August 11, 2007 / Links

The Home Movie Scenario Book

Several weeks ago, J & I went on a day trip to Cold Spring, NY to get away from the city and enjoy some of the sights along the Hudson. While there, we stopped in a couple of antique stores (a habit I developed while dating LJ) and I came across this book:

This from the forward:

There are approximately 117,000,000 people in the United States. And by the same token there are about 115,000,000 actual or would-be actors and actresses. For if there is any one commonly, almost universally, held faith and belief it is the average human’s fond notion that he or she is a great stage or cinema star–only neglected. Unfortunately, there are only so many thousands–maybe ten, maybe fifty–of this great 115,000,000 who ever have even a glimmer of a chance to prance behind the footlights, or register before a camera . . . Comes, however, the dawn! . . . Last year, 35,000 amateur motion picture cameras were sold. This year, the demand is indicated at 100,000 complete outfits of camera and projector. While amateur directors are busy grinding out film, tens of thousands of their friends are getting their first smell of grease paint. And that means that in the coming months, these ten thousands will buy their own cameras and become bossy directors on their own hook.

The book is fascinating on a number of levels, but principally because there was a market in the late 20s for it’s very existence. Who would have guessed, other than a film historian perhaps, that people were making their own home movies back then? Certainly, YouTube and other current media phenomenon indicate that the assessment of the “average human’s fond notion” remains pretty darn true.

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