Michael's Musings

September 9, 2013

Most of last week was spent putting together a book trailer for a client, and also working with a voice actress, who lives in Alabama.  She is recording an audio of my Clara Bow play, and she's excellent; responds to direction very well.

We are about halfway through the 2nd act, and when that is done, we''ll start working on adding music and sound effects.  I imagine that the finished product will be available for download well before the end of this year.

I am currently awaiting the signed contracts for my Dinah Shore book.  Once I get them, I will forward the manuscript to the typist, so that she can create a MS Word document from which I can work and update the material.  You'll recall that the original DINAH book was written on a typewriter.

Finally, there's a review of SHANGHAI CALLING posted on the Best Bets on DVD site, accessible via the link in the Introduction section of this page.  Please check it out.

You have a creative week.

Michael

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September 2, 2013

I hate "political correctness". 

The practice distorts and hides the truth and it is destroying our country. 

Indeed, would the Fort Hood massacre have taken place if it wasn't for political correctness?  Absolutely not!

I'm ranting about political correctness today because last week I had a discussion with the artistic director of a community theater about the possibility of their group staging one of my plays.  This play is set in an earlier time when attitudes were different.

The director and the board were concerned that my portrayal of certain minority groups was "racist," even though it was an accurate depiction of that time and place.  I informed the director that I would not rewrite my play because of "political correctness," and that if their group wanted to present it, they would have to do it "as written".  After all, that's my name on the script, not theirs.

The situation is still up in the air, and I probably won't know anything definitive for a few weeks.

If this country really wants to be politically correct, then all copies of HUCKLEBERRY FINN, GONE WITH THE WIND and other books and movies that "offend" (i.e. portray an earlier time as it was) should be thrown into a bonfire and destroyed.

Didn't they do something like that awhile back in Nazi Germany?

End of rant.

Speaking of stage plays, I've now adapted my screenplay of THE SUMMER FOLK for the stage.  The basic plot might be the same as the movie version, but the approach is totally different, and the father-son relationship is enhanced.  The play is available in both paperback and on Kindle.  You can get a copy by clicking on this link, or if that doesn't work (as it usually doesn't), just copy the address below into your browser and you will be taken right there.

http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Folk-Play-Two-Acts/dp/1492139106/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377624323&sr=1-1&keywords=the+summer+folk+play

Finally, there's a review of DA VINCI'S DEMONS, The Complete First Season, posted on the Best Bets on DVD site, accessible via the link in the Introduction section of this page.  Please check it out.

You have a creative week.

Michael

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August 26, 2013

Last week, wife Sandy and I decided that we are going to clean out and then get rid of our storage space.  It will probably take a couple of months to do that, because we have to bring boxes home, sort through them, and then figure a way to incorporate the stuff we want to keep into our house without creating clutter. 

So, we brought a half dozen boxes home on Wednesday and in doing so, I really screwed up my back so badly that, on Thursday night, I thought I might be having heart problems.  Sandy took me to the hospital emergency room where we spent a few hours.  Thankfully, my heart appears to be okay...but I do have an appointment with my cardiologist in about a week.

In any event, while going though the boxes we brought home, I came across my old manuscript of the Dinah Shore biography I wrote back in the late 1970s.  I'm currently reading it and, if I do say so myself, it's pretty good.  It does need some updating, since Ms. Shore died in 1994, but it's otherwise fine.

I contacted my publisher (BearManor Media), and they want to publish it.  I'm sure it will be a year or more before it's out, because I do have to do the updating and there are already a few things on my plate that have to be finished first.  But, at least, this unfinished project will finally see the light of day.

Those of you who read my memoir, MY FORTY-FIVE YEARS IN HOLLYWOOD...AND HOW I ESCAPED ALIVE, will, hopefully, recall the sad story about why my Dinah Shore biography was not published back when it was first written.

There are two new reviews posted on the Best Bets on DVD site, accessible via the Introduction section of this page.  One of them is THE WALKING DEAD, Season Three, and the other is a film, entitled PAWN SHOP CHRONICLES... so please take a look.

Other projects are in the works, but as I said in previous postings, I can't talk about them yet.

You have a creative week.

Michael

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