James Cameron And The Steinhoff Factor (non-3D version)

Preface
I promised in my February 15th blog that, upcoming in the near future, there would be a blog wherein I would take on the subject of the influence I have had on filmmaker James Cameron. Today's blog will not be the place where I cover this in what I regard as a thorough manner, it being that clips from Cameron's movie, "Avatar", are among the tools I would need to do justice to this subject. I trust I will be able to access and thereby include such clips in the future (when "Avatar" comes to TV). However, I can at least provide enough here for you to see the basic substance of my February 15th assertion that Cameron has been significantly influenced by me. And by you, I mean those reading this who have the inclination to put a few facts together, and the intelligence to appreciate what those facts say.

You may be skeptical of certain things I will be including here that, in order to be appreciated, require a degree of background knowledge of myself and my other influences on various rather substantial works by certain very important people, as documented in previous blogs through references to facts. And by you, I mean those reading this who are not inclined to put a larger number of facts together, yet would put the onus on me for failing to have facts that condense into a mere paragraph to complete their context.

And I will not even begin to address you who have ulterior motives for indicating skepticism. Who, as one might guess, tend to "visit" (and more) themselves upon situations that involve very, very powerful people and companies. I wish I had people at my disposal to address them for me.


If A Tree Falls In The Woods And Nobody Films The Person Who Heard It
In 1998, when James Cameron was the guest star on the season finale of the sixth season of the NBC sitcom, "Mad About You," I recognized that episode's use of the main idea of my 1978 16mm film (now a video posted at Archive.Org), "Log of a Log Log" (in which the Paul Reiser character is doing a documentary about a documentary about "Titanic"). In addition to the obvious fact that the idea in both "Log" and "Mad" are the same, a documentary about a documentary (admittedly, one appreciates that there could be occasions when someone else might also come up with this same idea without my help), I was already aware that "Mad About You" was aware of me, as they had in previous episodes made inside-references to me/my material.

Without going into detail, a certain number of those inside-references related to a girl I was friends with when I attended CalArts during the '70s (and with whom I haven't spoken since the '70s). This same girl worked for James Cameron on "True Lies" and "Titanic". Additionally, an important part of "Titanic" also included such inside-references. It seems that my secret importance is of such a degree and nature that, almost invariably, when this girl works on a movie, that same movie includes inside-references to myself that bring this girl to mind. [I have to look forward to the release of "Alice In Wonderland" in several weeks.]

Still from "Mad About You"
(6th Season Finale, 1998)







Excerpt from "Log of a Log Log" (1978)


If you have seen both "Avatar" and "Log of a Log Log", the connection between myself and Cameron is considerably more intense than the afore-described. The subject of the documentary that "Log" is a documentary about (again, "Log" is a documentary of a documentary) regards giant tree roots made into furniture by a company called Cricket Roots. Tom Garber, who was making that documentary, informed me that Cricket Roots got into trouble because of the fact that their destruction of the giant tree roots was being seen as some sort of violation. This clearly has "Avatar" written all over it.

Excerpt from "Log of a Log Log" (1978)


Although "Log of a Log Log" was posted on the Internet in 2006 (prior to which people generally had no opportunity to post videos for free on the Internet), this video/16mm film was made by me in 1978. In "Log" one sees documentary filmmaker Tom Garber, who one can also see on his website - he appears approximately 30 years younger in "Log" than he does on his website. If you wish to do further fact-checking, it is a matter of record that both Tom and I graduated from the CalArts School of Film/Video in 1978. One might also wish to look up on the Internet recent photographs of filmmaker Terry Sanders, also seen in my 1978 work as approximately 30 years younger.


Something In The Air
People with blue skin are not entirely unknown, in movies. This is something my videos, "Gosk 1" and "Gosk 2" (1994 and 1998, respectively, though posted on the Internet in 2005) have in common with "Avatar" - in and of itself, not enough to connect the two. Alright, but how about special significance given to white, non-snowflakes floating around? How many movies do you find this in, combined with there being blue-skinned characters? The "Woodsprite" in "Avatar" (described in this link as "like dandelion seeds") are key to the story, in that they are singularly responsible for the perception that Jake Sully (protagonist) should be considered for initiation as a Navi, a key storyline in "Avatar. In my video, "Gosk 2", the little white non-snowflakes are, as seen in the following excerpt, also given significance. They are not presented as merely being a benign part of the landscape, but as a special aspect of a foreign world.

