TNONEF. A RffiOI JTTHEOTHER.
Since Ampersand does not publish
over the summer months, we've re
ceived very few recent, relevent or
even pithy letters from our readers
(only fair we didn 't write either)
That was then, and now is now,
so send those cards and letters, full
of information and opinion, to In
One Ear, 1680 North Vine, Suite
900, Hotfywood. CA 90028
by Steve Ginsberg
Pythons Pursue
Plethora of Projects
Monty pythons crew is hard al
work on several films, a
couple of television shows and at
least one book — but only one film,
Monty Python’s Meaning of Life, is an
all together again Python presenta
tion. They are lx-ing absolutely silent
about the content of said film, telling
the world that it's a "film for
ichthyophiles," because “there are
millions of fish out there and no one
has ever gone for that audience.”
The individual projects include
Yellowheard, written by Graham
Chapman, Peter Cook and Bryan
McKenna, starring Chapman and
Qx)k and lots of famous cameos. It’s
a pirate movie, a comedy The Frog
Prince stars Robin Williams and Teri
Garr and will appear on Showtime
cable television in the U.S. It was
produced by actress Shelley Duvall,
written and directed by Eric Idle
Privates on Parade stars John Cleese,
who sings and acts and dances, but
did not write any part of this Should
be out by the time this page is read,
Terry Jones, the alleged intellec
tual of the group, has just directed
and hosted a film for British TV
based on the Rupert Bear cartoon
strip He's also written a book called
Fairy Tales, original tales he wrote
for his daughter, to be published in
the U.S. this fall. He’s directing the
Meaning of Life, too, which is loca
tioning in exotic Glasgow, among
others.
Animator and designer Terry Gil
liam is collaborating with award
winning playwright Tom Stoppard
on a screenplay which will be a fol
lowup — but not a sequel — to last
year s hit, Time Pandits
Michael Palin wrote and stars in
The Missionary, with Maggie Smith,
Trevor Howard and Phoebe Nichols
(she was Cordelia in Hrideshead Re
visited)
It may never see the light of
cinema, but there’s a film afoot
called Cl ah Paradise, supposedly
starring John Cleese and Bill Murray
— sublime casting with a ridiculous
plot: Cleese plays the British gov
ernor of a Caribbean island, Murray
the proprietor of a restart; the island
natives rebel, Cleese takes refuge in
Murray’s club, and from then on it’s
snobs vs. slobs vs, rebels.
Profit Cycles
Naturally, youvf. sfbn et But
did you know that the bicycle
chase stunts trace to a Southern
California-bred subculture called
BMX (bicycle motocross) racing? Di
rector Steven Spielberg even polled
a group of BMX fans, generally kids
about the same age ;ls those in the
blockbuster film, and the majority
claimed Kuwahara as their favorite
brand. So it was a Kuwahara that levi
tated past the roadblocks, stolen
milkcrate and hunted extraterrestrial
attached. And, thanks to the su
premely profitable merchandizing
that always accompanies a hit movie,
fans can add to their E.T. doll, their
fuzzy-eared Yoda cap and their
"Spock Lives!" iron-on patches a
genuine, official 7 bicycle Kuwah
ara makes 'em, Spielberg takes a
piece of the action. There's no busi
ness like (fill in the blank.)
Who Thought up This
Ad?
With the average film costing at
least $7,000,000 to market and
about $10 million to make, film
companies are forever thinking of
catchy new ad lines. But if we were
going to give out awards for the best
remembered phrases we'd have to
say that Paramount, the studio who
last year advertised Mommie Dearest
as “the biggest mother of them all,"
would have to win hands down.
Right now the company is test
marketing Jekyll and Hyde Together
Again, a bizarre comedy based on
the old tale that stars Fridays Mark
| Blankfield. One of the key ad lines:
ig) 1981, Jensen Sound lobs
“Now that there’s a Jensen made for it,
this baby’s perfect for us
With a Jensen® ThinMount'" car stereo speaker system, you don’t have to
sacrifice sound performance for size. Remarkably thin mounting depths let
you put full range Jensen speakers in a variety of TFMClTIkT
tight places.Then sit back, listen and be moved »l 1.
CAR AUDIO
When it’s the sound that moves you.
"The medical community told him to
shove it up his nose — and he did.”
Wait It gets better This Christmas
Paramount is launching Airplane //.
tlx' Sequel, which follows the adven
tures of a space shuttle that is
hijacked to Uranus on its way to the
moon. Although the official logo is
“a comedy with a new twist," the
Paramount marketing department is
toying with another idea: "Voyage to
Uranus.” (We don't waite ’em, we
just report 'em.)
