not to hijack the thread, but anyone interested in talking Manson movies again? I ask because I was laid up this weekend and found a copy of the old Helter Skelter movie with Steve Railsback at my library. I saw it when it first came out in '76 but hadn't seen it in 35 years. Trying to watch it now is painful. It is putrid, the screenwriting is formula and the acting is community theatre, though you have to give Railsback points for trying. Does anyone know if Manson ever got to actually watch the movie. Maybe Candy knows. I turned it off half way through. Second, if another Manson movie ever gets made I have the perfect director for it...the guy's name is Timur Bekmambetov and he has a movie out now called 'Abe Lincoln Vampire Slayer". It is not something I would have generally gone to see but it was playing up at the cheap $2 movies so I figured what the hell. It wasn't half bad, good pace, and some really innovative action scenes. The guy is talented, a Spielberg protege. One last movie thought but I will put it in a seperate post.
Like I said, I was laid up all weekend with a bad back so I did allot of lying on the floor and thinking. I was wondering what Oliver Stone's Manson movie would have looked like. Here's my guess for the first few opening scenes...
Stone would have opened with a shot of Charlie and Brenda dancing on the porch at Spahn to the Moody Blues - weren't they the only group besides the Beatles that Manson allowed?. Anyways, it is a moonlit night and Charlie and Brenda are grinding on each other. In a closeup we see that Brenda is packing, and part of the dialogue we overhear between the two is Charlie saying to Brenda, "so you're cool with this, right? If any of em are freaked out or full of remorse, you have to take them out before morning. We can't risk it." Brenda nods in agreement. "It will be my pleasure". See, this speaks to the mystery of why Manson didn't send his "chief assassin" out on the TLB killings. He was holding her in reserve to take care of any problems. The scene continues with the car pulling up and Manson going through his debriefing. He sends the killers to bed telling them to fuck themselves to sleep and then turns to Brenda and says, "we gotta see this".
So the second scene is Charlie and Brenda and maybe Clem up a Cielo in the 3 to 4 AM timeline. Most serious TLB observers believe this visit to be fact given the moving of stuff and various blood stains and the towel over Jay's head. This scene is something never filmed or even written much about because there is no cooberation. But it is a really compelling microcisim of the case. And you know Stone's willingness to play loose with the facts. He may try and explain the towel over Jay's head by postulating that Sebring was still alive when they got there. He couldn't move but looked up at Manson and mouthed the word "why". And Manson answers him ???? and then orders Clem to put a towel over Jay's head and stomp him, the towel because Charlie doesn't want any more mess.
The third scene would be a cut to the offices of Rolling Stone where there is a heated debate over wether to send their best reporters to L.A. to write about the murders or to upstate New York to cover a music festival. Jann Werner argues for covering the murders, saying music festivals are a dime a dozen and "nobody will remember, what is it called, Woodcock, Woodstock, two months from now but they will remember these murders a hundred years from now". The slant that the Rolling Stone reporter gets when he goes out to L.A. is how unbelievably inept the police are - they have the Hinman connection from day one but choose to ignore it, they have the gun in their possesion but don't know it, they had Charlie and the whole gang in custody but misdated the warrant. Maybe the reporter connects with Paul Tate. So when he calls in to give all the facts to his editors, he has a story with military black ops guys (Tate) and Straight Satan bikers and ritual killings and hippie cults and famous musicians (Polanski suspected John Phillips involvement) and so on. If there ever was a multi layered conspiracy story with a hundred wild characters it is the TLB story. Stone loves that stuff.
Okay, maybe I did to many pain pills. But where else does the mind go when staring at the ceiling. Anyone got any other "Stone" scenes?
It's Sharon. It's just that she is not really standing in the doorway of Cielo Drive. It's all photoshopped. The original picture was taken when LIFE accompanied Roman Polanski to the house. In the original, there's a chair under the left light. There is a lot of blood on the porch that was also been removed. Both the door and wall that Sharon has her hands on aren't there.
cielodrivecom said... Also, the first picture is from the set of Eye of The Devil not Cielo Drive
orwhut said... cielodrivecom said... That last one is a fake
Please elaborate. Is it not Sharon?
cielodrivecom said... It's Sharon. It's just that she is not really standing in the doorway of Cielo Drive. It's all photoshopped. The original picture was taken when LIFE accompanied Roman Polanski to the house. In the original, there's a chair under the left light. There is a lot of blood on the porch that was also been removed. Both the door and wall that Sharon has her hands on aren't there.
If anyone is lookin for me- I will be over at Cielodrive.com whoopin some ass!!!!
I've said all this before, leary so hope I am not repeating myself to you. The reason Manson story doesn't make a good film is that the audience has nobody to identify with. Attempts to make Linda the central figure have failed because she isn't really tragic. She was there, she grassed up her friends. If her agony over betrayal was foregrounded you might have something but its not enough for a movie although maybe David Mamet could make a play out of it. Thing is, Linda felt no betrayal.
