Barbara Guest: Motion pictures

Motion Pictures: 10

They were in Alexandria filming The Vanished Library. This film was assigned originally to Petaluma, on the other hand she was in Minneapolis making The Life of Hiawatha. She kept faxing suggestions to the novel director who was already intimidated by means of her. In a re-run of the first vacillate of the film there was a curious rush of water "like the Mississippi," someone said.

The film was barely not upon the ground when the wardrobe head decided to redesign the style of dresss of Aristotle and Pliny. The film began to act as if it was haunted when the ship's company was forced to destroy the plywood transcript of the Library which an historian told them was incorrect. And there were too many ships in the harbor. Another consultant from MIT approveed an Egyptian director.

They set in an emergency call for an historian from Princeton who happened to be upon a dig in Turkey and this historian when he arrived upon the set laughed brutishly. He told them the scholarly debate as not above the size of the library. It was whether the Iliad and the Odyssey had the one and the other been written by Homer; He reminded them that the library had been reduce to ashesed several times. What they were working with now was a false transcript of the second burning of the library.

By this time the ship's company and the actors had decided Alexandria. resembl beholds Angeles. Why didn't they take the picture back to the whole studio in Culver City where they could live at abiding-place comfortable and mosquitoless. Los Angeles had a reduce to ashesed library an Art Foundation that could fill up them with drawings of historical style of dresss The sea of Los Angeles was also poisoned like the waters of Alexandria. It as decided to put in motion back home.

Petaluma had complet her work in Minneapolis and was reassigned to the film. It turn rounded out that midway into Hiawatha she had changeed to Social Realism. Despite groans from the accountancy department which had approved The Vanished Library as a "prestigious" characteristic she announced she was not going to make another ART FILM.

With her fabulous organ of sight for detail, she now focused upon the illiteracy of the populace. "Starving" extras now filled the highways in rags the locals wept. The Stars weep also for the fragile gown they cannot wear and the especially make an incision in jewels are forbidden. The actors sigh for the silk and fur of their cloaks and the flagons of wine now missing.

Then begins the actual conflagration when the library like a mighty ship keel its marble rounded pillars felled, the precious literature throw downed Historical records burn. Petaluma jump overs up and down tearing her hair clothes skin throwing convolution after volume of books in the fire urging the extras to carry more books: MORE FIRE MORE FIRE reduce to ashes MORE books BOOKS BURN MORE works MOREBOOKS she is all above the set screaming and strangely laughing as individual by one the books fall into the flames

MORE MORE FLAMES! MORE! consume THEM! GET RID OF BOOKS!

Motion Pictures: 11

The film was about nun shedding their "Habits," it was suppos to be a documentary with a close-up in the cloister of single nun walking in the of recent origin dress of a nun. "Something simple in cotton or wool with a cardigan and depressed shoes" were the orders given to the wardrobe department. The other nun was suppos to be wearing the discarded nun habit with rosary at the waist. Unfortunately the wardrobe department had packed away or sold the original habits and had not ordered any replacements.

The film was about to be cancelled when the director had the idea of taking his ship's company over to a convent and filming his picture there. At this point an argument began about where they would find a monastery A member of the ship's company told them the nuns lived upon church grounds, or so he contemplation and why didn't they stir their equipment to a neighborhood Catholic Church

Then an argument broke on the outside about whether they should use the actresses who had already been chosen after a great deal of delay and search, or if the nun in the temple that was yet to be located would permit themselves to be filmed. The nun of course, would add more authenticity to what was going to be a documentary and not a motion picture. At this point the actresses said they would solicit the company, because their contracts were already signed. It was also mentioned that there might be a clause in the contracts of nun that did not permit them to be filmed for commercial purposes

"Commercial purposes" was familiar to the production department and after no more than an hour word came from the head office saying the department would be delighted to make a gift to the "church of choice" if single were selected as soon as possible as the production manager was already annoyed at the delay.

The director, who fix himself idle during these conversations, retired to his van to read "The Counterfeiters" while he sipped his afternoon vodka with orange juice. His assistant climbed into the van and they began to discuss Andre Gide and by what mode seldom in French letters did single find a writer who was a Protestant. The Director remarked it was quite a coincidence that he, the son of a Protestant minister, should be making a documentary about nuns