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INONEEAR&OUTT
your article spotlighting Eddie
Murphy was very interesting
and entertaining, but should
your front cover attract "such racial
overtones" as "Saturday Night Live's
Darkest Comedian Makes New
Album and a Major Movie"? Racial
suggestions of this type should be
avoided, or do you really mean to
call Mr. Murphy a "darkie"? It is so
easy to say Black, or leave it out
completely.
Vandella Brown
lowa City, lowa
As a black student enrolled at
the University of Calif. at'Santa
Barbara, I found your recent
publication of Ampersand insulting.
In the issue, Eddie Murphy is fea
tured on the cover while the caption
below states "Darkest Comedian
Makes New Album and a Major
Movie." Apparently for the Amper
sand editors, it is Murphy's color
rather than his comic prowess that is
most interesting. Similar mockery is
not new to Afro-Americans who
have, in the past, been labeled as
"coon," "blackie," "nigger" and other
insulting terms. And now in your Oc
tober issue of Ampersand we are
being mocked "darkest." I doubt that
an Anglo-Saxon comedian would be
subjected to the same ridicule. If
Steve Martin appeared on your cover
would the caption read "Whitest
Comedian"? I am proud of my herit
age and of our cultural contributions
to the American stage, screen and
the arts; and I resent the implicit ra
cism represented by the Ampersand
caption. I hope in the future your
"collegiate" publication will be more
cognizant of how you portray Afro-
Americans. It should not be too
much to expect it to be in a sensitive,
fair and reasonable manner.
Ethusian Ex=
UC Santa Barbara
It was simply a play on words, and
we liked the double entendre re
ferring not only to Mr. Murphy (who
is undeniably darker . than the other
pasty faces on Saturday Night Live),
but also to black comedy, a kind of
humor that is best described as ':get
ting laughs from something that is
not intrinsically funny." Black
humor is a distinctly non-racial
term, first applied to Lenny Bruce in
the Fifties. Black humor is angry, hit
ter, sarcastic, modern and funny.
Much like Mr. Murphy.
We did not call him a "darkie"
As a matter of historical fact, we
did call actor Christopher Walken
"The New Wasp Heartthrob" on our
May 1979 cover, but Ms. EXUM'S
suggested Steve Martin headline is
far better than the one we used for
his cover blurb.
Last, but certainly not least, we did
choose Mr. Murphy for our cover.
Were we really racist, we probably
would have used someone of a more
beige persuasion.
Regarding your article on
Donny & Marie being drop
ped from Hawaiian Punch's
ad-campaign because they're no
longer "hot." Frankly this annoys me.
Your column gave no factual reason
for their termination but inferred
their lack of popularity was the rea
son, and that they weren't connected
with "fun & sun." The reason this
annoys me is because the Osmond
family is a rarity in the entertainment
business concerning their beliefs in
family, in religion, and in avoidance
of liquor & drugs. If kids today can't
identify with good, clean, decent
people as role models, without
being laughed at, we're in trouble.
That leaves the likes of Alice Cooper
Meet McCartney
pAUL MCCARTNEY is in London
starring in his first feature length
solo film since the Beatles days.
Called Give My Regards to Broad
Street, it features McCartndy's wife,
Linda, Ringo Starr and guitarist Eric
Stewart in a story that traces a fic
tionalized day in the life of
McCartney. The former Beatle is also
writing the screenplay and compos
ing its theme and other songs.
(There will also be other music from
the Beatles and Wings.) The picture
is being done through McCartney's
own company, MPL Communica
tions. Incidentally, Paul and Ringo
did star in their own short film, The
Cooler, which unspooled at the Can
nes Film Festival earlier this year.
Ampersand
Jokes
So many yucks! We could
barely get any work done, what
with all the guffawing, chor
tling, giggling and tittering. Fi
nally, at gunpoint, the editors
and the publisher forced them
selves to choose. The winners
below were picked on the basis
of apparent originality and
downright funniness. Just re
member, one person's tee bee is
another's yawn, so shut up if
you don't like 'em.
