Sunday, April 18, 2021

Auteur Watch - James Burbridge

 Awright!  Back to work, and... ooh!  I get to ask my patented question again!!!  Lucky me.  Say, what do this guy and this guy have in common?  That's RIGHT!  They're both the same guy!  Hang on... yup.  Still the Highlander.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I like my day job and all that, but... do it for 100 plus years?  There's gotta be more to life.  Just gotta.  Oh well.  So James Burbridge wasn't a director, but those were the days.  Only the heads of departments would get on-screen credit in the '30s, '40s and '50s... probably more.  And Universal used to give the name of the boss in the logo in the ... '50s?  Was it just the one guy?  When he found out he was never going to win an Oscar (TM) (R) (C) anyway, down it came.  And... wow.  This guy had to work with Mickey Rooney.  Bet that was rough.  Boy, did the old studio system grind people up and spit them out.

Okay, so that was a bust.  On to the next, and his name is James Burridge, and... nope, not a director.  But he's a Self!  That's not nothing!  Let me see if I can find him on Facebook... nope, but there's about six of them on Facebook presently.  Nothing that would indicate Tennis Commentator, but oh well.  Reminds me!  I apparently have ten or so Facebook friends in common with one David Geffen... oh, dare I try?  Should I try David Spade's dad's approach to finance, as in let's put our money together in a pile and split it?  Many have tried, most end up in jail or court.  And as it should be, frankly.  I guess David Geffen's just a'gonna have to wait... ah, it's probably not the real guy, like that time a fake Jennifer Lawrence stormed onto Facebook, spouting pre-digested talking points that did kinda sound like her.  Oh well.  I miss Matthew Wilder.

Okay, on to the next.  Some bastard named James C. Breckenridge, and... nah, just animation.  And look at this!  Seems like a bit of a step down to me when you go from Rugrats and Codename: Kids Next Door to the Veggietales.  But hey, work is work.  If the Veggie Tales bunch can say live and let live, then damn it... so can I.  Dang!  I totally forgot about Once Upon a Forest.  It's a lot like FernGully, but without the talent or the showmanship.  It also harkens back to an earlier time before Microsoft (TM) (C) (R) ruined the Times New Roman font.

Okay, another bust.  On to the next, and it's a real pest names James C. Pestridge, and... oh, thank Heavens for 7-11s!  He's a Second Unit Director or Assistant Director.  At this point in my life, I'll take it.  He worked on something called The Shadow Man, and... apparently, that was it!  Back to the day job or something.  Apparently, the work on that film was so transformative, it inspired him to become a shadow man!  Usually it's the actors that have trouble coming back to reality, but whatever.  That's Method Acting for you, and in Pestridge's case, that's Method Directing for you.  Assistant directors don't have any of the fun that the bigshot directors do, anyway.  They have to really crack the whip on the set.  And occasionally keep the director in line.  I mean, it's like that time Pete Jones rolled down the hill with that kid, and one of the Assistant directors had to try and get him back in line... that's right, Project Greenlight.  I remember!  Sometimes I wish I couldn't, but I can't help how my brain works.  Duly noted?

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