Forbidden Power - Part ll - The Novel (Book) - 4/10/2020 8:34:37 AM
I watched the trailer again. It certainly makes one want to watch the movie. And your writing power is in full gear. Coming out with a sequel. Kudos!
Ron
How to Live the James Bond Lifestyle (Book) - 4/9/2020 1:07:16 PM
With well-thought of lines and sly methodologies, Paul Kyriazi's 21 Rules contain practical and bliss all at once, cultivating a close watchfulness of how a reader must behave and survive today. That anyone can put a piece like this together is a wonder. It's thorny and artful prose at best, with no ill-side effects. A must-read for James Bond type examplars. Bravo!
8 hr. Audio-Book - How to Live the James Bond Lifestyle - (Book) - 2/22/2020 10:42:41 AM
Your excerpt is great. I can't imagine how much time at the microphone it took to produce this eight hour marathon book. I'm sure your listeners will enjoy. You are on a roll with Forbidden Power and now this release.
Ron
Rock Star Rising - Narrated by Rod Taylor - FREE Audio-Book (Book) - 2/20/2018 7:31:57 AM
What a lineup of stars! I believe some of them may have died since. That is a great trailer for the book, highlighting the actors. If it is like anything else that you've produced, this is very good mystery novel.
Think I'll take you up on that offer. And see if I can set aside four hours to listen to it.
Ron
Forbidden Power (Book) - 3/8/2017 6:10:01 AM
Congrats on your new book. Was wondering where you had been.
Ron
The Mexican Swimmer Audio Book FREE (Book) - 4/11/2015 12:36:08 AM
Ron, Final Dive is came into being because of YOUR energizing words. When you read the short-story version of 'The Mexican Swimmer' YOU SAID, and I quote exactly:
"I'd like to see the movie or the TV series that would blow Breaking Bad out of the limelight."
That made me think, so I continued the short-story into a Novella. And then still have the engery and story points to make a Part 2. So Ron, you can see the power of giving someone a few encouraging and constructive words. Thank you. Keep doing it with others.
Paul
The Mexican Swimmer Audio Book FREE (Book) - 4/10/2015 5:04:16 AM
Congrats on completing Final Drive. If it's anything like the first part of The Mexican Swimmer, it will be a winner.
Ron
My Casino Caper by Edd Byrnes (Grease) (Book) - 12/12/2014 2:32:14 PM
Thanks, Ron, for calling this to my attention! It's my era, and introduces me to a great author. The story looks intriguing. Now I got me some readin' to do.
My Casino Caper by Edd Byrnes (Grease) (Book) - 12/12/2014 1:24:41 PM
No Ronald, it wasn't Liz Taylor, but France Nuyen (South Pacific) got my name off of the script I sent her for Rock Star Rising, called me, and said: "What a wonderful story." She couldn't do it because of the union, but we talked for 20 minutes. She has my favorite speaking voice in all the world, so I was in heaven talking to her.
My Casino Caper by Edd Byrnes (Grease) (Book) - 12/12/2014 7:14:01 AM
An audiobook produced by Larry Metzger, directed by Paul Kyriazi and written by Edd "Kookie" Byrnes is a blast from the past and a fond memory of how radio was so dramatic to listen to before television changed that forever.
Edd, assisted by other actors of notable fame, his friends, recounts an incident in 1977 when he won a great deal of money in a Las Vegas casino as a reluctant gambler. What followed was an encounter with an unscrupulous villain who tried to horn in on Edd's good fortune. Fortunately, with a little help from his actor friends, Byrnes manages to foil the villain and generously share his good fortune with the unnamed actress who encouraged him to gamble in the first place. In the end, you are left wondering whether the tale is true or not. I think, for the most part, it is.
I had forgotten how wonderful it was to conjure up a story in my mind from listening to voices in conversation… Not just any voices, but voices of fine actors who are very skilled at narrative. The story, in itself, is full of action and twists and turns, and is so well directed and edited that it comes to life while one listens. If you ever get an opportunity to listen to one of Paul's audiobooks, you're in for a real treat.
