His Girl Friday premiered

January 11, 1940 –The classic newspaper comedy, His Girl Friday, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, opened in New York on this date. The film finished shooting seven days behind schedule. The delays were caused by the complexity of shooting the rapid-fire dialogue, which had to be carefully timed with business and movement. The restaurantContinue reading “His Girl Friday premiered”

The Joy of Painting premiered

January 11, 1983 –Painting bad landscapes was never so easy when The Joy of Painting featuring Bob Ross premiered on this date. Bob made three copies of every painting he made. The first copy always hid off screen, and Ross referred to it while the cameras rolled. Ross painted a third copy when filming finished.Continue reading “The Joy of Painting premiered”

One of the most influential Sci-Fi films premiered

January 10 1927 –The film Metropolis opened in Berlin on this date. It was the most expensive silent film of the time, adjusting for inflation, the budget for Metropolis (7m Reichsmarks) ran around $230 million (2016). (The film went into public domain last year.) Much to Fritz Lang’s dismay, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels wereContinue reading “One of the most influential Sci-Fi films premiered”

The Sopranos premiered 25 years ago

January 10, 1999 –David Chase’s landmark series about the lives of gangsters and their existential angst, The Soprano, starring James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, and Lorraine Bracco debuted on HBO on this date. After the pilot aired, a real-life “wise guy” told James Gandolfini never to wear shorts again. The encounter seems to have been incorporatedContinue reading “The Sopranos premiered 25 years ago”

That tchotchke is worth how much?

January 9, 1997 –Based on the original BBC series, which premiered in 1979, Antiques Roadshow premiered on your local PBS station, on this date. In 2001, PBS began airing the original BBC version of Antiques Roadshow in the United States. In the United States, the BBC version is titled Antiques Roadshow UK to differentiate itContinue reading “That tchotchke is worth how much?”