RIP Mike Nichols

"There's nothing better than discovering, to your own astonishment, what you're meant to do. 

It's like falling in love."

~Mike Nichols

Vanity Fair, 2008

I was very sad to learn yesterday, of the passing of the amazing Mike Nichols. Mr. Nichols directed some of my very favorite movies, among them, The Birdcage, Working Girl, and the classic, The Graduate. While it bothered me a bit, to different degrees over the years, that there was a glaring flaw in The Graduate. You know, the scene where Benjamin Braddock was supposed to be on his way to Berkeley to see Elaine Robinson, and then it happens. Benjamin is seen heading to Berkeley, by way of San Francisco! Which would be fine, had be been heading up the San Mateo Peninsula, and then heading east with the skyline of the city behind him, but no, Mr. Nichols showed Benjamin heading into San Francisco instead. Berkeley is in the East Bay, so that was a geographical impossibility. Sigh. 

That tiny bit of silliness had never kept me from enjoying The Graduate, indeed I have had many great discussions over the year about why I consider it one of the top ten films of all time, but that trip across the Oakland/San Francisco Bay bridge has made me grimace once or twice. LOL. I guess, deep down, I thought maybe one day I might be able to ask the man himself why he made that directorial decision, just to be able to hear it from the master himself. Alas, one more celebrity that I admire, and who has made my life better is now gone yet again. I will never have that conversation, and that mystery won't be solved. And I guess I will never learn that, unfortunately, our idols aren't immortal, but when you see talent like his, or Robin Williams, or John Hughes, or any one of the amazing talents lost to the world this year, doesn't it seem like they should have been?

RIP Mike Nichols

And Thank you, Sir!

The Final Scene From The Graduate

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 67~ Photographic Evidence

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."


~Aldous Huxley Complete Essays 2 1926 - 29.

 

I have proof! I have the evidence! But that's the middle. Let me start at the beginning. One of my favorite movies is The Graduate. Great acting, Great cast. Great soundtrack. It was partially shot in Berkeley, in around the Cal Berkeley campus... which is Great. What's not so great? That irritating scene where the character of Benjamin Braddock drives up the coast from Los Angeles to Berkeley, to talk the girl he loves out of marrying another man, and his car is shown driving into San Francisco on the Bay Bridge. Why should that bother me? Well... see... if he did that he would be going away from Berkeley... not toward it. LOL. And yes, it bugs me every time I see it. Why did director Mike Nichols do that? If the scenery was such a big deal, why not have Benjamin fly into SFO and then drive across the bay into Berkeley? Oh yeah, that's right, when going from the city into the East Bay... you take the lower deck. There would be nothing to see. Okay... reluctantly... I get it. It was an important scene, and the sight of San Francisco did make the emotion of the scene come together. Okay.


But enough is enough. Today I found a promo for a new ABC show, set the debut in 2013, called RED WIDOW. Apparently set in San Francisco, RED WIDOW is about a young widow who finds herself reluctantly drawn into organized crime in an effort to keep herself and her children safe. Ummm... huh? On it's most basic premise it doesn't sound particularly new or interesting. That premise has been done before, but who knows maybe it will start out old hat, but go to new places. Let's hope so. It seems like scripted shows are having their share of struggles, with "reality" based shows becoming all the rage, not to mention they are cheaper to produce. So don't get me wrong, I really hope the show does well, I just wish Hollywood would stop changing the skyline of San Francisco, especially when I think it's beautiful just as it is. 


I mean look at these photos... what's not to love?





I love San Francisco, and all the crazy beautiful bridges in the area. If Hollywood wanted to show off the gorgeous San Francisco skyline, why didn't they just photograph it from either Oakland, or Alameda. From Treasure/Yerba Buena Island for that matter. Come on Hollywood... you can do better.


:)


~Me :)


Now, go see what my pal JR was come up with. His photos are awesome...


JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/07/apadf6-65.html