Entry for August 05, 2006

The graphic is the poster for Robert Altman’s movie, A Prairie Home Companion, written by Garrison Keillor.

Barry’s called yesterday to say he was in the mood to come up from Radford to see a film at the Grandin Theatre.  This is what were’re going to see. 

Here are some items excerpted from the trivia page at IMDB:

• Michelle Pfeiffer was originally slated to play the Dangerous Woman, but then backed out of the project.
• George Clooney was offered the role of detective Guy Noir, but was forced to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts.
• Tom Waits and Lyle Lovett were originally slated to play singing cowboys Lefty and Dusty.
• For insurance purposes, and in the event that 80-year-old director Robert Altman was unable to finish shooting the film, Paul Thomas Anderson was employed as a standby director.
• When Kevin Kline’s character pops the cork off a bottle of champagne, the cork shoots off-camera and hits director Robert Altman in the forehead. A small cry of “OW!” can be heard and Kline says, “Sorry!” without breaking character.
• Meryl Streep’s mother-in-law helped her practice the Midwestern accent necessary for this role.

Here are two Salon interviews with Altman:

 “Robert Altman,”  Stephen Lemons’s profile, 08/15/2000.

“Peeking under the tutu:  Director Robert Altman discusses getting attacked by the far right, working outside of Hollywood, and exposing the naked virtues of ballet in ‘The Company,'” Amy Reiter, 01/06/04.

A review from the same:

“A Prairee Home Companion”, Stephanie Zacharek, 06/02/06.

An essay by Garrison Keillor:

“We’re Not in Lake Wobegon Anymore How did the Party of Lincoln and Liberty transmogrify into the party of Newt Gingrich’s evil spawn and their Etch-A-Sketch president, a dull and rigid man, whose philosophy is a jumble of badly sutured body parts trying to walk?”

Better run.  Working on a poem for Verbal Events.

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