‘Delicate and sensitive’ film, ‘The Whales of August,’ in 30th anniversary screening
Film producer and marketing executive Mike Kaplan is a friend of arts·meme. This super nice guy is the leading collector of a massive trove of superlative movie musical posters; more to the point, Kaplan’s collection zeroes in on the art of dance as captured in artful movie posters. We like that. Kaplan published a companion ...
Kathryn Altman memorialized as gracious, effervescent
Jun
29
2016
Barely a week after savoring Kathryn Altman’s crystalline memories of the filming of McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), shared by the widow of director Robert Altman at an entrancing 45th anniversary screening of the precious movie, we learned that this elegant and classy woman had passed away. A shocker. So we’re very pleased to excerpt ...
LACMA’s purchase of movie poster collection a boon to Los Angeles, says Michael Govan 2
Joyful news as the artistic merits of the marketing of movies during the High Hollywood era gets strong validation with the addition of an important movie-poster collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Michael Govan, LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director, announced on Saturday April 16 the acquisition of the Mike Kaplan ...
Ann Miller, in KISS ME KATE 3-D, too darn hot! 1
It was awfully fun, during TCM Fest 2015, to run into Jon Olivan who heads up the TCM Classic Movie Fan Club in Los Angeles. We mixed and mingled in Club TCM, sipping (complementary) Humphrey Bogart gin surrounded by Mike Kaplan’s great dance-movie posters exhibited in that lounge. Olivan shared a special memory of “Kiss ...
Tap across 42nd Street with “Gotta Dance!” book & movie posters
Above: Belgian poster for 42nd Street (Lloyd Bacon, USA, 1933). Artist unknown. “The sharp, spunky granddaddy of all backstage musicals… [Busby Berkeley’s] choreography takes center stage in this stunning Belgian poster, showcasing his dancers atop and within the three-dimensional title treatment… the actors took second place to Busby Berkeley’s dazzling, kaleidoscopic production numbers, with their ...
Catch it! Dance-movie posters @ The Pillow
Jul
30
2014
We last saw arts·meme friend Mike Kaplan at the wonderful display of his vast collection of dance movie posters at the William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. Now Mike turns up in the company of lovely Marge Champion, the special honoree of his current poster show, GOTTA DANCE!, at ...
The dancing Douglases
Does love of dance run in the family? If so, then actress/producer Illeana Douglas has traced her dance gene. Illeana, a great film buff, is hosting Turner Classic Movies’ “Second Looks” programming on Friday nights of this month. Her marvelous, quirky film curation is catalogued in a wonderful essay written for TCM by Roger Fristoe. ...
Preeminent dance movie posters @ Barnsdall
We’re super looking forward to touring through a wonderful installation of dance movies posters now on display at Barnsdall Gallery Theater. We already saw it once, but it’s so fabulous that repeat viewings are called for. Twenty distinct pieces in varying sizes and rarity comprise GOTTA DANCE!, the majority dating from the golden age of ...
In memorium: Matt Mattox from ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’
SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954) / MGM / LES SEPT FEMMES DE BARBEROUSSE / FRANCE / ARTIST: ROGER SOUBIE Enchanting Jane Powell marrying reclusive rancher Howard Keel is the catalyst for his six brothers following suit in a rollicking athletic courtship, inventively choreographed by Michael Kidd, and visualized by France’s most prolific poster artist, Roger ...
Connoisseur collection of dance-movie posters grace Barnsdall exhibit 1
“I was born with a poster gene! When I was a kid I used to ‘color in’ the New York Times (black & white) print ads for theater. When I saw the poster, I’d compare their color choices [to mine].” Collector Mike Kaplan offers this charming anecdote in explanation for a lifelong obsession as we ...