Tyrone

Hi everyone,

Meet our newest Melissa's Kitties' member, Tyrone!

He is about 2 months old and used to live in a sewer drain pipe. A good samaritan who works at the post office in Alliance, Ohio, discovered and rescued him and his two siblings and found each of them safer homes. Tyrone moved into my parents' garage on September 17.



So far, he enjoys playing and playing and playing and playing and playing and sleeping and eating and playing. He spends most of his days exploring his new surroundings. When he venture outdoors, he fearlessly races through the yard and climbs trees. In an effort to harness his attack-and-conquer approach to flowers, Mom is teaching him how to garden properly. In the evenings, he helps Dad with his woodworking projects. When Tyrone's ready to crash, he'll find and climb into whoever's lap is closest.

When we first met earlier this month, I introduced Tyrone to all sorts of music and movies and left him some good books to read once he learns how. He should be up to speed with the other Kitties any time now. A quick learner, he has already identified Art Carney, Richard Pryor, Jackie Robinson, Dave Grohl, Mandy Patinkin, and Mohammad Ali among his heroes. (We'll get to the ladies eventually, but right now he thinks girls are gross.)

When asked recently how he likes his new digs, he responded, "It's better than the sewer." That's the truth!

Entangled!

The Kitties will get out of this eventually.

(Illustration Friday: October 18, 2013)

Lush

Hi everyone,

One of the highlights during my California vacation last month was visiting Miur Woods. When I returned to D.C., everyone I told about it said something to the effect of, "Well, those are just the baby Redwoods." To me, these Redwoods were plenty impressive!

When I got back home, I started working on this drawing for Illustration Friday. (Finally completed, I've only missed the deadline by a month and a half.)

(Illustration Friday: August 30, 2013)

You'll notice 10 Kitties in this picture. Yes, this illustration took me so long that another Kitty joined our family in the meantime! Last month, this kitten muscled his way into our lives and up all the trees in our backyard. Since his love for trees could not be denied, I had to include him here.

Hello! I like trees and I like this bootlace. 

Kitty #10 will be introduced properly soon!

Best,

Mindfulness in Plain English

Hi everyone,

As you might know, I've been practicing vinyasa yoga for years at Tranquil Space. I may always be a beginner- to mid-level yoga student, but the benefits of practice are immense. Aside from improving physical strength, flexibility, and balance, yoga permits me to indulge amid a busy schedule. I stop thinking about the stressors of my day – what's happened so far and what's left on my to-do list. Yoga invites a calm focus on only the present moment. By the end of class, no matter how difficult, I typically feel refreshed and energized.

If I made the effort, meditation could be a worthwhile extension of my yoga practice. Years ago, I tried meditation once and hated it. I couldn't sit still or stop thinking about what else I could be doing. I expected instantaneous enlightenment but felt no different. I thought I was wasting my time. Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana made me feel better about that experience because, apparently, I hit all the common reactions of a beginning meditator. Now, I have a great manual that can help me with my second attempt at meditation.

Mindfulness in Plain English defines meditation, and serves as a how-to guide to the practice of vipassana-style meditation in particular. Vipassana means "insight" and focuses on awareness of what's happening as it happens. The advice and tools offered in this book should be useful for improving my meditation practice and dealing with the problems and distractions that hinder it. Now, I just have to get back to mediation class and try again.

My dad, who doesn't practice yoga or meditation, read Mindfulness in Plain English and bought copies of it for my sister and me. I can guess why he liked it so much: its title is true. This book explains mindfulness, a crucial ingredient for meditation, in plain English. Some people consider yoga and meditation too New Agey and spiritual, but this book brings everything down to Earth. Even if you don't participate in either practice, this book is a quick read that delivers common sense ideas everyone can relate to and use:

• Be nice to people and they'll be nice back.
• When engaging with another person, think about what it might be like to be in his or her shoes before reacting.
• Remember that staying angry about anything is unhealthy.
• Practice loving friendliness; it is always the better alternative. 

