Mickey Mouse. Creation and debut
Mickey was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, an earlier star created by the Disney studio for Charles Mintz of Universal Studios. In fact, Mickey closely resembled Oswald in his early appearances. When Disney asked for a larger budget for his popular Oswald series, Mintz announced he had hired the bulk of Disney's staff but that Disney could keep doing the Oswald series as long as he agreed to a budget cut and went on the payroll. Mintz owned Oswald and thought he had Disney over a barrel. Angrily, Disney refused the deal and returned to California to produce the final Oswald cartoons he contractually owed Mintz. Disney was dismayed at the betrayal by his staff but determined to restart from scratch. The new Disney Studio initially consisted of animator Ub Iwerks and a loyal apprentice artist, Les Clark. One lesson Disney learned from the experience was to thereafter always make sure that he owned all rights to the characters produced by his company.
In the spring of 1928, Disney asked Ub Iwerks to start drawing up new character ideas. Iwerks tried sketches of frogs, dogs and cats but none of these appealed to Disney. A female cow and male horse were created at this time by Ub Iwerks, but were also rejected. They would later turn up as Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar.[4] Ub Iwerks eventually got inspiration from an old drawing. In 1925, Hugh Harman drew some sketches of mice around a photograph of Walt Disney. These inspired Ub Iwerks to create a new mouse character for Disney called Mickey Mouse.[5]
"We felt that the public, and especially the children, like animals that are cute and little. I think we are rather indebted to Charlie Chaplin for the idea. We wanted something appealing, and we thought of a tiny bit of a mouse that would have something of the wistfulness of Chaplin — a little fellow trying to do the best he could."
Mickey and Minnie debuted in the cartoon short Plane Crazy, first released on May 15, 1928. The was co-directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Iwerks was also the main animator for this short, and reportedly spent six weeks working on it. In fact, Iwerks was the main animator for every Disney short released in 1928 and 1929. Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising also assisted Disney during those years. They had already signed their contracts with Charles Mintz, but he was still in the process of forming his new studio and so for the time being they were still employed by Disney. This short would be the last they animated under this somewhat awkward situation.
The plot of Plane Crazy was fairly simple. Mickey is apparently trying to become an aviator in emulation of Charles Lindbergh. After building his own aircraft, he proceeds to ask Minnie to join him for its first flight, during which he repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempts to kiss her, eventually resorting to force. Minnie then parachutes out of the plane. While distracted by her, Mickey loses control of the plane. This becomes the beginning of an out-of-control flight that results in a series of humorous situations and eventually in the crash-landing of the aircraft. A non-anthropomorphic cow that briefly becomes a passenger in the aircraft is believed to be Clarabelle Cow making her debut.
Buster Keaton. The General (1927)
Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin are 2 of the most notable names in silent comedy. While Chaplin had a certain charm to his silliness, Buster Keaton brought an amazing physical presence to his comedy. In the General, he plays a southern guy who enlists in the Southern Army during the Civil War. This is not for patriotic or racist reasons, he simply wants to impress a girl. The army rejects him because he is not physically fit so he continues his civilian job as a railroad engineer. When his beloved engine, The General, is stolen by the northern army, he single-handedly rescues it and brings it back through enemy lines. The story is charming but incidental. This is a chance for Keaton to show of his amazing physical comedy. From running over a hill to intercept the train, to a narrow miss from a cannon, Keaton is pure genius. Any physical comedian of today including Jacky Chan, John Ritter (RIP), and Jim Carrey owe a huge debt of gratitude to Buster Keaton.
The American Museum of the Moving Image
The Museum of the Moving Image advances the public understanding and appreciation of the art, history, technique and technology of film, television, and digital media. It does so by collecting, preserving, and providing access to moving-image related artifacts; screening significant films and other moving-image works; presenting exhibitions of artifacts, artworks, and interactive experiences; and offering educational and interpretive programs to students, teachers, and the general public.
The Museum is located on the site of the largest, busiest, and most significant motion picture and television production facility between London and Hollywood, the Astoria Studio. Built in 1920 across the East River from midtown Manhattan, the studio was Paramount's East Coast production facility, and, in the 1930s, a site for independent film production. In 1942 the U.S. Army bought the Astoria Studio and renamed it the Signal Corps Photographic Center. The studio filled a major need for expanded production capability to speed the training of millions of wartime inductees. After the Army left in 1971, the site fell into disrepair.
