Storm

The Kitties know what to do when it's stormy out there.

(Illustration Friday: February 8, 2013)

Beautiful Voices!

Hi everyone,

Last Tuesday, I headed down to 930 club to catch Rufus Wainwright on his "Solo" tour. I'd never seen him in concert before, though I have a couple of his covers on my iPod. Intrigued that he'd be playing alone, I didn't know what to expect. I hardly ever go to concerts on a hunch, but I had a good feeling about this one. Rufus has got talent.

I held off buying a ticket until the day of the show. I read a few days beforehand that another Wainwright would serve as the opening act and knew I'd regret not going to what was bound to be a special concert. Maybe sings with his musical family all the time and I just don't know it. In any case, you can't beat seeing someone cool in the intimacy of 930 club's tiny venue.

I arrived after work, feeling lucky and perplexed that the show was not yet sold out. About 20 other early birds and I waited in line for only a few minutes before being escorted into the club early through a side door I didn't know existed. I could get used to this V.I.P. treatment, but letting us in the room before the later arrivals must just be a new crowd-control strategy.

I typically like to be front and center for 930 club concerts so I can see the performers up close, but I headed up to the balcony for this one because I think the sound is better up there. Since I had no knowledge or expectations of what I'd be hearing, I wanted to hear it in the best spot.


© Lucy Wainwright Roche

I made a good choice because The Wainwrights are fantastic! The
opening act was Rufus Wainwright's little sister Lucy, who played a few of her own songs on acoustic guitar. Not only does she have a great voice and lovely sad songs set to happy tunes, she was also really chatty, friendly, and funny. She greeted us with, "So, you guys don't care about the State of the Union, huh?" After the first couple of songs, she asked, "Does anyone have any comments or questions so far?" People yelled out from the audience and, in her effort to help us get us to know her better, she actually answered most of the questions--everything from her favorite color to the kind of car she drives. (Actually, she didn't answer that one, saying, "It's a long story....It's on its last legs.") Some people in the audience knew her from her Science Channel show, Stuff You Should Know, which she discussed excitedly when asked about it. Someone near me commented, "She's delightful," which is a perfect description of Lucy Wainwright Roche. Her new album will be released in May.

When she mentioned that her half-hour set was coming to a close, people obligingly groaned with disappointment. "Oh, you're sweet," she said. "Don't be sad because Rufus is going to come out here, and he's going to blow your minds."

It was no lie. Her brother was amazing! The room filled up more and the crowd screamed louder for Rufus Wainwright. "Forget the Union, let's have some anarchy!" he suggested. "That's what you guys sound like...and I like it!"

© Rufus Wainwright

The only songs I knew were "The Maker Makes," which I recognized from Brokeback Mountain, and "Hallelujah," which everyone knows. But it didn't matter because all of the songs were great. They included "Martha," about his older sister, "Going to Town," which he dedicated to the House of Representatives, and "Memphis Skyline," which he wrote as tribute to Jeff Buckley. His sister showed up again to duet on a few songs too.

What impressed me most about this concert was hearing the bare bones of the music. He sang, playing on either a grand piano or Lucy's acoustic guitar, until one of its strings broke and the 930 club's sound guy came to the rescue with a spare instrument. "This is what happens when you don't sell enough records; you can't afford roadies," he said while waiting for the sound guy to get back to his spot.

I love these kinds of little mishaps that make a show intimate and one-of-a-kind. During a fantastic song, called "Vibrate," he missed a note and called out his mistake (which I didn't notice). While covering his mother's song, "The Walking Song," he thought he didn't play a piano section well enough. "That was no good. I have to do that again. It was the sandwich," he said, referring to his pre-show "vegetarian hoagie" dinner. Without interruption, he repeated that refrain to get it right. (It sounded fine to me both times.) We all laughed along when these things happened, as if we were joking around in his living room, but then snapped back immediately transfixed by each song.

I've always seen noisy bands at 930 club, great ones blasting electric guitars, drums, and booming bass lines, who get us jumping and singing along to every note. I've never been there in this atmosphere, with an audience so calmly attentive. The acoustics were perfect and all-encompassing. Rufus Wainwright's voice really commands a room! I expected that but also discovered he's an amazing musician. It was as if he were playing intricate classical music on that grand piano, layering it with a unique melody and well-written lyrics. All of the songs grabbed my attention and made me, for the most part, forget everything going on around me. That's a performer!

