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| REVENGE OF THE KRINGLE |
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| Written by Richard Washington |
| Wednesday, 08 April 2009 12:56 |
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Greetings, Santa Walter! I'd like to forward this to you in the hope that you can share this with your Santa e-News readers. "Revenge of the Kringle" is a pretty neat story; I hope after you've had the chance to read it you'll understand why it took me so long to write it. "REVENGE OF THE KRINGLE." The 2005 Christmas season, after all, marked the 100th Anniversary of the production of the first American-made motion picture entirely devoted to the subject of Santa Claus. Directed by Edwin S. Porter, the 1905 film was, as one might suspect, an adaptation of Clement Clarke Moore's A Visit from St. Nicholas, a/k/a 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. With a length of approximately 800 feet --- which would make it the longest-rolling theatrical motion picture of its period --- Porter's Night Before Christmas was groundbreaking in that several major scenes were photographed in color, using a limited two-tone process. While there are today very few people alive who recall actually having seen this particular film, the Porter Night Before Christmas represents only the first tentative stepping stone in Santa's film career .... a career that had been born in London, in 1898 --- eight short years before --- when a filmmaker named George A. Smith produced The Visit of Santa Claus, a film which, like so many other primitive movies produced in those days, used a combination of special effects and tabletop trick photography to depict some of the more traditional elements associated with Santa. Dudley Moore portrays the film's true central character, an enterprising, far-seeing Elf named Patch, whose faith in the wonders of the 20th Century is put to the test when he proposes to convert part of Santa's toymaking procedure into an automated process. But the experiment fails miserably; and, blinded by his own wounded pride, the reluctant Patch leaves his North Pole home to strike out for the bright lights and big ideas of New York City. Once there, he is attracted to the toys made by a money-obsessed toymaking executive named B.Z. (John Lithgow). When the naive young Elf first encounters this Human equivalent of Pinocchio's nemesis Stromboli, he suggests that the two join forces to create "something special" with a "secret ingredient." But even as Patch sets out to recreate the magic of Christmas without Santa or his fellow Elves, B.Z. is secretly plotting to use the Elf as the centerpiece of a larger scheme to take over Christmas once and for all! Can anyone stop this dastardly plot? Santa can --- and, armed with the belief and friendship of a homeless street urchin named Joe (Christian Fitzpatrick) and B.Z.'s own step-niece, Cornelia (Carrie Kei Heim), the Jolly Old Elf thus sets forth on his greatest adventure: to restore the magic of the Christmas spirit to a world desperate to believe all over again! All of which brings us back to Stephen Hunter and "Empty Suit." Admittedly, I did chuckle --- at a point, mind you! --- when Mr. Hunter suggested that the film's screenwriter, the late David Newman, who had, of course, worked with the Salkinds on the Superman films, had been told by the producers to think along the lines of Santa as superhero. (For one thing, as noted, Santa and ol' Kal-El are practically next-door neighbors at the North Pole! Why, they've both appeared together on the covers of DC Comics' Superman and Action Comics Magazines at various points in DC history; indeed, a March 1984 DC Comics Presents story, which was published long before Santa Claus: The Movie was ever released, had Supes and St. Nick teaming up to save the holiday from the sinister plots of one Winslow P. Schott, the Terrible Toyman!) But then, Mr. Hunter had to go and write this: "The truth is, Santa Claus: The Movie was more of an Elf movie than it was a Santa Claus movie, inasmuch as Charlton Heston's Ben-Hur [1959] was more of a chariot movie than it was a Jesus movie. The film was one of 1985's really big cinematic events, and seems to have inspired a number of deeply disturbing websites (KringleQuest.com, for one). But, despite all the hype and hoo-ha, it remained utterly inconsequential, and seems not to have entered into any wide cultural zone of reference." When I saw Mr. Hunter's remarks, I was not at all very pleased. Again, in the interests of full disclosure, let it be known that KringleQuest.com, now called KringleQuest.com Beyond, is MY Santa Claus: The Movie website! When I created it in 1998, it was then titled "SCTM.com: A 15th Anniversary Tribute;" then, as now, its mission was to raise public awareness not just of this particular film, but of the complete Salkind filmography overall. According to the Internet Movie Database, 27 theatrical films have Alexander Salkind's name on them; alas, some of those films have had their copyrights and/or ownerships assumed or controlled by other entities. What's more, some of them have not been seen by the general public since their original theatrical releases --- which should, I think, explain to you why, several years ago, Anchor Bay Entertainment took the advice of film restoration expert Scott Michael Bosco, now a top executive with Ilya Salkind's own production company, and released both Supergirl and Santa Claus: The Movie in special widescreen editions on DVD. Of course, the same treatment