April 2008

A Monthly Publication of the USA Mission to Poland. Warsaw • Krakow • Poznan Volume V. Issue 47.

THE ENCHANTING WORLD OF MOVIES

The April issue of Zoom brings you stories from the the magic of the big screen and read about a man
world of movies. Join our virtual tour of Universal Stu- who wanted to scare his audiences out of their wits.
dios on pages 3 and 4 and don’t miss the photo tour And … get your film cameras ready. In the coming
on page 5. Read two first-hand accounts of the spell issues of Zoom we will give you details of a contest
that movies and movie theaters can cast on our for a 3-minute video with fabulous prizes to win. So,
whole life. Take a little quiz to see if you believe in “Stay tuned!”

The drive-in theater, a uniquely American institution

A Photo © AP Images

Take a little quiz

Answer the following questions “Yes” or “No” and 4. if you knew that the seats were wired to vibrate
read “William Castle’s World of Gimmicks” on page 2. violently during the most frightening scenes?
WOULD YOU GO TO THE MOVIE THEATRE … 5. if a free set of colored lenses would reveal a
throng of ghosts to your eyes?
1. to see a film advertised with the warning: “See it 6. where the audience had the choice to vote for
with someone who can carry you home!” or “If it the film ending?
frightens you to death, you’ll be buried free of 7. that offered seat belts to people who were afraid
charge?” during the film?
2. if the film director offered insurance for $1000 8. had a special marked place for “chickens” who
against death by fright while watching the movie? were scared and wanted to leave the screening
3. when plastic skeletons flew over the audience’s before it ended and get their money back for the
head during the movie? ticket?

In This Issue: Film ZOOM in on America

 William castle’s realm of gimmicks
If all or most of your answers in the quiz are “Yes”, it ies soon drove him to Hollywood, but it was not until the
means that you would like the movies of William Castle - 1950’s that he was finally able to direct the movies he was
film director, producer, actor and show biz tycoon. Cas- made for: horror and macabre.
tle employed these gimmicks to market and pack movie The films he made were called ‘B’ movies because they
theaters in the 1950s and 60s. During these years, were less prestigious. In order to lure crowds to see mov-
movies were gradually losing the battle with the one- ies made with smaller budgets, lower production values
eyed monster - the home TV set. Castle’s goal was to and smaller advertising budgets, Castle marketed his films
bring more entertainment to the movies. with pranks and gimmicks intended to draw people to the
If you mostly answered in the negative, it does not mean box office. The Quiz on page 1 provides some examples
that you would not enjoy the spell a movie theater can of such tricks.
offer. It could just be that you prefer 3-D, Cinerama, Contrary to the genre he favored, he was a warm and
Vista Vision and IMAX, which are nothing but modern amusing person, well-liked by the film crews he directed.
variations of Castle’s old gimmicks. The 1993 comedy Matinee, starring John Goodman and
Castle, whose real name was Schloss, had the love of Cathy Moriarty is a tribute to William Castle, the man who
stage in his blood. A New Yorker by birth, he never believed in the magic of the big screen. For, when the
missed the opportunity to go to the circus, the theater or lights go out and the film tape begins to roll, the audience
the movies. In the 1920’s, when he was in his early teen- sets off on a mysterious and unreal adventure. Watch out -
age years, he knew more about script, makeup, direction because anything can happen.
and lighting than most of his peers. His passion for mov- AIRC Krakow

what are b-movies?