However, if you're anxious to
earn an easy S2O, as do these
three happy contributors, •send
your jokes to Ampersand Jokes,
1680 North Vine, Suite 900, Hol
lywood, CA 90028.
1. What's black-and-white
and red and can't turn
around in a telephone booth?
A penguin with a Javelin
through its bead.
David Nicholls Montague, Jr.
Charlottesville, VA
2. What is the difference
between erotic and kinky?
Erotic is when you use one
feather; kinky is when you
use the whole chicken.
Rebecca A. Winfield
Normal, IL
3. Did you realize that San
Francisco actually has gay
schools now? They teach the
kids about the birds and the
birds.
Rob Gold
Sacramento, CA
to idolize. P.S. the principal export of
Utah is copper.
Send us your comments, complaints,
compliments (especially your com-
pliments), your philosophy of life or
even your SAT scores. We like to get
mail —any mail. Send the goodies to
In One Ear, 1680 North Vine, Suite
900, Hollywood, CA 90028.
BY STEVEN GINSBERG
Future Flicks
WARREN BEATTY, who is not
exactly collecting unemploy
ment, just signed a deal to star in
Mermaid. His salary: 85 million. The
script (by C. J. Carruthers, to be re
written by Robert Towne) is about
this mermaid who is kissed by (and,
as legend goes, subsequently falls in
love with) a handsome young rake,
but he betrays her and she ends up
with the older brother. Maybe.
Robert Redford was originally set to
star, but as one Hollywood wit ob
served, "I just couldn't see Bob get
ting in any tank with a girl in a mer
maid skin."
Obviously, someone in charge
should hire Bette Midler for the
mermaid. She already has the cos
tume.
THE STARS OF Officer and a Gen
tleman are busy but sepa
rately (although there is talk of a
sequel, since the aforementioned
flick was the only one to give E.T. a
run for its greenbacks). Ms Winger
will play Shirley MacLaine's daughter
in Terms of Endearment, to be writ
ten and directed by Jim Brooks, who
created Taxi and The Mary Tyler
Moore Show (good) and the Burt
Reynolds film Starting Over (bad).
Mr. Gere is off in Mexico starring in
The Honorary Consul, after the
Graham Greene novel. It also stars
Michael Caine and Britain's irresisti
ble Bob Hoskins (The Long Good
Friday).
GOOD NEWS FOR Saturday Night
Live fans. Dan Aykroyd (you
remember him from the old show)
and Eddie Murphy (the new kid) will
begin work on a new comedy film in
December directed by John Landis
(Blues Brothers). The only problem
is the title: Black and White. The
powers-that-be don't think it's exactly
the right image for this particular .
project, so they're offering a cash
reward to crew members to come
up with something better. The rest of
us are excluded from the competi
tion, they say, because the picture's
subject matter is very hush-hush. Big
deal.
WE CHECKED THIS ONE twice. Yes,
there will be yet a third in the
hugely successful series of Smokey
and the Bandit films. No, this one
will not star Burt Reynolds or Sally
Field. But it does once again feature
Jackie Gleason as both the dumb
hick sheriff, Smokey, and as the
Bandit (Burt's role). Hence the title
Smokey Is the Bandit. Argh.
Jamie Rackley
UC Davis, CA
This mechanical beauty
comes to us from Michael
Schafbucb of the University II
q/ Oregon. He earns 830 for
his effort. You, too, may
enbance your income; Just
submit your original Ampersand,
rendered in black ink on white paper, to
Ampersand of the Month, 1680 North Vine,
Suite 900, Hollywood, CA 90028.
PAUL BARTEL: AND MARY WORONOV
(Introduced to Ampersand
readers in the October issue) are
currently filming a new flick called
Get Crazy, directed by Alan Arkush
(Rock 'n Roll High School,
Heartbeeps) which features Malcolm
McDowell in his first singing role,
plus Lou Reed, John Densmore
(drummer for the Doors), Howard
Kaylan of Flo & Eddie, and assorted
other music mavens. The plot cen
ters around events in a Fillmore
East-type concert establishment.
