I wish I could talk in Technicolor – Ⓓ⓪④ One tends to embrace humor wherever it can be found. In early 2024, I encountered a bit of levity when my attention was drawn to a curious mention of Technicolor from the mid-1950s found within the January 29th issue of The New Yorker Magazine that ran a book review about the CIA – the review was written by critic Margaret Talbot in which she recounted an early and somewhat remarkable moment in American television history: the 1957 CBS broadcast of an acid test …50s television at its strangest. Under the clinical guidance of famed UCLA psychiatrist, Dr. Sidney Cohen, a young female subject was dosed, knowingly, with a hit of LSD 25. Within a few hours, when prompted to describe what she was experiencing, she offered “I wish I could talk in Technicolor.” Ms.

We’ll always have Paris – ⓪③ I know that the line uttered by Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca was intended for an audience of one, his lost and found love, Ilsa, but having recently returned from that wonderful city I wanted to share a few thoughts that reflect my love of Paris. I ventured to Paris to speak at the Cinémathèque Française; the presentation was nicely received by the standing-room only audience. I also want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Laurent Mannoni, and his wonderful wife, Laure, for making me feel so welcomed. Being asked to talk about Technicolor’s relationship with The Archers, especially director Michael Powell and cinematographer Jack Cardiff, was something very near and dear to many of us. The fact that Powell and especially Jack are so central to the themes of my book, Alchemy in Technicolor, made the

Best Seat In The House – Ⓓ⓪② As most of us know, the movie set is a special place, and getting to work on a set is an honor – one that is generally hard-earned. The movie set is where the rubber meets the road; it’s where the production budget burn-rate is the highest; and it’s where the stresses are most intenseFrom decades working on and around motion picture sets, one observation I’d like to share is my great regard for those intrepid souls who hold the position of First Assistant Director. Great First ADs are so agile as to be able to turn on a dime when changes occur…and we all know that shit is constantly changing on movie productions. The job calls for a cool head…and one of the coolest I’ve had the honor to know is David

Righting a Wrong – Ⓓ⓪① In early August of 2017, a screening was conducted at Technicolor’s Hollywood digital hub on Sunset Blvd. The screening was arranged for a few select guests of director Francis Ford Coppola, and Zoetrope Studios. The audience that night was comprised mostly of actors, and most prominently actor-dancer extraordinaire Maurice Hines — everyone packed-into a small (12 seats) grading theatre on the first floor.  The film being shown was the fully restored The Cotton Club, featuring performances from Hines and his brother, Gregory. In the film, they played competitive brothers, two dance master’s that performed at the famed nightclub in New York City, a club that was a nexus for entertainers and gangsters in equal measure. The filmed starred Richard Gere and Diane Lane – but the Hines brother’s characters were the heart and soul of the film. It was