Much Ado About Bubbie: Bubbie’s Mad About Hamm

This is an idea I had a while back for a comedic blog about my Bubbie and her antics. If you all enjoy this, perhaps I’ll write a few more, such as how Bubbie voted entirely Democratic except for Mitt Romney because she thinks he’s handsome or how Bubbie now has a crush on Jake Gyllenhaal because he’s a “nice Jewish boy.”

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Much Ado About Bubbie

Bubbie (noun): A term of endearment for a Jewish Grandmother.

Example: My Bubbie doesn’t keep kosher outside of the house.

My sister Sydney, Bubbie, and me.

Bubbie’s Mad About Hamm

My Bubbie Isabelle has a crush on Jon Hamm.

Just like the rest of the family, Bubbie tunes into Mad Men every Sunday night to watch the admen of 1960s Madison Avenue drink, smoke, whore, and gossip – not to mention dish out sexist, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, and anti-Semitic dialogue by the second, all of which (with the exception of the anti-Semitic variety) go unprotested by my Bubbie, a true product of the time.

To me, the series is a literary masterpiece on film regardless of how small the screen. To Bubbie, it’s just another one of her “weekly stories,” on par with General Hospital and The Young and the Restless.

Jon Hamm plays the brooding protagonist slash advertising genius, Donald Draper, on the show. Ever since reading in The Kansas City Star that the handsome actor is a St. Louis native, Bubbie – who’s lived in Missouri for over seventy years – has harbored a vicarious pride for Mr. Hamm. Much to my family’s embarrassment, this is not Bubbie’s first crush on a man that is at least a decade younger than my dad.

One time on vacation, while my family was checking into the Waldorf Astoria for a night, Bubbie was mesmerized by the dazzling charm and good looks of an Israeli desk clerk.

What a five-foot tall, eighty-something-year-old – complete with her teased-and-set helmet hair, her rhinestoned schoolteacher sweaters, and her constrictive girdle that makes her waddle – would want with a thirty-something-year-old desk clerk was not exactly a welcomed thought in my thirteen-year-old brain.

…a thought that was only exacerbated by the phrase Bubbie used to convey her attraction to the young man:

“He can put his shoes under my bed any day!”

Bubbie employs the same phrase in regards to Jon Hamm.

Whenever I phone Bubbie, my curiosity always gets the better of me. I can’t help but ask her what she thought of the most recent episode of Mad Men. And just like that, she goes off on her classic rant.

Firstly, Bubbie is angry at the show for not portraying the 60s how she remembers it, what with the show’s excessive drinking, smoking, and sex in the office. “When I worked in an office, they didn’t do that kind of stuff!”

Furthermore, Bubbie not only treats Jon Hamm as if he truly exists during the 1960s, but as if Jon Hamm is accountable for his character Don Draper’s actions. Whenever Don Draper does something that Bubbie doesn’t approve of (for instance, whenever Don has sex with a woman he’s not married to – an incident that occurs almost every episode and with what seems like a different woman every time), Bubbie is not only upset with but in disbelief that Jon Hamm would do such a thing, as if she’s oblivious to the profession of acting.

That’s when Bubbie whips out yet another one of her famous phrases, this time to express her disappointment with Jon Hamm’s behavior:

“Why, it’s disgusting!”

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas

Brief Update

Here is a brief update on my current creative projects and endeavors…!

These past few weeks have been quite the roller coaster…! （⊙□ ⊙；）ノ

Sunday, June 30th

1.  Through Meetup.com, discovered The Pixel-Flick TV Actor/Filmmaker Alliance (Pixel Flick Entertainment). It seems like this production company is interested in producing short films and web series. Will attend the first meeting on Saturday, July 21st.
2. On Stage32.com, received a very nice personal message from Ben Cahan (the creator of Final Draft) inviting me to join his website Talentville.com. I created an account there, but I’m not ready to post my work yet (perhaps after I hear from all the contests I applied to?).

Monday, July 9th

1. Robots Are a Girl’s Best Friend: Unfortunately, have hit some snags and the project is on hold.
2. My full-length screenplay Who is Laurence Harvey? has advanced to the Second Round (the top 25%) of The 2012 PAGE International Screenwriting Awards!!!!!!!!! 
3. On Craigslist, have responded to a few posts about writing and creative projects. We’ll see how it goes…

Tuesday, July 10th

1. The Poet and the Flea: 37 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-10, 21 completed, and 11-20, 22-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
2. A special announcement about The Poet and the Flea coming soon!
3. Thinking of adding a “Links”page and a “Special Thanks” page to thepoetandtheflea.wordpress.com.
4. Slowly but surely working on the-poet-and-the-flea.tumblr.com.
5. Continuing to help fellow screenwriter/filmmaker Jay Dial. I’ve read his script so far, and I think it has a lot of potential!
6. Signed up with gotcast.com (www.gotcast.com/gegallas)… maybe I’ll find some more writing gigs this way?

Etcetera

1. My wonderful and talented friend just released the first promotional image from her upcoming webcomic… it looks stunning! Check it out: http://tealeaves9.tumblr.com/post/27095942591/at-long-last-the-first-promotional-image-for-my.
2. Bit by bit, working on my third full-length screenplay called The Modern Prometheus. The process has involved a lot of historical research about San Francisco. Every screenplay is a learning process!
3. I’m thinking about compiling a list of comic book-related (more on the small press side?) conventions for future reference. I would love to attend some local ones (Bay Area, California, etc.?) in the near future. And perhaps eventually fly out to other conventions. Any suggestions?
4. A while back, I created a facebook page (www.facebook.com/gegallas)… don’t forget to like me!
5. Also, a tremendous thanks to all of my followers here on WordPress and on Twitter!!

To Do:

• Attend The Pixel-Flick TV Actor/Filmmaker Alliance First Meeting (July 21st).
• Sign up with IMDbPro.
• Apply to The American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest (before August 1st).
• Apply to the Bluecat Screenplay Competition (before October 15th).

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas

“Who is Laurence Harvey?”: Research

Over the course of researching and writing my first full-length screenplay entitled Who is Laurence Harvey? (about the forgotten international film star Laurence Harvey [1928 - 1973]), I developed a bit of a hobby.

“What hobby?” you ask.

Collecting every single last image of Laurence Harvey I can find on the internet, that’s what!!

I currently have over 450 images saved in my Laurence Harvey folder.

Here, I thought I’d share some of my favorite images. These are the images that I hope will one day influence the production/design of this film.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these images!!

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Autographed photo of Laurence Harvey

Laurence Harvey as Romeo (1954)

Laurence Harvey in “Room at the Top” (1959)

Laurence Harvey in “The Alamo” (1960)

Laurence Harvey and Elizabeth Taylor in “BUtterfield 8″ (1960)

Laurence Harvey in “The Long and The Short and The Tall” (1961)

Laurence Harvey at home.

Laurence Harvey in “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962)

Laurence Harvey and France Nuyen in “A Girl Named Tamiko” (1962)

Laurence Harvey and Sarah Miles in “The Ceremony” (1963)

Laurence Harvey in “Life at the Top” (1965)

Laurence Harvey at the Oscars.

Laurence Harvey and Elizabeth Taylor on the set of “Night Watch” (1973)

For more information about Who is Laurence Harvey?, check out this post. Or visit my homepage.

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas