That's a Wrap!

Back in 1981 a little film called Heartbeeps hit the silver screen. It was your basic "boy-robot-falls-in-love-with-girl-robot-who-then-produce-a-baby-robot" story. It was famously considered a bomb at the time, only recouping about $2 million back of its $10 million budget. I, myself, only saw it when it eventually appeared on HBO, but I was instantly captivated by it. There were several reasons for this:


(1) It starred Andy Kaufman in his first and only leading role in a film. At the time I was a keen admirer of his approach to comedy.

(2) It co-starred Bernadette Peters. What's not to like?

(3) It was just dumb fun. The cast included a comic-relief killer police bot (The Crimebuster), a baby bot named Philco and a Catskill-comic bot named, well, Catskill.

(4) The music was composed by John Williams. Yes, that John Williams. I can still hear the Heartbeeps love theme as I write this. I'm not conversant on Mr. Williams entire discography but I've read this was his only foray into electronic music.

(5) The special effects were by Stan Winston. In fact, he received his first Academy Award nomination, for special makeup effects.

You can explore more about this peculiar film here.

A few days before Mr. Winston died I had, by some coincidence, just finished watching the extended version of Aliens, possibly the best sci-fi movie ever made. I consider it an unintentionally synchronous tribute to an undeniably individual human.

Godspeed, Mr. Winston. And thanks for all the fun.

=mike=

Note: We live in a world where those who call themselves "Conservatives" have hijacked a religion that primarily says "feed the poor, clothe the naked" and who now use it as a handbook for intolerance and destruction. That's why this web site and these cartoons exist, to highlight the folly of those who worship the accumulation of money over everything else. Everything. Even though heavy-handed, even in the midst of solemnity, these images and ideas are not intended to amuse everyone who read them. If that someone happens to be you, tough beans. Go make your own comic. To the rest of you, thanks for watching.