There is a documentary made recently about some sideshow in...Florida? Have not seen that. Just got the Crip Signal. God, what might I write if my brain didn't have such...crap in it?! Have already done Freaks On A Plane But the video would've been disappointing, had there been any...it was during my pre-motherfucker period. But ten ADAPT activists on a plane counts, to airline personel, trust me.

It's a fantastic movie with an ending that might be a little laughable by modern standards, but you can practically see many of the tv shows and movies it influenced.

Our prof in film studies showed us the ending, but he was reluctant, because out of context, he thought wed just find it silly. Of course, we all laughed. A year later it play at the local rep cinema (RIP Wormwood's Dog and Monkey Cinema) and the was a little uneasy laughter at the end, but I think most people found it unsettling.

Todd Browning had been an actual sideshow performer/magician/illusionist/escape artist in his younger days. He'd actually worked with (and gotten to know) many of the performers shown in the film.

I think maybe I am conflating two movies, or something... Perhaps freaks AND a documentary. I don't know. But this is all very interesting.

I think maybe I am conflating two movies, or something... Perhaps freaks AND a documentary. I don't know. But this is all very interesting.

As I recall, there are parts of FREAKS where to movie sort of just stops and observes the everday life of the characters that has a pretty strong documentary feel to it (the Human Torso lighting his own cigarette is one of the more unforgettable bits).

According to CNN, Tim Burton is talking with Johnny Depp about playing the Demon Barber of Fleet Street in a film version of Sweeny Todd.

There is a documentary made recently about some sideshow in...Florida?

There's a town in FL where a lot of the carnies & freaks wintered, so quite a few settled there when they retired. Maybe it's about that?

Aha, yeah, it's Gibsontown, and there's a documentary called Gibtown about it.

In another cynical grab-for-cash, there are two new DVD versions of The Princess Bride just released. The "Dread Pirate Edition", or the "Buttercup Edition"; they're the same content but with a different cover (and presumably, picture on the disc). The extras are what you get on the "Special Edition" dvd, plus a new featurette called, "Dread Pirate Roberts: Greatest Legend of the Seven Seas" mockumentary.

...Can Johnny Depp sing? I mean, if they're making a non-musical version, I'm fine with that - I've seen the non-musical version of Sweeney Todd, and it contains an awful lot of the greatness - but the article seemed to imply that it was based on the musical. With musicals so big these days, that wouldn't surprise me...

But is Johnny Depp a bass/baritone?

Also, I hope they don't focus too much on the current stage version that's getting rave reviews for the movie - somehow, I don't think the device of having the actors also be the orchestra would work on film. I'm sure Burton knows that, however, so I have little fear in THAT regard, at least.

...Can Johnny Depp sing?

Well, he used to be in a band, but I only ever saw him play guitar when he was a teenager.