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Saturday, February 25, 2017

The Writer's Life 2/25 - Words & Pictures.

Clint Eastwood delivered another solid effort in Sully (2016), which I watched last night courtesy of Netflix. Is there an American adult who doesn't know the basics of the January 15th, 2009 Miracle on the Hudson? The recreation, as expected in the age of CGI, is terrific. Even the fact that it is known everyone on board the jet survived does not rob it of suspense and wonder. The story has two other elements that elevate it: the post traumatic effects on the hero, and the investigation of the event. I did not recall the latter. Sully was at first accused, at least according to the screenplay, of having been rash. Simulations showed the plane could have made it to either LaGuardia or Teterboro, New Jersey. Hollywood vets Mike O'Malley, Anna Gunn and Jamey Sheridan play the inquisitors. Since it is known that Sully is considered a hero, much of the drama is stripped from that aspect, but it remains interesting. There's not a false note in the entire narrative, although I don't know if any license was taken by the filmmakers. The entire cast is first rate. Tom Hanks adds another superb performance to his incredible canon. Laura Linney plays his wife, Aaron Eckhart his co-pilot, Chris Bauer the airline exec who helps Sully win the case. My only quibble is the use of Katie Couric. I hate when a newsperson is given a role in a film. I would have preferred a clip similar to the fused one of the crew's appearance on David Letterman's show (Dave plus the actors in their roles). I don't know if any other actual reporters were used, as I've given up on watching news programs and recognized no one playing the part. The movie is based on the book Sully: My Search for What Really Matters by Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III and Jeffrey Zaslow. The screenplay was adapted adroitly by Todd Komarnicki. The flick was hugely successful at the box office, taking in $125 million in the USA alone on a budget of $60 million. It runs only 96 minutes, another plus. 118,000+ users at IMDb have rated it, forging to a consensus of 7.5 of ten, which seems dead on. Not a great film, but superior to most.

Yesterday Shawn Stefani, 35, a PGA pro, did something at the Honda Classic that will surely go viral. He hit his drive into the water on the sixth hole. The spot where it came to rest was shallow. Rather than take a one-stroke penalty drop,  he stripped down to his underwear, played it where it lay, and made solid contact. He eventually managed to get within ten feet of par but, alas, missed his putt. He failed to make the cut by two strokes. Here's a pic:



Decades, channel 112 on Cablevision in NYC, is running Rowan and Martin's Laugh In Monday-Friday at nine PM. I check in when another show I'm watching is in commercial. Curious about its cast, I researched it at IMDb and was surprised to learn the show ran six seasons. I would have guessed three. I was interested particularly in a female member of the ensemble I did not recognize. Lisa Farringer, a New Yorker, appeared in 60 episodes and worked steadily through 1975, amassing eleven more credits. Her last came in 1978 in The Six Million Dollar Man. She then disappeared - literally. Here is the spooky picture the site has of her:



My thanks to the two kind folks who bought books today on Bay Parkway, and to the gentleman who bought the never opened An American in Paris Broadway soundtrack CD, and to whomever downloaded Five Cents to Kindle. I wonder if that sale is the result of the profile of me that went up this week on the website of my alma mater, WMU.
Vic's Sixth novel: http://tinyurl.com/zpuhucj 
Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc
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