What is the Rainbow Connection?

It's my birthday again.  That's means that for my own indulgent pleasure (and possibly yours too) I will give my take on something in this world.  In years passed I've done that for:

Daffy Duck

Pepe Le Pew

Tweety

Jimi Hendrix

Barbra Streisand

and

Roger Rabbit

This year I will be talking about that seminal classic that everyone who's ever put their hand into a ball of cloth and manipulated it to amuse themselves and others knows: Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie

{Author's note: If anyone reading this post has discovered this rainbow connection already, or if Paul Williams himself has found this post and can offer his insight about the lyrics to this song, definitely feel free to leave a comment telling me what I got right and what I got wrong.  Everything I'm writing here is observation and not a stone cold fact.  I am open to discussion.}



As one can hear within the song, Kermit refers to this "rainbow connection" as something we don't know and as something that someday we will find.  Of course, in order to find something, one must begin looking.  That's simple and straightforward enough.  However, where would someone START looking for this connection?   I think I know where to start looking.
First, we must examine the rainbow.  For more than a few millennia, going back to when humankind was just blob fish with legs slogging along the earth's surface, we have been fascinated by the rainbow every time it has appeared.  Primitive man had no resources to even fathom what this giant band of colour in the sky was or how it got there.  In biblical folklore, it is said that God put a rainbow in the sky right after the giant flood as his way of telling Noah that He will never flood the Earth in that way ever again.  In Irish folklore, the end of a rainbow is said to be where leprechauns keep their gold.  That was mankind's first attempt at rationalizing the existence of rainbows.  It wasn't until the year 1307 AD that a German scientist named Theodoric of Freiburg discovered that rainbows can be created by shining light through a prism shaped shard of glass or a similar translucent surface such as water.  When a beam of light shines through such a surface it breaks up into the sex basic colours: RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, and PURPLE.  That's how a rainbow forms in the sky, sunlight is reflected and thus broken up through all of the water left on the ground after a good rain.
Our more scientifically sophisticated brains understand this now.  However, whenever a rainbow appears in the sky, to this day, everyone still gazes in awe at its magnificence.  We know exactly how a rainbow comes to be made and yet we are still amazed whenever we see one.  Why is that?  What is the big draw?  As Kermit sings, "what's so amazing...?".
This ties in with what happens to Kermit right after he's finished singing his song.  A man, played by Dom DeLouise, comes rowing by in a boat and tells Kermit that he's an agent in Hollywood.

From that point on, Kermit's main goal is to get into the movie business, or as they sing later in the flick, to "have a home at the magic store".  That right there is the connection.  The entire movie is making the rainbow a metaphor for movies.......... well, entertainment in general really.  Pretty much ever since George Melies took men on A Trip To The Moon in 1902, people have been fascinated by the magic of movies.  Since then, the cinema-going public has been dazzled by a giant gorilla on the Empire State Building, Moses parting the Red Sea, a young farm boy in outer space teaming up with a bounty hunter, a princess, a wookie and two robots to defeat an intergalactic villain that turns out to be his father, a land of tall blue people being ravaged by humans, and countless other special-effects extravaganzas.  People have also been dazzled by something simple as a mouse whistling a tune as he powers a steamboat.
For decades, we just sat back and enjoyed everything (well almost everything) we've seen on the big and small screens.  As our fascination for this industry grew, we began to see many 'behind the scenes' footage of these movies being made.  I think it was first done in 1968 when Hollywood would put smaller cameras on top of their large movie cameras so that candid footage of a real movie set could be captured and shown to the general public.  It still continues to this day.



That video above shows all of the technical elements to was used to make the movie Alita: Battle Angel what it is.  We know how it's all done now.  However, does this ruin our enjoyment of it?  Well here are its box office results so you tell me.

You see?  It's just like the rainbow.  Even after we've been shown how a movie is made, we are still enthralled by that movie.

It's not just like that in movies that require blue screens and so many computer graphics and/or animatronics to bring a story to life.  I'll use as an example something I was in, Lizzie Borden Took An Axe.  You can read my blog post that I made at the time right here.  Below I've embedded the big verdict scene from that movie.



It looks like that scene was shot on a bright sunny morning, doesn't it?  I think in the original history, the verdict was read at about 9:00 AM.  However, I was on the set that day and I can tell you what time it really was when we shot that.  It was midnight and outside was pouring rain.  They managed to made it look like a calm sunny morning, however not by computers and not simply through the camera's lens.  On the set it looked exactly a calm sunny morning.  All of us background extras stood in a weird state of disbelief.  We looked at our watches and/or our devices and saw "yes it's 11:59 PM" but in that room it looked like the morning.  Our bodies were even quasi adjusting themselves to feel like the morning.  We knew we should be going to bed soon but we also had this weird feeling of "it's time to start the day".