Excerpt from "Gosk 2" (1998)



Some Things In The Air
Up next, something that may seem comparatively less pronounced, in that the similarity cited becomes more significant when seen in the cumulative sense, i.e., when seen alongside other Steinhoff/Cameron connections.

In movies it is rarely seen, when we find "visitors" with the special advantage of flying around in spacecrafts, for those with nothing even remotely approaching like-technology to endeavor to engage them in like-manner. Again, you are asked to call upon your memory of "Avatar":

Excerpt from "Gosk 2" (1998)



Something On Your Nose
Again, we've seen close to this sort of thing in movies before, however, the cumulative significance causes me to consider this worth citing: a blue-skinned face with a tan (Caucasian-looking) spot on the nose. I believe this hits it on the nose, even though a different part of the nose.

Excerpt from "Gosk 2" (1998)



Still of Jake Sully
"Avatar" (2009)

















Plain As The Moon On Your Face
Those who remember back to my blog regarding "The Wolfman" (February 12th), and then edit that memory together with numerous other references in my blogs to Sean Daniel, producer of "The Wolfman", may appreciate this.

It is my assessment that there exists a "shorthand" (for lack of a better, less-syllabic word), whereby certain inside-references can be clearly determined in spite of the absence of their being clearly delineated/self-apparent. In my February 12th blog, which was created prior to my seeing "Avatar", I suggested the possibility of a future Spielberg film that might bridge things in "The Wolfman" to me/my material, as occurred with the 2008 "Indiana Jones" sequel (Spielberg) with relation to the 2008 "Mummy" sequel (Daniel) with relation to myself.

When I saw "The Wolfman", I noticed that a flashback scene showing Benicio Del Toro's character as a boy contained imagery that brought to mind the above clip from my "Gosk 2" video regarding white flakes. At the time I saw it, having not yet seen "Avatar", there was not enough for me to feel there was a basis for me to cite it as an inside-reference regarding me/my material. Now that I see that same exact moment brought to mind in the movie "Avatar", in theatrical release at the same time as "The Wolfman", I have to feel that there now is enough for me to cite it as an inside-reference.

Additionally, the flying bird POV shots in "Avatar" also relate to what I previously assessed (Feb. 12th blog) as inside-references in "The Wolfman" to me/my material. I recognize that flying bird POV shots are not unique to the three of us (Cameron, Daniel, Steinhoff), however, in conjunction with other factors, the significance changes.

Nicely Aged Artifacts

While it is not yet time for my blog about things that have put me in relation to "Avatar" and its creator, James Cameron (described as upcoming in my previous, February 15th blog), it is time for Yoko Ono's birthday celebration!

This year, I am celebrating Yoko Ono's birthday by putting two related Internet links side-by-side, links containing a relevance to Yoko that is, in my opinion, fairly easy to discern. I already know you would have to agree.

Please click on each link in rapid succession:

WINNER STUB

Still Time To Buy Popcorn

Yours Truly Firmly Planted In Someone's Fantasy
Knowing how secretly super-important I am (yes, I'm in on that secret), and knowing how James Cameron has made inside-references to me/my material in the past in a big way, I figured that, when I did get around to seeing the biggest movie in the history of cinema, "Avatar", I would very likely see something myself-related. So on Sunday I broke the suspense and went to see "Avatar".

I was not prepared.

Word on the street was that the manufacturers of Coca-Cola would love for me to make some kind of mention of their product during the course of the blog I write on how "Avatar" relates to "me" (me/my material). Which this blog isn't - that will be another blog. I am not yet ready for that moment in the history of mankind, which is to say, I appreciate the significance my reaction might ultimately have attached to it, and I am only too aware of my obligattion to try to do justice to that kind of attention. So stay tuned, between my day job as a secretary and the countless, unending assaults on my attention that descend upon me when I'm not at work, I should nevertheless be able to summon the strength and inspiration needed to be equal to this task.