These ideas sound simple, but practicing them in real life can be difficult. How are you supposed to be nice to a person who just insulted you? Why would you want to be friendly to one of your enemies? This book will show you that new perspective without sounding preachy or mystic.

Like yoga, meditation and mindfulness are lifelong practices, and Mindfulness in Plain English serves as a reminder to try it and keep at it. It will not be easy and may take years to achieve but, like yoga, the benefits are immense. Are you still skeptical? Whether you attempt vipassana-style meditation as recommended in these pages, this little book has big ideas that could make you a happier, better person. Isn't that what everyone wants?

Best,

Moustache

When Simon first moved into our garage, he tried all sorts of strategies to win The Mother Kitty over. Some disguises were more successful than others.

(Illustration Friday: October 11, 2013)

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #37--Public Enemies (2009)

[What is Johnny Kitties? See Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp for all the details.]

From now on, when the American public thinks of John Dillinger, they'll think of Johnny Depp. Whoever Dillinger was in real life is going to be subsumed by the Johnny Depp version--which, in a way, is the best thing that could have happened to John Dillinger.
-- Paul Maccabee, author of John Dillinger Slept Here









Meet Public Enemy #1.

It's 1933. After nearly 10 years in Indiana State Prison for a $50 robbery of a local grocery store, John Dillinger helps his friends break out of jail in the first scene of Public Enemies. From that point on, you're on the run with Dillinger, the first U.S. Public Enemy #1, as he robs banks and lives the high life as fast as he can, always a step ahead of those hunting him down. Based on Brian Burroughs's book, Public Enemies shows how Dillinger lived his short life in the moment for the moment until star FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) catches up with him.

Can we put this guy in jail instead?
Even though gangster movies are not my favorite, I couldn't wait to see Public Enemies, probably because Johnny looked so dapper in the previews. Weeks before its release, I got an email from Fandango that opened with this photo:

It actually took me a few seconds to realize who that movie star was. You've got to love it when Johnny cleans himself up and puts on a nice suit. Thanks for the awesome costumes, Colleen Atwood!

Against my better judgment, I went to the theater on a Saturday night the weekend that Public Enemies opened. It was July 4th and I thought everyone else would be outside watching fireworks, but apparently everybody in my neighborhood opted for gun fire. The theater was packed and, as excited as I was, I knew immediately this was a mistake.

I got there early enough to find a good spot, but just when I thought I was in the clear, a huge guy came in, fumbled in the dark during the last preview, and decided to sit next to me. Because I didn't want to be rude, I didn't move over to the empty seat next to me, and instead I suffered.

This guy bought a $10 movie ticket and at least $30 worth of greasy, smelly food, of which he only ate a few bites before falling asleep 30 seconds later and snoring! While he slept, his cellphone rang at full blast multiple times for multiple calls to no avail. Maybe gangster life was rubbing off on me as I tried to watch Public Enemies, but I really wanted to punch this guy awake. Instead, he woke up on his own in the middle of the movie and left!

The best part of this experience was getting this free Public Enemies lobby poster (left) from a pile outside the theater. It's too bad Johnny's holding a machine gun, but I took it anyway after what I'd just been through.


How can anyone sleep through this?

I was a complete ball of stress through this entire movie. Aside from the expected bloody gangster-related activities--the chasing, the shooting--and the guaranteed unhappy ending, it doesn't help that everyone close to Dillinger calls him Johnny throughout the film. Because Director Michael Mann used so much hand-held camera, the action is in your face, giving the movie a documentary feel. It's as if you're in the bank getting robbed or running with the gang, trying not to get killed. This flick is fast-paced, nonstop, exciting, and tense!

Gunshots aside, this great story is rich with history. Johnny, Michael Mann, and Christian Bale worked hard to make everything on film as accurate as possible. Filming took place in several locations where Dillinger actually was. They restored and filmed in Indiana's Crown Point jail, from which he once escaped using a wooden model of a gun. When Dillinger was arrested and transferred from Ohio back to Indiana State Prison, the media swarmed for an impromptu press conference. That scene in Public Enemies is filmed in the same room, which looks unchanged from Dillinger's original photographs. Similarly, Little Bohemia Lodge in Wisconsin, where Purvis nearly catches Dillinger, still stands and has much of the same furnishings. Michael Mann filmed Johnny's scenes in the same room that Dillinger used. At the end of the movie, he even dies in the same spot on the street in Chicago. (I'm not giving anything away here.) I love these kinds of details in movies!

