Ackerman, Harryhausen, Bradbury

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN…

In remembering the passing of great contributors to movie and pop culture during 2008…I remember “Forry.”

Once upon a time…, so the story goes three teenage friends went to see a landmark film - KING KONG (1933). I can not remember now whether it was all of them together or each separately. What I do remember is that each young man was so inspired by the film, having never seen anything like it, that they each became successful in and around the world of science-fiction/fantasy! They all were founding members (1934) of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc.

Those three young men were writer, historian, publisher and renowned movie memorabilia collector Forrest J. Ackerman, renowned science fiction author Ray Bradbury, and stop-motion animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen (see above photo). 

“Forry,” was greatly influenced by other films too, such as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927) and fell, so to speak, for the female robot of the film, Maria. 

Before the world wide web, ebay, google, there was Forry and his FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND. There you could find everything you wanted to know about monsters, special-effects, make-up, sci-fi, and the craft of Hollywood moviemaking. Ackerman was at the crossroads of “fandom” and “social networking.” His magazine publication reached out to the film fan and youth of the day with a unique passion! It was the AIN’T IT COOL NEWS for a generation. One success lays the foundation for others! 

Over the years, I attended several “film genre” themed conventions/events where Forrest J. Ackerman and his friends reminisced. I was even lucky enough to visit Ackerman in his home back in the 1990s when he still conducted tours of his Los Feliz home where he housed his collection. 

Autograph

A collection that contained over 300,000 pieces of authentic movie memorabilia and artifacts from the creation of science-fiction and horror.  At a young age Ackerman befriended Carl Laemmle Jr., the one time head of Universal Pictures and the man who “green lighted” the films that serve as the basis for the “Universal Monsters” franchise, and that relationship provided young Forrest a link behind-the-scenes of “old” Hollywood. There he began to amass his collection. (NOTE: Before you judge remember that the post WWII generation is a generation of collectors…Ebay proves it!) And over the years Ackerman befriended many of  the greats including Bela Lugosi. 

Forrest J. Ackerman is believed to be the first to coin the expression “sci-fi” in his writings. So the next time you watch an old film or google something in the “sci-fi/horror” genre take a moment and remember a fellow fan, Forrest J. Ackerman.

I have seen the future of movie marketing and poster design…it comes in the form of a virtual movie poster for TERMINATOR:SALVATION. The cyborgs take over 22 May 2009!

See the other “Terminator: Salvation” posters at MOVIEGOODS!

The future is here…media is merging with web technology and, like it or not, to stay conscious and in touch everyone will be connected in someway, shape, or form.

NOTE: Joe’s UPTOWN Movie Blog will try and keep readers up to date on the new media revolution and hopes that we’ll all tap into the technology that surround while staying connected to our world and those that share it.

Dateline: Washington, D.C., May 26, 1977

The Place: Uptown Theater

That was the day it all changed. 

At the age of nine, the mere prospect of seeing any movie or any media (TV, music, concerts, plays) was enough to send my spirits soaring. Remember in 1977, there were only maybe 6 stations to watch and there were no home video stores let alone video games. But what I saw that day expanded the possibilities and made the man you’ll meet in this blog. It was my “Apollo,” my learners permit, my moment…OK! OK! so seeing STAR WARS (1977) was a lot of people’s moment. But hey I saw it in only one of roughly 50 theaters to play it on the second day of release and the most press it had had was a glowing article in TIME magazine (May 30, 1977 edition). My cousin Jim, God Bless him, took me and my cousin Eric. We complained about the line around the block. Yes, a line around the block…hard to believe. I fear we’ll never see anything like that again. We sat in the balcony first row. I’ll never forget how COOL it felt when the star destroyer came on screen!      

On Monday, when I got back to school no one knew what I was raving about (no box-office reports in 1977), but they politely listened again and again. Note this was akin to what would be today my “virtual BLOG” or “social networking experience.” Probably sounded something like this: “it is the greatest movie I’ve ever seen! You have to see it! Take me back!” 

Seriously because of STAR WARS and George Lucas how many people have went on to work in Media for almost 20 years? How many people have degrees in film? How many people have met there heroes? And how many still embrace their inner child as a result?  ANSWER: A lot I imagine…but the only one I really know is myself.  

I hope you’ll enjoy! 

Hey what film made you a movie lover?

The new trailer for the re-launch of the Star Trek film franchise (see below) had me on the edge ready to see it. And it doesn’t even open until May 5, 2009. That is still six months away! As Mr. Spock might say, “fascinating!”  Which begs the question, “why is STAR TREK:TOS (The Original Series) so great?”

I think this trailer shows that even a series with legions of fans (Trekkies or Trekkers), like anything iconic, has the ability to attract a new audience. Maybe Gene Rodenberry’s characters and vision are like Shakespeare and given enough distance can prove that great writing and vision stands the test of time. Or maybe I’m just having flashbacks to the days when WDCA-Ch 20 announced that “Star Trek” was gonna be broadcasting every afternoon. For years it had looked boring to me but all of sudden, that summer, I saw it brand new.

Over the years, I got to meet James Doohan (Scotty) and Walter Koenig (Chekov). I once was walking down the street next to Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles, CA and saw Gene Roddenberry drive out in a Lincoln Continental (not the USS Enterprise). But nothing compares to the day in 1986 when I was riding down the 405 on a charter bus and looked out my window to see none other than Leonard Nimoy -Mr. Spock himself- driving a Mercedes-Benz.

You ask how is it to see the Enterprise crew grounded? REALLY REALLY COOL - like the Earthbound scenes in this trailer! These characters will forever take me where “no man has gone before” - back to my childhood!

I guess what I am trying to say here is that I hope folks - trekkies and newbies alike - will give the film a fare shake. It really looks like Paramount, J.J.Abrams, and all involved wanna please. “Failure is not an option.”