Ron
My Casino Caper by Edd Byrnes (Grease) (Book) - 2/2/2008 6:33:42 PM
Neat story, Paul. No need to tell you what a superb storyteller you are, even when you are telling someone else's story.
Elizabeth
How to Live the James Bond Lifestyle (Book) - 10/5/2004 8:34:12 AM
For any guy like myself, that searches for the most creative and best way to find and keep a mate, this book is a keeper. With funny blurbs and 'how to's " on everything from dream dates to building a budget...this book instructs the fellow pal to get out and follow his dreams... a must read for anyone in search of that perfect someone, or a great gift for your best friend.
Burt Reynolds, Miko, Dinah & The Slasher (Short Story) - 11/24/2022 8:37:21 PM
Wow, didn't know any of this.
It's really amazing how some things in your life that you aren't aware of at the time really impact your life later on.
Really wish Burt had been able to do that Tarantino film. It would have been great to have a new generation introduced to him.
Burt Reynolds, Miko, Dinah & The Slasher (Short Story) - 6/11/2022 12:56:16 PM
As a voyager in a canoe, rapids, too, as well as living in West Virginia with all of its characters and then in Atlanta 3 miles from the Chattahoochee River, I really identified with Deliverance and with Bert's part. Finding the other characters way too weak. Actually ran into characters that acted and looked like that at a tire repair place in Arkansas. Missing teeth, accent, and all, but no dueling banjos
You are a great storyteller and come up with some of the most interesting stories out of Hollywood that I've read. How I admired Clint Eastwood's portrayal of that hero in those spaghetti westerns, always wearing that serape and black hat as one of his signature pieces, like lighting a cigarette nonchalantly before action. If there was more than one of those costumes or not, I could see collectors paying big bucks at auction. You didn't say what happened to them after they were used as evidence in the neighbors' slashings.
I knew about Bert's much publicized affair with Dinah, but not of his five year life with Mika. Like some other actors, he became bald in later life that made him less attractive as a lead without a toupee.
The last time I saw Burt Reynolds alive was when Richard Rawlins of the Dallas Gas Monkey Garage TV show drove all the way to Florida where Bert lived at the time to get him to sign the glove box cover on a Firebird restored to look exactly like the one Reynolds drove in the Smokey and the Bandit movie. Giving it more credence and value. Bert looked old and walked like it. He will be missed. Clint Eastwood is still chalking up great movies like Gran Torino and The Mule.
Ron
The Lone Ranger vs. Manson Family (Article) - 5/23/2025 7:04:05 PM
I'm late to the party but thanks for this very cool post! That Moore ended up amongst the Manson Family with his 11-year-old daughter, weeks before the murders is another example of truth being stranger than fiction. The Brad Pitt scene at Spahn Ranch in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was fantastic, but this story really blows me away.
Elvis Loses 'The Defiant Ones' (Article) - 11/2/2024 2:36:45 AM
Shelley Winters talks about a test with Natalie Wood, for another movie; Elvis was interested in the script of the "The defiant ones" but did not make any test for it. Is it really a problem if Elvis was not satisfied with his Hollywood years and decided to make his amazing come back on Vegas stage ?
DO NOT Enter the Wrong Bar in Tokyo (Article) - 11/12/2023 1:12:19 PM
Another Bondish life lesson to observe is 'Carry the emergency $600 in a safe place.' This was an instructional bit of advice a Serbian pickpocket shared w/me many years ago, in Bangkok (on Pat Pong Road). There are books available on 'Bar Girl' behavior in Tokyo, BTW. Aawe, indeed (as they would put it in Hawai'i! :)))
Rosemary's Baby - The Wild Facts (Article) - 3/7/2023 11:47:20 AM
I remember all the controversy when the movie came out. I believe I was at West Virginia University when I saw the film. I ended up not liking it. And I guess it was because of William Castle rather than Polanski who was behind the story. And partly, because there is no devil except in people's minds. That year I recall watching Glenn and Randa, and avant-garde movie about an apocalyptic future for two young lovers. I don't believe it made any theaters except university ones. I really like that movie because it beats the hell out of so-called scary ones like Rosemary's Baby.