It's in the stars!
What really makes this movie great for me is the performances by its stars: Christian Bale, Johnny, and Marion Cotillard. The entire cast is great and full of surprises: you'll even find Channing Tatum and Carey Mulligan in there for a bit. But these three main characters, with their different dynamic personalities, keep me captivated.

Melvin Purvis

Working for Herbert Hoover, Melvin Purvis rose from the ranks after some success in capturing popular gangsters of the day. "When he went up against Pretty Boy Floyd, he was very successful," Michael Man explains. "When he had to go up against John Dillinger, he was getting in the ring with Mohammad Ali." Purvis was energetic and focused on his work. Unlike Hoover, who relied on torture and intimidation to get information from and about criminals, Purvis was interested in new techniques in law enforcement that relied more on research. He was among the first to intercept phone calls, and when Dillinger left his coat behind after a bank robbery, he used a national network of Bureau contacts to track down where he bought it. "By the time they got Dillinger, he had to compromise himself and his own values so much by that point that he was questioning who is the real loser here," Christian Bale says.

Christian Bale researched his role with typical precision--reading, watching footage, and even asking the Purvis family endless questions. Purvis is portrayed as a methodical man of few words, who was ahead of his time. In this movie, he's like a quiet terminator on a mission, like the tortoise after the hare.

Funnily, because Purvis is always a step behind Dillinger throughout this movie, Christian Bale and Johnny were only in two scenes together. These two great actors met during a script reading but barely saw or spoke to each other while filming.

John Dillinger

John Dillinger was born into a lower middle class family in Mooresville, Indiana. In his youth, he got drunk, robbed a grocery store, and served nearly 10 years for it. "Dillinger's prison years was really a graduate school in bank robbery," Michael Mann says. "Dillinger, in a way, became a poster boy for the notion that criminals are made, not born, that criminality may have to do with personal characteristics but also with circumstances, with environment, with things that happen to you in your life."

Unlike Purvis, Dillinger was a charismatic people person. He understood how to work the press, which at the time glorified outlaws and their seemingly glamorous lifestyle. "He exploited the good press he got and knew how to manipulate the media to continue to get good press," Michael Mann says. "That was a great defense that meant that even though there might be a reward for him, people really kind of liked him and would think twice about betraying him. Dillinger was a folk hero to the majority of Americans."

During the Depression, most people blamed the banks for their financial woes and felt that Dillinger was acting out on their behalf. Everyone was also angry with the government for not coming to the aid of areas ravaged by dust storms and drought, fixing the financial crisis, and taking care of the homeless. They appreciated Dillinger's talent for making fools of those in charge. "He built himself into a legend," Johnny says. "I think Dillinger had some idea of what he was doing. I really believe he was at peace with the fact that it wasn't probably going to be a very long ride, but it was going to be a significant ride."

Jail time back then meant being completely cut off from the outside world. There were no TVs, radios, or other forms of contact to keep prisoners up to date. So, when Dillinger got out of jail, it was sensory overload just to be sitting in a modern car. What he knew about life on the outside came from watching movies. And, by that time, Dillinger was so popular that his lifestyle had become a theme in gangster movies. He was killed outside Chicago's Biograph theater, where he had just watched Manhattan Melodrama, a gangster film starring William Powell, Myrna Loy, and Clark Gable. Apparently, Clark Gable's gangster character is loosely based on Dillinger.

