Off To The Movies #2. Play Misty For Me

"The whole of life is just like watching a film. Only it's as though you always get in ten minutes after the big picture has started, and no-one will tell you the plot, so you have to work it out all by yourself from the clues."

~Terry Pratchett

Moving Pictures

I love movies! Who doesn't want a few minutes away from the muck of every day life, by escaping into a world completely different than the ones we live in? A world with it's own problems perhaps, and while imperfect, hey, at least it's a world completely devoid of Trump! A world that doesn't contain cell phones, but does contain phone booths. A world that still has interesting, local easy listening music, rather than 24 hour cable news cycles! Yep, the early 1970's America was a lot different than today's America, but what hasn't changed is, the crazy!

Clint Eastwood really should have gotten more credit for this film than he did! Everyone acted like Fatal Attraction was some big deal, because it dealt with OCD behavior that ended up in the stalking of a married man. Well, sorry, as well done as that movie was, Clint Eastwood did it first in, Play Misty For Me. But okay, for the sake of argument, there were some differences. We won't split hairs, or boil bunnies, lets just leave it at, Clint Eastwood made his directorial debut with, Play Misty For Me, and the subject of his film was quite progressive for the time.

And, to his credit, he didn't try to give the main character, Dave Garver any breaks. Dave wasn't interested in any long term relationships, and while he made that clear to his stalker, Evelyn Draper, he kept jumping back in bed with her, every time she showed up. I was also impressed with the fact that Eastwood did not make Garver out to be some unwitting victim, he knew the score, and even directed some genuine compassion toward Evelyn and her obvious need of psychological help. It was never intimated that Evelyn should have just been thrown away, or mocked because of her illness. 

Alan and I have had many a debate about this film, and it remains one of our favorite movies to discuss on long road trips, especially if we are heading down the Monterey Peninsula. I always think about it when we are in the area, because another thing I have to give Clint Eastwood credit for, is that he knew how to make the natural beauty of where he is filming, become a featured character of his movies. He did right by Monterey, Carmel, and my lovely, Bixby Creek Bridge. He used each of those places, to counter the crazy tense moments of the film, by just immersing you in the quiet, beautiful escape, that is the Monterey Peninsula. And it's definitely one of my favorite characters in the movie.

One of the reasons we chose Monterey and Carmel to visit on our vacation last October, was to see how much the town and landmarks in the film had changed since 1971. I love doing the visual comparisons, between then and now, and it adds to the excitement of actually stepping sideways into a moment of great movie making. It's as close as I will probably ever get, to stepping into an alternate universe! I used to visit movie locations all the time, when we lived in the East Bay, San Francisco is full of them, but now it is a bit more difficult... but... it's not impossible! So, look for more posts like this one, because of all the subjects I enjoy posting about, and photographing, movie magic is among my favorites!

Play Misty For Me

1971

Directed By Clint Eastwood

The Sardine Factory played a major role in the film...

*The address rock is still there!   :)

As did The Cannery and Prescott Avenue

1971

2018

I had a lot of fun with Alan, that day. We made some awesome memories! He enjoys exploring movie magic and TV magic as much as I do! He gets into the area, by checking out little coffee shops, while I work the camera. He makes me so happy! I was so lucky to have found him in this big world! It's his turn to choose which movie or TV show to step into next. Maybe it will be a movie filmed or set in San Francisco, like the Maltese Falcon, or perhaps it will be a TV show, filmed in and near Stockton, like Sons Of Anarchy. We'll see what comes next!

Note: At the end of Play Misty For Me, when Evelyn is lying in the water, that isn't a stunt person that's floating, that actually is Jessica Walter! How excellent is that?

~Mood: Happy

~Me   :)

Off To The Movies... #1. Raiders Of The Lost Ark

"What makes movies magical is not that incredible things happen in them. Incredible things happen in real life.

 No, what makes movies magical is they end right after the incredible thing happens."

~Matteson Perry

When I lived in the Bay Area, I liked to grab my camera and visit the locations of where movies, set in the area, were filmed. It was fun to feel like I was kinda stepping into the worlds of the characters I loved to watch on film. I did a few posts around those photo jaunt adventures, but I didn't really have a specific name for that series, so I am starting over with that project and it's official name will be Off To The Movies. 

I am starting my new series off with one of my very favorite movies, Raiders Of The Lost Ark. While only a small part of the movie was shot in Stockton, a simple cameo if you will, did feature one of the most beautiful buildings in town, Faye Spanos Concert Hall, on the grounds of the University of the Pacific, was used as the outside of the college Dr. Indiana Jones taught at! And if you pay close attention to that scene, and the one where he leaves to begin his adventure, you will see he flies out of what I think might be the Oakland Airport, and right over of the Golden Gate Bridge! So, one could maybe deduce that Indiana Jones was from my new hometown, Stockton! LOL.

While doing some research into that film, I found out that Spanos Concert Hall was also featured in the Robin Williams film, Flubber! It's such a pretty building, I can see why film makers would feature it. It's in California, but it kind of reminds me of the some of the buildings on the campases of Harvard and Princeton! Making it economical, and yet versatile to setting a tone. So it sets a certain vibe, and filming the buildings on the campus during certain times of the year, like autumn, gives it an especially warm and beautiful feel!

I began photographing movie locations because of how many films had been set in San Francisco. Foul Play. Basic Instinct. Vertigo. And many, many others! So, I thought that our move to the Central Valley was going to make that endeavor really difficult, but to my delight I found that there have been many films shot right here in the Stockton, and the small towns nearby! Among them Cool Hand Luke, American Graffiti, and The Candidate! Recently, when I was visiting El Dorado County, I picked up a visitor's guide, which detailed over 20 different filming locations as well, so I think it's going to be a blast to hunt them all down with my camera!

Stay Tuned!

Leaf Of The Day

November 6th 2016

Mood: Happy

~Me :)