Here is the link to the broadcast!
https://www.scpr.org/programs/filmweek/2017/04/14/56194/mars-in-the-movies-a-history-on-how-the-planet-has/
At my wife’s
recommendation, my publisher McFarland’s publicist had sent Mars in the Movies: A History to Larry
Mantle, the host of National Public Radio (Los Angeles)’s—KPCC Air Talk,
including the Friday segment “Film Week”.
We listen to Larry in the car whenever the timing of our driving
corresponds with his show.
https://www.scpr.org/programs/filmweek/2017/04/14/56194/mars-in-the-movies-a-history-on-how-the-planet-has/
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| AirTalk's Web Page |
Well, what do you know?
Last Tuesday I received an e-mail from Jacklyn Kim, a news clerk at KPCC, with
the subject line “INTERVIEW
REQUEST - KPCC Radio”
That got my attention!
 |
| Jacklyn Kim |
Jacklyn invited me to be
on the show, and when I accepted, she asked me to share three or four
iconic moments from Mars movies that are available on YouTube. I sent her five (I include them at the end of this
article):
Anyway, Jacklyn proved to
be very nice, guiding me through the process. It was only a fifteen minute
segment, but I’d never been interviewed before, so the guidance proved to be
just what I needed to stay calm.
Fast forward to Friday, we
drove the 70 miles or so to the NPR building in Pasadena (where you’ll also
find the Rose Bowl, the Rose Parade, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where I used to work for many years!).During a two-minute break in the show, quickly I found myself in a tiny room (a sound booth I guess you’d call it) with headsets on and a microphone about an inch from my face sitting opposite Larry Mantle. He was a gentleman, greeting me, and quickly explained the flow of the segment.
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| Larry Mantle |
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| Justin Chang |
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| Peter Rainer |
I could hardly catch my breath when the show began with a mashup of Danny Elfman’s theme for Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! and the trailer of The Angry Red Planet (1959) announcing the miracle of CINEMAGIC. A few seconds later, Larry explains what it was we’d just heard; then he introduces me and the book.
Timewise, all four of us spoke about equally. Plus call-ins were encouraged and several people named their favorite Mars movies. One person shouted out an I Love Lucy episode that was totally new to me. I would have loved to have talked more about the book. Still it was a great experience.
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| Gene Berry telling Les Tremayne, “Take my word for it, General!...You better let Washington know!" |
Here is the link to the
full broadcast so you can listen to your heart’s content!:
I hope you liked this
digression from the normal feast of Mars film miscellania!
ICONIC CLIPS THAT I SENT
TO THE RADIO STATION
They didn’t use Jeff Wayne’s
Musical Version of the War of the Worlds probably
because Richard Burton’s narration would have been too long, and besides, it
isn’t technically a movie!
The War of the Worlds (1953)
(iconic sequence that includes Gene Berry emphatically ordering “Take my word
for it, Genera!”
2:38
Jeff Wayne’s Musical
Version of the War of the Worlds (Richard Burton’s iconic narration followed by
swelling band and orchestra)
3:34 - 4:40
Haredevil Hare (Marvin the
Martian)
It’s a great 30 snippet
from the original cartoon.
The Angry Red Planet
(Trailer)
References to “Cinemagic”
Mars Attacks! (Title
Sequence, see my Mars Attacks! post)
Full of amazing music with
choir and theremin (see pp. 185-186 in my book)
P.S.: The whole thing moved so
fast that it was only afterward that I realized that I had quoted Peter Rainer
twice in my book, but I didn't make that connection during the 15 minutes when
were all together. His quote about THE MARTIAN perfectly encapsulates my own
view: "Given the enormousness of its subject, there is a radical lack of
awe in the movie." Too bad I didn’t put 2 + 2 together earlier. <<<SIGH>>>
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