FLASHES

"The Sound of Music"

“An Ecstatic Soul Musical”, Soul to Soul, featuring Ike and Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett and Santana is being shown internationally by the same company who produced Trojan Women and Richard Burton’s The Assasination of Trotsky.

The Nashville Sound, a country-western number includes performances by Ray Acuff, Johnny Cash, Skeeter Davis, Charley Pride, Dolly Parton, Hank Snow and many many more. The movie contains a slight storyline and is evidently being handled through statesrighters.

Frank Sinatra is to sing the lead in Paramount Pictures’ film version of Saint-Exupery’s bestseller The Little Prince. It is rumored, though, that because of his retirement, Gene Hackman may get the part instead. Dubious.

The familiar lovely voice of Little Lulu, Olive Oyl and Casper the Friendly Ghost, brought to you by Mae Questel, will now take on Betty Boop. 100 of the 1930’s skits have been “colorized” for TV syndication.

Ali McGraw, Love Story’s tragic heroine, is starring with Steve McQueen in The Getaway directed by Sam Peckinpah, noted for Straw Dogs and Wild Bunch. They were guests at the filmmaker’s recent Juarez, Mexico wedding.

Farewell, Uncle Tom is a recent Italian documentary about slavery in America filmed by the makers of Mondo Cane. It starts showing, daringly enough, in Mississippi and Louisiana soon.

Slated for June release is >4 Place Called Today, a movie depicting an American election. It’s ad runs the caption: “Let us pray it be fiction.”

“-X-rated”

Fritz the Cat seems to reviving animated films — following in his pawprints are Britain’s Sinderella, Japan’s Cleopatra, The Queen of Sex and Little Annie Fannie. Looks like the salvation of cartoons. Adult cartoons, that is.

Hot Burt Reynolds, Cosmo’s male stripper, is starring in Fuzz which deleted the nude scenes and four letter words so it could rate PG. He also appears in Shamus with Dyan Cannon. But Burt claims that he doesn’t want to be known only as a sex symbol just because that made his career.

And the scandalous play, Oh! Calcutta! is premiering at The Cannes Film Festival. Oh!

Fourteen years after Jack Harris gave us the super success Blob we can look forward to Beware of the Blob featuring Robert Walker and Carol Lynley. Harris also gave us Honky and soon to be released Bone which his company says are black market oriented.

Barbara Hershey has flown the coop! After her current movie she will be referred to as Barbara Seagull. This surname switch was prompted when the soul of a seagull Barbara was working with during an earlier film became a part of her. Really.

Dennis Hopper and Daria Halprin (of Easy Rider and Zabriskie Point, respectively) exchanged marriage vows before a Rabbi among redwooded mountains. A Buchla music synthesizer, ram’s horn, flute, conga drum and guitar played “Havah Nagila” while friends and relatives danced the hora. Mazel tov!

Wedding Bells may also gong for Desi Arnaz, Jr., who is in Japan filming Marco, a spoof on 13th century adventurer Marco Polo. As soon as the movie’s done, he’ll rush back to his fiance “I Love Lisa” Minnelli.

Yellow Submarine producer, A1 Brodax, of Folio One Productions is now working on a live/animated feature of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Included in the film are 100 Salvadore Dali paintings and a London Symphony soundtrack. Brodax also hopes for the appearance of one or two Beatles.