Quite an array of famous actors both interested in playing parts and in the movie. I don't remember Ruth Gordon's role, but remember how long she lasted as an actor.
When I was in the Bay Area I befriended a young German woman who met her husband from Texas in Paris. They were in the Bay Area where he was studying art at Hayward College and working at the SF airport long hours. She was homesick and lonely. He encouraged her to go down the pool in her bikini, and that's where I first met her. Soon, I taught her how to drive because he did not have the patience.
Anyway, two years later, they were living in San Francisco and her cousin, Rosemary, whose husband was in the military, came to visit with her baby. I offered to show them around San Francisco with my 1966 Toronado. The seats were very tightly woven fabric and a bit slippery. If there were seatbelts, nobody used them. As I was driving around San Francisco, the three of us were in the front seat and Rosemary's baby was lying in the back seat. That is, until I hit the brakes in traffic, and the baby rolled off the seat onto the floor. Fortunately, he wasn't hurt, and I don't think he even cried. That was my first hand experience with Rosemary's baby that I'll never forget it. ;-)
Ron
Elvis & Mac Davis In the Ghetto (Article) - 1/30/2023 9:56:49 AM
Another great story. I remember Mac Davis when he was famous for a few years I will have to look him up and listen to a few of his songs.
I remember my dad driving us through the ghetto in Chicago on a very hot day with all those brick houses and everybody on the street trying to cool off. I was about six and asked my dad, "All these people look really poor, how come there are so many Cadillacs, Lincolns and Imperials on the street?"
Dad replied, "They can't buy houses. So if they have any money they buy cars."
My brother and I started out poor, so we've always liked expensive cars. Like Mac Davis and Elvis, the first status symbol bought when money comes our way.
Ron
Elvis Gives Soldier Cash (Article) - 1/11/2023 10:25:17 AM
And, only Elvis would have the audacity to have an impromptu meeting with the President in the Oval Office when the president's schedule is usually full three months in advance. Quite a story. Elvis was always very willing to give a hand and a down-home way.
Ron
Lee Van Cleef Succeeds (Article) - 12/25/2022 12:00:39 PM
One of my enduring memories of High Noon was Lloyd Bridges playing the coward deputy. I didn't know that Lee Van Cleef was even in the movie. If I see it again, I'll watch for him.
My mother, who played Betty Hutton's trapeze part in our grade school's Skit Night, thought that Van Cleef, "Is the most handsome man in the movies."
That was a remarkable break for him in that first of the spaghetti Westerns. Van Cleef played his part so well, especially when it came down to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, where he epitomized "bad." It's that stirring music in the beginning of those movies that really gets your blood flowing along with Clint's squinting, steely resolute gaze against the sun and a possible ash in his eye that makes those movies the blockbusters they have become. I always want to watch them again for a nuance I haven't seen before.
Ron
Elvis Loses 'The Defiant Ones' (Article) - 12/20/2022 2:49:26 PM
In my mind, The Defiant Ones remains while King Creole just popped in from your writing about it. In time only the former will stand it. Elvis may have had the talent, but his talent to sing basically typecast him. Yeah, I can see him as Norman Bates.
Ron
Elvis Travels with Jeweler (Article) - 12/8/2022 11:25:03 AM
Michael Jackson was accused (I don't think lauded) of giving away too many gifts, as well. I believe that his estate is also growing.
I've often heard about Elvis's generosity, especially, giving away cars. But I didn't know that it was so extensive. I also didn't know that he earned that kind of money back then.
I love to see the faces on people when I give them my books. Much better than when I sell one.
Ron
James Bond's Dr. No - Wild Facts (Article) - 11/30/2022 9:53:32 AM
Thanks once again for these movie and star tidbits. Always so interesting.
