Born on this day – Hal Ashby:

Hal Ashby

Director

Editor

September 2, 1929 – December 27, 1988

Credits:

8 Million Ways to Die (1986); Albert Whitlock: A Master of Illusion (1981); Allons au cinéma (1977); Being There (1979); Beverly Hills Buntz (1987); Bound for Glory (1976); Captain Sindbad (1963); Coming Home (1978); Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven’s Gate (2004); Friendly Persuasion (1956); Gaily, Gaily (1969); Hal (2018); Hal Ashby ~ Encore (2019); Harold and Maude (1971); In the Heat of the Night (1967); Jake’s Journey (1988); Les rendez-vous du dimanche (1978); Let’s Spend the Night Together (1982); Lookin’ to Get Out (1982); Nosferatu vs. Father Pipecock & Sister Funk (2014); People Are Funny (1960); Rolling Stones: Satisfaction Interviews (2007); Second-Hand Hearts (1980); Shampoo (1975); Solo Trans (1984); Stop Making Sense (1984); The 37th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1980); The 40th Annual Academy Awards (1968); The 61st Annual Academy Awards (1989); The Best Man (1964); The Big Country (1958); The Children’s Hour (1961); The Cincinnati Kid (1965); The Diary of Anne Frank (1959); The Escape Artist (1982); The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965); The Indian Runner (1991); The Landlord (1970); The Last Detail (1973); The Loved One (1965); The Mike Douglas Show (1976); The Movies (2019); The Rolling Stones: From The Vault - Hampton Coliseum: Live In 1981 (2014); The Rolling Stones: Going to a Go-Go - Live Version (1982); The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966); The Slugger’s Wife (1985); The Stronger (1976); The Thomas Crown Affair (1968); The Young Doctors (1961); Tokyo After Dark (1959); Too Much Sun (1990).

Of the many films by Hal Ashby, my favorite is Harold and Maude.

My type of dark comedy, with surprisingly heartfelt emotion with and for the main characters.  

One of my 'go to' favorite movies!  

Thank you, Mr. Ashby!

On this day in movie and book history - The Last Detail (1973)

The Last Detail

directed by Hal Ashby,

written by Robert Towne,

based on the novel by Darryl Ponicsan,

was released in the United States on December 12, 1973.

Music by Johnny Mandel.

Cast:

Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, Carol Kane, Michael Moriarty, Nancy Allen, Gilda Radner, Jim Hohn, Luana Anders.

Recommended reading - The Last Detail (1970)

The Last Detail

by Darryl Ponicsan.
 
First published 1970.
Published by Skyhorse.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1510727752
ISBN-13: 978-1510727755

Description:
 
The acclaimed novel that was the basis for the classic movie starring Jack Nicholson.
 

Unlike the other branches of the armed services, the navy draws its police force from the ranks, as temporary duty. The risk is that men on Shore Patrol might bring their humanity to the task. This accounts for the underlying tension in "The Last Detail", which takes place during the height of the Vietnam War. Billy Bad-Ass and Mule Mulhall, two career sailors in transit in Norfolk, awaiting permanent orders, are given a "chaser" duty. Their assignment is to escort and deliver Larry Meadows, an 18-year-old sailor, from Norfolk to Portsmouth, N.H., where he is to serve an eight-year sentence in the brig. It's good duty, on the face of it, until the two old salts realize the injustice of the sentence and are oddly affected by the true innocence of their prisoner, even though he is guilty as charged. Failure, or refusal, to carry out their duty is never a question, no matter how much they hate the detail or how wrong it seems, and yet something must be done, some gesture made in order to help their hapless prisoner survive the long ordeal he faces, and to purge their own sense of shame. "The Last Detail" was Darryl Ponicsan's first book and it catapulted him into the front rank of American novelists. It was made into the 1973 film starring Jack Nicholson, and has become a classic of the Golden Age of American cinema. This new edition of "The Last Detail" coincides with the publication of its long-awaited sequel, "Last Flag Flying", also available from The Wright Press.

On this day in movie history - Gran Torino (2008)

Gran Torino

directed by Hal Ashby,

written by Nick Schenk,

was released in the United States on December 12, 2008.

Music by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens.

Cast:

Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Brian Haley, Geraldine Hughes, Dreama Walker, Brian Howe, John Carroll Lynch, William Hill, Brooke Chia Thao, Chee Thao, Choua Kue, Scott Eastwood, Xia Soua Chang, Sonny Vue, Doua Moua, Greg Trzaskoma, John Johns, Davis Gloff, Thomas D. Mahard, Cory Hardrict, Nana Gbewonyo, Arthur Cartwright, Austin Douglas Smith, Conor Liam Callaghan, Michael E. Kurowski, Julia Ho , Maykao K. Lytongpao, Carlos Guadarrama, Andrew Tamez-Hull, Ramon Camacho, Antonio Mireles, Ia Vue Yang, Zoua Kue, Elvis Thao, Jerry Lee, Lee Mong Vang, Tru Hang, Alice Lor, Tong Pao Kue, Douacha Ly, Parng D. Yarng, Nelly Yang Sao Yia, Marty Bufalini, My-Ishia Cason-Brown, Clint Ward, Stephen Kue, Rochelle Winter, Claudia Rodgers, Sean Baligian, Darline Bucchare, Shelagh Conley, Jeffrey Feingold, William C. Fox, Vong Lee, Arnold Montey, Rio Scafone, Jeffrey Scott Basham, Tony Stef'Ano, Carey Torrice, Kevin Walsh.