DramaTrauma, I’m sorry I didn’t see your question before this but the silent movie organist I was referring to was Dennis James and you can see his silent movie schedule on one of the pages on here under the title “Nationwide Historic Theatre Silent Film and Concert performances by Dennis James” – if you ever get a chance to see him, it is a great experience because he is a fountain of knowledge about silent movies and he could tell you so many stories and he’s so talented! He doesn’t play where I live too much anymore because his schedule is so busy, but I never miss any of his movies when he is here and I will always remember the ones I saw and the things he told us!
I don’t think he’s written any books yet, but I could be mistaken about that – I’m sure he will some day, though! Another thing he does is play some long lost musical instruments like the glass harmonica and I even have one of his cds he recorded using that instrument. And I will never forget when he used some of those instruments to perform for the silent movie “Metropolis” – I will never forget the sounds of those instruments and the atmosphere he created in that theater for us. Anyway, look up his schedule under the title I mentioned – it’s on one of these pages, and maybe he’s playing somewhere near where you live!
And that’s a great idea you have to try out the concept of the cartoons and newsreels in someone else’s theater first on a monthly basis and see what response you get!
Quasimodo, sometimes passion and enthusiasm can reinvent the wheel. I was thinking about a silent movie organist I know who in the 70s had a passion and a vision to play for silent movies – it came to him at university like a vision while he was playing the organ, in the middle of the night. Now I’m sure people said things to him about it, about the fact that silent movies weren’t profitable anymore and spend your time doing something else. But he was on a mission to bring silent movies back to the masses, and he did just that, and along the way he’s had many adventures, too! He got to stay in Harold Lloyd’s home for a summer when he was in his twenties, having access to his limousines, and all his staff – even though Harold Lloyd had passed away, his family kept the staff and the house up, and the family so appreciated his love for the silent movie industry, and he did alot of research about Harold Lloyd while he stayed there (that he has passed on to everyone who sees the movies he plays for) that the family gave him some Harold Lloyd memorobilia which he cherishes and shows to his audiences, too! He got access to the music that Lillian Gish “really” wanted for her movie “La Boheme” (she couldn’t have it at the time because it wasn’t under public domaine)and invited her to a screening he was playing for so she could see the movie with the music she wanted, and she was so happy, she came on stage and hugged him and cried. And he’s been on tour with other silent movie stars who really appreciated him bringing their movies back to life. He’s written many new scores for movies because many of them were thrown in the garbage when silent movies left movie screens, and he’s continued to bring movies back to today’s movie audiences, and he has had so many amazing synchronistic adventures along the way. He took a side road one time when he was going somewhere to play for a movie, and he came to a drugstore in a small town, and when he was talking to the person who worked in the store, she said her mother was in the back room, and that she was an extra in a silent movie that was filmed there, and she had all the photos there, too, that he got to see and he got to hear her stories. He travels over in Europe now, too, and all along the way he tells people what he has learned, and he ignites his passion in other people, too. I am one of those people who has learned so much from his movies and his talks to us and I wouldn’t have missed any of them! And he has huge audiences, too, always a full house! Anyway, that’s the kind of passion I’m talking about, and, yes, I’m sure it was, and continues to be hard for him sometimes, but I, for one, am very glad he keeps on with his passion, and I have learned so much from his experiences and he ignites the passion in me, too, and I will always remember the movies he showed us and what I learned from him.
I was just thinking, David, that maybe something you could do when you show the movies is do the research and give talks to people about what they are about to see, and maybe you could even bring in people who know about the cartoons and news reels to talk to the audience so that they can learn and appreciate what they are looking at, the history and development of them, and even how they are/were made. That’s often what brings people in is the learning aspect of what they are seeing. I really think there are people who want to learn about them out there and who appreciate the history and interesting facts. Well, I would certainly like to see something like that! I love learning about movies, cartoons, newsreels, and it would be very interesting to me to hear the history, too!
Quasimodo, I’m not saying that he can’t learn from everyone here and learn from their experiences, too, about what to do, not do, people to talk to, places to look for things. And I love this site and all the interesting information here and so many knowledgable and interesting people and experiences, too – it’s a great site and I
tell people about it, too!
David, I’m
of those people who has loved going to his movies and listening to his adventures, meeting people in the business, hearing their stories that he passes on to us, and it really is a silent movie history learning class when you go to his movies because he has such a love and passion for what he does, and he will continue doing it because it is such a passion for him.
Sometimes I think the worst mistake people make is asking other people what they think of their idea – if it’s your passion and it excites you enough to stay with it and work through the problems of making it happen, it will happen, and because you are excited about it, you will make it happen in your own unique way with special ideas that no one has even thought of! And you will find others who are interested and excited too!
I saw “Cats” at the Winter Garden Theater in 1984 when I visited New York – I’m from Canada – it was one of my favorite memories of my visit! My mom and I got the last two tickets available for that performance so we couldn’t sit together but I will never forget sitting in the balcony with the “cats” on the ledge of the balcony looking at us and all the magic of the lights, the junk yard scenes, well, it was magical! I even liked going to the washroom where attendants were handing out towels like they did years ago:) What a grand theater! By the way, if anyone finds a silver belt shaped like a snake – the mouth of the snake attaches to the body like a chain belt, anyway, I lost it in the theater somewhere that night – could you let me know? Okay, just kidding, it was 1984, but I have wondered about it since:) Anyway, I’m a new member on Cinema Treasures and I’m very happy to be here! Such interesting things people have been saying about different theaters!
DramaTrauma, I’m sorry I didn’t see your question before this but the silent movie organist I was referring to was Dennis James and you can see his silent movie schedule on one of the pages on here under the title “Nationwide Historic Theatre Silent Film and Concert performances by Dennis James” – if you ever get a chance to see him, it is a great experience because he is a fountain of knowledge about silent movies and he could tell you so many stories and he’s so talented! He doesn’t play where I live too much anymore because his schedule is so busy, but I never miss any of his movies when he is here and I will always remember the ones I saw and the things he told us!
I don’t think he’s written any books yet, but I could be mistaken about that – I’m sure he will some day, though! Another thing he does is play some long lost musical instruments like the glass harmonica and I even have one of his cds he recorded using that instrument. And I will never forget when he used some of those instruments to perform for the silent movie “Metropolis” – I will never forget the sounds of those instruments and the atmosphere he created in that theater for us. Anyway, look up his schedule under the title I mentioned – it’s on one of these pages, and maybe he’s playing somewhere near where you live!
And that’s a great idea you have to try out the concept of the cartoons and newsreels in someone else’s theater first on a monthly basis and see what response you get!
Sorry, I’m still learning about this site, I should have previewed what I wrote before I submitted it – is there any way to go back and fix it?
Quasimodo, sometimes passion and enthusiasm can reinvent the wheel. I was thinking about a silent movie organist I know who in the 70s had a passion and a vision to play for silent movies – it came to him at university like a vision while he was playing the organ, in the middle of the night. Now I’m sure people said things to him about it, about the fact that silent movies weren’t profitable anymore and spend your time doing something else. But he was on a mission to bring silent movies back to the masses, and he did just that, and along the way he’s had many adventures, too! He got to stay in Harold Lloyd’s home for a summer when he was in his twenties, having access to his limousines, and all his staff – even though Harold Lloyd had passed away, his family kept the staff and the house up, and the family so appreciated his love for the silent movie industry, and he did alot of research about Harold Lloyd while he stayed there (that he has passed on to everyone who sees the movies he plays for) that the family gave him some Harold Lloyd memorobilia which he cherishes and shows to his audiences, too! He got access to the music that Lillian Gish “really” wanted for her movie “La Boheme” (she couldn’t have it at the time because it wasn’t under public domaine)and invited her to a screening he was playing for so she could see the movie with the music she wanted, and she was so happy, she came on stage and hugged him and cried. And he’s been on tour with other silent movie stars who really appreciated him bringing their movies back to life. He’s written many new scores for movies because many of them were thrown in the garbage when silent movies left movie screens, and he’s continued to bring movies back to today’s movie audiences, and he has had so many amazing synchronistic adventures along the way. He took a side road one time when he was going somewhere to play for a movie, and he came to a drugstore in a small town, and when he was talking to the person who worked in the store, she said her mother was in the back room, and that she was an extra in a silent movie that was filmed there, and she had all the photos there, too, that he got to see and he got to hear her stories. He travels over in Europe now, too, and all along the way he tells people what he has learned, and he ignites his passion in other people, too. I am one of those people who has learned so much from his movies and his talks to us and I wouldn’t have missed any of them! And he has huge audiences, too, always a full house! Anyway, that’s the kind of passion I’m talking about, and, yes, I’m sure it was, and continues to be hard for him sometimes, but I, for one, am very glad he keeps on with his passion, and I have learned so much from his experiences and he ignites the passion in me, too, and I will always remember the movies he showed us and what I learned from him.
I was just thinking, David, that maybe something you could do when you show the movies is do the research and give talks to people about what they are about to see, and maybe you could even bring in people who know about the cartoons and news reels to talk to the audience so that they can learn and appreciate what they are looking at, the history and development of them, and even how they are/were made. That’s often what brings people in is the learning aspect of what they are seeing. I really think there are people who want to learn about them out there and who appreciate the history and interesting facts. Well, I would certainly like to see something like that! I love learning about movies, cartoons, newsreels, and it would be very interesting to me to hear the history, too!
Quasimodo, I’m not saying that he can’t learn from everyone here and learn from their experiences, too, about what to do, not do, people to talk to, places to look for things. And I love this site and all the interesting information here and so many knowledgable and interesting people and experiences, too – it’s a great site and I
tell people about it, too!
David, I’m
of those people who has loved going to his movies and listening to his adventures, meeting people in the business, hearing their stories that he passes on to us, and it really is a silent movie history learning class when you go to his movies because he has such a love and passion for what he does, and he will continue doing it because it is such a passion for him.
Sometimes I think the worst mistake people make is asking other people what they think of their idea – if it’s your passion and it excites you enough to stay with it and work through the problems of making it happen, it will happen, and because you are excited about it, you will make it happen in your own unique way with special ideas that no one has even thought of! And you will find others who are interested and excited too!
I saw “Cats” at the Winter Garden Theater in 1984 when I visited New York – I’m from Canada – it was one of my favorite memories of my visit! My mom and I got the last two tickets available for that performance so we couldn’t sit together but I will never forget sitting in the balcony with the “cats” on the ledge of the balcony looking at us and all the magic of the lights, the junk yard scenes, well, it was magical! I even liked going to the washroom where attendants were handing out towels like they did years ago:) What a grand theater! By the way, if anyone finds a silver belt shaped like a snake – the mouth of the snake attaches to the body like a chain belt, anyway, I lost it in the theater somewhere that night – could you let me know? Okay, just kidding, it was 1984, but I have wondered about it since:) Anyway, I’m a new member on Cinema Treasures and I’m very happy to be here! Such interesting things people have been saying about different theaters!