Feedback: May 18, 2012

Dick Clark’s Greatest Hits
Thank you for the wonderful timeline of Dick Clark‘s moments in the spotlight. Another important one was his appearance in 1968’s Wild in the Streets. Clark played a newscaster in this dystopian satire about teenagers taking over America. Strangely enough, I had just watched the film the weekend before he passed away.
Bob Schnell
Mount Vernon, N.Y.

Though it wasn’t mentioned, my favorite Dick Clark show was Where the Action Is, airing from 1965 to 1967. It went all over the U.S. to film big and not-so-big stars performing and cutting up, with Clark introducing each act. I used to rush home from sixth grade to watch it.
Libby Burke

Sandy, Ore.

Hollywood Head-Scratchers
Jess Cagle said in his Editor’s Note that it bugs him that Samara’s mother in The Ring is wearing what appears to be a Victorian riding outfit in the 1970s. That used to bother me, too. Then, when I was in film school, the movie’s costume designer Julie Weiss spoke to one of my classes. I asked her why she chose the clothes she did for Samara’s mother, and she said that the wardrobe was intentionally anachronistic to make it all more gothic, timeless, and spooky. So that’s one mystery solved!
Jas Bohrman

New York City

More than the incongruity of the Brady Bunch house, I was always appalled that the exterior shots of the Cunningham house on Happy Days seemed to have no relation to the interior sets used on the show. Shouldn’t the front door and the kitchen door have both opened on the front yard?
Daryl Russ

Columbia, S.C.

California, Here They Come
Thank you so much for Must Listing The CW’s The L.A. Complex. I watched the show on the Canadian channel MuchMusic and would love to see it become a hit down south. It is a fresh look at the thirst for fame.
Jessica Lyric

Vancouver

Pulp Fiction
One of the finest films about the writer’s life (Movies) is 1996’s The Whole Wide World, which tells the story of pulp author Robert E. Howard (who created Conan the Barbarian) and his ill-fated relationship with schoolteacher Novalyne Price. Vincent D’Onofrio’s portrayal of Howard’s tortured path from small Texas town to literary fame and suicide was powerful and on the money. And Miss Price, who wrote the book the film was based on, was charmingly played by Renée Zellweger.
Marc Cerasini

New York City

Avengers Missing in Action

”I’m excited about The Avengers, but the film’s exclusion of Ant-Man and the Wasp remains a sore spot with Marvel maniacs!” says Jimi LaLumia of Ronkonkoma, N.Y. To help dull the pain, we’ve given each hero a marquee moment.

Ant-Man

Although others have donned the Ant-Man alias, the first to do so was Henry Pym, a biochemist who discovered subatomic particles that allowed him to alter his own size. Ant-Man, whose cybernetic helmet gives him control over the titular critters, would become a founding member of the Avengers. Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) is developing an origin-story film.

The Wasp

Janet Van Dyne, a wealthy Jersey girl who wanted to avenge her father’s death, persuaded Henry Pym (Ant-Man) to expose her to ”Pym particles.” As a result, she was transformed into the Wasp, sprouting wings and gaining the ability to shrink to insect proportions. She teamed up with Pym — even marrying him at one point — and coined the moniker ”Avengers.” No movie plans are in the works as of now.