Here's a sampling, thanks to YouTube. He sang this song, "Montauk"--from his latest CD, Out of the Game--as part of the encore. This song made me want to run home and buy all of his albums. (You should too so that he can afford a roadie.)

© Studio Q

Don't miss Rufus Wainwright when he comes to your town or back here to D.C. He'll leave you inspired.

In the meantime, you can catch Lucy Wainwright Roche at The Kennedy Center as part of Millennium Stage's Songwriters Series on March 24th.  She mentioned it during her set and was disappointed that we didn't whip out our smart phones to mark our calendars. I prefer my mental calendar and plan to attend. Join me! She's delightful.

Best,

Special Delivery for Johnny's Angels

Hi everyone,

As if Johnny Depp's appearance at the Grammys last week weren't enough, Johnny's Angels: Depp Fans for Charity received something extra from him a few days before.

Since 2007, Johnny's Angels has worked steadfastly to raise funds for one of Johnny's favorite organizations, Children's Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition (CHPCC), located in Los Angeles, California. While not affiliated with Johnny, Johnny's Angels was granted permission to use his name for the cause and, to date, more than $50,000 has been raised in his honor. (You can add to this impressive total by donating here or buying merchandise through the Johnny's Angels website, all proceeds of which go to the cause.) 

Aside from its year-round fundraising efforts, Johnny's Angels conducts extra-special semiannual fundraisers for CHPCC -- one in June in honor of Johnny's birthday and one in December for the holiday season. On these occasions, fans are given the opportunity to send messages to Johnny himself! 

In December, we were asked to briefly explain why we are proud to partake in Johnny's Angels' mission by completing the sentence, "I am an Angel because...." All of our comments (with a small image, if desired) were compiled onto a poster and sent to Johnny for Christmas. Can you find The Mother Kitty and Gordon in the mix? 

I spent so long figuring out what to say and making sure everything was perfectly placed that I forgot to sign my name. Thankfully, Christine (our wonderful Johnny's Angels founder) snapped me out of it and pointed out what was missing before she added it to the poster. Our holiday efforts raised $2,500 and Johnny, being Johnny, wrote us a heartfelt thank you! Holy buckets, check it out!!!!! 

Giving to CHPCC is rewarding enough. These letters are dazzling surprises! (The signature's the best part, isn't it? Johnny and Jack Lew should have contests!) 

More thanks are due to Christine for organizing these fun projects that not only lift our spirits by supporting such a worthy cause but also give us fans the chance to reach out to our inspiration!  Congratulations to her and all of Johnny's Angels for achieving another successful fundraiser!

Best,

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #29--....And They Lived Happily Ever After (2004)

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

Love, Marriage, and All the Rest of It

...And They Lived Happily Ever After (known in France as Ils se marierent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants) explores the complexities of relationships between men and women. Focused on three buddies, the story introduces several characters--some happily married, some not so much, some who cheat, and some who spend all day screaming at each other but are still in love at the end of it. Writer/Director Yvan Attal stars with his wife Charlotte Gainsbourg as Vincent and Gabrielle, a seemingly happy couple with a young son (Ben Attal). While their friends consider their union golden, no one is immune to problems or temptation. Vincent is torn between two lives, while Gabrielle fantasizes about living a different life with a stranger. The Hollywood endings I grew up on don't really exist, do they?

Where's Johnny?

Johnny Depp makes a "special appearance" in this movie, but it's really a two-scene cameo during which he barely says anything. Despite Johnny's involvement, I couldn't find this movie right away! I had to wait for the DVD, which I think was released in the U.S. a few years after it was made. When I finally saw the film, I didn't like it much: Almost everyone is in a sad situation, arguing, suspecting, accusing, and cheating on each other. 

But then Johnny brings in some sunshine. He is Gabrielle's mysterious stranger. 

Yvan Attal sent his script for ...And They Lived Happily Ever After to Johnny, asking him to be in it. "I wanted to write more because I really like him as an actor," he says. "I felt ridiculous to give him these two ridiculous scenes." It being his first film, the director was shocked that Johnny invited him to his home in France for dinner to discuss the role. They bonded within 10 minutes and spent the night talking about all sorts things well beyond movies. 