Where was I? Oh yes, and then word on the street was that the manufacturers of Pepsi would really love for that blog to include some mention of their product. Or short of that, if I at least could refrain from mentioning Coca-Cola. Or communism, right, I think it was the Pepsi people who wanted communism kept out of it, for some reason. No communism and no Coca-Cola, that was the word on the street. And then all of these other soft drink manufacturers starting putting word out on the street about what they wanted to see in this upcoming blog of mine. Dr. Pepper apparently hates existential tangents. And if I told you which soft drink manufacturer is campaigning against nihilism you wouldn't believe me - that was something I didn't expect this experience to teach me! Well, forget it, boys. Tapwater, your day is at hand, you have a very powerful ally in me (okay, tapwater only after its passed through a Brita filter, but if you say I said that I'll deny it).

And then, suddenly, from amidst all of the unceasing, constant chatter from the beverage world, a rumble from the good people who make a very popular snack food began to emerge. Followed by anxious whispers from their competitors. This snack food talk, it was like some new, non-soft drink-esque mood had descended upon word on the street. It reminded me of the effort to raise money for Haiti, if that doesn't sound too cynical.

Don't they all want a piece of that upcoming blog of mine. Ah yes, to control the mind of the secretly super-important Jonathan David Steinhoff. Yet it should all be something I'm used to. You know, "Jurassic Park" was once the most successful movie in the history of cinema, and I was secretly responsible for Spielberg making that one. And then there was "Titanic", another James Cameron movie that also was once the most successful in the history of cinema - I was a big influence on an important part of that one as well. Would it be tangental at this point to bring up my influence on The Beatles, The Stones, Saturday Night Live, Madonna, Sting, etc., etc. (my deepest apologies to the multitude of greats omitted here).

Hopefully this will someday be regarded as my strange way of trying to touch on the idea that there really is reason to consider that there really has been a real degree of real effort to influence my real brainwaves. And yes, I mean by subterfuge - oops, I just lost half the people who want to take me seriously, they see I'm off the deep end. Besides, who ever used sophisticated means to control a powerful person? Only in dimestore novels! Ignore those sub-rhythms you hear coming through the sounds in my car and air-conditioning and computer and so on and so forth, no amount of money could make that happen! But please, may I at least turn up the TV to better ignore them, or the radio, something I strangely imagine I even need to do in the "dead of night"?


Something To Do With 24
I think I may have seen Kiefer Sutherland again, this time within fifteen minutes of my leaving the "Avatar" movie theater. If so, it could relate to what I wrote about him two blogs ago (February 4th). If not, it could have been.... someone who resembles Kiefer Sutherland? Paid by someone to drive by me? Or.... it might not have been him at all in any way, shape or form, pure and simple? Yes, of course. In any event, I must believe that it could never serve the "common good" for me to attempt any serious effort to find out one way or the other who it was. What kind of person would that make me?


At The End Of The Day
Strangely, this seems to lead my thoughts to the fact that Doug Fieger of The Knack/"My Sharona" fame just died the other day. Is there any point in my mentioning that I once had a half-hour conversation with Doug Fieger? It happens that he was once a bandmate of someone who worked where I worked (I was living in Denver at the time), someone who started working at the company after I had been there half-a-year or so. Someone who also lived in the same apartment building as me, with the help of a recommendation from me. This was around the time when "Double Fantasy" was relatively soon to be released, down the road a little ways. That individual, who Fieger acknowledged as once having been his bandmate, had once been on an album produced by Jack Douglas, a producer on the verge of producing Lennon and Ono's "Double Fantasy", another work I was an influence on. At the same time there was a girl at our company whose fiance was good friends with the saxophonist on Ono's "Season of Glass", though a few things happened before that album came into being. When I changed jobs to another part of town she wound up in that building as well. I have serious reason to believe that this individual, the Fieger bandmate that is, was an intermediary between Lennon and myself, though there appear to have been a few others as well between Lennon and myself at that time (and other times as well, since I was nine or ten). Fieger and this co-worker of mine had once been in a group called "Rats" (not "Boomtown Rats"), and it was this co-worker who told me how I could get the new "Double Fantasy" at a Denver mall called Cinderella City several days after they failed to release it on its announced release date. Did I mention "Double Fantasy" includes a song containing the line, "No rats aboard the magic ship" and "we believe in pumpkins that turn into princess"?