Johnny's performance in Public Enemies is fantastic! Being a performer who acts and improvises in the moment and always puts his own creative stamp on his characters, it must have been difficult for Johnny to work with a director like Michael Mann, who has an exact vision of what he wants to see in his film. "They should invent a word to describe it," Johnny says of Michael Mann's attention to detail. "Because it's not just details, it teeters on microscopic obsession with every molecule of the moment. You've got to salute that." The intensity on the set probably added to the great performance Johnny gives. You may not notice them amid all the stress and chasing and gunfire involved in Public Enemies, but Johnny's subtle moments and quiet scenes are my favorite. Michael Mann first noticed this quality when he saw Johnny on 21 Jump Street. (Yeah, 21 Jump Street!) "What was inherent in him were these deep currents of meaning, a sense of the unseen that's not necessarily demonstrative, but you sense darker currents," he says. "You sense the layered awareness behind his eyes."

When preparing for any role, Johnny always finds music that helps him connect to his characters. While working on Public Enemies, he constantly played "Nightmare" by Artie Shaw to stay in the mood. When I heard it, it seemed to be a  perfect match to the feel of the movie. What do you think?

Like Christian Bale, Johnny always researches his roles incessantly, especially when he's portraying a real person. For this one, he visited Dillinger's childhood home, a farmhouse in Mooresville, Indiana. When the movie came out, most of the media talked about how similar Johnny's background and physique were like Dillinger's. No, not the criminal part exactly, but Mooresville is about an hour away from Owensboro, Kentucky, where Johnny was born, so he already felt a familiarity. Because no audio recording of Dillinger's voice exists, the closest Johnny could get was to listen to Dillinger's dad. That voice sounded just like Johnny's own grandfather, so it wasn't hard to find that Southern drawl he uses for this role.

Johnny also went to The John Dillinger Museum, where he read Dillinger's letters and discovered that he fit into his own clothes. Dillinger is also one of those people that Johnny was fascinated with as a kid, so he already knew a lot about him. "Some people might disagree, but I think he was a real-life Robin Hood," Johnny says. "I mean, the guy wasn't completely altruistic, but he went out of his way not to kill anybody. He definitely gave a lot of that money away. I got a sneaking suspicion that he was probably a very lovable character. His choice of occupations was potentially questionable, although during that period, he was a man of the people."

Billie Frechette
Some of my favorite scenes in Public Enemies are those Johnny shares with Marion Cotillard. Billie Frechette was Dillinger's girlfriend for about six months before she was arrested for harboring her criminal boyfriend and sentenced to two years. Dillinger was killed while she was in jail. She was a waitress and singer since an early age. Of Native American and French descent, most of society looked down on her because of her Native American roots. But Dillinger saw what he liked and took it: As Michael Mann says, "Dillinger had no thoughts about the future until he meets Billie."

Although they are only in a few scenes together, I love the history and attitude that Marion Cotillard brought to her character. This role in Public Enemies is her first since her Oscar-winning performance in La Vie en Rose. The pressure was on, but Johnny put her at ease, and they got along great. "Marion really worked hard on that accent, and I think the way she speaks in the film adds so much to the personality of the character she plays," he says. "You can see why Dillinger fell in love with her so easily." Casting directors, I am waiting for Marion Cotillard and Johnny to work together again!

Hot off the presses: Dillinger is caught!
What surprises me about the '30s is how glamorized gangsters are, but I can see why, given the hard times everyone was experiencing. Dillinger was the leader and most liked among them all. Even Will Rogers joked about how Dillinger kept a step ahead of the FBI. When Dillinger is arrested, the media swoops in to capture his arrival for more jail time in Indiana.

Here, he addresses the press before heading to his cell. Reporters hang on every word he says, and the policemen seem just as pleased to host their new guest. (You'll find Norman, B.J., Simon, and Comet among them.) Sheriff Holley (Lili Taylor/Ashes), however, is having none of it. In the movie, she never actually makes the face that Ashes is making in this drawing, but I'm sure she's thinking it. Now, that's good acting!

Let's lighten things up a bit.

Aside from being a gangster, that same year, Johnny lent his voice to an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants called, "SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One." At the time, Johnny and his son Jack were huge fans of the cartoon. (Maybe they still are.) In this episode, SpongeBob and his friends are swept out to sea by a tidal wave and left stranded on a tropical island. To get back home, they  need to learn how to surf. Their teacher, surfing guru Jack Kahuna Laguna, comes to the rescue! He is too cool for school and pretty hilarious. Remember, "Just breeeeaaatheee...."