I was really excited that Charlotte Gainsbourg was in this movie. At the time, she had just impressed me in The Science of Sleep. I also knew that her father, legendary French artist Serge Gainsbourg, collaborated on an album with Johnny's partner Vanessa Paradis in 1990, and he meant a lot to both of them.

Emmanuel Seigner, who costarred with Johnny in The Ninth Gate, is also in this movie. (Yeah, the flying demon lady with mismatched socks!) Funnily, I didn't recognize her the first time I watched this film. Clearly, I was only focused on looking for the American back then.  

Wait, what's this about? 

While watching this movie again for Johnny Kitties, I found it really fascinating! Yvan Attal was inspired to write this film after walking his son to school and realizing that most of the other parents were divorced. "A few years ago, they swear their love for each other, and then they made a child. Then, suddenly, bang! Two years after, so many parents were divorced," he describes. "I started to think about that, and that's the way this project arrived in my mind." 

This movie depicts relationships so realistically. It cleverly catches all stages and perspectives: You could be madly in love. Or, you may have a huge end-of-the-world fight one morning but fall back into your routines by nighttime. You might feel bored with your partner right now but suddenly be reminded in a moment of the great love you once felt for each other. You could be in love with two people at the same time for different reasons. Or, maybe you've been married for so long and are so comfortable that most communication can be left unsaid. "It's always difficult to live with somebody," Yvan Attal explains. "It's not, 'everything is great and happily ever after.'" While many people found this view to be pessimistic and sad, I loved that this film showed the good and the bad. It's real, refreshing, and makes you think. 

I can relate. 

Of Johnny's two scenes in this movie, the first one is the best. One afternoon, Gabrielle (Lily, who has the perfect eyes for this role) browses in a Virgin Megastore. While tuned into "Creep" by Radiohead at one of the store's listening stations, Johnny--walking up behind her--comes into focus. Like her, he slips on headphones and listens to the song. And, with this fantastic tune blasting in their ears, these strangers are awkwardly polite and friendly, making quick eye contact and unsure of where else to look. But, Gabrielle catches a moment when he's not paying attention and takes full advantage to stare.

When I first saw this moment, the look on her face made me laugh out loud because that's what I would do in that situation! (Of course, Charlotte Gainsbourg is much calmer and more serene here than I ever could be.) When he leaves, she watches till he disappears into the crowd, panics, and even gets clumsy too. I mean, that's me up there! 

I'd tell you the rest of it, but why ruin a special appearance? Rent ...And They Lived Happily Ever After and enjoy some Frenchness with an excellent soundtrack. 

What's Next? 

Johnny portrays Scottish writer J.M. Barrie, as he creates his beloved story and everlasting character "Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up" in Finding Neverland.

All film images © Pathe; Kino International Corporation, et. al.; Melissa's Kitties illustration © Melissa Connolly

Wheels

Simon is known for creating his own sets of wheels.

(Illustration Friday: February 1, 2013)

Ocean

A few weeks ago, I saw Life of Pi and told The Kitties all about the adventure story of a boy stuck on a lifeboat with a tiger in the middle of the ocean. B.J. liked best my description of the boat being surrounded by swarms of sea life. Except for the seasickness, what's the problem?

(Illustration Friday: January 11, 2013)

Wings

One of Gordon's favorite pastimes is chasing birds in the yard. He doesn't always catch them.

Illustration Friday: January 25, 2013

Edge

One of Simon's favorite spots is on the edge of our back porch railing. I think it's because he can rub his head on the corners and spy on the neighbors across the street at the same time.

Simon, on his perch

(Illustration Friday: January 11, 2013)

New

One day, The Kitty went behind our piano and four new kittens showed up! Instantly, she became The Mother Kitty.

(Illustration Friday: January 4, 2013)

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #28--Secret Window (2004)

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

"We're obsessed with deliveries and packages and magazines in this movie." Director David Koepp






"You stole my story."

In Secret Window, Johnny Depp plays a divorced and depressed author, Mort Rainey, who is accused by a Southern dairy farmer, John Shooter (John Turturro), of stealing his short story. He wants him to "fix the ending." This premise made me laugh: It's a thriller about plagiarism! Director David Koepp sells it better, "It's the ultimate writer's nightmare that some crazy character comes along and not only accuses you of plagiarism but forces you to do a rewrite!" As anticlimactic as that sounds, I was intrigued by this movie's enticing ingredients:

• If anyone can make this story interesting, Johnny can. 