DESPITE THE TRAGIC DEATH Of VIC
Morrow and two child actors
while filming director John Landis'
segment of the upcoming feature
Twilight Zone, Warner Bros. is going
ahead with plans to release it next
summer to theaters. They claim it
would be even more tragic if Mor
row's final performances were not
seen. We suspect that the Accounting
Department would find it most
keenly tragic. Also featured in that
episode are Dan Aykroyd and Albert
Brooks. The movie has three other
segments, one of which will be di
rected by Steven Spielberg.
THE PAPER CHASE has been a
movie, a canceled network tele•
vision show and a regular rerun on
PBS. What else is left? Well, cable
biggie Showtime has just ordered
seven new hour-long episodes of the
program at a cost of 8500,000-
5600,000 each, making it the first pay
service ever to have a regular dra-
Quote of the Month I matic series.
EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD STUDENT and
unknown actress Jennifer Beals
is the star of Flashdance, a much
talked-about picture concerning a
woman who goes through the mo
tions of stripping.at a bar filled with
men but actually remains clothed.
She recently spoke about beating out
thousands of others for the role:
"I had moved into the dorm at
Yale and didn't have a phone so the
producers had to go through the
New Haven police to track me down.
When they told me I had the part I
said I would only do it if Yale would
give me a deferment. If Yale said you
can't defer I would've stayed in
school." Yeesh.
HO7EL NEW HAMPSHIRE AND Gorky
Park, two recent best-selling
novels, are all set to be made into
movies in 1983. Jodie Foster and
Marty Feldman have signed to start
making Hotel (a strange saga about
five kids in a family) this spring in
Montreal and Vienna under the eye
of writer-director Tony Richardson.
Gorky Park, a thriller about the
ramifications of a triple murder in
Moscow, starts earlier in the year in
northern Europe with director
Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daugh-
Best Sellers
ter) and screenwriter Dennis Potter
(Pennies from Heaven). William Hurt
stars as Arkady.
pROUFIC WRITER HARLAN ELLISON has
signed to write the screenplay
for None of the Above, based on a
political novel titled Bug Jack Baron.
Costa•Gavras, who recently directed
his first American movie, Missing,
helms this one beginning in June.
Shake, Rattle and Roll
with the Punches
VETERAN ROCKER JERRY LEE LEWIS,
who was nearly scandalized into
oblivion 25 years ago when he mar
ried his then 13-year-old cousin Myra
Brown, may find his personal life the
subject of a new movie. Polygram
Pictures has optioned the film rights
to Myra's tell-all book Great Balls of
Fire.
Big News for Small
Screens
WEnt MORE THAN 50 features . to
his credit, famed Swedish
filmmaker Ingmar Bergman says he
is giving up the big screen and will
instead work only on the stage or in
television. The reason? A loss of
energy. "But I love to have a camera
and a small crew and to make things
for television," he said in a recent
Variety interview. "You can make it
and then in one evening it is fin
ished. Nobody thinks about it any
more." We try not to.
Kiss Off
BY PAUL ROSTA
'lf they spent this kind of money
to promote an unknown band,"
groused one wishing-to-be-anony
mous guest, "it would make their
career."
Kiss is hardly an unknown band,
but they have been rather ignored
lately. To get the once-reigning
bubblegum stompers back in the
public eye, and to promote their
100-city tour for a new LP called Cre
atures of the Night, Casablanca Re
cords threw a shindig like no one in
the pinched record business had
done for years. At a Zoetrope Studios
sound stage in Hollywood the bar
was open and so was bass player
Gene Simmons' mouth. "We're the
best show on Earth," he informed
the assemblage.
Before the buffet was cleared and
the room forcibly emptied by means
of playing the group's new single at
top volume, over and over, someone
asked Simmons if he didn't think the
band's flamboyant garb was perhaps
a wee bit out of style. "We're above
style," Simmons shot back
December, 1982 Ampersand 7