B-Movies are Hollywood’s step-children productions: tions. The 70’s were the golden age of exploitation films
horror films, science-fiction, monster and road movies. In and The Blair Witch Project would be a recently successful
contrast to the more prestigious and higher budget “A- case in point. The Friday the 13th series has become the
movies,” B-movies are less costly productions, less pub- most obvious example of how most B-movies have be-
licized and generally less ambitious. The original B- come synonymous with violent slasher films.
movies were Westerns, dime-store romances, detective It would be an oversimplification, however, to say that all
films and slapstick comedies, made cheap and fast for a B-movies are second-rate films with no ambition. The early
mass audience in the 20’s and 30’s. productions of Frankenstein and Dracula were made by
Up until 1948, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the ambitious directors with great craft. Hitchcock intentionally
practice illegal, the Hollywood studios sold theaters both made Psycho as a B-movie on a budget of $800,000. Jack
A and B-movies and required them to show them to- Nicholson’s career began in working with schlock-meister
gether. This phenomenon was known as the double fea- Roger Corman in The Little Shop of Horrors. More recently
ture and had its roots in the beginnings of the movie in- George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead series and Wes
dustry, when the first talking movies were the main but Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street are examples of recent
not the only part of the show; others included a live act, B-movies made with ambition and to great effect.
a newsreel, a comedy short, a cartoon, a musical, etc. It Quentin Tarantino, Tim Burton and The Coen Brothers
also gave the Hollywood studios a market for its less have built their careers from their love of low-brow movies.
successful films. The recent Death Proof is an homage to the gory thrills of
Independent film-makers like Ed Wood and William Cas- early B road movies, but Reservoir Dogs is just as much a
tle made careers from the low-brow entertainments of gritty crime film. The very title Pulp Fiction is a reference to
Plan Nine from Outer Space and The Tingler. B-movies the fast action, low-brow entertainment of classic B mov-
generally now refer to low-budget, independent produc- ies.

my Saturday morning matinee

A long time ago, in a valley far, far away, I grew up at but all I remember was how much fun it was to be in this
the movies. I remember going to the movie theater every big, old movie theater with all those other happy people
weekend when I was young. There was always a double and our friends from school, kids running up and down the
feature - two movies for the price of one. Even better - aisle, up the stairs and into the balcony. Then the lights
the matinee show in the afternoon was half the price. would go down and the curtain would start to open and
What a deal. Sometimes these were movies we had everyone there would say "Oooooh!" as loud as they could
seen before. It did not matter whether we already knew and then start laughing. I remember seeing previews for
the story - the fun was just to be at the movie theater. Close Encounters and Star Wars and looking forward to
Sometimes we knew the dialogue so well that we could when they would open for the premiere. Between movies,
say the lines with the characters. By the time my brother we would buy more popcorn and run around again. The
and I were 10 and 12 years old, our parents would drop best part of it all was just being there - just the magic and
us off at the theater and we could go in by ourselves. the ritual of going to the movies on a Saturday afternoon. I
We always saved our allowance for popcorn and candy have never lost that sense of magic and still love that mo-
from the snack bar. There were so many lousy Disney ment when the light goes down and the curtain starts to
movies from those years - The Apple Dumpling Gang, open.
Herbie Rides Again, The Shaggy D.A., Freaky Friday - John Surface

ZOOM Page 2 Click to listen: http://stream.state.gov/streamvol/libmedia/krakow/10474/quiz/quiz.wma

