Screen Gem Saturdays: Serendipity, Robert Redford, The Conspirator, and Savannah

My life has been full of serendipitous moments; on a trip to Savannah last fall, it turned out that Robert Redford was filming his latest movie, “The Conspirator.” Set in the Civil War era, it is about Mary Surratt (Robin Wright) and her involvement in the assassination of President Lincoln. On my last day in town, I was able to watch a little bit of the filming that occurred on the steps of the Customs House. Redford gave the appearance of a quiet, thoughtful, and attentive director; it was fantastic to watch him at work as he truly is a living legend. The scene that was being filmed featured Tom Wilkinson (“The Full Monty”) and James McAvoy (“Wanted” & “Chronicles of Narnia”).



Even Civil War military men use point and shoot cameras!





Redford quietly and thoughtfully talks to his lead actors in between takes.











While it was fascinating to watch the filming, the movie business is not so glamorous in person. In order to get these few minutes of film in the can was at least a two-day process or more. You can imagine the frustration of the crew when a scene winds up on the cutting room floor.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2010 and is currently planned for a major theatrical release in Spring 2011. I believe that Redford is still looking for a distribution company.

See more “Conspirator” photos at my main website.

46 Years and 11 Months Ago...

Another little trifle of a series, hailing from December 1963. It’s Christmas at the park, and The Matterhorn is adorned with The Christmas Star. Let’s zoom in for a close look at all the doohickies on the star:



Below the earth, we see all kinds of strange things swimming and growing in liquid space:



Compared to all the bling strewn around the castle today, it is difficult to imagine that it ever looked this plain around the holidays:



The Tiki Room also seems to have escaped any holiday decorations:



For you compare and contrast types, here’s a more recent shot from a similar angle:



I love this shot, taken as the photographer was exiting the park. As twilight begins, this particular post ends. Hope you enjoyed!



See more Disneyland Christmas photos at my main website.

Traveling Thursdays: Movieland Wax Museum

Although the Movieland Wax Museum is no more, the former attraction located near Anaheim still lives on in the hearts of those who had visited there.

Dedicated on May 4, 1962 by silent film star Mary Pickford, it was the home to almost 300 wax figures depicting famous celebrities—some better than others—in 150 different scenes. Despite the fact that some of the wax images bore little resemblance to the movie star, the sets and costumes showed an incredible attention to detail. Several actors and actresses attended the unveilings of their wax likenesses and even donated costumes for their wax counterparts. Other costumes were re-created for the displays (Garbo's costume cost $35,000 and took 125 hours to sequin by hand). Film studios also donated many of the props used in the scenes. Movie themes and sound effects also added to the authenticity of the museum. A movie clapperboard on each set included the name of the characters along with information about the movie, props, and costumes.

Harry Carey in “Trader Horn”:



Laurel & Hardy in “The Perfect Day”:



Charles Laughton in “The Private Life of Henry The VIII”:



Jean Harlow in “Dinner at Eight”:



Gary Cooper in “High Noon”:



Cliff Robertson in “PT 109”:



William Powell (good likeness) and Myrna Loy (not-so-good likeness) in “The Thin Man”:

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Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in “The African Queen”:



Rudolph Valentino:



After 43 years and 10 million visitors, Movieland Wax Museum closed its doors on Halloween, October 31, 2005. About 50 of the celebrity figures were shipped to a sister museum in San Francisco and 80 others went to a Museum in South Korea. Many were put up for public auction, bringing in over a million dollars.

See more Movieland Wax Museum photos at my main website.

Moonliner Extravaganza!

Looking at the scaled-down replica of the Moonliner that exists in Tomorrowland, I doubt that very few guests are inspired or overcome with a sense of awe. No...they are just passing by on the way to Space Mountain.

As Cox Pilot put it so eloquently once: When I first visited Disneyland in July of 1955, Tomorrowland was the first thing I wanted to see. My parents were more interested in Main Street and the shops, but I pulled and pulled to just see, and ride in, the Moonliner. I never dreamed that I would be working day after day in its shadow. The 6 years I worked under the Moonliner never jaded me. Each day we would leave the wardrobe building and enter the Tomorrowland area through the gate just to the left of the domed builders, and I would always look up as I passed through the big gate. The feeling was like leaving black and white Kansas and entering into the color world of Oz. Of all the changes in Tomorrowland over the years, the only thing that was a huge disappointment was the removal of the liner.



Daveland reader Stu P. was also inspired by the Moonliner; in fact, he built a scaled replica of it. Not really all that amazing in itself; there are many models, kits, and collectibles available out there that commemorate the Moonliner. BUT... how many of them have actually been in flight? I’d hazard a guess that the photos here today show the only one ever to blast off!



Stu built that model about a year ago, and here is what he related to me:

I actually got up enough nerve to fly her again a few weeks ago. She landed with no real damage, except for one popped off foot pad, that was easily glued back.













Thanks to Stu for sharing these way cool images of his Moonliner model!

See more Disneyland Moonliner photos at website.

Fantasyland, January 1964

Just a trifle of a series from January 1964; our guest of the day apparently liked Fantasyland, as the only shots I acquired were taken there, beginning with The Motor Boat Cruise. Cruise was the operative word; I see youngsters and I see oldsters...not a teen in sight!

Here we have the wacky giganormous leaves that adorn the exterior of Alice; our photographer du jour seemed to have a case of the shakes. Or else he just couldn’t choose between photographing the people he knew or the attraction decor. Either way, I wouldn’t hire him.





Over at Storybook Land, our guide looks very James Bond-ish with her microphone.



Shaken...not stirred.



Our photographer apparently waited this one out at the dock:



Here’s an odd one; included in this batch is this little home display of leftover tickets and a Magic Kingdom Club card:



OK all you sleuths; we have a name—find that photographer!



Toy Story fans will rejoice today as “Toy Story 3” is released to home video. I was happy to discover that the 3rd installment was every bit as good (if not better) than its predecessors. I’d love to know how many of you rushed up to your attic to get your childhood toys after you watched this film!

Here are some of the hand-drawn (yes, hand-drawn—not everything starts with “a mouse”!) storyboard concept pieces used in development:











In Tron news, here’s a shot of a Sunset Boulevard billboard promoting the upcoming 12/17 release:



View more Disneyland Fantasyland photos at website.

Halloween in February!

Nope, it’s not Halloween; it’s February 20, 1960, and these scary-looking Mickey & Minnie Mouse characters were the ones that greeted guests on that Southern California morning. I don’t know about you, but these particular models have always scared the bejesus out of me. They just look really creepy.



And in case you missed the sign, NO PICNIC LUNCHES INSIDE THE PARK! Pay the admission and head over to Holidayland while you can (and please be sure to send me some photos from there!).



Two other slides from this batch; the waterfall from The Matterhorn attraction:



…and The Skate Submarine from The Submarine Voyage:



I hope you all made out like bandits last night in the candy department!

View more Disneyland entrance photos at my main website.