August 16 - Ed Wood

This is a movie with a scene that happens today – August 16. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.

 

ED WOOD

Ed Wood desperately wants to direct movies, while working in the studio’s plant nursery. When he reads a story in Variety that George Weiss is going to produce a movie based on the life of the transsexual Christine Jorgenson, he begs him to be allowed to direct it. Ed tells him that he is a secret cross-dresser. Ed meets his idol, one time horror star,  Bela Lugosi.  Ed talks Weiss into letting him direct the sex change film, called Glen or Glenda. Ed reveals his cross-dressing secret to Dolores Fuller, his girlfriend. This causes some problems between them. He starts filming, but Bela acts like a diva. When filming is over Ed tries to get a major studio interested, but they think the film is a joke. He saves Bela from a drug overdose. Ed tries to arrange independent financing for his next picture. When Bela appears on a local TV show, Ed meets the Amazing Criswell. He meets Loretta King, who he thinks can invest in the film and ends up casting her in the lead female role. After getting the brush-off from Vampira, who refuses to appear in the film, he convinces Don McCoy to put up the money if the movie ends with a bang and his son is cast as the lead. They break into the Studio’s prop department and steal a giant rubber octopus prop to use in the film. At the wrap party for Bride of the Monster, Delores breaks up with Ed. Bela tries to talk Ed into a double suicide, but Lugosi commits himself instead. Ed meets Kathy O'Hara who is more accepting of his cross-dressing. At the premiere of Bride of the Monster, the audience is so incensed they chase Ed and his pals out of the theater. Then, on August 16, 1956 [1:35:13 to 1:35:34] Ed gets word that Bela Lugosi has died.  He talks his landlord into getting his church to finance his next picture by promising that the profits will be enough to finance their planned religious pictures. Ed drafts Kathy’s chiropractor,  Tom Mason as Lugosi’s body double so he can use some footage he shot of Lugosi before his death. Vampira agrees to appear, if she has no speaking lines, so hopefully her involvement won’t be noticed. The church insists on changing the title to Plan 9 From Outer Space.  They also criticize his film making style and discover his cross-dressing. Ed flees to a bar and meets his other idol, Orson Welles. They commiserate over the problems of making movies. Ed returns and finishes the film his way. After the premiere, Ed and Kathy head to Las Vegas to get married.

This is a very funny movie. Depp’s over-the-top portrayl of Ed Wood is hilarious. Martin Landau also turned in an Oscar deserving performance as Bela Lugosi. A good film about the worst director ever.

Bela Lugosi by Gary D. Rhodes (Collectables, Narberth, Pa., 2007) at page 255 gives his death date

Producer - Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi

Director - Tim Burton

Screenplay - Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski

Awards – The film won the Best Supporting Actor(Landau) and Best Makeup Oscars at 

                 the 67^th Academy Awards

Runtime – 2 hours 7 minutes

Released – September 30, 1994

Starring -   

Johnny Depp as Ed Wood, cult film director

Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, famous horror film star

Sarah Jessica Parker as Dolores Fuller, Ed's girlfriend before his relationship with Kathy

Patricia Arquette as Kathy O'Hara: Ed's girlfriend after his relationship with Dolores

Lisa Marie as Vampira: Hostess of the local ''The Vampira Show''

Jeffrey Jones as The Amazing Criswell: A local psychic TV entertainer

Max Casella and Brent Hinkley as Paul Marco and Conrad Brooks: production assistants

Bill Murray as Bunny Breckinridge: Ed's openly-gay friend

George Steele as Tor Johnson: A Swedish professional wrestler hired by Wood

Juliet Landau as Loretta King: she replaces Dolores in the movie "Bride of the Monster" Ned Bellamy as Tom Mason: Kathy's chiropractor

Mike Starr as George Weiss: Foul-mouthed Z movie producer

Vincent D'Onofrio as Orson Welles, world famous movie producer and director