 a universal studios dream tour
was built in 1925 for the Lon Chaney version of Phan-
tom of the Opera. The same Stage 28 was used for
Psycho, Bride of Frankenstein and Jurassic Park.
Lisa: We are now driving past the famous Universal
Streets: On your left is “New York Street” with a se-
ries of brownstones, ... now the "Small Town" set on
your right, ... and up ahead you can see the dusty
streets of "Old Mexico" with the old church tower that
was used on the set of Vertigo, and the most used
set, "Little Europe" with its little shops that you would
remember from An American in Paris, Funny Face
and The Pink Panther. Today, it's the port in the Pi-
rates of the Caribbean ... And here we are in the fa-
mous Old West town. It is our largest outdoor set and
they were able to shoot as many as six different
Photo by Dalydose on Flickr
Westerns at the same time because it had six streets,
Lisa, the tour guide: A very good morning to you here on each with its own saloon.
this sunny morning. My name is Lisa and I have the pleas- Artur (five years old): Mommy, I want a cowboy hat
ure of taking you on this tour of Universal Studios today. I like that cowboy!
can see that you're a great group. I see that you come from
all over the world. Splendid! Welcome to the studio where Lisa: Now we are approaching the Courthouse
more movies and TV shows have been shot than anywhere Square with the bending street in the distance. I am
else in the United States. The Studio has been in operation sure you recognize it. It "starred" in Bruce Almighty,
since 1912, very nearly a hundred years! Crossing Jordan, and Spider-Man 2.
Janne: Good morning, Lisa. Lisa: And now we are going past the "Bates Motel"
and the famous old house from the movie Psycho.
Ludo: Good morning, Lisa. I'm looking forward to the thrills!
I've heard so much about the explosions! Janne: Psycho, wow. It has such atmosphere... even
in broad daylight...
Kimiko: I hope there won't be any splashes or dirt falling
around. I'm going to a conference right after the tour. Lisa: We're now heading towards the "Red Sea"
used for the scenes where Charlton Heston parted
Lisa: The tour is thrilling, alright, but you needn't be scared. the waters. No need to worry. We'll just drive through,
Let's get on the tram right over there. Come, you'll see for no one drowns here.... See how the pumps part the
yourselves! sea for us. Now some of you on the outside might get
Lisa: Oh, the lady in the beautiful blue suit, going to a con- splashed. Here, hand this to the lady in the blue suit!
ference afterwards ... I wouldn't take a seat in the front, not Janne: Oh my, I'm all wet.
on the right side anyway … or you'll get wet when we en-
counter the shark from Jaws. Artur: Look Mum, a shark!
Kimiko: I’ll sit in front. That’s my favorite always. Artur's mother: That's alright, darling. It's not real.
This shark was built for a movie.
(The whole group take seats in the car, get their cameras
ready and make themselves comfortable.) Lisa: The lakes here at Universal Studios are man-
made... and the bridges ... are man-made too, of
Lisa: Welcome aboard. The video screens above my head course, which means they can collapse. This is where
will show you some of the history of Universal Studios. So, the pier scene for Jaws was filmed. We keep the
let's get going ... Our Studio tour lasts about an hour and shark here because there is nowhere else to keep
features locations you know from the movies. We'll drive by him. Oh, my! The wooden bridge is shaking, we’re too
the sound stages - the "front lot" as we call it - as well as the heavy ... it's … breaking. Hold on! And here comes
large outdoor sets we call the "back lot". On some of the the shark! Stay away from the rails! BOOM! He just
sets, they will be shooting scenes as we drive by. If we're bit one of the tires! BOOOOM!
lucky, we may see some of the stars while they work. I
nearly bumped into Naomi Harris, Kevin McNally and Lisa: OK, it looks like he just wanted to say “hi.” Eve-
Johnny Depp yesterday. They are shooting Pirates of the ryone still here? OK, now you can tell all your friends
Caribbean on the "Little Europe" set. that you survived a shark attack. As he swims away
you can see the hydraulics at the back. As we come
Tina: I would love to get Naomi Harris’s autograph to show around the turn, we see a scene of chaos and de-
my friends at school... struction. It's the set from Steven Spielberg's War of
Lisa: Now we are driving by the offices of film directors. Ste- the Worlds, starring Tom Cruise. This is the actual,
ven Spielberg's office is here on your left. Up ahead are the full-size 747 jet airliner that crashed into a residential
giant sound stages, buildings where movies are shot. The area. You can still see the engines smoldering in the
first famous sound stage at Universal was Stage 28, which ruins.
(continued on page 4)

ZOOM Page 3
A UNIVERSAL STUDUIOS DREAM TOUR Kimiko: It's so good I moved away from here.
(continued): Lisa: And now a 2006 addition to the tour attractions. We
are coming to set for The Fast and Furious. Relax and
Tom: Dad, do you see that? enjoy.
Tom's dad (looking around): What? (Two Volkswagen cars are raised on robotic mechanical
Tom: The dinosaurs over there …. Wow! armatures and set in a wild dance to the hip-hop beat,
turn and whirl in the air and come to a stop just before
Lisa: Those are our friendly velociraptors – the ones
the right side of the tram.)
that appeared in Jurassic Park. And we are now enter-
ing the studio's "Greens Department" where we do our Lisa: We are now close to the end of our tour. Our car is
jungle and river scenes. entering the tunnel used on the set of the Mummy.
Watch out for scarab beetles. They might be anywhere
(The tram rolls through the open doors of a sound stage
near now!
building. There's the sound of explosions and nasty
roars.) Artur (shouts): Mommy, Mommy look on my arm, there's
a beetle!
Artur: What's that?
Artur's Mum: No honey, don't worry. It's only the light-
Lisa: The roars? That's King Kong. We can’t let him
ing. See, they are all over! It just looks like a bug.
outside. He likes to climb things. Oh, it looks like he is
reaching for the tram. Give him your hat and he might Lisa: This is where the Studio tour stops. But don’t leave
go away. yet. (Turning to Kimiko:) Or, come again after your con-
ference. Enjoy the rides and shows in the Lower Lot. It’s
Lisa: And the shaking? ... Oh, that's nothing. Don't be
been a pleasure to take this tour with you. Thank you.
afraid. It's only an earthquake, a 7.0 earthquake, to be
precise. Not every visitor to California gets to experi- Tourists: (applaud): Thank you, Lisa. You’ve been a
ence one, so we do it for you here. Careful of the falling great guide.
rocks! Krakow AIRC

