THE SLEEP OF THE JUST

I wanted to write a quick post thanking everyone who came out to see The Big Sleep last night, and to the Hollywood Theatre and Oni Press for putting the whole thing together. It was really crazy to see my name on the marquee and to sit in front of the movie screen and talk shop with Tom Shimmin. They even let me run the before-screening music. We used my Spotify playlist "Torch Songs/Jazzy Ladies."

Turnout was pretty great. I got to even see someone I went to high school with (hi, Heather!) that I haven't talked to face to face since, well, probably since high school. Joëlle and I signed books before and after, and people seemed generally enthused by The Big Sleep. Seeing it twice in two days did nothing to dull the film for me. It was amazing seeing it projected large, and the disc the studio sent looked remarkable.

Interesting programming note: we weren't aware of it, but the cut we received was actually the rare "preview version." This was the one shown when the film was first completed in 1944, but then was later re-edited and had scenes removed and added for the 1946 theatrical release. It was previously available on the DVD that was released over a decade ago as a bonus. Not sure why they sent that one, and I am kind of surprised there is such a clean print of it to send out. If you're curious about the differences, IMDB has a comprehensive rundown of the changes.

Photo by Tom Shimmin

Photo by Me

Photo by Robert Fortney

In preparation for the show, Joëlle Jones and Terry Blas both did drawings of characters from The Big Sleep, with Joëlle drawing her own version of Philip Marlowe and Terry giving us a lovely Lauren Bacall.

Again, a great night with so many great people. I feel humbled and blessed.

Now it's back to the real world for me. I've got laundry to do.

Current Soundtrack: Grimes, Visions