A bespoke tribute to Sergio Leone

[alden]

"Wear them like a Leone!"



Cheers

Michael Alden


A special thanks to Megumi Inoue, my camerawoman.

[Jordan Marc]

Michael:

When doing a screen test, try not to overact. Keep in mind that images projected on a screen are magnified
a thousandfold. Easy does it. Let the lens, the lighting and the camera operator do the lion's share of the work. The trick is to make it look like you're not acting.

JMB

[alden]

JMB,

That is excellent advice.

This is a bit of a genre piece. We love Spaghetti westerns for their Baroque aspects. The exaggeration in the opening of the piece was intended to contrast the ease of the punch line. The idea was to make you grin or maybe laugh. If the piece comes off as serious, I’ve missed my mark.

Cheers

Michael

[uppercase]

Well done!
I, for one, laughed.

[Bishop of Briggs]

Well done!
I, for one, laughed.

So did I.

[Costi]

Yes, JMB is right in principle, but this is a parody, so it has to be overdone.
Learning a foreign language is not easy. Making a joke in a foreign language is even more difficult. I think you've cracked a pretty good one in "cinematics"

[AndyM]

I laughed out loud at this video! Michael is clearly enjoying himself hugely in all these videos which makes them a pleasure to watch!

[Bethlehemtown]

Michael, you have certainly missed your calling. The panache, the style, the finese, the sheer wit and slightly brash elegance. The "Tribute" is so delightful I'm adding it to my list of "Best-Dressed Films".

[Jordan Marc]

Michael:

There's no doubt the Leone parody is amusing. Comedy is more difficult to produce than drama because you don't know how the audience will respond until it sees the footage on screen. The script may read funny, but that's no guarantee the audience will warm to it. That's also the reason why so few comedies are greenlighted for production these days. Time was there were remarkable talents with a gift for comedy such as Keaton, Chaplin, Preston Sturges, Billy Wilder and Mel Brooks, all of whom wrote and directed their own projects. There were studios such as Essanay, Hal Roach and Ealing that routinely made audiences roar with laughter, though who knows how much footage was edited out because the gags didn't work when the dailies were viewed and had to be rethought and shot again. Whether the humor is subtle or broad, if the audience likes it you've done well. And from the positive response of the LL members so far, the parody is
a hit!

JMB

[DonB]

Michael, your panache is admirable!

[Manself]

I enjoyed this very much. Hollywood's loss is our gain!

[alden]

Michael, you have certainly missed your calling. The panache, the style, the finese, the sheer wit and slightly brash elegance. The "Tribute" is so delightful I'm adding it to my list of "Best-Dressed Films".

Dear Bruce,

Thanks very much. I am pleased you think a work of mine merits a place on a list of yours.

Hope to see you in New York this Spring.

Cheers

Michael

[mhampton]

Its perhaps a bit more Jacques Tati than Leone! Very funny indeed.

[J B]

I definitely enjoyed this tribute! It's original, and I couldn't help but smile and chuckle as well, which was the intention in the first place. Once Upon a Time in the West is my third favorite film, behind only The Godfather, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Sergio Leone definitely has a place as one of the best directors of all time, even posthumously.