Green Book – Orange Bird Piano scene
An evening pause: The premise of this scene from the 2018 movie Green Book is nothing new, and has been done innumerable times. That said, who cares? It is always fun to watch, especially if well done.
Hat tip Mike Nelson.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
BTW, for anyone who hasn’t seen it I highly recommend watching this movie. Viggo Mortenson is great, and it’s much more about two people getting to know each other rather than “RACISM BAD, MMMKAY?”
Great scene from a fine movie that deservedly won Best Picture. Mahershali Ali did a fine portrayal of Don Shirley, and Viggo Mortensen is witty and appealing as Tony “The Lip.” If you’ll permit a bit of shameless promotion, here’s my capsule review of the movie, in a chapter called “Odd Couples,” in my book Phil’s 2nd Favorite 500 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NVGHGN1).
Also, Bob, correcting the title (an error I kept making as well), it’s…
Green Book
2018 – Mahershali Ali and Viggo Mortensen
The year is 1962, in the middle John F. Kennedy’s presidency, and the civil rights movement that would reach its peak during the decade is gaining momentum. But the old ways are dying hard, and any African American traveling the country still needs to exercise great caution in approaching such otherwise normal activities as entering a restaurant or arranging for a motel room. Hence the Green Book, a guide to establishments that non-whites can safely patronize. But the movie’s title, and the book, provide the barest pretenses for what is essentially an absorbing odd-couple comedy–drama based on a true story. Famed jazz pianist Don Shirley (Ali) hires Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga (Mortensen), a tough guy with mob connections, to serve as his driver and bodyguard during a concert tour through what used to be called the Deep South. Vallelonga does so reluctantly, but he needs the money, and heaven knows Shirley needs the protection, not only because of his skin color but also because he turns out to be a gay man at a time when America’s tolerance for the lifestyle was nonexistent outside of its largest cities. Derived from interviews with both men (the script was co-written by Vallelonga’s son, Nick), the story evolves, predictably but not completely, from suspicion and mistrust to mutual respect and strong friendship. The motion picture academy members liked it enough to award it the Best Picture Oscar, and Ali the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. In a stronger year, I’d say it would have been an also-ran. But that’s a quibble. It’s a solid movie, ably directed by Peter Farrelly, who’s best known for his raunchy comedies. [Trivia note: TV fans might recognize the real Vallelonga, who died in 2013. He played the role of the sly mob-boss Carmine Lupertazzi in The Sopranos] [Caution: language, some violence and sexuality] [W]
Yes, a great watch !
Esp the family dinner scene.
Phil: Title fixed. Thank you.
Phil Berardelli–
Good stuff!
Phil Berardelli:
Thank you On the Amazon list.
Wayne and Blair: Thanks very much.
Bob: You’re welcome. I noticed because I had been doing same.