DVDs.Byline: Rob Lowman, Staff Writer Reliving a water scandal in remastered classic 'Chinatown' Screenwriter Robert Towne had an idea for a detective story detective story: see mystery. detective story Type of popular literature dealing with the step-by-step investigation and solution of a crime, usually murder. set in 1930s Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . It had been inspired by a series of magazine articles with photos of buildings from that era that were still around. He realized then that those places could be used in a movie. "I used to drive the city at night as a source of inspiration just to find possible locations - to jog my memory about how things were," Towne says. But it wasn't until reading Carey McWilliams' 1946 book "Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, : An Island on Land" that Towne hit upon an idea for a plot. In a chapter called "Water! Water! Water!" McWilliams describes the scheme to bring Owens Valley This article has multiple issues: * It needs to be expanded. * It may need copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. water to Los Angeles. The shorthand version is this: In 1903, using the cover of a reclamation project, land was purchased in the Owens Valley, 230 miles northeast of the city. Separately, an artificial drought was created in Los Angeles by dumping local water and scaring the citizens into backing a bond measure to build an aqueduct to bring water to the city from Owens Valley. The aqueduct was built, but only as far as the north end of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , which was not part of the city back then. Why? Because the prominent backers of the project had secretly and cheaply bought up the farmland in the Valley, which, with water, became incredibly valuable. They then sold off the land at enormous profits at the expense of the city and the "rape" of Owens Valley. If the story rings a bell, you may have seen a compressed version of it in the 1974 noir classic "Chinatown," which is out in a newly remastered special edition DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. that includes a fascinating new 70-minute documentary on water and L.A. "My God, what a great crime that's different from any other that's normally in a detective movie," says Towne, who takes part in the documentary. "And it's that favorite kind - pervasive. Because every time you turn on the tap ... it's a crime in plain sight." A native Angeleno, the 74-year-old Towne admits that like most in the city he didn't know how L.A. got its water, which McWilliams called L.A.'s "eternal problem." One thing Towne says he learned in making the documentary is "that the fight goes on," adding that over the years L.A.'s Department of Water and Power "has tried in many ways to be more accommodating to Owens Valley by trying to divert some of the water back to Mono Lake Mono Lake is an alkaline and hypersaline lake in California, United States that is a critical nesting habitat for several bird species[1] and is an unusually productive ecosystem. ," which was left nearly barren by the diversion and has over the years become a source of pollution because of all the dust particles. For the movie, which is ranked No. 21 on the American Film Institute's 2007 list of the greatest American movies, the screenwriter telescoped the action from several decades into several months. Towne got the idea for the title from talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to a vice cop who worked in Chinatown. He told me, says Towne, "you really can't tell if you're helping someone commit a crime or prevent one. So facing that, it was better to do nothing - or do no harm. And I thought that was fascinating ... So Chinatown came to stand for that - the futility of good intentions." Towne won an Oscar for his screenplay, the only Academy Award out of 11 nominations for the film, which starred Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22 1937), known as Jack Nicholson, is a three time Academy Award winning American actor internationally renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals of neurotic characters. as the detective Jake Gittes and Faye Dunaway Faye Dunaway (born Dorothy Faye Dunaway on January 14, 1941) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. Biography Early life Dunaway was born in Bascom, Florida to Grace April Smith, a homemaker, and John MacDowell Dunaway, Jr., a career army officer. as "She's my sister. She's my daughter" Evelyn Mulwray. Oscar night "was an extremely depressing night oddly enough because all my friends ... I felt deserved recognition didn't get it. So I was stuck with feeling terribly guilty." The screenwriter says looking at the film today, it's "a hell of a lot better than I thought at the time." He and director Roman Polanski argued about the ending, but Towne now admits the director was right. (This interview was conducted before Polanski was arrested in Switzerland.) "When you're making it, you think of all the things that had gone wrong. But with the passage of time, the memory of all those things fades away and you're left with the film itself, and