• David Koepp recently directed Panic Room, another thriller I really like.   

• Secret Window's fantastic supporting cast, includes John Turturro and Charles S. Dutton--both of whom have worked with Johnny before--and  Maria Bello and Timothy Hutton--who haven't. Timothy Hutton has held a place in my heart since I was a kid when I saw his Oscar-winning performance in Ordinary People. Now, whenever I see him elsewhere, I think, "Awww....it's Timothy Hutton..." (If you see that movie, you will do the same.) 

• Secret Window is based on Stephen King's short story, "Secret Window, Secret Garden." While some movies based on Stephen King stories are awful, some are fantastic. In this case, of course, I leaned toward the latter!

I tried to avoid seeing anything about the movie until it was released, but a photograph caught my eye of Johnny on the set doing what looked to me like some sort of silly walk down the street next to Timothy Hutton. (I wish I could find that photo!) I thought,"Awww, it's Timothy Hutton," and instantly couldn't wait to see them work together. Whatever happens, it'll be okay!

Heeere's Johnny! 

Inevitably, this movie was compared to other Stephen King movies about authors (The Shining, Misery) by all the critics. I see why, but I think this one's got its own Johnny Charm. One of the many things I love about Johnny's movies is that he always makes them his own: He adds his sense of humor no matter how intense the scene, he comes up with ideas that no one else would ever think of, and he gives looks that without a word say so much. If you're a Johnny fan, this movie is for you because he is in practically every scene and, most of the time, he's by himself. (He is a writer, after all.) That's one aspect that attracted Johnny to the part: "It's always great to get in the ring with actors you respect, but when you're in there by yourself, it's quite challenging. You're not reacting, which is mostly what acting is," he explains. "Instead, you have to just be. There are scenes where it's like 2 minutes of just scratching the tablecloth. That interests me." David Koepp has a different theory: "I'm not really sure why he wanted to do it. I'm grateful, but it's hard to be certain of what motivates Johnny. It's possible he just wanted to play a character named Mort." I believe both.   

My favorite part of this movie is the first 2 1/2 minutes, not just because it opens on a close-up of Johnny's face but because his face is angry and you don't know why. You don't know where he is. You don't know what's happened or what's going to happen. And, when it does happen, you understand everything and you're in it.

I can't imagine anyone else but Johnny playing Mort Rainey. I may have laughed when I read the plot, but I also think Johnny is a perfect fit for it. Johnny attributes the well-written script by David Koepp as hooking him on the story: "The dialogue is real. It's not forced. The dialogue is just very train-of-thought. The situation seemed real and ugly. Reading a little further, I got to the point where I had total emotional investment in this guy, in this character of Mort, and the situation." 

I had a good feeling about this one too, and Johnny didn't disappoint. It's true, I'd be happy to watch Johnny sit and stare off into space. (And, playing a writer, he actually does some of that in this movie.) But I find his performance pretty fascinating in Secret Window. Director David Koepp had Johnny in mind to play Mort while he was writing the script. "Johnny's just one of our most gifted actors, period,"he says, noting Johnny's endless input into his character. "What I like about his ideas is that you're not sure if he's kidding or not at first because they're off the wall. But then they make perfect sense and you wouldn't have it any other way. He's not an actor who does what he's told. he's an actor who takes what he's been asked to do and runs it through his brain and then does it. And that's a wonderful gift because he's got a marvelous twisted brain!"

"The degree of bedhead was a major consideration in this movie."
David Koepp

It can't be easy to act in a room by yourself in most scenes with nothing but your thoughts and your dog to keep you company. "The great thing about him in this movie is that he's so inventive," David Koepp says. "He makes napping relatively interesting to watch."

Johnny spends the majority of the movie in a raggedy bathrobe thinking about sleeping, sleeping, or just waking up from sleeping. It's quite entertaining! "Most good actors have pretty strong ideas about how they should look for a part and he certainly does," David Koepp says. "The bathrobe he immediately sparked to and wanted to wear for the whole movie. I got it down to not quite the whole movie."    

I'm not telling. 

I can't say much about this movie because I'll ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it. If you've been reading my Johnny Kitties posts, you probably know by now that I have no tolerance for scary movies, not even some PG-13 thrillers. The idea of Johnny being in a Stephen King movie worried me just for that reason. While I watched some of Secret Window peeking through my fingers, I realize that, to most people, it's probably not scary at all. Some even thought it was predictable, but I fell for everything.

