This afternoon I had the great pleasure and opportunity to visit the National Theatre Archive to lend a hand with some video footage for next weekend’s Olivier’s Shakespeare: Violence and Memory colloquium and reception. It started with meeting author Terry Coleman (Olivier the authorized biography) for tea on Tuesday at the Royal Academy of Art. He will be presenting at the reception, and, being a visitor of vivandlarry.com, he knows my appreciation for Sir Laurence and asked if I’d like to help with some media. I said “yes,” so he put me in touch with Gavin Clarke, the archivist at the National Theatre in London.
The NT Archive isn’t housed at the actual theatre on the South Bank, but rather at the National Theatre Studio in The Cut, right next door to The Old Vic, and the old offices occupied by the likes of Laurence Olivier and other executives were in Aquinas Street right behind the building. This is because the National Theatre Company was based at The Old Vic until the NT on the South Bank was completed in 1976.
… Continue reading
I was sent an email from one of the film professors at King’s College London (where I’m currently studying) regarding a upcoming colloquium and National Theatre event (October 30, 2010) to kickstart the recent renewed appreciation for Laurence Olivier’s Shakespeare films among film scholars.
… Continue reading
As you may have heard by now, TCM will be honoring Vivien Leigh by featuring her as Star of the Month in September. This is the first time since I’ve had TCM anyway (10 years or so?) that they’ve put her in the spotlight, and I’m so glad she’s finally getting credit where credit is due! Last November at the GWTW Re-premier event in Georgia, I got up the courage to approach TCM host Robert Osborne at the GWTW Museum after the autograph session, and I asked him why Vivien never gets a day on Summer Under the Stars. I mean, she was technically an A-list actor despite only making a fraction of the films her peers made, and some of the people they feature on SUtS are people I’ve never heard of (I didn’t say that part out loud). Well, he was very kind and said that TCM didn’t have the rights to enough of her films, and that when they wanted to show a film that was not in their library, they had to pay copyright fees. This made sense, but I wish that someday they could get enough of her films for a day on SUtS, mainly because I love the promos and the pre-film introductions they do for the stars being honored during the celebration.
Despite not being able to feature Vivien on SUtS, it’s really exciting that they’ve dug up enough of her films to do a month-long tribute to her enduring screen legacy! Everyone has seen Gone with the Wind and Streetcar, so it will be a great chance for viewers to catch some of her eariler films, and to see how she grew exponentially as an actress on screen.
If you missed it, I had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to speak with TCM’s Robert Osborne about Summer Under the Stars and Vivien Leigh. Vivien is one of his favorite actresses, and he has a lot of good/interesting things to say about her. You can listen to the audio or read the transcript here.
For more information on the lineup of Vivien films being shown next month, and for a chance to win a copy of TCM Now Playing magazine with Vivien on the cover, check out the vivien-leigh.com blog.
And now, I have a small request: I will only be in the States for the first week of September, and will miss most of the Vivien tribute. I’m guessing TCM will put together a short promo montage, as they do with every star of the month, and I would be absolutely tickled pink if someone out there could record it and upload it to youtube, so that I can watch it and feel like I’m part of the party!
Yesterday kicked off the opening games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a tradition that started in Uruguay in 1930. Personally, I could not be more excited! The World Cup is my favorite sporting event. There’s something so beautiful, powerful and graceful about the glorious game. I’ve always been Anti-American when it comes to soccer (or football, as everyone else on the planet calls it), simply because in Europe the pace is so much faster and exciting than in America. I’s also like to add that perhaps my enthusiasm stems from the fact that I played competitive soccer for about 13 years–through high school and college, and played in a youth tournament in the Netherlands when I was 16. I personally think our national team–though we have improved greatly in recent years–would be better if we farmed out our players to Europe (England, Spain) for the club season so they can get the experience of playing with the big boys. Tim Howard, our goalkeeper, knows where it’s at. He spends his club season at Everton in England, and lo and behold, he’s our best player.
Today, the USA faced off against England for what had to have been the most anticipated match of the first round. I was supporting England, as usual, and was a bit disappointed with the fact that they couldn’t seem to get the ball in the back of the net after Steven Gerrard’s beautiful goal in the fourth minute. And I was A LOT disappointed with Robert Green’s embarrassing fumble which allowed Clint Dempsey to get a courtesy goal. I hope you don’t get shunned upon your return to your village, Robert Green!
What does any of this have to do with Vivien Leigh or Laurence Olivier? One fan wrote in to the vivandlarry.com formspring wondering if the Oliviers had been football fans, and I’d always wondered the same thing:
I hadn’t recalled every reading anything in biographies about Larry or Vivien being fans, but I knew that England had won the World Cup back in 1966, and I had assumed that since they were British, they must have liked some sport that was popular over there. A quick google search revealed that Laurence Olivier was indeed a football fan, and supported Chelsea FC, one of London’s best Premier League teams. Larry would sometimes be seen hanging out with Richard Attenborough in The Shed at Stamford Bridge during the 60s and 70s.
And there we have it: Laurence Olivier was a Blues supporter.
Last night, Cinespia kicked off their annual summer season of cemetery screenings by showing Victor Fleming’s beloved classic, The Wizard of Oz. A group of friends and I had planned to go up and make a night of it–we had our picnic baskets packed, blankets loaded up, etc. and got on the road early to beat LA traffic. Operation Wizard of Oz at Hollywood Forever turned out to be an epic failure! We got up there with plenty of time to spare. Gates opened at 7, movie started at 8:30. So we decided to check out this vegan taco place on Melrose—their tacos were amazing. Then we sat in traffic on Santa Monica for about 30 mins. Everyone and their mother was trying to go to the screening. People were turning back blocks from the gates. People walking along the street told us it was hopeless and that the line was around the block. They weren’t kidding. The standing line was literally about a 1/2 mile long. There was no way we’d make it in. I’ve been to Cinespia a few times and I’ve never seen the line that long. We determined that it was probably a combination of the film and the fact that it was opening night for the season.
So, we ditched it for plan B: Griffith Observatory. Then half-way there we ditched that for plan C: movie at the Arclight. But when we got there and saw there were no seats for Robin Hood and it was $16 a ticket, we said “screw this,” and drove back home to drink wine and watch Pan’s Labyrinth. FAIL, LA.
But we did pass by the Church of Scientology—not the recruitment center on Hollywood Blvd, the actual celebrity mecca on Sunset. It looks like a big indigo prison/fortress. I bet they torture their cult victims inside. Once you’re in, you never leave.
Our misadventure did provide some opportunities for photography, though. I’m on a Photo 365 quest to take at least one photo every day for an entire year in order to improve my photography skills. Luckily, LA is quite an interesting town to photograph. Here are some of the shots I got last night.
Downtown LA
The Hollywood sign from atop the Arclight parking structure