What's next?
Johnny makes time to pay tribute to a dear friend in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Image/music credits: Public Enemies images © Universal Pictures, John Dillinger's Wanted poster © unknown; "Nightmare" © Artie Shaw; SpongeBob SquarePants image © Nickelodeon, Melissa's Kitties iillustration © Melissa Connolly

Onomatopoeia

Shhh, listen....The Kitties are happy.

(Illustration Friday: September 27, 2013)

Together

Apparently on vacation in California a few days too long, I began dreaming about my kitty at home. But here we are now, back to our routine of morning hugs.

(Illustration Friday: September 20, 2013)

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #36--Sweeney Todd (2007)

[What is Johnny Kitties? See Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp for all the details.]

I've worked with Johnny so many times, and I think this is definitely one of my favorite characters because we've always talked about old horror movies, and the idea of being able to create something like that and see Johnny play a monster in a way is fantastic! 

- Tim Burton on Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd is angry.

After 15 years of imprisonment on a false charge, Barber Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) returns to London a changed man. Now called Sweeney Todd, he finds his old barber shop and prepares revenge against Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) for disrupting his unassuming life, throwing him in jail, and stealing his wife and child for himself. With razors in hand, Sweeney Todd aims to murder the judge and anyone who gets in his way. When Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) realizes that she's got a serial killer living in the barber shop above her meat pie bistro, she deduces a plan that solves both of their problems, disposing the bodies and perking up her failing business. Together, they refurbish and reopen both shops to plenty of eager customers. Don't ask what's in the pies.

Who is Sweeney Todd?
The origin of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street dates back to the 1600s. A combination of stories about crazy barbers over the years added to his legend. The character is first most prominently featured in a London serial magazine in 1846. Films followed in the 1930s, and Stephen Sondheim's musical is based on a play version from the 1960s. When it hit Broadway in 1979, it won eight Tonys, including one for Best Musical, and two Grammys.

Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Lovett) and Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd)

I had no idea who Sweeney Todd was, but I had heard of Stephen Sondheim's musical starring Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett. (She won a Tony too.) When Johnny signed on for Tim Burton's film version, I assumed it would be a drama with no singing because Johnny doesn't do that. Because I love Angela Lansbury, I rented a DVD of that Sweeney Todd to get an idea of what Johnny signed up for. My reaction was unexpected: He's going to play that guy, that huge, scary, Frankenstein-looking guy with the booming voice and horrible haircut? Wait, what is Mrs. Lovett putting in the pies? This thing involved a lot of throat-slitting and cannibalism, and the audience was laughing about it. I didn't get it.

Get ready for a shock!
Leading up to the movie's release, I saw a photo of Johnny on the set. He had a glaring white streak in his hair. I didn't get that either. (Johnny later explained the obvious: Sweeney's been through a shock.) Still, I was excited to see this thing. I was thrilled to hear that Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman were his costars, and I was intrigued that Sascha Baron Cohen also snagged a key role. With Tim Burton in charge, I had no idea what to expect from all these intriguing choices!

I tried to avoid seeing anything else about the movie because I like to be surprised by the finished product. But, inevitably, I eventually caught a preview on TV. You must have heard when it happened because it was as if a Beatle showed up in my apartment: Johnny was singing!!!

"He's got the best job," Tim Burton says about Johnny in this role. "He just stares and broods and doesn't have much dialogue. I wish I could have that job! But he did have to sing, so that sort of balanced the whole thing out." I think only Tim Burton could get Johnny to do that.

Apparently, Johnny kept everyone in suspense about his hidden talent. "We're here at the studio, sets were being constructed, wardrobe was being made, other actors and commitments were being made," Producer Richard Zanuck remembers. "Literally, we were spending millions of dollars on the picture, and not one person on earth had heard Johnny sing--and he's the star of the picture!" Producer Walter Parks concurs, "I think, at the end of the day, Stephen Sondheim didn't hear him sing before he decided that he would accept the fact that Johnny was going to do it. You just look at Johnny's body of work and you realize that this is a man that holds himself to the highest possible standard, and we all knew that if he said he could do it, he could do it."