So who could the central figure be, that the audience can feel for? Think of Macbeth. Macbeth does terrible things, but we don't hate him. We go through catharsis, pity and terror, because we see we can all be the victim of our faults. He's a good man, brought down by his own ambition and the push from the witches to activate it. In the end, he has destroyed himself. But he's also murdered Duncan and Banquo and Macduff's wife and kids and many more. But we feel for him.
So who is our Macbeth?
Charlie? Good choice, if he wasn't America's demon king. What is his fatal flaw? Bitterness? Desire for revenge on the world that hurt him? The witches would be the police whose harassment turned him mean. So he seems like the hippie, but underneath is the smouldering desire to hurt THEM, the ones who have it easy and dont care about abused kids in reform homes.
Tex? No.
Patricia? Maybe...the need to be loved...and not much is known of her.
Susan? This is the obvious choice. We can all relate to being insecure. But making Susan lovable to the audience would be a job for Shakespeare himself.
See, even the Ted Bundy movie only works because he is shown as struggling with his urge to kill. He tries to be 'normal' and to have a family and can't fight it. So we feel for him. And actually, it doesnt really work because when he dies, we don't feel pity and terror, just disgust. Its a failure.
I think Charlie is the obvious one. But it would be a brave film-maker who undertook to humanize him. He's a real killer. after all. That's the problem. These aren't Shakespeare tales. Real people died.
Maybe Little Paul? Tragedy of disillusionment? Or an inspirational tale of starting over after escaping? Tell the Crockett story. Dont show the murders.
Any ideas? I am up for writing it with someone to help me. I cant do it on my own. Brain wont work.
The photos of Roman were taken before the murders. He's wearing the same clothes as in the photo of him with Sharon. The only difference is that he took off his jacket. There's another photo of himi inside the house where he's standing by the ladder to the loft.
That last one is a fake
ReplyDeletenot to hijack the thread, but anyone interested in talking Manson movies again?
ReplyDeleteI ask because I was laid up this weekend and found a copy of the old Helter Skelter movie with Steve Railsback at my library. I saw it when it first came out in '76 but hadn't seen it in 35 years. Trying to watch it now is painful. It is putrid, the screenwriting is formula and the acting is community theatre, though you have to give Railsback points for trying. Does anyone know if Manson ever got to actually watch the movie. Maybe Candy knows. I turned it off half way through.
Second, if another Manson movie ever gets made I have the perfect director for it...the guy's name is Timur Bekmambetov and he has a movie out now called 'Abe Lincoln Vampire Slayer". It is not something I would have generally gone to see but it was playing up at the cheap $2 movies so I figured what the hell. It wasn't half bad, good pace, and some really innovative action scenes. The guy is talented, a Spielberg protege.
One last movie thought but I will put it in a seperate post.
Also, the first picture is from the set of Eye of The Devil not Cielo Drive
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I was laid up all weekend with a bad back so I did allot of lying on the floor and thinking. I was wondering what Oliver Stone's Manson movie would have looked like.
ReplyDeleteHere's my guess for the first few opening scenes...
Stone would have opened with a shot of Charlie and Brenda dancing on the porch at Spahn to the Moody Blues - weren't they the only group besides the Beatles that Manson allowed?. Anyways, it is a moonlit night and Charlie and Brenda are grinding on each other. In a closeup we see that Brenda is packing, and part of the dialogue we overhear between the two is Charlie saying to Brenda, "so you're cool with this, right? If any of em are freaked out or full of remorse, you have to take them out before morning. We can't risk it."
Brenda nods in agreement.
"It will be my pleasure".
See, this speaks to the mystery of why Manson didn't send his "chief assassin" out on the TLB killings. He was holding her in reserve to take care of any problems. The scene continues with the car pulling up and Manson going through his debriefing. He sends the killers to bed telling them to fuck themselves to sleep and then turns to Brenda and says, "we gotta see this".
So the second scene is Charlie and Brenda and maybe Clem up a Cielo in the 3 to 4 AM timeline. Most serious TLB observers believe this visit to be fact given the moving of stuff and various blood stains and the towel over Jay's head. This scene is something never filmed or even written much about because there is no cooberation. But it is a really compelling microcisim of the case. And you know Stone's willingness to play loose with the facts. He may try and explain the towel over Jay's head by postulating that Sebring was still alive when they got there. He couldn't move but looked up at Manson and mouthed the word "why". And Manson answers him ???? and then orders Clem to put a towel over Jay's head and stomp him, the towel because Charlie doesn't want any more mess.
The third scene would be a cut to the offices of Rolling Stone where there is a heated debate over wether to send their best reporters to L.A. to write about the murders or to upstate New York to cover a music festival.