That, I believe, right there is the rainbow connection.  The same way we gaze in awe at a rainbow no matter how sophisticated and evolved we are, so too do we constantly gaze at the little universes created by the magic of movies no matter how sophisticated and evolved we are.
Just watch this clip below of Jim Henson on Dick Cavett's show.  He lifts a limp Kermit puppet up from behind a wall and then proceeds to put it on his arm, in full view of the audience.  Then when Jim makes Kermit talk you can see his mouth moving.  And yet, Kermit looks and feels very much alive the entire time.  How did that happen?  That's the magic of the rainbow.



Will we find this elusive rainbow connection? The lovers? The dreamers? You?  Well, that's up to each individual whether they want to look for it or not.  As for me, I'm going to keep enjoying rainbows and movies until my last dying breath.

Lizzie Borden Took An Ax

That's what this magnum opus is being called.  It makes its debut on the Lifetime Network next Saturday on January 25 at 8pm/7pm Central Time.  If you're not in either of those time zones, you'll have to do that math and find out the time for yourself.  The poster and the trailer is making it look like a campy slasher movie for some odd reason.  After being on that set for more than a few scenes, I can tell you that it is not like that at all.  "What is it then?" you ask.  You'll have to tune in and see for yourself, smart guy.

Last summer, I made a post on this very blog about me being a background extra in it.  Here are some of the costumes I got to wear:

This is what I wore for all of the court room scenes.  I had to do alot of listening kind of actions.  But, every once in a while, I had also had to do some type of gasping and other reflex reactions to the various activities in that courtroom.  Most of the time I was just a face in the crowd.  But I do remember two times where the camera was looking almost right at me.  Once was when Lizzie (Christina Ricci) was conferring with her lawyer and broke down crying at the thought of either going to jail or because I was staring at her back in my efforts to not look directly into the camera lense.  Whatever the motivation, she performed a good cry, even after doing it the 30th time.
The other time the camera was on me, I was behind two ladies commenting on how small and frail Lizzie was.  I know for certain that I was on camera because director Nick Gomez scolded me and the guy beside me and told us to tone down our hammy performances.  For the record, I knew my performance was too much as I was doing it.  But, since the cameras were already rolling, there was nothing I could do but play it out and wait for the director to inevitably call for Take 2 which he did.  So it was all good.
Oh yeah, I also remember that stupid collar digging into my neck.  I think I got a rash from it too.

I wore this ensemble when we shot in Lunenberg.  Here I played the part of a "church-goer".  That's right, kids, I went to church and got paid for it.
It was here that I did a scene inwhich I almost bumped into Christina Ricci and could possibly have ruined the scene.  My part was to be someone who had just left the church with everyone else and was now standing on the sidewalk somewhat behind the entire Borden family while I talked to two other gentlemen about that day's sermon.  After the director yelled "action" I had to tip my hat goodday to those gentlemen and then walk behind the Borden family as they walk off to the left.  But, on one of those takes, either I turned and walked too soon or the Bordens started walking too late.  Either way, when I turned around almost bumped right into all of them.  If I hadn't been paying attention, that whole scene could have turned into a mosh pit.  That might have been fun but I don't think it quite suited the tone the director was trying to achieve.  Oh well, no harm done.
I do also remember a couple of very horny horses that almost caused some chaos too.  I also don't think horse-porn would have suited the movie's motif as well.

I wore this in a few scenes where I was one of a crowd of people outside the Borden household trying to peek inside.  I was also somebody lined up on the side of the street as the coffins of both Mr. and Mrs. Borden travelled passed as well as a despondent Lizzie and Emma Borden.
I think I'm also wearing this in that one big scene where a race of hatchet-shaped aliens lands on the planet with thoughts of world domination.  Then Mr. and Mrs. Borden alone confront the aliens and fight them off in an effort to save all of humanity.  The aliens do fly away in retreat but not before attacking their skulls at least 40 times.

Oh whoops!  I just gave away the surprise "real truth" ending.  DOH!  I had to sign a paper about
not revealing that to anyone too.  Oh well, I guess Nick Gomez will have to make a last minute change before the big broadcast on Saturday.  I'm sure he can do it.  Then we can all find out what great ending he has for us.  It's too bad.  All the fighting off the alien scenes were amazing, even before all the CGI and AfterEffects were added.  Oh well, maybe that will be a included on special DVD or Blueray release or something.

Remember, that's Saturday, January 25, 2014 at 8pm / 7pm Central on the Lifetime Network.  Be there!