Pick 24 Random Hours
However, I seem to be rambling, especially if you fail to see any thread between the things I describe (always a reason for seeing someone as rambling!). I must make more of an effort to confine myself to that which even the lowest common denominator amongst us would perceive as relevant, so as to ensure against the possible appearance of rambling.

Especially when I get around to addressing the fact that the most successful movie in the history of cinema inside-references me most very significantly. I do not want to lose not one person when that time comes (perhaps my next blog). Or instead I should just count numbers sequentially, no one would be able to accuse me of a non sequitur at such a moment as that. Unless it should be that particular kind of thinking that we will all need me to distance myself from when I do write that blog....

By the way, "The Wolfman" will once again (see my previous blog of February 12th) come into the picture on that occasion as well.

You Actually Believe The Light From The Moon Originates From The Sun?

Having just seen "The Wolfman", the new movie produced by Sean Daniel, a person I've referenced many times in the past, I was disappointed only by the fact that I saw nothing that I could point to as clearly having anything to do with me, something I'm generally able to do with Sean Daniel movies.

Sean Daniel's previous movie, "Mummy 3", contained elements that were very clearly intertwined with a movie that came out around the same time, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", which was directed by Daniel's old friend, Steven Spielberg. And that same "Indiana Jones" movie was very clearly intertwined with my 1993 "Mall Man" video (as I document in my 12.26.09 video, "Steven Spielberg and the 'Mall Man' Factor"). Thus, significant interconnectivity. And usually the interconnectivity in Sean Daniel's work to my work is considerably more direct, such as the fact that Daniel produced "Mallrats" two years after I made "Mall Man", two clearly similar movie titles.

In addition to being the first person from whom I learned of the school I attended, CalArts, Sean Daniel has also "been there" numerous times when my work has made its way to the public through others. Including when I sent him a demo of my song about "breaking the spell" to forward to his friend Paul McCartney to work with me on it (McCartney being another person whom I have frequently influenced), which clearly led to a song on McCartney's then next album that contained the line, "I would never break the spell" (my song, "Different" can be found on my "Enough To Eclipse", a CD I posted at CD Baby in 2005 prior to McCartney's album, my song included there in both its demo and finished form - which tends to reinforce the idea that I attached special significance to the demo part of that song's process).

So did Sean Daniel "break the spell", and allow some form of authorship on some author's part to "eclipse" the idea of throwing into "The Wolfman" this or that reference to my work? (Something I would consider totally valid, authors certainly shouldn't be made to compromise the integrity of their work for the sake of having to make references, unless of course their work possesses that kind of flexibility and they should feel so inclined.)

Though I did happen to notice two or so things in "The Wolfman". No, I cannot authenticate these things for those out there who were not eyewitnesses to that of which I speak, I cannot prove to non-eyewitnesses that I am not making these things up. But if you believe I make things up you haven't bothered to study the evidence I often do have the opportunity to present regarding other matters of equal consequence. I also recognize that the similarities I am about to note do not necessarily signify anything - however, as the context is that I do have cumulative, similar experience of this variety, I do not consider it too bold to entitle myself to see something that others would miss or have difficulty accepting.

The following two things notwithstanding, who knows, perhaps when the next Steven Spielberg movie comes out, couldn't it wind up bridging me to "The Wolfman" in the same way that the 2008 "Indiana Jones" movie bridged me to Sean Daniel's 2008 "Mummy" movie?