Jann Werner argues for covering the murders, saying music festivals are a dime a dozen and "nobody will remember, what is it called, Woodcock, Woodstock, two months from now but they will remember these murders a hundred years from now".
The slant that the Rolling Stone reporter gets when he goes out to L.A. is how unbelievably inept the police are - they have the Hinman connection from day one but choose to ignore it, they have the gun in their possesion but don't know it, they had Charlie and the whole gang in custody but misdated the warrant.
Maybe the reporter connects with Paul Tate. So when he calls in to give all the facts to his editors, he has a story with military black ops guys (Tate) and Straight Satan bikers and ritual killings and hippie cults and famous musicians (Polanski suspected John Phillips involvement) and so on.
If there ever was a multi layered conspiracy story with a hundred wild characters it is the TLB story. Stone loves that stuff.
Okay, maybe I did to many pain pills. But where else does the mind go when staring at the ceiling.
Anyone got any other "Stone" scenes?
cielodrivecom said... That last one is a fake
ReplyDeletePlease elaborate. Is it not Sharon?
It's Sharon. It's just that she is not really standing in the doorway of Cielo Drive. It's all photoshopped. The original picture was taken when LIFE accompanied Roman Polanski to the house. In the original, there's a chair under the left light. There is a lot of blood on the porch that was also been removed. Both the door and wall that Sharon has her hands on aren't there.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cielo,
ReplyDeletePhotoshop amazes me.
You really should learn to spell Frykowski's name. It's Wojtek or Wojciech.
ReplyDeleteJakub Kaleta said...
ReplyDeleteYou really should learn to spell Frykowski's name. It's Wojtek or Wojciech.
I think you have yelled at us for this before. Our bad.
ReplyDeletecielodrivecom said...
That last one is a fake
cielodrivecom said...
Also, the first picture is from the set of Eye of The Devil not Cielo Drive
orwhut said...
cielodrivecom said... That last one is a fake
Please elaborate. Is it not Sharon?
cielodrivecom said...
It's Sharon. It's just that she is not really standing in the doorway of Cielo Drive. It's all photoshopped. The original picture was taken when LIFE accompanied Roman Polanski to the house. In the original, there's a chair under the left light. There is a lot of blood on the porch that was also been removed. Both the door and wall that Sharon has her hands on aren't there.
If anyone is lookin for me- I will be over at Cielodrive.com whoopin some ass!!!!
LEARY- Might you find time to drop me an e-mail? I don't have your address anymore for some odd reason. :)
ReplyDelete1967mansonfamily@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteJust in case.
I've said all this before, leary so hope I am not repeating myself to you. The reason Manson story doesn't make a good film is that the audience has nobody to identify with. Attempts to make Linda the central figure have failed because she isn't really tragic. She was there, she grassed up her friends. If her agony over betrayal was foregrounded you might have something but its not enough for a movie although maybe David Mamet could make a play out of it. Thing is, Linda felt no betrayal.
ReplyDeleteSo who could the central figure be, that the audience can feel for? Think of Macbeth. Macbeth does terrible things, but we don't hate him. We go through catharsis, pity and terror, because we see we can all be the victim of our faults. He's a good man, brought down by his own ambition and the push from the witches to activate it. In the end, he has destroyed himself. But he's also murdered Duncan and Banquo and Macduff's wife and kids and many more. But we feel for him.
So who is our Macbeth?
Charlie? Good choice, if he wasn't America's demon king. What is his fatal flaw? Bitterness? Desire for revenge on the world that hurt him? The witches would be the police whose harassment turned him mean. So he seems like the hippie, but underneath is the smouldering desire to hurt THEM, the ones who have it easy and dont care about abused kids in reform homes.
Tex? No.
Patricia? Maybe...the need to be loved...and not much is known of her.
Susan? This is the obvious choice. We can all relate to being insecure. But making Susan lovable to the audience would be a job for Shakespeare himself.
See, even the Ted Bundy movie only works because he is shown as struggling with his urge to kill. He tries to be 'normal' and to have a family and can't fight it. So we feel for him. And actually, it doesnt really work because when he dies, we don't feel pity and terror, just disgust. Its a failure.
I think Charlie is the obvious one. But it would be a brave film-maker who undertook to humanize him. He's a real killer. after all. That's the problem. These aren't Shakespeare tales. Real people died.
Maybe Little Paul? Tragedy of disillusionment? Or an inspirational tale of starting over after escaping? Tell the Crockett story. Dont show the murders.
Any ideas? I am up for writing it with someone to help me. I cant do it on my own. Brain wont work.
Mr. Frykowski had some nice quadriceps....Too bad that mustache-having SKANK stabbed him in those nice quadriceps.......
ReplyDeleteThe photos of Roman were taken before the murders. He's wearing the same clothes as in the photo of him with Sharon. The only difference is that he took off his jacket. There's another photo of himi inside the house where he's standing by the ladder to the loft.
ReplyDelete