At times, though, even I wish this movie was scarier. I wish Johnny and John Turturro could just go at each other in an R-rated sort of way, but the studio insisted that the film be PG-13 because of Johnny's devoted teenage audience. By the end, I felt that this movie teetered into TV Movie of the Week territory--not because it's bad, but because it includes the cliche of the screaming girl who always trips and can't start her car. I hate that. Do guys ever have that problem when they're in a jam?

But that's a minor annoyance in a movie that, for me, is mysterious and really interesting to watch. Like Johnny, I love the interactions and dialogue among the characters. Although Johnny and Timothy Hutton play rivals in the movie, they created some of my favorite scenes. And, John Turturro is a creepy stranger! "What you think you're going to get from Stephen King material is not what you actually do," David Koepp says. "What you get is extremely well developed characters and really well thought-out psychology. All of the main characters were very well developed and had really clear psychological needs." Stephen King even gave David Koepp his stamp of approval: "I like your script, man. Everyone in it's a rat bastard."

If that doesn't convince you to check out Secret Window, there's also some great animal acting from Mort's blind dog Chico, a mouse, and a squirrel. Hands down, the squirrel wins the Oscar.

Shhh, the Kitty is sleeping.
In this movie, Mort takes lots of naps, and Gordon was all for that idea! So, for our Secret Window tribute, here's one of the naps, during which Mort dreams of napping. That is, until he rolls off the couch and falls over a cliff. He awakes on his living room floor. We've all been there, right?

TV Break: How about a stretch?

A fan of Mike Judge's cartoon series, "King of the Hill," Johnny voiced a character in the episode called, "Hank's Back," which aired in May of 2004, a couple of months after the release of Secret Window. I had never watched a full episode of "King of the Hill" until this one, so I'm not familiar with the storyline and characters. But, in this episode, the show's main character Hank hurts his back and is advised to go to yoga class. Johnny is the yoga instructor. (Can you believe it? Why doesn't he show up in my yoga classes?)

What's next? 
Johnny plays another American in Paris for Ils se marierent et eurent beaucoup, or ....And They Lived Happily Ever After. (My review will not be in French.)

All film images © Columbia Pictures; Melissa's Kitties illustration © Melissa Connolly; "King of the Hill" illustration © Mike Judge  

Christmastime is here!

Hi everyone,

I'm finally heading home today! Happy holidays to you! I'll be back next year.

In the meantime, enjoy one of my favorite songs, performed by some really cool people on one of my favorite TV shows:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sign Off - Jeff Tweedy, Mavis Staples & Sean Lennon - "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

All the best in 2013,

Glow

At night, the sky glows with more than stars.

(Illustration Friday: December 21, 2012)

Snow

The Mother Kitty is ready to come in.

(Illustration Friday: December 14, 2012)

Stretch

When Lily really wants me to get out of bed, she starts to do this in front of our bedroom storage closet. When I open the door, she walks away. 

(Illustration Friday: November 30, 2012)

Zoom

When chasing her toys, Lily often runs right past them. (This blue one is her current favorite.)

(Illustration Friday: November 16, 2012)

Explore!

Gordon's off for another day's adventure....

(Illustration Friday: December 7, 2012)

Shy

Comet is a great hider, but he shows up when he wants.

(Illustration Friday: November 2, 2012)

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #27--Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

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

Sands is one of those people who's just absolutely, totally for himself, only himself. Any opportunity to create chaos or kill or trip someone up is purely for his own humor, just for his own benefit. He just has  a very, very perverse sense of humor. -- Johnny Depp on Agent Sands

What kind of fairytale is this?

Once Upon a Time in Mexico is the third of an action-packed Western trilogy written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. I still haven't seen the other two films, El Mariachi (1992) and Desperado (1995), but you can guess why I saw this one: Johnny Depp plays corrupt CIA agent Sheldon Sands, who likes to run things on his beat, Mexico. He recruits legendary gunslinger El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) to kill guerrilla force leader General Marquez (Gerardo Vigil), who himself has been hired by Mexican drug lord Armando Barillo (Willem Dafoe) to assassinate Mexico's president (Pedro Armendariz, Jr.) and overthrow the government. El Mariachi agrees to do it, as he seeks revenge against Marquez for killing his wife Carolina (Salma Hayek) and their daughter long ago.

