Movie Scum

According to Hollywood Reporter , Wes Craven has died at the age of 76. Likely only in stature to John Carpenter, Craven and his work has had a remarkable impact on not only my movie-going experience but life in general. Beginning with his first feature Last House on the Left , Craven has had the remarkable ability to inspire and horrify viewers for over 40 years. He dreamt our nightmare with A Nightmare on Elm Street . He made slasher films relevant again in his Scream series. He brought to life so many various stories of despair and trouble through voodoo, incarceration, and even robotics. While admittedly his output has been very hit-or-miss (more miss in his later years), Craven was always held up as a professor of the genre that he helped create. He, and his works, will be sorely missed. Wes Craven 1939-2016

You may be asking yourself, “who the hell is Pete Postlethwaite?”  I know I certainly did. Most recently, he was seen as Maurice Fischer in Inception and in Ben Affleck’s The Town but Postlethwaite is one of those character actors that seem to pop up in every other movie. He also played in Romeo + Juliet , the Lost World , In the Name of the Father , and The Usual Suspects . He died of cancer at the age of 64.

Writer, Director, Producer Blake Edwards passed away Wednesday at the age of 88. His death was a result of complications from pneumonia. Some of his most notable films were Breakfast at Tiffany’s , The Pink Panther (and it’s many follow ups) and 10 . He was married to Julie Andrews, who appeared in many of his films. She was with him when he passed.

Meinhardt Raabe, the Munckin Coroner that pronounced the Wicked Witch of the West dead with the following lines: As coroner, I must aver I thoroughly examined her And she’s not only merely dead, She’s really, most sincerely dead! He died today of a heart attack. He was the last surviving cast member of the entire film with any significant dialogue. Malcom McLaren, manager of the punk band Sex Pistols also died, after battling cancer. He left us yesterday, April 8th. McClaren appeared in The Great Rock and Roll Swindle and The Filth and the Fury, both films by Julien Temple, thus securing my ability to make a post about him on am movie website. McLaren, formed the pistols as a “product” that he would use to make a significant amount of money. Often times, the band would actually be paid to leave their current record label due to their drunken anti-establishment (mostly just drunken) acts. McClaren also formed Bow Wow Wow, managed the Clash for a bit, and produced television show...

Reports are coming in that Andrew Koenig , son of Star Trek’s Walter Koenig, was found dead in Canada. Andrew played possibly one of the best named characters on a show whose main star was a devout Christian in real life, Boner Stabone, on Growing Pains. His father is reporting that it was an apparent suicide, but the cause of death has yet to be officially determined. Read more at the random news site I decide to link in this sentence.

For those of you who don't know, Brittany Murphy is dead . It has been determined that Cardiac Arrest is the cause and she was apparently found in the shower. This a newly developing story, so more info is to come. Brittany was in movies such as 8 Mile, Clueless , and Girl, Interrupted . She was 32 years old. The End of the World , written by Arthur Kent and Sylvia Dee, performed by Skeeter Davis (song playing when Daisy in Girl, Interrupted, portrayed by Brittany Murphy, was found dead, having commited suicide.) Why does the sun go on shining? Why does the sea rush to shore? Don't know it's the end of the world 'cos you don't love me anymore? Why do the birds go on singing? Why do the stars glow above? Don't they know it's the end of the world It ended when I lost your love I wake up in the morning and I wonder Why everything's the same as it was. I can't understand, no I can't understand how life goes on the way it does. ...