Remedy for a Hollywood Heat Wave
By Steve Lee
Because Hollywood (not to mention all of California) has been hit with an overwhelming heat wave this summer, I thought I'd share a few images from our archives featuring scenes of much cooler weather....
"It’s a Wonderful Life" (1946) Frank Capra reportedly went over budget to create the huge amounts of snow – only some of which was real. Rumor has it that there was a crew of three whose job it was only to prevent Jimmy Stewart from constantly making snow angels.*
"Doctor Zhivago" (1965) The cast assembles a publicity photo. It looks cold, but it was all manufactured – snow and all – in Spain. It was told that Alec Guinness was the cast member most talented at writing his name in the snow.*
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (2005) "Always winter, but never Christmas." I dunno, with our current weather, I’d still seriously consider that…
"The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) A vacation on the planet Hoth looks pretty good right now… is Star Tours still in business...?
"Help!" (1965) A picnic in the snow with the Beatles... how much would THAT go for on eBay?
"Bambi" (1942) "The water's stiff!" Here’s to freezer burn on your rumproast.
"Citizen Kane" (1941) Charlie Kane's sled (...what was its name...?) abandoned in the snow. ...Are we to believe his parents dug it up later just to put it in storage?
"Edward Scissorhands" (1990) Nothing like a frolic in fake plastic snow to cure what ails ya.
Keep cool, everyone.
* P.S.: You know that those things I said about Alec Guinness and Jimmy Stewart aren't true, right? At least, I have no evidence to support these claims...
"It’s a Wonderful Life" (1946) Frank Capra reportedly went over budget to create the huge amounts of snow – only some of which was real. Rumor has it that there was a crew of three whose job it was only to prevent Jimmy Stewart from constantly making snow angels.*
"Doctor Zhivago" (1965) The cast assembles a publicity photo. It looks cold, but it was all manufactured – snow and all – in Spain. It was told that Alec Guinness was the cast member most talented at writing his name in the snow.*
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (2005) "Always winter, but never Christmas." I dunno, with our current weather, I’d still seriously consider that…
"The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) A vacation on the planet Hoth looks pretty good right now… is Star Tours still in business...?
"Help!" (1965) A picnic in the snow with the Beatles... how much would THAT go for on eBay?
"Bambi" (1942) "The water's stiff!" Here’s to freezer burn on your rumproast.
"Citizen Kane" (1941) Charlie Kane's sled (...what was its name...?) abandoned in the snow. ...Are we to believe his parents dug it up later just to put it in storage?
"Edward Scissorhands" (1990) Nothing like a frolic in fake plastic snow to cure what ails ya.
Keep cool, everyone.
* P.S.: You know that those things I said about Alec Guinness and Jimmy Stewart aren't true, right? At least, I have no evidence to support these claims...
posted by Steve Lee at 9:20 PM
4 Comments:
Hi Steve,
Dig the blog. Love the refreshing pics from the snowy movie scenes too. That helps us all feel a few degrees cooler.
Best,
Mark
PS: Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog, my Wilhelm entry was a good one mainly because of your excellent research.
PPS: I read your bio, cool. I especially liked your "after a short bout with acting in my adolescent years" comment.
BTW-What're you working on now?
Ok, so this wasn't a Hollywood film, but I've never felt colder than when watching 'The Fast Runner' aka 'Atanarjuat'. 'March of the Penguins' was close to conveying the same sense of bone-chilling cold but naked people on pack ice just resonated a little more with me than penguins. Watch it, you'll want to sit outside in +100 degree temps for at least an hour just to feel warm again.
*ahem*
Fargo?
At least some of "Zhivago" was shot in real snow -- i believe the winter dacha scenes were shot in Finland (although the heavy snow on the roof was, in fact, plaster -- i've seen a shot of the dacha in summer with all that heavy "snow" still on its roof; truly a bizarre image).
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