Meanwhile, Sands gets retired FBI agent Jorge Ramirez (Ruben Blades) to agree to kill Barillo, who Ramirez hates already for murdering his partner years before. Sands also assigns military operative Ajedrez (Eva Mendez) to keep an eye on Barillo's activities for him, but she has her own plans....

More happens: More characters show up, more plots twist around, lots of shooting occurs, and Johnny loses his eyeballs. It's all a little convoluted, but don't worry. It doesn't matter.

Why is Johnny here? 
When I first heard that Johnny signed on to be in the third installment of some sort of shoot-em-up, action-fueled, stunt-stuffed movie with Antonio Banderas, I couldn't imagine it. I couldn't picture Johnny doing crazy stunts while shooting guns. And, I really wasn't looking forward to it when I heard he loses his eyeballs in the middle of it all. (How dare they mess with that feature!)

All the other Johnny fans I came in contact with were so excited about this movie and thrilled by the images they saw from the set. They were apparently more in-the-know than I was. I tried to avoid seeing or reading anything about it before seeing the finished product, and all I knew about Robert Rodriguez was that he was the director behind the family-friendly Spy Kids movies (which I also haven't seen). People thought Johnny was crazy for doing a Disney pirate movie, but I thought this choice was more bizarre. This is not my kind of movie at all--guns, stunts, explosions. But okay, Johnny, I'll go see it.

"Are you a Mexi-can or Mexi-can't?" 
In the theater, I discovered Johnny has some great lines in this movie (see above). In fact, Sands is a great role. Despite the fact that Johnny loses his eyeballs in this adventure, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is actually a  clever, thrilling, entertaining ride....Yeah, this movie rocks! It hit me that I lost sight of my steadfast rule to trust Johnny's choices of roles. He always makes things more interesting than expected, and a movie is always better with him in it. George Clooney was the first choice for Agent Sands: I'm so glad that didn't happen because what would this movie be like without Johnny's Agent Sands? I don't know because I probably wouldn't have seen it.

Sands is not a good person. He bosses people around through his cellphone. He kills people who are "too good" just to keep the status quo around town. And, he wears really tacky t-shirts and obviously fake disguises. "I kind of saw Agent Sands as this guy who had been in the CIA, who had probably been so annoying and so dangerous that the agency moved him as far away from them as they possibly could," Johnny says. "A total psychopath, psychotic, you know, not well." You're not supposed to like him. But, in typical Johnny fashion, you end up rooting for Sands by the end.

Sands was the first character Robert Rodriguez fleshed out for this story. "I liked the character so much in how despicable he was. It was going to be interesting and fun--I think this is what Johnny liked about it too--taking somebody that despised and giving the audience a conflicting interest in him, where they're actually kind of cheering for him by the end. The guy's a complete scumbag but by the end, by the second half of the movie, he becomes really redeemable in a way, in an odd way, even though he's not redeemable at all."

It's true! I can't really explain what a likable slimeball Sands is. It's something you just have to witness to appreciate those Johnny touches.

• It's the way he always talks and does everything--threatening or not--so calmly: You don't know if he's about to kill somebody or not. Johnny based his voice and demeanor on someone he met in the movie business years ago, someone he immediately knew couldn't be trusted.

• It's that he wears ridiculous wigs and mustaches, tacky touristy t-shirts, and Fannypacs. Johnny sent his assistant on the movie, his sister Christy, on a mission to find the tackiest stuff she could for him to wear on film. "I thought that would be something that Sands would wear in order to try to get someone to mention it," he says. "He would be hoping that someone would say, 'Is that mustache fake?' just so that he could kill him." 

• And, then, there are the one-liners and physical comedy that only Johnny thinks to add, whenever and wherever he can. (You'll just have to watch the movie to know what I'm talking about.) 

"He added a lot of things to this character, obviously," Robert Rodriguez says. "I mean, that's why you hire someone like Johnny. I wrote the character Sands, and what Johnny did was give him a whole identity."