The Film That Changed my Life

I was difficult as a small child, frequently sick, running high and a trained seal, and a sky on fire, and a mad dash
fevers, and with no remorse whatsoever for the crying through a mine-field.
misbehavior that would drive me crazy now were it my lot I watched it all, understanding little, not even aware
to endure such as a parent. that my mother had finished clipping my nails, fully ab-
I would often exercise rebellion in matters concerning my sorbed in this hitherto unimagined world flowing
feet, both when either of my parents tried to put on the across the television screen of what I would learn only
cast-iron-stiff, hi-top white booties then in fashion for tod- in high school was Irwin Allen’s theatrical pilot for Voy-
dlers, but also when my mother would cut my toe nails. age to the Bottom of the Sea. The blond-nurse was a
The contest was unequal – my mother was a southern pre-I Dream of Jeannie Barbara Eden, the seal’s
woman of the Old School – but I like to think that I at least trainer was a very post-Maltese Falcon Peter Lorre,
gave her a good run for her money. and the star of the show was the United Nations
One such night in 1965 the family was gathered around Atomic Submarine Seaview.
the black and white television set, my three year old legs When many years later I came to join the U.S. Navy, I
vise-gripped between my mother’s forearm and thigh, clip- could give many reasons for doing so – but some-
pers held grimly in her free hand – breath welling up in my where hidden deep under them all was a romance
lungs for the first exploratory scream – when I noticed born in a suburban split-level rancher, of a world far
a ...submarine. A fascinating submarine with big glass from Huntsville, Alabama, to the horizon surrounded
windows in the front end, and a flying mini-sub, and men only by sea.
with scuba gear and wet suits, and a pretty blond nurse, Duncan Walker

Zoom is online at
Win a Prize! Win a Prize!
www.usinfo.pl/zoom/

Subscription issues APRIL 2008 CONTEST The answer in the March 2008
www.usinfo.pl/zoom/subscribe.htm Contest was:
Contact us at What are the names of - soft -
zoom@usinfo.pl
the Disney characters
Thank you for participating
American Information Resource
Centers
shown in the photo on
the right? The winners are:
Warsaw
Ambasada USA (give at least one) Piotr from Skawina, Wanda from
ul. Piękna 14, 00-540 Warszawa
airc_warsaw@state.gov Białystok and Joanna from
Send the answer (with Kraków
Krakow
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Deadline: May 5 photo AP Images mail
zoom special: Universal Studios Photo Tour

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, right with Universal Studios President Ron Meyer in
Universal City, California on Wednesday, Dec, 6, 2006. NBC Universal on Wednesday unveiled
an ambitious plan to revamp the unique 390-acre complex that includes movie sets, office space
and a theme park. Photo©AP Images
At the entrance to the tour area at Universal Studios in Universal City, Calif.
Photo © AP Images

with a little bit of luck you can meet celebrities on your tour

Johnny
Depp
(left)
and
Naomi
Harris
(right)
starred
“Pirates
of the
Carib-
bean”.
Some
scenes
were
shot in
Univer-
sal Stu-
dios
Photos
© AP
Images

Surprised visitors ap-

plaud as Whoopi
Goldberg prepares to
take a guest turn as
guide aboard one of
the studio's trams at
Universal City, Calif.,
Tuesday, July 18,
2006.
Photo © AP Images

ZOOM Page 5