Around this time of the year I always get super excited because I know Halloween is only a couple of months away!

People often ask me why do I have a fondness for this holiday.

Well one main reason is that I always felt incredibly lucky to be born in the month of October and my birthday is really close to Halloween!

When I was younger the only kind of birthday I wanted was always a Halloween theme party. Flash forward to my current age I am not much for birthday parties but I still want some Halloween theme built into my birthday. Whether it’s my birthday cake or I wear something with  a pumpkin on it!

Also fall is my favorite month especially when you experience a very humid summer. Fall has a nice cooling effect and I think nature is the most beautiful during that season.  

The colors that nature provides us during the fall season never ceases to amaze me!

Halloween is one of the few holidays I celebrate and I am over exhilarated with putting up Halloween decorations and completely cover the house from head to toe. 

And yes I know I am spooky 24/7 and 365 days a year but during October I tend to amp up the spooky factor a notch or two….or ten.

 

Until next time!

 

 

 

 

 

Every summer Turner Classic Movie has one month where have a program called “Summer Under the Stars.” Where they select one actress or actor once a day and show a majority of the movies they starred in.

On August 30th TCM picked one of the all the time favorite actors: Marcello Mastroianni!

So from sun up to sun down they will show nothing but some of this incredible movies he starred in. I will highlight some of the movies they are showing tomorrow. (I may sound repetitious in saying that some of the movies I will discuss are my favorites!)

Le Notti Bianche (1957) (showing on 8/30 at 6am EST)- also starring Maria Schell, and Jean Marais. Directed by Luchino Visconti. Based a short story by Fyodor Dostoesky of the same name. It stars Marcello Mastroianni as a young man called Mario who moves to a new town. He lives a solidarity life as a store clerk until he was closing up his shop one night and notices a women (played by Maria Schell) waiting at a bridge. He approaches and tries to befriend her but she admits to him that she has been going to this bridge every night for years in hopes that her lover  (played by Jean Marais) (who vowed to come back one day) will return. Mario is quite smitted by this woman and does everything he can in order for her to change her mind about always waiting for someone he feels may never return. 

The reason why I love this movie: I am not much of a romantic and I really do not watch a lot of romance movies, However this is one of the few movies that hits such an emotional cord inside me. I have cried everytime I watch this because you have a sense that all of the characters in this movie have experience such emotional loss in their life.

Ginger and Fred (1986) (showing on 8/30 at 10am EST)- also starring Giulietta Masina. Directed by Federico Fellini

 

Marcello Mastroianni and Giulietta Masina played two dancers who impersonated one of the most famous dancing duos Ginger Ringers and Fred Astaire when they were younger. Many decades later they were recently invited to appear on a Italian TV show to reunited and dance once again! 

The reason why I adore this film. I had such a Fellini movie phase in my life they I never really grew out of . I really like this film because I feel like this is one of Fellini films that have the most heart in it. It is a sweet comedy and it makes root for this dancing couple!

8 1/2 (1963) (showing on 8/30 at 8pm EST)- also starring Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee and Sandra Milo.

Marcello Mastroianni plays Guido Anselmi a famous movie director who is going through a creative block and is on a deadline to submit a science fiction movie idea. Instead of him moving forward on new ideas he retreats back into his memories of his life. Both good or bad memories he starts to reminisce  on them which makes him think more on his personal life (such as his marriage) rather then how his movie should turn out. 

The rest why I adore this movie. To be honest the first time I watched this movie I thought it was boring however some images stayed with me for months after I watched it. It forced me to re watch the movie and with the second viewing it made me understand it better in terms that this movie was more of an autobiographical story of Fellini and his creative blocks and quickly became a favorite to talk about. 

For the full list of Marcello Mastroianni movies they will be playing on Turner Classic Movies tomorrow the link is below (Scroll down near the bottom to see his list!)

 

Summer Under the Stars

 

Until Next Time!!!

