal Drew Friedman's "More Old Jewish Comedians."

I'm in the production bubble of my latest project so I will regrettably be unable to attend.(The second part of that sentence sounded very Oxford didn't it?) But everyone else should head on down to Skylight Books today between 5 and 7 PM. This book is if possible even more amazing than his last one, every page is literally soaked with Drew's unique brand of stunningly brilliant and table-poundingly funny personality disection.

Congrats Drew! I'll catch you at the next one.

Later,

Paul Parducci

Charles Bukowski's "this"

self-congratulatory nonsense as the famous gather to applaud their seeming
greatness


you
wonder where
the real ones are


what
giant cave
hides them


as
the deathly talentless
how to
accolades


as
the fools are
fooled
again


you
wonder where
the real ones are
if there are
real ones.


this
self-congratulatory nonsense
has lasted
decades
and
with some exceptions

centuries

this
is so dreary
is so absolutely pitiless

it
churns the gut to
powder
shackles hope

it
makes little things
like
pulling up a shade
or
putting on your shoes
or
walking out on the street

more difficult
near
damnable

as
the famous gather to applaud their
seeming
greatness

as
the fools are
fooled
again

humanity
you sick
motherfucker.


This poem can be found in the excellent collection of Bukowski's works; "run with the hunted" a charles bukowski reader edited by John Martin.
Later,
Paul Parducci

Henry Hathaway's "Kiss of Death"

A classic of the Docu-Noir style crime film, Kiss of Death still holds up very well even in this day of non-stop CSI and police procedurals.) Directed by the perrenially under-rated and from all accounts hot-tempered Henry Hathaway on location in New York it is one of the few Noirs to feature a female narrator. Richard Widmark's portrayal of the psychpathic Tommy Udo earned him an Academy award nomination. This one is mandatory for the Noir fan.

Later,

Paul Parducci

A Little Bit About Current Projects

I realized I hadn't mentioned much about my creative work lately, So for those interested; as of this moment I am in pre-production on a comedy project that I am directing that shoots at the end of this month. The scripts are strong and I am very pleased with the casting so it should be a lot of fun.

I have also been working on a darker feature project that I anticipate completing sometime in the Fall. (On this one I am wearing three hats: Writer/Director/Producer.)

Nightmare Boss continues to be very popular world-wide in fact it is now running on Vodaphone in the UK so I recently directed a few Promos for that series as well.

Add to this various meetings,pitches and scribbling and a nice formula for staying out of trouble emerges.

Later,

Paul Parducci

Photo by Cmiper

Doodles Weaver

I used to love watching these shorts when I was a kid. And I was very pleased to find some available on the web.

"A Day With Doodles"Film

"The Helpful Houseguest"

Doodles was a very talented and troubled man. Here is a good place to start to learn about him and the world his best work sprang from.

Later,

Paul Parducci

Chris Marker's La Jetee

This amazing film composed almost entirely of still photos inspired Terry Gilliam's equally brilliant "12 Monkeys."
Chris Marker is a fascinating Artist of great scope, he avoids publicity and doesn't give interviews, but this is a solid overview of his life and work.


Later,
Paul Parducci

Roy Scheider 's First Film:Del Tenney's "Curse of the Living Corpse"

Years ago while living in New York City I passed a running Roy Scheider as I was running (in the opposite direction) on 5th Ave. He was of course and will continue to be a great of American Cinema. A fast Google will give you many facts about his full and successful life, but in this post I want to highlight his first film which he made with the uniquely American Auteur Del Tenney.





Later,
Paul Parducci

News of the Strange: This Week

What's this?

Thanks,

Paul Parducci

Florida Fireball

Here is another view.

Tom Epperson's "The Kind One"

Regular readers of this blog know that I enjoy Film Noir. Some years ago I had the opportunity to work on an excellent Film Noir"A Gun, A Car, A Blonde" written by an amazing writer with a strong facility for dialogue and tone. His name is Tom Epperson and he is also just a great down-to-earth guy. (i.e: No Hollywood here.) He's recently moved into the Novelist chair and his page-turning new work is called "The Kind One."

If you live in LA he's holding a signing on the 13th.(All the info is on the above flyer.)

Congratulations Tom!
Later,

Paul Parducci

Shaking Hands: A Sign of Respect

I recently encountered a Studio Executive who after yammering on about collaboration and respect for Filmmakers declined to shake my hand and the hand of another director also present. (Awkwardly begging off while mumbling something about illness-the exec looked healthy to us by the way.) I felt insulted as did my friend.

This got me thinking about the hand shake and it's implications. (Here is an overview of the history of Hand-Shaking.) I was taught to always shake hands as a sign of respect and I plan to continue to do so.

For the hand-shaking challenged here is an excellent review.

Later,

Paul Parducci

Stan Brakhage's I...Dreaming

A film made in 1988 by Visionary Filmmaker Stan Brakhage


Later,
Paul Parducci

On This Day in 1776: Thomas Paine's "Common Sense"

Way back in 1776 Thomas Paine introduced one of the most influential gatherings of paper and ink the world has ever know.

Here is a solid overview.

Later,

Paul Parducci

Happy New Year!

2007 is over. Good,bad it's done and gone.

I wish you all a Great 08.

Later,

Paul Parducci