Thing Number One
There was a moment in "The Wolfman" when a wolfman finds himself alongside of a statue while atop a building, at which point he stands there. Statues on rooftops are rare enough, to me anyway, that it struck me as something one might legitimately associate with the idea of one of the gargoyles atop the Cathedral of Notre Dame. There is also a very strong significance in this movie to a particular father-son relationship, which I am not saying merely because this is among the countless movies that feature fathers and sons - and that is all the spoiling I intend to do absent the words "spoiler alert". I point these things out because, back in 1971 when Sean Daniel was the silkscreen counselor at Buck's Rock camp and I was a happy camper, Mr. Daniel assisted me, on the day my parents and sister came up for a visit, in making a photo silkscreen from a photograph my father took of gargoyles atop the Cathedral of Notre Dame. So therefore, when I flashed on gargoyles at that point in the Sean Daniel father-son movie, my father was momentarily brought to mind, as was Sean Daniel, for the reasons just-described. This same sense also happened to me a little bit during Sean Daniel's previous movie, "Mummy 3", which had very much to do with ancient Oriental culture - as another photo silkscreen we did was from a photograph my father took of a Buddha statue in Japan during the late 40s/early 50s.

Thing Number Two
The opening shot of "The Wolfman" features tree branches with the moon in the background, from which we pull back. This gives off a sense of being pulled out of a feeling of "not seeing the forest for the trees". This is the exact reverse of something contained in something I did in 2004 - I once made a 30-second TV spot in the hope that it might interest the company enough to air it. The VP had said to keep working on it, maybe they would (at which time I would get paid!!!). I involved someone I knew at CalArts, Richard Greene, aka the "That Was Easy" (Staples) voice, aka lots of other voices on lots of other TV spots. He knew there would be no money unless the company took it to the next level. I did everything but the voice in the TV spot, including write the copy.

As always happens with everything I touch, pieces of it were immediately used by others for this and that, with no credit or money to me. Progressive Insurance used something from an earlier version, for example. TCM (Turner Classic Movies Channel), which often makes use of my material in their little segue montages, was also among those who used it (another time they used something from my "Whatever Happened" music video; as well as other stuff I've done).

In addition to my never-aired TV spot having that tree branch thing that's the reverse idea of the opening shot of "The Wolfman", it's also the only thing I ever did that brings you up close to the image of a vicious lion, in fact, you even get to hear him roar, which is very close in spirit to "The Wolfman". Actually, for the lion's roar I used the sound of the roar of thunder, though most in the audience don't notice such things. I'll even bet I'm the only one in the audience who noticed the correlation between my May 2004 TV spot and the opening shot of "The Wolfman" - unless Sean Daniel also happened to notice it?



My other reason for seriously weighing the possibility that "The Wolfman" used this spot is that, far more often than not, when my stuff is used, it is used in a prominent place. Such as the opening shot of a Sean Daniel movie. Or the opening logo on every DreamWorks movie of a bob on a water surface, which correlates to the opening shot of my 1994 "Gosk 1" video after the opening credits - something I would overlook if not for my generally being super-important in relation to Steven Spielberg's work.

People Keep Entering The Theatre In The Middle Of The Movie That Is Our Life And Then Think They Know What's Going On As If It's A Movie

So I'm watching a "Matlock" from way back in time and blueberry stains under the mat of some guy's car mean the Black guy didn't do it. Isn't that exactly it? Those of us in bad need of a person who can spend the time finding the blueberry stains under the mat and then showing the significance of this so that we can be set free know what I'm talking about. And what about if the guy had thrown away the mat so that no one could ever find it? It boggles the mind - the very thought should send some form of fear into the hearts of all decent people. It HAPPENS.

I don't expect anyone to do the real due diligence needed to find out what entitles my following conjecture. Many would think it pointless for me to even express this conjecture. So what if it might actually be true, what's the point, if it might not be? Where does it leave me, if those a million miles from ever researching me, or ever knowing the true upshots of such research, are left with a poor impression of my grasp of reality? Well, for one thing, it might be true, I do not know, but what I do know is that it is considerably more likely than it would seem to many. And it might regard The Beatles. And if I don't say it, who will?