Johnny was only on the set for 8 days and loved every minute of it. I think Robert Rodriguez has a coolness factor that makes everyone love to work with him. He wrote, directed, and even mixed the music. Johnny was already impressed with him, having heard he completed the first of this trilogy, El Mariachi, on a $7,000 budget. Shooting in digital HD, as he did for Once Upon a Time in Mexico too, is much cheaper than the traditional way. Because it's just videotape, rather than film stock, he could keep shooting for as long as he wanted. With film always rolling, the actors were on their toes. Robert Rodriguez explains, "If you never call action and you never call cut, you're always in rehearsal mode, which is a really free time to be, and you get really great performances."

Another thing he asked of his actors was to contribute to the film score. On this movie, all the principle players had some sort of musical background--Antonio Banderas and Johnny play guitar, and Salma Hayek likes to sing. So, Antonio Banderas wrote and performed a mariachi song in the movie. Salma Hayek sings the song that plays during the film's end credits. But Johnny was the only one who showed up with a complete piece of music, his character's theme song, which he produced and performed for the soundtrack.

Johnny had so much fun making this movie that he scanned the script  on his last day to find any other characters he could sneak in before getting on the plane. Keep an eye out for the Marlon-Brando-esque priest.

Do you have a guitar gun? (They do.)

If someone described Once Upon a Time in Mexico to me, I'd say this isn't my kind of movie: I'm not one who thinks bad guys with guns are cool. I have no stomach for violence. But this movie has a sense of humor about itself. It is violent, but you don't actually see much (which is the best way to do it). Everything is heightened in a way. The plot is complicated, and you may lose what's going on, but it doesn't matter much because you get the style. "This is definitely a desperado movie; they never really make sense," Robert Rodriquez admits. "Coming from a cartoonist's point of view, the guitar cases full of guns and all that, it's not a real Mexico. All the movies I've always done have been somewhat fantasy, and this is no exception. It's sort of a surreal take on Mexico and its culture and it's iconic imagery."

The stunts are elaborate and unbelievable, but you just go with it because you're in on the idea: Of course the legendary El Mariachi and his sexy wife, linked together by a chain they'd been handcuffed to while sleeping, would be able to swing five floors down the side of a building like monkeys to escape assassins. A shootout in a church is halted when the only innocent bystander, an oblivious old lady who just finished her prayers, shuffles her way out the door. That's right out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon. "I consider this movie to be a visual fantasy." Antonio Banderas says. "It goes so far that I think you have to have a sense of humor to understand it. I feel like I'm doing an action movie but, at the same time, I feel like I'm doing comedy." Enjoy it!

Gordon is too cool!

So, I dreaded whenever Johnny was going to lose his eyeballs during this movie. But I also heard from those who had already seen the aftermath that Johnny was the coolest eyeless character ever. I couldn't imagine it, but Johnny did it. He is the coolest eyeless character ever!

"There's something really beautiful and kind of poetic about a blind gunfighter, a guy who goes out there with no eyes, knows he's going to die, and has to defend himself," Johnny says. Gordon couldn't resist such an iconic image! (Too bad he couldn't fit into the all-black outfit.)

And, he's even cooler when you play his theme:  

What's next? 
Johnny's eyes are okay behind some glasses in Secret Window. (But he's still a bit off his rocker.)

All film images and "Sands Theme" © Columbia Pictures; illustration © Melissa Connolly

Take Five...to Remember

Dave Brubeck Quartet performs "Take Five" in London, aired on BBC's "Jazz 625," November 28, 1964

Every time I hear "Take Five," I think of Mom because every time she hears it, she says, "Hey! That's my song!"

When she worked as a nightclub emcee in Taipei, this is the song they played to open and close the show every night. Nice choice!

Rest in peace, Dave Brubeck...

Haunt

I know it's Christmastime, but I'm a little behind in posting my Illustration Friday drawings. Haunt was the topic for the last week of October.

At the time, I had just seen Tim Burton's Frankenweenie and was completely inspired to create Frankenweenie Kitties.

Then, while in San Francisco, my friend and I caught a bit of Young Frankenstein, one of our favorite movies, on TV.

                                               

So, here's a mix of both: Comet is "The Monster" (with a heart of gold). Ashes is his bride. B.J. is Dr. Frankenstein with Simon assisting as Igor and The Mother Kitty providing musical accompaniment as Frau Blucher. (Oops, I set off the horses.)

(Illustration Friday: October  26, 2012)

Frankenweenie images  © Disney Pictures; Young Frankenstein images © 20th Century Fox