And yet even knowing that, don't they sometimes manage to fool you?

Absolutely. And then I bang my head and think "How naive!" and am slightly less likely to fall for it again.

Absolutely. And then I bang my head and think "How naive!" and am slightly less likely to fall for it again.

Oh, okay. Carry on, then.

I'm watching Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

I finally really get the Katherine Hepburn love. The only other comedy I've seen her in is Philadelphia Story, in which her being, IMO, too old for the part put me off a bit. Off to add to my queue.

In the 80's, wasn't AZT still sort of difficult to come by, especially for penniless Bohemians?

I would think, but wikipedia says AZT was in use then, so I guess it's *barely* possible. But the musical's attitude about "living with living with living with/not dying from disease" strikes me as much more a 90's thing than an 80's one.

And lots of the lyrics are late 90's specific- it's set in the tech boom, and the line "Living in America at the end of the millenium..".

Not to mention that the entire joke about Alexi giving 15 different ways to reach her doesn't make much sense if you set the musical in an era when cell phones came in briefcases and very few people outside universities and labs used email. She's cutting edge, but not *that* cutting edge.

I'm hoping it's just a rumor. Or maybe they're trying to make it like the Jim Sheridan movie "In America," where there are elements of several different eras mixed for an out-of-time feeling.

Serial...

The only other comedy I've seen her in is Philadelphia Story

You must see "Bringing Up Baby." It is (no lie) my favorite romantic comedy of all time. Sadly, it's not on DVD yet, but it's supposed to be released later this spring.

That movie made me fall in love with Ms. Hepburn.

The only other comedy I've seen her in is Philadelphia Story

And don't miss Holiday -- another Hepburn/Grant classic.

And although Hepburn isn't in it, I also recommend Gambit, a fun little caper film starring Michael Caine and Shirley Maclaine.

I'm hoping it's just a rumor. Or maybe they're trying to make it like the Jim Sheridan movie "In America," where there are elements of several different eras mixed for an out-of-time feeling.

This could be ok, too.

I would think, but wikipedia says AZT was in use then, so I guess it's *barely* possible.

Yeah, my only point of reference was Angels in America, which actually could have been set a few years earlier in the 80's.

Holiday. Siiiigh. That's my favorite Hepburn/Grant film. I like The Philadelphia Story and Bringing Up Baby, but Holiday is IT for me. I'm hoping someone would remaster the film (the copy I have on VHS is of sucky quality) and release it as a big Grant/Hepburn DVD box set or something.

Two Miyazaki films that have never been released officially in the US are coming out on DVD tomorrow, Nausicaä, Valley of the Wind, and Porco Rosso.

I've seen bootlegs of both films. Nausicaä is the film that made Miyazaki's reputation, and it's visually unlike any animation I've seen, although the character of Nausicaä herself is a prototypical Mary Sue

Porco Rosso is one of Miyazaki's more minor films, which means that it's still miles above most other animation out there. Interestingly, you get to see the same Mommy harem that later appeared in Mononoke and Spirited Away. Miyazaki is probably the greatest animator ever, but he still has issues.

I know nothing about how Hughes actually appeared, and only know Hepburn from movies, not interviews, etc. Were they spot on?

I've seen news footage of Hughes from exactly that era (directing Hell's Angels and testifying in court), and yes, Leo's performance is dead-on, at least in terms of physicality. (As is Alan Alda's actually -- Scorcese essentially recreated the Universal Newsreel coverage shot for shot in that scene.)

t /posting via dial-up from my new apartment when I should be unpacking