I know that a story I wrote in 1965, "Endless Voyage," had a major influence on certain Beatles songs, and led to a continuing interest in me by the ex-Beatles over the years, not dying in the past, but instead including even very recent actions by Paul McCartney. And if the following conjecture should prove to be true, should it be that Mr. McCartney must never see the day that it all became apparent enough to me to actually put it down on paper?

I SEEM TO REMEMBER
On my way to work today, Kiefer Sutherland, whom I've occasionally seen and whose work (and whose father's work) has occasionally been influenced by me, drove by me. Reasonably certain it was he.

Later today, when I saw last night's Letterman, which I had recorded, I started to have a Kiefer - Sutherland - in - the - movie -"Dark City" moment. I am referring to how, in "Dark City", the character he plays enters the memory of another character, so that the other character sees his own entire life from early childhood on as one in which Sutherland made recurring appearances, moments that connect to each other, for the purpose of mentoring him, all towards preparation for the single moment when he would need to be equal to defeating the bad guys in the present.

Way back in the last paragraph I told you that something might have happened on Letterman last night. It was when Letterman said, "Pretty boy Clooney", in reference to George Clooney. I once owned a parakeet named "Pretty Boy". And when Bruce Willis was on Letterman two days earlier (Monday's show), between commercials the Letterman announcer said something about parrots. This was a moment that stood out for me, as I saw it as possibly being in relation to something I describe in my March 13, 2009 blog (see page 92 of Vol. 1 of my blogs, posted at Archive.Org). There I connect something regarding Bruce Willis to something regarding a cockateel (a bird very similar to parrots and parakeets, as they are domesticated pet birds that sometimes perch on people's shoulders). Given the gravity of what I was connecting way back on March 13th, and given that Letterman and Willis sometimes do things in relation to me, together and individually, and given etc., looking at this as a possible inside-reference made for my benefit, by mentioning parrots on this particular night, did not strike me as out of the question. Add to that my "Pavlovian" response (has to do with dogs salivating, look it up) to "Pretty Boy" two days later.

PRETTY BOY AND STAYING CLOSE TO HOME
In 1965, when I was nine, I owned a green parakeet named Pretty Boy, as well as a blue parakeet named Polly. One day when Pretty Boy was out of the cage, he managed to escape from our house. He flew way, way high up above the trees, circling wildly, and it didn't seem that I would ever see Pretty Boy again. As I recall, though it is not a totally vivid recollection in every respect, we took the cage with Polly in it and brought it outside. Somehow, over about an hour that seemed like ten, we managed to get Pretty Boy back into the cage.

A fairly short time after this incident, a Beatles song came out called, "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)". Obviously "bird" was meant to be seen as a reference to a girl, and obviously people are generally familiar with the idea of birds flying away. However, there certainly have been times when people, especially people such as John Lennon, are known to have said things for more than one, two or three reasons.

A fairly short time after this, a Beatles song came out entitled, "And Your Bird Can Sing," about a green bird, a pet, the song including the idea of being brought down and awoken by the bird being broken.

The cover of the Beatles album containing "And Your Bird Can Sing," which was entitled "Yesterday And Today," depicted Paul McCartney inside an open steamer trunk. Not entirely unlike the idea of a person being caged/imprisoned, yet not sealed inside this "cage".

Many, many, many years later, on the album, "Double Fantasy," John Lennon does a song entitled, "Beautiful Boy," sure to cause a Pavlovian response in a person who once knew Pretty Boy. No Pretty Boy Floyd jokes, please, I already get that Pretty Boy is not a totally one-of-a-kind name - however, it is nevertheless relatively rare.

In the song, "Beautiful Boy," Lennon sings, "Out on the ocean, sailing away," with an intonation that lends itself to an emotion not dissimilar from someone whose bird is flying away.

Pretty Boy flying away, Beautiful Boy sailing away.

Among the million different levels to everything on "Double Fantasy," among the things that can be said about the album cover would be that it has John and Yoko outside their home, about to travel further from their home (waiting for a traffic light), yet still not too far from their home.

During the '90s, the three then-living Beatles took a work-in-progress song left behind by Lennon, "Free As A Bird", and created the first "Beatles" song in over 20 years.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to Kiefer Sutherland for driving by.