In 1977, the Astoria Motion Picture and Television Center Foundation, Inc. (the Museum's predecessor organization) was formed. The not-for-profit organization obtained national historic site status in 1978 and began the process of returning the studio to feature-film production. By January 1981 it had become clear that additional resources would be needed to redevelop the studio site, and the City of New York found a real estate developer to operate a commercial feature-film and television production facility (now known as Kaufman Astoria Studios).
In 1982, ownership of the entire studio site was transferred from the U.S. General Services Administration to the City of New York. At the same time, in recognition of the Foundation's key role in saving the site, the City set aside one of the thirteen studio buildings for educational and cultural purposes related to the history of motion pictures and television. In 1981, Rochelle Slovin was appointed Executive Director. At her recommendation, the purpose of the organization-which had been to reopen the Astoria Studio for film production-was revised. The creation of a museum about motion pictures and television was established as the organization's new directive. Public education was made the central goal, and presenting exhibitions and screenings and maintaining a collection were set forth as its major activities. The Astoria Motion Picture and Television Foundation was reincorporated as the Museum of the Moving Image in 1985. A successful $20 million capital campaign enabled the Museum to renovate one of the original studio buildings and to open to the public in 1988.
Paul Verhoeven Biography
Director Paul Verhoeven is one of the most provocative, daring, challenging and controversial storytellers creating film entertainment today. Director of four of the most successful Dutch films ever made, he is now one of the most noted, influential filmmakers in Hollywood.
His widely seen work ranges from Basic Instinct to Total Recall. As diverse as his filmography may appear, each of his films reflects uncompromising vision, fascination with life's moral dilemmas and passion for the cinema. He has developed a reputation as a director whose unrestrained work is honest and often brutal with frank depictions of sexuality and violence.
Verhoeven was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, during the dark years of World War II. He became interested in movies during six years at the University Of Leiden, where he earned a doctorate in mathematics and physics in 1964 and did early short films.
Serving with the Royal Dutch Navy, he was assigned to the Marine Film Service as a documentary filmmaker. The highlight of this period was Verhoeven's selection to make a celebratory film marking the tercentenary of the Marine Corps. The grand scale result was The Marine Corps (Het Korps Mariniers), a stunning 23 minute documentary honored with the Silver Sun for military films in France.
Returning to civilian life, now dedicated to a life behind the cameras, Verhoeven entered Dutch television. It was Floris that established Paul Verhoeven on a popular national scale the 12-episode television adventure series about a medieval Dutch Ivanhoe (Rutger Hauer) became a phenomenon.
The director segued into feature films with Business Is Business (also known as Any Special Way and Wat Zien Ik). The 1971 comedy remains the fourth highest grossing Dutch-made film. This was followed by the 1973 release Turkish Delight (Turks Fruit), Cathy Tippel (also known a A Girl Called Keetje Tippel), and Soldier Of Orange (Soldaat Van Oranje), is universally regarded as one of the finest Dutch films ever made.
After making Gone, Gone (Voorbij, Voorbij) for television, Verhoeven again grabbed headlines and created long lines at the box office with his film, Spetters, in 1980. The Fourth Man (De Vierde Man) followed, as did Flesh + Blood, his first American financed film.
His next movie was an international mega-hit. RoboCop, the science fiction saga of a police officer turned into a destructive machine, was a slick, lively, tongue-in-cheek film about resurrection that struck a chord with audiences around the world. It was a box office champion for audiences and critics, the summer hit of 1987. The director followed RoboCop with another blockbuster, Total Recall. Opening in 1990, it also became the hit of the summer season. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone, the tale of mind-tampering in the 21st century earned two Oscar nominations and received the Academy Award for its dazzling special effects.
Those waiting to see what this relative newcomer to Hollywood could do next soon witnessed Basic Instinct, the number one worldwide boxoffice smash of 1992. Starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone, the powerful, provocative drama was arguably the most talked-about film of the year.
Controversy followed the filmmaker into 1995 with his tale of the dark side of Las Vegas titled Showgirls, a picture that lifted the veil from the famed city's scarred face. Prior to Hollow Man, Verhoeven returned to the science fiction genre with the monumental undertaking of the robust and rousing entertainment Starship Troopers.
Paul Verhoeven's work reflects 21st century existence, with mixed messages, blurred lines between dreams and reality, and no neat resolutions.