I had heard before that authors like Fleming were not happy with the movies made from their novels. But based on the characters, I would say it was great casting of all the parts and that great theme song. I read somewhere that Andress's part was from a real person that Fleming saw first coming out of the water in a bikini like that.
I think Cary Grant would've done in equal job without getting nervous, he was always so polished. But he was getting quite old at that time and probably wouldn't have lasted very long with all of those sequels. And it's really too bad that Connery couldn't play in them all as well.
And I've always wondered if they ran out of Ian Fleming novels a long time ago, and just have scriptwriters come up with something to the formula that works every time.
Ron
007’s Violent Train Fight (Article) - 11/23/2022 9:49:29 AM
One of my personally favorite Bond movies as well. Lotta Leyna was one of the most unique adversaries of all time. After Connery, it was difficult to find a more stiff upper lip, staid and calm Bond than he and his rather intense stiffness that worked for some reason. Connery's downfall was that he had more hair on his chest (was it glued on for effect?) than he had on his head.
The title makes me think of what Russia is doing to the Ukraine with such love/hate today. What a shame!
All movies are from behind the camera and therefore, voyeuristic. It's always interesting to see how far a director will go (and the actors) when it comes to couples in bed. Nowadays, it always seems like just a sudden urge to slam the woman up against the wall or over a counter or table and then a rape scene that somehow the woman seems to enjoy immensely. I'm getting tired of seeing it. One thing about the Bond movies; sex was portrayed more subtly and romantically.
One role can make a career. That was the case for both Shaw and Connery, but more so for Connery. The hero always gets more roles than the villain.
Please keep these interesting insights into our favorite films coming. Much enjoyed.
Ron
Elvis Saved by Red West (Article) - 11/10/2022 12:08:33 PM
Unlike Paul Harvey, you tell us "the rest of the story" right up front and we don't have to listen to a commercial before we get it.
So glad you are looking up these interesting stories and sharing them with us.
Ron
The Ultimate Secret of Women (Article) - 10/29/2022 11:39:01 AM
I've been around the block. For many young women like this 25-year-old, it's all about romance. Romance means catering to a woman's desires, and that usually requires money. I have noticed that James Bond has an endless pocketbook provided for him and he could care less if he shares it with any of the women that find him so attractive because of his power, not his money.
To think of all those times I had a very active lifestyle in my youth and not even a television to watch. But no woman at my side because I was quite careful with my money and didn't just spend everything that I earned or flashed it in a money clip in places where women would notice. My budget didn't include high rolling but a rich exploration of what was around me, but with no one to share it with.
As men get more powerful through their position in life, they become more attractive to women. However, their careers often require them to be away from their spouses and their needs. Like my wife did with me after our expensive (long distance telephone calls) courtship handed with marriage and settling down to what she did what I did with her finding that it didn't satisfy all of her needs even though we shared a lot in common, like travel and new experiences. She didn't like my associates and research. We enjoyed watching TV together.
Ron
Shrinking Man's Wild Wrap Party (Article) - 10/11/2022 9:23:28 AM
100 gross is a bit too gross (288) for me. ;-) I can imagine what that "wrap" party looked like. it was either a great big sex orgy or gag stunts using condoms. But if they stretched them over their heads, there may have been a few cases of asphyxiation before being saved. It all depended on how much alcohol was also in the books.
Don't recall seeing the movie, but it was probably quite difficult to come up with all those shrinking scenes. The overly large chair was easy, but fighting the spider realistically was not.
Ron
Boris Karloff's Work Ethic (Article) - 9/29/2022 9:05:14 PM
My movie addiction began with Frankenstein, the one with Boris Karloff. I remember being a frightened 6-year-old hiding under the seat at Clyne's theater in Pueblo, Colorado, hoping for protection from the big monster on the screen. Despite my terror, I couldn't stop peeking. And from that day on I have been hooked on movies.
So thanks for this interesting article about Karloff, Paul!
The Rashomon Effect (Article) - 9/19/2022 11:49:23 AM
Why I don't like eyewitness accounts that are not verified some other way. So many people have been sent to jail or even executed because of an eyewitness's perception that wasn't the truth.
