just think how ed wood feels... You lost his poster!!!!
well good news is... that its somewhere...........maybe reformed into
dust but its still here somewher...
so is ed wood... we dont really leave -its a big circle.. and you will
be recycled to Roger unless
they shoot you to the moon like scotty from star trek and Roddenberry
Not... Iknew a guy that distributed ed wood films... Jack baker who was
known as ' Dr. Silkini" and ran spook shows from Toledo his office was
down the street from My shop on Sylvania ave... I even had 35mm
filmprints of all those mexican horror films the aztec Robot vs the
mummy or whatever it was called.. I know several people that made props
for him and also worked as touring cast in these spook shows that were
done in the 40s.... I have a great BOOK for sale 45.00 postpaid USA
called GHOSTMasters by Mark walker buy it and get some free DRIVE in
memaorabilia from toledo
like corspegrinders and ted mikelis wormeaters.... and some other
theatre goodies so old you will
cry tears of joy... and stomp your feet in extasy?
Roger Kim wrote:
My name has been immortalized in the writings of David Kusumoto! And
in blue type!! Furthermore, he states that I wrote
"humorously/brilliantly" in a recent post! If I work hard at my posts,
I really feel that I could be the next Tom Martin.
As for the question of what I would save if I had 10 minutes to
evacuate, I would grab my dogs and all my photos/negatives that I
could find. Then, If I had time, I'd grab two boxes of lobby cards and
folded posters. If I lost all my posters, it would be a bummer but not
the end of the world.
I've had experience losing a poster, because my best piece was stolen
long ago. I had an original theatre poster for Ed Wood's "Casual
Company." I only owned it briefly when I sent it away to be
encapsulated. The company that did the encapsulating sent it back to
me via UPS, and UPS left it on my doorstep. It was promptly stolen,
probably by hooligans who know nothing about posters. I assume they
dumped it in the trash. For quite a while I was deeply disturbed by
the fact that this poster had been destroyed while under my
stewardship. I thought I would quit poster collecting entirely, but I
eventually got over it.
-rk
On Jun 7, 2008, at 5:53 PM, David Kusumoto wrote:
** What Bruce says about reporters is TRUE. I was a reporter before
I became an editor, and learned quickly that we had to SELL a
pre-formed THESIS to our bosses before we could get a green light to
chase anything. Only the "sexiest angles" that our bosses felt would
interest readers, viewers or listeners won. Two of the biggest
reasons I got out of the news business was the competitive chase for
ratings -- as manifested -- beginning in the 1970s -- by 1) the
growing influence of slanted and biased "info-tainment" buried in
"news stories" and 2) the "glamorization" of news
personalities. People who have seen the Will Ferrell parody,
"Anchorman" know what I'm talking about (ironically, set here in San
Diego).
--------
** Today, the idea allowing an "unattractive" news person on TV in
any major city is UNTHINKABLE. However, what has NOT changed – is
the way stories are selected and packaged by editors. Today I work
on the other side of the fence. I deal with reporters as part of my
job. Most writers have a pre-formed idea of where they want to
go. If you accuse them of having an "agenda," they get pissed and
you've just sunk yourself in your effort to establish a semblance of
"goodwill."
** In about 50% of my cases, I am successful steering the news train
in a slightly different direction instead of being dragged behind
it. The most successful PR shills are ex-news people (like myself)
-- who are able to find SEXIER angles which can trump a reporter's
pre-formed thesis. It enables a reporter to "switch horses" without
being humiliated. My other tactic is to poke so many editorial holes
into a thesis -- in a friendly way so I don't sound defensive –
casting enough doubt to undermine a reporter's confidence. Reporters
have no time. They're always under the gun. If you do some leg work
for them, they'll shift gears more readily. This is what my clients
expect me to do, even though I make no guarantees. A reporter's
biggest fear is going back to their editors with nothing – and being
blacklisted as an empty suit or dress.
--------
** I haven't written anything that's been published in years. But
I'll give you a vivid example that involves Bruce. Nearly ten years
ago, when I was a contributor to MCW, I decided to explore his
operations, attitudes and reputation. I ended up writing an article
that was clearly labeled "opinion" and combined it with an auction
results story that ran nearly 6,000 words and filled many pages with
text and photographs. My attitude going in wasn't fixed; remember,
back then, I'd already put in 13 years as a shill at a major
corporation, well after my days as a writer and editor in the 70s and
80s. But I confess, I did have some pre-conceived ideas about what
I'd write and tackle when it came to movie posters. Once word got
out, the number of people who came out of the WOODWORK to praise or
to bury Bruce was UNBELIEVABLE. He was WAY more polarizing 10 years
ago than he is today.
** People would call or write, declaring, "Dave, how can you not know
that Bruce is a so-and-so and has done this or that?" I had others
saying the opposite and others who, when it came to brass tacks,
would concede their "proof" was a formulation of hunches or "as told
to third- and fourth-party testimonials" which would never pass any
litmus test for publication. They had axes to grind but would not
come clean about them for public consumption. Well, as people who've
read my postings at MoPo since the 1990s know, when I have an axe to
grind against a person, I declare it first. I make no effort to be a
"journalist." I spout opinions in the same childish way Keith
Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly do every day at each other.
