Wilford Brimley
I took my kids to a local farm in Somis yesterday to see the animals. Little Marcitos was just soaking it up as he never saw sheep, goats or alpaca's before. I tell you there's something strange about the way goats appear, from the cloven hooves to the curved horns they just look evil. No wonder their image is associated with the devil! But I do enjoy eating the typical goat meat served at Mexican weddings, "biria de chivo" so go figure.Well I digress from the main point of my story. At the farmer's market I ran into character actor Wilford Brimley. Although you may not recognize the name (I couldn't remember it at the time) you most likely know the face. He's been in some of my favorite movies (The Thing, The China Syndrome, The Natural and The Firm), bit parts on TV shows like Seinfeld and was the guy from all those Quaker Oats commercials. At first glance I wasn't sure it was him but as soon as he started talking to the woman friend he was with I instantly recognized him due to his distinctive voice.
I considered saying hello but decided not to since I really don't know these people, just because I see them on TV doesn't mean they know me. It turns out I made a good choice since according to various people who met him, he is a old curmudgeon. He even admits it in an interview. IMDB has various people posting comments about this fact that's worth reading if you need a good laugh.
No blog about Wilford would be complete without linking to 5 Cats that Look Like Wilford Brimley. Enjoy!Pretty rude guy!I met Wilford Brimley at a Utah Jazz game a few years ago. He was so damn rude!! He acted as though everyone was beneath him. He was even rude to some kids. You know how at the Lakers games, they show the movies starts that are there, well, they used to do that with Wilford Brimley at the Jazz games. He got real pissed off and made them quit. He sat in the general seating area, not the fancy private areas, and would get real mad if people tried to talk to him or ask him for his autograph. Come to think of it, I don't think that he's been to a Jazz game in a while.
I met Brimley in Binions Horseshoe in Vegas about 15 years ago. He was sitting at a five dollar black jack table and I was leaving with a group of friends. We had been there a while and were all fairly drunk, and one of my friends pointed him out and said "hey that's someone famous". Another friend said "yeah, that's that old *beep* who eats all that oatmeal on tv". Someone remembered his name and I walked up to him and said "excuse me, are you Wilford Brimley?"...without missing a beat he replied "yeah, I'm that old *beep* who eats all that oatmeal on tv!". I apologized for my friend and he said "don't worry about it, happens all the time". Seemed like a pretty cool guy. Oddly enough when I went back to work and told some folks I met Wilford Brimley, a bunch of people didn't believe me. As if I'm gonna make up a story about meeting a celebrity...and Wilford *beep* Brimley is gonna be the name I pick for my lie...some people.
posted by Marcos at August 24, 2008
2 Comments:
Maybe the Blair monster is his most true to life character yet! This blog calls for a HD-DVD screening of the Thing!
Let's watch it! After reading this review from Amazon on the HD transfer, I want to see it even more.
Rather than review this excellent movie itself (you can find many reviews online for this great remake), I'm reviewing the HD transfer.
Now I'm no HD expert, not up on all the jargon and numbers. What I do know is I really like Carpenter's interpretation of The Thing and I've watched it many times over several format changes; from the darkness of a beat down old cinema 26 years ago, to VHS then DVD and ultimately now on HD DVD. And this transfer is by far the most amazing showcase of the now defunct HD DVD format yet - and also highlights how groundbreaking the effects in The Thing were.
When the movie begins you can instantly tell that you're witnessing clarity like never before. The opening sequence where the Norwegians are chasing the dog is crystal clear, almost giving off a 3D effect. My memory of this film was tainted from years of watching my VHS copy; the bleached and blended white hills, skyline and snowy horizon was once just basically all the same bleeding white on screen. But this has been replaced by mountain detail, clouds, snow texture and actual snowflakes falling! I had no idea it was snowing during that scene, but now each flake is visible.
The special effects also look amazing. I was worried the increased detail may reveal aged and outdated fx, but the various 'thing' transformations look even better with blood now horrific red, and no longer looking like a few buckets of pasta sauce thrown over the actors.
The sound has also been given the treatment and the windy noise of the creaking camp immerses the listening perfectly. Can't fault the sound at all.
So all in all, the audio/visuals of this film are complimented by the HD format releasing a new lease of life into this movie. By seeing each snowflake, goosebump, cold ruddy weathered face, and of course the agonized torn flesh, this transfer allows the viewer to feel like they're there in that camp...
Feeling very paranoid, very cold and very much alone.
100% a must for HD DVD owners
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