Rolling Obituary Thread: 2021

Uber-famous--didn't realize that was Donner. (I was marking some music-video analyses from grade 6 students a couple of months ago, and I pointed out to one of them that his video--forget what it was--was probably paying homage to that episode.)

Didn't know that was him, either. Also, forgot about The Omen (I probably liked it way back when) and The Toy (ugh).

He made more movies I've enjoyed than many directors I'd consider among my favorites. Don't know what to make of that. Omen, Superman, Goonies, Lethal Weapon 1 &2, Scrooged ... I seem to recall people liking Conspiracy Theory? (Jeez, this man made six Mel Gibson movies.)

Statement from Gibson:

“Donner! My friend, my mentor. Oh, the things I learned from him! He undercut his own talent and greatness with a huge chunk of humility referring to himself as ‘merely a traffic cop.’ He left his ego at the door and required that of others. He was magnanimous of heart and soul, which he liberally gave to all who knew him. If we piled up all the good deeds he did, it would stretch to some uncharted place in the firmament. I will sorely miss him, with all his mischievous wit and wisdom."

Pauline Kael liked Conspiracy Theory--said so in an interview after she retired. Don't remember much.

Donner's best movies are light on their feet, balancing humor and action and eliciting winning, likable performances. A talented journeyman.

I guess I mostly agree with that.

Has Blame It On Rio been mentioned yet?

Wrong recently deceased director

Ha, sorry!

lovely piece on Donner here

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/richard-donner-dies-goonies-jeff-cohen-chunk-1235012107/

I still think the first Superman is scuppered by the ridiculous "fly backwards turn back time save Lois" conceit, and I'm not sure Lester's bastardised vision of Superman II isn't better than Donner's belated redux version, though his original vision may have surpassed it. But Scrooged is wonderful, and the first Lethal Weapon is as great an 80s buddy action movie as I can imagine.

I agree that the time reversal premise in Superman is nonsense, but the movie builds up so much good will in the previous 90 minutes that I’m willing to indulge it.

I mean its never been tested tbf

The 1978 Superman is still the only superhero film I've ever seen. Once I learned they could turn back time, what's the point of watching another?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgD9FyE60hs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-opxZJvIZ0

xp!

for those interested, a good recent piece on Raffaella Carrà (and her place in history):

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/nov/16/rafaella-carra-the-italian-pop-star-who-taught-europe-the-joy-of-sex

Don't like to repurpose content here, but:

Donner’s first movie, X-15 (1961), is mostly filled with melodrama, cigarettes, and aviation stock footage but kid me preferred it far more than that superhero movie. Charles Bronson, Mary Tyler Moore, Edwards AFB, and the early Mojave Desert all star. pic.twitter.com/MWGiMUQLlE

— Chris Barrus (@quartzcity) July 5, 2021

Maybe you should post that on our other thread

New Yorker cartoonist Danny Shanahan
https://michaelmaslin.com/remembering-danny-shanahan1957-2021

o_O https://www.nyspnews.com/rhinebeck-man-arrested-for-child-pornography.htm

That obit had a big gap at the bottom...

Oh, yikes! I didn't know about that...

“Personal turmoil”

sometimes a euphemism can do ~too much~ heavy lifting. jeez

Yeah that story receded from view really quickly at the time. It’s gross that NYer people are tiptoeing around it

Delia Fiallo, writer of more than 40 telenovelas from the 1960s to the 1980s.

I'm not sure Lester's bastardised vision of Superman II isn't better than Donner's belated redux version,

otm, the Donner cut actually sucks

RIP to Geddy Lee’s holocaust-survivor mum Mary, she passed just shy of her 96th birthday
:(

i always loved the story from when Rush released their first album of her plastering them in the window of her variety store <3

Geddy would laugh about how she grew to love the band, since she was deeply *not* a fan at the beginning. his sister had to stop her sneaking into his room to cut off his hair lol

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/rushs-geddy-lee-mourns-death-of-his-mother/

Xps The new yorker cartoonist had a son who was convicted of stabbing his roommate to death. Was convicted of manslaughter after a successful “insanity defense.”

rip Delia Fiallo. Don't think I've seen any of her original telenovelas but I have seen remakes of them such as the '90s version of Esmeralda and Rosalinda, the last telenovela starring Thalía. Her shows have been remade over and over again, something her wikipedia page lays out in detail.

Boy you mentioning Thalía reminds me of the time when I was still living in SoCal when I emerged from the Red Line stop in Hollywood to go Amoeba and was befuddled to literally be walking into the backdrop of a massive public appearance by her.

Wasn’t there a Thalía telenovela where she wore her own version of a Jughead hat and it had some kind of Prince and the Pauper plot? Not sure if this lady was the author or not.

Yes. I remembered the title, María la del Barrio. It was apparently a remake of another telenovela, which also had nothing to do with the deceased. RIP anyway.

María la del Barrio is utterly classic, one of the telenovelas that got me hooked on them back in the day. The original version of it was from the late '70s and starred Verónica Castro, like Thalía a famous singer as well as actress in Mexico.

I remember seeing Veronica Castro on TV all the time around that same era, couldn’t tell you what shows though.

She was kind of ubiquitous, hosted several talk shows in the '90s

Run Lola Run is still the only redhead film I've ever seen. Once I learned they could turn back time, what's the point of watching another?

Robert Downey Sr. (A Prince)

https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/ny-robert-downey-sr-20210707-zmhxgw22ffd4dh2jrlgpn4vpu4-story.html

I'm not sure Lester's bastardised vision of Superman II isn't better than Donner's belated redux version,

I'm late to the party, but the best cut of Superman II is the cut shown on television in the mid '80s: it's longer and funnier. Lester was the guy for the job.

xpost

still grateful to my weirdo friend who forced us to watch Greaser's Palace. RIP RDSR

Beat poet Michael Horovitz, 86.

William Smith, veteran actor, 88. Known for his buff physique and many action roles, but also appeared in several classic Hollywood films as a child actor.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/william-smith-dead-laredo-rich-man-poor-man-1234979961/

There was just something awesome about that guy. I first noticed him in biker flicks but later noticed him everywhere. His fight scene in Darker than Amber, mentioned in the obit above, is incredible.

He and Nita Talbot (still alive) were the first Rockford Files villains, appearing in original pilot film in the spring of '74.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjIwNTIwMzMtZDM3My00YTA2LWE5ZDQtZGMyM2VkMmYwZjcyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzY5MTE3OTQ@._V1_UY180_CR32,0,180,180_AL_.jpg

Wow, he was awesome.. I just watched Chrome and Hot Leather a couple months back, with Marvin Gaye

I only noticed Smith recently when he popped up in significant roles in both Action USA and Champagne and Bullets/GETEVEN, but he truly possessed one of the best tough guy face/voice combos in B cinema. RIP.