it's pretty solid." Towne is still writing, having just completed a screenplay set in World War II, and has returned to the city in other screenplays - including the 2006 "Ask the Dust" (2006), which he also directed. When he thinks about L.A., he is reminded of a novelty song called "Pico and Sepulveda" and its refrain, "Where nobody's dream comes true." That sounds like "Chinatown." By the way, fans of the film may want to check out Harry Medved's book "Hollywood Escapes," which cites a number of locations around the city where "Chinatown" was shot, including the Big Tujunga Wash Tujunga Wash is a stream in Los Angeles County, California. It is a tributary of the Los Angeles River, providing about a fifth of its flow, and drains about 225 square miles. , where Nicholson's Gittes learns from a boy on horseback on the back of a horse; mounted or riding on a horse or horses; in the saddle. See also: Horseback about the mysterious dumping of water into the usually dry riverbed. Also out If you didn't catch Ken Burns' excellent "The National Parks This is a list of national parks ordered by nation. Africa
in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, , the complete six-part, 12-hour series is available along with a number of extras, including a behind-the-scenes look, making-of documentaries and "Contemporary Stories from America's National Park," five short films. Disney is offering a new Blu-ray edition of its animated classic "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs IBM's early competitors in the mainframe business: Burroughs, CDC, GE, Honeywell, NCR, RCA and Univac. Seven Dwarfs Doc, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, Grumpy, Dopey. [Am. " that has exclusive bonus features like a Magic Mirror icon to guide you through the film, interactive games and virtual walk through Hyperion Studios where Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney made the film back in 1937. There is a new version of the Oscar-winning 1964 movie "My Fair Lady" with alternative vocals by Audrey Hepburn, who was dubbed in the film. In new films, there's the documentary "Anvil anvil Iron block on which metal is placed for shaping, originally by hand with a hammer. The blacksmith's anvil is usually of wrought iron (sometimes of cast iron), with a smooth working surface of hardened steel. : The Story of Anvil," which is about a metal band's persistence over 25 years that has drawn a lot of buzz. Harold Ramis' comedy "Year One," starring Jack Black and Michael Cera, is slyer and funnier than most critics gave it credit for. Nia Vardalos' "My Life in Ruins" was not in the same league as her charming hit "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." TV box sets incude the fourth season of "Bones," a series that is trying to figure out how to take it to the next level; "Nip/Tuck - Season 5, Part 2," which keeps trying to be edgy; and "Medium: The Complete Fifth Season," a series that has survived thanks to a network change. robert.lowman@dailynews.com 818-713-3687 New films "Year One" $28.96/ Blu-ray $39.95 "Anvil: The Story of Anvil" $24.98 "My Life in Ruins" $29.98/ Blu-ray $39.99 "Trick 'r Treat" $27.98/ Blu-ray $35.99 Television "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" $99.99/ Blu-ray $129.99 "Bones: The Complete Fourth Season" $59.98/ Blu-ray $69.99 "The Mary Tyler Moore This article is about the actress. For her 1970s television series, also known as "Mary Tyler Moore", see The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Mary Tyler Moore Show - The Complete Fifth Season" $29.98 "Murphy's Law: Series One" $49.99 "Nip/Tuck - Season 5, Part 2" $39.98 "Ally McBeal: The Complete Series" $199.98 "Medium: The Complete Fifth Season" $60.90 "The Hills: Season Five, Part One" $26.98 "Get Smart: Season 4" $24.98 "Ally McBeal: The Complete First Season" $39.98 "Mister Ed: The Complete First Season" $39.99 On Blu-ray "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" $39.99 "Contact" $28.99 "Wolf" $24.95 "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" $24.95 "Audition: Collector's Edition" $29.99 Older films "Chinatown" $16.99 "My Fair Lady" $19.99 "Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics" $26.98 Children "A Charlie Brown Christmas" Blu-ray $29.99 "Dora the Explorer Dora the Explorer is an animated television series that is carried on the Nickelodeon cable television network. A pilot episode for the series aired in 1999, and Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000. : Dora's Christmas" $16.99 "Peanuts: I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown is one of the Peanuts made-for-television specials. The plot focuses on the character Rerun van Pelt, baby brother of Linus and Lucy van Pelt, trying to convince his mother to buy him a dog for Christmas. " $19.98 "Veggie Tales: Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving" $14.95 CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Screenwriter Robert Towne (2) Jack Nicholson, left, and Perry Lopez as Lt. Escobar in a scene from "Chinatown." (3) Jack Black in "Year One." |
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