** Meanwhile, people at Christie's and others in New York and Los
Angeles and elsewhere agreed to be interviewed more readily than
others. Even better, they faxed documents buttressing their
claims. This makes an immediate positive impression to even
"self-righteous and crusading" editors. If they didn't prove Bruce
was truthful – they at least illustrated a fearlessness that demanded
respect. When I warned the "guys with the long knives," that damn
it, "my neck is on the line if I write this or that without
attribution" -- in the end, they would not "face the music" in equal
measure. I implored them to be equally fearless with their so-called
"proof." But most folded like a house of cards. My point -- very
FEW will go on the record when it matters most when dealing with
controversy. You can slant a story all you want (just read the NY
Times vs. the Washington Post, the latter in my view, a superior
paper) -- but the foundation of all articles, however spun or
misleading by omission -- is still based on facts.
--------
** In sum, on the story I wrote about Bruce – I came away thinking,
s***, it turned out to be like any other story I've written in the
past. I'm dealing with a lot of people who carry a lot of grudges --
grudges that will become meaningless when they're at death's
door. I've been threatened by lawyers many times since the
1970s. Knock on formica, they've never followed through. It's not
worth it because truth is the best defense against an accusation of
libel (published) or slander (spoken). And in the case of libel -- a
plaintiff in the U.S. must prove he or she is NOT a public figure
open to parody -- AND that any falsehood about them was delivered
with "malice." The laws are different in other countries but the
simplest way to put it (and demonstrates why democracies are
magnificent) -- is you can make fun of public figures like the
President or anyone in office -- while in other countries, ridiculing
leaders in theocracies or communist countries or even in "democratic"
countries like Russia or Mexico – you can get killed or your hands
will be sawed off or "taken out" in some way. When I was in China in
1997, it was incredible the number of people who would talk to me in
"whispers" when I asked them about their government. I've said it
before, but I believe indigenous people born in democracies take for
granted what they have. They really do.
** As a coda -- the greatest irony about that epic article I wrote
about Bruce in 1998 -- was nobody -- including Bruce himself -- liked
the way it was "shaping" in their minds BEFORE publication. When it
was finally published, many felt it was a "hatchet job" or a
"kiss-ass" piece. With such divergent reactions, I knew I'd done
OK. I'm no longer a journalist and I have no interest writing any
articles about the auction world. Most people who matter to me today
-- already know how I feel about them. I no longer have to be
"neutral." It's liberating. For example, even if I don't comment
about a poster seller in public -- even if I might hate his or her
personality or politics -- I regard the mere action of transacting
business or communicating with that seller in private – by phone or
by e-mail -- as my personal endorsement of their character or the way
they do business. You already know who you are, even if you don't
like my friends. But many lurkers tell me the reason they remain
lurkers at MoPo is because they fear getting pounded by "all the old
people" who've been on these boards for years. I confess, I never
want to be regarded as that mean person who's close minded and
unfair. Call me long-winded, fine, and I won't change my mind
about a lot of s***, but I never want to be the reason some lurkers
remain lurkers. As Roger Kim wrote humorously/brilliantly in a
recent public post about procuring Universal horror paper, "I
congratulate myself." In this case, I do so for trying my best to
be consistently fair.
-kuz.
------------------------
Date: Sat, 7 Jun 2008 07:38:36 -0500
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Hershenson story goes viral
To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
This story was funny. As most people who have ever been
interviewed know (and I have done 100+ such interviews over the
years) many reporters (David excluded, of course!) often have a
thesis for their article firmly in place before they start
interviewing, and then they look for quotes to fit that thesis, and
discard anything that doesn't fit!
This particular reporter wanted a story about online auctions dying,
and I tried to say that it is only eBay auctions that are dying, and
not for any reason other than eBay shooting itself in the foot, and
she didn't want that story, and I learned a long time ago there is no
point fighting with the reporter!
It HAS spread all over the internet, and I have had hundreds of calls
and e-mails from potential new buyers and sellers, so maybe some good
will come out of it.
Funny sidenote. The print edition of Business Week comes out this
week, and they wanted a picture of me to run with the story. They
told me they had staff photographers who would take my picture, and I
told them I live in a tiny town, and would get them a picture (from a
pro photographer if they wanted) but instead they had two of their
photographers drive from St. Louis to West Plains (4 hours each way!)
and they spent four hours setting up their equipment and taking a
zillion images of me, all for some tiny image of me that may or may
not appear in print (and since I have a face that was made for radio,
I have a feeling I won't make the final cut!).
Someday, there will be a good story about online collectibles
auctions (and maybe showing the good and bad and the ugly about them)
and maybe David K will write it, but that will have to wait for
another day!
Bruce
On Wed, Jun 4, 2008 at 3:04 PM, David Kusumoto
<[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote:
The 1,200-word analysis by Catherine Holahan featuring quotes by
Bruce -- that originated in Business Week magazine in New York
yesterday -- has gone super viral today.
Beyond the Yahoo News reference previously cited by Channing, the
story has been picked up by many papers and websites, including USA
Today and CNet, with some using headlines or leads -- declaring eBay
auctions, according to a Business Week analysis -- are "doomed." The
original Holahan story is at the link below as a user-friendly PDF.
http://tinyurl.com/46mucq
...But a Google News <http://tinyurl.com/46vqp8>search
of "Hershenson" <http://tinyurl.com/46vqp8> cites nearly 50 "related"
stories on the web today....
-d.
Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com
<http://www.filmfan.com>
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