Datz Sho Bizniss

There's a movie about the life and trial of Lizzie Borden in the works.  Miss Lizzie will be played by Christina Ricci.  Much of the footage was shot here in Halifax and a few surrounding areas.  They even just finished shooting the last bit of scenes in Windsor just recently.  Very thankfully, I was lucky enough to have been chosen to play an extra in several scenes in this movie.  I was a gallery member in many scenes during the big trial.  I was a churchgoer that attended the same church as the Borden family (before and after the murders).  And lastly I was a nosy neighbour trying to catch a glimpse of the dead bodies in the Borden house followed by my portrayal of someone who watched the caskets being taken to the cemetery on a horse drawn carriage.  And I can honestly say that I performed each of those rolls with the ability of................ well let's just say I performed them.
Sadly, at this time, I'm very limited in what I can post about it up here for now.  I can't even show anyone what I looked like in my various costumes I had to wear.  We were definitely not allowed to take pictures while on the set.  So I guess all there is for me to do is to relay my own personal experience in being a part of this project without giving too much away.  So here it goes:

First off, I will just say that acting in movies is very fun but it is definitely not as easy as you might think.  For one thing, we had to repeat our performances 5 times or more.  Not always because our performances were bad either, but mostly because the director wanted to shoot the same thing from different angles.  Some of the less patient people on the set found that annoying and exhausting.
Of course, sometimes it was more exhausting to not be working.  There were days when most of our time was spent just standing around waiting for something to do.  But that was fine with us because we were still getting paid money to stand around anyway.  Basically we the extras were the equivalent of any bits of studio equipment they had lying around in big trucks that they were renting per day.  The main difference being of course is that we were much less expensive to replace if we got broken.

But I think everyone who's ever worked on a production has experienced that.  That's common for every movie, tv show, commercial, porn, etc. ever recorded on film.   I should talk about things that are unique only to this movie set.

I guess I should start with the main star Miss Christina Ricci herself.  I'm sure some of you reading this would like to me to dish out some dirt on her and possibly expose any undesirable traits that she's managed to keep hidden for so long.  Well, sorry to disappoint all of you out there who thrive on the misery of famous people, but I have no dirt on her for you.  That's because I saw no dirt.  It was always a pleasure to watch Christina work.  She is a consummate professional.  She shows up on set, does her job, and does it well.  There is not one ounce of diva bullshit in her.  Hell, some of the minimum wage slobs being extras displayed more bratty diva-like attitudes than anybody.  I even overheard one of them say "watch me pull a Mariah Carey".
There was one point between takes that Christina Ricci even displayed a very down to earth human side.  While shooting in Lunenberg, one citizen wandered onto the set accidentally while walking her dog.  At that point, Christina broke away from her station and went over to actually pet that dog.  That is definitely something I never thought I'd see.
No, I did not get to interact with her in any of the scenes, although I did almost knock her down once.  DOH!  My bad.  It's a good thing I was paying attention and stopped myself before that happened.  It's probably just as well that we didn't interact in any scenes because I think she considered me to be weird and creepy.  She's not entirely wrong.  She's not the first to come to that conclusion and she won't be the last.
Although, to be fair, I do think she held a similar attitude for all the extras.  I don't think she was too happy with all of us being recruited through Kijiji (I found out about this through Facebook myself).  All the while she was probably thinking "who or what lurks among those people?"  Some of the other actors felt this way as well I'm sure.  Fortunately for her most of us were well behaved.
I'm a little disappointed that she feels that way, but I definitely do respect her as an actress and as a professional.  I do think that she is destined to win an Irving Thalburg Lifetime Achievement Oscar and when she does I will be applauding quite loudly.

Below is a picture of her I quickly scribbled.  I was hoping to get it autographed by her but the opportunity never presented itself.  Oh well, here it is in all it's.............. majesty?

So that's that.  Oh, I should also give a special shout out to the director of this film, Nick Gomez.  He ran a very slick and well organized production.  The way his crew took down and set up equipment from one spot to another in record time was reminiscent of NASCAR pit crews.  But besides that, Nick himself seemed to have pretty much every detail of the movie figured out so all he had to do on set was orchestrate everything like a good symphony conductor.  I've read that Alfred Hitchcock liked to put 90% of his attention for his movies into the preproduction planning stage so that all the shooting and the editing would just fall in to place.  I have a feeling that Nick Gomez works in a similar way.  And, as if all of that weren't enough, he's got the task of looking at the footage with me in it over and over again.  If he makes it through that ordeal without peeling his scalp off then he should get some kind of award for that alone.

All in all, I would say that the entire thing was a very positive experience.  I learned alot about the art of making movies, I met some nice people, and I made some nice money.  I absolutely need to make lots and lots of that nice money right now.

Speaking of nice people.  One of them that I met on the set was James Vincent Walsh.  He is an artist who was brought in to do all the courtroom art during the trial scenes.  He draws court room scenes for a living as well.  You can see his work all the time on the local Halifax 6 o' clock news.  You can view his work on his website here.

Another person I met was a man named Gary Fontaine who has made his own film called Wendy and Wanda.  The trailer is embedded below.  It looks like it could be fun.

Well I guess that's about all I can say for now.  If anyone else who was on any of the various movie sets for this film, please chime in and share your experience.  I'm sure all of our observations combined could reveal the full picture of that entire movie shoot.

I'll end this blog with one of Christina Ricci's earliest performances.  She herself either might still be proud of this or would like to forget it ever happened.  But, if you can withstand Cher warbling through  a golden oldie (I can't) then you will enjoy the video below.

See you at the movies!!!