BEHIND THE SILVER SCREEN

Program 02-12-22-A Listen!

To The Best of Our Knowledge
from Wisconsin Public Radio

In the film-going arena, one man towers above all others. His endurance, stamina and tolerance for popcorn are unparalleled. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Kevin Murphy's quest to see a movie a day. Every day. For a Year. Also, writer Michael Ondaatje on the art of editing. And wizards, hobbits and elves – we'll take a look at the art behind the film "The Lord of the Rings."

 

 

 

SEGMENT 1:

Kevin Murphy (formerly of "Mystery Science Fiction 3000") decided to see a movie a day for a tear. He chronicles his experience in a book called "A Year at the Movies." Murphy tells Steve Paulson film festivals from Finnish Lapland to Cannes and Sundance. Also, Veronica Rueckert reports on the opening of the first American Kino. Kino is a new movement in film-making that features the work of amateurs. For more information visit their website at www.kino00.com.

SEGMENT 2:

Madelon Sprengnether is the author of "Crying at the Movies: A Film Memoir." She tells Jim Fleming that going to the movies became a form of therapy for her and helped her sort out her own life experiences.

SEGMENT 3:

Alan Lee's illustrations for an early edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" landed him a job as a conceptual artist on the Peter Jackson film production crew. He tells Anne Strainchamps that Lothlorien was the hardest set to realize, the mines of Moria were easy, and the one of the new locations (a city in Rohan) from "The Two Towers" is his favorite. Also, novelist Michael Ondaatje met film editor Walter Murch during the filming of Ondaatje's Booker Prize winning "The English Patient." Their conversations matured into a book: "The Conversation: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film." Ondaatje tells Steve Paulson that pacing for film is entirely different than doing it on the page. We hear a clip from Murch himself describing a scene from "The English Patient" and we hear that scene.

Cassette copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 02-12-22-A.

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Grab a big bucket o' popcorn and enjoy Steve Paulson's
EXTENDED conversation with Kevin Murphy about Murphy's
book, "A Year at the Movies: One Man's Filmgoing Odyssey".
It's an unedited producer's cut, exclusive to our website!

Books:

  • Kevin Murphy, A Year at the Movies: One Man's Filmgoing Odyssey (Harper Collins)
  • Michael Ondaatje, The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film (Knopf)
  • Brian Sibley, The Lord of the Rings: official movie guide (Houghton Mifflin)
  • Madelon Sprengnether, Crying at the Movies: a Film Memoir (Graywolf)

Music:

  • -- "Popcorn (Techno Remix)"/Artist not known
    based on "Popcorn"/Hot Butter
  • -- Film music featured in Madelon Sprengnether story:
  • - Music from the film, "Pather Panchali" (1955): by Ravi Shankar
  • - Music from the film, "Fearless" (1993):
    "Lento - Sostenuto Tranquillo Ma Cantabile" by Henry Gorecki
    from Symphony No. 3
  • - Music from the film, "Trois couleurs: Bleu" (1993):
    by Zbigniew Preisner
  • -- "Big My Secret"/Michael Nyman
    from the CD, "The Piano: Original Music from the film
    by Jane Campion composed by Michael Nyman" (Virgin Records)
  • -- "Finale"/Composed and Produced by Robyn Miller
    from the CD, "Myst: The Soundtrack" (Cyan/Virgin Records)
  • -- "Hooray For Hollywood (Cha-Cha)"/Don Swan & His Orchestra
    from the CD, "Ultra-Lounge: Volume Two Mambo Fever" (Capitol)

FILM CLIPS FEATURED IN MICHAEL ONDAATJE INTERVIEW:
-- "The English Patient" (1996)
-- "Apocalypse Now" (1979)
-- "The Godfather" (1972)

Distribution dates:

week of 02/08/2004 - hour 2
week of 12/22/2002 - hour 1
Listen!

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Questions and comments can be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org

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