Bruce Witkin, on the left,  has the best pompadour.

I don't think Johnny ever said he could do it, but he said he would try. "I wasn't sure if I'd be able to sing any of it! I certainly wasn't convinced I'd be able to sustain," he says. "That, in many cases, was the booger: holding a note for 12 beats, not easy! There were several instances when I thought, 'I'm just gonna hit the deck. I ran out of air 5 minutes ago.' It's beautiful stuff to sing. I can only imagine that it must be really nice if you're a singer!"

For help, Johnny called on his childhood friend Bruce Witkin. Johnny first moved to Los Angeles in the early 1980s with dreams of snagging a record contract with his band The Kids, and Bruce Witkin was the lead singer. Still working in music now, Bruce Witkin helped Johnny learn and record all the songs for Sweeney Todd. "We started knocking them down, one by one," Johnny recalls. "We started with 'My Friends.' That was the first song I ever sang in my life. I don't even sing in the shower. It was pretty weird. Yeah, scary!" (It's awesome!!!!!!!!!)    

Bring on the music! 

Tim Burton, Johnny, and Bruce Witkin, working on Sweeney
Todd: It's a tough call who has the best hair in this room.

Producer Richard Zanuck remembers the moment when everyone's fears were put to rest. "One day, I was in my office on the phone. Tim burst in and lays down a little cassette player and his headphones--I didn't know what he was doing--and he walked out. So, I got off the phone, put them on, and listened to Johnny sing for the first time. And, I just put it down and went into Tim's office, and we just stared at each other with great relief. And, we had the biggest smiles at each other because we knew we had a great voice with Johnny!"

Unlike his other roles, Johnny found Sweeney Todd in the music. "The character actually came out of the singing, out of the words, Sondheim's words, his melodies, the emotion that the arrangements kind of evoke. I heard him before I saw him." Johnny didn't take any singing lessons to prepare for this role either. He didn't imagine Sweeney Todd was the kind of guy who would bother to take lessons. In Sweeney's case, singing was purely an emotional release.

It seems that Tim Burton was the only one who wasn't really concerned about his star's abilities. "I remember when I first heard Johnny. I thought, 'That's amazing! He sounds like some kind of rock star!' Just by the nature of him doing it brings something different to it. I'd say that about all the actors because they're not singers. They all bring a certain modern quality to it, which is in the piece, but it just pushes it that much further."

It's true! Aside from the actress who plays the beggar woman in the movie (Laura Michelle Kelly), singing was new to all of the actors, and they were terrified. "One of the more challenging moments in one's life is when you've got the music in your hand, and you're in a huge rehearsal room, and Stephen Sondheim walks across the room and says, 'Okay, let's hear it.'" Alan Rickman says.

Unlike Johnny, Helena Bonham Carter, who has always wanted to be in a musical (and to be Mrs. Lovett specifically), tackled her role with weeks of singing lessons. "If you're going to sing, and you're going to do your first musical, it's really stupid to be Mrs. Lovett," she says. If you watch, Mrs. Lovett has to go that extra mile: Some of her songs are fast and require multitasking, whether it's baking or interacting with other people in the scenes. Before filming began, she had to imagine what her musical scenes would be like, including what she thought the other actors involved might do. Then, she recorded the songs to fit the anticipated actions accordingly. As usual, she's amazing!

Excited about seeing this wonderful cast, all I was worried about was the blood. Surprisingly, the studios weren't so concerned: "It was an amazing thing," Tim Burton describes proposing this project to the powers that be. "You go, 'We're going to make an R-rated musical with lots of blood, with no professional singers, about a serial killer and cannibalism,' and they go, 'Great!' I've never had that happen in my life before. That gave me hope that there are still people in Hollywood that are willing to try different things."