It is interesting that so many stories in mythology come from eyewitness accounts. Makes one wonder what really started the myth. Whole empires of serial movies based on mythology that moviegoers get sucked into and continue to shell out bucks even when they become absurd.
Great article again.
Ron
Adam Sandler Meets Naysayer (Article) - 9/18/2022 11:54:16 AM
I've always thought of Adam Sandler as rather amateurish. Playing Opera Man on SNL and all of those goofy childish movies that people love so much because they could relate to all of his foibles and crazy dreams come true. He's found his niche, that's for sure.
Many times other people told me what I could or couldn't do or asked me why I was doing what I was doing. But I had professors who really liked me and promoted me forward. But there was one, my advisor at Stanford for my MS in industrial engineering. When I saw him seven years later walking across campus while I was attending an alumni week, he declared, "It's good to see you without your wheelchair." By that time he had a laboratory for graduate students that I would've loved to work in. But my whole time in conferences with him, I was walking and didn't get into a wheelchair until many years later.
Ron
Adam Sandler Meets Naysayer (Article) - 9/12/2022 9:14:20 PM
That's awesome. Sandler hit my teenage years and it was hard for me not to fall in love with his humor. It's cool to see that he still had respect for someone that could've derailed his career, but also taught him the fundamentals with which to succeed in it....[[|:-)
Desi Arnaz's Lover's Husband Plans Murder (Article) - 8/14/2022 10:04:27 AM
You come up with the most interesting stories. Freckles was indeed exceptional. She was a realist who knew that, acting like her ex-husband was futile and moving on was the best thing to do. As I recall, Desi and Lucy fought all the time.
But Lucy Arnaz had a very realistic view of life as well. In 1969, when my girlfriend and her girlfriend on a trip around the world landed in LA for a day, and it was Halloween, they headed for the Hollywood Hills to do trick or treating. When they arrived at Lucy's house and rang the doorbell, she came to the door and gave them squirt guns instead of candy.
Ron
Nude Ingrid Bergman Excites Director Frankenheimer (Article) - 8/11/2022 3:45:45 PM
It's always interesting to read about someone else's triumphs, even though it would have been more fun to live them. Ingrid was at her best in Casablanca.
Elvis Near Death in Germany (Article) - 7/26/2022 11:41:56 AM
Two close calls. And quick thinking, both by Vernon and Elvis in the case of saving his Sergeant. Both were good sense divine reasoning.
My father, while on a trip in his new 18 wheeler tractor (what they call a semi truck) was on a run to Chicago one night and back. His run after he rose to the top of the seniority list after other older drivers develop heart conditions that had to quit. During the trip he would get a headache and nausea at stop at a medical place he knew. By getting out of the truck he felt better and the three places he stopped they found nothing wrong.
Finally when he got home and felt really bad, he stopped at the local clinic and the doctor there realized from his symptoms that he was having carbon dioxide poisoning. He had a hard time convincing is superiors because the tractor was new. But exhaust was leaking into the cab with the windows rolled up for wintertime and the heater on. He was lucky not to have crashed the tractor and his load, probably killing him.
I have posted here my twin brother and I getting caught by a train on a trestle on our bikes with the train coming within 5 or 6 inches of our handlebars.
Ron
Directing Ivan Rogers' One Way Out (Article) - 7/19/2022 2:26:16 PM
Shaft was a great movie, so that review from the Cannes festival was indeed a great complement to a risk-taking filmmaking entrepreneur. I recently watched the so-called new Shaft and found one of the most terrible is that I have that I have seen.
Ron
I Meet Ray Harryhausen (Article) - 7/10/2022 10:43:57 AM
While Disney started it all, it is obvious that Ray was at the forefront of bringing animation fantasies to the big screen. I enjoyed seeing most of those movies.
Today's blockbusters are so digital that they can do almost anything without endangering actors or creating colossal scenes at great cost. A real tribute to the artists behind the scenes.
Ron
