That's a Wrap!
 Back
in 1981 a little film called Heartbeeps hit
the silver screen. It was your basic "boy-robot-falls-in-love-with-girl-robot-who-then-produce-a-baby-robot"
story. It was famously considered a bomb at the time, only recouping
about $2 million back of its $10 million budget. I, myself, only saw
it when it eventually appeared on HBO, but I was instantly captivated
by it. There were several reasons for this:
(1) It starred Andy Kaufman in his first and only leading role in a film.
At the time I was a keen admirer of his approach to comedy.
(2) It co-starred Bernadette Peters. What's not to like?
(3) It was just dumb fun. The cast included a comic-relief killer police
bot (The Crimebuster), a baby bot named Philco and a Catskill-comic
bot named, well, Catskill.
(4) The music was composed by John Williams. Yes, that John Williams.
I can still hear the Heartbeeps love theme as I write this. I'm not conversant
on Mr. Williams entire
discography but I've read this was his only foray
into electronic music.
(5) The special effects were by Stan Winston. In fact, he received his
first Academy Award nomination,
for special makeup effects.
You can explore more about this peculiar film here.
A few days before Mr. Winston died I had, by some coincidence, just finished
watching
the
extended
version
of
Aliens,
possibly
the best sci-fi movie ever made. I consider it an unintentionally synchronous
tribute
to
an
undeniably
individual human.
Godspeed, Mr. Winston. And thanks for all the fun.
=mike=
Note: We live in a world where those who call themselves "Conservatives" have
hijacked a religion that primarily says "feed
the poor, clothe the naked" and who now use it
as a handbook for intolerance and destruction. That's
why this web site and these cartoons exist, to highlight
the folly of those who worship the accumulation of
money over everything else. Everything. Even though
heavy-handed, even in the midst of solemnity, these
images and ideas are not intended to amuse everyone
who read them. If that someone happens to be you,
tough beans. Go make your own comic. To the rest of
you, thanks for watching.
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