has since been granted to Superman: The Movie, Superman II, Superman III, The Three Musketeers, The Four Musketeers, Crossed Swords (The Prince and the Pauper); as well as several of the Salkinds' lesser-known films, such as The Trial (1965), Bluebeard (1972) and The Light at the Edge of the World (1971). But it's still not enough. There are certain other films in the Salkind library that have not been as fortunate as these. So, for me, one key objective of KQ Beyond is to make sure that these films aren't forgotten --- because otherwise, their legacy will be lost forever. And I, for one, don't intend to stand for it. And yet, Stephen Hunter seems to consider that simple little mission to be deeply disturbing. I can't understand why. Consider for a moment the tremendous amount of fortitude that it took me just to track down the now grown-up Carrie Kei Heim. She is now a practicing attorney and occasional world traveler who, in May 2005, married her sweetheart, New York executive Peter Binas, while they were vacationing in the Polynesian island kingdom of Tonga. Since then, Carrie and Peter have added a daughter, Katherine, to their family. I, for one, consider myself to be very lucky that I was able to land that exclusive interview with Carrie, even if it is rather short; moreover, I literally went out of my way to warn visitors to my site not to e-mail Ms. Heim with any questions about her role in Santa Claus: The Movie. The warning remains on the site to this very day: "She and her family are very happy together; and, accordingly, we KringleQuesters must insist that you respect their privacy." I would at this point be remiss if I did not mention those other significant people for whom Santa's magic means everything. They are, of course, the men who have portrayed the Jolly Old Elf, either with actual or non-actual long white beards, and who have since 1888 upheld a holiday tradition as uniquely American as ... well, Superman himself. Clearly, several of them were just as offended as I was by the content of Mr. Hunter's remarks in "Empty Suit." In fact, here are excerpts from the two e-mails I received following my own initial reaction to the Hunter article; for obvious reasons, I will not disclose the authors' identities. The first respondent told me, "I feel that there is something wrong with [Mr. Hunter]. I would venture to guess that he had had a lousy childhood and family life, and probably never even got what he wanted for Christmas --- and, as a result, has now become a bitter and hateful adult. [Maybe Mr. Hunter should] stop making slanderous accusations and comments about those of us who choose to portray a beloved mythical figure who represents all of the very best of the Christmas spirit." The second commentator's response was a bit more resigned than I had expected: "People criticize us Santas just as they would criticize, say, Mickey Mouse or the Easter Bunny. I've even gotten hate mails because of the fact that I commercialize Christmas and Santa. It sucks, but we have to take it. [And] it is one of the reasons why I've begun cutting back on my Santa business. I'm just not that much into it anymore. There are younger and younger kids who don't believe in Santa. It'll get worse every year. I've met 4-year-old kids who've told me they no longer believe in Santa. It's just not as much fun as it was when I started [in the business 14 years ago]." Granted, Santa Claus: The Movie got taken to task when it was first released because of what some saw as its own feeble attempt to commercialize the Santa legend. But some of us who first saw the film in 1985, myself included, didn't see it that way. Nearly 25 years later, we now have a reason to hope all over again. As previously mentioned, that reason is called The Ilya Salkind Company. When Ilya returned to Los Angeles in February 2003, he did not waste time resting on his laurels. Nope, the guy went straight to work on his first big project: Young Alexander, based on the teenaged life and times of Alexander the Great. Targeted release date: unknown. At this writing, the Ilya Salkind Company is also working on several additional separate projects, one of which is a potentional new Santa Claus project, to be titled Santa Claus is Missing. As for me, KringleQuest.com Beyond just keeps rolling along --- which it undoubtedly will do when Santa Claus: The Movie observes its 25th Anniversary next year. Besides, Jeannot Szwarc has since gone on to direct, among other things, several episodes of Smallville --- and that means, if all goes well, that it might be finally MY turn to ask him about Santa Claus: The Movie. (And anyway, I've already interviewed Santa on the KQ site itself!) On the Web: The Ilya Salkind Company --- http://www.ilyasalkindcompany.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Carrie Kei Heim --- http://ckhb.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (?) Anchor Bay Entertainment --- http://www.anchorbayentertainment.com There's a lot more I could tell you about KringleQuest, but to fully get the really big picture, I think you're better off contacting me: KringleQuest, c/o EPE Holdings, Inc., Attn: Mr. Richard Washington, Suite #14E, 15948 Harlem River Drive, New York, NY 10039-1012 USA; 1-212/368-6670; or by e-mailing me, at either This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Either way, I'd certainly love hearing from you. Fearlessly yours, Richard Washington Founder and Senior Elf-in-Charge KringleQuest.com Beyond: The Unofficial "Santa Claus: The Movie" Webpage New York City, USA |


