Are you interested in miracles?
Because if you are, I would love to share one with you.
Behold, our cast for “The Boy and the Tengu”!!! (Which is one of the films we are shooting this summer for our web series, Clara Tales).
Our wonderful producer Jennie found these kids by sheer will power, hard work and the grace of God. That is a good combination if you are interested in experiencing a miracle. Also, prayer and fasting come in handy!
These kids fill my heart with joy and wonder!
And I love Jennie Brown more than words can ever express!
This weekend we watched “Roman Holiday” with the girls.
When Audrey Hepburn first came on the screen Clara cried out,
“Mom! Mom! It’s ELIZA DOODLE!”
(Clara calls Eliza Doolittle, Eliza Doodle – we think this works and we go with it.)
Millie and Clara dug it.
Except the ending pretty much baffled Millie,
“But WHY can’t they be together?”
Jan and I both took a turn trying to explain – she is a princess, he is a commoner etc. etc.
Nope. Millie wasn’t having it.
I also threw in the idea of how cool it was that they fulfilled their respective duties, she as a princess and he as a journalist, and the ending was sad but filled with longing and that is cool. They loved each other for a day, that had to be enough.
Nope. Millie thought that was bunk.
(She’s kind of got a point and I love her for sticking to her guns.)
Anyway, as we were watching the film Jan and I both jumped on Wikipedia and learned all about the making of the film and stuff.
We learned that this was pretty much Audrey’s first film and Gregory was supposed to be the only one to get top billing. About half way through making the picture he called his agent and said they’d better put Audrey’s name right next to his because she was going to knock everyone’s socks off. This was apparently unprecedented, but Greg was right – this film was a star maker and not only launched Audrey but landed her an academy award.
I also learned that Audrey and Gregory became friends on set and stayed friends their whole lives. Nice, right?
This kind of information is wonderful. I love it. But if you read Wikipedia you also find out how sad and depraved these movie stars lives were/are. And that kind of information makes me feel awfully sad. Perhaps I am a sap – but I know where happiness can be found and these people’s lives, although glamorous, are not filled with very much happiness. Instead they are filled with all kinds of depravity. To which I say, “BOO! HISS!”
I jumped from one link to another learning about a slew of depraved Hollywood actors from the 1950s and then I started to feel depressed.
UNTIL
I followed a link to Frank Capra’s page
What a great man he was! A truly great man. He really stood up for what he believed in and what he believed in was true and good. Listen to this:
“The art of Frank Capra is very, very simple: It’s the love of people. Add two simple ideals to this love of people: the freedom of each individual, and the equal importance of each individual, and you have the principle upon which I based all my films.”
“My films must let every man, woman, and child know that God loves them, that I love them, and that peace and salvation will become a reality only when they all learn to love each other.“
He was a scrappy little immigrant boy who rose to the tippity-top of Hollywood fame and then walked away from it all after WWII when Hollywood started to make movies that were cynical and hedonistic.
I love this man’s films and I love him too.
While reading about him I learned that May 12th is national FRANK CAPRA DAY.
And so, dear friends, I would like to propose that we celebrate it! I want to host a Capra Film festival, and maybe even recruit Bette to make us some awesome t-shirts for us?! And we shall make “Capra-corn” popcorn balls- take that you cynics! And have a MARVELOUS TIME! Yes???? Are you with me on this one? I don’t know, but this is a day that I feel is worth celebrating.
So,
SAVE THE DATE – and come on over for a Capra film festival – on MAY 12, 2013, at Chez Dawson
And let the good times roll!
