Four bits of trivia gleaned from Wikipedia:

1. Stanley Holloway is Sophie Dahl’s other grandfather
2. Kay Walsh was married to David Lean and got a writing credit for Great Expectations for devising the ending. She also devised the opening of Oliver Twist
3. Robert Newton invented the Long John Silver catchphrase “Ayyyy, matey” and is the patron saint of International Talk Like A Pirate Day
4. Celia Johnson was married to Ian Fleming’s brother

I enjoyed the movie and I liked the music, but I found it all a bit disturbing (maybe that was the intention).

Rock music has always struggled to define what is ‘for real’. So why not a bunch of teenage girls doing Suzi Quattro in their underwear ? It still ends up with someone cracking up because they couldn’t handle the fame and adulation.

At least Joan Jett seems happy now.

And Kim Fowley’s songwriting scences reminded me of Jack Black in School of Rock.

On the first disk Elizabeth Taylor is smuggled in a carpet to see Rex Harrison, they become lovers and see off the threat of Richard O’Sullivan. Cleopatra  travels to Rome, arriving on a huge golden carnival float and everything is going well until the Ides of March.

On the second disk ET and Richard Burton become lovers, Roddy McDowell’s ships beat Mark Anthony at Actium, and it finishes up with an asp bite.

And Martin Landau is in it too.

Famous facts about this film:

1. it is the highest grossing film ever to fail to make a profit
2. some of the sets and costumes were reused in Carry on Cleo made shortly after

Caesar always seems to be in control during his bit (except for burning the Great Library of Alexanria — Oopsie), but Mark Anthony never really gets to grips with the whole ruling thing, stuck in his own head, feeding his ego and caring for nothing except his love for Cleopatra.

Like it says at the start of Carry on Cleo, “from an original idea by William Shakespeare.”

Elizabeth Taylor RIP

I went to Reading Festival a few times in the 80s and 90s, but I had no idea Reading was so rural.

I also liked the sunniness. They got that right, England in the 70s was very sunny, or at least that’s how I remembered it.

Richard Lester directing Richard Pryor, Pamela Stephenson and a load of British actors — this just felt like the perfect comic book movie.

Then on Sunday evening Jan and I watched Iron Man II. Ivan Vanko was the scariest super villain I’ve ever seen in a movie. Eek ! I thought it was a lot of fun, but it was a bit too exciting and I didn’t sleep too well that night.