Entertainment News Roundup

Since I returned home from vacation a week ago, for the most part it's been a nonstop blur of work and puppy training. (We're still working on the puppy's name, but we're getting closer!) I have a bit of a breather today before the next deluge of work arrives, so here's a roundup of various entertainment-related stories and blog posts which have caught my eye in the last couple weeks...

A new series of Disney stamps was released last Thursday (click title of this post). The stamps are the fifth and, sadly, final release in the "Art of Disney" series. The images include a tribute to my favorite animated Disney film, SLEEPING BEAUTY.

The New York Times ran a nice article on the new LITTLE HOUSE musical playing in Minnesota, which had its run extended through late October due to high ticket demand. Speculation is it could be bound for Broadway. (Previous LITTLE HOUSE posts: March 16, 2007, December 8, 2007, and May 29, 2008.)

Actress Emma Thompson is writing the screenplay for the remake of MY FAIR LADY. She will be incorporating material from George Bernard Shaw's PYGMALION into the script. Thompson's Oscar-winning adaptation of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY was spectacularly successful. Can she do the same for MY FAIR LADY?

Are cassette tapes finally on the way out? I drive a 2004 car with a cassette player and love it, as I have a nice collection of cassettes I still play, particularly at Christmas. Cassette players included in cars fell from 23 percent in 2005 to 4 percent in 2007.

There's a great new entry in the Images of America series from Arcadia Publishing: LONE PINE by Christopher Langley. I checked out the book in a store while on vacation; it has lots of great photos of movies being shot on location in the Alabama Hills. The book contains photos from the collection of the Beverly and Jim Rogers Museum of Lone Pine Film History, where Langley serves as director, as well as the Eastern California Museum in Independence. (Both museums are well worth the trip; see my post on Lone Pine from the summer of 2007.) I'll be buying the book soon.

Classic movie fans will want to check out Jacqueline's marvelously informative post on gas rationing in the movies at Another Old Movie Blog. I'll be looking for the rationing stickers on cars when I watch early '40s movies now!

While I'm mentioning Another Old Movie Blog, I also especially enjoyed Jacqueline's post on STRANGERS WHEN WE MEET, combining analysis of the movie with an examination of the graphic arts, autos, and home decor of the era. STRANGERS WHEN WE MEET airs on TCM this week, on August 12th.

At Obscure Classics, Katie Richardson did a nice piece on MGM's "3 Roberts," Montgomery, Taylor, and Young, and some of their best movies. This is a nice site worth checking out further; you'll find it blogrolled at the left.

I'm looking forward to seeing Robert Montgomery, Franchot Tone, and Janet Gaynor in THREE LOVES HAS NANCY when it airs on TCM September 8, 2008. It also airs November 19th. (Update: The September airing was cancelled. Hopefully it will still be shown in November!)

Speaking of Robert Taylor, I was thrilled to learn that Charles Tranberg, biographer of Fred MacMurray, is currently working on a book on Taylor. This information came at the end of an excellent, very detailed interview with Tranberg on MacMurray which appeared last week on TCM's Movie Morlocks blog.

The Life Cinematic is an interesting movie blog I recently discovered. Lots of reviews of pre-Code films, in particular, with good photo illustrations.

The rest of my family loved the recent finale of DR. WHO, reviewed here. Last year my daughter guest-blogged a post about the BBC's destruction of old episodes and the ongoing attempt to reconstruct the missing shows.

Regarding a completely different kind of entertainment, USC is No. 2 in the pre-season coaches' poll. No sign of UCLA (sorry, Bruins, couldn't resist)...

When I learned of the passing of Isaac Hayes, my first thought was of his role as Gandy Fitch in episodes of THE ROCKFORD FILES...

I was also sorry this weekend to learn of the August 9th death of Dale Warren, a longtime member and leader of the Sons of the Pioneers. In the late '70s and early '80s I saw the group perform a couple times, at Knott's Berry Farm and El Camino College. I especially enjoy listening to a CD of the Pioneers when we're driving in the Sierras, as the Western songs fit the scenery so beautifully.