It's splattered!
Sweeney Todd was released on Christmas Day. I knew that when I went home to Ohio for the holidays and Dad referred to it as "that slasher movie," no one in my family was interested in being dragged out in the middle of winter to see Sweeney Todd with me. So, I planned to see it as soon as I got back to D.C.

This delay turned out to be a blessing because, as a consolation prize, I allowed myself to watch all the Sweeney Todd specials on MTV, HBO, Starz and wherever else. I learned all the behind-the-scenes secrets about making the perfect mixture of "blood," the variety of razor blades, throat-slitting techniques, and stunts. I started to compare the gore to Monty Python's skit spoofing the violence in Sam Peckinpah movies. Somehow, that was comforting and made me feel more prepared for sitting in a dark theater to watch it on the big screen.

Eventually, my sister decided to see Sweeney Todd and asked me how bloody it was before she went. "It's not too bloody," I said. Post viewing, she called back, yelling, "Not too bloody?!" She claims that my vision was burred by my heart-shaped rose-colored Johnny Glasses. (Do those exist?!)

The truth is that my blood and gore tolerance preparation went out the window when I got to the theater, so I averted my eyes from all the blood the first time I saw Sweeney Todd. Instead of witnessing any of the murders straight on, I only saw red out of the corner of my eye as I focused on other things in the scene. What's going on outside that window behind him? What's that picture on the wall? I'm into details, after all.

There is a lot of blood.

But I'm in love!

Despite the gore, I love (love, love, love) this movie! At first glance, it's not my kind of movie at all but, in it's own weird way, it is my favorite kind: a modern musical that looks like a Gothic old movie. Apparently, that's what Tim Burton was going for: Drawing on his love of classic horror films, which he and Johnny both watched as kids, he looked to Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Lon Chaney, for inspiration. These great silent horror film stars were so expressive with internal emotion in their movies. He created that same look and feel for Sweeney Todd with the makeup's pale skin and dark, sunken eyes paired with the grayness of the beautiful Gothic sets.

The look of this movie is somehow just as I imagined it. Sweeney Todd is  dramatic, tragic, funny, and scary all at the same time. Despite the dark subject matter, by all accounts, the set was a happy one. All of the actors reflect that in their fantastic performances. And, the film's magnificent score ties everything together. "This is Tim Burton's giant salute to classic horror films," Johnny says. "It's a beautiful marriage from two completely different worlds." It's a masterpiece!!!

Rest assured, Sweeney Todd is not all blood and guts or any kind of slasher film. This is a good story! "The violence is secondary to the motive," Stephen Sondheim explains. "It's a story about revenge, and it's about how revenge eats itself up. In that sense, it's a tragedy. It's the classic tradition of somebody who goes out for revenge and ends up destroying himself." Doesn't that sound great?

For those of you who don't like musicals, you might be okay with this one because it's not a faithful adaptation. The movie is filmed at a faster pace than the stage version, and many songs were cut to keep the story's intensity. "This is not a movie of the stage show; this is a movie based on the stage show," Stephen Sondheim clarifies. "That's the most exciting thing about this." (I don't know about that. Did I mention that Johnny sings in this?) This story is reinvented from Tim Burton's head. "Tim has taken it and adapted it to his vision, his version of Sweeney Todd," Johnny says. "It's a whole other animal."

Is the third time a charm? 

Johnny with Vanessa Paradis at the 2008 Academy Awards

Sweeney Todd was nominated for three Oscars, for costume design, art direction, and Johnny's spectacular performance! Alas, Daniel Day Lewis was nominated that year too, and whenever Daniel Day Lewis is nominated for anything, he wins it. I love Daniel Day Lewis just as much as the next person, but he already had an Oscar by then. Give somebody else a chance! Johnny played a psychotic depressed serial killer singing Sondheim with a cockney accent. I can't imagine anything being much harder than that! I blame the blood for deterring voters.

