Many Cruisemoons have passed since our last Tom Cruising Live Tweet event. For those keeping track of such things, that was Days of Thunder way back in August.
The hell you say!
Hell yes, I say.
Tom Cruise is back on #Bond_age_ with the movie he made right before Risky Business and right after The Outsiders, which in retrospect may have been a better movie to view because it also has Patrick Swayze and Ralph Macchio! NEVERTHELESS WE ARE HERE TO TALK TOM CRUISE NOT THE SWAYZE. Though a future series of #Swayz_age_ is not out of the question.
Losin’ It (1983) is a not entirely uninspired teen sex comedy set in 1965 starring Tom Cruise, Jackie Earle Haley and Shelley Long. A bunch of horny, awkward high school boys head off to Tijuana for a wild night and in the process take on the company of a heartbroken and eccentric housewife. It’s all very dumb and more than worth a riff or two. Most notable is that this is director Curtis Hanson’s first mainstream film after toiling in cheap genre films throughout the 1970’s. For those that don’t recognize the name offhand, Hanson went on to direct L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys and 8 Mile, among other notables.
Anti-Cruisers will enjoy how little respect the characters in this movie have for the Cruise.
Join #Bond_age_ on Wednesday January 17th @ 9pm ET for another edition of TOM CRUISING featuring Losin’ It!
Last evening @CitizenScreen requested a reminder regarding the #Bond_age_ live tweets, which got me thinking… she’s not the first to say that she’d join more live tweets if she just had a gentle reminder. I understand that the live tweet announcements get lost in the Twatterverse and that’s why I’ve taken to spamming them. That’s not especially efficient, however.
New year, no ideas. I’m starting a #Bond_age_ “subscription service.”
If you want to be notified each week about the #Bond_age_ live tweet event, submit your name and your twitter handle. When I send out the weekly notices, I’ll tag you so that you’ll always see what’s going on in the world of #Bond_age_.
This week #Bond_age_ turns five. Like telling “The Night Before Christmas” on Christmas Eve let’s share some #Bond_age_ origin-story nostalgia.
Five years ago, a few Twitter acquaintances jumped on my enthusiasm for Skyfall and suggested I write a regular column about James Bond to be posted on a literary magazine. One essay per movie. Then I had one further bright idea. I thought it would be fun to host a live tweet for each movie and write the essay based on thoughts and suggestions culled from the experience. What did I know about live tweeting? I was aware of #TCMParty and had been recently turned onto #DriveInMob. It was certainly one of those “seemed like a good idea at the time” kind of things.
I initiated that first Dr. No live tweet on December 12th, 2012 with my regular “INITIATE MISSION” call to arms and mentioned how the opening Bond theme still managed to thrill after hundreds of Bond viewings. I had pages and pages of movie info and factoids about the production. And one person showed up. I am indebted to @jennjaysleafs for joining me on that first evening. Hell, everyone that’s ever enjoyed a #Bond_age_ live tweet during these last five years owes a small debt to her. If she didn’t show up that first night, I might not have continued with the live tweet portion of the series. One person became two for From Russia With Love the next week.The other was the editor of the literary magazine that was publishing the Bond essays so I wasn’t exactly emboldened by the turnout.
I returned after the holidays to give the live tweet thing a shot through Thunderball. This is where @CulturalGutter and @DriveInMob came to the rescue. They may not even remember at this point that they helped promote these live tweets and kickstarted the project. By the time we live tweeted Thunderball on January 16th, we had a proper #Bond_age_ turnout… and yada yada yada here I am in 2017 still doing this.
Enough of that detour down memory lane. This year the #Bond_age_versary falls on the 20th Anniversary of the release of TOMORROW NEVER DIES so that’s conveniently what we’re watching.
Join #Bond_age_ to celebrate the #Bond_age_versary 5 and the 20th Annivesary of Tomorrow Never Dies at 9pm Et on December 13th, 2017. Use #Bond_age_ and #TND20 hashtags.
All #Bond_age_ programming appears on the Programming page the day of the live tweet.
Pam had the wonderful idea of jumping ahead to the 4th season of Remington Steele for this edition of #SteeleTweet. Anarchy! Chaos! I know! Faithful #SteeleTweeters, have patience. There is a method to our madness. We will return to finish the 2nd season starting in January.
We’ve performed this time-travel expedition in order to celebrate the 90+ year career of Rose Marie. If you’re familiar with Rose Marie it is likely due to her role as Sally Rogers on The Dick Van Dyke Show. That or her “regular” appearances on Hollywood Squares. And that is precisely how I knew her… until I saw this Vitaphone short at the Turner Classic Movie Film Festival a couple years ago.
Our #SteeleTweet host Pam had the foresight to call for the scheduling of Rose Marie’s appearance in Remington Steele as her new movie Wait for Your Laughrolls out into theaters everywhere. This scheme came to fruition after Rose Marie herself tweeted out this little nugget:
I was asked at one of the Q&As for #waitforyourlaugh what one of my favorite roles was. My answer might surprise you. It was actually a guest shot on Remington Steele with @PierceBrosnan, Stephanie Zimbalist, & @doris_roberts. It was a dramatic part and allowed me to really act. pic.twitter.com/09se9vrxLT
#Bond_age_ is proud to present the Rose Marie edition of #SteeleTweet on Wednesday, December 6th. The Rose Marie episode, “Steele in the Spotlight” (S4.E17) begins at 9pm ET. Follow #Bond_age_TV.
Rose Marie as Sally Rogers on The Dick Van Dyke Show.
After Rose Marie has her #Bond_age_ moment, we’ll spread some more tinsel on the tree with the first Christmas-themed Remington Steele episode, “Dancer, Prancer, Donner and Steele” (S4.E9). Oddly enough the second Christmassy Steele episode also aired during Season 4. We’ll get back to that at a later date, probably December of 2018 if I had to guess.
Happy holidays, #Bond_age_ fans. Enjoy this very special Remington Steele double feature. And don’t forget that next week, #Bond_age_ celebrates it’s 5th anniversary of live tweeting. I hope to pull together some special programming in addition to the planned 20th Anniversary live tweet of Tomorrow Never Dies.
More Fluffy, you guys!
Next week on #Bond_age_:
#Bond_age_versary 5 featuring the Tomorrow Never Dies 20th Anniversary Live Tweet.
We are Bond fans. Bond fans watch James Bond. Good Bond. Bad Bond. The rule says we will watch it. The movie that’s always put that rule to the test was 2002 special effects and CGI extravaganza, Die Another Day, aka Bond xXx, aka Jesus Bond Rises Again. But the #Bond_age_ treatment presents the loophole most Bond fans need to get over their Die Another Day hesitancy — good goddamn Twatter and the company of cynical friends.
Die Another Day was the first Bond film I saw in the theater with my wife (then girlfriend). I remember being largely speechless upon exiting the theater. Searching for some explanation for what we’d just seen. She wasn’t a Bond fan, and I’d pinned a lot of hopes on this film to help her see the light. Suffice to say, I’d have to wait until Casino Royale in 2006 to make that final conversion.
Join #Bond_age_ for the “celebration” of 15 years of disillusionment, I mean Die Another Day, on Wednesday, November 15th @ 9pm ET. Follow #Bond_age_ hashtag and sprinkle in #DAD15 to confuse the interwebs.
Many Cruisemoons have passed since our last Tom Cruising Live Tweet event. For those keeping track of such things, that was Days of Thunder way back in August.
