Raiders of the Lost Archives: Greece, Tourist Style
See here for an update.
Faced with the challenge of writing something for The Famous Writers' Blog that is even half as interesting, witty, and insightful as my Esteemed Colleague's work (hereinafter EC), I think for a minute, but only a minute. Then with the confidence and skill that comes from long practice, I fold. I'm going with my original plan and will continue to raid my archives for cheap laughs. That way I can provide the greatest amount of interest and wit, if not insight, for the smallest amount of effort, relying instead on my younger, more creative, and more hirsute self for most of the effort and all of the content--except for these historical notes.
I wrote the script for "Greece, Tourist Style" while we were on vacation in Monemvasia, Greece, and while I apparently still had a thick head of hair. My inspiration for the movie was this: it was hot, and I was bored. So why not write a script and shoot it right there? Unable to answer that question, I pulled out a spiral bound notebook (the very one used to create the professional quality titles seen in "Greece, Tourist Style") and wrote. Then we went "on location" as we in the movie trade say, for a "shoot" as we in the trade also say. Kris was the cameraman. Jonny (a.k.a EC) and I were "the talent."
In those days I was running an almost-always-on-the-brink-of-crisis-if-not-disaster company and could not (or would not) stay away from work for very long. So we took vacations this way: Bobbi headed out with the kids to wherever we were going. I stayed at home and worked double shifts. Then I joined the family for two or three weeks, fretting and making long distance calls to stay in touch. Then I'd fly back home and work double shifts for another two or three weeks. Then the family would return.
After I returned home I vaguely remember doing what we in the trade call "post production" using state-of-the art video editing equipment that I put together in our living room. Actually it was state of my art, not the industry's art, and it consisted of the large shoulder-mounted camcorder that I used to "shoot the footage" wired to a plain old VCR and our stereo, probably through some kind of mixer that I cobbled together. The camcorder had this really cool feature for the day that let me fade to and from black as I recorded. This, along with the titles, is what makes the work look absolutely professional.
Anyway, with thanks to Kon who digitized the videotape and Google for hosting the work, here is, the one, the only: "Greece, Tourist Style."