With his eighth nomination, Johnny did win his first Golden Globe for this performance! But, to my extreme disappointment, that was the year the writer's strike happened and the live televised Golden Globes event was cancelled.  In addition to winning an Oscar for art direction and a Golden Globe for Best Picture, Sweeney Todd was nominated for and won a bunch of other well-deserved awards around the world. The film earned honors for Tim Burton, the actors (notably Johnny, Helena Bonham Carter, and newcomer Ed Sanders, who is excellent as Toby), and the crew (for art direction, production design, and costume design). I didn't call it a masterpiece for nothing!

Gordon can sing too!
Drawing something for Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd was intimidating--not because of the blood but because I love nearly everything about it! Whatever lofty plans I had to capture the whole look and feel of this movie, Gordon was ready since he helped celebrate Sweeney Todd the first time around. After I first saw the movie, Gordon dressed up as Sweeney and tested out his lungs--putting all The Kitties in stitches!

Stitches (Illustration Friday: January 11, 2008) 

Watching the movie again recently, I noticed how reflections and mirrors are used as Johnny sings "My Friends." In that spirit, I made the panels look like broken mirrors. The first row highlights a few key moments in the film since I couldn't decide on a favorite. They are:

• Sweeney singing "My Friends" about his treasured razors (with Mrs. Lovett/Mini checking out her competition).
• An iconic moment in which Sweeney finally feels at home. 
• And, Sweeney's determined look out his barber shop window at London and it's unsuspecting citizens--a climactic moment at the end of the scene. 

Following those is an excerpt from Sweeney's "Epiphany," which kind of says it all.

This story does not have a happy ending. (But it's awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Where else did Johnny show up that year?
Johnny participated in three documentaries in 2007, all of which I recommend! They are listed below.

• Brando. This documentary, which original aired on Turner Classic Movies, explores the life of Johnny's mentor and friend Marlon Brando. 
• Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten. Learn all about the charismatic lead singer of The Clash. It'll leave you inspired to run out buy his music (or more of it), as I did. 
• Runnin' Down a Dream: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. If you're not already a fan of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, this 4-hour documentary will make you one. You might remember that Johnny appeared in the band's video for "Into the Great Wide Open" in 1993. I mentioned it while celebrating Film #7, Arizona Dream; you can see the video in that blog post here.

What's next?
Johnny trades in his razors for guns and goes gangsta in Public Enemies.

Image credits: Sweeney Todd film and film-related images © Dreamworks and Warner Brothers Pictures, Sweeney Todd on Broadway © unknown (1979); The Kids band image © Suzanne Allison; 2008 Academy Awards red carpet image © Getty images; illustrations © Melissa Connolly

Fresh

Lily greets me at the door nearly every single day whenever I get home from anything. She's done this since her arrival in November 2009. When I opened the door a few weeks ago, though, my apartment building's recent renovations gave her quite a shock! While Lily is definitely a creature of habit, the building managers can rest assured that she has adapted to the hallway's fresh new look. To mark her approval, she gave the new carpet a good kneading. Phew!

(Illustration Friday: August 9, 2013)

In other news, I need a vacation and am off to California to start one tomorrow! I'll be back September 16, and Johnny Kitties will resume as soon as I get over my jet lag. Until then, keep lonely Lily in your thoughts and have a happy first half of September!

March on...

Hi everyone,

As we honor the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington today, let's remember that important day.

I Have a Dream....

....This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood....

....I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.... 

....With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.... 

....When we allow freedom to ring - when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, from every state and every city - we will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last, free at last, Great God a-mighty, we are free at last."

- Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (excerpts from the "I Have a Dream..." speech, March on Washington, April 28, 1963)

Read Dr. King's entire amazing speech here!

Leaders of the March on Washington with Sen. Everett Dirksen, R-Ill (center), including Martin Luther King, Jr., and John Lewis (right) during visit to the Capitol, August 28, 1963

50 Years On....

You have to have hope. You have to be optimistic in order to continue to move forward. 
- Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga (PBS Newshour, April 27, 2013)

Watch Congressman Lewis's entire interview here!

Okay, now, go hug somebody.


Copyright credits: First two photos © AP; "I Have a Dream..." speech excerpts © family of Martin Luther King , Jr.; Video © PBS Newshour; Monument photo © U.S. Information Agency, Press and Publications Service