 

 

The aura of cool is something I kind of learn while growing up. I never had friends who really enjoy or heard of the things I love and was really into. However I figured out who is to say who is cool and who is not? Cool is something inside of you that makes you unique that is what make you wonderful because you are different and you are special. I have never really been a trendy person I have  tendency to always do, watch, listen to whatever I have an interest in. 

Being cool is owning who your true self is and being happy and proud of what you are into. It is not a location or a piece of clothing. It is an inner quality that makes you shine brighter then any star in the universe.

Never be ashamed in being your true cool self!

 

 

Until Next time!

 

 

And now for the history/ pop culture side of my WordPress. Last week it was on Victorian Mourning Jewelry. This week it is on “It’s a Small World Ride!”

 

This ride was originally called “Children of the World” and it was for the 1964’s World’s Fair. The fair was divided into sections and this was meant for the UNICEF. 

Pepsi-Cola was asked to sponsor the UNICEF section of the fair however the board of directors could not decide on what to do and put in that section. Interestingly enough Joan Crawford stepped in! She was the widow of former Pepsi president Alfred Steele and she still had somewhat of say on the board. 

So Joan Crawford approached one of the long time friends who happen to be Walt Disney and asked him if he could make an attraction for this section. However this collaboration was met with criticism. The other members on the board did not want to have Walt Disney work on this. Joan Crawford came to defense of Disney saying that since they took too long on deciding what to sponsor that the deadline was approaching sooner than later. She also pointed out that Disney was also working on various  other attractions in the fair and was able to have him and his team finish this pavilion in 11 months time.

AND THEY DID!

Walt Disney was able to open this pavilion on time and even did an opening ceremony for it. He invited more than five hundred children from around the world to participate in the event. (The video above is some footage of the opening ceremony day)

This ride set  precedent for many things in Disney parks as well as other parks worldwide:

Walt Disney noticed how efficient doing boat rides in the attraction that many other rides such as “Pirates of the Caribbean” follow that way and that method is still in use today.

UNICEF  had a small gift shop connected to the exit of the “Children of the World” ride that many of the Disney parks and other parks have the same layout for all of the rides.

During it’s run at the World’s Fair this attraction sold over 8 million tickets.

After the World’s Fair ended in 1966 the Children of the World ride moved into the Disneyland Park. 

“Children of the World” was always a working title for this ride it wasn’t until the Sherman Brothers was by Disney for a song that could be sung in different languages and that could represent all of the countries in the world.

The Sherman brothers came up with the song It’s Small World (after all) from the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962). From that destruction and chaos they wanted to promote unity and peace throughout the world.

Mary Blair (who is one of my favorite Disney artists) was  responsible for making the color palettes and aesthetic  of the ride. She truly set herself apart from other Disney artist during that period. 

Until Next time!!

 

Today’s movie of the day is Basket Case (1982) directed by Frank Henenlotter and stars Kevin Van Hentenryck, Teri Susan Smith and Robert Vogel. 

It is about a man name Duane who carries his tiny creepy twin brother Belial in a wicker basket all over New York City until they find home in a run down hotel. However they did not travel to New York City for tourist reasons. Both brothers traveled to the city bent on  revenge!

Duane and his brother Belial were con-jointed twins and when they were twelve years old they were forced to have a surgery  that would removed Belial from Duane’s side and ever since then they both had  huge angry to the doctors that were responsible for the surgery and plan to cause them harm!

Frank Henenlotter is one of my favorite directors. He created the most unusual characters and plots that I find fascinating. Rumor has it that Frank Henenlotter keeps  the Belial  prop in his apartment. Which I guess makes for a scary interaction if you forget that he is there. 

Henenlotter made Basket Case in a homage to all of the exploitation and sexploitation movies he watch and even to the hey day of 1970’s 42nd street era full of porn theaters, scary and seedy bars and people.

Fun Fact: Frank Henenlotter got the idea to make this movie when he saw the movie It’s Alive by Larry Cohen

Below is the trailer for Basket Case:

Until Next time!