tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post7301715813490048978..comments2024-01-27T02:33:23.675-08:00Comments on Beverly in Movieland: My Ray Bradbury ChroniclesBeverlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15515783219367479399noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-48693975055358803922012-06-11T09:16:02.857-07:002012-06-11T09:16:02.857-07:00Fascinating and sad. It's too bad people can&#...Fascinating and sad. It's too bad people can't enjoy their celebrity -- I think most writers would be thrilled to be recognized on the street by fans. But old age is tough to handle, so that's probably at least part of the explanation. Thanks, Mr. Craig.Beverlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15515783219367479399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-13670491295469381692012-06-10T20:44:23.731-07:002012-06-10T20:44:23.731-07:00Eight or nine years after A Christmas Story, My Su...Eight or nine years after A Christmas Story, My Summer Story was filmed in Cleveland, Oh and Wilmington NC. I think they basically only shot the house exteriors in Cleveland, using the same house from A Christmas Story. Since so much time had passed, the whole family was recast - Charles Grodin and Mary Steenburgen in for Darren McGavin and Melinda Dillon; and Kieran and Christian Culkin as the lads. I was hired to be a stand-in for two sequences - standing in for the great character actor Roy Brocksmith as the Tax Man, and later for actor Troy Evans in a fishing scene. Well, all the rigamarole of getting in and out of the boats annoyed everyone, and Troy Evans, so he just stayed on the boat all day. This left me on shore doing nothing but waiting in case he changed his mind. Late in the afternoon, a buzz went through the set - Jean Sheppard was on set! I positioned myself near the end of the dock the camera was shooting off of and waited. Mr. and Mrs. Sheppard came strolling along. I didn't want to try for an autograph - and had no camera for a picture. I just wanted to say hello to the man whose writing had given me so much joy and laughter, and tell him that. As he got near me, I thrust out a hand and said "Mr. Sheppard?" He turned to me, looked at my hand, then turned away, growling "I don't have time for you!" His wife gave me a sympathetic look as she passed by. I know he might have had reason to be crabby, or even have been having a bad day. But that interaction marred my ability to enjoy his work for several years. Maybe he'd had a vision of how poorly this sequel would be received, even under the replacement title It Runs in the Family? I wonder how he'd feel about the new continuation that's set for release this year - with Daniel Stern taking on the role of The Old Man, and Ralphie now a sixteen year old hoping to get his first car. At least they gave it an imaginative (and incorrect) title: A Christmas Story 2 - because no matter how you slice it - it's the third movie in the series, and that's not counting a couple of PBS American Playhouse productions with the same characters.Craig Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037542638067599437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-89628263022013457642012-06-10T13:58:44.260-07:002012-06-10T13:58:44.260-07:00Thanks, Mr. Craig. Do tell me the Jean Sheppard st...Thanks, Mr. Craig. Do tell me the Jean Sheppard story.Beverlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15515783219367479399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070623657970000135.post-49160952008172161982012-06-10T09:48:21.705-07:002012-06-10T09:48:21.705-07:00A wonderful remembrance. I have always found some ...A wonderful remembrance. I have always found some of his short stories to be amazing - but his longer form fiction often left me cold when I was a student. I have more appreciation for him now - and I'm amazed at how far reaching his work is - books, stories, movies, televsion, radio, comic books - they've all taken Bradbury to heart - some more successfully than others. <br /><br />I'm glad things went well in 2003 - it would have been a sad final tale if he'd gone "old man crabby" by then - as happened with my one interaction with Jean Sheppard on the set of the sequel to A Christmas Story. Ah well. I can still enjoy his stories.Craig Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037542638067599437noreply@blogger.com