Coppola Copes
Although francis ford coppola's
beleaguered Zoetrope Studio is
still for sale, the man himself is not
sitting around biting his nails. He’s
directing films and biting his nails:
The Outsiders is finished and he’s
now in the midst of Rumble Fish,
which stars many of the same actors
and is also based on a book by S. E.
Hinton. Both are contemporary
youth dramas, although The Out
siders is "optimistic and heart
warming" while Rumble Fish is
described as "expressionistic."
Make Vs Laugh
The Ampersand staff needs some
yucks, folks —and we depend on
our readers to keep us howling.
What's more, we ll pay real bucks
for these guffaws. Details follow:
Send us your favorite joke.
Keep it concise, typed, double
spaced and printable If it's a car
toon joke, that's fine too—just be
sure it’s drawn in black ink on
sturdy white paper.
We ll pay $20 to each and
every jokemaker whose artistry
we print
The rigorous criteria for judg
ing the jokes at least one editor
has tb fall down laughing Since
most of our editors fall down
frequently, whether laughing or
not, this could lie a piece of cake
. Ampersand keeps all the jokes
We need them.
Send those hilarious words to
Ampersand Jokes. lbHO North
Vine, Suite 900, Hollywood, CA
90028
AMPERSAND OP TUB MONTH
This streamlined. Art Deco
Ampersand runic to us front
Scott I- Pringle of Yoncalla.
Oregon He earns t ilt for the
beautv. Others nf our readers
who are artistically Inclined
may also try to win hift bucks:
Just send us your original
Amftersands, In black Ink
on sturdy while fni/ter.
with your name and
address clearly printed
on the artwork. Art will
not be acknowletlged or
returned. Senil ttw ssfulggles
to Amfwrsand if the Month
IbNO North Vine. Suite 'MM).
Hollyusnul. CA •MMIJM.
When You’re Hot,
You’re Hot
Mystical texas-style guitar rocker
T Bone Burnett, celebrating a
soon-to-be released E.P. on Warner
Bros. Records, drew a crowd to the
Lingerie (a Hollywood New Wave
and roots rock hangout) that in
cluded Jeff (Tron) Bridges and Jamie
Lee (Halloween) Curtis. Conspicu
ously absent was Pia Zadora, though
Burnett dutifully scanned the crowd
for her.
& When You're Not,
You re Not ...
NO LONGER WILL THE MASSIVE,
gleaming teeth of Donny and
Marie Osmond emit pro-Hawaiian
Punch messages. According to Adver
rising Age, the pair has been drop
ped from future marketing plans for
the zippy, juice-based soft drink.
Look for images of "fun and sun" to
supplant the Osmonds, heretofore
the principal export of Utah.
TV Hits Make New Pi.x
AN AYKROYD IS IN CHICAGO shoot
VJ ing a new comedy, Dr Detroit.
wherein he plays a college professor
of chivalry and literary themes" who
winds up protecting a band of prosti
tutes as the fictitious “Dr. Detroit."
Aykroyd is contributing to the scrip!
penned by Bruce Jay Friedman and
Carl Gottlieb
As to the rumored Three Ctilxtl
Zeros, which was at one time to star
Aykroyd, Belushi and Steve Martin,
plans have been scratched for the
foreseeable future. But Aykroyd will
do a cameo as a I toss of N Y 's llol
land Tunnel in Nothin# lusts I'oreiet
a comedy by former SNI. writer Bob
Schiller. Also doing brief bits are Bill
Murray, Moil Sahl, Sam latte. Im
ogene Coca and Eddie Fisher.
Sr rv comics John Candy, Eugene
bevy and Joe Flaherty will finally
make a movie together. The picture,
starring Candy as a part time
drummer llmo driver who gets
brainwashed bv a fanatical religious
aerobics group out to assassinate his
politician father in law, was origi
nally called Drums oner Multn Al
though the SCIV kids liked that one.
the powers that In- thought it a little
Innocuous and tried to come up with
something Irettet Nest was.Vitmnuls
The SfH\uil Tihtiun, which several
exex liked but the guys vetoed. As ot
this writing the monicker stands at
Gobi Wet sent, a nice middleot the
road name but certainly not in the
tradition ot blasphemy we’ve grown
to expect ol SCIV Universal, the
)cast and director David Steinberg
are in need of outside help
' Vie can't promise a movie deal,
but anyone with their own ti
tie Ideas could send them to
(Continued on pu#e 26)