By turns entertaining or thoughtful (and often both), this little memoir puts the "scene" in the passing scene -- from discovering movie magic inside a Lake Superior village's tiny theater; to standing in Detroit's Grand Circus Park within sight of nine theaters, just in time to see the age of movie palaces flicker out; to pondering a brave new world that appears, including its movies, in the palm of your hand.
Since seeing his first film in 1948, the author -- without leaving Flyover Country -- has crossed paths with screenwriters, appeared for five seconds in an Italian film that might or might not exist, watched Detroit's population implosion through the prism of a movie marquee across the street, taken music lessons from a silent movies pianist, and hauled a load of country music practitioners and fans to the opening night of Robert Altman's "Nashville" thinking it was a movie about music.
Anyone who misses watching movies in a real theater, or who loves his home entertainment center but wishes it had an even larger screen and faux palatial decor, will enjoy this junket across time (the entire second half of the 20th Century, and a nick of the 21st) and place (from Medicine Bow, Wyoming to Cleveland, Ohio).
The spirit of this lively read is captured in the Author's Note:
" . . . the author invites you to laugh while discovering that he got into the movies only by purchasing a ticket. The author is smiling, too. My career path wandered only accidentally near several who became serious players in Hollywood. Hang around a wharf and you will run into a few anglers who land big fish. Besides, all of us wind up in the movies. In the good movies, at least. Mirrors do play tricks. But without our own presence somewhere in the pictures we watch, there is no story that will be understood, and no characters we will love, hate, fear, or yearn to be."
Tom W. Ferguson has spent more than four decades as an editor at major newspapers and minor newspapers, as a book editor, as a free-lance editorial consultant, as a musical weekend warrior at every opportunity, and doing his best to keep the movie industry afloat by consuming more than his fair share of product.
Since seeing his first film in 1948, the author -- without leaving Flyover Country -- has crossed paths with screenwriters, appeared for five seconds in an Italian film that might or might not exist, watched Detroit's population implosion through the prism of a movie marquee across the street, taken music lessons from a silent movies pianist, and hauled a load of country music practitioners and fans to the opening night of Robert Altman's "Nashville" thinking it was a movie about music.
Anyone who misses watching movies in a real theater, or who loves his home entertainment center but wishes it had an even larger screen and faux palatial decor, will enjoy this junket across time (the entire second half of the 20th Century, and a nick of the 21st) and place (from Medicine Bow, Wyoming to Cleveland, Ohio).
The spirit of this lively read is captured in the Author's Note:
" . . . the author invites you to laugh while discovering that he got into the movies only by purchasing a ticket. The author is smiling, too. My career path wandered only accidentally near several who became serious players in Hollywood. Hang around a wharf and you will run into a few anglers who land big fish. Besides, all of us wind up in the movies. In the good movies, at least. Mirrors do play tricks. But without our own presence somewhere in the pictures we watch, there is no story that will be understood, and no characters we will love, hate, fear, or yearn to be."
Tom W. Ferguson has spent more than four decades as an editor at major newspapers and minor newspapers, as a book editor, as a free-lance editorial consultant, as a musical weekend warrior at every opportunity, and doing his best to keep the movie industry afloat by consuming more than his fair share of product.
